Literature on Recruitment Essay

1.Ours and Ridder (1992) introduced a novel method to test the hypothesis that firms search sequentially based (in which applicants are screened as they show up) on the relationship between the number of (rejected) job applicants and the number of employees hired. The author used data compiled from filled vacancies for the Netherlands. Different types of search methods were distinguished. The results implied that when firms use advertising, private or 76 public employment agencies, which together cover about 45 per cent of filled vacancies, sequential search is rejected. For about 55 per cent of filled vacancies however, sequential search cannot be rejected. In line with theoretical considerations, when firms use search methods that rely on social networks, sequential search cannot be rejected. 2. Gorter, Nijkamp, and Rietveld, (1993) surveyed the Dutch labor market for recruitment channels and its impact on the vacancy duration. The authors found that labor market segmentation plays an important role in the choice of the recruitment channels; in particular, advertising appears to maximize the difference between expected costs and expected benefits when the vacancy concerned belongs to the primary segment of the labor market, while when it belongs to the secondary segment the preferred recruitment channel seems to be the labor exchange office. By using a piece-wise constant hazard rate, they argued that from the analysis of the time pattern of the hazard rate one may conclude that when advertising is used employers search non-sequentially, while if the informal channel is used employers tend to search sequentially. 3. While Gorter and Ommeren (1994) pushed the analysis one step further. The authors concluded that two main recruitment strategies can be identified: a sequential use of search channels, in which the first search channel chosen is usually the informal channel, and additional search channels are activated one after the other; and an â€Å"adding to the pool† strategy in which the first search channel chosen is basically advertisement and later one or more search channels are activated in order to enrich the pool of available applicants. 4. Redman and Mathews (1995) used eleven hundred cases to examine the effectiveness of recruitment advertisements. Findings showed that, in 1980s there was an increase in public sector recruitment advertising (from 20.8 per cent to 37.8 per cent) and a corresponding decrease in private sector (from 79.2 per cent to 62.2 per cent) over the decade. At the same time the authors mentioned two main problems of recruitment advertisement designers. First, with the supply in labour market in 1993, there was a need for limited and selective response from those readily available skills in order to minimise time and cost consumed by screening, short-listing and selection. Second, despite the general over supply of the labour market, skill shortages remained a problem in number of areas. 5. Mencken & Winfield (1998) had explored the advantages and disadvantages of informal and formal recruiting practices in external labour markets. The data was analysed from 1981 Metropolitan Employer-Worker Survey (MEWS). Based on random-digit-dial telephone survey of 2,713 adults, the authors had constructed seven dichotomous dependent variables. The author found that cost made employment agencies less attractive to hiring managers for whom quality rather than volume was the primary concern. 6. Carroll, Marchington, Earnshaw and Taylor (1999) in their study on recruitment in small firms, aimed to find out how practices in small firms compare with the perspective â€Å"textbook† procedures; whether those were seen by small firms as appropriate to their needs; the recruitment problems small firms faced, and what strategies they had adopted to overcome them. 7. Kinder (2000) examined a new model for decomposing e-commerce. The paper suggested that use of the Internet in recruitment processes is likely to change the interface between internal and external labor markets for many firms. The paper predicted that the conceptions behind current research programs in labor market theory may require rethinking in the Internet era. 8. Weiss and Barbeite (2001) focused on reactions to Internet-based job sites. To this end, they developed a web-based survey that addressed the importance of job site features, privacy issues, and demographics. They found that the Internet was clearly preferred as a source of finding jobs. In particular, respondents liked job sites that had few features and required little personal information. Yet, older workers and women felt less comfortable disclosing personal information at job sites. Men and women did not differ in terms of preference for web site features, but women were less comfortable providing information online. 9. A study by Lockyer and Scholarios (2004) on selecting hotel staff, considered the nature of â€Å"best practice† for recruitment and selection. Data from Scottish hotels indicated a reliance on 79 informal methods, particularly in smaller hotels. In larger and chain hotels, structured procedures, including references, application forms and panel interviews, were evident, but, these methods were inadequate for dealing with recruitment and quality problems. 10. A research carried by Henkens, Remery and Schippers (2005) on recruiting personnel in a tight labour market aimed to analyse the instruments employers used to contact with potential workers and to find out, to what extent employers rely on traditional means like advertisement in the news paper or do they behave more actively using world wide web, visiting job fares etc. 11. A study conducted by Rafaeli, Hadomi, and Simons (2005) involved a plant located in Israel and focused on three recruitment methods: employee referrals, geographically focused ads (i.e., the local newspaper), and geographically unfocused ads (i.e., a national newspaper). They found that referrals generated more applicants, more hires, and a higher yield ratio (hires/applicants) than geographically focused ads which, in turn, outperformed unfocused ads on these three criteria. 12. A study conducted by Chand and Katou (2007) on the impact of HRM practices on organizational performance in the Indian hotel industry, investigated the affect of HRM systems on organizational performance in the hotel industry in India. A total of 439 hotels, ranging from three-star to five-star deluxe, responded to a self-administered questionnaire that measure 27 HRM practices. Factor analysis was performed to identify HRM systems, and correlation analysis was used to test the relation between HRM systems and organizational performance. The results indicated that hotel performance is positively related to HRM 80 systems of recruitment and selection, manpower planning, job designs, training and development, quality circles, and pay systems. 13. Breaugh (2008) had discussed employee recruitment and its important areas for future research, where he had reviewed research on recruitment topics that have received considerable attention (e.g., recruitment methods, realistic job previews). He had also addressed topics (e.g., targeted recruitment, the site visit) that have received relatively little attention but that have the potential to be quite important. The author suggested that, before making decisions concerning recruitment issues as what recruitment methods to use, an organization should thoughtfully establish its recruitment objectives.

Informative speech outline Essay

1. In order to give a good informative speech first thing you have to do Is to choose a good topic, and if you are doing your speech for school, pick a topic you are familiar with. It will help you to be a better speaker. 2. It will be helpful if you will include things you do and like into your speech. But it does not mean that you have to talk about stuff you know, make sure to do a good research and try to find something new and significant for you and of course your listeners. Read more:Â  Informative essay outline 3. It is important to narrow down your topic, so you can be able to cover your topic in the time allotted. 4. If you are making speech about popular stuff like obesity, bullying etc make sure you do a good research and try to find stuff people might do not know, at this point your speech won’t be boring. 5. From your list of topics, choose one to develop into your thesis. Your thesis is simply a specific statement expressing clearly in a single sentence what exactly you’re going to do. The last significant thing you have to know is that thesis has to be as specific as possible. References: ColoState.edu 1. Why is the topic appropriate for your audience? In my opinion movies are part of our lives, everybody watch them, therefore I have decided that this topic is going to be interesting not only for me but also for the audience. 3. How is your topic narrowed to conform to the time limits for the speech assignment? I am trying to be specific In order to narrow my speech and make sure that I make time. 4. What is your specific purpose statement? 5. What is your central idea? 6. How will you introduce your topic and what method(s) of gaining attention do you use in the introduction? Intro – How much work goes into making a good movie? Â  Inorder to get an attention of my audience I am going to use the questioning method. 7. How do you establish your credibility in the introduction? 8. Write the preview statement you will use in your introduction. Today I am going to talk about filmmaking. Not everybody aware of how hard is it to make a good movie. Firstly I will tell you about preproduction, which is one of the hardest steps in making a movie, secondly I’m going to talk about production and in conclusion you will learn what is postproduction period. 9. What method of organization will you use in the speech? I will use topical method of organization. 10. State in full sentences the main points to be developed in the body of your speech. I will give you some insight on what it takes in order to make some of your favorite movies. The film production has three main stages preproduction, production and postproduction. 11. What information will you include to adapt the content of your speech so it will be clear and interesting to your audience? Be specific. My speech will consist the information about preproduction, production and postproduction. Basically the information of how the movies are being made. 12. How will you conclude and what method(s) of reinforcing your central idea do you use in the conclusion? Using a quotation by Banksy Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, its probably the best option if you actually want to change the world, not just re-decorate it.

The Silent Screams of the Veiled Women (A Research Paper on the Afghan Women of Then and Now)

