Thursday, November 28, 2019

Concepts of negotiation

Introduction Negotiation is a familiar term that transcends common business parlance. In the context of business, negotiation is found as a sub-branch in marketing where it refers to the wider steps applied toward agreement in decisions about buying and selling.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts of negotiation specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Several situations normally arise where individuals have to negotiate (Gregor, pp79). This may entail negotiating within ones-self or with other parties. In this case, it is therefore important that one understands their ability in terms of negotiation skills and if possible find ways of bettering it. Body The modern day marketer is faced with several situations that require great skills of negotiation. How are you able to strike a deal with your prospective clients? How effective are you in convincing the buyer that whatever you are offering is the best deal availabl e? Are you able to respond to the growing wave of market complexities in the scramble for a market share? Such are the questions that a marketer is forced to come to terms with. It therefore brings the concept of negotiation into greater perspective. In negotiating within ones-self, one has to weigh the benefits and the costs inherent in all the available options and pre-evaluate the effects of a given decision (Graham, pp76). That is what normally creates the conflict of interest between ideals and interests. Negotiation between two parties is a common day occurrences. A marketer has to be acquainted with certain skills to enable effective negotiation transpire. Filching is an important aspect in the subject of negotiation (Graham, pp45). It involves making the buyer feel that the bargain they are proposing is very unreasonable. Since it is common norm that people will always seek to spend less while marketers will always want to maximize their profits, the two parties have to stri ke a bargain. Flinching will help the marketer in persuading the buyer to concede faster to his stance. Negotiation is also enhanced when the marketer endeavors to get as much information from the buyer as possible. From that information, he can make a dim perspective of the buyer’s psychological orientation that will help him know how much to stress (Gregor, pp83).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It therefore elicits a lot of demonstration of inner feelings, ideas, views and other intrinsic aspects to the alternate party (Gregor, pp69). As such, a marketer should not make the buyer feel that he is quite desperate to sell. He should be ready to walk away without giving room for too much concession. After all, he is out on a profit mission. Moreover there will always be better bargains. The process of gauging one’s negotiation ability is not an easy process. How ever, through the use of certain simple ways, it is possible to assess it. By experimentally convincing a buyer to purchase a product and successfully striking a bargain that goes to your interest can be a clear indication that one is not worse off (Gregor, pp71). Conclusion It can therefore be said that negotiation is a virtue that is endowed on different people in different proportions. As a very important aspect in a world of limited resources, negotiation skills come in handy in various aspects of the day to day life. Business people as well as other partakers in business will always be engaged in situations that require them to critically apply their negotiation parameters (Graham, pp56). It is therefore quite imperative that the horn such skills so as to be able to bargain more and transact better in an increasingly competitive world. Works Cited Graham, Larry. Marketing Strategies: A New Outlook. New York: Paragon Books, 2003. Gregor, G MC. Marketing in the Wider Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. This essay on Concepts of negotiation was written and submitted by user Teagan Cantrell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Adidass Strategy

