C-Direct Insurance Company

201KM GROUP PROJECT CASE STUDY 3 Case Study 3 The C-Direct- Insurance Company Developed by Peter Race, Henley Management College Call centres have fast become one of the most important channels for organizations and their customers to interact. There are around 4,000 call centres in the UK today,employing over 400,000 people. The direct sell insurance industry is increasingly using call centres to access and service its market. The C-Direct -Insurance Company has its call centre in Newcastle, England. The company itself is just 6 years old and specialises in selling automobile insurance policies direct to customers. The processAdvertising and promotion initiatives attract customers’ interest and generate enquiries to the CD Call Centre. These lead to the provision of quotations for personal car insurance. In order to provide the quotation, CD operators need to collect the customer’s personal and vehicle related data (in total 17 items) and input them to the computer. Th e process is as follows: Customers call the CDCall Centre (the focus of this case) by a freephone telephone number and submit the required information. This is entered directly into a computer terminal during the call, their questions answered, and quotation provided within 12 minutes.Customers can pay by credit card and receive immediate insurance cover. Customers receive their personal insurance offer confirmed in writing by mail, about 23 days after initial contact. Mr Small, the Operations Manager, is responsible for all operations in the Call Centre. The Call Centre employs 105 people in three shifts over a core day between the hours of 0800 and 2000. The resources for the Call Centre are:  · its facilities – for example the buildings and the staff’s workspace/workstations  · the equipment – for example, computers/systems the People who use them. Car insurance is compulsory in the UK, so customers are price sensitive and tend to shop around to compare t he company’s offer with those of competitors. Only about 17% of CD’s offers are converted into policies. The operations management strategies of scheduling, capacity and quality management were reactive rather than proactive; for example, poor forecasting of demand resulted in excess manpower being under utilised. Staffs were inflexible and showed little sympathy or understanding to frustrated and angry customers.The interfaces with support functions such as Marketing or Information Systems Department tended to be confrontational rather than supportive. Fortunately, in the early days, competition was not very tough and Mr Small had no special performance targets or formal control mechanisms – he was literally his own boss. The policy change After five years of high growth, over the last twelve months sales have only grown by 3% and the company is beginning to struggle with diminishing profits. The main reasons for the slowdown have been identified:  · New Entr ants: 15 companies in the last 2 years, producing a wave of ‘direct insurance startups’.These companies have targeted the same customer segment as CD, the market for which has remained stagnant.  · Customers are more price sensitive and new entrants offer extremely low prices.  · Substitute Products are unchanged – customers still require car insurance. The new situation has forced management to review business policy options to provide a competitive advantage. Research has shown that for direct selling insurance products, the key market drivers are to:  · Offer a wider range of insurance products, so minimising the need for customers to deal with many suppliers. Offer low prices  · Provide excellent service. A recent internal report showed that the CD Call Centre still had potential to improve service levels and cost efficiency. The decision was therefore taken to extend the product range and improve service by addressing: Product flexibility CD will res pond to customer’s demand by launching a new product – household insurance – and deliver it via the Call Centre, alongside car insurance. Household insurance is often requested by customers and they have been in the past disappointed not to source it from CD.Furthermore, the product margin for household insurance is high, thanks to low average claims. Since only a few competitors currently offer household insurance, management believed they could generate an above average profit margin in the first year after launch. Responsiveness In order to make the new product successful, it will also be necessary to fulfill customer expectations for ‘time’ response. Consequently, operations management will need to ensure quick access to the Cal Centre and efficient treatment of customers for both products.Quality Improve customer service – at least to match competitors’ standards. Internal analysis has shown that the auto insurance ‘lapse ra te’ (customers not renewing their policies) – which is an indicator of customer satisfaction – was above the market average. To avoid this trap with the new product, significant improvements in service delivery of all CD’s activities is needed (including settlement of claims, which is not part of the Call Centre’s responsibilities). Cost Ensure price decrease of insurance premiums by reducing internal costs.All possibilities for further cost reduction must be exploited to permit a price level lower than the top five price leaders. By launching this policy change, senior management believe a successful implementation will lead to higher customer satisfaction and consequently to profitable growth. Influences on the operations The change in business policy will have an impact on M. Small’s current operations strategies. The policy change has been developed at corporate level but the benefits will have to be delivered by Mr Small, the Operations Manager, in the future.Therefore, Mr Small will need to address the changes to operating systems structures and operations management objectives. The determination of the tradeoff between customer service and resource utilisation will be a key factor for sustainable operation, especially in this competitive environment. The new business policy decision will affect Mr Small’s current practice in two ways. First, he will have to interface with the project setup to manage the launch of the new product and modifications to the delivery processes.Second, Small will have to establish operations management strategies to allow the business to meet the objectives of the policy change. The Project phase Workforce The existing staff will be responsible for the new product, alongside the existing offering. Therefore an intensive training programme on Information Technology (IT); enhancements and new product features will be required. To improve the overall quality and service provision, customer acquisition techniques and friendly handling of difficult customers will be covered during the training.Mr Small will work with the training department to develop a training plan which will take at least four days per group to deliver (each group has about 10 employees). Therefore, he will have to schedule the training so that the normal business will not be hampered by too few staff in the Call Centre. The new training approach will also have a long term influence, because training updates for employees will be held at least once a year. One of the aims of the training is to reshape corporate culture so as to engender a commitment to high efficiency and excellent ervice. This will demand empowering the workforce to focus on customer service, together with better collaboration between staff, by using more teamwork, to raise the overall efficiency levels of the operation. Mr Small will also have to install a feedback process to evaluate the satisfaction level of the staff, to help identify continuous improvement areas. Better motivation will be achieved by introducing a new incentive system, using positive customer feedback as a measure for rewards. Facilities & equipmentThe current workspace/workstation for a Call Centre staff member is a small, open ‘boxlike’ area (less than one square metre), containing a terminal, keyboard and telephone. The boxes are very close together and do not have a proper noise protection. Staff complains about the workstations, because with the background noise of five or more colleagues, concentration is difficult, and the number of data input errors are high. Staff have little space to write notes, so for example, noting down a telephone number to return a call to a customer is very difficult.After looking at the staff’s workspace, Small realised they would have to modify the building in order to create more space and provide noise protection. He thought that only by providing a convenient and ergonom ic workspace would he be able to ensure his staff’s full commitment to performance improvements. A careful forecast of future demand will be necessary in order to install the right number of new workstations and avoid under/over utilisation of resources. Technology A new terminal mask (template or standard screen) for the Call Centre needs to be developed by the Information Systems Department (ISD).This mask must contain all questions that need to be answered by the customer. To ensure service quality, ISD would have to create a flexible IT system, which would enable the Call Centre staff to quickly switch from one screen to another, according to customer’s demand. The competitor benchmark for ‘time to switch’ screens is less than 3 seconds. Furthermore, high IT reliability is vital, because breakdowns in the past have stopped all activities of the Call Centre, (since they depend on online access to the mainframe) and customers could not be served during t hat time. Mr.Small wonders if an ISD/Call Centre staff taskforce should be setup to explore the main historical problems for poor reliability, define development areas and try to find the best possible solution. Organisation Experience in the past has shown that the first few months after a product launch to be critical. Therefore, a new role of a ‘first alert support person’ needs to be established. The ‘first alert’ person will help improve service by patrolling the Call Centre and helping the staff during busy times, in cases of difficult customer questions or with technical problems.Furthermore, they would have a coaching role for new employees and also support staff training. The Human Resource Department (HRD) will need to develop the job description, provide a career plan for that role, manage the necessary recruiting and training process and determine how this new position fits into the organisation. Questions 1. Prepare the Project Definition Repor t for implementation of the policy change. This report should cover: vision; purpose (including a stakeholder analysis); objectives; scope; strategy; project phases; and project organisation. 2. What are the risks for the project and how should they be managed?

