Elektrolux :: essays research papers fc

The acquisition of different companies always indicates a change for both the acquiring and the acquired organisation and the people within. To successfully combine and integrate Elektrolux and Zanussi it is essential to consider both organisations ´ formal and informal structures which are heavily influenced by their culture. Culture develops on the one hand nationwide but also specifically in an organisation. Building up trust is important to develop a working informal network, which supports the formal structure. Thus positive influence is taken on the selected behaviour of people within what Breton and Wintrobe call “bureaucracies';. This behaviour is characteristically competitive, especially in such times of major change. This change should be managed step-by-step and is described by Quinn as logical incrementalism. It builds “the seeds of understanding, identity, and commitment into the very processes'; (Quinn, p145) and is the underlying strategy which makes integration successful. After Elektrolux announced the acquisition of Zanussi, both organisations and people within were confronted with many changes which created tensions or misfits that called for new visions.(Normann in Quinn, p99) As a first step, mission values and guiding principles of Zanussi were made public to the employees in the Mission Statement.(Exhibit 3 in Case Study, p914) From the bottom-up they should understand step-by-step in a learning process (Normann in Quinn, p99) what behaviour was generally expected and correct. Bennis and others (in Quinn, p101) also agree that “programs to achieve significant change must be phased and largely undertaken bottom up, but the legitimacy of alternatives must be affirmed by the support of key people at the top.'; Besides the new Mission Statement, education and training programmes were undertaken to diffuse the new philosophy and policy. Thus the rules for building up an effective network are made visible. This network supports the formal structure. Breton and Wintrobe also assume that “relationships between superiors and subordinates in bureaus are generally governed by exchange and trade and not by the giving of orders and directives.'; Exchange can only take place, if property rights are existing and are supported by “trust'; (Breton and Wintrobe, p4) Trust is essential for the functioning of networks and has to be built up incrementally. One effective way of building up trust is by making “symbolic moves'; (q,111). In addition to this, the “most important changes are often those which signal a change in attitude at the top of an organisation.'; (Riccardo and Cafiero in Quinn, p112).

Cleopatra’s dramatic Essay

This request displays Cleopatra’s dramatic, attention seeking and indulgent side. She can be very histrionic which becomes more evident throughout the scene. Cleopatra’s words also portray her as a very manipulative person, able to bend people to her will. Cleopatra’s unexpected actions are what fascinates Antony and keeps him drawn to her. This could partly be the reason why Antony’s Egyptian side has such a strong hold over him. Furthermore, Cleopatra’s dramatic words accuse Antony of being unfaithful: â€Å"O, never was there queen/ So mightily betrayed!† This again shows Cleopatra as being manipulative, jealous and quarrelsome – a difficult aspect of her character. Her statement is very self-pitying and manipulative, she is accusing Antony and there is nothing he could say to please her. He cannot control or deal with her – possible part of what makes her so fascinating and intriguing. Therefore it can once again be seen that Shakespeare’s creation of Cleopatra as a manipulation and captivating character plays some part in Antony’s duality of character. Her hold over her lover is too strong and is making Antony a more Egyptian, hedonistic lover than a true Roman of his past.  The audience are first introduced to Antony through the comments of Philo at the very beginning of the play, and the audience are informed of the duality of character in Antony. Philo begins by describing how he feels that Antony’s love for Cleopatra is out of control and damaging him and his reputation: â€Å"Nay, but this dotage of our general’s/ O’erflows the measure.† Philo continues with: â€Å" His captain’s heart,  Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst  The buckles on his breast, reneges all temper,  And is become the bellows and the fan  To cool a gypsy’s lust.†Ã‚  This refers to Antony’s past greatness as a soldier – a true Roman hero. Philo feels like Antony’s love for Cleopatra has overpowered him and destroyed what he once was. Philo then describes Antony as one of â€Å"the triple pillar of the world transformed/ Into a strumpet’s fool.† This shows the Roman contempt for Cleopatra, which is conveyed throughout the play. None of the Romans have a good thing to say about her and disregard her. The hugely eminent and powerful, magnificent Antony has been utterly diminished by his infatuation and obsession with Cleopatra. Philo once again makes reference to Antony’s past greatness: â€Å"Sometimes, when he is not Antony,  He comes too short of that great property  Which still should go with Antony.†Ã‚  It reminds the audience how great Antony was as a great roman, a great leader, strong politician and statesman. Through the conversation of Philo and Demetrius, it can therefore be seen that Antony is indeed caught in a tug-of-war between his Roman and Egyptian loyalty ties. He is supposedly loyal to Rome, yet he is loyal to Cleopatra and the inhabitants of her Kingdom in Egypt. In conclusion, it is the differing character’s comments and views that bring out the duality in Antony’s character in Act One. The comments from Antony uncover an underlying battle within himself, a battle fought by both his Egyptian and Roman side. Antony himself acts madly in love with Cleopatra, yet aside, he seems to know that his real loyalty lies with Rome, and his love with the queen can only lead to destruction and danger. Octavius Caesar’s remarks inform the audience of Antony’s past as a great and respected soldier of Rome. This reinforces the audience’s view of Antony’s character division and allows the audience to fully appreciate the difficult choice that Antony will have to make. In addition, Cleopatra’s comments on her lover give the audience her true personality traits of being manipulative and dramatic. These qualities fascinate Antony and encourage his lust and strengthen his Egyptian loyalty ties. Finally, Philo’s own observations of Antony give the notion of Cleopatra being a poison that has transformed Antony from a fully pledged guardian of Rome to an irresponsible and pleasure seeking fool.