Adidass Strategy Free Online Research Papers What is adidass corporate strategy? â€Å"To lead the sporting goods industry with brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. To provide athletes with the best possible equipment to optimize their performance. Leveraging opportunities across their brand portfolio 1.Market penetration – gaining market share across all markets in which they compete 2.Market development – expanding into new markets and addressing new consumer segments To have a leading market positions in all regions where we compete. Leading though innovation and design Customizing distribution 1.Mono-branded stores run by retail partners 2.Shop-in-shops that Adidas establish with their key accounts 3.Joint ventures with their retail partners 4.Co-branded stores with sports organizations or other brands Creating shareholder value† Was there a common strategic approach used in managing the companys lineup of sporting goods businesses prior to its 2005–2006 restructuring? No, Adidas was trying to regain the number one position within the sporting goods industry by investing in many different areas of sporting goods. â€Å"Adidas’s 1998 acquisition of Salomon had several businesses that adidas’s management viewed as attractive-its Salomon ski division was the leading producer of ski equipment: TaylorMade Golf was the second-largest seller of golf equipment; and Mavic was the leading producer of high-performance bicycle wheels and rims.† Adidas was not focused on athletic footwear and started selling bike wheels and rims that had nothing in common with their main business of athletes’ footwear. Also the ski division was out of line with their many main business goals and strategies. Has the corporate strategy changed with restructuring? Yes, Adidas sold the divisions that were not inline with their main strategy or didn’t have noting in common with their main business. â€Å"Adidas announced near the end of its second quarter 2005 that it would divest its winter sports brands and Mavic bicycle components before the end of the year.† Adidas started focusing on its main business strategies and divisions that were in common with the strategies. â€Å"Adidas’s October 2005 announcement that it would acquire Reebok International Ltd for three point eight billion was the final component of a restructuring initiative that would focus the company’s business lineup primarily on athletic footwear and apparel and golf equipment by 2006.† With the restructuring and acquisition of Reebok the company strategy has changed. The new Adidas will start focusing on their core business strengths in the athletic footwear and apparel business. The combined companies will offer the spectrum of their product mix to gain a greater combined market share. â€Å"The brand adidas will continue to have a clear focus on sport performance and will highlight team sports, while brand Reebok will be positioned as a fitness oriented, sports-lifestyle brand with the focus on individual performance. The positioning will also be reflected in the distinct brand communication to reach different consumers.† What is your evaluation of adidass 1998 acquisition of Salomon SA? Adidas should have not acquired Salomon SA since they did not have the knowledge to run the division and it made adidas to diverse. â€Å"A Merrill Lynch analyst suggested that the Salomon acquisition might prove troublesome for adidas since other athletic shoe companies had dabbled in the hard goods segment, but they have been unsuccessful to date in making inroads.† By adidas becoming too diverse, they were unable to capitalize on any value chains and unable to cross promote their products. The acquisition did give adidas more market share â€Å"Adidas’s 1.5 billion acquisition of Salomon allowed it to surpass Reebok to become the world’s second-largest sporting goods company† This was not a good business decision because adidas already owned Reebok and just because they gain market share showed that the end result would not be profitable (bigger is not always better). Did the acquisition achieve the Robert Louis-Dreyfuss objective of putting together the best portfolio of sports brands in the world? NO. Louis-Dreyfus used 100 percent debt financing to create adidas-Salomon thinking that the new business units would boost adidas’s pretax profit by 20-25 percent, however, Louis-Dreyfus’s projections never materialized. In 2000 Louis-Dreyfus resigned since his objective failed. What does a 9-cell industry attractiveness/business strength matrix displaying adidas-Salomons business units look like? A 9-cell industry attractiveness/business strength matrix for the time would have showed that the combination of adidas and Salomon AS would not be a good fit. Adidas brought to the deal a company that had underestimated the competitor (Nike), falling to the eighth position of athletic footwear market within the United States. Their was no competitive advantage for adidas within an maturing industry. Both adidas and Salomon had challenges within their industries that were not fix or address before or during the merger. Did adidass business lineup prior to the divestiture of Salomon and Mavic exhibit good strategic fit? No, at first it looks like a very good fit since both companies are in the sporting goods industry and having well known brand names. Both of them have strong apparel lines and having presence in similar geographical regions. However, it’s obvious that the hard-goods categories of Salomon and Mavic would not create synergies with the apparel and footwear industries of adidas. Skill transfers between the businesses would have been a problem to because each business was so different. What value-chain match ups existed? Adida’s knowledge in the apparel and footwear industries were a good match up for running TaylorMade, Salomon, etc. footwear and apparel lines. What opportunities for skills transfer, cost sharing, or brand sharing were evident? Adidas should have gain more bargaining power that should have resulted in cost savings for all the companies. Advertising cost could have been shared since all the companies are in the sporting goods industry. TaylorMade can use adidas’s apparel and footwear manufacturing strengths to its advantage to come up with more apparel and footwear products to increase its market share. Cost reduction learned from adidas could be used at TaylorMade to save money. What strategic fits will be possible once Reebok International is acquired? Reebok will give adidas’s company the ability to position adidas as a technologically superior shoe designed for athletes and adidas can then focus on the high-end of the markets. Reebok would be positioned as leisure shoes that would sell at middle price points. Adidas can keep endorsement contracts with respected athletes and Reebok’s endorsements would be from more edgy celebrities. This is a great strategic fit since both companies are in the same line of business, but in different segments of the market and so they compliment each other. Another great fits is that Reebok would keep its CEO to lead Reebok after the acquisition so both companies will have the management that knows how to run their part of the business. Did adidass business lineup exhibit good resource fit between 1998 and 2004? No, because the businesses were too different in order to gain any economies of scale from combined production. Management skills and employee skills could not be moved from one company to the other without retraining. What were the financial characteristics of each of three major segments? Exhibit 5 Adidas 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Net Sales 80% 79% 78% 79% 80% 83% 85% Gross profit 75% 71% 71% 71% 75% 82% 86% Operating profit 88% 78% 75% 74% 79% 87% 94% Salomon 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Net Sales 10% 10% 10% 12% 12% 11% 10% Gross profit 8.47% 9% 10% 12% 12% 10% 9% Operating profit 2% 7% 9% 13% 12% 6% 1% TaylorMade 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Net Sales 10% 10% 11% 9% 8% 6% 5% Gross profit 9.74% 10% 12% 11% 4% 7% 6% Operating profit 10% 14% 16% 13% 9% 6% 5% Salomon was far behind Adidas and TaylorMade with operating profit declining from 2002. As of 2004 Salomon is getting to the point where it is just able to cover expenses. Which businesses might have been considered cash hogs and cash cows? Adidas is the cash cow with 75% gross profit. Solomon is the cash hog with only 9% operating profits then TaylorMade is the second cash hog How did adidas-Salomons performance vary by geographic region? On average from 1998 2004 Europe with 51% of adidas’s sales Asian with 16% of adidas’s sales Latin American with 3% of adidas’s sales Based on your analysis of adidas-Salomon businesses, did the 2005 restructuring make sense? Yes It allowed adidas to focus back on its core business of athletic footwear and apparel. At also allowed adidas to get rid of businesses that it was unable to manage. Does it appear the acquisition of Reebok International will produce positive results for shareholders? Yes, since adidas sales has gained more market share in china, overtaking Nike within that business region. What strategic actions should adidas CEO Herbert Hainer initiate to improve the companys financial and market performance now that the restructuring is nearing completion? Grow in other location out side of Europe. Adidas must increase market share in North America. Either sell or get the Salomon’s division more profitable. Focus on getting more business within the basketball area’s were Nike is slam dunking them at the hoops. Work Cited adidas-group.com/en/investor/strategy/default.asp Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage- Concepts and Cases, 15th ed., by Arthur A. Thompson Jr, A. J. Strickland III, and John E. Gamble (New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007). Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage- Concepts and Cases, 15th ed., by Arthur A. Thompson Jr, A. J. Strickland III, and John E. Gamble (New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007). Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage- Concepts and Cases, 15th ed., by Arthur A. Thompson Jr, A. J. Strickland III, and John E. Gamble (New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007). businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2005/nf2005088_0844_db008.htm Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage- Concepts and Cases, 15th ed., by Arthur A. Thompson Jr, A. J. Strickland III, and John E. Gamble (New York: Mc Graw-Hill/Irwin, 2007). Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage- Concepts and Cases, 15th ed., by Arthur A. Thompson Jr, A. J. Strickland III, and John E. Gamble (New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007). Research Papers on Adidas's StrategyAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductOpen Architechture a white paperDefinition of Export QuotasBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfPETSTEL analysis of IndiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Project Managment Office SystemTwilight of the UAWRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Make by your self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Make by your self - Essay Example It is the chief common and enveloping form of communal influence. Communal psychology investigates in conformity tends to differentiate linking two varieties: informational conventionality plus normative conformity. In the case of peer pressure, a human being is persuaded to do incredible things, such as illegitimate drugs, which they may not desire to do; however, which they perceive as "essential" to keep an optimistic association with other citizens, such as their associates. Conformity from peer demands usually results from recognition within the cluster members, or from conformity of some associate to conciliate others. Conformity is from time to time in appearance only openly appearing to be conventional or it might be a total conformity that changes an individual both in public and confidentially. Compliance shows a public conventionality to group preponderance or standard while the person continues to confidentially differ or dissent, investing on to their innovative beliefs or an option set of beliefs conflicting from the preponderance. An alternative representation is in verbal communication of a connectionist network representing the communication of two cognitive sentimental processing schemes, representing the two persons that comprise the dyad. Humans are described as social animals for the reason that in every feature of life they live jointly, they form a diversity of groups in addition to improve relations with each other. Communication with others is a usual result of existing in society. In the course of action of interaction, the social order plus its rules has a societal impact on e ach person. If citizens face with any type of social bang such as group force, large part of them show conventionality by altering their behaviors, thoughts, decisions in anticipated way. A being becomes conventional if he or she

