Amazom

Part 1 Amazon. com is a popular and well-known multinational E-commerce company in the world, based in United State and expended the retail web site in United Kingdom on 15th October 1998 (D Brown, 2008), which composes of buying and selling products or services through internet and another essential computer network systems. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon claimed that a company can be resilient is made by focusing on the customer (Zach, article, 2013).Obviously, customer centricity (Mark, YouTube, 2009) is the tenet that Amazon is working on, which is the strongest key to raise the global prominence and earn the credits from their consumers and suppliers. By reaching the goal of customer satisfactions, Amazon divided their internal operation aim into five main parts of components to ensure that they have delivered what consumer needs, which is controlled by Lean system combined with the efficiency of Six Sigma system (Andrew, 2009, Mark, YouTube, 2013) and Pull system to shor ten the time of operation and focus on identifying the needs of customer or place order to co-sourced.After that, both of them will send the parcel to Royal Mail or commercial courier after certificated and packed by Total Quality Management system (TQM) (Nigel, Alistair, Robert, 2011) and ABC Warehousing system (Jay, Barry, 2008) respectively. The first one is provide an easy purchase process and platform to customer that contain a user-friendly web page and mobile â€Å"app† (Annual report, legal proceeding, 2013) with clear catalogues, simple order and payment procedure to reduce the time of procurement.Second one is offer a wide range of goods selection (Annual report, Overview, 2013) from all over the world to fulfill different type of customer needs. Pricing management (Annual report, consumer, 2013) is also another important element; it can separate into two parts that are internal and external. Internal is the price of products that tempted the consumers with lowest p ossible price, which is operated by Amazon. External part is postage, Amazon provide Prime and Supersaver to lower the cost of shipment (Annual report, consumer, 2013) to their customers, but the delivery part is still handling by Royal mail or other logistic company.The next component is quality (Annual report, 2013) of the products that they have a set of quality level to decrease the defect or product return. The last one is efficiency (Annual report, 2013), sequence the duration of the operation from the order placed until ship out the parcel. In the meantime, Drop Shipping (Annual report, 2013) is providing by some of the vendors of Amazon to shorten to procedure. Furthermore, the speed of problem solving is fast since Amazon is using E-mail and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) (Nigel, Alistair, Robert, 2011) to communicate with their customer and vendors.Amazon is performed well in the internal supply chain system, yet there still have some conundrum appear frequently such as the unpredictable delivery time, delivery address label and document missed (Cathrin, 2007), postmen did not even knock their door to save time when deliver (Andrew B, 2012), no one response during long holiday (G. Charlton, 2013), ignore the request from customers (A. Jones, 2011) and customer needs to postpone the shipping time (M. Lewis, 2011). Here also have some customer reviews as following that had experience of online shopping.Fiona blamed that she got her parcel a year late (Andrew B, 2012). Tony Rudder said that he had been waiting a package for a whole day in his house, but he just discovered a little note on the floor saying that they tried to delivery his parcel at the end (Andrew B, 2012). Richard Wilding claimed that his parcel was founded about half a mile away from his house few weeks later (Andrew B, 2012). The above customers’ reviews showed that the system of delivery is existence some significant factor that infuriating their customers and also losing th e confidence from the consumers.According to the research studies, since the whole system of Amazon is complex and unsure with people involved such as unpredictable human being of psychological issues that may affect the outcome, so that, Soft System Methodology (SSM) (Checkland, 1999) with tools CATWOE, â€Å"Rich Picture† and Root Definition will be the ideal way to apply in this case. As shown in the â€Å"Rich Picture† (Figure 1), it indicated that once the computer system received the order from customer, it directly assign to the distribution center.But then, there has a blockage appear between the logistic part and customers after Amazon passed the parcel to Royal Mail or other commercial couriers, it is because of customer is unable to predict and check the exact arrive time of the parcel by themselves. Moreover, when customer tries to contact with the customer service of Amazon, the staff may not answer immediately due to the part of delivery is not under thei r control. With the reviews and tools of CATWOE (Appendix 1), Root Definition will be formed. Amazon owned system operated by staffs of Amazon that supports since received order from customer to parcel delivered.All goods need to passed a standard quality control in order to provide a quality products and also with good service of delivery on time, while recognizing the constraints of the barriers of third party logistic company. Concluded with the analysis of delivery conundrum of Amazon, we found that they should strengthen the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (Andrew, 2009) to achieve the objective of delivery service to meet customer expectation. Besides, cooperate with a logistic company that operated with good Technology Management (TM) (Jay, Barry, 2008) with new IT system to enhance the value of delivery.To begin with the whole delivery process, three best delivery dates and time selected by customers should be added in the purchase procedure. Secondly, use GPS (eCouri er, 2013) real time tracking system to monitor the parcel once it passed to the logistic company; let customers check with their smartphone. In the meanwhile, the computing system will send a pre-delivery alert SMSy (Whitepapers) and 1 hour before the parcel arrive reminder to the customer that make sure the parcel can be well delivered.The other advantage would be allowing customer to rearrange the delivery time with SMS (Whitepapers). At last, use a PIN code (The iBin, 2013) to identify the parcel delivered to the right person. Figure 1 CATWOE of Amazon Customers| Customer/ Buyer| Actors| Staff of Amazon| Transformation process| Received order from customer transformed into parcel delivered| World View| Parcel delivered means ensured that customer received a quality products which passed the standard control and good service of delivery. | Owner| Amazon| Environment constraints| Barriers by the third party logistic company|

