Operating System and Microsoft Corporation Essay

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational software corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world’s largest software maker measured by revenues.[3] It is also one of theworld’s most valuable companies.[4] Microsoft was established to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computeroperating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. The company’s 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.[5] As of 2012, Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search(with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft announced that it would be entering the PC vendor market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet computer. In the 1990s, critics began to contend that Microsoft used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies includingrefusal to deal and tying, put unreason able restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics; both the U.S. Department of Justice and European Commission found the company in violation of antitrust laws. Microsoft is the undisputed leader in the market for operating systems (Sheremata 1997). The Microsoft Corporation has produced the vast majority of operating systems for all personal computers (PCs); moreover, operating systems that Microsoft has created are Windows95, Windows 3.1, and DOS. They also have produced the leading spreadsheet and word processors for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. They own 85% of the market share with their office software Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft Access. Not surprisingly, most of us have used some if not all of these products and/ or services provided by the Microsoft Corporation. How did the Microsoft Corporation develop into a software monopoly? For the most part, one or several combinations of the following forge monopolies: an amalgamation of smart business decisions, mistakes by competitors, and at times some shady tactics that a company might employ to become a market leader and monopoly of today. Microsoft had its beginning during the 1970s when IBM was the computer hardware giant of the industry. In 1975 Microsoft was the producer of programming languages for MIPS Altair 7500 (Conigliaro1996). In 1981, Microsoft purchased an operating system for an Intel based 8086 chip from a small company named Seattle Computer Products and redesigned its product to sell it to license it to IBM for its new personal computer (PC) (Conigliaro1996). The redesigned product was released under the name MS DOS 1.0. IBM being a monopoly at that time in the hardware department, by allowing Microsoft to provide the operating system to its PCs, then an outside source, relinquished control of the software industry to this up-and-coming powerhouse. Microsoft retained the right to license their operating system to other manufacturers and helped spur the massive IBM clone industry. Microsoft became one of the leaders in the computer industry during the 1980s with the help of technologies that help provide PCs for an information hungry age and with Microsoft providing the operating systems for a high percentage of the PCs sold. By the late 1980s, Microsoft controlled the operating system market; versions of MS-DOS ran over 80% of personal computers (Conigliaro1996). However, Microsoft did not control any of the application markets, this honor went to Lotus, which at the time had the top spreadsheet, 1-2-3 and WordPerfect had the leading word processors, WordPerfect. When Microsoft introduced Microsoft Windows 3.1 in the 1990s, it locked in Microsoft in the driver seat for what is now the software monopoly that exists. Soon after, Microsoft introduced Excel 3.0 for Windows and Word for Windows 2.0. Lotus and WordPerfect did not realize the effects that Windows 3.0 would have on the industry and did not plan ahead for the evolution (Gleick 1995). The claim has also been made that Microsoft used its control over the operating system and graphical user interface markets to help growth in the applications market. Some executives spoke of the â€Å"Chinese Wall†, that is some of the developers learned to take advantage of the operating system before other companies could who did not have the access (Gleick 1995). They were also accused of when introducing new technology called object linking embedding (OLE) in Windows, they would provide the technology to Excel 3.0 developers to incorporate it into Excel before the technology was available to other companies. Making it possible for applications on a system to work with other applications made by Microsoft before competitors could have a chance to compete and provide the same or a comparable application. With the introduction of Windows 3.1 (an update on 3.0) and Microsoft having the edge, Microsoft’s Excel, Word and Office started to dominate the application market. The dawn of Microsoft the monopoly empire was on the horizon. In the 1990s Microsoft