潔米品課 ⋈: 「交換學生Day113」- 完成了最後一份essay: The Failure of Blockbuster

我覺得我不知道要用這樣的開頭多少遍，對我今天又睡過頭了...原因大概是因為昨天晚上想說把最後一份essay拼完，結果拼完的時間大約五點五十一左右..

還天真的以為睡六個小時的我就會醒，殊不知就算調了一堆鬧鐘醒來的時間依舊是一點半，好吧我錯過了writing center.一直很depressed的躺到兩點半才肯起床，原因是因為三點有演講課，而且是最後一堂，或許該慶幸自己還有記得趕上最後一堂，殊不知到教室之後發現一個人也沒有，摁好吧，想必是停課了，於是又摸摸鼻子正打算離開時，想到可以去問問writing center晚一點有沒有時間幫我修作文，結果剛好五點鐘有，所以就默默的先回房間想說吃點東西休息一下順便準備晚上管理學的presentation。後來五點鐘就去修修文章然後晚上接著就是管理學的最後一堂課。

上次忘了把那一篇也附上來所以今天就附個兩篇作文吧！

Jamie Lee

Professor Nolan

College writing 105

26 November 2013

The Failure of Blockbuster

Popularity of the Internet has created numerous new markets. Companies such as Apple seized the chance to develop the music business online for a lower price than independent record stores and driving them to near-extinction. A similar fate has fallen upon the video rental shops. In retrospect, it seems obvious that the practice of driving to a store to rent a movie to watch at home was preordained to extinction. Blockbuster, a fixture of many American neighborhoods for twenty-five years, is the main victim. The owner of the company states that the store will all but disappear in coming months. As the quote says, where there is smoke, there is fire, which is true for Blockbuster’s failure. Many factors overtime caused the sequence of events that eventually lead to the bankruptcy of the company.

A family nowadays owns at least one computer/laptop at home, which they can watch movies on. The rapid rise of the Internet provides people a way to watch movies online instead of renting them from stores. Netflix is a company that uses little more than a website and knowledge of the postal service to topple a far more powerful and wealthy rival. It has successfully bridged the gap between traditional delivery methods, and the emerging ways of streaming movies and TV shows online. Netflix uses a new method to meet the demand of consumers such as offering movies through the television, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Blockbuster was always two steps behind Netflix because it never had any of their own ideas. Though Blockbuster had done these efforts to save the situation, still, it was too slow in mirroring all of the great ideas that Netflix had.

A changing market paved the way for the failure of Blockbuster. The increasingly competitive industry conditions under which Blockbuster operates has negatively impacted the results of operations and cash flows, and may continue to in the future. Not only Netflix but also Outerwall Inc.'s Redbox shared the size of Blockbuster traditional store-based customer market. Redbox is a self-service movie rental company. The Redbox machines are everywhere. The customer goes to the machine, picks their movie, enters their credit card, and rents any movie for ninety-nine cents per night. Cable companies have also increased their on-demand options in recent years. Competitors' original ideas continuously stimulated Blockbuster to make changes, but the company just duplicated other's concepts. This did not work for Blockbuster because it was not their own design. Blockbuster could not compete with the alternative movie sources.

The company could not compete in good customer service either. Blockbuster tried to copy Netflix’s online movie rental business, but it failed due to its terrible customer service for the online movie rentals. (Ryan, Guina. "Blockbuster vs. Netflix – Best Service for Movies.") In 1997, a man named Reed Hastings returned a late copy of "Apollo 13" to his local Blockbuster. He was assessed a $40 fee. (Ernie, Smith."Blockbuster's failre: not neccesary a show-stopper for rental.") Blockbuster was known for their exorbitant late fees. If a customer brought a movie in late, Blockbuster would charge them for each day the movie was late. The fees would grow and grow. To make matters worse, Blockbuster did not care what the customer had to say. Blockbuster was busy becoming a huge business and forgot about the customers who helped them rise to the top. Competitors such as Netflix and Redbox mostly develop into virtual stores, which undercut Blockbuster completely by sending movies through the mail and eventually through video on demand without extortionate charges of late return. Customers are willing to get the same service with a lower price. Compared to the other two rental retailers, the fees of Blockbuster's rental and membership is much higher.