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Influences on the Work of John Keats Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Influences on the Work of John Keats - Essay Example As emphasized, these adversities allegedly contributed to his understanding of the role of the artist as the explorer of how art’s power can bring meaning and consolation to people’s suffering. (Poetry Foundation, 2014, par. 5). The current discourse hereby contends that the biggest influences on the work of John Keats include personal experiences on loneliness, love, and illness. The biography of John Keats revealed that the poet wrote his famous odes, with thoughts of longing for his brothers. One of his brothers, Tom, reportedly died of tuberculosis, while George, another brother, departed to America (Stanford University, 2011). The works were described to have been strongly influenced by emotions ranging from loneliness, longing, and despair, to wit: â€Å"The poems known as the Great Odes—â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale,† â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn,† â€Å"Ode to Melancholy,† â€Å"To Autumn,† and others, written in the spring of 1819, after Tom’s death and George’s departure—describe the misery into which the poet had plunged after the loss of his brothers. Likewise, the themes in some of these odes have been influenced by the poet’s adeptness to focus on humanities and the arts as a means of dissociating himself to feelings of isolation. More specifically, in the â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale†, the narrator describes his fascination with the expressive power of music, and in the â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn†, the speaker talks about his admiration of how sculpture reflects the stories frozen in time. The influence of romance or love were also noted to be present in some of Keats’ works. As love had been a strong emotional force that provided the impetus and inspiration for other literary artists, John Keats’ romantic experiences shared similar influence. Accordingly, one influential person in Keats’ life was Isabella Jones (Poem Hunter, 2014). As  emphasized in various works, the poet used to visit her frequently during the winter of 1818-1819; he also stated that their relationship was intimate.  

Monday, November 18, 2019

Literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 9

Literature review - Essay Example The statement of aims and objectives in the main body is clearly provided and thus guarantees a score of 3. First and foremost is the research method used in collecting data for this study. According to the research paper data was collected from only those nursing students who had earlier participated in similar â€Å"peer learning partnerships†. This appears to be a narrow and restrictive criteria for carrying out this particular study since students who have already participated in such activities are generally conditioned to answer and/or show emotions a particular way as opposed to students who have never been part of such a study. Spontaneous responses, hence, are lessened to some extent. Moreover the paper fails to specify its data concerning the students involved within the study in a quantitative manner. There is no detailed mention of how many students joined in the research study or whether they were initially comfortable with the ground rules laid out for them. The study does not specify the number of dropouts (if any). There is also no detail why the students might have felt the need to be no longer part of the research study. The study does not make any mention of the response rate of the students under observation. It only mentions that in a moderated group environment the students tended to speak at the same time which again led to confusion when taking down responses in an organized manner. The nurses only provide data concerning their feelings and emotions when in a student-mentorship relationship. For most of the students in the group this would be classified as a positive experience since they would have decided it prior to joining the research study group that they were getting enrolled in this study as a positive experience and self study as well as self development. Hence, there are largely positive undercurrents to such a study as opposed to signs