began to diversify with its dominance over the application and operating systems it began to get into producing products for multimedia, business operation systems, and now even games and online services. They have been accused of shady business practices when they attempted to purchase Intuit, the software company that owns Quicken, the world’s most popular personal finance manager. And Microsoft’s pairing Windows 95 with The Microsoft Network, both moves are threatening to new competitors because of the barriers they create. They also generate risks to innovation and competition through the entire industry. Microsoft has used its power as the leader in the market with operating systems to grow into the power that it is now. A combination of good business tactics, regretful business choices by competitors, and finally Microsoft using its new power has made Microsoft untouchable by competitors. We have several examples of monopolies in our past as a nation, and we have found that monopolies have a tendency to stiffen innovation. With computer systems innovation is important to continue and stay ahead of the market. The example we can think about is IBM, when IBM split its business it opened the door to several new businesses that have only helped society. Is Microsoft going to help society if it is ordered to split? We can only wait and see. By making Microsoft split it will open the door to new ideas from small entrepreneurs that might have the next great operating system. # Microsoft has long enjoyed Olympian profit margins, using its monopoly power to maintain prices on its software even in tough times. But now, amid a terrible downturn and rising competition, CEO Steven A. Ballmer is shifting to a scrappier approach. He is cutting prices on a variety of fronts, from flagship Windows and Office products to newfangled Internet services. The idea is to accept lower margins in some businesses but boost overall earnings by going after a grab bag of growth opportunities. These range from expanding its share of big companies’ software purchases to lowering the price of Office software so consumers in emerging markets pay for it rather than pirate it. With the outlook so cloudy, â€Å"we’re focusing on gaining share in those areas that are most critical,† says Stephen A. Elop, who heads the business division. On July 13, Elop demonstrated the new Office 2010 in New Orleans. While Microsoft expects most customers to pay for the program the way they always have, less powerful, ad-supported versions will be available free on the Web. The company is also charging a monthly fee for online applications, such as the e-mail program Exchange, which is about a third as profitable as selling the software on CDs. And on Oct. 22, Microsoft’s new Windows 7 PC operating system will go on sale in stores for $40 less than the $240 it charged when it launched its Vista program in 2007—the biggest price cut on a new version of Windows in years. All of these moves amount to a risky experiment in price elasticity. By lowering prices, the company hopes to increase sales of existing products while making fast headway with new ones. If the company can gain enough market share to cover its massive costs in Web services and Internet search—notably, its vast data centers—every extra dollar will be pure profit. â€Å"I’m not saying it will be easy,† says Ballmer. â€Å"But we have great opportunities to grow total profit dollars.† ONLY $29 IN CHINAMicrosoft is cutting the price of Office and offering the free versions of Word, Excel, and other programs to head off competition from Google and other rivals that offer similar software at little or no cost. Microsoft has so many promotions for Office that its effective price is $100, down from $150, and even lower in such countries as Brazil and India. But the experience is sparking optimism at Microsoft about the new strategy. The company says unit sales of Office surged 415% in the second half of last year. The most aggressive price cut has come in China, where Microsoft says 95% of Office installations have been pirated. Since it began testing a $29 offer in China last September, sales have soared morethan 800%. The low price was â€Å"like taking firewood from under the cauldron† of piracy, says Liu Tianxiang, a vice-president with Beijing Federal Software, a Chinese software distributor. He figures Microsoft has sold 80,000 copies of Office in China since the trial started. Now Microsoft intends to make the low price permanent. Not surprisingly, Microsoft continues to hunt for ways to offset price cuts. It hopes to boost the bottom line by encouraging Windows 7 software users to upgrade more often. Since the program CD will come loaded with multiple versions, users who buy the cheaper Starter edition can easily pay later to get premium features. Of course, that risks annoying users—when rivals such as Google are trying to lure customers with cheaper alternatives. But in the current economy, there’s no risk-free way to stay ahead.