Innovation Strategy Essay

Team C has chosen Apple Corporation to use for this assignment.â€Å"Apple is the innovator for consumer technology† according to a March 2013 article on Forbes.com titled â€Å"Apple Cash, Margins And Innovation: The Obvious Strategy.† Apple did not invent the music player, computer nor cellular phone but has made their products so recognizable that is difficult to have a conversation regarding the latter without including the Apple brand. Their innovation strategies have resulted in the popularity of iPods, iPhones, iPads and iTunes. As this company continues to push boundaries, â€Å"it is anticipated that Apple will introduce an iWatch which is speculated to provide alert messages such as texts, emails or incoming calls this year and an iTelevision with IOS interface next year†(â€Å"Apple Cash, Margins And Innovation: The Obvious Strategy†, 2013). Apple has built an Innovation Factory – one that harnesses creativity in its people, stimulating new ideas, and launching successful, profitable new innovations†¦Apple leverages its diverse culture, innovation processes, partners and networks to seize the new opportunities in the marketplace and grow its business, exponentially (â€Å"Apple’S Innovation Strategy, Innovation Process & Innovation Model†, n.d.). Incremental and breakthrough innovation and approaches have resulted in continuous improvements as Apple has become a trusted household name. Incremental and Breakthrough Innovation The Apple Corporation has had many innovations throughout the life of the firm. Some of the innovations were incremental or small improvements to a current product offered by the company while other changes are breakthroughs in their technology. Apple’s innovation strategy has been to have a healthy balance of both incremental and breakthrough innovations to the product offerings, but the key to their success has been the building of anticipation for each kind of release. Incremental innovations to Apple Technologies include the upgrade to the technology and the minimizing or shrinking of the iPod line of products. Apple released the iPod in 2001 and offered small changes like making the iPod compatible with Windows in 2002, the offering of the iTunes store in 2003, the iPod mini in 2004, and incrementally changing size as well with the iPod Nano, or iPod Touch for example. (â€Å"Ipod + Itunes Timeline†, 2013). Incremental changes to product offerings by companies are a great way to keep a product that is currently familiar to consumers, fresh and exciting without pushing them to use something completely new and different. For a company to remain competitive in the market place though they must also offer something new, or a breakthrough in technology offering on the market at that time. Apple has been successful because the company releases both types of innovations regularly. In 2007 Apple followed up the incremental updates to the iPod with a breakthrough technology release of the Apple iPhone. As stated in an article by Pimo (2012), â€Å"When first released, the iPhone was a breakthrough in mobile technology boasting unprecedented sensor technology, a brand new operating system, which actually fits the operations of a computer inside the attractive body of a phone. iPhone as we know today has restructured the entire world of Mobile gadgets and was Apple’s ace in the world of technology† (8). Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is important within any organization in order to keep running effectively and efficiently. Such improvement begins up at the top with management and trickles down the organization. Apple knows that its employees must work together in order to continuously improve work practices and remain a competitive firm. â€Å"Continuous improvement requires the mindset that improvement never ends and that you may never achieve perfection† (Page, 2010, p. 229). Apple has proven time again and again that continuous improvement is a necessity. Innovation is a huge aspect that helps drive this company and has helped it remain on top. As apple continuously improves itself from within as well as externally it is able to achieve incremental goals. By constantly having a drive to improve Apple is able to locate areas and processes that may need improvement. This is an essential step to solutions regarding improvement. Competition does not sleep which is what makes companies like Apple have an initiative to continuously improve. Continuous improvement can lead to improved customer satisfaction, lower costs, better quality, and the list keeps going on. The key is to think of continuous improvement as long-term rather than short-term with one-time accomplishments. Improvements are incremental which ultimately enhance sustainability and profitability of Apple. Products and processes, for the most part, can always be improved to better a company as whole. Incremental versus Breakthrough Approach A company must consider the importance of both an incremental and a breakthrough innovation. Focusing on just one of these approaches can limit the company in the marketplace and ultimately lead to a negative consumer opinion. If a company continues to focus on breakthrough technologies then they are not focusing on ways to improve their previously released products. Failure to maintain and update products out on the market will frustrate users as the competition maybe be making slick new but subtle changes all the time. If Apple for example were to have released the iPhone and never followed up with software updates or new options like iMessage and Siri then the glamour and awe surrounding the release of the phone would have died out and consumers would have moved on to the competition for those incremental improvements. On the other hand if a company focuses only on incremental innovation then they could be seen as slow to keep up with the industry or even out dated. If Apple had continued to only update the iPod line slowly with changes in software and maybe adjustments to buttons or size then they would have eventually been passed by other companies that created exciting new media players or smartphones. Ultimately, consumers would have stopped purchasing from Apple and moved on to the competition. A healthy balance of incremental and breakthrough innovation at a company is vital to the company ability to compete in the marketplace and in the end to its success. Conclusion The Apple Corporation has had many innovations throughout the life of the company and has been able to stay competitive in the market place. They have done this because the innovations were incremental or small improvements to a current product offered by the company while other changes are breakthroughs in their technology. Apple has proven time again and again that continuous improvement is a necessity and it can lead to improved customer satisfaction, lower costs, better quality, and the list keeps going on. References Apple Cash, Margins And Innovation: The Obvious Strategy. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/darcytravlos/2013/03/24/apple-cash-margins-and-innovation-the-obvious-strategy/ Apple’s Innovation Strategy, Innovation Process & Innovation Model. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://appleinnovation.blogspot.com/p/apple-innovation-ebook_9768.html iPod + iTunes Timeline. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/pr/products/ipodhistory/ Page, S. (2010). The Power of Business Process Improvement: 10 Simple Steps to Increase Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Adaptability. New York, NY. Pimo. (2012). 11 Tech and Science Breakthroughs of the 2000s. Retrieved from http://listverse.com/2012/01/08/11-tech-and-science-breakthroughs-of-the-2000s/

What are the major differences between capitalism, communism, and Essay

What are the major differences between capitalism, communism, and socialism - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that capitalism is a system of private enterprise in which the main economic decisions, such as what, how, how much, where, to whom and for what price several items are to be produced, are made by private individuals in their capacity as owners, workers or consumers. Capitalism is referred as free enterprise system as the basic economic decisions are not left to individuals but rather these decisions are also made in response to market forces such as demand and supply. According to the concepts of capitalism, people are free to accept the law of supply and demand. Communism is, according to its founder Karl Marx, an economic system that promotes the idea that the society must control the production or goods and services. Capitalism was much concerned about acquisition of wealth where as communism focused on serving others with concerns on poor and underprivileged arguing that there were major disparities between classes. Socialism is an econo mic system that seeks to manage the economy through collective social control, but communism is an economic system that seeks to manage the economy as well as society. McConnell and Brue noted that capitalism is a system in which each participant acts and performs business and non-business activities in his own self interest. Each individual is looking for maximizing his satisfaction or profits through own decisions regarding production and consumption. They pointed out that socialism and communism can be considered as command system as an alternative to market system. In both communism and socialism, government owns most of the property resources. The economic decision making in these systems occurs through a central economic plan Socialism and communism are similar in that both these dogmas are systems of production for use based on public ownership of the centralized planning. Communism is a further development or higher stage of socialism (Williamson, 2011, p. 47). 2. Discuss th e three major economic indicators and how they are indicative of our current economic climate. The major three economic indicators are 1) Gross domestic product, 2) Consumer price Index, 3) Employment. The most important economic indicator is GDP- Gross Domestic Product- which represents the total market value of all final goods and services that are produced in a specific period of time. GDP includes all goods and services produced by citizen-supplied or foreign-supplied resources employed inside the country (McConnell and Brue, 2004, p. 113). Consumer Price Index is used as main measure of inflation in the United States as compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index is considered as the base to report inflation rate each month and each year and also for adjusting social security benefits as well as income tax brackets for inflation (McConnell and Brue, 2004, p. 141). Another important economic indicator is Employment Statistics which provides a comprehensive d ata on national employment situations, unemployment rate, wage and earning data etc. Normally, information is disseminated from different ways such as agricultural, industrial, employment or unemployment among men, women or other classes etc. All these major economic indicators are clearly indicative of our current economic situations. For instance, the latest statistics show that there has been an expansion of 2.8 percent in the gross domestic product figure in the fourth quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter (tradingeconomics.com, 2012). Another example is that the unemployment rate in the United States has been decreased to 8.3 percent in January of 2012, showing a lowest rate from February of 2009 (tradingeconomics.com, 2012). 3. In considering to enter the global market, identify the major strategies an entrepreneur may

Duty to rescue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Duty to rescue - Essay Example Statute should be passed which would impose civil and/or criminal liability for a failure to rescue. The duty to rescue should be imposed as a mandate subject to criminal and civil liability because it is a positive obligation which can benefit people. This duty finds support in the utilitarian principle. This principle is a normative theory which â€Å"explains all of morality and political justice in terms of positive obligation – the single positive obligation to benefit people as much as possible† (Murphy, 2001). In this case, the utilitarian principle emphasizes that the morality of actions is based on the obligation to benefit people. The earliest philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill discuss that actions are right if they bring happiness and they are wrong if they bring about the opposite of happiness. In this case, happiness should be brought to the one performing the action and the person affected by such action (West, n.d). In fulfill ing one’s duty to rescue, benefit and happiness is surely brought upon the rescued; and happiness is also felt by the rescuer. Based on this theory, legislation which imposes civil and/or criminal liability to those who fail to rescue is justified because it benefits the rescued and the rescuer. Granting that the benefit to the rescuer may also be based on an egoistic need to make oneself look or feel good, this egoism still does not negate the validity of the duty to rescue. Based on the utilitarian theory, â€Å"it is possible for the right thing to be done from a bad motive† (West, n.d). Therefore, even if a person’s motive in rescuing may be bad or selfish, it still does not diminish his obligation or duty to rescue. The very essence of utilitarianism is rounded up in the query, â€Å"What ought a man to do?† The answer is that he ought to act in order to produce the best possible

How to Use the Systematic Sampling Method Assignment

How to Use the Systematic Sampling Method - Assignment Example According to the research findings, when dealing with two different groups within a population, the most appropriate sampling method to use is the stratified sampling method. Specifically, this technique is a modification of simple either random or systematic sampling styles, where the population is divided into two homogeneous subgroups. Afterward, the sample is selected using either of the techniques mentioned above. In applying these techniques in the given case, first I would divide the groups into male and females. For instance, if there are men 1800 men and that of females are 900. Carrying out the systematic sampling for the males would be 20 (n) = 1800 and female would be 10 (n) = 900. In my estimate, the number of men makes up two-thirds of the population and females equal to one-third of the population; therefore, sampling technique applied, in this case, is called a proportional stratified sampling method. The eleven threats to internal validity are Selection, Maturation, History, Subject Effect, Instrumentation, Treatment Replication, Subject Attrition, Presenting, Statistical Regression, Diffusion of Treatment, and Experiment Effect. A true experimental design compares two identical groups of randomly picked participants, and that is the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group is subjected to a certain intervention (s) while the control group is used to assess the changes in the experimental group. Specifically, the control group gives the validity of the research by confirming that the changes experienced or because of the intervention and not any other factor.

EXAMINE the proposition that there exists a correlation btween the Essay

EXAMINE the proposition that there exists a correlation btween the rate of inflation and the level of unemployment. explain the significance of your result - Essay Example For instance, an unemployment rate of 5% is considered as acceptable in the United States. Almost all economic variables are related to each other. A rise in one consequently causes either a fall or an increase in another. Two variables display this relationship. These are unemployment and inflation. This essay will examine the proposition that there exists this correlation between the rate of inflation and the level of unemployment. Firstly, it will briefly explore the concepts of inflation and unemployment. Secondly, it will examine the relationship between these two variables. Thirdly, it will explain the significance of this correlation and finally give a conclusion. Inflation is, by simple definition, an increase in prices. However, in a more detailed definition, it is the consistent and sustained increase in the general price level of commodities and services. Inflation has an immediate effect on the value of a currency of the country experiencing it. For instance, if the United Kingdom is experiencing inflation in its economy, then the value of a sterling pound reduces. Here the value of a currency denotes its purchasing power or the quantity of real goods that one unit of the currency can purchase. The value of a currency varies with the level of inflation, and is never constant (Mankiw, 2011:43). Where there is an increase in the rate of inflation, the purchasing power of people in an economy declines. The opposite is also true for a decrease in the rate of inflation. Inflation is measured as percentage. Specifically, it is measured as a percentage increase of goods and services in a given year. For instance, if the rate of inflation in a y ear is 3%, then a commodity that costs 1 sterling pound will cost 1.03 sterling pounds after inflation is factored in. Inflation has three major variations. These are deflation, hyperinflation, and stagflation (Vogt, 2008:37). Deflation refers to a situation in the economy when the general price level of

One flew over the cuckoo's nest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

