Cover story Essay

To investigate what level of obedience participants would show when an authority figure told them to administer electric shocks to another person. Participants: Obtained from advertisements + direct mailing. Self selected or volunteer sample.   40 males: 20-50 yrs old from New Haven area in the United Stated of America.   Job ranges Included: postal clerks, HS teachers, salesmen, labourers, engineers, etc.   Education: one had not finished HS to some who a have degree + qualification in various subjects. Paid: $4.50 regardless of what happened after and before they arrived. This is called COERCIAN. Method and Design:   Method: Lab experiment.   Observer observed participants for signs of tension/nervousness: â€Å"sweat, tremble, biting of lips, nervous laughter† I. V. /D. V.   I. V. – There was NO I. V. D. V. – Level of obedience; how far they’d go with the voltage to shock the learner. Procedure: LEARNER TASK   The teacher (participant) was asked to read a series of word pairs to the learner (confederate), and then read the 1st word of the pair along with the 4 other terms. Learner (confederate) had to indicate which 1 of the 4 terms was originally paired with the 1st word. SHOCK GENERATOR The shock generator perceived to be real – professionally made + model printed. There were 30 switches – labelled from 15 to 450 volts. 15 volt different between each switch.   Labels to describe intensity – from â€Å"slight shock† (weakest) to â€Å"xxx† (strongest). Teachers (ppts) were given a 45 volts shock to convince them that the shocks were real. Teacher was told to give shock for every wrong answer while moving a shock level higher on shock generator. Teacher had to read out the voltage to the learner each time they were about to give a shock.   If the teacher asked for advice/wanted to stop, experimenter used 4 prods. Example: â€Å"please continue†, â€Å"this experiment requires that you continue†. Controls: Standardised deception. Cover story.   Slips of paper drawn (pre-determined teacher).   Learner strapped. Standardised prods used by experimenter. Results: (overall %) 65% of ppts continued to shock until 450 volts. Only 35% stopped before.   22. 5% stopped at 300 volts.   Many showed signed of nervousness and extreme tension.   14 displayed nervous laughter; 3 had uncontrollable seizures. Conclusion: Very high rate of obedience – 65%. Milgram explained this as being so high because it’s a strong part of human society.   Milgram said: â€Å"Many situational factors which lead to high rate of obedience.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Aung San Suu Kyi Essay

Both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Aung San Suu Kyi were peacefully resistant social activists who used their views and outlooks on how life should be to change the world around them. While Aung San Suu Kyi lived in Burma and fought for a democracy in her country, Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for equal rights in America. During the movements they were leading and participating in, both Suu Kyi and King wrote exceptionally touching writings that are still seen as huge pieces of history today. Their writings touched people by showing them how extremely flawed their societies really were. During Martin Luther King, Jr.’s time in jail, he wrote a letter that is titled, â€Å"The Letter from Birmingham City Jail,† which explained that he was in Birmingham Jail because injustice was there, and he tells about how there should not be segregation. By contrast, in Aung San Suu Kyi’s writing, â€Å"In Quest of Democracy,† she wrote about her views on democracy and he r efforts to create one. They both wanted equality and more rights through non-violent means, and the way they wrote about those desires for justice was stirring to their people because each told familiar stories that related to personal experiences that their people had. Throughout all of King’s anti-segregation efforts, he was the head of many movements that impacted thousands. For instance, King was involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Albany Movement, Birmingham Campaign, March on Washington, the Chicago Housing Movement, and a few others. While King was in jail, he wrote a letter addressing the wrong things that were done to him and how he thought it was unjust. In his letter he wrote, â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere† (204). By saying this, he showed that the reason he was in Birmingham fighting for civil rights was because equal rights has to start somewhere, and once it starts, it will spread. Martin Luther King, Jr. shows how the States are hypocritical bec ause they claim, â€Å"The goal of America is freedom,† but yet they are being governed by Jim Crow Laws (215). King used the power of words and non-violent resistance to start a movement that changed the world. Aung San Suu Kyi was a woman that lived in Burma,  and after she studied abroad for a while, she returned to see how isolated her country was. She then made efforts to speak out against her dictator, U Ne Win, and start a movement toward a democracy and human rights. When Suu Kyi’s efforts started reaching other people and a movement was started, she was put under house arrest and all ties to the outside world were cut off. Aung San Suu Kyi wrote the piece, â€Å"In Quest of Democracy† to try to spread her efforts to make Burma a democracy. Suu Kyi explains how the government is at fault for a country’s despairs by saying, â€Å"The root of a nation’s misfortunes has to be sought in the moral failings of the government† (221). Suu Kyi also used her religion to help spread her movement of a democracy. For example, she use non-violence, which is the eighth of The Ten Duties of Kings. Finally, since Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest, her movement ended with her isolation. Next, Aung San Suu Kyi and Martin Luther King Jr. were able to express their beliefs non-violently in their countries. Throughout both of their lives they followed Gandhi’s non-violence movement. While King stated, â€Å"Nonviolent campaigns aimed at ending racial segregation across the South† (202), Suu Kyi also â€Å"peacefully used democracy to reverse the process of decline† (222). While Christian was the main religion in America, Buddhism was the main religion in Burma. King and Suu Kyi used allusions to the scriptures of their religions to touch their people. Both King and Suu Kyi were extremely passionate about their movements and were determined to do anything they had to in order to reach their goals. Suu Kyi explains how, â€Å"In Burma, distanced by several decades of isolationism from political and intellectual developments in the outside world†. (220) Finally, they both had similar morals in the fact that they wanted equal rights for all humanity even though Suu Kyi was on house arrest and King was suppressed from being a different ethnicity. All in all, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Aung San Suu Kyi were social activists who created movements from their own views that changed many peoples’ lives. Both supported and acted in a non-violent way. Therefore, Aung San Suu Kyi fought against the dictator of her country in order to form a democracy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for anti-segregation, so that all Americans, no matter what ethnicity, would be treated equally. Each of them showed the people of their country how flawed their nation was by  writing pieces while imprisoned for committing no crime. For instance, in Amnesty International, it stated â€Å"She had committed no crime† (Amnesty International) describing how Suu Kyi was imprisoned for doing nothing wrong. Finally, both Aung San Suu Kyi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were persistent activists who aspired and conquered their goals and ambitions to the best of their ability. Works Cited Austin, Michael, and Karen Austin. Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. Print.