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Essay

According to Atlas (2008), Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a multidisciplinary approach to prevent criminal behavior through environmental design. In order to achieve deterrence effects of criminal behavior, CPTED strategies have been designed to rely on their ability to influence offender’s decision that precedes criminal acts. Therefore CPTED can be seen as an approach to problem solving that takes into account the environmental conditions and the opportunities they offer for criminal behavior occurrence (Cornish and Clarke 1986). Thereafter, it utilizes those perceived opportunities responsible for causing crimes to control access, provide opportunity to see and to be seen and defines ownership while encouraging territory maintenance (Luedtke et al, 1970). In this context CPTED approach to criminology differs greatly from other policing approaches in the sense that CPTED focuses on design in crime prevention unlike other approaches that employ target hardening. Furthermore, CPTED encourage crime prevention through design and place, while policing values effective response to crime incidences by identification and arresting the offenders (Kruger and Liebermann, 2001). In this regard, crime prevention through environmental design can be considered to be slightly different from traditional policing, but its consistent with problem- oriented policing in four ways: first, touches on the broad scope of problem and not crime only; second, involves systematic analysis of crime factors, events and conditions that fosters crime occurrence; third, leads to design of proactive strategies tailored to problem and the specific geographical locations; fourth, involves all stakeholders and makes them active participants for the program for sake of long–term achievement and improvement (Cornish and Clarke 1986). However, it should be noted that CPTED approach focus on design and not safety, and on productive use not security. Therefore this unique focus makes it people centered as opposed to the view that it is police responsibility. However, the tool of design and techniques fall purview of policing prompting it to be a team effort, and thus police participate in the program but do not necessarily control. Historical evolution since 1970s The origin and formulation leading to emergence of CPTED was initially done by criminologist Jeffery Ray who termed it as defensible space and later on it was improved on by architect Newman Oscar (Jeffery1977; Newman1972). It’s a point of worth to note that both Newman and Jeffery were building on the work of Elizabeth Wood. By 1990s Jeffery and Newman models were expanded to involve a multidisciplinary with Newman`s model limiting itself to the built environment. But by 2004, the adopted CPTED model s were those of Newman and Crowe, since Jeffery model was more of psychology and biology and could not fully support the 2nd generation CPTED (Jeffery1977; Newman1972; Crowe, 2000). Furthermore, in 2005 CPTED has gained internationally recognition and acceptance with dropping off Jeffery `s notion of offender’s internal environment (Jeffery1977 Crowe, 2000). The theoretically foundation evolution of CPTED can be traced back in 1960s when Elizabeth Wood developed guidelines aimed at addressing security issues when she was working with Chicago housing authority (Clarke, 1992). In her guidelines, she emphasized on the design that would lead to supporting natural surveillability, though Elizabeth’s ideas were never implemented, they evolved into simple implementation such as street lights to distinguish between outlaws and thieves from legitimate travelers (Luedtke et al, 1970). Today, evolution of theories and research behind CPTED design are rooted in the environmental criminology theories which explain the relationship between place and crime; and also borrow some ideas from rational theories focusing on situational prevention (Clarke, 1992). Both cluster of theories focus on the crime events and how criminal understand and use environmental to their advantage to commit crimes. This evolution in research and theoretical foundation has played a central role in informing strategic design to employ. Strategies utilized in CPTED Strategies formulation in relation to CPTED approach are rooted in the theoretical foundation and scholarly research conducted by criminologists. Crowe (2000) reports that the central tenet used to arrive at the strategies is the analysis of crime and the environment where it occur using an analytic question â€Å"why here†. Furthermore, such analyses have proved that: crimes are specific and situational; crime distribution correlates to land use and transport network; and offenders are usually optimistic and commits crime in place they know well (Atlas, 2008). Moreover, these analyses reveal that opportunities for crime arise out of daily activities and crime places that are often without observer. In reaction to the analyses, criminologists who are proponents of CPTED designed necessary strategies in line with the findings. These are; Natural surveillance, target hardening, terrestrial reinforcement and natural access control (Newman1972; Crowe, 2000) Territorial reinforcement This is physical design that extends a sphere of influence that enhances users to develop sense of territorial control while potential criminals are discouraged while perceiving these controls (Goldstein, 1990). This is promoted and facilitated by features defining property line such as public and private, signs, pavement designs, or gardens well maintained indicate someone takes care of it. This ensures that only persons that belong to a particular place are their. Target hardening Target hardening strategy in CPTED is usually accomplished by features that prohibit access or entry (Kruger and Liebermann, 2001). These features can include locks, interior door hinges or dead bolt for door, gates units points of entry to certain place, fences, trees line, support of alarm system is also useful and can reinforce the design (Cohen, 1979). Natural surveillance These are programs designed aiming at keeping offenders or intruders observable, this is attained by place design that gives an opportunity to see site perimeter or designs that facilitate to see or/and be seen (Kruger and Liebermann, 2001). It is usually achieved through sufficient lighting that enables to observe activities and individuals, building location and orientation, windows that offer two way views. The design features that facilitate natural surveillance need to be supported by observer or CCTV to maximize its effectiveness (Atlas, 2008). Natural access control This strategy aims at decreasing crime opportunity by employing design that denies access to crime targets while at the same time creating a risk perception in criminals (Goldstein, 1990). The strategy is achieved through street designs like side walks, entrance construction and neighbor’s gates; in order to prohibit entrance to private places that discourages ill motives. However, the essence and usefulness of the strategies used in CPTED is not in their effective design, but rather in their implementation and application to offer desired goal (Cornish and Clarke 1986). It`s indisputable that application of CPTED to community has resulted to impressive results that Atlas (2008) reports that accounts to 40% decline in crimes occurrence and prevalence in areas where it has been implemented, this has been accrued to design that minimizes criminal behaviors while encouraging individuals to keep eye on each other, therefore proper implementation is critical to program success. Application and Implementation of CPTED The problem solving approach that uses CPTED is applied in a series of steps that are designed to respond to: what is the problem? Why here? What can be done to solve it? And how well do we solve the problem? (Kruger and Liebermann, 2001) In order to address and satisfy these hypothetical questions in analyzing a crime scene to inform prevention through CPTED approach, application and implementation is usually done through four phases. These four phases of application as stipulated by Goldstein (1990) are: scanning, analyzing, response and assessment (Table1. Application and implementation phases). These phases of application and implementation stages addresses environmental design issues that are critical to applying CPTED strategies in order to solve security problems. Importantly, various factors ought to be considered when applying the program in relation to specific locations and circumstances. As Atlas (2008) acknowledges, easy said than done also do apply to implementation of CPTED program. Challenges in implementing CPTED Like any other project, implementation is usually engulfed in normal problems that face any change process not mentioning resistance. However, the major problems that can be conceptualized in the implementation process of CPTED program are two. First, time allocation for the program implementation may hamper realization of the project goals (Cohen, 1979; Goldstein, 1990). This is in the sense that sometimes time allocated for the implementation of the program may require additional of a longer duration as a result of complexities arising from project implementation while impacting a larger geographical area with a larger number of stakeholders (Table2. Stakeholders involved in CPTED implementation). Secondly, the cost of implementing CPTED program requires significant capital investment (Cohen, 1979) that is really a barrier. However, the challenges of implementation are inventible, yet they can be solved through efficient and effective leadership, increased participation and involvement, and wider consultation with all stakeholders for any given CPTED program.

Have neoliberal policies benefitted people in the developing world Essay

Have neoliberal policies benefitted people in the developing world since 1980 - Essay Example If more foreign products came in, the home producers would be forced to improve their production quality and quantity, to survive in the market. Second, reformers believed that it was the key to higher investment in technology from abroad to boost their production. For a developing country to compete in the same field with the industrialized nations and survive, it had to offer the best products and services in the market. This was a strategy for most marginalized corporations to allow them access to foreign technology in the wake of trade liberalization. However, the outcome had variations between nations. Despite trade liberalization in different parts of the developing world, the trend in the 1990s indicates that â€Å"the results of trade reform have varied and sometimes fallen short of expectations† (Worldbank, n.d., p. 133). Considering the crisis in the Korean economy in 1980, the government had to effectively seek a solution to it, before things got out of hand. There was a lot of pressure for the industries, especially the heavy and chemical industries (HCI), which had no option but rationalize or merge to survive. The Korean government implemented import liberalization in two faces, which were centred on reduction of tariff rates. The mid 1990s had seen imports in Korea rise by approximately 18 per cent, compared to the tariff rates for the manufactures that declined by almost 6 per cent (Yang, 1999). The Korean move to imports liberalization, which was an existing trend among developing nations was the trigger for the pressure in the domestic markets, especially in the manufacturing sector. As the import restrictions reduced, more imports as compared to exports weakened the economy. The domestic prices reduced, which resulted to reduced profit margins not only for the economy as a whole, but includ ing business people. Trade liberalization led to one problem after the other,