Afghanistan, located in Central Asia, is a culturally-mixed nation that houses a diversity of ethnolinguistic groups, religions, races and traditions. However, vast majority of its population practices the religion Islam, which actually binds the people together. Being an Islamic country, Mohammed's teaching is incredibly strong that it has been, and still is, part of the Afghan's everyday living. But misconceptions arose from the teachings of Quran and among those who suffered from such are the Afghan women, who for years, had their undying efforts and struggle in pursuit of the goal they are longing for – freedom, rights and equality. Islam, for more than 1400 years, instilled that men and women be equal before Allah. It gave women a number of privileges same as those given to men, including the right to vote, right to work, right to inheritance, even as much as right to choose their life-long partners. But numerous misconceptions about the status of women in Islam emerged, particularly in the concept of â€Å"submission. † Many countries practice what they called â€Å"Islamic† or â€Å"Quranic† teachings in which women are traditionally subdued and oppressed, thus, these are very unforgiving acts. In the case of Afghanistan, such rights and privileges are denied of the Afghan women, making their life under a very Islamic country, rather miserable, if not devastating. One misconception in Islamic teachings that affected Afghan women (especially under Taliban rule which will be discussed later) is the strict instruction that they ought to wear veil, or hijab, wherever and whenever. They are forbidden to be seen in public unveiled but the truth is that the Quran does not oblige them or even mention of wearing such garment, as the wearing of hijab is traditional, rather than religious. What the Quran imposed is that women must (1) wear the best garment – the garment of righteousness; (2) cover their bosoms and; (3) lengthen their garments. Nothing more, nothing less. Years of government instability, in terms of economic and political aspects, have continuously affecting the status of women in Afghanistan as well. Before Afghanistan fall under Soviet power, women are revered equally, if not highly by the society, having significant rights and massive opportunities. But at the peak of Soviet occupation, women took a rather rougher road . Women at this period, began enjoying the bitter fruits of the teachings of Islam, and foreign invasion. Such denial of privileges may have been enforced by the government through special decrees, or by their own family (particularly their father, husband and brother). Afghan women were forbidden to have an occupation, to wander in their city unaccompanied by a male, to be seen unveiled, and even seek medical attention from a male medical practitioner. Much more discriminations and restrictions were experienced by Afghan women during the reign of the Taliban, or the â€Å"Students of Islamic Knowledge Movement – a Sunni Islamist and Pashtun nationalist movement who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, during the country's long civil war. A decade before the rule of the Taliban, 50% of government workers were professional Afghan women; 70% of teacher population were as well women; and 40% practiced medical careers. As early as the 1920s, women were acknowledged to vote, while in 1960s, equality for women was imposed by the Afghan Constitution. Moreover, they took important contributions to national development. During the rule of Taliban, women with professional careers, including medical doctors and those in the academe, were forced to put their careers to a sudden end and become beggar regardless of the opportunities they may have outside Afghanistan. Universities for women where forcibly closed which ended a brighter future for the young Afghan girls. They were restricted to migrate to other cities (moreover, other countries) in search for a better environment and were prohibited to enjoy life. There was an inadequate medical attention to women which contributed to their high mortality rates. At this span of time, 16% of pregnant Afghan women died annually due to unsuccessful child delivery caused by lack of obstetric facilities. It was recorded by the United Nations that during the 5-year reign of the Taliban, Afghanistan experienced one of the worst human rights violation in the world that even the most basic individual rights were denied of the people which include the flying of kites, singing jolly songs, and the like. They became objects of domestic violence including rape. To sum this up, women were deprived of all forms of public life – Taliban treat women worse than the way they treat animals. Having such miserable life, impoverished Afghan women seek escape by self-immolation which either kill or disfigure them. Reliable sources even accounted women bringing themselves to inferno in some secluded areas in Afghanistan. This happened because such women were either abandoned by their family or banished by their society caused by the â€Å"crime† that they had allegedly committed. Others do their own thing in secrecy. For instance, an Afghan woman operated her own school in her house – it was such a risk! When the authority came to know about this, all the kids were beaten and the lady was heavily punished and imprisoned, threatening her that her family will be penalized as well. Those who had reserved courage and strength went to police stations and court, despite social stigma, just to practice their rights. After seven years, the Afghan government states that although there were increasing equality to public life, women are continuously experiencing domestic violence. Some remain silent while others took the risk of getting the hinge of being empowered. The Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission documented 1,650 cases of violence against women in 2006, while the Ministry of Women's Affairs recorded 2,000 cases of violence in the previous year, not to mention 500 or so unreported cases. The provinces of Kabul and Herat were said have the highest accounted violence. Today, many social movements are organized for the uplifting of the Afghan women’s image and status. One of which is the RAWA or the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan which was established in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1977. It is an independent socio-political group that raises concerns regarding Afghan women, particularly the violence against them. It believes that freedom and democracy cannot be simply given or donated; it is acquired through combined efforts. The RAWA participates in many forums and conferences that discuss women’s rights and freedom all over the world. It, in one way, became the voice of the silent Afghan women, who in fear of being discriminated again, chose to remain speechless. At the fall of the Taliban, the position of Afghan women in the Islamic society they lived in has substantially improved. With the adoption of the new Afghan constitution, men and women are stated to be treated equal before the law. It may sound good and almost perfect but one must consider that this law, like any other law, may mean differently to different people depending on how they interpret it. In the Quranic teaching of the Taliban, being â€Å"equal† before the law may mean that women ought to submit to their husbands, fathers or brothers, for doing so, they abide by the law. Another milestone is the drafting of the Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights in 2003 through the initiatives of Afghan and Afghan American women, who for years had raised the issues of inequality and discrimination. The Bill demanded a mandatory education for girls, representation in the Congress (or loya jirga), penalizing and punishing people who perform sexual and domestic violence and obedience to the rules of Quran, particularly on women’s right to marry and divorce. Despite assurance from government officials, it was declined because as the Islamic saying goes, â€Å"God has not given women equal rights with men because two women are counted as equal to men. † Just recently, an Afghan parliamentarian by the name of Fatima Nazari, established the first political party in Afghanistan which is dedicated to women's rights and issues. On 19 February 2008, the National Need Party was launched in Kabul. It was welcomed by most officials but not everyone was so optimistic about this. Let's just wait and see. Women all over the world may have had similar experiences. Such inequality may have been attributed to religion, or tradition. It may have occurred maybe due to misconceptions or misinterpretation of available laws, rules and doctrines. Women were persecuted believing that they practiced witchcraft . They were burnt to death with their dead husbands as imposed by the Hindu principle of â€Å"Sati† or â€Å"Suttee. † Marrying women were obliged to pay dowry to their husband-to-be’s family. Women courting men is considered immoral. And women were regarded as temptations to men – as Eve tempted or teased Adam. Whatever the story is, women were really part of the miserable part of world history. There are many misgivings on the role that women played in the society. Looking back to the civilizations in the world, women are always those left in the house to tend to household chores and take care of their children. But can’t we see that these women were the very being responsible for bearing lives in their tummy for nine months, struggling to keep the tiny life inside them healthy and alive? That these women were our first tutors who taught us not just how to read and write but how to be a responsible citizen as well? Going through the melancholic and tragic episodes that Afghan women have had made me realize how lucky I am to have grown in a decent society. Now, I need not face social stigma, or be punished for enjoying my life. I need not ask for alms and beg for food since I can enter a university and have a profession ten years from now. Their infinite screams continue. If then, the sound was terrifying and agonizing, this time, these screams are screams of empowerment, of courage and of bravery. We never heard them in our historic past, and now, it is time to listen to their side of the story – HERstory. Works Cited Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (17 Novemeber 2001). Report on the Taliban's War Against Women. Retrieved on 22 April 2008 at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/6185.htm Mehta, Sumita.   Women for Afghan Women:Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future. New York:Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Najibullah, Farangis (20 February 2008). â€Å"New Party to Focus on Women's Rights.† Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty. Retrieved on 22 April 2008 at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/02/b39afc45-c260-4a00-81da-04fbb584049f.html Rostami-Povey, Elaheh. Afghan Women: Identity and Invasion. London: Zed Books, 2007.

Road Not Taken Robert Frost

Journeys illustrate the voyage between places of interest. They are demonstrated by expressing to the audience the hardship and mixed emotions you go through to the destination. Some examples of positive effects on those who embark on a mission are that it hinders them to get out of their comfort zone and helps them appreciate what they have, if a problem occurs while embarking on your voyage it will have to be resolved to make the mission you board on possible. The text analysed â€Å"The Road Not Taken† by Robert Frost and the type of text is poetry. My second choice of text was â€Å"The Wizard of Oz† by Victor Fleming the text type is a movie. Some possible techniques analysed are rhyme, imagery, symbolism, long shot, up shot and a full shot. In the title â€Å"The Road Not Taken† describes a journey that hasn’t been trekked upon; people chose the comfort of a common path to avoid obsticles of hardship and beyond the unknown. In the movie â€Å"The Wizard of Oz†, the hardship of deciding which road or path to take by choosing which pathway she will travel on the unknown. Embarking on the unknown; in the poem The Road Not Taken, the author uses rhyme to make it easier or clearer for the reader to contemplate. â€Å"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and be one traveller long I stood. † In â€Å"Two roads diverged† it was offering us a choice on which path to stride on, by illustrating â€Å"yellow wood† it characterizes the road as cautious. â€Å"And be one traveller long I stood† one traveller alone, no companion, own choice, uncertainty of which path to voyage on. Therefore the uncertainty is the obsticle of hardship of his journey. Furthermore in the movie, The Wizard of Oz we distinguish Dorothy and Toto embarking on their journey. In the long shot Dorothy and Toto illustrate the extensive road ahead of them. It also shows the solitude of Dorothy that she’s got nowhere left to go apart from running away. The baggage in her hand emphasizes that she’s taken everything she owned and not returning home. Low modality demonstrates the gloominess of the journey ahead. In relation to ‘The Road Not Taken’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’ both texts, illustrate solitude, hardship, beyond the unknown and the uncertainty of choice. Embarking on the unknown; in the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ the author uses imagery to illustrate the choice between the different paths. The unknown is there to explore. â€Å"Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear. † In ‘Then took the other just as fair’ illustrates to us that the author portrays the rare choice of which path he chose to take. ’And having perhaps the better claim’ the author is certain that he’s made the right choice. ‘Because it was grassy and wanted wear’ the imagery described as the grass has never been tread on or hasn’t been walked on; undisturbed. Therefore the text symbolizes the choice of journeys undertaken prior. Furthermore in the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ we observe Dorothy, Glinda and the wicked witch of the west. In the full shot we establish that Dorothy’s house has landed on top of the wicked witch of the east. The witch of the west approaches to save the ruby shoes but they are mysteriously positioned on Dorothy’s feet. The witch cautions Dorothy that there will be vengeance. In the full shot we observe Dorothy’s face that she’s petrified. The full shot demonstrates emotions on the characters face. In the background the munchkins are laying flat on the ground terrified from the witch after the witch’s journey flying. In relation to â€Å"The Road Not Taken† and â€Å"The Wizard of Oz† in both texts we establish the uncertainty of choice chosen and the different journey’s they embark upon. Embarking on the unknown; the author uses symbolism to illustrate the colour of his journey. â€Å"And that morning equally lay, in leaves no step had trodden black. † In ‘leaves o step had trodden black’ this portrays that no living being had ever walked upon this path before due to the fact that the black is symbolising gloominess and depression. Therefore, again the uncertainty of the unknown is the obsticle of the journey he’s embarking upon. Furthermore, in the movie â€Å"The Wizard of Oz† we establish the flying monkeys in the air with Dorothy in their arms. The upshot was used to illustrate to us the length and height they flew up from the ground to emphasize to the viewers that they should be fearful of them. The dull use of colours focuses on the darkness the witch and the monkeys originate from. The monkeys disrupt Dorothy’s journey which she was so close to getting to her destination. In relation to both texts we distinguish the interruption of the journey, the gloominess of the different types of journey you embark upon. In conclusion to these two texts we establish that journeying upon the unknown can position you in a situation you don’t want to be placed in. Also the hardship and the uncertainty of choice upon the voyage and the solitude of both characters in both texts are demonstrated throughout the mission. Furthermore we learn that different types of dangers and obsticles can interrupt the journey you are embarking upon.

Marketing Mix Stimuli Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Marketing Mix Stimuli - Essay Example The researcher states that product portfolio of Ariel brand can be explained in the following manner. Ariel Excel Gel The product is designed for low-temperature cleaning. A unique design of the bottle and innovative gel formulae of the product give a user the opportunity to wash clothes with high precision. The gel gets dissolve very easily in water hence solvency rate increases. The detergent is able to remove various types of stains such as tomato sauce, dirt, chocolate etc from cloths. Ariel Powder Ariel Powder is designed to give brilliant cleaning in every wash. The detergent can wash colored garments without causing harm to fabrics of a garment. The detergent should be dosed directly on the cloth by taking water as the surfactant. Ariel Excel Liquitabs Ariel Excel Liquitabs is able to remove stains such as oil, tar, grease etc. The product should be dosed in the lower drawer of Washing Machine. Ariel Tablets Ariel Tablets provides the convenience of using to users. The product has been developed in order to get a brilliant wash from the smallest possible dose. The study will be incomplete if it misses the opportunity to explain the role of consumer behavior in purchasing a detergent product. A psychoanalytical theory proposed by Sigmund Freud states that human personality depends on different variables such as id (biological need driven gratification), ego (conflict between the hedonistic requirement of id and ethical constraint of superego) and superego (behavior backed by social responsibility). Many consumers show boycotts of non-eco-friendly products in order to show their environmental concern. These customers prefer â€Å"ethical consumption† in order to maintain environmental sustainability. Foxall et al. have divided motivation into six components such as social needs, physiological needs, cognitive needs, symbolic needs, experiential needs and hedonic needs in order to explain customer demand. Customers purchase Ariel detergent in order t o satisfy their daily household needs hence purchase behavior is more driven by id aspect in contrast to other elements of psychoanalytic theory. Detergent purchase behavior of a customer can be briefed in the following manner.   People purchase detergent as daily household item hence they do not spend much time on the pre-purchase decision. Self-consciousness plays the very small role in purchasing decision. Brand conscious customers purchase Ariel due to the brand name of Procter & Gamble. Many customers purchase Ariel with an intention to satisfy self-esteem. Psychographics VALS or â€Å"Value and Lifestyle† framework has divided consumers into four segments such as â€Å"Actulizers† (Customers spending large sum of money on purchasing in order to show taste and attitude), Fulfilled (Customers purchasing product after doing rigorous background research), Believers (purchasing product in order to satisfy traditional family value) and Strivers (Customers purchasing low priced but stylish products). A study shows that believers play the significant role in purchasing detergent. Believers prefer well-known brands hence they choose Ariel over unknown local brands. Involvement Detergent is a low involvement product because customers do not require huge financial resources to purchase it.

