Enchanted Kingdom Case study Essay

I. Point of View In this case, the group would take the point of view of the top management/marketing manager. This is because the group thinks the top management/marketing manager has the capacity to strategize and initiate the necessary actions in this situation. II. Market Situation Analysis A. SWOT a. Opportunities – Visitors coming in groups could be corporate (handling company anniversaries, parties, product launches, company and family outings, sport fests, wedding receptions, birthday parties, concerts and fund-raising activities), travel (handling tour groups), and school (handling educational field trips, graduation balls, and prom nights) – Majority of those who visited the park were young people between 13 to 29 years of age. – A big chunk of the park’s revenues came from its admission fees and retail operations. – Continuous demand for recreational activities – People celebrate different occasions all throughout the year – Increasing demand on semestral breaks and vacation of students – People are attracted on buying group or corporate packages b. Threats – Precarious economic conditions (currency crisis) in late 1997 – Competition from other recreational establishments. – Fluctuating demand – The Financial Crisis in Asia – People began cutting â€Å"unnecessary expenses† including leisure expenses – Fluctuating demands all throughout the year – Negative responses of the disappointed customers – Competition from other recreational establishments such as malls. c. Strengths – Pioneer theme park – world-class themed leisure, recreation and entertainment – Seven ‘fantastic’ theme zones – Spacious land – Accessible to public (close to Metro Manila) – Rides imported from United States, Germany, and Japan. – With musical entertainment (popular guest bands and in-house bands). – With fireworks display every weekend – Accredited with the International Theme Park Inc. (complied to international safety standards) – Highest standards in safety, services, products, facilities, and attractions – Crew members trained in Disney, USA – Allowed to speak only fluent English at all times for their target market-AB class – Conducts regular survey among customers making prior ticket purchases – Park was open year-round from Mondays to Sundays except Maundy Thursday and Good Friday during Holy Week. – Unlimited use of rides and attractions within the park. – Park owned food stalls and souvenir stores d. Weaknesses – Almost four years since it last introduced a new major ride or attraction (novelty of the place started to wear off) – Plunged attendance by 1997 – Maintenance made up the bulk of its expenses – Usually took 30-40 minutes for the visitor to wait (waiting lines) for a major ride during peak seasons because of overcrowding – The park had to continue incurring fixed overhead costs to serve a very thin crowd during lean months – Late and/or absence of any sales blitz in the form of posters and flyers to universities and colleges B. Product Life Cycle Introduction Upon opening, the EK started at high price yet the demand is high Growth There is an increasing trend for the demand since EK has been well- publicized Maturity There was a stable demand for some time then went down due to critical events that took place Decline The demand decreases after financial crisis and ineffective publicity/promotion offers. C. Target Market The target market of Enchanted Kingdom mainly belongs to the AB class. After having two critical events in 1997, the management decided to change their marketing strategies, and targeted the general public like students, government workers, and those who are planning to have parties/celebrations/tours. D. Product Positioning Enchanted Kingdom has positioned itself as a Philippine leader in world-class themed leisure, recreation, and entertainment committed to provide guests of all ages a total and unique experience of fun and enjoyment. E. Current Marketing Mix or Marketing Strategies a. Product Enchanted Kingdom offers their customers a world-class magical experience of entertainment and leisure through wide variety of good outlets, new rides and attractions imported abroad, wide variety of food outlets, specialty shops, and video games center. Visitors could also swing to the beat of live wire of musical entertainment from popular guest bands and in-house bands. And fireworks display was available for public viewing every weekend. b. Physical Evidence Enchanted Kingdom has distributed publication materials (i,e, print ads, poster, flyers) for their services and discounts. c. Place The location is a 16. 6 ha land quite accessible to the public because it was just 30km away from Makati. d. Promotion 1997 second half of the year Price-decrease First time EK visitors were given lesser entrance fee on certain days and months 1997 April-May Twicket with Pepsi 1997 August CALABARZON promo 1997 August Government Promo An exclusive day was set aside for employees of government institutions, SSS, and GSIS. (100 entrance fee) 1997 September Magic Treat Promo 1998 April-May Barkada Treat Promo Summer vacation treat for students, walk-in guests with big entrance fee discount 1998 June-September Government Promo and Calabarzon Promo 1998 Semestral break Sembreak treat Promo For four tickets, two were given for free f. Process management How- To avail the service, EK has two customer segments. These include walk-ins and those who pre-book their visits through the sales office as a group. When- all throughout the year within specific days including peak and non-peak seasons Where- EK entrance location and online pre-booking g. People Internal-employees (crew members and staff received service training from Disney USA and are advised to speak in fluent English at all times. External-customers (i. e. adults, children, senior citizens, students, government employees) III. The Case Problem How does the top management/marketing manager of the Enchanted Kingdom even out its demand throughout the year? IV. Case Objective This study aims to: ? To effectively formulate a strategy that would increase theme park attendance ? To ensure theme park attendance even-out during peak and non-peak seasons all through the year ? To increase the number of people going to the park despite financial crisis and other challenges/threats both for the intended customers and the management itself V. Alternative Solutions to the Problem Alternative Courses of Action A. Addition of new major rides and attractions in the park. B. Adjusting of prices depending on the season, month, day, or occasion. C. Intensive Promotions during non-peak seasons Alternative Pros Cons A ? Will encourage returning customers. ? Will attract more attendances and increase the demand for the park ? Will increase the customer’s satisfaction ? Will provide more thrilling and exciting new rides ? Will provide more entertainment options due to additional attractions ? Very costly ? Impractical for the management due to financing and weak demand ? Doesn’t necessarily stabilize the demand of the park. B ? Will increase demand during peak seasons ? Will make the demand closely the same all ? Will require annual price planning due to changing circumstances in every season through the year ? Will avoid overcrowding ? Will attract celebrants for various occasions on varying season ? Will require the management to ensure just and fair discounts to varying occasions C ? Will increase the people’s awareness of the park ? Will attract more attendances ? Will promote good image for the theme park ? Will open possibilities for partnerships and collaborations in exchange of services (i. e. entrance tickets) ? Will stabilize demand during non-peak seasons ? Costly ? Doesn’t necessarily lead to customer satisfaction ? Customer’s promotional needs vary from one type of customer to another ? May not reach all the target customers VI. Recommendation Based on the pros and cons table, alternative B is recommended. Prices will be adjusted depending on the season, month, day, or occasion. Implementation Planning: Surveys and past records could determine the demand on certain seasons, months, days or occasions and then develop a price index from the demand records of the park.  · Implementation Proper: Advertise and disseminate information about the new pricing scheme both online and offline. This will encourage visitors to go to the park during lean seasons because of the low price and will even out the number of visitors during its peak seasons.  · Control: The special prices during occasion or season will be advertised. Price changes depending on the occasion or season will be continuously advertised or disseminated all throughout the year. Surveys may also be conducted to monitor the customer satisfaction.