One flew over the cuckoo's nest - Essay Example Originally entering the ward in a bid to escape having to serve jail time, McMurphy quickly sizes up the other patients and determines what each can do to help make his stay in the ward more comfortable and exciting. However, as he comes into direct conflict with the high level of manipulation and oppression directed through the heavy hand of Big Nurse Ratched, the Irishman's energy and focus becomes a driving need to thwart her efforts. Since it appears that Nurse Ratched's primary goal is to keep the patients on the ward completely subdued and under her control, McMurphy concentrates on helping them recover their own sense of power and independence. As he constantly challenges Nurse Ratched's authority and demonstrates to the men on the ward that they have their own inner power to defy her wishes, McMurphy reveals to the men various ways in which they can help themselves break out of the mental traps in which they'd allowed themselves to be trapped. Although he didn't set out to em power the patients or to play any role positive or negative in their rehabilitation, it can be argued that Randy McMurphy was more successful than Nurse Ratched in rehabilitating the patients. By comparing Nurse Ratched's approach to the patients with McMurphy's approach, it is easy to see that even though both characters lost something important to them, McMurphy was more successful in helping these patients rehabilitate. It is clear from the beginning of the book that Nurse Ratched's primary goal is to ensure all the people within her domain are completely subjugated to her command so that she can 'fix' them the way she sees fit. Her purpose in working with the patients is to break them down until they are completely submissive to her instructions and desires. These desires are that the patients be fixed to work like the well-oiled machine they were intended to be, which the narrator makes clear right away in his description of the tools of her trade that she carries in her handba g: "there's no compact or lipstick or woman stuff, she's got that bag full of a thousand parts she aims to use in her duties today - wheels and gears, cogs polished to a hard glitter, tiny pills that gleam like porcelain, needles, forceps, watchmakers pliers, rolls of copper wire ... " (10). The tools of her trade are the tools of a mechanic intent on putting broken machines back together. There is no sense that she values the human spirit that ignites each soul as she works to break down the patients' resistance so that she can organize their universe for them. "The Big Nurse tends to get real put out if something keeps her outfit from running like a smooth, accurate, precision-made machine ... what she dreams of there in those wires is a world of precision efficiency and tidiness like a pocket watch with a glass back" (30). This concept of the patient as a broken clock continues to be mentioned by the narrator, Chief Bromden, who illustrates the fear and mistrust the other men hav e of her motives. She appears in her description like a giant mechanical spider sitting â€Å"in the center of this web of wires like a watchful robot, tend[s] her network with mechanical insect skill, know[s] every second which wire runs where and just what current to send up to get the results she wants† (30). Whether or not she is truly intent on helping these men heal within the limits

Law and terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Law and terrorism - Essay Example This paper will critically discuss the present UK legislative framework governing the gathering of covert intelligence on terrorist suspects and the necessary safeguards to ensure that ensure that police and security services do not violate the civil liberties of suspected individual. Covert Operations Perhaps, it can be said that the best covert intelligence operation was the operation Neptune Spear/Geronimo which launched the attack of Osama Bin Laden’s safe house in Bilal town of Abbottbad, Pakistan at around 1:00 a.m. (Listverse, 2011, p. 1). US Navy Seals breached through the high walls of Bin Ladin’s safe house using explosives whilst airborne US special operations command, also known as Night Stalkers were on board Black Hawk Helicopters and two Chinooks as backups (Listverse, 2011, p. 1). The SEALS found Bin Laden on the third floor and shoot him on his head and chest. Osama’s dead body was brought to Afghanistan for identification and buried at sea withi n 24 hours of his death (Listverse, 2011, p. 1). ... e result, have also seen the necessity to define and refine the country’s covert intelligence operation framework of its security forces using the statutes stipulated under the Regulations of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) (Home Office, 2013, p. 1; Gov.uk, 2013). This has been considered as the Home Office guidance to local authorities in England and Wales on the judicial approval process for RIPA and the crime threshold of surveillance (Home Office, 2013, p. 1; Gov.uk, 2013) RIPA defined the framework of the government’s covert investigatory techniques as authored by public authorities (Legislation.gov.uk, 2013, p. 1). The framework in itself does not customized such power to execute covert activities but if these activities are undertaken by the council officers, RIPA limits, control and regulate the manner on how covert intelligence gathering are undertaken to ascertain that this is consistent to the Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) t hat mandates security forces to respect the private and family life of the suspects (Legislation.gov.uk, 2013, p. 1). Under RIPA, the local authorities limited the local authorities on using three covert techniques to prevent untoward incidences by early detection and monitoring of disorder (Legislation.gov.uk, 2013, p. 1). This security mechanism authorized designated persons on significant issues that may cause social harm and disorder but require such essential balance of proportionate care that the covert intelligence operation and intrusion, to gather information, will not seriously violate the right of privacy of a person on the bases of unfounded allegations or suspicion (Legislation.gov.uk, 2013, p. 1). Ethical code of covert operations refines further the scope of powers on necessary

CSR and Recruitment methods used by Four Seasons Essay

CSR and Recruitment methods used by Four Seasons - Essay Example Prezi facilitates this process by providing a virtual whiteboard from which presentations can be made into conversations. Traditionally, presentations have always taken the form of monologues where the presenter simply talks and passes information with very minimal engagement from the audience. Prezi offers a shift from such a monotonous process. Prezi offers consumers very critical information regarding presentations and how to improve communication in such situations. It is recognized that information is better passed through visual enhancements. Prezi therefore designs various images, videos which are used in enhancing presentations. Prezi offers cloud-based platforms hence the users can always present from their desktops, tablets of phones. One of the greatest strengths of Prezi is its reliance on communication as a tool for business. The company recognizes that people will always have to communicate and this translates into the continual need for the services. In addition, the company has developed a tradition of listening and paying attention to criticism and this provides a better way of learning and improving services. Prezi focuses on special metaphor in ensuring that the audience remembers the content better. Considering the fact that a presentation is only as effective as the information the audience captures and remembers the company invests a lot in developing techniques which ensure that the audience’s memory is always engaged. Strength arises from Prezi’s traditional focus on elegance and style. For a long time, the company has been known to create very beautiful products which captivate the users. On this, the joy is always on making the users smile. More importantly, it is always about simplicity and this ensures that the users get products they can easily use and love. On the other hand, it is realized that while the communication solutions provided by Prezi are simple and stylish, challenges often arise as new products

Chinese Immigration Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Chinese Immigration - Assignment Example The vast open spaces, the lack of social and class distinctions, the dynamic tempo of our growth, the westward progression, and the mobility of the population promoted the acceptance of the newcomer2. In times of crisis such as wars or economic depressions, the moving equilibrium might be disturbed. Immigrants’ movements created tensions around the presence of the foreigner, but at least until the latter decades of the nineteenth century, these tensions were usually dissolved by accommodation on a new level without restrictive legislation. The American Constitution made the United States the first national state to proclaim the principle that there should be no religious test for office holding. Furthermore, only the President was required by the Constitution to be native-born. The Federal government, as a matter of policy, utilized the principle of religious freedom to stimulate immigration. A guarantee of religious freedom had been included in the ordinance for governing the Northwest Territory, partly in the hope that it would stimulate migration into that region3. Similar to other immigrants, See’s a grandmother and her family occupied a low paid job and low social class position4. She worked at a Chinese underwear factory. It is not surprising that the changes in American society after 1890 affected attitudes toward the immigrant and that a strong movement for the restriction of immigration.

Original Writing Essay Example for Free

Original Writing Essay I am the princess awaiting rescue in the quiet corner of the ballroom. I stand silently gathering dust in the shadows, grinning with gapped black and white teeth. The pungent odour of rising damp impregnates the air. Lonely and deserted by the warm affectionate hands I once knew and loved, shudders trace the length of my now slackened strings. I can still feel the faint, muffled trembling in my worn hammers of a serene piano concerto. I remain here reminiscing of times gone by; dreaming about rhapsodies of the great composers, sonatas with their heartbreaking refrains casting their sweet melodies out into the hearts of my listeners. I held the power to move people and touch their very souls. My waltzes floated dreamily like a single cloud in a clear blue sky drifting peacefully into the distance. I look back on my past at all the things I have experienced: my debut in the grand concert hall, the first time I felt the touch of his hands pounding passionately on my keys, I remember shaking with nerves as the critics watched and listened attentively, waiting for mistakes. We, my old friend and I, had travelled the length and breadth of the country together enchanting audiences with our music. Each week we would embark on another journey to take us to a new hall, each as grand as the last. The venues with their elegant, majestic decor were visited only by the noble and wealthy people in society. It felt fantastic to be associated with the upper class. They were women who could afford to wear the most opulent of gowns made with the finest silks, taffetas velvets and brocades; all of which were accompanied with stoles derived from the best pelts of fur that money could buy- the most popular of which being mink, ermine and fox. Their partners, of course, were dressed just as magnificently in their white tie evening suits. They looked somewhat like penguins in their expensive attire. I often wondered if it was the actual music they had come to listen to or just an excuse to show off their prosperity; the value of their wives jewellery alone could well have paid a kings ransom! How I miss the anticipation and the adulation that each concert brought; the scores of fans applauding and cheering for an encore for which we jumped at the chance! We would play for ages after the scheduled end of the show; this was my favourite part of the performance because we always made an unforgettable exit! We amazed crowds like this every night; they all loved us and our music. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The popularity of such grand events began to dwindle; the new recordings brought the great concertos into ones front room. Peoples leisure time was spent in the comfort of their own homes and they much preferred to spend their evenings at the newly developed moving pictures. Then came the Great War. All the men were sent away to foreign lands to fight for their country. War, as they say, can be a great leveller; a rich man can be killed with a bullet just as easily as a poor man. Peoples priorities altered, it wasnt thought to be patriotic to flaunt ones wealth as had been done before. Nobody came to watch our shows: there was no one to escort the ladies, and they no longer felt the need to show their prosperity. Our shows were all cancelled. We were no longer needed; no longer wanted. It broke his heart knowing that we could no longer perform together. Not long afterwards, he went bankrupt. He lost everything: his house, his livelihood, his possessions; and me. I was devastated, how could I cope without him to love and comfort me? Who could be there for me? Most importantly, what would happen to him? I was so confused, my life had been turned upside down and I didnt know if Id manage. I knew he loved and cherished me, and the last thing he wanted to do was sell me, but he found himself in financial dire straits. He did what he had to do and I cant condemn him for that. Nobody said that life should be fair. As the day of the auction loomed the atmosphere in the house was fraught. Complete strangers rummaged ruthlessly through all that was dear to him. The workmen pulled apart his home and left nothing behind. They had no respect for his privacy or his dignity. All his worldly goods were auctioned to satisfy his creditors. The items were sold for a pittance. I was sold there and violently shoved inside a small white transit van. It was not quite the transport I had become accustomed to, but I didnt really have a choice in the matter. I made my final journey to where I am today; isolated here in the corner, being tortured by incompetent, untrained and inept hands, making a tuneless drone where once beautiful melodies had been played. I hope one day my prince will come rescue me from the depths of my despair; stuck here in this cold, damp dining room fully exposed to the gales blowing through the open window. I long for the caress of someone who truly understands my worth; and I can only hope that someone can appreciate me half as much as my friend did. I resign myself to the fact that I am no longer the youthful princess awaiting my prince, but a dowager condemned to a life of solitude. I now realise that life doesnt always go the way you plan. I will always miss him but losing him has made me appreciate all the happy times we spent together and all the fond memories we share. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