Allowing Teenage Driving before the Age of Eighteen Essay

Allowing Teenage Driving before the Age of Eighteen - Essay Example Accidents due to teenage driving in this group are more in comparison to accidents from other age groups. III. Teenage drivers below the age of eighteen years have very poor driving skills, which disregard all the rules. A. Drunk driving is a major issue associated with teenagers below the age of eighteen years. It is crucial to note that alcohol impairs once mind affecting their coordination and thinking. B. Parents’ failure to be strict on the rules made teenagers below the age of eighteen years fail to observe even the most of basic rules like using the seatbelts. IV. Most teenagers in this age group do not understand the complexity involved in driving. A. Teenagers’ social and emotional development of their minds is immature in comparison with that of an adult. B. They are vulnerable to distraction and peer influence. V. Teenagers below the age of eighteen years should drive. A. Some members of this group are mature, responsible, and dependable. In effect, locking p rohibiting them from driving is discriminatory. VI. No teenager should drive. B. The dependable and responsible teenagers in this group are a minority. In effect, none should drive. VII. In conclusion, accidents resulting from teenage driving result to half of the causes of the deaths in this group. In effect, none should drive since allowing them to drive puts them at a risk of vulnerabilities. Allowing Teenage Driving before the Age of Eighteen Years In the current world, characterized by the information and the knowledge economy, the debate about the right age to drive has remained in the public domain for a period. In fact, different countries have enacted different legislation regarding the right, or rather the legal, age for driving. Indeed, most people agree that the art of driving does not require the skills learned in a driving school only. Rather, one of the most important requirements of a skilled driver is good decision-making at all times, and in other cases within a sp lit of a second. However, good decision-making skills are not skills that an individual learns in a driving school. In fact, good decision-making skills are inherent in an individual with the maturity level being a significant determinant. While some people argue that teenagers below the age of eighteen years should drive since some are mature, this essay posits that teenagers below eighteen years should not drive since they are vulnerable to risks associated with driving. A 1983 study by Karpf and Williams observed, â€Å"Nearly half the deaths of male and female 16–18 year olds in the United States resulted from motor vehicle use† (as cited in William & Lund, 1986). However, recent research by Chen, Baker, Braver, and Li (2000), noted that the deaths of this age group due to accidents stood at 36% towards the end of the last century. Nevertheless, this percentage is a manifestation of a grim scenario concerning licensing of teenage driving below the age of eighteen y ears. Therefore, prohibiting driving amongst this group would help reduce the number of deaths by a big percentage in this vital group. While observing that the statistics were from a developed country and their application to other countries may differ, it is essential to note that these dynamics may apply to any nation regardless of its development. In this regard, teenagers' dynamics are common or

Graphic Design Industry and the Willingness to Allow People with Fine Dissertation

Graphic Design Industry and the Willingness to Allow People with Fine Motor Skills Disability into the Discipline - Dissertation Example Early education curriculums in the graphic design communities have been characterized similarly to those in the general educational field where they are fashioned for able-bodied students. Art and design have from the past been thought to be courses that required a lot of body movement and function, this limiting the number of scholars with various disabilities. However, with increased interest in the field where all individuals despite their differences are considered equal have brought about changes in such early philosophies. Chapin (2006) through his article provides suggestions and insight on how educationalists can go about to help students in developing their own voices. His assertions are based on the premise that in the field of fine arts, the most important idea and voice is that of the individual artist. However, this becomes complicated when the artist does not understand the tools of communication to pass an artistic idea to the public. He advises that when teaching a te chnical or a design conceptual course, educationalists have the opportunity to challenge students to recognize social change and if courses that teach design and process were divided and recognized as different curriculums, the country would have classes for critical thinking and conceptualization, and other classes for aesthetics and technique. As earlier mentioned, art schools were initially placed to serve a certain portion of students with special needs however, at that particular time the term disability was not well understood. The definition of ‘disability’ is broad, and includes physical, social, mental, and behavioral wants. Additionally, work by Cobb and Sharkey (2007) provides a particular emphasis on disabilities among individuals.

Personal experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal experience - Essay Example We knew that the Hessian troops were garrisoned at Trenton, across the river. We started at 6 in the evening and marched nine mile in the gathering darkness up to McConkey’s ferry. Soldiers were already being ferried across the icy river when we reached the place. It was snowing, and there were ice floes in the river. Most of us did not have proper clothes or shoes, and our muskets were sodden. . It was 3 in the morning of the 26th when finally all of us, including the artillery, crossed. General Washington watched us silently as we crossed . â€Å"We’ll take them by surprise. They must have been drinking all night†, said Lt. Munroe as we marched towards Trenton.. Half a mile from Trenton, we surprised a Hessian picket , and captured them. Just then we heard the boom of guns and knew that General Sullivan had arrived with the artillery. Lt. Munroe led us to rush the Hessian artillerists, just as they were about to fire two cannons. The Hessians fled pell-mell, not heeding their commanding officer , who was shot .We captured the entire Hessian force , except a few who escaped. I am proud to have taken part in the Battle of Trenton,. After our victory at Trenton, many recruits joined our army, and finally â€Å"the Rabble† were able to defeat the greatest power on the earth, and gain

Comparing Marble statue of a kouros (youth), ca. 590580 B.C. Archaic Essay

Comparing Marble statue of a kouros (youth), ca. 590580 B.C. Archaic and Statuette of Amun, ca. 945715 B.C.E. Dynasty 22 late Dynastic period - Essay Example it was used to talk about an adolescent - not yet man, but not a child anymore. The first statues of this type were made of wood but later, Greeks learning from Egyptians, started carving them in stone. According to various sources, it's not only in the material used that the influence of the Egyptians is to be seen, but in the style of the statue also. The theme itself is derived from them. (Carpenter, 18) Greek art is divided into several periods: the formative stage known under the name of geometric style (900-700B.C), a period when geometric and abstract models are predominant in art, the archaic period (700-500 B.C), the early classicism (480-450 B.C), the classic period (450-400 B.C.), the late classicism (400-350 B.C.), and the Hellenist period. The archaic period is known as an age when very important events take place, greatly important especially for the future of architecture and sculpture. It's the period when the natural size men and women figures appear. They are shown in a standing position. Their rigid attitude and their frontal representation demonstrate the Egyptian influence. The masculine kouros resembles a lot the Egyptian statues, with the left leg forward and both arms very close to the body. Although presenting an idealized nude, the early kouros figures present rather geometric than natural features. In Greece, art had no magical or mystical purposes as in Egypt or in other cultures. The places where the kouros statues were found in Greece as compared to the places where they appeared in Egypt are a proof of this fact. Egyptians placed them in tomb chambers where they were supposed to serve as refuges for the souls of the deceased persons, while in Attica they appear near burial places, far from temples. If early kouros statues mark tombs in Greece, they soon become the image of the living persons, not of the dead ones, representing the athlete, a deity, a human votary or anything that could be represented and thought of as having a material, physical body. They are not, like in the Egyptian art, "a symbol of a superstitious belief or an act of magic ritual" (Carpenter, 19), but a representation of something material, representation that suited the practical Greek mind. This is especially because of Greeks beliefs and philosophy of life. "The Greek Gods like all the Greek heroic company of myth and legend were as immediately accessible to artistic representation as anything in the world of sight." (Carpenter, 18). That is why, in art, between human and divine there is no barrier. Although taking the model from the Egyptians, the Greeks leave their own trace on the statue of the kouros, giving it certain particularities. Egyptians represent the male figure skirted, while Greeks represent the young man nude - which is the case for this kouros. Geometric forms predominate - mark of the Greek art, but the way the wrists and the knees are carved is a formula belonging to the Egyptian art. The long hair is rendered as a string of beads. The reason why Charles Seltman, the author of Approach to Greek Art sees the Greek kouros statues in general as different from the Egyptian ones is the fact that "they didn't have portrait-like faces but features as formal and patterned as were the bodies."(34) And indeed, if we look attentively at the statue of kouros from 590-580 B.C. the truth of this statement is obvious. Eyes, nose and mouth seem only sketched and not clearly defined, ears are not

E-commerce A-level Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 16250 words

