Comparing the Business Model of Apple and Wal-Mart - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 967 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? COMPARING THE BUSINESS MODEL OF APPLE INC AND WAL-MART 1 INTRODUCTION:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ APPLE INC. Apple Inc., previously Apple Computer, Inc., American producer of PCs, PC peripherals, and PC programming. It was the first effective PC organization and the popularizer of the graphical client interface. Base camps are situated in Cupertino, California (Heracleous, 2013). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Comparing the Business Model of Apple and Wal-Mart" essay for you Create order  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ WAL-MART Wal-Mart, in full Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., American administrator of rebate stores, one of the worlds greatest retailers. Their central commands are in Bentonville, Ark (Baines, 2013). I. POLITICAL FACTORS OF THE GLOBAL MARKET OF APPLE AND WAL-MART:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ APPLE INC. Political component gives an overwhelming impact to Apple Inc. choice making process as they have set up numerous organizations everywhere throughout the world. In 2005, 52% of offers were outside of America. Apple has no power over relations with different nations because of Americas war on Terrorism. Apple produces a large portion of their items outside of the USA. This includes a rundown, for example, Ireland, China, Czech Republic, and Korea. Political clashes with any of these nations will have horrible consequences for Apple INC. Awful global relations, wars, terrorism, and general wellbeing issues between U.S. also, these states may give a negative effect that may harm the Apple Inc. notoriety and additionally their business process (Foros, Kind Shaffer, 2103).  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ WAL-MART To assemble the associations foot prints in California in the term of expanding open resistance, the questionable technique has been used by Wal-Mart. According to a late report in which, it is said that Wal-Mart have inside and out raised their political responsibility. Report communicates that Wal-Mart has blazed through millions on state and neighborhood wanders and over $17 million in government choices. More than 69% which spoke to $11.6 million of Walton family and Wal-Marts dedication has gone to Republican hopefuls and sheets. A person from Wal-Mart has reported that Waltons family is the wealthiest family on the planet; they are putting millions to their radical theory and preservationist inspiration rather than putting their money to manufacture pay for Wal-Marts pros (BreaÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ SolÃÆ' ­s, CasadesusÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ Masanell GrifellÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ TatjÃÆ' ©, 2015). II. SOCIAL FACTORS OF THE GLOBAL MARKET OF APPLE AND WAL-MART:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ APPLE INC. The overall communication of individuals checks innovation extraordinary part. Todays World cant be envisioned without innovative gadgets as Computers, cellular telephones to be a la mode with data or secluded from The Social Network. Apple is the comprehensively seen as the King of innovation, on account of value and outline. Another huge social impact is the music business, Apple having built up the greatest virtual media store, iTunes. With everything taken into account, Apples picture additionally depicts the cutting edge singulars way of life, consolidating usefulness with configuration, prompting brand recognizable proof and faithfulness. Way of life and need of customers are constantly evolving. Clients necessities in the diversion section are better illustrations and better solid, so this fragment needs PC to have speedier handling force, graphical buying force and great sound framework gadgets. Clients need littler, lighter PC and in addition longer time of battery life fo r to be versatile ( Salama Bach, 2013).  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ WAL-MART Social variable assumes a significant part to making a clients psyche. A Quality element dependably has been on front line of Wal-Mart all through the history which is the reason individuals believed that Wal-Mart is the best place to go for shopping. Because of the social impact individuals who need one stop administration inclines toward Wal-Mart for shopping (Baines, 2013). Figure: Wal-Mart Growth with International Market Growth III. