Report on “Principle-Centered Leadership”

To successfully evaluate a work such as Principle-Centered Leadership, one must first examine the background of the author, in this case, Stephen R. Covey. He is a famous expert on issues of leadership, specialist in family issues, besides he works as an organizational consultant and vice chairman of Franklin Covey Co. From Stephen R. Covey’s pen came of several much-talked-of books, he is also an owner of numerous honors and awards; Time magazine named him among twenty-five most influential Americans. In 1990, following his successful Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), Stephen R. Covey wrote a book entitled Principle-Centered Leadership.This book was an evoked response to new conditions in business pre-caused by applying the natural laws of life to organizations described by the author and challenges leaders face in business by applying these natural laws. Covey underlines that the sustainable success of organization as well as the success of an individual, in pa rticular, must be based on persistent work. Covey provides the interpretation of the natural laws, among which one can find security, guidance, wisdom, and power, and further on he expatiates how concentration on these laws and defined by him seven-habits practice bring about personal and organizational change.Besides, according to Covey, determined commitment is prerequisite to success in business, and latter can be achieved only if one is ready to complete paradigm shift in long-range outlook. The paradigm, which author intends to bring for the reader, is many-sided and is conformable to classic dilemmas of contemporary life. The principle-centered leadership presents a new way of thinking based on timeless principles. These principles of human being presented on various levels including personal, interpersonal, managerial, organizational serve as a core of Convey paradigm. Each level is described by key law: personal – trustworthiness, interpersonal – trust, manager ial – empowerment, organizational – alignment.According to Covey principle-centered leaders are people, regardless the gender, who work on the ground of natural principles, or laws, and make those principles into the center of their lives, into the center of their relationships with others, into the center of their agreements and contracts, into their management processes, and into their mission statements (Covey 1990).In this book Covey attempts to expound habits that basically help people to achieve effectively success both in their professional and personal lives.This book is supposed to serves as a leadership philosophy guide, the guidebook to personal fulfillment and professional success through â€Å"principle-centered leadership† based on principles, showing how goals of excellence and total quality express an innate human need for progress in personal and organizational life. The book is aimed to show that a world of business is still based on the  "power-brokering† and â€Å"strong-armed† approach to leadership and it needs to be changed. This book supplies managers of any level with instruments and vocabulary to acquire proper leadership quality and become mediators of appropriate change.Covey describes traditional business workplaces as small societies where the colleagues that work together share the same political and social needs and interests as all people do in the society in its broad direct meaning. Thus, he suggests exploiting a â€Å"principle-centered leadership† paradigm for businesses that presumably is based on time-proved social values. As for any society the most important things are the maintenance of stability and order just the same for sustained success and more efficacy of any business such important thing is adaptation of the unilateral authority and government of a management hierarchy that views employees as economic units, not social participators.However, in the â€Å"human rela tions paradigm,† this power is, to some extent, more well-disposed, it takes into account and accepts emotional needs, while remains the same strong. â€Å"Human relations paradigm† uses the creativity and talent of employees more extensively, though preserves its utilitarian sense. In any event, employees are usually only a means to reach the target of the company. It often happens that their initiative is not appreciated. In other words, Covey draws the attention to the fact that very often employees are not considered to be political and social peers in most companies.According to Covey companies are facing a need to use all of the talents of their employees in order to achieve active competition of an infinitely more complex and dynamic economic landscape. He implies that a new principle-centered leadership paradigm is required. Moreover this paradigm is centered at the social and political â€Å"principles† of â€Å"fairness, equity, justice, integrity, hon esty, and trust† (Covey, 1990). Admittedly, it is a paradigm that provides full citizenship within a company to all employees.The author describes characteristics of a company operating with application of principle-centered leadership paradigm. The authorized employee, who stands in the base of the company, is trustworthy, in other words, he or she is highly-qualified and possesses the features of integrity and maturity. Such individual trait of trustworthiness develops trusting relationships among all other members of the company to such extent that constitutes the foundations of the company’s success. Trust also assists to achieve highly efficient communications among the company staff. The company is managed in compliance with â€Å"win-win performance agreements with negotiated accountability and consequences stipulations† (Covey, 1990). With such agreements in place, explicit managerial control is replaced by self-supervision (Covey, 1990). The author asser ts that companies that have taken over principle-centered leadership cease to be autocratic, and have established a form of democracy.However, one question arises while reading this book. Is the principle-centered leadership really democratic? The implementation of principle-centered leadership involves top-down approach. This paradigm intended for top leaders, possessing wisdom, with the purpose to convert their organizations by â€Å"communicating vision, clarifying purposes,† and establishing an overriding, governing mission (Covey, 1990). The aim of mission formulating is to increase employees’ feeling of making contribution. The author provides long-winded explanation why he offered such behavior which can heighten an executive's honor and authorities with others. It becomes apparent that the principle-centered leadership paradigm is supposed to rest on charismatic leadership, which often calls to emotions and not comprehensive participation.Covey’s concept of principle-centered leadership is based to great extent on his debates that principles of cooperation among people are â€Å"self-evident, objective, and external† as the natural laws should be. However, such statement seems to lack sound reason. Impartiality, integrity, and justice are all disputable points that often fall under strenuous debate in society. The all-wise leader does not have a hold on the definition of those ideals.Principle-centered leadership adopts the frame of employee authority, but in reality it seems to be, to more extent, a paradigm in motivation. The aim in principle-centered leadership is to make employees, in imperceptible way, believe that the company is being managed in a well-disposed, impartial manner â€Å"by all-knowing, high-minded leaders towards lofty goals† (Covey, 1990).The author fails to provide compelling and strong examples of conflicts that may accompany principle-centered leadership concept. These potential conflicts are, actually, underestimated as inessential compared to the prevalent devotion to a transcendent mission.In conclusion, Covey fails to convince the reader of efficacy of principle-centered leadership treating it as indefinite concept and applying, unfortunately, no social approach to form the basis of this concept.Bibliography:Covey, Stephen R., Principle-Centered Leadership New York, NY: Summit Books, 1990