Business Mgt Essay

Part I. Assume you have taken over responsibility to play the lead Information Technology (IT) management role in Magnum Enterprises. Your boss, Rachel Heigl, is Magnum’s CIO. The IT management group is comprised of six people who you will be supervising. Ms. Heigl is an enlightened manager, and she believes that if you are to carry out your responsibilities effectively, you need to work with her in defining your IT management role. As a first step, she invites you to write a short statement where you describe what you see to be your role as head of the IT management effort at Magnum. Proper IT Management requires researching and discerning information technology as a company resource guiding both operational and crucial company capabilities. Using information technology to maximize satisfaction of the customer alongside productivity and profitability will ensure that our competiveness with other business stays at a maximum. In turn IT can make business processes more effective and efficient to provide said resources to customers. The lead IT shall ensure performance of the company through managing technology while encompassing priorities of the business into the role. Striving to be a partner with great initiative this business will discover its leader will have accomplished and achieved what they desired. My first role of business would be to establish the parameters and to understand the IT knowledge areas. These are made up of development processes; management challenges information technologies, business applications and foundation concepts. Concepts of the foundation are making sure the role of information systems paired with business and technical concepts are a familiarity with the end user. Familiarity of concepts in entry level information systems bind with a competitive strategy can lead to an overwhelming strategic advantage. Educating Magnum’s team upon the significance of information technology with the three roles that the business world performs in order to combine business management, software, and hardware capabilities. At the Management level, decision making would lead to significant improvements for IT utilization. Business operations see information systems as a huge support to review and collect data from financial operations, managing manufacturing processes that are very sophisticated, tracking company inventory, and productivity. The use of metrics paired with identifying trends to assist the company in making informed decisions faster to provide information about our competitors. IT  is used quite often to provide a strategic support advantage for the company. Automated inventory and ordering systems an assist with the savings costs. With this information we would need to review our mission statement that identifies the company’s functions, provides oversight on the overall goal, a sense of direction, and guides decision making. Investigating and development towards understanding how we generate money and ensuring a customer base for our company. Envisioning the business plan, mission, with current IT structure and the ability to communicate with senior leadership will guide me with necessary tools to assist the Chief Information Officer (CIO). To ensure a strategic IT plan is created in which will be shared and implemented with my team. Planning to have Magnum’s team familiar with data resource management capabilities, hardware, networks, telecommunications, and software within the company is the second area of information systems known as information technologies. In today’s society PDA’s (personal digital assistants; IE. Blackberry’s ETC.) Personal computers and network servers are integral computer hardware and are crucial in our business environment. Being extremely knowledgeable is vital to our team troubleshooting and resolving hardware issues instead of having to call anot her company for maintenance. We have the ability to break down our company’s software into two categories, application software and system software. Both types normally off the consumer shelf as commercial software instead of having an employee on the team write the software codes for these programs. I plan to ensure my teams are extremely familiar with all software programs and have a firm foundation when troubleshooting and resolving technical issues. Additionally, if not already formed, I will institute a configuration control board and implement test scenarios to ensure future hardware and software being purchased will not have compatibility issues. Also a part of information technologies is data resource management. This is essential in sustaining and maintaining our company. We will require a database management system of good quality that is capable of data consolidating into a database in turn can be accessed my several program applications. Within the past fifteen to twenty years networks and telecommunications software have played a vital role. To ensure the expansion and growth for Magnum Enterprises, we will need out network to be consistent, reliable, monetary sufficient. I would prepare the team to  either install or review and change as needed our network management system that assists with traffic management, capacity planning, network monitoring, and security in essence that our system will grow and change with modern day business culture and practices as the company expands. In order to have the most dependable and proven with the cost of it a ring network should be put into place. The next area, development processes, deals with designing, planning, identifying ideas, and implementing information systems to meet potential business opportunities. It is critical that we ensure our business management capabilities alongside our hardware and software are integrated successfully within our company. Basis within t he development process and depending upon the circumstance, there are a couple of processes we want our team to employ as resolving problems com along with our business systems. Those processes are considered or known as the prototyping approach and he systems development life-cycle. The synopsis of prototyping involves quickly developing or constructing test modules of a desired system in which we will engage when we cannot determine or classify the end user requirements. These systems would be used to assist our personnel with the capabilities to design or create an information system that will be intuitive and easy to navigate for consumers. Prototyping involves four steps with the first being investigation and analysis step. This step, requirements grouped and defined. Second, is the analysis and design step in which a model is developed and constructed to meet consumer business requirements. Next, in the design and implementation, this finalizes the model that was tested and begins the initial installation. The last step to this four step process is implementation and maintenance, which would consist of the business system being accepted, used, and maintained. Prototyping advantages are: decrease in the development time, development costs and requires user i nvolvement. This generates higher satisfaction results. I plan to employ this type of approach to small initiatives. The next area is business application for information systems. This will consist of being familiar with commerce and business applications for our employees and which are used within the company to make strategic leadership and management decisions. A few of the most used business applications within a majority of companies are accounting, human resource management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, customer relationship management, financial management,  and supply chain management. An Architectural picture of or IT business applications will ensure that I will have familiarity with all applications that we use. This approach will identify the current interrelationships, interfaces with customer, employees, business applications, and stake holders. We will then need to review the chart and see if there are any potential process improvements that we can make to integrate those systems cross functionally and keep operational costs to a minimum. The systems devel opment lifecycle employs the systems approach to create IT solutions. This lifecycle is often utilized for large applications and it is composed of five processes that I expect my team to know and become familiar when employing the systems development lifecycle: systems investigation, systems analysis, systems design, systems implementation and systems maintenance. The first process, systems investigation, involves project brainstorming, planning and performing a feasibility study. During the brainstorming and planning initiative, a project management implementation plan is created identifying the detailed steps that will be accomplished during the creation and development of the system. The feasibility study is critically