Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Why Its Time to Reform the Electoral College - 1553 Words

Why its time to reform the Electoral College Even though the Electoral college worked in the past it isn’t working for the present. The Electoral College was created to help elect a president. How that works is the 50 states are assigned so many voting representatives depending on population in that state. This worked in the past due to most states population was equal but in present times its not so some states have more of a say so in electing the president of The United States. Even though the Electoral College worked in the past, it needs to be change for the present and these reasons are; it gives bigger states more votes and is unfair to smaller states (Clayton) The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was dominated by political†¦show more content†¦There is a way however to keep the electoral college by just reforming it. In the state of Carolina the person running for president gets all the electoral votes for that state if they win the popular vote over all. Thi s is known as the â€Å"Winner takes all.† Now if all states where like this then it would make election more fair and gives the people more power to elect the president and politics would then actually work to try and win the popular vote instead of letting 6 states elect the leader of The United States of America. This why the Electoral College needs to go or be reformed. But some argue it needs to stay because it was made by the four fathers and was created for a reason and that reason was to help the people to be able to elect the president without really knowing the guy but more of on the lines, of who they were based on their speeches and what they stand for based on their speeches. The electoral college has been of great use of United States democracy since the ratification of the constitution. Since then there has been 50 presidents who have come and gone. The electoral college has failed on many occasions in electing the president of The United States. Four times to be exact and the last one happened at the 2000 election. Because of this many scholars has called for reform or abolishment of the Electoral College. But there are other scholarsShow MoreRelatedPresidential Election Process Of The United States1449 Words   |  6 Pagesoverwhelming and confusing. Firstly, how a citizen can be eligible to become a Presidential candidate? What are th e requirements or the qualifications that a person needs to be a candidate? With that in mind, the candidates get to sponsor for their electoral campaigns from what type of funds and from whom? People need to know the type of character that a candidate demonstrates. America has become very demanding. There are a lot of things that consume our lives and we are not giving enough importanceRead MoreWhat Is The Electoral College?846 Words   |  4 Pages What is the electoral college? For those of us who are just starting out to vote and for the ones that just don’t pay attention to how elections work, which is most of us. You will be surprised to know that you as a voter don’t vote for the President or Vice-President directly. At the polls, voters choose which candidate receives their state’s electors. Then, those electors are the ones that vote directly for President. The electoral college was established in 1787 and has been used ever since.Read MoreEssay about Electoral College vs. Popular Vote1451 Words   |  6 PagesElectoral College vs. Popular Vote When given this assignment I had no clue what topic I might choose. I waited and waited until the recent elections blew up in my face. This past election was a learning experience for me because I just turned 18. This was the first year I could ever vote and a weird election like this occurred. I noticed how many people were actually very disturbed with how Gore won the popular vote but will most likely lose the election only because he couldnt winRead MoreThe Electoral College Is A Unique System That Elects The President Of The United States Essay1538 Words   |  7 Pagescandidate you voted for lost by 1%. Your heart sinks as you realize all electoral votes for your state will go to the opposing candidate, and 48% of your population’s votes will be silenced. The Electoral College should no longer be used to elect the President of the United States, because it is an out dated method that makes the votes of the people diluted and unequally distributed across the country. To begin, the electoral college is a unique system that elects the president and vice president. WhenRead More Electoral College Essay1290 Words   |  6 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;With the surge of controversy surrounding the recent election, the United States has rekindled the Electoral College debate. However, this isn’t the first time that a tight election has resulted in unclear or contested results. Nor is it the first time the Electoral College has made a president out of the popular vote loser. In the over two hundred years since its construction, the Electoral College has demonstrated its shortcomings with more than its share of mishaps. Is this system a tribute toRead MoreThe United States Election Process Essay1121 Words   |  5 Pagesappears rotten. Which is what the freackanomics episode I listened to, â€Å"10 ways to make politics less rotten† was about. But how may know how the U.S election cycle actually works? The process can be quite complicate d and confusing at times. So it is understandable why many may not know how it works. Step 1: Requirements To run for President of The United States you must first meet the requirements set for in Article Two of the US Constitution. This Article states that to serve as PresidentRead MoreEssay Electoral College Reform1913 Words   |  8 PagesElectoral College Reform Since the fiasco that was the Presidential Election in the year 2000, many Americans have been calling for a reform of the Electoral College. Most of these people were Gore