Strategic Quality and Systems Management Essay Example

Strategic Quality and Systems Management Paper Contents SI. No. TaskPage No. 1. Executive Summary Introduction3 3 2. Task 1 (AC :1. a) (AC :1. b) 4 4 6 3. Task 2 (AC :2. a) (AC :2. b)7 7 8 4. Task 3 (AC :3. a) (AC :3. b) (AC :3. c) (AC :3. d)9 9 11 13 14 5. Task4 (AC :4. a) (AC :4. b)16 16 17 6. Task 5 (AC :5. a) (AC :5. b)19 19 20 7. Conclusion 21 8Bibliography21 Executive summary: Through this report we will understand the important role of effective operations and quality management systems in determining the organizational success and effectiveness. We’ll also see how these two systems helps an organization to achieve their strategic objectives and goals. This report will also pave the light on the effectiveness of operations management and quality systems management with respect to a relevant quality change in an organization, in fair details. Introduction: Operations management is very importance in managing every operations in an organization. Operations refers to production, controlling, manufacturing of products and services, delivering them, etc. Operations management of an organization always aims at improvement of operations and addition of activities with great values, in to several specific techniques. It is not merely focusssing on the production and assembling of products in an organization, but it will take concern about each of the strategic business units in an organization, whether it is large or small. Quality management deals with determining and improving the quality of the operations, products and services, in an organization. Through operations and quality management, the value and the reputation of an organization will enhnace. (Pfeifer, 2002). For analyzing these concepts in an organization’s scenario, I am choosing The Ford Motor Company, one among the three leading automotive manufacturing company in United States of America. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Quality and Systems Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Quality and Systems Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Quality and Systems Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It was founded by Henry Ford in 1903, in Michigan. (Cotteleer, 1997). By the end of 1996, its revenue had reached up to $ 150 billion. More than 3800000 employees are working under this company. In the year 1970, due to the entry of foreign manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda etc in to the international automotive industry, the major Auto giants such as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler etc have lost their market. Ford responded seriously to this crunching, by acquiring Swedish Volvo model for successfully competing in the foreign market and also for expanding their market, worldwide. In 2000, Ford motors had started a complete organization re-engineering business process (BPR), plan known as, ‘Ford 2000’, which aims at reestablishment of the company’s infrastructure as a whole. This BPR focuses mainly on the reduction in their Vehicle Centres (VC), in to five centres for covering the operations spreading in more than 200 nations. It also aims at cutting redundancies and enhancing the information technologies for driving Ford towards success. IT acts as the link between Ford Company and its centres in the world. (ezinearticles. com). Task 1 🙠 AC: 1. a) )Operations management could be defined as a process of designing, developing and supplying, the products and services of an organization. It will also carefully ensures and manage the entire process dealing with the productions as well as the distribution of the goods and services associated with an organization. It will help to ensure the complete and effective utilization of the import ant resources available for the organization, for achieving its strategic objectives. Operations management will also ensure the quality of products and services offered by an organization, as per the demands of the customers. mitsloan. mit. edu). Operations management will define the actual expectations of the people, design and develop the products and services according to the demands, manage the inventory process, Analyses the efficacy of every processes in an organizations. Through OM, we could identify the actual capacity of the existing operations; improve the processes for enhancing the lifecycle of the products and services offered by them. OM also plays an important role in properly managing the technologies associated with each operation in an organization. (www. jpcmediallc. om) In Ford Motor Company, the operations management department is the major one that determines the perfection of all operations that transform their resources and raw materials in to finished goods and products. The key functions of OM department in Ford include: Choosing the products and processes Designing the methods for development and manufacturing Control the operations associated with determining the performances, quality and quantity of products and services Inculcate necessary changes and improvements for the existing operations for enhancing productivity, performance and quality standards. Determine the standards of the operations and improve it to global standard levels Update and review the whole processes and procedures running within the organization. (www. jpcmediallc. com). (www. qec. co. uK) TASK (AC: 1. b) b)The effectiveness of the OM process of every organization could be analyzed and measured using several variables, including the performance, productivity and profitability of the organization. Ford Company is following two processes, namely, lean manufacturing and outsourcing for enhancing the OM. Through these two processes the company had achieved compete production and operation management as well as enhancement of whole business processes. Lean manufacturing ensures a streamlined flow of value for the stakeholders by minimizing the wastage of resources and inventory. Through outsourcing Ford ensures, lower as and competitive cost for the products sold. Through these two characteristics of OM on Ford they have achieved competitive pricing which brought them sustained competitive advantage in the competitive automotive industry. It enhances the productivity and profitability of the organization. (www. ventureoutsource. com). For the perfection of the processes, an improved process combining the lean manufacturing and outsourcing known as, Lean management outsourcing has been introduced to Ford, in recent years. Through the lean thinking operations Ford has achieved perfect production of products with unmatched quality standards. The integrated JIT system and time based management system also helped them a lot for remain competitive and sustain that competitiveness in the industry. bizcovering. com) Task 2 (AC: 2. a) a)Quality management systems play an important role in ensuring the effectiveness and perfection of products and services along with high standards of quality. Operations and quality management are just like the two sides of a same coin. Both these systems are critical in determining the accomplishment of organizational objectives and targets. According to the Quality Guru, Juran, the quality man agement consists of a trilogy of functions including, Planning, assurance and control of quality. But in addition to this trilogy, quality improvement is another major aspect of Quality and system management. Thee quality system in Ford is quite good through which they accurately identifies the quality requirements for its products and adopt different methods for achieving high quality. (Rose, 2005) These QS helped Ford to accomplish its vision, ‘to become the most trusted brand in the automotive industry’. Through high levels of quality products, Ford achieved trust and loyalty from its customers. This will generate competitive advantage and helps to sustain it for a long time. The loyal customers are invaluable assets to an organization. Through high quality products and services, Ford retains its existing customers and attracts new customers towards the company. The QS of Ford focuses mainly on its customers, for enhancing the customer satisfaction through which they could achieve the market leader position. For ensuring the quality Ford has introduced the six sigma strategy in all the operations. They have developed a well trained group of people headed by efficient managers called Black belts. (Pfeifer, 2002). The six sigma strategy focuses mainly on the customers, their demands, the philosophy and the perfection. This six sigma strategy has been considered as the best practice in quality and systems management, which could be followed by many organizations. Task 2(AC: 2. b) b) Through the six sigma strategy introduction in to the QS of Ford they have achieved high quality products and services, which ensure high levels of customer as well as employee satisfaction. All these led to the enhancements in profitability and increased revenue for the company as a whole. Through introduction of enhanced systems for quality management, they have reduced the wastage of resources which helped them to develop competitive pricing strategies for their high quality products and services with a certain margin of profit. Through quality systems and development of quality circles in the organization, they have achieved highly motivated employees who work as a team for the achievement of organizational objectives. (www. ehow. com). They also have introduced different approaches or ensuring quality such as, DMIAC, DFSS along with the six sigma strategy. Several quality tools such as, Pareto diagram, tree diagram, process mapping, root cause analysis etc, were followed in Ford ensuring high quality of products and services as well as operations. (www. corporate. ford. com). The quality system management in Ford focuses on three factors: Customer: all the processes in QSM focused for developing customer satisfaction through delivering products and services of high quality overcoming their expectations. Processes: they analyzed every operation in the perspective of the customers and identified the essential improvements for ensuring high levels of quality. Employees; only through employee satisfaction, company could generate customer satisfaction. Before introduction of Six sigma strategy all the employees were given proper training and development for ensuring high levels of quality The six sigma strategy: Critical to Quality:Attributes most important to the customer Defect:Failing to deliver what the customer wants Process Capability:What your process can deliver Variation:What the customer sees and feels Stable Operations:Ensuring consistent, predictable processes to improve what the customer sees and feels Design for Six Sigma:Designing to meet customer needs and process capability Through the introduction of this six sigma strategy, Ford has achieved world class quality for its products and services, which helped them to achieve their strategic objectives. (www. corporate. ford. com) Task 3(AC: 3. a) a)Strategic Quality Plan: This plan ensures high quality of products and services along with enhanced organization performance. The formulation and execution of the strategic quality plan is not an easy task. It is a tough job for all professionals and managers in the OM and QSM department