Porter Analysis IKEA

In United States as in Sweden, we can observe there are some companies operating in the furniture industry and there are many on the market retailers like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Costco, Euromarket, etc†¦ The import of products from China for all these companies allows them to sell at low cost. These elements therefore tell us that the furniture industry is very competitive. There is an analysis of the rivalry of IKEA in this sector: IKEA works in a highly competitive industry highlighted by other low priced furniture producers like Galiform (England), Wal-Mart (USA), Euromarket (USA), Argos (England), and others. IKEA has wisely attempted to compete by entering the markets that typically pose the largest competition, such as China and Japan » (Caplan, 2006). IKEA reach a wider market to increase his customers and his market share. The company is, in the world, the leader in the industry of discounted furniture. For the customers, IKEA is the most in delivering the complete pack age, there are equivalent to those of furniture IKEA but value for money, IKEA is leader. The trust in customers about product quality, the global brand name and the design very popular design has given IKEA a competitive edge.To conclude, IKEA diversify this products with the food, textile and mobile industry so we can add Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda for UK food or Virgin, Vodafone and O2 for mobile to the list of IKEA’s competitors. Threat of New Entrants: Capital requirements – The need to invest large financial resources make it difficult for a competitor to enter a new market, because they have to commit money up front with no guarantee of returns in the end. This positively affects IKEA, in a short term because any new entrants will have to invest a large amount of capital in order to compete with them.IKEA has already a vast supply chain and its brand is already unique and known in a large scale and a new entrant in the furniture market would need a very lar ge amount of money to establish its brand and practice low prices as IKEA do. Supply-side economies of scale – â€Å"Economies of scale are factors that cause the average cost of producing something to fall as the volume of its output increases†(The economist). IKEA is positively affected by supply side economies of scale, because it is large enough for it. They make economies of scale as they use better technology and they also have a very large supply chain.Due to this, when new competitors enter this market, they will have a higher cost of production, because they have smaller economies of scale. Demand side benefits of scale – â€Å"Network effects arise in industries where a buyer’s willingness to pay for a company’s product increases with the number of other buyers who also patronize the company†(Harvard Business Review). This is a good point to IKEA as it has a large number of customers than the new entrants. The customers would prefe r to buy IKEA products than the products of the new entrant.Incumbency advantages independent of size – IKEA has an advantage because they have an established brand, this is a strong competitive advantage in a short term compared to new competitors. In this case entry barriers in the furniture market are high; this is an advantage to IKEA. On the other hand, IKEA stores are not present in many small towns; this is an opportunity for the new competitors to move into small and midsized cities where there are smaller stores and less selection. Even though it is not easy because new entrants would have to provide a large supply chain.Threat of Substitute: The threat of having substitutes in the home furnishings industry seems very low as there is no specific product, which can substitute the furniture. If we look at the definition of â€Å"substitute† proposed by Jean-Marc LEHU, we can say that in the industry of furniture manufacture, probability of substitutes is almost impossible. Possible threat of trend changes exists, i. e. there is growing orientation towards greater manufacture of furniture made from other materials than wood, that is, various metals, plastics and glass.However, despite the reduction of wood in furniture manufacture in the past years, wood is expected to stay one of the most important raw materials for furniture manufacture, because of its advantages when compared with other materials. As the market is becoming more environment concerned many firms are giving slogan to go green. But the basic functional demand has remained the same. So it is safe to say that there are no threats of substitutes. Buyer power: When we speak about buyers who are concentrated, we understood that there are few buyers and many sellers.In the home furnishing industry, there are indeed many sellers, of different sort, like furniture retailer, department store or big brand too. But in the same time, the number of all consumers is not comparable. Nowada ys, each person in the world needs home furnishing, never mind the country or the social status. So we cannot say that buyers are concentrated in the home furnishing industry. When the home furnishing industry concerns individuals, they don’t buy large volume except for special occasions. Home furnishing concerns purchase of something reflective or rather useful.We cannot buy home furnishing the same way as we buy food. Conversely, companies can buy easier large volume than individuals, but they don’t represent the bulk of buyers. As mention previously, there are many home furnishing stores around the world in order to satisfy or attract more and more consumers. These numerous competitors are in different sectors in office their size. Each company have to make their different with their price, products and service as add value, to response buyer’s needs. The most of the companies in the home furnishing industry try to make the difference in having low price to l ure buyers.For consumer, when a product, that he wants, it’s too expensive or not at his taste, it’s really easy for him to go to other stores. And buyers know that there are numerous alternatives sellers that give them power. Switching costs means that if a consumer compares the similar product from one seller to another seller, there is not a high difference of price. Indeed, in home furnishing industry, we cannot that the entire price are practically in the same price. We can remark too that the most of the products are similar that means they’re â€Å"standardised†.We can take the example of a whisk in five different stores (four presents in Ireland and one in France) Stores Price IKEA 6â‚ ¬50 Debenhams 5â‚ ¬ Mark & Spenser 7â‚ ¬50 Woodie’s DIY 5â‚ ¬ Alinà ©a 5â‚ ¬90 That chart show that all of the stores have practically the same price for exactly the same product. So we can say that buyers have a high power of negotiation with the several alternative sellers, the low switching costs and with the products that are standardised. Supplier Power: The supplier power in the home furnishings industry is quite low for numerous reasons.According to a French documentary, the number of supplier all over the world is huge. Most of these suppliers are located in the developed countries (Japan, Australia, Europe, Canada†¦). Each company has its own supplier. The suppliers have no influence because they can be substituted. (Gà ©rard Poitou-Weber, 2007). Yet, the customers in this industry are fragmented. The companies of this industry are implanted worldwide; every country has at least 5 companies of home furnishings that informed us how this market is developed.It appears that the suppliers of every home furnishings store are neither powerful nor famous. Each company is provided by different suppliers. The biggest companies have at least 500 suppliers from 20 or 30 countries (El pais, 2006). Based on this inform ation, we can suppose that it could be difficult for a supplier to become a key competitor. Of course, they still can integrate the market, but it’ll on a small scale. Suppliers have not that much power because they depend a lot on the companies they provide.It’s the companies from home furnishings industry which decide who will be their suppliers and they have a lot a choices. Most of the suppliers would go bankrupt without IKEA, M&S or Alinea. Big companies nearly impose the price of the items they want to buy from the suppliers (Alexandre DEBOUTE, Le Figaro, 2010). To conclude, the example of IKEA’s suppliers can illustrate the lack of power for the suppliers. The Franchisor IKEA Website provides us a large amount of figures that can show the low power of their suppliers.Ikea owns 338 stores but have about 1300 suppliers from 53 different countries. None of them can seriously think about integrate the market and try to compete with IKEA. IKEA also owns manufa cturing company like SwedwoodManufacturer. So it is evident that IKEA can threats the suppliers to enter into their business. In a nutshell, the supplier power in the home furnishings industry can be defined as quite low because of the numbers of suppliers, the numbers of home furnishings companies and the status of the biggest companies.