supporters; disillusioned by the fact that Bush won the office of the President while, in fact, he lost the popular vote. The American people did not elect George W. Bush; the Electoral College did. Last year’s circumstance was the first of its kind in over a century. There have been many closeRead MoreThe Electoral College Should No Longer Be A President Of The United States Essay2093 Words   |  9 PagesIt’s November 8th, and you are finally old enough to vote. You head to the nearest voting station and check the name of the person you think is most fit to be President of the United States. Heart filled with excitement, you put on your ‘I voted’ sticker and head home to watch the election unravel. Your state’s votes were finally counted, and the presidential candidate you voted for lost by 1%. Your heart sinks as you realize all electoral votes for your state will go to the opposing candidate, andRead MoreGovernment Procedures Occasionally Can Pressure People Liberties1388 Words   |  6 Pageswhen it comes to government issues. On July 18-20, 2014 CNN took a poll, which Interviewed 2,923 adult Americans conducted via telephone asking citiz ens. How much of the time do you think you can trust the government? Only13% of Americans say the government can be trustworthy that’s over three-quarters saying only some of the time plus one in 10% saying they never trusted the government. American have fixed privileges and accountabilities from the people they voted as legislatures, then to inspectRead MoreThe Electoral College Should Be Abolished2593 Words   |  11 Pagescurrent electoral system, including the underlying racist and sexist roots, voter inequality and other flaws that go against every true democratic principle. The only solution and the only way this country could be truly democratic is to abolish the Electoral College. The way a winner is found in most every level of professionalism (high school government elections, mayoral elections, even governor elections) is by counting the votes and the candidate with the most, wins. However, the Electoral College

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Essay On No Child Left Behind - 928 Words

No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a US Act of Congress. This law took effect in 2002. This had an impact on US public school classrooms. Through this law there were several effects in the way schools teaching their students. this also affected what tests the students had to take and the teachers training. This also addressed the way schools and their districts were going to spend their monetary funds. The goal of this act was to provide educators assistance in planning and implementing programs that were designed to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. Accountability, choice, flexibility, and methodology were the four pillars of reform in NCLB (Evesham, 2017). ESSA Every†¦show more content†¦Basically the principals. They are the ones who need to make sure that their specific school is making progress. If this does not happen, everyone’s job is pretty much in jeopardy. This can bring a lot of stress to the teachers now that they are implementing Common core. From my understanding, a lot of teachers are still learning about common core and they are struggling on how to properly teach it. Common Core Following, the Common Core State Standard initiative have greatly impacted curriculum in general. Starting from pre-k to high school. Common core has standards that have specific details on where the students should score on English language art and math at the end of each school year. Tram. The purpose of this initiative was because a lot of students who were graduating high school were not academically prepared for a 2 year or 4-year college program. A lot of students are still graduating high school and they are getting accepted into state universities with a 7th grade reading level. That pretty ridiculous. How do we expect our undergraduate freshman to graduate when they are not academically ready to read, write, or comprehend at a college level? The graduation retention rates have dramatically increase and you have more and more students not dropping out of college their first year of college. Therefore, I do see the good intent that was placedShow MoreRelatedNo Child Left Behin d Essay2629 Words   |  11 PagesNo Child Left Behind; Why we should rethink the current policy. Education was the focus of George W. Bush’s Presidential campaign in 2000. Using the improved Texas educational system as an example, President Bush promised to change education in America for the better. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was the result of his promise. Bringing reform to American Education, the NCLB is the topic of much controversyRead MoreNo Child Left Behind Essays1062 Words   |  5 Pages LITERATURE REVIEW Rushton talks about the funding for the No Child Left Behind is being held back if the students don’t do well on the standardized tests. So if the students don’t do well on the testing the teachers are being affected in the way of how much they are getting paid, also affects the school districts funding. This is encouraging the teachers not to teach the way they should, but they are teaching in the way of let’s just make the students do well on the standardized tests. In thisRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind776 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction One of main components of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is measuring school’s success by it graduation rate because of this enactment, schools are focused to ensure students graduate from high school (US Department of Education, n.d.). In the past, students who needed credit recovery attended summer school to try and recovery lost course credit. Today however, there are many software programs that now replace traditional summers school. Through online web based software, students canRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind840 Words   |  4 PagesNo Child Left