to critically analyze and identify the issues existing related to the quality and introduce methods and techniques for overcoming these issues. The strategic quality planning process could be divided in to several steps: Finding out the quality initiatives Identifying the expectations and demands of the customers Ensures the involvement of the employees in maintaining quality. Facilitates benchmarking Setting up of the long term goal and vision Developing new standards for quality Ensuring the effectiveness of the operations Evaluation and monitoring the strategy with the help of several tools and techniques. (www. bia. ca) In Ford, for the proper introduction and management of quality change, they have developed a strategic quality plan, based upon the famous ABCDE model. This model describes a step by step approach for the development of the plan that will ensure high quality standards throughout the organization. Assessment: this step involves the thorough analysis of the external and internal environment, the availability of resources, the gathering of information, analysis of existing situations, SWOT analysis for revealing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Baseline: this step comprises of analysis if the past to identify where were we? , detailed analysis of present situation, to understand our current status with respect to quality, and forecasting for future, to realize the future requirements of quality and formulate the plans for achieving it. All the existing gaps were identified and plans were developed for filling these gaps in this step. Components: all the important resources, values and mission of the organization should be analyzed and the strategic vision and targets are developed Down –to-specific: in this step the actual plan for the achievement of set targets, incorporation of several performance measurement systems etc are developed Evaluation: the entire process will be monitored and evaluated on a regular basis, for measuring the progress. Introduction of several techniques including, Balance scorecard, 360 degree feedback etc could be adopted. While developing the goals, care should be taken that the developed target should have all the essential features to be a SMART objective. Specific: the objective should be specific and should help in the management of other organizational objectives. Measurable: through executing this change in strategy, the achieved results should be measurable for the organization, in order to understand whether the organization achieved the expected target pr not. Achievable: all the strategies and the processes should be formulated in such a way to achieve the set targets. Then only the organization could achieve enhancements in quality and operations management. Realistic: all the changes in the quality system should be realistic. If the set outcome is not realistic, it will affect the quality management process of the entire organization. Time bound: all these developed targets should be achieved within a set time frame. The quality change process and the implementation for the new quality plan should have a definite time period to achieve the tasks. After the successful achievement of one goal, the organization will focus on the next. (Gitlow, Oppenheim, Oppenheim, Levine, 2007) Task 3 (AC: 3. b) b)Resource implications: All these functional activities including OM and QSM in Ford are based upon the availability of resources. The important resource implications will be: Human resources: The human resources of the organization are considered to be the most potential resource capable of bringing about any significant change in to the organization, in an expected manner. The employees are the actual agents of the quality change in Ford. Before introduction of the quality change, the introduction of Six Sigma strategy in 2000, all the employees were given proper training and development for meeting the required standards. (Landale, 1999) They are needed to be motivated continuously for enhancing their performance. Financial resources: This is another major resource essential for the smooth running of the organizational functions including quality management. The quality management processes and strategies were determined and formulated on the basis of available financial resources in Ford. Tools and techniques: Several tools and techniques are being used in Ford Company for bringing about the quality change, introducing it, and for evaluating it. The success and progress of the whole process has been evaluated using various tools. The model of continuous development has been used as a powerful tool for management of quality change. Systems: There are various internal systems available in Ford for monitoring the performance and progress of the whole process. All these systems are specially designed for continuously monitoring and measuring the QSM processes within the organization. Task 3(AC: 3. c) c)Wider implications of the planned strategy: There are several implications of the strategy from both internal and external environment of the Ford Motor Company. Financial performance: We could analyse the improvements in performance of an organization by simply looking at its financial stability and performance. Financial performance is a good indicator of the organizational performance. If the organizations are unstable in their financial aspects, they could not enhance their efficiency of business. For implementing a quality change and for achieving successful implementation, an organization should have a thorough financial status and stability. Customer satisfaction: Through enhanced customer service, Ford could easily achieve increased levels of customer satisfaction. This could be achieved through improved customer services, which helped Ford to understand the actual needs, demands and expectations of its customers, which is crucial for the development of the organization. (Gitlow, Oppenheim, Oppenheim, Levine, 2007). Satisfaction of the employees; Only satisfied employees could deliver their maximum services to the customers for developing customer satisfaction. Therefore, the employee satisfaction could be reflected on the results and outcomes of the organization. For achieving this, the organization should find out the causes of failure and should correct them accordingly. Always improve the process and procedures for enhancing quality. Research about the internal and external factors and environment and gathering the information and analyze the data carefully. For the successful implementation of the quality change, flexibility of the employees and the organization is an essential factor. (Landale, 1999) Task 3(AC: 3. d) )It is more important to continuously evaluate and monitor the quality management process and change, after implementation, for the successful implementation of the quality change in an organization. Formulation of a good strategic quality change plan could be achieved by many organizations, while they fail to monitor the progress of the process and the strategy, in a regular basis. This ends up in the failure of the enti re processes. Ford followed the Total Quality Management system for monitoring the whole process. They are following the Plan – Do- Check –Act model of TQM for achieving this. PDCA (www. emeraldinsight. om) Through PDCA model, formulation of accurate PQM strategy, implementation of the strategy, rechecking of the effectiveness of the TQM process and further actions for improvement are achieved in Ford for proper quality management (www. brighthub. com) PDCA (www. qualityintegration. biz) Several other processes are also used for evaluation: Increasing connectivity: Through facilitating employee empowerment, work outs and increasing the communication among the employees, management and the strategy, gathering of feedbacks etc is achieved through enhancements in connectivity Change Acceleration Program: This is an action plan for driving the quality change throughout the organization, successfully. This is achieved by training and developing the employees’ right from the top managerial level to the bottom level. Performance appraisals: Several techniques for performance measurements, Benchmarking, assessments and reassessments etc are conducted in Ford Company, in a regular basis. (www. 1000ventures. com) Stakeholder involvement: Facilitate the participation of the employees for ensuring successful change in Ford. Task 4(AC: 4. a) a)Monitoring the change in Ford: The implementation of the monitoring and evaluation strategies for reviewing the process of change management in Ford was more difficult than executing the actually quality change strategies in the organization. The most commonly used methods for monitoring the change management are discussed below: Surveys: Several types of surveys such as customer surveys, stakeholder’s survey etc will help to monitor the effectiveness of the quality change in Ford. The customer and stakeholder survey are also aimed at enhancing the relationship and facilitating their involvement and participation in the change process. The customers and the stakeholders could give a correct evaluation of the process of change, including the improvements and disadvantages of the quality management system of Ford. Step-by-step evaluation: Ford follows the step by step method of reviewing the quality process. Through this process Ford could easily identify the quality of its products and services in each stage and identify the issues at each stage. This will enhances the accuracy of the QSM process in Ford. Action Planning: Through this process, Ford become more intentional as they progress through the quality change process. This process is a step by step process involving development of quality change objectives, development and execution of the plan for achieving those targets, gathering the feedbacks and evaluation, improvements in the process if necessary. (Jackson, 2009). Task 4(AC: 4. b) b)Quality culture: Quality culture will ensure a standard of quality which is incorporated in to the entire operations of the organization, which leads to the development of quality environment inside s well as outside the organization. Quality culture focuses at enhancing the employee satisfaction as well as customer satisfaction. In Ford prior to the introduction of the Quality culture, a change was happened in the management levels for ensuring success of the process. (www. blurtit. com). The quality culture of Ford has been developed based upon 6 principles, which are explained below in fair details: Togetherness in work for the accomplishment of the common target: The employees, suppliers, customers and the company as a whole will work together for the successful implementation of the quality change in Ford. Ford treats all its stakeholders, customers and employees as the contributors for implementing the quality management process within the organization. Each and every employee of Ford will have a personal identification and commitment towards the company, which will facilitate the success of the company as a whole. (Dowd, Tilson, Carlton, 2002). Lack of subsidiaries and superiors : In Ford, all the stakeholders are treated as equal. No priorities are given to anyone, as they all have got equal rights in the organization and have equal participation in the whole process. The qualities and potentials of