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS OF THE GLOBAL MARKET OF APPLE AND WAL-MART:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ APPLE INC. The organization gauges that it was in charge of 23.1 million metric huge amounts of nursery gas emanations in the year 2011. As indicated by Apple, 98 percent of those outflows are identified with its items life cycle, with only 2 percent credited to the organizations offices. That is up altogether over the organizations discharges in 2010, which measured only 14.8 million metric tons. To a certain degree, that is normal in most circumstances, as the record quarterly deals the organization keeps piling on propose that Apple is delivering and dispatching more items than any time in recent memory. Anyway, Apple says the measure of its nursery gas emanations per dollar of income have really diminished since 2008, to the tune of 15.4 percent (Heracleous, 2013).  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¶ WAL-MART Nature is a noteworthy sympathy toward multinational companies; this is on account of vast partnerships are blamed for annihilating the earth and the depletion of common assets all the time. Wal-Mart has had a natural issue before; they sold furniture that was delivered from utilizing wood from a characteristic store. They were vigorously condemned and were in the long run pushed into dropping the product offering totally. As a consequence of that issue, their development in that field was ended (Childress, 2012). REFERENCES: Salama, N., Bach, C. (2013). Introduction of 6th Generation Smart Phone combining the features of both Apple and Android smart phone.arXiv preprint arXiv:1309.4508. retrieved from https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1309/1309.4508.pdf Heracleous, L. (2013). Quantum Strategy at Apple Inc.Organizational Dynamics,42(2), 92-99. Retrieved from https://www.heracleous.org/uploads/1/1/2/9/11299865/quantum_strategy_-_org_dynamics.pdf Foros, ÃÆ'ËÅ"., Kind, H. J., Shaffer, G. (2013). Turning the Page on Business Formats for Digital Platforms: Does Apples Agency Model Soften Competition? Retrieved from https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/194997/Workingpaper.pdf?sequence=1 BreaÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ SolÃÆ' ­s, H., CasadesusÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ Masanell, R., GrifellÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ TatjÃÆ' ©, E. (2015). Business model evaluation: Quantifying Walmarts sources of advantage.Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. Retrieved from https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/13135315/brea-solis,casadesus-masanell,grifell-tatje_business-model-eval_SEJ-12-0963-R3.pdf?sequence=1 Childress, A. (2012). Wal-Mart: Going Green or Gimmick? Retrieved from https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1143context=honors Baines, J. (2013). Walmartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Contested Expansion in the Retail Business: Differential Accumulation, Institutional Restructuring and Social Resistance. Monograph.Political Science, York University, 1-33. Retrieved from https://bnarchives.yorku.ca/358/2/20120925_baines_walmart_contested_expansion.pdf

Causes Of Juvenile Delinquency. Authors John Hagan And

Causes of Juvenile Delinquency Authors John Hagan and Bill McCarthy of Cambridge University offer an insight between the relationship between juveniles and their participation to criminal activities. According to them, the primary theories they employed in understanding the dynamics of youth taking to the street are control theory and strain theory (Benjamin, 1999). Through control theory, the authors point out erratic parenting, family deprivation, neglect and abuse and other forms of parental rejection increases the chances of a minor to commit a crime. In short, control theory pinpoints failure of the parents. Strain theory, on the other hand, emphasizes on the consequences of the young individual to avoid painful aversive events,†¦show more content†¦When the idea of a father has disappeared (he had become something else to her. He has become a threat); a negative stimulus (Bresha was being beaten and abused continuously); and the inability to reach the desired goal (there was not going to be a reconc iliation between father and daughter/father and mother/father and family). Strain theory also fits with criminological theories. In Criminology: Theories, Patterns, Typologies, Seigel documented eight instances of possible violence: personal traits, ineffective families, substance abuse, human instincts, regional values, cultural values, gangs, and the availability of weapons (Seigel, 2004 cited in Patterns and Trends). The following sources all fall back to strain that breaks down the barrier that separates juvenile and adult crime. What