Key Intelligence Needs of a Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Key Intelligence Needs of a Company - Assignment Example In this scenario, I will have successfully carried out my work as the CI practitioner since my work as the CI practitioner would have become an essential component of the organization plus its management. It eventually, becomes part of a company’s culture. As the CI practitioner, the following main operational areas and activities are the ones I will focus on: Focus and planning: As the CI practitioner my main focus will be critical business issues. These are key needs of intelligence. Information gathering: In this phase, the information I will gather will come from various sources through different gathering techniques. Analysis of information: I will ensure that information is converted into intelligence via the interpretation process, so that the results can be used in decision-making which is strategic. Communication of information: I will ensure that the process results are shown to the management and those responsible and capable in appropriately acting to the results i n a timely manner. Structure and process: This form of intelligence requires suitable policies and procedures which are necessary tools so that company staff can help in CI while benefiting from its process. Culture and Organizational awareness: For successful utilization CI efforts of a company, it is necessary to have in place suitable awareness organizationally. Even though decision-makers decide on the intelligence needed, everyone should have information gathering on their mind. Upcoming content in this paper will concentrate on the things that enhance the importance of the practitioner, beginning with the critical activity. This intelligence needs act as a roadmap to a CI practitioner in carrying out my duty regardless of its magnitude and it follows this roadmap (Negash, 2004). Another fact is the deficiency of resources by the company which denies the comfort which mainly focuses on a massive amount of essential issues. KIN definition also guarantees that management will rec eive the intelligence that it really requires. CI can greatly vary in different companies, KIN being its direction drivers. If not well explained, marked out and accurately communicated, the whole potential stands a chance of being a failure. It’s very important that as the CI practitioner of the company I make CI the central part of the formulation of strategy and planning in business never being seen differently (Luhn, 1958). Defining KIN The application of formal process for management requirements was propagated by CI expert Jan Herring to come up with a supportive environment between those who use intelligence and professionals in CI supporting communication which is in two-way and is required for the identification and definition of the company's intelligence needs. I will incorporate his model since it depends with the procedure that is used by organizations in state intelligence so as to identify priorities in national intelligence. Advantages of CI identification pro cess to the company Everybody is brought on equal or similar wavelength Ensuring that the competitive thinking of the company is broad Capability of anticipating needs is created CI unit focus is created The

Patients and Clients in Home Care Essay Example for Free

Patients and Clients in Home Care Essay It is said that â€Å"there’s no better place than home†. This is the comfort that home care provides its patients. It permits the assistance of people that have special needs in the comfort of their homes and with the companionship of their families. Medical services and health assistance can now be obtained without going away from the confines of your home. It is now possible that health service providers will be the ones to go to the patient’s home so that the patient will not have to be confined in a hospital or a nursing institution. Home care is an alternative method to sustain the growing demand for medical health services. Due to the observed surge in the number of people with special needs, unconventional venues for taking care of this people aside from hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes were considered. The establishment of home care services answers the demand of different venues for health services. Home care is the offering of medical services by formal providers such as doctors, registered nurses, and physical therapist or by informal providers such as caregivers in the patient’s homes. It aims to promote, reinstate, and sustain the comfort, function, and health of a patient to its maximum limit. Taking care of patients during the last days of their life is also part of the objective. Classifications of home health care includes: preventive, promotive, therapeutic, long-term maintenance, rehabilitative and palliative care(DOH). People that need home care are geriatric individuals, chronically ill patients, persons with disabilities, and patients that are recovering from surgeries. Seventy percent of the clients that availed home health care services are geriatric people of age 65 and above. Disease diagnoses that are most rampant in these home care patients are: Heart disease, diabetes, cerebral vascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), malignant neoplasm, fractures, congestive heart failure, osteoarthritis and allied disorders, and hypertension(NCHS). Care from registered nurses, physical therapists, and social workers; access to medical equipments; check up by doctors; help with running errands; medication delivery; and meal preparation are some of the services that are offered by home health care providers. Types of home care vary with different kind of providers. Skilled care type is offered by licensed medical practitioners like doctors, registered nurses, medical social workers and physical therapist. This type of home care service focuses on the reinstating and maintaining the health of a client. It includes disease diagnoses, disease treatments, wound care, injection and intravenous therapy, medical assessments, nutritional management, and counseling. The other type of service is the home support services that are offered by caregivers or health care aides which are more inclined to domestic tasks like personal hygiene or bathing assistance; running errands; grocery shopping; cooking and eating assistance; light house keeping; and medication reminders(MFMER ). Clients of home care services expect the providers of these services to meet their specific needs. The most common client specifications are good quality care; availability of service; health service provider with appropriate training and expertise; high quality, effective care; and affordable service. Home care providers are expected by clients to give them respect, inflict no harm to them, and treat them well(Nina Preto). They also expect to have their rights as a patient considered, respected and instituted. The law currently implements the home care patients right to: choose their care providers; be informed fully by the health service agency provider of his/her rights and responsibilities as a patient; obtain the needed professional care following the doctor’s orders; receive continuous care; be asked consent prior to any treatment regimen or procedure; advised for any plan changes prior the change; avail service that is safe and in accordance to the professional care needed; be informed of actions in the event of emergency; and to voice opinions regarding the treatment or procedure(Hospice). Different individual conditions require varied specific needs so the provider should be competent enough to be able to address these circumstances. The geriatric or elderly persons for example have various conditions that have complex needs. Usually diseases of the old individuals are multi-factorial; the change of their condition is unpredictable; and outcome of treatment or management is random. So it is best if the home care providers of the elderly with diseases to be registered nurses or doctors for prompt treatment and disease management. Though in other instances home care is employed by geriatric patients that are healthy but in need of assistance in performing their daily tasks from as simple as opening doors for them to household chores. Another example of patients with different needs is the patients with cancer. These individuals are more at ease in the confines of their homes and families. They do not want to be separated from there families because usually these patients gain there strengths from them. The emotional and moral support the families give are vital for a cancer patient. Home care allows these patients to have all the support they can get from there families. As cancer is a devastating disease the home care provider should be able to give support to the patient, address his/her medical needs, and educate the family about the situation of the patient. Diabetes patients on the other hand, need home care providers to always encourage them to control the blood glucose levels because complication development can better be prevented with serious control on glycemia. These patients also need home care providers that are inclined in nutrition for diabetes patients to obtain the needed nutrients without sacrificing their blood glucose levels. Along with the boost of home care industry are problems or issues that need to be resolved. Some of these problems that affect both the home care consumer and the provider are the following: worker related injuries; worker abuse and exploitation by the client; competency of the health care provider; abuse of the client; client prejudice toward the caregiver; worker benefits issue; confidentiality issues in the clients home; and clients being at risk of theft and other forms of crimes. Confidentiality issue in client-caregiver relationship is one of the prime problems of home care services. Prone to this problem are the caregivers or health care aides that have little backgrounds or training in professional ethics and usually provide service to their clients twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Most of them also stay in the houses of their clients so it is common that they know the things that happen inside the house especially among family members. The dilemma is in situations that either the caregiver spill the information he/she knows or if the information is critical to the well-being of the client and the caregiver will not know whether to keep it confidential or not. An example situation is when a client is being battered by a member of his or her family, what will the caregiver do? Is he/she supposed to tell anyone like the authorities or is he/she will just keep silent and wait that other people will discover the situation? If the caregiver gives the information to authorities it might be an invasion of the client’s privacy. Moral risks, virtues, intimacy, and professional ethics are bound with confidentiality issue in home care. Home care service providers should be made sure to have proper training in professional conduct and ethics to avoid any problems that will interfere with the client and their family relationship. Problems such as this needs attention of legislators for the home care consumers to be secured that the service provider they employ are properly trained and knows his place as a home care worker in a family setting. Client prevention of problems related to the home care service provider begins with choosing a competent agency that ensures the capabilities of their workers. Clients should not just consider the monetary factor involve in employing a home care worker to prevent the hiring of low paid providers and yet incompetent in many aspects of health service provision. Health care organizations have to address these problems and anticipate other issues that will emerge for the improvement of the home care service, benefit of the client, and avoidance of dilemma in the part of the caregiver. Government agencies concerned need to make rigorous effort towards the establishment and implantation of rules that would not just protect the home care consumers but the home care service workers as well. In every development there is always the emergence of problems and this is just what happened in home care. The burst of this industry is high-speed that problems are realized only when it was already encountered. The shift from institutionalized health care to home care brought about problems that touch aspects like professional ethics, unavailability of equipments in the patient’s home, monetary factors, client-worker relationship, and home care provider-patient’s family relationship. Despite of this, home care still provides an alternative venue for the patients or clients to have their needs being taken care of. The problems will just have to be addressed for the improvement of the industry. Home care is a promising revolution of institutionalized care wherein patients of institutionalized care are deprived of their right to spend their lives in the comfort of their home and with the presence of their loved ones. Reference http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/home-care-services/HA00086/METHOD=print