the stakeholders especially of that of its employees were correctly identified, developed and utilized in the organization, which will contribute towards the success of the entire organization. (Gitlow, Oppenheim, Oppenheim, Levine, 2007) Facilitate effective communication: Another important principle of quality culture of Ford is excellent communication among the employees, management and the stakeholders. This will generate principle which is another basic principle of the organization. Through communication and interaction the company will listen to the opinions and ideas of the stakeholders and could incorporate them in to the organizational processes. Free access to all information: All the stakeholders are free to get all the information relating to every operational process in the organization. Focussing on operations: It is the various operations in Ford that will in turn determine the actual quality standard of the products and services offered by the company. Therefore all management systems should be focused on the processes for sustaining an excellent quality culture within the organization. Take every success/failure as experiences: They won’t focus on the intensity of the success and failures happening in the organization. Rather than that, they will take all these success and failures as some experiences which helped them to judge the corresponding strategy or process in the organization. They are developing their quality culture through experience. Task 5(AC: 5. a) a)Continuous improvements of quality management and operations management systems are essential for maintaining the high quality and operation standards in the organization. Changes have to be made in these processes and strategies based upon the changes happening in the external and internal environment of the organization. the major improvements I expect to happen in Ford company after the quality change are as follows: Enhancements in customer satisfaction: as the quality of the products and services increases, the customers will become more satisfied leading to the development of loyalty, which generates a sustained competitive advantage for Ford. Improved employee satisfaction: as the quality of products and services increases the employees will feel enthusiastic and become more satisfied. This will enhance their confidence for delivering maximum performances. Enhanced CSR: Ford is aiming at enhancing the value of its stakeholders through, which is their major objective of Corporate Social Responsibility. This will be accomplished through the advancements in the QSM and OM of Ford. Enhancements in profit and revenue: After the introduction of six sigma strategy and TQM measures in Ford, it financial stability rises and its profitability increases to several folds. Also their market position is also improved. Task 5(AC: 5. b) b)Many more advancements and improvements could be introduced in to the QSM as well as OM of Ford. As they follow the best practice of Quality management, continuous improvement is inculcated within the strategy. The existing quality systems in Ford could be further improved by following these steps: Introducing advanced, continuous monitoring systems: through real time monitoring systems, continuous evaluation of the entire quality management systems and processes, operations management systems etc are achieved. Facilitate action learning: this unique method of collaborative learning should be introduced in Ford for building up team of learner’s were developed known as Action learning Set. These groups were met in a regular basis to share the ideas, opinions, feedbacks, and issues related to quality and operations management. Through action learning, people will face the problem and then learn to solve them. (www. cipd. co. uk) Employee empowerment: facilitation of motivation and employee empowerment will enhance the quality management system, as the employees feel more committed due to their increased involvement. Performance measurement: the performance of the quality systems are analyzed during each stages and feedbacks were collected accordingly for further improvement of the processes Continuous improvement of quality and quality systems. Conclusion: Operations and quality system management are considered as the two inevitable factors in determining the success of an organization as a whole. In this report we have discussed about the effectiveness and importance of OM and QSM with respect to the chosen organization, Ford Motor Company. E have also developed a quality change plan and identified the major resource implications for implementation of the plan. E have also discussed about the six sigma strategy and the Total Quality Management following in Ford. We have looked in to the evaluation techniques and further improvements in the quality systems with respect to the quality management in Ford. Every organization should understand the importance of OM and QSM and should pay more attention to these departments as they contribute a lot for the organization’s achievement of objectives. Bibliography (n. d. ). Retrieved july 10, 2011, from ezinearticles. com: http://ezinearticles. com/? Ford-Motor-CompanyCase-Studyid=1420478 (n. d. ). Retrieved april 20, 2011, from mitsloan. mit. edu: http://mitsloan. mit. edu/omg/om-definition. php (n. d. ). Retrieved APRIL 21, 2011, from www. qec. co. uK: http://www. qec. co. uk/iso9k2k4. html (n. d. ). Retrieved april 21, 2011, from www. ventureoutsource. com: http://www. ventureoutsource. com/news_articles/Olsen_LeanManufacturing_Aug_06. html (n. d. ). Retrieved april 21, 2011, from bizcovering. com: http://bizcovering. com/major-companies/operations-management-at-toyota/ (n. d. ). Retrieved may 04, 2011, from www. gepower. com: http://www. gepower. com/commitment/en/quality. htm (n. d. ). Retrieved may 04, 2011, from www. ge. com: http://www. ge. com/sixsigma/gecommitment. html (n. d. ). Retrieved APRIL 21, 2011, from www. ehow. com: http://www. ehow. com/about_5377881_importance-quality-management. html (n. d. ). Retrieved may 5, 2011, from www. ge. com: http://www. ge. om/sixsigma/glossary. html (n. d. ). Retrieved may 4, 2011, from www. ge. com: http://www. ge. com/sixsigma/sixsigstrategy. html (n. d. ). Retrieved may 4, 2011, from www. ge. com: http://www. ge. com/sixsigma/sixsigstrategy. html (n. d. ). Retrieved july 10, 2011, from www. corporate. ford. com: http://corporate. ford. com/ (n. d. ). Retrieved april 21, 2011, from www. bia. ca: http://www. bia. ca/creating-strategic-quality-plan. htm (n. d. ). Retrieved MAY 05, 2 011, from www. emeraldinsight. com: http://www. emeraldinsight. om/content_images/fig/0240220503003. png (n. d. ). Retrieved april 21, 2011, from www. brighthub. com: http:/http://www. brighthub. com/office/project-management/articles/47485. aspx/office/project-management/articles/47485. aspx (n. d. ). Retrieved MAY 05, 2011, from www. qualityintegration. biz: http://www. qualityintegration. biz/img/PDCA. gif (n. d. ). Retrieved may 5, 2011, from www. 1000ventures. com: http://www. 1000ventures. com/business_guide/cs_inex_ge. html (n. d. ). 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The eNotes Blog 5 Unlikely Stories That You Wont Be Able to PutDown

5 Unlikely Stories That You Wont Be Able to PutDown When I hear â€Å"public domain,† I picture the free books on my Kindle with the boring primary-color covers and uninspiring content assigned to my AP English classes in high school.   So when I decided to comb through our library and find â€Å"guilty pleasures in the public domain,† I was shocked to find more titles than I could fit in this blog posts. Ghosts, sci fi dystopias, Mean Girls-esque revenge- the public domain has it all! Plus, they’re all super low time commitments and will make you sound smart to all of your friends. Pull out your beach chair, throw on some sunscreen, and have a go at these five short stories that you won’t be able to put down all summer. 1. Scandal in Bohemia Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Read time: 40 minutes Genre: Victorian detective mystery  Ã‚   Similar to: Obvious television references aside, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. No doubt you have seen Benedict Cumberbatch (swoon) play this manic, brilliant, and frighteningly perceptive detective in the BBC show Sherlock. Lucky for us, the original Sherlock of 1887 is equally as entertaining. In â€Å"Scandal in Bohemia,† meet the original Irene Adler, the woman, as she contends with Sherlock’s cunning attempts to retrieve a scandalous photograph of a compromising situation. 2. The Open Window  Ã‚   Author: Saki Read time: 10 minutes Genre: Ghost Story Similar to: Henry James’s Turn of the Screw Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window- Have you ever stayed in an AirBnB and thought that something was just wrong with it? Saki takes you into that house and describes in juicy, gorey detail exactly why this renter has the heebie jeebies. More specifically, he has a fifteen-year-old girl do it for him. Packed with ghosts, suspense, and comically formal language, this is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the punchline. 3. The Mask Author: Robert Chambers Read time: 35 minutes** Genre: Surrealist sci fi Similar to: It’s on the Poe-Bierce-Lovecraft continuum The mask of self-deception was no longer a mask for me, it was a part of me. Three sculptors and their paramour live in Paris when one discovers of a powerful new liquid that can turn living things into pure, beautiful marble. Meanwhile, an ominous play can infect the minds of its readers and cause madness. If you loved True Detective (season 1, obviously) and didn’t quite understand Wikipedia’s definition of Carcosa, this maze of a story will tell you all you need. Try to guess the ending. Just try. **If the Yellow King pulls you into his madness, read the whole collection of short stories. Carcosa demands it. 4. 2BR02B Author: Kurt Vonnegut Read time: 15 minutes Genre: Smart Dystopian Fiction / Sci Fi Similar to: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The world could do with a good deal more mess, if you ask me. Although I have to admit that this one is a bit of a downer, it’s definitely my favorite on the list. It is not only compelling but also one of those beautifully poignant reads makes you think. It’s set in a world where science has cured aging. For every child born another person has to volunteer to die, and Mr. Wehling has just had triplets. This story will make you rethink whatever deep-seated beliefs you have about reproduction and over-population. You know, light summer fun. 5. Bernice Bobs Her Hair Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald Read time: 50 minutes Genre: Tales of the Roaring ‘20s Similar to: It’s like Mean Girls, but with more flappers  Ã‚   But, of course, you’ve either got to amuse people or feed ‘em or shock ‘em. This story is simply delightful. It has all the charm of 1920s’ dialogue and the teeth of the best female rivalry story. Bernice visits her posh cousin Marjorie for a month before she goes to school in New York. Unfortunately, Bernice is simply a bore that Marjorie can’t stand. Marjorie’s offered â€Å"makeover† turns out to be a slippery slope akin to a deal with the devil. Toss back some juice and settle in for some good old-fashioned malarkey. This tale’s the bees knees! Happy reading!

