Operations Management assignment Essay

Supply chain management is the coordination of the processes and functions within a business, adopted by most companies in the UK in the late 1990’s. It deals with the internal and external factors that, when dealt with correctly and systematically, can determine a businesses success or failure. A supply chain is the network of activities that delivers a finished product service to the customer. By definition, supply chain management (SCM) is â€Å"the management of the flows of materials from suppliers to customers in order to reduce overall cost and increase responsiveness to the customers† (Reid & Sanders). SCM entails the co-ordination of the movement of good through the supply chain from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to the final customer. The main aim of SCM is to maximise the efficiency of any given process being carried out by a company; by doing this it is allowing them to try to cut their costs and hopefully keep satisfying their customers’ needs, while at the same time maintaining their competitive position within their market. Supply chain management is seen as more of an â€Å"open system† in contrast to the traditional system used by the majority of companies just 20 years ago. The new â€Å"open system† allows room for change which is greatly needed with the current financial instability of the economy. SCM has evolved over the years and has moulded to suit the ever changing economy. First adopted by the Japanese, in the form of Geba Kai (A meeting of the minds), the now commonly found process is used by a vast amount of companies in the UK. Nowadays, SCM within a business is responsible for a product from when it’s in its raw state to when it’s a finished product, ready for consumption by customers. The chain management that Comfort Company PLC currently uses is a very traditional system, otherwise known as a â€Å"closed system†. This type of management system isolates itself from the other components in the supply chain and therefore only has communication flowing through the companies own system, this is a negative attribute as it prevents the company from getting important and influential information about the state of the other links in their supply chain. When the dynamics of change happened, it forced the breakthrough of a new approach, the â€Å"open system†. The â€Å"open system† made companies a lot more open to operational change and as a result of this it made several managers, whose companies used the closed, more traditional system, view the new approach as a loss of power; this consequently made a lot of companies resist against the change. The new and more flexible â€Å"open system† was adopted firstly by the Japanese in the form of â€Å"Geba Kai†, they were closely flowed by the British who quickly followed them in adopting it. There are still some nations that, even now, rigidly stick to their old ways and use the â€Å"closed system†, two examples of these nations are the Americans and the Germans. Along with the list of positives the company will gain by changing from a traditional chain system to a more formal supply chain management (SCM) system, there are also a few strategic reasons why a company should change to the newer system, reasons that will help them to stay on par with the other business’ within their industry and within the whole business sector. One of these reasons is globalisation. As stated in â€Å"Operations management: Along the supply chain†, Two thirds of today’s businesses operate globally through global markets, global operations, global financing, and global supply chains†. Globalisation means that British companies, such as Comfort Company PLC are going to have to be prepared to compete in markets that are foreign to them and also have foreign competition within their own domestic markets. Companies that adopt, or have already adopted, a formal supply chain management system will have an advantage upon those who havenâ€⠄¢t and will be able to benefit from globalisation. There are many benefits a company would gain from introducing a formal supply chain management system, all fulfilling the wish to supply the customer with good quality products that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† posses, while at the same time giving them an opportunity to maximise their customer satisfaction, manage their supply chain effectively and allow flexibility to their supply chain. By maximising customer satisfaction, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could asses how well they are meeting their customers needs, while at the same receiving an indication of how well the business is doing in comparison with their competition; both in their market and foreign markets. Having a flexible supply chain would mean that the company would be able to react to change in demand quickly to ensure that they level the demand to their output, this would save them a lot of time, waste and resources if a freak change in demand was to happen. If â€Å"Comfort company plc† did not adopt the formal supply chain management system they would be at risk of loosing a lot of money if an unforeseeable change was to happen, this would give them a disadvantage upon the competition and would lower their competitive advantage. Effective management of a supply chain could open up opportunities for â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to improve many aspects of their production, and potentially save themselves a lot of money. By identifying the unnecessary waste along the supply chain, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could make the process an easier, cheaper and quicker one for themselves and other links in their supply chain; this would make the chain more productive, co nsequently making the finished product â€Å"better value†. One of the main advantages of a formal supply chain management system, and an excellent attribute a company can have, is an advantage upon your competitors. Defined, competitive advantage is â€Å"an advantage over competition gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices†(Tutor2u.net, 2011). The type of competitive advantages a company such as â€Å"Comfort Company plc† would achieve from a formal SCM system are advantages such as lower costs and operational flexibility. As there are numerous ways of gaining a competitive advantage, the company in question needs to do some research into their market to see how it could be done, they could research the ways in which their successful competition operate and try to adopt some of their approaches. A good example of a company using its formal SCM system to achieve a good competitive advantage is Dell Computer Corporation. â€Å"Quick delivery of customised computers at prices 10-15 percent lower than the industry standard is Dell’s competitive advantage. A customised Dell computer can be en route to the customer within thirty-six hours. This quick response allows Dell to reduce its inventory level to approximately thirteen days of supply. Dell achieves this in part through its warehousing plan. Most of the components Dell uses are warehoused within fifteen minute travel time to an assembly point. Dell does not order components at its Austin, Texas, facility; instead, suppliers restock warehouses as needed, and Dell is only billed for items only after they are shipped. The result is better value for the customer† (Reid & Sanders). There are a few ways â€Å"Comfort Company plc† can gain competitive advantage within their market, such as using tools like business to business (B2B) e-commerce, or adopting one of Dells results gaining approaches and making sure that there components and raw materials for making the products are located a short travel time away from the place of assembly. Being situated on the Crewe Gates industrial park, where many other businesses, some similar to â€Å"Comfort Company plc† no doubt, are situated, there’s sure to be some way that they could find a supplier closer. If this was to succeed they could create a good, strong relationship with the suppliers and build a barrier of trust and communication, this would be a perfect scenario to ensure the links in the supply chain are strong, as the supply chain is â€Å"only as weak and its weakest link† and vice versa. A business to business (B2B) e-commerce is when companies sell to other business, it is the largest segment of e-commerce. If â€Å"Comfort Company plc† were to use business to business (B2B) e-commerce, they could gain potential benefits such as: †¢Lower procurement administrative costs, †¢Better quality because if increased cooperation of between buyers and sellers, especially during the product design and development, †¢Low-cost access to global suppliers, †¢Lower inventory investment due to price transparency and reduced response times (R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders) The reasons/advantages stated above for changing from a traditional chain system to a formal supply chain management system are in fact more than just small advantages â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could gain, but necessary changed that need to be made if they want to survive the current economical crisis and still have customers/revenue at the end of it. With globalisation growing and the need to satisfy the customers becoming more apparent and diverse, the formal supply chain management system is a necessary system that every business, no matter how small or large, should put into place. The formal SCM system will allow â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to integrate their information systems with their suppliers and customers in an effort to meet their goals and objective while still at the same time doing this in a cost-saving way. With every new system brought into a company, there is the risk of it creating a few problems within the company; this makes the need of a contingency plan much higher. There are a few risks that come along with implementing such a big change to a business so set in its ways like â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, a main one being the possible lack of cooperation from the workforce or managers. When change happens in a workplace the employees can feel threatened and scared and will sometimes rebel against the new change, this could be avoided if the company took a few simple procedures to ensure the workforce are happy with the new system. They should tell the workforce about the new operational plan and get their feedback on it, this will make them feel involved in the change and will hopefully make them feel less alienated. Also, they should sit them down and explain the needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into the company, and the benefits it would gain by doing so, if they feel it would be benefiting the company, they should feel happier about the change going on. Furthermore, if both of the steps are carried out correctly, it could make them more motivated towards their job as they will feel involved in the company and will hopefully want it to succeed. Another risk of the formal supply chain management system is the potential loss of jobs within the company; this will be because some members of staff will not be needed as a go between for information between suppliers and so on. The redundancies in the company could possibly cause bad feeling between the workforce and the new system and could de-motivate them, possibly leading to a decrease in the effort put in by the workforce; this could potentially lead to a product being of a lower quality. Also, the possible redundancies made will be a negative factor for the economy as there will be a few more unemployed people in the country; this is one of the only major downfalls of the introduction of the formal SCM system. However, there may be members of staff who are close to retirement and could benefit from voluntary redundancy and the benefits that go with it. A negative of that would be that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† may loose some of their staff with the most experience and expertise, potentially making them train up current members of staff to the same quality as the members of staff who left. However, the operations management team at â€Å"Comfort Company plc† will have to put contingency plans in place that cover all of the possible risks, and ways to reduce the risks from happening. There are many needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, and many advantages it would gain by doing so. While there are also some risks involved, the advantages and needs outweigh them massively as they could potentially provide â€Å"Comfort Company plc† with a competitive advantage, while at the same time reducing their costs and use of resources. Like the traditional chain system currently adopted by â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, the new, more up to date formal supply chain management system will fulfil their wish to supply the customer with good quality products while at the same time saving them resources and money, making them more profitable. The introduction of a formal supply chain management (SCM) system is necessary and â€Å"Comfort Company plc† should definitely strongly consider it. References: †¢Operations Management: An integrated approach (2007) (3rd edition) R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders. Pages 16, 98-105 †¢Operations Management: Along the supply chain (6h edition) Russell & Taylor. Page 9. †¢Tutur2u.net (2011) Competitive advantage (WWW) Available from: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm

Nurse-patient ratio

Nurse-patient ratio laws are state mandates requiring hospitals to keep to a maximum sealing limit of the ratio of nurses to patients. At the moment, states that have yet to apply any nurse-patient ratio limits typically charge each of their nurses the care of at least 6 nurses and even as high as 8 to 10 (Churchouse, 2002). Barnes-Jewish hospital for example has a ratio of 1 nurse to 10 patients (St. Louis, 2004). California's Assembly Bill 394 is one of the forerunning legislations that mandated the regulation of nurse-patient ratios across hospitals. This bill had been largely contested by hospital lobbyists who are now bartering with state officials on the most flexible regulations that could be imposed. While nursing associations and nursing labor unions all over the country are proposing the ideal 1:2 ratio, hospital management firmly claim this to be impossible. In some other states such as Illinois, staging progression procedures have been introduced as a viable means to improve nurse-patient ratios over a period of 5-10 years (Bartolomeo, 2001). Since after the Second World War, the problem of increasing nurse-patient ratios have begun to accrue. By the mid-80s the pressing need for more nurses became even more drastic when the academe saw a decline in the local demand for the profession. This eventually led hospitals to searching for nurses abroad which continued to persist to the present day. However, outsourcing the nurse supply was also coupled by hospital management cutbacks on staffing which still resulted to poor nurse-patient ratios. Hospitals also allegedly implemented management regulations preventing nursing staff from discussing and objecting to nurse-patient hospital policies. However by the late 90s, nursing unions have begun to seek help from media institutions, local communities, and contract negotiators to help them bargain less congested working conditions with hospital management. This led the nursing unions to asking help from their respective state governments. Finally in January of 2002, California’s AB 394 mandated the issue of staffing ratios in hospitals throughout the state, but this victory of the nursing unions was short-lived as hospital management immediately bargained with legislators for staffing ratios that were most advantageous for them. While nursing organizations persisted with a 1:2 to a 1:4 ratio, hospital lobbyists led by the California Healthcare Association, a consortium of 500 hospitals insisted that the acceptable nurse-patient ratio could be no less than 1:6. Currently, one of the country’s largest Health Management Organizations, Kaiser Permanente broke away from the bulk of institutions opposed to lower nurse-patient ratios and advocated a 1:4 ratio that it currently implements in its facilities. Kaiser discussed further ways of lowering the ratio with nursing unions and agreed to have the approved recommendations of such discussions implemented on all Kaiser owned establishments (Bartolomeo, 2001). Current working conditions lead nurses into compromising situations wherein their work suffers because of the immense number of tasks that they have to do all at once. While some hospitals implement â€Å"fair† policies that allow nurses enough room to breathe in their work, a lot more hospitals and health care organizations are run by profit oriented groups whose main concern includes minimizing costs. What’s worse is that since health care in various parts of the country has been transformed into a corporate affair between gigantic businesses who buy health care plans from HMOs who sell them, competition has become a matter of who can provide the better corporate deal over who can provide better hospital service. Since the patients don’t have much choice with respect to which health care deals their employer will take, this rules out quality by competition from ushering hospitals to make nurse-patient ratio improvements on their own. Thus, a state mandated regulation is the only way to force these hospitals to provide an appropriate working environment for their nurses. There are several controversial aspects to the legislation of nurse-patient ratio regulation. One popular controversy is the actual capability of today’s supply of nurses to fill in the vacancies that would be created by such legislation. The Illinois Hospital Association contends that current nursing programs of the state are not viable to handle the demand for the number of nurses required to maintain the ratios mandated by laws like California’s AB394. Another criticism is insensitivity of a rigid nurse-patient ratio to patient’s individual medical differences. Critics also point out differences between hospitals, resources and even nursing units which could be blurred out in the implementation of a state mandate indiscriminately throughout all hospitals. I believe that hospital policies at the moment are more profit-oriented than health oriented. It is this slippery slope that leads to understaffing and overly high nurse-patient ratios. However, I also think that an inflexible legislation on nurse-patient ratios would do little to solve the problem. Nurses from different units are very different and there needs to be more extensive needs analysis studies conducted before a proper legislative action could be taken. Therefore while I am in favor of state legislation in order to curb inherent profit-oriented biases of hospital management, I am not in favor of haphazardly implementing one at the moment without considering factors forwarded by institutions like the Illinois Hospital Association. Like I said, I believe that while the California legislation is a victory for the labor rights of nurses in the state, it does not ensure an increase in nursing quality. I would consider the act positive with respect to labor rights but neutral with respect to patient care. Extensive scrutiny should be placed on the issues that arose after the legislation such as the differences among hospitals, resources, and nursing units. References: Churchouse, C. (2002). Senate Community Affairs References Committee Inquiry Into Nursing. Retrieved: July 19, 2007 from: http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:uQtMh4POYlUJ:www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/nursing/submissions/sub04.doc+current+nurse-patient+ratio;hl=tl;ct=clnk;cd=3;gl=ph Bartolomeo, C. (2001). â€Å"Mandated staffing ratios: Health care professionals see the benefits and pitfalls.† Journal of the American Federation of Teachers. Vol. 30 Issue 2. P.114-118. Barnes-Jewish Hospital seeks to lower nurse-patient ratio. Retrieved July 19, 2007 from St. Louis Business Journal Website: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2004/11/29/daily50.html ;

One Lonely Evening Essay

Do Sunflowers have a faster grow faster when watered with clean drinking water from the tap or with rain water collected outside? Hypothesis If both plants receive the same amount of water each day, then the plants receiving rain water would have a faster growth rate. This is rain water has more nutrients in it then regular drinking water. These nutrients would make the sunflowers grow at a faster rate than the sunflowers with regular water. Variables Independent: the type of water, either clean drinking water from the tap. Dependent: the growth of the sunflower. Control: Each plant will receive the same amount of water as any other. Also the plant will receive the same amount of sunlight as each other, lastly the plants will be measured and water at the same time every day. Control of Variables The way that the variables will be controlled are the plants will receive the same amount of water ( ¼ cup daily). This is to insure that they receive a proper amount for the plant to survive. The amount of light that the plants will obtain will be from the sun. The plants are to be placed in the same window to receive the same amount of lights (preferably a bay window). The plants will be measured the same time daily and also watered the same time daily so that there is no confusion that the plants could have had more growth time one day. Also, the plants will be measured with the same ruler every time they are measured to ensure the measurements are equal. Materials The materials needed for this biology lab are: * 10 sunflower seeds per type of water (total of 20) * 20 separate planters * A ruler (for measurement) * Two  ¼ cup for watering the plants * Source of rain water * Source of clan drinking water * Light source, the sun * Soil | Ruler ¼ Cup of waterSunflowerSunflower seedSoilPlanter| Method For starting the lab first place the even amount of soil into the 20 planters. After the planters are equally filled with soil dig a hole in the center of the each planter, 3 cm deep. Place the seeds into the holes that were just dug in the planters, and separate the planters into 10 rain water planters and 10 drinking water planters. When lining the planters up place the planters every other so that they will receive the same amount of light and one not the other receives more than the other (ex. Rain, Tap, Rain, Tap†¦). Be sure to place the planters to a window that receives a large amount of natural light. After the lab is all set up then the plants are to be watered with  ¼ cup every day at the same time daily (a good amount for them so they are not over watered). The seeds will take time to germinate; they should be checked every day. The measuring is to be started after the sunflowers have broken through the soil and are showing above the soil. For the lab the plants are to be measured everyday at 7pm for the growth from the previous day. After the Experiment has gone for 31 days, look at the results and calculate the average for each of the days and also calculate the standard deviations. Conclusion The following experiment supported my hypothesis of sunflowers watered with rain water will grown faster than those watered with clean drinking water from a tap. This is shown in the data I have collected; it is shown when you compare the average heights of the sunflowers during the trials. The average height of the sunflowers being watered in rain water was higher than the flowers being watered in tap water the last day the average height for the flowers watered with rain water was 19.28 cm while the flowers being watered with tap water was only 13.59. Another indication is that the error bars that are shown on the graph are not as large in the rain water as they are in the tap water and also the rain water flowers heights where closer to one  another than the flowers being watered in tap water. The flowers being watered with rain water broke the soil earlier and had a much more rapid increase in height than the flowers watered in the tap water. With all this evidence, it is clear that the experiment supported my hypothesis and rain water allows plants to grow faster than regular clean drinking water. Evaluation Evaluating Errors One of the errors is that the length of time that this experiment was conducted in. The experiment was conducted in 31 days; this amount of time was too short because it takes on average for sunflowers to germinate from7-14 days. This length of time is valuable time that is being wasted from the waiting for the flower to geminate. Another error that can be spotted in the experiment is the lighting. This experiment was done in the month of December. This month has one of the shortest day light hours which created some problems with how fast the plants grew because of the lack of light that they have received. Improvements One improvement in that can be made in my experiment is how the plants were watered. They were all watered with a  ¼ measuring cup, but it is hard to have precisely  ¼ cup for each plant. This can be better measured with a larger cup that has the labelling of  ¼ cup on it. This improvement will allow the water to be measured more precise and will allow equal measuring to each plant. The temperature of the water is another improvement that can be obtained in this experiment. The water that was given to the plants during the 31 day duration was not measured for temperature. The temperature of the water can help the plant with its growing. The way that this can be fixed is prior to watering the plants be sure to measure the temperature so that the temperature is always the same and there is no flexibility in the temperature of the water. Last improvement that could be made to allow the experiment to be more precise and accurate is for the collection of more data to occur. The way that this improvement could be placed into the experiment is by either extending the length of time of which the collection of data is recorded, another option would be to collect the data twice daily to allow more measurements to be recorded.

