Politics (the founding fathers) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Politics (the founding fathers) - Essay Example They attempted hard to erase the concept of elitism and worked hard to bring equality in the nation. America through the enlightenment achieved great homogeneity and unity. They committed the entire nation to a single language unlike the Europeans. This homogeneity that was generated out of the enlightenment became the greatest strength of America and founded the base for what it is now. The powerful dreams of the American Enlightenment paved the way for America's independence. This alone created the basic principles of the American Government. The enlightenment concepts made people understand that a ruler or a government needs to strictly adhere to the higher laws of the republic. Political geniuses like Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and James Madison successfully built up a government that was supported by the people of the republic. These founding fathers were able to put the foundation of such an unconquerable kingdom that is still keen in protecting the natural rights of man. They made lasting impacts on the democracy of America. The encouraging ideas of the classical writings and the atmosphere that helped people develop a craze for wisdom and knowledge were the major feature of the enlightenment period. Developments started putting in the fields of science, religion, and politics and thinkers supported the entire process with their exploding thoughts. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" and Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" were some of the outcomes of the radical Enlightenment assumptions. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" was one of the results of the enlightenment period. The pamphlet that was published during the American Revolution stimulated the revolution and criticized the British rule harshly. The thoughts of the pamphlet became extremely popular and echoed in the minds of the American citizens. Paine gave the copyright for Common Sense to the states, thereby becoming the greatest volunteer of the enlightenment movement. Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" is another written proof of the enlightening thoughts of the period. â€Å"Declaration of Independence† which is the most important reform of American history said that the Thirteen Colonies were independent of Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the declaration has clearly stated the reasons for the separation from the British power. This â€Å"Declaration of Independence† is the ultimate reaction of the enlightenment period that earnestly sought freedom from the powerful hands of the British Empire. It is the written form of the desire of the early Americans. The thirst for independence that developed through the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers culminated into the United States Declaration of Independence. The philosophical background of the â€Å"Declaration of Independence† is nothing but the spirit of republicanism that was born during the enlightenment period. Repu blicanism or the basic framework of liberty is the core of the enlightenment philosophy. George Washington’s name can never be omitted if we speak about the history of democracy in the United States. George Washington had in his hand the choice to make America a democracy, dictatorship or kingdom. More than thrice he had the

Strategic Management Case Study Essay Example for Free

Strategic Management Case Study Essay Introduction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategic management is one of the most challenging but important element that defines the success of both private and state owned organization. The fundamental issue of defining and clearly stipulating an organizations strategy is to enable the institution have a distinct sense of direction, vision and strategy that will enable the institution deliver efficient services and/or products to its clientele and add value to its customers, achieve sustained a market niche or market share, and thus position the company strategically in the market in order to gain and maintain competitive advantage over its rivals (Dobson, Starkey Richards, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In state owned enterprises or generally institution where the government is the major stakeholder, one of the biggest problems is balancing between social and commercial objectives in defining the mission statement and policies governing the general direction and brand name or the organization. TVNZ as an organization has had a relatively positive growth in the long run and is still one of the major broadcasting organizations in New Zealand. From the given case, analyzing TVNZ’s historical performance reveals several strength, opportunities weaknesses and threats that the organization is facing given its nature as a broadcaster, form of organization (I.e. public organization) and its line of operation market (Spicer, Powell Emanuel, 1997). This paper is an in depth evaluation into TVNZ a state owned New Zealand broadcasting institution using the strength weakness, opportunity and threat analysis, the paper will analyze the dilemma of managing the company as a revenue generating entity and a medium of furthering social objective for the government and further recommend policies that can be used in defining strategic management objective that can the company meet both objectives. Strength of the organization.   The company was able to invest in latest technology namely digital media making it more competitive and hence retaining its market share. A good example can be illustrated by the Alvan TV center which had the latest equipment that enabled the company to outsource its services to other production firms and diversify its operation to teleccomunications (Hanson et al, 2008). Another feature that made the organization grow is monopoly, the organization enjoyed a monopoly thus had ample time to set up a good base and acquire a large market share. Therefore, though the organization has not enjoyed monopoly from 1980, the company was able to retain and maintain 70% of the market share thus with good strategy it will be able to consistently work to improve and provide good services (Hanson et al, 2008). Weaknesses of the organization. Among the major weaknesses TVNZ has include the fact that it has to balance between social objective and commercial ones. Looking at the companies history, balancing between commercial oriented operation and pursuing social oriented objectives as stipulated by regulations (given the fact that it is a government owned institution) has led to different approaches that have even led to pursuance of different contradicting strategy which have proved to be counterproductive and detrimental to the organizations well being and growth. For example, in 2002 when the charter was introduced, some politician expected the company to adopt social objective but still remain profitable and self sustaining as a business entity. In most cases, social and commercial objectives normally contradict and hence it would be a very difficult and almost impossible for TVNZ to fully adopt social oriented programs and still remain at the same level or increase advertising revenue (Hanson et al, 2008). Reviewing the programs being aired to conform to values that are in tandem or will further the growth of social standards and the integrity of the country means that entertainment department will have to change its program line up to conform to acceptable cultural standards. This can consequently lead to a fall in ratings given that many viewers prefer to watch explicit entertaining channels rather than informative programs.   Therefore, the company will loose a lot of advertising revenue since ratings might significantly drop given the loss of market share to privately owned broadcasters who will continue airing what the majority of viewers want to watch (Hanson et al, 2008). Opportunities in the organization. The organization as a government institution has had various features that led to the organization growth and stability to become a giant internationally recognized broadcasting house. One of the opportunities that act as a driving force for the company is, being a state owned institution, it has abundant resources and relatively cheap source of funding that can be used to further its objectives and attain optimality. For example, the company has the capability of diversifying its market to capture the international market and this can help it strategically in that in the event of loosing a significant share of the local market, the company can still remain profitable from its international focus (Hanson et al, 2008). Threats.   The major threats facing TVNZ as an organization are political interference and government regulations that are imposed on the company given the fact that it is a chartered company. Over the past 35 years of its existence, there has been a major strategic shift of the company due to government regulation which brought about to be indecisiveness and lack a clear long term vision and hence compelled the institution to dilly dally between pursuing   social objectives and commercial objectives. According to Spicer, Powell Emanuel (1997), there has always been pressure from treasury to TVNZ a revenue generating entity while other politicians feel that commercial objectives are secondary to social objective. This has led to dilution of the company’s mission statement and vision which are core elements in charting the long term growth and sustainability of any organization whether private or public, profitable or not-for-profit. Entrance of other players in the market and fragmented clientele might lead to loss of revenue if the company keeps on changing its tactical strategy due to inconsistency which brings about unreliability. For example, according to Hanson et al (2008), each of the five CEO’s introduced a different strategy of management with diverse views for example Brent Harmont (1991 – 1995) in an attempt to make entry in the international market introduced a very complex organizational structure which was realigned by Chris Anderson (1995 – 1998) in attempt to reclaim the companies core business. Solutions. Strategic management involves analyzing the institution by looking at the nature of business with regards to the customers needs or defining the nature of your market and your competitive advantage, financial obligation and needs required to satisfy your clientele needs, other stake holder’s needs and external environment and the learning and growth of the company (Dobson, Starkey Richards, 2004). According to Beiman (2006), Establishing a clear, repeated, and ongoing strategy management process more than doubles the chances of becoming a winner†¦.. And helps companies establish clear strategies that, when used effectively, serve as a foundation for an effective strategy management process. Analyzing the threats and weaknesses facing TVNZ as an institution, it is obvious that the loss market share due to pursuance of social objective is imminent. Given that this is externally based and hence out of control of management in relation to strategic management and formulating of policies, management has to formulate strategies to mitigate and redefine their strategy in order to maintain or compensate the loss that can be instigated by the conditions stipulated by the charter (Sexty, 1983 Spicer, Powel Emanuel, 1997). Firstly, TVNZ has to redefine its objective and evaluate their strategies in terms of mission, vision and objectives spelled out by the charter. This entails looking at the customer needs and market niche as restricted by the set out conditions. The charter postulates that the broadcaster needs to promote New Zealand’s cultural value’s among other objectives, these introduces a new aspect thus TVNZ needs to focus on the clientele who fit this criteria. Therefore, instead of approaching it as a threat the company should focus on ways that will turn this into revenue generating by applying strength – opportunity techniques (QuickMBA, n.d. Beiman, 2006). After formulating the company’s policies, it is very important that management considers the change process. Given the volatility in the market, efficient change management entails formulating chronological implementation policies that will gradually introduce stakeholders to the changes that will take place, effective and consistent communication between the customers, management and other stakeholders and setting up a good feedback mechanism techniques that will ensure that both implementers (TVNZ), and the market understand and appreciate the change process (Schein, 2004). Thus management should continue to play the stewardship role by consistently briefing the employees, customers and other stakeholders to minimize resistance and possibly loss of revenue, effective communication vertically ensures that the employees understand the need for change and these leads to smooth and successful change in two ways. Firstly, employees will be motivated due to involvement and understanding of the change, secondly, they will act as agent in conveying the message to the external environment thus facilitate smooth and successful implementation (Schein, 2004). TVNZ as a charter company compared to other stations has the capability of acquiring funds hence one strategy would be to diverse the business and expand their market internationally. In addition, the business can capitalize on telecommunication given its resources hence increase revenue that will cushion potential loss of advertising revenue. The strength-opportunity approach can be illustrated by the examples below: Tourism sector can benefit from TVNZ if they adopt strategies to sell New Zealand’s heritage, rich culture and geographical wonders globally. Similarly, given the level of globalization in the business world, investors are always looking for new areas to invest their funds, therefore TVNZ can be used as a medium to sell the country as a good investment destination. This move will enable the company attract a new type of clientele worldwide in the business and tourism sector e.g. hotels, airlines, banks among others who can benefit from services offered by the station given its new approach and objectives.         REFERENCES: Beiman, I.   (2006). Chapter 6: Managing SOE’s for improved performance. Retrieved 24th June 2008 from http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Balanced-Scorecard/chap6.pdf Dobson, P., Starkey K Richards, J. (2004). Strategic management: Issues and cases. Blackwell Publishing Inc. Hanson, D. et al (2008). Strategic management: Competitiveness and Globalization. Asian pacific 3 Ed. South Melbourne. Thomson Publishing Inc. Spicer,B., Powell, M. Emanuel, D. (1997).   The remaking of television New Zealand 1984 – 1992. Auckland University Press. QuickMBA (n. d.). Strategic Management: SWOT analysis. Retrieved 24th June 2008 from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/ Schein, E. (2004) Organizational Culture and leadership. Jossey-Bass A Whiley imprint. Inc. Sexty, R. (1983). â€Å" Accountability dilemma in Canadian public enterprises: Social versus commercial responsiveness.†Ã‚   Annals of Public and Cooperative economics. Vol. 45 (1). Pp 19