General Motors Essay

I first want to start out with the bailout in 2009 where the government gave General Motors money ($40 million) to help get them out the situation with their creditors and took over most of the company. According to reports all of the outstanding stock has been sold and now the company is out of the government’s hands. The total amount given to them was not paid in full and they do not feel like they need to repay anymore because they said that there was a risk with taking the stock and that the government would just get back what the stock sold for. I know that this is true in the stock market, as I have stocks myself and know the risks that I am taking. I still have a problem with giving them money when one of the other larger automobile companies (Ford Motor Company) took it upon themselves to restructure and is paying off their own debts little by little and is still moving along today. Along with the sale of all of the stock came a lift on the freeze of upper management w ages and incentives. This is just not right. I would like to live on what some of them make, and I am sure that I could live very comfortably. Let them come and live on my income and see what they can do. I really have a problem with going overseas for production and I always will. It is probably my age and all of the trials and tribulations that I have lived through as well as what I have seen others live through. Many people were told that their jobs would be secure and since then General Motors has cut back on jobs here in the United States. I wonder just how many people outside of this country have been given jobs that could have been here at home. I know that many companies take production overseas because they say that the costs for labor are a lot  lower. Well, that may be true but has anyone seen the living conditions of those people overseas. Are we really paying them what they should be getting? Let’s take into consideration all of the recalls that General Motors has made in the last few years. Way too many in my book. Why is there faulty material being used to manufacture a product that could easily take the lives of many people. These products were made mostly overseas, I believe, and could lower wages be part of the problem of not noticing the faulty parts in the first place? By taking away incentives for prospective buyers, I believe, really hurt their business, but then I say, â€Å"Why give an incentive and not just reduce the price of the car in the first place?† I know that consumers look f or incentives but I think that they would look just as hard if the price of the cars were lower too. Let us look at the strategy that General Motors is wanting to take. The strategy that I believe that they are using is a combination of three strategies. They are as follows: Defensive Strategy in that General Motors decided to cut back the number of makes of automobiles; Cost-Leadership Strategy in that expenses needed to manufacture the cars are kept at a lower cost and maintained at that lower cost; and Differentiation Strategy in that they need to make a superior product for a vast number of people at a low cost. According to the plan General Motors is going to start making their automobiles using the same parts in the same laid out plants and using the same kind of tools throughout. They are also cutting back on the number of models from 86 to 49. When it came to the cost-leadership strategy, I put the loss of incentives to customers in this category. I still do not understand why there are incentives when they could just reduce the price of the automobile or truck. I think that people would look more if the price were lower. The differentiation strategy they have cut back on the workforce but are still making the superior produc t for a vast audience. I realize that they need to watch their competitors closely, especially those overseas but they also need to take care of the people right here in the United States. General Motors has a vision to reduce costs and increase revenue through global sales growth to a net profit of 10%. I think that they are asking for a lot out of the economy, as it is today As the plan states, Ford is farther ahead of General Motors and they made more of a profit per vehicle sold than General Motors. This was all done because of  going globally. The culture needs to change too and get away from focusing on selling the most cars and take care of the customers that they currently have and possibly will have in the future. Yes, sales are important, but they will come if their customer focus is there first. I think that the 10% increase in profits is a little out the park when you are just restructuring and trying to maintain your status. You will need to take smaller increases in profit for a few years and then the profits will increase as the years go by. When looking at SMART goals I find that General Motors set their goal of making more than $10 billion per year. This is a very challenging goal for a company that is just coming back from restructuring. This goal is very specific but I do not believe that it is attainable with the economy that we have today. I know that they look at achieving this goal globally but they really need to concentrate right here in the United States. To be results-oriented they needed to decrease the number of types of cars they produce, reduce the number in their global workforce, (which they did), reduce the number of union workers here in the United States (which they did) and close down plants that were not up to par (which they did). Was this the right decision to make? Who knows for sure? The only thing that I can see is that they put a lot of people out of work. In looking at the Planning/Control Cycle, I see that General Motors followed it by making the plan, carrying out the plan, they looked at the results of the plan and they controlled the direction of the plan by making any corrections as they went along with the plan. Planning is very important in everything that you do. You must always follow through too and watch as the plan is being carried out and always have control of what is going on and make sure that you make any corrections as the plan goes on. If need be, go back to the beginning and start all over again if the plan goes off track too far or if you have to make too many corrections. According to Mr. Akerson when asked about being back on top and the world’s largest auto maker his response was: â€Å"General Motors needs to focus on profits and margins and not necessarily try to post nu mbers on the board.† Maybe they need to go back and re-think their plan again and make sure they are staying on track as they proceed. In conclusion, I just want to add that I read two reports that just came out on CNN today. â€Å"One concerned a former manager for General Motors, Bill McAleer, who was in charge of the Global delivery system from 1988 to 1998 which was  used to access the quality of cars before they were sent to various dealers. He said that the culture of General Motors was the main problem of the company where if there was a problem and you said anything that you could be fired and then on the other hand if you did not say anything, you still could be fired.† What kind of culture is that? It is kind of twisted, if I must say. He said that he had sent a letter to the upper management about all of the defects that he had found and that they just ignored it. He also said that he never received a response in any way about the letter. He mentioned that in 1997 the focus for the company really changed and internally and that there were to be NO problems admitted to. How ridiculous is that. There is never a time during the day that a company does not have some kind of problem. He went on to say; â€Å"That’s what happened with the ignition switch, people knew that there was a problem but problems were not acceptable. They just ignored it.† Mr. McAleer was laid off in 2004 and filed suit agains t the company under the Whistleblower Law but he lost his suit. And what happened yesterday, June 27, 2014? General Motors recalled another 430,000 2013 and 2014 vehicles for various defects from windshield wiper assemblies on Caprice Police Cars, to transmission software, to rear shock absorbers, and to air bag problems. What is with this company? The article stated that since January, General Motors has recalled more than 20 million vehicles worldwide. If they knew about the ignition switch more than a decade ago and did nothing until this year, why are they still in business? Where are most of these defective parts coming from? I would imagine that you can see why I cannot be happy about this company. I have lived many years and have worked in various occupations and have seen the defective merchandise come from out of the country and would just sit there and shake my head. Working in retail for over 20 years, I just would not put merchandise on the floor for customers to purchase if I found it to be defective. Did I get into trouble for it? Absolutely not! We cared about our customers, why doesn’t General Motors. Seems like all they are interested in is the almighty dollar. Ref: CNN.com Article by Patrick Sheridan, June 28, 2014 @ 12:24 pm ET Article by Patrick Sheridan, June 27, 2014 @ 6:564 pm ET

Effect Of Social Media To The Students

Just as the Internet has changed the way Canadians buy music, organize vacations, and research school projects, it has also affected how they interact socially. Through the use of social media, people can exchange photos and videos, share news stories, post their thoughts on blogs, and participate in online discussions. com/the-effects-of-social-media-on-communication-skills/">Social media also allow individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and parliamentarians to interact with large numbers of people. In conjunction with the increase in online activity, there are concerns about the ways in which the personal information that is shared by social media users may be collected and analyzed.This paper gives a brief overview of the evolution and development of social media, looks at how their attributes affect the way people interact online, and considers their potential social and economic impact. 2 What are Social Media? The term â€Å"social media† refers to the wide range of Internet-based and mobile services that allow users to participate in online exchanges, contribute user-created content, or join online communities.The kinds of Internet services commonly associated with social media (sometimes referred to as â€Å"Web 2.0†) include the following:1 Blogs. Short for â€Å"web log,† a blog is an online journal in which pages are usually displayed in reverse chronological order. 2 Blogs can be hosted for free on websites such as WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger. 3 Wikis. A wiki is â€Å"a collective website where any participant is allowed to modify any page or create a new page using her Web browser. †4 One well-known example is Wikipedia,5 a free online encyclopedia that makes use of wiki technology Social bookmarking.Social bookmarking sites allow users to organize and share links to websites. Examples include reddit, StumbleUpon and Digg. 6 Social network sites. These have been defined as â€Å"web-based services that al low individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. †7Among the most popular in Canada are Facebook and LinkedIn.8 Status-update services.Also known as microblogging services, status-update services such as Twitter9 allow people to share short updates about people or events and to see updates created by others. 10 Virtual world content. These sites offer game-like virtual environments in which users interact. One example is the imaginary world constructed in Second Life,11 in which users create avatars (a virtual representation of the user) that interact with others. 12 Media-sharing sites. These sites allow users to post videos or photographs.Popular examples include YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. 13 These categories overlap to some degree. Twitter, for example, is a soc ial network site as well as a status-update service. Likewise, users of the social network site Facebook can share photographs, and users of the media-sharing site Pinterest can follow other people. 3 The Evolution of Social Media In the late 1990s, as broadband14 Internet became more popular, websites that allowed users to create and upload content began to appear. 15 The first social network site (SixDegrees. com) appeared in 1997.From 2002 onward, a large number of social network sites were launched. Some – such as Friendster – enjoyed a surge of popularity, only to fade. Others developed niche communities: MySpace, for example, appealed to teenaged music aficionados. 16 By the late 2000s, social media had gained widespread acceptance and some services gained huge numbers of users. For example, in November 2012, Facebook announced it had 1 billion users worldwide, of whom 18 million were in Canada. 17 In July 2012, Twitter had an estimated 517 million users, of whom 10 million were in Canada.18 A number of factors have contributed to this rapid growth in social media participation. These include technological factors such as increased broadband availability, the improvement of software tools, and the development of more powerful computers and mobile devices; social factors such as the rapid uptake of social media by younger age groups; and economic factors such as the increasing affordability of computers and software, and growing commercial interest in social media sites. 19 4 Attributes of Social MediaWith attributes that can affect the way people interact online, social media open up new ways for collaboration and discussion. One of these is persistence, meaning that a great deal of content posted on social media sites may remain there permanently by default. Other characteristics are replicability (content can be copied and shared) and searchability (content can be found easily using online search tools). The characteristic of accessibilit y is also important: social media can be used anywhere, at any time, where an Internet connection is available.These attributes shape the dynamics of social interaction online. For example, the â€Å"invisibility† of the reader raises questions about the context, appropriateness and even comprehensibility of a communication. 20 Moreover, just as it is difficult to know who might be reading content posted on a social media site, the identity and motives of those who post content are not always clear. For example, there have been instances of companies using social media to market products through fake blogs or sponsored postings on social media sites. 21 5 The Impact of Social MediaHow is Canadian society affected by social media? Because the widespread adoption of these modes of communication began only in the early 2000s, their social and economic implications are not yet fully understood. Some believe the Internet is making people more isolated, while others hope it will in crease democratic participation. Research by Statistics Canada suggests â€Å"that we should expect neither a dysfunctional society of loners nor a blissful society of happy networkers. Rather, we are facing a society that is differently cohesive from the one we have known.†22 There do not appear to be any significant differences in the number of social ties or in the amount of social interaction between Internet users and non-users. 23 Instead, the Internet is providing ways of fostering participation with community members and enhancing relationships, including through social media. 24 Social media have also had an economic impact with respect to the ways in which content is created and consumed, and hence on the information and communications technologies sector. 25 Indeed, in Canada, annual growth in this sector averaged 3.8% from 2002 to 2011, double the rate of growth in the overall economy (1. 9%). 26 In addition, many businesses are incorporating social media into the ir marketing strategies.For governments and parliamentarians, social media offer new ways to engage with citizens. To give an example, the Public Health Agency of Canada uses a variety of social media tools to share information about public health issues. 27 As well, an increasing number of parliamentarians are using social media sites. 6 Conclusion For a growing number of Canadians, social media provide a way of keeping in touch with friends, relatives and communities.Social media also allow companies, organizations, governments and parliamentarians to reach large numbers of people. At the same time, social media are changing the ways in which people interact with others, although the full impact of these changes is not yet clear. The implications of sharing personal information are also not fully understood. Other papers in this Library of Parliament series take a closer look at social media with respect to demographics, privacy issues and political applications.