Friday, November 15, 2019

RFID and Bar Coding Technologies

RFID and Bar Coding Technologies Introduction Barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows certain data on certain products. Originally, barcodes represented data in the widths (lines) and the spacing of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1D (1 dimensional) barcodes or symbologies. They also come in patterns of squares, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns within images termed 2D (2 dimensional) matrix codes or symbologies. Although 2D systems use symbols other than bars, they are generally referred to as barcodes as well. Barcodes can be read by optical scanners called barcode readers, or scanned from an image by special software. The first use of barcodes was to label railroad cars, but they were not commercially successful until they were used to automate supermarket checkout systems, a task in which they have become almost universal. Their use has spread to many other roles as well, tasks that are generically referred to as Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC). Other systems are attempting to make inroads in the AIDC market, but the simplicity, universality and low cost of barcodes has limited the role of these other systems. It costs 0.5 ¢ (U.S.) to implement a barcode, while passive RFID still costs about 7 ¢ to 30 ¢ per tag. In hospitals bar codes are now used in a number of ways. In blood banks, as has been the case for a number of years now, they have the ability to track blood back to the initial donor. Because of whats happened in the past three or four years in discovering the risk of AIDS, thats very important. And for keeping track of patient numbers, the checking in or out of patients through the bar code on the little wristband that all hospital patients wear is much the same as the check-in/check-out process of buying products. This coding process has just started within the last year or so because its a more efficient way to make sure that when the patient gets two aspirins, he gets billed for those aspirins. In many hospitals about 30 to 40 percent of their total supplies never get charged out to patients because the paperwork involved in billing for two aspirins costs far more than the aspirins, so nobody worries about it. The problem with that is quite obvious. The federal government is getting a great deal tougher on hospitals to increase room rates to cover items like that. The bar code is very efficient at keeping track of supplies. Again, its an easy way to get information into a computer and then do something with it. Additionally, youve been in the department stores, such as Dillards, which now use security tags. And, if youve done what Ive done namely, pay for a sport coat but the clerk forgets to take off the tag, then walk out the door and the whole building comes down on you because that tag is still on there then you know what electronic bar codes are about. These security tags have little transformers in them, which are really another form of bar coding. The same is true if you are, for example, a bank tied in with a grocery store. We now have developed credit cards with bar codes on them such that when you go into the grocery store to cash a check, they dont have to look at your identification or make a telephone call or key your number into a little checker unit. They simply scan it, and instantly the checkout process becomes an information-gathering process, keeping track of what youre buying so that, at the end of that process, out comes not only a tape of your purchases but also some coupons toward purchases for the next time you come in. And the coupons that come out are a function of what you bought. Some ingenious things are now starting to happen along those lines, but its all a function of the same thing. We have the ability to do something with that gigantic bunch of information that heretofore was impossible to process. The bar code is simply a way to do that very efficiently. the last two years of being able to put information into a computer directly by simply talking into a microphone. That ability is probably number of years off, but it is coming. Something along those lines will happen as it becomes more important that you get the data quicker and faster. Information is the new currency of the world. I really believe that. I believe its the key to outsmarting the competition. If you think about it and think about your own concerns and your own businesses, I think youll agree with me. Bar codes provide the information vehicle that you need to make some decisions that involve merchandising and ultimately servicing your customer better. The nichemanship that bar codes help create permits a flexibility that will win out. And well beat the competition hands down. Bar codes are commonsense solutions for many problems involving the collection of information. Defeating the foreign competition will be a relatively simple proposition because of the flexibility we will have and the superior information we have about what our customers really want. 3. Literature Review A review of the literature reveals that very few empirical investigations have been undertaken to quantify the benefits of RFID and Bar coding technologies. The number of articles that discuss RFID technology and its adoption has risen from almost zero in the early 1990s to nearly nine thousand by 2005. Of those studies that have been conducted so far only one dimensional barcodes were studied (Vijayaraman Osyk, 2006). This does not appear to be an accurate representation of the technologies currently used in supply chains and firms. Have companies and researchers become so consumed with the hype that surrounds RFID that they have forgotten about the most widely used technology on this planet bar coding, with five billion barcodes scanned each day across the world and already implemented across diverse businesses and product ranges (Wyld, 2006). Barcodes are part of every product that we buy and has become theâ€Å"ubiquitous standard for identifying and tracking products† (Wyld, 2006, p. 157) Traditional bar coding is coupled with the Universal Product Code (UPC) and every day accounts for billions of scans all over the world. According to a survey conducted by Zebra Technologies in 2006, over 96% of European companies cited improved efficiency as the main benefit of using bar coding. Other reasons that European companies gave for using barcodes were: increasing the accuracy of ordering and invoicing (32%), cost reduction (26%), and the fact that newer technology isnt ready yet (16%) (â€Å"Accuracy tops UK†, 2006). Within the Auto-ID family, a new two-dimensional system of bar coding has evolved which allows barcodes to hold more data than the traditional method. Product data is encoded in both horizontal and vertical dimensions and, as more data is encoded, the size of the barcode can be increased in both the horizontal and vertical directions thus maintaining a manageable shape for easy scanning and product packaging specifications (â€Å"2D Barcodes Explained†, 2007; Shaked, Levy, Baharavl, Yen, 2001). Two-dimensional barcodes are already being used for concert tickets by sending a barcode to a mobile phone and then scanning the message at the door by a laser gun. In Japan, mobile phones are being adapted to scan two-dimensional barcodes placed in magazines adverts. The barcode is scanned and connects the mobile to the internet and shows the user the film clip or plays the ring tones. Further developments in the lasers used to scan barcodes help improve the efficiency and speed in which barcodes can be scanned (Dearne, 2006; Ishii, 2004; Suzuki, 2006). Example, they are adversely affected if they are brought into contact with metal and liquids. The signal frequency that RFID uses is also subject to interference as they are commonly used by other technologies, and RFID standards as yet have not assigned a lone frequency for RFID transmissions (Clarke et al, 2005; Forcino, 2004; Ranky, 2006) Barcodes, though, can be printed on durable materials and are not affected by substrate materials or electromagnetic emissions, all of which lend them a competitive edge in some industries and environments. Improvements in how barcodes are printed are evolving all the time as manufacturers strengthen the barcode system. Two-dimensional barcodes can be read even when damaged, so this further shortens the gap between the two technologies (â€Å"Barcode scanners†, 2007; Dover, 1995). Developments in the range at which barcodes can be scanned similarly reduce the apparent performance gap between RFID and bar coding (â€Å"Wide ranging barcode scanner,† 2007). It is questionable why there has been no significant research around these developments that can purportedly improve the quality and performance of existing systems. 4.Methodology This report is depending on the secondary data include both raw data and published summaries. Most organizations collect and store a variety of data to support their operations consumer research organizations collect data are subsequently by different clients. A growing variety haves been deposited in and are available from data archives. In addition, the vast majority of companies and professional organizations have their own Internet sites from which data may be obtained. 4.1Questionnaires: Questionnaire can be conducted in different form: telephone, Internet or postal. The data from each of these techniques needs to be reliable and valid. Bell (1997), suggests there are seven questions types, verbal or open, list, ranking, scale, category, quantity and grid. Questionnaires can be use to gather information from respondents on for example there: Beliefs Demographic characteristic Knowledge Attitudes. The questions fall into two main categories, demographic and content questions, the demographic seek information about the respondents such as age, occupancy, and so on. The content questions are dealing with the subject being surveyed, and ask about the respondents opinions, attitudes, perceptions and behaviors. 4.2 Interviews Interviews are time consuming it is a highly subjective technique and therefore there is always the damage of bias. Analyzing responses can present problems, and wording the questions is almost as demarking for interviews as it is for questionnaires. Interviews can be divided into many sub areas, and how they are conducted will classify then either as quantitative or qualitative. Structured interviews, use questionnaire but the interview meet respondents and ask the questions face to face. The interviewer must not deviate from the schedule of questions., semi-structured interviews, the researcher will have a list of themes and questions to be covered. Each form has its own advantages and disadvantages. The needed data and each form has its nature shall highly influence which form shall be used and there will be always a reference to the form used to gather given data. 4.3 Field Survey The research methodologies comply of both quantitative and qualitative modes of dates collection and include: background, literature review, questionnaire. In addition research on the literature review of books, Journals and web pages around subject areas. The research shall not follow either positivism nor phenomenological shall it be a hybrid of both- pluralism. Also the writer research methods are deductive where the writer shall be formulating certain hypothesis and then shall test those hypotheses through data collected. 