The Rebirth of Ignatius in The Confederacy of Dunces Essay examples --

The Rebirth of Ignatius in The Confederacy of Dunces      Ã‚  Ã‚   "You learnt everything, Ignatius, except how to be a human being" (375).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chained to a dominant character who is so vast and yet so embryonic that he is not only protagonist but also, in many ways, his own antagonist, The Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, has been called "a broad satirical view of the modern world" (Holditch "Introduction" The Neon Bible xi). Since this short definition fails to explain that the view presented is primarily that of the slug-like character of Ignatius Jacques Reilly, it also fails to take into account that one's view from the womb is, of necessity, somewhat limited. Although Ignatius is thirty years old and has a Master's Degree, he is so emotionally unprepared for life that he hides in the safety and sanctuary of his womb-like bedroom, anxiously peers out at the world around him, and condemns all that he sees. As observed from this view, the world does, indeed, appear to be a fearful place.    Having lost faith in modern religion at a young age, Ignatius claims to embrace a medieval worldview in which fate rather than free will is mandated. Like Oedipus, Ignatius attempts to evade his destiny, but rather than trying to run from it, and thus, running right into it as did Oedipus, Ignatius attempts to hide from his fate by refusing life, itself. Afraid of both life and death, Ignatius lives in a Limbo of his own devising. In his writings, Ignatius declares, "'I have always been forced to exist on the fringes of society, consigned to the Limbo reserved for those who do know reality when they see it'" (30). Of course, in rejecting his own possibilities to participate actively in determining the outcome of events in... ...res a jump-start--a massive jolt of terror-inspired impulses. Ignatius now reaches such a moment when his life is charged by this powerful psychological and physiological impetus.       In spite of the fear which propels him, there is finally hope for Ignatius. Waddling fearfully into the world, he can now learn to accept his common fate with the rest of humanity--his own humanness and inherent vulnerability in a world over which he has no control. In her frustration and resignation, Ignatius' little mother, an unusual Earth Mother at best, once sadly and plaintively tells her son, "You learnt everything, Ignatius, except how to be a human being" (375). Therein lies a lesson for us all.      Works Cited Holditch, W. Kenneth. The Neon Bible. Grove Press: New York, 1989. Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. Grove Weidenfeld: New York, 1980. The Rebirth of Ignatius in The Confederacy of Dunces Essay examples -- The Rebirth of Ignatius in The Confederacy of Dunces      Ã‚  Ã‚   "You learnt everything, Ignatius, except how to be a human being" (375).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chained to a dominant character who is so vast and yet so embryonic that he is not only protagonist but also, in many ways, his own antagonist, The Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, has been called "a broad satirical view of the modern world" (Holditch "Introduction" The Neon Bible xi). Since this short definition fails to explain that the view presented is primarily that of the slug-like character of Ignatius Jacques Reilly, it also fails to take into account that one's view from the womb is, of necessity, somewhat limited. Although Ignatius is thirty years old and has a Master's Degree, he is so emotionally unprepared for life that he hides in the safety and sanctuary of his womb-like bedroom, anxiously peers out at the world around him, and condemns all that he sees. As observed from this view, the world does, indeed, appear to be a fearful place.    Having lost faith in modern religion at a young age, Ignatius claims to embrace a medieval worldview in which fate rather than free will is mandated. Like Oedipus, Ignatius attempts to evade his destiny, but rather than trying to run from it, and thus, running right into it as did Oedipus, Ignatius attempts to hide from his fate by refusing life, itself. Afraid of both life and death, Ignatius lives in a Limbo of his own devising. In his writings, Ignatius declares, "'I have always been forced to exist on the fringes of society, consigned to the Limbo reserved for those who do know reality when they see it'" (30). Of course, in rejecting his own possibilities to participate actively in determining the outcome of events in... ...res a jump-start--a massive jolt of terror-inspired impulses. Ignatius now reaches such a moment when his life is charged by this powerful psychological and physiological impetus.       In spite of the fear which propels him, there is finally hope for Ignatius. Waddling fearfully into the world, he can now learn to accept his common fate with the rest of humanity--his own humanness and inherent vulnerability in a world over which he has no control. In her frustration and resignation, Ignatius' little mother, an unusual Earth Mother at best, once sadly and plaintively tells her son, "You learnt everything, Ignatius, except how to be a human being" (375). Therein lies a lesson for us all.      Works Cited Holditch, W. Kenneth. The Neon Bible. Grove Press: New York, 1989. Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. Grove Weidenfeld: New York, 1980.

Animal Farm Essay

In the novel ‘Animal Farm’, power is what destroys the farm in the end. Although power can be used for good, it can also be used for evil when too much is given. The quote â€Å"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely† (Lord Acton) is portrayed in this book. In the beginning of the novel, Old Major uses his power over the animals to carry through his plan of the Rebellion. It could be argued that the way he was using his power was for the good of the farm, but he took advantage of his status at the farm and used it to persuade them into doing what he wanted. â€Å"Old Major (so he was always called, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say† (Orwell 25). This was the beginning of the use of power. After Old Major had died, the power had been passed along to the other pigs Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer. This is when we start to see the power turning into evil. In the beginning they wanted to make it a truly equal society and they did this by making the Seven Commandments; one including â€Å"All animals are equal†. But throughout the book, we see that the pigs become the ‘leaders’, which therefore means that everyone is not equal. The pigs naturally have the power because of their intellect. â€Å"The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership† (Orwell 45). The pigs use their superior knowledge and their power to brainwash and convince the other animals of whatever they wanted them to think or do. They would change the commandments to whatever suited them, and the other animals would just follow along because â€Å"Napoleon is always right†. The pigs would twist their own words, like voluntary, to make them think they had freedom. â€Å"This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half† (Orwell 73). Wherever there is power, there is always conflict. Napoleon and Snowball were both in power, but Napoleon wanted it all for himself so he got rid of  Snowball with his dogs. After this everything got worse. Napoleon had all the power to himself, which made him greedy and evil. There was food shortages and hard labour for everyone but the pigs. The pigs had special treatment like living in the farmhouse and sleeping in beds. â€Å"It was absolutely necessary, he said, that the pigs, who were the brains of the farm, should have a quiet place to work in† (Orwell 79). The pigs used their power for these benefits. Eventually Napoleon was ‘elected’ president. He used his power to make the animals think they were voting, but really there was only one candidate. At the end of the book we find out that all of the hard work put into the Rebellion and into getting rid of the humans to make the animals lives better, was all a waste of time. The power got to the pigs heads and made them turn the farm into something even worse than it was before. The pigs had turned into exactly what they were fighting to get rid of. The abuse of power is what made the pigs become like humans. â€Å"Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which† (Orwell 139). Power can mean many different things. In ‘Animal Farm’, power was abused and was used for evil. It was used to take control over others, and to take away their freedom. This novel proves that equality in a society is impossible to achieve. The need to have and to gain power will always get in the way of being a truly equal society.

Hilton Hotels Corporation Marketing Analysis Essay

The marketing issues addressed here are focused on how to draw more consumers from other gambling casinos, and how to make Hilton a resort destination. Two-thirds of Hilton’s total operating earnings in the early 1990’s were derived from the four casinos they owned in Las Vegas, Nevada. Expanding on this idea will ensure the hotel chain firmly plants its feet in the entertainment and resort business (Hilton Case Study). By investing massive amounts of revenue into developing their gaming division, the Hilton will become a destination resort that would encompass of all the guest’s needs to keep them interested staying within the confines of the resort. Some considerations include how Hilton would get its market share of the billions of dollars in casino revenues. The percentage of gambling versus side attractions will influence the profit margins, depending on how much focus is placed on each area. The hotel chain can also strive to increase its overall occupancy rate of seventy percent while continuing to set the industry benchmark (Hilton Case Study). In researching how to improve marketing to attract customers, we must first look at where the Hilton stands today. Second, we must analyze what has worked in the past and see if we can apply past practices into the current market. Third, we shall look at how the competitors are more effective by looking at their gaming plans, marketing structure, customer’s spending habits and dollar/cost value based on guest surveys. Hilton entered the gaming market as an attempt to compete with the other big hotels for the gambling dollar. Investments in renovation and expansion caused Hilton to over- extend. Although the investments were needed to compete, the hotel chain felt it needed to lure big money to its locations, and extend credit more than usual. Heavy hitters receive this same courtesy from other hotels, but this puts a strain on the operating cash flow, as chasing bad credit costs money, and slows up cash flow. Gaming revenue was already down, which was attributable in part to renovation and more so to extended credit that had been difficult to reclaim. In today’s market, families are a prime target. Big beautiful hotels are  catering to families all along the Las Vegas strip. Gambling is still the main focus, but today’s gambler is more inclined to visit the â€Å"Casino Resort†, a place that the kids can stay, have a good time and be entertained. Meanwhile, the parents can drop next months mortgage money at the casino. This type of package appeals to the whole family. As far as quality of service, no one does it better than Hilton, because they create an environment that the customer, family or non-family guests will remember and to which they will want to return. The focus on entertainment is important, but Las Vegas is still â€Å"sin-city†. Three point six billion dollars have been spent in packaging entertainment; focus on the family is important, but a balance of adult-only and child-friendly entertainment is required. Gambling is the central purpose for casinos to exist. Continue to market the standard tables of chance, card tables, slot machines, and lavish floor shows, with headliners people recognize, and the main source of revenue will continue to flow. Have shopping, kids activities, and outdoor recreation available, but not as the focus of why travelers should visit, and that will provide entertainment for the rest of the family. Hilton should pull back the extended credit. By doing so, they may lose a few customers, but the resulting loss of risk will increase bottom-line profit. By changing the focus to families, the customers that discontinue patronizing the hotel for credit line reasons are not the desired target anymore. The chain should pay more attention to the middle-market segment, conventions, and sporting events such as youth tournaments and professional venues. In volume, the more people that move through the doors, the more money there is to be made. With this said, room rates must stay within the $100.00 a night rate with weekend promotions of Thursday through Sunday at a lower rate; perhaps 25% to 35% lower. This would be a novel concept, as the industry generally promotes lower room rates Monday through Thursday. The food and beverage structure should remain the same, as it has proven to be more than adequate and very popular. The increase in competition can be dealt with through better values in room rates, children’s activities, slot machines that pay off more frequently and the most important aspect of the business, service. Hilton could offer something that the other hotels do not: ensuring the employee responses to each customer’s needs are met with enthusiasm and expedience. People are paying for an experience along with the opportunity to break the house; give them what they are looking for. Word of mouth is far more powerful than any media advertisement. Hilton has entered the gaming industry. Gaming must focus on gambling and hotel must focus on hotel amenities and service. It would be the hotel’s responsibility to insure the entertainment, promotions and accommodations were settled; leaving the gaming operations to generate gaming interest. Advertising would be a joint effort, but casino operations would focus on the age 21 and older market. The two operations would report to the Chief Executive Officer and his staffs to ensure all objectives are met. It would be the CEO and staff’s responsibility to ensure both lines were working hand-in-hand, while maintaining separate operations. The purpose for this suggestion is to keep revenues separate so one function does not bear the full brunt of any losses that may occur. The casino will always show a bigger profit than the hotel, but by having separate bottom lines, profit and losses are easier to control. The hotel/casino is one business, but must have two different mindsets as the casino and hotel does, and will operate much differently. Situational AnalysisThe U.S. based Hilton Hotels Corporation is a multi-billion dollar corporation and a leading brand in the hotel and gaming industry. Conrad Hilton started the company in 1919 with his first hotel purchase. Since then the company has grown to over 2,000 hotels globally, with several brand name acquisitions, including Bally’s, Hampton Inn, Doubletree Suites and Homewood Inn. Besides standard hotel service, the Hilton Corporation runs casinos, vacation ownership businesses and luxury hotels, like the Conrad Line. The Hilton Hotels Corporation earned in excess  of $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2003 (Datamonitor, p. 4). External FactorsAccording to the Datamonitor report, the Marriott and Hyatt Corporations are the Hilton Hotel Corporations biggest competitors. Las Vegas is a gaming town, thus every hotel is expected to have gambling casinos within. The Las Vegas Hilton website shows that they also provide live entertainment, including comics and headline musical acts, as well as hosting a million-dollar Blackjack tournament. These factors, along with the attractive room packages and gambling activities, should be enough to maintain the occupancy rate and keep the gambling action constant. According to its website, the Las Vegas Marriott is a hotel with 278 rooms. The Hyatt franchise is located 17 miles away from the Las Vegas strip on Lake Las Vegas, but is a resort, casino and spa. While the Hyatt is a luxury hotel chain, the Marriott is a corporation more in line with Hilton. The Marriott made over $9 billion in fiscal year 2003; more than three times the Hilton Hotel Corporation (Marriott Datamonitor report). To contend with a company of this magnitude is not an easy job for any of their competitors. Hilton Hotels Corporation is an enormous company as mentioned above; so sizable that they had to split the corporation into six main divisions, totaling approximately 100,000 employees worldwide. Hilton Hotels Corporation has been very successful since they were established in 1946. Their diversification profile is significant and ambitious; no matter where you go, there are Hilton hotels there. In addition, Hilton Corporation has been leading in customer service and efficient staffing by utilizing a call center to help them maintain their reputation for hospitality. Hilton Reservations Worldwide handles reservations and information requests for thousands of hotel properties, under their various brands, positioning the company on the top of: †¢ Accurate intraday forecasts†¢ Reduced management costs†¢ Excellent customer service †¢ An edge over the competitionA company’s strength does not solely lie in the size of the company but in the management of the company, the employees and their commitment to their customers. Hilton’s management promoted brand relevancy within minority markets. Their sales team strategic initiatives are to target the multicultural market. In relation to their employees, Hilton’s are some of the finest. They are trained to do their jobs with care and make sure the customers are comfortable and happy. The customer personal profile allows the Hilton employees to treat each customer as a unique and special individual. WeaknessEvery company has weaknesses; Hilton Hotels weakness lied in its inability to recover quickly from the attacks on America in 2001. Although Hilton Hotels is a large company in many locations across the country, they had to reduce their manpower due to the decline in business. Matthew J. Hart (president and CEO) said; â€Å"we have had a lot of job losses – about 2,500 full-time equivalent jobs out of a worldwide workforce of 100,000. But we have no plans for any more, unless business gets worse† (Finch, 2001, p.1). The September 11th attacks left the whole nation in awe, in grief, and for many New Yorkers, jobless. The attacks left the airline and hotel industry to recover from lost sales. Another weakness the hotel industry is facing is the evident decline in supply. The below chart shows how the demand to occupy the Hilton hotels has been a declining behavior during the last years:A closer examination of the demand cycle for economy hotels during the past several years reveals a pattern that is not consistent with other hotels. The rate of demand growth in this segment began declining during mid-2000, about nine months before a similar effect was felt industry-wide. In addition, as the industry’s demand recovery has begun to accelerate the rate of demand growth, the economy segment has plateaud. Of even more concern is that the number of rooms currently being purchased in this segment is still declining when compared to previous-years levels. (Look Smart Articles, 2004, p.1)OpportunitiesAs mentioned earlier, Hilton Hotels Corporation is known worldwide; with this notoriety their reputation will carry them to expand their hotel empire even further. Their opportunity lies in the growing international market. The company is expecting 4-5% fee growth in 2004 within; new management contracts in Austin, Houston, Omaha and Conrad Miami. The company market overview reveals that recent trends in major markets are:†¢ Strong in New York, D.C., Hawaii†¢ Stable in New Orleans, Boston†¢ Weak in San Francisco, ChicagoThere will always be a demand for hotels and resorts. Currently, Hilton Hotels are working on more room availability; 80% of rooms have been renovated within last five years, and they are expanding into new markets. They also have â€Å"Best Rates. Guaranteed†, Internet easy access with a success rate of utilization from the customers:†¢ 13% of all reservations†¢ 85% through proprietary websites†¢ Self-service kiosksThis kind of service assists in making the experience convenient for the customer. Along with the convenience, Hilton Corporation and their six divisions take pride in making ever y building feel like home and ensuring the customer is satisfied and pleased with their accommodations (Hilton Hotels Corporation, 2003, s.3-5). ThreatsA few of the threats for The Hilton are competition, and a declining economy. The competition for The Hilton is not only other hotel companies, but restaurants and other service centers as well. Marriott is the main competitor of The Hilton amongst other hospitality companies. Because Hilton is so grand and reputable, they have more room for error, which also makes them vulnerable. As time passes, the Hilton Hotels continue to strive for excellence and perfection. They make each new hotel or resort better than the last. Because of the continuous growth of this company, it has dealt  with it’s competition head on (Nairn, 2001, p.3). The second threat is the economic decline of this century. Since the September 11th attacks in New York City, the American economy has been declining in all service industry areas. There was an ominous fear of flying and for quite some time, many people chose not to travel for vacations or long-distance business trips. This reaction to the events of 2001 hurt the hospitality industry, and made difficult rebuilding what they lost in revenue. Fortunately, this trend has started to change and the industry will soon recover from their losses. This is an area that still needs close monitoring from the executives of the corporation. References Datamonitor Hilton Hotels Company Overview August 2004. Datamonitor Marriott International Inc. Overview August 2004. Finch, J. (2001, November 16). Hilton reports impact of September 11. Retrieved October 26, 2004, http://www.union-network.org/unitourism.nsf/2c89b80c011f2519c1256b06002163c2?OpenDocumentHotels Hilton Hotels Corporation. (1998, Fall 1998). Corporate History. Retrieved October 26, 2004, Http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en/ww/company-_info/corporate_history.jhtml;jsessionid=FGTDSXUCGXCGSCSGBIX222QKIYFCXUUCHilton Case Study. https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp Retrieved October 23, 2004. Hilton Hotels Corporation (2003, July). Hilton: Great Brands and a Balanced Business Model (presentation). Retrieved October 26, 2004, http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/NYS/HLT/Hilton%20Presentation%20February%202004/tsld002.htmhttp://www.lakelasvegas.com/http://www.lv-hilton.com/http://www.vacationclub.com/en-us/vc/about/marriottworld/lasvegas.asp?cookies=trueLook Smart Articles (2004, January 14). Economy segment lags industry in key performance measures – Trends & Stats. Retrieved October 26, 2004,