Client Strategy Proposal for AngliCare Australia (Non Profit Research Paper

Client Strategy Proposal for AngliCare Australia (Non Profit Organisation) - Research Paper Example The message we are trying to spread here is â€Å"Let others reuse to the core for what you have use no more†, encouraging people to donate things that they are done with, but something that still has some sort of value so that someone else can put it to use. Introduction AngliCare is a social welfare agency based in Australia. They provide a unique range of community services including family relationship services, foster care, adoption, employment services, community housing and development, etc. Originally established in June 1976 as â€Å"Anglican Health and Welfare Services†, AngliCare now has a staff of over 400 and a network of more than 300 volunteers and counting, AngliCare is now one of Australia’s largest Christian care organizations and reaches out to over 38 thousand people every year, making an annual turnover of over 25 Million Dollars. (About Us 2011) Being a social welfare organization, AngliCare provides specialized services to all, children, th e aged, the disabled; anyone who requires help. They realize that more often than not, people are in need of an ear to listen and some moral support. Their main aim is to try to help these people through love and Jesus. Goals & Objectives AngliCare has a vision to change lives and communities by care through Jesus Christ. They believe that, â€Å"we live in a just and fair society in which all people thrive.† (Dear Applicant 2011). All they want to do is help everyone get there. They want to provide support and services to those who need it, as a push to make them reach where they want to. They also want to play a role in influencing policy makers to ensure that institutions and systems are made aware of the needs of all people in the community. AngliCare has one mission-to care: by doing good work that will help communities evolve and address any kind of needs, emotional, social or physical, that the people may have. AngliCare’s goal is to work together with people, f amilies and their communities so as to enhance their abilities and to encourage them to cope with the daily challenges that life has to offer. They do so by being compassionate, responsive, non judgmental and non discriminating in their strive to help others feel empowered. AngliCare depends on team work. It is their best strategy and has over time made them believe that cooperation and collaboration is what leads to achieving quality outcomes for both individuals and communities. Situation Analysis: SWOT Strengths: AngliCare provides a vast range of services that has turned to be a strength for them. These services include caring for the aged, youth services, family relationship services, disability and carer services, disaster recovery, etc. They do not discriminate or judge, but accept whoever comes to them with needs. Being a social welfare group, this plays a very strong role in their functioning. Their main motto is to care and they ensure that this message is communicated to all they come across. AngliCare also has strength in its organizational and services structures that are very comprehensive and well planned. Weakness: In spite of being a social welfare organization, everything is not given to AngliCare on a silver platter. They are facing issues that can be considered a weakness to their functioning, such as with some of its events, the volunteers and the bad donations to its op shops. They need to work on

The Use of Force and Wars on Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Use of Force and Wars on Terrorism - Essay Example The Charter’s Article 51 stipulates (Dinstein 2001, 161): â€Å"Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.† Hence, a country can respond in self-defence or self-preservation against a terrorist assault, but not unless the Security Council has performed steps needed to uphold security, peace, and order. The immunity for self-defence stated in Article 51 is the single clear omission to the prohibition of Article 2(4). This Article, according to Dinstein (2001), presumes that international law currently necessitates at least the possibility of a forthcoming armed attack before a nation may react forcefully or violently against the political independence or territorial integrity of another nation. Nevertheless, even as the terrorists have perpetrate d an armed assault, the right to wield force against the attackers positioned in a state is anomalous except if the terrorist activities can be attributed to the state (Kittrich 2008). Hence, an important question is when can terrorism be attributed to the state where in it manoeuvres? Since an assault against terrorism breaches the host state’s territorial integrity, the terrorists’ armed assault should be ascribed to that particular state (Kittrich 2008). It would then be legally acceptable to wield force against the terrorists positioned in that state. This paper tries to address this primary question: Do terrorists’ acts constitute a violation of Article 2(4), which justifies wars on terrorism as an act of self-defence under the UN Charter? Use of Force against Terrorism The impact of the UN Charter on a state’s innate right to embark on traditional self-preservation has long been a point of contention. Nevertheless, nowadays, many think that the trad itional international law authority to self-protection is unchanged by the Charter’s Article 51 and that this natural right to self-preservation involves a right to defensive self-protection (Boethe 2003). Others claim that Article 51 in fact removed preventative self-defence as a lawful rationale for the exercise of armed or violent force, and, without an armed attack, a nation should restrict itself to mobilizations to defend against such an assault, even despite of clear assault mobilizations being carried out by another nation (Penna 1991). This Article reinforces the argument of those who claim that states sustain the traditional natural right to defensive self-protection. Threats of international terrorism currently take place in the form of anachronistic groups that embody majority of the features of a state: organisation, preparation, training, disposed forces, resources, and possible possession of weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, dissimilar from states, the se terrorist groups are headed by people who are ready to use suicide operations routinely and who show a complete disrespect to the authority of law and human life (Dinstein 2001). Certainly, the success of such assaults relies on a state unaware of how or when these assaults will subsequently take place. Hence, a state may legally respond on the supposition that, due to the constantly displayed unusual characteristic and operational strategies of particular transnational terrorist groups, an assault by such

MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY - Essay Example the organizations to achieve this goal there is need for the managers to break down bureaucratic structures to allow close interaction between workers and managers at various levels, recognize the potential of employees, capitalize organizational teams and organization of projects. Management can be viewed as a form of idea and a structure of values based on the perception that it can secure a limitless growth of expansion in the creation and exchange of human significance across the globe (Smith) Customers want their orders processed as fast as possible and with greater efficiency. This requires organizations to be fully prepared to respond to emergency requests of the customers while maintain continuous improvement of products and services they deliver to the customers. It is apparent that organizations must make a profit in order to survive in the market. The efficiency of management is achieved at four levels namely; natural, social, individual and ethical level (Alain, 2006). The management should have a limitless predisposition towards a systematic in addition to the occasional regulation of nature and boundless accumulation and capitalisation of knowledge for governing nature. Managers require skills to address issues at all levels from individual, social, organizational and global levels by establishing a clear link of how various things interact at all levels across the globe. The new management style involves focusing on short-term financial performance. Just as aforementioned, organizations must make a profit on a daily basis in order for them to survive. Investors use returns of their investments as a yardstick to measure the efficiency of management (Alain, 2006). This puts managers under intense pressure to put in place concrete measures to achieve short-term finance performance. There is an increasing urgency in production and consumption of products and services mainly as a result of increasing use of information technology. These aspects have

Cash Flows Under Different Risk Management Decisions Essay

Cash Flows Under Different Risk Management Decisions - Essay Example A risk is involved because of the uncertainty is present in the future. Therefore, the risk can also be called as the uncertainty of the future events (Crouhy, 2000). It can be explained in a way that we are not aware of the unexpected circumstance, which may happen in the coming future. Despite the projections and planning, one cannot fight with the events which are out of the control of human beings. This can be explained with the example of common human being, who plans and takes decisions in his life with some expectations, which he believes will have more chances to occur in the future but if life does not move according to the expected circumstances so the person may face loss in his decision. Therefore, the chance of occurring unexpected circumstances is referred to as the risk of loss. The reason may be that the decisions may not move according to the plan (Hopkins, 2012). Risk can also be explained with the more specified example of financial planning of a person, who projec ts his cash flows that will occur in the future based on the potential for his career growth. If the result of the decision is in accordance with his plan then he will be able to enjoy profits otherwise loss (David, 2008).The job of any risk manager is to control the risk and identify more profitable option at the given level of risk. The risk level is determined using different risk-based components and the then financial engineering is used to evaluate the results of the risk-based decisions (McLucas, 2003).

The Police and Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Police and Higher Education - Essay Example To consider any job a profession a person must go through rigorous academic training. The only reason we entrust our lives to a doctor is because we know he or she has gone through at least a decade of tough training. (Bueermann, 2006) A doctor treats people who are sick. To determine how sick the patient is a doctor must know all the symptoms, the medical history and the possible allergic reactions. Any one who commits a crime has a disease. A police officer is a criminal's doctor. To find out how sick the criminal is the police should look at the effect of the crime, the criminal history and possible future reactions to the both the police and the criminals action. For a police officer to do his job he must have some academic training because he must diagnose the criminal. The Chief of Police of Redland California says, "We need to advance the educational levels of police officers. Today's challenges-greater ethnic and racial diversity in the service population, increased outside scrutiny of police practices, added responsibilities arising from homeland security-require officers to be able to think critically."(Bueermann, 2006) The Chief believes that society today is way more complex and to meet all the challenges an officer must be able to critically analyze a situation and take action accordingly. 'Street smarts' cannot be acquired by a college degree but the ability to critically think can. "Higher education does not guarantee that a candidate will become a great cop, but it does promote critical thinking. And requiring a college degree of incoming police officers is an effective way to foster organization-wide critical thinking."(Bueermann, 2006) The basic purpose of college besides producing a professional is to teach a person to think outside t he box and to critically analyze a situation. Education diversifies people's thoughts and transforms ideas into revolutions. A high school education strengthens the bud's roots so it can go to college, receive proper exposure to sunlight and have enough water to bloom into a rose. Education helps the human brain bloom into a perfect rose. It should be expected of police officers, the guardians of our society, to not only have strong roots but an open mind as well. Although college education is the formal way of getting an education it is not always the only way of getting one. A police department in Connecticut has taken a different route to police education. Instead of having a military like building their institute looks like a regular college. Instead of wearing uniforms the recruits wear normal clothes and the head is civilian. They have also changed what they teach; initially the training focus was on the physical aspects of policing. (Travis, 1995) Now the emphasis is on problem-solving, conflict resolution, diversity training, and acquiring organizational skills. Previously, only the minimum State requirements were taught. Now, recruits study such problems as sexual harassment, bias and hate crimes, HIV-AIDS, stress, and violence against women conversational Spanish and American Sign Language [and