Amazon.Com Case Studies

Kannan Submission Date: 07. March. 2009 [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterTitlePage 1. 0Executive Summary 2. 0Problem Statement1 3. 0Analysis of Causes 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt 2-3 3. 2 Competition3-4 3. 3 Expansion4-6 4. 0Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management7 in supply chain 4. Presenting a competitive edge to competitors7 4. 3 Expansionto Asia8 5. Recommended Solutions 5. 1 Technology Integration and RD9 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis9 5. 3 Differentiation9 5. 4 Inventory10 5. 5 Visionary Informative10-11 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything11 5. 7 Shipping Delivery11 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region11-12 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement12 6. 0 Expand the product lines13 6. 0Appendices14-16 7. 0References17 Executive Summary The study comprises of Amazon. om which started its history by selling books and now one of the online market leaders globally not only for books but products from various categories. Compa ny started with a mission to be Earth’s most customer centric company. In order to become the largest and convenience online store for all, there are major problems or threat being faced by Amazon. com in succeeding its mission. The major problems are Amazon facing high amount of debt, it’s less initiative in not expanding to other developed countries, and also competition from other online retailers and one tough opponent is Barnes Nobles. Many plans of actions can be taken and some of it is; Amazon. com should decrease long–term debt by increasing expenditure on research and development, increasing word-to-mouth advertisement and good customer service. Amazon. com should also expand the five most common languages in Asian region. Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy and willing to spend on. Strategize new plan on improving sites to be informative and attractive as much as possible so Amazon. com should also adapt to the best technology where it can sustain as a strong innovator in ever increasing retailer market. Amazon. com also must strive to give customers the best service in shipping and delivery as it’s an important aspect in online business to out beat its entire competitors on this online industry. Problem Statement The main problem faced by Amazon. com now being an online retailer can be divided to three in overall. Amazon. com is in confronting huge debt behind their successful screen. Amazon. com is lack of expansion to other regions or Asia which be said as another big market for a huge online bookseller as Amazon. com. Another problem is the competition being faced by them with one of the tough opponent as BarnesNobles. Analysis of the Problem Amazon. com’s in Debt 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt One of major causes of Amazon’s huge debt is its large expenditure. In order to keep its advantageous position, Amazon has no choice but to continue to spend astronomical amounts of money on sales marketing, research development and general administrative costs. (Table 1 Table 2) â€Å"One misstep, and its love affair withy investors and sources of capital could be over. (Kimberly Weisul, 1999) †¢ Competitors Although Amazon won the battle soon after entering the online cd and music market, there are some competitions in other product lines that may be too immensely strong to beat. For example, in March of 1999, Amazon introduced an auction service. After a few months effort, its auction business performed slightly, indicating how difficult it is to challenge the giant’s eBay and Y ahoo! Auctions. |Auction Sites |27-Sep-99 |Multiplier needed to equal eBay listings | |Amazon Auctions |4. 0% |15. 3 | |eBay |73. 60% |   | |Yahoo! Auctions |21. 60% |3. 4 | Source: Auction Web sites and C. E Unterberg Towbin †¢ Consumer Behavior Amazon. com is widely regarded as having one of the best management team of any internet company. However, there are some outside forces that are not easy to manipulate. Security; as the number of Internet crimes increases, customers are becoming aware of the possible danger involved in the process of on-line shopping. This security problem may not be difficult to improve since security technology is innovated quickly, but to convince customer of this is not as easy ? Etailers vs. retailers Another factor is hard to manage customer purchasing habits. Most consumers still prefer the capability of seeing a product before buying it. Additionally, the number of people buying personal computers and that of the Internet population will dir ectly affect Amazon’s sale. . 2 Competition †¢ Michael Porter’s Model ? Supplier ; Amazon started to build its own distribution centers in different locations and moving the products directly form the factory rather than from other distributors such that Amazon can lower its marginal costs. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Consumers ; Amazon. com continues to spend a lot of money in advertisement to reach customers as well as to increase customer awareness of eCommerce in general and brand name in particular. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Substitutes; The Substitute of eCommerce, the traditional retailers, is still more attractive than the Etailers. For example, we as consumers more than likely would rather go to the bookstore and browse through a book before we buy it. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 ) 3. 3 Expansion †¢ Lack of Spanish website version (Latino and Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing online ethnic group) †¢ Amazon. com is very less popular or it can said there are people without knowing the existence of Amazon. om †¢ Website is not more expanded with more languages options where currently there are options only for Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China (www. amazon. com) Competition with Barnes Nobles Amazon. com Weakness ? Difficulties of handling large number of customers ? Limited operating history ? Security awareness ? Low margins in the sector ? Risk of introduction of wrong new categories which could damage company’s bran d ? Company’s offered free shipping might affect future financial outcome ? Certain products (high volume/weight) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats ? eBay, Barnes Nobles, and Wal-Mart ? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access ? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year ? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online ? Heavy investments in Partnerships (Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla. April 2006) Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. com are competing, but both stores and other online stores recognize what works and are studying one another – often duplicating one another’s business strategies. This has resulted in them having more similarities than differences and it helps the consumers find similarities across the Web such as; †¢ When a description of an item is given, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both place the shopping cart option prominently displayed to the upper, right portion of the screen. This makes it very efficient and useable for the viewer and they do not have to search around the page for this button. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ In pricing, both Amazon. com and Barnesandnobles. com display the average price or their items above their own discounted rates so that the users feel as though they are saving money. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites are â€Å"Flexible†, there is an option of buying things at a later date and placing them in the shopping cart temporarily. This option is called the wish list and it is displayed just beneath the â€Å"Add to Cart† button. Users can access this saved information and acce ss it on their next visit. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites offer â€Å"Security† that provides safe shopping, privacy and efficiency by requiring customers to join as members at a certain point during a transaction. Membership is free and requires an email address, full name, home address and phone number. It allowing customers to maintain an order status and helps provide a history of what they bought. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢   Both sites are very â€Å"Scalable†, allowing for a huge selection of items to be added to the product catalog or taken away. A Field size is accommodated in the database. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) 4. 0 Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management in supply chain ? Use increased income to pay down long-term debt ? Keep operating costs low (efficiencies of scales) ? Increase expenditure on Research Development arena ? Strategic cost analysis ( WOU , MIS notes) ? Determining Differentiation ( WOU , MIS notes) 4. 2 Presenting a competitive edge to competitors †¢ Create more expertise in marketing and more product launches compared to competitors; †¢ Do a more through research on the customers needs and come up with something new that has its own brand and establishes as only Amazon. om could have the product. (Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007) †¢ A new Strategy on only books should be brought up in order to outcome one tough opponent as Barnes Nobles. For example, Amazon. com’s booth’s can be set up in country sides where there is no access for Internet and give knowledge to country people that there also business through online. This is because; giving more exposure and awareness to people might be a business opportunit y as well. †¢ Product review information; Customers would have n a clear description, synopsis and other customer’s review on the book as it gives a clear rating of the book and there won’t be any sort of disappointments for them after purchase. 4. 3 Expansion to Asia †¢ Create different website versions based on the five most common language in Asian region †¢ Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy. †¢ Word of mouth advertisement (Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003) †¢ Continue expanding its product lines 5. 0 Recommended Solution Implementation 5. Technology Integration and RD Amazon. com should increase expenditure in the research and development arena. We believe that Amazon should prepare itself for additional telecommunications implementations such as high speed internet and network security. These types of implementation, though representative of considerable RD costs, are pro bably most significant factors that etailers must prepare for near future. As users, connections increase in speed, any delays on the part of the etailer they are connecting to will become obvious and less tolerable. Amazon can stay ahead of the pack by preparing a unique and comfortable interface for the users. 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis Amazon. com should also use Strategic cost analysis process where identify the firm’s value chain, diagnose the key elements that drive the costs of each value activity, identify competitors value chains, develop a strategy to lower relative costs by controlling cost drivers, ensure that any cost reduction does not erode differentiation in service and test the cost reductions if its sustainable in the end of the analysis. . 3 Differentiation They should also consider by costs by determining Differentiation where the process goes as determine who the real buyer is, identify buyer’s value chain and put in rank order the buyer’s reason to purchase, asses the current potential sources of diffentiation, identify the cost of these resources, design a value chain to maximize value relative costs, test for sustainiablity and reduce costs in activi ties that do not affect the chosen forms of differentiation. 5. Inventory; There are programs built to be extremely user-friendly, and most offer great support along the way of usage for online businesses to maintain the book database. Amazon should invest in software to best highlight and maintain the data on the site and importantly back up systems. Keep inventory accurate and up to date; This is also an important aspect that Amazon can out beat its competitors with as this is first step towards building a long-term relationship with that customer. Inventory of the books stock-out and sold out will be kept up to date on the site. 5. 