5.Barcode applications in practical life Uses barcode technology has no limits; it is medicine for trade and education for tourism. For example, bar code scanning can be used on some merchandise to give the buyer more information about the product. This is what started applying a global fast food, and had ensured that with each fund and a small meal that contains health information on the meal. In the field of medicine can provide some medical drugs contain a link to the property and its medical. Barcode can also be used in tourism by providing tourist guidebooks containing the bar code symbol for the particular tourism can benefit from it to access the required information or to find out more about the region. It also began the spread of bar code scanning as an alternative to postage stamps and seals. Even in foreign restaurants do put the code bar code menu to be translated from one language to another. Finally barcode applications in education, many of them to provide the student with the code bar code after the end of the lecture scans the code, and routing mobile phone site article on the network to work after the exam to download calendar of what has been explained, or ask a question is confused by his understanding. The technological developments in mobile barcode technology have made it available to all. Enough to have a supported mobile phone camera and supports the third generation to be able to take advantage and experience of the barcode technology. Known as a barcode label product globally and locally in the form of the device can designed to be read being picked up and sent to a file of information within the computer and to obtain information for a particular product with the utmost precision, speed, and a code number of data products, which facilitates the operations as follows: It contacts the abolition of manual data and easy access to data with speed and accuracy in identifying the products and Electronic control of production lines and handling of raw materials. Moreover, control the movement of electronically stores with ease and speed of trading through the distribution channels and thus reduce costs and satisfy customers. Also it is easy handling and circulation of goods at point of sale and easy follow-up product at any point during the stages of manufacturing, storage, supply, distribution and sale and the final follow-up services. It is communication through the exchange of information electronically criteria. Furth more, it is collecting and presenting information in a fast, accurate and reliable in strategic planning for the production of marketing. Also it reduces the size of inventory and reduce losses resulting from the expiration of products and increase the value added of the product and raise its competitiveness in both domestic or world ma rkets through find a way to exchange data globally agreed. In additional it is coding of products in accordance with the Code is the image of a civilized world and keep abreast of globalization and trade developments international and WTO requirements. Also the numbering of the product in the form of bar code and a simple, inexpensive process to facilitate data retrieval automatically and raising the efficiency of customer service to expedite the sale and payment. In point-of-sale management, the use of barcodes can provide very detailed up-to-date information on key aspects of the business, enabling decisions to be made much more quickly and with more confidence. For example: Fast-selling items can be identified quickly and automatically reordered to meet consumer demand, and Slow-selling items can be identified, preventing a build-up of unwanted stock, The effects of repositioning a given product within a store can be monitored, allowing fast-moving more profitable items to occupy the best space and historical data can be used to predict seasonal fluctuations very accurately. Items may be re-priced on the shelf to reflect both sale prices and price increases. This technology also enables the profiling of individual consumers, typically through a voluntary registration of discount cards. While pitched as a benefit to the consumer, this practice is considered to be potentially dangerous by privacy advocates. Besides sales and inventory tracking, barcodes are very useful in shipping/receiving/tracking. When a manufacturer packs a box with any given item, a Unique Identifying Number (UID) can be assigned to the box. A relational database can be created to relate the UID to relevant information about the box; such as order number, items packed, qty packed, final destination, etc. The information can be transmitted through a communication system such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) so the retailer has the information about a shipment before it arrives. Shipments that are sent to a Distribution Center (DC) are tracked before being forwarded to the final destination. When the shipment gets to the final destination, the UID gets scanned, so the store knows where the order came from, whats inside the box, and how much to pay the manufacturer. The reason barcodes are business-friendly is that the scanners are relatively low cost and extremely accurate compared to key-entry, with only about 1 substitution error in 15,000 to 36 trillion characters entered. The exact error rate depends on the type of barcode. 6. References: Tony Seideman, Barcodes Sweep the World, barcoding.com Wonders of Modern Technology George Laurer, Development of the U.P.C. Symbol, bellsouthpwp.net Nelson, Benjamin (1997). From Punched Cards To Bar Codes. Varchaver, Nicholas (2004-05-31). Scanning the Globe. Fortune. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2004/05/31/370719/index.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-27. Selmeier, Bill (2008). Spreading the Barcode. pp. 26, 214, 236, 238, 244, 245, 236, 238, 244, 245. ISBN 978-0-578-02417-2. Bishop, Tricia (July 5 2004). UPC bar code has been in use 30 years. SFgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/05/BUG6Q7G4AJ1.DTLtype=business. Retrieved 22 December 2009.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Financing the Purchase of a Website - The Small Business Administration (SBA) :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Financing the Purchase of a Website - The Small Business Administration (SBA) Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com One of the Small Business Administration's primary objectives is to help small businesses obtain financing. Although the SBA itself does not make direct loans, it has set up a number of loan programs to assist small businesses. In connection with most of these programs, the SBA provides guarantees to the private sector lenders who actually make the loans. With this guaranty in place, these lenders will generally make loans for the purchase of websites that they would not otherwise make. The discussion below focuses on those programs that are most commonly used by buyers in connection with financing the purchase of a website. Section 7(a) Program The Section 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program is one of the SBA's most important and widely used lending programs. Loans may be used for a wide variety of business purposes, including the purchase of websites and most other types of assets. Although in most cases, there is no limit on the size of the loan which can be requested from the lender, there is a limit on the amount of the loan that the SBA will guaranty. Generally the SBA will guaranty up to $1,000,000 and 75% (85% for loans under $150,000) of the loan. Thus, a $1,333,333 loan would be the largest fully guaranteed SBA loan under the Section 7(a) program. Eligibility for this type of loan guaranty is dependent on a number of factors. The website must be operated for profit, do business in the , and have a reasonable amount of equity invested by the owner. Note that all owners of 20% or more of the website must personally guaranty the loan. The size of the website must also be below certain size limits established by the SBA. These size limits vary by industry. Additional considerations include the website 's cash flow, and the owner's character, management capability, and equity contribution. Other details include: Loan Maturities - Term is based on the ability to repay, the loan purpose, and the useful life of the website. The maximum maturities are (i) the shorter of 25 years or the useful life for most hard assets and (ii) 7 years for working capital. Principal Repayments - Loan principal is structured to amortize over the period of the loan. Thus there is no "balloon" balance owing on the loan's maturity date. Interest Rates - Interest rates can be either fixed or floating, and are negotiated between the borrower and the lender. Financing the Purchase of a Website - The Small Business Administration (SBA) :: Sell Websites Buy Websites Financing the Purchase of a Website - The Small Business Administration (SBA) Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com One of the Small Business Administration's primary objectives is to help small businesses obtain financing. Although the SBA itself does not make direct loans, it has set up a number of loan programs to assist small businesses. In connection with most of these programs, the SBA provides guarantees to the private sector lenders who actually make the loans. With this guaranty in place, these lenders will generally make loans for the purchase of websites that they would not otherwise make. The discussion below focuses on those programs that are most commonly used by buyers in connection with financing the purchase of a website. Section 7(a) Program The Section 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program is one of the SBA's most important and widely used lending programs. Loans may be used for a wide variety of business purposes, including the purchase of websites and most other types of assets. Although in most cases, there is no limit on the size of the loan which can be requested from the lender, there is a limit on the amount of the loan that the SBA will guaranty. Generally the SBA will guaranty up to $1,000,000 and 75% (85% for loans under $150,000) of the loan. Thus, a $1,333,333 loan would be the largest fully guaranteed SBA loan under the Section 7(a) program. Eligibility for this type of loan guaranty is dependent on a number of factors. The website must be operated for profit, do business in the , and have a reasonable amount of equity invested by the owner. Note that all owners of 20% or more of the website must personally guaranty the loan. The size of the website must also be below certain size limits established by the SBA. These size limits vary by industry. Additional considerations include the website 's cash flow, and the owner's character, management capability, and equity contribution. Other details include: Loan Maturities - Term is based on the ability to repay, the loan purpose, and the useful life of the website. The maximum maturities are (i) the shorter of 25 years or the useful life for most hard assets and (ii) 7 years for working capital. Principal Repayments - Loan principal is structured to amortize over the period of the loan. Thus there is no "balloon" balance owing on the loan's maturity date. Interest Rates - Interest rates can be either fixed or floating, and are negotiated between the borrower and the lender.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Columbia Business Environment