Paraphrase creditor rights, remedies, and insurance as a component of Essay - 1

Paraphrase creditor rights, remedies, and insurance as a component of risk management - Essay Example The scenario given involves Eagle Sales Company who owned a warehouse after obtaining a mortgage from First National Bank. The two companies obtained insurance policies separately from the Good Hands Insurance Company to insure the warehouse. Later on, Eagle Inc. sold the warehouse to Interstate Distribution Company but kept the insurance policy. Furthermore, the bank agreed to be Interstate’s mortgagee, and Interstate also obtained an insurance policy from Good Hands Inc. to cover the warehouse. If a fire destroys the property, the companies that will recover an amount of the loss are Interstate and the mortgagee. Eagle Sales Company cannot have any share because they have no insurable interest for the warehouse. This is because the only person who should recover from the loss is the owner of the property (Miller, 2011). Eagle cannot recover from the loss even if they had retained the insurance policy of the warehouse since, they do not have the insurable interest of the property. For instance, Eagle Inc. can only be entitled to a refund of premiums paid to the Good Hands Insurance Company. Insurance interests are not dependent on the premium payers of the insurance policy. Therefore, Good Hands risk was under the insurance policy that it sold to Interstate Distribution Corporation. This case is also unbelievable based on the fact that there is only a single insurance policy to any property insured. Insurance companies cannot offer multiple insurance policies on the same property. If an insurance company does this, then it will have to compensate the multiple claimants who had insurance policies for the property (Cheeseman, 2009). In this scenario, First National Bank and Interstate Distribution Company are the only claimants who can claim compensation for the loss of property. The information given clearly shows that the mortgagee who is represented by the First National Bank and the Interstate Distribution Company sites them

Individual Behavior (Organizations) Essay Example for Free

Individual Behavior (Organizations) Essay Individual behavior is considered as one of the main determinants of the productivity of a given organization. The said relationship is believed to be very important that an entire academic discipline was created to focus on its study. Organizational behavior is a field of study that concentrates on describing, understanding, predicting and controlling human behavior in an organizational setting. It is divided into four sub-fields – individual behavior, group behavior, organizational structure and organizational processes. These allow organizational behavior to study a wide range of topics, such as personality, job satisfaction, leadership, group dynamics and the impact of stress on work (Answers, 2008). Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations It is true that human behavior varies from one person to another due to their individual differences. However, organizational behavior scientists argued that individual behavior is made up of the same elements. These elements must be identified in order to establish predictability in the study of human behavior. The consistency of these elements result in the development of reasonably accurate predictions of individual behavior (NEU-CBA, n. d. ). Understanding Individuals in Organization Organizational behavior scientists use the psychological contract in their study in order to understand the members of a particular organization. Psychological contract refers to a members expectations based on his or her contributions and the organizations inducements. Contributions are what the member provides to the organization. Inducements, on the other hand, are what the organization will provide the member in exchange for the latters contributions (Abelson, 2006). Personality and Individual Behavior In sharp contrast to psychological contract, the element of personality and individual behavior assert that individual behavior within an organization is determined by â€Å"the relatively permanent set of psychological and behavioral attributes that distinguish one person from another† (Abelson, 2006). One of the most popular personality frameworks is the â€Å"Big Five† Personality Traits. It is composed of the following: a) Agreeableness – A persons ability to establish good relationships with others b) Conscientiousness – The number of goals of which a person strives hard to achieve c) Negative emotionality – The extent to which an individual can remain poised, calm, resilient and secure d) Extraversion – The level of comfort a person has with interpersonal relationships e) Openness – An individuals flexibility in terms of beliefs and interests (Abelson, 2006) Attitudes and Individual Behavior Attitudes are the beliefs and feelings that people have regarding certain ideas, situations or other people. Cognitive dissonance occurs when an individuals encounters other people who does not share his or her attitudes. The element of attitudes and individual behavior believe that members of an organization behave the way they do because it is their means of dealing with people who possess attitudes that are different from theirs. For an organization to be productive, its member must learn how to respect each others differences and work as a team despite their diversity in beliefs, attitudes and values (Abelson, 2006). Work-related Attitudes It must be noted, however, that individual behavior in an organization can also be influenced by attitudes that were developed in the workplace. Some examples of work-related attitudes are the following: a) Job Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction – An attitude that reflects the amount of pleasure or fulfillment that an individual achieves from his or her work b) Organizational Commitment – An attitude that measures a persons degree of affinity with the organization itself c) Affect and Mood in Organizations i. Positive Affectivity – A tendency to exhibit an overall sense of optimism and well-being; sees things in a positive light ii. Negative affectivity – A tendency to exhibit an overall sense of pessimism and gloom; sees things negatively (Abelson, 2006). Perception and Individual Behavior This element defines a persons behavior as a result of his or her perception, or the set of processes by which he or she becomes aware of his or her environment and starts to interpret information about it. One of the most detrimental forms of perception is selective perception, or the practice of disregarding information that a person feels uncomfortable with or goes against his or her own beliefs. Selective perception may lead to stereotyping or the usage of a single attribute to categorize or label other people. Selective perception may also result in scapegoating or making other people take responsibility for ones own faults and shortcomings (Abelson, 2006). Stress and Individual Behavior Stress is â€Å"an individual’s response to a strong stimulus,† called a stressor (Ableson, 2006). The general cycle of the human body experiencing and recovering from stress is the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Often caused by task, physical, role and interpersonal demands, one of the major effects of stress is burnout, or the feeling of exhaustion produced by undergoing stress for prolonged periods of time (Abelson, 2006). Experts categorized people into two types, depending on how much they can endure stress. â€Å"Type A† people were those who are very competitive, hardworking and are extremely particular when it comes to time. â€Å"Type B† people, on the other hand, were those who were not as hardworking, dilligent and time-conscious. It was said that â€Å"Type A† people were more likely to experience burnout than â€Å"Type B† individuals (Abelson, 2006). Creativity in Organizations This element stresses the importance of an organizations creativity in affecting the behavior of its members. An organization that is always able to come up with new ideas or new perspectives that will improve existing ideas have a greater chance of improving productivity among its members than an organization who strictly adheres to convention and does not welcome innovation. Types of Workplace Behavior The effectiveness of an organization is very much affected by workplace behavior, or the pattern of action exhibited by its members while working. Workplace behavior is categorized into four types: a) Performance Behaviors – The â€Å"total set of work-related behaviors that the organization expects the individual to display† (Abelson, 2006). An organizations performance behaviors is usually indicated in its manual for its members. Performance behaviors are one of the organizations ways of communicating to its members what are its objectives and how will these be attained. b) Withdrawal Behaviors – Characterized by the absence of an organizations members i. Absenteeism – When people develop a habitual pattern of not showing up for work ii. Turnover – When people resign from their jobs c) Organizational Citizenship – When people display behavior that contributes positively and immensely to their organization. d) Dysfunctional Behaviors – Behaviors that are detrimental to organizational performance (e. g. stealing office property, fighting in the office premises, reporting to work in improper attire, etc. ) When a person shows dysfunctional behavior, he or she is sending the message that he or she does not belong to the organization that he or she joined and that he or she has contempt for those who do. In addition, the person who exhibits dysfunctional behavior also has contempt for the organization itself, as well as for its objectives (Abelson, 2006). Conclusion An organization is composed of individual members who have different backgrounds, beliefs, values and principles. Hence, it is very crucial to train them how to work harmoniously with one another despite their differences. By identifying the elements of individual behavior in an organization, employers can establish standards and rules that are firm but at the same time considerate towards the workers needs. Not only will the company prosper; the employees will also become better workers and persons as well. References Abelson, M. (2006). Chapter 15 – Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations. PDF File. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://wehner. tamu. edu/mgmt. www/mgmt. 363/non-business_363/Chapter%2015%20%20-%20Griffin%208th%20Edition. pdf. Answers. com. (2008). Organizational Behavior. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://www. answers. com/topic/organizational-behavior? cat=biz-fin Northeastern University – College of Business Administration (NEU-CBA). (n. d. ). Human Behavior in Organizations: An Introduction. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://web. cba. neu. edu/~ewertheim/introd/introd. htm