Eva Smiths death Essay Example

Eva Smiths death Essay Example Eva Smiths death Essay Eva Smiths death Essay By now the audience probably thinks that Mr Birling is the one guilty of Eva Smiths death, but in no time at all the Inspector is interrogating Sheila. This continues until every member of the family has been questioned. This creates suspense making the audience feel engrossed in the play, wondering at each stage, who is going to be involved next, and how. Priestley has actually reserved his biggest surprise for the last lines of the play. After the Inspector departure the tension of the play drops and we think the play is over. However, in the final denouement, there is a phone call announcing that a police Inspector is on his way to ask some questions about a girl who has just died in the infirmary. This is as disturbing as it is surprising and ensures that the audience will leave the auditorium in a state of real shock The Inspector is a very mysterious character, as we do not know much about him. The word Inspector suggests someone who looks closely at things, and this is his role in the events of the play. The name Goole sounds like ghoul someone with a morbid interest in death, a spirit that is said to take fresh life from corpses, and it is certainly arguable that the Inspectors existence is a result of Eva Smiths death. I think that Priestley has deliberately called the Inspector Goole to create an esoteric image and make the audience feel tense when they listen to the Inspector on stage. The audience feels fascinated by the Inspectors massiveness and purposefulness as he remains solid and unbroken while each character breaks down, and there is nothing the others can say to distract him from his purpose. An example of this is when the Inspector says:  (Sternly to the three of them.) And Ill be obliged if you let us get on without any further interruptions. The audience enjoy the play even more when the Inspector is shown as a greater character than Mr Birling. This is because we are disgusted by Mr Birlings ego and arrogance; and by seeing him being overpowered by the Inspector is quite hilarious. Priestley has created the Inspectors character like this so that the audience favours him and we take his side. He does not forgive what the Birlings have done, but when they freely admit their faults he allows them to see that they can find forgiveness through future good behaviour. His approach has been perhaps too abrasive, and he is clearly someone for whom social conventions count for nothing when weighed against the desire for truth and justice. Priestley has written a typical play that has a villain and a hero. Most of the audience would definitely like the hero, in this case the Inspector, whereas they would be against the villains, the members of the Birling family. The play is set in Edwardian times where society was strictly divided into social classes and over two-thirds of the nations wealth was in the hands of less than one percent of the population. Below the very rich were the middle classes. For example the doctors and merchants, shop workers and clerks. After this came the craftsmen and skilled workers. At the very bottom of the social ladder was the largest class of all the ordinary workers and the poor, many of whom lived below the poverty level. The men of industry treated the workers very badly and they were paid a pittance. This caused workers to become better organised and strikes were becoming more frequent as they demanded better conditions and higher pay. Priestley was writing the play for a middle class audience and was trying to speak up for the working class by showing how the Birlings and Gerald Croft were all involved in making a young working class girls life a misery. Priestley wants to show us that we have a responsibility to others to act fairly and without prejudice and that we do not live in isolation. He shows that our actions affect others when the Inspector says:  millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives and what we think and say and do. We have to confront our mistakes and learn from them. Through the Inspector acting as our conscience we are made aware that there are those in higher positions in society who have power yet abuse it. They take advantage of those weaker than themselves. Eva Smith was a working class girl trying to make a living. Through those in power she was used terribly, then when she was no longer of any use she was got rid of. JB Priestley wanted to show that this would continue to happen if society does not learn from these mistakes made. The audience feels sympathy towards Eva Smith and is curious to see if the Birlings have learnt from their mistake. Priestley has shown us how middle class people act in society and the way in which they regard lower citizens. He hopes we will realise how the younger generations are the ones who can change the society in which we live. He shows this when Mr and Mrs Birling learn nothing from their mistakes whereas Eric and Sheila do. The Inspector brings the play to a close, summarising Priestleys message when he says We dont live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other exactly the opposite to what we are told to believe by Mr Birling, that everybody should look after themselves. Priestley conveys his message well, showing us how the situation can be changed and who to depend on to change it.  I think the success and popularity of An Inspector Calls accounted for by the fact that it is very entertaining as there is a mixture of suspense and mystery but is also a play that conveys a moral message. This makes the play appeal to a widest possible audience especially the middlebrow.

the one and the only essays

the one and the only essays Written in the 1700's, Marriage and womens roles were major issues in a young woman's life and Jane Austen ties up these serious issues with good humor and entertaining situations. Each main character in Pride and Prejudice learns an important lesson in life through trial and error. As the plot of Pride In both Pride t seem to care about what she looks like and here apperence in the view of the superior class. I shall never forget her appearance ... Marriage became the chief means for women to achieve a place in society. The eccentric and seemingly unintelligent Mrs. Bennett does her best to engage herself in her daughter's love affairs interference in the girls' lives and obsession with their marriage is consistent throughout the novel, and similar traits can be found in Bridget Jones's mother. She constantly worries about Bridget's marital status as a single thirty-two year old, and fears she will remain unmarried for the rest of her life and even attempts to set her up with young men and sons of friends. ...

Battle of Memphis in the Civil War

Battle of Memphis in the Civil War Battle of Memphis - Conflict: The Battle of Memphis occurred during the American Civil War. Battle of Memphis - Date: The Confederate fleet was destroyed on June 6, 1862. Fleets Commanders: Union Flag Officer Charles H. DavisColonel Charles Ellet5 ironclad gunboats, 6 rams Confederate James E. MontgomeryBrigadier General Jeff M. Thompson8 rams Battle of Memphis - Background: In early June 1862, Flag Officer Charles H. Davis moved down the Mississippi River with a squadron of consisting of the ironclad gunboats USS Benton, USS St. Louis, USS Cairo, USS Louisville, and USS Carondelet. Accompanying him were six rams commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet. Operating in support of the Union advance, Davis sought to eliminate the Confederate naval presence near Memphis, TN, opening the city to capture. In Memphis, Confederate troops manning the citys defenses prepared to withdraw south as Union forces had cut the rail links to the north and east. Battle of Memphis - Confederate Plans: As the soldiers departed, the commander of the Confederate River Defense Fleet, James E. Montgomery, began making plans to take his eight cottonclad rams south to Vicksburg. These plans quickly collapsed when he was notified that there was not enough coal in the city to fuel his ships for the voyage. Montgomery was also plagued by a disjointed command system within his fleet. While he technically commanded the fleet, each ship retained its pre-war captain who was empowered to act independently once they left port. This was compounded by the fact that the vessels gun crews were provided by the army and served under their own officers. On June 6, when the Federal fleet appeared above the city, Montgomery called a meeting of his captains to discuss their options. The group decided to stand and fight rather than scuttling their ships and fleeing. Approaching Memphis, Davis ordered his gunboats to form a line of battle across the river, with Ellets rams in the rear. Battle of Memphis - The Union Attacks: Opening fire on Montgomerys lightly armed rams, the Union gunboats fired for around fifteen minutes before Ellet and his brother Lt. Colonel Alfred Ellet moved through the line with the rams Queen of the West and Monarch. As Queen of the West struck CSS General Lovell, Ellet was wounded in the leg. With the battle engaged at close quarters, Davis closed and the fighting deteriorated into a wild melee. As the ships battled, the heavy Union ironclads made their presence felt and succeeded in sinking all but one of Montgomerys ships. Battle of Memphis - Aftermath: With the River Defense Fleet eliminated, Davis approached the city and demanded its surrender. This was agreed to and Col. Ellets son Charles was sent ashore to officially take possession of the city. The fall of Memphis opened the Mississippi River to Union shipping and warships as far south a Vicksburg, MS. For the remainder of the war, Memphis would serve as a principal Union supply base. In the fighting on June 6, Union casualties were limited to Col. Charles Ellet. The colonel later died of measles which he contracted while recovering from his wound. Precise Confederate casualties are not known but most likely numbered between 180-200. The destruction of the River Defense Fleet effectively eliminated any significant Confederate naval presence on the Mississippi.