Marketing Review Essay

You track sales and profits, and discover that pants are selling better than shirts, apparently because the shirts are too expensive. You will look for a lower-cost supplier for shirts, or consider dropping your prices if you can afford to do so. 2. You realize that your experience as skaters is a plus; however, your lack of experience in selling clothing could hurt you. You find out that a skateboard shop in town wants to branch out into inline skating; however, you also find out that Nike is thinking about expanding its product line to include special inline skating clothes. 3. You decide that you will target college students who enjoy inline skating, and will aim to establish yourself as a company that offers trendy clothes for the student budget. 4. You decide that your business focus will be to offer fashionable yet durable clothing for inline skaters, with built-in protection for knees and elbows. 5. You offer clothing that college students would want to wear, price it for a student budget, sell it online and in sports stores near college campuses, and promote your products on Facebook. 8. As the text explains, Nike, the prominent athletic shoe manufacturer, relies heavily on athlete sponsorships to build demand for its products. Spectators at major sporting events–both those attending in person and those watching at home–frequently see the Nike â€Å"swoosh† logo worn by elite athletes. Given the vast worldwide audience for Olympics broadcasts, an Olympic year gives Nike increased exposure. On a Nike situation analysis in an Olympic year, would you consider this exposure to be a strength or an opportunity? Explain your reasoning; be specific. Nike, the prominent athletic shoe manufacturer, acquired Cole-Haan, a manufacturer of dress and casual street shoes, in 1988. Depending on your interpretation of the products and markets involved, you might be able to argue that this acquisition represented any of the four major growth strategies. For EACH of the four growth strategies, offer a justification that the Cole-Haan acquisition represented that particular strategy. Don’t just define what the growth strategy means; apply the definition to this specific example. Once you have offered a justification for each of the four growth strategies, choose the one you think the Cole-Haan acquisition best represents, and explain why. Subway is a large chain of franchise sandwich shops. Marcia owns three Subway stores in a large city. At the end of the year, she notes that sales rose from two to five percent over last year’s sales at Stores 1 and 2, but fell two percent at Store 3. Marcia decides to give large bonuses to the managers of Stores 1 and 2, and to put Store 3’s manager on probation. Critique Marcia’s evaluation of her stores’ performance. What would you have done differently? Be specific. Question marks: low market share/high growth rate. Candidates for strategic marketing planning, assessing potential for growth. 2. Dogs: low market share/low growth rate. Candidates to be phased out unless they are needed to complement or boost sales of other products. 3. Cash cows: high market share/low growth rate. Sources of funding for other parts of the firm. They typically require modest promotional and production support. 4. Stars: high market share/high growth rate. Usually require continued promotion efforts and expansion of production capacity. 136. The two bases of classification are relative market share (high-low) and market growth rate (high-low). This leads to four quadrants labeled stars, cash cows, dogs, and question marks. 137. Your sales manager wants you to stop selling those products that are in slow growth markets and which the company has a small relative market share. The manager also wants you to spend more time and effort selling products that are in high growth markets and which the company has a high market share. Finally, you should continue to sell but not put additional effort into high relative market share, low market growth products, referred to as cash cows. If Ryan pursues a market development strategy, he will attempt to serve new market segments. Since his product is a restaurant, market development would likely include opening additional locations in other areas, offering the same menu. 138. If Ryan pursues a market penetration strategy, he will likely expand advertising and promotion, maybe adding billboards, promoting specials, adding hours and likely expanding the restaurant to serve more customers. If they pursue a diversification strategy, they would market new products or services to a market segment they are not currently serving. Targeting landscape design or maintenance services for commercial customers would be one type of diversification. 