According to (Walter, J. (2006), any business worthy its salt must carry out a business analysis audit before venturing into expansion plans. This often saves an organization time and resources which would be lost if the decision to expand or relocate business is not based on sound business practices. The case below analyses the business environment in Colombia, by addressing the political, cultural, economic, and domestic and industry analysis of the country. Finally the paper gives a verdict based on the findings of the analysis which is basically a recommendation on the economic investment options for a business aiming at venturing into the Colombian market. Location. Colombia, neighbors Caribbean Sea, Panama, Venezuela, a well as North Pacific Ocean. With a population of about 40 million people, the country has a good domestic market. Colombia enjoys a mixture of climates such as coastal- tropic climate as well as in the eastern plains it also has cool highlands climate suitable for agricultural activities. Political environment Major political parties currently include, Democratic Alliance, Liberal Party, Patriotic Union, and Social Conservative Party (Kline, & Harvey, 1985). Political leaders include the president, Carlos Franco Echavarria, Antonio Navarro Wolff, Otty Patino, Carlos Alonso Lucio, Jose Fernando Bautista, Aida Abella and Dr. Eugenio Merlano de la Ossa. The country has democratic ties with the US and has ambassador in the US as well as hosts an ambassador from the US. In terms of religion the people are largely Roman Catholics, which constitute over 90% of the population with other religions forming the 10 percent. Currently the country is grappling with civil riots, poverty, lawlessness, depreciating currency as well as unstable political environment. The country has been faced with civil strife for the past 40 years something which has led to the displacement of over 200,000 people internally (Amnesty International, 2002). Currently, the presidency is from right –wing and many pundits have predicted that, as long as he continues to favor socialist ideals, the long waited reforms especially those addressing the plight of the poor in Columbia will continue unresolved. Economic conditions. The economy is predicted to grow at a rate of 6. 1something attributable to stable domestic consumption as well as favorable private investment situation. In the year 2005 the GDP was 5. 13 and a 6. 1 growth this year is appositive indicator of a favorable economic environment. The best performing sectors are trade, infrastructure and industry. Columbia’s GDP has been growing at a rate of 3. 1 to 3-6 in the last 3 years that is from the year 2004 to presently. Improved global economic environment is the reason behind a lot of economic activity being experienced in Colombia (Bagley, & Michael, 1987). In addition, the domestic market is growing in a sharp contrast to the impoverished people. The growth rate can be termed as encouraging with the country experiencing strong and predictable exchange rates, as well as low and favorable interest rates. On top of the above, the credit conditions have improved significantly as compared to the situation in the 90’s. Major economic sectors include textiles, oil exploration, beverages, chemicals, cement; as well as minerals like gold, coal, and emeralds (Thoumi, Francisco 1987). Labor conditions. The labor market in Colombia is ready and oversupplied. However major challenges lay ahead because of the deplorable labor movement conditions in that country. In a nut shell it is evident from the available literature that, labor organizations are non operational in Colombia, joining trade union is equitable to courting death something which has greatly affected the labor relations in the country. On top of that, employees’ morale in the country is on an all-time low due to the fact that, the workers in that country do not have a strong bargaining power (Peeler, &John, 1976). The situation becomes more complex due to the involvement of military groups which besides being armed, seem to operate undeterred by law enforcement agencies. There have been reported numerous abductions, threats and assassinations all directly related to labor issues something which calls for great planning on the side of a foreign company wishing to invest in Colombia. The above have had a negative effect on the economic environment of the country and have been the leading causes for investors shunning from investing in the country. Besides the above named conditions of crime, there has been of late a wave of economic crime such as hijackings of shipments, ransom demand kidnappings, counterfeit goods trade, all of which have made production costs to go up due to high risks. Colombia is active in regional and international organizations such as UN, Andean community, the Rio group and OAS (Martz, & John, 1962). The country’s political system is a democracy of bicameral congress and independent executive as well as judiciary. The biggest political parties are the Liberal and Conservative currently the president is, Alvaro Uribe. The people speak their ethnic languages of their respective ethnic groups but Spanish is the official and national language, such ethnic groups and languages include; Mestizo, Whites, Blacks, mulatto and Amerindian. The literacy level is very high with 91% of the population being literate which implies that skilled labor is readily available in the country. The people are known to be hospitable and rarely has there been reported animosity related to foreigners. Evidently, Colombia is not a politically stable country something which has resulted from continued guerrilla warfare as well as paramilitary activities. Urban crime rate is very high as well as the insecurity conditions in the whole country. Corruption is reported to be very high couple with drug trafficking and all other manner of social crimes. It is correct to say that Columbia is one of the most unsafe places to invest in and therefore the business should postpone its expansion plans in Colombia and perhaps relocate to other neighboring countries with same strategic business advantages as Columbia but less risks and therefore operational costs..