Ethics Essay Primark Essay

This essay shall look at the cost to human life and lifestyle through the demand of low cost clothing in the UK. This will be undertaken specifically looking at Primark and the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, observed as modern day slavery, having a â€Å"race to the bottom† characteristics, occurring as a consequence of globalisation. This essay will analyse differing ethical approaches including Virtue, Kantian and Utilitarian ethics. An overview of the findings will be given, using the Rana Plaza Factory in Bangladesh as a case study, along with an analysis of Primark’s supply chain. Bangaldesh has for many years has been used for outsourcing, attractive to western clothing companies supply chains due to low costs. Bangladeshi’s economy is almost entirely reliant upon these export sales (80%) in the cloth trade (Jacob, 2012). Given this, it is clear that the Rana Plaza disaster (2013) killing more than 1000 workers did not have only a local effect, but a global one, with it raising many questions. It has been attested that those who died, did so as a consequence of poor operations management. The disaster further served to highlight that conditions of many factories were poor and often illegal. Large fashion brands including Primark, were seemingly happy to ignore such factors, to continue to gain profit, observed by the lack of procedures in place to ensure that standards of health and safety were met. This alongside the knowledge that child labour was often used, has led to many questions regarding irresponsibility of western companies. Despite the cost of life in one of the major disasters (the Rana Plaza collapse) of the fashion industry, Primark has made huge profits (44 % higher than in 2012) highlighting that cost rather than ethics is at the forefront of the stakeholders. The race to the bottom characteristics1 of Bangladesh have facilitated giant western companies, cheaper labour and goods. Furthermore the lack of enforcement of the limited laws and regulations, along with the Bangladesh’s class system, to some extent has allowed large companies to exploit these loopholes, given that Bangladesh’s economy is dependent on the textile industry, worth one billion dollars in 1985 and now estimated to be worth over 20 billion dollars (Young, 2013). What has been debated is whether or companies such as Primark are ensuring, and not just assuming, that all in their supply change are acting ethically. The focus of this  study will be on Primark. Fast Fashion â€Å"That bastion of fast fashion, scorned and idolised by the British public – indeed, all of Europe† (Joy, et al., 2012). Fast fashion may be described as inexpensive clothing which mimics catwalk fashion trends, lasting only the trend, thus part of the throwaway culture leading to unsustainability. This is supported by Joy et al. (2012) who express that fashion trends run their course, with today’s styles outdoing yesterdays, with yesterday’s having already been relegated as trash (Joy, et al., 2012), this is Primark’s main business model offering competitive advantage and success. For example, fast fashion results in consumers having at least 30% of unworn clothing (worth  £30 million) with approximately  £140 million of used clothing going to landfill annually (WRAP, 2014). Changing trends have shown that in the 1900s, 15 % was spent on clothing in comparison to 2.8 % (2010), although a greater number of items were purchased with the onset of time, indicating that the majority of purchases were low-cost items. Packard (REF) refers to â€Å"consumerism† in negative way, highlighting the role of advertising in the creation of â€Å"consumption for consumption’s sake â€Å", which leads to mindless consumerism, whereby individuals are â€Å"more wasteful, imprudent, and carefree† in their habits. As a consequence natural resources are utilised unnecessarily at an alarming rate. Therefore indicating that all stakeholders of Primark, including consumers are participants of â€Å"mindless consumerism†. Stakeholder theory Initially, Milton Friedman’s stakeholder theory will be utilised, Friedman is known for his famous quote of â€Å"business of business is business†. He claims that there is one, and only one social responsibility of business, to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits, so long as it stays within the rules of the game, therefore â€Å"engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.† REF he furthers this by expressing what does it mean to say that â€Å"business† has responsibilities?, only people have responsibilities. As articulated by Friedman (1970), a corporation is an artificial person and in this sense may have artificial  responsibilities, but â€Å"business† as a whole cannot be said to have responsibilities, even in this vague sense’ .Milton. Ref â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.† New York Times Magazine, 13 September 1970. Identifying that Milton Friedman thinks that businesses should only look at the shareholders in the organisation, their priorities and needs. For instance, as with Primark low prices, to maximise profits for shareholders. Freeman Alternatively, Freeman contradicts Friedman’s theory through the stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984). Freeman states that business will only maximize profit over the long-term, if it takes into account its social responsibilities Businesses that are seen to ignore the interests of the wider community and to fail to protect society’s welfare will pay in terms of damage to image and reputation. Although it is evident that Freeman’s theory did not hold, as despite the Rana Plaza disaster, and associated unethical practices, Primark has continued to be successful. As Freedman states Primark should not only look at their shareholders interest but should also proactively engage with stakeholders. Responsibilities of supply chains and due diligence Due diligence is the procedure by which companies monitor and review actions of a company, prior to signing a contract. Intrinsically this procedure is used to identify whether the â€Å"business partner† is working to a standard which complies with that required by the investor (Brown et al). Therefore identifying if a company is adhering to its own code of ethics, as they would have prior knowledge of the proposed outsourcer and their standards, allowing them to make an informed choice. This is undertaken by â€Å"best practice† of due diligence, in doing this Primark could obtain information that could be critically evaluated to ensure that their business partners in the supply chain are acting responsibly. Highlighting a lack of due diligence by Primark, in place at the time of the Rana Plaza disaster. Supply chain With the onset of globalisation, many difficulties as well as advantages have  arisen. One of the main difficulties associated with globalisation is the lack of visibility and transparency of the supply chain, which may lead to risk, as highlighted by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) who disclosed that within at least 11 % of UK business, it was highly probable that â€Å"modern slavery† exists within the supply chain. As emphasised by the Rana Plaza collapse, the problems of lack of visibility are inherent, due to extensive supply chains, with many of the associated problems as a consequence undisclosed to buyers. Researched by the CIPS states, ~72% of British supply chain professionals have no visibility of their supply chains beyond the second level with only 11% having complete visibility of the chain (Noble, 2014). It is not understood whether Primark was fully aware of the problems at the Rana Plaza factory, although they could still be considered at fault, due to ineffective checks and monitoring of subcontractors, highlighted by Panorama (date). Alternatively it could be assumed that Primark was indeed aware and was willing to take the risk, for profitability, at what cost? Irresponsible behaviour analysis Fast fashion underpins the entire fashion merchandising industry. Children and adults are used to produce such fashion items, primarily in underdeveloped countries including Bangladesh. These individuals work in very poor, and often dangerous conditions, earning very small amounts of money. In working, the young children are unable to access education. The workers have limited rights and are general thankful to be able to earn any amount of money whatsoever. Western society often views such circumstances as being exploitative and unethical. There are several theories of ethics which have differing viewpoints. These include a Utilitarian, Kantian and Virtue ethics. Utilitarian ethics relate to benefiting the majority of society, focussing not upon individuals but a collective whole. Many businesses utilise this approach as a basis to provide guidelines for ethical decision making for the greater good. The outcome is that the majority of stakeholders benefit. Utilitarianism looks to fi t well into a company’s business strategy, connecting ethical responsibility with business and society, in their focus of striving and justifying their approach as being for the greater good for the majority Gustafson, 2013).. Therefore  from a consequential (Utalitarian approach) perspective, whereby an act is deemed to be right or wrong, is judged using two principles. Initially determining the outcome, with the proviso that the greatest good for the greatest number of individuals is attained, limiting harm and maximising overall good (Hartman & DesJardins, 2011). Therefore from a consequentialist viewpoint Primark did not appropriately undertake a cost versus benefit analysis, by not accounting for their lenient attitude in respect of their suppliers. Knowledge of poor working and safety conditions were widely known prior to the collapse of the Rana Plaza (BBC News, 2013), indicating that Primark had no regard with respect to risk factors, that could be caused by the absence of due diligence. Therefore, Primark did not act ethically, from a consequentialist viewpoint, exploiting workers for financial gain and simultaneously failing to achieve â€Å"the greatest good† for the â€Å"greatest num bers†. However, if the example of workers at the Rana Plaza factory is considered, working on behalf of Primark, it may be seen that these stakeholders suffered at the hands of a Utilitarian approach. This is due to the main driver of Primark’s business being profitability, along with a demand for cheap clothing by UK consumers, therefore the greater good does not incorporate the workers in the factories, paid low wages to keep production costs down. Despite this, it may be argued that without work, those effectively excluded from Utilitarian ethics would be left in an even more difficult position, having no finances whatsoever. Since Capitalist societies in general dominate the fast fashion market, the actions of these corporations must be evaluated and the significance of their impact considered. Given that such corporations are driven primarily by profit, many may suggest that the lack of provision of education and improved living and working conditions, is indicative of the fact that company’s do not consider if their actions are moral or not. Instead they do what they want, without thought of the negative impacts, to drive their goal, in Primark’s case the provision of cheap fashionable clothing. This is a clear demonstration of a company taking a Utilitarian approach, marginalising the minority whilst providing for the majority. However, from a deontological viewpoint, whereby dutiful obligation plays the greatest role, in which regardless of consequence all individuals are expected to do â€Å"the right thing† , with these actions deemed to be ethical, only if they have the  possibility to become general law (Fisher et al., 2013). In order to be a part of society, there are accepted social norms and laws that individuals must follow (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2014). Primark (supposedly) partakes in the following of societal norms, clearly stated within their ethical guidelines (2011), where they explicitly state amongst other norms, that Primark will not tolerate either unsafe or unhygienic working environments? Despite the inclusion of these norms within their guidelines, their failure to adhere to them is clearly visible. Despite Primark’s duty to do the â€Å"right thing†, they did not, from a deontological ethics viewpoint. Had Primark acted ethically in a deontological way, consideration of workers well-being, happiness and other rights would have been considered. Likewise Kantian ethics (1785), have the expectation that individuals are able to distinguish right from wrong, based on an individual’s beliefs and moral, not via legal laws. It is clear that no individual would consider working 19 hour shifts for very low wages an acceptable scenario, and allowing individuals to do so in the factories of Bangladesh, brings into question Primark’s ethical judgement, or lack of, based on Kantian ethics. However Kantian ethics is seen as opposing Utilitarianism, its core values emphasise treating employees as individuals, having equal value. Furthering this, Kantian ethics incorporates within its ethos that employees should not be treated ‘as a means to an end’ (Driver, 2006) and that each should have individual rights, whilst not being viewed only as a source of labour (Smith and Dubbink, 2011). The Kantian approach involves the decision-maker being detached from personal motives when making a judgement (Smith and Dubbink, 2011). In this approach, no external factors are considered. However, due to the personal emphasis on profit in the current climate, companies are unable to detach themselves from the personal motive of profit and cannot adhere to Kantian ethics (Driver, 2006). Virtue ethics focus on personal characteristics and whether or not they acted in a virtuous manner when making a decision (Driver, 2006). â€Å"Justice and generosity† are often agreed to be such traits that are employed to pursue good practice (Audi, 2012). Paralleling this to a company, a company would be deemed virtuous, and therefore acting ethically, if their intention was  to achieve a caring environment and general positivity of employees, rather than maximising profits alone. Once again, Primark based on virtue ethics is not observed, acted with no regard to safety or well-being. Recent initiatives to improve due diligence in the supply chain have been undertaken as a consequence of the Rana Plaza disaster, however consequential actions do not follow the rules of virtue ethics, actions must be commonly practiced. Evaluation of ethical theories and Primark Adam Smith states that â€Å"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest†. (1776, Wealth of Nations PAGE NUMBER). He attests that in engaging in self-interest that individuals also bring about greater good for the society as a whole. Smith furthers this in expressing that should an invisible hand be guiding the economy, then competitive producers would produce goods required at the lowest cost, leading to a self-regulatory economy, a free market. There are limited regulations with regards to Health and Safety in particular, in Bangladesh in comparison to the UK. Had Health and Safety been at the level of UK standards, with workers not having been used as a means to an end, as described by Kant, it is unlikely that the Rana Plaza tragedy would have occurred. However, in respect of a Utilitarian approach and cost-base analysis, without cheap labour, working in poor conditions, the outcome would not have been as required and consumers would not obtain cheap fast fashion goods, nor would shareholders resultantly be rewarded as expected. In this respect as the greater good is generally attained, individuals in Bangaldesh have employment, shareholders have profits and consumers have the latest cheap fast fashion. Therefore it may be criticised that no moral/ethical behaviour is taken into consideration within Smith’s theory (Mill, n.d.). Based on Kant’s theory it may be argued that the above scenario is in fact unethical, as the workers’ rights are not taken into consideration and that they are viewed only as a means to an end (Bowie, 2002), prioritising productivity and therefore profits, whilst viewing the employee only as a form of labour. When comparing a Kantian viewpoint to that of an Utalitarian perspective, then the Kantian standpoint does not consider a situation to be unethical even if it is for the greater  good, as in the case of an Utalitarian approach. Furthermore any gains made by a company that are achieved through any activity which does not take an employee’s rights into consideration is regarded as unethical (Bowie, 2002). However, for some consumers ethical responsibility of a company may influence whether they purchase a product, which may af fect profitability and could also affect brand and brand image. Damage to a brand is often irreversible. However, in the case of Primark after the factory collapse, due to unsafe and unethical practices; for example workers were locked in, unable to escape, luckily this potentially disastrous impact on brand image, had in reality little impact. Initially there was uproar and disgust expressed by western society, although this negative and damaging event slowly faded from the press and media, and rapidly from the minds of the consumer. Therefore highlighting that western consumers, although horrified and shocked about the conditions, seem not to care and have no moral stance and may be described as egoethical. Egoethical characteristics include self-interest without consideration of the consequences of the demand for cheap goods. Given the recent increase in interest regarding business ethics, it may be deemed that having an â€Å"ethical† business can lead to competitive advantage, attracting business from â€Å"ethical† consumers. Although in reality this may be a tool, used solely for the purpose of increasing profits rather than benefiting employees (Schwartz, 2011). The power of business in today’s society along with the time individuals spend in employment, necessitates the need for an ethical environment ( Mishra & Crampton, 1998) . Primark’s response and actions to improve ethics Balch (2013) expresses that companies are ethically responsible to deal with problems when and wherever they are highlighted. Ruggies (2010) framework in respect of human rights and business advocates that if a ‘problem’ arises within the supply chain, the inclusion of this part of the supply chain must be considered in respect of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to define whether inclusion is crucial. Should it be considered crucial, the company must seek to safeguard that ethical practices are improved, if not critical, an alternative should be sought. Primark based on a consequentialist perspective as mentioned earlier, plays a large role in  Bangladesh’s economy, by the employment of many workers as part of its supply chain, with this it may be argued that Primark is supporting a reduction in poverty rates. Additionally as described by Primark’s Ethical Trading (2013), 85% of its Bangladeshi workforce are female, offering oppor tunity and developing their independence. Consequently it may be argued that if Primark removed its outsourcing from Bangladesh elsewhere, this would be extremely detrimental, and would add to the high numbers already living below the national poverty line , 49.8 % in 2002 (ILO, 2009), highlighting that despite many ethical reservations Primark impacts the country and the people of Bangladesh in a positive way. From a deontological perspective, almost immediately after then Rana Plaza disaster Primark was seen to be improving, observed by Primark’s assessment of structural integrity of the factories and also via their joining the Accord on Fire and Building Safety (Bangladesh Accord, 2013). Furthermore Primark later terminated contracts with factories that were investigated and were considered at risk of collapse. Primark attests that there is due diligence throughout its supply chain which is undertaken irrespective of consequence. From a virtuous perspective Primark immediately acknowledged its responsibility and responded instantaneously to the catastrophe of the Rana Plaza collapse (providing financial and food aid to victims and their relatives), in comparison to other major fashion chains also using the factory (Primark, 2013). Primark’s actions were virtuous, in that not only did they support â€Å"their† workers (and relatives), they supported those employed by other fashion chains within the Rana Plaza factory. Additionally it may be seen tthat Primark is working towards provision of improved well-being and education via projects such as their Health Enables Returns (HERproject) for female employees (Primark, 2011), enabling employees to have a better standard of living. Furthermore Primark is working towards suppliers increasing wages to give employees a â€Å"living wage† and to improve working conditions (Siegle, 2013). Conclusion Having evaluated and analysed Primark’s responsibilities and ethical considerations regarding their contribution to the Rana Plaza disaster, primarily based on a lack of due diligence in the supply chain, using a wide  variety of ethical theories, that presented a variety of perspectives. These have highlighted that Primark’s ethical standards were deficient and questionable, however subsequently Primark has identified its poor practice and is working towards sustainability, via a variety of ethical considerations, improving overall standards for its employees in the supply chain, demonstrating positive CSR. Although to what extent Primark may achieve and sustain these goals in the future, whilst still focussing on profitability may be uncertain.