5 Visionary Informative A picture is worth a thousand words; Uploading pictures by decreasing explanations or descriptions could attract customer’s attraction and curiosity in exploring the book. Somehow it boosts up sales compared to other online booksellers who give attention in words. Product Review Information; In case of books, editorial reviews are provided by the company and it applies for all books. Customers can also rate each other’s review. A rating is placed against each review so that customers can decide whether to read or not based on that. Most online booksellers do not include this but they display the customer’s satisfaction on the delivery service provided by them which is less important to boost up sales. People out there want to pay you for your books; Amazon should use own merchant service account or a service offered by a listing site, make sure that customers can buy books quickly and painlessly with a credit card while you have them on the brink of finalizing said purchase. Don’t judge a book by its cover; First impressions are lasting impressions. When a customer receives the book they’ve ordered, make sure the first thing they see is a product and package that you are proud to have supplied by using use clean, new boxes without writing (or envelopes for low-cost paperbacks) for shipments. Customers will be expecting an excellent service but if its vice versa then they are chances for them to switch to other online retailers. 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything; Amazon should update the status of order to customers on the order made and also keep them in loop by e-mail the listing service directly with questions about their orders and keep updating the latest events and new stocks of books through emails. 5. 7 Shipping Delivery Follow-up; After shipping out an item to the customer, Amazon should send them an e-mail a day or two after expecting that they’ll receive their package, asking them if they’ve received it and are satisfied, and reminding them that there customer rep are there to help should they have any questions about their order. This is also a great time to remind them that you have similar items in stock or to offer them a coupon towards future purchases. 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region Amazon should strive to expand its expertise to Asia region as well as high potentials are there which huge population. Education is becoming one important aspect in Asia and lack of important reference books are always a problem in many parts of Asia. It should diversify its marketing capability in Asia too to capture the market. Amazon is very less popular in Asia regions. Amazon. om should take Asia to consider for its business expansion. Amazon could also diversify its marketing and research ability to expand mostly to the developed countries of other territory. In order to grow big and always sustain in the market and competition, Amazon should takes this sort of steps to expand. International Sites; Amazon. com has got an added advantage of international sites on Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China. All about what the customers have to do to browse the site with their language is by clicking to their national site. For example, if you clink Japan, immediately the whole website will change its descriptions and instructions into Japanese language. This is not at all applicable for a customer in Malaysia or any other regions of Asia. It should expand and add more languages options in its site to accumulate its customers. Giving customers what they want is also one strategy not all online business can do but if this can be proven in Amazon’s case then it have all the potential to be the one. 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement Amazon also should increase its word-of mouth advertisement. This might seem odd for an industry leader to rely upon such a quaint tactics as this, but we truly believe that in the world of Internet this is a powerful tool. We are quick to visit sites that our friends identify as being fabulous, and Amazon might capitalize on this by rewarding its customers who can reel in a new prospects. 6. 0 Expand the product lines Amazon should expand its product lines. Given’s Amazon’s vision and its unique position in the etailer industry, the cost associated with entering new markets is significantly lower than that of its competitors. There is no reasons to let this advantage slip away unused. Conclusion In order to stay focus on business Amazon. com has various ways and strategies that can be implemented with proper organizations communication networks. Financial reports should be reviewed annually and quarterly if necessary to come up with decisions whether to boost up sales or to maintain on a certain criteria for the wellness of business. Amazon. com also should have a frequent customer feedback program where they could exchange view on the services and products most desired to be acquired online by customers. Top level management meetings should be initiated to assure goals are achieved. A proper corrective action should be determined after the first year if annual objectives weren’t accomplished. However there are difficulties and competitions to overcome, and how companies attack these difficulties will separate the winners form the losers. Appendix |AMAZON. COM, INC. HISTORICAL INCOME STATEMENTS | |(in millions, except per share data)(quarterly information unaudited) | |Amazon. com Investor Relations | | | | | | | |Calendar Years Ended – December 31, | | |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 |2004 |2003 |2002 | |Media |   | $ 5,350 | $ 4,630 | $ 3,582 | $ 3,046 | $ 2,589 | $ | | | | | | | | |2,270 | |Other |   | 448 | 326 | 263 | 222 | 130 | | | | | | | | | |110 | |International |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 5,734 | 4,612 | 3,485 | 2,885 | 2,513 | | | | | | | | | |1,780 | |Other |   | 94| 57| 20| | | | | | | | | |8 |2 |- | |Consolidated |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 11,084 | 9,242 | 7,067 | 5,931 | 5,102 | | | | | | | | | |4,050 | |Other |   | 542 | 383 | 283 | 230 | 132 | | | | | | | | | |110 | Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) |Total U. S. Home, Work and University Locations, Unique Visitors (000) | |Source: comScore Media Metrix | |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors | | | |(000) | | |  (000) | |   |Total Internet : Total Audience |191,863 |   |   |   | |1 |Google Sites |151,010 |26 |Target Corporation |28,628 | |2 |Yahoo! Sites |146,131 |27 |Time Warner – Excluding AOL |27,209 | |3 |Microsoft Sites |125,568 |28 |Weatherbug Property |26,944 | |4 |AOL LLC |108,441 |29 |Bank of America |26,322 | |5 |Fox Interactive Media |90,510 |30 |United Online, Inc |26,048 | |6 |Ask Network |74,742 |31 |Gorilla Nation |25,585 | |7 |eBay |72,160 |32 |ATT, Inc. 25,574 | |8 |Amazon Sites |64,768 |33 |Answers. com Sites |25,563 | |9 |Wikipedia Foundation Sites |62,737 |34 |Demand Media |25,447 | |10 |FACEBOOK. COM |57,232 |35 |CareerBuilder LLC |24,750 | |11 |Glam Media |55,293 |36 |Everyday Health |24,717 | |12 |Turner Network |54,877 |37 |Shopzilla. com Sites |24,097 | |13 |Apple Inc. 54,194 |38 |Photobucket. com LLC |23,928 | |14 |CBS Corporation |53,539 |39 |WordPress |23,730 | |15 |New York Times Digital |49,110 |40 |Real. com Network |23,359 | |16 |Viacom Digital |46,510 |41 |Expedia Inc |22,703 | |17 |Weather Channel, The |40,056 |42 |JPMorgan Chase Property |22,399 | |18 |craigslist, inc. 39,437 |43 |Monst er Worldwide |22,244 | |19 |ATT Interactive Network |38,184 |44 |Gannett Sites |21,829 | |20 |Adobe Sites |35,315 |45 |WorldNow – ABC Owned Sites |21,586 | |21 |Comcast Corporation |33,940 |46 |WebMD Health |21,185 | |22 |Wal-Mart |33,513 |47 |iVillage. com: The Womens Network |21,002 | |23 |Superpages. com Network |32,558 |48 |NBC Universal |20,974 | |24 |Verizon Communications Corporation |32,412 |49 |WhitePages |19,351 | |25 |Disney Online |30,345 |50 |ESPN |19,266 | Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com References 1] Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 http://www. rhsmith. umd. du/faculty/jbailey/ents630/amazon. pdf 2] Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla. April 2006- Amazon. Com Inc 2004. (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3] Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001 – E-Transaction: Shopping Carts Comparison (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 4] Paul Larson. February 14, Amazon. com – Motley Fool Research, Stock Report http://www. fool. com/search/index. aspx? go=1site=USMFq=am azon. com (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 5] Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003 – Informat? on Management (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 6] Strategic Analysis of Amazon. com (Accessed Feb 19, 2009) 7] www. wikinvest. com/wiki/E-Commerce, (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 8] www. ikinvest. com/stock/Amazon. com_(AMZN), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 9] www. wikinvest. com/stock/Barnes_%26_Noble_(BKS), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 10] Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007 – Amazon vs. Barnes Noble: www. santarosa. edu/~ssarkar/cs66sp07/fprj/abn. htm (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 11] Table 1- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 12] Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 13] Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) ———————– AMAZON Supplier New Entrance Substitute Consumers Amazon.Com Case Studies Kannan Submission Date: 07. March. 2009 [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterTitlePage 1. 0Executive Summary 2. 0Problem Statement1 3. 0Analysis of Causes 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt 2-3 3. 2 Competition3-4 3. 3 Expansion4-6 4. 0Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management7 in supply chain 4. Presenting a competitive edge to competitors7 4. 3 Expansionto Asia8 5. Recommended Solutions 5. 1 Technology Integration and RD9 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis9 5. 3 Differentiation9 5. 4 Inventory10 5. 5 Visionary Informative10-11 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything11 5. 7 Shipping Delivery11 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region11-12 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement12 6. 0 Expand the product lines13 6. 0Appendices14-16 7. 0References17 Executive Summary The study comprises of Amazon. om which started its history by selling books and now one of the online market leaders globally not only for books but products from various categories. Compa ny started with a mission to be Earth’s most customer centric company. In order to become the largest and convenience online store for all, there are major problems or threat being faced by Amazon. com in succeeding its mission. The major problems are Amazon facing high amount of debt, it’s less initiative in not expanding to other developed countries, and also competition from other online retailers and one tough opponent is Barnes Nobles. Many plans of actions can be taken and some of it is; Amazon. com should decrease long–term debt by increasing expenditure on research and development, increasing word-to-mouth advertisement and good customer service. Amazon. com should also expand the five most common languages in Asian region. Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy and willing to spend on. Strategize new plan on improving sites to be informative and attractive as much as possible so Amazon. com should also adapt to the best technology where it can sustain as a strong innovator in ever increasing retailer market. Amazon. com also must strive to give customers the best service in shipping and delivery as it’s an important aspect in online business to out beat its entire competitors on this online industry. Problem Statement The main problem faced by Amazon. com now being an online retailer can be divided to three in overall. Amazon. com is in confronting huge debt behind their successful screen. Amazon. com is lack of expansion to other regions or Asia which be said as another big market for a huge online bookseller as Amazon. com. Another problem is the competition being faced by them with one of the tough opponent as BarnesNobles. Analysis of the Problem Amazon. com’s in Debt 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt One of major causes of Amazon’s huge debt is its large expenditure. In order to keep its advantageous position, Amazon has no choice but to continue to spend astronomical amounts of money on sales marketing, research development and general administrative costs. (Table 1 Table 2) â€Å"One misstep, and its love affair withy investors and sources of capital could be over. (Kimberly Weisul, 1999) †¢ Competitors Although Amazon won the battle soon after entering the online cd and music market, there are some competitions in other product lines that may be too immensely strong to beat. For example, in March of 1999, Amazon introduced an auction service. After a few months effort, its auction business performed slightly, indicating how difficult it is to challenge the giant’s eBay and Y ahoo! Auctions. |Auction Sites |27-Sep-99 |Multiplier needed to equal eBay listings | |Amazon Auctions |4. 0% |15. 3 | |eBay |73. 60% |   | |Yahoo! Auctions |21. 60% |3. 