Evaluation of External Envoirment and Business Etnics. Apple Assignment

Evaluation of External Envoirment and Business Etnics. Apple Corporation - Assignment Example PESTEL analysis is used for the external environment analysis here. Moreover, the marketing strategies for the firm to be adopted if they want to invest in these markets are examined with the help of Ansoff matrix. Recommendations regarding the appropriateness of investment in both markets by Apple Corporation are made based on the analysis here. This essay consists of the following sections. Section 2 discusses the results of PESTEL analysis for these two nations. Section 3 discusses the recommendations based on the analysis and the marketing strategies to be adopted by the firm for investment using Ansoff matrix. Section 4 concludes the essay. PEST analysis means the analysis of Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors that assess the strategic decisions of a company (Oxford University, 1998;Bennet,1999).This analysis is also called STEP analysis(Peng and Nunes,2007).PESTEL Analysis is an updated form of PEST analysis which includes analysis of Environmental and Legislative factors also. This analysis is very important in assessing the external environment factors affecting an organization.... EST analysis means the analysis of Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors that assess the strategic decisions of a company (Oxford University, 1998;Bennet,1999).This analysis is also called STEP analysis(Peng and Nunes,2007).PESTEL Analysis is an updated form of PEST analysis which includes analysis of Environmental and Legislative factors also. This analysis is very important in assessing the external environment factors affecting an organization. Here the PESTEL analysis of both Brazil and China are done to examine the most appropriate destination for investment by Apple Corporation. The analysis of Political, Economic, Social and Technological, legal and environmental factors that assess the strategic decisions of a company are examined in both the cases. 2.1. PESTEL Analysis China Political Factors China has a stable political system with only one party ie Communist party (Cui, 2009). In the recent years, however, China has reported a trend towards democrati c form of government while Communist party still remain the single party here without any change (Price Water House Coopers, 2005). This stable political system is an important factor conducive for international investment in China (Word Press, 2011).The political environment for international investors is very favourable in China due to the various incentives provided by the government in spite of the complexity of norms for the new investors. Reports show a preferential treatment towards foreign invested enterprises since 1979 by Chinese government (Tian, 2007). Approval procedure is complicated while after getting approval, it is easy there (Word Press, 2011). Economic Factors A very good indicator of the strength of Chinese economy is its GDP of 10.1 percent which shows the continuous

The essay for Modules: Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Organisation Design and Organisation Delivery - Research Paper Example The mechanization of mental labor has been initiated during the late 20th century with the development of information technology. The mechanization of mental labor can be described as the process of replacement of human labor and intelligence with the assistance of the information technology and computerized processes (Kuskey, 2014). Mental labor can also be termed as informational labor which can be recognized both as an independent activity as well as an adjunct to obtain physical control over different organizational work environment. According to Shieber, (2013), with the assistance of machinery, human labors can perform a wide range of actions as well as can create a number of innovative product and processes which might have been absolutely impossible without the assistance of the mechanization and technologies. The mechanization of mental labor has enabled different industries and organizations of the 21st century to increase the efficiencies of their operations and human reso urces while it has reduced or replaced the mental labor of a huge part of the workforces (Levy and Murnane, 2012). The organization is a life insurance service providing company which is situated in Chengdu, China (Lu, et al., 2014). In further discussion, I will also evaluate my experiences in terms of the distinctions between the mechanized processes and human mental labor. The discussion of the study will detail the different types of human mental labor which can or cannot be mechanized. Finally, it will discuss the strategic distribution of mental labor within the machine process and the human labor of the organization. Data warehousing and data mining are the most used mechanization procedure that I have encountered in the everyday life of the marketing and sales division of Great Wall Life Insurance Company that has been reduced as well as have replaced the mental labor of the workforces within the organization.  Ã‚  

Administrative Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Administrative Law - Essay Example etical case of Jen who has been refused GM-Free accreditation licence by the WA Minister for Primary Industries Therefore, the arguments herein present the tenets of procedural fairness in relation to an appeal to review administrative decision which has purportedly denied the applicant the expected due PF in line with the prevailing legislation.2 In its chronology, this paper looks at the basis of power and evidence used by the decision maker to arrive at the resolution in question. On the other hand, the discussion hereafter considers the legal facts as to whether Jen can effectively invoke denial of PF success in a judicial review of the Minister’s decision. Primarily, the legal framework of administrative law provides that an applicant must have been aggrieved by an executive decision for which a judicial review is being sought (Halliday, 2004: 146). Moreover, the Commonwealth Law allows the aggrieved individual to seek judicial review of an administrative decision that has perpetually compromised his personal interest as distinguished by Edley (1992:139) in the case of FAI Insurance; Blyth District Hospital Inc v South Australian Health Commission.3 In the case presented before us, Jen applied to the WA Ministry of Primary Industries for accreditation as a GM-Free canola grower in line with the requirements of the WA Genetically Modified-Free Grain Security and Accreditation Act 2006. Unfortunately, the Minister denied her accreditation on grounds that her property was deficient of the provisions of Section 10 of the aforementioned Act hereinafter referred to as the Act. In arriving at the decision, the Minister instituted Section 5 assessment as well as subsequent Section 12 inspection to ascertain the integrity of Jen’s property as read with the Ministerial Policy to safeguard the public interest against GMO contamination. Prior to Jen’s application, there was a prevailing Ministerial Policy advising against GM-Free accreditation for growers

The EasyJet strategic management process Assignment

The EasyJet strategic management process - Assignment Example Strategic management is a major aspect that cannot be overlooked in order to attain the objectives in any given company. Being undertaken by top level managers, this paper covers the three essential stages involved in strategic management. These include strategic analysis, strategy formulation and strategy implementation. During the strategic analysis process, firms make appropriate choices that act as guidelines during the next stages This paper covers the strategies that EasyJet Airline, a British based firm has adopted thus making it to attain a competitive edge in the airline industry. This paper depicts selection of the best courses of action as the key aspect during the strategy formulation process. Similar to the use of environmental scanning tools including PESTEL and SWOT in the strategic analysis, managers in EasyJet among other local and international companies also use the tools during strategy formulation. The third stage covered by this paper is the strategy implementat ion. During this stage, organizations translate the plans as set in the previous stages into actions that are focused at attaining the objectives. Strategic Management Process 1.0 Introduction Strategic management entails analyzing the primary initiatives that are undertaken by firm’s top level managers on behalf of other stakeholders including the shareholders and employees among others. Some of the notable initiatives that are involved in the strategic analysis include evaluation of firm’s internal and external environments as well as monitoring the use of resources within a company. Additionally, it entails establishing the vision and the mission of an organization, objectives as well as developing policies that are geared towards achieving the set objectives. In order to ensure that the roles of strategic management are effectively attained, it is imperative for managers to maintain a balanced score card. This is a tool that is used to evaluate the entire performan ce of an organization and its progress towards achieving the goals as outlined by the top level management team. As local and international firms engage in investing in their resources including workers to meet the stiff competition in the market, strategic management has been one of the issues that have not been overlooked (Kotler and Kevin, 2009). One of the major companies that have embarked on adopting of strategic management policies is EasyJet Airline Company. EasyJet Airline Company is a Britain based airline company that enjoys more than 600 routes in 30 countries. Being headquartered in London, the company employs more than 8,000 employees who are responsible for spearheading its services in the international market. EasyJet was established and launched in 1995 by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a renowned businessman. In the airline industry, EasyJet has acquired a competitive edge based on its effective marketing strategies that involves providing prioritizing safety and strong tea m work that ensures the company policies are attained. It is vital to note that the company has achieved key positions in major markets that include London Stansted, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Rome Fiumicino, London Gatwick, London Southend and London Luton among others. Another aspect that has made the company to attain a competitive position is the acquisition of rival companies. In this way, the company capital base and marketing strategies have been boosted to a significant level. Some of the notable firms that EasyJet has acquired include TEA Basle, London Stansted-based Go, GB Airways among others. This paper will discuss the three major processes of strategic management that includes strategic analysis, strategy formulation and strategy implementation in relation to the EasyJet Airline