Social Media called PATH Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Media called PATH - Assignment Example The decision to have limited contacts was based on psychological research findings that prescribe that people have a limit for workable social connections. In addition, there are limitations imposed together with the provision for users to personalize how they share each post to facilitate greater personal information sharing by ensuring it is confidential to the user’s social inner circle contacts. Operant conditioning theory comes in use in that the users’ minds have to adjust to maintain the ideal ethics while socializing; any failure to follow the social ethics risks the account termination. With too many social networks in the market, Path faces a great challenge upfront. Nowadays market favor only rigorous business minded entrepreneurs (Quester et al. p. 35). Many people are already contented with the social network they use so economic model of information search is handy. However, path has come up with a prudent tactic to lure more users using expectancy value theory. They intensify on the issue of having not to keep on managing friend list as with Facebook, so they ask you to join for a world of easy connection with people close to you. Path as a social site is primarily designed for a few friends. It was launched back in 2010, and was the only social media likely to grant Facebook an overwhelming challenge. However, the reputation in the market has been deteriorating and they have to get back into the market and utilize variety of marketing theories and convince people to use their software. Being concerned about the consumer should be the first priority in marketing of the social site. The consumption theory dictates that the management team should be aware of the needs of the consumers prior to making decisions. Motivational theories puts it that the social site user must be attracted by a certain motivational factors as privacy of the information and free accessibility of the site, a concept path has failed to

Foundations of Finance and Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Foundations of Finance and Investment - Essay Example The Repo rate is the short-term interest rate at which financial institutions such as banks and building societies can borrow money from the BOE for a two-week period. The MPC meets monthly to set the Repo rate as part of its monetary policy function to control inflation. Its decision on what this rate should be acts as a signal to the money markets of how much to pay savers and charge borrowers for the use of money. The Repo rate therefore acts as the baseline for the cost of money that can be loaned to customers, which can include other banks, in the form of mortgages and overdrafts (BOE, 2005). Many households and firms, however, borrow for longer time periods and prefer to fix borrowing costs in advance, either because this helps them plan their cash flows better or protects them from the future risk of rising interest rates. This is a gamble some lenders and borrowers take, since interest rates may also move the other way. Fixed long-term borrowing or interest rates are relevant to those who want fixed-rate mortgages for housing or to firms with long-term investment plans like expanding a factory that needs some years to pay off. Long-term interest rates ranging from one to ten years are calculated simply by taking an average of forecast short-term interest rates over the desired period. Short- and long-term interest rates are closely related, but differ on the basis of MPC decisions; the expectations of how the national economy will fare; the expected future inflation rates; and how likely the MPC will achieve its inflation targets (BOE, 2005). The direction of short-term rates is easy to determine because the figure depends on the latest interest rate decision of the MPC that can either raise or lower the Repo rate. Long-term rates, however, may go either way, determined by how the economy will perform many years from now. It can happen that whilst the MPC raises the Repo rate next month, ten-year rates may go down if the market thinks such a decision will cause rates to fall in the future. Future rates depend on how reliable the market finds the MPC (Barrell et al., 2006, p. 60). In deciding to keep the Repo rate at the same level in April 2006, the MPC considered several rigorously monitored variables such as U.K. inflation (down from 2.0% to 1.8%), money supply (M4, the sum of notes, coins, and so-called broad money consisting of what is held in bank and building society accounts, grew 12% in the year to February), economic growth (in line with first quarter trend rate at 0.6%), U.K. consumer spending and manufacturing (growing steadily), asset prices (rising prices of equities and houses), the sterling exchange rate (weakening or depreciating to the dollar and the Euro), risk of higher inflation (rising due to the increase in energy and oil prices), the economic performance of the U.S., the so-called Eurozone (EU countries that have the Euro as its common currency), and Japan (inflation, exchange rates, asset prices, etc.), wage pressures (rising average real product wage balanced by lower growth of average real consumption wage; the first refers to the re al cost incurred by employers whilst the second refers to the take home pay of employees), and consumer surveys on inflationary expectations (rising), a key emotional factor that influences personal decisions to either save or spend. Inflation - the rise in prices of a basket of goods and services in the whole economy - if