Behind (NCLB) was produced to make 100% of students’ proficient by 2014. While the idea sounds perfect on paper, it is not the case when it is put into action. NCLB was replaced in 2015 and replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Many students did not use the resource effectively due to the fact that not all children have the same views and desires toward fulfilling their education career. This in turn makes it hard for the teachers to follow the education guidelines while alsoRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind719 Words   |  3 Pages Ever since President George W. Bush implemented the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act in 2002, states across the nation have developed a wide array of methods to keep education systems accountable. When identifying the role the NCLB has in America’s education systems, Professor of Educational Policy Studies a t the University of Arizona Jill Koyama determined that the NCLB act requires â€Å"†¦ states [to] implement accountability systems that assess students annually and, based on those assessments, determineRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind1055 Words   |  5 PagesWhat is over the top requirements? Per the extreme efforts of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 10TH AMENDMENT, Title I all has placed our nation at risk for complete failure. With over 98,817 operating schools in the United States alone, and 88,929 public schools, 66,646 of them are categorized as Title I schools. Some may think the accomplishments NCLB since it was put into place on January 8, 2002 by former President Bush has made tremendous leaps and bounds. When in fact the education reformRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind1333 Words   |  6 PagesHook: â€Å"I used to love teaching,† said Steve Eklund, a retired California teacher. â€Å"Four words drove me into retirement—No Child Left Behind. I could no longer tend to the needs and wants of my students. All I was supposed to do was to get them ready to take tests.† Intro (with thesis): The surviving NCLB mindset of standardized tests being an accurate measure of a students achievement is a problem because it affects our student’s education and increases performance pressure on teachers. WhatRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind1813 Words   |  8 PagesPriscilla Rojas English 1A Mrs. Santani 13 December 2017 No Child Left Behind There have been many efforts made by the U.S government to reform our public-school education system. In the year 2002, a law promoted by George W. Bush required public schools to provide demographics on each one of their students. With this system in place, it ensures that no child enrolled is neglected from this system. The No Child Left Behind law is a disadvantage to our public-school system. Even though this act wasRead MoreNo Child Left Behind Essay1378 Words   |  6 Pages Since its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has only made the divide in quality of education greater, and was ultimately detrimental to the American Education System. When President George Bush first proposed the NCLB, his intention was to level the playing field and provide an equally excellent education for every American student, what happened though, could not have been further from George Bush’s intentions. The whole basis of the NCLB is funding for performance, meaningRead MoreEssay On No Child Left Behind1132 Words   |  5 PagesNo Child Left Behind The American education system often conjures up images of classrooms, students and teachers. Yet it can also be a point of political contention. The educational system is complex and intended to encompass all students so they can further their education and essentially their futures. However, the real question is in its effectiveness. After all, if there is no way to show that students are actually learning, then it renders the idea of schooling moot. That is why education policy

Monday, December 9, 2019

Factors of Learning Leadership Pedagogy †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Factors of Learning Leadership Pedagogy. Answer: Introduction: Leadership is stated to be one of the important factors of learning that everybody needs to go through. It is something that according to me enhances a persons skill and quality and makes him understand what requires in being a true leader. It allows him to identify the traits that are important in being a leader. I was unaware of many facts related to leadership before I attended the lectures on the same. The common notion about leadership for me was to lead a team, command orders and rip the benefits of a skilled team. However, it is through the lectures in which I got to know that leadership is not only about leading a team but also his true ability in influencing them towards attaining a particular set of goals. There are so many sides to a leader and his ways of doing leadership, establishing relationship with others and getting the best out of them, even in adverse situations. The ways they initiate things, make choices and behave in specific manner are something that requires proper understanding of the ways leaders function. This was mainly about gaining an insight about the history of leadership and the ways it evolved over the years. I have seen so many films that depicted leadership during the times of the kings and the queens that use to illustrate the fact that leaders have always been the ones who lead from the from and are not hesitant in taking risks. I have also learnt that the potential leaders thrive under challenging situations where they get to showcase their skills and able to perform at their best level. I have heard people saying it is important to watch and learn, but then to watch and learn one should have the proper knowledge to understand exactly what is going on. This was probably the time I observed that I know so little about such a broad topic like leadership. Various forms of leadership and their styles, the way they function