Features of a Financial Statement Analysis

Features of a Financial Statement Analysis TASK 1 Importance of Financial Statements All managers need to be able to interpret their company’s financial accounts as they hold valuable information about a wide range of factors that impact on the long term and short term profitability and stability of the company. By considering the various ratios below and, in particular, by drawing on trends between last year and the current position, it will be possible for the various division managers to identify where weaknesses lie and to determine what they can do in their own individual departments to improve the overall situation of the company (Fridson, 2002)[1]. Current Position of the Company In his statement, Robert assured management and staff that the company was in a â€Å"sound financial position†. A detailed review of the accounts has been undertaken, and all ratios are included in Appendix 1. Four key areas were looked at, across 2007 and 2008, as this is when the substantial changes occurred. These changes are profitability, efficiency, liquidity and stability, all of which are important to the company. Profitability has fallen dramatically between 2007 and 2008. The gross profit margin figure shows the company’s ability to control the costs of the goods that it produces. Although sales volumes could alter, it would be expected that the profit margins obtained would not alter dramatically. In 2008, gross profit margins were 36.33%, substantially less than the margins of 42.21% in 2007, which suggests that the cost of producing each item is increasing at an unacceptable level. The operating profit gives more information on how the company manages its overheads; these figures have also dropped significantly (from 20.57% to 10.56%). This is clearly partly down to the reducing gross profit margin, but also indicates that overheads are becoming increasingly problematic for the company, in terms of relative costs (Helfert, 2001)[2]. Efficiency ratios indicate how well the company is using its resources, both fixed and working capital. The ratio in relation to the efficiency of capital employed has dropped from 4.05 to 3.51, showing that the company has lost a considerable amount of efficiency in its operations and is not producing the same output with the capital employed as it was in 2007 (Friedlob, 2003)[3]. Liquidity ratios are incredibly important as these reveal the company’s ability to meet its current liabilities. Poor liquidity could cause immediate and massive problems for the company because it indicates that it will be unable to pay its debts as they fall due. The current ratio shows the ability of the company to meet all current liabilities with all current assets that it holds. In both 2007 and 2008, the figure was well in excess of the 1:1 cover, although it did drop from 2.00 to 1.70, which could be indicative of a downward trend in the company and should be looked at regularly in order to ensure that the figure does not drop further. More worrying is the quick ratio figure. This shows how readily the cash and easily available current assets could meet the current liabilities. A ratio of 1:1 is also desirable, yet the company had a ration of 0.38 in 2007, dropping to 0.12 in 2008. This suggests that much of its current asset inventory is held in non-readily convertibl e assets such as stock (Towsey, 1974)[4]. Stability ratios reveal the amount of long term debt a company is in and, where this company is concerned, the gearing has been consistently low, showing that there is not a great risk within the way the company is financing itself. Conclusions Robert was correct in stating that he felt the company was stable in the long term; however, there are considerable short term concerns, particularly in relation to liquidity, which need to be addressed urgently if the company is not to suffer short term issues. TASK 2 The Balanced Scorecard Kaplan and Norton (1993)[5] developed the concept of the balanced scorecard, which was initially created as a means of assisting management with their strategic planning. The model is two-fold, the first purpose being to improve the communications for the company (both internally and externally) and the second to assist managers in ensuring that their goals are reached. The balanced scorecard model forwarded by Kaplan and Norton works on assisting managers in having a clear strategic goal and in ensuring that the activity needed to achieve these goals is put into action, throughout the organisation. This process recognises that it is not possible simply to look at a company’s financial performance and from this to derive a set of actions that should be undertaken to improve performance, in future years. There is generally a time lag, when it comes to company performances, with inputs such as investment in machinery taking at least a few months to be seen in the financial returns. Kaplan and Norton encouraged companies to take a different approach and to look firstly at the inputs that management could make directly into the company. It is these factors that should be measured and, provided the correct strategic goal has been established, achieving these individual goals by management should ensure that the ultimate goals in terms of financial performance are met (Niven, 2006)[6]. Companies are encouraged to look at their businesses from four different perspectives when establishing their strategic goals: financial, customer, internal process and innovation and learning. The financial perspective is the one traditionally considered by organisations and includes factors such as profit growth and revenue. The management should, however, be encouraged to take a longer term view when setting strategic goals. The customer perspective is crucially important as it looks at the way the customer perceives the company and any possible changes to the customer perspective that would be needed for the company to achieve its ultimate strategic goals. Internal processes look at the way the company is run internally and how these can be adapted to help achieve the long term goals and are often related to the customer perspective, e.g. quicker lead times or more readily available stock. Finally, there is the innovation and learning aspect which directly leads into the long term growth by ensuring that the company is constantly looking for new ways of doing things, which either include efficiency savings or a better customer experience (Kaplan, 2004)[7]. The Development of Intangible Assets Introduction Intangible assets are those assets within the company that are often overlooked such as the knowledge base of the staff or the underlying strength of the information systems. When considering the intangible assets, this largely refers to the learning and innovation perspective within the balanced scorecard and can be broken down to look at jobs, i.e. the human capital and relevant expertise these individuals have, the systems capital which refers to the information systems within the company and the organisational capital which refers to the climate in which the company operates, i.e. the market place in which it is based (Wall, 2003)[8]. Intangible assets within the company Critically, the company mainly needs to consider both its human capital and its information systems. In relation to its human capital, the company has significant difficulties with its turnover, particularly within the packing division. With a high turnover of staff, it is difficult to maintain efficiency and quality in the products and makes innovation difficult as members of staff are unprepared to take a long term view. The technical department is clearly important when it comes to ensuring the maximum efficiency of the machines. Therefore, the turnover rate of 18% in relation to technicians and the seeming difficulty in recruiting new technicians is an issue that has to be looked at closely by management. Information systems are outdated within the company. Computer technology is not used adequately to ensure that information is shared between the sites. Failure to share information will result in wastage and unnecessary expenses as well as large overheads (a problem that the company has, as identified previously). Furthermore, no information is collected in relation to customer satisfaction which makes the task of improving and managing customer perceptions impossible. A fully integrated and operational information system is needed to improve both efficiency of production and customer satisfaction. How can these factors be developed? The first concern must be in relation to the employees. There is a substantial turnover of staff, averaging 12%. Direct operations have a turnover rate substantially below this, at just 5%. Critically, the direct operations and production teams have a structure of bonus payments which is generous and allows staff to receive extra payments as they become more efficient, thus encouraging staff to stay longer in their roles. Whilst the packing team recognises that it is generally less skilled, there is no incentive in relation to performance and there is clearly very little in the way of employee loyalty (evidenced by the way in which the staff shop is used). Consideration should be given to implementing a similar bonus scheme for the packers, as this would not only reduce staff turnover in the packing department but would also encourage better quality of work (Harvard Business School Press, 2005)[9]. Issues such as more flexible working patterns should be considered as the majority of the packers are female and, therefore, issues such as childcare are much more likely to be important to this section of the workforce. Benefits such as childcare vouchers may also be a good way of improving retention. Due to the skilled nature of the technicians’ role, advertisements should be placed further afield. Workers are often prepared to travel and by widening the search area the company may locate better skilled and more loyal staff for the important technical department. Investment is needed in the information technology systems. They are six years old and do not offer the necessary level of service. The systems, particularly in relation to sharing technical knowledge, must be integrated and additional automation would be beneficial to the ultimate efficiency of the company. There are also considerable uncertainties in relation to factors such as stock levels, work in progress, production costs, all of which are vital and need to be integrated into the information system (Kaplan, 2001)[10]. Conclusions In order to develop the intangible assets of the company, the focus must necessarily be on dealing with the issues in relation to employee retention and productivity as well as ensuring that the information systems adequately support the company moving forward. Both of these factors will require investment, but should amply pay for themselves, in the long run. TASK 3 Inventory Management Inventories refer to all goods and stocks held by the company, whether they are complete or not. As this is a manufacturing company, it would be anticipated that the level of inventory is rather high. However, even with this assumption, the total amount of stock being held by the company has risen dramatically to  £3,915,000 in 2008, from just  £2,765,000 in 2006 and is rightly a