Customer Service Operations of University Essay

Customer Service Operations of University - Essay Example A university’s customer care viewing from the student perspective segregates it to a B2C service. As a student we expect and we need to know whether the facilities offered by an educational organisation are average or excellent. One can not judge and have some idea about the services through public events and television. Some happenings could be out of the control. Customer care of the University needs to develop the expectations of the student community and carefully manage their perceptions as well. Service cues cannot be same as can be for any other industry sector, for example hotel and restaurant experience (Johnston & Clark 2008). Therefore, expectations need to be defined to know the quality factors a university needs to set up. The components of expectations need to be comprehended to functionalise customer expectations so that quality parameters could be structured and offered in required levels of quality. It would also help in creating such tools that map customer satisfaction (Johnston & Clark 2008). Service quality factors, according to Johnston & Clark (2008) can vary for different organisations but at least 18 quality factors have been zeroed-in on the basis of wider application of the quality parameters. These factors, which are identifications of prior expectations, include: Access. Service offering address should be reachable easily and the road leading to the destination should be free from the roadblocks. Aesthetics. Parts of the service offering should be admissible and soothing to the customer; it includes the look of the building, its surrounding area and services offerings including offered products and staff. Willingness to help. It should be offered by the contact people to the customer and indicate interest of the service provider in attending to customer needs. Availability. Here it not only implies availability of service facilities, staff and products to the customer but the reasonable ratio of staff to the needy customers. Products availability should also be sufficient in quantity and variance to be shown to the customer. Care. The customer expects fair and sympathetic treatment, and extended patience of the staff to make the customer feel at ease emotionally. Cleanl iness. The facilities the customer approaches need to be well managed from environment perspective. All physical parts of the service offering including goods and personnel come in the scope of cleanliness. Comfort. It comes with the arrangements made by the facility for the comfortable stay of the customer while visiting the facility. Dedication. The attending personnel’s perceived dedication in attending to the customers and doing their job proudly and with apparent activeness and completely. Communication. The servicing staff need to communicate with the customers in such a way that help the customers comprehend what is conveyed. Communication needs to be correct, clear, concise including both written and spoken language used in providing the required knowledge and at the same time listening thoughtfully to what the customer wants to convey. Competence. It is related to the expertise required in accomplishing the service as per customer needs. It requires following the rig ht processes, exact delivery as per customer inputs, extent of service or product information shown by the contact personnel, offering suggestions and ability of the staff in doing the job nicely. Courtesy. It is related to the behaviour of the concerned staff in attending to the customer issues, which should not be interfering sort of. Flexibility. Readiness on the part of the customer service to mould the service as per customer needs. Friendliness. Attitude of the customer service representative needs to be welcoming and body language of the concerned

Operation Management - Inventory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operation Management - Inventory - Essay Example The top-level management formulates the strategy and modifies it over time, while the other department officers make tactical decisions to assist in executing the strategy. The term â€Å"waste† can be defined as anything used in production process other than the minimum amount of time, materials, tools, people, equipments, and space required to add value to the product or service (Focusing on the waste, 2006).Inventory is commonly regarded as one of the seven wastes of lean manufacturing. Inventory can be piled up at various stages of the production process such as, raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods as stock. Organizations often maintain much higher levels of inventory that what is required for the production of goods and services. On the other hand, the customers choose the Just-in-time (JIT) principle to purchase goods and services to fulfill their wants. Every piece of inventory held by the organization has a physical cost connected with it, which must be bore directly by the organization either from the cash balance or from borrowings that carries a rate of interest with it. The essential factor to be remembered in the business operation is that â€Å"cash is king†, and if too many things such as, inventory are tied up with the cash, it may not be available to the organization to use it in elsewhere in its business. Apart from the physical costs, the inventory also has some secondary or less obvious costs. Such costs include cost transportation and movement of inventory from place to another, cost of stores needed to hoard it, cost of containers to preserve it, cost of management for keeping track of it, cost of damage and losses occurring while transportation, cost of writing off materials in case became outdated, and also cost of insuring the inventory. Thus, there are many costs connected with inventory; some of them are more obvious while others are not as evident as others. These costs directly affect the profitability cutting down the profit margin. They cause increasing the organizations’ lead times as well its operating costs, which ultimately results in customer dissatisfaction that provokes them to take their business elsewhere. The essential factor that results in excess production is a mistrust of the organization’s suppliers, production process and even customers. Such suspicions causes the organization to always maintain a â€Å"comfort stock† to enhance a satisfactory buffering if the operations are not going in line with its plans; in fact, the plan often seems failing. When a comfortable stock is in effect, it provides a buffering against such problems that occur in the business, so that the problems fail to impact the operations that they would otherwise. These circumstances force the managers to ignore such issues associated with inventory considering them to be a matter of unimportance. However, these are all costing the organization money. For instance, the lev el of inventory can be exemplified as the sea; if the organization drops the level then it starts to expose the rocks below and have to take actions either to remove them or to reduce their size in order to continue a smooth sail on for the ship of production without getting sunk (Leanman, 2011). As Martin points out, the most

Plantwide and Department Allocation Methods within an Activity Based Essay

Plantwide and Department Allocation Methods within an Activity Based Costing System - Essay Example Costs are first allocated from resource cost pools such as plant wide and department cost allocations. The resource cost pools may associate materials and labor costs. Second, resource drivers are identified. Resource drivers are also called cost drivers that measure the consumption of resources by an activity and assign costs to such consumption. The result of the assignment is an activity cost pool for each activity. Plant wide and department allocation methods are derived from the allocation of overheads to production and service departments and then reallocating service departments cost to production departments in order to obtain the plant wide cost allocation. On the other hand, the ABC system assigns overheads to each major activity instead of departments. Therefore, the plant wide and department cost allocations are primarily used during identification of resource drivers and assignment of costs of resource consumption by an activity. However, because of the complexity and large number of cost centers needed in an ABC system, plant wide and department allocation method are still widely used in performance measurement. The ABC system is utilized in strategic decision making processes such as pricing, cost reduction, and customer profitability (Drury,

Strategic Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Research Paper Example The eight main areas of distinction i.e. business cards, meetings, relationships, communications, gifts and meals, friendship, time consciousness, and business dress code. The main aim here is to gain some awareness and understanding of differences in culture across countries. Based on the table below, it can be concluded that each culture is very different and it is important to understand the basic etiquettes of each culture to avoid embarrassment or also offending the people. Indians pay a lot of importance to the business cards. It is important to read the business card before keeping it in. Also, it is important to give as well as receive the card in the right hand. Left hand is considered to be offensive for most. Japanese give a lot of importance to the business cards and the more visiting cards a person has during the trip the better it is. The business cards need to be specially printed on a double side. The card should be presented with the Japanese version facing upwards. While presenting the business cards to Japanese counter parts, it is essential to not that throwing, sliding, flicking, pushing or lobbing is not acceptable. French pay attention to business cards but are not very particular. Translating the business card to French is often appreciated and considered to be attention to detail. Academic qualifications are a must on the business cards. The business cards of the French tend to be a little larger than the other countries. Proper handshake is a must and in a lot of cases tends to give away the firm handshake, and should be standing while handshake. Americans are very particular of being ‘Politically correct’ at all times. Meetings in India are relatively simple. A major point to be remembered is to keep a respectable distance between men and women. Also, it is not well received by a majority

Marketing 4580 International Transportation Essay

Marketing 4580 International Transportation - Essay Example The current office automation systems improve on the limited capabilities of the early year’s soft ware packages. As technology improves further, managers and other members of staff analyze issues that have traditionally been solved by specially designed computer programs. Hence, the classic issue of transportation cost minimization at a minimum transportation cost is addressed (Murphy & Wood, 2010). Communication systems are another example of information systems that could be utilised. It is obvious that communication is an important component of any organisation (Murphy & Wood, 2010). Hence, communication systems help various organisational stakeholders work together by interacting and sharing information in many different forms. With regard to logistics, the importance of well-defined and well-executed communication systems was most appreciated by companies that use or provide airfreight services after the events of 9/11 terrorist attack (Murphy & Wood, 2010). As such, communication systems played a crucial role for airfreight providers. With current advancement in telecommunication technology, new technology is replacing old methods of communication. Case in point, wireless communication is the new yardstick that is replacing the honoured Electronic data interchange (EDI) (Murphy & Wood, 2010). On the other hand, the most commonly used type of wireless system, the global po sitioning systems (GPS), has become quite valuable to the transportation component of logistics due to high fuel costs and the relentless pressure to improve efficiency and productivity. These issues have since been resolved by the GPS system (Murphy & Wood, 2010). Other important systems are the Management Information System (MIS) and Executive Information System (EIS). These systems convert data into information. This information monitors the performance and the management structure in an organization. In this

Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Essay Example for Free

Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Essay Microeconomics is a branch of economics which deals with the study of resource allocation decisions within the confines of the sub-segments of an economy such as households and business firms (Arnold, 2010). Central to this study is an examination of how prices of goods and services in a market influence their demand and supply. Macroeconomics on the other hand deals with the study of the nature of the economy as a whole; national, regional or a global economy (Agarwal, 2007). It deals with such issues such as GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and the influences of a larger economy such as employment and inflation. The main difference is thus the scope of study since it can be argued that microeconomics is a subset of macroeconomics. Another difference is that microeconomics focuses on consumers and businesses while macroeconomics deals with industries and nations (Arnold, 2007). Additionally, microeconomics deals with the forces of demand and supply in a market while macroeconomics studies the effect of such issues as interest rates, exchange rates and employment output on a national scale. Generally, microeconomic studies take a bottom-up approach while the macroeconomic studies take a top-down approach. An example of a microeconomic phenomenon would be on pricing policies. A company may want to know what price to charge for a product they are introducing to the market. This is a microeconomic decision since to answer such a question, knowledge of the nature of market and the economic forces prevailing in it is important. One would need to study in detail the demand and supply of the commodity, utility to the consumer, competition from other suppliers and other microeconomic factors before coming up with a pricing decision. The increase in oil prices in an economy is an example of a macroeconomic phenomenon. Such price changes may be influenced by various factors which can only be explained at a macroeconomic level. The reasons could be inflation in an economy, war or political instability in a particular region of the world. A microeconomic decision made at home would be a changeover to taking tea as opposed to coffee. This is informed by an increase in the prices of coffee with no change in the level of income. The factors influencing this decision are thus the price, cost, the income level and the availability of a substitute which is tea. This therefore leads to a consumer being cushioned against price increases which would otherwise affect his economic welfare. Macroeconomic factors prevailing upon an economy affect the operations of the sub-segments of the economy. This in turn would have an effect on the economic decisions made by consumers. The macroeconomic phenomenon of increase in oil prices in the world market coupled with inflation influenced a personal decision to buy a smaller car which is fuel economical as opposed to larger cylinder capacity vehicles which consume more fuel. Such larger capacity cars are a symbol of status but are fairly expensive to maintain in light of higher oil prices. This therefore has to be foregone in light of a benefit of reduction in cost. This has led to more savings by reducing on the budget on transportation. In summary, it can be said that microeconomics and macroeconomics are two major and indeed very important fields of study in economics. They are different but interrelated and interdependent since they have certain common objects of study. Both microeconomic and macroeconomic factors are key in decision making and thus the study of both is invaluable to understanding the operations of the economy. They provide necessary tools to the understanding the generation of revenue in the business operations of firms; and the economy as a whole. References Agarwal, V. (2007). Macroeconomics. New Delhi: McDraw-Hill. Arnold, R. (2010). Microeconomics. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Melvin, M., Boyes, W. (2008). Microeconomics. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Organizational Analysis of WalMart Store Inc