British Aerospace Company

To document operational impact based on currently implemented strategies and show potential effects if continued based on forecasted data results by a financial model. Parties Parties Involves BAE Systems Board of Directors and the Business Consultant (Student’s Name). Methods and Processes A review of the company’s background information that has led to the strategy proposal and presentation of forecasted financial data by the use of financial models. Outputs/Deliverables BAE Systems will have a clear understanding of its current financial position and may reconsider the consultant’s recommended approach on strategy.Time Frame The final report shall be submitted to BAE Systems Board of Directors by May 9 2019. Cost Estimate Still negotiable based on the approval and implementation of the proposed strategy. 2) Executive summary The aim for this report is to study the strategies implemented by BAE Systems during the last accounting year. BAE Systems with its 106,0 00 employees worldwide delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, Information technology solutions and customer support services (BAE Systems 2010).With the application of the company’s annual report for 2009 this study will analyse by comparing its strategies to a newly proposed one by showing financial projections using valuation models. 3) Proposition of a new strategy for BAE Systems The Aerospace and Global Defence industry can be considered an extremely cyclical. As seen on annual reports of the companies belonging to this industry year to year revenue figures can fluctuate dramatically (Brylawski 1995).And currently this industry have also its share of intense competition, challenges on meeting government regulations and securing large defence contracts. Currently, BAE systems is the largest aerospace and global defence contractors in the world (West 2010). Operating as a group in seven home markets with a wide portfolio of products and capabilities serving defence customers across the air, land and sea domains (BAE Systems 2010:5). But based on its Annual report on the previous fiscal year, it posted a net loss of ?45 million (see Appendix 2 : Group Income Statement), despite the annual revenue of ? 22. 4 billion and the underlying operating income of ? 982 million. The loss was mainly due to regulation penalties incurred during that fiscal year. This report is to provide a strategy that would ensure profitability on years to come given the volatility of the industry of BAE systems and the effects of inflation (which rose from 2. 9% to 3. 5% in 2009). Strategy taking into account methods to raise revenue, cost reduction and effective corporate governance would be recommended. 3.1 General competitive position of BAE Systems On the group current strategy based on its vision in which to be the premier global defence, security and aerospace company; and mission to remain to deliver sustainable growth in shareholder value through a commitment to Total Performance (BAE Systems 2010:14). The current focus of strategy is positioning to optimise progress the business in the current environment, the Group Strategic Framework continues to develop to recognise against the strategic objectives, and to highlight the Group’s focus on delivery and performance (BAE Systems 2010:14).This strategy has worked effectively during all the acquisitions and disposals transacted from the year 200 to 2009. For the group/department of BAE systems the Electronics, Intelligence & Support, the acquisition on the year 2000 of two former Lockheed Martin businesses, Control Systems and Aerospace Electronics Systems, have made BAE and the group the world leader in digital engine controls, flight controls and electronic warfare solutions.For the Land & Armaments group, another key strategy of acquisition that has established a global land systems business was implemented on years 2004, 2005 and 2007, when the company acquired Alvis, United Defense and Armor Holdings respectively. For the Programmes & Support Division, another key acquisition that has provided access to government security business was done in 2008, when the company have finally acquired Detica and together with the acquisition of VT Group’s shipbuilding business has further strengthened the Group’s global maritime business (BAE Systems 2010:16).And lastly for the international sector BAE as a group has become Australia’s largest defence contractor primarily due to the acquisition of Tenix Defence in 2008 (Smith & Frost 2008). According to the firms most current Annual report total sales revenue is at ? 22. 4 billion (see Table 1) an increase of 21% from 2008 numbers, operating income at ? 982 million (see Appendix 2: Group Income Statement), total assets listed at ? 25. 4 billion and total equity at ? 4. 7 billion (2009).Table 1 show the percentage of Sales genera ted by each group under the BAE Systems in 2009 Source extracted from the Annual Report 2009. Using the Porter’s five forces analysis, we can derive a strategy outlining the major forces in Aerospace & Global Defence Industry. Bargaining Power of Suppliers BAE Systems has a wide range of suppliers for both large and small companies, thus if decided to switch; costs is not an issue, as long it can find a better supplier that can match technological capability to customer requirements.Currently BAE systems apply SBAC 21st Century Supply Chain Programme – SC21 tools and techniques for operational performance management and the tiered approach to supplier management (BAE Systems 2010). There are some areas of production for BAE like the creation of fighter aircrafts in which its supplier’s are usually concentrated and has strong labor unions, but again due to diversity of the overall business operations of BAE the assessment of this supplier power can be considered at medium risk.Threat of Substitutes BAE systems is aware of its competitors’ ability to provide other substitute weaponry to its customers, but not every competitor can offer in-house equipment and production quality that BAE can actually deliver. The threat of substitute can be considered medium, because there is still the existence of low priced but relatively competitive arms and weapons companies in the aerospace industry. Bargaining Power of BuyersThe power of buyers describes the effect that the firm’s customers have on the profitability of BAE overall. Even though based in the UK, BAE’s main buyers are in the US. BAE’s US subsidiary alone has accounted for 58. 5% of total group sales (West 2010). The US Government in defence is by large have a lot of economic power and because of this the buyer’s power can be considered high due to the challenge of capturing a high proportion of the value created is reduced.BAE’s large buyers have si gnificant leverage to negotiate lower prices because of the threat of losing a buyer that accounts for more than a half of total sales revenue, BAE is on a weak position. Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants for BAE can be considered low, due to the Aerospace and defence large capital requirements, customer’s brand loyalty, government regulations, economies of scale unique products and BAE’s wide range access to inputs for continuous production.If a new firm decides to enter the market, in order to just compete with the wide range of products and services being currently available for BAE, the former needs to undertake a massive an expensive campaign for marketing just to introduce their products, and the challenge is also the effectively of this marketing campaign since BAE systems have already established a strong brand identity in arms industry.BAE has also the advantage of an advanced production system with key access to inputs, which a new firm may be overwhelmed to know that in order to be at par with the existing firms it has to have an outstanding production system with access to key inputs as well. Rivalry among Existing Competitors Among the other forces of this critical framework, the rivalry among BAE’s competitors is quite high. Major competitors globally by BAE are EADS from France, Raytheon from the US, Lockheed Martin and Boeing also from the US, and from the UK Rolls-Royce.Majority of these companies have posted significant high sales revenue for the fiscal year period of 2009, and they also continue to consolidate to remain competitive. Becoming the market leader has been the main goal of all players in the Aerospace and Global defence industry, and with government budget cuts (Wachman 2010), especially in the US, competition on securing large contracts have never been intense. Overall cost of production is significantly high in this field, firms may tend to overproduce and reduce prices to sell more.3. 2 Str ategy recommendation BAE needs to be aware of its Book value and its total earnings, especially on depreciating assets. The strategy recommended, is to continue to acquire financially stable companies to add key improvements to the group, this is just one way to reflect a high closing book value, and dispose or sell, non performing divisions of the group. The BAE group should create a plan to maximize shareholder’s value by buying back their market shares by allocating an appropriate portion of their capital.And due to lack of future contracts, they may opt to cut a portion of their work force just to drive down costs and focus the need to drive efficiencies across the business and the continued development of four global initiatives Land, Security, Readiness & Sustainment and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. 3. 3 Financial forecast To be able to compare and contrast the current and the proposed strategy, financial projection will be employed, to outline key differences and possibl e improvements for the Board of Directors for BAE System, and base their decision on its results. 3. 3. 1 Financial forecast based on current strategyUsing the residual Income and Dividend Valuation Models, we can forecast the 5 year financial projections based on the current strategy, all of the necessary inputs are available in the Balance Sheet of BAE systems (see Appendix 3) except for the Ke (Cost of Equity) in which we will compute as follows. Ke = 17. 6p (projected dividends next year with 10% value projection) + 0. 10 330. 30 GBX ( source: current FT Market data) Ke (Cost of Equity) = is valued at . 15 or 15%. Now we can compute for BAE Systems residual income using data we already have. On Table 3 we can see each individual outputs in millions of ?.

Discuss the concept of marketing myopia and its benefits and Essay

Discuss the concept of marketing myopia and its benefits and limitations for a company - Essay Example They focused on products instead of customer requirements. This lack of vision and the customer dissatisfaction paved the way for the success of the auto industry on the highways. Further, the construction of super highways has created better medium for freight and passenger traffic, posing a formidable competition for the railways. Similarly, when small cars were introduced in the US market by Japanese companies, they became a hit in the first year of their introduction. Though there had been major researches going on for a long time in the US, none of them were able to find out what exactly the customers wanted. They focused on what was the best alternative available for a customer of the available options. They totally ignored customer requirements. Their researches focused on the product, not on customer requirements. Marketing Myopia occurs when a marketer is excessively preoccupied with product development, manufacturing or selling and ignores customer needs wants and interests. Marketing is a long-term function that involves anticipating a change in the future, and planning for it accordingly (Saxena, 1997). Another example that is apt quoting in this context of marketing myopia is that of the pager industry and radio broadcasting. Pager companies could not foresee technology changes and changing customer expectations and adapt themselves to fulfil customer expectations while mobile companies fulfilled the needs and succeeded in the market. Most companies that did not consider customers’ needs and preferences have suffered losses. With the changing times, a good marketer needs the vision to be on top of the changes and trends. Theodore Levitt in his book The Marketing Imagination has cited four conditions for business obsolescence as a result of marketing myopia. The following are the conditions: 1. The belief of

How can social policy eradicate child poverty Essay

How can social policy eradicate child poverty - Essay Example eople have different thoughts on who is responsible for tackling the issue of child poverty; although the entire burden of blame would be on the government, families, communities and organizations, - all who have to play the biggest role since they face and handle the problem often. Referring to the UNICEF, child poverty is expressed â€Å"as the deprivation of a range of both material and social supports and services that it considers to be essential to ensure children’s well-being† (Minujin, et al., 2006, p. 485). Helping the children escape poverty has to occur early in life when a problem is discovered, so that rectification takes place. By assisting the children, their future is secured; but also their families and the entire community’s lives benefit from the process. The power to prevent child poverty is within human reach making it possible to formulate social policies, which are action oriented through use of both economic and non economic resources, in equal redistribution as a way of improving the child welfare. Through the government, social policies are delivered through the enactment and reforms of law. The administration comes up with programs and initiatives just like community organizations to benefit the child welfare, by improving their economic and social state. The social policies help to protect the child and uphold their fundamental rights, which may entail helping the children or the young individuals directly or providing extensive support to their families. Children are sensitive beings who do not have the power to vote, or form petition authorities to foster programs that could defend their right. Whether being born in poverty or suffering from it during the childhood, the social policies provide rescue plans if not reducing the impact it causes in their lives. Some of the social policies are government pensions, welfare to the poor, health care, food stamps, unemployment benefits, affordable housing initiatives, educational