made Bresha’s case different to other juvenile delinquent case is that because it comes from strain, it can be distinguished from conventional, motive-driven crimes. Seigel differentiated crimes as being instrumental or expressive. By instrumental, he meant criminals resorting to such acts to improve their financial or social condition; whereas expressive actions are the release of anger or rage. The former often requires premeditations, while the latter comes from abrupt impulsiveness. Bresha’s delinquency fell as an expressive action. Often, the resulting emotion following a crime committed as a result of strain is that the attempt to justify the act. Sykes and MatzaShow MoreRelatedControl Theory15246 Words   |  61 Pages6 The Complexity of Control Travis Hirschi 1935– University of Arizona Author of Social Bond Theory Hirschi’s Two Theories and Beyond T ravis Hirschi has dominated control theory for four decades. His influence today is undiminished and likely will continue for years, if not decades, to come (see, e.g., Britt Gottfredson, 2003; Gottfredson, 2006; Kempf, 1993; Pratt Cullen, 2000). Beyond the sheer scholarly talent manifested in his writings, what accounts for Hirschi’s enduring influence onRead MoreEssay on Criminological Theories13456 Words   |  54 PagesIntegrating Criminological Theories 4 7 11 15 18 22 25 28 32 35 38 41 3 Chapter 1 Introduction to Criminological Theory Terms Causality. A concept more applicable to the hard sciences. Does the appearance of X cause effect Y? In a perfect relationship, the appearance of X would always cause the effect Y. each and every time the relationship is seen. Empirical Validity. This is the most important factor in evaluating a theory, and means that the theory has been supported by research evidence. Ideology

To What Extent Did Nazi Germany Establish a Totalitarian State in the Years 1933 and 1939 free essay sample

To What Extent Did Nazi Germany Establish a TotaBokeyar Year 12 – Modern History Research Essay To what extent did the Nazis succeed in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939? The Nazis succeeded to a great degree in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years between 1933 and 1939. A Totalitarian state is defined as a government that subordinates the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by coercive measures. A Totalitarian state aims to establish complete: political -social/economic and cultural control over their people. Fascism is a type of right-wing totalitarianism which places importance on the subordination of individuals to advance the interests of the state. It is important for totalitarian states to have a charismatic leader. This makes it easier for the party he stands for to gain power. The Nazis came as close as possible to becoming a totalitarian state in Germany. They operated under a policy of gleichschaltung which was controlling every aspect of the entire German populous. The totalitarian state of Germany was successful to the extent that they deterred any opposition from gaining momentum and promoted official ideology. They gained full control of political, social/economic and cultural power over their people. There were only a few minor factors that would stop it being completely totalitarian. One of these factors being that due to Germany not being self-sufficient it couldn’t function without the help of other countries who provided Germany resources. Another factor was that only a majority of the German populations approved of Hitler as their leader. In order for Germany to be considered a completely successful totalitarian state they must force all people to support them. The Nazi party failed to do this. Political Germany was dominated by one political party, the Nazi party. They established power with only 44% percent of the nation’s vote. The commitment to make decisions centralised and loyal to one leader (Hitler) strengthened the Nazis grip on a totalitarianism society. Hitler was focused on power gradually through 1933 and 1934. He did this in part by ordering Goeringâ€℠¢s SS and SA to launch assaults on any anti-Nazi parties. In February 1933 Communists were wrongly accused of starting a fire at the Reichstag that was seen as a signal for communist insurrection. Leading up to the elections in March 1933, thousands of communist officials were arrested under Hitler’s orders, In addition to this all communist and socialist newspapers were banned. Following the elections finishing Hitler transferred all the power that the Reichstag had to himself. He did this by excluding and arresting all communist deputies and made arrangements with the other parties. This then gave him the power to effectively overturn the German/Weimar constitution. When the Reichstag met, the communists did not dare attend. All 81 of the communist members of the Reichstag were expelled. All other MP’s were intimidated into giving Hitler the supreme powers to make and suspend laws. All major positions of power were now Nazi party members. The unions were replaced by the German labour front and opponents were imprisoned. Every single political party was abolished except for the Nazis. Germany had become a one party state. In a plebiscite held in November 1933 the results showed that 96. 