Managment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Managment - Case Study Example All the meetings had a detailed agenda given to each member before the meeting (Nick at some point even jokes that he had not been given an agenda beforehand), the meeting would normally begin and end at the precise time (pg 20) they had been planned to end, and members of the executive at Decision Tech felt there was simply no enough time for engaging in meaningful debates as the time available was not enough (pg 47). Some of the behavioral norms established at Decision Tech by the executive team before Kathryn took over include: dependence, self-consciousness, superficiality, ignoring disagreements, not talking about misgivings, avoiding the consideration of what is considered a disturbing idea, feeling invulnerable, rationalizing threats away, discrediting of disconfirming information etc. Kathryn had noted that the meetings at decision Tech were characterized by silence, no member of the executive tem argued, and there was an undeniable tension during the meetings (pg 19). Silence in the meetings was not good. This is because it meant that members of the team preferred to keep silent and instead of engaging in meaningful arguments and developing conflicts that are highly valuable to the company’s management decisions. The executive team at Decision Tech experienced the four stages of team development. The core purpose of the forming stage is essentially to enable members of the team to become acquainted with one another and start seeing themselves as one integrated and cohesive unit. During the first off-site meeting Kathryn requested each member of the team to give personal histories. This meant that each would answer five nonintrusive personal questions that were related to their backgrounds (pg 52). After the brief personal history giving session by the members of the team, it was evident that the team was more at ease with each other than any time during the previous year. The goals of the Norming stage are to make

Arab Springs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arab Springs - Essay Example These revolts began as protests in the streets by the citizens of each country after which the government would retaliate by using force to break them. This sparked more calls for these demonstrations, mainly using the popular social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook (Huang 1). Social media sites reported an increase in the usage of their sites by protesters to mobilize the masses across the major cities in the countries. The governments in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia limited Internet access and blocked the use of social media sites, but it was too late to change anything (Huang 1). In addition, citizens of these Middle East nations are continually frustrated by some of the following issues that are ignored, and feel that they need to be addressed. The first issue is to end aristocratic governance that most of them endure for decades, and need for more participation in the government by pushing for democratic participation, which the current regimes had been unwilling to provide. There is the need for a better life and more freedoms by the citizen in the countries. Countries such as Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt experience high levels of unemployment and the rise in cost of living which the citizens find difficult. Their governments do little to address these issues forcing the population to devise other means of voicing their needs, which is through demonstrations. Because of the rule by a single party, these governments are faced with high levels of corruption and violation of the civil and human rights of the citizens. Therefore, there are many cases of police brutality towards the citizens and also denial of service by these governments to their citizens. Moreover, this was the case in Tunisia, where a man was harassed by the police while selling his goods. He later lit himself up in front of a municipal building after being frustrated by the officials sparking a series of protests across the country and later the Middle East region (Jones 1). The re sultant effect of the Arab Spring was felt in the whole region exceptionally fast; governments began to follow the Tunisian regime followed by the Egyptian government which gave power to the military. Additionally, the other governments, on realizing the reality of the situation in the region, began radically to change their policies and constitutions. The Saudi Arabian government, after a series of protests, decided to allow more freedom to their citizens in fear that the situation might escalate (Middle East Voices 1). Jordan, Bahrain, Libya and Syria’s governments faced mass protests that made them allow police to use force and weapons to break these protests. This brought about larger scale rebellions leading to deaths of citizens that made the United Nations and the European Union impose sanctions on them. Furthermore, this made the monarchs dissolve their parliaments and cabinets, and allowed the citizens more rights to participate in their governments and formulate pol icies that are meant to address their living conditions. Libya was the only nation that continued to use the force and refused to dissolve the government leading to the formation of rebel groups that attacked the pro-government army. This later escalated and forced United States and NATO to carry out air strikes on Libya government strongholds aiding in the ousting of the government (Middle East Voices 1). Yemen, being a strong ally of the United States administration, had agreed to work with the

Policy Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Policy Brief - Essay Example This service will also promote security and make people to refrain from getting involved in criminal activities. They will therefore, look for other options such as setting up a business to sustain themselves. This will increase the level of employment and widen the sources of revenue to the government. The gross domestic product of the country will also improve due to increase in number of people doing business. Furthermore, it will enhance productivity among the members of a society because; they will not be worried about their security. The service will be tested through multiple testing to ensure that it works and is free from abuses. This technology will require every mobile owner to submit his or her details with the intelligence offices. The fingerprints will be taken and every individual will have a secret code that will be pressed once criminals attack a person. Once the code is pressed, security personnel will be alerted. The location and the names of the individual appear on the security personnel computers. The security personnel will quickly identify the nearest police stations in the area and instantly communicate for a quick measure to be taken. Mobile phones will therefore, be used to ensure that security of the individual is guaranteed. The service will function in such a way that even if the phone is stolen, the second person cannot use it. The phone can be traced and the last person’s fingerprint will be detected and used to launch investigation using information stored in the database in the security headquarter. For this mobile service to succeed, it requires cooperation of security officers with the citizens. Every citizen will be required to scan their fingers and retain their details with police officers. The second condition is that the person when attacked must dial the secret code. Thirdly, the security intelligence department will be required to be vigilant and put up measures to enhance the security of

Human cloning is not playing god Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human cloning is not playing god - Essay Example However, this depicts that only God has the power to create and sustain life as opposed the concept of cloning. On the other hand, cloning does not play god as it carries out the role of man as given in the biblical accounts of creation. This is concerning going forth and filling the world, where man attempts to sustain life by extending it. This is done by using cloning for is benefits in overcoming certain health conditions that may lead in fatalities. The entire process involves the manipulation of DNA, as opposed to the biblical accounts, where man is created from dust thus, cloning has no hand in an attempt to take over Gods role (â€Å"Human Cloning†). Therefore, human cloning does not play the role of god in any way following the distinct differences in the creation process. This is as seen in both cases of cloning and creation, where one is the source of life, while the second is only but a means of extending life. â€Å"Human Cloning†. American Medical Association. n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. Candel, Joseph. â€Å"Playing God?: Facts and Thoughts on Human Cloning†. Activated Ministries. 2003. Web. 9 Oct. 2012.

Rhetorical Analysis on Jfks Speech Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis on Jfks Speech Essay On august 28, 1963, a civil right activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most famous speech called â€Å"I Have a Dream† during the march on Washington. In his speech, Dr. King used many literary elements in order to enhance his speech. He included allusion, metaphors, personification and tropes such as anaphora, alliteration and rhetoric question. Dr. Martin Luther King began his speech with a personifications and metaphors. The first personification he used to describe what it was like to live as an African American during the 1900’s. He stated â€Å"One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,† which means the African American (Negro) were handcuffed by the segregation and no matter what they do or how smart they are, they will never be able to escape segregation and they are chained by the discrimination. This discrimination won’t let them do what they are capable of doing. The metaphor is used in the speech to compare the African Race to a bad check, â€Å"insufficient fund.† When the slavery ended in America, the African American hoped to cash the check of freedom, when the magnificent words flow from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, but instead to honoring the words, American gave the African the â€Å"bad check† which eventually come back as insufficient fund. As the speech goes on, he used a paradox to show the contradiction. This quote, â€Å"I have dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed:’ we hold these truths to be elf-evident: that all men are created equal,’† is a perfect example of paradox because in the constitution, its states that all men are created equal and even though the constitution is consider to be the supreme law of the land, people chose to ignore it. He used anaphora to emphasize that he dreams about, to live in American without the segregation and the hostile feeling between the White and the African American. The use of rhetoric question, help readers and listeners to think of their own answer. In the speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his own Rhetoric question and his answer to the question. â€Å"When will you be satisfied?† he asked, and he answered â€Å"we can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality,† he would never be satisfied until the African American  and White hold hands and recite the National Anthem. Adding the subtle or an obvious element can improve any piece of writing tremendously. They can give the text that hunting feeling, where the goosebumps start crawling into your skins. The elements used in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech helped the speech into becoming one of the most influential speech written in the world.