Although Blockbuster made various endeavors to diversify its business such as starting other channels of distribution to customers, they proved to be too little, too late. (Martin, Peers. "Bye-bye for Blockbuster.") Besides, the profit cannot compensate for the declining revenue from the reduced traffic within its traditional channel. Blockbuster is outdated when it comes to video rental. The chain's dominance began to erode as DVDs replaced videocassettes, allowing rivals that rent DVDs online to emerge. They are a failure in many aspects of their business and have fallen and cannot get up. Blockbuster has made so many mistakes over the past half dozen years and lost hoards of customers to Netflix and Redbox. The company has fallen so far that they are unable to save their business.

Works Cited

Ernie, Smith. "Blockbuster's failre: not neccesary a show-stopper for rental." Associationsnow. 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://associationsnow.com/2013/11/blockbusters-failure-not-necessarily-a-show-stopper-for-rentals/>

Martin, Peers. "Bye-bye for Blockbuster." Wall Street Journal 7 Nov. 2013:B1. Print.

Ryan, Guina. "Blockbuster vs. Netflix – Best Service for Movies." cashmoneylife.com. cashmoneylife.com, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://cashmoneylife.com/blockbuster-vs-netflix-review>

Stephen, Gandel. "How Blockbuster Failed at Failing." Time Magazine. 17 Oct. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2022624,00.html>

Todd, Davis. "A Blockbuster Failure: How an Outdated Business

Model Destroyed a Giant." University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. 1 Apr. 2013:1-5. Print.

Jamie Lee

Professor Nolan

College writing 105

10 December 2013

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday

This year, after celebrating Thanksgiving dinner with families, people are considering whether to sleep at night or go out to line up for Black Friday sales. There are two big sales during November, one of which is Black Friday (the day following Thanksgiving), and the other is Cyber Monday (three days after Black Friday). Holiday shoppers are all looking for the same thing on both days: to buy a new coat, a television, or even a new iPhone 5s? They may be buying these hot items, but what they really want to find this holiday season is the best deal. That deal could come after the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday, the weekend before Cyber Monday, or the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although both Black Friday and Cyber Monday have discounts, the way to purchase items is relatively different. The question many consumers are asking themselves is: which way is better for them to get a great harvest?

Every holiday season, it seems like the same story: chaotic, violent scenes at shopping malls pop up during the Thanksgiving-Black Friday weekend as reliably as overhyped deals from retailers. In Chicago, police shot an alleged shoplifter; a robber shot a shopper in Las Vegas; and a California police officer was injured in a fight. ("Black Friday Shopping in US Marred by Violence." BBC News. BBC, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.) On Black Friday, consumers risk their lives to purchase products in crowd. In order to get a great deal, people may need to spend lots of time standing in long lines before the store opens. Long lines usually start to form on Thursday, as department and retail stores open overnight with major deals that go straight into Friday. (HAUSER, CHRISTINE. "The Spectacle and Sales of Black Friday." New York Times. 29 Nov 2013, n. pag. Print.) Cyber Monday, however, offers a calmer alternative to the biggest shopping day of the year by giving consumers the ability to save on shopping right from the comfort of their own homes. Consumers just need to take some time to click their mouses and browse the websites and then they can get what they want. Although it may take some time loading the websites or waiting for shipping, compared to the time people spend on lining up and the security issue, it provides an easier, faster, and safer way for purchasers to buy things at a great price.

Despite the fact that buyers pay time and the risk of injury for going shopping on Black Friday, it still has some advantages compared to Cyber Monday. For many shoppers, the thrill of the shopping experience is their favorite part, such as bringing friends and maybe even camping out overnight to be the first in line. Because they participate in person, customers can actually see items that they are buying, that is, measuring it, trying it on, and seeing if they like the color or not. Seeing and touching the merchandise physically can make sure it is what they really want instead of buying something wrong and need to return purchases by mail. Also, they may have more choices because not everything that is on sale on Black Friday will be available on Cyber Monday. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that doing Cyber Monday shopping may be the lesser option. For a store, Black Friday may offer more items on sale, but Cyber Monday definitely provides online shoppers more choices because they can go to as many websites as they want to shop. With just a few clicks, consumers can easily compare prices by visiting competing retailers online to find the lowest price.