important as this outlines all requirements for the system. It also explores four major areas, organizational, economic, technical, and operational feasibility, which determines if it’s worthwhile to invest in potential business ventures. In reviewing the organization’s feasibility, we need to determine if the system is in line with and supports our company’s strategic objectives. The economic feasibility identifies and evaluates the project’s tangible and intangible cost and benefits. Technical feasibility is assessed by confirming if the necessary hardware and software will be available or can be developed and tested before implementation. Operational feasibility is determined by the motivation, desire, willingness, and competence of the stakeholders (management, employees, customers and suppliers) to use and operate the proposed system. Systems Analysis consists of consolidating requirements and includes a detailed breakdown of the business needs and requirements of the organization. This starts with an organizational analysis from one of the business end users. This individual must be keenly aware of the organizational management structure, business requirements, and current IT systems operati ons and its proposed relationship with the newly created system. Some of the outputs generated from the systems analysis  include system flowcharts, data flow diagrams, and connectivity diagrams which aid in the development of the analysis report The next process, systems design, focuses on the design, process diagrams, business rules, and developing specifications for the hardware, software, data resources that will meet the proposed requirements for new business system. The three major outputs produced from the systems design phase are user data, interface, and process design. The fourth process of the systems development lifecycle is system implementation. This encompasses either acquiring the hardware or software or developing it from company resources and then testing the products in a test environment to see how well they operate and integrate with your existing IT architecture. If testing goes well, an implementation plan including training end users and developing system documentation will be accomplished prior to incorporating and execu ting this system within our IT architecture. The final process, systems maintenance consists of consistently monitoring and evaluating the newly implemented system. This also includes correcting errors and discrepancies not identified during the testing phase and continuously making system improvements, advancements and upgrades. The final area of information systems is management challenges. There are numerous challenges that our IT team may be faced with at Magnum Enterprises. One challenge is addressing our security concerns which involve several areas. For instance, our IT team needs be constantly vigilant and on the alert for potential competitors trying to or actually hacking into our systems to steal or damage our data. Additionally, we may also be challenged with setting up restrictions and locking down the network for personnel to only use the network and its software applications for official business. Ensuring that our software is controlled and that employees are not illegally making copies of software for personal use is another area of concern. Preventing virus attacks to our network and installing anti-virus software to diagnose and remove computer viruses is of utmost concern. Failure to maintain a secure network can potentially halt our business from being productive and resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Additional challenges the IT team may be faced with may involve expanding our infrastructure and network to address our growing business. Ensuring our network provides our employees accessibility to the data they need, wherever they require it, regardless of their location will test our innovativeness.  The company may not have a backup plan to allow it to operate effectively and efficiently in the event of a forced relocation. If that is the case, I will recommend to our management staff that we establish a continuity of operations plan enabling us to relocate with minimum impact to our business operations like a hot site for temporary functionality. In the dynamic world of IT we will always be faced with challenges, however, utilizing IT and being on the leading edge of new IT systems provides our business with many benefits and makes our organization more effective and efficient. For example, IT can be used to improve and promote new business processes such as creating an automated inventory system which will save money in additional labor costs. Another use of IT in making it more efficient and effective is that using certain software programs enables us to identify and target our top customers in terms of profitability to our business. In summary, IT enables our company to successfully plan, integrate, manage, and carry out strategies which lead to profit. Part II. Six months after you take over the lead IT management role at Magnum, the CIO, Ms. Rachel Heigl, is pleased with your work. She has just attended a meeting of Magnum’s executive committee (the committee comprised of the most senior managers of Magnum), where the CEO and Vice President of marketing have indicated that Magnum’s mediocre e-business capabilities must be strengthened. As CIO, Ms. Heigl is given primary responsibility in improving Magnum’s e-business performance. She in turn puts you in charge of a small task force comprised of representatives from the marketing, operations, finance, and legal departments. In order to advance and improve Magnum’s e-business performance operations, it’s vital I establish a cohesive team with representatives from the marketing, operations, finance, and legal departments. Their input and perspective is necessary and essential in developing a way ahead and strategic plan for the future of our e-busin ess department. Developing success with our e-business begins with marketing the company. Marketing is concerned with developing and creating an innovative plan so that the product or service can be promoted and sold. Promoting our products and services are key and critical in attracting new customers as well as maintaining our current customer base. It is important that I develop an understanding of the marketing role and how it can benefit  by using Information Technology systems. Marketing information systems support well established and e-commerce processes that sustain major elements within the marketing function and is described as a continuing and interacting structure of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute pertinent, timely and accurate information for use by marketing decision makers to improve their marketing planning, implementation, and control. The major components of marketing information systems include interactive marketing, sales force automation, customer relationship management, sales management, product management, targeted marketing, and market research. Two of the seven components I will be discussing are interactive marketing and customer relationship management. In our environment today, marketing information systems aid marketing personnel in a variety of tasks associated with branding products and customer service initiatives. For instance, interactive marketing is largely dependent on utilizing the internet, which permits the business and its customers and potential customers to become partners in developing, socializing, acquiring and advancing products and services. With the IT department enabling this type of communication, the company benefits from generating new ideas for other products and services as well as establishing strong customer loyalty. Another area within the marketing information systems is C ustomer Relationship Management (CRM). This incorporates and automates many customer service processes. It consists of utilizing an IT framework to construct, automate, and integrate marketing processes with the company’s business operations. CRM is usually comprised of a software suite that allows a business to provide efficient, effective and reliable service to its customers. Additionally, CRM permits a company to identify and target their most important customers as well as facilitate real-time customization of products and services based on the customer’s wants and desires. Understanding the marketing department’s views and concerns enables the IT department to implement and install an IT infrastructure that will be capable of supporting various information technologies. Some of the benefits that can be obtained from the marketing department are: an opportunity to increase sales and revenue, a chance to touch new market areas, 24/7 accessibility for the customer, and more flexibility and convenie nce for the customers. The production and operations function is supported by  manufacturing