cause for concern by management (Mercado, 2007)[11]. Importance of Inventory This is not the only company to underestimate the importance and potential impact of inventory on the financial position of the company as a whole. A certain level of inventory is essential as the company relies on suppliers (of varying reliability) and, therefore, must build in a time lag between when the supplier delivers the material and when the goods actually leave the company. As well as the time lag, there are natural uncertainties which mean that a certain amount of stock must be held, particularly to deal with issues such as special offers from some of the larger retailers. There are also economies of scale to be had and it will be more profitable for the company to purchase material in bulk and to transport finished products in bulk (Koumanakos, 2008)[12]. Whilst all of these reasons for maintaining an inventory are valid, it is important to recognise that having too much in the way of inventory is potentially negative on the financial position of the company. The ratios suggesting problems with short term liquidity are indicative of this high level of inventory. Too much of the company’s cash is tied up in the stock, meaning that the company may not be able to meet its commitments to short term creditors. Working capital should also be of considerable interest to the company as it is another reflection of the short term liquidity of the company and is a way of looking at whether or not the company can meet its short term liabilities and operating expenses (Wild, 2002)[13]. Accounting for Inventory A vitally important way of managing and measuring working capital is to look at how many days it takes from the point at which money is paid out for the raw materials to the point when the company receives money in for the finished products. This length of time should, ideally, be as short as possible so at to ensure that the company gets a return on its products as quickly as possible. Reducing this time involves either extending the length of time it takes to pay suppliers, shortening the length of time it takes to collect money from customers or reducing the time it takes to manufacture the goods. This period of time is calculated by adding the inventory conversion period to the receivables conversion period and taking away the payables conversion period (each measured in days). The inventory conversion period is the inventory divided by the cost of goods sold multiplied by 365; the receivables conversion period is the receivables divided by sales multiplied by 365; and the payables conversion period is accounts payable divided by cost of goods sold multiplied by 365 (Toomey, 2000)[14]. By using the inventory figures for this calculation, it is easy to see whether or not the period of time is increasing and at which point there seems to be a blockage in the throughput. In the case of the company, it is clear to see that the amount of stock being kept is increasing; raw material inventory has only gone up a slight amount. However, the amount of bought-in finished goods that are being held has dramatically increased and should be an area that the management team concentrates on (Harrington, 1990)[15]. It is also worth bearing in mind that there are costs inherent with storing excess stock. It has already been recognised that overhead costs are in excess of what they should be for the company and are growing rapidly. These will almost certainly be related, at least partially, to the trend towards storing more stock. Conclusion Inventory management, despite being an issue for management teams to control, has a direct and substantial impact on the company’s financial accounts. Holding too much stock will be evident in terms of the current asset figures on the balance sheet, but also in the profit statement (Jones, 1985)[16]. Potential savings in reducing the amount of stock that is held can come not only from the availability of cash for other activities (such as meeting short term liabilities), but also in terms of ensuring that overhead costs such as storage are kept to a minimum. These factors must be considered by the management team as a matter of priority. TASK 4 Introduction Before introducing any new product, it is important that the management team consider all of the possible impacts of this introduction, both financially and practically. In this case, for example, it should also be considered that the HC007 is a new and improved version of the HC003 and the company wishes to develop a reputation for producing leading edge technology. Bringing in a new product such as this will naturally increase the company’s profile in the market and should not be disregarded as a benefit when analysing the raw figures in relation to the possible move (Rainey, 2005)[17]. The company should also consider the current level of inventory that is held in relation to HC003, both in terms of completed products and work in progress, as this may result in financial losses to the company, if these items cannot be sold on (Wilson, 2005)[18]. Theories of Product Appraisal A key way of determining the potential viability of the new product is to consider the breakeven point which will tell the company, based on the proposed sales value, how many products would have to be sold before the costs of production are covered. The breakeven point is established by taking the fixed costs and dividing them by the selling price, minus the variable costs. Therefore, in the case of the HC007, the fixed costs are thought to be 24,000 divided by 12 (18 – 6) making 2,000. On the assumption that the fixed and variable costs are the same for the HC003, the breakeven point for this would be 24,000 divided by 10 (16 – 6), making 2,400, which it is currently comfortably achieving (Daly, 2002)[19]. There are weaknesses in using this analysis. It assumes that the variable costs are constant for every unit of output and that there are no economies of scale involved. It also assumes that fixed costs are constant and would be incurred regardless of the level of production. Finally, there is the assumption that there is no wastage, i.e. all products produced are sold. This is unrealistic, as there is likely to be at least some degree of leakage. Analysis of the Hedge Clipper HC007 HC007, on the assumption that the full 4,000 prospective sales are made, would produce a total profit of 24,000. HC003, on the assumption that 3,500 units were sold, would achieve a total profit of 17,500. On the face of it, therefore, the new product HC007 would be a worthwhile addition to the product range. It should be noted that the nature of fixed costs means that they are going to be incurred, regardless of whether or not the HC007 is launched and should not, therefore, play any part in the decision making process. If this theory is followed, the profit margin on the HC007 would be 12, whereas working with the same numbers the gross profit margin for the current HC003 would be 11. This is the contribution available, through the production of these products to meet fixed costs. There is no substantial difference between the two and consideration should be given as to whether there could be a better use of the resources available within the company (Groth, 1996)[20]. An absorption or recovery rate of 300% seems incredibly high and consideration should be given as to whether the overheads in this particular area of production are viable. With such high overhead rates, there may be more productive ways to produce a profitable item, either through the use of automation or through better use of premises’ space (Kuczmarski, 1992) [21]. Careful consideration should also be given as to the prospective number of sales. The company is currently selling 3,500 hedge cutters and has predicted that the new model would generate sales of 4,000 hedge cutters. This suggests that 500 people would be expected to purchase the new product, purely because it is new and innovative. Conclusions Appraising a new product is not simply about seeing whether a company can sell the product for more than it costs to produce the product. Issues such as other opportunities that the company may be foregoing in order to produce this product need careful consideration. It is not about producing a profitable item; it is about producing the most profitable item (Constantineau, 1992)[22]. In this case, the company needs to ensure that the sales predictions are accurate and that there is no other potential new product line that would serve the company better. Appendix 1 Footnotes [1] Fridson, M.S. Alvarez, F., 2002. Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioners Guide.  John Wiley and Sons. [2] Helfert, E.A., 2001. Financial Analysis: Tools and Techniques : a Guide for Managers. McGraw-Hill Professional. [3] Friedlob, G.T. Schleifer, L.L.F., 2003. Essentials of Financial Analysis. John Wiley and Sons. [4] Towsey, R.G., 1974. The use of operating ratios in retail management . International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 2, 4. [5] Kaplan, R.S. Norton, D.P., 1993. Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work. Harvard Business Review, Sep – Oct, pp. 2-16. [6] Niven, P.R., 2006. Balanced Scorecard. Step-by-step. Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results. 2nd ed., John Wiley Sons. [7] Kaplan, R.S. Norton, D.P., 2004. Strategy maps: Converting intangible assets into tangible outcomes. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. [8] Wall, A., Kirk, R. Martin, G.,2003. Intellectual Capital: Measuring the Immeasurable?  Elsevier. [9] Harvard Business School Press, 2005. Retaining Your Best People. Harvard Business School Press. [10] Kaplan, R.S. Norton, D.P., 2001. The Strategy-focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment. Harvard Business Press. [11] Mercado, E.C., 2007. Hands-On Inventory Management. CRC Press. [12] Koumanakos, D.P., 2008. The effect of inventory management on firm performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 57, 5. [13] Wild, T., 2002. Best Practice in Inventory Management. Institute of Operations Management,  Butterworth-Heinemann. [14] Toomey, J.W., 2000. Inventory Management: Principles, Concepts and Techniques. Springer. [15] Harrington, T.C., Lambert, D.M. Vance, M.P., 1990. Implementing an Effective Inventory Management System. International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, 20, 9. [16] Jones, T.C., Riley, D.W., 1985. Using Inventory for Competitive Advantage through Supply Chain Management. International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, 15, 5. [17] Rainey, D.L., 2005. Product Innovation: Leading Change Through Integrated Product Development. Cambridge University Press. [18] Wilson, R.M.S. Gilligan, C., 2005. Strategic Marketing Management: Planning, Implementation and Control. Butterworth-Heinemann. [19] Daly, J.L., 2002. Pricing for Profitability: Activity-Based Pricing for Competitive Advantage. John Wiley and Sons. [20] Groth, J.C. Byers, S.S., 1996. Creating value: economics and accounting perspectives for managers. Management Decision, 34, 10. [21] Kuczmarski, T.D., 1992. Screening potential new products. Strategy Leadership, 20, 4. [22] Constantineau, L.A., 1992. The Twenty Toughest Questions for New Product Proposals. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 9, 2.