E-commerce A-level - Coursework Example E-commerce comprises purchasing and selling goods and services in the WWW, and for many companies this is their regular business but extended into the online space, and therefore apart from buying and selling, important are the issuer of money transfers, security, and other aspects of online interaction between companies, customers, suppliers, retailers, middlemen, etc. All in all, in a broad sense, e-commerce denotes all kinds of commercial relations that are connected with setting home-based and international deals in the web: trade mission, factoring, designing, consulting, investment contracts, leasing, engineering, insurance, sale and purchase contracts, bank services, and many other forms of industrial and business cooperation. E-commerce allows to ensure that the businesses be ready to face the new challenges, one of the most important being business globalization. The emergence and development of the IT make it possible for the international businesses to reach out for their customers even in the remotest areas of the world. Conducting business in cyberspace is a way to save money, but surely that is not the only advantage. The rise of e-business has unquestionably changed shopping patterns, forcing retailers to redefine their roles to ensure their place in the market. The variety of goods available to customers at a click of a button and the added benefit of allowing them to shop whenever it's convenient for them, and not during set 'operating hours' has in effect placed the customers in charge. For the companies, the spread of e-commerce marked the necessity to implement into their business model constant interaction with the customers, which is a must for the firms that want to keep up with the consumers' demands, and attract and retail more loyal customers. The Internet is a genuinely new communicational environment, and therefore traditional marketing techniques cannot generally be applied to e-commerce. In the process of studying the marketing model that uses 'traditional' information media for PR, brand promotion and advertising, it was revealed that the use of e-commerce makes it possible for the customers to make decisions independently, and therefore there is a dramatic shift for the consumers from being a rather passive auditorium (as with the traditional marketing) to a powerful force able to influence the companies' activity significantly. Therefore, it is not sufficient for the companies to apply the already existing marketing principles to their e-commerce, as the new Internet environment presupposes the development of principally new approaches to sales, accounting, advertising, dealing with customers, and many other aspects of business activity. In e-commerce, customers play a much more active role in the process of marketing, as they are the bearers of information valuable for the companies. The overall aim of this research is to explore what 'forces' are at work when consumers shop online in the clothing retail. The research will be carried out in the women online clothing retail market, primarily because of the huge investment in the clothing market by both online and traditional retailers, (www.brandrepublic.com) It will comprise two principal elements, a literature search, and an analysis of four retailer websites, two of them are purely online

Managerial Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Managerial Economics - Essay Example The major objectives of introducing incentive systems in an organisation are to provide better control over the management as well as to inspire employees to perform operations in a desired manner. Moreover, incentive systems also facilitate in better recruitment as well as management of workforce. Employees of an organisation are provided with various incentive schemes by the organisations that include monetary as well as non-monetary incentives (Magnusson & Nyrenius, 2011). In the financial or banking sector, it has been apparently observed that incentive or compensation system has acquired an important place for the development of these sectors. Moreover, in the financial sectors, employees are required to take extreme risks for acquiring a better compensation schemes. The salaries of employees in these financial sectors have been identified to be low and thus they are offered with more cash bonus facilities through incentive or compensation schemes. The major purpose of this comp ensation system is to motivate employees to take excessive risks in the form of asymmetric rewards as well as penalty system (Murphy, 2009). This discussion intends to analyse the principal-agent theory (PAT) in order to identify the issue of incentive system design in relation to financial sectors. Moreover, the key requirements that an optimal incentive system should possibly meet and the application of the aforementioned theory to the financial sector in order to come up with an efficient compensation contract for bank CEOs will also be portrayed in the discussion. A Brief Study of Principal-Agent Theory (PAT) The significant aspect of PAT principally determines the association between a principal and an agent. The interrelation that exists between principal as well as agent is featured with conflict of objective as well as through asymmetries of information. PAT usually considers the affiliation between principals as well as agents through varied viewpoints as well as interests. Principals are the individuals who are considered to possess certain formal authority as well as are committed to fulfil organisational targets. Moreover, principals are provided with efficient time resources as well as expertises in order to perform business operations in a proficient manner. Whereas, agents are the individuals who are considered to possess specific objectives as well as expertises for conducting business operations in accordance with determined goals of organisations (Smart, 2010). The PAT is mainly formulated in mathematical format that has been recognised to be quite complicated as well as composite. In PAT, when a principal is able to observe the extent of effort made by an agent to perform a work, then the principal is required to provide the agent with a forcing contract. In accordance with forcing contract, the principal is obliged to pay the agent a certain amount of money for performing activities on a specific extent of effort. In case, if the agent is u nable to perform activities at an expected extent of effort, then he or she will not be paid. These are certain incentive policies that are based upon symmetrical information (Bolton & et.al., 2005). The PAT considers certain imperative factors that

Motivation and job performance of employees Essay

Motivation and job performance of employees - Essay Example We also try to identify some flaws in the ideas and implementations in the ways organisation carry out the motivation, performance appraisal and reward system. Organisations have failed to realise that employee’s needs are not consistent and numerous factors are not taken into consideration before some of these factors actually contribute in demotivating employees. The analysis hopes to prove that rewards are not directly responsible for employee motivation and motivation is essential for job performance and that rewarding employees is not in the organisations best interest. According to Bono and Judge (2003) the standard and quality of work carried out by employees usually depends on the level of motivation and commitment. The biggest asset any organisation has is its employees mainly because these are the individuals who make the difference when it comes to highly successful organisations and not so successful ones; this applies to both senior and junior employees. The relationship which exists between employer and employee in terms of driving the business forward has been largely based on the employers ability to motivate his employees to excel in their various departments within the organization ( Linder, 1998). Burr and Cordery (2003) suggest that motivation plays a critical role in job performance of employees; organizations are constantly inventing new ways through which motivation can always be maintained at its highest, since it has a direct effect on employee attitude towards work. The heart of any work force lies with its employees, so it is imperative performance catalyst be introduced however and whenever seems fit. The blind side of motivation is that it tends to assume that motivation is predominantly based on rewards or benefits which are gained by employees who perform satisfactory. In the past organizations have laid emphasis