Seasonal Resort Employees Essay Example for Free

Seasonal Resort Employees Essay Many resorts like The Broadmoor, High Sierra Pools and Bubala’s by the Bay have difficulty finding summer employees for the tourist season. At the current time the use of H-2B visas have brought people in from other countries. Currently the demand for workers has created a shortage in the workforce. New methods for hiring summer workers need to be used. Review/Analysis of the Case There are many avenues of getting employees. Image advertising could be used in magazines like Teen or Boy’s Life. Employment agencies everywhere could list the seasonal jobs. Referrals are a great way to get more employees. A local company website as well as abroad. The use of temp agencies could be helpful. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2009). I would hire lecturing recruiters and arm them with a good Power Point presentation. These recruiters would have applications for the resorts. They would travel around there given state to high schools. I would give them a quota and responsibility to arrange transportation to the resorts. I would have interviews conducted at local employment agencies. For the students that get hired I would give coupons to their parents so the parents could join them at a discount. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2009). High Sierra Pools could offer higher than market pay and bonuses for employees returning for additional years. Meals could be provided. Housing could be provided. Bonuses could be given for getting additional people to work during the summer. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2009). Summary and Conclusions Hiring lecturing recruiters to go to high schools armed with a great presentation is my winning idea. There really aren’t many easy solutions to solving labor shortages. All of the solutions can be a financial drain in some cases. Requiring long hours due to shortages can be taxing on your workforce. It is sad that companies like High Sierra Pools has to use H-2B visas to have a larger workforce.