Responses Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Responses - Term Paper Example Regardless of the academic level for which dissertations are required to be pursued, each unique writing experience gives the researcher ample opportunities to determine the rationale for the study through identification of the research questions and to discern the most appropriate methods to address the aim of the research. As disclosed, when findings have been appropriately deducted from the data collected and analyzed, the researcher would use cognitive skills to interpret the findings and provide implications for current and future research. As revealed in the published guide prepared by Owens (2010), â€Å"the discussion and conclusion sections are your opportunity connect your work with broader issues† (p. 52). The findings therefore link the theories to practical applications as validated by the research. These types of knowledge are different. The significance of information is mainly dependent on the ability that it has in having an impact on behavior, decision as well as the outcome. Information is insignificance if after having received it, â€Å"things remain unchanged† (WebFinance, Inc., 2012). The dissertation will reveal the relationship that exists among the existing information, newly gathered data and new knowledge obtained by the author. The author will use all the knowledge which has been attained from the modules, knowledge obtained from research, observation and experiences in exploring and expanding on the information which she will present through the dissertation. – Flora The relevance of discerning the appropriate quality of information was highlighted and deemed to be crucial in writing dissertations. Aside from noting that information sources from modules, research, observation and experiences, one was led to contend that the information gathering strategies proposed by Bruce (1992) should follow structured procedures that include: identifying the problem; identifying the search areas; planning the search activities;

Preschool Observation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Preschool Observation - Essay Example Since, this is the age when the kids are away from the parents probably for the first time especially from their mothers, it required more attention of the teacher than any other class. The interest of the kids also varies some may like a particular activity while the others do not, it becomes imperative to identify the interests of the kids of this level by the teacher. The teacher was intended to create trust in the children so that they confide on her and feel free to grasp from her teaching. The teacher was friendlier and involved herself with the kids to perform activities and at the same time she was explaining these activities with the help of stories and rhymes. Some of the kids could follow the teachers' instructions while others were not able to understand anything and were crying all the time asking for the mother. The teacher was forced to take more care of such kids and helped them with chocolates or any toys of their interest. Some kids felt hungry and they asked for fo od and teacher had to open their lunch boxes for them to provide them their favorite stuff to eat while others were not intending to eat. This was creating a bit of chaos in the classroom and was becoming difficult for the teacher to manage out well with the kids of this age group. The teacher was intentional to keep the children engaged but was not able to differentiate the instructions and therefore could not keep the children engaged as otherwise she could have with a planned work. Teaching/Instructional Process A proper planning is vital to teach and handle these young budding minds. It is the formative years of their lives and therefore it is imperative to make them learn under discipline. The prime responsibility of the teacher is to create interest and also at the same time understand the psychology of the child, his/her likings and disliking and also the interest of each and every child. If this is done then half of the job is done for the teacher. In order to minimize the chaos there has to be a proper training to differentiate between eating and playing/ activities timings. When the child is not taking much interest the teacher should have involved the child making him/her sit near her and do the work or if the child needs help the teacher should provide help to the child in making the blocks arranging the pictures in a particular order and solving the puzzles and the teacher should be a constant source of encouragement to the child if he/she does even the minor things, this was lacking in the class and therefore there was so much chaos and the teacher was not able to handle them well. Kids need to eat and drink water quite often so after the accomplishment of a particular task they should be appreciated and when all have finished their task then they should be allowed to eat. This practice will make them be disciplined and will eat only at the time of eating rather than creating the chaos as some are eating while others are not. This will help the teacher also to manage the kids well and also to keep the kids engaged in one particular directed activity. When the teacher was playing with the kids, e.g. moving in a circle then at that time the teacher was saying "round and round kids" rather she could have taught them rhyme "ring-a-ring roses.." this rhyme is enjoyed by the kids and will help them learning during fun. The teacher was simply telling story to the kids rather she could

Environmental Nuisance Lawsuit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environmental Nuisance Lawsuit - Essay Example We are told that judge has already denied an earlier motion by Chris Lively to dismiss the charges, and will now decide by Bench Trial without jury whether the Common Law offences of nuisance and trespass have been violated in the light of the facts presented. One issue is whether the aroma of the manure being created and processed by the farm is a public nuisance. The second issue is that when there is rainfall, manure being transported across the stonewall leaks out of the pipe and is deposited into a public waterway, the Nishna River, and that the health of the citizens may be jeopardized by this as many people use it as a source of drinking water. Moreover the spillover also renders a nearby park unusable (Elliott & Quinn, 2007). The judge has very carefully noted all the facts and made a judgment which I totally agree with. He has held the owner of Northfield Farm, Chris Lively liable for the runoff caused during the rainstorms and for causing a public nuisance because it goes i nto the public waterway and can very well pose a health risk; besides this the uncontrolled spill of the waste has rendered a public park unusable due to the manure deposits as well as the horrific smell. Chris is guilty of trespassing Sam Anxious’ property because part of the manure was deposited there too due to the leakage of the pipe during the rainfall and the judge directs him to repay Sam the $500 spent by him to clean up the mess caused by the rainfall. Meanwhile since Sam moved into the adjoining property after Northfield Farm was already in operation, he could have reasonably expected that living near such a large farm would require him to put up with the difficulties caused by the aroma. The judge had also decreed that though in his opinion Northfield Farm has made reasonable precautions for holding and transporting the liquid manure across the farm, the inadvertent deposits on Sam Anxious’ property and the nearby park made both these places less usable. He has recognized the distress caused to Sam Anxious and others living near the farm. He also threatens to levy a fine of $1,000 per day on Chris Lively if they do not take additional precautions to respect the rights of others and also directs that the manure and watering be stopped during rainfall as it could pose a health hazard and cause danger to the health and lives of citizens and neighbors (McAdams, 2008). Issues: The legal questions that need to be answered here are: 1. Is there an issue of trespassing caused by the actions of the automatic sprayers on Northfield Farm due to the inadvertent deposits made on Sam Anxious’ adjoining property? Is Chris Lively liable for this and the payment of cleanup costs? 2. Is there an issue of trespassing and public nuisance caused by the leakages observed during the rainstorms, and deposits in the Nishna River? Does it pose a health hazard to users of the water? 3. If the aroma and inadvertent deposits by the sprayers are also causing the public not to use the nearby park, does it constitute a public nuisance caused by Northfield Farm? 4. Is it reasonable to assume that taking up residence near a large farm such as Northfield would automatically entail putting up with the nuisance of the aroma and the inadvertent deposits that Sam Anxious and other residents have to face every day? 5. If there is an inadvertent leakage caused by a leaking pipe or a break in the stonewall or transportation mechanism for the liquid manure, should Chris Lively have to bear the cost every time

Work life Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Work life - Research Paper Example On the other hand, an organization is capable of attracting and retaining new employees due to this attractive policy. According to Harris (2007, p.33), many organizations are interested in retaining productive employees; therefore, they offer various programs that allow them balance between their work life and their families. In addition, such organizations feel that work life initiatives foster employees’ commitment thus enhancing productivity. However, the challenge with the work life programs such as flextime is ensuring that employees use their freedom responsibly. Therefore, supervision and training programs are necessary in ensuring flextime is well managed. Harris (2007, p.34) insists on the importance of work-life initiatives both on the employees and on company, however, he opposes on strict supervision that companies apply on the employees under such programs. He emphasizes on applying listening skills while dealing with employees, and giving them control over their flextime; this strategy improves the employees’ accountability. Nevertheless, for work-life initiatives to be effective, they should work for both the employers and the employees. Harris adds that flexibility amounts to accountability, especially in modern organizations, while flextime programs enhance loyalty in employees, as well as job satisfaction. IBM is one such company that has introduced the flextime program; the company attests to the effectiveness of flextime as one of the reasons why it manages to retain its employees (Harris, 2007, p.36). Flextime is most valued by working women, since they are the homemakers and engage in numerous domestic responsibilities; therefore, retaining such women can be difficult unless favorable programs such as flextime are available. Some types of flextime programs may include telecommuting, which allows employees to work from some hours at home using a