Lynching and Women: Ida B. Wells Essay -- History Historical Essays

Lynching and Women: Ida B. Wells Emancipated blacks, after the Civil War, continued to live in fear of lynching, a practice of vigilantism that was often based on false accusations. Lynching was not only a way for southern white men to exert racist â€Å"justice,† it was also a means of keeping women, white and black, under the control of a violent white male ideology. In response to the injustices of lynching, the anti-lynching movement was established—a campaign in which women played a key role. Ida B. Wells, a black teacher and journalist was at the forefront and early development of this movement. In 1892 Wells was one of the first news reporters to bring the truths of lynching to proper media attention. Her first articles appeared in The Free Speech and Headlight, a Memphis newspaper that she co-edited. She urged the black townspeople of Memphis to move west and to resist the coercive violence of lynching. [1] Her early articles were collected in Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phas es, a widely distributed pamphlet that exposed the innocence of many victims of lynching and attacked the leaders of white southern communities for allowing such atrocities. [2] In 1895 Wells published a larger investigative report, A Red Record, which exposed how false or contrived accusations of rape accompanied less than one third of the cases documented around 1892. [3] The statistics and literature of A Red Record denounced the dominant white male ideology behind lynching – the thought that white womanhood was in need of protection against black men. Wells challenged this notion as a concealed racist agenda that functioned to keep white men in power over blacks as well as white women. Jacqueline Jones Royster documents the... ...english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lynching/lynching.htm>. [3] Tabulating the statistics for lynchings in 1893, [in A Red Record] Wells demonstrated that less than a third of the victims were even accused of rape or attempted rape. [4] Royster. Southern Horrors and Other Writings (30). [5] Brown states, â€Å"Southern white men [had a compelling urge] to avenge even a hint of impropriety that encroached on their ownership of white women’s virtue† (21). [6] From Royster’s explanation of white men’s justification for lynching (32). [7] Women in History. [8] From George Washington University’s webpage on Anna Julia Cooper, under the â€Å"Social Activism† section.

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It feels like such a long time since I last saw you. I know I've only been away for only a few weeks, but so far my vacation here at Greece has been great! I'm currently staying at the Academy.I found a friend who shares the same passion with me in philosophy and he asked me to come with him to this place to meet other people. I'm very glad to stay here, I've learned a lot from various people.Anyways, yesterday I was walking along Agora or the city market and found some really great stuffs to buy and take home. In this place I found many people who are trading and talking about gossip (for women) and politics (for men). After hours of walking, I was able to get to the Hephaisteion.   I stayed for a while and witness the beauty of the temple.At noon, the heat at Athens   is topnotch so I stayed at the Stoa for cover. There are two kinds of Stoa, the one I stayed at was the Painted Stoa. It is a long covered hall that is open in one side and is decorated with many beautiful paintin gs.I spent almost an hour there and spent the whole time talking to people who get to engage in a conversation with me. It's really funny though for they will just come up to me and ask me something all of a sudden.I was so dumbstruck. At the right of Agora are the sacred places that can be found in the city like the Theatre of Dionysos, the Askelpieion, and most of all the Acropolis.After a while of wandering around, my attention got caught by a group of man loudly arguing among one another. I happened to ask someone about what's going on and he told me that the male citizen are debating about big decisions that affect the city.This place that I got into was called the Pnyx, the home of the assembly of people. However, I want to go to some quiet place instead and got interested in following young children each carrying small vases. I noticed I was back at the entrance of the city which was the Karameikos for I used the potteries as a landmark.By the end of the day, I decided to spe nd my time at the cemetery and stayed there till sunset. The cemetery was great for it really depicts the culture of the Athenians with their pottery and carvings.But what interests me most is the people's daily activities on the city. By what I've observed, they're almost routinary. Different kinds of people have specific type of jobs to finish each day. Even before the day starts people can be seen from all over the place.I came to ask a man why he was up so early and he said he had a trial and he have to prepare. Women get water from the fountains and traders are up for early trading. By mid-morning, servants are already working on their respective jobs. And by noon, the Agora and almost every plac ein Athens is so busy with people talking, doing business and many more.By mid afternoon, the place starts to quiet down and shops are preparing to close, this is my favorite part of the day in Athens for it is very peaceful and relaxing. And at last by midnight, servants start to rela x and even play games with their friends.I somehow got used to the busy and loud environment here at Greece. Though I'm not quite used to talking about politics all the time, or even some serious or religious topics like religion and life. Athens is a very economic centered city and almost all people has something to trade and has something to offer as livelihood. All over Greece, the people grew olives, grapes, and figs. They kept goats, for milk and cheese. In the plains, where the soil was more rich, they also grew wheat to make bread. Making it smell like a combination of vegetables and farm animals at the same time.I really liked it here so far. I wanted to explore the city more but I guess need to have more time. Nevertheless, today I was invited to go to a friend's house and spend the night there. I'm gonna have to take a look at a Greek house and be amazed once again.I'll write to you again very soon. Take care always. See you!

Balanced Scorecard Essay

A balanced scorecard is very helpful to any organization and should be viewed as a very important document throughout the company. Wal-Mart has developed a scorecard so that their customers can see what goals that the company wants to achieve and also how to achieve those goals. If you look at the scorecard on a regular basis, then you will know exactly how your company is running and what areas you need to work on. Wal-Mart wants everyone to know where to look at their scorecard and how to achieve the goals that they feel will make them even more successful. Wal-Mart also expects that every employee should follow this scorecard to guarantee they are doing the right things to make the company grow even faster and stronger than they already are (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). The financial part is a very important part to Wal-Mart. With this part being successful you will be able to pay all the employees the right amount and also pay all the bills so that the company can make more money and keep thriving in the world today. Also with the financials down, the shareholders will see an increase in the amount of what the shares are selling for and that lets them know what they are making for owning those shares in the company. A competitive position is a major key within a huge retail chain like Wal-Mart. They are number one compared to other store chains similar to them. They continue building stores all over the world while a lot of the competitors keep shutting their stores down. Staying atop of this list is what makes Wal-Mart the leader in general merchandising stores (Wal-Mart Stores, 2013). Another major area of a balanced scorecard is how the customers see what Wal-Mart is doing. This is the most important part other than the  financials but work hand in hand with the financials. If the customers see Wal-Mart as a bad company then they will not buy the items that Wal-Mart is selling and then Wal-Mart will not be able to afford their bills and payroll and eventually have to close down. If they see Wal-Mart as a great place to shop then they will tell everyone that they know to shop there and that will make the revenue rise and make more profit for the company so that they can become even more successful in the future. The customers perspective always pays a big role in any company, if you keep them happy, then the will spend more money and time and energy with your company instead of your competitors (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). Innovation is what you need to do to improve the company and learn how to grow and become a stronger economy. Wal-Mart is trying to be innovative in how they get their ads out to the general public. They are starting to email adds out to individuals emails letting their customers know of great deals and opportunities that are coming up in the local stores (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). They are also developing an app for the smart phones of today with the deals and specials going on within the company. They are trying to get their products and service out in the community. Last but not least are the internal methods. They look at areas they think they will excel in and also the areas that will not excel so much at. The areas that Wal-Mart plans to excel at are usually the electronics. They look at other ideas to help them excel even more than usually and develop a plan to implement how to excel further in these areas. The Ares that are weak, they look for reasons that they are weak and how can they implement a plan to make those areas excel in also. When they can get all the areas in the store to excel greatly then they will become very successful and continue to grow beyond measure. This paper has demonstrated how a strategic plan of a balanced scorecard can help any company grow to a different standard. With these scorecard in effect and followed out completely then any company will succeed in everything that they want to do and become very successful. References Wal-Mart Stores. (2013, November 6). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Forbes. Balanced Scorecard Basics. (2014). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Balanced Scorecard INstitute: https://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