3% of the population supported Hitler. It was in 1934 that Hitler began to turn on rivals within his party. The SA, led by Rohm, was considered too radical, ill-disciplined and working class by Hitler. Within the SA there were 3million members who believed Hitler owed them a debt for helping him in gaining power. They wanted a socialist programme to be implemented. It was believed by Hitler that if he did this, he would lose the support of the industrialists. The German army resented the SA and wanted them disbanded. Hitler made a deal with the army. This deal was that the army would support him if he eventually disbanded from the SA and began a policy of rearmament. On the 30th of June 1934 Rohm was found murdered along with 400 other â€Å"brown shirt leaders. This night is referred to as the night of long knives. The army along with the SS were now loyal to Hitler. On August 2nd 1934 Hindenburg died. This then gave Hitler the opportunity, which he took, to declare himself Fuhrer. The role of the Fuhrer was President, Chancellor and Commander in Chief all in one. All soldiers took an oath of allegiance to him personally. A plebiscite approved of this with 88. 93% of the vote. Th e Weimar Republic was over and the Third Reich about to begin. All media was controlled by the Nazis. Newspapers, radio stations, films obeyed and said what the Nazis told them to. A number of rallies were put on to emphasise just how strong Nazi Germany was. Goebbels was in charge of this and was also very successful. He was able to persuade people into believing that Hitler and the Nazis were right. All Nazi view points on everything were always emphasized. Groups opposing the Nazis such as socialist, communists, liberals, democrats, Jews and other group were targeted by the Nazis. All books were censored, over 2500 authors banned and many books burnt on the streets. Propaganda manipulated Hitler’s image very carefully so that he would be portrayed as a kind, hardworking man with simple tasks. The SS and Gestapo (secret police) acting under the orders of Himmler, made terror a regular occurrence and a matter of state policy. Any sort of opponents were beaten and regularly thrown into concentration camps. The power of the German police was considerable. The Gestapo were given unlimited powers. Any judges that did not support Nazi views were removed. There was an atmosphere of fear in Germany. The public were encouraged to report to police about their neighbours if they showed any signs of suspicious behaviour. German begun to turn into a law abiding country. Social/economic – one factor that contributed to Nazi totalitarianism was convincing the nation that the society that they had been living in was immoral, beyond reform and corrupt. It gave the impression of an alternative society where all these current wrongs would be addressed. The Nazis came into power as the working and middle classes had suffered through enormous economic hardships that had been brought on by the Great Depression that occurred in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. This meant that they had a large following and popular support from all middle classes that were seeking to maintain the political and economic status quo. Nazi Totalitarian Ideology demanded total conformity by the people. Propaganda (controlled by Goebbels) supported this. Information was organised through control of radio and press. Cinemas and papers had to show pictures glorifying the Nazi movement. Education/schools were also used as a means of communication and control. Boy’s 10-18years old were sent to Hitler Youth, Girls 10-18 years old were sent to Hitler Maidens. School textbooks were re- written along Nazi lines. University professors were required to wear Swastikas amp; take an oath of allegiance to Hitler. Resources were monopolised by the state to try and control all aspects of public amp; private life. Labour Unions were abolished by decree on July 14 1933 and the Labour Front was set up. Employees were now forbidden to strike. The National Labour Law of Jan 20, 1934 allowed the state to exert direct control over all businesses employing more than 20 persons. Thus all employees amp; employers were under the direct control