Literature Review On Foreign Direct Investment

Literature Review On Foreign Direct Investment The theory of the determinants of private investment, irrespective of whether it originates domestically or from abroad, is relevant for an understanding of what drives FDI. This has become increasingly true with the globalisation of world markets, although there remain additional factors which may inhibit or encourage FDI that would not affect domestic investment. Much of the research on the determinants of investment is based on the neoclassical theory of optimal capital accumulation pioneered by Jorgenson (1963, 1971). In this framework, a firms desired capital stock is determined by factor prices and technology, assuming profit maximisation, perfect competition and neoclassical production functions. This theory was a deliberate alternative to views expressed initially by Keynes (1936) and Kalecki (1937), that fixed capital investment Much of the research on the determinants of investment is based on the neoclassical theory of optimal capital accumulation pioneered by Jorgenson (1963, 1971). In this framework, a firms desired capital stock is determined by factor prices and technology, assuming profit maximisation, perfect competition and neoclassical production functions. This theory was a deliberate alternative to views expressed initially by Keynes (1936) and Kalecki (1937), that fixed capital investment depends on firms expectations of demand relative to existing capacity and on their ability to generate investment funds (Fazzari and Athey, 1987:481; Fazzari and Mott, 1986:171). Several studies have challenged the neoclassical assumption that any desired investment project can be financed2. Asymmetric information3 about the quality of a loan could lead to credit rationing, implying that not all borrowers seeking loans at the prevailing cost of capital may be able to obtain financing (e.g, Greenwald, Stiglitz and Weiss, 1984). Consequently, firms tend to rely on internal sources of funds to finance investment, and to prefer debt to equity if external financing is required4. A further theoretical development was the introduction of irreversibility and uncertainty in explaining investment behaviour. This literature demonstrates that the ability to delay an irreversible investment expenditure can profoundly affect the decision to invest (Dixit, 1989; Pindyck, 1991:1110). Firms have an i ncentive to postpone irreversible investment while they wait or new information which makes the future less uncertain (Bernanke, 1983; Cukierman, 1980). The development literature has long been concerned with investment, because of its importance for the rate of growth of per capita output in the economy (Dornbusch and Reynoso, 1989:204; Fei and Ranis, 1963:283; IMF, 1988). Although empirical models of the determinants of investment in developing countries are in broad agreement with results obtained for industrialised countries, there are additional factors which have been found to constrain capital accumulation. Most of these are related to the problem of uncertainty and/or risk, which acts as a disincentive to private investment, because of the irreversible nature of most investment expenditures (Pindyck, 1991). Inflation reduces private investment by increasing risk, reducing average lending maturities, distorting the informational content of relative prices, and indicating macroeconomic instability (Dornbusch and Reynoso, 1989:206-208; Oshikoya, 1994:585,590). Empirical studies show that the variability of inflation has a stronger negative effect on private investment than does the level (Serven and Solimano, 1993:137). Large external debt burdens also have a strong disincentive effect on private investment, especially short-term debt (Faruqee, 1992:52). Debt-service payments reduce the domestic resources available for investment, and poor international creditworthiness reduces access to foreign savings5. For domestic investors, the existence of a large debt overhang reduces the future returns to investment because a high proportion of the forthcoming returns must be used to repay existing debt (Borensztein, 1990:315). A debt overhang is also a major source of uncertainty: the size of future transfers to creditors is uncertain; macroeconomic policy is uncertain; and the exchange rate is uncertain. The combined risks of changes in relative prices, taxation and aggregate demand reduces investment by both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs. Whatever the cause, the irreversibility of real capital expenditures can result in underinvestment if the future is uncertain, even when current conditions are righ t (Tornell, 1990). During macroeconomic adjustment, the credibility of policy changes is an added problem (Rodrik,1989), and the possibility of policy reversal can have serious consequences for real private capital expenditures. Investors prefer to hold financial capital, which is easier to realise if conditions turn out to be adverse, and which retains the option to purchase real capital if optimism continues. For this reason, there are frequently long lags in the investment response to adjustment(Serven and Solimano, 1993:131,137). Several studies report the effects of changes in the real exchange rate6 and the terms of trade7 on investment. These studies generally find that the variability of the real exchange rate is usually Some researchers support the notion that FDI contributes to the productivity and growth of local enterprises. Blomstrom and Sjoholm( 1998) are of the opinion that the productivity and growth of local enterprises could be achieved through spill over effects/externalities from FDI. This is achieved as the Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) either introduce superior technology of through the marketing activities of MNEs that affect the market equilibrium forcing local operators to act in such way that they can retain their original market shares. Graham and Krugman (1995) indicates that competitive enterprises (MNEs) contribute to productivity and growth of the host nation by infusing technology, labour skills, management methods, and training into the host economy. Empirical research shows that FDI affects the economy of a host country in a variety of ways. Firstly, it provides the required capital and state -of -the- art technology that enhances economic growth in the host country (Caves,1996; Dunning, 1993; Blomstrom and Sjoholm, 1998; Smarzynska,2002; Akinkugbe ,2005). Secondly, it augments the skills of the host nations and thus stimulates growth through the infusion of managerial, labour skills and training (de Mello,1999). Thirdly it promotes the technological upgrading, regarding start- up, marketing , and licensing arrangements (de Mello and Sinclair , 1995 ; Markusen and Venables ,1999). FDI is thus seen as a catalyst to the host nations economic growth and development as it enhances technological process and promotes industrial development (Asheghian, 2004). In addition, FDI can be expected to encourage economic growth of the host nation, given the prevailing view that MNEs can complement the local industry and stimulate growth and welfare in the host nations (Grossman and Helpman, 1991; Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995). The major determinants of the host countrys economic development and growth is the economic environment portrayed by its rate of economic growth , trade policy, political stability, legislation , domestic market size and balance of payments constraints (Caves, 1996; de Mello, 1999; Dunning, 1993)- the political economy of the nation . These factors may inevitably influence the decision of foreign investors (MNEs ) on the possible choice of a viable investment location (Akinkugbe, 2005). Dunnings (1981, 1988) electric theory provides a flexible and popular framework where it is argued that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is determined by three sets of advantages which direct investment should have over the other institutional mechanisms available for a firm in satisfying the needs of its customers at home and abroad. The first of the advantages is the ownership specific one which includes the advantage that the firm has over its rivals in terms of its brand name, patent or knowledge of technology and marketing. This allows firms to compete with the other firms in the markets it serves regardless of the disadvantages of being foreign. The second is the internationalisation advantage, that is why a bundled FDI approach is preferred to unbundled product licensing, capital lending or technical assistance (Wheeler and Mody, 1992). The location-specific advantages relate to the importance for the firm to operate and invest in the host country and are those advantages that make the chosen foreign country a more attractive site for FDI than the others. For instance firms may invest in production facilities in foreign markets because transportation costs are too high to serve these markets through exports. This could either be directly related to the actual nature of the good, either being a high bulk item or a service that needs to be provided on site, or due to policy factors such as tariff rates, import restrictions, or issues of market access that makes physical investment advantageous over serving the market through exports. Location advantage also embodies other characteristic (economic, institutional and political) such as large domestic markets, availability of natural resources, an educated labor force, low labor cost, good institutions (the clarity of countrys law, efficiency of bureaucracy and the absen ce of corruption), political stability, corporate and other tax rates among others. Bende-Nabende and Slater (1998) investigate both the short-run and long-run locational determinants of FDI under the broad categories of cost-related, investment environment improving and other macroeconomic factors. The short-run dynamics indicate that European investment in the Thai manufacturing sector has been more responsive to the macroeconomic factors. The long-run dynamics on the other hand suggest that European investment has been more responsive to the investment environment improving factors. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that the Thai manufacturing sector is losing its cost-related comparative advantage. Dar, Presley and Malik (2004) studied the causality and long-term relationship between Foreign Dirct Investment (FDI), economic growth and other socio-political determinants. Although a considerable literature gives the evidence of relationship between FDI and economic growth. Their paper considers economic growth, exchange rate and level of interest rates, unemployment, and political stability as determinants of the level of FDI inflows for Pakistan over the period 1970-2002. Almost all variables are found to have the theoretically expected signs with two-way causality relationship. The present study also estimates an error correction model by ordinary least squares, based on cointegrating VAR (2). Nunnenen (2002) argues that there is a startling gap between, allegedly, globalization-induced changes in international competition for foreign direct investment (FDI) and recent empirical evidence on the relative importance of determinants of FDI in developing countries. He shows that surprisingly little has changed since the late 1980s. Traditional market-related determinants are still dominant factors. Among non-traditional FDI determinants, only the availability of local skills has clearly gained importance. As concerns the interface between trade policy and FDI, he finds that the tariff jumping motive for FDI had lost much of its relevance well before globalization became a hotly debated issue. Artige and Nicolini (2005) analyse the determinants of FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows for a group of European regions. The originality of their approach lies in the use of disaggregated regional data. First, they develop a qualitative description of their database and discuss the importance of the macroeconomic determinants in attracting FDI. Then, they provide an econometric exercise to identify the potential determinants of FDI. In spite of choosing regions presenting economic similarities, they show