The Imposing Of Goods And Services Tax Economics Essay

The Imposing Of Goods And Services Tax Economics Essay The imposing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) will replace the Malaysian service and sales tax. GST has been implemented in US, Singapore, Thailand and Japan where Malaysias GST will be charged four percent for buying and selling transactions. The basic necessities like sugar, flour, and oil are free from GST in Malaysia. GST is a consumption tax where everyone can be charged of all the supplies of goods and services. For example, if the total price of a good is RM10, then consumers will have to pay an extra 40 cents after GST is charged. However, GST will affect the middle and low income group in Malaysia who use their income for basic necessities. Government impose taxes on the buyers and sellers. When there is a tax on buyers, they will buy less and this discourages consumptions of goods and services. Tax on buyers will increase the cost of buying and hence demand decreases. The demand curve will shifts to left by the tax. Buyers will need more money to buy the goods produced and services performed. When there is a tax on sellers, they will sell less and discourages production of goods and services. Tax on sellers will increase the cost of production and hence decrease the supply of goods and services. As a result, the quantity of the goods sold will decline. The supply curve will shifts to left by the amount of the tax. Buyers and sellers both will have to bear with the tax. The buyers will have to pay more for the goods while the sellers receive less profit. The sellers will earn less if the tax is imposed. The government use the revenue from taxes to subsidy the items which needed by the citizens. Rice, petrol, oil, sugar and chicken are examples that government subsidies for the people. These items are very crucial in their daily life. In my opinion, taxes should be imposing on the selling of cigarettes and alcohols. If the government impose tax on these two items, the demand of cigarettes and alcohols will reduce. This is because cigarettes and alcohols have negative impact in our body. The people slowly realise the importance of having a healthy lifestyle. If the price of cigarettes and alcohols increases, people will consume less. This is because the population of the country mainly consist of lower income group. This group of people do not have enough money to buy when the price goes up. The diagrams below show the illustrations of tax on buyers and tax on sellers. P S Psellers P without tax Pbuyers Tax D1 D0 Tax on buyers 0 Q S1 P S0 Pwithout tax Pbuyers Tax Psellers D Q 0 (b) Tax on sellers Besides tax, price control also regulates the market when the markets fail. Price control consists of two acts which is the ceiling price, the maximum price charged to the consumers and floor price, the minimum price producers sell. Ceiling price is the maximum limit set by the government for goods and services. This is to help the buyers which are the lower income group in Malaysia. The ceiling price is set based on basic necessities like sugar, oil and rice. Ceiling price increases the quantity demanded of a good for consumers and decreases the quantity supplied by the producers or sellers. Sellers cannot sell goods and services above the ceiling price. As a result, they will leave the market. When the quantity demanded is more than quantity supplied, this will incur shortages for goods and services. Producers will not have the incentive to produce more while the consumers will demand more than normal condition. The producers would likely to produce low quality products. Price ceiling have been impose on the sugar market and rice market in Malaysia recently. The producers of sugar will not want to sell their products at ceiling price. Then, the sugar producers will supply less sugar in the market. Hence, the consumers will be facing panic-buying where the consumers scared that they will not have enough sugars to make cakes and drinks especially during festive celebrations. Consumers will be healthier if they have less consumption of sugar. This policy will cause hardship to Malaysians. In contrast, consumers will enjoy the benefit of having a low price for goods and services. Consumers would like to pay less than more on goods and services and save more for their futures. However, the shortage caused by the suppliers or producers creates a black market. This is where the goods and services are bought and sold illegally. Black market creates problem for the poor people. The poor people will not get the goods if they do not have enough money. In a black market, people who bid and willing to pay the highest will get the goods. If the ceiling price of a good in Malaysia is lower than the price in worldwide, the producers will sell the good to other country other than Malaysia. The main reason is they can earn extra profit if they sell overseas through smuggling. Black market always associated with criminal activities like selling firearms, tobacco and drugs. The diagram below shows the illustration of the ceiling price. Price Equilibrium price Supply Equilibrium point Price ceiling (binding) Pe Pn Shortage Demand Qe 0 Quantity demanded (c) Ceiling price The objective of floor price is to raise the revenue of producers. Government set the minimum price for the goods and services that offered by the producers. For example, when the price of petrol increases, the quantity demanded by the consumers decreases. When the quantity demanded reduces, there will be more supply in the market, then surplus of goods and services incur. When surplus occurs, producers will produce too much and consumers demand too little. The surplus bought by the government can be used when there is shortage of goods and services at ceiling price. Consumers would have to pay a higher price for goods and services. The suppliers or producers are guaranteed to a higher price and hence they increase production. However, the producers are guaranteed temporarily as there are more competitions in their own industry. The diagram below shows the illustration of floor price. Surplus P Floor price (binding) Pn S Equilibrium price D Equilibrium quantity 0 Q (d) Floor price In conclusion, the Goods and Services Tax and price control increase the efficiency of the market and have some positive and negative impacts in different public policies. The GST has to be fair with either to suppliers or consumers. Besides public policies, the distribution policy can also increase the efficiency of a market. Ceiling price and floor price are affecting the consumers demand and the suppliers supply curve. The government has to care for the lower income group in order to decrease the cost of basic goods and services in their daily life.

