...A Gap Year: Weighing the Pros and Cons By Michelle Knoll on August 1, 2012 Are you considering taking a year off from school? If so, you are not alone. Gap years, as they have come to be known, are becoming increasingly popular, as well as highly debated. Supporters say it can provide students clarity and give them an edge when returning to school. Opponents say it can be unproductive and actually make it harder for students to return to the classroom. Regardless which side of the debate you are on, one thing both sides agree on is a gap year needs to be well thought out and thoroughly planned with set goals. What is a Gap Year? Simply put, a gap year is a break from education. It can be taken at any time, but most often occurs after graduating high school and before starting college. Gap years are not always a year. They can span in length from a few weeks to a year. Why Take a Gap Year? Students take a gap year for a number of reasons. Some are just academically burnt out and need a break. Some are unsure of which direction or career path they want to pursue. Others want to travel, study abroad, volunteer and do things they may not necessarily have time for later in life. Still others take a year off to work and save up money in order to afford college. The Cons of a Gap Year Gap year opponents fear once students leave the educational setting and get a taste of the ‘real world’, they may never want to go back to the stress, structure and rigor of academic...
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...The Gap Year The “gap year” has been a common rite of passage in many foreign countries for decades, but it has now started to gain significant steam here in America as told by Danielle Wood, a parent from Today’s Parenting. This leads to many questions that parents and students want answered, such as: “Is the “gap year” a good or bad consideration?” “Will this decision put me behind?” “Does this stop me from ever going to college?” “Will I ever get my college degree?” All of these questions have can be answered yes and no, all depending on the person and their determination. Some people argue that a gap year is not a good idea, however; others say it is a great idea and every student should consider taking one. However, as I mentioned in my thesis, it all depends on how each individual indulges in the activities that help them to become better prepared for the transition. A gap year does not mean that your child will NEVER go to college or ever get a college degree. It is merely time taken out to plan out what exactly they want to do in college and experience life in the real world. During this time off the student and parents should take time to complete college applications and decide on what major and school environment is right for them. Still this does not mean that every parent is in agreement with this gap year. Most parents do agree that after twelve years of consistency in school, a student may need to take a break, whereas; others say that a student should continue...
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...Are Gap Year Programs Beneficial? There is mounting support for the so- called “Gap Year / Bridge Year Programs”. Articles from USA Today reveals the programs are supported by Ivy League Colleges. Among the list is Princeton University, which is the leading supporter, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other prestigious universities which also follow suit. In my opinion, this so-called gap-year is not something that 17 and 18 year old should not participate in. They should be encouraged to continue their education without interruption. I do not favor the idea of a year off (gap-year) from college. My major concerns would be matters of finance, health care, and living conditions. Recently in the year of 2013, USA Today speaks about these programs are preferably for well-to-do students. Their parent(s) may not be able to support the student financially or just chose not to help. Even though it’s their child, normalcy must continue at home. I found no emphasis on how the students would endure financially, although in part some reading did suggest gapers (gap students) received room and board and an hourly salary of just over $6.00. Many of us teach our children how to budget their money based on how we have. Suddenly trying to teach them how to for living abroad is a different animal, knowing how important a financial plan is for self preservation, it is the foundation for organizing you daily life. Getting sick in a region without a solid health care...
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...Students and the Gap Year For my parents, college was a sure thing. After high school, we prepare for college, and then we prepare for life. The breaks in between, like summer break, should be enough rest relaxation. But what about the students not prepared for college or just need a break and take one? Do those students do just as well as the ones that went from high school straight to college? There are certain paths we can take, but no matter how parents feel about this matter, they need to have an open mind. Before we look at articles about the gap year, I’d like to specify what exactly a gap year is; a gap year is should not, in any way, be a procrastination technique. A gap year is for students that help renew focus on school and academics, take a break from the homework and tests students had to endure from first grade to high school, and lastly, find their place in this world. Switching majors or just dropping out is too expensive for parents. Whether it is travelling the world and volunteering or being at home and taking on a job, a gap year brings a sense of responsibility. It can also be educational and students become well-rounded with real world experiences. While already somewhat of a trend in Australia and the United Kingdom, the gap year has recently started in the United States. . For many graduates, burned out from four (or more) years of intense study, taking a year to do something less pressured can be a hugely positive experience with great...