information systems. Manufacturing information systems are designed to be used specifically in an operations and production environment. Different types of manufacturing information systems consist of computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), process control, machine control and robotics. CIM involves using computers to control the total manufacturing process, from design to distribution, to produce produces products of the highest caliber. Process control involves utilizing computers to oversee and control continuing physical processes. Machine control consists of using a computer based system to direct the actions of a machine. Robotics involves designing, constructing, and building machines that have the intelligence of a computer and human like physical capabilities. It’s key I understand how the operations representative depends on these information systems to operate effectively as well as their expec tations for these systems. Working together as a team will enable the IT and operations department to develop better ideas to increase the manufacturing and production process. Developing an understanding of all the accounting and financial based systems within our business and discussing these systems with the finance representative enables our IT and finance departments to plan effectively when troubleshooting and performing upgrades. These systems include but are not limited to order processing, inventory control, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, general ledger, cash management, investment management, capital budgeting and financial planning. The success of these systems is integrally connected with its information technology and services. For example, the order processing system â€Å"captures and processes customer orders and produces data needed for sales analysis and inventory control and the accounts payable system keeps track of data concerning purchases from and payments to suppliers. Communicating with the finance representative is essential in setting up or modifying these systems to meet the needs of our business. Any interrupti on or degradation in service can lead to severe damage to the business and financial services that Magnum Enterprises relies on to function and operate. As with any business, competitors are always looking for an advantage to get them ahead in their particular discipline or industry. Unfortunately, being extremely aggressive and ambitious can sometimes cloud your decision making capabilities to the point that you may  be committing breaking privacy laws and monitoring and copyright violations. As the IT lead manager for Magnum Enterprises, I’m charged with ensuring our network infrastructure and IT systems are operating proficiently. However, when it comes to addressing privacy issues from an IT perspective, opinions and viewpoints from a legal expert are necessary. In regards to privacy, several websites accumulate usernames and passwords and personal information such as home addresses and phone numbers without authorization from users. Applying internet monitoring technology within the workplace raises concerns about where the boundaries lie between personal use and public resource use. Copyright concerns and violations has become an issue with the development of the Internet and upgrades to technology. Discussing these concerns with a legal expert and implementing and adhering to strict guidelines will help prevent our company from committing these violations. In addition to the goals of strengthening the capabilities of the e-business, attention must be paid to some key technical challenges. Overseeing secure information throughout our business is extremely difficult to implement and maintain successfully. Key technical issues that may be encountered when re-engineering our e-business include privacy and confidentiality, authenticity, data integrity, access control, availability and infrastructure. Privacy and confidentiality involves businesses protecting and securing personal information while being stored or t ransmitted through email. This can be accomplished by utilizing encryption devices or firewalls. Authentication is used to confirm an individual’s identity and during e-business transactions, the purchaser and buyer wants assurance that proper identity is established. A secure way to assist with confirming identity to both individuals is to utilize a virtual private network. Data integrity means the data is correct and has not been altered while being stored or transmitted. The use of firewalls assists in preventing unauthorized users and safeguarding data. Another way to ensure data integrity is through the use of antivirus software which also aids in keeping your data free from viruses. Access control exists when you’re authorizing certain individual’s permission to restricted systems or data. Several measures that can help with access control include firewalls, access privileges, passwords, digital certificates and virtual private networks. Availability is an issue when customers and employers need information  without any disruptions. Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems, data backups and the use of anti-virus software assist with ensuring data is always available. Our e-business infrastructure constantly needs to be monitored to ensure its meeting the needs of our business. An infrastructure that is unable to consistently support the network traffic load can potentially cost our company thousands of dollars in lost sales. If the network is continually slow, increasing the speed of the network backbone will assist in providing faster and reliable support for our customers. In addition to increasing the speed of the network backbone, implementing cross-functional enterprise systems will assist in improving critical business processes throughout Magnum enterprises. A final technical challenge is ensuring all of our systems are compatible and can operate on several different hardware platforms. By having this capabi lity, our operating costs from a technical refresh perspective will decrease. While strengthening capabilities and addressing technical issues, there are management challenges within the e-business that must be addressed. As discussed earlier, our team must be vigilant in addressing security challenges such as hacking into our systems, software theft, and protecting our software applications. In addition to security issues, there are ethical concerns that must be addressed. Privacy has always been a serious and contentious issue amongst employers and employees. For instance, computer monitoring is considered by many personnel to be an infringement on the employee’s privacy and shouldn’t be allowed. However, employers argue that since the computer is a company owned resource, they should be allowed to monitor the work of their employer. In reality, many employers are concerned as to whether or not the employee is actually working and producing or just goofing off and surfing the internet. Utilizing IT equipment at work has been mentioned to cause a variety of health issues which management must address. For example, if your job consists of being in front of a computer all day, some of the health problems you may experience damage to the neck and arm muscles, eye strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, job stress, poor posture and poor circulation. Resolutions to some of these health concerns can be through the science of ergonomics. The objective of ergonomics is to devise and create safe health work conditions with the goal of decreasing health issues and increasing employee morale and work productivity. If  Magnum Enterprises has customers internationally, they also may be faced with political, geo-economic and cultural challenges. From a political concern, there are countries that have restrictions regulating or denying the transfer of data across their borders which can potentially result in customers or businesses from having to pay import or export fees. Geo-economic concerns involve issues such as identifying and locating personnel with IT skills to work at remote sites and communicating with personnel across all 24 time zones. Cultural challenges â€Å"include differences in languages, cultural interests, religions, customs, social attitudes, and political philosophies†. For example, if Magnum Enterprises was conducting a business transaction via a Video Teleconference it would be disrespectful to look them in the eye when introducing yourself. Before meeting an international customer, it would prudent to review their customs and courtesies to ensure a smooth business relationship. Improving Magnum’s e-business performance faces several challenges. Consulting with key department personnel from operations, marketing, finance and legal as well as addressing technical and management obstacles will assist me in charting a plan to put our e-business on the right track towards success.