and the differences in the way they behave is something that amazed me. I even got to know the several aspects of the leadership that is significant in understanding the basics of leadership. We get to know so much about the different leaders existing in the world of business like Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Larry page of Google or for in that matter Howard Schultz of Starbucks. However, it is important to understand whether these leaders have been product-centric or people-centric. This is the time I was able to connect the leaders like Steve Jobs and Barack Obama whether them being transformational or transactional. It became easy for me to understand that Steve Jobs has been transformational for his passion to drive for perfection, challenging his employees in thinking beyond the normal thought. Bill gates, the computer tycoon and the billionaire philanthropist has been a transactional leader which I found out after understanding the different traits a transactional leader should have. He is influential, strict and a confrontational taskmaster driving a high-stress environment for work. I had one mis-concept about leadership that it is only possible when someone is holding a stronger position. However, through the lectures I got to reveal that leadership is not about any position but a fiduciary calling. Not everytime, it is the position that brings out the leadership qualities within you, but the zeal to do something good for others or the community at large is what identifies a true leader. Another thing that I misinterpreted is the fact that leadership takes place only hierarchically in the organization, which is not what it is actually. Big organizations have it at different levels. After coming to terms with the different styles and forms of leadership, I try and identify myself as the kind of leader I am or I could be in future. I understand the fact that communications, motivation along with accommodation are essential features of a leader and those leaders are being termed as transformational. My strengths generally leads to the intellectual leadership character and my apprehension for the people indicates towards a stronger transformational style of leadership. I have tried and reviewed my style of leadership in the school days. I was more of people who avoided conflict through the process of communicating with the others and tried understanding their objectives, issues and associate them accordingly with the goal of the team. For avoiding conflict on various occasions by the process of accommodation and compromise, I at times forfeited the job at hand along with the mission. Since the initiation of this program, I have tried and improve on my ability of re solving conflicts and not accommodating until the situation demands it. My own observation has been that I am being more effective in the charismatic style of leadership. From the time of initiation till the end, I have tried and maintained a balanced advancement in taking care of the task along with the people. I am capable enough in convincing people for completion of the task by the process of motivating them through the process of appeal and affinity. This course has enabled me to understand that learning does not stop at any point of time. It is through this course that I have learned that leaders need to be organized; they need to set bigger visions instead of small ones for a shorter period of time. During the initial days of being a leader, people tend to struggle with lack of confidence and the organizational skills. Another issue that crops up is keeping the daily plan focused on the task. During school days, I used to take my time for granted, not setting vision for my future purpose and thinking of doing too many things in a shorter period of time. Now I understand that is not the right way to go about things. I started realizing that being organized is the foremost thing that budding leaders should do. It is not all the time that I would be thinking like others, but there is a place for me too in the world. I have understood the fact that individuals are being motivated by several stimuli. Some are being motivated by the intrinsic requirements and some of the others by the extrinsic ones. My general belief has been that great leaders are in the habit of taking their time in intimately knowing his elements and learning the things that motivates each of his subordinates. During one of my surveys in one of the organization there was a role play where I was given the opportunity to be the leader and I asked all the employees the things that motivates them the most and keeps them driving for better results. The answers to my question were all different, though surprisingly no one mentioned about the factor of more money. There was one lady who was suffering from breast cancer, I was eager to know what actually motivates her in striving for regular perfection. I have always been amazed by the things we learn about ourselves at the time of making difficult decisions. During the course of this study, I have been learning a lot of things about leadership. For instance, I have constantly had the predisposition of taking firm control of a situation, however, I have not always been conscious of the way it might impact others. For example, when being assigned with a group project, I might jump in and take out the lions share. Some of the group members do welcome this as they have to take less burden, while others might feel offended and at times undervalued too. The reflection has helped me in making a mental note of self in backing off a bit when I sense the urge in taking over the projects. As a leader, I would always prefer to take a neat along with orderly advancement of solving issues. Even during group presentations and other team works, I take into account the strengths of various individuals and position them accordingly for them to perform optimally. I try and approach conflict with diplomacy and try to see changeable perspectives while trying to determine the