Friday, November 8, 2019

The High Priest of Globalization essays

The High Priest of Globalization essays Everyone remembers the times in early childhood when their dad would hand them a picture book and ask them what they saw. Unbeknownst to the child, the picture contained a hidden picture or message. Although difficult to see, it was there. Even if refused by acknowledgement, it still existed. Such is the case with todays government. The so called "world leaders" are only puppets acting under the control of the great puppeteers. Whether it is soaring gas prices, a fluctuating economy, or shifts in political power; secret entities of elite caliber are the masterminds behind all world affairs. These expert manipulators covertly gather behind closed doors and make decisions that affect the lives of every human being on the face of the earth. By exploiting political positions, exclusive members of the Trilateral Commission secretly direct, manipulate, and are making advances to eventually control the governments of the world, as a whole. The Trilateral Commission is an American based, political super power that claims to have its interest asserted in shaping and protecting foreign policy. The founder of the Trilateral Commission and chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank, David Rockefeller, wrote to the New York Times and said: My point is that far from being a coterie of international conspirators with designs on covertly conquering the world, the Trilateral Commission is, in reality, a group of concerned citizens interested in identifying and clarifying problems facing the world and in fostering greater understanding and cooperation among international allies. It is easy to say that their cause is benevolent, but are there ulterior motives? Is the Trilateral Commission attempting to mold public policy and construct a framework for international stability in the coming decades? Commission members such as David Rockefeller and former President Jimmy Carter are in such influential positi...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Stakeholder Relationships Student Copy Essays