Globalization and International Security

Globalization and International Security This research paper discusses the issues of globalization and international security in their interdependency and interrelation. Challenges and obstacles of the efficient international security policy are considered. Globalization and international security are two directly proportional notions: the quicker is globalization, the stricter is international security. Introduction International security is nowadays closely connected with the notion of globalization. These two concepts seem to be the basic in todays political and economic situation. Thus, to start with, we should identify the notion of the international security. International security is the set of measures performed by countries and various international organizations aimed at the provision of the mutual safety in the world politics. This set of measures involves the implementation of both military actions and diplomatic treaties and agreements. Both types of security national and international are closely connected. As far as globalization offers its ways to ever-growing interaction of people and nations in almost all aspects of the human activities, as well as greater proliferation of cultures, political, economic and social activities, this results in greater rejection. This happens because of the discrepancies in some major points such as religion, for instance, or property issues. The brightest example of the globalization influence on international challenges is terrorist attacks, particularly on September 11, 2001, because these were the first, and they entailed the complete reorganization of global vision of the international security issue. We may state that these attacks were conditioned by the effects of increasing political globalization striving of the US to get the control over Iraq and improve its position as the world leader and power controlling all aspects of the world political order. Therefore, the present paper discusses the issue of the impact the globalization has on the international security and challenges posed by this influence. As far as globalization is rather broad and general term, we will use more specific aspects of globalization such as terrorism and struggle with it, international security in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region resulting from the dramatic economic growth of this region, and other challenges of globalization as associated with the necessity to improve the international security of these countries. General discussion International security and globalization Starting from the end of the twentieth century and continuing in the twenty first century, the globalization of different issues has provided both positive and negative effects. The positive effects of globalization imply closer and thus more effective cooperation of nations on various issues. These involve the sphere of political, cultural, economic cooperation. However, the same issues may have negative effects because in such way the collision of different views happens and this results in the conflict, as we can see on the example of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 different views on the same question who will rule have predetermined the outcome of the conflict: dramatic and terrifying event, which made nations shudder in anticipation of the same threat. Thus, for the most part the growth of terrorist attacks resulted in the desire of nations improve their international security. This may be accomplished in a number of ways: either through military actions, as it has been alread y mentioned, but this method is too radical, or through agreements, treaties and participation in international security programs or associations. Despite the fact that since the ending of the Cold War, which happened more than decade ago, there was an anticipation of the dramatic improvement in the sphere of international and national security. However, these hopes have failed, for new challenges have replaced the threat of nuclear weapon and civilization destruction. New challenges and issues of international security posed by the globalization include terrorism, various forms of extremism, separatism, growth of the crime rates, corruption, weapons of the mass destruction, regional conflicts, ecological catastrophes etc. Despite the fact that these challenges existed previously, in the globalization era they have achieved another sounding, because the world became much more mutually dependent and interconnected than earlier. Therefore, these challenges have begun to obtain a universal character rapidly, thus posing a threat to both national and international stability and security. The lives of many people of different nations have become influenced by these issues and challenges posed to the regional and international communities, and this influences continues its growth. As foreign minister of Russia Igor Ivanov stated, Proof of this is the wave of terrorist acts, unprecedented in scale and cruelty that has rolled from New York to the Island of Bali and Moscow (Ivanov, 2003). The key issue nowadays is not even the disclosure of the spheres where globalization has threatened the security of states and their citizens, but rather that far more interesting nowadays question of the way the effects of international insecurity may be challenged. Besides, it should be defined, why there are so much threats confronting humanity at the beginning of the twenty first century, and what measures can be taken in order to prevent or neutralize the ever-increasing number of new challenges to the peace and international threats. Globalization has become the greatest and the most influential constructor of the new international security picture. Its influence on the development and facilitation of the relations between nations in this basic sphere is considered to be rather contradictory. Thus, on the one part, globalization furthers rapid advancement of technological and scientific progress and facilitates ever-increasing communication among nations. Thus, if we look at the issue more closely, we will see that globalization to great extent assists humanity in provision of the potentiality for improvement of the quality of the international security and brings it to another level of development. It is due to the mutual dependence between nations in almost all spheres of the political, economic, social order, that helps to develop absolutely novel political approaches targeting the creation of the democratic multiparty organizations of controlling the international system of security and in such way targeting the reliable solution of the security problems. Nevertheless, the process of globalization has negative meaning, which is expressed through the intensification of the old challenges of international security with the simultaneous raising of new challenges and dangers. The part of outer factors in the evolution of nations and countries is increasing crucially. Due to the discrepancies in the economic and financial power, the interrelation and mutual dependency between nations becomes ever more unstable and disbalanced. Despite the fact that a minor group of leading industrialized countries almost obviously plays the part of the grounds for globalization, the rest of the countries stays aside of the financial economic advancements. As a consequence, the differences of economic and social advancement of the world grow intensively. According to Ivanov, the world economy may nowadays be separated into two types of zones: zones of growth and stagnation. Therefore, as Ivanov states, in 1998 ten leading states recipients of foreign investments accounted for 70 percent of their total amount, and countries with a low development level accounted for less than 7 percent (Ivanov, 2003). At the same time eminent politician claims that While in 1960 the incomes of the richest 20 percent of the worlds population exceeded those of the poorest 20 percent by 30 times, by 2002 that gap had trebled (Ivanov, 2003). All these problems: unemployment, low wages, social injustice, discrepancies in the realm of religion, culture, etc, contribute greatly to the issue of international security improvement. Certain steps have been already made in this direction, and they appear to be rather effective, but they will be discussed later in this paper. As for the mutual dependence of globalization and international security, we may state that we become the witnesses of the transference of negative globalization aspects to the countries of the Third World. The point is that it is harder for the Third World nations to defend themselves from the negative influence of globalization, but what is far easier to people living in developed countries is that they are protected to a certain extent with the economic and political power of their states. Consequently, the deceleration of globalization processes results in the breaches widening, which concerns the gaps in speed and direction of both economic and social advancement of whole regions of the world. It should be also mentioned that the very notion of the state power is changing in todays world. International security nowadays is provided with the help of not only military forces, as it has always been, but also with the help of the financial, economic, information and other resources which affect allies and opponents particularly comes to the foreground. There are certain factors which supposedly make it either easier or more complicated for countries to obtain access to the advantages of globalization, and which become ever more involved in the armory of security strategies. Thus, globalization and attempts to manipulate its processes are often used as tools of pressure in politics and economy. This peculiarity of the current state of affairs with international relations is emphasized in the UN report called The Impact of Civilization on Social Development. This report underlines that concern over globalization is partly due to the fact that the national policies of states are increasingly influenced by policies pursued outside their boundaries (UN report). Although this concerns national security policies, it is obvious that the international security policies are affected by the global politics and economy as well. As an example of such connection we can provide the example of the International Security Assistance Force although this mission was established by the UN Security Council, a lot of countries of the world responded the call for assistance. Thus, the United Nations Security Council has established ISAF International Security Assistance Force, which is the development and security mission in Afghanistan, led by NATO. The mission was established on December 20, 2001 (UNSCR) and involves approximately thirty five thousand people. The troops for this mission were contributed by thirty seven countries. The main target of International Security Assistance Force was to protect Kabul (Afghanistan) during the war in Afghanistan (started in 2001), and provide the security of the people from the Taliban, al Qaida. There are a lot of tools which are used to influence international security through the globalization processes. According to Ivanov, these tools of manipulation include the following: Investment and credit diplomacy, which benefits from the sharp need of developing nations in loans and investments of foreign capital. Information diplomacy, which targets the prevalence in the space of the world information; Political engineering, which implies the joint usage of different levers such as economic, political, and military ones for the construction of the required type of partners. In other words, states are ready to accept the conditions of the answer to both national and international challenges and issues posed from outside the boundaries of these states. In general, it should be particularly underlined that the process of new international processes started in the period after the Cold War ending, obtained to a great extent unchangeable and uncontrolled nature. Consequently, as it turns out, the situation has arisen which is filled with a great potential for the crisis outbreak, but which is simultaneously useless for the prevention or solution of international security issues collectively, meaning with the help of the whole world community. The deficiency of efficient mechanisms for control and monitoring of the actions and adapting the interests of a group of governments can be implemented as the pretence or evidential support of the statement that the purchase of weapons of mass destruction, even if its quantity is insignificant, becomes almost the only way to ensure security in international terms in todays unpredictable and unstable world. The risk and challenge of such situation is in the fact that threats to national and international security will exist until some serious measures are taken. Terrorism as the threat to international security One of the most crucial challenges the world community faces nowadays is the identification of the most sharply states problems of national and international security notions, which are often closely connected. The current attempts of the world community to fight these problems should be analyzed and the question should be answered as for the effectiveness of these attempts. As it has been already mentioned, the threat of the international terrorism nowadays is posed rather obviously and thus becomes the major threat to the security of the humanity. One of the most difficult things in fighting terrorism, according to Russian foreign minister Ivanov is that terrorists usually change their techniques and strategies of fighting for their aims, and they used to find ever new targets of their just retribution: The population of the major megalopolises on the planet and strategically important marine transportation of energy resources, computer systems that support the life of a modern state, the transportation, tourist and banking infrastructures of the world this is by no means a complete list of targets of attacks that have already happened and may happen in the future (Ivanov, 2003). The key reason for the current situation existence is that extremist leaders try to breed strife, and in such way manipulate others. The most awful thing is that usually this happens on the political level, and people dependant on the state or government suffer in such situation. Thus, terrorist leaders try to destabilize the current state of affairs in separate countries through the use of causing strife as a result of religious, cultural or national discord. Thus, they find weak sides and strike a blow influencing not those separate countries but the whole world community. The growth of international terrorism had entailed the necessity to cooperate in order to fight international terrorism. Thus, national programs aiming the interaction against terrorism were established within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Commonwealth of Independent States (Ivanov, 2003). Their target is to put an obstacle on the way of the ever-spreading terrorism, particularly in Central Asia (Ivanov, 2003). Therefore, we should always remember that the protection of rights of every citizen is the direct concern of every country, that is why it is necessary to develop new more efficient programs aiming fight against terrorism and other threats to international security. The United Nations continue to claim its opinion as for the effective struggle with terrorism. According to the UN, this struggle should be supported essentially by the international law. This problem may be solved with the help of the UN, which has always taken great interest and participated in the affairs of terrorism protection, persecution of terrorists or terrorist loyal people, assistance to those people who have suffered from the extremist activity. International security in Asia-Pacific region Asia-Pacific region may be considered the developing one, because countries of this region traditionally have underdeveloped economies, and inexpressive politics but nowadays situation seem to have been changed. That is why it is rather unexpectedly for the world community to evidence the fact that Asia-Pacific region has become the center of the international security, in other words, the Asia-Pacific is currentlyhome to a wide range of attempts at international cooperation on security issues (Goh, Acharia, 2007). It has not been until the beginning of the 1990s that considerable developments and improvements in international issues resulted in the essential changes in the international security of Asia-Pacific region. The most important events which contributed greatly to the development of this region and brought about the transformations in the sphere of international security were the end of the Cold War and the vagueness of the situation with the American strategy as for East A sia. Besides, this resulted from the advancement of China on both political and economic arena due to its dramatic economic growth. It was exactly that economic growth that opened China to the world as the prospective country leading in terms of the economic growth and bringing changes at all levels of the development. Another reason for the change was the crisis of Asian economy in 1997, which damaged the region significantly and doubted the efficiency of the international institutions and the existence of the programs on international cooperation in the sphere of security provision. The activities of the terrorists in Southeast Asia, which have incurred from the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001, contributed greatly to the change of the approach concerning national, international and local security. These examples of globalization require further research as for the conflict solving in Asia-Pacific countries. Great variety of approaches to international and national security was considered and thus they have changed significantly since the times of the Cold War. In 1994 the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum was established, and it was the peak of the new initiatives developing in the region at those times. As for the increase of international security between countries of the Asia-Pacific region, we should state that there is growing effort to provide the international security with the combined effort of ASEAN countries, Japan, South Korea and China. Besides, great number of organizations has appeared which has certain relation to the security, such as the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and others. As a rule, these cooperative efforts concern the issue of confidence establishing between Asia-Pacific countries. However, because of the differing conditions of these organizations operation, a lot of such efforts suffer from the deficiency of the mutual cooperation and lack of competition as well. Within the framework of the international security there are a number of questions which will be answered in the present paper. They include the concern over the APEC, the main issues of which were extended and thus achieved both greater role and importance on the political scene. So, the reason that has facilitated this transformation in goals of the APEC was the struggle against terrorism after the infamous event of 11 September. The issue of the terrorism in the era of globalization as the key concern of the world community has been considered in this paper. However, first we should answer the question how do relate those two notions of globalization and terrorism, and what are their common points. Therefore, we should mention that globalization has different layers, such as for instance political, economic, cultural and many other; and as a rule globalization is considered as the ever-growing interconnection between people and whole nations as a result of the progress and technol ogical advancements in communication facilities, transport, information technologies etc. It can be hardly doubted that the development of the communications, IT and transport as well as closer interaction between nations, has contributed greatly to the necessity of the international cooperation and security improvement. The reasons for the greater international danger may be waited from the side of international trade and economy on the whole, as far as money and power are closely interlinked and for the most part they are the reason for the majority of conflicts. Among other factors influencing international security is the institutional adaptability as stated by Goh and Acharia, who claim that it is the presence of or the presence of institutional mechanisms that could be adapted to respond to new challenges; in this case, the APECs leaders Summit was one such institution that provided a ready forum for the discussion of pressing security concerns among the regions heads of state (Goh, Acharia, 2007). They consider ASEAN and ARF to be as well corresponding in order to adopt and accommodate the supplementary frameworks of international security. However, these actions are considered to be the misuse of powers. For example, Association of Southeast Asian Nations nowadays significantly changes its previous orientation to international issues of security to the transnational ones. ASEAN Regional Forum has also adopted the program of dealing with international terrorism. According to investigation, performed by Goh and Acharia, the current standards of national interaction differ in various institutions. Thus, the most developed standards are those suggested by ASEAN, while those of Asia-Pacific institutions which are under the threat, are the standards of noninterference. It should be also mentioned here that legalization of the institutions of the Asia-Pacific region has obtained the formalized character. For instance, we can mention the the dispute settlement mechanisms created under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), new rules for managing forest in ASEAN countries, the Declaration of Conduct (admittedly a weaker example) in the South China Sea, and moves to deviate from the consensus principle in ASEAN and the ARF (Goh, Arachia, 2007). These steps may be considered as the formalized operations of the improved and intensified international security. International Security before 9/11 and after it Thus, the infamous events of 9/11 became the turning point in the history of the international security. The thing is that, according to Khan, the discourse and direction of the international security issues and globalization processes has been changed. First of all, it should be mentioned that before that turning point the prevalent issues of the politic and economic concerns of the global community were the issues which concerned the geoeconomy (Khan, 2001). The majority of summits and international associations and organizations were concerned with the only question of globalization and humanitarian problems. However, nowadays geopolitics and other security issues have come to the foreground and the post-Cold War organizations determine further course of events, or as Khan put it, old language and institutions of the cold war are shaping our thinking about global politics (Khan, 2001). Khan evidences, that in the sphere of politics it had been decided prior to 9/11 that democracy is the only best way to arrange the most beneficial politics. In the sphere of economy, the World Trade Organization has established its own standards and thus different countries tried to raise their standards in order to comply with the new ones established by WTO. As for the social aspect, multinational corporations, for the most part American ones, influenced greatly the world popular culture. Therefore, it was the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, which changed everything. Globalization was accelerated, and this resulted in more or less free movement of capital, labor, technology and other material and immaterial resources across the boundaries of the countries. Thus, as far as globalization is the way to open all possible borders and make this flow across the borders free to the greatest extent, the main task of the international security, on the contrary, is to restrain this free flow and in such way secure and protect entrusted peoples and territories. Thus, one of the ideas after the terrorist attack that possessed political minds was the thought that to a certain extent this event was facilitated by the liberal policies of transactions across the borders. And as far as liberalism and democracy are interconnected notions, the position of democracy as the leading and the most appropriate political structure was undermined. The intensification of the international security thus implies the slowdown in the economy, because with harder control of the transactions the flow of capital will be slowed too. The most primitive but nonetheless still effective measures of international security are those which will prevent the free crossing of borders by terrorists: this includes stricter VISA provision, new regulations concerning border patrol and stricter policy of foreigners monitoring and control. On the governmental level national security is provided with the increase of international cooperation, which helps to ensure the legitimacy and reliability of information crossing the borders. Although this concerns national security first of all, in fact international security is also involved here, as far as nations cooperate with each other, exchange information and resources and this makes these countries vulnerable. That is why the efficient system of the international security monitoring is needed. As it has been already mentioned, the relation between globalization and international security is directly proportional, as far as it was globalization that facilitated the emerging of terrorists as the phenomenon of the world politics. However, globalization has been developing throughout many centuries, and nowadays it had just increased its pace. Of course, the most efficient measure of the security provision is at the same time the most radical and the most impossible to accomplish. The point is that it is absolutely impossible to close the borders and let each nation live without cooperation and interaction with other nations. It can be undoubtedly stated, that it is impossible to do. And Khan supports this idea stating that all advanced economies depend considerably on international trade 25% of US economy is dependent on international trade. The information technology sector in the US and increasingly in Europe now depends on technical expertise of global labor, particularly from India and China (Khan, 2001). Thus, complete separation and estrangement is impossible, and the only way to withstand the blow of terrorists is to intensify the international security policies and restrain the pace of globalization. Conclusion Consequently, in the present paper we have discussed the issues of the international security and the influence of globalization on the international security. As a result of the research, it became obvious that globalization and international security are closely connected. First of all this is true because they are directly proportional, i.e. with the acceleration of globalization the international security policies should be intensified. Despite the fact that for the most part the paper is dedicated to international security and related issues, in fact it is very difficult to differentiate the notions of national and international security, because again due to globalization these two concepts became mutually dependent and interrelated. Consequently, having discussed the abovementioned issues we may state that the impact of the globalization on the international security and challenges posed by this influence are rather various but in any case complicated. Using globalization as a general term, we have used more specific aspects of globalization such as terrorism and war against with it, international security in the nations of the Asia-Pacific region coming from the considerable economic growth of this region, and other challenges of globalization as connected with the necessity to improve the international security of these countries. As for the countries of Asia-Pacific region, their policies of international security has been developing and intensifying since the ending of the Cold War. ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Free Trade Area, APEC and others are the decisions taken in response to the globalization advancement and international security improvement. Bibliography 1. Acharya, A. (2001). Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia. London: Routledge 2. Acharya, A. and E. Goh.(2007). Reassessing Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific: Competition, Congruence, and Transformation. The MIT Press 3. Blair, D. (2000). Security Communities the Way Ahead for Asia, InternationalHerald Tribune, April 21, 2000 4. Garofano, J. (2002). Power, Institutions, and the ASEAN Regional Forum: A Security Community for Asia? Asian Survey, 42 (3), 502-521. 5. Gilpin, R. (1987). The Political Economy of International Relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press 6. The Impact of Civilization on Social Development. (2004). UN report. 7. Ivanov, I. (2003). International Security in the era of globalization. Khatmandu: The Telegraph 8. Khan, M. (2001). Terrorism and globalization. Retrieved 19 Nov. 2007 from Glocal eye website: http://www.glocaleye.org/ 9. Maloney, S. M. (2005). Enduring The Freedom: A Rogue Historian In Afghanistan. Dulles: Potomac Books, Incorporated 10. Ruggie, J. G.. (1993). ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form. New York: Columbia University Press 11. Tow, W. (2001). Asia-Pacific Strategic Relations: Seeking Convergent Security. New York: Cambridge University Press 12. Wesley, M. (2003). Mediating the Global Order: The Past and Future of Asia-Pacific Regional Organizations, in David Lovell, ed., Asia-Pacific Security: Policy Challenges Singapore: ISEAS