Ethical issues Essay Example for Free

Ethical issues Essay 1. Environmental Hazards: The pollutants that business industry dumps into the environment are more than just ugly nuisance; they are killers. For example, air pollution has been found to be related to deaths from bronchitis, heart disease, as well as emphysema, and several types of cancers. Studies by the American lung Association have concluded that between 50 to 120,000 thousand deaths a year are linked to the air pollution that are disbursed by air from manufacturing companies. Ant there is little doubt that the depletion of the ozone is caused by atmospheric pollution. According to Coleman/ Cressey (2001), The contamination of our waters with poisonous waste, for example, lead, mercury and dumping radioactive materials at sea to include the sinking of certain types of vessel, has already taken many lives. Thus, alone the American industry creates 3000 new chemicals every year, and most of the hundreds of thousand of chemicals used by industry have never been thoroughly tested to find out how dangerous they really are. For example, Dell Computer has come increasing scrutiny for its failure to take a leading role in reducing the amount toxic materials in the production of computers. All so, Dell Computer is using prison inmates (cheap labor) to handle the recycling of computers component parts. Not only is Dell violating environmental laws and contributing to improper disposal of computers that contain high contents of mercury, but also is endangering the inmates health. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2005). The growth of our ecological problem actually started in the 1960s, which prompted groups and individuals to lobby congress to establish laws to protect the public and impose stiff penalties on those businesses that violated the laws. Out of this era came the Radiation Control for Health and safety act of 1968, Clean Water Act of 1972, and Toxic Substance Act of 1976. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2005). The responsibility of enforcing these laws is entrusted to (EPA), Environmental Protection Agency. Even businesses of today, continue to behave in total unethically manner when it come to pollution. Many large corporation dont have pollution control program and/or mechanism in place that places value on the environment, be it land, sea or air pollution. But, most violators of the Acts receive  just a slap on the wrist. Businesses are more concern about their own self-interest of profits. Thus, continue to show little regards to the fact they are destroying the environment as well as depleting precious resources. Furthermore, the present contemporaries are incline to affluent life style and their materialistic greed have made them careless about the environment. Just as the rules are written for ethical behavior and left open for ones own interpretation and compliance, the same could be said in reference to the pollution control Act, there is a right and wrong way to demonstrate environmental awareness, but organizations continue to ignore the fact that we are on a path of depleting our precious environment. 2. Equal pay for women. I believe that not only must the hierarchical nature of the division labor between the sexes be eliminated, but the very division of labor between the sexes itself must be eliminated if women are to attain equal social status with men and if women are to attain the full development of their human potential. (Hurst, 1998). Throughout history, women were directly involved in production. When the industrial revolution occurred, single women and children were recruited for example from New England to work in textile factories in Rhode Island. Supervisory positions were held by men. Female workers were paid only half of what men were paid, even though they made up approximately 75 percent of the workers (Eisler, 1977). Men were concerned about the entrance of women into the labor market because they felt that it would have a depressing effect on their wages. They fought to keep women out of the craft unions that later developed. Women held strikes in the 1830s and 1840s to protest reductions in wages, speed-ups in work pace, and working hours (Dublin, 1970). Wars change the face of a nation, to include the workforce. During the World War II, jobs held formerly by men were accessible to women. The influx of women into the labor force has continued in recent years. In general, women tend to concentrate in white-collar and service occupations, while men are  more spread out between white collar and blue-collar positions. A decline in occupational segregation has occurred in broad occupational categories, largely because of shifts in technology and organizational structures. But despite these general improvements, women still are found disproportionately in certain occupations such as nursing, teaching and hold only a small percentage of positions as computer specialists, scientist and engineers. Similarly, a man and woman may be both be in sales, but the woman is much more likely to be in clothing sales, while the mans is involved in selling of stocks and bonds. Craft occupations are another group of occupations in which women continue to be severely underrepresented (Herz, Wootton, 1996). According to a US Department of Labor (1996) report, in 1979, women who worked full time made about 63 percent of what men did, but in 1995, women earned about 75 percent as much as men. However, this decline may be due more to decreases in the earnings of men, in general, than it is to real improvement for women (Bernhardt et al., 1995). The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) guarantee that women holding essentially the same jobs as men will be treated with respect and fairly compensated regarding all rewards of work: wages, salaries, commissions, overtime pay, bonuses, premium pay, and benefits. However, comparisons cannot be made across different companies. Interestingly, employers may pay workers of one gender more than another on the basis of merit, seniority, quality and quantity of production, or any other factor other than sex. Given that women are still reaching a glass ceiling, particularly when it comes to upper management, CEO positions, these allowed practices are still discriminatory practices. How is equality of position established? By determining and setting criteria for skill, effort, responsibility, and working condition. Ivancevic (2004) maintains that the difference in wages includes also any type of compensation such as vacations, holiday pay, leave of absence, overtime pay, lodging, food, reimbursement for clothing or other expenses. In order to close the remaining earning gap, the concept of equal pay for equal jobs to be expanded to include equal pay for comparable jobs has become more widely  accepted. 3. Women comparable worth in the job market: The concept of comparable worth maintains that since females are discriminated in the labor market we have to look at the worth and intrinsic value of the job, and although jobs may be dissimilar in content (i.e. nurse and plumber), both are important to society and the organization. My wife maintains that she thinks that the garbage man/woman has a much greater worth and value (what would happen if the garbage wouldnt be picked up?) than a doctor, for example, for she seldom goes to the doctor, at least not weekly. Even when men take womens work, they are on top of the pay scale. The solution to the erosion of inequality is, regardless whether viewed from the perspective of equal pay or comparable worth, that womens real wages have to rise faster than mens whose wages dont have to fall. Though laws now prohibit employers from paying a woman with the same qualification less than a man who does the same work. In support of women rights, I would like to see the law expanded to guarantee that the jobs in which most workers are mostly women are paid at roughly the same rate as comparable jobs in which most workers are men. My own personal experience of equal pay and comparable worth is linked to the military pay system. This particular pay system is a product of across the broad theory, that regardless of gender, the pay at this particular rank is the same for both male and female. There are four major factors that govern advancement for the sexes: education, time in service, training, and experience, though there are special incentives for those with critical skills. In other words, all jobs in this particular specialty are to be considered to be equal in pay for all. Therefore it is my belief regardless if you are male or female with identical qualification and capable of performing at the next level there should be no hesitation in advancement. It has been proven time and time again throughout ranks of military professionals, that women are just as capable and sometime more capable than men at performing the same job, but at a higher rate of success and enthusiasm. In closing, the net worth should be based on the value each job (not female or male) renders to the organization. Reference Bernhardt, Martina Morris, and Mark S. Handcock. 1995. Womens Gains or Mens Losses? A Closer Look at the Shrinking Gender Gap in Earnings. American Journal of Sociology 101:302-28. Dublin, Thomas. 1979. Women at Work. New York: Columbia University Press. Eisler, Benita, ed. 1977. The Lowell Offering. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott. Herz, Diane E., and Barbara H. Wooton. 1996. Women in the Workforce: An Overview. Pp 44-78 in The American Woman 1996-7, edited by C. Costellor and B.K Krimgold. New York: Norton. Hurst, Charles E. 1998. Social Inequality: Forms Causes and Consequences. Allen Beacon: Needham Heights, MA. Invancevich, J. M. 2004. Human Resource Management. (9th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. U.S. Department of Labor, January 1996. Employment and Earnings. Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office.

Are Friends More Important Then Family Essay Example for Free

Are Friends More Important Then Family Essay In our daily lives, we socialize with a lot of people, because we have been evolved to cooperate with our species in needs of survival against extreme weather and wild carnivores. generally, in our social life, we are personally closest to two groups of humans : families and friends. Families are the group of humans who shared genetic material with us such as: father,mother,brothers,sister,wife,and son.naturally, family is the most important group of humans to me,because of default characteristics of human genes. Too, because i have a lot of great moment with them.For instance, i remember a moment when we went to a beach and have a lot of fun with them. Also, the one that i most remember, when we are struggling together in poor economic condition Friends are the group of humans outside of family and personally close to us .I have a lot of friends from when i was in junior highschool until now in university.But, from all of them i feel closest to my friends from senior high school.Because, like with my families, i have a lot of good moment with them too. For example, the one i would never forget, we always make a joke about our teacher in the class. Moreover, we also have fought together against students from another school. However, besides my love to my friends, my first priority is my family.For instance, if at the same time i have to choose between hangout together with my family and hangout with my friends, i will gladly choose to hangout with my family.