Memo about ap stylebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Memo about ap stylebook - Essay Example For example, all distances should be in figures, using ‘5 miles is better than using five miles. Making this change will make the sentence more appealing to the reader unlike when it is in words. There are some words that are treated as two words, yet they seem better when they are written as one. ‘Under way’ appears better and has a good meaning when it is written as one word; ‘underway’. Additionally, using a general term such as ‘partners’ seems to be better and respectable when referring to a married couple. Husbands and wives is provocative and when it is pronounced it sounds as an offence to the one who is saying it and the people who are listening. The terms ‘husbands’ and ‘wives’ should not be used to refer to the same sex couples. The AP Stylebook should consider doing away with the term ‘illegal immigrant’. This is a loaded term and it is the action of migration that is illegal and not the person. The stylebook should instead advice clearly the action of illegal migration, because it is the controversy and not the person that is explained. Homosexuality is another word that brings many debates. The AP Stylebook describes homosexuality as a ‘sexual orientation’. Revising it to a ‘sexual preference’ sounds better because, preference is what someone likes to do while orientation is simply what you are. There is a need to cover social media guidelines in the AP stylebook. With the increase in user generated journalism pieces, the stylebook is supposed to show how they can secure and authenticate photo captions and some video scripts. AP should recognize Skype, Google Hangout, and flash mobs. It is important for them to develop a platform for communication with the people so that they may tell them and answer some questions or any other revisions made to the stylebook. Many people especially traditionalists have disagreed with some controversial changes that have been made in the past. Communicating

Facility Survey Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Facility Survey Report - Assignment Example Through the survey, the foundation will also get baseline data, which will help with the audit of the sports and recreational facilities in the area (El Pomar 1). The aims of the audit include improving the capacity of the foundation in providing access to recreation/sports information. The most important information to be collected and communicated to the users of the facilities includes contact information and the condition of the facilities. The other information to be provided, following the information collected, will include the location of the centers, the current and the future usage of the facilities and levels of access – to residents and the visitors of the area. Through the survey, the foundation will identify areas that require development and that will help in the channeling of facility improvement in the future. The survey tour will cover two El Pomar facilities at the Colorado area, namely, the El Pomar youth sports park and the E.A.TuttClub (BGCPPR 1). Followi ng the review of the two facilities, this paper will present a summary of the tour of the centers and discuss the good design. It will also expose poor design features, discuss main lessons learnt through the tour, and note the areas to be changed immediately (El Pomar 1). Summary of the tour El Pomar youth sports park The first facility covered by the survey tour was the El Pomar sports center, which has been in operation for about 13 years. The facility provides mind and body recreational services to the members of the colleges in the area, athletes, and members of the community. The facility is located at 2212 Executive circle, Colorado Springs (El Pomar 1). The website of the El Pomar youth Sports Park is given below: http://www.csyouthsports.org/ The website of the facility offers information on the people working at the facility, the facilities available at the center, the policies and the scheduling of the facility, the facility’s outreach as well as the news and the e vents of the facility. The website also offers information on the sponsors and the partners of the facility, as well as directions to visitors and contact information – for visitors and those making inquiries over the Internet (El Pomar 1). The manager (operations director) in charge of the facility is Vicki Martin. The operations director has served at the office since 2002, working as the contact person – responsible for games, tournaments, practice scheduling and scrimmage. She works directly with leagues, clubs, parents, coaches and the youths that use the park. She is also responsible for the handling of invoices, accounts receivables, and book keeping (El Pomar 1). The executive manager of the facility is Eric Parthen, who took office in July 2013. Mr. Parthen is a well-established leader and officer, holding more than 17 years of leadership at similar or higher executive posts (El Pomar 1). The E.A.TuttClub is a facility that offers recreation and learning facil ities. The facility offers both boys and girls, a fun and relaxing environment for learning, at the huge library, where members can learn all that they want. At the recreation room, the facility offers fooseball, house pool, poly pong tables, carpet ball and air hockey facilities. Other facilities at the center include a computer lab, an art room, a gymnasium and an open play ground with baseball and basketball fields, among other recreational grounds (BGCPPR 1). The facility is

Research/review paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

/review - Research Paper Example This figure is the amount of money that young adults seek to earn by the time they reach the age of thirty years. However, they give a much lower figure of 27,000 dollars a year. On this basis therefore, the optimism of people under this age bracket is replaced by signs of sadness, and depression. To correct these misconceptions, the authors denote that these people need to be wise, tenacious and fearless, for them to make an impact in the society. I completely agree with the claims contained the article. In my own opinion, majority of people under this age bracket are not able to fulfill their ambitions because of the structure of the economy, government policies, and fierce competition on the available scarce resources. For example, when these people graduate from their colleges, most organizations want to hire people who are highly experienced. On this basis, these young adults will miss on the opportunity of acquiring the job under consideration. This will force them to look for alternative sources of employment, which do not earn them as much money as they would like to earn. On this basis, these young adults are unable to meet their target of making 75,000 dollars per year before reaching the ages of 30 years. The structure of the economy also plays a great role in affecting the ability of these people to achieve their goals, and thereafter fulfill their ambitions. ... These people are always optimistic about the future, because of their parents and teachers. Parents usually encourage them on while they are young on the importance of working hard in school, and on the available resources they will enjoy after finishing school. However, their parents do not tell them that these resources are scarce, and there is fierce competition for purposes of accessing these resources. After graduating from school, and realizing that these resources are scarce, that is when these people became sad, and some develop depression. On this basis, I completely agree with the assertions of Whelan (4) that these people are always optimistic, but later on become disappointed because they are unable to achieve their expectations, and goals. The author of this article proposes a solution that these young adults need to be wise, tenacious and fearless. For them to succeed therefore, they should be under the guidance of purposes and hope. Whelan (12) denotes that for these p eople to be wise, they have to identify what drives them, and in which direction they want to go. These young adults must also identify the meaning behind the choices that they make, and they must portray honesty about their feelings. In my own opinion, wisdom is an important element in an individual’s life. Without wisdom, a person is bound to make wrong choices in life. These wrong choices might lead to the destruction of the person under consideration. In my own opinion therefore, I agree with the assertions that these young adults must review the choices they make, and identify the meaning behind those choices. These will therefore help them to make choices that will help

Abnormal Earnings and Economic Value Added Research Proposal - 1

Abnormal Earnings and Economic Value Added - Research Proposal Example When a company reports lower earnings in its financial statements than investor-anticipated earnings, it can induce the stock prices to drop significantly. Whereas in case if a company reports more earnings than anticipated by the investors, it boosts up the company's stock prices. This motivates the managers to report discretionary results or earnings so as to live up to the expectations of the shareholders and investors leading to earnings manipulation. The companies report abnormal earnings that misrepresent their financial position and to artificially evaluate the stock. Another metric used to gauge a company's performance and position is known as Economic value added that compares earnings with the cost of capital. Stewart (1991) has presented several arguments that go in favor of using economic value added concept for valuation purpose. The major reason behind using the economic value added as a basis for stock valuation is to analyze the worth a company returns to its shareholders as a reward for their risk and investment. Stewart (1991) shows that the economic value added is calculated by subtracting the cost of capital from the after-tax profit of a company. ... plies that a company should be able to drive that many returns to the shareholders, as they would otherwise get out of another investment opportunity. If the company fails to provide that value, it implies that it actually incurring the loss and is unable to provide sufficient returns to the shareholders. Therefore, it can be said that the ability of a company to procure returns for its shareholders greater than the capital costs can eventually increase or decrease its value. The studies conducted by researchers Stewart (1991), and Lehn and Makhija (1996) prove that economic value added concept bears a strong relationship with company's stock and therefore, has a great capability to influence its stock value. It is, however, to be noted that Topkis (1996) shows that economic value added could only be used as a basis for valuation of a company's future share price and cash flow expectations, but it can not be used to value current stock prices. .

Baby Products Store Communication Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Baby Products Store Communication Plan - Essay Example With the established objective and goal, the key communication message is then framed within the two points of difference, and the proposed communication tools (including business website, monthly online newsletter, business brochure, magazine advertisement, and yellow pages advertising) and budget are presented. Lastly, pre-set measurements are included to track each communication tool. Baby Products Store first opened its doors in the Westchester Mall in 1998 and was the first store in the neighborhood to provide premium baby products. In the next ten years, numerous stores with similar concepts have started in the surrounding area selling undercutting Baby Product Store’s business by offering products with a cheaper price ranges. To avoid price war within the area, Baby Products Store has made a decision not to lower prices, but to create a new selling point of offering specialized customer service and exclusive product offerings provided by loyal long-term suppliers. The objective of this communication plan is to re-introduce Baby Product Store to the surrounding towns and municipalities and highlight the unique customer service policy and exclusive products offered in-store. The goal of this communication plan is to reach 50 unique customers using various communication channels. Because the objective of the plan is centered around the store’s surrounding towns and municipalities, a more targeted and personal communication approach will be adopted. The primary audiences for Baby Product Store are new mothers and parents of small infants and toddlers in the surrounding towns and municipalities.  

Research critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Research critique - Essay Example ect relevance to meal in Nursing Homes, as it discusses meals in an hospital settings; unlike a similar study on nursing homes meals carried out by Goodman et al (2005) where out of the 34 literatures reviewed only one (the oldest) was dated 1989, all others were literatures published between 1998 and 2004. On the light side however, the literature review was satisfactorily comprehensive, taking into account the different perspectives involved in the research problem. Also, an in depth exploration of the impact of meals and meal services in relation to the wellbeing - health and emotional, of the residents was done, shedding more light, in the process, on meals services as it affects the proper running of a nursing home. The literature review also attempted an overview of the role of nursing homes on the aged population of the society, highlighting the increasing PS. The research study was completed in 2000 and submitted for publication in 2002. I had to remove (2) completely, since it is thus, no longer correct. Also, since we need not compare between Nursing Home types for this critique, I believe sentence (3) too should be removed. Afterall, the paragraph still makes sense (and is complete) without the sentence. I hope you are Ok with these

Whiteheads Prolificacy in Logic and Philosophy Essay

Whiteheads Prolificacy in Logic and Philosophy - Essay Example Because of this, Whitehead issues the warning that philosophy must not make a dereliction on the multifarious aspect of the world. It is for this same reason that Whitehead describes beauty as the union of intensity, harmony, and vividness which involve perfection of importance for an occasion. The same explains the reason for Whitehead seeing God as the set of all processes and relationships so that God is radically transcendent (universe-in-god) and radically incarnate (god-in-universe). Whitehead maintains that the metaphysical status of eternal objects is resistant to change so that they remain incomprehensible without an actuality and only intelligible within a broader conceptual frame (Stein, 2006). Â  Whitehead noted that experiences of science, ethics, aesthetics, and religion greatly influence the worldview of the Western culture and should, therefore, factor a more comprehensive and holistic cosmology. This cosmology should be comprehensive enough to provide systematic descriptive theories of the world, which are applicable for deducing human intuitions that have been arrived at through scientific, ethical, aesthetic and religious experiences. Whitehead maintains that in order for science to be, there has to be the presence of sufficient structures, given that intelligibility is a general condition essential for science and all knowledge. Whitehead also continues that science is progressive and imposes upon humanity, progressivity in thinking and inquiry. Whitehead also sees science as existing for posterity, since its progressive technology enables the generation-generation transition into uncharted seas of adventure or inquiry. Â  According to Whitehead, the essence of truth readily necessitates the need for verification.