buy custom 3D Jigsaw Puzzles essay

buy custom 3D Jigsaw Puzzles essay SUMMARY The name of the new business is JP Limited which sells 3D interlocking jigsaw puzzles. The main core of the business is to sell the jigsaw puzzles on line. The delivery of the order will be done the following working day after all orders being processed on line. This report entails explanation and description of the components and product marketing mix respectively. Illustration from SWOT analysis was carried out on the basis of the opportunities of the business, strength and as well as the weakness and threats. Proposed marketing research was provided and further goes ahead and explained the concepts of creativity, innovation and asset competency management. Strategies and few recommendations were also issued. Apart from 3D interlocking jigsaw the business can also be used to sell other products INTRODUCTION A 3G Jigsaw Puzzle is a three dimensional figure that is tremendously growing on the business entity. These toys are mostly meant for children. The market toy is estimated to be worth 2.83 billion in 2010 at the United Kingdom. Innovation and creativity of toys has led to increase in profitability and productivity despite challenges. Companies which have shown increase in profitability are such as Zhu Zhu pets and Crayola. Most parents prefer toys to their children because its cost effective than spending on leisure therefore, leading to increase in production. Due to production of toys, the name of the business will be JP Limited. The sales of puzzles will be on line using e-commerce platform. Due to technology services, on line firms have lead to increase in production and profitability. A survey carried out showed that 7 out of 10 meet their targets in 2009. Limited company has an added advantage since it can have access to a better opportunities regarding borrowing. The growth of the business will be considered to be easy hence eliminating doubtfulness. With this report we will be capable of attaining a market plan for JP limited and its product which is the 3D interlocking jigsaw puzzle. Marketing Mix Elements of the marketing mix which are being found in all marketing plans include: product, price, promotion and place. Product The target customers include both children and adults, either male or female who range at the age between 13 and 30 years. Products being sold include education toy, brochure, puzzle, 3D puzzle .e.t.c. To ensure this product is successfully sold; we try to meet a specific existing market demand. Place Place is anyway and anywhere so long as the customer can get access to the product. This means include a retail store, by mail, via downloadable files, or a cruise ship. The mostly known places are Canada, United States, Japan and China. Amazon as a website can also be used in a manner that it displays keywords hence promotes the product after sealing the deal with them. Orders are being processed online after being received and delivered to the customers door the following day in the morning. An enquiry was made such that when orders are being received at 6pm the day before, the parcel force will be collect from the warehouse and delivered to by next morning at the rate of 2.00 per order. Price Price is the main factor of marketability. It determines the quality and quantity of goods and services. Puzzles are sold at an average price of 14.50 including packaging and postage that contribute 30%. The difference between the selling price and variable cost is what is referred to as contribution. Discount is given to the customers who buy goods in bulk. Products are being sold at different prices depending on the type and quality of goods. This occurs mainly because of test and preferences of the customers. Promotion For the people to know about the product, the following is done to promote the product. We carried out advertising, point of sale displays, public relations and word of mouth. This is done to facilitate the selling of the product. Most of the money allocated for promotion will be spent on developing and launching the companys website. It should interactive, informative and should meet international standards like w3c. For the website to be effective it must entails best images and graphics that will attract the customer. SWOT analysis It provides direction for the development of marketing plans. It includes strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Strengths Strengths of JP Limited is having personal service, outstanding value and no hidden charges therefore; being optimistic that customer will enjoy shopping with them. Through this strength stuffs generate self esteem that lead to achieving the objective of the organization. Weaknesses The business has no alternative but just to depend on the trade relationship with china and politics behind it hence becoming its weakness. Products are mostly preferred by the young people hence weakening the market of the product Opportunities Deal is made with Amazon hence the customer looking for puzzles or toys which can be easily directed to JP Ltd. Payment are being processed and collected free of charge. Threats Competition from other firms is the major threats since there are more advantageous than us in terms of buying and selling. Additionally, they have better resources hence multitask differently and target customers via email. Marketing Research In this report data was collected by means of questionnaire. This method was selected since its easy and less expensive way of gathering information. The research shows that most of the country that manufactures jigsaw puzzle is USA, Canada, Australia, Italy and Spain. We were able to questions manufactures such as Buffalo Games, Clementoni, Educa Borrass and Great American Puzzle Factory (Jobber, 2007). We were able to come up with new ways to improve on our goods, services and marketing strategies. Innovation Due to stuff who have skills, new combination of knowledge have being achieved which have lead to innovation. JP Ltd has lead to inclusion of computer chip with its puzzles which will store information regarding the date and time required to be completed. Asset Competency Management We formulate the following strategies to develop JP Ltd products whenever there is a competition: I. Asserts which are exploitable and competency have to be identified II. Reviewed exploitation of effectiveness III. Identification of the shape and future of JP Ltd IV. Decision on how to change the company assets over the next few years V. Building and exploitation of assets and competency VI. Comparison of assets, competencies and future opportunities. Recommendation and Conclusion When there is notification of profit in the first couple of years, it will be expended to sell other products which are similar products. For the business to be expanded we require a well trained staff and more warehouses. They should consult a local IT for the maintenance of the website which play a major role in the business. A business should consider an exit strategy at challenging times. Use a cheap way of advertising .i.e. email customers with special offers and information. The business also requires more suppliers so that to compliment with each other. Buy custom 3D Jigsaw Puzzles essay

Sortie essays

Sortie essays This story had a lot of good ideas but I couldnt really follow what was going on. I thought that the narrative paragraphs made complete sense.... Then I would get to the dialogue and be scratching my head. I think the dialogue is where you lost me. Your character has a good strong voice... I can feel her emotions. Also your descriptions of people and the coffee shop were really good. I knew exactly what it looked like or what the person looked like. I didnt feel like the story had good movement... it didnt seem to flow very well. That was the only thing that I think was really wrong with the story. It seemed like you were jumping back and forth between different fragments of this girls life.... And I could really follow the general ideas. I realized that you were saying something about the concept of life and how different people were but I guess I didnt really understand what you wanted me to understand. One thing that may help the story just look better is the font.... It really confused me. I think it made me cross-eyed.... But that just could have been me. I really loved the girls character.... She was hilarious... I just got lost when she started talking. Maybe if you just shaped up the dialogue a bit it would be a masterpiece. I couldnt figure out the general motive of the story... or really the plot. However, I could have just totally missed the entire point. The story was really funny though. ...