An introduction to the macroeconomics of walmart

An introduction to the macroeconomics of walmart Sam Walton, a leader with an innovative vision, started his own company and made it into the leader in discount retailing that it is today. Through his savvy, and sometimes unusual, business practices, he and his associates led the company forward for thirty years. Today, years after his death, the company is still growing steadily. Wal-Mart executives continue to rely on many of the traditional goals and philosophies that Sams legacy left behind, while also keeping one step ahead of the constantly changing technology and methods of todays fast-paced business environment. The organization has faced, and is still facing, a significant amount of controversy over several different issues; however, none of these have done much more than scrape the exterior of this gigantic operation. The future also looks bright for Wal-Mart, especially if it is able to strike a comfortable balance between increasing its profits and recognizing its social and ethical responsibilities. Why is Wal-Mart so Successful? In 1962, when Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, no one could have ever predicted the enormous success this small-town merchant would have. Sam Waltons talent for discounts retailing not only made Wal-Mart the worlds largest retailer, but also the worlds number one retailer in sales. Indeed, Wal-Mart was named Retailer of the Decade by Discount Store News in 1989, and on several occasions has been included in Fortunes list of the 10 most admired corporations. Even with Waltons death (after a two-year battle with bone cancer) in 1992, Wal-Marts sales continue to grow significantly. Wal-Mart is successful not only because it makes sound strategic management decisions, but also for its innovative implementation of those strategic decisions. Regarded by many as the entrepreneur of the century, Walton had a reputation for caring about his customers, his employees (or associates as he referred to them), and the community. In order to maintain its market position in the discount retail business, Wal-Mart executives continue to adhere to the management guidelines Sam developed. Walton was a man of simple tastes and took a keen interest in people. He believed in three guiding principles: 1. Customer value and service;   2. Partnership with its associates; 3. Community involvement (The Story of Wal-Mart, 1995). The word always can be seen in virtually all of Wal-Marts literature. One of Waltons deepest beliefs was that the customer is always right, and his stores are still driven by this philosophy. When questioned about Wal-Marts secrets of success, Walton has been quoted as saying, It has to do with our desire to exceed our customers expectations every hour of every day (Wal-Mart Annual Report, 1994, p. 5). Waltons greatest accomplishment was his ability to empower, enrich, and train his employees (Longo, 1994). He believed in listening to employees and challenging them to come up with ideas and suggestions to make the company better. At each of the Wal-Mart stores, signs are displayed which read; Our People Make the Difference. Associates regularly make suggestions for cutting costs through their Yes We Can Sam program. The sum of the savings generated by the associates actually paid for the construction of a new store in Texas (The story of Wal-Mart, 1995). One of Wal-Marts goals was to provide its employees with the appropriate tools to do their jobs efficiently. The technology was not used as a means of replacing existing employees, but to provide them with a means to succeed in the retail market (Thompson Strickland, 1995). Wal-Marts popularity can be linked to its hometown identity. Walton believed that every customer should be greeted upon entering a store, and that each store should be a reflection of the values of its customers and its community. Wal-Mart is involved in many community outreach programs and has launched several national efforts through industrial development g rants. What are the Key Features of Wal-Marts Approach to Implementing the Strategy Put Together by Sam Walton The key features of Wal-Marts approach to implementing the strategy put together by Sam Walton emphasizes building solid working relationships with both suppliers and employees, being aware and taking notice of the most intricate details in store layouts and merchandising techniques, capitalizing on every cost saving opportunity, and creating a high performance spirit. This strategic formula is used to provide customers access to quality goods, to make these goods available when and where customers want them, to develop a cost structure that enables competitive pricing, and to build and maintain a reputation for absolute trustworthiness (Stalk, Evan, Shulman, 1992). Wal-Mart stores operate according to their Everyday Low Price philosophy. Wal-Mart has emerged as the industry leader because it has been better at containing its costs, which has allowed it to pass on the sav ings to its customers. Wal-Mart has become a capability competitor. It continues to improve upon its key business processes, managing them centrally and investing in them heavily for the long-term payback. Wal-Mart has been regarded as an industry leader in testing, adapting, and applying a wide range of cutting-edge merchandising approaches (Thompson Strickland, 1995, p. 860). Walton proved to be a visionary leader and was known for his ability to quickly learn from his competitors successes and failures. In fact, the founder of Kmart once claimed that Walton not only copied our concepts, he strengthened them. Sam just took the ball and ran with it (Thompson Strickland, 1995, p. 859). Wal-Mart has invested heavily in its unique cross-docking inventory system. Cross docking has enabled Wal-Mart to achieve economies of scale, which reduces its costs of sales. With this system, goods are continuously delivered to stores within 48 hours and often without having to inventory them. Low er prices also eliminate the expense of frequent sales promotions and sales are more predictable. Cross docking gives the individual managers more control at the store level. A company owned transportation system also assists Wal-Mart in shipping goods from warehouse to store in less than 48 hours. This allows Wal-Mart to replenish the shelves 4 times faster than its competition. Wal-Mart owns the largest and most sophisticated computer system in the private sector. It uses a MPP (massively parallel processor) computer system to track stock and movement which keeps it abreast of fast changes in the market (Daugherty, 1993). Information related to sales and inventory is disseminated via its advanced satellite communications system. Wal-Mart has leveraged its volume buying power with its suppliers. It negotiates the best prices from its vendors and expects commitments of quality merchandise (Thompson Strickland, 1995). The purchasing agents of Wal-Mart are very focused people. Their highest priority is making sure everybody at all times in all cases knows whos in charge, and its Wal-Mart (Vance Scott, 1995, p. 32). Even though Wal-Mart was tough in negotiating for absolute rock-bottom prices, the company worked closely with suppliers to develop mutual respect and to forge long-term partnerships that benefited both parties (Thompson Strickland, 1995, p. 866). Wal-Mart built an automated reordering system linking computers between Procter Gamble (PG) and its stores and distribution centers. The computer system sends a signal from a store to PG identifying an item low in stock. It then sends a resupply order, via satellite, to the nearest PG factory, which then ships the item to a Wal-Mart distribution center or directly to the store. This interaction between Wal-Mart and PG is a win-win proposition because with better coordination, PG can lower its costs and pass some of the savings on to Wal-Mart. Sam Walton received national attention through his Buy America policy. Through this plan, Wal-Mart encourages its buyers and merchandise managers to stock stores with American-made products. In a 1993 annual report management stated the program demonstrates a long-standing Wal-Mart commitment to our customers that we will buy American-made products whenever we can if those products deliver the same quality and affordability as their foreign-made counterparts (Thompson Strickland, 1995, p. 868). Environmental concerns are important to Wal-Mart. A prototype store was opened in Lawrence, Kansas, which was designed to be environmentally friendly. The store contains environmental education and recycling centers (Slezak, 1993). Wal-Mart has also adopted the low cost theme for its facilities. All offices, including the corporate headquarters, are built economically and furnished simply. To conserve energy, temperature controls are connected via computer to headquarters. Through these programs, Wal-Mart shows its concern for the community. Wal-Mart h as been led from the top but run from the bottom, a strategy developed by Sam Walton and carried on by a small group of senior executives led by CEO David Glass. Although recent growth has led Wal-Mart to add more management layers, senior executives strive to maintain its unique culture. This culture, described as one part Southern Baptist evangelism, one part University of Arkansas Razorback teamwork, and one part IBM hardware has worked to Wal-Marts advantage (Saporito, 1994, p. 62). Just how Successful is Wal-Mart? A forecast (see Appendix A) of Wal-Marts income for the period 1995-2000, considering increases of 30.6% in Net Sales, 27.7% in Operating Expenses, and 52.3% in Interest Debt (a level which is below Wal-Marts historically compounded growth rate of 55.6%) indicates that the company should continue to report gains each year until 2000. According to most analysts and company projections, sales should approximate $115 billion by 1996, representing an increase of 30.6% as compared to 1995. If the company continues at this pace, sales should reach $334 billion by the year 2000. The growth on sales that Wal-Mart reported during the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s will be difficult to repeat, especially considering the ever-changing marketplace in which it competes. In an interview, Bill Fields, President of the Stores Division said, Wal-Mart is now seeing price pressure from companies that once assiduously avoided taking it on. These include specialty retailers such as Limited, category killers like Home Depot and Circuit City, and catalog companies like Spiegel. I think everybody prices off of Wal-Mart. Youve got Limited reaching levels wed thought theyd never get to. The result is that everyday low prices are getting lower (Saporito, 1994, p. 66). In addition, the baby-boomers are reaching their peak earnings years, when financial and personal priorities change. Thus, savings, not spending, will likely take precedence because most baby-boomers are approaching retirement. Based on Wal-Marts position in 1994, which was considered a year of expansion for the company, (Wal-Mart added 103 new discount stores, 38 Super-centers, 163 warehouse clubs, and 94,000 new associates) interest debt increased 52.3%. The cost paid by Wal-Mart to finance property plants and equipment forced the company to increase long term debt by 4.6 times during the period 1991-1995. Long term debt for 1995 is $7.9 billion. If Wal-Mart continues its expansion plans based on more debt acquisition at 1994 levels, the company may not attain forecasted gains by as early as 1998. Operating expenses will be a key strategic issue for Wal-Mart in order to maintain its position in the market. The challenge is how to run more stores with less operating expenses. According to Bill Fields,. . . the goal is to increase sales per square foot and drive operating costs down yet another notch (Saporito, 1994, p. 66). Trends indicate that operating expenses have been grow ing at a rate of 27.7% in recent years. However, Wal-Mart should reap the benefits of its investments in high technology, and be able to operate more stores without increasing its expenses. Cost of sales historically has been equal to the level of sales. If the company continues to take advantage of its buying power, Wal-Mart can expect to lower its cost of sales. Wal-Marts future will depend on how well the company manages its expansion plans. For the coming years, the company will need to justify its expansion plans with consistent growth in sales, in order to offset the increases in debt interest and operating expenses. What Problems are ahead for Wal-Mart? What Risks? Throughout the 1980s, Wal-Marts strategic intent was to unseat industry leaders Sears and Kmart, and become the largest retailer in the U.S. Wal-Mart accomplished this goal in 1991. But Wal-Marts current strong competitive position and its past rapid growth performance cant guarantee that the company will remain a s the industry leader or maintain its strong business position in the future. Carol Farmer, a retail consultant, told the Wall Street Journal that, One little bad thing can wipe out lots of good things (Trimble, 1990, p. 267). Every move in its business operation ought to be well thought-out and executed. Wal-Mart needs to address two major areas in order to maintain or to capture an even stronger long term business position: 1) Single-business strategy Wal-Marts success is mainly based on its concentration of a single-business strategy. This strategy has achieved enviable success over the last three decades without relying upon diversification to sustain its growth and competitive advantages. Given its current position in the industry, Wal-Mart may want to continue its single-business strategy and to push hard to maintain and increase market share. However, there is risk in this strategy, because concentration on a single-business strategy is similar to putting all of a firms eggs in one industry basket (Thompson Strickland, 1995, p. 187). In other words, if the retail industry stagnates due to an economic downturn, Wal-Mart might have difficulty achieving past profit performance. Also, if Wal-Mart continues to follow Sam Waltons vision of expansion, Wal-Mart will reach its peak in the very near future. When it does, its growth will start to slow down and the company will need to turn its strategic attention to diversification for future growth. Social responsibility Retail stores can compete on several bases: service, price, exclusivity, quality, and fashion. Wal-Mart has been extremely successful in competing in the retail industry by combining service, price, and quality. However, other merchants may object to Wal-Marts entry into their community. Because of its ability to out-price smaller competitors, Wal-Marts stores threaten smaller neighborhood stores which can only survive if they offer merchandise or services unavailable anywhere else. This makes it very hard for small businesses, such as mom-and-pop enterprises, to survive. They, therefore, fight to keep Wal-Mart from entering their locales. Numerous studies conducted in different states both support and criticize Wal-Mart (Verdisco, 1994). Nevertheless, Wal-Mart did drive local merchants out of business when it opened up stores in the same neighborhood. As a result, more and more rural communities are waging war against Wal-Marts entrance into their market. Besides protesting and signing petitions to attempt to stop Wal-Marts entry into their community, the oppositions efforts can even be found on The Internet. Gig Harbor, a small town in Washington, recently started a World Wide Web page entitled Us against the Wal. The towns neighborhood association promised that they will fight them [Wal-Mart] tooth and nail (PNA/Island Aerie Internet Productions, 1995/1996). The increasing opposition indicates that the road ahead for Wal-Mart may not be as smooth as Wal-Marts annual r eport would entail. This requires Wal-Mart to rethink its expansion strategy since it would not be profitable to operate in an unfriendly community. How Big Will Wal-Mart be in Five Years if all continues to go well? Before he died, Sam Walton expressed his belief that by the year 2000 Wal-Mart should be able to double the number of stores to about 3,000 and to reach sales of $125 billion annually. Walton predicted that the four biggest sources of growth potential would be the following: 1. Expanding into states where it had no stores;  Ã‚   2. continuing to saturate its current markets with new stores;   3. Perfecting the Super-center format to expand Wal-Marts retailing reach into the grocery and supermarket arena a market with annual sales of about $375 billion; 4. Moving into international markets (Thompson Strickland, 1995). Wal-Mart Super-centers represent leveraging on customer loyalty and procurement muscle in order to create a new domestic growth vehicle for the comp any. With few locations left in the U.S. to put a new Sams Club or traditional Wal-Mart, the Super-center division has emerged as the domestic vehicle for taking Wal-Mart to $100 billion in sales. Before the Super-center, Walton experimented with a massive Hyper-mart, encompassing more than 230,000 square feet in size. The idea failed. Customers complained that the produce was not fresh or well-presented and that it was difficult to find things in a store so big that inventory clerks had to wear roller skates. One of Waltons philosophies was that traveling on the road to success required failing at times. As a result of the unsuccessful experiment, Walton launched a revised concept: the Super-center, a combination discount and grocery store that was smaller than the Hyper-mart. The Super-center was intended to give Wal-Mart improved drawing power in its existing markets by providing a one-stop shopping destination. Super-centers would have the full array of general merchandise found in traditional Wal-Mart stores, as well as a full-scale supermarket, delicatessen, fresh bakery, and other specialty shops like hair salons, portrait studios, dry cleaners, and optical wear departments. Super-centers would measure 125,000 to 150,000 square feet, and target locations where sales per store of $30 to $50 million annually were feasible. Waltons prediction was right on target. The Super-center division more than doubled in size during 1993, then doubled again in 1994. Super-centers, once thought of as risky because of slim profit margins on the food side, will most likely make Wal-Mart the nations largest grocery retailer within the next five to seven years (Longo, 1994). Expanding overseas, Wal-Mart moved into the international market in 1991 through a joint-venture partnership with CIFRA S.A. de C.V., Mexicos leading retailer. Since then the company has entered Canada, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Brazil. The Wal-Mart International Division w as officially formed in 1994 to manage the companys international growth. By the year 2000, analysts expect Wal-Mart to be a huge international retailer, with numerous locations in South America, Europe, and Asia. The ever-changing market presents continuing challenges to retailers. First and foremost, retailers must recognize the strong implications of a buyers market (Lewison, 1994). Customers are being offered a wide choice of shopping experiences, but no one operation can capture them all. Therefore, it is incumbent upon management to define their target market and direct their energies toward solving that specific markets problems. Technology, demographics, consumer attitudes, and the advent of a global economy are all conspiring to rewrite the rules for success. Success in the next decade will depend upon the level of understanding retailers have about the new values, expectations, and needs of the customer. If Wal-Mart continues its customer-driven culture, it should remain a retail industry leader well into the next century. REFERENCES: Daugherty, R. (1993). New approach to retail signals strong future for point of purchase displays. Paperboard Packaging, pp. 24-27. Lewison, M. D. (1991). Retailing. New York: Macmillan. Longo, D. (1994). New generation of execs leads Wal-Mart into the next century. Discount Store News, pp. 45-47. PNA/Island Aerie Internet Productions (1995/1996). Us against the Wal. Gig Harbor, Washington: Peninsula Neighborhood Association. [Online] Available: http://www.harbornet.com/pna/. Saporito, B. (1994, May). And the winner is still . . . Wal-Mart. Fortune, pp. 62-68. Slezak, M. (1993). Seeds of environmental store planted in 1989. Discount Stores Inc., pp. 25-27. Stalk, G., Evans, P., Shulman, L. (1992, March-April). Competing on capabilities: the new rules of corporate strategy. Harvard Business Review, pp. 55-70. Thompson, A. A., Jr. Strickland, A.J. III. (1995). Strategic management concepts and cases (8th ed.). Chicago: I rwin. Trimble, V. H. (1990). Sam Walton: The inside story of Americas richest man. New York: Dutton. Vance, S., Scott, S. (1994). Wal-Mart: a history of Sam Waltons retail phenomenon. New York: Twayne. Verdisco, R. J. (1994, October). Superstores and Smallness. Discount Merchandiser, p. 8. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (1995). The story of Wal-Mart. Bentonville, Arkansas: Corporate Offices of Wal- Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart Annual Report, 1994 Wal-Mart Annual Report, 1995