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...university. It is the common way for young people in this period but in some countries, they are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. It can bring the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this. First, we will discuss its advantages. When they work or travel, they have a good chance to change the atmosphere. When they go out for working they will have many skills that no school or experience before can bring to. They can also discover their potential skills, which they are good at and which they do not have or not good at, then try to improve them. By working, they can find what they need, they want and what they want to become, things that may be they do not know clearly when they have just left high school. By developing skills in working, they will have experiences, communicative skill, team-working skill and many others useful skills. Then, they can choose to continue working or start university. While many young people go out for working, others spend this gap year to travel. They will have a wonderful time in many places. They can learn about history, culture and even new language if they go abroad. When they travel, they can see many people and maybe, they will find opportunity for their future career. After all, traveling and working in this gap year may bring them many chances and skills before starting university. On the other hand, it may bring them some disadvantages. Their...
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...fill in the Gaps,” Ben Parker is a sophomore in college who experienced an academic turnaround. “Burned out by his senior year of high school from pressure to get into a competitive college, he quit his lacrosse team and let his grades slip.” He deferred his admission to the University of Iowa and enrolled in the National Outdoor Leadership School, a wilderness skills-training program. “He took a semester in Nepal studying language, living in a rural village and climbing in the Himalayas.” He gained the ability to enjoy hard challenges and stated, “By the time I got back to school, I was ready to be in school.” An increasing amount of students are taking a year off after graduating high school, known as a gap year. The article, “Should Your Student Consider Taking a Gap Year Before Starting College?,” states, “A gap year, sometimes called a year out, or year off, or bridging year, is a transition year, usually between high school and college, when the student takes time to do something else.” Many students believe that college is the next step when graduating high school, but taking a gap year is becoming a growing trend. High school students should take a year off before entering college because they will be motivated to return to school, because they will gain new skills, and because they will have time to decide on a career interest. Taking a gap year reignites one sense of curiosity for learning. Many students choose to take a break from the regular twelve year education to...
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...“The Future of Gap” Jocelyn Bridgett Columbia College Gap Inc. is a large retail company that operates outlet stores which sell casual apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily conducted its business through four business divisions: Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and others (Wheelen & Hunger 2010, p.21-3). A resource must have five qualities to be seen as contributing to competitive advantage: it must be valuable, durable, rare, difficult to imitate and complex. That is, the resource must be valuable in that it contributes to the value perceived by the customer. It must also be durable, meaning that it is not temporary. It must be rare as well; many other companies should not possess this competitive resource. As Gap growth started to plummet the manager came up with something new such as: Gapkids, babygap, and then discount stores. Gap had a method wearing khakis and blue shirt. However, it was easy to replicate therefore Gap found themselves competing with other retailer’s such as Target and Khol’s at the time. Now-a-days there are several stores duplicating Gap’s same image of the khakis and blue shirt. The Exchange where I am employed is now going to the khakis and blue shirt as well starting May 15, 2012. Capabilities Old Navy capabilities incorporated plus sizes for women which help boost their sales. Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic were able to expand their target market by offering their clothing etc. online as well...
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...SPANISH FASHION BRAND ZARA Carmen Lopez Ying Fan Brunel Business School Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (2009), 13:2, 279-296 INTRODUCTION Zara is one of the world’s most successful fashion retailers operating in 59 countries. However, there is little research about the firm in English as the majority of publications have been written in Spanish. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by examining the internationalisation process of Zara. This study adopts an in-depth case approach based on extensive secondary research. Literature published in both English and Spanish has been reviewed, including company documents such as annual reports. The paper starts with a brief overview of the global textile and clothing industry, followed by the case study of Zara. The main part of the case examines the key aspects in the internationalisation of Zara namely: motives for internationalisation, market selection, entry strategies, and international marketing strategies. In the final section, comparisons are made between Zara and two of its main competitors, H&M and Gap. The global textile and clothing industry The removal of all import quotas in the textile and clothing industry from January 2005, involving the unrestricted access of all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the European, American and Canadian markets is considered a key driving force in the development of the clothing sector (Keenan, et al., 2004). This new scenario has created opportunities...