4 | Source: Auction Web sites and C. E Unterberg Towbin †¢ Consumer Behavior Amazon. com is widely regarded as having one of the best management team of any internet company. However, there are some outside forces that are not easy to manipulate. Security; as the number of Internet crimes increases, customers are becoming aware of the possible danger involved in the process of on-line shopping. This security problem may not be difficult to improve since security technology is innovated quickly, but to convince customer of this is not as easy ? Etailers vs. retailers Another factor is hard to manage customer purchasing habits. Most consumers still prefer the capability of seeing a product before buying it. Additionally, the number of people buying personal computers and that of the Internet population will dir ectly affect Amazon’s sale. . 2 Competition †¢ Michael Porter’s Model ? Supplier ; Amazon started to build its own distribution centers in different locations and moving the products directly form the factory rather than from other distributors such that Amazon can lower its marginal costs. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Consumers ; Amazon. com continues to spend a lot of money in advertisement to reach customers as well as to increase customer awareness of eCommerce in general and brand name in particular. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Substitutes; The Substitute of eCommerce, the traditional retailers, is still more attractive than the Etailers. For example, we as consumers more than likely would rather go to the bookstore and browse through a book before we buy it. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 ) 3. 3 Expansion †¢ Lack of Spanish website version (Latino and Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing online ethnic group) †¢ Amazon. com is very less popular or it can said there are people without knowing the existence of Amazon. om †¢ Website is not more expanded with more languages options where currently there are options only for Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China (www. amazon. com) Competition with Barnes Nobles Amazon. com Weakness ? Difficulties of handling large number of customers ? Limited operating history ? Security awareness ? Low margins in the sector ? Risk of introduction of wrong new categories which could damage company’s bran d ? Company’s offered free shipping might affect future financial outcome ? Certain products (high volume/weight) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats ? eBay, Barnes Nobles, and Wal-Mart ? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access ? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year ? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online ? Heavy investments in Partnerships (Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla. April 2006) Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. com are competing, but both stores and other online stores recognize what works and are studying one another – often duplicating one another’s business strategies. This has resulted in them having more similarities than differences and it helps the consumers find similarities across the Web such as; †¢ When a description of an item is given, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both place the shopping cart option prominently displayed to the upper, right portion of the screen. This makes it very efficient and useable for the viewer and they do not have to search around the page for this button. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ In pricing, both Amazon. com and Barnesandnobles. com display the average price or their items above their own discounted rates so that the users feel as though they are saving money. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites are â€Å"Flexible†, there is an option of buying things at a later date and placing them in the shopping cart temporarily. This option is called the wish list and it is displayed just beneath the â€Å"Add to Cart† button. Users can access this saved information and acce ss it on their next visit. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites offer â€Å"Security† that provides safe shopping, privacy and efficiency by requiring customers to join as members at a certain point during a transaction. Membership is free and requires an email address, full name, home address and phone number. It allowing customers to maintain an order status and helps provide a history of what they bought. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢   Both sites are very â€Å"Scalable†, allowing for a huge selection of items to be added to the product catalog or taken away. A Field size is accommodated in the database. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) 4. 0 Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management in supply chain ? Use increased income to pay down long-term debt ? Keep operating costs low (efficiencies of scales) ? Increase expenditure on Research Development arena ? Strategic cost analysis ( WOU , MIS notes) ? Determining Differentiation ( WOU , MIS notes) 4. 2 Presenting a competitive edge to competitors †¢ Create more expertise in marketing and more product launches compared to competitors; †¢ Do a more through research on the customers needs and come up with something new that has its own brand and establishes as only Amazon. om could have the product. (Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007) †¢ A new Strategy on only books should be brought up in order to outcome one tough opponent as Barnes Nobles. For example, Amazon. com’s booth’s can be set up in country sides where there is no access for Internet and give knowledge to country people that there also business through online. This is because; giving more exposure and awareness to people might be a business opportunit y as well. †¢ Product review information; Customers would have n a clear description, synopsis and other customer’s review on the book as it gives a clear rating of the book and there won’t be any sort of disappointments for them after purchase. 4. 3 Expansion to Asia †¢ Create different website versions based on the five most common language in Asian region †¢ Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy. †¢ Word of mouth advertisement (Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003) †¢ Continue expanding its product lines 5. 0 Recommended Solution Implementation 5. Technology Integration and RD Amazon. com should increase expenditure in the research and development arena. We believe that Amazon should prepare itself for additional telecommunications implementations such as high speed internet and network security. These types of implementation, though representative of considerable RD costs, are pro bably most significant factors that etailers must prepare for near future. As users, connections increase in speed, any delays on the part of the etailer they are connecting to will become obvious and less tolerable. Amazon can stay ahead of the pack by preparing a unique and comfortable interface for the users. 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis Amazon. com should also use Strategic cost analysis process where identify the firm’s value chain, diagnose the key elements that drive the costs of each value activity, identify competitors value chains, develop a strategy to lower relative costs by controlling cost drivers, ensure that any cost reduction does not erode differentiation in service and test the cost reductions if its sustainable in the end of the analysis. . 3 Differentiation They should also consider by costs by determining Differentiation where the process goes as determine who the real buyer is, identify buyer’s value chain and put in rank order the buyer’s reason to purchase, asses the current potential sources of diffentiation, identify the cost of these resources, design a value chain to maximize value relative costs, test for sustainiablity and reduce costs in activi ties that do not affect the chosen forms of differentiation. 5. Inventory; There are programs built to be extremely user-friendly, and most offer great support along the way of usage for online businesses to maintain the book database. Amazon should invest in software to best highlight and maintain the data on the site and importantly back up systems. Keep inventory accurate and up to date; This is also an important aspect that Amazon can out beat its competitors with as this is first step towards building a long-term relationship with that customer. Inventory of the books stock-out and sold out will be kept up to date on the site. 5. 5 Visionary Informative A picture is worth a thousand words; Uploading pictures by decreasing explanations or descriptions could attract customer’s attraction and curiosity in exploring the book. Somehow it boosts up sales compared to other online booksellers who give attention in words. Product Review Information; In case of books, editorial reviews are provided by the company and it applies for all books. Customers can also rate each other’s review. A rating is placed against each review so that customers can decide whether to read or not based on that. Most online booksellers do not include this but they display the customer’s satisfaction on the delivery service provided by them which is less important to boost up sales. People out there want to pay you for your books; Amazon should use own merchant service account or a service offered by a listing site, make sure that customers can buy books quickly and painlessly with a credit card while you have them on the brink of finalizing said purchase. Don’t judge a book by its cover; First impressions are lasting impressions. When a customer receives the book they’ve ordered, make sure the first thing they see is a product and package that you are proud to have supplied by using use clean, new boxes without writing (or envelopes for low-cost paperbacks) for shipments. Customers will be expecting an excellent service but if its vice versa then they are chances for them to switch to other online retailers. 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything; Amazon should update the status of order to customers on the order made and also keep them in loop by e-mail the listing service directly with questions about their orders and keep updating the latest events and new stocks of books through emails. 5. 7 Shipping Delivery Follow-up; After shipping out an item to the customer, Amazon should send them an e-mail a day or two after expecting that they’ll receive their package, asking them if they’ve received it and are satisfied, and reminding them that there customer rep are there to help should they have any questions about their order. This is also a great time to remind them that you have similar items in stock or to offer them a coupon towards future purchases. 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region Amazon should strive to expand its expertise to Asia region as well as high potentials are there which huge population. Education is becoming one important aspect in Asia and lack of important reference books are always a problem in many parts of Asia. It should diversify its marketing capability in Asia too to capture the market. Amazon is very less popular in Asia regions. Amazon. om should take Asia to consider for its business expansion. Amazon could also diversify its marketing and research ability to expand mostly to the developed countries of other territory. In order to grow big and always sustain in the market and competition, Amazon should takes this sort of steps to expand. International Sites; Amazon. com has got an added advantage of international sites on Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China. All about what the customers have to do to browse the site with their language is by clicking to their national site. For example, if you clink Japan, immediately the whole website will change its descriptions and instructions into Japanese language. This is not at all applicable for a customer in Malaysia or any other regions of Asia. It should expand and add more languages options in its site to accumulate its customers. Giving customers what they want is also one strategy not all online business can do but if this can be proven in Amazon’s case then it have all the potential to be the one. 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement Amazon also should increase its word-of mouth advertisement. This might seem odd for an industry leader to rely upon such a quaint tactics as this, but we truly believe that in the world of Internet this is a powerful tool. We are quick to visit sites that our friends identify as being fabulous, and Amazon might capitalize on this by rewarding its customers who can reel in a new prospects. 6. 