Case Nestle

In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, thereby broadening the company’s product line to include both condensed milk and infant formulas. Forced by Switzerland’s small size to look outside’ its borders for growth opportunities, Nestle established condensed milk and infant food processing plants in the United States and Britain in the late 19th century and in Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Nestle moved into the chocolate business when it acquired a Swiss chocolate maker. This was followed in 1938 by the development of Nestle’s most revolutionary product, Nescafe, the world’s first soluble coffee drink. After World War 11, Nestle continued to expand into other areas of the food business, primarily through a series of acquisitions that included Maggi (1947), Cross Blackwell (1960), Findus (1962), Libby’s (1970), Stouffer’s (1973), Carnation (1985), Rowntree (1988), and Perrier (1992). By the late 1990s, Nestle had 500 factories in 76 countries and sold its products in a staggering 193 nations-almost every country in the world. In 1998, the company generated sales of close to SWF 72 billion ($51 billion), only 1 percent of which occurred in its home country. Similarly, only 3 percent of its- 210,000 employees were located in Switzerland. Nestle was the world’s biggest maker of infant formula, powdered milk, chocolates, instant coffee, soups, and mineral waters. It was number two in ice cream, breakfast cereals, and pet food. Roughly 38 percent of its food sales were made in Europe, 32 percent in the Americas, and 20 percent in Africa and Asia. Management Structure Nestle is a decentralized organization. Responsibility for operating decisions is pushed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high degree f autonomy with regard to decisions involving pricing, distribution, marketing, human resources, and so on. At the same time, the company is organized into seven worldwide strategic business units (SBUs) that have responsibility for high-level strategic decisions and business development. For example, a strategic business unit focuses on coffee and beverages. Another one focuses on confectionery and ice cream. These SBUs engage in overall strategy development, including acquisitions and market entry strategy. In recent years, two-thirds of Nestle’s growth has come from acquisitions, so this is a critical function. Running in parallel to this structure is a regional organization that divides the world into five major geographical zones, such as Europe, North America and Asia. The regional organizations assist in the overall strategy development process and are responsible for developing regional strategies (an example would be Nestle’s strategy in the Middle East, which was discussed earlier). Neither the SBU nor regional managers, however, get involved in local operating or strategic decisions on anything other than an exceptional basis. Although Nestle makes intensive use of local managers to knit its diverse worldwide operations together, the company relies on its â€Å"expatriate army. †Ã‚   This consists of about 700 managers who spend the bulk of their careers on foreign assignments, moving from one country to the next. Selected primarily on the basis of their ability, drive and willingness to live a quasi-nomadic lifestyle, these individuals often work in half-a-dozen natiosn during their careers. Nestle also uses management development programs as a strategic tool for creating an  esprit de corps  among managers. At Rive-Reine, the company’s international training center in Switzerland, the company brings together, managers from around the world, at different stages in their careers, for specially targetted development programs of two to three weeks’ duration. The objective of these programs is to give the managers a better understanding of Nestle’s culture and strategy, and to give them access to the company’s top management. The research and development operation has a special place within Nestle, which is not surprising for a company that was established to commercialize innovative foodstuffs. The RD function comprises 18 different groups that operate in 11 countries throughout the world. Nestle spends approximately 1 percent of its annual sales revenue on RD and has 3,100 employees dedicated to the function. Around 70 percent of the RD budget is spent on development initiatives. These initiatives focus on developing products and processes that fulfill market needs, as identified by the SBUs, in concert with regional and local managers. For example, Nestle instant noodle products were originally developed by the RD group in response to the perceived needs of local operating companies through the Asian region. The company also has longer-term development projects that focus on developing new technological platforms, such as non-animal protein sources or agricultural biotechnology products. A Growth Strategy for the 21st  Century Despite its undisputed success, Nestle realized by the early 1990s, that it faced significant challenges in maintaining its growth rate. The large Western European and North American markets were mature. In several countries, population growth had stagnated and in some, there had been a small decline in food consumption. The retail environment in many Western nations had become increasingly challenging and the balance of power was shifting away from the large-scale manufacturers of branded foods and beverages, and toward nationwide supermarket and discount chains. Increasingly, retailers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing off against each other – manufacturers of branded foods, thus bargaining down prices. Particularly in Europe, this trend was enhanced by the successful introduction of private-label brands by several of Europe’s leading supermarket chains. The results included increased price competition in several key segments of the food and beverage market, such as cereals, coffee and soft drinks. At Nestle, one response has been to look toward emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America for growth possibilities. The logic is simple and obvious – a combination of economic and population growth, when coupled with the widespread adoption of market-oriented economic policies by the governments of many developing nations, makes for attractive business opportunities. Many of these countries are still relatively poor, but their economies are growing rapidly. For example, if current economic growth forecasts occur, by 2010, there will be 700 million people in China and India that have income levels approaching those of Spain in the mid-1990s. As income levels rise, it is increasingly likely that consumers in these nations will start to substitute branded food products for basic foodstuffs, creating a large market opportunity for companies such as Nestle. In general, the company’s strategy had been to enter emerging markets early – before competitors – and build a substantial position by selling basic food items that appeal to the local population base, such as infant formula, condensed milk, noodles and tofu. By narrowing its initial market focus to just a handful of strategic brands, Nestle claims it can simplify life, reduce risk, and concentrate its marketing resources and managerial effort on a limited number of key niches. The goal is to build a commanding market position in each of these niches. By pursuing such a strategy, Nestle has taken as much as 85 percent of the market for instant coffee in Mexico, 66 percent of the market for powdered milk in the Philippines, and 70 percent of the markets for soups in Chile. As income levels rise, the company progressively moves out from these niches, introducing more upscale items, such as mineral water, chocolate, cookies, and prepared foodstuffs. Although the company is known worldwide for several key brands, such as Nescafe, it uses local brands in many markets. The company owns 8,500 brands, but only 750 of them are registered in more than one country, and only 80 are registered in more than 10 countries. While the company will use the same â€Å"global brands† in multiple developed markets, in the developing world it focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions and then using a brand name that resonates locally. Customization rather than globalization is the key to the company’s strategy in emerging markets. Executing the Strategy Successful execution of the strategy for developing markets requires a degree of flexibility, an ability to adapt in often unforeseen ways to local conditions, and a long-term perspective that puts building a sustainable business before short-term profitability. In Nigeria, for example, a crumbling road system, aging trucks, and the danger of violence forced the company to re-think its traditional distribution methods. Instead of operating a central warehouse, as is its preference in most nations, the country. For safety reasons, trucks carrying Nestle goods are allowed to travel only during the day and frequently under-armed guard. Marketing also poses challenges in Nigeria. With little opportunity for typical Western-style advertising on television of billboards, the company hired local singers to go to towns and villages offering a mix of entertainment and product demonstrations. China provides another interesting example of local adaptation and long-term focus. After 13 years of talks, Nestle was formally invited into China in 1987, by the Government of Heilongjiang province. Nestle opened a plant to produce powdered milk and infant formula there in 1990, but quickly realized that the local rail and road infrastructure was inadequate and inhibited the collection of milk and delivery of finished products. Rather than make do with the local infrastructure, Nestle embarked on an ambitious plan to establish its own distribution network, known as milk roads, between 27 villages in the region and factory collection points, called chilling centres. Farmers brought their milk – often on bicycles or carts – to the centres where it was weighed and analysed. Unlike the government, Nestle paid the farmers promptly. Suddenly the farmers had an incentive to produce milk and many bought a second cow, increasing the cow population in the district by 3,000 to 9,000 in 18 months. Area managers then organized a delivery system that used dedicated vans to deliver the milk to Nestle’s factory. Although at first glance this might seem to be a very costly solution, Nestle calculated that the long-term benefits would be substantial. Nestle’s strategy is similar to that undertaken by many European and American companies during the first waves of industrialization in those countries. Companies often had to invest in infrastructure that we now take for granted to get production off the ground. Once the infrastructure was in place, in China, Nestle’s production took off. In 1990, 316 tons of powdered milk and infant formula were produced. By 1994, output exceeded 10,000 tons and the company decided to triple capacity. Based on this experience, Nestle decided to build another two powdered milk factories in China and was aiming to generate sales of $700 million by 2000. Nestle is pursuing a similar long-term bet in the Middle East, an area in which most multinational food companies have little presence. Collectively, the Middle East accounts for only about 2 percent of Nestle’s worldwide sales and the individual markets are very small. However, Nestle’s long-term strategy is based on the assumption that regional conflicts will subside and intra-regional trade ill expand as trade barriers between countries in the region come down. Once that happens, Nestle’s factories in the Middle East should be able to sell throughout the region, thereby realizing scale economies. In anticipation of this development, Nestle has established a network of factories in five countries, in the hope that each will, someday, supply the entire region with different products. The company, currently makes ice-cream in Dubai, soups and cereals in Saudi Arabia, yogurt and bouillon in Egypt, chocolate in Turkey, and ketchup and instant noodles in Syria. For the present, Nestle can survive in these markets by using local materials and focusing on local demand. The Syrian factory, for example, relies on products that use tomatoes, a major local agricultural product. Syria also produces wheat, which is the main ingredient in instant noodles. Even if trade barriers don’t come down soon, Nestle has indicated it will remain committed to the region. By using local inputs and focussing on local consumer needs, it has earned a good rate of return in the region, even though the individual markets are small. Despite its successes in places such as China and parts of the Middle East, not all of Nestle’s moves have worked out so well. Like several other Western companies, Nestle has had its problems in Japan, where a failure to adapt its coffee brand to local conditions meant the loss of a significant market opportunity to another Western company, Coca Cola. For years, Nestle’s instant coffee brand was the dominant coffee product in Japan. In the 1960s, cold canned coffee (which can be purchased from soda vending machines) started to gain a following in Japan. Nestle dismissed the product as just a coffee-flavoured drink rather than the real thing and declined to enter the market. Nestle’s local partner at the time, Kirin Beer, was so incensed at Nestle’s refusal to enter the canned coffee market that it broke off its relationship with the company. In contrast, Coca Cola entered the market with Georgia, a product developed specifically for this segment of the Japanese market. By leveraging its existing distribution channel, Coca Cola captured a 40 percent share of the $4 billion a year, market for canned coffee in Japan. Nestle, which failed to enter the market until the 1980s, has only a 4 percent share. While Nestle has built businesses from the ground up, in many emerging markets, such as Nigeria and China, in others it will purchase local companies if suitable candidates can be found. The company pursued such a strategy in Poland, which it entered in 1994, by purchasing Goplana, the country’s second largest chocolate manufacturer. With the collapse of communism and the opening of the Polish market, income levels in Poland have started to rise and so has chocolate consumption. Once a scarce item, the market grew by 8 percent a year, throughout the 1990s. To take advantage of this opportunity, Nestle has pursued a strategy of evolution, rather than revolution. It has kept the top management of the company staffed with locals – as it does in most of its operations around the world – and carefully adjusted Goplana’s product line to better match local opportunities. At the same time, it has pumped money into Goplana’s marketing, which has enabled the unit to gain share from several other chocolate makers in the country. Still, competition in the market is intense. Eight companies, including several foreign-owned enterprises, such as the market leader, Wedel, which is owned by PepsiCo, are vying for market share, and this has depressed prices and profit margins, despite the healthy volume growth. Discussions: 1. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why? 2. What is the company’s strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets? Does this strategy make sense? From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively? 3. Through your own research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators. Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? 4. How would you describe Nestle’s strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnational strategy? 5. Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? 