Olympus Strategic Management Research Commerce Essay

Olympus Strategic Management Research Commerce Essay Olympus Corporation is a Japan-based manufacturer of reprography and optics products, founded on 12 October 1919 by Takeshi Yamashita with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company is engaged in the manufacture and sale of precision machineries and instruments for the imaging, medical, life sciences, information and communication and other markets. The companys imaging system business, though Olympus Imaging Corp., markets compact and lightweight digital cameras, optical lenses and voice recorders. The medical systems business, though Olympus Medical Systems Corp., offers medical endoscopes, surgical endoscopes, endotherapy products, ultrasound endoscopes and surgical treatment devices. The life science segments products include molecular imaging systems, such as chemistry analyzers, immunoassay systems and blood analyzers, diagnostic systems and biological and industrial microscopes. Olympus also operates several research facilities, such as the Olympus Bio Imaging Laboratory and the RIKEN BSI-Olympus Collaboration Centre, connected to the operations of their segment. The companys information and communication offerings, through ITX Corp., include investment and business incubation, IT services and equipment sales, such as the sale of mobile terminals. The company operates across six continents and more than 50 countries throu gh 219 subsidiaries and 19 affiliated companies. Altogether, Olympus is comprised of four business segments: Imaging Systems, Life Sciences and Industrial Systems, Medical Systems and Information and Communication. Olympus President and Representative Director is Hiroyuki Sasa, who took this office in April, 2012. PESTEL Analysis Political factors. The political environment is considered as one of the most influential factors that affect the operations of a business. Since all political forces are a part of the macro-environment and are associated with the situation of government, this directly influences the possibility of maintaining a business in a particular economy. Better government would always strive to create the most favorable conditions for a business, developing good policies and making business thrive. Governments also choose the way of taxation and can influence export and import abilities of a particular country (e.g. artificial limitation of an amount of particular good that can be imported in the country, changing taxation for local and foreign producers, stimulating export or import, special license conditions etc.). In our particular case, the most important thing of a political environment Olympus operates in is fiscal policies of the governments of the countries Olympuss stores and its distribution chain are situated in. Pursuing their objectives, governments can levy taxes that make conducting a business unprofitable in this political system, or, for example, cancel taxation of some firms at all to improve the situation of a company on the market. Overall political situation in particular countries also affects Olympus business. Since some countries have unstable political situation (e. g. Somali, Iraq, many African countries), Olympus is reluctant to maintain their business there because of unpredictable business conditions and unreliability of partnerships with local retailers. Economic factors. Economic environment of an organization are all economic factors that effect on the working of a business. This point includes distribution of income and wealth in the economy, trade cycles, economic policies and nature of an economy. Scientists distinguish five main components of a firms economic environment. They are: economic conditions, economic system, economic policies, international economic environment and economic legislations. Since Olympuss initial purpose is bringing profits to stockholders, all these factors should be carefully considered while acting in a particular economy in order to bring the highest profits possible. Size of market, demand and supply trends, inflation rate in the economy, national income, per capita income, efficiency of public and private sectors and many other factors influence Olympus performance in a particular economy and directly influence its profitability. Moreover, since an economic system of a country determines rules, goals and incentives that controls economic relations among people in a society, this factor influences Olympus desire or even ability to perform in a particular economy. Separated word should be said about global economic downturn as a result of the global financial crisis of 2008. The worst economic debacle the humankind has faced since the Great Depression left millions of people without jobs and trillions of dollars in market value evaporated. The global consumption and demand felt dramatically, including the demand for reprography and optics products Olympus manufactures. Although Asian countries did not experience such a striking shock as Europe and Northern America did, overseas sales account for approximately 80% of Olympus sales. Interest rates became higher in practically all countries, somehow influenced by the crisis. National income growth in majority of countries slowed down. Hence, the downturn of the global economy is one of the most prominent economic factors which influence Olympus operations. Furthermore, current economic problems in Europe, which accounts for 26% of Olympus sales, also adversely influence the company scrutinized. Social factors. One of the most important social factors, which influence operations of Olympus is ageing of population in its target markets and constantly growing of health consciousness of those individuals. Since Medical Systems Life Sciences are the largest business segments of Olympus Corporation, these trends can positively influence Olympus because of the demand growth expectations and need for improvement of patient quality of life. However, population growth rates in these countries are not that positive and for the last decade we have observed shrinkage of population in developed countries and constant growth of population in developing countries as India, China and many countries of the Muslim world. Therefore, in the nearest future the trend will reverse and exactly those growing countries will became major importers of hi-tech products as Olympus manufactures. Thus, Olympus should be ready to such changes and pay attention to the development of its distribution chain i n all prospective markets. Technological factors. Any changes in technology have a major impact on the business. New technologies change the business prospects and profits, work culture and methods of production that are used in the industry. Technological changes force management to change the course of how the business is maintained in order to boost the productivity and profitability of the production process. Talking about the industry of hi-tech medical, imaging and information communication products Olympus operates in and technological environment there, it can be said that this industry is probably one of the most technologically-advanced industries of contemporary world. Because of the nature pace of the human progress and constantly growing demand for better medical apparatuses and other hi-tech products Olympus produces, technological changes and breakthroughs in this industry happen extremely often. Technology incentives of many companies are striking, constantly increasing the rate of technological change. All these factors determine the technological environment for Olympus, simultaneously affecting its minimum efficient production level, level of financing its research facilities, cost and quality of products manufactured and ultimately strive for innovation, which will determine the share of the company on the market in the nearest future. Environmental factors. Environmental factors are those factors of any companys external environment, which include weather and climate concerns, directly influencing operations of a business. Environmental factors are not of the highest importance for Olympus Corporation and do not shape its or its competitors products or production chain as they do, for example, for agriculture companies. However, constantly growing concern of the environmental sustainability, greenhouse effect and nature protection define certain environmental standards Olympus should comply with. Legal environment. As any business, Olympus operates within a strict framework of law which influences different aspects of the company. Governmental laws regulate the status of the organization, its relationship with customers and suppliers and certain internal procedures and activities, influencing the behavior of Olympus on the market and specific market conditions. Consumer laws, discrimination laws, employment laws, antitrust laws and health and safety laws of different countries affect how Olympus operates on local markets and also determines cost and demand for its products. Porters Diamond Model The Diamond model of Michael Porter was contrived to evaluate and assess competitive advantages of a firm in national and global competition. Let us construct Porters Diamond model for Olympus Corporation. 400px-The_Porter_Diamond Graph 1. The Porter diamond Source: Factor conditions Skilled workforce High intellectual potential and strive towards innovations New innovations and new methods of corporate governance Developed technological base and infrastructure Demand conditions Sophisticated local and overseas market High pressure and demand for innovations Related and supporting industries Local and international competition creates innovations and cost-effectiveness Participation of suppliers in upgrading process High incentives for innovations in whole production chain Firm strategy, structure and rivalry New corporate governance strategy Focus on core business domains New corporate management policies: Back to Basics, One Olympus, and Profitable Growth Four new basic strategies: Rebuilding of business portfolio/Optimal allocation of management resources, Restructuring of governance, Review of cost structures and Restoration of financial health Fierce domestic competition, which stimulates innovations High standards of corporate culture Government Significant efforts paid to the development of infrastructure and attraction of new businesses Educational incentives and creation of skilled labor Encouragement of BPO/KPO (business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing) Chance Changes in global economic trends All factors, which create discontinuities and are outside of a control of a firm Market Analysis and Industry Life Cycle Nowadays the industry of reprography and optics products Olympus operates in is the subject for constant growth and development. The Medical Business, which is the main business segment of Olympus, has experienced steady growth over the years and is expected to grow even further in view of the social environment. At a time of fast aging of population in the developed countries, early detection and diagnosis of treatment have become urgent priorities for patients, physicians and societies overall. Minimally invasive treatment methods as endoscopic surgery are expected to play a key role in satisfying these requirements. The surgical devices field annual sales are expected to grow 14% annually, creating major business opportunities for Olympus because it is the only company in the world, which possesses the technologies for manufacturing of apparatus that meet the full range of needs from early detection of illnesses to minimally invasive treatment. Therefore, we can conclude that Medi cal Business of Olympus operates in the growth stage of the industry life cycle. Regarding the Imaging Business of Olympus, it operates in the industry, which slowly proceeds from the growth into the mature stage of its life cycle. Although hundreds of innovations are still made in this field, the market in developed countries is close to be saturated. However, there is still an enormous market and place for development in developing countries. Furthermore, it should be recognized that Imaging Business is simultaneously a brand and imaging technology driver for Olympus. Thus, it is an inherent part of the companys marketing strategy and will be paid an utmost attention in the nearest future. Life Science Industrial business of Olympus is also in its growth stage. The driving factor for this is that the industries, where reprography and optics products have not been used before, begin to adapt innovations from this field to develop and increase the efficiency and productivity of their business. Hence, sales expansion by entering untapped industries is of the highest interest for Olympus, since this market is undeveloped yet, contains a lot of opportunities, place for innovations and growth. Porters Five Forces Framework Porters five forces framework is a tool for industry and company analysis, aimed to derive those five forces, which determine the intensity of competition and therefore attractiveness of a particular market and overall industry profitability. Three of the aforementioned five forces concern competition threats from external sources. The remaining two are related to the companys internal threats. Graph 2. Porters Five Forces Framework Source: Bargaining power of suppliers. The concentration of suppliers of Olympuss three key business segments is comparatively high. The number of suppliers and availability of substitute inputs differs from the product or inventory supplied. Availability of lenses Olympus uses, for example, for its Medical Business segment is limited because of the complicated process of their production and various patents. Input of suppliers of hi-tech components is extremely important for companies in the industry Olympus operates in and an ability to substitute suppliers of such unique products is low. Hence, suppliers of technologically advanced inventory have a significant influence on the industry scrutinized and are able to drive up prices with little resistance from their buyers. Firms which produce less unique products, however, have dramatically less power. The number of suppliers in this category is big as well as the availability of