Comparing Where Are you going, Where Have You Been and Hills Like White

Authors of great stories often use good technical writing skills. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two short stories: Where Are you going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates and Hills Like White Elephants by Earnest Hemingway. The comparison and contrast will be done based on their use of plot, point of view and character development. The short story where are you going, where have you been is about a teenage girl who is, vain, self-doubting and affixed in the present. She does not know anything about the past or doubts it and has no plan of the future. She argues with her mother and she thinks she is jealous of her. The start of the plot is not very dramatic rather it is more like an introduction. We get a good description of the story’s Protagonist, Connie at the beginning of the story and through out. She is familiar, the typical American teenager, who dream, fantasize and have difficulty differentiating the real world from fairytale. Kozikowsky compares the story to the popular recent Disney tale â€Å"Cinderella† (1999). In â€Å"Where are you going, where have you been?† the setting of the story is not revealed at the beginning. The reader slowly learns about Connie’s family and her living condition throughout the story. In â€Å"Hills Like Elephants† by Ernest Hemingway, there is no dramatic situation at the beginning of the story either, rather He starts by giving us a detailed description of the setting. The reader gets a clear mental image of where the story will take place. The Author begins the story by introducing the scene since it will have a great significance in understanding the many symbolisms he will be using later. Some experts say that â€Å"Although there is a situation, there is no plot† ( Henningf... ... short story. Works cited Henningfeld, Diane Andrews. "Hills Like White Elephants." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Gale Kozikowski, Stan. "The Wishes and Dreams Our Hearts Make in Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'." Journal of the Short Story in English. 33 (Autumn 1999): 89-103. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 70. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 89-103. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Renner, Stanley. "Moving to the girl's side of 'Hills Like White Elephants.'." The Hemingway Review. 15.1 (Fall 1995): p27. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Weeks, Lewis E., Jr. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills like White Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.

History of False Teeth :: Dentures Dental

False teeth, which are known today as â€Å"dentures†, are bony plates which are installed into a patient’s mouth by means of adhesion to the fleshy mandibular or maxillary arch. Although these are now relatively inexpensive and their requirement is often taken for granted, they have not always been so easy to come by. A look at the history of false teeth shows a pain-staking and quirky evolution: Though it is assumed that primitive versions of false teeth have been around since the 700s B.C., the first concrete evidence of false teeth emerges from the 15th century. These were carved of bone or ivory, or they were made from random assortments of teeth that had been dug up from graveyards. However, these had no self-contained method of attachment, but rather were fastened to any remaining teeth by means of metallic or silk thread. This attachment was visible to the observer, resulting in a smile that was not only extremely uncomfortable, but also unattractive. Thus, false teeth were originally intended to serve the sole purpose of aid in eating, not aesthetic purposes. The biggest shortcoming of these archaic appliances was the fact that they were subject to decay in the wearer’s mouth. Thus, installed false teeth would have to be replaced on a regular basis, resulting in a very costly procedure. However, this problem was rectified in 1774 by Duchateau and Dubois de Chemant with their invention of the first full set of dentures that would not rot. This was due to their porcelain composition – a material that was much more conducive to the everyday wear and tear of one’s teeth. Although an incredible improvement, even the porcelain version had its difficulties. Unable to produce anything less than a full set of teeth (the surrounding porcelain was required to keep each tooth in place), patients who were missing only one or two teeth were out of luck, unless they were willing to have the rest of their teeth removed as well. And yet, in 1808, Giuseppangelo Fonzi developed the first individual appliance – a single porc elain tooth that could be held in place by a pin drilled into the jawbone. Finally, in 1845, Claudius Ash, known as the official â€Å"inventor of dentures†, produced the porcelain version that is now used today. His contributions included a suction method of adhesion for a full set of dentures, so that no form of attachment could be seen by an onlooker. History of False Teeth :: Dentures Dental False teeth, which are known today as â€Å"dentures†, are bony plates which are installed into a patient’s mouth by means of adhesion to the fleshy mandibular or maxillary arch. Although these are now relatively inexpensive and their requirement is often taken for granted, they have not always been so easy to come by. A look at the history of false teeth shows a pain-staking and quirky evolution: Though it is assumed that primitive versions of false teeth have been around since the 700s B.C., the first concrete evidence of false teeth emerges from the 15th century. These were carved of bone or ivory, or they were made from random assortments of teeth that had been dug up from graveyards. However, these had no self-contained method of attachment, but rather were fastened to any remaining teeth by means of metallic or silk thread. This attachment was visible to the observer, resulting in a smile that was not only extremely uncomfortable, but also unattractive. Thus, false teeth were originally intended to serve the sole purpose of aid in eating, not aesthetic purposes. The biggest shortcoming of these archaic appliances was the fact that they were subject to decay in the wearer’s mouth. Thus, installed false teeth would have to be replaced on a regular basis, resulting in a very costly procedure. However, this problem was rectified in 1774 by Duchateau and Dubois de Chemant with their invention of the first full set of dentures that would not rot. This was due to their porcelain composition – a material that was much more conducive to the everyday wear and tear of one’s teeth. Although an incredible improvement, even the porcelain version had its difficulties. Unable to produce anything less than a full set of teeth (the surrounding porcelain was required to keep each tooth in place), patients who were missing only one or two teeth were out of luck, unless they were willing to have the rest of their teeth removed as well. And yet, in 1808, Giuseppangelo Fonzi developed the first individual appliance – a single porc elain tooth that could be held in place by a pin drilled into the jawbone. Finally, in 1845, Claudius Ash, known as the official â€Å"inventor of dentures†, produced the porcelain version that is now used today. His contributions included a suction method of adhesion for a full set of dentures, so that no form of attachment could be seen by an onlooker.

prince hall :: essays research papers

WHO IS PRINCE HALL ? Prince Hall is recognized as the Father of Black Masonry in the United States. Historically, he made it possible for Negroes to be recognized and enjoy all privileges of free and accepted masonry. Many rumors of the birth of Prince Hall have arisen. A few records and papers have been found of him in Barbados where it was rumored that he was born in 1748, but no record of birth by church or by state, has been found there, and none in Boston. All 11 countries were searched and churches with baptismal records were examined without finding the name of Prince Hall. One widely circulated rumor states that "Prince Hall was free born in British West Indies. His father, Thomas Prince Hall, was an Englishman and his mother a free colored woman of French extraction. In 1765 he worked his passage on a ship to Boston, where he worked as a leather worker, a trade learned from his father. During this time he married Sarah Ritchery. Shortly after their marriage, she died at the age of 24. Eight years later he had acquired real estate and was qualified to vote. Prince Hall also pressed John Hancock to be allowed to join the Continental Army and was one of a few blacks who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. Religiously inclined, he later became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church with a charge in Cambridge and fought for the abolition of slavery." Some accounts are paraphrased from the generally discredited Grimshaw book of 1903. Free Masonry among Black men began during the War of Independence, when Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men were initiated into Lodge # 441, Irish Constitution, attached to the 38th Regiment of Foot, British Army Garrisoned at Castle Williams (now Fort Independence) Boston Harbor on March 6, 1775. The Master of the Lodge was Sergeant John Batt. Along with Prince Hall, the other newly made masons were Cyrus Johnson, Bueston Slinger, Prince Rees, John Canton, Peter Freeman, Benjamin Tiler, Duff Ruform, Thomas Santerson, Prince Rayden, Cato Spain, Boston Smith, Peter Best, Forten Howard and Richard Titley. When the British Army left Boston, this Lodge, # 441, granted Prince Hall and his brethren authority to meet as a lodge, to go in procession on Saints John Day, and as a Lodge to bury their dead; but they could not confer degrees nor perform any other Masonic "work".