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...Assignment Questions for Case 11 Gap 1. What does a five-forces analysis reveal about the strength of competition in the U.S. family clothing stores industry? 2. What factors are critical to success in the U.S. family clothing stores industry? 3. Develop a competitive strength assessment of the four major competitors in the U.S. family clothing stores industry using the methodology presented in Chapter 4. Based on the results, who is in the strongest overall competitive position? Who is in the weakest position? 4. What is Gap Inc.’s strategy? Which of the five generic competitive strategies discussed in Chapter 5 most closely fi t the competitive approach that Gap is taking? What type of competitive advantage is Gap trying to achieve? 5. What does a SWOT analysis of Gap reveal about the overall attractiveness of its situation? 6. What is your overall appraisal of Gap’s financial performance? (Use the financial ratios in Table 4.1 on pages 94-96 of the text as a guide in doing your financial analysis.) 7. What recommendations would you make to Gap senior management to improve upon its turnaround strategy? What actions are necessary to restore the competitiveness of its core Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands? Hints: You can use a five force model like this one below . And a weighed Key Success Factor/Strength Measure | Importance/Weight | Gap Inc. | TJX Companies | Ross Stores | Abercrombie& Fitch | American Eagle Outfitters | | | Rating ...
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...Chelsie Rangeloff Sara Tangdall English Comp II 30 April 2014 Gap Year: The Beneficial Alternative “I thought it would be exciting to go there, and of course it was.” Alexander Sullivan was accepted into Columbia University, but instead of transitioning into the university out-right he asked to differ enrollment. Alexander, instead, decided to travel to China where he studied Mandarin, and after a while found a job as a research assistant at the Newsweek Beijing bureau and at Voice of America radio news. (Hulstrand 52). A gap year as explained by Holly Bull, the founder and president of the Center for Interim Programs (CIP), one of the first and longest running providers of gap year programs in the country, is “a period of time for students to creatively step away from the lock-step path of high school to college, to graduate school, or job” (77). Enrolling in college immediately after high school graduation is not always the right decision for seniors that are lacking motivation and unsure what to academically pursue in post secondary education. Acknowledging that not every high school senior has to continue their education without delay after high school is a concept that advisors as well as parents need to understand. They should provide possibilities for those students whom lack motivation to continue their educational paths immediately after graduation. Many high school seniors feel pressured to start college immediately after graduating because sending in college...
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...Zara vs. GAP Inc. American GAP and Spanish ZARA Abstract We are going to compare two super giant clothing retail companies of the world in this thesis. These two giants are dominating apparel retailing market nowadays with their simple and attractive with high level quality of clothes. We will try two analyze working culture, business performance and history, competition and geographic dominance of two clothing retailer giants. Years before two small stores opened and they succeed to dominate market with their modern style and different business doing. • Zara has already changed the fashion industry. - Business Insider Zara is most #58 biggest brand in the world according to Forbes. • America's largest apparel retailer is embarking on a turnaround plan to recapture cool customers. - Business Insider Gap inc is #745 Gap biggest brand in the worlds according to Forbes Zara shops followed swiftly in New York in 1989, Paris in 1990. Now the group has nearly 3,900 stores in 70 countries around the world. Gap has 3,100 stores globally and employs about 150,000 people. A Gap spokeswoman declined to comment on the loss of the top spot to Zara. Let's check analyses of these two giants with full provided information. Firstly take brief tour to their history and about founders. Brief History of Brands Fashion giant, Zara, forms part of the retail group ‘Grupo Inditex’ which Mintel (2007) acknowledges as one of the “largest, fastest growing...
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...Gap Inc. in 2010: Is the turnaround strategy working? Gap Inc. is a leading international specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies. Gap owned and operated more than 3,100 Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy stores world wide in 2010. With stores located in the U.S, UK, Canada, France, Japan and Germany, Gap Inc. employees nearly 165,000 employees world wide. Since 2002 Gap Inc. has been a number of issues including the declining sales of the family clothing store industry. During this time many turnaround strategies have been implemented in the attempt to eliminate long term debt, redesign the companies online presence, create a new e-commerce platform, expensing internationally and improving quality, styling and overall image. Through this adoption since 2002, the market share and sales of Gap Inc. have still decreased and the brand image has also taken a hit. An Internal analysis shows that even though sales have decreased, Gaps financial performance has strengthened year on year. Gap’s Liquidity, leverage and profitability have shown a stead increase that has helped the company maintain a stronger business situation than competitors throughout the recession. A SWOT analysis of Gaps Inc.’s internal structure shows strengths in net profit margins, a strong franchising model and the reinstatement of their strong brand image. Weaknesses include high levels of competition, large amount of substitutable...