139. If they pursue a product development strategy, they will offer new products or services to the firm’s current target market. A nursery could logically provide a landscape design consulting service, landscape maintenance service, soil and pest testing service or add additional products such as indigenous plants. 140. Many elements might be included, but it is important for students to demonstrate they understand the importance of allocating resources, leveraging competencies, capitalizing on strengths and minimizing weaknesses, coordinating efforts and decisions, and facilitating smooth operations for the firm. 141. Firms operate in a complex environment, and it is easy to overlook critical issues in the overwhelming possibilities. A structured approach will minimize the possibility that important items will be overlooked. It is also a way to ensure the transparency for the rest of the organization who depend on marketing for leadership. 142. Operational excellence, because it focuses on efficiency in its supply chain. 143. Creating and developing customer value. 144. Summer–planning; Fall–implementation; Spring–control. 145. SWOT analyses help a firm evaluate the current situation, both the internal environment and external environment. 146. Opportunities that build on a firm’s strengths relative to those of their competitors. 147. Market penetration, because the companies are trying to sell additional products (marked down) to current customers. 148. Product development, because the CD is a new product (just recorded) and it’s being sold to current customers. Some students might say that it is a market development strategy. For this to be correct, they would have to argue that a different market segment that currently doesn’t drink orange juice is being targeted. 149. The best answer is that this is a market penetration strategy. The slogan seeks to increase sales of a current product (orange juice), which reduces the options to market penetration or market development. â€Å"It isn’t just for breakfast anymore† sounds like the Growers Association wants those who drink orange juice at breakfast time to consider it at other times of the day too. In other words, it focuses on increasing usage among current customers, which is market penetration. 1. Locational excellence: In addition to having a top-notch website, try to get your products into as many retail stores as possible, probably focusing on sporting goods stores. 2. Operational excellence: Develop close relationships with suppliers of fabric and other raw materials and with retailers. 3. Customer excellence: Offer outstanding service, perhaps including live chat on the website as well as no-hassle returns if the customer changes his or her mind about a purchase. 4. Product excellence: Focus on continually improving the products and making them the most advanced ones on the market, perhaps using stylish yet durable fabrics that won’t be damaged in a fall. Then work to develop a clear positioning statement for your brand. 150. There are many correct answers; here is a sample. To make this question easier, you could ask the student to provide an idea for just one or two of the macro strategies. 1. Threats-could include the recession, a glut of graduates in the field, or reduced demand for professionals in the field 2. Opportunities-could include expected growth in the field, a new firm starting up in the area that will be hiring, or a shortage of graduates in the field 3. Weaknesses-possibilities include lack of experience, inability to relocate, or a low GPA 4. Strengths-students might mention internship experience, past work experience, classes taken, personal characteristics, or personal contacts Students will come up with a variety of answers depending on their individual situations. They will probably need to do some speculation for Opportunities and Threats. Here is a sample: 151. In order to make sure the students clearly classify the factors, you might want to provide an answer space with four sections; in each one, include a blank line for the name of the section and additional space for the factor. If you want to make this question more difficult, you can add to the question the following: â€Å"What should Microsoft have done before deciding to discontinue the product?