Health of Family Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Health of Family Business - Essay Example The organisation with the assistance of quality and homemade ingredients is facilitated in providing fresh products, which have assisted in performing business operations in a financially stabilised manner. The marketing activities have also aided the organisation in creating better awareness amid customers in the market segments. However, certain limitations are identified in the area of financial operations, investment procurement and management structure. In this regard, recommendations are made which include online business operations, external investments and developing business relationship with external business consultants in order to ensure that business operations are conducted sustainably. Subsequently, it can be stated that the business operations of the organisation are performed moderately in the market segment of the UK. Family business is a kind of business domain which is conducted based on the prevailing ethos of a family. Family business is recognised as an importa nt backbone responsible for the development of an economy. The concept of family business has assisted in generating wealth along with job opportunities in a community. A business is identified to be a family business if an individual, who has developed the firm, possesses the majority of the rights in making decisions. Additionally, in circumstances when the business operations are managed by family members, it is recognised as a family business correspondingly, a very close family friend operates .

Global Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Global Marketing - Essay Example Introduction The changing trends of the corporate world and effects of globalization have drastically changed the traditional ways of marketing and brand representation of a company. The term Global Marketing has become very familiar in the last few decades which explain that one great way of enlarging company’s sale is by expanding the brand globally. Gillespie, Jeannet, & Hennessey (2011) define that when a company has its operations limited to a single country, its strategies and focus plan is completely different as compared to when it expands to the global market. Tough, people around the world have different languages, cultures and believes, but there are similarities too and a company must know how to target these both these sides of the market. It is evident that a renowned company operating in one part of the world cannot expect the same number of sales and reputation in all parts of the world, due to the cultural and need difference. Expansion to a new region require s a great amount of principle money and other resources of the company. This could provide a company with a great platform for further expansion and increased sales, but can also left the company in despair. Gillespie, Jeannet, & Hennessey (2011) define that with the increased in world competition in almost every field and every product segment, it is more difficult for a brand than before to get visibility in the market (Gillespie et al., 2011). Purpose of the Report This purpose of this paper is to provide a product launch plan for Boost, a product of Nestle Company in Pakistan and analyze the potential implications for the brand in the company. This report will briefly discuss the environmental and social situation of the country, in order to examine the scope of the company to expand in Pakistan. This report will also highlight the market stability, economic condition and competitors in the country which will help in better picturing the future of the Nestle in the selected coun try, Pakistan. Scope This report is primarily based the information gathered from secondary sources related to the targeted product and market. Hence, the analysis done on this report will be based on the researcher’s own interpretation and understanding of the available data. Also, the findings of this report are confined to the Boost brand of Nestle Company and cannot be applicable to other Nestle brands or of any other company. The report will try to cover the social, cultural, political and environmental factors of the targeted market for Boost. This report will not include any statistical calculation of the trend of the food industry and findings will solely be based on observation and thematic analysis of the above mentioned factors. Limitations There are certain limitations of this report which are as under: 1. The report is based on secondary sources and there is a possibility of deviation of the report findings from the real scenario. 2. Since Pakistan is an emerging market, there has been less market research done on it, which limits the data available for the country. 3. Pakistan is a Muslim country and there are chances that the report fails to clearly interpret the religious impact of the community on their social life decisions. Background The Company Nestle is one of the leading food brands, having its market in more than 86 countries. It was founded in the year 1905 in Vevey, Switzerland and presently it enjoys the largest revenue than any of the

Localisation the workplace in UAE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Localisation the workplace in UAE - Essay Example In the later section of this paper, the case study of of Emiratization in practice is presented to identify the issues in the implementation of Emiratization (employing UAE nationals) programmes. The findings of the study demonstrate some of the complexities in implementing Emiratization. The complexities that were identified in implementing Emirazatization were management commitment, quantitative evaluation methods, resistance to change and the role of expatriates in implementing Emiratization programmes. The implication of the research also identified areas for future research. The areas were identified in the study that needs future research are; Political leaders in the Middle East knew that their dependence on expatriate workforce has has serious long-term political, economic and social consequences (Al-Lamki, 1998). Such, the region has implemented nationalization strategies to employ nationals(citizens) instead of foreigners/expatriates. This initiative has various names in the region such as Omanization, Saudization and Emiratization. These nationalization strategies attempts to integrate HRM policies and practices in the change management practices (going to nationalization from employing expatriates to a local national) (Mellahi and Wood, 2001).is a topic in HR literature which lacks research at present (Hallier, 1993; Palthe and Kosseck, 2003; Mendenhall et al., 2003; Ruona and Gibson, 2004; Sheehan, 2005). At the outset nationalization strategies seemed to be associated with globalization, economic growth and reform, and competitiveness (Al-Dosary, 2004; Looney, 2004; Mellahi and Wood, 2002). Thus, nationalization strategies is an international issue albeith Middle Eastern leaders have implemented nationalization policies that are specific to their own countries. This initiative however is not exclusive to Middle East. Similar parallel programs can be seen in countries such as Malaysia (Ahmad et al., 2003), Zimbabwe, South

Human Resource Management policies and techniques Essay

Human Resource Management policies and techniques - Essay Example The term, Human Resource Management had it origin in 1970s. However the concept of management of the organisational resources pertaining to the welfare and maintenance of manpower has received the attention of mangers of institutional entities since periods dating back to the centuries. This view is supported by the fact that even in 1800 BC itself, 'minimum wage rate' and 'incentive wage plan' were included in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (Ashwatappa K 2002, p.16).However after the second Word War, the approach over the management of personnel widened from mere welfare to more broader visions like development, control and professionalism. By the end the last century, Human Resource Management acquired a real professional perspective and scientific discussions were initiated in the corporate world leading to formulation of accurate management technologies. The Human Resource Management Challenges were scientifically identified and Development tools for Human Resources were lately discovered. The term, Human Resource Management is often mixed in ideology, with the term Personnel management. Though appearing similar in the outline, Human Resource Management differs from Personnel Management both in scope and orientation. Human Resource Management considers manpower as an important source or asset which can be utilised in favour of the organisation, employees and the society. It has a mutually benefiting approach benefiting the job provider, the worker and the society around the work environment. However Personnel management has a limited scope and an inverted orientation. The sole consideration of the manpower as a tool to be amended and utilized for the mere benefit of the organisation is the limitation in the approach of the concepts defined under Personnel management. Due to this circumscribed nature of the concepts under Personnel management, it was gradually replaced by the broader concept of Human Resource Management. The acceleration of this replacement across the globe was triggered as the largest professional organisation in the field of management, The American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA) changed their name to The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). The Importance of Human Resource Management The importance of Human Resource Management is quite vital to make an organisation sustain in the corporate competitiveness of modern business. Human Resource Management would help an institution to get prepared and adapt to the continuous innovations in the corporate world. The maintenance of a state of the art Human Resource Management programme and policy would help institutions to attract quality manpower. Appropriate and optimised supply of skilled personnel can only be ensured through an accurate Human Resource Management Strategy. The efficacy of the trainings and other capacity building processes to be molded for the benefit of the organisation needs proper planning. These Human Resource trainings would prepare the work force to be ready in advance for the ever changing requirements of the industry. Another key benefit of proper Human Resource Management is that it would motivate the team and continuously upgrade them with relevance