Capstone Project Essay Example for Free

Capstone Project Essay Apple has been known to be an inherently personal computer company. However, it is also well known that there is no better example of innovative strategic thinking and execution. Apple’s strategy has remained to creating and sustaining value for customers across the world. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and the company never looked back since. However, it is also said that Apple lost the pc business because of ignoring the trends in pc industry. Apple’s business strategy is primarily based on innovation for creating differentiated products. It has built products that are cool to use as well as simple and intuitive. Its products are best known for the amazing experience they provide. However, Apple kept taking calculated risks and entered new markets boldly. It was visible in the release of innovative products like iPod, iPhone etc. Inherently it is a pc company and uses its competencies in developing hardware and software for developing effective, efficient and innovative products. In fact, its iPad, iPod, iPhone and Mac are all computers. (Harris, 2010) Apple’s success is mainly the result of innovative technology and design innovation. In this way we can see that Apple has enjoyed continued success in the market through innovation and matchless design. Apple’s vision is also based on continuous innovation which is visible in the products it makes. Its mission is also to be the leader in the digital revolution by making revolutionary products. We know that Apple is the market leader in terms of most innovative electronic products and the customers’ choice also. The business environment for Apple Company is highly competitive both domestically and globally. (Harris, 2010) However, its products qualify as global products and are preferred by customers all around the globe. In fact it is through innovation that the company has remained a global leader in terms of technology. Its iPhone took  the world by storm in 2007. Apple has strong capabilities in product design and engineering as well. In fact the smart phone boom was sparked by Apple through its release of iPhone in 2007. Initially, the market was shaped by the customers in US and other developed markets. However, the growth for smart phone market is now coming from the Asian and developing countries mainly. However, if anyone is challenging its position then it is Samsung which has emerged as a competitor for Apple. Till a few years ago, Samsung was just trying to catch up in the smart-phone market. Now, apart from being the world’s largest technology company by revenue, Samsung has set Apple on its back foot. It is now trying to overtake Apple. Samsung’s galaxy series became the customer’s preference soon after entering the market. In fact Samsung is considered to be the best when it comes to learning from its competitors. But they also remain customer centered at the same time. In fact Samsung keenly observes what its competitors are bringing to the market. It keeps a watch over the recent trends and does not take much time to release its own version of the innovation. (Nisen, 2013) Apple also has a huge cash pile, but when it comes to taking risks and putting the money behind it, Samsung appears to be far ahead of Apple. Apart from that Samsung also spends a larg er part of its revenue on research as compared to Apple. It spends 5.7% of its revenue on research as compared to Apple’s 2.4. Actually, Samsung is a diverse business that is made of chips, displays and a variety of other technology. Its main benefit to Samsung comes in the form of the ability to compete on price and offering features which others cannot. However, it is important to note that Samsung is more than just a smart-phone maker. It is a conglomerate, a manufacture as well as the world’s largest chip maker. These factors play in Samsung’s favor. Many of the components of the smart phones are made by Samsung itself which gives it a cost advantage. (Nisen, 2013) When we compare Samsung with Apple we can see that Apple relies on external partners, which sometimes also leads to difficulties and delays. Though Apple has a well-managed and futuristic supply chain, yet it does not have the cost advantage like Samsung. One important factor regarding Samsung is that it has provided many lower end options for the developing world. In case Samsung continues to bring game changing products to the market like its Galaxy series, it can move from a close second to being the market leader. Samsung’s advertising expenditure  is also quite high which has really paid it as well. Samsung has been successful domestically as well as globally. Its most products especially the galaxy series has taken the markets in the developing world by storm. (Nisen, 2013) Apple is considered to be the market leader in the computer software and hardware industry. The main reason behind its growth and success over years are the innovative products it has brought to the market. One of the most important strengths of Apple is its incredible brand loyalty. It has a very high number of brand loyal customers. These customers will even line up before Apple stores at night in freezing cold to be the first to lay their hands on a new released iPhone, iPad or Mac. Strong financial strength is also a major strength off Apple. Apart from these things Apple is also known for its strong brand reputation and strong advertising and marketing teams and its retail stores. We already know of Apple as the leading innovator in the mobile device technology. However, apart from the above mentioned strengths there are some weaknesses also. As analysts have mentioned without Steve Jobs in leadership, the pace of innovation at Apple has slowed down a bit. Recently it also faced problems from its main supplier and producer Foxconn which led to unwanted difficulties and delays. So, its reliance on external suppliers gets to be one of its primary weaknesses. Apart from that Apple operates in a highly competitive industry and the competition sometimes affects its margins also. Its profits are also affected due to similar but low priced offerings from its competitors. Another important weakness which generally goes in the favor of its competitors is that its products are generally high priced. This all has also led to a decline in the market share of the company. However, despite all the above mentioned weaknesses it can certainly not be denied that Apple is a customer focused, futuristic and innovative company and it is certainly due to its focus on design and innovation that the company has a vast array of opportunities ope n before it. Its main opportunity lies in the growth of smart-phone and tablet market. Increased demand for iPhones and iPad also brought new opportunities for Apple. With iPad mini the company has also set its foot in the small tablet market. Despite the innovations it has brought till now to the market, the company has still significant room left to innovate further. In fact its opportunities lie in continuous innovation. Release of the TV is also being  seen as a great opportunity for Apple to amaze its customers which it does like no one else. However, it is not easy to be and remain the market leader and it holds true regarding Apple also. Apart from that its reliance on external suppliers has also proved a threat for it. Competitors like Samsung have the cost advantage since they produce their parts themselves. This is a major threat for Apple which it cannot afford to neglect. The company is increasingly threatened by the price pressure from Samsung over key components. Samsung’s main strength lies in its diversified product portfolio. In fact the company has a really large product portfolio which includes mobile phones, tablets, TV, camera, pc, printers and many more items. In most of these product categories Samsung itself holds a significant market share. It is today the number two in terms of market share in the cell phone industry. Not just this Samsung was able to catch Nokia’s market share by superior innovation in smart phones. Apart from that Samsung has also remained ahead consistently in terms of design and innovation. A very important strength of Samsung is that it has been able to take advantage of the markets of growing economies. In fact it has been able to obtain a large market share in the growing economies because of its low end products. Another key strength of Samsung is that most of its products can easily be integrated with various software’s. It is not so with Apple and its devices are generally not compat ible with different operating systems. Apart from being known for its innovation and design, Samsung is well known for its relatively cheap products. Added to all this is Samsung’s global brand recognition. But apart from its strengths Samsung has some weaknesses also. Firstly, it is not as ahead in terms of software and hardware as Apple. It does not have either its specific operating system or software. It is a very important advantage for Apple and to become the number one in the industry Samsung would need to beat Apple. Apart from it, Samsung is focused on making too many products and its profit margins are also very low. Its competitors like Apple are the largest buyers for its electronic equipment’s also. Still there is a large pool of opportunities lying open before Samsung which is mainly due to increased demand for smart phones in the developing economies. Its galaxy series has been a great hit globally. Apart from that demand for quality products from Samsung has also risen greatly. The expansion of tablet market has also brought new  opportunities for Samsung and the company has also obtained large benefits from it. The main threat before Samsung is the fall in the prices of smart phones. Samsung faces increased threats from Apple because of its innovative technology and design also. Apple’s release of ITV is also being seen as a threat for Samsung. Technological change is happening rapidly and Samsung will also need to innovate consistently to remain at the position it is. Price wars as well as decreased margins also bring additional threats for Samsung. Generally companies have to adapt their business strategies and products to different cultures when they are trying to sell to various countries with different cultures. This is referred to as globalization. However, this thing does not become very important for companies like Apple which sell nothing but innovation. English is a global language and Apple’s designs are generally simple and easy to use. As such Apple does not face great difficulties trying to adapt to various cultures and its strategy roughly remains the same across cultures. As we can see that cultural differences do matter in business. Yet, Apple sells the same iPad in Tokyo as it does in Toronto. (Jacobs, 2010) Instead of competing on localization, Apples competes on the pace of innovation across cultures and countries. It is due to its pace of innovation that today it is a global brand. However, the case is different for Samsung, which is said to design globally but adapt locally for success. Every day it ships millions of products to customers around the world. Samsung believes that it is important t to understand the local culture to meet the local needs. It is necessary to understand the local culture to understand the customers’ preferences. One important example of its globalization strategy is its establishing of Lifestyle research labs in various countries including UK and India as well as Singapore and China. (Samsung, 2013) Apple has some distinct organizational competencies which differentiate it from others. Its competencies include its business model, corporate culture; focus on customer as well as control of the entire ecosystem. Why Apple is generally able to generate lots of buzz is because of its fastidious attention to design like its founder Steve Jobs. Most importantly it is the ability and practice of putting user experience first that keeps Apple ahead of others. Apple is known for being customer focused and it reflects in the success of its pr oducts. Apple is known for its design and ease of use. Its iPhone is  in fact a great example of the same. Apart from innovation and technology there is one other core competency that is the key driver behind Samsung’s success. Samsung believes in building an organizational culture of learning and development. Samsung has also established a work culture that promotes learning and development for its employees. The company has also established a Creative Development Research Institute System to provide its employees with the opportunity to pursue creative ideas. This initiative is aimed at encouraging the employees to develop creative ideas and be more entrepreneurial. Samsung has a highly diversified product portfolio and it is also in more places than Apple. But it sometimes also results in diverted focus. If possible Samsung should try to limit it so that it can focus on specifically important products. Apart from that Samsung would need to invest much more in innovation and desig n to pull customers off iPhones. It will also need to go beyond marketing and just bigger screens. Samsung has been concentrating on offering cheap products for the markets in developing countries. Yet it remains to do more on innovation as the technological market keeps changing rapidly. Samsung will need to specifically concentrate on design and better technological innovation. Apple has been winning due to its focus on innovation and design. However, it is not having a very significant advantage which is of producing the components for its iPhones. It is also relying on external suppliers and it leads to difficulties and delays. Apple should especially concentrate on its suppliers. In this backward integration can be highly helpful for Apple. In this way it will be able to have better control over its suppliers which will minimize delays and other difficulties. Apart from that it will also provide Apple with significant cost advantage. Apple has in fact used forward vertical integration to reach closer to its customers. It has opened Apple stores in multiple countries around the world. Apple is thinking of opening newer Apples stores in the markets it has tapped newly. In fact it does not just bring Apple closer to its customers but is also an example of effective corporate level strategy. The popularity and demand of Apple’s products is high. As a result Apple is trying to reach a larger number of customers through its own stores, since scalpers jack up the prices. However, the strategy that worked in the favor of Apple was that of diversification. Apple diversified itself from computers to consumer digital lifestyle and  entered the mobile phone market also. Since then it also brought a vast range of game changing products to the market which became highly successful. In case of Samsung the backward vertical integration strategy has worked. Many of the components that go into the smart-phones are made by Samsung itself and the company also gains significant cost advantage due to it. Apart from that this strategy also benefits it by allowing it higher flexibility in terms of what and when it produces. In fact Samsung’s business model is based to a great extent on this competency. The corporate governance structure of Apple is designed keeping in mind effective decision making as well as appropriate monitoring of compliance and performance. The board of directors at Apple oversees the CEO and the senior management. This monitoring is done in order to ensure ethical and operation of Apple Inc. In fact it is an efficient method to monitor that the top management is working ethically and properly. Apart from that this method also ensures that there are no frauds or manipulations as well as prevents any problem at the corporate level. Apart from that the board also conducts a self-evaluation to find if the board and its committees are working properly. The compensation committee does an annual review of the executive performance including the CEO. This review is also evaluated by the board to ensure the CEO is providing effective leadership to the company. The board of directors at Samsung is composed of seven members of which four are external directors. This ensures the independence and transparency of the board’s decisions. The board of directors also meets regularly to discuss management issues and other important things. The directors are not allowed to engage in business activities in the same industry without approval from the board. It has been done especially to minimize any risk of conflict of interest or unethical behavior. Samsung is a company considered to be over hierarchical and also to be dominated by its founding family. There has been significant criticism of its governance structure. Firstly, the company should stop its owner centered managing system since due to it the company cannot remain independent of its chairman. The rights of minority shareholders as well as economic justice get eroded in this system. Samsung will need to change this structure. (Kim, 2012) The company should follow a structure where th ere is more transparency related to ownership. Apart from that to improve its profitability and sustain its position, Samsung will need to invest more and  move further in terms of innovation. It will also need to move its focus from products to customers. In case of Apple, it will need to adopt its business strategy to obtain cost advantage like Samsung. One major drawback of Apple is that its products are very costly generally. In this regard Apple should go for backward integration to obtain significant cost advantage. Apart from that the company should continue to focus on innovation and design to remain competitive. Apple has been using forward vertical integration successfully but it also needs to use backward integration for further success and managing costs. Pressure from competitors like Samsung is rising and company will need to be focused on managing the price issue to beat the competition. The smart phone market is currently driven by two factors. These include large screens as well as cheap products. However, Apple currently provides none of these. Despite not being the most attractive segment cheap devices still drive the sales volume. A number of second tier Asian brands have also started eating into Apple’s market share. The fight between Apple and Samsung is going to be really hard. Apart from it both companies will also have to fight hard for their respective positions in the market against the emerging challengers. Apple’s target continues to remain the high end market. It has still held itself from releasing a low cost product since it may eat into its profitability. Currently, Apple and Samsung are the only vendors who have their market shares in double digits. Yet, their combined market share fell in 2013 which denotes that the road ahead is going to be tough. Still, the two are the most dominant players in the global smart phone market. In fact the decline was largely due to inability of Apple to grow according to the broader smart phone market. However, it is still the market leader. (Osawa Grundberg, 2014) But on the other side it cannot be denied that Samsung has been inching closer through its strategy of innovation and price competition. In fact if Samsung is able to manage its winning spree as it did in case of Galaxy smart phones, it will grow at faster pace than Apple. Apple would have to pay attention to certain other things also apart from differentiation through design and innovation to retain its leadership position. Still, taken together these companies seem to be dominating the smart phone market and will continue to for the coming years. References: Nisen, M. (2013). Samsung Has A Totally Different Strategy From Apple, And Its Working Great. In Business Insider. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://www.businessinsider.in/Samsung-Has-A-Totally-Different-Strategy-From-Apple And-Its-Working-Great/articleshow/21250813.cms Jacobs, E. (2010). Navigating cultural differences. In Financial Times. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f3e2f464-937e-11df-bb9a 00144feab49a.html#axzz2w9RbDZqJ Samsung Designs Globally and Adapts Locally for Worldwide Success (2013). In Samsung. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=28148 Osawa, J., Grundberg, S. (2014). Apple’s Smartphone Market Share Drops as Samsung’s Edges Up. In Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/01/28/apples-smartphone-market-share-drops-as-samsungs-edges-up/ Harris, M. (2010). New Product Markets†¦create and dominate them Apple style! In Harconllc. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://harconllc.com/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2013/04/DominateMarketsAppleStyle.pdf Kim, L. (2012). Samsung’s family battles over corporate governance, will it be a risk? In Quamnet. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://www.quamnet.com/newscolumnistcontent.action?articleId=2323716request_loc le=EN_US