Morals and Ethics of Cloning :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Morals and Ethics of Cloning Cloning is the process of taking cells from a donor, placing them in a culture dish where the nutrients are   minimal, so the cells stop dividing and switch their "active genes". The cells are then put next to an unfertilized egg. The nucleus is sucked out of the egg leaving an empty egg cell containing all the cellular machinery necessary to produce an embryo. An electric shock is used to fuse the egg and cell together. A second shock is then used to mimic the act of fertilization and help begin cell division. After the egg has successfully moved to the stage of an embryo it is then placed in to the uterus of a surrogate mother. When born, all the genes are the same as the donor of the cell. In 1997 Dr. Ian Wilmut, a British scientist successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly.   This turned the scientific world upside-down. The success of the experiment is considered by all as an amazing achievement in science. However, ethics and morals must surface to regulate cloning. It is understood that individuality is the most important part of life. Individuality is given to a person at birth and considered a right they will have for rest of their life. There is also a fear that the clone may only be produced to live the life of the clone, thus causing severe emotional damage as well pain and suffering for the clone. The progression of the clone may be limited, the advance in idea development will slowly die off. Evolution could come to a halt, because with clones, diversity will be limited and there will not be as many advances in society. The cells, in all humans, will all be the same and there will not be a process of natural selection and diversity. Another controversial question facing the cloning process is: How will the clones be treated? The emotions of the clones need to be taken in to consideration, after all they are humans too. "What is common to these various views, however, is a shared understanding that being a 'person' is different from being the manipulated 'object' of other peoples desires and expectations"(Biomedical Ethics).   People, as clones, will be studied, prodded, and poked which in turn will cause much unwanted anxiety and emotional distress.   There will also be problems with relationships between parents and the clone for understandable reasons.

Corporate Social Responsibility Essay -- Social Responsibility Essays

Contemporary business is one of the most important factors to promote social development and six elements have significant influence on it. They are corporate social responsibility, technological paradigm shifts, financial market, legislation, environment issues and business ethics. Corporate social responsibility is called CSR for short. The definition of CSR is companies should be responsible for suppliers, costumers, environment and community besides earn profit and responsible for their shareholders. The core of CSR is protecting their employees, including not discrimination, respect different culture. Technological paradigm shifts reflect social development. There are three industrial revolutions in history. Each of them bring science and technology progress rapidly and that has given a powerful propel to the productive force of the world and business, economic and social development of humanity. Comprehensive financial market systems consist of securities market, discount marke t; insurance market a foreign exchange market, finance and business are independent and mutually primitive. Government makes legislation in order to ensure the interests of citizens are protected. Legislation related many filed such as business, environment, and public services. Environment issues are big problems for modern society. Environment involves many fields, for instance business. Most companies pay much attention on business ethics. Because good business ethics is the basis of cooperation .If companies lost business ethics that means they lost company loyalty. As people all know if companies cannot manage their business with integrity or treat their clients and vendors without respect, they won’t earn partners trust and establish unbreakable ... ...distillation, desalination and ultraviolet disinfection [10]. And Reengineering solutions to global warming are receiving ever more attention, and for good reason. Science reported that top U.S. climate scientists gathered at Harvard this month to explore ways reengineering might lower the global temperature. Mimicking the natural cooling effects of volcanic eruptions by releasing massive amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere is one idea. Another is to increase the planet's reflectivity by spraying seawater on ocean clouds or floating shiny Mylar balloons into low-Earth orbit [11]. At present environmental issues are regarded by all the countries and it is a subject very worthy to be studied. People try their best to find the best way to solve these issues. That is not only benefit for nature, but also good for sustained development of human society. ..

Brief History Essay

Iran, or what is formally called as the Islamic Republic of Iran, has a rich culture starting out since 8000 B.C. (Ladjevardian par. 2). The historic trends that transpired since then up to the present has had a lot to do with the political turmoil which the country has experienced. The economy and the culture of Iran were greatly influenced by these changes; wars within and outside the country were also great factors to the country’s history. The beginning of the 20th century had positive changes for Iran after centuries of different dynasties. The Pahlavi Dynasty during the 1920s, which was also the last dynasty to rule Iran, constructed road infrastructures and initiated land reforms; education was also opened for women during this time. In 1946, Iran had a taste of freedom from the Soviet Union and in 1951, passed a law to take the Oil industry from the British control (Ladjevardian par. 73). The country experienced a sudden economic growth in 1963-1973 and during this time that public and educational institutions were further improved. By 1973, Iran was earning about $20 billion a year (Ladjevardian par. 76) from its Oil revenues. The Supreme Leader’s determination to modernize Iran instantly, backed up by the rapid economic growth, created pressure on the administration which eventually led to economic turmoil such as inflation, corruption, and increase authoritarianism by the Supreme Leader. Moreover, numerous social and political problems continued to emerge that needed to be dealt with. In 1978, the economic growth of Iran slowed down; the Supreme Leader was overthrown and since then, the government of Iran became a theocratic republic; from 1980-1988, Iran fought against Iraq. The economic loss due to the war caused a lot of problems to Iran. Furthermore, the population of the country increased tremendously and has resulted to increase in unemployment. Communication and transportation and education and public institutions were also needed to be recovered. Iran’s Economy and Resources Iran remained to be a country dependent on its oil industry; its earnings comprise the 70% of its government revenues (Economy of Iran par. 1). Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased from 34M Iranian rial in 1990 to 1.7B in 2005, partly due to said industry’s earnings. The oil industry’s role to the economy of Iran proves to be of utmost importance since this is the main export of the country. It includes petroleum, chemical and petrochemical products; other exports of Iran are from their agricultural and service sectors products such as fruits and nuts, cars, carpet and technical services. Though Iran’s GDP increased tremendously over the years, the country’s economic problems such as inflation and unemployment remain to be the two most impediments to the country’s growth. Economic Issues Khalaji (par. 3) reports that inflation in Iran reached 19% in 2008. This figure was reportedly to have been due, in part, to the increasing corruption in the country. This puts the country in a difficult situation as inflation translates to increase in goods’ prices and corruption leads to more political and social chaos. The increase in the goods’ prices lead to more importation as goods from other countries appear relatively cheaper. Inasmuch as the said problem makes the country’s situation appalling, the unemployment problem further worsens it. This was due to the increasing population which has not been backed up with increase in job offerings. Iranians pursue to work outside the country instead leading to the reportedly brain drain. It has been said that the historic trends in Iran was greatly affected by the political turmoil in the country, and that economic and cultural changes were also affected by it. The economic issues in Iran have then put the country in a social dilemma. The oil industry is not enough to sustain the country’s needs. Iran’s lack of resources to provide for its citizens sustenance require importing from other countries. This is where the importance of trade comes in. Gross Domestic Product GDP of a country is an indicator of the economic growth. The national currency of Iran is Iranian Real (IRR). Since 1990 it has increased, with an average annual growth rate between 1990 and 2005 of 2.5% as seen in the figure 1. (Economy of Iran par. 1) It means that as time has passed, the economic growth of Iran improved. There were several factors that affected the growth of the Iranian economy. The paper will dwell more on the economic indicators on how the economy of Iran rose. The highest GDP growth rate was recorded into 2002, when there was a 7.1% growth rate. Its oil abundance is considered to be the main source of its growth. Being one of OPEC’s cartel members, it has the privilege to gain higher returns for its oil products. A big contributer to Iran’s GDP growth would be its strong domestic demand benefited the non-oil and manufacturing countries.