Conflict Resolution at General Hospital Case Study

Conflict Resolution at General Hospital - Case Study Example It has been recognized that cultural changes has been initiated by Mike Hammer which seemed to be relatively ineffective for the overall organization. The analysis of the case study is aimed at providing answer to various problems faced by General Hospital in order to increase its efficiency. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction to the Case Study 4 Conflict Management Styles 4 Hammer’s Leadership Style 5 Change Approach Used 7 Conclusion and Recommendation 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 Introduction to the Case Study The case study is all about the General Hospital that has been facing problems and the performance of the organization has been declining. Therefore, the hospital required certain high-speed solution so that the operations of this organization could be improved. It was noted that the CEO of the hospital Mike Hammer identified that the cut in the cost of operation was of top priority and thus increase in the revenues could be the ultimate solution to fix the problem so that the current services could be expanded and the new services could have been added in those areas where the General Hospital could have competed successfully. Conflict Management Styles There are various conflict management styles such as competing/controlling, accommodating, avoiding, collaborating and compromising. Competing conflict management style is generally understood as being assertive and uncooperative. It might be understood as protection of one’s position which is believed to be correct or at this management style the person tries to win. Accommodating is just the opposite of the competing. In case of accommodating the individual tends to gratify the problems of the other people whilst sacrificing his personal concerns. Avoiding is the style of managing the conflict where the individual doesn’t pay due attention towards the conflicts and thus doesn’t makes any attempt to solve it (AFC-ISPI, n.d.). Compromising is an attempt made by the individual to resolve the conflict by means of identifying the solution that is accepted to both the parties to certain extent but not fully satisfactory to any one of them. Collaborating aims at cooperating with the other party for their concerns to be realized and thus enabling to express ones own concern with the aim towards finding a mutually and completely satisfactory solution (Wright State University, n.d.). After having analyzed the case study, it can be revealed that the collaborating conflict management style is practiced to resolve the problem that was pertaining in the organization. Collaborating involves working closely with other person in order to find a feasible solution to the problem fully satisfying the concerns of both the persons. In the case study, Mike Hammer hired Marge Harding in order to work together on the matters. In addition to this, by doing so the concerns of both (Hammer and Harding) would be satisfied since Mike Hammer’s aim was to reduce th e cost and Mage Harding wanted to take up the challenge since the work could provide her the chance to get the CEOs position after few years. This makes it evident that the collaborative conflict management style has been applied in the case study. Hammer’s Leadership Style Leadership style is a process whereby the direction is provided, plans are implemented and thus the people are motivated to work in an organization. It is worth mentioning that the leaders might not use one particular style when executing the above functions. Various styles are used; most of them may even use multiple styles. The diverse leadership styles as exercised by the leaders are authoritarian, democratic and laissez fair. In case of authoritarian leadership styles,

Digital Marketing Campain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Digital Marketing Campain - Essay Example Several areas of digital marketing has been looked at including the general goals for the campaign, the target audience, key campaign message and offers, strategic plan and implementation time. Above all, it is strongly recommended that this document be accepted as a working paper as it has the key to ensuring that Central Station increase in revenue and by extension increase in development. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1.0 Campaign goals and tracking. 1 1.1 General marketing aim of campaign and context The general aim of the program is to increase the reach out to customers by 40% in a year. The achievability of this goal lies in the sense that users of new media keep multiplying by the day and thus with digital marketing, the chances of increasing music artistes, especially up and coming ones coming to contact with the works of the company will be assured. 2 1.2 Product categories or services targeted Judging from the fact that the company is a media company and specifically a record label pr omotion company, the product and service categorization shall include the maximization of all components of digital marketing, which include banner advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click services (Reitzin, 2007). 3 1.3 Sales and lead generation goals The sales of the company is sure to increase because lead generation features shall be created on the websites to allow accessibility of the company to reach as many people as possible. 10 2.0 Target audience, customer insight and targeting. As Miller (2010) notes, even with digital marketing, â€Å"the basic principles of marketing still apply: know your customer.† The first audience and customers shall be upcoming and existing musicians. As copyright laws ensure, a record label company cannot use the work of an artiste without the artiste’s due contingence (Gardner, 2003). The second target audience and customers shall be all music lovers and music users. This means that the core task and duty in record label marketing shall not be lost as Hutchison and Macy (2010) notes â€Å"Record Label Marketing offers a comprehensive look at the inner workings of record labels, showing how the record labels connect commercial music with consumers.† 11 3.0 Key campaign messages and offers 3.1 Fairness To a large extent, the digital marketing messaging shall portray and as a matter of applicability, ensure fairness for customers. Especially for music artistes, there shall be messaging that proof beyond every reasonable doubt that when decide to do business with the company and by extension allow the company to promote their music, they are going to have a fair deal when it comes to sharing of earnings. For music users, there shall also be special messaging on reduced cost of music use as compared to other companies would offer them. 3.2 Creativity The whole content of messaging shall be spiced with creative. This means that the appearance of all media of advertisement shall be bra nded with beauty and creativity. This shall be seen on websites, magazines and banners. There shall also be creativity with regards to accessibility of advertising media especially the use of internet based marketing media. 3.3 Inclusiveness Inclusiveness shall be trumpeted because it is an important offer for boosting customer growth (Ababio, 2003). The world over, economists and marketers have proved through

Technology and Organizational Structure Paper Assignment

Technology and Organizational Structure Paper - Assignment Example A compare and contrast strategy reveals the exact advantages and disadvantages and how it affects the use of technology and technology decisions in the company. General Motors is among the oldest companies of the US. It is the pioneer in the automotive industry and has been primarily associated with the decentralized organizational structure. Most of the companies do not stick with only one organizational structure throughout their lifetimes. According to marketing trends they shift and adapt to the model that serves their interests the best. Sometimes the model that later comes to identify them emerges over time as a business faces different challenges (Cameron and Quinn, 2011). General Motors is believed to have a decentralized organizational structure, but it is not strictly true. They have gone through many transitional phases. But for the sake of argument, this paper will holistically consider General Motors to be a decentralized company. The organizational structure of General Motors is a common topic of discussion for businesses. It has been copied by most large corporations. When the company started its operations, it was a novelty. In very few words, the structure was a complete breakdown of cost per unit (Bell, 1999). The goal was to exercise control of operating divisions through strict budgets. The decentralized structure of General Motors is centered in the marketing system. Because revolutionizing the centralized structure was due to a lack of production efficiency, it forced them to reconsider their structural choice. A centralized approach promises the scale and scope, and the economies for a company. When a business needs to become more efficient centralization might not be the suitable approach. The centralized organizational structure makes the company slower in its response to diverse global markets. The structure also demands better coordination and information sharing, and if these tasks are not done well, these can significantly

Paraphrase - Monte Carlo Simulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Paraphrase - Monte Carlo Simulation - Essay Example As a company decides on investing its present assets in an effective way while expecting cash flow of income over a period of years, the capital budgeting process could be explicated. These decisions are basically dwelt on acquisition and expansion. The foundation of capital budgeting is creation of opportunities because the opportunity as observed is not defined. Prior to capital budgeting for a company needs to assess and analyze the future. Capital budgeting is done through capital expenditure. This is the immense input as investments put in the company’s acquisition of new machinery, space, and other massive input. Many companies have to make decisions that involve budgeting. These decisions are often weighty and risky considering their capital intensity. The main aim of this study is to evaluate Conch Emirates investment opprotunities using techniques centered n capital budgeting. The other objective was to make recommendations founded on the Capital Budgeting Tools. Moreover, the study analyses strengths and weaknesses of venturing into a new product line. It aids in the measurement of future profitability and proper management of capital budgeting tools that lead to more positive results. Proper capital budgeting helps in keeping up with inflammatory changes and trends, projecting growth and checking if the company is achieving its objectives for future projections. Capital budgeting is important since it is used in decision making and the decisions are vital in the profitability and the financial health of a company. A company’s successful performance is attributed to proper capital budgeting. The decisions that pertain capital expenditure are nor easily reversible and may bring loss to the company. In making comparison between two investment opportunities, capital budgeting is an excellent tool. It aids in keeping debts in check therefore preventing losses that may arise in future. This study thereby allows proper capital

Examine the nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force Essay

Examine the nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force - Essay Example Most sales happen as a result of advertising. Advertising could be placed in mediums such as television, newspapers, billboards, internet web-pages, etc. These forms of sales employ one-way communication, whereby messages are communicated from manufacturer to end-consumer with no immediate feedback. Personal selling, on the other hand, differs from conventional advertising, in that salespersons of a company build and maintain a long-term relationship with their customers. They do this by directly interacting with customers via phone or web conferences or in person. Many companies include personal selling as part of their overall sales strategy, especially if they foresee complex selling situations. In this type of selling â€Å"salespeople can probe customers to learn more about their problems, and then adjust the marketing offer and presentation to fit special needs of each customer.† (Kotler & Armstrong, p.453) Even within personal selling, a wide variety of strategies are e mployed by managers. For example, while companies that sell only online or through catalogs do not need any salespersons, the ones such as IBM or DuPont do need a sales force. In companies such as Procter & Gamble and Nike, the sales force â€Å"plays an important behind-the-scenes role.

ON orientalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ON orientalism - Essay Example As the empires extend across the world historically, the British and the French have been the mainly significant in terms of the East. The empires required to be acquainted with how they could comprehend the citizens they come across so that they could surmount and suppress them without difficulty. This method of using hefty abstract categories to describe those who look dissimilar, whose skin is a different colour, has been going on for a protracted time, as far back as there had been ring up linking different cultures and people (Sheng 180). However, orientalism makes such all-purpose procedure official in that it presents itself as intent knowledge. American orientalism is to a large extent meandering, and what differs in the American knowledge from British and French Orientalism, is that the American orientalism extremely politicised by the existence Israel for which America is the key partner. Many individuals trust the way that Americans recognize the Muslim world is extremely difficult. Anti-Arab racism seems to approximate the official sanction. Repeating the lines of persons who contain the majority influence, for whom Islam is a useful foreign fiend, to twist concentration away from the inequalities and trouble in the personal culture. America truly desires to think about racism. Racial discrimination that comes from the United States to Muslim individuals and towards Arabic persons, and that something that has to end and the United States has to begin regarding people from the Middle East in order to stumble on a way out to the trouble that has been building up over the years. This violence occurred in April of 1995. It appears to contain a recognizable mark. It got done to cause as many fatalities as possible. The reality that it was a dominant bomb in Oklahoma City, right away drew investigators to regard as fatal parallels that most of them have

Examine the nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force Essay

Examine the nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force - Essay Example Most sales happen as a result of advertising. Advertising could be placed in mediums such as television, newspapers, billboards, internet web-pages, etc. These forms of sales employ one-way communication, whereby messages are communicated from manufacturer to end-consumer with no immediate feedback. Personal selling, on the other hand, differs from conventional advertising, in that salespersons of a company build and maintain a long-term relationship with their customers. They do this by directly interacting with customers via phone or web conferences or in person. Many companies include personal selling as part of their overall sales strategy, especially if they foresee complex selling situations. In this type of selling â€Å"salespeople can probe customers to learn more about their problems, and then adjust the marketing offer and presentation to fit special needs of each customer.† (Kotler & Armstrong, p.453) Even within personal selling, a wide variety of strategies are e mployed by managers. For example, while companies that sell only online or through catalogs do not need any salespersons, the ones such as IBM or DuPont do need a sales force. In companies such as Procter & Gamble and Nike, the sales force â€Å"plays an important behind-the-scenes role.

Philosophical concepts - What is Ethics What is my responsibility to Assignment

Philosophical concepts - What is Ethics What is my responsibility to the public - Assignment Example Ethics acts as rules that give the difference between right and wrong. The desire to act according to expectations of a certain society makes people to consider having the right code of ethics. Each member of a given society has obligation to improve the welfare of the organization. Such obligations and expectations, define the responsibility of each member of the society. Ethics define the rules of a given society while responsibilities define expectations of each member of the society according to its ethics (Solomon, 1984). Ethics are implemented through responsibilities and this makes them useful to the society. The issue of national security versus individual privacy is a current issue that can be resolved adequately through ethics and responsibility. Although the federal government has a responsibility of ensuring national security, it is unethical for those endowed with this responsibility to invade personal privacy. This indicates that within an organization, people have a role to implement ethics through responsibilities or obligation. All ethics within a given society require responsibilities however, not all responsibilities are