Final Essay

He is stuck on the bridge between being an adult and a child and does not know here he wants to go. He doesn't know what he wants to do or be in the future. Throughout the book, Holder makes many references to the ducks that he saw a few times in Central Park. He says, â€Å"The ducks. Do you know, by any chance? I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away, or do they fly away by themselves- go south or something? â€Å"(Slinger 91 This could be a symbol for Holder and his life. Holder is wondering where the ducks will go, very much like he is wondering where he himself will go.Holder wonders if he will have to get up and go nowhere on his own, or if someone will come along and help him out before things get too difficult. Holder is thinking about where the ducks will go when it gets cold and hard for them to survive. He is also thinking about where he will go when life gets even more difficult and harder for him to survive on his own. Holder is also scared for the future of children. He has experienced firsthand what it is like to be extremely stressed and forced to grow up quickly. He does not like growing up and he just wants to be a child forever.Holder wants to save children from falling into the world of adulthood. He says, â€Å"Navy, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around – nobody big, mean – except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. Know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.This shows that Holder actually is caring for the children in the world and he wants to help them keep their innocence in any way that he can. Throughout the Story, Holder mentions his little brother Allele. Allele passed away when they were little of cancer. Holder feels guilty and upset over Allies death and really misses him. Allele was one of the few people who Holder actually loved and cared about. Allele had an old baseball mitt with poems written all over it that he would read while standing in the field. While talking about Allies old baseball mitt that Holder kept, he says â€Å"You'd have liked him.He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. He was terrifically intelligent. His teachers were always writing letters to my mother, telling her what a pleasure it was having a boy like Allele in their class. And they weren't just shooting the crap. They really meant it. But it wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody. God, he was a nice kid, though. He used to laugh so h ard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair.

Energy Conservation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Energy Conservation - Essay Example Use of fossil fuel to generate electricity is the largest contributor of carbon emission (Shorrock & Dunster, 2008 p.134). In property industries across the United Kingdom, emissions of carbon are due to different household chores such as, lighting, cooling, heating homes during winter and use of machines especially those that could be powered by electricity. In industries, carbon could be emitted through activities such as mining, manufacturing and construction. For example, the chemical industries, food industries, paper and mineral production, petroleum refining and primary metal production. These industries consume energy in vast quantities (Terry 2011, p.23). The United Kingdom is committed in reducing its carbon emission, and it has taken a number of steps in order to ensure that it keeps up with the fight against carbon emissions. The main ones include: Carbon Budget, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and Climate Change agreements. Carbon Budget would be established to curb green h ouse gas emission for a given period in the United Kingdom; the government would be committed in cutting the discharge by 80% by 2050. The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme would be aimed at cutting emissions and achieving energy efficiency in the United Kingdom. The Climate Change Agreements entails conventions of the government with the energy intensive industries. Other strategies that the government has established to reduce emission of green house gases such as carbon emission include; carbon capture and storage, carbon offsetting, carbon valuation, carbon neutrality, climate change levy, climate change policy and regulations and European Union emission trading scheme (Miller 2008, p.150). Application of Issues to Property and Construction Industries Energy conservation should be enhanced in different areas where carbon could be extremely emitted. The greatest carbon emitted, could be due to burning of fossil fuel to generate electricity. Electricity in the United Kingdom could be c ommonly used in industries, construction, residential as well as transportation sector (Ellerman 2010, p.30). Conservation of Energy in Property Energy consumed in homes should be conserved for sustainability. This entails efficiency use of energy in a manner that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. This need may comprise of using energy for lighting, heating homes, cooling and use of appliance especially those powered by electricity (Cline 2002 p.76). Energy could be used for heating homes especially during winter and cooling during summer. In United Kingdom, energy conservation could be enhanced by the establishment of Energy Saving Trust. Its mandate is to examine tips and advice on how one can reduce the energy bills as well check reduced carbon emission to the atmosphere. It also provides guidance on products that meets the criterion of energy efficiency and add label for easy access during shopping (Lern er, 2008 p.32). a) Heating On heating and hot water in homes, the trust provides tips to for energy efficiency use such as understanding the heating system. The UK governments have ensured that all homes use electric storage heater or the boiler and radiator. The electric storage heater could be discouraged due to its deep emission of carbon. It heats up water during at night when electricity is off-peak and at lower cost. Use of central heating could be highly regarded by the UK government