conflict. Interacting with others is one of the important things that good leaders do from time to time. I too am focusing on this factor in solving the issues and respect the numerous perspectives that others have been bringing to association. Assertiveness is an attribute that I have liked from my school days, being direct with the individuals or the groups when the situation calls for insolence. Under the present circumstances, I am aware of the interconnectedness existing within the organizations and be predisposed in planning and thinking ahead in anticipating the issues and devise plans accordingly. During him internship, the employees I interacted with have told me that they have found it easy and comfortable in sharing things with me and that I have been a good listener, something a good leader needs to have. Irrespective of my position I tried to understand the issues they face at workplace. As I have grown up and become matured, I have become much detail oriented. I try and focus on details and be critical of the others work and indulge them in suggesting something if they find issues in mine too. During my younger days, it was sometimes very difficult to temper my thoughts and control my emotions and notice that I was being critical at times. Over the due course of time, I have worked conscientiously in overcoming the debilitation and have perceived big strides and developments. I have noticed that at times I become way too passionate about my work and if I am being criticized for something at that point of time, I take that too much to heart. For being able to gain the required perspective, I need to work diligently in taking criticism profitably and use it for my own benefit when it comes to certain projects that I am working on. And for the factor of being overly critical or complex at times, I have focused on working in taking criticism constructively and now I am much better at that than I was during my younger days. It can be concluded that I aspire to improve on a regular basis and never give up under any circumstances. The foundations of who I want to be as a leader has already been laid and the fundamentals are being positioned accordingly. The focus for me is to regularly fine tune my leadership skills and enhance it as per the industry standards. During the course of this study it was important to reflect on the things that I was coming to terms with, something that I knew and something which I was learning for the first time. Bibliography: Clarke, S. (2016). School leadership in turbulent times and the value of negative capability.Professional Development in Education Fairhurst, G. T., Connaughton, S. L. (2014). Leadership: A communicative perspective.Leadership,10(1), 7-35. Glauser, M., Holland, D. (2016). The Leadership Traits Shared by Successful Entrepreneurs.Entrepreneur Innovation Exchange. Nahavandi, A. (2016).The Art and Science of Leadership -Global Edition. Pearson. Nichols, A. L. (2016). What do people desire in their leaders? The effect of leadership experience on desired leadership traits.Leadership Organization Development Journal,37(5), 658-671. Patterson, E. (2015). What are leaders experiences of reflection?What leaders and leadership developers need to know from the findings of an exploratory research study.Reflective Practice,16(5), 636-651. Pendakur, V., Furr, S. C. (2016). Critical Leadership Pedagogy: Engaging Power, Identity, and Culture in Leadership Education for College Students of Color.New Directions for Higher Education,2016(174), 45-55. Ryan, J. C., Tipu, S. A. (2013). Leadership effects on innovation propensity: A two-factor full range leadership model.Journal of Business Research,66(10), 2116-2129.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Mattel Case free essay sample

By July 1997, the company had decided to build a wholly owned manufacturing facility in the Guangzhou region of southern China, starting production in 1999. The Asian currency crisis that ensued later that fall had reopened the build decision. It was now the beginning of March 1998 and all of the original options were once again under debate. While in the US, Ron had met with his boss Joe Gandolfo, President of Worldwide Manufacturing Operations and learned that he would be reassigned within the next month to oversee die-cast car operations. An ex-lawyer who had lived and worked in Hong Kong for nearly fifteen years, Montalto was a Senior Vice President and had been responsible for companys Vendor Operations Asia division (VOA) which managed Mattels outsourced production. Mattel began the vendor operation program in 1988 hoping to add flexibility to the companys traditional in-house manufacturing. Montalto had spent the last ten years developing VOA into one of Mattels most valuable strategic assets. We will write a custom essay sample on Mattel Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In 1997 it was responsible for manufacturing products that generated nearly 25% of the toy companys total revenue. The Tyco merger resulted in VOA manufacturing products that generated an additional $350 million in revenues for the Mattel organization. The majority of those revenues came from a combination of Tyccfs Matchbox die-cast cars, its line of radio-controlled (RC) cars, its View [emailprotected] series nd products from its Sesame Street license. With demand for This case was written by M. Eric Johnson and Tom Clock. It is written for class discussion and not to illustrate effective or ineffective management practices. Some names and facts have been changed. 0 2002 Trustees of Dartmouth College. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact the Tuck School of Business at 603-646-3176. 