Organizational Analysis of WalMart Store Inc Introduction and brief overview of Wal-Mart store Inc. Wal-Mart store Inc. is not only the retail giant, but also is the largest grocery chain in the world. Wal-Mart store Inc. was founded in 1962. Samuel Walton and his brother J.L. Walton open their first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas (Wal-Mart History, 2010). For Wal-Mart store Inc., their common mission is: Save people money so they can live better (Wal-Mart corporate, 2010). Compared with their main competitors such as Target and K mart, Wal-Marts 2009 sales were almost 50% more. Because of its giant size and buying power, Wal-Mart can buy its products at very low prices, exchanging high purchase volumes for low cost then passing the savings onto its customers (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). Wal-Mart has 8,900 stores around the world in three different business segments of retail stores that including: Wal-Mart stores, Sams Club and Wal-Mart international. All of them offer different kinds of merchandises including electronic appliances, groceries, furniture, apparel and health beauty stuffs etc. For their business segment, they have over 54% of the companys stores are located in the United States, and the others international stores are mainly located in central and south America and China. The company mainly focuses on offering the lowest prices to attract its consumers. Wal-Mart totally earned $408 billion revenue in 2010, increase 1% compare to 2009 (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). REVENUE BY GEOGRAPHY  Ã‚  Ã‚   (USD) Annual FISCAL YEAR ENDING 31-1-2006 31-1-2007 31-1-2008 31-1- 2009 31-1-2010 Revenue International 59.2B 77.1B 90.6B 98.6B Revenue US 284B 303B Total Revenue 316B 349B 379B 406B 408B (Source: www.wikinvest.com/stock/Wal Mart_%28WMT%29/Data/Key_Metrics#Revenue_Breakdown) In 2009, Wal-Mart earned $255.7 billion in the domestic segment of the companys revenue. For Wal-Mart stores segment are further categories into three different formats including: Supercenters, Discount stores and Neighborhood Stores. For the Sams club, it is the second largest membership-only retailer club ( Costco is the first largest membership-only retailer) in United States belong to Wal-Mart Inc., their main customers mostly are offices, convenience stores, motels, restaurants and schools etc. (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). For now, Wal-Mart has total 3,121 international stores all over the world including in Mexico, Japan, Canada, China and countries in central and South America. However, recently Wal-Mart begins to slow down their growth rate in the United State and turn their main focus onto its international stores to develop growth. For international stores locations altogether earned total $98.6 billion revenue in 2009, compared to the sales of 2008, is increased 9.1% (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). Strategic History of the Industry The whole retail industry in the United States has over $4 trillion annual revenue. The main retail companies are including Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Kroger, Costco, and Target. Some of the large companies dominate some retail sectors such as mass merchandisers and grocery stores, other sectors like auto dealers and convenience stores are fragmented. However, retail industry still has many small and specialty retailers are single-store operations (Hoover, 2011). The economy deeply affects the retail demand. In other words, retail demand depends on the economy. Many different kinds of economic factors such as job growth, recession, personal income, consumer confidence and interest rates can strongly affect consumer spending behavior. When during recessionary periods, the bad economy can affect the retail sales growth rate slow drastically or even sales revenue decline. While the retail spending grows rapidly when in the period of strong economy growth, for example consumers will spend more on grocery when they have more income. However, the rising interest rates will affect consumer purchase behavior and consumer ability to finance large amount of purchase such as purchasing cars (Hoover, 2011). Strategic History of Wal-Mart Store Inc. In the early stage of strategic history for Wal-Mart, they always unchanged their vision always low price for their customers. Until 1990s, Wal-Mart announced that they planned to go global. They wanted to look for international markets for the reasons as following: First of all, Wal-Mart has facing very strong competition in United States such as Target and K mart. These two firms had aggressive expanding their business and had started sharing Wal-Marts market share. Secondly, the market in the United States is already saturated; it was becoming difficult for the company to continue its growth rate. Thirdly, the US population is accounted for only 4% of the worlds population and if they want to expand their global market, China had the potential massive growth due to their huge population of over 1.3 billion people. The last reason is, globalization opened up new markets in China and created opportunities for discount stores such as Wal-Mart (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004 ). On the other hand, Wal-Mart is using the strategy that cooperates with local suppliers to purchase their products, even though the organizational culture is standardized with the home country. This strategy is not only use to the products purchasing, but also adapted to the local cultures and stores decoration and designed are also changed to meet local taste all around the world (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004). Organizational mission statement As we know, the mission statement for Wal-Mart is every day low price. In order to insist their mission, Wal-Mart implemented three approaches in the market. First, it increased the local purchasing in order to reduce the purchasing costs and also suit consumers needs in different places. Secondly, it maintained a good relationship with their suppliers, satisfied them by paying within 3-7 days during its initial years. Thirdly, it established distribution centers (DC) and computerized its management system to improve efficiency and reduce costs (ICFAI, 2005). Business Level Strategy For these several years, Wal-Mart has been trying hard on expand its stores outside the United States. It through two different to expand their international business market: new store construction and acquisition. Acquisition strategy of supermarket chains had been a part of Wal-Marts entry and store expansion strategy in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, China and Great Britain (The Wal-Mart Puzzle, 2008). Over all, the Wal-Mart strategies were including: multiple store segments, lower daily prices, lots of name-brand merchandise, reduce operating costs, emphasized customers satisfied service, wide selection products, disciplined expansion into new geographic markets, and using acquisition to enter foreign market (Wal-Mart Store Inc., 2010). However, no matter Wal-Mart are in which foreign country, their company vision always low prices is never changed. The companys low distribution costs and cost-efficient supply chain management are the big reasons why Wal-Mart is so success and at the same time reduce the products prices. Wal-Mart has get into distribution efficiency compare with their competitors because of its rural store locations. Current strategy for the major operations/functions of the company Current strategies for Wal-Mart are including low costs, high volume, increase customer satisfaction and expansion strategy. Wal-Mart creates name recognition and customer satisfaction, and combined the retailer with the reputation of offering the best prices. They also expand their new business segments to different sectors such as pharmacies, automotive repair, and grocery sales to increase their sales revenue. Expansion strategy: The company realized that building a new store will allow for increase market share value. After their success in the rural areas, Wal-Mart moved to urban areas and then moved to surrounding areas. The expansion strategy made Wal-Mart the number one retail store in the United States. As Wal-Mart continue its expansion domestically, the firm decided to go international. Furthermore, Wal-Mart realized that acquiring an existing retail firm is necessary for expand domestic and international markets. Therefore, Wal-Mart by acquire retail store which enable to expand locally and internationally. Always low prices make customers live better strategy is believed the strongest strategy used by Wal-Mart. The firm developed the idea of dealing directly with the manufacturer and with the power control by Wal-Mart will enable it to get the best deal from the manufacturers and suppliers. Organizational structure, culture, and control systems (Source: http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/wal-mart-stores) Saving people money to help them live better was the mission for Wal-Mart. Hence, Wal-Mart negotiates different suppliers and understanding their cost structure in order to reduce the price. Wal-Mart has to be certain that the manufacturers were doing their best to cut down costs. Also, Wal-Mart believed in establishing a long-term relationship with their suppliers. Wal-Mart had 129 distribution centers located at different locations all over the US. Over 80,000 items were stocked in these centers. Wal-Marts own warehouses directly supplied 85 percent of the inventory, as compared to 50-65 % for competitors. Shipping costs for Wal-Mart is about 3 % which is lower than its competitors, 5%. The distribution centers ensured a steady and consistent flow of products to support the supply function (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004). Wal-Marts logistics infrastructure was its fast and successful transportation system. The distribution centers were serviced by more than 3,500 company owned trucks. To make its distribution process more efficient, Wal-Mart also uses a logistics technique called cross-docking. In this system, the finished goods were directly picked up from the manufacturing plant from suppliers, and then directly supplied to the customers. The system reduced the handling and storage of finished goods, eliminating the role of the distribution centers and stores (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004). SWOT Analysis for Wal-Mart Store Inc.. Strengths Reputation Brand Name: Wal-Mart is a powerful brand and pioneer in the retail industry with the wide spread network of stores. It has a reputation for low price, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store for customers. Wal-Mart has captured about 10% of the retail market in the U.S. and continues to expand. Wal-Mart stores continue to open all over the country making Wal-Mart a household name. Wal-Mart has also been widely acknowledged for its social responsibility actions. The company has donated to a variety of charitable organizations and has been accredited for bringing jobs and wealth to less developed communities. Offer Low Prices: Wal-Mart uses its enormous size and buying power to pressure its suppliers into extremely low prices, offering orders of high volumes of merchandise in exchange for low prices. The good thing about Wal-Mart is that its shifts the low cost advantage to customers and available the products at lower prices. It has loyal customer base because it meets the expectation of customer by always delivering the goods at lower prices at compare to its competitors. Expand Global Market: Wal-Mart has aggressively expands its international market over the past few years and has experienced global expansion. For example its purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA. Technology: Technology is strength to Wal-Mart with its inventory control system that was recognized as the most sophisticated in retailing. The technology linked all the stores to the headquarters and the companys distribution centers. It also enables the warehouse of which the goods are ordered, and direct the flow of goods to the store and proper shelves. Supply chain and logistics management: Supply chain and logistics management are one of the strengths of Wal-Mart. This allows Wal-Mart to utilize the Just- in-time inventory concept and avoid the pilling up inventory to save the extra cost for maintaining inventories in the warehouses. Human Resource: Wal-Mart always keen to provide training to their employees to improve the customer service level. The firm hire locally, provides training programs for its employees. Wal-Mart also gets its employees involve and encourage them to make use of words like: we, us, and ours. It also provides stock ownership and profit sharing with great contribution from the H. R of the firm. Wal-Mart was named one of the best 100 firms to work for. Cross-docking inventory system: Using the cross-dock technique, Wal-Mart was able to effectively leverage their logistical volume into a core strategic competency. Wal-Mart operates an extensive satellite network of distribution centers serviced by company owned trucks. Its satellite network sends point of sale (POS) data directly to 4,000 vendors. Each register is directly connected to a satellite system sending sales information to Wal-Marts headquarters and distribution centers. Weaknesses Employee turnover: Wal-Mart has high employee turnover which costs more money and time for company to train the new employee. Bad publicity: Wal-Mart is currently facing a gender discrimination lawsuit. Their female employees accuses that they were discriminated against in matters regarding pay and promotions. And also, Their female managers were accounted for the minority group in the company. Lock of flexibility: Wal-Mart sell very wide range kinds of products for example like clothes, food, pharmacy or stationary which lack of flexibility compare with other more focused competitors. Other competitors may have the ability to make changes and improve on a certain product lines when the needs of their customers change. Wal-Mart, however, may have too much merchandise and not be able to focus in on sectors that need to be improved. Some products have poor quality: Although Wal-Mart provides low price of products, however, customers sometimes complain about the poor quality of few products. Facing difficulty in International market: It is hard for Wal-Mart to expand their business out of US to totally different countries all around the world. Moreover, Wal-Mart has to facing different culture and customer behavior in different countries, for example Wal-Mart facing difficulty to expand the market in China. Opportunities Customers: Because Wal-Mart provides low price to their customers, so they are able to attract more customers. Furthermore, customers basically are able to purchasing everything in one store that satisfied their needs. Wal-Mart 24 hours stores also satisfied their customers. Diversified store types: Wal-Marts different store types and new locations provide more opportunities to exploit new market. Stores diversified from local, small-based sites to large super