Performance Measurement Essay Example for Free

Performance Measurement Essay If you were a functional team manager and was asked to loan an employee for a long-term project, how would you assess his performance if he worked for the project manager? Functional managers and project managers must find middle ground and agree how to measure a functional employee’s performance while assigned to a project. There are several ways to measure and report performance, but this paper will describe and compare three techniques used by project managers today. This paper will also why it is important to have a documented performance management process and what could happen if it was missing. Three Performance Measurement Methods According to Kerzner (2009), there are generally nine methods used when evaluating project employees: Essay appraisal Graphic rating scale Field review Forced-choice review Critical incident appraisal Management by objectives Work standards approach Ranking methods Assessment center Of these nine, this paper will choose three methods that are generally used in most companies – graphic rating scale, management by objectives, and ranking methods. Graphic rating scale is a method that is quick to set up but sometimes lacks the details and nuances of an employee’s performance and how the work was completed. Basically, the graphic rating scale is a form with a table that contains general statements about major work done on a project. Examples of these statements are â€Å"communicates effectively with  peers† and â€Å"completes required work all of the time.† These rows in the table have a corresponding value that the project manager can select that best represents the employee’s performance on that topic. An example of these values are â€Å"strongly disagree† and â€Å"strongly agree.† Here’s what the form might look like: Work Description Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree or Disagree Agree Strongly Agree Communicates with peers X Completed all work on time X As indicated earlier, this method is limited to what criteria is listed in the form and does not account for other employee competencies not listed on the form.  Management by objectives is a very common method to measure performance. This method requires that a list of objectives be created before the project starts that the employee must aspire to meet or exceed. Large companies like Microsoft use this method to allow each employee to create their own objectives (called commitments inside Microsoft) at the beginning of each fiscal year. In some cases, employees get to choose which commitment they identify, while in other cases the management creates them and the employees must accept them. This is an effective method because it gives the employee an outline of what is expected of him during the project. The employee can refer back to the objectives regularly to help keep him focused. The ranking method can be effective, but it is not the most well-received or  accurate performance measure. In this method, management gets together and compares the milestones, accomplishments, and results from each employee and creates a stack ranking of the team. The employees at the top of the list usually get more bonuses and other performance rewards, while the middle of the list gets the standard compensation and the bottom of the list might get nothing. This method is not popular with the employees because it relies too heavily on the debating skills of their manager. Also, the ranking system is sometimes subjective because there is no documented list of objectives that all employees should be measured. Often the employees that were assigned to a high-profile project usually get a higher ranking than others, even though the amount of work was the same. Why We Measure Performance Performance measurement is a critical part of the overall project. Firstly, measuring an employee’s performance in the project can provide justification for a promotion, bonus or merit increase in salary. Since project successes usually include some type of bonus payout, an effective performance measurement method can help the project manager determine which employees deserve larger compensation and which deserve less. Another benefit of performance management is that employees can learn about their strengths and weaknesses in their role. This can help employees identify learning or training opportunities to help them become more productive and more valuable to the company. If there was no performance measurement, how could the project manager identify future project team members and make note of low-performing project team members so they are not considered for future projects? Without this process, there would be no way for employees to get honest feedback about their perfor mance. Most employees want this feedback so they can help the company succeed. Conclusion In every company, a project manager must use the resources he is given to complete the project. Sometimes he gets to choose his team, and sometimes not. Every company has many projects with often the same pool of employees doing the work. Most project managers would rather choose their project team based on past performance on other projects so they have a good chance of completing the project within the triple constraints. Without this form  of measurement, it would be a guessing game – and no one wants to leave a project to chance. References Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, Inc.

