Problems of Small Scale Industries

The path of small entrepreneurs is not rosy. Small entrepreneurs face the following types of problems: (1) Problem of raw materials: A major problem that the small entrepreneurs face is the procurement of raw materials. They have to confront with numerous problems like; i. Availability of inadequate quantity ii. Poor quality of materials iii. High cost of raw materials etc All these factors adversely affect the proper functioning of small units. (2) Problem of finance: Finance is one of the most important problems faced by small entrepreneurs.As finance is the life blood of a business organization and no business organization can function properly in the absence of adequate funds. The problem of finance in small sector is mainly due to two reasons i. e. (i) Scarcity of capital in the country as a whole. (ii) Weal credit-worthiness of small units in the country. Due to their weak economic base, they find it difficult to take financial assistance from the commercial banks and financial institutions. Therefore, small entrepreneurs have to obtain credit from the money lenders on a very high rate of interest. (3) Problem of marketing:One of the major problems faced by small entrepreneurs is in the field of marketing. They are not in a position to get first hand information about the market i. e. information about completion, taste, liking disliking of consumers. Therefore, they are not able to upgrade their products according to the changing business environment. These small units acceding to the changing business environment. These small units often do not process any marketing organization. As a consequence, their product quality compares unfavorably with the quality of the products of the large scale industries.Therefore, these industries suffer from a comparative disadvantage as compared to large scale industries. (4) Problem of under utilization of capacity: Most of the small entrepreneurs are suffering from the problem of under utilization of capacity. Small s cale units are making only 40 to 50 percent use of their installed capacities due to various reasons such as shortage of finance, raw-materials, power and under-developed markets for their products. (5) Outdated technology: Most of the small entrepreneurs depend upon old techniques and equipment.These units find it very difficult to modernize their plant and machinery due to limited capacity and capital. He quality of products and productivity tend be low in the absence of modern technology and that too at higher cost. They are in no position to complete with their better equipped rivals operating modern large scale units. For example, Khaki products even after government subsidy seem to be costlier. (6) Poor project planning: Poor project planning is another problem faced by small entrepreneurs.In the absence of education and experience, these entrepreneurs do not attach much significance to viability studies. They do not bother to study the demand aspect, marketing problems, sourc es of raw materials. Inexperienced and incompetent entrepreneurs often submit unrealistic feasibility reports and incomplete documents which invariably result in delays in completing promotional formalities. They cannot afford to avail services of project consultants due to limited financial resources. (7) Inadequate infrastructure:Insufficient quality and quantity of transportation, communication and other basic services particularly in backward areas is another problem. Inadequate infrastructure results in under utilization of capacity and wastages. Inadequate infrastructures also adversely affect the quality, quantity and production schedule of the enterprises operating in these areas. Therefore, their functioning will become uneconomical and unviable. (8) Problem of skilled manpower: A small entrepreneur located in backward area may not have problem of unskilled workers but it may be exposed to the problem of non-availability of skilled workers.Skilled workers may be reluctant t o work in their areas and small scale enterprise may not afford to pay the wages and other facilities demanded by these persons. Unavailability of skilled manpower result in lower productivity, deterioration of quality, increase in wastages, rise in other overhead costs and finally adverse impact on the profitability of these small scale units. (9) Managerial problem: Another serious problem for small scale units is managerial inadequacies. Modern business demands vision, knowledge, skill, aptitude and whole hearted devotion.The managerial competence of the entrepreneur is very important for the success of any venture. An entrepreneur is required to undergo training and counseling for developing his organization revolves. Therefore, he must be fully conversant with all aspects of management. Lack of proper commitment and managerial skill will add to the problems of entrepreneurs. (10) Other problems: In addition to above discussed problems, the small scale industries have been const rained by a number of other problems such as trained technicians, technological obsolescence, unorganized nature of operation etc.