that regional FDI inflows rely on a combination of factors that differs from one region to another. Bà ©nassy-Quà ©rà ©, Coupet and Mayer (2007) re-examine the role of institutions in the host and in the source country by estimating a gravity equation for bilateral FDI stocks that includes governance indicators for the two countries. Second, they tackle multicollinearity and endogeneity bias by implementing a three-stage procedure for instrumentation and orthogonalisation. Third, they look further into the detail of institutions by using a new database constructed by the French Ministry of Finance network in 52 foreign countries. This database is used to point out in some detail the relevant institutional features. Its country coverage, which focuses on developing countries, is very helpful for studying the impact of the institutional environment of the host country. It does not allow, however, going deeply into the impact of the institutional environment in the source country as well as into the impact of institutional distance. Hence they complement our analysis with estimatio ns based on the Fraser database, which provides fewer details on institutions, albeit on a more balanced country coverage between industrial and developing countries. Finally, they study the impact of institutional distance on bilateral FDI. Onyeiwu and Shrestha (2004) argues that despite economic and institutional reform in Africa during the past decade, the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the region continues to be disappointing and uneven. In their study they use the fixed and random effects models to explore whether the stylized determinants of FDI affect FDI flows to Africa in conventional ways. Based on a panel dataset for 29 African countries over the period 1975 to 1999, their paper identifies the following factors as significant for FDI flows to Africa: economic growth, inflation, openness of the economy, international reserves, and natural resource availability. Contrary to conventional wisdom, political rights and infrastructures were found to be unimportant for FDI flows to Africa. The significance of a variable for FDI flows to Africa was found to be dependent on whether country- and time-specific effects are fixed or stochastic. Nakamura and Oyama (1998) studied the macroeconomic determinants of FDI from Japan and the United States into East Asian countries, and the linkage between FDI and trade, and other macroeconomic variables. Their analysis focuses on the structural differences among East Asian counties and classifies them based on statistical tests of fixed effects models using panel data. This examination helps to clarify how Japanese and American multinational firms position their production bases in East Asian countries within their world marketing strategies. In order to avoid the problem of simultaneity among variables, they examine simultaneous equation models to confirm the validity of panel regression results. In their study they find that East Asian countries can be classified into four groups depending on FDI from Japan and other elasticities to macroeconomic variables, and this grouping almost coincides with their economic development stages. Moreover, they confirm that FDI from Japan into a ll the groups are strongly affected by changes in real bilateral exchange rates, but this is not always the case for FDI from the United States. Among different country groups, FDI into group 1 (Taiwan and Korea) responds positively to the Japanese capacity utilization, indicating their industries integration with the Japanese economy. Group 3 (Indonesia and the Philippines) shows that Japanese FDI is buoyed up by the yens appreciation against the U.S. dollar. FDI into group 4 (China and Malaysia) and, to a lesser extent, group 2 (Singapore and Thailand) is oriented more toward capturing local markets compared to the other groups. They also find that Japanese FDI has strong trade expansion effects, which is rarely seen for U.S. FDI. With regards to research on the determinants of FDI to Africa there appears to be a dearth of literature. A Search on the Econlit database using Foreign Direct Investment and Africa as keywords yielded the other two reffered journal articles on the Determinants of FDI to Africa. One of the papers, Schoeman et al (2000), analyses how government policy (mainly deficits and taxes) affects FDI. However, their analysis focuses on one country, South Africa. The Second paper , Asiedu (2002) examines whether the factors that drive FDI in developing countries have a different impact on for countries in Sub Sahara Africa (SSA). However, the analysis focuses only on three variables the return on investment, infrastructure availability and openness to trade, and does not take into account the natural resource availability , which is an important determinant of FDI to Africa. Another paper that focuses exclusively on Africa is Morisset (2000). Unlike Asiedu (2002), Morisset (2000) controls for natural resource availability , measured by the sum of primary and secondary sectors , minus manufacturing. However, this measure of natural resources is too broad and does not accurately capture the availability of minerals and oil, the most important types of natural resources relevant for FDI to SSA. In addition none of the studies examine the impact of some of the important variables that feature predominantly in investor surveys, such as corruption and regulatory framework in the host country. This research extends the limited to empirical literature on the determinants of FDI to Africa by examining the extent to which the economic, political, institutional characteristics of a country, as well as the policy environment affect FDI flows. Nunnekamp (2002) sought to assess whether determinants of FDI have changed with globalisation i.e whether traditional determinants are losing importance whilst non traditional ones are increasingly gaining importance. Two approaches were adopted, namely survey data from European Round Table of Industrialists ( ERT 2000) and simple correlation for 28 developing countries. Market size (proxied by host countrys population and level of GDP ) as a traditional determinant of FDI is said to have declined in importance over time. Other factors such as location, cost differences, qualities of infrastructure, ease of doing business and the availability of skills measured by average years of schooling have become increasingly important as non-traditional determinants of FDI (Nunnekamp 2002:16) The survey results were supplemented by World Bank Data on variables that are considered important FDI determinants. Results show that traditional market related determinants still dominate determinants of FDI distribution among the countries considered (Nunnekamp 2002:24). Non traditional determinants such as cost factors, and trade openness , measured by ratio of exports plus imports to GDP, have typically not become more important with globalisation. Of importance is the availability of skills which is proxied by average years of schooling, which has become a relevant pull factor of FDI in the process of globalisation (Nunnekamp 2002:35). An analysis of a developing country by (Tsai 1991) focused on Taiwan by providing demand size determinants of FDI using time series data. Tsai (1991:279) employed OLS method using equations in logarithm form. Two equations were specified, i.e first on the demand size determinants and the second using variables as ratio of GDP to eliminate possible side of influences. A dummy variable was used to assess the impact of government incentive polices on FDI in different periods. Tsai (1991:276) suggests that for Taiwan only labour cost, market size and government incentive policies are important demand size determinants. Although FDI is seen to exploit cheap labour in developing countries, the case of Taiwan seems to show that growth in FDI with rising labour costs indicates the cheap labour may not be as important as expected. No clear evidence was found to support the expectation that government incentive policies were effective in attracting FDI to Taiwan. An interesting finding in Tsai (1991:279) is that Taiwans relatively outstanding economic performance as reflected in the expanding domestic market and ever increasing per capita GDP during 1965-1985 was not particularly attractive to foreign investors. As Tsai argues, this could be attributed to FDI being used supply side determined rather than demand side or perhaps non- economic factors outweigh the investment incentives. It is generally believed that factors determine FDI inflow in developing countries could have a different impact on SSA countries in particular . This is because developing countries outside Africa seem to attract huge FDI inflow while SSA attracts low levels of FDI as discussed by Asiedu (2002). Another study in Africa by Obwona (2001) investigated the FDI-growth linkage for Uganda. Obwona used the investor surveys approach and econometric tests. Using investor surveys, both local and foreign investors were directly questioned regarding their decisions and decision making processes when investing in Uganda (Obwona 2001:55). The focus was on productive investment, as such purely commercial and consulting activities were excluded. For econometric tests , time series data was used for the period 1975-1991to estimate the determinants of FDI and growth. Findings from the survey showed that increased foreign investment was a result of a conducive investment environment provided by government though its policies and institutions (Obwona 2001:56). The author concludes that from the investors surveyed, foreign investors are primarily concerned with fundamental factors, i.e a stable macroeconomic and political situation and credible policy reforms. For Uganda , Obwona considered pull factors such as growth factors , liberalised exchange rate, low inflation and fiscal discipline. The major determinants are availability and cost of natural and human resources, adequacy of infrastructure , market size, trade policies, macro stability, economic growth and political stability (Obwona 2001:62). The importance of each of these variables , however depends on the type of investment and motivations or strategy of investors. Obwona (2001:62) agrees with other researchers, such as Nunnekamp (2002) that given the shifts in the type of investment, the availability of low cost unskilled labour in location decisions has declined over time. This has meant more emphasis on skilled labour or the trainability of workers. Furthermore, two notable studies by Moolman et al (2006) and Fedderke and Romm (2004) have focused on determinants of Inward FDI to South Africa. Moolman et al (2006) sought to examine the macroeconomic link between FDI in South Africa and its resultant impact on output for the period 1970-2003. In so doing, they initially identified supply side determinants of FDI before analysing their impact on output. Their research method follows the supply side macro econometric framework, which does not take into account the demand side determinants that are equally important as well. On Model specification , five variables were explored as explanatory variables for FDI in the empirical estimation, namely, market size measured by real GDP, exchange rate proxied by the rand-dollar exchange rate , infrastructure, openness and a dummy variable for sanctions. The empirical results of Moolman et al (2006:3) indicate that market size, openness, infrastructure and the nominal exchange rate are factors which South African policy makers should focus on when seeking to attract FDI. The FDI output link does not take other factors such as increased employment , improved skills and new management techniques into account (Moolman et al 2006:29). After thorough investigation and studies, it was found out that only market size and openness are common factor determining FDI. The role of exchange rate is an important determinant of foreign investment in most countries. Particularly for South Africa, it should be considered whether it could be an important FDI determinant. Studies from developing countries have also identified other factors that should be considered as in the case of South Africa as those of Loots (2000) and Ahmed et al (2005).