of the Nazi Government. Unemployment dropped from 6m in 1932 to 1m in 1936 due to conscription, large infrastructure projects and Jews and married women being forced out of jobs thus creating vacancies. A key economic factor which prevented the Nazi party from establishing complete totalitarian state was the fact that Germany was not fully self-sufficient. It continued to rely on other countries supplying it with important raw materials to assist Germanys industry. It was later considered a fact in Germany’s aggression towards opposing countries in the lead up to World War II. Cultural Germany’s culture was encouraged but only with certain elements. Any book that was considered to be unsuitable for the German public was burnt. The Nazis believed that the German Aryans were the superior race. The Aryan race had blue eyes and blonde hair. They especially hated Negroes and Jewish people. In September 1935 the Nuremburg Laws were passed which deprived Jews of German citizenship and forbade them from marrying Aryans. Children were taught during school to dislike these races. Conditions gradually got worse amp; worse for Jews (e. g. property confiscated, liberty deprived, safety endangered). Attacks on not only them but their property were always encouraged, such as the crystal night in 1938 where as many as 91 Jews were murdered during the brutal attacks. A further 30,000 were arrested and imprisoned into concentration camps around Germany. These attacks left the streets of Germany covered with broken glass from the windows of the Jewish owned buildings, synagogues and stores. Thousands of people left Germany and those that stayed were exposed to the final solution. The Nazi party were atheists but they still needed to come to terms with the churches of Germany. A concordat with the Pope (1933) gave the Catholics the freedom of worship, although the Nazis still interfered with Church teachings. The Protestants were subjected to close state control. Hitler appointed Pastor Ludwig Muller, a protestant, the Evangelical Bishop of the German Reich. Muller them amended all Christian teachings so that they could be in line with the Nazi ideals. If any Protestants openly protested or did not follow were sent to concentrations camps. Numerous brave leaders such as Bonheoffer and Meimaller spoke out against the Nazis. Due to these actions they were imprisoned and executed. The Nazi party also persecuted the undesirables. Anybody who they thought threatened the purity of the Aryan race whether it is gypsies, mentally ill or homosexuals. In 1939 a programme of euthanasia was introduced. Over 5000 children were killed and 71, 000 adults all under this programme. The majority of the German population approved of Hitler. This is a reason as to why Nazi Germany did not fully succeed in becoming a totalitarian state. True totalitarian states, as stated in the introduction, the people are forced to support the government no matter what. While in charge his government restored national pride and provided jobs. The brutality and force of the government wasn’t hidden from the public but instead was accepted by most. The propaganda constantly told them that the strength and force of power was necessary and the majority of the German public either accepted it, were unaffected by it personally or were just too scared to object it. The Nazi party had stressed how important the virtues of obedience and loyalty are. The rights of the German nation came before the rights of an individual. In summation, the Nazis did not fully succeed in establishing a totalitarian state in Germany in the years 1933 and 1939. They did however come as close as they could get. They deterred any opposition parties from gaining momentum and also outlawed them. They promoted ideology constantly. They gained nearly all control of political, social/economic and cultural power in Germany. Total control is what a totalitarian state is. They were not considered a fully totalitarian state as they still relied on other countries providing them with certain raw materials and were exposed to outside economic influences. Also, the fact that Nazi Germanys own population actually supported the Nazi party and were not forced or coerced to also showed that the state was not strictly totalitarian as per the definition. Bibliography: The Holocaust A Guide for Teachers 1990 gary. [emailprotected] com) http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nazi_germany http://www. history. co. uk/explore-history/ww2/nazi-germany. html http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/Holocaust/naziregime. html http://alphahistory. com/nazigermany/ Dennett, Bruce. Nixon, Stephen. Key Features of Modern History. N. p. : Oxford UP, 2013. Print.