Background to HRM at General Motors Corporation Essay

General Motors Corporation (NYE: GM) is the leading American automaker in the world with its operations spanning in 157 countries. The car manufacturer was established in 1908 in Michigan and today it is headquartered in Detroit, the United States of America. Besides the domestic industry of the United States of America, General Motors manufactures cars and trucks in other 30 countries around the world. Among its brand products are Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Hummer, Holden, Opel, Saab, Pontiac, Vauxhall, and Saturn. Besides these brands that are owned by the automaker, GMC also operates joint ventures in China and Japan. That is, Shanghai GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile respectively. From its Website, General Motors Corporation is among the leading American employer with 204 000 employees distributed throughout its global markets. The employees include production engineers, financial auditors, marketers, and researchers among others. Before restructuring and retrenching that took place in 2008 following a harsh global financial crisis that resulted into a loss of $37.3billion by the automaker, General motors corporation was the leading American employer with 284 000 employees (GMC, 2008). Because of its large network of global presence in 31 countries, General Motors human resource management practices entail international practices that are designed in accordance to the international operation requirements and the organizational culture designed to reduce operational costs. Majority employees of the corporation’s subsidiaries in the 31 countries are drawn from the domestic pool of local labour markets and only a few expatriates are drawn from USA as back office managers due to their wide knowledge of its organization culture (Cappelli, 1999). The Board of directors which draws from the organization’s international market presence is charged with the responsibilities of making major decisions critical to the company’s operation. According to Gustin (2008), General Motors Corporation spent up to $103 million in settling healthcare insurance benefits of its retired employees in 2007. From this information, it is evident that the American automaker provides life insurance covers for its employees upon retirement. However, following restructurung, these benefits  were stripped off and only a few employees still enjoy them today. From January 1, 2010, pension scheme of retired hourly employees of General Motors Corporation was transferred to United Autoworkers; a third party insurance firms and all permanent employees who were hired after january 1, 1993 nolonger receive health care insirance benefit upon retirement(GMC,2008). The entry salary of the global automaker is dictated by the labour laws of each market of operation and thus varied with the United States of America being the highest irrespective by job categories ( Main et al., 2007). The organization has invested in a Human Resource Management system that allows close interraction of its global employees through technology such as e-mailing and enterprise resource Management (Azrul, 2010). Marketing strategy entails presentations by field marketers to the organization’s large distributors and online follow ups. Reccommended HRM practices for GMC From the above background analysis of General Motors corporation, it is clear that the organization requires international Human Resource Management practices that will integrate the cultural diversity of its employees.The catastrophic impact of the 2008 financial ciris that resulted into massive restructuring and retrenching of its human resources also underscores the organization’s poor human resource planning. The following recommendations are prescribed for the automaker on the basis of figure 1 below. The first recommendation, is Re-designing the business strategy to target the bottom line of the market. According to Azrul (2010), one of the main reasons for the $37.4 billion loss incured by the American automaker is external market forces from competitors like Honda and Hyundai that were producing far cheaper vehicles with high efficient engines and low fuel consumption rates as compared to Genereal Motors’ brands. In the heat of global financial crisis, the market shifted to consumption of cheaper and less fuel consumers produced by the competitors resulting in huge losses by the General Motors Corporation. The new business strategy should entail  designing cars and trucks with high eficent engines and electric cars that can survive an upsurge in oil prices. This will involve an investment in manufacturing technologies that ensures high quality at reduced costs such as electric engines that uses bateries.This will give the Amecan leading automaker a competitve advantage against the stiffening market competition. The second recommendation is outsourcing of labour from China and Japan. Many Corporations prefer to manufacture their products from China because of the availability of a relatively cheaper labour force when compared to western counterparts. General Motors corporation can either outsource its human resoure from China or undertake most of its production from its Japanese and Chinese Subsidiaries. The labour laws in the two countries are relatively flexible and firendly than in the United States of America. This will help the American Automator reduce huge operational costs incured in meeting the big payroll of over 200, 000 employees. The third recommendation is integration of employees’ training in high involvement work practices. According to Konrad (2006), engaging employees of an organization in job specific training improves their productivity by increasing their job-related skills, reducing propensity of committing costly errors, and increasing their job confidence. Training of General Motors’ employees on their job specifications will improve their productivity. Ofshore trainings in China and Japan are recommended. This will allow the corporation’s manufacturing engineers to learn new efficient production technologies of Japan and China in making cheaper and highly effiecient cars. Motivational incentives such as team building sessions, delegation of duties, self-managed leadership styles, and monetary rewards will boost their commitment to the organization. The combined effect of training and motivation will necesitate restructuring of a pay roll while leveraging on improved productivity of highly productive employees. The fourth recommendation is embracing technology in Human Resource Management system to enhance global cordination of its business. According to Dreher and Dougherty ( 2002), the use of technology such as centralised Enterprise Resource Management system to co-ordinate human resource  activities of General Motors will enhance quick sharing of ideas and consultation among the global employees of the company without barriers. This will allow the organization to carry out its marketing strategies efficiently and effectively without limitation by geographical distances. Effective Human