Introduction To Personal Development Plan Personal Development Essay

Introduction To Personal Development Plan Personal Development Essay 1. Introduction to Personal Development Plan: Personal Development Plan (PDP) refers to activities that improve self-knowledge and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. The concept is not limited to self-development but includes formal and informal activities for developing others as well. Finally as personal development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to the methods, programs, tools, techniques, and assessment systems that support human development at the individual level in organizations. A personal development plan is a meticulously designed program which uses psychological tools such as the Personal Effectiveness Scale and created in order to create an understanding between a reviewer and an employee of an organization on important areas of development keeping in mind the ways in which these needs would be supported. PDPs are usually developed in companies and it acknowledges th e plan discussed between the employer and employee. 2. Purpose: In this assignment I want to create Personal Development Plan for myself through which I would try to focus on the areas where I need to work upon in order to achieve my short, medium and long-term objectives. So to start the process of developing a PDP for myself I would like to start with my introduction and my career path till date and my future objectives. I work in an Indian government financial organization as an investment consultant at the commercial investment section and my career objective would be to become the manager of companys zonal branch in next 3-4 years. My aim is to open my own financial invest farm for commercial investors in next 5-6 years. 3. Objectives: Short term To improve my performance to get better output using my strong points. Medium term To enhance my day to day working knowledge and to further improve my own ability to perform at a certain level consistently. Long term To help myself with self evaluation of my strong and weak points and build upon the ability to sustain continuous growth and keep growing. Short term To improve my performance to get better output using my strong points. Target Period 6 Months Organisational objectives Try to implement the plan and increase the amount of loans to the needed people and organisations. Learnings to suffice the above requirement To perfect and constantly evaluate my skills. Need to perform to achieve the above Need to attend courses and complete reviews by the senior management people. Support resources I might need to join a specific and planned course and which might require some money to be invested. What immediate success am I looking at To raise my performance at an exceptionally good level by the end of 1st year with the help of learnings and feedback provided on the above. Target period to accomplish the above target Though I am looking at a time frame of 6 months but would be pushing it to achieve as soon as possible. Medium term To enhance my day to day working knowledge and to further improve my own ability to perform at a certain level consistently. Target Period 6 months Objectives towards achieving organizational and departmental goals Learning and enhancing my knowledge on the subject by implementation of own PDP and bringing the knowledge on day to day performance. Facts that I need o learn Constantly evaluate self performance and find out new paths of improvement in anything and everything I require to perform. What myself need to do to achieve the above Need to attend some specific courses related to my work field and try to learn as much as possible from the experienced seniors at work and also get review on my learnings. Kind of resources I would require to support the above expected achievement Might need to join a specific and planned course and which might require some money to be invested. What will be my expected success To have a clear self understanding of what I am doing and what is my expected outcome in near future. Target period to accomplish the above target Planned time frame is 6 months but expecting to achieve by end of 4-5 months. Long term To help myself with self evaluation of my strong and weak points and build upon the ability to sustain continuous growth and keep growing. Time period 1 to 4 years Organizational and departmental objectives Implementation of my PDP and enhance my knowledge in financial domain and increase my work experience to be able to reach the managerial level of the organization with remarkable remuneration package within 2-3 years and then to open my own investment company to help small time investors in the state. What would I need to learn and apply to achieve the above To be perfect in my work keeping the process in place and keeping an eye on constant evaluation of self financial and managerial skills, work hard and climb the corporate ladder at the earliest. What will I need to do to achieve the above To attend available courses, Learn from experienced sources. Keep the performance level at an exceptional standard. Create a network of high and influential people both from inside and outside of organization. Create favorable environment in my organization. Completion of self reviews on a regular and timely basis. What kind of resources and support I would need to support the above expectation Need to be get closer with influential clients and higher management people of the organization which might involve some cost in way of entertaining them and provide them with some help in completing and meeting their demand. To create a network of powerful and influential people for myself. Target period to accomplish the above Planned time frame is 1 4 years but expecting to achieve by end of 3 years. 4. Professional Skills: To be a successful and effective manager some skills are required, which help in performing well in the job and simultaneously grow vertically in the career ladder. I have classified the roles based on various important tasks that I would expect to perform in the organization. Task-based skill This skill helps a manager to properly plan to execute complex tasks, manage projects and run an efficient operation, it also helps in planning, organizing and monitoring performance on a regular basis. It is also important to be results oriented, to be someone who constantly conveys a sense of urgency and has the perseverance to get things done under tight time pressures. This also help to be able to build resilience to bounce back following setbacks and to build the power within to not to get defeated easily and sustain in crunchy situations. Team based skill This skill helps a manager in identifying and appointing associate or model leaders to learn and develop leadership skills and qualities. This also helps to foster team spirit and setting up benchmark for performances. This is the most important factor to groom team members. This skill facilitates the presence of necessary infrastructure supports and integrating tem members. Team member based skills This skill specifically helps the manager to identify the talent among team members. This helps the manager to nurture the talent of the members in sync with the organizational goals. This is also important quality to assign and balance team members needs and the most importantly to appreciate the performance of each individual team member as and when necessary. My learnings on positive managerial and leadership skills: In my earlier employment with the Bajaj Allianz life insurance I had a chance demonstrate my managerial skill which worked in a very positive way to get my new job where I am in now. I had to suggest one of our client the best option to invest his money. To work out the best result for him, I did my research on all the available options and studied the pros and cons of all kind of investments options like investment in a market linked insurance fund, directly buying shares or debentures from stock market, investment in bonds or confirmed minimum returns on investments like fixed deposits, mutual funds etc and provided him with my suggestion which was a market linked infrastructure bond along with a health insurance. The return received by the client made him give a positive feedback about my commercial insight and which in turn helped me create goodwill for my company. This also helped me create a long term relationship with the client as well as build my network of people ensuring t hat I can always expect him to reach out to me for his future investments and in turn can use his contacts and influence to help me in future. In Bajaj Allianz, I had also been allotted the responsibility of providing training to newly joined insurance agents and the field and trainee managers who were newly inducted in the company. This was vital help and knowledge gain for me to nurture and polish my people management skill as I was responsible to train people with the product knowledge as well as the rules and regulations of the company as well as the companys position and field of operations in the market. This helped me a lot in understanding our target audience and helps them understanding the products and the company in the most efficient way as possible. This role and my performance were very instrumental to judge my leadership and management skill from the positive feedback of the trainees. 5. Personal skills: Communication Communication is one of the most important tool which needs to be used very effectively when it comes to being a manager or a leader. It can be formal or informal, work related or non work related, can be personal or impersonal, creative or factual. Thoughts or messages may be conveyed verbally, in writing or nonverbally, but it is always very important that whichever subject or whatever mode it is conveyed, it is clear to both the owner and the receiver. There are many instances where examples of each communication approach may have been successfully applied and at the same time things have gone wrong just due to the improper communication, be it at work, at home or at the most highest level of society including government communication. Written Person should be able to express himself loud and clear in written communication. Be it writing essays for school or writing an application for a job, creating his bio-data, research thesis, day to day email communications, anywhere and everywhere it is very important to be clear about what he or she is trying to convey and to be sure the person at the other end is clear about the message. Verbal As he word goes that speech out of mouth and arrow out of bow can never be returned back, so it is highly important that we choose words before any verbal communication is made. Be I formal or informal, person should be well efficient and double clear about conveying thoughts easily and getting engaged with other people. It is also to be kept in mind the mode by which message is conveyed, whether socially among friends or in a gathering or on telephone. Body Language Another most important but highly ignored way of communication is the persons self body language. Person has to have the ability to match is own body language appropriately to what he or she is trying to convey verbally. It is the presence and display of body language which supports the verbal communication heavily in every places, be it at work or at a public gathering or be it in a social function. The eye contact, gestures and postures, movement, expressions everything is highly counted when it comes to any communication to take place and to produce the desired outcome. 6. Working in team: Its very important and highly noticed by the management of any organization is that how well a manager can work with the fellow team members. Its valued at a very high level, not only in case of work but otherwise in all respect, its important to demands to have good skill to work with others and create a positive environment. The factors which are included in this skill set are as below. Co-operation A person should have the quality to be able to co-operate with all level of people in all kind of situations. Its highly important to be able to bring into effect the co-cooperativeness in both way, from the person himself and to get the same from others, which plays a big role in accomplishing any target. Not only work but any group activity like in sports, or group discussion or for that matter preparing project report, in every cases co-operation in a positive way is very important. Importance of sensitivity It is this skill which makes a person close and valuable to others. Ability to understand the need and offer help and respond is very important, regardless of age and level. A person who can reach out to anyone and display his sensibility to help others to handle situation is one of the best quality one should develop. Quality of negotiation Its important to reach at a logical end and desired outcome, but it does not happen always that you are in win win situation. In day to day activity also a person needs to be flexible enough to sometime negotiate and compromise to reach at a winning outcome. It is not always that the person or organization you are dealing with very understanding, rather it is highly common that people are reluctant to think the way you are thinking, especially when it comes to government organization and bureaucratic run departments. Leadership quality This is purely team oriented. How good a person in conveying his ideas to fellow members and provide them with a feeling that they are important for the success and most importantly motivate and encourage each individual member in all situation to give their best for the overall success is the best quality a leader can wish for. 7. Problem solving qualities To have the skill to generate ideas to solve any kind of problems and bring an end to issues and conflicts are counted as the problem solving skill of a person. Planning and organizing The ability develop a well thought plan and set the required sequence of systematic process and ideas are part of a successful result in every part of day o day to life. Planning is one thing and organizing the required requirements and executing them as per plan comes under a persons perfect organizing skill. It also comes handy when we think about simply organizing a group, party or get together or for that matter clients demonstration, a proper planning and execution through seamless organizing skill is highly important. Creativity Generating new ideas or reusing existing solutions in a new way is what it matters when it comes to handling a situation or solving a problem. Its not always that we need to come up with new approach or ideas to deal with a situation, but we should be able to use any existing methods in a better way and apply the same in a different approach depending on the kind and nature of issues. Research and analysis Doing a thorough research on the subject and gathering all sort of required informations plays a vital role to derive at a successful outcome. Not only gathering informations but then analyzing the same in respect of the situation and nature of the issue gives a chance in most of the cases that the result is expected in a positive way. 8. Self learning and improving performance Self development This talks about knowing self strength and weakness. It is the most important skill a human being needs to develop to grow and find out his ultimate goal in life. Understanding his own strength and weakness about his personal ability, educational capability and career goal is what makes a person to reach where he wants to. On personal front he or she needs to know which skill is better in him and which is the strong point he can bank upon to pursue his career. On educational front its not only the normal study what is basic, but it is the self evaluation of his progress, constant review and correction towards his targets which is very important. As per the career development, it is very important to be clear and focused towards the ultimate goal in his career. He has to be firm on his decision on what he wants to be and work constantly towards reaching that level. Leaning To be able to learn from all available situations and apply the same learnings in different contexts as and when required. Its not only books, but learning from day to day experience, from playing a game, working at home, nurturing his hobby, learning can be from anything and every situation a person come across, but what is important to find out whether we apply the same when we face any situation, thats more important. It is the transfer of our learning experience from one situation to another situation is what we need to be good at. Logical reasoning Person should have to be able to use his reasoning skill and logical thinking towards defending an argument or making a statement. A planning without any logical reasoning in place can never produce positive result. He has to foresee the effects of the planning in advance and that is only possible when he can think logically and apply the proper reasoning behind the decision taken or else it can only produce an adverse result. Self judgment One of the most important skill is to be able to judge and question his own performance. Unless a person can reflect on his own performance and find out where he stands as per his expectation and critique his sort falls, he can never revaluate and find out the reason and also the answers for the incorrect result. It is self judgment and revaluation which can work as the corrective measure and can rebuild the situation and change the failure to success. Study skill To enhance knowledge on subject from finding more and more informations from people around and relevant sources. Going through different educative materials, gathering informations from journals, available notes, collecting ideas from reference books from library, going through thesis, finding documents available on net there are so many ways of increase your study skill and enhance self-knowledge on the subject which will only make you stronger and firm while talking on the subject or when taking decisions. 9. Audit on self assessment: Questionnaire Now to find where I stand as per my target achievement and planning and evaluate my progress, I need to create a set of questionnaire and mark myself depending on the options of answers. I need to find out what is my score on each question there can be four options Answers Marks 1. Strongly Disagree 1 2. Tend to disagree 2 3. Tend to agree 3 4. Strongly agree 4 Communication Reading skill Questions Marks Am I good enough in reading both study materials and others Am I good enough in finding information from different sources Am I well versed with finding informations from electronic media Am I capable enough to go through and understand the materials after reading Can I create documents from the above informations when I work on assignments or projects Am I able to read texts or documents and summarize the gist of what the author had tried to convey __________________ Total Marks Obtained 22 (4+4+4+4+3+3) Communication Writing skill Questions Marks Am I good enough in writing both study related or normal communication Am I good enough in expressing my ideas and views Do I plan and develop ideas in mind before penning it down How good am I when it come to grammar or spelling Am I capable enough to create documents as per specifications of department or course or the institution standard Am I good enough to create notes from a lecture or group discussions or a presentation or any demonstration __________________ Total Marks Obtained 21 (4+3+4+4+3+2) Communication Verbal Questions Marks Am I clear when I engage myself in any verbal communication Am I good enough in conveying and explaining concepts or ideas to group of people Am I good enough in giving a presentation using slides, graphs, charts, diagrams Do I listen carefully to others and try to understand their point of views Can I always come to a logical conclusions keeping both my own and others views Am I good enough in getting involvement of people when I discuss or convey or present _____________________ Total Marks Obtained 18 (4+2+2+4+3+3) Team Work Questions Marks Am I a good team member Am I clear in understanding the target goal and achievement of the team Do I agree and work towards achieving the teams target Am I sensitive enough about each fellow team members roles in achieving success Am I good enough in monitoring the teams progress and efforts and bring forward challenges faced by the team towards achieving target Given a chance would I be able to lead a team _____________________ Total Marks Obtained 21 (4+4+4+4+3+2) Problem Solving Questions Marks Am I skilled enough to break down a big task in small executable part Do I look for help when I cannot get through the problem rather than wasting time Do I enjoy the challenge in solving problems and feel happy at the end Do I plan and do a brainstorm session involving the team members as and when necessary before getting started Do I foresee the possible outcome before I carry the task out Am I flexible and capable enough to look for alternate solutions depending on situations and progress rate _____________________ Total Marks Obtained 21 (3+4+4+3+3+4) Self learnings and personal effectiveness Questions Marks Am I organized at my work and organize my tasks in order to meet target and deadlines Do I constantly evaluate self progress towards meeting the target Am I clear about my strength and weakness about planning and meeting targets on time Am I capable enough to find help and support to complete assigned tasks Am I clear about my future targets about my career Do I discuss my thoughts with people around _____________________ Total Marks Obtained 21 (4+3+4+4+4+2) Grand Total 124 Deriving at my strength and weakness based on the above self assessment audit: Strengths From above audit I can see that my strengths are good communication skill, being a good team member, inclination towards solving problem etc I would always try to use these strong points very effectively to manage work and towards achieving my objectives in career. Weaknesses I can see my weaknesses in the fields of creating documents, making presentation, lack of confidence in leading a team and being little introvert. I would definitely work towards fixing these issues at the earliest with the help of my strength. 10. Result Evaluation: The result is not quite surprising to me as I knew some of my weaknesses. Though I am always a good team member and my communications are good but I am not good in making presentations and creating documents. I also lack in taking quick decisions sometime. But to me, the bigger issue seems like my lack of confidence in leading people. I am little introvert and not very vocal which might have led to me being less confident. 11. Action Plan: Development Area: Presentation Skills / Leadership Quality / Decision Making The plan is to conduct mock sessions and practice as much as possible. This would prevent me from any kind fear in me when presenting real-time. After all, presenting a piece of information in a compelling manner is vital to a manager and there is gets all the more necessary to get groomed on the presentation skills. Also I hope these training sessions will let me gain the confidence to present in front of crowd or a business group. I would join some short courses, attend seminars and workshops on effective leadership quality development, though I am always a good team player but I need to gain the confidence and quality of leading a team as well. I also would work with some senior level management people who are at decision making authority level to find out more on the skill and try to improve upon. 12. Conclusion: From my self prepared PDP, I am quite confident that I am on the right path and also confident that I can overcome the weaknesses I have in some specific fields with help from internal and external sources and also would try to use my strong points to dominate over my weaknesses. I want t be on the right track and would want to see myself as a role model for people who wants to succeed in financial sector and want to reach to the managerial level and start his own entrepreneurship.