SWOT Analysis of MTV

SWOT Analysis of MTV The first music channel to broadcast music television in Asia was the American music channel MTV. It entered the Indian market in 1991 via Star TVs satellite. But two years later, over a disagreement regarding the amount of local programming it left the scene and a new player emerged in the form of Star TVs own Channel V. this was after Rupert Murdochs News Corporation acquired Star TV. Since the MTVs approach to the market was global, channel V emphasis on local artistes and VJs and for a while enjoyed a monopoly position in the market. But this monopoly was not for long, MTV reentered the Asian market in 1995 with new strategies to gain competitive advantage and brand image. Since then the growth of MTV in the region has been tremendous. In 1999, the rivalry manifested itself in an escalating war of words between Steve Smith of Channel V and Frank Brown of MTV with each alleging that the other was misrepresenting distribution figures. The case documents this feud and its effect on advertisers in the context of the emerging Asian market for televised music. The Music Television Channel, MTV was created in collaboration of Media Company Warner Communication and Credit Card Company American Express on 1st August 1981. Within the next 10 years MTV had become a popular culture icon among the youth. It became a launch platform for artists and became a whole lifestyle in itself. MTV popularized music and changed the way audience conceived it before. Whereas Channel V, an international music channel chain, owned by Star TV network and is aired in many countries around Australia, Asia and the Middle East, played both mainstream and alternative music. There approach was local. Their target was the 15-24-age set, where it currently trails with its competitor, MTV. This funky channel is a craze among music loves and the young generation. The case also talks about the initial success of channel V which lead to a shift in MTVs programming mix and the various steps adopted by MTV that enabled it to become the market leader at the cost of channel V. INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS Analyzing the case based on the porters five force model :- Suppliers A suppliers influence is defined by its ability to bargain price and influence availability of materials. Other strengths of the supplier include their ability to increase prices without suffering from a decrease in volume, reduce the quantity supplied, organize in a formal or informal manner, compete in an environment with relatively few substitutes, provide a product/material that is a critical part of the end product or service, impose switching costs on their customers when they depart, integrate downstream by purchasing or controlling the distribution channels. As such, every company that depends on the services and materials from key suppliers need to be sensitive on the variables that are highly important and considered by the suppliers. MTV and CHANNEL V Medium to high for record companies, music producers, and movie companies. The supplier is the music industry which provides content and programming. The decision-makers of the company should have a clear understanding of the business dynamics in which suppliers are directly involved in. These include the suppliers concentration or their focus and core business interests, variety of products and design offered, and the alternative resources that are available. In this light, it is most appropriate to build win-win relationships with suppliers or arrange the use multiple suppliers in order to protect the interests of both ends. Buyers It describes the impact customers have on an industry. Stronger the buying power stronger is the influence in determining the price. The bargaining power of buyers increases when they have the ability to make agreements with other companies providing similar products and services, purchase a product that represents a significant fraction of the expenses incurred by the company, purchase of a product that is undifferentiated, incur low changes in costs when they change vendors, be price sensitive by bearing in mind the options available, and Integration to purchase the goods of the suppliers. MTV and CHANNEL V- Teenagers to young adults, advertisers, satellite Cos, TV channels. Barganing Power of Buyers High for advertisers, satellite/TV channels especially due to the fierce competition between the two. New Entrants The competition is determined by the number of new companies entering the industry. Success can be determined by evaluating the methods of entry and exit for a new player. Although any company should be able to enter and exit the sector, each industry presents different levels of difficulty influenced by economics. These unique characteristics of the each industry are referred to as barriers to entry which may come from different aspects of the business ranging from supplies to technology. They seek to reduce the rate of entry of new entrants which leads to maintenance of a level of profits for the existing players. MTV and CHANNEL V -To enter in music TV channel industry needs huge investments to set up a TV channel. There are also strict government regulations especially in Asia on TV content. indeed the barriers to entry are low as more music channels are beginning to emerge.Several companies are pitching in with all the new digital platforms widely propagating in the entertainment industries. MTVs competitors can only multiply through substitute platforms that will attempt to topple down MTV due to viewing alternatives. Cheaper means to present music has since multiplied thanks to wireless solutions. As barrier to entry is low, MTV and channel V can definitely expect threats from other competing channels from all over the world. The government also will get in the way by regulating the channels entering their countries. Substitutes â€Å"Substitute products† as those that are available in other industries that meet an identical or similar need for the end user. Due to the availability and affordability of more substitutes, the demand becomes more elastic since customers have more alternatives. Other concerns in assessing the threat of substitutes include the presence of new technologies that can contribute to competition though more diverse and economical substitute products and services. A segment is unattractive when there are actual or potential substitutes for a product. MTV and CHANNEL V- Medium to high, people can enjoy music from other means like DVD, CD, and Radio etc. New cable networks had been fast emerging ever since the 1980s. Cable networks would enjoy enormous growth during the 90s to the dawn of the 21st century and they provide viewers, audience and markets other viewing options. Industry Competitors Firms strive to secure a competitive advantage over their rivals. The intensity of rivalry varies within each industry and these differences can be important in the development of strategy. Industries that are â€Å"concentrated,† versus â€Å"fragmented,† often display the highest level of rivalry. In pursuing an advantage over its rivals, a firm can choose from several competitive moves: changing prices, improving product differentiation, creatively using channels of distribution, exploiting relationships with suppliers. MTV and Channel V-Duopolistic competition among MTV and Channel V. Globalization has opened competition especially in the case of local channels. There is new technology to be exploited that will expand broadcasting capabilities. Locally produced material has become the goals of every TV channel in order to truly suit the personal tastes and sensibilities of the viewers. Governments also encourage local materials. Globalization has opened the doors for other entities internationally to join the competition as they are able to access new markets. Competition will perceivably become stiffer in the growth of new competition and rivals all around the world. STRATEGY OF MTV â€Å"I Want My MTV† MTV came up with a loyalty concept, a slogan that targeted the 12-34 age segments. The idea of â€Å"want† and â€Å"my† gives off the idea of a personalized desire that can be met by MTV. Its the individuality of this segment that wants them to declare it proudly. Therefore consumers seek for this distinctiveness and want to take part of the MTV revolution. Cable networks and advertisers alike cant help but to include MTV among its ranks. Network MTV can possibly capture a wider market share even beyond their 12-34 demographics, by forming more spin offs such as MTV dance and through channels like VH1 and Nickelodeon.Through VH1 they can reach out to the market older than 34, they are reportedly a group of loyal consumers at the same time they can win the appeal of those younger than 12 through the Nickelodeon channel and the online game called Neopets. To achieve all this, they can work towards mergers, alliances and acquisitions which leads to the next strategy. BUSINESS LEVEL STARTEGY Channel V had already established itself quite well by the time MTV re-entered Indian market. Commenting on Channel [V] becoming popular in MTVs absence, Peter Jamison, the then in-charge of MTV Asia commented, â€Å"I feel like the father who went to war and has come back to discover that his place in the family has been taken by another man.† In 1997, MTV was forced to announce a strategic shift in its programming mix and started airing Hindi film songs by the Channel [V]s growing popularity. However the MTV sources refused to accept this. MTV cashed well its more focused approach by understanding the pulse of the Indian music market in terms of programming mix whereas Channel V lost its focus and failed to do so. But we cannot hold the channel solely responsible for it. There were certain problems inherent in the organizational structure. The channel had a centralized structure, wherein almost all the programming decisions were made at the headquarters in Hong Kong. As a result, the channel found it difficult to track the latest popular songs and modify its programming mix accordingly. Channel Vs image as a music channel become so popular that it acted as a barrier while projecting its new image as a channel for youth and to change this perception by offering non-music programs was a big task. They had adopted this new concept but had no benchmark to judge its programs. MTVs programs attracted audience across all segments whereas Channel Vs programs appealed only to one section of the audience at a time. The ‘Back to Basics† strategy was initiated by the Star TV network which had a majority stake in Channel [V]. According to this strategy, the channel decided to take off all non-music programs off the air, as producing them was very costly compared to the music-based programs. Moreover, advertising time on Channel [V] was sold as a package along with other Star TV channels at a discount. For instance, an advertiser advertising on channel(s) under the Star TV network was offered spots on Channel [V] at concessional rates. As Stars channels such as Star Plus and Star Movies were very popular, Channel [V] hoped to cash in on their popularity. Bottom of Form LEVELS OF DIVERSIFICATION In order to establish themselves as the winner and sustain the position both the channels adopted new channels of diversification:- In 1998 channel V signed a deal with ALMA TV, to beam there international channel to 50000 homes in Kazakhstan. Brand extension by MTV in the form of record compilation such as â€Å"unplugged† series and the CD â€Å"MTV alternative nation† released by Seagrams. MTVs deal with Singapore telecommunication for licensing. MTV logo featured on merchandises in Philippines. Channel Vs brand extension includes albums and t-shirts which were showed in INDIA but there scale of licensing activities were considerably less than of MTV. Mergers MTV joined hands with CBS Corporation and was able to reach exposure through CBSs advantage in news, sports and distribution. The Multi-domestic strategy- MTV Asia associated with National Broadcasting Company of the Philippines in order to establish a terrestrial channel on the country. In doing so, NBC is able to impart their mastery in distribution and operational expertise in the Southeast Asian country. Through its Music awards it is also able to attract big time sponsors such as PepsiCo and Ford Motors. This would even attract more market. In PepsiCos case, its food and drink consumers and through Ford, car consumers. It has also been endorsing the channel through political and social causes for poverty and AIDS. Multi-domestic Strategy MTV expanded by telecasting local contents whichalso allowed them to divide and reach individual markets who will want a music channel who knows not only their music interests but also their locale. MTV then acknowledges its slogan â€Å"I want my MTV† as it is able to give consumers the MTV they really want based on their culture and not merely western or European. The consumers are clearly interested to a channel that knows them enough to speak their own language and sensibilities. SWOT Analysis It is an integral procedure and a very powerful tool for organizations and businesses to instigate effective marketing plans. It aims to comprehend the environmental as well as the organizational influences that surround a particular business establishment. There are actually two types of situational analysis that are both equally significant. One is the external analysis and the other focuses on the internal environment. When conducting an external situational analysis, the business customers, market and competitors are analyzed. Whereas, internal situational analysis focuses on the identification of the companys distinctive competencies, expected growth, their assets as well as their liabilities. It also illustrates the core values of a company so that these value can be enhanced or beneficial to the market. The evaluation of the internal environment of the company involves the analysis of the companys structure, culture and resources. When a strategy is selected for implementation, it must be appropriate given the way the organization is structured or the way an organization must be restructured. The strategy must be consistent with the organizations culture. Finally the organizational resources must be available to actually implement the strategy that was formulated. Without the proper people, skills, abilities, finances and physical resources, the strategy cannot be implemented (Buhler, 1994). The success of the business organization entails detailed understanding and examination of political, social and economic factors that influence the growth and continuous operations of the company. Studying the important consideration relevant to the organization to serve the purpose and objectives of the company will determine its success. Consequently, decision-makers of the company should be sensitive of the general trends and changes that are taking place in their industry. This will include efforts to maximize the opportunities available while reducing the risks that confront the business organization. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks that characterize the operations of MTV are detailed in the discussions that follow. (S)trengths MTV dominates the young adult population who are some of the strongest money spenders due to its association of popular culture. MTV appealed to the population not only through the music but also through its coverage on lifestyle, film, fashion and other forms of leisure and entertainment that captured this market. MTV is a channel that has a personal appeal that cable networks and advertisers come knocking on MTVs door. MTV positioned itself as it gives the young adults what they want and at the same time, this market determines what MTV should show them. It was percieved that MTV is an empowering vehicle to the young adult market, which allows them to have a more pronounced self-esteem, power and personality which allows MTV to constantly claim the dominating position. One of its strength also MTVs appeal to its advertisers. During its many programs such as the Music awards, MTV has received sponsors from many companies that are confident to enjoy exposure in MTVs sought after programs.Ex- PepsiCo and Ford. MTV has been served as a launch pad of present favorites and successful artists. It expanded and exploited other media and entertainment forms other than music such as those brought by films and video games. Its constant mergers with companies such as the Philippines National Broadcasting Company will further localize MTV and fit the interests of its audience and bridging cultural as well as regional differences. MTV has since expanded to India and China and has been continuing its move towards alliances and mergers for wider distribution and for tailored products. Partnerships will allow MTV to cement its influence in a fast moving insatiable consumer market. MTVs constant support for social and political causes will allow greater relevance and presence. Its involvement with such issues strengthens its power and influence in the realm of entertainment media. Its expansion to other media forms will allow it to deliver more services other than just mere music. MTVs VH-1 will allow MTV to maintain its dominant position among other markets. (W)eaknesses MTV had encountered obstacles in reaching the local audience through their cultural misunderstandings therefore it started to lose its dominating power as there are other interest the markets and audience wants to be met. Thus MTV will need to find out what exactly these interests are and expand to this if they would want to maintain a dominating position. Cable Television offers several other choices that MTV is removed from its monopoly. They must understand the cultural background they are penetrating by making appropriate aspects such as advertising, brand, and cultural contexts. (O)pportunities Thes channels have an opportunity to merge into mobile and Internet companies for the wider distribution of their products and better solution what the market demands. At the same time, MTV may enjoy visibility in wireless technologies allowing the market to â€Å"have its MTV† when they want it. MTV can give an enhanced on-demand viewing experience the web and mobile. Globalization has helped MTV to get into international deals and the emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil having rich growth opportunities to venture into.Since two thirds of Asias population belongs to the 12-34 age group which is MTVs Target market.It will be a large market to explore and cater toand also due to Asia having interest in Western Products.Data says that MTV has up to 54 million homes in China. (T)hreats   Ã‚  Ã‚  Other substitute and the emergence of Digital cable will be a threat to MTVs current dominance. Germany had created their own local music channels that would be a threat to MTV. They have the advantage of their familiarity of the audience that MTV hardly has. Many Digital platforms provide other alternatives for the population to spend their past time and thus MTV must know well to penetrate this. For MTV to continue setting trends, it must be open to other possibilities as its consumers are known to be demanding and possessing short attention spans. New cable networks and channels have been eager to take a chunk out of MTVs advertising share. However, the advertising revenue has been decreased as cable networks lose their appeal. The presence of new digital and media forms provide advertisers other new and emerging ways and alternatives in marketing their products. The threat in MTVs chosen market is that the young adult stage is a turbulent and short-lived stage and the young adults sensibilities and interests are quick to change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Production of more channels as a result of technology development allowing local cable and satellite technology to create more and increase bandwidth. Recommendations MTV must continue its expansion of local content as competition and rivals decide to attack MTV through local channels. Globalization has only increased the chances for MTV to meet its hungry competitors and it is easy to have the means to try to top MTV through new digital and media platforms. MTV has already its share of imitations from countries around the world and people may not mind this. By integrating these technologies and continuing its expansions throughout the world especially in emerging countries found in Latin American and Asia, it may continue to meet success. MTVs chance of success and survival is not as high in the 1980s and 1990s where MTV has been a pioneer of music television, and establish itself as a cultural icon. MTV must first correct its weaknesses foremost of which is its need to reach out to a local audience by researching about the market they are entering. This can be repaired through alliances with local companies such as the Philippines NBC. It also needs to appeal to the governments. In each country there is an obstacle or challenge waiting like the limitation of pay television and the propagation of free channels which will discourage purchase of MTV. The young generation or the 12-34 demographic is the hardest market to pin down due to changing trends and interests. They are inconstant with their desires and most likely, they would not be the slightest bit similar to the generation that popularized MTV. These are the children of digital and new technologies that would have a shorter attention span and fleeting interests. The 21st century is an even more distracting world. MTV must constantly reinvent itself and start something new in order to ride along the changes and the thirst towards innovations. In order to be the trend-setter it was in the past, it must be able to encompass or conquer its challenges of globalization and technology and create from here COMPETING IN CHINA China with its 330 million television sets is considered as the major growth market. Because of the vast size and growth potential both the channels actively competing for local partners in anticipation of reaping future benefits. But the Chinese market is strictly regulated by the central government, because of the communism in the country. Satellite broadcasts were officially banned so foreign satellite TV must be filtered through registered cable approved by state administration for film, radio and television. Unlike the road shows and dance parties in India, Chinese market has largely been in the form of hosting music award ceremonies (1999 onwards). CONCLUSION MTV has become a symbol of globalization. It adopted right international strategies and controls at the right time to regain its lost popularity, especially in non English speaking countries like India and Europe. The rationale behind MTVs localized approach is to â€Å"get inside the heads† of the local population and produce programming that matches their tastes and preferences. Whereas Channel V lacked to achieve this target till great extend.