substitutes. The competition among these suppliers is severe and therefore their ability to artificially deviate prices is low. Bargaining power of consumers. Bargaining power of Olympuss consumers, similarly to bargaining power of its suppliers, differs greatly from one business segment of a company to another. Imaging Business, for example, has a great number of customers. The size of each order, however, is low in comparison with other businesses of the firm. Buyers of this segment possess a credible backward integration threat, since they can choose to buy products of a rival firm as Canon or Nikon. Buyer power is also strong because switching costs are low, is usually well-educated about the product and lots of substitutes are available on the market. In case of Medical and Life Science Industrial businesses of Olympus, consumer bargaining power is different and is believed to be lower. To the great extent this is because of little number of substitutes available on the market and their lower technical characteristics. Threat of backward integration in these businesses is low and majority of buyers purchase products in low volume. Threat of new entrants. Threat of new entrants on the market of hi-tech products Olympus manufactures is low because of several factors. First, in order to enter this market, extremely high capital investments are required. Second, patents and rights of already established firms make it hardly possible for new entrants to produce products, similar to existing ones. Hence, prohibitive for new firms amount of financial and human resources should be put into research and development to introduce technologies and products unavailable yet on the market. Furthermore, in Olympus business lots of attention is paid to consumer loyalty and it may be very hard for new entrants to entice clientele of well-known already established brands. Threat of substitute products. Feasible threat of substitute products Olympus experiences in all its businesses other than the Medical. This can be observed because of consumers propensity to substitute and comparatively low switching costs. Number of substitute products, which can compete with the products of Olympuss Life Science Industrial and Imaging businesses is high. So is the ease of substitution. There is, however, less threat of substitute products from Medical business of Olympus because products in the Medical business have significantly longer lifecycles and development cycles. For example, Evis Exera III a core endoscopy system, which was introduced by Olympus in spring 2012 and has no substitutes on the market, had the development period of seven years. Since Olympus has a competitive edge in research and development, it is unlikely that products able to substitute Olympus Medical businesses apparatuses will emerge on the market in the nearest time. Competitive rivalry within an industry. Competition within Olympuss industry is fierce. All companies which compete for leadership in this industry have powerful competitive strategies and high levels of advertising expense. Each of the companies tries to achieve sustainable competitive advantage through implementing innovations and investments in research and development. Number of competitors is limited; however, their financial and human resources are huge. Costs of leaving market are high. Olympus Current Strategy Corporate Strategies. Basing on the corporate management policies and aiming to address pressing issues of the company, Olympuss management has set forth four basic corporate strategies. First, three business domains have been chosen as those, in which the company should invest first and foremost. These are: the Medical Business, Life Science Industrial Business and Imaging Business. Medical Business should become a growth driver for the company, which will later transform into a medical-field oriented firm. Second, Olympus will revise its cost structures and aims for profitable growth. Third strategy is to improve the companys shaken financial position and performance. Last but not least corporate strategy of Olympus is to restructure the firms governance after the recent unprecedented turbulence of the Olympus scandal period. Business Strategies. Medical Business. Under the current medium-term vision of Olympus management, the Medical Business of the company should become a profit and growth driver for the firm. The strategy of Medical Business is to achieve further expansion of the business by capitalizing on the highly strategically advantageous position of being capable of simultaneously developing devices necessary for new minimally invasive treatments as well as new diagnostic methods closely related to those new treatments (Olympus Corporation, 2012). The company also plans to replace existing devices with new once and create a new market by applying highly innovative technologies unavailable to its competitors. Life Science Industrial Business. Life Science Industrial Business of Olympus are aimed at growth of the corporation. There are two business strategies for this segment. First strategy is product portfolio expansion. Basing on the customer industry categories and technologies and product categories, Olympus will strive to open up new customers and open up new business fields. Moreover, this strategy also involves focus on emerging and developing countries, where the market and consequently demand for Olympus products is growing. Second strategy is implementation of reform of the income and profit structure of the Life Science field, which will involve reduction of cost of goods sold and improvement of operating efficiency. Imaging Business. For today, two strategies have been devised to address the proclaimed objective of restructuring the Imaging Business. The first strategy is to concentrate on mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras and high-end compact cameras. The second strategy is to restructure the manufacturing process and carry out reform of the cost structure of devises. Functional Strategies. Functional strategies of Olympus include the following: rigorous cost reductions, profitability improvements, increased investment in technology development, restructuration of subsidiaries and production sites worldwide. Olympus Current Business Policies The new management of Olympus, who took their office on April 2012, have set out three major corporate management policies of the company: Back to Basics, One Olympus and Profitable Growth. Back to Basics. Back to Basic policy was devised to deal with the aftermath of recent Olympus scandals, the cause of which was the pursuit of income from investments in non-core business domains of the firm, namely equity. Thus, the Back to Basics policy was developed to bring Olympus back to its initial mission contribution to the development of society through new solutions and products. One Olympus. The idea behind One Olympus policy lies in uniting all Olympuss employees and staff worldwide under a common business strategy and encouraging teamwork and cooperation. Profitable Growth. This policy simply proclaims Olympus intention to grow while earning profits. Olympus Current Performance Performance Indices Results (FY ended March 2012) Net sales  ¥ 848.5 billion Operating income  ¥ 35.5 billion Ordinary income  ¥17.9 billion Net income  ¥49.0 billion EBITDA  ¥80.3 billion Operating margin 4% Ordinary income ratio 2% Net income ratio -6% Net sales ratio 9% Free cash flows  ¥4.8 billion Balance of interest-bearing debt  ¥642.4 billion Equity ratio 4.6% Operating margin 4.2% Return on invested capital (ROIC) 2.7% Table 1. Olympus current performance indices Source: Olympus Corporation. Annual Report 2012 Table 1. Olympus current performance indices Source: Olympus Corporation. Annual Report 2012 Research Question 2. Strategic Recommendations Basing on the analysis above, several strategic recommendations are reasonable for Olympus to overcome its temporary crisis period and achieve financial superiority and growth of stockholders value in long-term period. First, it is pertinent that Medical Business should become the main segment of Olympus production chain. Olympus possesses a competitive advantage over its closest rivals in this sector and holds the largest market share. Its medical devices contain the newest innovations and technologies available on the market and hardly any company can compete in this sector with Olympus. However, for the last several years the company has been deviating from this segment, investing in non-core business segments of the firm. This turned into the debacle for Olympus. Therefore, total reconstruction of the firms operations should be conducted with the aim to bring an emphasis on Medical Business of the firm, which should become profit and growth generator. Life Science Industrial Bus iness, in its turn, will become an accompanying business, specializing in expansion of the product portfolio in the industrial field and hence another source of growth. The task of the Imaging Business, as one of the three core business of the firm, should be development of new technologies and innovations and becoming a brand driver for the company. Research Question 3. Mr. Michael Woodford, a Hero or a Traitor? Recent Olympus scandal has been one of the biggest and longestrunning lost-hiding arrangements in global corporate history since accounting and corporate scandals including Enron, Parmalat, Peregrine Systems, Tyco International, Adelphia and WorldCom. One of the main Olympus insiders, involved in the scandal and who actually was the one who exposed doubtful acquisitions of Olympus dated several years earlier, was British-born top-executive Michael Woodford, former CEO of Olympus. This lead to missing of $6.25 in assets, overall downturn of the company and great concerns regarding corporate governance in Japan. Although some people would aver that Mr. Michael Woodford acted as a traitor, I assert that his actions were extremely ethical and complied with the highest standards of corporate governance and information disclosure. Hereinafter I will provide some cogent arguments to support my point of view. To start with, I would like to mention that ultimate aim of management of any company is growth of value for stockholders. In order to keep an eye on management actions, each publicly traded company has a board of directors, which defines strategy of the company, supervises management and ensures the protection of stockholders interests. Management, as an operational branch of corporate governance, is obliged to deliver truthful information regarding companys performance. From accounting and corporate scandals in the U.S. and Europe which involved Enron, Parmalat, Peregrine Systems, Tyco International and several other big companies we have learned how distortion and hiding of information may make the companies concerned collapse and shook local and international securities markets. In order to avoid such shocks in future, many countries have adopted various standards and laws which regulate corporate governance, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US and UK Corporate Governance Code. Japan, however, has not adopted any similar documents and this is one of the major reasons why Olympus scandal emerged in 2011. According to internationally-accepted standards of corporate standards and information disclosure, the behaviour of the former Olympuss CEO Michael Woodford was the only acceptable in the situation he faced with. Obviously, local peculiarities of Japanese corporate governance should be taken into account, however, from my point of view, Woodford acted in according to international business ethics standards. Olympus is an international publicly-traded company and therefore should comply with internationally-accepted ways of doing business. Furthermore, Olympus is responsible to its stockholders, who are interested in transparency of the business. Hence, Woodfords behaviour was ethical in all senses and was aimed to bring transparency to the company and protect Olympus stakeholders. Since Woodford did what all members of Olympus board could not do, I think that he is a hero for the company and should be brought back. The behaviour of top management of Olympus, however, was not ethical and, as said by Lindsay Whipp and Jonathan Soble, the management by itself was rotten at the core (Yasu, 2011). A twodecade scheme to hide losses from investment was maintained by the companys top executives. The Olympus scandal tells us that despite accounting and corporate scandals of the last decade, the tensions still remain in some countries, which have not adapted strict standards and codes of corporate governance. Japan is not an exception. The conflict between management and stockholders will probably last forever, however compliance with such laws as Sarbanes-Oxley Act, for example, will bring transparency to the activities of publicly traded companies. Management will have less space for financial machinations and distortion of information. This, undoubtedly, will create a more reliable system of corporate governance and management. Hence, adoption of strict laws which contain enhanced standards for all public company boards, management and auditors should be conducted in all countries where this has not been done yet. If I were in the position to make a decision, I would definitely employ Woodford as a new CEO of Olympus because he has demonstrated himself as a responsible top-executive who has extremely high ethical standards. Although corporate culture in Japan is very peculiar, he managed to uncover one of the biggest and longestrunning lost-hiding arrangements in Japanese history. Despite this created great financial troubles for the company, loss of reputation and urgent need of restructuration, I believe that disclosure of this crime was essential for Olympuss further growth and development. Ultimately, to solve the issues of the Olympus scandal several vital steps should be undertaken. First, and this has already been done, new management structure should be introduced. Second, Olympus should be restructured and the foremost attention should be paid to the core businesses of the firm. Third, thorough re-branding of the company should be conducted to renew the reputation of the firm in the eyes of its suppliers and consumers.