† The answer: Microsoft should have determined the causes for the disappointing sales in order to determine whether or not another action (perhaps a different target market, a price adjustment, or a revised promotion plan) could put sales back on track. Some students might also answer â€Å"Control phase.† Strictly speaking, this is a phase and not a step; however, Step 5 is the only step of the process that fits into the Control phase, so you may want to accept both as correct answers. 152. Step 5–Evaluate performance using marketing metrics. 153. A. Evaluate results; B. Situation analysis; C. STP; D. Business mission; E. Implementation 154. A reasonable argument can be made for this being a strength or an opportunity, so this is about the rationale offered. This could be viewed as a strength in that Nike’s logo is ubiquitous and well-recognized, and customers in Nike’s target markets will be reminded of the many sports for which Nike offers shoes and apparel. It could also be viewed as an opportunity to strengthen Nike’s position overseas (due to international viewership) and to increase awareness of the breadth of Nike’s products (due to increased viewership of niche sports that ordinarily don’t get much attention). This question helps to point out that classifications are rarely black and white–how things are viewed depend on assumptions. Diversification: If you argue that dress/casual street shoes represent a different type of product from athletic shoes, but that different customers would buy Cole-Haan’s dress shoes from those that buy Nike athletic shoes, then the Cole-Haan acquisition enabled Nike to sell new products to new markets. Product development: If you argue that dress/casual street shoes represent a different type of product from athletic shoes, and if you argue that Nike’s customers would also purchase dress/casual street shoes, then the Cole-Haan acquisition enabled Nike to sell new products to its current customers. Market development: If you argue that shoes represent one type of product regardless of the type of shoe, but that different customers would buy Cole-Haan’s dress shoes from those that buy Nike athletic shoes, then the Cole-Haan acquisition enabled Nike to sell its existing product (shoes) to new markets. 155. Market penetration: If you argue that shoes represent one type of product regardless of the type of shoe, and if you argue that Nike’s customers would also purchase dress and casual street shoes, then the Cole-Haan acquisition enabled Nike to sell more of its existing product (shoes) to its current customers. 156. The major problem with Marcia’s evaluation is that her only point of comparison seems to be last year’s sales figures. She should attempt to obtain information on sales trends at other Subway sandwich shops, and if possible, at competing sandwich shops in her city. For example, perhaps her competitors and/or fellow franchisees saw much larger gains, perhaps due to an improving economy. She should also seek to understand whether or not there might be an explanation for the reduction in sales at the third store. Perhaps it is located in a shopping center that has been losing tenants, which would be beyond the manager’s control and therefore shouldn’t factor into a performance evaluation. ch02 Summary Category # of Questions AACSB: Analytic 158 Blooms: Analyze 5 Blooms: Apply 52 Blooms: Evaluate 9 Blooms: Remember 23 Blooms: Understand 69 Difficulty: 1 Easy 23 Difficulty: 2 Medium 82 Difficulty: 3 Hard 53 Grewal – Chapter 02 158 Learning Objective: 02-01 Define a marketing strategy. 40 Learning Objective: 02-02 Describe the elements of a marketing plan. 17 Learning Objective: 02-03 Analyze a marketing situation using SWOT analysis. 14 Learning Objective: 02- 18 04 Describe how a firm chooses which consumer group(s) to pursue with its marketing efforts. Learning Objective: 02-05 Outline the implementation of the marketing mix as a means to increase customer value. 17 Learning Objective: 02-06 Summarize portfolio analysis and its use to evaluate marketing performance. 27 Learning Objective: 02-07 Describe how firms grow their business. 25 Topic: Evaluating Performance 10 Topic: Growth Strategies 25 Topic: Implementing the Marketing Mix 8 Topic: Marketing Mix 6 Topic: Marketing Plan 6 Topic: Marketing Planning Process 11 Topic: Marketing Strategy 40 Topic: Portfolio Analysis 13 Topic: Step 2: Conduct a Situation Analysis 4 Topic: Step 3: Identifying and Evaluating Opportunities Using STP 1 Topic: Step 4: Implement Marketing Mix and Allocate Resources 2 Topic: Step 5: Evaluate Performance Using Marketing Metrics 4 Topic: STP 17 Topic: SWOT Analysis 10 Topic: What is a Marketing Strategy? 1