0 Expand the product lines Amazon should expand its product lines. Given’s Amazon’s vision and its unique position in the etailer industry, the cost associated with entering new markets is significantly lower than that of its competitors. There is no reasons to let this advantage slip away unused. Conclusion In order to stay focus on business Amazon. com has various ways and strategies that can be implemented with proper organizations communication networks. Financial reports should be reviewed annually and quarterly if necessary to come up with decisions whether to boost up sales or to maintain on a certain criteria for the wellness of business. Amazon. com also should have a frequent customer feedback program where they could exchange view on the services and products most desired to be acquired online by customers. Top level management meetings should be initiated to assure goals are achieved. A proper corrective action should be determined after the first year if annual objectives weren’t accomplished. However there are difficulties and competitions to overcome, and how companies attack these difficulties will separate the winners form the losers. Appendix |AMAZON. COM, INC. HISTORICAL INCOME STATEMENTS | |(in millions, except per share data)(quarterly information unaudited) | |Amazon. com Investor Relations | | | | | | | |Calendar Years Ended – December 31, | | |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 |2004 |2003 |2002 | |Media |   | $ 5,350 | $ 4,630 | $ 3,582 | $ 3,046 | $ 2,589 | $ | | | | | | | | |2,270 | |Other |   | 448 | 326 | 263 | 222 | 130 | | | | | | | | | |110 | |International |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 5,734 | 4,612 | 3,485 | 2,885 | 2,513 | | | | | | | | | |1,780 | |Other |   | 94| 57| 20| | | | | | | | | |8 |2 |- | |Consolidated |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 11,084 | 9,242 | 7,067 | 5,931 | 5,102 | | | | | | | | | |4,050 | |Other |   | 542 | 383 | 283 | 230 | 132 | | | | | | | | | |110 | Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) |Total U. S. Home, Work and University Locations, Unique Visitors (000) | |Source: comScore Media Metrix | |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors | | | |(000) | | |  (000) | |   |Total Internet : Total Audience |191,863 |   |   |   | |1 |Google Sites |151,010 |26 |Target Corporation |28,628 | |2 |Yahoo! Sites |146,131 |27 |Time Warner – Excluding AOL |27,209 | |3 |Microsoft Sites |125,568 |28 |Weatherbug Property |26,944 | |4 |AOL LLC |108,441 |29 |Bank of America |26,322 | |5 |Fox Interactive Media |90,510 |30 |United Online, Inc |26,048 | |6 |Ask Network |74,742 |31 |Gorilla Nation |25,585 | |7 |eBay |72,160 |32 |ATT, Inc. 25,574 | |8 |Amazon Sites |64,768 |33 |Answers. com Sites |25,563 | |9 |Wikipedia Foundation Sites |62,737 |34 |Demand Media |25,447 | |10 |FACEBOOK. COM |57,232 |35 |CareerBuilder LLC |24,750 | |11 |Glam Media |55,293 |36 |Everyday Health |24,717 | |12 |Turner Network |54,877 |37 |Shopzilla. com Sites |24,097 | |13 |Apple Inc. 54,194 |38 |Photobucket. com LLC |23,928 | |14 |CBS Corporation |53,539 |39 |WordPress |23,730 | |15 |New York Times Digital |49,110 |40 |Real. com Network |23,359 | |16 |Viacom Digital |46,510 |41 |Expedia Inc |22,703 | |17 |Weather Channel, The |40,056 |42 |JPMorgan Chase Property |22,399 | |18 |craigslist, inc. 39,437 |43 |Monst er Worldwide |22,244 | |19 |ATT Interactive Network |38,184 |44 |Gannett Sites |21,829 | |20 |Adobe Sites |35,315 |45 |WorldNow – ABC Owned Sites |21,586 | |21 |Comcast Corporation |33,940 |46 |WebMD Health |21,185 | |22 |Wal-Mart |33,513 |47 |iVillage. com: The Womens Network |21,002 | |23 |Superpages. com Network |32,558 |48 |NBC Universal |20,974 | |24 |Verizon Communications Corporation |32,412 |49 |WhitePages |19,351 | |25 |Disney Online |30,345 |50 |ESPN |19,266 | Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com References 1] Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 http://www. rhsmith. umd. du/faculty/jbailey/ents630/amazon. pdf 2] Dustin Nadeau Donatas Sumyla. April 2006- Amazon. Com Inc 2004. (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3] Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001 – E-Transaction: Shopping Carts Comparison (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 4] Paul Larson. February 14, Amazon. com – Motley Fool Research, Stock Report http://www. fool. com/search/index. aspx? go=1site=USMFq=am azon. com (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 5] Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003 – Informat? on Management (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 6] Strategic Analysis of Amazon. com (Accessed Feb 19, 2009) 7] www. wikinvest. com/wiki/E-Commerce, (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 8] www. ikinvest. com/stock/Amazon. com_(AMZN), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 9] www. wikinvest. com/stock/Barnes_%26_Noble_(BKS), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 10] Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007 – Amazon vs. Barnes Noble: www. santarosa. edu/~ssarkar/cs66sp07/fprj/abn. htm (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 11] Table 1- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 12] Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 13] Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) ———————– AMAZON Supplier New Entrance Substitute Consumers

Congenital Heart Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Congenital Heart Disease - Essay Example These are: congenital heart disease in the babys mother or father; congenital heart disease in the babys brother or sister; diabetes in the mother; German measles, toxoplasmosis (an infection that is passed through contact with cat feces), or HIV infection in the mother; the mothers use of alcohol during pregnancy; the mothers use of cocaine or other drugs during pregnancy; and the mothers use of certain over-the-counter and prescription medicines during pregnancy. It should be noted though, that the presence of any one or more of these factors will not absolutely result to the disease. Likewise, the absence of these factors does not assure a pregnant woman that her baby will be safe from any congenital heart disorders, which might be an important point to consider when a woman is pregnant. All safety measures should be observed all throughout the pregnancy as there is no single identifiable factor in contracting life-threatening diseases such as this. This also leads us to the impor tance of having a thorough knowledge of the subject, for one can never be too sure if one of the members of the family will suffer from such disease. Knowledge on the disease might just be the best way to go about the situation when prevention is not so possible. The heart is a muscular organ about the size of the fist. It has two sides, separated by a wall-like structure called a septum. The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs where it is oxygenated. The oxygenated blood then goes from the lungs to the left side of the heart, and is pumped out to the rest of the body. The heart is made up of four chambers: the right and left ventricles and the left and right atria. The atria, which are located at the upper portion of the heart, receive the blood coming into the heart, while the ventricles which are located at the lower part of the heart, pump blood out of the heart and into the lungs and the other parts of the

Family and Medical Leave Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family and Medical Leave Act - Research Paper Example It is applicable to all public employees and those in private companies with at least 50 employees. Certain FMLA provisions are favorable for employers and employees. However, the area of Human Resources (HR) has struggled with some of its aspects, especially those in regards to episodic or chronic conditions, sporadic use of leave or serious conditions of health. HR departments are facing challenges in terms of keeping track of intermittent leave; chronic abuse of such leave; morale problems arising from employees required to cover for absent colleagues; associated costs of productivity loss due employees being on leave; vague medical leave certification documentation by healthcare professionals; and the uncertainty of the leave requests’ legitimacy (Merkle, 2012). On the employers’ part, they are challenged by the realization that employees will not always notify them promptly when they require FMLA leave, more so in cases of unexpected conditions. Regulations stipulate that employees give a notice of at least 30 days in advance, but this is not practical in unforeseeable emergencies. Therefore, it becomes a considerable problem for the employer and HR department to plan for the absence of their employees. Eligible employees are the greatest beneficiaries of FMLA, so long as they can give sufficient notice with supporting evidence of the need for leave. They have enough time to address family and personal obligations while their jobs are still guaranteed. The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a pitch in 2011, aiming to promote the clarity of behavior associated with leave-taking (BLR, 2012). According to the DOL, it is imperative for employees, employers and HR departments to develop compliance programs and regulatory priorities based on current and credible data rather than anecdotal and outdated information. An example of pending legislation is that of

Effect of Csr Activities on Sales Essay Example for Free

Effect of Csr Activities on Sales Essay Reasons for this can be multinational corporations’ increasing influence on world economy as well as scandals revealing horrible working conditions in different industries. In spite of the fact that the demand for CSR is growing, there has always been critics. The most influential critic is Noble Prize winner Milton Friedman, who claims CSR to be a waste of stockholders’ money. However, several articles claim, opposite Friedman, that CSR rather increases a company’s financial performance in the long run. These claims have made us curious about in what way CSR is related to a company’s performance. Moreover, it has led to us wanting to find out how CSR can influence customer perceptions on a product or service offering. Conclusions –All the initiatives gave a positive influence on the respondents’ perceptions, but the ones resulting in the most positive changes of the perceptions and willingness to buy were social responsible business practises, cause-related marketing and corporate philanthropy, which are initiatives where the company are doing the largest effort instead of just encouraging others to make an effort. The respondents answered that they trust the companies’ information about CSR to some extent, but also think a third party should scrutinise the companies’ activities and inform. The most favourable channel for CSR information was from environmental organisations, government organisations and the third party web media. Therefore it seems like the respondents value that the companies provide information, but are not too forward and pushing the information on them by for example advertisements. Keywords : CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility, Cause promotion, Cause-related marketing, Corporate social marketing, Corporate philanthropy, Community volunteering, Social responsible business practices. Introduction: CSR is today a frequently used concept, as companies to a larger extent are held accountable for what is happening in the society. The company should also inform the stakeholders about their CSR activities in an appropriate way, in order to capitalise from all possible benefits. In order to make a trustworthy impression and gain the most benefits, the choice of CSR activity and way of communication is crucial for the company, and therefore the perceptions of the consumers are very important to know more about and understand. In the last decade tendencies towards a more social aware community have been strong. In itself these trends are nothing that is particularly new. People have always preached for problems like public health, wildlife protection, prevention of child labor etc. What is different now is that companies to a larger extent are held accountable for what is happening in our society. Companies that engage in CSR activities are likely to have different motives for doing so. Many researches claim that corporate social responsibility originally consists of activities that a company performs out of commitment and duty. However, there are also commercial motives for CSR activities. For example CSR activities may result in advantages when it comes to receiving funding, recruiting new employees, cost reductions etc. To capitalise from all possible advantages it is crucial for the company to communicate their CSR work in an appropriate way. Theoretical Framework: Types of CSR Activities: a) Cause promotion Cause promotion is often done in the way that the company provide funds, contribute financially or with any other resource, with the objective to increase awareness, support fundraising or participation, or to recruit volunteers for a specific cause. In this initiative persuasive communications are important, to create concern and to persuade people to contribute or participate to support the cause. In successful campaigns use of motivating messages and the choice of effective media channels are crucial. They also make use of publicity, printed materials, special events, web sites, advertising, featuring the logo and key message of the company and those who represent the cause. Further methods are employee involvement, messages on product labelling and to provide store space for promotions. Many of the potential benefits are marketing related, like strengthened brand positioning and preference, increased traffic and consumer loyalty.