centers. International Expansion: No doubt that continued expand the international market is a huge opportunity for Wal-Mart. Wal-Marts oversea stores have experienced significant growth. There are actually tremendous opportunities for future growth in developing countries and Asian markets than in the United States such as China and India. Creating strategic alliances and licensing agreements with other global retailers are ways to move into different countries. Threats Competition: Wal-Mart faces different strong competitions locally and internationally. Wal-Mart main competitors are including Kmart, Target, Carrefour and Costco wholesale. In 2010, the Net Profit Margin for Wal-Mart is 3.59%, Target 4.22%, Costco wholesale 1.69%, Carrefour 0.38%, respectively (Hoovers, 2010). Target is Wal-Marts direct competitor in the US, offering a range of general merchandise in a similar store format (Wikinvest, 2010). Economy Recession: The revenue for Wal-Mart is affected by economy recession. Good economy is an opportunity for great business, because customers will have more money to spend. If the economy is great, there will be more jobs and people will shop more. However, if the economy is bad, there will be fewer jobs and people will shop less. Also, with the high price of gasoline and its effect on the economy, Wal-Mart will certainly be affected the most. Strategy imitation: Wal-Mart strengthens its competitive advantage on low-cost products. Other competitors may imitate their low-cost strategy to take over their market shares. Low Brand Loyalty: In the retail industry, customers would like to choose the product with the lowest price. In other words, customers do not care about the brand or which retail stores, if Costco has the exactly same chips that sell cheaper than in the Wal-Mart, then customers will choose to buy the chips in the Costco not Wal-Mart. TOWS MATRIX STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Reputation Brand Name Bad publicity Offer Low Prices Lock of flexibility Expand Global Market Some products have poor quality Technology Facing difficulty in International market Supply chain and logistics management Employee turnover Human Resource Cross-docking inventory system OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES-STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES-WEAKNESSES Customers Build on its already efficient distribution system to further expand in the U.S and globally. Wal-Mart should be awareness and strict to control of the quality of the product in order to keep their customers basis. Diversified Store Types Expand diversified store types to International market in order to increase profit in International market. Set higher employment standards through enhanced training to keep their employees have best performance. International Expansion Duplicated the successful delivery logistic management and the distribution centers into International market. Continue to build on cost efficient pricing and production due to expansion. Go into new markets and buy out their local retailers to gain market share. THREATS THREATS-STRENGTHS THREATS-WEAKNESSES Competition Buy raw materials or products from local suppliers to hold a better political status within the local community further to compete with their competitors. Human resource department should set a benefits long-term promotion program or standard and training program for their employees in order to decrease the employee turnover. Economy Recession Create their own brand of products and increase the quality of products in order to establish customers loyalty. Establish joint venture partnerships or long-term relationship with local retail companies to get the advantages in the International segment. Strategy imitation Develop strong RD and technology to enhance the competitive advantage and avoid imitation from other competitors. Low Brand Loyalty Five Forces Analysis for Wal-Mart Store Inc. Threat of entrances Low The threat of new entrance in the grocery and discount retailer industry is very low. New entrants have to face with the strong low-price competition among exist giant retail companies like Wal-Mart, Costco and Target. New entrants need to invest large amount of capitals to establish their brand recognition, service, and variety of product offerings that Wal-Mart, Target, and others competitors continue to improve on each day. In addition, existing companies can drop prices lower in order to force a new competitor out of the market. Therefore, the threat of entrances is low. Power of buyer-High Customers have many choosing opportunities and consider about products very details. They want the product now and they want it with the best service, best quality and reasonable price. Customers also enjoy increasing choice of products and choose one product that has the best quality and better price. For example, if customers find out Target sells an exactly product that has better quality and price than Wal-Mart, and then they will choose to buy it in Target instead of Wal-Mart. Power of Suppliers: Low The bargaining power of suppliers is very low. Wal-Mart is very famous on giving pressure to their suppliers to cut their price lower and lower in order to offer the lowest price to their customers. On the other hand, become the supplier of Wal-Mart is a very fierce competition. In 2004, about 10,000 new suppliers applied to become Wal-Mart vendors. However, only about 200, or 2%, were ultimately accepted by Wal-Mart (Gwendolyn Bounds, The Wall Street Journal). Therefore, the bargaining power of suppliers is low. Rivalry High The competition in the US grocery and discount retailer industry is very high. The main competitors for Wal-Mart in the local market are Kmart and Target. These companies also have to face competition from wholesalers such as BJs, Costco and even the international market such as Carrefour. Wal-Mart has adopted a cost leadership generic strategy. In the past, most companies have not been able to match Wal-Marts strategy everyday low prices. However, Wal-Marts barrier to entry (economies of scale) and strength (supply-chain management) can be easily imitated with sufficient resources. Therefore, retailers are in a fierce competition that see who can offer their customers the lowest price. Threat of substitute Low The threat of substitutes in this industry is low because only few companies have ability to offer such a variety of products available instantly and also low prices. One possible substitute is online shopping; however, customers usually do the online shopping for clothes or other stuffs but not for food or grocery shopping. Therefore, the threat of substitute is low. B. Strategic direction Key Strategic Issues Issue #1: Open too many new stores close to existing stores lead to new stores taking over the market shares from existing stores. Status Quo Wal- Mart depends on opens many new stores and expands into new market to increase the long-term sales and income growth. However, because of Wal-Marts large size of expansion, new stores are effects the sales on existing stores. For example, Wal-Mart builds a store relatively close to an already existing store, the new store might take away customers from the old store thus decrease the sales in existing stores (Wal-Mart, 2010). Evolutionary Change (Incremental Improvement) In order to solve this problem, Wal-Mart expands their business segment into international market instead of domestic market. For example, Wal-Mart opened 5 times number of stores in the international market in 2010 compared to domestic stores; most of stores are in Mexico, China, and Central America (Wal-Mart, 2010). Revolutionary Change (Huge/Drastic Change) Wal-Mart is also aggressively to open business segments in India if the country opens up the sector to foreign direct investment. India has retail market more than 1 billion; no doubt India is a huge opportunity for Wal-Mart. However, retailers that carry multiple brands (like Wal-Mart) are restricted to wholesale outlets in India. After Indias policy change, Wal-Mart is allowed to expand superstores and generate revenue in India (Wal-Mart, 2010). Specific tactics to implement the strategy Wal-Mart needs to establish long-term relationship or joint venture with local retail company to get into the market in India. Although in 2006, Wal-Mart announced that it had tied up with Bharti Enterprises Ltd. (Bharti) to get into the Indian retail sector. Bharti was a diversified company, and one of the biggest mobile telephone service providers in India (Wal-Mart and the Indian Retail Sector, 2007). However, because of the government policy, the small retailers groups and the Left parties against allowing the company into India are all the barriers that Wal-Mart has to face it. Issue #2: International competitors Status Quo In order to expand and improve the sales revenue for the economy recession especially in the domestic market, Wal-Mart has been aggressively expand its business segment into international market. However, the local big retailers or small retailers groups are against Wal-Mart to get into their market to take over the market shares because of its low price strategy (Wal-Mart, 2010). Evolutionary Change (Incremental Improvement) Improve its supply chain, logistic and technology segment to lower its delivery and operation costs in order to compete with local big retailers such as Britains Tesco, Frances Carrefour, and Germanys Metro (Wal-Mart, 2010). On the other hand, retail business segment is hard to create products differentiation, because commodity products are all the same for customers. The only way that gains the market shares for retail stores is not only low price but also quality of products. Therefore, Wal-Mart should awareness of its quality of products to attract more customers even in the international market. Revolutionary Change (Huge/Drastic Change) Wal-Mart should acquire and purchase the local retail companies in order to get into the international market. On the other hand, establish long-term relationship with local suppliers to have the win-win situation for their cooperation. Specific tactics to implement the strategy In the beginning of year 1, 2 and 3, Wal-Mart should first focus on improving its supply chain, logistic and technology improvement in order to compete with local big retailers on its lower operation, delivery costs and high quality of products. For the long-term tactics, Wal-Mart should deeply penetrate into the local market, understand different cultures and customers behaviors and then cooperate with local suppliers to establish long-term partnership. Personal assessment SWOT Analysis of myself in relation to the organization (What can I offer to the organization?). Strengths: International expansion (China): Wal-Mart is extremely aggressively penetrated into the market in China. Also, no doubt that China has 1.3 billion populations which accounted for the most majority population in the world, creates a huge business opportunity for Wal-Mart. Therefore, Wal-Mart needs a manager who can speak fluently Mandarin and English, and really understand about Chinese culture and Chinese customers behavior. Hence, I can offer Wal-Mart my knowledge to develop more opportunity in Chinas market in order to maximize the profits. Weaknesses: Lock of working experience: Even though I can speak fluently Mandarin and understand the Chinese culture and customers behavior; however, I still lack of working experiences. I do have some part time working experience such as working in starbucks, but do not have full time working experiences. Opportunities: Because of my professional knowledge (bachelor and master degree are both business management) are expertise on this field which can offer Wal-Mart a professional employees or manager. Moreover, my family also has business in China, Hangchow, which makes me has understanding and interested about China. I can provide Wal-Mart establish partnership with local suppliers and establish long-term relationship with them to compete with local retails competitors. Threats: Many applicants around the world: There is still having many talented applicants around the world apply to get into this company. Some of the applicants have high education degree and business knowledge and also have ability to speak many different kinds of languages. Therefore, I am in extremely fierce competition. Not every business segment in Wal-Mart is my expertise: I have weakened and lower advantages compared to local American because of the speaking and cultural differences. Furthermore, the company does business in many different retail formats, including supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise stores, cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, soft discount stores and restaurants. However, not every business segment in Wal-Mart is in my field of expertise. Financial Analysis 2010 Annual Sales (Figure2-1) (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) As you can see in Figure 2-1, this is 2010 annual sales for 4 main retail stores in the United States. They are including Wal-Mart, Target, Costco Wholesale and Carrefour. Wal-Mart has almost $400 billion sales in 2010. Compared to other competitors, annual sales for Wal-Mart was much higher than other companies. Carrefour annual sale in 2010 was around $100 billion. Annual sales for Target and Costco were just around $50 billion in 2010. 2010 Net Profit Margin (Figure2-2) (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) In Figure 2-2, net profit margin in 2010 for Wal-Mart was 2.98%. Target was higher than Wal-Mart which had 3.69% net profit margin in 2010. Other two competitors, Costco and Carrefour were both under 1.84% in net profit margin in 2010. Figure 2-3 (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) The Return on Asset ratio is useful in measuring how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate profit. By definition, ROA is calculated by dividing the Net Income by the total asset of a company. Refer to Figure 2-3, ROA for Wal-Mart from 2006 to 2010 are much higher than its competitors. Wal-Marts ROA were around 9% to 10% each year, compared to its competitors which were all much lower than Wal-Mart. This basically means that Wal-Mart utilizes its assets well enough to generate profit in comparison with their competitors. However, ROA in 2007 for Target is higher than Wal-Mart, Target 9.29%, Wal-Mart 9.05%. Targets major competitive advantage over Wal-Mart lies in its customer base: the average household income for Target customers is about $50,000 a year, whereas the average yearly income for a Wal-Mart customer is only $35,000 Figure 2-4 (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) The return on Stockholders Equity (ROE) ratio measures the percentage of profit earned on stockholders investment in the company. In other words, return on equity  measures a corporations profitability  by revealing how much  profit a company generates  with the money shareholders have invested.  Ã‚   In Figure 2-4, ROE for Wal-Mart were around 20% from year 2006 to 2010, compared to other competitors which are higher than others. Figure 2-5 (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.ed