Internet Censorship Essays

Internet Censorship Essays Internet Censorship Essay Internet Censorship Essay Role of Parents and Government in Protecting Children against Inappropriate Online Content 1.0 Abstract The government and parents have big roles to play in protecting children against inappropriate online content. This research plan attempts to explore these roles extensively to find solutions of controlling the content the children are exposed to in different circumstances. There are myriads of innovations involving information technology, which is included in most school curriculums. Therefore, since they are in constant use of the internet, they are likely to be exposed to explicit sites that can lead to moral decay at early ages. There should be rules and measures to protect them from inappropriate online content so that they can have desirable developments as they mature. The research plan encompasses the methodology, data collection and analysis process and reporting that will be encapsulated in the actual research. It will be based on credibility and realities of the research question. Concisely, the research plan is comprehensive framework that will give the research process direction and make it successful. It encompasses guidelines on the ways of conducting the actual research. The research plan has outlined the processes that will be used in data collection, analysis and reporting. Therefore, for quality outcomes, the research plan should be followed carefully. The goal of the research is to determine the roles that the government and parents should play to protect children from in appropriate online content. If the research is successful, the goal will be achieved and the morality of children in the society will be maintained.

A window of opportunity Essays

A window of opportunity Essays A window of opportunity Paper A window of opportunity Paper The increase in demand for MRI services opens a window of opportunity for putting up a provider-based delivery of such service which will serve as an additional source of revenue for our established orthopedic surgery practice. The fulfillment of such plans equates to addressing the population’s needs with the assurance of having a highly competitive and innovative technology that is the portable Magnetic Resonance Imaging device. A vision of a healthy population who is continually provisioned with the highest quality medical services that are reasonably priced. As the administrator, it lies in your hands to come up with a feasible plan for the business.   Several challenges have been identified which are to be later on discussed.   Due to such, it becomes a primary task at hand to justify and go beyond these challenges to see how this business will make it and flourish eventually.   Pushing through with this project and succeeding greatly lies in the vision that you have with regards to this opportunity.   And such vision would be to provide the highest quality medical services that other providers cannot compete with. The most effective leaders are the ones who are able to cascade their vision down to their subordinates.   Without such influence, the vision could turn awry in the future.   It is of utmost importance that the administrator be able to make all the people involved realize the significance of the opportunity at hand.   From there, he should be able to mobilize them towards achieving the vision through appropriate actions. People, policies, communication and coordination are the structures that will make up this organization. Management.   It is management’s responsibility to handle all administrative concerns of this organization.   As such, the formulation of all policies and guidelines with regards to the operations of this new business is their concern.   Management puts the vision into place and takes charge of executing it.   Management, therefore, makes the greatest impact on how this opportunity will progress. Staff.   As a provider of healthcare services, the business as a whole greatly relies on the skills of its staff.   The staff must therefore understand their role in the realization of the vision.   The failure to offer the highest quality services as envisioned would lead to the demise of this business. Policies and Guidelines.   Appropriate policies and guidelines should be put into place to ensure that measures for only the highest quality are in place.   These are to be strictly followed.   This anchors on the strength of the business as offering only the best of the best. Communication and Coordination.   Effective communication can be achieved with an open environment.   An environment that promotes positive and encouraging communication and coordination will keep the organization strong.   Such will also help identify areas of improvement and growth.   Having a reward system in place will also foster a healthy working experience for all staff that will definitely reflect on business revenue. The challenges at hand and those that lie ahead. As with any new business venture, risks are involved.   But one should be able to see beyond these risks and take them as challenges that need to be overcome.   Let us discuss these challenges one by one. Competition Service cost as a primary patient concern.   It should be noted that the population consists of both managed care and Medicare patients.   Identified as foremost of the challenges, therefore, are the reduced payments for MRI services given by managed care companies and also the increasingly stiff competition from other lower-priced MRI providers.   But we already have an answer for this. Being an established orthopedic surgery practice, it becomes a competitive advantage that only the highest quality medical services are being provided.   This then justifies possibly higher but reasonable costs.   We therefore see this as eliciting a benefit from a challenge.   This is something that the business could and should capitalize on. The Portable MRI A new technology.   Considering the higher demands for MRI services, upgrading the system of executing the treatment for the increasing number of people is necessary to cope.   We now take into consideration the portable MRI.   This becomes an asset since the use of which is not just limited to the hospital.   It is now possible to go directly to the patients who are in need of such service, most of whom do not have the capacity to travel considering the fractures etc.    We can also look at this as an expense reduction on the part of the patient with regards to transportation.   The ability to accommodate emergency cases also becomes an advantage.   It should be noted, however, that there will be a need to invest on such device.   Whether or not revenues will win over costs is for consideration. Employment Recruitment and retention of staff.   The recruitment and hiring process for this new business will need to be studied.   There is a possibility for difficulty with regards to finding an experienced radiologist and other highly-skilled qualified staff. Given that this is a new business on uncertain grounds, management needs to be able to assure applicants of a steady job and make them believe in the vision so as to find the qualified staff they need and then later on be able to retain them.   The reward system that has been mentioned above will also greatly help for employees’ high performance and retention.   Continuous training is also an option for less skilled hires.

Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE)

Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) The light rare earth elements, light-group rare earths, or LREE are a subset of the lanthanide series of  the rare earth elements, which are themselves a special set of transition metals. Like other metals, the light rare earths have a shiny metallic appearance. They tend to produce colored complexes in solution, conduct heat and electricity, and form numerous compounds. None of these elements occurs in pure form naturally. Although the elements are not that rare in terms of element abundance, they are extremely difficult to isolate from each other. Also, the minerals that bear rare earth elements are not uniformly distributed across the globe, so the elements are uncommon in most countries and must be imported. Elements That Are Light Rare Earth Elements Youll see different sources site slightly different lists of elements classified as LREEs, but the US Department of Energy, US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey, and national labs use a very specific set of criteria to assign elements to this group. The light-group rare earth elements are based on the configuration of  4f electrons. LREEs have no paired electrons. This makes the LREE group consist of 8 elements with atomic number 57 (lanthanum, with no unpaired 4f electrons) through atomic number 64 (gadolinium, with 7 unpaired 4f electrons): lanthanum (La) - used in high-end optical lenses and in  lanthanum nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteriescerium (Ce) - the 25th most abundant element in the Earths crust (so not rare at all), used in catalytic converters and the oxide as a polishing powder  praseodymium (Pr) - oxide is used as a catalyst in plastic manufacturing and is combined with zirconium oxide to produce a vivid yellow pigment used in ceramicsneodymium (Nd) - used to make super-strong magnets; neodymium-iron-boron (NeFeB) magnets are used to make cell phones vibratepromethium (Pm) - used to make a phosphorescent pigment and to make the starter switch for fluorescent lampssamarium (Sm) - used in high strength magnets and to make servo-motorseuropium (Eu) - used to make phosphors, notably the reddish-orange color of screens and monitorsgadolinium (Gd) - used in a reactor to control rods to control fission reaction and as a contrast agent to improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Uses of the LREE All of the rare earth metals have great economic importance. There are many practical applications of the light rare earth elements, including: lasermagnetsphosphorsluminous paintscatalystsmetallurgysuperconductorssensorsflat panel displaysmedical tracersmicrophones and speakersrechargeable batteriesfiber opticsnumerous defense applications The Special Case of Scandium The element scandium is considered to be one of the rare earth elements. Although it is the lightest of the rare earths, with atomic number 21, it is not classified as a light rare earth metal. Why is this? Basically, its because an atom of scandium does not have an electron configuration comparable to that of the light rare earths. Like other rare earths, scandium typically exists in a trivalent state, but its chemical and physical properties dont warrant grouping it with either the light rare earths or the heavy rare earths. There are no middle rare earths or other classification, so scandium is in a class by itself.

Asian philosphy Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Asian philosphy - Article Example Ideally, establishing the distinctions between these two aspects enhances the understanding that one has pertaining to Asian philosophy. First, Advaita Vedanta philosophy humans have souls in them and despite the fact that humans live distinct lives physically; the souls are usually never separate. Advaita Vedanta philosophy is usually a key pillar in the study of Hinduism in temples and determines individual behaviors among individuals. Samkhya on its part, provides a different school of thought pertaining to Asian philosophy, as it maintains more realistic metaphysical perspective in the view of occurrences. It does this by the combination of the teachings and doctrines of the Sankhya philosophy and the physical practice of yoga and its significance to humans. In better understanding of the Sankhya philosophy works to provide the theory behind understanding the metaphysical reality of the world, while Yoga allows practicing individuals to actually apply in use all the internalized aspects pertaining to the philosophical teachings themselves. In summary, Sankhya can be termed as the motive power of the universe upon which the soul