Exam revision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Exam revision - Assignment Example The best distribution channel strategy for a new toothpaste brand is a direct channel of producer – agent – customer. For a new product like a toothpaste in this case , all the 4 P’s of marketing, that is product, price, promotion and place have to be considered. A modification of the traditional producer, Producers, Wholesalers, Retailers which most consumer products like tooth pastes use. The producer appoints sales agents who go to the field and sell directly to the customers. As they do so, they are marketing the new product to the people since the product does not have many existing customers. This can also be aided by using internet facilities where the product information is stipulated. It is also important that effective communication in the website be enabled that so that there is constant feedback and response to the customers questions. Direct selling is important because there is a lot of competition from the existing market leaders e.g. unilever. The customers may also not trust the new product if for example it is just lying in the retailers store. Direct selling enables the agent to explain and convince the customer. This will secure the trust of the customers and cause market penetration of the toothpaste. In a bid to attract and retain customers to their brands, companies use marketing use all or a fraction of the marketing mix. They include advertising, personal selling, promotional selling, direct marketing and public relations. There a multiplicity of factors to consider before deciding on the strategy. Generally, to decide a communication mix for Barclays Bank and Levis jeans, the following should be considered:

Security Analysis and Portfolio Management Essay

Security Analysis and Portfolio Management - Essay Example On the other hand, the intuition for the growth stocks that the stocks have higher prices in the market compared to their book value creates the definition. These findings were made when the two scholars Fama and French tested the leverages, book market ratios and price earnings ratios among others in an effort to examine the Capital Asset Pricing Module. 2. Factors explaining stock returns. The Capital Asset Pricing Model is a method published in 1992 and that has been popular in portfolio management. Analysis has brought it to question since the model does not satisfy the questions of stock management entirely (Yue et al 2006). The limitations of CAPM lie in the assumption that investors need measure only a single risk that will determine the sensitivity of market returns. The model required to be efficient is therefore supposed to address a number of factors that pose as a risk to security management (Fama and French). The measures should address sensitivity of the market returns by distinguishing small stock risks over risks posed by larger stocks. The new measures implemented by Fama and French have proved to be efficient in large stocks but have not been measured on the small stocks yet from lack of access to the data on security. The research by Fama and French is applicable in the international market as well as the local portfolios in the United States (Carson et al 1999). A market risk factor and a value risk factor provided are means to explain average returns in the stocks internationally (Cohen 1967). Measured by Fama and French, the returns on an international portfolio market of stocks provide the measure of the market risk factor while the difference in the returns on the high book to market and low book to market measures the value risk factor (Case 2011). The CAPM limitations lay in the assumptions that every investor is rational in his expectations , there is a normal distribution of returns, the production and financial sectors are separated , quantity of assets is fixed, the capital market is of perfect efficiency and the risk free rates of borrowing and lending are equal (Bossaerts 2002). These assumptions among others greatly counter the realities of the markets and security and provide erroneous conclusions that create the impression that the state of the portfolios is of high standard when it is not (Fischer 1979). According to French and Fama the idea of Capital Asset Pricing Model creates a system that oversimplifies the entire process of security analysis while leaving out vital steps that create large assumptions in the long run. For example, the distribution of returns argues that all investors see the same opportunities; the model assumes the risks created by other factors on the investor while making his decisions to invest therefore ends up overlooking those risks (Case 2011). The argument of the CAPM lacks any link to the situation of real life events and practicality. The major assumptions made overlook t he important aspects of the markets rather than create a weighted concern for it and the details of stocks. Since theories and models are not necessarily perfect, the overlooked matters should address the less sensitive situations that would cause much less damage or none on the investors in the end and not the other

Reflection of chapter themes in the book Why Evolution is True by Term Paper

Reflection of chapter themes in the book Why Evolution is True by Jerry A Coyne - Term Paper Example Lastly, the scientific concept of evolution shall be criticized based on a personal opinion. Evolution has been defined as the gradual genetic change that the species usually undergo due to the environmental pressures. The DNA, a vital element of the animal cell, has taken all the living creatures to a single common ancestor. Most animals share the patterns of their DNA. This was before the evolution took place. The evolution eventually took place and the organisms have been biologically and geographically separated from each other. Evolution took place in three different forms. These are: Gradualism, Speciation and the Natural selection. In gradualism, the species take several generations to attain the desired change that will enhance their survival. Thus, evolution takes many years to be fully achieved. Speciation is the process whereby organisms split into different species. It is the evolution of different species that cannot easily interbreed. Natural selection, according to Coyne, is just but a ‘tinkerer’. This means that natural selection does not yield any original perfection in a species but, only improves on what ha s already been established. In this chapter, a number of theories have been brought forward. They included the evolution theory, cell theory, plate tectonic theory and atomic theory. However, the book specifically concentrates on the evolution, which, argues that all living organisms originated from a common ancestor. Chapter Two concentrates on the Fossils as evidence of evolution. Fossils are the remnants of the ancient species that resemble the living animals of today. The fossils have always been there since the beginning of time; even Darwin and Aristotle discussed fossils in their books. Fossil formation takes a few but very lengthy steps. First, there must be remains of either animals or plants. These remains must sink in deep waters for quite a long time. However, the sunken remains must be

Molecular Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Molecular Identity - Essay Example As mentioned earlier partially, the NCC and the NKCC2 cotransporters are renal-specific in action while the other five are more widely found and evident throughout the central nervous system (Delpire, E., 2000). The and solute carriers move through plasma membranes always accompanied by in equal proportions in a 1:1 stoichiometry (Gamba, G., 2005). Functionally, these membrane proteins are active in transepithelial ion absorption and secretion, cell volume regulation and setting intracellular anions below or above their electrochemical potential equilibriums (Gamba, G., 2005), among other possible functions. The last activity, specially appertaining to KCC2, is of special interest to this study. The last decade has seen much advance in their study and most of the knowledge that is available on them has become so within this short period. These family members are also extensively involved in the pharmacology and pathophysiology of cardiovascular and neuronal regions of mammalian anatomy. Loop diuretics and thiazide diuretics that are some of the most prescribed drugs in the world target some of the family members while genetic mutations that inactivate three specific members cause inherited diseases like Bartter's, Gitelman's and Anderman's (Gamba, G., 2005). It should be noted here that all the functional-structural characteristics of the above seven cotransporters have not been comprehensively discovered and described. This is amply evident from G. Gamba's extensive 2005 paper investigating comprehensively the hitherto unrevealed functional-structural characteristics of the seven. Thus, that deficiency lends purpose to the dissertation this paper is an introduction to again, specifically in relation to KCC2, the particular potassium-coupled chloride cotransporter this project is investigating.CAD Cells True cultured cell lines derived of purely neuronal origin are of immense value to biochemical and molecular study of neurons and their diverse functional implications together with other neurotransmission elements like the KCC cotransporters in this instance. This is so because primary neuronal cells thrive indifferently in cultures with low reproducibility and often are found mixed with other types of cells not of interest to the particular research at hand (Wang and Oxford, 2000). There are some specific neuronal differentiated phenotype exhibiting cell lines available to the researcher such as the PC12 cells, the P19 cells and the MN9D cells, among others, but these are not purely derived of the CNS and

Evaluation of Barclays Bank in india Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evaluation of Barclays Bank in india - Essay Example Due to the high interest rate and the increasing purchasing power of the Indian economy, the banking sector is on high demand. During this period, many foreign banks expanded their business to India as the economy of the country was growing at a very high rate of 8% per annum. The country provides ample opportunity for corporate banking, retail banking, micro finance and consumer financial banking sector (Bosworth, Collins & Virmani, 2007, p.23). Barclays took the opportunity of the growing economy in India and adopted the expansion strategy by introducing retail banking in the country. India is expected to grow massively in the coming years and since the bank has started from scratch, it has a big advantage as it does not have any legacy systems. In retail sector, the bank has introduced personal loans and cards business and also NRI business plans within few days of launch. Though the bank doesn’t have many branches in India with the advancement of technology like internet b anking, the Indian customers are ready to operate with the branchless foreign banks which helped Barclays to explore more and more (Sciglimpaglia & Ely, 2010). 2. Analysis of environment 2.1 PESTLE Analysis The Pestle analysis is mainly done by the companies in order to find the environmental influence of the country on a business sector. Indian Banking sector is not much affected by the political government policies as compared to other developing countries because of the robust framework policy of free trade of the Reserve Bank of India. Indian economy has had a growth rate of around 8-9% during the last 3 years. 54% of the GDP of India was contributed by the service sector during 2006-2007 (Cetorelli & Gambera, 2002, p.617-648). The socio-cultural factors are also changing people’s lifestyle and their behavior continuously. The people of any developing country often demand high class products leading to the requirement of money from banks, thus ensuring a good prospect for Barclays bank. India with second highest population (1.17 billion) with literacy rate of 61% is very advanced technologically thus giving a great opportunity for Barclays to implement core banking system in India (Kamath et. al, 2003, p.84). Barclays use latest technologies like internet & mobile banking, CMA, NEFT, RTGS, INFINET, and Core Banking to get an extra edge over its competitors (IDRBT, 2004). But the Indian Government’s legislature and the farming policy for providing short term agricultural loans affects the banking sector on its profit in India. Indian environmental factor is very favorable for the agricultural development and thus the farmers’ needs are provided by Barclays through several customer centric schemes (Mohan, 2005, p.1106). 2.2 Industry life cycle The Indian banking sector can be broadly divided into two major categories i.e. nationalized and privatized bank. With the development in technology and product the nationalized bank are currently in transition stage while on the other hand the privatized bank like Barclays have crossed the transition phase with the implementation of technologies into their system. Since there is constant growth in technological and product it’s very difficult to determine a specific industry life cycle in banking sector. Thus taking into consideration the major areas of advancements, Roussakis

Leadership Branding in Singapore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership Branding in Singapore - Essay Example As the report declares a leadership brand is moreover rooted within the companies’ customs, throughout its rules as well as its supplies for the workers. during the study of an approximate 100 flourishing leader corporations of diverse ranges over the precedent decade, it has been established that most of them have urbanized a comparable technique , which assists them in creating an outstanding channel of leaders cohort after cohort. They moreover tend to like extremely the stable earnings each year, as they have held the ongoing assurance of the external fundamentals whose prospects are contentedly full by leaders all through the organization. In view of Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, in order to put together a well built leadership brand the corporations need to pursue five major values. Initially, they need to be aware of the basics that constitute towards leadership, such as establishing strategies along with coaching the employees well. This discussion stresses that the Leadership Brand in regards to the Singapore business community also lays more stress towards the the question of leadership improvement that would help the community lift up a there overall market significance along with being able to build the desired aggressive lead. Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, their disagreement on the fact that leadership brand tends to characterize an insubstantial significance in addition to the element of communal individuality in the midst of the corporations leaders, who also tend to distinguish as to what their specific corporations are capable of achieving, in comparison to the competition they face in the market. Most of the Singapore business community , in view of several investigations that have been carried out in this jauner , is observed as pursuing the writers loom towards leadership brand helping determine how in actual to form worth for the shareholders ( Ed Cohen , 2007) , the consumers, in addition to the human resources moreover generate a more aggressive circumference for their corporations . The corporations in Singapore , by each passing day are also realizing , and implementing a more internationally pursued