Call It Sleep by Henry Roth :: Call it Sleep Essays

Call It Sleep   by Henry Roth      The book Call It Sleep written by Henry Roth is a literary work that explores immigrant life as they adjust to the new and unfamiliar ways of American life.   The book is somewhat of a social commentary on the period of the Eastern European immigration to America at its peak.  Ã‚   The novel gives an inside view on how foreigners (primarily Jewish immigrants) fit into main stream society.  Ã‚   Throughout the course of the novel, you travel along with the main character David Schearl as he ages from six to eight and grows up in Brownsville on the lower East side of New York.   David is torn between the love of his over protective mother and the hatred of his angry and mentally disturbed father in a quest to make sense of his life in contrast with all of the other immigrant children that he comes in contact with.   All of the adventures that David encounters and all of the people that he comes in contact with are simply the author’s way of depicting an immigrants inne r struggle and dealing with the pressures of life as seen through the eyes of a remarkably perceptive and imaginative child.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opening scenes are set in New York harbor in 1907 at a time when the inflow of   foreigners is at its peak. A woman and her small child come off of the boat to reunite with her husband that had gone before them to the new world to start a better life than they were used to in their old country.   The author has you experience what it is like to come into New York Harbor and see the city skyline and the lights; and also to experience the feeling of hope and promise for a brighter future for the immigrants.   However when Albert Schearl shows up late and uncaring to greet a wife and son who don’t recognize him right away, it is hinted to the reader that trouble is in store for the Schearl family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The father Albert Schearl is introduced as a very haughty and proud individual that believes that he should abandon all signs of his former upbringing and conform to the American ways of life.   He is a printer by trade however he cannot hold down a job long enough due to his violent and uncontrollable temperament.   He thinks that people are constantly watching his every move therefore he cannot give