Time management and study habits free essay sample

Developing good time management skills and effective study habits are critical to your success in college not to mention your enjoyment of college life. Fortunately, working out a simple time management system and devising effective study strategies is less about gimmicks than it is about common sense. Follow these simple steps, and we can guarantee that youll be well on your way to a productive life in college. Get Organized and Stay Organized Getting organized and developing a simple system to stay that way are among your first orders of business when you get to college. The first thing you need to decide is what your organizational tool is going to be. For those of us who still love working on paper, it could be a twenty-four-hour day planner, or even something as simple as a desk calendar. For others, it may be a PDA. Whatever tool you choose, it will be the one place where you will record all your classes, meetings, assignments, exam dates, and paper deadlines. We will write a custom essay sample on Time management and study habits or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As soon as youve decided which classes youll be taking during your fall semester, its time to rip your course syllabi into this calendar. All your class meeting times go into the calendar, as do the due dates of all problem sets, lab reports, and other assignments. Dates of all quizzes, tests, midterms, term papers, and finals also go immediately into the calendar. Find Your Study Place On Campus It is time to decide where you plan to go to get your daily work done. And it shouldnt be your dorm room even if you live in a single. Why? Because there are way too many distractions in your dorm room. People will come to visit you or your roommates. You will be tempted to surf the Web, play computer games, download music, or just chill out. Your roommates, suitemates, or hallmates, who may be on a totally different schedule (or have a significantly different work ethic), may draw you into a conversation, a card game, or a television show, or convince you to go out for a drink, a bite to eat, or to do something else on campus. In short, your dorm room is where you should go to hang out and relax. It is not the place where you should try to study or get serious work done. So where should you go? Our advice is to find a quiet, out-of-the-way place on campus where you know you can be undisturbed. It is completely a matter of your personal preference, so seek out a place where you feel comfortable and empowered to do your best work. For me, it was a particular reading room tucked into the corner of the Yale library. It had little alcoves with comfortable leather chairs with side tables and individual reading lamps, and each alcove had its own window, which made it easy to regulate temperature and get fresh air. It was part of the main library, but isolated enough so as not to get a lot of foot traffic. Other than during reading period, when I usually retreated to a carrel on a high floor in the stacks (when I wanted to be completely undisturbed and unable to be found), I was a regular there on Sunday through Thursday nights. Make a Weekly To-Do List Speaking of the tasks at hand. . . Obviously, you need to know what those are. College presents you with two distinct challenges you probably didnt have to face in high school. The first is the amount of free time you have, and the long periods between the times you actually get graded on things (often just three or four exams, or sometimes just a midterm and a final). This situation makes it all too easy to become complacent and to put off until tomorrow (or even the day after tomorrow) the things you really ought to be doing today. The other challenge is the amount of reading youll have to do in college, which can become overwhelming if you fall too far behind. The way to manage these twin challenges is to try your best to keep on schedule. At most colleges and universities, some point on Sunday afternoon marks the end of the weekend (which often starts on Thursday night). We recommend that the first thing you do to ease into your new work week is to sit with each of your course syllabi and your calendar and plot out a to-do list for the week. Figure out what reading assignments you have for each class and when they are due; you need to make sure you complete these readings before the class meets, so that youll be able to understand, actively participate in, and enjoy the lecture. Next, do you have any problem sets or lab reports due this week? If you do, pencil these into your calendar for attention at least two days before they are duenot the night before. Trying to bang out an econ problem set or a chemistry lab report the night before it is due is just asking for trouble. If you cant figure something out (which will often happen), you end up scrambling around late at night trying to find someone who knows the answer or who can help youeither of which causes you undue stress and makes for a terrible start to the week. With an extra day to play with, though, you can handle these sticking points at any time during the next dayby talking to your friends or classmates about the problems youre having, or even going to visit your TA or the professor to ask questions if need be. Setting Realistic Daily Goals: An Example Lets go through an example of how you might look at a typical days schedule and tasks, and figure out how to set them up and get everything accomplished. Wednesday, October 15 9:30 -10:20 Chem 115 10:30 11:20 American Literature Noon (lunch with friend) 1:00 1:50 Poli Sci 110 4:00 7:00 JV soccer practice Chemistry problem set due Fri 10/17 75 pages of history reading for tomorrows lecture. Finish chemistry lab report (due tomorrow) 50 pages of psychology reading plus thinkpiece due for tomorrows lecture Meet Film Club members for 10 p. m.  study break to brainstorm ideas for festival Call Mike [friend from summer camp] Handle Your Reading Assignments If you’ve managed to get through the college admissions process, we’re confident that you’ve learned