Advertising and Promotion Essay Example for Free

Advertising and Promotion Essay Introduction: Advertising and promotion are part of marketing which are very important. Without advertising and promotion the company cannot communicate the message of their product to the target customers. Through advertising the organisations use mass media to communicate the message to a large group of people. This can also be said as above the line promotion. Below the line promotion includes when the organisation is directly involved such as direct mailing and telecommunication. The assignment has been done on extensive research work to find out the various strategies used by organisation for advertising and promotion. The advantages and disadvantages, the competitive edge, etc. Requirement 1: 1.1 Advertising as we know is when there is the usage of paid announcement through media specially to bring in to attention of the people the knowledge of some product or service. Any medium that can take a message from an association to a potential purchaser can be utilized for promoting. Obviously, the most well known media are TV, print (daily paper, magazines, and so on.), radio, and the Internet. TV is well known in view of its vast range, however it is additionally exorbitant. The 2012 Super Bowl was viewed by in excess of 111 million individuals, and organizations that needed a 30-second business amid that game paid a normal of $3.5 million. The communication process involves the following: Source – A source is likewise alluded to as an sender. The sender has a message to pass on to others. The sender can be anybody from a brand specialist (in a significant company, for example, Nike or Budweiser) to a businessperson in a more diminutive association. Now and again, famous people are utilized to underwrite items and go about as an issue for the item. It is constantly vital to verify that the source is solid and reliable. An immediate source can be a sales representative conveying a message around an item. A indirect source utilizes a well known open figure to attract thoughtfulness regarding an item. Encode – The source encodes or makes an interpretation of thoughts into a message. Case in point, a brand director chooses to promote another item. Message – After characterizing the target advertise, the advertiser outlines a viable message that will accomplish the communication objectives. Recipient – The beneficiary is the individual or gathering with whom the sender endeavours to impart thoughts. Advertisers need a reaction, the responses of the recipient, in the wake of being presented to the message: for instance, a customer getting the message about the new item. Translate – The recipient deciphers or translates the message. For a message to be decoded by a beneficiary the way it was expected by the sender, the sender and receiver need to have regular encounters. As such, a recipient may not interpret a message the way it was proposed to on the off chance that her background and experience vary significantly from the senders. A marketer has to be sensitive to the intended audience. Noise – Noise meddles with or upsets compelling correspondence. This can incorporate a poor TV or radio signal. Feedback – Feedback is checking and assessing how precisely the expected message is consistently gotten. This is possible by directing statistical surveying. Basically, this includes inquiring as to whether they have seen the message, on the off chance that they review the message, and what their attitude was towards the product. There are various channels that companies uses in order to communicate their goods or services to customers in the market. BMW for instance uses BMW website, magazine, newspaper, trade shows, billboard, etc. (Elearningportal.com, 2013) 1.2 Promotion is a part of the marketing business. Basically, if marketing can be considered as the methodology of bringing an item or service to the consideration of purchasers, marketing is the selection of methodologies to keep the product or service in the personalities of buyers and stimulate  continued demand for it. In marketing sales, distribution and target market are closely linked with promotion and advertising. There are a few potential roads of actions that the marketing group can use. Advertising may emphasize in one or more media stations, including TV, film theaters, print media, for example, daily papers and magazines, and online entries. Organizations might likewise distribute posters, announcements and pamphlets to promote their items. An product or service is liable to have one sort of notice for its dispatch, and may have diverse adverts that constitute the ongoing promotion campaign. These later adverts may specify grants that the product or service has won, or confirmation of past sales success It is the centralized system that runs the organization of advertisement and promotion. There are different level of hierarchy who work together to make this industry successful. The organization includes advertising and marketing managers, directors, sales agents, staff from finance department, etc. The media works very closely with the advertising and promoting. There are agencies that are in charge of the production of these advertisements and their distribution. There are also collateral service providers. For instance for BMW there are artists, painters, photographers, directors, who support the advertising. (Kotlar et al., 2005) 1.1 Assess how promotion is regulated (P1.3) The regulation of activities of promotion relies on the risks and likely effect of marketing. In some cases the company may withdraw their promotional campaign as because it may have potential risk, instead of doing good, it could bring about more catastrophic events (Bagwell, 2007). Formal authorization activities are likewise instrument for managing promotions. Analytical work is carried out to recognize if there is a marketing issue being overlooked. They may concentrate in deceptive message, error of message, adequacy of pages and profit on promotional investments. On reading the case study of BMW it is seen that they changed and strengthened their promotional approach in 2005 after a research study on extravagance auto purchasers. The promotional activity transformed its regulatory directions  to assemble new brand picture. In the wake of finding that their message is not being accurately seen by purchasers BMW strengthened and enlisted another notice org in May, 2006. Who supplanted the organizations overemphasis on performance driving in the course of recent years with the idea organization of thoughts Thus regulatory tools are connected to control the stream and impact of promotional activities. . 1.4 The universe of promoting and advertising is changing and the patterns of the business are extending, adjusting and developing as customers change. The key is to staying on top of things and using an alternate level of considering products, groups, organizations and promoting channels accessible. Mobile Marketing :Yes, this trendy expression was thrown around a considerable measure in recent years yet it’s at last turning into a need, being put into improvement and being advanced. Publicizing on cell phones is going to increment exponentially not long from now as cell phones keep on becoming a top technique for correspondence between buyers. Regardless of what industry, the measure of the business or different components, mobile advertising specialists will be looked for after more than ever. Interactive Banner Ads : Individuals hear the expression, banner advertisements and flinch. They are a bad dream for buyers and advertisers. Customers scorn that they take up the page and advertisers cant get individuals to click on them. Be that as it may, what everybody knows is that they are an extraordinary source of product placement – right in the middle of your target market’s website.. What were starting to see is that advertisers are making banner of things their intended focus group needs to see and needs to recall. Basically, organizations are making their advertisements the feature story. As opposed to controlling buyers to their sites, they utilize interactive marketing segments to make these promotions shareable by means of social media. Local Advertising : Local advertising, in short, portrays promoting that purchasers arent altogether mindful that they are generally presented to on the grounds that it is flawlessly incorporated into how individuals use specific mediums. tricky for advertisers to attempt to evaluate how to discretely make their advertisements would appear to be a piece of the substance on the page the client is survey, yet imaginative promoting has truly taken off in this business sector and its fame is expanding exponentially among the promoting and advertising industry. Brands Look beyond Fans and Likes: This point is about understanding the motivation behind diverse social networking outlets, discovering which ones suits their target group best and realizing what purchasers use it for. At last, organizations understand that piece of the overall industry cant be measured by the quantity of preferences on a Face book page or supporters of whatever other social media. Organizations are using collaboration, correspondence and content sharing. (Infinitee, 2013) Requirement 2: 2.1 We all know that marketing is a broad subject; advertisement is just another element of it. We have discussed before that advertising is closely connected with media. There are different types of advertisement which severe different types of purpose in the process of communicating message via media to potential target markets. Marketing being broad has various tools apart from advertising such as public relations, direct marketing, digital marketing, promotion, etc. The various forms of media which are used for the purpose of advertisement are T.V, radio, newspapers, magazines, internet, SMS, etc. In order to pass on the brand message it is very important to choose the appropriate media. When the intention is to reach out to large group of people it is perfect to use advertising. Role of marketing can be interpreted as use of appropriate strategy is vital for marketing mangers to get the right message to the right customers using tools such as promotions, product price and distribution. In order to  determine the most productive and effective communicational vehicle, it is necessary to understand the importance of the promotional strategy. In order for advertising to be a effective tool for a promotional strategy, it is necessary to understand the characteristic of the potential customers and hence a series of steps needs to be carried out. Following are some: Segmentation: In order to make communication via advertising more effective it is essential to divide the customers in to different groups. If it is unknown to whom the message is intended to, it may not get any response at al. Once it is known who the advertisement message is intended for, there needs to be further drilling to know more. In this scenario the marketers go in for research and surveying, etc. Targeting: In order for advertisement to get the best response it is necessary to know that communication is being made to the right segment. Targeting plans should closely be related to marketing objectives. Other important steps include positioning and messaging. 2.2 Branding is more than simply a business trendy expression. It has turned into the must of selling in the new economy. On the off chance that the old promoting mantra was, Nothing happens until some individual sells something, the new rationality could be Nothing happens until someone brands something. â€Å"in its most straightforward structure, a brand is like a name. It is the name appended to an product or service. However it may be, brand is more related to the physical aspects of products or services: for example, color, image, status, quality, etc. It plays physiologically in the minds of the customers, gives them a perception of the product or service. In short, a brand offers the client a certification and then delivers on it. You might infer, then, that if you build a powerful brand, automatically it becomes possible to make strong marketing programs. Nonetheless, on the off chance that you cant persuade customers that your product is deserving and worthy of purchasing, no other measures such as fancy packaging or public relations will help to achieve sales goal. Successful branding programs are characterized by good quality product and services accompanies by good customer service which boosts the functioning of the entire organization. 2.3 When it comes to creativity in advertising, it basically means what to say and how to say it. The message in the advertising is very important. Thus, what to say is the message that will be passed on to the potential clients. How to say it on the other hand is basically the appropriate format that is to be used for the message. There are many creative specialist who are hired in the organization who deals with the creative aspect of advertising. Most companies these days pass on the work of the creative aspect of the advertising to advertising agencies. These agencies either hire specialists or has their own team of specialists. There are various steps which are involved in the creative design process which is also used by BMW. Following are the steps: a) Decision regarding objective of advertisements. b) Gathering of necessary information customers, products and competitors. c) Production of brand new ideas by creative specialist. d) Approval of these ideas by the managers of marketing and advertising. e) Coming to decision regarding the content of the message, message format, layout, etc. f) Testing and final check before the launching of the advertisement. The message in the advertisement has to be appealing to the desired customers. Ad appeal can be of many different types. It usually depends on what kind of message is the marketers most are focusing on. For instance they may want to say how high quality the product is or how low priced it is, etc. (Mukesh and Ranju, 2011) 2.4 Projects initiate in one department and when their work is done, it is passed on to the next. Organizations these days intentionally hire advertising agencies in order for the advertising work to be more promising and strong. Four Tips to Working Successfully with Your Advertising Agency Once the agency of choice is selected by the business, it is necessary to know how you would expand that relationship. How would you function adequately with your organization group to guarantee your advertising project is the best it can be? Consider these four tips for an effective org  customer relationship. Set clear objectives. Plot what achievement looks like at each stage as your org creates your promoting arrangements. Without clear objectives, it is difficult to judge the adequacy of promotions, outlines, mottos, or any piece of your campaign. Make certain your office is mindful of what you would like to perform with your system and characterize a particular estimation of achievement, whether regarding new clients, call-backs or strict deals. Cover the budget bases. Nothing jeopardizes a positive vendor relationship like squabbles over cash. Work with your advertising agency to set a particular plan for each one piece of your promoting campaign and in addition a general plan for advertising your business. Likewise, audit individual assessments for particular plan and printing tasks, office promoting commissions and managerial expenses. Establish specific timelines. Make sure you and your group are mindful of the proposed timetable of dispatch for your advertising program and additionally transitional dates for improvement paving the way to dispatch. React immediately when your office needs data from you to execute components of your fight, and catch up rapidly with sealing and asked for amendments. (H. Montgomery, 2011) Requirement 3: 3.1 Any techniques which are intended directly for the customers and are well within the control of the customers can be called as below the line promotions. Below the line promotion includes techniques which are creative and interesting meant for the targeted customers. BMW has used various below the line promotions to gain many customers. a) Public relations: This  involves various public activities. In order to get the attention of political parties’ worldwide and general public, BMW has created and donated to many charities. Activities as such has given them wide recognition, which is apart from the recognition they get from quality cars which they produce. b) Direct marketing: This is a form of marketing where the customers are reached out directly through flyers, leaflets. BMW does take part in this kind of direct marketing but not to a large extent. They usually do this when they represent them self in trade fairs and exhibitions. c) Internet: Internet as it does not need much introduction has become widely popular in the last decade. Internet is used to mainly use to reach out to various target groups. BMW has cars which vary in class, sizes, color and prices. Different customers have different preference. Internet is used as a medium of promotion to reach these messages to different target groups. It is also a medium to get feedback from clients. d) Events: Events include exhibitions and trade fairs. In these kind of events products are directly showcased, where the people can try the products or services and gain detailed knowledge about it. This is method of providing immediate good perception of the product or service in the mind of potential customers. e) Promotional campaigns: Companies includes certain number of individuals who widely participate in promoting the company. They usually design and execute campaigns. (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2013) 3.2 Following are other techniques which can be used as below the line promotional techniques: Door to-Door Marketing Door to door promoting takes selling to an personal level, and this is a standout amongst the most well-known manifestations of below the line promotion. This procedure obliges profoundly prepared sales staff that knows how to construct customer relationship and can walk that barely recognizable difference of being tenacious without being irritating. Most door to door promoting campaigns allows the person doing it some commission on the sales, so forthright expenses can be kept low and salesmen have more motivation to make sales. Most common door to door promoting is in the case of insurance companies. Exterior Location Marketing Exterior location marketing includes driving enthusiasm to an event or sale through the key utilization of employees set outside the area. Ordinarily, these systems incorporate sandwich-board style promotions or actually sprucing up the employee in an outfit to attract more attention on the location. These workers may remain nearby the street, getting the consideration of passing drivers. While this system is not frequently utilized, it can be helpful for small organizations, restaurants and car dealers. Thus, dealers dealing with BMW cars can be provided with incentives to do such activities to increase their sales. Email Marketing Email marketing can likewise be a manifestation of below the line promoting if your organization directs the campaign all alone. You are speaking specifically with the buyer through this manifestation of promoting and can steer them to a point of arrival where they can take in more about what you are putting forth. This thus provides for you the capacity to measure campaign effectiveness. Email promoting is for the most part economical, and results can be great if the email rundown is focused on fresh and follows double opt-in guidelines Double opt-in refers to the process where consumers have to confirm their subscription to an email list before emails can be sent to them. (K. McFerlin, 2014) Requirement 4: 4.1 Surviving in the market is not easy for the company. For companies to be prosperous they have to continue to attract and serve targeted customers within their budget. Hence budget for promotional strategy is very important. Following are some of the steps involved in the process of formulation of appropriate budget for promotional strategy: a) Observing market climate: Market can be unpredictable at time. Trends move in and out very quickly. Company’s market department has their eyes like eagles on the  market. They are always on the look for the that little gap which they can fill in. They are always looking for windows of opportunity. Not observing the market climate can leave them way behind, furthermore not having a appropriate budget estimation. b) Evaluating brand weakness and strength: This is important as because no brand is perfect. Even sometimes when a brand is created by the best of marketing managers, it may not be accepted well by the public or targeted groups. Hence, not keeping anything set in mind, marketers are always looking to find those weaknesses which they can improve on. c) Creating competitive marketing strategy: What sets your product, service and organization separated from your competitors? What quality do you give and how is it not quite the same as the plan B? Competitive strategies is about characterizing how youll separate your offering and make esteem for your business sector. Its about cutting out a spot in the competitive scene, putting your stake in the ground, and winning mindshare in the commercial marketplace – being known for a certain something d) Up to date plans: As the name suggests, plans are necessary to be on time rather than behind time for the estimation of appropriate budget. e) Getting feedback: One of the most important thing as without feedback companies cannot know where they stand. (MarketingMO.com, 2014) 4.2 An promotion plan diagrams the limited time instruments or strategies you want to use to achieve your promoting goals. To the new or unpractised advertiser, the promotion plan may be mixed up as the whole promoting arrangement on the grounds that it plots where most of the advertising plan will be used. It is, nonetheless, only one part of the advertising plan there are extra procedure and arranging segments portrayed in a marketing plan. You may decide to incorporate the accompanying components in your promotion plan: The significant segment to your Promotion Plan is the portrayal (or posting) of the planned promotional tactics you plan to use. Anticipated expenses for the year. Estimate your expenses as precisely as could be expected under the circumstances. Demonstrate the Relationship between the Promotional Tactics and Marketing Objectives Show the Relationship between the Promotional Tactics and Marketing Objectives Refer to or list again relevant objectives from the Marketing Objectives section of your marketing plan and point out how you will accomplish them using the promotion plan (Smallbusinessnotes, n.d) And appropriate promotional plan for BMQ product would incorporate the following: a) Define specific objective b) Distribution plan and targeted customers. c) Creating a theme to make it unique. d) Creating a supporting message with the product. e) Most important of all hiring a professional promotional consultant. 4.3 The integration of promotional techniques such as price incentives for a business or product must focus on the needs of the market, the condition and elasticity of demand, need for price incentives, and consumer responses towards price incentives (Dimitropoulos, 2012). A luxurious product such as BMW may use promotional technique of focusing on research and development for innovating new product features. Setting high prices also positions the product and represents it as a status symbol in consumer’s mind. Thus the integration of promotional techniques such as setting high price, branded entertainment, high performance, exclusivity eventually formulates an overall promotional strategy. However if not communicated properly or if the techniques are conflicting the brand message will be misinterpreted by consumers. Overemphasizing or underemphasizing features or overlooking the actual consumer needs should be avoided (Terence, 2010) An appropriate plan for the integration of promotional techniques for BMW  has the following steps to be incorporated: a) Assess the marketing communication opportunities for BMW. For example understanding the needs of the target market b) Determining the mode of communication that is going to be used for BMW. Example using intermediaries or selling products directly in BMW show room. c) Determine promotion mix. Gathering resources for sales promotion, adverting and publicity. d) Developing promotional budget. Gathering financial resource to afford the plan. e) Determining campaign effectiveness. Using various tools, like project appraisal techniques, analysis of the situation, etc to understand the viability. 4.4 Promotion is not a definite science. Theres no exact approach to measure the achievement of a promotion campaigns. You cant, for instance, decide what number of sales cash are created by each one promoting cost used. However there are strategies that will provide for you a harsh thought of whether your promotions are hitting the imprint. Verify you have clear promoting goals. You may need to help business generally, however your destination ought to be more particular: to increase sales of a new product or service, to assemble attention to your organization, to increase volume amid a certain time period, or to stretch your business in a specific market. To evaluate the viability of your promoting campaign, you can monitor sales, new clients, demands for information, telephone request, retail location activity, site movement, or navigate rates. Utilize these strategies to gauge the force of the promotion campaign A straightforward approach to tell if your campaign is working is to track retail activity by tallying the individuals who enter your store. Bear in mind to monitor activity before you begin the promotion campaign, so youll have a premise for correlation. Whats more ask new clients how they came to know about the business. (Smallbusinessnotes,n.d) References: a) Kotler, Veronica, Saunders (2005). Principles of Marketing:. 4th ed. London: Prentice hall. 34-56. b) elearnportal. (2013). Marketing Communications Process. Available: http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/business/advertising/advertising-marketing-communications-process. Last accessed 25/11/14. c) Infinitee. (2013). 5 Advertising and Marketing Trends for 2013.Available: http://www.infinitee.com/advertising-and-marketing-blog/bid/62829/5-Advertising-and-Marketing-Trends-for-2013. Last accessed 25/11/14. d) Mukesh and Ranju (2011). Advertising and sales management. New Delhi: V. K Enterprise. 55-67. e) H. Montgomery. (2009). Tips for Working Effectively with an Advertising Agency. Available: http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/52999.aspx. Last accessed 25/11/14. f) Business case studies. (2013). Using promotion to campaign for public services. Available: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/unison/using-promotion-to-campaign-for-public-services/below-the-line-promotio n.html#axzz3K7hwVrCA. Last accessed 25/11/14. g) K. McFerlin. (2014). Examples of Below-the-Line Advertising. Available: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-belowtheline-advertising-10099.html. Last accessed 26/11/14. h) MarketingMO. (2014). Competitive Positioning. Available: http://www.marketingmo.com/strategic-planning/competitive-positioning/. Last accessed 26/11/14. i) Smallbusinessnotes. (n.d). Promotion Plan. Available: http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/marketing-your-business/promotion-plan.html. Last accessed 26/11/14.