How an Individual goes About Becoming a Franchisee for Subway Assignment

How an Individual goes About Becoming a Franchisee for Subway - Assignment Example This paper outlines that for any individual who is interested in venturing into this business, there are steps to follow, and this essay is a discussion of how an individual goes about becoming a franchisee with subway sandwich chain. To be a franchisee with subway sandwich chain, there are five key steps to follow. These steps include: researching the franchise market, making an online application, investigating about the subway brand, reviewing financial requirements, and joining the subway business. An entrepreneur will be required to research on the market of the recommended location by considering any potential competitor. For instance, the franchisee to be has to evaluate the existence of other fast food restaurants or chains in the area. The entrepreneur should ensure that there is no subway branch or chain in his preferred location of operation. After ensuring all this is favorable, he or she should apply for franchising through online by filling the application form. The for m should only be filled after reading through the binding contract and agreeing to the terms and conditions to avoid future case of disagreements. Interested franchisees are also advised to engage solicitors in their financial discussions. From this paper it is clear that Entrepreneurs must have starting capital, which ranges from 101,000 US dollars to 285,000 US dollars. This is the recommended capital for US dwellers and setting . This capital caters for franchising fee and expenses for operation at least for the first three months. When one is seeking to know about the recommended starting capital, he or she has to be keen on the size of the food chain’s establishment, equipment, location, and the scale of operation. After establishing a subway branch, entrepreneurs are supposed to offer quality services to clients while at the same time minimizing their operations cost.  

Beethoven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Beethoven - Essay Example as being both a great musician, and when he saw young Beethoven first perform at the age of seven, he took him out of school and found him music teachers for his education. When he was fifteen, Beethoven had the chance to play for the famous composer and musician Mozart. In his early twenties, he left Bonn for Vienna, Austria, and studied under teacher Joseph Haydn. Beethoven became well known as a virtuoso in some of the high-ranking society circles of the day. He was also known for his talent in improvising music. At the age of 27, Beethoven discovered that he was losing his hearing, and would soon be totally deaf. He almost decided to kill himself, but after thinking about it realized that he could still hear music, if only inside his head, so he decided to keep on with it. He composed works even as he was going deaf. His Ninth Symphony, today recognizable by almost anyone even in the first few notes, was composed after he was totally deaf. Beethoven suffered from bad health for years, and was three times rejected by women he wanted to marry. He died a bachelor in 1827 in Vienna, Austria, and his funeral was attended by more than 10,000 people. His symphonies, some of which he could not even hear when conducting, are still some of the best known and widely played pieces of music throughout the world

Drug abuse Essay Example for Free

Drug abuse Essay The policy in Switzerland seems to be a success because in the last 10 years there has been an astounding reduction in new users, 82% in fact. Addicts are offered heroin on prescription, access to shooting galleries, needle exchanges and oral methadone. This medicalised drug use has removes its glamour, making it trivial and less appealing. The British government however takes the view that allowing drug consumption rooms risks increasing levels of dealing and anti-social crime. This is the disadvantage currently obstructing the government following suit. The doctor thinks that some users have turned round their lives as a result of this treatment. They come off heroin because of the boredom of routine and drudgery. In addition to the professional opinion, a more personal outlook given by a former addict stated that it should be done in very controlled conditions and only used as a last resort. As I saw on the video, drug abuse has been a problem for centuries and I personally do not see a situation where the world will be free of drug abuse. This is because, when the word drug is defined we mean a medication and there are many legal drugs that are medically prescribed for the treatment of the ill. Drugs such as morphine and paracetamol can also be misused, and the abuse can lead to deaths. In this sense the problem of drug abuse can never be completely eliminated because people will just find another drug to abuse. However, one must be cautious when reading the newspapers as it is likely to be biased. Not everything must be taken into account as it is not likely to be authentic or reliable. To a certain extent not all drugs are as bad as each other; some drugs bring about more harm than others. In other ways, if particular drugs are abused constantly and in heavy quantities they can cause severe consequences, such as tobacco for example. Particular notice needs to be taken of Danger Ratings and the seriousness of heroin addiction. More should be done to prevent this, by tightening rules and regulations and giving harsher punishments to put off new users and give help to existing addicts. Both sources offer contrasting methods for dealing with the problem. The first method, calling upon the government to update the system may not be taken into consideration by some politicians as they do not want to lose votes. However, if it is considered and action is taken, it is a worthwhile action. The second method calling upon softer laws can be seen as helping in some ways, but mainly making it easier for drugs to be abused. In my opinion, the government should tighten rules and regulations for drug abuse and crackdown on Drug related crime, reducing the usage of drugs, and also supply help for the addicts to stabilise their lives. Politics and the law are barriers to both approaches because each method has to gain the Governments approval prior to the action taken, this may prove difficult. This is due to the fact that political parties view their own positions in government more precious than the welfare of the public. As a result of this, they are more concerned with losing votes rather than losing lives. As a whole, drug abuse and addiction is a problem that cannot ever be eradicated completely but it can be controlled and reduced, particularly with certain drugs. As mentioned previously, there are options available to control the issue, and measures can be put in place to reduce drug abuse. The best method would be to take a combination of both options as stated previously. Maybe, in the distant future, drug abuse may not be such a huge pandemic as it is today.