Terrorist Attack on American Soil Essay -- September 11, Al Qaeda Terr

September 11, 2001 was by far the worst terrorist attack on American soil. Many viewers witnessed the catastrophic events live on national television. As the smoke and dust settled in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, Americans were left to ponder what the attacks meant for the nation. Following the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush addressed Congress and the nation on October 7, 2001, announcing, "On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan" (The White House, 2001). It was at that moment that the military of the United States of America was ready to extend their capabilities to prevent and conquer hostility both on home soil and abroad. Each soldier is sworn into oath when the decision is made to enlist in the military, they vow to defend our country and to fight for our freedom. As a result of the September 11th attacks on our nation, soldiers in the United States (U.S.) military were subjected to take on the oath that they vowed and to fight multiple wars that required longer deployments and quicker redeployment times. While the actions of wartime are essential to maintain the high levels of security for our nation, the unconstructive, stressful, and demanding distress of longer deployments may very well be overshadowing the benefits by annihilating the personal lives of U.S. Army soldiers. For some soldiers in the U.S. Army, the distress of combat can be overpowering and detrimental on them physically and psychologically, leading them to turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism. Alcoholism Defined Alcoholism is known as a disease, syndrome, sign, or symptom among an individual who consume... ... the journey of this debilitating disorder. Soldiers who are fortunate to take advantage of treatment methods should succumb to their miraculous power by utilizing them to overcome daily and life altering stressors that may cross their path in life. Undoubtedly, research studies will be an ongoing process to determine the culprits that lead to alcohol abuse and to assist in decreasing the rates. It is clear that alcoholism will be an ongoing issue among society. The reality of alcoholism is that people will do whatever it takes to psychologically cope, not realizing the damaging affect that it may have on their life. I am in high hopes that the future will have improved treatments and that the United States Army will continue to provide support to those who have fallen to victim to alcoholism due to their experience during military conflicts on the battlefield.

Divine Comedy - Sin and Judgment in Dantes Inferno Essay -- Divine Co

Dante's Concept of Sin and Judgment in The Inferno      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Infidelity, murder, betrayal, and conspiracy all play an integral part in the story of the relationship between Jason and Medea. Jason is guilty of all four acts and Medea involves herself in three. Yet, perhaps, in the eyes of Dante, Medea might fall further into the realm of Dis than Jason. But, should she? And, is Dante's view of Jason and his sentence in Hell appropriate?    From Dante's perspective, crimes of passion or desire are the least abhorrent and consequently deserve minimal punishment in comparison to what he believes are the more serious offenses. These sinners, the carnal, the gluttonous, the hoarders and wasters, along with the wrathful and sullen fall just below the virtuous pagans in Dante's hell. In some way, they represent a loss of self control, of reason gone amiss, as each plunges into a personal world of self indulgence. To Dante, those that succumb to the pleasures of the 'will' deserve an eternity less painful than those who fall into emotional or psychological despair. Yet, like the sins that constitute placement deeper in the bowels of Hell, all represent a punishment equal to or reflective of the sin as it existed in life. For example, the carnal are banished to an eternity of being whirled about by the wind (Dante) forever lusting after what they sought in life. They reach for shadows that were once the bodies they desired. However, in Hell the only thing they feel is the passion they lost.    Next, Dante describes the sinners who dwell within the walls of Dis. Confined to the city of Hell are the heretics and those who commit acts of violence against either their neighbors, themselves, or God, art, or... ...f transgressions, betrayal of one's benefactor, and both deserve to torment each other for eternity in the pit of Hell.    Works Cited  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Dante. The Inferno. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: Penguin, 1954.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Euripides. Medea. Trans. Rex Warner. New York: Dover, 1993.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Penguin, 1969.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ovid.   Metamorphoses. Trans. A.D. Melville. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     