6. Is Nestle’s management structure and philosophy aligned with its overall strategic posture? Case Nestle In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, thereby broadening the company’s product line to include both condensed milk and infant formulas. Forced by Switzerland’s small size to look outside’ its borders for growth opportunities, Nestle established condensed milk and infant food processing plants in the United States and Britain in the late 19th century and in Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Nestle moved into the chocolate business when it acquired a Swiss chocolate maker. This was followed in 1938 by the development of Nestle’s most revolutionary product, Nescafe, the world’s first soluble coffee drink. After World War 11, Nestle continued to expand into other areas of the food business, primarily through a series of acquisitions that included Maggi (1947), Cross Blackwell (1960), Findus (1962), Libby’s (1970), Stouffer’s (1973), Carnation (1985), Rowntree (1988), and Perrier (1992). By the late 1990s, Nestle had 500 factories in 76 countries and sold its products in a staggering 193 nations-almost every country in the world. In 1998, the company generated sales of close to SWF 72 billion ($51 billion), only 1 percent of which occurred in its home country. Similarly, only 3 percent of its- 210,000 employees were located in Switzerland. Nestle was the world’s biggest maker of infant formula, powdered milk, chocolates, instant coffee, soups, and mineral waters. It was number two in ice cream, breakfast cereals, and pet food. Roughly 38 percent of its food sales were made in Europe, 32 percent in the Americas, and 20 percent in Africa and Asia. Management Structure Nestle is a decentralized organization. Responsibility for operating decisions is pushed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high degree f autonomy with regard to decisions involving pricing, distribution, marketing, human resources, and so on. At the same time, the company is organized into seven worldwide strategic business units (SBUs) that have responsibility for high-level strategic decisions and business development. For example, a strategic business unit focuses on coffee and beverages. Another one focuses on confectionery and ice cream. These SBUs engage in overall strategy development, including acquisitions and market entry strategy. In recent years, two-thirds of Nestle’s growth has come from acquisitions, so this is a critical function. Running in parallel to this structure is a regional organization that divides the world into five major geographical zones, such as Europe, North America and Asia. The regional organizations assist in the overall strategy development process and are responsible for developing regional strategies (an example would be Nestle’s strategy in the Middle East, which was discussed earlier). Neither the SBU nor regional managers, however, get involved in local operating or strategic decisions on anything other than an exceptional basis. Although Nestle makes intensive use of local managers to knit its diverse worldwide operations together, the company relies on its â€Å"expatriate army. †Ã‚   This consists of about 700 managers who spend the bulk of their careers on foreign assignments, moving from one country to the next. Selected primarily on the basis of their ability, drive and willingness to live a quasi-nomadic lifestyle, these individuals often work in half-a-dozen natiosn during their careers. Nestle also uses management development programs as a strategic tool for creating an  esprit de corps  among managers. At Rive-Reine, the company’s international training center in Switzerland, the company brings together, managers from around the world, at different stages in their careers, for specially targetted development programs of two to three weeks’ duration. The objective of these programs is to give the managers a better understanding of Nestle’s culture and strategy, and to give them access to the company’s top management. The research and development operation has a special place within Nestle, which is not surprising for a company that was established to commercialize innovative foodstuffs. The RD function comprises 18 different groups that operate in 11 countries throughout the world. Nestle spends approximately 1 percent of its annual sales revenue on RD and has 3,100 employees dedicated to the function. Around 70 percent of the RD budget is spent on development initiatives. These initiatives focus on developing products and processes that fulfill market needs, as identified by the SBUs, in concert with regional and local managers. For example, Nestle instant noodle products were originally developed by the RD group in response to the perceived needs of local operating companies through the Asian region. The company also has longer-term development projects that focus on developing new technological platforms, such as non-animal protein sources or agricultural biotechnology products. A Growth Strategy for the 21st  Century Despite its undisputed success, Nestle realized by the early 1990s, that it faced significant challenges in maintaining its growth rate. The large Western European and North American markets were mature. In several countries, population growth had stagnated and in some, there had been a small decline in food consumption. The retail environment in many Western nations had become increasingly challenging and the balance of power was shifting away from the large-scale manufacturers of branded foods and beverages, and toward nationwide supermarket and discount chains. Increasingly, retailers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing off against each other – manufacturers of branded foods, thus bargaining down prices. Particularly in Europe, this trend was enhanced by the successful introduction of private-label brands by several of Europe’s leading supermarket chains. The results included increased price competition in several key segments of the food and beverage market, such as cereals, coffee and soft drinks. At Nestle, one response has been to look toward emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America for growth possibilities. The logic is simple and obvious – a combination of economic and population growth, when coupled with the widespread adoption of market-oriented economic policies by the governments of many developing nations, makes for attractive business opportunities. Many of these countries are still relatively poor, but their economies are growing rapidly. For example, if current economic growth forecasts occur, by 2010, there will be 700 million people in China and India that have income levels approaching those of Spain in the mid-1990s. As income levels rise, it is increasingly likely that consumers in these nations will start to substitute branded food products for basic foodstuffs, creating a large market opportunity for companies such as Nestle. In general, the company’s strategy had been to enter emerging markets early – before competitors – and build a substantial position by selling basic food items that appeal to the local population base, such as infant formula, condensed milk, noodles and tofu. By narrowing its initial market focus to just a handful of strategic brands, Nestle claims it can simplify life, reduce risk, and concentrate its marketing resources and managerial effort on a limited number of key niches. The goal is to build a commanding market position in each of these niches. By pursuing such a strategy, Nestle has taken as much as 85 percent of the market for instant coffee in Mexico, 66 percent of the market for powdered milk in the Philippines, and 70 percent of the markets for soups in Chile. As income levels rise, the company progressively moves out from these niches, introducing more upscale items, such as mineral water, chocolate, cookies, and prepared foodstuffs. Although the company is known worldwide for several key brands, such as Nescafe, it uses local brands in many markets. The company owns 8,500 brands, but only 750 of them are registered in more than one country, and only 80 are registered in more than 10 countries. While the company will use the same â€Å"global brands† in multiple developed markets, in the developing world it focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions and then using a brand name that resonates locally. Customization rather than globalization is the key to the company’s strategy in emerging markets. Executing the Strategy Successful execution of the strategy for developing markets requires a degree of flexibility, an ability to adapt in often unforeseen ways to local conditions, and a long-term perspective that puts building a sustainable business before short-term profitability. In Nigeria, for example, a crumbling road system, aging trucks, and the danger of violence forced the company to re-think its traditional distribution methods. Instead of operating a central warehouse, as is its preference in most nations, the country. For safety reasons, trucks carrying Nestle goods are allowed to travel only during the day and frequently under-armed guard. Marketing also poses challenges in Nigeria. With little opportunity for typical Western-style advertising on television of billboards, the company hired local singers to go to towns and villages offering a mix of entertainment and product demonstrations. China provides another interesting example of local adaptation and long-term focus. After 13 years of talks, Nestle was formally invited into China in 1987, by the Government of Heilongjiang province. Nestle opened a plant to produce powdered milk and infant formula there in 1990, but quickly realized that the local rail and road infrastructure was inadequate and inhibited the collection of milk and delivery of finished products. Rather than make do with the local infrastructure, Nestle embarked on an ambitious plan to establish its own distribution network, known as milk roads, between 27 villages in the region and factory collection points, called chilling centres. Farmers brought their milk – often on bicycles or carts – to the centres where it was weighed and analysed. Unlike the government, Nestle paid the farmers promptly. Suddenly the farmers had an incentive to produce milk and many bought a second cow, increasing the cow population in the district by 3,000 to 9,000 in 18 months. Area managers then organized a delivery system that used dedicated vans to deliver the milk to Nestle’s factory. Although at first glance this might seem to be a very costly solution, Nestle calculated that the long-term benefits would be substantial. Nestle’s strategy is similar to that undertaken by many European and American companies during the first waves of industrialization in those countries. Companies often had to invest in infrastructure that we now take for granted to get production off the ground. Once the infrastructure was in place, in China, Nestle’s production took off. In 1990, 316 tons of powdered milk and infant formula were produced. By 1994, output exceeded 10,000 tons and the company decided to triple capacity. Based on this experience, Nestle decided to build another two powdered milk factories in China and was aiming to generate sales of $700 million by 2000. Nestle is pursuing a similar long-term bet in the Middle East, an area in which most multinational food companies have little presence. Collectively, the Middle East accounts for only about 2 percent of Nestle’s worldwide sales and the individual markets are very small. However, Nestle’s long-term strategy is based on the assumption that regional conflicts will subside and intra-regional trade ill expand as trade barriers between countries in the region come down. Once that happens, Nestle’s factories in the Middle East should be able to sell throughout the region, thereby realizing scale economies. In anticipation of this development, Nestle has established a network of factories in five countries, in the hope that each will, someday, supply the entire region with different products. The company, currently makes ice-cream in Dubai, soups and cereals in Saudi Arabia, yogurt and bouillon in Egypt, chocolate in Turkey, and ketchup and instant noodles in Syria. For the present, Nestle can survive in these markets by using local materials and focusing on local demand. The Syrian factory, for example, relies on products that use tomatoes, a major local agricultural product. Syria also produces wheat, which is the main ingredient in instant noodles. Even if trade barriers don’t come down soon, Nestle has indicated it will remain committed to the region. By using local inputs and focussing on local consumer needs, it has earned a good rate of return in the region, even though the individual markets are small. Despite its successes in places such as China and parts of the Middle East, not all of Nestle’s moves have worked out so well. Like several other Western companies, Nestle has had its problems in Japan, where a failure to adapt its coffee brand to local conditions meant the loss of a significant market opportunity to another Western company, Coca Cola. For years, Nestle’s instant coffee brand was the dominant coffee product in Japan. In the 1960s, cold canned coffee (which can be purchased from soda vending machines) started to gain a following in Japan. Nestle dismissed the product as just a coffee-flavoured drink rather than the real thing and declined to enter the market. Nestle’s local partner at the time, Kirin Beer, was so incensed at Nestle’s refusal to enter the canned coffee market that it broke off its relationship with the company. In contrast, Coca Cola entered the market with Georgia, a product developed specifically for this segment of the Japanese market. By leveraging its existing distribution channel, Coca Cola captured a 40 percent share of the $4 billion a year, market for canned coffee in Japan. Nestle, which failed to enter the market until the 1980s, has only a 4 percent share. While Nestle has built businesses from the ground up, in many emerging markets, such as Nigeria and China, in others it will purchase local companies if suitable candidates can be found. The company pursued such a strategy in Poland, which it entered in 1994, by purchasing Goplana, the country’s second largest chocolate manufacturer. With the collapse of communism and the opening of the Polish market, income levels in Poland have started to rise and so has chocolate consumption. Once a scarce item, the market grew by 8 percent a year, throughout the 1990s. To take advantage of this opportunity, Nestle has pursued a strategy of evolution, rather than revolution. It has kept the top management of the company staffed with locals – as it does in most of its operations around the world – and carefully adjusted Goplana’s product line to better match local opportunities. At the same time, it has pumped money into Goplana’s marketing, which has enabled the unit to gain share from several other chocolate makers in the country. Still, competition in the market is intense. Eight companies, including several foreign-owned enterprises, such as the market leader, Wedel, which is owned by PepsiCo, are vying for market share, and this has depressed prices and profit margins, despite the healthy volume growth. Discussions: 1. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why? 2. What is the company’s strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets? Does this strategy make sense? From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively? 3. Through your own research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators. Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? 4. How would you describe Nestle’s strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnational strategy? 5. Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? 6. Is Nestle’s management structure and philosophy aligned with its overall strategic posture?