Ethics Article Review Essay Example for Free

Ethics Article Review Essay Ethics in accounting and financial decision-making has received increased attention due to large corporate scandals such as WorldCom and Enron in recent years. Legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has attempted to make corporations more transparent to internal and external stakeholders. After analyzing the 2005 article by Richard Bernardi and Catherine LaCross, Corporate Transparency: Code of Ethics Disclosures, recommendations will be made to improve ethical foundations at the San Quentin State Prison based on the parameters outlined by Sarbanes-Oxley. In the Corporate Transparency article, the key point is made that along with changes in the accounting practices, disclosing a code of ethics to the public will ensure better internal compliance with ethical practices. Those organizations that did not publicly disclose codes of ethics were less likely to truly conform to ethical practices required in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 was legislation enacted in response to large corporate scandals. The Act calls for public corporations to publicly disclose all financial statements, store all electronic records for five years and these rules are governed by the SEC (Spurzem, 2006). Sarbanes Oxley has impacted organizations in that accountants and financial decision makers are open to public scrutiny based on the public financial statement disclosures and IT departments must adequately create and maintain corporate archives that are cost effective and in compliance with legislation (Spurzem, 2006). Organizations have been impacted financially by having to add extra resources to maintain compliance and avoid fines. According to Bernardi and LaCross, â€Å". . . one example of a ‘best practice’ in transparency is a corporation making its code of ethics readily available for public scrutiny on its website (par 1). † Corporations increase legitimacy with openly stated code of ethics and websites are an economically feasible avenue for making a particular code available to the public. The article argues that organizations that go beyond the basic requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley and declare a universal code of ethics show that the organization is willing to ‘walk the talk’ of ethics. SEC chairman Donaldson is quoted as saying â€Å". . . going beyond mere adherence or conformity to new dictates and of Sarbanes-Oxley: responsibilities that rest at the very heart of their obligation to create a corporate culture of transparency and accountability (Bernardi, 2005, par 6). † Integrating ethics into a corporate culture is extremely effective in ensuring strong ethical compliance within organizations. At the San Quentin State Prison, ethics are important in many aspects of business including accounting, financial decisions, inmate treatment, medical care, and general work environment. There are many opportunities for unethical practices to take hold in a prison facility. Since the facility is closed off to the general public, self-monitoring is a crucial part of maintaining an ethical environment in all aspects of the prison business. San Quentin has the responsibility to use public tax dollars wisely and ethically as well as to maintain a corporate culture with high integrity. Based on the research findings by Bernardi and LaCross, the recommendation for a San Quentin State Prison public code of ethics will focus the entire prison cultural towards walking the ethical talk. All prison employees would be held individually responsible for maintaining the highest code of ethics across all job functions from accounting and financial decision-makers to medical employees. Ethics in business span larger than just accounting and financial-decision making. While these areas are extremely important, developing a code of ethics for all job functions in an organization is essential to maintaining an ethical corporate environment. At San Quentin Prison, an official code of ethics would guide the organization to best practices to ensure success. References http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci920030,00.html