Netflix Case Study Analysis Essay

â€Å"Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.† — Theodore Levitt The importance of this quote comes alive after reading the first three sentences within this case study. A statement by Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix. â€Å"Well let’s separate the market into two phases. One is the phase of DVD, which peaks in five to 10 years and last for 20 to 30 years. Then there is the phase of Internet delivery, which peaks 20 or 30 years from now and lasts for 100 years† (Cengage). From the time Hastings founded Netflix in 1997, with his initial online DVD rental business idea, there has been many factors altering the business strategy of the company within it’s internal and external environment that has allowed Netflix to grow to where it is today. Netflix took of quickly and had already achieved economies of scale in as early as 2000, which coincidently was the same year they shifted their goal from DVD rentals to streaming video. From then, Hastings knew that within time DVD’s would be a thing of the past, and onl ine instant streaming was a thing of the future. He has been creative enough to be able to gain sustainable competitive advantage with other competitors, but more importantly he has been innovative enough to stay competitive with our society’s rapidly changing expectations for technology, which is a large barrier to this industry. Society’s rising demand for instant Internet streaming is causing their demand for DVD’s to decrease. Therefore, it seems as though DVD rentals are starting to fall from its peak and in return instant Internet streaming is starting to climb to the very beginning of its peak. Throughout this report the focus will stay on Netflix’s external environment, internal environment, current strategy, and future recommendations that keep Netflix â€Å"an e-commerce success story in an ever-changing business landscape† thanks to their early start in the subscription DVD rental industry, strong distribution capabilities, and loyal customers (Cengage). When first examining a companyâ €™s Strategic Management Process it is important to evaluate their mission statement in order to recognize who they believe they are as a company as well as their vision on how they want to continue to go forward in the future. Netflix is unique for they do not have an official published mission statement, but  Hastings expressed a clear vision for the future of Netflix at a conference in 2011. These points include: â€Å"becoming the best global entertainment distribution service, licensing entertainment content around the world, creating markets that are accessible to film makers, and helping content creators around the world to find a global audience†. After establishing a good understanding of the company’s mission statement the PESTEL (political, environment, social, technological, economical, legal) model is a general guideline that helps to analyze the general environment of the industry. Political forces seem to be low except for the most recent issue of higher postage prices, which would drastically decrease the DVD rental revenue. Environmental influences on the industry are always present, but they have very little influence on this industry. Social factors are extremely high and compliment the Technological factors which are also very high in this industry. When Netflix first started, they were more focused on DVD rentals and conquered their strategy of providing convenient DVD shipping with more distribution centers and an efficient supply chain, which in return took over many brick and mortar DVD rental stores. However, with the rise of technology and the social pressures of having the latest forms of electronic devices there is an entirely new landscape of Wi-Fi ready entertainment devices that aids in Netflix’s other market, instant Internet streaming. Economic factors are very high, but this industry seems to tackle them with efficiency and ease. Even during the drastic recession in 2009, Netflix’s revenue increased to $305.7 million because of increased customer awareness and other benefits they provide. Lastly, Legal factors are low, for the biggest legal barrier for Netflix is gaining the rights from movie studios to get the first-run content as soon as possible. Once the external environment is generalized a serie s of opportunities and threats are established. â€Å"The key for any player in this marketplace is to win the digital fight† and the key factors in order to do this consist of: being first to market, having the best content, and scaling benefits (Cengage). However, there are technological threats that come with developing these key factors like illegal downloads and Internet hackers. Therefore, Netflix had to stay cautious by carefully watching for signs of hackers. On the other hand, demographic trends of increasing population and expansion into foreign customers like China and India provoke certain opportunities that give  Netflix the ability to create a competitive advantage. With that being said, there are five forces of competition within any industry that determine both competition and profitability. These forces are intertwined with each other and consist of: Rivalry among Competitors, Power of Buyers, Power of Suppliers, Threat of New Entrants, and Threat of Substitutable Products. The Power of Suppliers contains two different groups. Movie studio suppliers are associated with the DVD rental aspect of Netflix’s services and TV stations are associated with the Internet streaming aspect. The Power of Suppliers is fairly low for the DVD rental side of the industry because the suppliers rely mostly on companies such as Netflix to purchase their DVDs even though soon DVDs will be a thing of the past. However, Netflix is able to create deals with the movie studios to buy the DVDs in bulk and therefore achieving economies of scale. This then sets a high barrier for new entrants into this aspect of the industry. However, the suppliers are still able to maintain some power by setting the 28-day policy prohibiting the release of their titles to the public. The suppliers have the most power on the Internet streaming side, which lead to competitive disadvantages. At the moment Netflix, still considers a large chunk of their revenue from DVD rentals therefore suppliers will continue to be reluctant in allowing instant streaming rights without increasing licensing fees. In this situation, the industry is more dependent on the suppliers because they have to fulfill their customer ’s demands. Along with this comes the power of the buyers, which is the most constant force in the industry. Customers are in high demand for video distribution services. However, they are not loyal to the providers, they are only loyal to the content. Therefore customers tend to have a very high degree of power in this industry that is supported with the price sensitive industry and low (if any) switching costs. According to the case â€Å"Netflix may be hard pressed to convince consumers to view content from its service as opposed to one of the other many new choices available now and expected to appear† (Cengage). As for the Substitutional Products force within the industry, Netflix does not have a substantial threat to other forms of visual entertainment. However, there is a significant lack of brand loyalty and the biggest substitution threat is seen when considering alternate content providers that offer similar services of quality and cost. Therefore, Rivalry is high within the industry and since Netflix is a  middleman distributor they have to stay competitive and innovativ e. In order to maintain their advantage they must ensure high streaming quality and easy accessibility along with a fair price. Cost is typically the number one aspect in which industries compete on. Since Netflix consists of two sides to their services they are able to distribute their revenue and use it to achieve economies of scale making the threat of new entrants on the DVD rental side very small since the barriers are so high. Their efficient multitude of growing distribution centers also provide added barriers as well. However, on the other side the threat of new entrants to Internet streaming is very high with very low barriers considering the widely accepted Wi-Fi capable devices with potential streaming updates. It is stated that with disregard to many opposing factors â€Å"The company is clearly focused on streaming, but executives have long maintained that DVDs, while declining, are going to be a part of its business for years to come† (GIGAOM). Considering all of these forces, the largest problem that Netflix faces today is being a victim of their suppliers while demand for instant streaming is increasing rapidly and demand for DVD rentals is slowly but surel y decreasing. This scenario leads the Power of Suppliers to increase, therefore taking a toll on Netflix’s profit. However, since Netflix was able to develop a stable early advantage with their reputation after dominating the DVD rental side they now must figure out how to keep the sustainable competitive advantage on the instant Internet streaming side as well and make up for their diminishing DVD rental revenues. Next, it is crucial to evaluating the Internal Environment of the Industry while analyzing its resources, capabilities, and distinctive competencies in order to see if the industry creates value. Resources such as Financial, Physical, Human Resources, Innovation, Reputational, and Culture all played a role in Netflix and the Industry in general. Netflix was able to be creative and innovative enough to adapt to the changing market thanks to Hastings managerial capabilities and ideas. Therefore, many of their resources proceeded to capabilities and further to core competencies, the primary resource being innovation. Innovation altered the entire supply chain’s primary activities i n order to stay effectively and efficiently competitive, which eventually demolished blockbuster, gave Netflix an upper hand over Redbox, and more recently and finally surpassed HBO’s number of subscribers.  Netflix’s strong perseverance to innovate grew with the instant Internet streaming demand by making their services applicable with up and coming Wi-Fi devices that could essentially bring the movie theater directly to your house. Their business strategy quickly developed to be a low cost streaming service. However, this strategy is getting harder for them to achieve under the same guidelines since their DVD rental revenues are dwindling. In order to stay innovative Netflix has taken into consideration their heavy reliance on the industry’s suppliers and decided to provide its own original content that they would not have to depend on any for except themselves. Netflix has developed its own original series, House of Cards, which was a risk at the time and turned into a creative competitive advantage. Other recommendations would be to give the customers what they want by providing the customers with even more listings under their subscriptions. Netflix’s VP of innovation, Todd Yelling sated that â€Å"if you’re not testing things that fail, you’re not testing aggressively enough† (Yellin). This shows that Netflix does not always play it safe and has hence provoked more current innovation strategies. Netflix must stay innovative in order to keep their competitive edge because at this rate â€Å"Internet TV with replace Linear TV† (The Verge). Because of Hastings leadership, the company’s creative and innovative capabilities have provided maximum benefit in the industry while creating a key core competency which will remain over the years to come. Works Cited Farfan, Barbra. â€Å"NetFlix Movie Rentals Mission Statement – A Vision, A Promise and Nine Values.† About.com Retail Industry. N.p., 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. . Roettgers, Janko. â€Å"The Slow but Inevitable Decline of Netflix’s DVD Business — Tech News and Analysis.† GigaOM. N.p., 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. . Toor, Amar. â€Å"Netflix Has Likely Overtaken HBO in Paid US Subscribers, Analysts Say.† The Verge. N.p., 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. . Welch, Chris. â€Å"Netflix Innovation VP Says Bonus Content and Extras May Come to Original Shows.† The Verge. N.p., 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. .