Main Material Input and Output Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Main Material Input and Output - Essay Example As well, this paper names and discusses three potential P2 opportunities for the industry. In the metallurgical industry particles are emitted in production that â€Å"†¦may contain lead, mercury, and other heavy metals† (Cheremisinoff, 2001, 33). For example, coke production involves volatile components. In the US, in the iron and steel industry, coke is used in what is termed the byproduct coke process, that is, byproduct coke ovens are used and the high heat releases comppounds such as benzene, butane, hydrogen cyanide, and propane. The P2 opportunity that this presents is by use of the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) Standard will help in the reduction of charging and leaking emissions by some two-thirds and bypass/bleeder stacks by ninty-eight percent (Marsosudiro, 2014, 2-3). Another potential P2 opportunity is also in the use of ironmaking technology, that is, direct reduction ironmaking (DRI) as well as pulverized coal injection (PCI). These two proce sses can reduce the use of coal in ironmaking (Marsosudiro, 2014, 5). Other processes that can assist in pollution prevention are natural gas injection, which can replace up to 25% of coal use, as well as oil injection (Marsosudiro, 2014, 6). Marsosudiro, P. (2014). Pollution Prevention in the Integrated Iron and Steel Industry and its Potential Role in MACT Standards Development . Retrieved from P2 Infohouse: A Comprehensive Pollution Prevention Reference Collection:

Coorelation between Fate, Identity and Destiny in Mukherjee's Jasmine Essay

Coorelation between Fate, Identity and Destiny in Mukherjee's Jasmine - Essay Example The basic quality needed for an Indian rustic woman to leave for America is well understood by the author and the character is well set beforehand in her motherland. Kanwar Sonali’s (2000) findings that recent women immigrants have been more successful in giving words to their feelings although they too experience the emotional upheaval and the accompanying ordeal of immigration.(Kanwar Sonali Jolly-Wadhwa, 2000) The lead role of the Novel, Jasmine wishes to get away from India to reach America wherein he wants to fulfill the desires of her late husband, Prakash. But her life in America is not as expected by her from her homeland. The force that made her to often change her identity becomes the way of her life abroad. Her relationship with men in America facilitated her to switch from one identity to another. Her identity as Jyoti, as named by her parents, had been squeezed almost to nil by her will. Her husband Prakash called her Jasmine. On landing at America she became Jase and then Jane. Finally, after her relation ship with one Bud, who impregnates her, the novel had been brought to an end at which she leaves with Taylor an intellectual company. Throughout the novel Jasmine had been struggling to fix an imaginary identity which she had been chasing right from her youth. In the words of Anu Anejha, Jasmine abandons her promise of domestic security to be carried off. (Anu Aneja, 1993) Her vigor for controlling her fate sprouts from her early youth when a local rustic astrologer foretold her widowhood. The fury with which she refuted him reveals her strong will to win her fate. She simply shouted at him that he did not know her future. It was this vigor that sent her to America even after her widowhood in India. The impact of death on human beings is laid intelligently by the author as a stink that emerges at any time of its own will. The

Three Positions on Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Three Positions on Abortion - Essay Example The conservative stand rejects abortion at any cost. This position is largely based on religious beliefs regarding the sanctity of life. Conservatives also cite the ‘slippery slope’ argument, where the right to end life could be extended to other situations, such as euthanasia. The liberal position permits abortion unconditionally. Liberals accept various justifications for abortion, including the woman’s right to make decisions over her own body, the quality of life of fetus and mother, and monetary and career considerations. The conservative and liberal positions are both reflections of the uncompromising rigidity which often characterizes any debate on the issue of abortion. On the other hand, the moderate position on abortion recognizes the moral implications it entails, and acknowledges that the rights of the mother and the fetus are in conflict in this situation. Moderates accept the need for abortion, but limit their acceptance to situations entailing defor mity in the fetus, health risks to the mother, and cases of rape and incest. I agree with the moderate position on abortion because of its attempt to reconcile two extreme stands. The moderate position appeals to me as it represents a genuine attempt to reconcile two opposing viewpoints: the conservative and the liberal. ... From the liberal perspective, the moderate position accepts that several mitigating factors, largely concerned with the well-being of the mother, can justify the overruling of the right-to-life of the fetus. However, it rejects a casual attitude towards the suffering of the fetus. This middle-of-the-road position ensures that the issue of abortion can be taken on a case-by-case basis. After all, each case has its own unique circumstances, and the conservative stand of unilaterally ruling out abortion is unacceptable. For example, if the pregnancy poses a risk to the health of the mother, abortion can be justified. Similarly, moderates do not condone abortion out-of-hand. This sets curbs on the overly permissive liberal position, which could generate a laissez-faire attitude towards casual sex and pregnancy. Abortion without any restrictions would lead to sexual permissiveness and lack of responsibility. The moderate position approaches the issue of abortion without any preconceived i deas of morality, and adopts a non-judgmental stand which particularly appeals to me. Just as the moderate position on abortion is a calculated compromise between two extreme viewpoints, it incorporates several ethical approaches into its deliberately balanced stand, and rejects any rigidity. The moderate position, by nature of its flexibility, and willingness to accept compromise, rejects the Deontological Ethical Approach, because the latter emphasizes rigid moral obligation. Moral obligation, without any consideration of the resulting consequences, is foreign to moderates. Similarly, moderates reject the Intuitive Approach, based on the perception that this approach is often individual morality, or personal prejudices, painted in stubborn