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...FINANCIAL MARKET: Assignment 3 14 octobre 2013 Alberto de Arriba Meriem Berrada Master of Finance Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Marcos Lain Lianna Petrosyan Scolar Year 2013-2014 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction The main aim of this third assignment is to compare between the evolution of spread and depth using two dierent ways to assemble stocks in portfolios. 1.1 Data We have one month of data concerning 40 rms quoted in stock Exchange per minute. For each stock, for each day, we have a detailed amount of messages, detph for ask and bid and the volume traded. AA ADBE AMAT AMZN BHI BRCM CELG COST CTSH DIS EBAY GE GILD GOOG HON INTC KMB MMM PFE PNC 1.2 Instructions Alcoa Adobe System Applied Material Amazone.com Baker Hughes Inc Broadcom Celgene Costco Wholesale Cognizant Technology Walt Disney Ebay General Electric Gilead Sciences, Inc Google Honeywell International Intel Corp Kimberly-Clark 3M Corp P zer Pnc Finance AAPL AGN AMGN AXP BIIB CB CMCSA CSCO DELL DOW ESRX GENDZ GLW GPS HPQ ISRB KR MOS PG SWIN Apple Inc Allergan Inc Amgen Inc American Express Co Biogen Idec Inc Chubb Comcast Cisco Dell Dow Chemical Express Scripts Holding Corning inc Gap inc Hewlett-Packard intuitive surgical Kroger Mosaic Corp Procter and Gamble Southwestern Energy Construct 4 equally portfolios with the average of message by stock as criteria. Plot the graphs reprensenting the spread, depths, messages and volume for these portfolios. Construct 4 equally...
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...SPANISH FASHION BRAND ZARA Carmen Lopez Ying Fan Brunel Business School Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (2009), 13:2, 279-296 INTRODUCTION Zara is one of the world’s most successful fashion retailers operating in 59 countries. However, there is little research about the firm in English as the majority of publications have been written in Spanish. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by examining the internationalisation process of Zara. This study adopts an in-depth case approach based on extensive secondary research. Literature published in both English and Spanish has been reviewed, including company documents such as annual reports. The paper starts with a brief overview of the global textile and clothing industry, followed by the case study of Zara. The main part of the case examines the key aspects in the internationalisation of Zara namely: motives for internationalisation, market selection, entry strategies, and international marketing strategies. In the final section, comparisons are made between Zara and two of its main competitors, H&M and Gap. The global textile and clothing industry The removal of all import quotas in the textile and clothing industry from January 2005, involving the unrestricted access of all members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the European, American and Canadian markets is considered a key driving force in the development of the clothing sector (Keenan, et al., 2004). This new scenario has created opportunities...
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...Gap before higher education. Good or Bad? Not every student graduating from high school wants to go to college. Some decide to directly enrol into college or university, while the others opt for a gap of a year prior to enrolling in higher education. The time period between high school graduation and arrival at college can be the result of several factors, including deferred admission at a student's college of choice or purposely taking a gap year to prepare for the next step of formal education. The argument arises when the students prefer taking gap to explore the world & to find some field they are interested in and when the parents worry about their children getting off track regarding higher education. Traditionally gap years are seen as time out to travel between school and university, to learn life experiences and broaden horizons. It is not unusual for a student to hesitate to pack bags before heading off to college right away. They might want to take a year off before going to college. Taking a gap year is also linked to higher motivation in college. While many students take a year off to earn money for tuition, programs involving international travel or service work are more common among affluent students or those from competitive high schools, where pressure to get good grades and gain admission to a leading college is most intense. Burnout from the competitive pressure of high school and a desire "to find out more about themselves," are the top two reasons students...
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