Re-organization and Layoff- Issue Paper Essay Example for Free

Re-organization and Layoff- Issue Paper Essay Problem Identification and formulation will be reviewed using the team discussion from Week 2. The paper will: Summarize the issue; Identify the problem; Explain why it is the underlying problem; Reflect on the group collaboration process in defining the problem; and Explain how a clearly defined problem could help to find the solutions. Summarize The Issue The problem presented in article by Bouw, Mismanaged Layoffs can go Horribly Wrong, is the lack of proper and well-managed policy around employee lay-offs. Most managers are trained to handle a corporate crisis. Employers should approach any job losses with caution and always be respectful. Companies should consider whether job losses are necessary and the impact on operations internally, and how clients and contractors view it externally. Companies need to make sure they are following the law when it comes to laying off staff, including paying out severance as required by each province based on an employees years of service. (2013) Identify The Problem Some reasons that a company would look at reorganization and layoffs would be that the sales of that company have dropped below what they were projecting. To help with costs they may look at laying people off and then reorganizing the employees that are left to help ensure that the internal structure remains in tact to ensure that the company continues to run smoothly. Most companies see layoffs as a way to save money, however most times this is not the case due to the things that the company has to pay out to the employees that were let go. Alternatives to job cuts include transferring staff to other departments, using fewer contract workers, or cutting wages. Whether its a termination, where the employees job is eliminated, or a layoff, where the employee loses the job for a certain  period of time, a companys handling of it can have consequences. Explain Why This is the Underlying Problem If sales are lower then expected there might be a bigger problem then just lying off people. However, that is definitely where you should start, but employers need to stick to the rules around termination and ensure the reasons are clear. The negative impact the event can have on employee morale, which in turn can hurt productivity. Its traumatic to the remaining staff can create fear and resentment. To help manage the disruption, companies need to be compassionate and transparent about why the job losses occurred. If management handles it in a benevolent way it can boost their image as an employer, staff feel motivated and they dont live in fear. Layoff plan moves forward at GE Transportation, By Jim Martin demonstrates, that after unsuccessful lobbying and failed negotiations aimed at saving jobs, the company planned for its first round of layoffs. The pink slips were to be distributed Monday, giving employees one-week notice of their layoff. GE Transportation, said about 50 employees was expected to retire instead of taking a layoff. While each retirement had the potential to spare one layoff, Duke said he didnt try to influence anyones decision. In a statement from Erickson, the company acknowledged the significance of the job cuts. We are taking this difficult step to meet an increasingly challenging marketplace that requires us to reduce costs and improve flexibility to maintain our competitiveness, she said. We understand how hard this action is for everyone affected, including families and the broader community. She said the company is working closely with the state Department of Labor Industrys Rapid Response team to help employees who lose their jobs. (Martin, 2013, Page 1) Reflect On The Group Collaboration Process in Defining the Problem Effectively managing group decision-making has three requirements: (1) an appropriate leadership style, (2) the constructive use of disagreement and conflict, and (3) the enhancement of creativity. The most constructive type of conflict is cognitive conflict, or differences in perspectives or judgments about issues. In contrast, affective conflict is emotional and directed at other people. The dialectic goes a step beyond devil’s advocacy  by requiring a structured debate about two conflicting courses of action. The dialectic goes a step beyond devil’s advocacy by requiring a structured debate about two conflicting courses of action. Custom-made solutions are necessary, so the group must be creative in generating ideas. The leader of a decision-making body must attempt to minimize process-related problems. How a Clearly Defined Problem Could Help Find The Solutions The first stage in the decision-making process is to recognize that a problem exists and must be solved. Typically, a manager realizes some discrepancy between the current state (the way things are) and a desired state (the way things ought to be). Such discrepancies—say, in organizational or unit performance—may be detected by comparing current performance against (1) past performance, (2) the current performance of other organizations or units, or (3) future expected performance as determined by plans and forecasts. Recognizing that a problem or opportunity exists is only the beginning of this stage. The decision maker must dig in deeper and attempt to diagnose the situation. The following questions are useful to ask and answer in this stage. The â€Å"problem† may be an opportunity that needs to be exploited: a gap between what the organization is doing now and what it can do to create a more positive future. In that case, decisions involve choosing how to sei ze the opportunity. (Bateman, 2013, Page) Critical thinking plays a major role in the decision making process. Problem Identification and formulation aids in management’s ability find custom solutions using a creative generation. Reference Bateman, T. S., Snell, S. A. (2013). Management: Leading collaborating in a competitive world (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Bouw, B. (2013, June 28). Mismanaged layoffs can go horribly wrong. The Globe and Mail, B.14. Martin, J. (2013, November 3). Layoff plan moves forward at GE Transportation. McClatchy Tribune Business News, n/a.

What Is Healthy Lifestyle Physical Education Essay

What Is Healthy Lifestyle Physical Education Essay Healthy lifestyle, which means healthy physical and mental health, may be one of the treasures that everyone is chasing. AIA Singapore today announced findings of the AIA Healthy Living Index Survey which show that almost all Singaporeans agree healthy living is important. However, citizens living in the modern society may not lead a healthy lifestyle, because people might be stuck with heavy work and pressure. The poor eating diet, sedentary habit and lack of rest directly result in the unhealthy condition. Seriously, the unhealthy lifestyle may cause disease and mortality. Understanding healthy lifestyle is urgent. What is healthy lifestyle? Healthy lifestyle is the way of living which keep mans health in a good condition. A healthy lifestyle always consists of a good diet, adequate exercise and sufficient quality rest. 1. A good diet Eating healthily does not mean to intake strict amount nutrition every day, to stay unrealistically thin, or to separate you from favorite food. A good diet consists of healthy drinking diet and eating diet. A health corporation called Mayo Clinic (2012) said the adequate water intake for a healthy man is roughly 2.2 liters per day which is far more than 7 bottles. Water can be carrier of the chemical materials in our bodies. If you do not intake enough water, your body will not carry out the particular functions and easily result in tiredness. According to Pandalache (2012) healthy eating is having food feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible. 2. Adequate exercise Exercise can be an important and functional tool ranging from releasing stress and depression to preventing disease and strengthening bodies. Healthy exercise habit means proper amount and time. Research news from Roberts (2010) suggests that 15 minutes exercise a day can boost life expectancy by three years and cut death risk by 14%. Heavy exercise may not benefit your body. According to research (Bumgardner, 2012) on lung function, body rhythms, temperature, and hormone levels, the best time to exercise is around 6 pm. If you can keep a normal exercise habit every day, healthy body is not far away. 3. Sufficient quality rest. Chasing health lifestyle, healthy sleeping is one of the most essential factors. Generally speaking, sleeping is a process for our nerve and body to recover. According to an article (Smith, Robinson Segal, 2012), keeping a regular sleep schedule and eating right and getting exercise can easily give you a high quality sleep. Adults should sleep at least 6 hours a day to keep body getting enough rest. Keeping healthy needs lots of knowledge. Are the people educated well healthier? We carry out a research to find the lifestyle of undergraduates at National University of Singapore (NUS). 2. Methodology The interviewers were divided into 6 groups which were in charge of different faculties. Each group went to a particular faculty and selected respondents randomly. Respondents included 103 undergraduate-student volunteers, some of whom are attending the exchange courses in NUS. Initially, the participants were requested to complete a questionnaire (appendix 1). Afterwards, they were interviewed a few questions; and finally all the data were collected together and analyzed. Here is the information of respondents ¼Ã… ¡ And the relevant questionnaire is attached in the Appendix 1. 3. Results and Discussion The purpose of this research is to find how healthy NUS undergraduates are. As a healthy lifestyle is determined by dietary habits, exercise routines and rest patterns, the report will introduce the results in three parts. 3.1 Dietary habits Our data about drinking water are as follow: Figure 3.1.1 How many bottles of water do you drink every day? (250ml per bottle) Figure 3.1.2 how often do you eat breakfast? Figure 3.1.1 shows the response to the question How many bottles of water do you drink every day? (250ml per bottle) As we can see, only 9.71% of the respondents said that they drank more than 7 bottles. In contrast, 90.29% said less than 7 bottles. This latter finding (percentage) is alarming; especially nearly half chose less than 4 bottles. According to Mayo Clinic (2012), the adequate water intake for a healthy man is roughly 2.2 liters per day which is far more than 7 bottles. Water is the base of life, and it can be carrier of the chemical materials in our bodies. Additionally, when you do not intake enough water, your body will not carry out the particular functions and easily result in tiredness. Hence, there are needy to be better persuading undergraduates to drink more water. The table 3.1.2 shows the results of the question How often do you eat breakfast? The column on the very left indicates that 9 out of 103 interviewers never eat breakfast. In contrast, the very right column shows that nearly 37% respondents have breakfast very regularly. It can be seen from the column that most respondents chose the medium extent. University undergraduates might often surrounded by various tasks, ranging from presentation to research report. The heavy assignments may contribute to the irregular breakfast. Particularly, maybe the engineer students are blessed with the heaviest work, fewest engineer undergraduates have breakfast regularly. In addition, breakfast provided the energy for the whole morning; hence, undergraduates need to consume breakfast more regularly. 3.2 Exercise routines Our data about exercise time are as follow in figure 3.2.1 Figure 3.2.1 what time do you often exercise? Figure 3.2.2 how often do you exercise every week? The subject of this table Figure 3.2.1 is the time when do the graduates exercise mostly. And Figure 3.2.2 shows the response of the frequency of exercise. As we can see, around 45.63% of the respondents exercise at 3:00-9:00pm. However, there still exists several students chose morning or late at night. Also the gram shows 51.46% of the interviewees said they exercise once a week or less than that. It can be seen in general, NUS undergraduates exercise between 3:00 pm to 9:00, as the arrangement of the lectures may contribute to this. Probably because the compulsory courses may usually arranged in the morning or at noon, and the respondents may be free in the evening. Luckily, this might be one of the causes of graduates healthy exercise habit, as according to scientific research, doing exercise in this period may benefit most of people. However, the frequency may be alarming, as according to BBC news (Roberts, 2010), exercise 15 minutes every day is minimum for health. Again, the h eavy school work may contribute to this frustrating frequency. To conclude, there is a need for NUS undergraduates to exercise more. 3.3 Sleep patterns Our data about sleep are as follow: Figure 3.3 do you often wake up during the night? If yes, how many times do you wake up from sleep on average? From figure 3.3, we can see that the data are presented in descending order, with the highest number listed at the very left column and the lowest number listed at the very right column. More than 65% respondents never woke up and the rest mainly chose woke up 1-2 times. These findings is extremely satisfying, especially most undergraduates never woke up which means high sleeping quality. Again, the heavy work may contribute to the high sleeping quality, as NUS students generally sleep late with tired body and easily to fall asleep. Scientifically (Smith, Robinson Segal, 2012), almost everyone wakes up at night, but few can remember later unless people with mental disease. Hence, the NUS undergraduates sleeping quality is extreme high. 4. Conclusion In conclusion, the results of this study provide some amazing insights into the healthy lifestyle of NUS undergraduate students, including the diet, exercise and sleeping. Contrary to what we predicted, the undergraduates may not be so healthy. Though the academic work is important, heath is much more essential. On the other hand, if one is taking a long test or working long hours at a tedious task that requires strong body, one may be break down without healthy body. The mixed results of this study suggest that undergraduates should concentrate more on their health. 5. Reference AIA. (2011). Despite low Healthy Living Index score, Singaporeans desire remains strong for a better quality of life for themselves and their families AIA Healthy Living Index survey also shows Singaporeans believe companies should play a bigger role in helping their employees lead healthier lives Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www.aia.com.sg/en/resources/cf07bb004afd24878492d4fe179089c3/AIA_healthy_living_index_survey_findings_sg.pdf Mayo Clinic. (2012). Water: How much should you drink every day? Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283 Pandalache, A.(2012). HEALTHY EATING WHAT IS IT? Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://collegetimes.ie/healthy-eating-what-is-it/ Roberts, M. (2011). 15-minute daily exercise is bare minimum for health. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14526853 Bumgardner, W. (2012). The Best Time of Day to Walk and  Exercise. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://walking.about.com/cs/beginners/a/besttime.htm Smith, M., Robinson, L. Segal, R. (2012). How to Sleep Better TIPS FOR GETTING A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP. Retrieved November 13, 2012, from http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_tips.htm 6. Appendix Appendix 1 The interview questionnaire Survey on Lifestyle of NUS Undergraduates We are pre-matriculation students in the SM2 program (NUS) doing our research project as partial fulfillment of our English module. The objective of the survey is to gather information on the lifestyles of NUS undergraduates. (Please circle the correct options) Faculty: __________________ Gender: M / F Nationality: Singaporean / Others __________________ Race: Chinese/Malay/Indian/others _____________ Year: 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th How long do your meals usually last? (tick the appropriate box) Breakfast Lunch Dinner Less than 20 min 20 to 40 min 40 to 60 min More than 60 min How much water do you drink every day? (assume a bottle = 250 ml) Less than 4 bottles 4 to 7 bottles More than 7 bottles Do you eat the following meals every day? (you may circle as many as apply) Breakfast between breakfast and lunch Lunch Afternoon tea Dinner Food taken late at night Are you regular in eating your breakfast? Never eat it 1 2 3 4 5 Very regular Mostly, what time do you exercise in a day? 4a.m.10a.m. 10a.m.3p.m. 3p.m.9p.m. 9p.m.12p.m. Others. When is it?____________ How long do you exercise each time on average? Less than 15 minutes 15-30 minutes 30-90 minutes More than 90 minutes How many times do you do sports every week? A. 0 ~ 1 time B. 2 ~ 4 times C. 5 ~ 7 times D. More than 7 times Which group of sports do you prefer? Group A: Walking, Jogging, Skating, Swimming, Cycling, Taiji, Body Mechanics; Group B: Racing, Weightlifting, Muscle Training, Long Jump High Jump, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, almost all kinds of oppositional movements Greatly prefer Group A 1 2 3 4 5 Greatly Prefer Group B How much of your day do you spend sitting? 11. Do you often wake up during the night? If yes, how many times do you wake up from sleep on average? A. I never wake up during the night. B. Wake up 1-2 times. C. Wake up 3-4 times. D. More than 4 times. How much time do you need to fall asleep? A. less than 7 minutes B. 7 -30 minutes C. 30-60 minutes D. more than an hour 13. Do you play with computer or your cellphone in bed before sleeping? A. everyday B. very often but not everyday C. sometimes D. seldom or never Thank you very much for your participation!