Laser Surgery :: Health Medicine Medical Essays

Laser surgery Lasers (The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.) lasers were first introduced in 1960, The first successfully optical laser constructed by Maiman (1960), was a ruby crystal surrounded by a helicoilal flash tube enclosed within a polished aluminum cylindrical cavity cooled by forced air. The ruby cylinder forms a Fabry-Perot cavity by optically polishing the ends to be parallel to within a third of a wavelength of light. Each end was coated with evaporated silver; one end was made less reflective to allow some radiation to escape as a beam was produced. Initially the laser was named the invention looking for a job. Photo-pumped by a fast discharge flash-lamp, the first ruby lasers operated in pulsed mode for reasons of heat dissipation and the need for high pumping powers. Nelson and Boyle (1962) constructed a continuous lasing ruby by replacing the flash lamp with an arc lamp.(1) Today lasers are much like those of the early ones and they are widely used in many fields, their uses are wide spread, From fusion physics to the DVD player these are common places where lasers are used. Medicine and surgery are no exceptions from skin resurfacing to eye surgery to correct vision. With the development of lasers Physicians have been able to provide treatment for a large number of medical disorders. Medical lasers have made it possible to treat conditions, which were previously untreatable or difficult to treat. To make the most of the laser technology physicians must maintain a up to date understanding of laser systems and conditions for which each can be applied .To achieve these goals the basic terminology and fundamentals of laser-tissue interaction is needed. Before we can learn about lasers we need to know a little about light, because that is essentially what a laser is made of. First the speed of light is 3.00*10to the 8th meter per second .The American physicist Albert Michelson found a ratio 1.33 for the speed of light c in a vacuum to the lights speed v in water. This value is equal to the index of refraction n thus n=c/v gives us a way to predict the speed of light in any material once we know its index refraction.(2) Lasers produce a intense beam of bright light that travels in one direction. And a laser has the unique ability to produce one specific color or wave length of light which can be varied in its intensity and pulse.

The challenge of food scarcity

Our world today is facing an extreme increase of food shortage and that happened when the food produce is not enough that can automatically threaten and shake the lives of millions of people, food scarcity could also be due to the rapidly rising human population that as a matter of fact Just had doubled over the year.Furthermore, the fact that we don't have any idea on what maximum number of people the world will continue to support and feed, that lead us to questioning if there is enough food for everyone in the future and a solution to end hunger and other problems that comes along with.Moreover, there are still many different reasons or factors of why people are starving in the different areas over the world, the lack of economic Justice and rising population are Just merely two examples out of them all and made people struggle to get enough food to eat. On the other hand, Majority of the globe's population especially the youth tends to Just ignore the issue of hunger, or are simp ly blindsided by events as today's economic crisis. We seem and tends to be a creatures f crisis.Rather than accepting the possibility that serious problems are Just over the horizon and is happening, we choose to look for any hope of positive information to ease our fears, but the fact is that hunger is a big problem in the world today and It is equally important that people should inform and get their selves involve on the issue about food scarcity so that they will know who are the ones truly suffering and the serious damage it does to those people.And also for them to avoid on wasting food, because all the extra food can't be Just given out to the needy and hungry entries, but if it could the government still don't have enough transportation and the money to send all those extra food to the suffering people. Every one of us must take food scarcity seriously because the solution for solving hunger and scarcity calls for the cooperation of everybody. Furthermore, As an Internation al student it is essential that we include world food hunger in our studies for it is directly interconnected on global politics and issues.For in International studies we educate ourselves and participates on programs of Globalization and development. Also, we must not only study but to also get ourselves involve in helping how to eradicate world hunger by helping in our own little ways those people and communities who are struggling with such problems that are cause by food shortage, for them to be able to develop ways to sustain their way of life, is the main goal of an International studies student. Remember Great things comes from small beginnings.To answer the questions why people are continuing to starve to death, we need to know first about the history of food production; how it contributes on the food we produce, goes the process of food production prohibit or even more promotes hunger? Second, we need to understand that the image that we get from the media can be very misl eading and sometimes not the truth and tends to show only a portion of what was really happening, so we must explore and research to be informed in the current reality so that we can come up and make better solutions.On the other hand, even if hunger is inevitable, we know, beyond any shadow of doubt, that there is a remedy for our world's situation and the earth can and able to feed its inhabitants. And there are many ways on how we can do it, like giving and improving aid and providing equipment and materials to the poor and underdeveloped countries needed for their agriculture, for these countries especially on the Global south, have the land and water to grow but they lack the knowledge, money and technology to make their resources fruitful.By also slowing the increasing of oil prices and usage of bio fuel so that the food price escalation can be somehow prevented because when the costs of essential foods rise, it can then dramatically affect those people who are lying on food p rices because bio fuels hurt the developing countries the most.Furthermore, the Government should promote and implement alternatives which don't disrupt the food supplies and if possible the Government should also increase the incomes of the poor instead so that they can buy their food, this is much better than keeping incomes and prices low. The solutions to the present crisis mention above can help eradicate food shortage and hunger and save the world at the same time, humanity must confront all the issues which can no longer be ignore because globally the effects will spread.

Lululemon

Luncheon is poised and well positioned to move to another level in the luxury sports apparel marketplace. While our challenges over the last 18 months have been Impacting, we have maintained profitability and have not lost significant market share. In response, our leadership team conducted environmental and organizational scans over the last 30 days. From these scans, we have identified some future strategic opportunities and challenges that when addressed, will set us up to become the #1 sports luxury apparel brand in the world.We will continue our innovation by Introducing new products lines; there is a great opportunity for us to expand Into a children's line. Another opportunity for Luncheon Is to Investigate new channel strategies In diversification of sales revenues. In tandem with these opportunities, we urgently need to address several threats inclusive of diversifying our supply chain and improving public relations to resonate our core values and brand.Our environmental sca n included a macro trends report, examination of our industry/ competition, and a comprehensive review of our stakeholders' needs and expectations. Significant macro trends worth noting Include: sustained popularity of yoga fitness for the near term, continued growth in online sales, and sustained usage of social media (with women representing a disproportionately large amount of users engaging our brand). Due to the use of petroleum and cotton products, material and labor costs for Luncheon can sometimes be unpredictable based on fluctuations in these commodity markets.Our Industry analysis Indicates that the sports apparel brand Is a $106 billion dollar Industry with the two biggest players only owning 14 recent of the market share, [See Financial Analysis Slide]. We are the top ranked premium sports apparel organization and the 5th highest ranking organization overall. Our suppliers are more than suppliers; they are partners, [See Industry/ Competitive Analysis Slide]. Our collab orative relationship with our suppliers helps us create some of the most innovative products in the market.Supplier issues with materials and manufacturing have posed an ongoing issue due to various recalls creating a drop In company stock price, which In turn, has raised concerns with dockworkers, [See stakeholder Analysis slide]. These problems have caused Luncheon to face intense scrutiny in the market and media, which eventually resulted in negative Public Relations related issues. The inability for the Public Relations department to thwart such incidents has impacted the overall product brand within the market place.With that said, the financial health of the company Is good. Net revenue for the fiscal year 2013 Increased 16% to $1. 6 billion from $1. 4 billion In fiscal 2012. The company ended with $698,649,000 cash on hand, enough to fund its operating activities. Our operational support reveals Luncheon customer satisfaction remains high despite recent and ongoing manufactur ing issues, [See Stakeholder Analysis Slide]. We possess a loyal customer base and have recently moved all of our stores from the franchise model to being ran internally to maximize on our culture.From this environmental scan, we were able to conduct a comprehensive and In-depth Internal analysis to determine how well prepared we included an operational health report, a financial report, and a review of our culture. The current organization is structured so that there is an opportunity for open immunization throughout the business, while wellness programs create high employee satisfaction. Since our inception, our culture has been about creating components for people to live long, healthy, and fun lives.This culture permeates through our employees, our in-store experience, and of course our customer base. We believe in support of the communities in which we are a part by creating various festivals, retreats and continually focusing on sustainability. Overall, our internal report sho ws we are poised for growth and have the tools to take advantage of our opportunities while meeting our challenges head on. Luncheon is the leader in luxury sports apparel. In order for us to stay the premier luxury sports apparel provider, we have to make sure we keep our core competencies aligned.Our core competencies are defined as follows: 1 . Developing innovative luxury designs, 2. Grass roots marketing, 3. Creating a motivated workforce, 4. Creating a second to none positive customer experience. Our four recommendations outlined in the beginning of the memo align perfectly with these core competencies, and our reports show we have the ability to achieve success in each area. Developing new product lines, especially focusing on a line for the youth, will assure we stay diversified.In developing these lines we can start to diversify our suppliers by finding other markets in which to partner. Currently our depth in suppliers is large, however, the diversity is nominal. Our suppl iers are primarily concentrated in one region, Asia-Pacific, leaving us susceptible to natural disasters, border wars, and other issues that can affect production, [See Stakeholder Analysis Slide]. Creating additional channels of sales will work to enhance our second to none customer experience.Working with luxury hotels and other recognizable high end partners known for great customer service will also help with our grass roots marketing along with increasing our positive public relations presence. Also, by controlling our public relations and placing an increased emphasis on it, we will be able to better position our image and brand for lasting resonance in the marketplace. We are excited for Luncheon and look forward to partnering with you on implementing these four strategic objectives that will propel our great organization to another level.