Modern Philosophy Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Modern Philosophy Final - Assignment Example With regard to this question, I at least know with certainty that such things may exist, in as far as they constitute the object of the pure mathematics, since, regarding them in this aspect, I can conceive them clearly and distinctly† (Descartes 111). Descartes comes to know that he gains knowledge of material objects through sense perception, but since sense perception is by nature, deceptive, how can Descartes prove that material objects exist independent of his mind? Herein, he uses the process of elimination to find out what causes his ideas of material bodies, and whether they can exist independent of his mind. In doing so, he first claims that he cannot be the cause of such material bodies, for it would go against his nature and freewill as a thinking substance. The cogito proves only that he exists as a thinking substance, but it does prove anything about his body. In addition, God cannot be the cause either, for these ideas I have of material bodies are mere adventitio us ideas, which are based on sense perception, which are by nature, deceptive. He now knows that God is no deceiver. Therefore, material objects exist insofar as the idea he has of such objects is caused by the objects themselves. As Descartes claims, â€Å"nothing was so likely to occur to my mind as the supposition that the objects were similar to the ideas which they caused† (113). Thus, material objects exist independent of his mind, since its cause must have as much reality to its effect. However, this does not mean that material objects exist as his senses tell them to be. So what then is the true nature of material objects? Herein, Descartes observed a piece of wax and identified its qualities, that is, its color, taste, smell, texture and sound; all of which we come to know through our bodily senses. But when he puts this piece of wax on fire, all those qualities that he observed, changed. Nevertheless, he knows for certain that it is still the same piece of wax, so s omething must have remained so as to consider this wax as the same piece of wax. Thus, Descartes identifies certain primary qualities of the piece of wax, which remain constant, namely: figure, the capacity for change, and spatial extension. These primary qualities are what define the true nature of the piece of wax, and for all material objects and physical substances. What he initially perceived through his senses are mere secondary qualities of the object, which do not belong to the object itself, but are mere sensations and come from within him. In this regard, Descartes is now aware of the distinction between mental and physical substances, that is, mind and matter. According to Descartes, God created these two kinds of substances totally different from one another. Mental substances or the mind, is a thinking thing, has consciousness and is morally responsible for its thoughts. It is not spatially extended and has no capacity for motion, and has free will. On the other hand, p hysical substances or matter, has no consciousness, is subject to mechanical motion, is determined and is spatially extended. These two substances are two mutually exclusive entities, which are independent from each other. In other words, mind cannot be matter and matter cannot be mind. This leads to Descartes’ metaphysical dualism, which claims that there exists a two-fold reality,