2. Mattel, Inc. no. 1-0013 Matchbox cars at 64 million units in 1997 and growing, die-cast capacity concerned Montalto the most. Tyco manufactured the cars through Joint- venture arrangements in Shanghai and Bangkok. Both of the Joint ventures were minority share partnerships which raised questions for Mattel in the future. Whats more, the quality of Matchbox products had been eroding for years and was manufacturing plants were becoming obsolete. Though it might be possible to upgrade the existing Tyco operation in Bangkok, Mattel saw little hope of expanding the Shanghai operation. Mattel owned a state-of-the-art die-cast facility that was operating at full capacity in Penang Malaysia (see Exhibit 1). Expanding that facility significantly beyond its 1997 volume of 120M cars would be expensive and omplicated. There was no room for further building on the site and no available land adjacent to the plant. The proposed China facility would solve the capacity problems. However with the financial storm sweeping through Asia, some executives inside Mattel argued that they should reconsider building a new plant in Malaysia to concentrate die-cast production in a single country. Others felt that they should consider Indonesia as a way to take advantage of low labor costs and very attractive exchange rates. Mattel currently operated a plant in Indonesia that produced [emailprotected] dolls. Montalto had to decide whether Mattel should go forward with the new China plant, build a plant in Malaysia or Indonesia, expand one of the existing facilities, or outsource the surplus die-cast volume through VOA. Company Background Based in California, Mattel, Inc designed, manufactured, and marketed a broad variety of toy products. The companys core product lines included Barbie fashion dolls, Hot Wheels die- cast toy vehicles, Cabbage Patch Kids, Fisher-Price preschool toys, and Disney toys. Most of these toys were made overseas, primarily in southeast Asia. Mattel had wholly owned manufacturing facilities in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, and Italy. Mattel was founded in 1944 by Elliot and Ruth Handler. Neither Elliot nor Ruth had much business experience or capital, but they both had dreams. The post World War II demographics of a huge baby boom plus a virtually toyless marketplace provided a unique opportunity to gain a place in a growing toy market. Mattels first products, simple picture frames and doll house furniture, met with mixed success. The first really big hit was a music box. By partnering with another toy inventor, they developed a music box that could be mass-produced, dramatically reducing its cost. The product went on to sell more than 50 million units over the next 20 years. By 1955, annual sales reached $5 million and the Handlers decided to take a gamble that would forever change the toy business. In what seemed at the time a risky investment, the Handlers signed a 52 week contract with ABC Television to sponsor a 15-minute segment of Walt Disneys Mickey Mouse Club at a cost of $500,000 a sum equal to Mattels net worth at the time. Up until this move, most toy manufacturers relied on retailers to promote their products. Prior advertising occurred only around the holiday season. The popular daily kids show made the Mattel brand well known Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth 2 3. Mattel, Inc. no. 1-0013 among the viewing audience, translating quickly into sales. The success of the Handlers pact with kids TV started a marketing revolution in the toy industry. Mattel made toy industry history again in 1959 with the introduction of Barbie. Ruth Handler got the idea for the toy after watching her daughter play with adult looking paper dolls. In spite of the cool reception to the Handlers teenage fashion doll at the 1959 New York Toy Fair, the early sales quickly signaled a winning roduct. With the success of Barbie, Mattel made its first public stock offering and by 1963 was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In the next two years Mattels sales model cars in 1968 was another spectacular success making Mattel the worlds largest toy company by the end of the decade. Unfortunately, the Handlers good fortune in the toy industry was quickly tarnished. Plagued by operational problems including a fire in their Mexican plant and shipping strikes that interrupted the flow of goods from Asia, Mattels growth stumbled. In 1973, Mattel was caught issuing misleading financial reports. The SEC filed charges against the Handlers and a federal Judge ordered Mattel to restructure the board, forcing the Handlers out. Under a new management team, Mattel regained profitability and started diversifying into other childrens products including publishing and entertainment. At first the acquisitions looked promising, but poor performance during the 1980s forced Mattel to divest of many at steep losses. By 1987, Mattel had fallen into even deeper trouble with heavy losses in video games. The stock had lost two-thirds of its value since 1982, forcing the board to appoint a new chairman John Amerman, who had Joined he company in 1980 as head of Mattels international division. Amerman charted a new strategy for Mattel, closing 40% of the companys manufacturing capacity, including plants in California, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Most important, Amerman focused the company on its core brands such as Barbie and Hot Wheels, and by making selective investments in the development of new toys. The Barbie line was expanded to include approximately 50 different dolls per year with many new accessory items. A promotional campaign built around Barbies 30th birthday in 1989 propelled her onto the cover of Smithsonian Magazine, confirming her status as a rue American icon. The Barbie make-over was so effective that from 1987 to 1992 sales shot up from $430 million to nearly $1 billion, accounting for more than half of the companys $1. 85 billion in sales. At that time, Mattel estimated that 95% of all girls in the United States aged 3 to 11 owned Barbie dolls. In 1991, a strengthened strategic alliance with The Walt Disney Company allowed Mattel to expand its development of Disney toys. Mattel negotiated the exclusive rights to sell dolls, stuffed characters, and preschool toys based upon such movie classics as the Lion King, The Hunch Back of Notre Dame, and Hercules.