Surfing,Media, and the Internet Essay -- Sports Technology Essays

Surfing,Media, and the Internet Surfing is a passion. It is a culture, a life, a disease. With the help of movies such as Endless Summer, Gidget and Beach Party, and tunes like â€Å"Surfin’ Safari† and â€Å"Surfer Girl,† surfing became the fad of the early sixties, and has lasted. Being exposed to the Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon Beach Party movies brought surfing to my immediate attention. I love their cheesy plots and musical numbers, and of course, their portrayal of the surfing lifestyle. After watching Beach Blanket Bingo, I was hooked. Unfortunately, I live hours from a beach, and further from one with decent waves. So my time thus far has been spent discovering my passion through the media. As it is not as popular as say, football or basketball, surfing is not often televised, and never as a competition sport. A few shows, such as California Dreams and The Real World: Hawaii have attempted to capture the lifestyle of the young surfer. When they were still televised, I watched them both religiously. California Dreams was a laid back version of Saved by the Bell, and was from the late 1980s. Surfing was hardly covered though, and usually it would be shown as two guys walking into a restaurant with surfboards in their arms. The Real World: Hawaii also disappointed, with the main purpose of the show being the cast, â€Å"seven strangers picked to live in a house ...† and not the sport which is such a part of Hawaiian culture. They did, however, work for a surf shop in Honolulu, and were thus connected to surfing without actually being in the waves. Bummer. Out of the handful of movies, which have been made about surfing, most of the more popular ones dat e back to the sixties. Endless Summer, Beach... ... N’ Sport. Feb/Mar 2001. 3 Mar. 2001 . 2. Hart, Kahea. Home page. 13 Mar. 2001. 16 Mar. 2001 3. â€Å"Learn to Surf.† Ocean Pit Pacific. 21 Mar 2001 4. Quiksilver. 6 Mar. 2001 . 5. Seven Shores Australia. 19 Mar. 2001 . 6. Slater, Evan. â€Å"Me, Myself and iMac.† Swell. 14 Mar. 2001. 18 Mar. 2001 . 7. Surfer Magazine. Vol. 42 No. 5 May 2001. 7 Mar. 2001 8. â€Å"Tapping the Sources.† Swell. 19 Mar 2001 9. Tavarua. 6 Mar. 2001

Doctor Dolittle :: essays research papers

My book report is on Doctor Dolittle. The author of this book is Hugh Lofting. Doctor Dolittle talks to the animals and is also kind of like a veterinarian. He knows most of the animal languages. He really calls himself a naturalist which studies plants and animals. He lives in Puddleby, England. He has an assistant named Stubbins. Doctor Dolittle wants to learn the language of the shellfish because they are one of the oldest animals on earth. He thinks that they can tell him secrets of the past. Doctor Dolittle decided to give up on the shellfish language for a while. Stubbins and the Doctor play a game that you close your eyes and flip the pages of an atlas and put a pencil down on the page. The place that he picked was Spidermonkey Island. The purple bird of paradise tells him that the greatest naturalist is Long Arrow and that he lives at Spidermonkey Island. Doctor Dolittle goes on a voyage to Spidermonkey Island. The Doctor goes and he saves Long Arrow and 9 other Indians from a cave that a rock had covered the entrance. Doctor Dolittle found a way to dig under the rock and make it fall. Another tribe on the other side of the island wanted to go to war with the peaceful indians. They were going to fight because they were to lazy to do work because the island was floating South and getting cold. The Doctor, Long Arrow, and another man basically won the war for the tribe. They swung clubs and knocked everyone out of the way. Then Polynesia(a talking parrot) brought millions of black parrots from South America. Most of the other tribe got their ears bit off. Doctor Dolittle was made king of the tribe. They changed his name to Jong Thinkalot because they didn’t think Dolittle fit him. Doctor wanted to go but he had to stay and teach the tribe to do things more modern.