Benjamin Britten Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Benjamin Britten - Essay Example Benjamin Britten was an opera composer of the modern age. Because he lived in the modern age, there has been a range of interpretations that musicologists have taken towards his work. The range of interpretations depend mainly upon whether the musicologist who analyzing his work is an example of a new musicologist or an old musicologist. New musicologists essentially are focused upon the meaning of the work (Eyerman & McCormick, 2006, p. 2). New musicologists may derive meaning from examining the composer himself, discerning what a particular composer may have meant by his work by examining the life of the composer in search of clues (Seymour, 2004, p. 1). They may also derive meaning by applying other disciplines to the work, such as literature, religion, philosophy and psychology (Zolberg, 1990, p. 8). They may derive meaning by associating the work with a body of studies, such as gender studies or queer studies. They may apply sociology to the work in an effort to discern the work’s meaning (Brett & Britten, 1993, p. 633). Or, they may use a combination of the above to arrive at what the meaning is. New musicologists may be compared with old musicologists. For them, new musicology is a corrupting influence in that, by applying other disciplines, the inherent musicality of a particular piece is lost (Miles, 1995, p. 12). Old musicologists analyze work by using musical theory, and may be formalistic or positivistic in their approach to composer’s work (Agawu, 1997, p. 299). What they do not do is attempt to discern hidden meanings behind the composer’s work. The shift from old musicology to new musicology can be traced to Joseph Kerman (1985), whose book Contemplating Music: Challenges to Musicology, was the first instance where a musicologist proposed analyzing music by bringing in history, communication, the existence of other works of art, affects, texts and programmes (Kerman, 1985, p. 18). Since then, prominent musicologists such as Susan McClary and Philip Brett have analyzed music from the perspective of gender and queer studies, respectively (McClary, 1993; Brett, 1993). These scholars represent the tip of the iceberg for new musicologists, but they are examples of how new musicology approaches music. This paper will consist of an examination of new musicology and compare it to old musicology. Then, the next section will examine how new musicologists see the works of Britten by examining some of the themes that are inherent in his work, themes that have been teased out by prominent new musicologists. The next section will handle how old musicologists examine Britten’s work. Finally, the last section will be a conclusion which ties together the concepts and analyzes what it all means. New Musicologists Approach to Britten’s Work A new musicologist would not analyze Britten’s operas in a superficial way – such stating the innocent themes of a certain opera, without going into subtext – but would also go beyond what is on the surface and delve not only into Britten’s psyche but also the sociological mores of the times to determine what the true meaning is behind the operas that he has written. For instance, Seymour (2004) state that if one examines a Britten opera, there are a number of superficial theme s, but that, if one looks closer at Britten’s operas one can see that he is trying to find a voice that â€Å"might embody, communicate, and perhaps resolve, his private concerns and anxieties† (Seymour, 2004, p. 1). Seymour was a definitive new musicologist, as she attempted to examine several operas written by Britten – Paul Bunyon, Death in Venice, three of his church parables and several of his children’s operas – and analyzed these creatively by linking them to psychological factors and biographical events that were occurring with Britten during this period of time (Seymour, 2004, p. 1). It was Seymour’s theory that Britten, through his music, was able to express ideas about his sexuality and identity that were difficult for him to come to terms with and

Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing - Term Paper Example Branding strategies enables companies to charge a premium price (Kotler, 2003). Michael Kors built his retail empire by joining forces with some smart investors that had lot of experience and success in the retail industry. In 2003 Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou bought a controlling interest of 85% in Kors brand for $100 million. These two entrepreneurs invested in Tommy Hilfiger in 1989 and three years later they turn his company into a publicly traded corporation. The process to turn a company from a private business into a public firm that can sell its stock in the open market is known as an initial public offering (IPO) (Investopedia, 2011). Kors has implemented a lot of smart marketing strategies that have allowed his brand to differentiate from other designers. The firm recently introduced a new collection of clothes that has the same prestige of the Kors line, but at a lower price point. Another strategy that Kors utilized to increase the profitability of the company was produ ct diversity. The utilization of a product diversification strategy enables companies to expand their market (Theproduct, 2011). Kors began selling perfumes, handbags, and watches. These products have a higher profit margin than clothes. These new products are considered cash cow products. A cash cow is a product that produces a constant dependable source of income (Answers, 2011).