Traffic and Urban Congestion: 1955-1970 :: American America History

Traffic and Urban Congestion: 1955-1970 In 1960, Great Britain still had no urban freeways. But with the ownership of private cars becoming ever more common, the problem of congestion in British cities was unavoidable. Investigating the possibilities of freeways as alleviators of big-city traffic jams, the government-sponsored Buchanan Report was pessimistic: ... the study shows the very formidable potential build-up of traffic as vehicular ownership and usage increase to the maximum. The accommodation of the full potential is almost certainly beyond any practical possibility of being realized. There is thus no escaping the need to consider to what extent and by what means the full potential is to be curtailed.1. In the decades preceding this study, Americans faced much the same problem with transportation in their cities. But the American plan for dealing with urban congestion in the automobile age was very different. In 1954, President Eisenhower suggested that "metropolitan area congestion" be "solved" by "a grand plan for a properly articulated highway system." In 1956, the House Committee on Public Works urged "drastic steps," warning that otherwise "traffic jams will soon stagnate our growing economy."2. Confronting the same problem--urban traffic congestion--the British and the American governments responded with radically different solutions. In Britain, congestion in cities was understood to mean an excess of automobiles entering cities. The problem, to British planners, was to reduce relative reliance on the private car in order to allow better movement of traffic. But in the U.S., planners interpreted congestion as a sign that roads were inadequate and in need of improvement. In the face of traffic jams, the British tended to say, "too many cars!" while the Americans would say, "insufficient roads!" U.S. urban transportation policy was shaped by this tendency, from its origins in the 1940s until the mid 1960s. This essay makes a twin argument. First, the way in which U.S. urban transportation policy was formulated in the 1940s and 1950s precluded the British solution. Regardless of the relative merits of the British and American approaches, discouraging the use of the automobile was not an option American policy makers could consider. The American political culture could consider large scale domestic projects only with the cooperation of the private sector, and in the U.S. this meant largely automotive interest groups. The second point is that American urban transportation policy retreated from this position in the 1960s. By the 1970s U.S.