The Participial Adjective Part of English :: Free Essay Writer

The Participial Adjective Part of English I’ve always found the I-N-G words in English grammar rather annoying and bothersome. Of course Gerunds are I-N-G words that look like verbs but act like nouns in sentences. For example the sentences â€Å"Skating is fun,† â€Å"My favorite sport is skating,† â€Å"I like skating† and â€Å"There are many moves in ice skating† show the Gerund skating as a subject, as a predicate nominative following a linking verb, as a direct object following an action verb and as an object of the preposition â€Å"in.† Gerunds only occasionally give me a hard time as in the cases of me not wanting to own a lightning rod out of fear of being electrocuted or me wondering in which direction a newspaper heading is actually heading. The I-N-G ending (or Present Participle) words that behave like verbs occasionally give me a hassle. I sometimes speculate that â€Å"mowing lawns† could cut me up pretty good and that â€Å"pet grooming† advertised on a sign makes me think, â€Å"I don’t want any pet grooming me!† I mean â€Å"painting houses† could change your skin color in-a-hurry and â€Å"hearing aids† sounds plenty more dangerous than H-I-V. Revolving charge accounts can make you dizzy if you watch one long enough, and I often wonder if fencing companies sometimes abandon using sabers and instead fight with swords? If an idea is swimming around in my head, would I then be a candidate for contracting water on the brain? Incidentally I believe that eating crow is for the birds, particularly the buzzards, but I prefer telling the truth while standing up rather than lying on the ground. And how could a person ever be caught throwing a tantrum unless the spectator knows exac tly what a tantrum looks like and how much it weighs. And once at a circus sideshow I was gullible and paid a dollar to see â€Å"the man-eating crabs† only to walk into a back room and see a man sitting at a table eating crabs. Sure stupid jokes can be made by inter-playing ing verbs but it’s when the Present Participle is used as a Participial Adjective that my patience and tolerance are absolutely tested to their limits. I mean how would you like to go into a large contingent of stores and have to compete with a shopping mall. And why don’t hunting lodges walk around in the middle of the forest with loaded shotguns?

Models of Instructional Design

In the article, Reclaiming Instructional Design, Merrill et al. (1966) highlight the significant relationship between science of instruction and the technology of instructional design (ID). They argue that science and instructional design with the application and production of technology are closely associated with each other. They also highlight the role of instructional design in the development and improvement of the learning processes and outcomes since instructional design follows scientific bases and strategies found in the existing literature regarding technology and education.The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI; 2003) provides code of ethical standards for instructional designers in order to ensure a good working environment and condition with the company and other people in the workplace. This paper presents the concepts, theories, and components of instructional design, including its relationship with the learning theories, and the tasks and skills required for instructional designers as they contribute to the positive outcome of learning with the use of technology.Instructional design (ID) has been thought of as a variation or modification of the concept of educational technology which evolved in the United States in the 1950s (Peters, 1967). It is associated with modes of artistic production and it is considered as a mode of producing or developing instruction, specific means of cultural transmission, and a way of organizing learning processes in the educational arena (Dijkstra, Schott, Seel, & Tennyson, 1997, p. 27).Instructional design, as perceived by Dijkstra et al. (1997, p. 28) is in some ways different from educational technology because: (1) it involves different learning cultures from different â€Å"pedagogies† and sciences (Reigeluth, 1996); (2) â€Å"it reaches beyond the isolated ‘culture-free’ concepts by thoroughly analyzing the contexts into which the units are e mbedded (Jencks, 1975); and it integrates any of the different modes of production whose products are the outcome of open-ended structures that promote self-directed learning processes.It is assumed that instructional design involves the conditions of learning should be appropriate to the learning outcomes, problem-solving, and assessment activities (Jonassen, 2004, p. 146). Instructional design differentiates instructional design process from the production process. According to Gentry (1994), designing instruction is more important for it involves the identification and development of objectives, activities and evaluation protocols to promote learning while production process focuses on the creation and design of the tangible products such as videotapes, posters, booklets, worksheets as the outcome of the overall instructional design.Learning theories are often confused with Instructional design theories. However, the theory of learning can be differentiated from the instructional design theory in such a way that the former is descriptive – describes how learning occurs – while the latter offers direct guidance in effectively helping people in learning and development which may include cognitive, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual aspects (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 5).Contemporary theory of learning holds the view that â€Å"ideas have little, if any, meaning unless and until they are embedded in some authentic context† (Spiro et al., 1987 cited in Jonassen, 2004, p. 102). Instruction need to be clear, specific, and detailed in explaining particular contexts instead of teaching abstract rules and principles which are usually difficult to understand. This way, learning and understanding concepts would be easily retained, more generative and meaningful, and more broadly and more accurately be transferred.Schema theory, like the theory of human development, is one of the learning theories. It suggests that â€Å"new knowledge is acquired by accretion into an existing schema, by tuning that schema when minor inconsistencies emerge, and by restructuring that schema when major inconsistencies arise† (Rummelhart & Norman, 1978 cited in Reigeluth, 1983, p. 12). It means that the learner can better understand a concept when there is already an existing knowledge about a new concept.On the other hand, Instructional design does not describe what goes on inside a learner's head when learning occurs. Instead, they describe specific events outside of the learner which can be more directly and easily applied in solving problems. An important characteristic of Instructional design theories is that they are design or goal oriented. ID theories are not like descriptive theories, which are used for prediction or for explanation (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 7).Although instructional design theories are more effective, the theories of learning are still important in education since it is important foe instructional designers to also k now theories of learning and human development (Winn, 1997, p. 37) for they are the actually the foundation for understanding how Instructional design theory works to help educators invent new and efficient instructional methods (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 13; Dijkstra et al., 1997, pp. 55-56).Two components of instructional design theories include (1) methods of instruction, those that are used in facilitating human learning and development, and (2) situations (those aspects of the context that do influence selection of methods) that determine whether those methods are to be used or not. This component proposes that â€Å"one method may work best in one situation, while another may work best in a different situation† (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 8). ID methods are also considered componential because each of them has different components or features that can be used or done in different ways and in different time (Reigeluth, 1983, p. 10). It is therefore important to apply methods only whe n they are appropriate or needed in a particular instance.Instructional designers are called to use deductive method of instruction by analyzing and sequencing concepts based on importance, complexity or specificity. They should also integrate and review concepts since elaboration and repetition can help them understand better the lessons to be learned (Reigeluth, 1983; Reigeluth & Darwazeh, 1982 cited in Dijkstra et al., 1997, p. 9). They are also required to repeat the process of decontextualization of the knowledge resource and recontextualizion of the knowledge for the intended use (p. 24).Modern classroom teachers, as instructional designers (Dick & Carey,1978), should have at least a basic understanding of instructional media production in order to work effectively regardless of the extent or frequency of his/her participation (Brown, 2004, p. 265). Milheim & Osciak (2001, p. 355) contend that the instructional designers’ task is to use various instructional methods to achieve their instructional goals. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1993) may be considered when planning specific instructional activities and the traditional instructional strategies may be integrated to effectively cater to the different learning environments, resources, and students.Zhang (2001) asserts that taking into considerations individual differences can make ID produce a desirable outcome. Thus, motivation and the recognition of psychological characteristics of each learner are also important. According to Winn (1987, pp. 39–41), instructional designers should focus their concentration on the mechanisms by means of which decisions are made instead of getting involved direct instructional decision-making. They are also required to use instructional strategies that mesh with cognitive theory and regularly track the students’ learning condition in all aspects of development.In conclusion, instructional design as a scientific process that involves the process and production of technology can be used to improve and develop learners to become more effective not only in understanding concepts but also in making-decisions logically, and applying things they have learned efficiently. Successful use and implementation of ID requires instructional designers’ or teachers’ capability to use teaching and assessment methods that are appropriate to the situation, time, resources, students’ abilities and individual differences.ReferencesBrown, A. (2004). Building Blocks for Information Architects: Teaching Digital Media Production within an Instructional Design Program. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia 13(3), 265+.Dick, W. & Carey, L. (2001). The systematic design of instruction: Origins of systematically designed instruction. In Ely, D.P. & Plomp, T. (Eds.), Classic writings on instructional technology 2. (pp. 71-80) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.Dijkstra, S., Schott, F., Seel, N. M ., & Tennyson, R. D. (1997). Instructional Design: International Perspectives 1. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Gentry, C.G. (1994). Introduction to instructional development: Process and technique. In Brown, A. (2004). Building Blocks for Information Architects: Teaching Digital Media Production within an Instructional Design Program. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia 13(3), 265.Jencks C. ( 1975). The rise of post-modern architecture. (17-34). In Dijkstra et al., (1997). Instructional Design: International Perspectives 1 (p. 28). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Jonassen, D. H. (Ed.) (2004). Learning to Solve Problems: An Instructional Design Guide. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.Milheim, W. D. & Osciak, S. Y. (2001). Multiple Intelligence and the Design of Web-Based Instruction. Journal Title: International Journal of Instructional Media 28(4), 355+.Peters O. ( 1967). Das Fernstudium an Università ¤ten und Hochschulen, didaktische Struktur und vergleichend e Interpretation. In Dijkstra et al., (1997). Instructional Design: International Perspectives 1 (p. 27). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Reigeluth, C. M. ( 1983). â€Å"Instructional design: What is it and why is it?† In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models (pp. 279-333). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Reigeluth, C. M. ( 1996). A new paradigm of ISD? Educational Technology (pp. 13-20). In Dijkstra et al., (1997). Instructional Design: International Perspectives 1 (p. 28). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Reigeluth, C. M., & Darwazeh, A. N. ( 1982). â€Å"The elaboration theory's procedures for designing instruction: A conceptual approach†. Journal of Instructional Development, 5, 22-32.Reigeluth, C. M. (Ed.) (1983). Instructional design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory 2. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Spiro, R. J., et al., (1987). Knowledge Acquisition for Application: Cognit ive Flexibility and Transfer in Complex Content Domains. In Jonassen, D. H. (Ed.) (2004). Learning to Solve Problems: An Instructional Design Guide. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, p. 102.Winn, W. (1997). Advantages of a theory-building curriculum in instructional technology. Educational Technology, 37(1), 34–41.Zhang, J. X. (2001). Cultural Diversity in Instructional Design. Journal Title: International Journal of Instructional Media 28(3), 299.