Overview Of Tata Steel Pre Merger

Overview Of Tata Steel Pre Merger TATA Steel, earlier known as TISCO, is the iron and steel production company which is the flagship concern of the TATA group, Indias largest private corporate group. Tata Steel was established by Indian Parsi Businessman Jamsetji Tata in 1907. As of 2005, TATA Steel was Asias largest private sector steel company. The company was also recognized as the worlds best steel producer by World Steel Dynamics in 2005. Tata Steel has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 30 million tonne by 2015. To this end it acquired Singapore based NatSteel in 2004 and acquired a 40% stake in Thailand based Millennium steel. Through these two acquisitions, TATA steel added about 3.2 million tonne to its production capacity. As of 2006, TATA Steel had a production capacity of 5.3 million tonnes. After the Corus acquisition (18.2 million tonne), the net acquired capacity was 21.4 million tonne, and TATA Steel plans to add another 29 million tonne by this route. Thus we see that TATA Steel seems to have a definite strategy of increasing capacity through acquisition and is acting on it rapidly. At this point we will conduct a resource based analysis of this strategy. A resource based view of strategy emphasizes the internal resources of a company in the formulation of strategy in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The following model makes this process clear:- Resources Resources are the input which an organization uses to carry out its activities. And yet organizations in the same industry might have similar resources but have differing performance, since they may utilize their resources differently. For a resource based view, Assets available to a business may be classified in the following form  [1]  (Resources in management TRIZ, Business level):- TATA Steel Particulars Pre Merger Post Merger Tangible assets (in Rs. Crore) Fixed assets 9865 11040 Current assets 2174 2332 Financial assets (in Rs. Crore) Assets (cash) 288.39 7681.35 Net Worth 9755 14096 Intangible Location Jamshedpur Jamshedpur Size World 56th largest World 5th largest Competition None domestically None domestically Thus we can see that prior to the merger TATA Steel was a very large domestic steel player, in fact the largest in India. The location advantage conferred by the plant being in Jamshedpur was aptly put by Mr. Ratan Tata, who said that the owners of iron ore will be the rulers of the steel industry. Its captive raw material resources and state of the art 5 million tonne plant at Jamshedpur gives at a competitive edge. This capacity is slated to go up to 7 million tonne. In addition, TATA steel has extremely good relations with the government in the region by virtue of its long standing developmental efforts in the region. As a result, TATA Steel has acquired a great deal of goodwill among the local population and consequently, the government. This is apparent in the Greenfield projects which the group is setting up in the region:- 6 million tonne plant in Orissa (India) 12 million tonne in Jharkhand (India) Capabilities However, the best resources in themselves are of no real value to a company in and of themselves. The organization must have the capability to employ these resources properly. It is these distinctive capabilities of an organizations resources which result in a competitive advantage. But this advantage is sustainable only if this capability comes from some characteristic other firms do not possess. TATA Steel is one of the lowest cost steel producers in the world. It is also one of the even fewer steel companies which are EVA positive. It has an operating profit margin of nearly 40%  [2]  (avg. = 16%). As an indication, only two manufacturers in USA (and none in India) have higher margins. At the same time, growth rate for sales was 232% and net income was 590%  [3]  . Adding this information to its captive raw materials resources as explained previously, we can see that TATA Steel had a unique position as an extremely low cost steel producer in an extremely fast developing region of the world. Tata Steel holds a very vital place in Indian business history, because it has introduced some of the unique concepts like 8-hour working days, leave with pay and pension system for the first time in India and the first player to start rapid industrialization process. In the later part, the concepts invented and implemented by the Tatas became law and compulsory practice for the Indian employees. A direct result of these employee friendly practices is the goodwill which TATA Steel enjoys among its workforce. In consequence, the Jamshedpur plant furnaces have never been closed down due to industrial strife. Thus we can see the two major capabilities which enable TATA Steel to employ its resources effectively extreme operating efficiency and employee friendly policy. Another point of note is the extremely cash rich status of the organization even prior to the acquisition with an interest coverage ratio of 32, and a growth rate of 380% for net cash flow from operations. Competitive advantage At this point we can clearly see the sources of competitive advantage for TATA Steel prior to the merger. Therefore let us examine its position in the market prior to the merger, with the Porters five forces model. 1) Threat of entry of new competitors The steel industry is one which has a very high entry barrier. In addition, established players already enjoy customer loyalty, and hence it will be difficult for new players to gain market share. On the other hand, the sector promises high returns in future. 2) Intensity of competitive rivalry In terms of price, quality and innovation TATA Steel had no domestic competition as of 2005-06. However, on a global scale, it was just so small in terms of volume that it could not bring into play the economies of scale of the truly major players. 3) Threat of substitute products This threat is well nigh negligible with respect to steel. 4) Bargaining power of customers The steel industry is one of periodic swings in demand. However, with an average growth rate of 7% expected in countries like India, China and Brazil in the foreseeable future, we can safely assume that price of steel will continue to rise. In fact, the price of steel has doubled over 2006-2008  [4]  . However, it is also accepted that consolidation in the steel industry will lead to stabilisation of world steel prices and higher bargaining power. This is necessary because the buyers are consolidating e.g. auto makers are consolidating with six to seven global majors. 5) Bargaining power of suppliers The three major iron ore suppliers CVRD, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have a 75% market share and 40% margins. Clearly, small players are at a distinct disadvantage. Strategy In this context, let us examine the strategy of acquisition as proceeded upon by the TATA Steel management. First, TATA Steel had proximity to low cost iron ore, and the capability to take advantage of it. As a result, TATA Steel had acquired leadership status in the Indian market. In terms of the BCG Matrix, it would be considered a star. However, if it does not grow into the international it would, sooner rather than later, become a cash cow. In order to remain a star, it would have to grow its capacity and become a world major. However, before the Corus acquisition, it was only at 56th position in capacity. In terms of the world market, TATA Steel would find market penetration in Europe or America extremely difficult. In addition, as explained via the Porters five forces model, steel producers are on the wrong side of the equation both with respect to the buyers as well as suppliers, who are well consolidated and hence in a position to dictate terms. Hence, it is necessary for global steel players to consolidate as well, and thereby acquire a position of strength. This would decrease price fluctuations and increase earnings multiples. Hence, considering resources (cash, technology) present with the company, the competitive advantage it enjoyed (low cost, high margin) and the market conditions (consolidation), acquisition of some major manufacturer and jump into the big league was the only choice. Strategic Decision Undertaken The strategic decision we will be considering for the purpose of this project is Tata Steels decision to acquire Corus and the how they went about the entire process. The reasons behind the takeover will be viewed in detail along with a resource based view of the resources so collated by the newly formed company now known as Tata Europe. I really believe that the owners of iron ore are going to rule the industry. They will be OPEC of the steel industry. (Ratan Tatas interview to McKinsey Quarterly quoted by Wheatley in Financial Times, January 29, 2007). This statement made by Ratan Tata expresses in clear words the true reason behind the adoption of this strategy. Corus- An overview Corus headquarter in London, Europes second largest producer of steel and the 9th largest in the world was founded in the October 1999 via a merger between two companies British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens. This merger was a result of the privatization of Steel producing companies by the U.K government. In the year 2005 its revenues stood at  £9.2 billion. Corus had a divisional structure which comprised the Strip Products division, the Long Products division, Aluminum Division and the Distribution Building division. Corus customer base ranges across countries of the world and its core businesses include the manufacturing, development and allocation of steel aluminum products as well as services. It has a diversified product services portfolio which comprise manufacturing of electrical steel, narrow strip, plates, packaging steel, plated steel strip, semi-finished steel, tube products, wire rod and rail products and services and also design, technology and consultancy servic es. To support this elaborate array of products services, Corus employed about 42,600 employees in sales services centers across 40 countries. The main strength of the company lay in its international expertise with local customer service and its brand which stood for quality and strength Through the period of 200 2006 Corus grew via a number of acquisitions which did add to its large pool of long term debts, but nevertheless it has a wide range of customer segments ranging from commercial and military aerospace ventures, the automotive, construction, engineering, defense and security, as well as the rail and shipbuilding industry. Some of the Financial Information available in respect to Corus in the year 2005 has been put in annexure 1. Acquisition Based Dynamic Capabilities Tata Steel has often used the Acquisition strategy to expand their products and markets or gain other advantages and have in most cases been good at it. Looking at this strategic decision from Acquisition Based Dynamic Capabilities approach we find that over the years the Tatas have well groomed these capabilities into their system. There are three factors to consider here: Acquisition Selection Capability- Tata steel was correct in timing the merger as it was due to emerging trends in the world steel industry with the increasing consolidation in the market. With a eat or be eaten mentality it was essential for this strategy to be adopted in order to become the 5th largest producer of steel and give competition to post merger entities like Arcelor-Mittal etc. Also there would be multiple points of contact with their firms existing resources and those of Corus owing to the long list of synergies as listed in the following pages of the report. Acquisition Identification Capability- The most appropriate target for the Tatas was definitely Crus as there was the horizontal integration with respect to the R D capabilities that the Tatas were keenly interested in adding to their resource base. The Due Diligence was well carried out as though there were certain cultural issues in the way, the top management of the Tatas were fact to act in a manner to resolve the issues. Some of the steps they took involved retention of crucial executives of Corus to help in a smoother integration process and also aid in running the newly formed entity. Also the Tatas did not over pay for the deal as the market value of it exceed the price they paid, and the yearly savings expected from it were substantial. Apart from that they were able to gain access to wider distribution networks and newer markets. Acquisition Reconfiguration Capability- This is one of the most crucial aspects which can determine the success of failure of a merger. It involves the acquirer to be able to merger its resources with the new ones acquired and do so in a productive and efficient manner in order to enhance the functioning of operations etc. Tata Corus Merger Tata steel started the acquisition process in the year 2005 but since Corus had been involved in a number of its own acquisition processes the deal was finally closed with the acquisition of Corus on the 2nd April 2007 as per official records. The price paid or the same was considered to be too high at an overwhelming $12 billion out of which the Tatas financed the deal with only $4 billion. This strategic decision undertaken by Tata Steel raised their rank from the 56th to being the 5th largest steel producing company in the world. In all fairness it is necessary to note that this acquisition did not come to the Tata with ease, as though the bidding started at 455pence per share, by the time the deal came to a close it had resulted in gaining a price of 608pence per share. This 33% hike in bidding rate was caused due to the emergence of another bidder, the Brazilian Steel maker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN). The Counter Bids The deal so made was a 100% acquisition and the newly formed entity now renamed Tata Europe is being run by one of the subsidiaries of Tata Steel. As Corus had been looking to make an exit, Tatas