Stakeholder Relationships Student Copy Essays Stakeholder Relationships Student Copy Paper Stakeholder Relationships Student Copy Paper Secondary stakeholders c. Primary stakeholders d. Investors e. Customers 4. A firm that makes use of a recognizes other stakeholders beyond investors, employees, and suppliers, and explicitly acknowledges the ;o-way dialog that exists between a firms internal and external environments. A. Stakeholder model of corporate governance b. Stakeholder bias c. Code of ethics d. Stakeholder interaction model e. Corporate interface model 5. The degree to which a firm understands and addresses stakeholder demands can be referred to as a. A stakeholder orientation. A shareholder orientation. C. The stakeholder interaction model. D. A two-way street. E. A continuum. 6. Which of the following is not a method typically employed by firms when researching relevant stakeholder groups? A. Surveys b. Focus groups . Internet searches d. Press reviews e. Guessing 7. A stakeholder orientation can be viewed as a(n) a. Necessity for business success. B. Continuum. C. Popularizing concept. D. Good marketing p loy. E. Expensive proposition. 8. Shareholders provide resources to an organization that are critical to long term success. Which of the following does the book suggest that suppliers offer? A. The promise of customer loyalty b. Material resources and/or intangible knowledge c. Infrastructure d. Revenue e. Leadership skills 9. Which of the following is not associated with the stakeholder interaction model? A. Involves a two-way relationship between firm and stakeholders b. Recognizes the input of investors, employees, and suppliers c. Explicitly acknowledges dialogue with a firms internal environment d. Explicitly acknowledges dialogue with a firms external environment e. Accountability, oversight, and control all fall under the definition and implementation of corporate a. Profit. B. Loyalty. C. Care. D. Governance. E. Diligence. 15. Major corporate governance issues normally involve the response that is most correct) a. Strategic-level b. Tactical-level c. Divisional-level d. Marketing-level e. Accounting-level decisions. (Choose 16. Which of the following is a major ethical concern among corporate boards of directors? A. Compensation b. The non-traditional directorship approach c. Dividend reporting d. Corporate social audits e. Debt swaps 17. One policy to address the issue of executive pay was implemented by J. P. Morgan, it stated that a. There should be no limit on what top executives can earn. B. Managers should earn no more than twenty times the pay of other employees. C. Top managers should make the same amount as other employees. D. Employees can determine how much managers make. E. The government should determine the worth of each managers service. 18. The specific steps for implementing the stakeholder perspective do not include which of the following? A. Identifying stakeholder groups b. Identifying stakeholder issues c.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Comparing the school of thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Comparing the school of thought - Essay Example Vision is the central concept of this school of thought (Pearce, and Robinson, 2004; Sadler & Craig, 2003). This vision of course emanates from a leader who formulates the appropriate strategy to attain fulfilment of the former. This strategy formulation happens to use the leader’s intuition, wisdom, experience, judgement, and insight (Mckenna, R. et al, 2007). This presupposes that that the strategy should exist in the mind of the leader in the form of a vision of the organizations future. The leader accomplishes the strategy design using partly aware process. With the leader being heavily guided by the vision single-mindedly and he should keep close control over implementation, reformulating it as necessary (Sadler & Craig, 2003). A leader cannot be called as such without followers. Combine the leader and his or her followers, and a group is created. Something must however bind the members and the leader and such wonderful link is called a culture. Thus, organizations should have a culture or an evidence of shared belief. An organizational culture is therefore defined as the shared belief of persons in the business entity (Sadler & Craig, 2003; Wilcox, 1998; Franklin & Baun, 1995) which these people reflect in their traditions and habits. This would explain the presence of ore tangible manifestations like signs, logos, symbols, uniform, one flag and even design of building or facilities to reflect a common understanding on some (Sadler & Craig, 2003). The best example of having common belief is a church whose members have someway doing things which they themselves give significance. When applied to business organization, culture is thus viewed as a separate school of thought from entrepreneur. Based on this background, it must be easy to see the strategy formulation as a process of social interaction using the shared beliefs and values of the members of the organization to

Friday, November 1, 2019

Business Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Analysis - Research Paper Example This being the case, a proper review and assessment of the financials of Donna Karan ought to start with a review of the LVMH financials (Google, 2012). It is noteworthy that the key competitors listed for Donna Karan International are ANN Inc .and Giorgio Armani (Hoovers, 2012). Most of the other firms that are grouped with Donna Karan, meanwhile, are private firms, including Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton North America, Roc Apparel Group, and Lands' End Inc. (Google, 2012). As with ANN and Giorgio Armani, given the private nature of the entities, there is a dearth of information relating to their financials (Hoovers, 2012; Google, 2012). The data on LVMH is more comprehensive financially, and it is from the parent firm that we are able to glean insights into the nature of the financials of LVMH, and indirectly Donna Karan, from the financial statements. From the perspective of the parent firm a few players stand out as the real competition, with comparable market capitali zations. LVMH has the most recent valuation of about US 82.73 billion dollars. This compares with its competitors Christian Dior, at US 25.9 billion dollars; TSI Holdings, at US 56.27 billion dollars; and Hermes, at US 30.45 billion dollars. We can see that among the competitors, LMH has the largest market capitalization, and therefore the largest clout among the firms. A look at the movement of the share price of LVMH over the past five years shows that the share price is about 25 percent off the highs it achieved in 2008, but generally the price is on an upward trend from its lowest points in 2009. At the current price/earnings ratio of 18.63, the share price is undervalued in comparison to competition, such as Lancy, with a P/E ratio of 25.7, even as it is overvalued in comparison to Shejiang Semir, with a P/E ratio of 14.63. Given the high P/E ratio of Lancy, one can make the assumption that there are elements in the underlying financials of LVMH/Donna Karan that has resulted in analysts undervaluing the share price to the level that it stands at present, commanding that kind of P/E ratio. The table below details the comparison of top competitors in the space of Donna Karan/LVMH. It is surprising that LVMH is not commanding a higher share price and P/E ratio, given that its EPS is high in comparison to Lancy (Google, 2012b): Valuation Company name Earnings per  share P/E ratio Mkt Cap LVMUY LVMH Moet Henness... 1.78 18.63 82.73B CHDRF CHRISTIAN DIOR S A F 25.90B MMO1V Marimekko Oyj 0.26 55.63 116.82M 002612 Lancy Co Ltd 1.27 25.70 6.55B 3608 TSI Holdings Co Ltd -204.41 56.27B HESAF HERMES INTL SA 30.45B LTAN Le Tanneur & Cie SA -0.13 27.43M DPT S.T. Dupont SA 0.01 64.86 153.22M 002563 Zhejiang Semir Ga... 1.54 14.63 15.13B TAM Etam Developpemen... 1.83 7.89 115.27M 065060 GNCO Co., Ltd. Table Source: Google, 2012b From the growth ratios, meanwhile, one can see that LVMH has been on a growth tear, plowing back money into growing the business, with the att endant advantages that such growth can bring, including economies of scale, and the ability to rapidly expand profits in the future, from a large revenue base (Reuters, 2012)..    Company Industry Sector Sales (MRQ) vs Qtr. 1 Yr. Ago 25.98 13.75 14.56 Sales (TTM) vs TTM 1 Yr. Ago 22.41