“A Child Called It” Reflection

child called it â€Å"A Child Called It† Reflection Jessica Budzinski Sociology 2004A Prof. S. Becker September 14, 2012 When I was presented the assignment to read the award winning novel â€Å"A Child called it† by David Pelzer I had mixed feelings. I remember last semester a couple of my friends were reading the novel for their school, family, and community class. They told me about the book they had to read and how it was disturbing and some parts were unbearable to read. They revealed it was about a boy who is abused in the worst ways, and nobody does anything about it.Once receiving the book as well as the assignment I began reading it so I could have my own interpretation about the book. While reading through the novel I felt as it I was right next to David in all the situations he goes through. I felt as if I hated his manipulating mother, spineless father, and emotionless brothers just as much as David did. â€Å"A Child Called It† was extremely helpful in understanding more of what a student may be going through outside of the school environment, that may lead to negative behavior and discipline in the classroom.For example when David’s teacher first observed David stealing food from other students lunch boxes, she believed this was because of rebellion and negative behavior. What she didn’t know was that his mother had been denying him food for such long periods of time that his only hope for survival is to steal food from other students. This makes me think as a future educator to think twice before judging a student inside of the classroom. In some cases students just don’t act out to be funny or rebel, but to send out a message that they are in need of assistance inside their home.I believe that it’s very important to analyze how manipulating David’s mother was towards everyone around her. David’s mother is excellent at making people see David as a â€Å"bad boy† so that they ag ree with her actions of not letting him play outside or having him sit in the corner as a punishment. Its unreal to me that that David’s brothers who are his own blood can walk into the bathroom and see him lying in a bathtub of ice cold water and not have a care in the world about him.Most importantly his father is an important symbol in the novel. Its obvious that towards the beginning of David’s neglection that he disagreed with the way his wife was treating David. For example, when David’s mom was in the hospital giving birth to his brother his father let him interact with her brothers and have dinner. He helped David put away the dishes after he was stabbed by this mother and forced to wash the dishes while in horrific pain. His father would also attempt to save him food and sneak it to the garage.David’s mother became aware of these actions and began fighting and arguing with her husband constantly that he began to rarely come home When he did arriv e home he was intoxicated and unable to have any contact with David. David’s father was also getting abused but in a different way, towards the middle of the novel he didn’t want to start an argument with his wife so he would just stay away from David and no longer give him food. David’s mother repeatedly told David and his brothers that David was no longer part of the family.David’s mother was very loving to her other children, but from a young age her actions of abusing David were seen by her other children, In the novel David talks about how his little brother would make up stories and tell their mother so they can watch David get beaten. David’s brothers also physically abused him, by kicking and hitting him. I found it interesting that at the time of this novel the people around David other then his family were not suspicious about the Pelzer family. For example on Christmas David was only allowed to receive one gift because he is no longer pa rt of the family.He received a pair of roller skates, even as a young boy he knew this gift would be used as a punishment. During the wintertime his mother forced him to skate around the neighborhood for hours, he would be wearing the same dirty thin clothes he always wore. He writes about passing his neighbors and people in cars, but they didn’t even think twice about this action. David tells us that he was starved for a ten-day period and had no choice but to go door to door and ask for food. The people he asked either said no or handed him a sandwich not even wondering why he was knocking on their door for food and not going home.If this were to happen in today’s society people would be suspicious and ask the boy questions. The teachers in the school would wonder why he came to school with the same clothes, missing teeth, broken bones, and starving. David presented the topic that was rarely discussed in his time. He presented the ugly side of amoral society; the one in which nobody cares about the problems of others. Its incredible to see the change in the way America handles child abuse but its also heart wrenching to think of the children who were neglected and abused during the times America was not as active.I found it baffling that after being stabbed, burnt, forced to eat his brothers feces, choked, and forced to breath a mixture of ammonia and bleach that David was still true to his mother. He always completed him chores making sure nothing was under perfection; he walked on eggshells around the house, and never told the truth about his abuse. It’s obvious that the reasoning of this is because if he disobeyed his mother he would receive a worsened punishment. When he scrimmaged through the garbage can and ate the remains of his family’s dinner his mother forced him to vomit and found the food he had consumed.He then received a punishment of sitting in the bathroom for hours with a bucket of ammonia and bleach till he almos t passed out. Its devastating to know that this young boy felt so alone that he couldn’t tell his friends, neighbors, or teachers outside of his home. I hope that as a teacher if a student in my classroom is being abused they will be open and express their emotions to others or me in my school so that we can help them. The title of the book is truly reflective as the survival of the boy required real courage.The fact that his mother refereed to him by â€Å"It† symbolizes that she was blinded by sadism without realizing or comprehending her actions because of her alcohol addiction. Dave Pelzer’s book â€Å"A Child Called it† was not at all a difficult book to read, but the knowledge was quite disturbing and emotional, especially knowing that this actually took place in the United States. I would suggest to anyone that’s planning on pursuing a career in education or as a social worker to read this book. This will help develop a better understanding for students and their needs.

Teenagers: A Despairing Glimpse At Future Generations

My piece is an argumentative article, intended for publication in a broadsheet newspaper such as The Daily Telegraph. The primary purpose is to argue a rather controversial idea based upon the semantic field of teenage culture and behaviour; however, the piece also aims to entertain with frequent use of humour through hyperbole and sarcasm, such as â€Å"Oh, how mature†. The text is aimed at an audience of educated adults, hence the formal and somewhat advanced lexis perpetuated throughout. My piece is based on an article by Quentin Letts, from which I adopted such linguistic features as repetitive listing, comedic imagery, satirical imitation and inclusive mode of address. I realised that Letts' style was often overly pretentious, and that he often presents views which would be seen as controversial or belligerent by most, as displayed by the declarative â€Å"Many of us are bog-standard class†. His altercations often target certain groups of people, and this was utilised in my own piece by attacking a whole generation, much to the amusement of the given audience. Both mine and Letts' articles are comparable in the sense that they are both self-deprecating: Letts, attacking the British whilst being a Briton himself, and me, attacking teenagers whilst acknowledging that I am a teenager myself. The use of mode of address helps to punctuate the self-inclusive nature, with the first-person plural pronoun â€Å"we† used to bridge a connection between me and teenagers, and to establish an unwanted common ground. Although I am wholly included within the recipients of my own blame, I make it obvious that I wish to be distanced from teenagers as I am writing from a viewpoint which does not want to be related with teenagers. I utilise various methods which help emphasise my stance. A method of intimidation which Letts uses is imitation as demonstrated with the declarative â€Å"e don't love me!†, which is thus emulated in my piece with: â€Å"ME MAM BURNT ME CHIKEN NUGETS!† which also uses satiric misspelling to hyperbolise the remark, and maintain the humour of the piece in order to conform to the purpose. The use of such imitation makes clear the dissonance between me and teenagers as it directly parodies them in a somewhat demeaning way. Letts helps to convey his argument by use of metaphors such as â€Å"climbing down into the gutter is a dangerous tactic†. This was mirrored in my piece with the metaphor â€Å"we speedily climb the ladder of maturity, whilst our parents wait at the top† which not only presents clever imagery to affirm the point for the reader, but also provides humour in a more refined way; use of such humour is used to adjust more with the audience of the piece. When writing the piece, I aimed to argue my point in a succinct and structured way, which would simultaneously permeate an air of humour and pretension which Letts so adequately upholds. The audience is under consideration throughout, with clear attempts to maintain formal lexis and thus appease those of higher education and class, as shown with such words as the concrete noun â€Å"cacophony† and the descriptive adjective â€Å"gargantuan†. Yet this effectively contrasts with the satiric use of informal lexis such as colloquial adjective â€Å"plastered†, and the ironic use of such text abbreviations as â€Å"TBH† and â€Å"IDK†.