acquisition proved to be a profitable opportunity. The expected synergies deemed the deal to be beneficial for the Tatas as although some said that the Tatas overpaid, it was clearly communicated by the Tatas that they had paid much less than the replacement cost (market value) of all the assets they were able to acquire via this merger. Reasons For This Merger Strategy- The Global Trends The Steel market in the world had been witnessing some very strong trends which called for such a merger. There are a series of mergers which happened in the world steel industry which include some of the following: In 2004, Mittal bought International Steel Group, an American company which included assets of the previous Bethlehem Steel. Mittals merger with Arcelor ($36.1 billion offer) in 2006 created the largest steel company in the world. In October, 2006, Russian steelmaker Evraz Group bought Oregon Steel Mills of the U.S. for $2.3 billion. Nucor, the second largest US steel producer, acquired Harris Steel Group of Canada for $1.07 billion in January 2007. Severstal, the largest Russian steelmaker had invested $800 million in a new plant in Mississippi and $900 million in a plant near Detroit. Essar Group of India has made a $1.6 billion investment in Algoma Steel of Canada (2007) as well as $4.65 billion offer to buy Minnesota Steel Industries. On May 4, 2007, Swedish steelmaker, SSAB, made a $7.7 billion cash offer to acquire Ipsco of Canada. Global Steel Production in 2005 Hence we see that the environment of the steel industry was amenable to consolidation. There was a strong desire among key players to gain efficiencies resulting from steel production. Some of the reasons for such a trend towards acquisitions were: Obtaining access to new and growing markets Enhancing purchasing power with respect to suppliers and buyers Growing economy of China and India during mid-2000s Higher degree of price stability better margins Attractive to Investors Eat or be eaten mentality A desire amongst the key players to gain efficiencies resulting from scale Steel prices have been on an upward trend as can be seen in the following graph. This phenomenon started in the year 2004 and slowed down due to the economic crisis in 2009. But a great deal of volatility has been witnessed in the market and had been another major reason to consolidate so as to have a greater hold on the market dynamics. There was also lot of speculation in the market about China, the worlds largest producer of steel to increase its capacity resulting in a dip in world prices of steel. Growing economies like China and India did make up for a major demand for steel and to meet this requirement China was even importing steel from outside. Following is the graph of 2006-2008: Prior to the beginning of the deal negotiations, both Tata Steel and Corus were interested in entering into an MA deal due to several reasons. The official press release issued by both the company stated that the combined entity will have a pro forma crude steel production of 27 million tons in 2007, with 84,000 employees across four continents and a joint presence in 45 countries, which makes it a serious rival to other steel giants. Post- Acquisition Scenario A Resource Based Perspective Before After EBITDA 13% 25% Capacity 7 MTPA 25 MTPA Position 56 6 Business Resources with sub-categories in Management- TRIZ Concrete Level Business Specific Level Tangible Assets Fixed Assets Assets: 23741.48 cr Cutting edge technology- providing metal solutions Low cost upstream Tata facilities with high end downstream processing facilities of Corus RD facilities of Corus Intangible Assets Human Distribution networks, Research and Development capability of Corus to be leveraged for Tata Steels green field projects in Orissa, Bihar and Jharkand Finances Capital, Obligations and Savings To finance the deal worth $12 billion the following sources were used: Equity by Tata Steel: $ 3.88 billion Bank loans: $ 8.12 billion by Credit Suisse, ABN Amro and Deutsche Bank Long term loans obligation to be paid by Corus cash flows Obligations: Total interest obligation: $ 640 million to the already existing interest obligation of Corus amounting to $ 400 million Pension liabilities of Corus $ 24 billion Cost Synergies: Production cost $ 710/ton which is far less than a green Field project which would cost around $ 1200-1300 per ton Savings of $350 million per year through synergy General Characteristics Location of Operation Main Center India; UK, Netherlands and South East Asia Markets Innovative solutions to: Construction, Packaging, Automotive, Aerospace Energy, Engineering, Defense and Security, Consumer Products, Ship Building, Rail Greater access to market and Significant presence in over 25 countries or regions Products Bar billet, Business services, Construction products services, Electrical steels, Packaging steels, Plates, Plated steel strip, Pre-finished steels, Rail products services, Sections, Semi finished steel, Specialty, Strip products, Support products, Tube Products, Wire Rod Size Post Acquisition Sales Rs 8105.30 cr Production Capacity 26 million MTPA Competition Position 5th largest Steel Maker with a production capacity of about 26 Million Tons Per Annum Strengthened position in construction, automotive and packaging construction sector Management Resources with sub-categories in Management TRIZ: Concrete Level: Management Specific Level: Planning and Coordinating; Strategic Planning- For the growth and globalization the route of acquisitions was taken up and the logic has been explained before. Post acquisition the top management of the acquired company was retained for effective integration of processes Operational Planning-. The Tata Steel and Corus operations were being run as one virtual company with performance improvement tasks being undertaken in each location. The aim was cross-fertilization of research, development of capabilities across functionalities and transfer of best practices from Europe to India. Organization- Company Operational Structure- 15-18 teams were formed with 3-4 members each with joint representation in teams to look at various synergistic avenues Company Organizational Structure- Corus Tata SteelIntegration Team- 7 members Several Task Force Teams were also constituted for integration. Organization and Environment- Government and society- The acquisition had a very positive response from India, Indians felt patriotic towards this investment. In fact the Indian Trade and Commerce minister Kamal Nath commented that the global perception of India is now changing. This way the Indian government and society was quite supportive of the deal, in spite of critics commenting that the deal was over-priced. The historical ties between India and UK were also becoming stronger, Trade and Industry were looking up. Markets- the Tata Steel stock attained a 52 week high of 721 on March 2007, showing positive investor response. SPs credit rating also improved Informal Organization Culture- Both the organizations had similar performance culture with respect to aspirational targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement and openness and transparency. However, there were some cultural issues: Inherent in the mind of the employees. Resentment of being governed and managed by a former British colony Insecurity of production centers shifted out of the UK to low-cost centers. The labor unions in Europe raised their concern regarding this. Other Characteristics Compensation mismatch 18.5 % employee expense (Corus) 7.9 % employee expense (Tata Steel) Recent developments: In 2010 Tata Group has announced that the name and logo of TATA Steel will be used use for Corus. The transition also signifies that Tata Sons, which controls the use of the Tata brand, is satisfied that operations at Corus are now aligned with the characteristics of the Tata brand. The workers understand this is a name change and also realize that the Tata board has been supportive of the employees. It implies that synergies are being attained and that cultural integration is on the right path. Leadership: Common organization values for Tata Steel and Corus: Continues improvement program Integrity, respect for individual and world class governance Post- Acquisition: The company had effectively retained the top management of the acquired company to facilitate effective integration and to take care of the above stated cultural issues of the employees. This move coupled with effective communication has instilled confidence amongst the employees 2010 Current Executive committee which manages day to day operations of Tata Steel Europe (new name for Corus under Tata Steel) Value Chain Perspective There were significant effects that were seen on some parts of the value chain post Tatas acquisition of Corus. As already detailed above, Tata saw Corus as a strategic acquisition and took some immediate and long term steps to make the acquisition a success. Operations: This part of the value chain witnessed a saving of a whopping $103 million in 2008 09 post the integration process. Performance Improvement Teams (PITs) in 15 different areas were identified. These teams engaged in various new cost related projects in the wake of the economic recession and reduced volumes. The most important project that the teams worked on was the use of low cost coal for coke production and recycling of steel plant waste. Marketing and Sales: The acquisition of Corus gave Tata access to European markets in a very time efficient and cost efficient manner. Tata got access to the distribution network of Corus which was instrumental for its expansion in Europe. With the help of new capacity new products were introduced to cater to an expanding market in Europe. Post the acquisition, the company added flat products to Corus portfolio and thus strengthened Tatas position in the Automotive and consumer product segments. Tata globally became the 6th biggest player in the steel industry. Outbound Logistics: This function of the integrated company has undergone significant computerization and has led to more efficient supply chain management. The IT teams of Tata Steel Europe (Erstwhile Corus) are working in coordination with the IT teams of Tata Steel India to strengthen the IT support to this vertical. Both are also working to create online visibility of the operational performance of the organization. Procurement: This support function has seen significant cost savings driven by the increase in scale of the combined entity. Post the acquisition, Tata Steel Europe has appointed Lead Buyers for high value items and thus has streamlined the processes to a large extent. Contracts have been renewed for these suppliers and a resultant savings of over $40 million have been realized. Technology Development: The acquisition has provided Tata access to the latest technology and state of the art Research and Development setup. Tata has always been known for its technological excellence amongst the Indian peers but Corus took it to international standards. Post this deal, the total RD strength of the company has gone up to 1000 people. Process improvement teams have been set up leveraging the expertise of Corus for better process technologies. Through this RD set up TSE (Tata Steel Europe) has been working with various strategic partners one of them being the UK ministry of Defense. Human Resource Management: To increase efficiencies and in the wake of the economic downturn faced by the organization in FY 09, the company decided to cut its manpower costs by 20%. The target departments were IT, Finance and Human Resources. This undercutting was done through leveraging of Tata Steel Groups capabilities. A Performance Improvement Committee was set up during the integration phase and it still is responsible for knowledge transfer across the organization and adapting of best practices, which has to a great extent to Tata Steel Europe. Firm Infrastructure: Substantial steps have been taken in this regard in various departments such as finance, plants etc. This has been the pivotal point of addition in the value chain of the new company. Finance: Substantial expansion in the equity and debt resources was witnessed in order to acquire a big company as Corus. As the acquisition was essentially financed by raising substantial debt ($7.3 billion), the gross debt of the Tata Steel group stood at $10.54 billion in 2008 and increased to $11.78 billion by close of 2009. Restructuring of the debt has been witnessed in the recent past but the debt equity ratio still stood at 1.65 as at the end of FY 2009 from a low of 0.06 in FY 2006. Asset Restructuring, Integration and Divestment: With the acquisition of Corus, Tata Steel was the owner of an asset base that was thrice he size of the original Tata Steel and therefore was the need for integration of assets, divesting the obsolete assets and pairing down of overlapping assets. Immediate steps taken included closure of 4 plants and mothballing of 2 plants out of the 15 plants of Corus group. The expansion of the hot strip mill capacity at Port Talbot to 4mt. is on the table; and a decision to restructure the Corus Engineering Steels has been taken. All of this was done under the Fit for Future initiative undertaken at the merged company. Sources: Tata Steel Annual Report 2007 08 Tata Steel Annual Report 2008 09 Achieving Global Growth through Acquisition: Tatas Takeover of Corus, Journal of Case Research and in Business and Economics Tatas Acquisition of Corus: A Quantum Leap, Rashmi Malapur, The ICFAI University Press (2007) Achieving Global Growth through Acquisition: Tatas Takeover of Corus by Kimberly, Suresh and Jessica http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=articlesectid=5contentid=201007022010070215213931780a91fb3 http://indiaearnings.moneycontrol.com/sub_india/compnews.php?autono=264760 http://www.tatasteeleurope.com/en/company/management/executive_committee/ http://www.financialexpress.com/news/tata-steelcorus-synergy-realises-76-mn-in-fy08/347487/