Generic Strategy – Porter

THEME 8 GENERIC STRATEGIES 1. Introduction. 2. The doorkeepers sexual climax competitive strategies ( hail advantage, differentiation advantage and particular(a)ization). 3. The Ans rack ups come on the Growth Matrix ( trade penetration, crossway development, marketplace development, and diversification). 4. An integrating approach. Alfonso VARGAS SANCHEZ 1 Hope is non a dodge, speci ally when internationalizing the club is the pattern 2 strategic Analysis supreme Questions What traffic is the organisation in? manufacturing/retail, and so forth Who do they make do with, and how do they compete? Who ar the organisations stakeholders? mention stakeholders & their influence. What be the external drivers for counterchange? infestation model, macro environment. Five Forces model, micro/ manufacturing environment. How does the organisation gain place? alternative audit, tangible & intangible. entertain Chain and Value transcription compend. Assess the balance i n the embodied portfolio, BCG matrix. How should I compete? Porters generic strategies low be, differentiation, specialization. What are my strategical movements? Mergers/acquirements, etc. 3 committee Vision Values PEST analysis hawkish Forces P. C. Industry Attractiveness S C. C. S. P. B (threats & opportunities)Value Chain activities & linkages F. I. T. D. HH. RR. PR. Value System (linkages) other SBUs (synergies) & suppliers buyers value shackles dodging formulation, at three levels CBF Companys Competitive send (Resourceestablish View) make up advantage or uniqueness (strengths & weaknesses) I. L. OP. O. L. M&S A-S. S. schema ELEMENTS LEVELS BUSINESS SCOPE RESOURCES & CAPABILITIES COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES SYNERGIES incorporated (1) (1) (1) BUSINESS (2) (2) (2) FUNCTION (3) (3) 5 strategic ADVANTAGE PORTERS coming Exclusivity comprehend by the customer Position of low costs COMPETITIVE SITUATIONBroad (the on the whole DIFFERENTIATION sector) Reduced (only peerle ss segment) cost LEADERSHIP FOCUS or foreshorten SEGMENTATION 6 THE LOW constitute PHENOMENON Two basic ways - crosswayivity. -Economies of plateful & learning/experience. 7 8 9 COSTS LEADERSHIP RESOURCES AND APTITUDES -Sustained investiture of detonating device and favourable access to financial markets. ORGANISATIONAL REQUIREMENTS -Strict insure of costs. -Detailed and frequent control reports. RISKS OR LIMITATIONS -Technological change that tidy sumcels out the experience gained or investing made. -Competitors who learn easily and rapidly. -Stagnation of the product or of the marketing. Inflation of costs that annuls the previous price differential. -Clearly defined organisation -Special aptitudes for and responsibilities. process engineering. -Incentives based on meeting -Close supervision of denary objectives. work and op durationtions. -Products designed for ease of manufacturing. -Low cost of distribution. 10 Reading Designers on hobby to build $12 computer 11 DIFF ERENTIATION RESOURCES AND APTITUDES ORGANISATIONAL REQUIREMENTS RISKS OR LIMITATIONS -Significant aptitudes -Coordination in the midst of the functions of R&D, product in marketing and in product engineering. development and marketing. Strong investment -Qualitative assessments in R&D. and incentives. -Prestige in character reference -Capacity for and technology. at a lower placestanding the market -Full cooperation of and how it changes. the distribution -Appropriate carry ons. organisational social structure for -Long tradition in the stimulating and honour sector, or a unique creativity. cabal of aptitudes obtained in other business activities. -Competitive levels of product prices, in accordance with a dodge of minimum global cost. -The customers no life bulky value the products factors of differentiation. -As the industry matures, imitation reduces the perceived ifferentiation. 12 Mention some brands for which you are willing to pay a support price 13 SPECIALISATION RE SOURCES AND APTITUDES -Resources and aptitudes of special application and interest in the companys celestial orbit of operation. -Dominance of the relevant technology and of the engineering of the product. - grocery storeing capacity. -Ability in the use of limited preferences. -Other competitors are vary in part of the market of the already specialise company. ORGANISATIONAL REQUIREMENTS -Flexible and efficient organisation structure. -Corporate socialisation relevant and particular proposition to its areas of specialisation (products and markets).RISKS OR LIMITATIONS -The differences in costs compared with nonspecialized companies are so wide that the advantages of specialisation are eliminated. -Close coordination between -The market in which the functions. company is specialized reduces its differences -Rapid response to changes with respect to the global market. in the environment. 14 15 16 A niche strategy within a declining industry Reading Cassettes linger long after ex pected demise 17 Segmentation variables Varieties of products. Types of purchaser. Distribution channels. Geographic areas. display case chromatic oil market. 18Segmentation matrix (1) fount OF PURCHASER VARIETIES OF PRODUCTS (QUALITY) chromatic oil color perfect(a) Olive inunct Extra complete(a) Olive inunct Final customer (bottled product) Restaurants, etc. (bulk product) 19 Segmentation matrix (2) TYPE OF DISTRIBUTION air VARIETIES OF PRODUCTS (QUALITY) Olive petroleum consummate(a) Olive Oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil Generic Specific 20 claim segmentation matrixes (1+2) TYPE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL VARIETIES OF PRODUCTS (QUALITY) Virgin Olive Oil for last customers (bottled product) Extra Virgin Olive Oil for final customers (bottled prod. ) Generic Specific 21 Segmentation matrix (3)GEOGRAPHIC AREA VARIETIES OF PRODUCTS (QUALITY) Virgin Olive Oil for final customers utilise a generic distribution channel Extra Virgin Olive Oil for final customers victimization a spe cific distribution channel National grocery store (a) external trade (c) (b) (d) 22 The selection of a segment/s draw within the same industry in that location are segments with different levels of attractiveness. INTERRELATIONSHIPS choose the most(prenominal) beneficial combination of segments. SUSTAINABILITY your business area should lead to a strong (defensible) position. (1) morphologic attractiveness (competitive forces). (2) Size and growth. 3) Position of the company. (4) Advantages in costs or in differentiation. (5) be of coordination, of commitment and of inflexibility. Against (6) Competitors with looseer objectives. (7) Imitation. (8) Substitution. 23 Example olive oil market SEGMENTS / CRITERIA ATTRACTIVENESS INTERRELATIONS SUSTAINABILITY (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (a) (b) (c) (d) 24 Criticisms of Porters framework hybridization strategies could be employed without stuck in the affection. speak to leadership alone does not sell products. Differentiation strategies can be used to increase sales volumes alternatively than to charge a premium price.Price can sometimes be used to differentiate. A generic strategy can not give a competitive advantage. Arguably, the resource based strategy has superseded this generic strategy framework. 25 A company moldinessiness produce at low cost, slice alike innovating it must deploy the massed resources of a large corporation, turn showing the entrepreneurial flair of a small start-up it must chance upon high levels of reliability and consistency, while also being flexible (Grant, 2012). 26 OPTIONS FOR GROWTH ANSOFFS fire accredited PRODUCTS NEW PRODUCTS ANSOFFS APPROACH contemporary PRODUCTS NEW PRODUCTS CASE STUDYstream MARKETS Market Penetration Product maturement CURRENT MARKETS involution of Products NEW MARKETS Market Development variegation NEW MARKETS of Markets diversification 27 The Growth Matrix Sub-strategies active Market Penetration -Intensification. -Relaunching. -Imitat ion. - drop-off of costs/prices. -Disaggregation. Product Development -New products (R&D, innovation). -New product lines. -New run. MARKETS New Market Development -New territories internationalisation. -New segments of purchasers. -New distribution channels. -New possibilities for utilization. diversification - concentrical (or related). By conglomerates (or orthogonal). Existing PRODUCTS New 28 INTERNATIONALIZATION & globalization 29 INTERNATIONALIZATION & GLOBALIZATION Reading Chinas develop food industry faces scrutiny 30 outside(a) schema Opportunities and Outcomes Identify International Opportunities Explore Resources and Capabilities delectation Core competency Strategic Competitiveness Management Outcomes Problems and Risks International Strategies Increased Market Size counter on Investment Economies of Scale and knowledge Location Advantage International commerce-Level outline (*) Multidomestic strategy worldwide Strategy multinational StrategyModes of Entry Exporting Licensing Strategic Alliances Acquisition Establishment of New Subsidiary higher(prenominal) Performance Returns Innovation (*) Low cost or Differentiation. Standardization vs Adaptation. Multidomestic vs global. Management Problems and Risks intensity of Market Drivers Aircraft Computers Automobiles Soft Drinks Toothpaste sell Banking hold in Publishing Baked Goods Low Multidomestic lofty Global Strength of Cost Drivers Pharmaceuticals Aircraft Computers Automobiles Toothpaste Retail Banking Baked Goods Soft Drinks Low Multidomestic blue Global Corporate-Level International StrategiesMulti-Domestic Strategy Strategy and operating decisions are decentralized to strategic business units (SBU) in separately country. Products and serve are tailored to local anesthetic markets. Business units in each country are independent of each other. It assumes markets differ by country or regions. Focus on competition in each market. great strategy among European firms due to br oad variety of cultures and markets in Europe. Corporate-Level International Strategies Global Strategy Products are standardized crosswise national markets. Decisions regarding business-level strategies are centralized in the home office.Strategic business units (SBU) are fictive to be interdependent. Emphasizes economies of scale. Often lacks responsiveness to local markets. Requires resource sharing and coordination across borders (which also makes it difficult to manage). Corporate-Level International Strategies Transnational Strategy Seeks to come upon both global efficiency and local responsiveness. Difficult to achieve because of cooccurring requirements for strong central control and coordination to achieve efficiency and local flexibility and decentralization to achieve local market responsiveness. moldiness pursue organizational learning to achieve competitive advantage.International Corporate Strategy When is each strategy appropriate? game Global Strategy Need for G lobal integrating Transnational MultiDomestic Low Low High Need for Local Market reactivity rough-and-ready Standardization Coca-Cola McDonalds Barbie The All-American Girl Goes foreign Barbie is more than 40 years old. change in 130 countries. National adaptations physiologic features. Costumes. Activity sets. Standardized physique scaley to 62, 110 lbs. 38-18-28. Effective Adaptation McMutton Pie in Australia. Wendys pewee sandwich in Japan. Campbells noncondensed soups in the UK. Coca-Colas 175 ml containers in Japan.Cadillac Seville 1997 Asian edition Right-hand drive, shorter seats, circumferent pedals, 10 shorter & retractable mirrors. Limits to International Expansion (beyond political and economic jeopardizes) Management Problems Cost of coordination across diverse geographical business units. Institutional and cultural barriers. Understanding strategic intent of competitors. The overall complexity of competition. diversification Why? Growth, Profitability an d Risk Reduction Dont put all your eggs in one ring 42 DIVERSIFICATION Three all-important(a) foot races for judging diversification (Porter) -The attractiveness ravel Is the target industry attractive?Use the 5forces model to assess its attractiveness. -The cost-of-entry test Is the cost of the diversification worth it? allow for the diversify firm create enough excess value to justify the cost? -The better-off test Does the diversification move produce opportunities for synergies? Will the company be better off after the diversification than it was before? How and why? Potential advantages 1. Economies of scope (cost savings from using a resource in dual activities carried out in combination). 2. Internal market (for capital and staff). Reading Perils of diversification. The era of diversification, 50s-80s. Refocusing, 90s-onwards. 43 DIVERSIFICATION Because of its high risk, galore(postnominal) companies attempting to diversify have led to failure. However, in that resp ect are some unattackable examples of made diversification -Virgin Group move from medicament production to travel and mobile phones. -Walt Disney moved from producing animated movies to theme parks and spend properties. -Canon diversified from a camera-making company into producing an solely new range of office equipment. 44 DIVERSIFICATION Reading Toyota tunes up violinplaying golem 45 Diversification & PerformanceThe findings of empirical enquiry How do diversified firms perform coition to specialised firms? -No consistent, systematic relationship has been emerged. -High levels of diversification are associated with deteriorating gainfulness. -Timing is key. Does related diversification pass unrelated diversification? -Diversification into related industries should be more profitable than diversification into unrelated industries. -Peters and Watermans golden regulation Stick to the Knitting. Empirical studies have defined relatedness in terms of similarities functiona l relatedness.Strategic relatedness. 46 Related Diversification Businesses are distinct but their value chains possess strategic fit in operations, marketing, management, R&D. distribution, labor, etc. Therefore, they tend to wreak economies of scope. Tend to (historically) outperform unrelated diversifications. 47 Unrelated Diversification No green linkage or element of strategic fit among SBUs i. e. , no meaningful value chain interrelationships. Dominant logic spreads businesses risk over multiple industries, stabilizing corporate profitability (in theory).Strategic approach any company that can be acquired on good financial terms & offers good prospects for profitability is a good business for diversification. Conglomerates (clusters of businesses under central, mainly financial, management control), such as GE. 48 Example GE Diversification helps to strengthen General Electric when one business is going badly, the other goes well, which contributes to the perceptual constan cy and growth of the company. These words of Ricardo Artigas, fault President of the General Electric Company, intelligibly reflect the sense behind this trategic option, the return of which is a company configured into xii divisions 1. Aircraft Engines 2. Appliances (domestic electrical appliances) 3. Capital Services (financing services for customers) 4. Lighting 5. Medical Systems 6. NBC (television channel) 7. Plastics 8. Power Systems (electrical efficiency generation) 9. Electrical Distribution and Control (power cables, transformers, etc. ) 10. Information Services 11. Motors & Industrial Systems 12. transportation system Systems. 49 AN INTEGRATING APPROACH leaders in costs Differentiation nutriment Growth Restructuring Internal External ExpansionDiversification of Products of Markets homocentric Conglomerate Vertical Integration level Integration 50 AN INTEGRATING APPROACH GROWTH STRATEGIES Expansion Internal Diversification Expansion External Diversification of Prod ucts of Markets Concentric Conglomerate of Products of Markets Concentric Conglomerate Strategic Advantage Costs Differentiation Readings from the text Pascual & Lagasa -internal growth based on diversification- Fontaneda & La Casera -external 51 growth based on the expansion of products and markets-. Progress is when things get simpler, not more complicated Bruno Munari, Italian artist. 52