MagRec Inc. Essay

1. If I were the manager I would have pushed for a more moral, honest solution to the problem with Partco. The company should have owned up to the poor quality parts and offer to fix any damaged parts for customers. Even though it would have cost the company time and money, it was the right thing to do. I think that if the company were to explain the situation to Partco- with the one bad batch of parts, and assured them that it wouldn’t happen again and they appreciate their long time business and loyalty- that Partco and MagRec could have agreed on some type of solution. Dinah was looking out for the customers and MagRec’s reputation, which the manager should have been concerned about as well. If I were the manager I would have stuck up for Dinah’s viewpoint. 2. I think Dinah had the right intentions in looking out for the company. I don’t think that she personally should have gone to Partco. I think someone in upper level management should have gone to Partco. Dinah going to Partco put the blame on herself, which in turn caused tension between her co-workers and herself. She should have gone to Pat an addition time and rationally and calmly explained her viewpoint and opinion on how to solve the problem. And if Pat wasn’t going to follow through with a solution that she agreed with, then she should start looking for employment else where, because a company with corrupt ethics is not a good company to affiliate yourself with. 3. The cognitive dissonance theory describes a state of inconsistency between an individual’s attitude and behavior. It is when a person alters their behavior based on conflicting situations. I don’t think this theory applies to Dinah because she didn’t let the conflicting situation alter her behavior, she felt MegRec was acting dishonest and knew it wasn’t right so she informed Partco of the situation, despite the consequences she knew she faced.

Dark side of technology Essay

The nature of these machines makes it possible for discrimination against ordinary persons. Ordinary persons who may have a predisposition towards certain tendencies could be found out and victimised even though they have yet to commit a crime they have the brain pattern of a criminal. This is the dark side of technology.  More research is needed to determine whether or not there are differences between criminals and ordinary persons. There is room for these tests to be manipulated by either the prosecution or the defence. Which ever team pays for the tests can get the results that they so desire.  Over sensitivity of the machinery needs to be controlled for in the tests in order for their reliability to be increased, and their usefulness enhanced.  More research needs to be done to determine if there are genuine differences between the brains of criminals and ordinary persons.  If the tests are genuinely able to discover differences between criminals and ordinary persons then maybe abnormalities can be controlled for before criminal behaviour is expressed. Deregowski  Depth Cue- Depth cues are (hints, guides, cues) which provide information about the spatial (positioning relative to each other) relationships among objects (three dimensional) in a picture (two dimensional).  Familiar Size- The cue whereby objects, which are further away in the picture, are drawn smaller than objects of the same size which are closer.  Overlap Cue- The effect of a nearer object obscuring parts of a more distant object.  Perspective- This is given by the convergence of lines depicting edges which are parallel in the real world, but which appear to come together as they move into the distance e.g. a railway track. A person using a depth cue will extract a completely different meaning from a picture than will a person who is not using such pictures.  Various drawings of an elephant, an antelope, a person, a tree, a road, some hills and a flying bird were shown.  Empirical Test  The tests are empirical because numeric information was collected. How many persons made different responses e.t.c  These tests involved showing pictures and asking questions.   What do you see?  What is the man doing?  Which is nearer the antelope or the elephant? Methodology The questions were asked in the subjects, native language. This means the results were not affected by confusion resulting from the use of the interviewers language or from translations. They understood exactly what they were being asked.  There was a potential problem with classification. If questions were answered correctly according to western standards it was automatically assumed that they were three dimensional perceivers. This could have impacted upon the results.  The tests may not have been measuring cultural differences as noted but instead, educational and social levels. Evidence for this is provided by persons of better educational and social levels performing better on the tests. Remember children have better access to western culture and education than do adults. Additionally higher educational and social levels provide persons with access to western culture. Deregowski reviewed Hudson’s work and put forward some different opinions. This means the results could have been a consequence of interpretation.  The study includes information from different time periods. The results may have been as a result of this time elapse. For e.g. the info collected from Zambian school children-information was presented from both 1960 and 1972. There culture and circumstances may have changed tremendously during the time elapse.  Adults and children were differentiated. Therefore a comparison could have been made to take into account changes in culture. Note Hudson found that children had higher rates of three dimensional perception than did adults. [note-Deregowski found that both adults and children had difficulties making three dimensional perceptions] Ecological Validity  The Subjects may have been put in artificial categories which were a consequence of the test-three dimensional and two dimensional perceivers.  Persons are not normally required to view pictures under these conditions (circumstances) as existed during the study.  The tests may have been picking up differences in educational and social levels and not culture as was suggested.

Metapath’s capital structure Essay

Questions: 1. Analyze Metapath’s capital structure, in particular the various forms and prices of preferred stock from the previous rounds of financing. How has this capital structure affected the offer from Robertson & Stephens? How would RSC’s participating preferred interact with the other tranches of preferred stock? Up to the date in issue, Metapath has raised $9m in four rounds of financing, of which two occurred simultaneously in the beginning. The two participating investors, Bessemer and STI, which supplied the initial funds, received redeemable preferred for the total amount of $1.6m, the third and fourth rounds brought in $1m and $7m respectively (in both cases preferred convertible were issued), with the calculated price for common being the same for the first three rounds ($1.05) and higher ($1.62) for the fourth round. In case of non-conversion, the last issue was supposed to be paid out first, then the last but one, finally, the first two issues, on a pro rata basis. All of the issues had demand registration rights provision, however, the third and the fourth issues, had more leeway in the exercising of the rights (not only on request of 50%+ of all the issues, but also after-IPO or specific date (July 31, 1999), whichever is earlier), thus protecting the interests of the holders. That said, in fact the holders of the two first issues in many respects enjoyed the position of debt holders, with a scheduled payment of principal and dividends. Given the structure and the fact the managers hadn’t invested from their own pockets, RSC suggested investment in participating convertible preferred shares supposed to protect RSC from possible early sale, which would enrich the management disproportionally and leave RSC abused. Through PCPT, RSC would be able to keep both liquidation preference (with the right to receive the first payment in the amount of invested capital and accrued, not unpaid dividend (8%), before any other security holders receive their part) and equity participation along with other investors (after payment of similar to its own liquidation preference), thus, staying in a highly beneficial position. 2. How do you analyze the RSC offer? In particular, what is the value of the  participating preferred feature of the RSC syndicate? What are the risks to the Metapath shareholders if the board accepts the RSC offer? Even though the company has only projected its activity one quarter forward, is it possible to assess the reasonableness of the valuation? (The ten-year treasury rate in September 1997 was 6.21%). To value the participating feature, first, calculate the options’ values for $11.75% and $87.75 million exercise prices. For calculation, assume: ten-year option price; 40% volatility (corresponding to the middle stock volatility range 20-40%); abovementioned exercise prices ($11.75% and $87.75 million); valuation of $87.75 million is reflective of a true â€Å"asset† value; interest rate of 6.21% (as suggested). Apply Black-Scholes model to receive prices of $81.44 and $49.44 million for the two strikes respectively. For $11.75 is 13.4% of post-money $87.75, the price of the issue is $10.91 and $6.62 million respectively; hence, the participation feature’s value is c. $4.29 million. Therefore, the corresponding share of the company, which makes choice irrelevant is $81.44*0.134/$49.44=22%, that is concession of 22% of the company without the participation feature will make Series E holders equally happy, the corresponding price is 0.134/0.22*$6=$3.65 per share. Acceptance by the board of the RSC’s offer will put Metapath shareholders will add a new senior holder to claim the proceeds, both in case of early liquidation and in case of successful exist. This offer will reduce shareholders’ wealth not only by capital dilution, but also by the absolute amount of investments of Series E holders even in the case of future success. With negative earnings and absence of predictable cash flows, one can do the rough check on the basis of P/Sales ratio (given both companies’ (Metapath and Celltech) similar capital structure, the proxy seems reasonable). With the last quarterly figures as of June 1997, when numbers were available for both Celltech and Metapath, and considering the market cap of Celltech of approximately 260 million, the valuation of around 130 million could be used, which means the company might be worth more. The projections per se, however, don’t tell the story as the two segments (system sales and services) are expected to demonstrate different dynamics, so further investigation is needed. A cautionary note on Black-Scholes model application should be made: 3. Is the Celltech offer reasonable? How should the Metapath board view the Celltech stock? What are the risks for the Metapath shareholders if the board accepts the Celltech offer? While the Celltech’s offers seems to be more reasonable in terms of price offered, the shareholders may face additional risks, including the risk of Celltech’s stock price. While possible liquidity within near future (90 days plus other possible restrictions, which is considerably less than its own IPO in 1+ years) as well as lack of dilution appealed to the managers, the fluctuation in the price of Celltech may wipeout the fortune (the stock had only a short history and the view of insiders doesn’t seem to strongly support Celltech). Furthermore, the fit of the Metapath and Celltech’s businesses is questionable, with Metapath potential possibly higher than that of Celltech, which on the other hand may have a limited upside. 4. If you were on the Metapath board, which option would you support? While the offer of RSC is restrictive in many ways, it is more attractive for a team that will manage to perform. With a set of potential liquidity and financial risk questions, which may arise from Celltech’s financing, Metapath board should not only consider the price, but also other terms (which eventually will incentivize the management in the long-term success and keep its interest in business). With this in mind Metapath board will be better off with the RSC’s proposal, rather than Celltech’s.