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Analysis of Aphids by Giving Reference to Their Living Habits, Food Pattern - Research Paper Example Among the known 4,400 species of 10 families, some species of aphids have asexual reproduction capability. Among the identified species, around 250 are most destructive pest causing threats to agriculture, forestry, and gardening. Aphids generally vary in length from 1 to 10 millimetres. Predatory ladybirds, hoverfly larvae, crab spiders, aphid midge larvae, lacewings, and Entomophthorales are some of the natural enemies of aphids. This paper will deeply analyze about aphids by giving reference to their living habits, food pattern, and special effects in nature and plants. The basic classification about aphids indicates that they include to the Kingdom-Animalia, Phylum-Arthropoda, Class- Insecta, Order-Hemiptera, and Family-Aphididae. Last year, my colleagues and I had a trip to a reserve park in the Sepulveda basin wildlife reserve. The trip was greatly helpful for us to understand more about aphids, their life circulation, and their impacts on nature. Non-native invasive weeds and trees are not allowed in that area (Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve). While examining aphid symbioses, and mutualism and bacterial endosymbiosis are two important phenomena to be considered. It is observed that some farming ant species collect and protect aphid eggs in their nests over the whole winter and bring back the newly hatched aphids back to the plant (Aphid). In turn, the farming ants feed the honeydew released by the aphids due to the terminations of their alimentary canals. A similar relation is seen between daring ants and aphids. In addition, an endosymbiosis with micro-organism is common insects; with almost 10% insects including many aphid species largely depend upon intracellular bacteria for their growth and survival. The most important feature of the living habits of aphids is that they live in large groups and don’t migrate to other regions unless it is absolutely necessary.  

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Best Practices in Teaching Comprehension - Essay Example The underlying mechanisms by which comprehension and knowledge acquisition occur are 'top-bottom' and 'bottom-up' technologies. Bottom-up or data driven activation of schema occurs when information on the page activates a certain low level schemata or feature detectors which in turn activate or instantiate a higher up sub schema or other higher up structure. In that processing manner,information enters into the perceptual system from the most specific feature at the bottom and travels upward to the most general structure in the system. On the other hand,conceptual driven activation occurs when the highest and most abstract structure at the top of the system sends down information through the hierarchy of structures till it reaches the lowest structure or the feature detector. This processing flow of information in a top-down manner is brought to account for incoming data and to comprehend it as a correct interpretation of the input. Both types of mechanisms work in both directions. The process of understanding discourse is the process of finding a configuration that offers an adequate account of the passage in question. Clues from the passage suggest possible interpretations (instantiation of schemata) that are then evaluated against the successive sentences of the passage until finally a consistent interpretation is discovered. The scenario of the passage is an information network called from the long-term memory by a particular linguistic input which is a basic principle of enabling the knowledge of the reader to be used in such a way as to allow for direct interpretation of entities or events predicted by his knowledge. To the extent that any text conforms to the predictions it is readily interpreted,if not,it will be more difficult to understand. Reading is a far more creative activity than most think with information in the text better regarded as evidence or even building blocks from which readers construct their own meanings and often their entire experiences. There are four theories for the failure of a reader to understand correctly a written passage: 1-The reader may not have the appropriate schemata,i.e,cannot understand the concept being communicated. 2-The reader may have the appropriate schemata but the clues provided by the author may be insufficient to suggest them. 3-The reader may find a consistent interpretation of the text but may not find the one intended by the author. In such case,the reader will 'understand' the text but will misunderstand the author. 4-The reader may have the appropriate schemata and that the writer may have provided sufficient clues in the text but the reader has not learned how to decode clues in a text. The ways to decode such difficulties is by understanding the following: a-Rationale of the mode: In seeking to study the role of background knowledge or schema, Carrel and Eisterhold draw the useful distinction between two types of schemata:content schemata represent background knowledge about the content area or the topic of a text whereas formal schemata represent background expectations about the rhetorical structure of a text. Carrell(1983) found out that the role of either content or formal schemata or

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