how to handle reading assignments—but you’re in college now, and as we’ve said, the reading load in college can be very different than what you were used to in high school. If you are not ready for it and don’t have a strategy in place for handling the volume, dealing with your reading can often feel like trying to drink from a fire hose. But fear not: handling college reading is not rocket science. It simply re ­quires an effective strategy and a commitment from you to follow through on it. If you’ve followed our advice so far, you will, on Sunday of every week, sketch out your schedule and your assignments for the week. This will help you determine where the big reading assignments for the week fall and how to break them up or otherwise plan to handle them effectively. Proper planning alone, though, is not enough to ensure effectiveness. First, we hope you’ve settled in to your â€Å"study place† where you have good light, a comfortable chair, and enough quiet and isolation to minimize distractions. The importance of this should be self-evident, as you are looking to get im ­mersed in what you are reading. People stopping by every five minutes to visit, or other distractions will obviously break your concentration, slow you down, and reduce the effectiveness of your session. Once you’ve settled in to start a reading assignment, though, there is more to handling it effectively than just plunging in and plowing through it. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at the course syllabus as a whole and then at the section containing the reading assignment you are about to begin. Pay special at ­tention to any titles, headings, or other descriptors that your professor has indicated on that section of the syllabus. Consider how your assignment for tonight fits in with what you’ve been doing and with where you are going in the next several lectures. What you are looking for here is a context for your reading, so that you’ll know specifically what to be thinking about as you read. Once you’ve done that, take a few minutes to flip through the section of the text ­book or course packet containing your reading assignment for the night, and get a sense of how it is organized. Scan the chapter titles and section headings to give yourself a framework for organizing the material as you read. Doing this will help you read actively, think critically about what you are reading, and better retain the subject matter. Once you’ve done this, go ahead and plunge in. Highlight, underline, or make margin notes in the textbook next to key points. Write any questions triggered by your reading in the margins as well, so you’ll remember to ask the professor about these points during or after lecture. If as you read you come across any words, terms, or concepts you do not understand, look them up in the glossary (if there is one), a dictionary, or another secondary source, and write the definitions or explanations right into the textbook so that they’ll be there if you need them again. Don’t simply read past them—doing so may significantly impede your understanding of the topic. Finally, force yourself to read actively. Don’t simply paint the text with a highlighter, thinking that you’ll come back to tease out the important ideas later. Think critically about what you are reading: force yourself to actively relate the subject matter you are covering to the most recent section heading or chapter title and then to the section on the course syllabus you reviewed before you began. If you find your mind wandering or if you find yourself just blindly reading words without thinking about them, stop. Dont Miss Classes If you attend the average college or university in this country and take the average course load, you are paying somewhere around $65 per lecture for your college education. If youre attending a top private university, the number is closer to $85 per lecture. Do you routinely go out in the street throwing away fistfuls of twenties? Because thats exactly what youre doing if you skip your class lectures. I dont care what anyone else tells you. You are always and I mean always better off going to your classes than you are skipping them. It doesnt matter how hung over you are or how dreadfully bad a lecturer your professor is. It doesnt matter that you havent started or finished the reading for the class, and it doesnt matter that you might be embarrassed by the professor if you get called on to participate and cannot. It doesnt matter that the class is small and you wont be able to hide the fact that you are unprepared. You must not skip classes unless you are really sick. There are so many good reasons for this, well have trouble covering them all in this section. But well try. The corollary to this rule is that you must also show up for class on time and not leave class early and the reasons for the corollary are the same as the ones for the general rule. Put It All Together The last trick about preparedness is finding the time to put everything together before the pressure of an exam strikes. Once youve completed a section of the syllabus, using your lecture notes as the guide, go back and backfill into your class notes relevant details from the readings, including any margin notes, underlines, or highlightsand if applicable, any particularly vexing problems highlighting difficult concepts from your problem sets. What youre looking to do is pull the readings and the lecture notes together into a single, cohesive outline. Once youve completed this consolidation, studying for tests, midterms, and finals is as simple as mastering this outline. A Word About Study Groups Although everyone masters material in different ways, it was our collective experience that college study groups frequently devolved into inefficient social or gossip sessions, rather than effective study sessions. As you have seen, our approach has been to make room for study and room for a rich and vibrant life in college. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule but to us, effective study in college is best done either in isolation or with a single study partner.