7s Model Samsung

Case Study 2. : Trade and Innovation in the Korean Information and Communication Technology Sector1 . Onodera, Osamu Kim, Hanna Earl OECD Journal: General Papers; 2008, Vol. 8 Issue 4, p109-155, 47p, 34 Charts, 20 Graphs This includes the strategy of the organisation, the innovation strategy, the culture in the organisation towards risk-taking and change, the motivation of employees, cross functional learning, knowledge management and the use of internal and external networks. â€Å"Employees’ willingness to take risks very much depends on the existence of a †noblame† culture. A strong culture fosters innovation only if it is built on norms such as accepting failure†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Goffin & Mitchell, 2005, s. 265). †Multifunctional learning fosters innovative and learning by doing on the part of the employees and help them keep up to date with the latest developments. It also serves as a basis for creating a climate that can bring about organizational transition† (Takeuchi & Nonaka, 1986). â€Å"Organizations need to increase their innovative capacity and one powerful mechanism for doing so is to extend participation in the process to a much wider population. Mobilizing high levels of participation in the innovation process is unfamiliar and, for many organizations, relatively untested and apparently risky† (Bessant, 2003, s. 767). †Mobilizing and managing knowledge becomes a primary task and many recipes offered for achieving this depend on mobilizing a much higher level of participation in innovative problem-solving† (Bessant, 2003, s. 767) †Companies increasingly cannot expect to warehouse their technologies, waiting until their businesses make use of them† (Chesbrough, 2003, p. 32) Thirdly, the 7-S framework contains the very process of innovation. The process is divided into a series of relatively well-known steps in the â€Å"funnel† approach that seems to be standard in theory and praxis these days. However, it has been chosen to illustrate this differently than conventionally, because:†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The assumption of a sequential progression without feedback loops and recurring tasks is unreali stic †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Saren, 1994, s. 633). Hence, the illustration of the process circling the innovation fundamentals. So what is contained within the process element of the 7-S framework? Again this can be illustrated by using a quotation from some of the state-of-the-art literature:† †¦ There is no doubt that for managers to increase the success rate of their new product efforts, they should master techniques for the planning, development, deployment, evaluation and control of necessary competencies throughout the new product (NPD) process, i. e. , from the generation of the new idea to the launch of the product to the marketplace †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Tzokas et al. , 2004, s. 619). In other words, the innovation process is measured by looking at project management, project planning, top management involvement, project managers, and the application of innovation fundamentals across the seven stages of the process. Companywide, we will build a content-rich business structure that fosters innovation in hardware and software. Building from our creative platform, we will develop new businesses in health, the environment, and renewable energy. A company that epitomises the transformation of the Korean ICT sector is Samsung Electronics. Samsung Electronics is one of the world leaders in semiconductors, in particular DRAMs and fiash memories. Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), mobile phones, and digital appliances such as fiat panel TVs. While Samsung had quickly grown from an assembler of black and white TVs in the 196()s to one of the market leaders in DRAMs in the late 1980s, making use of foreign technology and based on foreign markets, it was generally a market follower rather than an innovator even in the late 1980s. Changes in the business environment in the early 1990s, i. . greater competition at the lower end of the market due to the increasing use of evolving production networks in the Asian region by Japanese producers, increased competition in the Korean domestic market due to progressive trade and investment liberalisation, and withdrawal of the generalised system of preference (GSP) privileges in export markets, triggered a transformation of Samsung with a greater emphasis on technology, increased global production and sourcing, and enhanced international sales and distribution. The fact that Samsung now has research facilities not only in Europe, US and Japan but also in Russia, India and most recently China, that it now has 27 manufacturing facilities in 12 countries, with overseas I 1E;CD JOtJRNAL; GENERAL PAreRS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -IMS-2821  © oe C D 2008 112-CASE STUDY 2 production reaching 35. 9% in 2007, and that it has doubled its sales tietwork from 32 sales organisations in 23 countries in 2000, to 60 in 48 countries iti all regions, shows how global Satnsung's operations have become as a result hich has become one of the leading firms in the ICT industry worldwide from a modest position in the past two decades. The study assesses how regulatory, trade, and investment policy choices have helped, alongside other key policies, to provide the right framework conditions for technology absorption and innovation. In addition, it examines how the private sector, and more particularly Samsung, has taken advantage of those conditions to enhance its innovation capacity. The objective of this study is not to provide a comprehensive history of Korea's development or to evaluate Korea's innovation policy. Rather it is an attempt to shed some light on the relationship between trade and innovation from the recent rapid growth of Korea's ICT industry in the past 15 years. focuses on Samsung's strategies in international R;D, manufacturing, sourcing, supply chain management, sales and distribution. (Other key determinants of Samsung's success include its strong branding and marketing strategy, its investment strategy of investing in large capacity when other companies are cautious, and effective human resource management. The Samsung Group is today the largest chaebol in Korea, which has businesses spanning from electronics and electro-mechanics, shipbuilding and engineering, petrochemicals and fine chemicals, life insurance and securities to trading and constructions. Samsung Electronics is its largest company with 2006 consolidated sales of OECD JOURNAL: GENERAL PAI^RS – VOLUME 2008/4 – [SSN -1995-2S21 O OECD 2U0B CASE STUDY 2 – 1 4 1 USD 92 billion and net income of USD 8. 5 billion. It employs 128 000 people in more than 120 offices in 57 countries, and is organized into five major businesses: semiconductors (memory chips, system LSI devices and hard disc drives), LCDs (TFTLCD products in various applications). Telecommunication networks (mobile phones, telecommunication systems), digital appliances (washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners and stoves) and digital media (TVs, audio/video products, PCs and computer peripherals) (Samsung. 2006). It is among the global leaders in semiconductor such as DRAM. SRAM chips, and flash memory. CDMA mobile handsets, and digital media technologies such as Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), and has fast become a truly global multinational company. For example, value of tbe Samsung brand was USD 16. 1 billion in 2006 in the Brand Value Survey conducted by Business week magazine and Intcrbrand, or 20†³Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ among all corporations in tbe worid and 7†³Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ in the IT sector. Samsung Electronics is also ranked 27'*† in the worid on Fortune magazine's list of Global Most Admired Companies. Samsung's success in particulariy noteworthy in light of two factors: first, the company's medium sized domestic market (Korea has a population of 48 million) and, second, its origins and recent history. Samsung started off in 1938 as a trading company, and while it entered two manufacturing sectors {i. e. sugar and textiles) in the mid-1950s, it was not until 1969 that the firm entered the electronics industry with the incorporation of Samsung Electronics Co. One major characteristic of Samsung's entry into the electronics industry was its reliance on foreign technology. ^^ Table 21 provides a brief overview of Samsung's evolution to the 1990s. Table 21. Samsung tecbnological capabilities and features of international production 1970s 1980s 1990s 20008 Key activities Main sources of capabilities Level of technologicai capabilities International production and scope of interaction Conglomerate diversification J/V partners, Original Equipment f/lanufacturer (OEM) buyers and overseas training Capabilities in mass production (TVs) Entry into DRAM market OEM buyers, foreign licensing, reverse engineering Broader product range (VCR, MWO, DRAfvl, components) but very weak in ability to introduce a major change of product US & EC for lowend markets (limited success). Centralised intrafirm interaction Organisational reform, internationalisation Acquisitions. strategic alliances, in-house R&D Continued weakness in product development International production of lowend items in peripheral regions. Moving toward decentralised intraand inter-firm interaction Transformation into a global company. In-house R&D, strategic alliances and increasing emphasis on intellectual property. Strengthened R&D and design capabilities, with a core competency in product development. Creation of a global production network ainly in the Asian region but also in other parts of the globe as well. Source : Kim (1994) for 1970s – 1990s. IH-XD JOl'RN. M. : GENERAL PAPERS – VOLl/ME 2008/4 -ISSN -1995-2821  ©OECD 2008 142-CASE STUDY 2 1970s – Dependence on foreign technology Given its lack of expetience in electronics, Samsung had no choice but to turn to foreign sources of technology in management, production in marketing and Samsung established a close relationship with Japanese and US firms. It created several joint ventures with foreign technology suppliers such as NEC, Sanyo, Corning Glass Works and other companies. ^ It reached numerous agreements to assemble electronic products for foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM) buyers, who provided it with design and engineering support as well as with an international market. Samsung also relied extensively on outside suppliers for the purchase of core components. However. Samsung and its affiliated partners have increased its capabilities for parts supply and for some parts even began to ship parts to Korean and Japanese customers. Samsung electronics expanded and improved its assembling capacity, producing ten million black and white TV sets by the end of the 1970s. Most sales were through OEM channels. OEM buyers provided Samsung with product design, quality control and engineering support, leaving Samsung to increase its manufacturing capability. Samsung continued to increase access to other international distributors and was able to renegotiate TU and ease initial geographical restrictions imposed by its jomt venture partners. † Samsung expanded its OEM channels and capabilities by adding two new products – VCRs and microwave ovens. As Samsung was unable to gain foreign licensing for these products, it used â€Å"reverse engineering†, and succeeded in developing its own microwave in 1978 and VCR in 1979. Samsung further diversified into the telecommunication sector through a 1977 JV with GTE of the US. In 1974, Samsung acquired Korea Semiconductor Co. (KSC), a joint venture between Korea Engineering & Manufacturing Co. and Integrated Circuit International, a US firm, which manufactured simple integrated circuits for electr onic watches, which formed the basis for Samsung's entry into the dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) business. 980s and early 1990s – Upgrading of technology – entry into DRAMs The 1980s was the period of expansion and diversification for Samsung. As Samsung began to experience limitations on growth in the CTW and VCR markets due to lack of component availability. Samsung made a decision to enter the IC business. To achieve its objective, Samsung once again tried to learn foreign technology through a broad range of formal and informal contacts, and decided to enter the DRAM market which was considered more suitable for Samsung which had familiarity with incremental process innovation and large scale manufacturing efficiency both of which could become sources of competitive advantage in this sector. In 1983, Samsung licensed a DRAM design from Micron Technology, a US company, and entered the merchant market for DRAMs which require the most advanced manufacturing technologies and huge capital outlays. In 1983, Samsung successfully developed a 64K-DRAM, followed by a 256K in 1984. and a lM DRAM in 1986. Samsung continued to upgrade its technology and decreased its reliance on outside technology, except for capital equipment and thus rose from a virtually zero share in memory chips in 1984 to be the world market leader in DRAMs by 1992. Table 22 shows how Samsung has gradually caught up with technology leaders: Samsung kept closing the gap between itself and the technology leaders, and has been the leader in DRAM development since 1992 when it the first company in the worid to develop 64 Mbit DRAM. OECD JOURNAL: GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -1995-2821 O OECD ZIKlti CASE STUDY 2 – 1 4 3 Table 22. Samsung technology gap in DRAM 64Kbit' 256Kbit IMblt 4Mbit' 16Mblt 64Mbit 256Mblt IGbIt 4GbIt First development company Intel NEC Toshiba Hitachi ^^jj^^†^^ Samsung Samsung Samsung Samsung Development date by Leader 06/1979 01/1981 07/1984 08/1987 08/1992 08/1994 11/1996 12/2000 Development dale by Samsung 12/1983 01/1984 06/1986 02/1988 07/1990 08/1992 08/1994 '11/1996 '12/2000 Gap between Leader and Samsunq ^^^†Ã¢â‚¬ ^ ^ ^^^^^ ^ ^^^'^ ^ months 3 months – . . . 1 Design licensing from Micron Technology; Process technology from Sharp 2 Samsung with two Korean partners Source. Kim (1997), Siegel and Chang (2006), Samsung website (http://www. samsung. com). By the late 1980s, Samsung was able to produce a wide variety of semiconductors for use in phone sets, computers, private automatic branch exchanges (PABXs). acsimile machines, and VCRs (Kim. 1997). As a result, it was able to reduce dependency on Japanese suppliers for core components. Nonetheless the majority of the DRAMs produced in Korea were exported to foreign countries and the other non-memory chips required (I. e. microprocessors) continued to be imported from other countries (Kim , 1998). The strong resource shift to semiconductors meant that development of other capabilities suffered to some extent. While Samsung Electronics Co. had a minor change capability, it remained weak in major change capability (Kim, 1997). As a result, it continued to use license technology from foreign companies for its main export products in this period. ‘ OEM channels remained dominant in the company sales at over 65% of total sales even in 1988. and Samsung maintained close relationships with OEM buyers such as JC Penney, Sears Roebuck, GTE, Toshiba, IBM, Hewlett Packard, RCA and Crown Corporation (Kim. 1997). It was towards the end of the 1980s that Samsung slowly started to build its own technological capability with the acquisition in 1988 of Micro Five Corporation, a US company, and with the establishment of Samsung Infonnation Systems America Inc. SISA) in Silicon Valley to support export activities as well as to gather information on ICT products. It was also in this period that Samsung began its search for foreign talent as a means to compensate for its lack of internal expertise (Box 3). It was also in the 1980s that Samsung started to internationalise its production for certain products such as colo ur TVs, audio products and microwave ovens. Samsung also sowed the seeds of its telecom business at this time, acquiring Korea Telecommunications in 1980 and started production of a cellular phone in 1986. Box 3, Technology transfer through hiring One of the ways Samsung has overcome its lack of technical capabilities has been through recruiting top level engineers from world leading competitors. ^† In early days, Samsung focused on recruiting Korean engineers working at foreign companies. Hwang Chang-gyu, a former president of Samsung Electronics, was recruited from Intel, and Chin Daeje. another former president, worked at IBM's Watson Research Center before being hired by Samsung, to name just a few. These people have significantly contributed to the transformation of Samsung from a me-too memory producer to the world leader by bringing cutting-edge technical knowledge and managerial skills. Samsung also hired foreigners in order to fill the gap it identifies to upgrade its