Home care division at unilever

Home care division at unilever This report tries to analyse a very important situation the Home Care Division at Unilever found itself during the late 1990s in Brazil. Unilever, with an 81% market share is the market leader in the detergent powder business. This report is based on the findings of project Everyman a market research carried out in Brazil in order to understand the regional divide in terms of the income, culture, consumption pattern or usage of detergent powder between the consumers of North East and the South East areas of the country. The research also takes into account the competitors of Unilever in Brazil and also its sales and performance in the detergent market. And finally a recommendation is made on what would be the best marketing strategy which the company should adopt to penetrate into the largely unexplored low-income consumer segment in the Fabric wash business thereby expanding its market share and also increasing the profitability for the company. The economic recovery of 1995-1996 was beneficial for the low-income consumers, which meant that the purchasing power of the poorest 10% of the population grew by 27% per year during the period. Our main focus remains on the two main regions of Brazil, the Northeast and the Southwest, especially the lower income consumers of Northeast of Brazil. Consumer behaviour is the process individuals or groups go through to select, purchase, use and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experience to satisfy their needs and desires. (Solomon, Marshall, Stuart, Barnes, Mitchell, 2009). The Decision to buy the detergent for a consumer in both the regions NE and SE is Habitual and hence lacks complexity. It is seen that the level of involvement of the consumer in the decision making process is very low. Also, the consumer is well aware of various brands of detergent or laundry soap which are on offer in the market. Moreover, considering the fact that the risk associated with the purchase of the detergent or laundry soap is minimal, the consumer spends lesser time in evaluating or deciding the brand of purchase. There are various influences which affect the ultimate choice of a consumer. In this case, the various categories of influences which are affecting the consumers choice while buying the detergent powder or laundry soap are shown in Figure 1: There are various different ways in which a consumer tends to internalise any available information to make an informed decision. The key internal influences which are affecting the decision making of the consumers are: Perception: It can be defined as the process of selection, organising and interpreting any information in form of sensation. The consumers perceive Omo as an ideal detergent having all the qualities required to fulfil their washing needs. According to the consumers as given in Exhibit 5, an ideal detergent should demonstrate the following qualities or aspects: Power of the detergent (its ability to clean and whiten the clothes with small quantity of product). Smell/Fragrance (Strong, pleasant smell associated with softening power and gentleness to fabric and hands). Ability to remove stains without laundry soap or bleach The ease with which the powder dissolves and absence of residue (consistency and granularity of the powder). Interestingly, the perception regarding the usage of bleach also differs between the women of the Recife Northeast, where majority of the women prefers using bleach after washing clothes to remove tough stains, whereas only 18% of the women in Sao Paulo Southeast prefer doing so. Learning: It can be defined as the change in buyer behaviour caused due to available information or experience. The consumers in general are well aware of the various brands of washing detergents and soaps available in the market. From the data given regarding Brand Knowledge, market penetration and Top of the mind awareness in Exhibit 8 it is evident that the consumer across regions in Brazil have either the knowledge or have seen or used one or all washing products at some point in time. Lifestyle: Reflects the value, tastes and preferences of people depending on their pattern of living which is determined by how they choose to spend their money, time and energy. The way the clothes are washed differs in both regions since the women in NE attach great value and take pride in keeping themselves and their families spotlessly clean whereas the women in SE consider it as daily chores, less important for self-esteem and social status. Another factor influencing the choice of detergent or soap is the number of households which owns washing machine 28% in Northeast and 73% in Southeast. Social Class: The rank or the status of the people or group in the society can be defined as a Social Class. People are considered to be in the same class who either work in same occupations, having similar level of incomes, or share similar tastes. Exhibit 2 highlights the social class composition in the Southeast and the Northeast of Brazil. The divide is evident with more than 45% of the population in Southeast forming the top 3 Tiers (A, B, C) as compared to the Northeast where more than 53% of the total population form the bottom 2 Tiers (E+ E-). This is one of the major reasons for the difference in the consumption pattern of the detergent powder and laundry soaps in both the regions, although the penetration of both detergent powder and the laundry soap is almost the same. Majority of the population in the north-eastern region use a lot more soap and less detergent as compared to their counterparts in the southeast. Another very interesting fact to note is the frequency at which the clothes are being washed in both the regions. The washing of clothes in the Northeast happens more frequently as compared to the Southeast since the low income group of Northeast have fewer clothes to wear. In the year 1996, the detergent powder and the washing soap market in the Northeast of Brazil was worth a whopping $208 million and growing. As shown in Figure 2 there are 3 key players in the fabric wash market in Brazil with Unilever, the market leader with an 81% market share, close behind is PG with a 15% share in the market and the remaining 4% of the market is captured by local Brazilian companies. The market can be broadly classified based on the type of washing products offered. The detergent powder industry which sells around 42,000 tons of washing powder in the Northeast is growing at an exceptional rate of 17% per annum. And the dominance of major multinationals like Unilever and PG has been because of the capital intensive nature of the of the manufacturing process requiring massive manufacturing and RD costs. Following are some of the key players in the market. Unilever: Unilever has been a dominant force in the detergent powder market in the Northeast with a 75% market share. With a 52 % market share Omo is the most popular and the most dominant brand of detergent powder in the Unilever stable. Minerva is the only brand offered by Unilever in both the detergent powder and the laundry soap with a market share of 17% and 19.1% respectively. And finally Campeiro holds 6% of the total detergent powder market. PG: Although PG entered the Brazilian market in 1988, it has come a long way in becoming the second most successful manufacturer with a 15% share in the detergent powder market. The primary reason for this success can be given to the large amount spend on making manufacturing improvements in the businesses acquired by PG to develop better products for the Brazilian market and the RD and marketing expertise is a direct threat to Unilever. Ace is its the flagship brand which has 11% market share, a direct competitor of Omo with features like superior whiteness, dirt removing capability and fabric protection is priced at 2.35/Kg. Followed by the other brands offered by PG viz. Bold competing against Minerva and with focus on softness sells at 2.50/Kg and Pop is an alternative for Campeiro selling at 1.70/Kg together occupies 6% of the detergent powder market. Others: Invicto owned by local Brazilian company ASA with 5% share of the market which competes against Campeiro is sold at 1.70/Kg. The remaining 3 % of the detergent powder