Fired Waitress Essay -- essays research papers

The Case of the Fired Waitress   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In business it is important the a company establish some clear order of business when dealing with business ethics. Ethical business practices can build customer relationships. Unethical business practices can cause a business to lose customers. In this case study the reader will be come familiar with the ethical practice of a Red lobster store in Pleasant Hill, Pennsylvania. Problem/ Issue Identification   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A waitress at the local Pennsylvania Red Lobster served a African American couple. The wife order prime rib and was not pleased with the rib or the serve of the waitress. After paying for the meal she submitted a customer comment card in the comment box. The waitress then took the comment card from the box and destroyed it. This incident caused the waitress her job. She was fired.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We can assume from this case that the waitress did not want the incident known. She may have taken other comment cards and have never been caught. We can also assume this is an isolated incident that the waitress made a big mistake. Looking at the ethical issues a comment box should be managed by the manager or higher. Restaurant employees should not have access to this box at all. The store does not have procedures that secure customer comments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is related to Consumer Stakeholders and External Stakeholder issues. The major overriding issues a...

Impact of social media marketing Essay

Over the years communication has evolved into a revolutionary platform, through the invention and development of Internet. The Internet has evolved from a means to facilitate data, to a platform of public communication through social media. Social media has opened up a plethora of opportunities for businesses to advertise, promote and market themselves to customers. This research paper discusses how social media has changed the scope of the traditional customer relationship marketing in today’s business world. IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA Since the beginning of time, communication has always played a major role in normal day-to-day activity. Communication has evolved and gone through significant changes through out the years and has shifted the way humans interact with each other. Through new technologies and inventions such s the Internet, communication has grown significantly from the traditional face-to-face interaction. The Internet has revolutionized everyday human interaction and communication through incorporating social media. Social media has impacted every aspect of human interaction from personal lives to the business world. The business world however, has especially been impacted by the application of social media. As social media continues to grow as a marketing tool, Many companies have incorporated social media into their daily business activity for brand awareness, target market reach, business expansion and customer interaction. However, since companies have incorporated social media marketing, traditional customer relationship marketing is decreasing because companies are relying heavily on social media marketing. What Social Media Is Social media is a means or forum in which individuals, groups, or organizations interact and share information, thoughts or ideas. Adam J. Mills defines social media as â€Å" Internet and web-based technology platforms designed to encourage social interaction between individuals, groups and organizations.† (Mills, 2012). Social media has become increasingly popular because of its ability to serve as away to connect with others in the world that may or not be in the same region. Mills goes on to say that, â€Å" Social media are IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA part of the phenomenon known as ‘Web.2.0’. Web 2.0 is best understood as the result of the evolution of technology and application form the proverbial early days of the internet where communications were largely one-way and the Internet was used as a source of information retrieval.† (Mills, 2012). Social media consist of many tools and platforms where individuals and organizations interact. These tools play a major role in the existence and stability of the social media network. Social Media Tools and Their Functions Social media tools are those elements that are used by the public, organization or businesses and little or no cost to communicate or network. One of the top social media tools today is Facebook. According to Emily Raush who quoted â€Å"Top 10 Websites† â€Å"Facebook is the number one most visited, taking up 10 percent of all Internet visits. It is also by far the most widely consumer-used social media site.† (Raush, 2011). Facebook is a social media tool that everybody in all age groups and in all backgrounds are familiar with. Facebook has created ways in which users can create profiles and interest groups that cater to an individual or organizations needs and motives. Facebook users can exchange messages, receive notifications, add friends and subscribe to areas of interest. Another social media tool is Twitter, which is a micro blogging site that â€Å"allows users to send out real-time updates to followers for a quick and easy read.† (Raush, 2011). Twitter consists largely of opinion sharing and short messages. Twitter is a forum where individuals follow people or companies of interest to send or read what others are IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA saying about any given subject. This forum can be used through a desktop or mobile device. YouTube is another social media marketing tool that has become very popular over the years. â€Å" YouTube is currently one of the biggest search engines being used today. YouTube is a video-sharing website that is primarily updated by subscribed users who upload videos. Individuals, subscribed or unsubscribed, have the ability to watch videos, like them and comment on their thoughts of the videos. Social Media in the Business World Since the development of these various social media tools, companies have used they’re development and growth to gain competitive advantage in the markets. Companies use social media tools to market their brand and interact with their target market. One of the primary reasons businesses utilize social media to market is because social media marketing reduces the cost of advertising. With forums such as Facebook, companies have the opportunity to create a profile for their product or service and inform their target market about what they are all about and the benefits of their product with out having to spend a dime. Social media marketing is one of the most cost effective ways for a company to gain exposure and advertise a company. Social media also creates spreadability or exposure for a company among consumers. Mills states â€Å"spreadability refers to the ease with which a campaign flows across social networks.† (Mills, 2012). The ability for a brand or company to spread through social media tools such as Twitter and YouTube, give the company leverage and helps the business get their name out without much effort. The ability for the companies IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA name to get out can be through word of mouth on these social media tools, where customers share videos or share their opinions of how the product or service worked for them. â€Å" Since people are most interested in what their friends have to say about something, a friend’s review of a company can go along way in helping generate exposure for that business† (Raush, 2011). Social media marketing can also promotes brand engagement. Companies can engage their target market by creating interest groups for their product or service. By utilizing social media tools like Facebook, business can set up an interest group specifically catered to their brand and consumers can interact by liking the group, commenting on the company profile and making suggestions and sharing the content with others to expand the companies reach. Donna Hoffman and Marek Fodor of the MIT Sloan Management Review state that â€Å" highly engaged social media campaigns involve user-generated content on the part of the consumer, reinforcing loyalty to the brand and making the customer more likely to commit additional effort to support the brand in the future.† (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). Brand engagement also creates a way for companies to know what is that a consumer wants and needs. Interest groups can contribute to the marketing research efforts of the business. As stated by Hoffman and Fodor â€Å"social media can improve the efficiency of market research efforts when, for example, marketers set up online prediction markets to crowd source new ideas or mine online forums that allow customers to comment on product concepts and offer improvements for existing products.† (Hoffman and Fodor, 2010). Social media marketing has revolutionized the way that businesses utilize social media tools to expand and grow their business. However social media has affected and negatively impacted customer relationship marketing. Social Media Marketing vs. Customer Relationship Marketing Over the years customer relationship marketing has played a major part in the growth of any business. Customer relationship marketing is what most business are all about. Customer relationship marketing is where businesses learn their customer’s needs, build customer loyalty and trust. Companies now rely so heavily on social media marketing that, they have neglected and forgotten the importance of customer relationship marketing. The problem with social media marketing is that the public primarily controls the content. Companies might find themselves trying to defend their brand based on what individuals have said to discredit that business. Customer relationship marketing is important in this aspect because business can have that one-on–one interaction with their, customers to ensure that the customer has the experience for themselves, and is not going based on the opinions of others. The businesses have the opportunity to build trust between themselves and the customer if customer relationship marketing is retained. Trust is an important part of a relationship between customers and businesses. Sometimes social media marketing can impede that trust because the opinion of others can impact and or form the mind of potential customers and could in turn shorten the intended reach of a customer. Social media marketing can also become over bearing and create a situation with customer where the customer feels like the company is being intrusive or annoying. Social media marketing also strikes concern because as Jack Yan discussed in IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA his article, sometimes, social media tools can bee unreliable. Yan stated that Twitter, which is much harder to patrol and easier to manipulate, has its share of fake accounts with programs adding followers and tweeting fake messages.† (Yan, 2011). Conclusion Social media marketing is a great way for businesses to market their brand and get awareness out there about their product or service. Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have hand a tremendous impact on the advertising and growth of companies. Social media tools have allowed consumers to engage in the advancement of brands in that customers can suggest improvement or give their opinion on a brand.   However, because social media has evolved, customer relationship marketing has been impacted. Businesses rely heavily on social media marketing and in turn are leaving their brands and reputations in the hands of those who can alter their customer brand and market strategy. Social media is constantly growing and in turn social media marketing will continue to grow and revolutionize. Social media, if used correctly, can create the tools necessary for a company or business to have a competitive advantage and create stronger brand equity. IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA Reference Hoffman, D. L., & Fodor, M. (2010). Can you measure the roi of your social media marketing? MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), 41-49. Mills, A. J. (2012). Virality in social media: The spin framework. Journal of Public Affairs, doi: 10.1002/pa.1418 Raush, E. R. (2011). Social media: Revolutionizing the business world. (Unpublished master’s thesis, Liberty University), Available from Berkeley Electronic Press. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1267&context=honors Yan, J. (2011). Social media in branding: Fulfilling a need. Journal of Brand Management, 18(9), 688-696. doi: 10.1057