technical capabilities. It is widely known that Shigeo Fukuda, who was hired from Kyocera, played a critical role in the Samsung's new initiative in 1993 known as â€Å"New Management. † It is believed that his critical comments on Samsung during the 1980s pushed the company to enhance its product development processes and design capabilities. More recently hiring has become increasingly diverse from all over the world including David Still (US), David Henri (France). Roman Sepeda (US). Nelson Allen {US). Hao In (China), and Tung Wang (China). OECD JOURNAI. : GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -1995-282! O OECD 2008 144-CASE STUDY 2 Transformation into a global company – 1993 and onwards Several changes in the business environment faced Samsung in tbe early 1990s. First, lower trade barriers and transportation costs and enhanced ICT from the latter 1980s and the 1990s resulted in greater fragmentation of the ICT industry. In the late 1980s, Japanese producers rapidly increased overseas production in response to increased competition from Korean competitors and the rapid appreciation of the yen, which led to greater competition at the lower end of the market. Secondly, Korea's domestic electronics market which had long been protected from foreign competition was gradually liberalised as Korea prepared to join the ranks of industrial nations. † In 1989. import quotas on consumer electronics were removed. By 1993 there was a plan to cut the average tariff rate below 10% for all imported electronics goods. The number of items subject to the import diversification programme wbich shielded the Korean market from Japanese competitors was steadily decreased with a schedule put in place for abolition in 1999. Thirdly, on the export side, the generalised system of preferences privileges were withdrawn from Korean electronics goods by the US and EC in 1988. The Won also started to appreciate against the dollar making exports from Korea less attractive. The above changes in the business environment led to a strong initiative headed by the Chairman Kun-Hee-Lee in 1993 lo become a truly global company. ‘ Under this new initiative, Samsung began its transformation from a successful company to one of the global leaders in the industry. There was a renewed emphasis placed on quality, and several new products were subsequently introduced such as the TFT-LCD and CDMA mobile handsets. The Asian financial crisis presented a further challenge as the domestic market plunged, and Samsung had to unde rgo a fundamental restructuring of its activities, exiting from numerous businesses, cutting 30% of its workforce and cutting its debt-toequity ratio from 300% to 30%. However, the Asian crisis also presented an opportunity for Samsung to consolidate its domestic market as competitors weakened their positions, while shifting more of its resources to the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and mobile phone businesses which has allowed it to diversify its revenues. The growth has been particularly strong in the CDMA mobile handset market, where Samsung has leapt from almost a negligible share in the global market to number one in CDMA pbones with a share of about 30%, and number two in the global market overall bebind Nokia. Below we focus on three main strategic responses of Samsung: greater emphasis on technology, global productions and sourcing, and international sales and distribution. Greater focus on technology (globalisation of R&D and strategic alliances) Samsung's R;D expenditure in Korea bas continuously increased both in terms of amount and as a percentage of sales, on average 18% annually from 2002 to 2006, and now approaches 10% of total sales (Figure 21). ‘^ Tbe proportion of R&D staff has jumped from 16% in 1997 to 24% in 2006, and the company plans to push it up to 32% by 2010. The number of scientists and engineers at various research centres in Korea has increased by 70% since 2001. Table 23 indicates how Samsung has aggressively recruited scientists and engineers with graduate degrees; tbe number of Ph. D. ‘s is up by 50% and the number of Master's degree holders has been more tban doubled. Samsung bas also changed its patenting activities since the early 1990s (Table 24). While Samsung only bad 1 704 patents for applications made before 1994, it was granted over 2 600 patents for applications made in the three yeai- period 1994-1996, and has consistently been granted over 1 000 patents since then. * This shows how Samsung has OECD JOURNAL: GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -IWS-2821  ® OECD 200s CASESTUDY2-145 become aggressive in the application of patents in the United States as part of its technology strategy. Figure 21. Samsung Electronics R&D expenditures 12. 00* 10,00% 0. 00% 2002 2UU3 2001 2005 2006 Table 23. Nunfiber of scientist and engineers in Samsung research laboratories Period Ph. D. Master's Bachelor Total 2001-02 2003-04 2005-06 1 039 873 1 537 2 980 3 453 8 320 6 038 6815 7 363 10 057 11 141 17 220 Table 24. Number of Samsung patents in the United States 1 Patents by year of grant Patents by application year Patents by year of grant {cont. ) Patents by application year (cont. ) Pre-1994 850 1 704 2001 1 446 1 550 1994 412 498 2002 1 328 1 804 1995 423 656 2003 1 313 2412 1996 485 1 532 2004 1 604 2 005 1997 584 1 613 2005 1 641 890 1998 1 305 1 845 2006 2 451 216 1999 1 542 1470 2007 2 723 13 2000 1 437 1 336 Total 19 544 19 544 Source : Based on US Patent and Trademark Office (2007). Samsung's efforts to strengthen its research capabilities have not been limited to Korea. In order to improve responsiveness to the local demand conditions and tap into the pool of cutting edge scientists and engineers, the company established R&D centres in various paits of the worid (Table 24). Samsung started by setting up Samsung Information Systems America (SISA) in Silicon Valley in 1988, followed by Samsung Electronics Research Institute in London in 1991. These two research facilities are typical examples of R&D facilities set up to monitor abroad as is the case with the Dallas and OECD JOURNAL: GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -1995-2821 O CffiCD 2008 †¢ ] †¢ †¢ ‘ 146-CASESTUDY2 Yokohama facilities in 1997. More interestingly, the company has rapidly expanded its global network of research centres with the objective of utilising the foreign pool of research talent starting with Russia (1993), India (1996) and the three recently added research centres in China focusing on semiconductor, mobile telecommunications, and electronics. Samsung has also seriously increased the size and capabilities of the foreign research centres: its research centre in Moscow had only one Ph. D. and seven Masters in 2001 and now has ten Ph. D. ‘s and 29 Masters; its Bangalore software facility had no Ph. D. , 17 Masters, and 37 Bachelors in 2001 and now hires four Ph. D. ‘s, 179 Masters, and 164 Bachelors. Table 25. Samsung R;D facilities Research centre Samsung Information Systems America Samsung Electronics Research Institute Moscow Samsung Research Centre Samsung Electronics India Software Operations Dallas Telecom Laboratory Samsung Telecom Research Israel Samsung Yokohama Research Institute Beijing Samsung Telecommunication Samsung Semiconductor China R;D Samsung Electronics China R;D Location San Jose London Moscow Bangalore Dallas Yakum Yokohama Beijing Suzhou Nanjing Established 1988 1991 1993 1996 1997 1997 1997 2000 2003 2004 Core tasks Strategic parts and components, core technologies Mobile phones and digital TV software Optics, software algorithms and other new technologies System software for digital products, protocols for wired/wireless networks and handsets Next generation telecommunications systems Hebrew software for mobile phones Core next-generation parts and components, digital technologies Mobile telecommunications standardization and commercialization for China Semiconductor packages and solutions Software, digital TVs and MP3 players for Chin While, Samsung had already begun to use strategic alliances especially for acquiring technologies, the increasing R;D capabilities of Samsung is allowing it to benefit from strategic alliances in developing new cutting edge technologies (Table 26). Because there is an increasing convergence of technologies, for example between telecommunications and broadcasting, mobile phones and personal computers, telecommunication equipment and household appliances, it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to conduct the research and development necessary to cover all technology areas in one company. Samsung, therefore, has been using its technology base to conduct strategic alliances to build new strategic capabilities. OECD JOURNAL: GEKERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -1993-2821 O OECD 2130 » i' Partners Table 26. Date Selection of recent strategic alliances Areas of cooperation CASE STUDY 2 -Ul Nokia April 2007 Limo Alcatel Sony (S-LCD) IBM Intel & Microsoft Discovery Salvarani Sun Microsystems VDL Charter Bang & Olufsen Kent State University Qualcomm Toshiba (TSST) Sony (S-LCD) IBM Dell Hewlett-Packard Disney Napster Sony NEC Matsushita Microsoft January 2007 October 2006 July 2006 March 2006 March 2006 September 2005 July 2005 July 2005 February 2005 January 2005 November 2004 October 2004 July 2004 April 2004 Maroh 2004 March 2004 January 2004 September 2003 September 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 January 2003 November 2001 Co-develop technology for handsets and DVB-H standardisation solutions Establish a joint venture for developing a Linux platform (SAMSUNG Electronics, Vodafone. DoCoMo, Motorola and NEC) Cooperate on satellite DVB-H Jointly invest in 8th-generation LCD line (2200mm x 2500mm motherglass) Co-develop and market technologies for industrial printer solutions Co-develop UMPCs Cooperate on high-definition contents Co-develop new built in products combining household electronics and furniture Cooperation in solution business and next-generation business computing systems Cooperate in commercialisation of terrestrial DMB Co-develop cable broadcasting receiver and set-tcp box for digital TV Full Duplex service Partner in home theatre business Co-develop display technologies Cooperation in MDDI (Mobile Display Data Interface) technology Develop and market optical storage devices Establish joint venture for 7th generation LCD (1870 x 2200 mm) line Co-develop nano-logic process technologies Supply multi-functional laser printers Share technology for ink-jet printers Supply â€Å"Movie Beam† set-top box for VOD Co-develop and market SAMSUNG-Napster player Expand and consolidate memory stick business Cooperate in high-end business computer systems Standardise technology, co-produce and jointly market DVD recorders Co-develop digital household electronics Source: Based on Samsung homepage. OECD JOURNAL; GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 20U8/4 – ISSN -1995-2821 O OECD 2008 148-CASE STUDY 2 Globalisation of the production network and global sourcing Samsung Electronics began to build its global production network in the early 1980s when it established its first manufacturing facilities in the U. S. and Portugal. It went on to establish a subsidiary in the UK (1987). Mexico (1988) and Thailand in 1988. Since then, the company has continued to expand the network by adding new countries to the network as well as setting up new facilities in countries where it has already established its production facility. In 1989. Samsung further set up production subsidiaries in Spain, China. Hungary and Turkey. Table 27 lists the countries where the company has its production facilities and illustrates that the company has been selectively expanding its global production network. Table 28 shows how overseas production is gradually increasing in recent years reaching 35. 9% in 2007. It should be noted that while this figure is a measurable increase from the levels in tbe early 1990s, it remains considerably smaller than comparable figures for Japanese electronics companies which exceeded 70% as of the early 1990s (Table 8). The major products manufactured in overseas facilities are consumer electronics products such as TVs. VCRs, refrigerators, and microwave ovens. The company's Mexican production subsidiaries produce flat-screen TVs and LCD TVs and export them to the US and other Latin American countries. As Mexico is a member of NAFTA, Samsung's exports to the U. S. from Mexican plants are exempt of import tariffs. Samsung Electronics Hungarian Co. Ltd.. established in 1989, produces 3. 2 million TVs annually and exports them to Western and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. † ‘ Recently, Samsung announced to increase its production capacity of the mobile phone manufacturing plant in Haryana, India from one million to three million units per year. In addition to the importance of the local market, India is considered as a strategic alternative to China to hedge tbe uncertainty from relying heavily on Chinese operations. â€Å"†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ In the semiconductor sector, Samsung pursues a triad strategy: Giheung complex in Korea as the R&D and frontier semiconductor manufacturing hub. the American facilities in Austin. Texas as strategic manufacturing hub for the Americas, and the Suzbou complex in China as the global testing and packaging hub. ^^ Table 27. Samsung electronics global production network* Korea North America Asia Pacific Europe South America Middle East and Africa CIS 2000 Six Facilities Mexico, U. S. China(7), India, lndonesia(2), Maiaysia(2), Thaiiand, Vietnam Hungary, Spain, U. K. Brazil None Uzbekistan 2006 Eight Facilities Canada, Mexico(2}, U. S. Ct]ir)a(13). india(2). Indonesia, Malaysia(2), Philippines, Thaiiand, Vietnam Hungary, Slovaiiia None None None † The number in parentheses is tlie number ol subsidiaries in the country; Countries in italics are those newly added to the list between 2000 and 2006. Source: Samsung Electronics' website (www. amsung. com/us). OECD JOURNAL: GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -I9;I5-282I O OECD 2008 CASE STUDY 2 – 1 4 9 Table 28. Samsung production network (KRW million) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total Domestic production Overseas production 64 817 456 100% 43 582 016 67. 2% 21 235 440 32. 8% 81 57 24 963 009 100% 632 359 70. 3% 330 650 29. 7% 80 629 510 100% 57 457 670 71. 3% 23 171 840 28. 7% 85 58 26 834604 100% 972 765 68. 7% 861 839 31. 3% 98 507 817 100% 63 175 968 64. 1% 35 331 849 35. 9% Source: Korean Government. International sales and distribution Samsung's initial expansion of international sales was through Samsung Corporation, the group affiliate involved in general overseas trading in the early 1970s. While this may have aided Samsung initially, it blocked Samsung Electronics† further expansion and in 1978, Samsung established its own sales affiliate in the United States for the first time. Since then, Samsung Electronics has continuously expanded its sales and distribution network around the world (Table 29). In 2000, the company had a network of 32 sales organizations in 23 countries and its primary emphasis was on North American and European markets. However, the company doubled its sales subsidiaries to 60 in 48 countries over six years, and it is now paying more attention to emerging markets, including Asia Pacific. Middle East, Africa. CIS, and South America. According to Samsung Electronics' homepage as of 2008, Samsung had a total of 53 sales subsidiaries and branch ofllces in 36 countries. ^'^ Samsung has achieved over three quarters of its sales overseas in recent years (Table 30). Table 29. Samsung electronics global network of sales subsidiaries* 2000 2006 North America Canada, Mexico, United States (6) Canada, Mexico, United States (4) Asia Pacific Europe South America Middle East and Africa CIS Australia, Hong Kong. India, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan France, Germany{2), Italy, Poland, Portugai, Sweden, The Netherlands(2), U. K. (2) Argentina, Colombia, Panama South Africa, U. A. E. Russia Australia, China(6). Hong Kong. lndia(2). Indonesia. Japan. Malaysia. Pakistan. Philippines, Singapore. Taiwan, Thailand. Vietnam Austria, France, Germany(2), Greece, Hungary. Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands. U. K. (2 Argentina, Brazil. Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru Algeria. Iran. Jordan, Kenya. Morocco. Nigeria. Saudi Arabia. South Africa. Tunisia. Turkey. U. A. E. Kazakhstan. Russia. Ukraine. Uzbekistan The number in parentheses is the number of subsidiaries in the country; COUNTRIES in italics are those newly added to the list between 2000 and 2006. Source: Samsung Eiectronics' website (www. samsung. com/us). UKCD JOURNAL: GENERAL PAPERS – VOLUME 2008/4 – ISSN -1W5-2S2I  © OECD 2008 150-CASE STUDY 2 Table 30. Samsung sates network 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Domestic sales Overseas sales % of overseas sales to total Source : Korean Government