In order to get items at the best price, there are some rules that shopaholics can follow. The best things to buy on Black Friday are technical things, such as laptops, computers, storage (hard drive, USB flash drive, and memory card deals). On average, Black Friday boasted about 62% more computer deals and nearly 85% more storage deals than Cyber Monday. On the other hand, Cyber Monday is the best day to purchase clothing and shoes. There are about 45% more clothing deals and 50% more shoe deals on Cyber Monday than on Black Friday. (BONEBRIGHT, MARCY . "How Deals Will Differ on Thanksgiving vs. Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday."Dealnews. N.p., 27 Nov 2013. Web. 9 Dec 2013.) The best day for shoppers to get their harvest depends on what they are going to buy.

In conclusion, which shopping day is the best? The answer may depend on the consumer's unique personality and shopping style, but each brings its own distinct benefits and downsides. The common thing is that people can get great deals on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Moreover, bargains may be limited in quantity and sold to early-bird shoppers. Though Black Friday has long been considered the official holiday to kick start the Christmas shopping season, Cyber Monday is quickly taking the lead in this digital age. Every consumer's shopping decision may come down to personal preference this holiday season. Therefore, there is no winner between Black Friday and Cyber Monday; the winner differs from different shopaholics.

Work Cited

"Black Friday Shopping in US Marred by Violence." BBC News. BBC, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.

BONEBRIGHT, MARCY . "How Deals Will Differ on Thanksgiving vs. Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday."Dealnews. N.p., 27 Nov 2013. Web. 9 Dec 2013.

HAUSER, CHRISTINE. "The Spectacle and Sales of Black Friday." New York Times. 29 Nov 2013, n. pag. Print.

Tuttle, Brad. "Calm Black Friday: Only 1 Death, 15 Injuries Attributed to Big Shopping Day Read more: Calm Black Friday: Only 1 Death, 15 Injuries Attributed to Big Shopping Day." TIME Business & Money. 02 Dec 2013: n. page. Print.

熱騰騰的字有點多所以不想看就跳過吧ＸＤ

說一說今天晚上的manager interview presentation吧，當然主要不是我，因為我發現根據這三週看下來，蠻多學生都是回家訪問自己的家長，蠻多家長都是教授要不然就是事業有成的經理人之類的，讓我想到以前在道明的時候，我高一待的是自然組，一般有六十個人大概一半以上的家長全部都是醫生...然後高二轉去社會組變成幾乎一半以上的家長都是管理階層的人...好吧或許這就是私立學校的魅力吧，我記得我以前在五福的時候還不曾這麼覺得，而上了高中之後發現身邊的人都好有錢，大概就是私立跟公立學校間的差別吧。

還有我每次在Denaples Center看大家刷卡進去使用meal plan時也有這種感覺...一個學期要六萬台幣的meal plan，雖然有流動現金可以花啦可是這金額乍聽之下真的很龐大耶，但或許我自己買東西來煮也差不多..（？）

晚上回到宿舍超級餓就想要來煮飯，雖然還是很想吃泡麵快速解決一下可是就覺得最近一直吃韓國泡麵也不是辦法就決定煮一下咖哩飯好了，每次煮完食物都好有成就感哦～

稍為簡單裝飾一下

完成了明天要交的essay之後剩下的就是明天早上的public speaking final exam跟禮拜四要交的行銷paper了，因為明早的那考試全部都是選擇題，而且老師有給一些題庫，所以就想說稍微看一下，結果發現題庫就真的是題庫沒有答案..要自己翻書找，然後因為書是我跟蔡昇祐合租的所以書在他那邊，就過去他那裡一起讀一起找答案，因為明天的那科好像是有點大會考的概念，所有修public speaking的人不管哪個老師都一起考這樣，兩個人一起查資料的速度快多了也簡單多了，為了避免明天起不來所以今天就稍微早了一點睡，大概三點吧哈哈哈哈哈。

突然整理到桌面的一些可愛小照片，是之前視訊截下來的，大概是上禮拜週末的事情。