market is currently being held by local Brazilian companies. The Laundry soap market in the Northeast of Brazil is equally big as compared to the detergent powder industry with revenues of $ 102 million, selling around 8,125 tons per year; however its growth rate at just 6% is far slower than its rival. Unlike the detergent powder market where Unilever and PG were the dominant forces, this market is being dominated by brands manufactured by local Brazilian companies; surprisingly PG offers no products in this segment. As shown in Exhibit 7 the local companies hold a major chunk 69.6% of the market share (including others and Flora). Bem-te-vi is extremely popular and is positioned with emphasis on traditional and regional values targeting the low income consumers of Northeast holding 11.3% of the market. Minerva which is the only Unilever brand is considered to be one of the best laundry soaps with an impressive total share of 19.1%. Marketing Mix Strategies help in identifying how a companys marketing would accomplish the objectives by using the following factors; It is a strategic planning method used in evaluating the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats involved in a business. The details of the SWOT analysis for Unilever are evident in Figure 4. 5.1 Growth Strategy Unilever fabric wash products enjoy immense respect and recognition across different regions of Brazil due to its diverse range of products, dependable in-house marketing capabilities and excellent advertising campaigns. However, the ignorance and indecisiveness in adopting a strategy to tap in the huge potential of the low income group of Northeast has been an area of concern for the company. The Product-market Growth Matrix in Figure 5 helps us analyse various growth strategies and identify the most suitable strategy the company should follow to expand their current market. New Products Existing Products Product Emphasis New Markets Existing Markets MKT Emphasis Extension of the current entry level brand Campeiro is the most ideal strategy and hence we need to adopt the Product development strategy model. The new product would be rightly called Campeiro Dazzle. We will further analyse and discuss the targeting, segmentation and positioning strategy which Unilever should follow to achieve its goals. The STP strategy in Northeast for Campeiro Dazzle would be influenced by the following variables: Segmentation: Demographic: More than 53% of the population, approximately 26 million in the Northeast lives on less than two minimum wages. Illiteracy rate at 40% is very high. Psychographic: Bleach is very important to remove fat stains. Washing clothes has a symbolic value for the women and they take pride in keeping their family clean. Considered to be one of the pleasurable activities of the week, hence washing in public laundry, river or pond is considered to be an opportunity to meet and chat with friends. Behavioural: Clothes are washed frequently (5 times a week in Recife). Target marketing strategy: Since Omo and Minerva is already targeted towards the High and middle income group respectively, the new Campeiro Dazzle will be focusing on the low income consumer segment in the Northeast using Differentiated targeting strategy. Positioning: Success of Target marketing strategy is contingent on the identification and selection of most appropriate market segment. Keeping the current positioning of the 3 detergents (Omo, Minerva and Campeiro) unchanged; our primary focus would be to strategically position the new Campeiro Dazzle. The ideal positioning of Camperio Dazzle should be such that it falls between Minerva and Campeiro which fits it in the top left quadrant above the perceived Quality and Price index 100. Unilever can establish Campeiro Dazzle as one of its most sought after and affordable BRAND of CHOICE for the low income consumers by developing a Marketing Mix as mentioned below; The most important concern internally at Unilever Brazil is the issue of cannibalisation of existing premium brands like Omo or Minerva due to shift in strategy following the introduction of the new brand extension Campeiro Dazzle. The concern I believe is a legitimate one and if things do go wrong as feared by many, the results could be devastating for Unilever and could tarnish its image as being the best and most dependable, inviting competitors like PG to take maximum advantage of the situation and eat into Unilevers market share across regions in Brazil. The level of income, however, is the key factor which would avoid any such adverse situation since our new brand is targeted at the low income consumers of the northeast and is not positioned to compete against Omo and Minerva which is targeted at the high income and middle income consumers respectively. Extension of the entry level brand Campeiro is justifiable considering the time and cost constraints faced by Unilever. The process of creating and introducing a new brand involves immense RD, marketing advertising and distribution costs and will also take a long time to develop and Unilever cannot afford at this point in time since its main rival PG has the potential and the expertise to capture the massive detergent low income consumer market by either extending or repositioning one of its own existing products. Based on the Segmentation, target marketing, positioning and marketing mix strategies discussed earlier, it is strongly recommended that Unilever follows a quick growth strategy (3 year) to capture maximum market share of the low income consumers in the northeast by getting them to use Campeiro Dazzle. The Bottom-up budgeting technique would be most helpful since the new strategy requires Unilever to spend more on the promotion of Campeiro Dazzle Push strategy in the first 3 years of its introduction. This would be gradually reduced in the fourth and fifth year once the product eats into the market share of the competitors and demand for product increases Pull Strategy. Æ’Â   Push strategy: Unilever can follow the same 70/30 ratio for ATL BTL communication which it does currently. Emphasis should be more on ATL because of its high reach and low cost-per-contact especially TV advertisements hoardings (Knowledge about the availability of the new product). On the other hand BTL techniques like in-store promotions and improved visibility of the product in the small stores. The biggest factor that can contribute to an instant success of Campeiro Dazzle is if Unilever builds confidence in its secondary, small local wholesalers and specialized distributors by running a high incentive/commission through sales programme. This is one primary reason why 0.50 cents/k.g has been earmarked towards promotional cost. Resulting in our products reaching 75,000 small outlets where most of the low income consumers shop. Æ’Å ¸ Pull Strategy: Promotion is one of the most important and inseparable part of the marketing mix. However for Unilever, assuming the success and the overwhelming acceptance of Campeiro Dazzle over the first three years by the low income consumers the promotion strategy would then have to shift to improve the profit margin. This would be a challenge considering the fact that reversal of the distribution channels is difficult. However, increasing demand for Campeiro Dazzle amongst low income consumers due to effectiveness, high brand value and recognition (thanks to a new TV promotion/advertisement by a well known celebrity or a popular music band which would act as a stimulant) will force the retailers to respond to this demand by stocking more Campeiro Dazzle in their stores. Conclusion: The aforementioned analysis clearly indicates that the existing detergent products and the strategy adopted by Unilever to capture the market share and satisfy the needs of the low income consumers hasnt been very successful. Project Everyman, however, has come as a ray of hope for the company helping it understand the enormous potential of this group of consumers. The implementation of the new strategies mentioned in this report would certainly help Unilever to expand its market share and profitability and most importantly help them implement this business model to gain success in other developing economies of the world and immense respect in the industry.