Resource Management through streamlined sofware-based systems enhances fast communication and online training which gives an organization a higher competitive advantage. The fifth recommendation is integration of social benefits such as pension and health care schemes in the reward system. From the backround information above, it is evident that General Motors Corporation with-held social benefits for employees who were hired after January 1, 1993 and transferred the remaining ones to third pary insirance firms. The American automaker also stripped healthcare benefits for retired employees beyond 65 years. Acording to Konrad (2006), social rewards like health care insurance schemes make employees feel more valued by their organizations than monetary rewards in terms of bonuses and salary increments. Also pension schemes improve employees’ commitment to their employer because of future guarantees. This reduces employees’ turnover which is essential in retaining critical human resources for continuity of operation of General Motors. High staff retention improves an organization’s competitive advantage in a complex market of operati onal rivalry. The sixth recommendation is the implementation of employee productivity management and monitoring systems such as Balanced Score Card (BSC) and High Performance Work System (HPWS) (Rouse, 2000). The latter system refers collectively to open systems, autonomouas teams and teamworks, and performance-based pay (Azrul, 2010). The implementation of the two Human Resource Management systems will improve organizational performance by providing real time employees’ information storage database from which future managerial decisions, and rewards will be based. According to Konrad ( 2006), employees of an organization are more productive when they are aware that their performance is recorded for review in determining their future rewards. Effective implementation of the Human Resource Management systems will help General Motors Corporation in categorising employees  according to their productivity rates. This information is important in determining the relevance of job training and objective restructuring in the event of a crisis like that which befell it in 2008. In this case, only high productive employees will be retained. The seventh recommendation is the implementation of an integrative pay/ reward system to inculde performance-contingency pay scheme, skill-based pay, and seniority-based pay scheme. According to performance-contingency pay scheme, the employees’ reward will be based on the performance of their working teams. This will help the automaker in creating effective self-managed and motivated teams. Skill-based pay will ensure that employees’ pay schemes are based on their job skills. For instance, production engineers will be given high pay than marketers because of their technical skills required by the organization. Seniority-based pay scheme demands that those employees who have stayed longer in the organization will get a higher pay than new comers because of their cumulative salary increements along their carrier path. Seniority-based pay scheme promotes staff retention even when the entry salary is relatively lower than the market rates because employees know that there is a room for growth. In general, General Motors Corporation should ensure total compliance with the labour markets and legal environments of their respective countries of operations before implementation of the proposed recommendations. For instance, the employment laws regarding hourly wages, minimum wage policy, employment opportunities, labour regulations, and safety rules in China are different from those of the United States of America. Therefore it is imperative that the American automaker consider their implications in setting the minimum entry wage in each country of operation. Conclusion. In conclusion, General Motors Corporation can sustain its competitive strategy as a leading automaker by embracing the above prescribed Human Resource Mangement system that integrates staff training on job related skills, outsourcing, social reward scheme, technology, and  performance-contingency pay scheme among others as strategic competiencies in its operation. The implementation of Balanced Score Card and HPWS is critical in improving the productivity of the organization’s employees. The proposed system will enhance high staff retention, high staff productivity, and objective contingency planning in times of global crises like the 2008 global financial crisis that lead to massive retrenchment by the automaker. References Azrul, A. (2010). Human Resource Management & General Motors. Monash University Publication, p.1-13.From: http://www.scribd.com/doc/14812855/Human-Resource-Management-General-Motors Main, B.G.,Jackson, C., Pymm, J.,& Wright, V. (2007). GMC:The Remuneration Committee and Strategic Human Resource Management. University of Edinburgh publications, p.1-49. Cappelli, P. (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxfford, ew York : Oxford University Press. General Motors Corporation. (2008). Restructuring Plan for Long-Term Viability: Submitted to Senate Banking Committee & House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Detroit: General Motors Corporation. Rouse ,D. (2000). Manufacturing Sdvantage:Why High Performance Work Systems Pay off. Journal of Team Performance Management, vol 96(5) , p.1420. Dreher, G., & Dougherty,T. (2002). Human resource strategy: A behavioral perspective for the general manager. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Gustin, L. R. (2008). Billy Durant: Creator of General Motors. Ann Arbor. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Konrad, A. M. (2006). Engaging Employees Through High-Involvement Work Practices. IVEY Business Journal , n.p.From:

The concept of animal cruelty is one that disgusts most people around the world. The idea of hurting an innocent animal is something that most people cannot fathom. Many times cases of animal abuse and animal cruelty go unreported because the victims have no voice. Unfortunately, cases of animal cruelty occur with tremendous frequency around the globe. These acts of cruelty are classified in two different ways. There are those that suffer from active cruelty whereas other animals suffer from passive cruelty. Who are the perpetrators of animal cruelty and what can people do to help? Many people are not aware that there are different types of animal cruelty. Animals are subjected to active and passive cruelty. Although one is done with the torture and abuse of animals in mind, any type of cruelty towards animals is wrong and is something to be addressed. Animals subjected to either form of animal cruelty suffer a horrible fate. Hundreds if not thousands of animals each year die as a direct result of animal cruelty. Many of these animals never receive any form of justice as the abusers are never reported and no charges are filed against them. Animals that somehow manage to survive any form of animal abuse or cruelty have mental, physical, and psychological issues. Many of these animals find it very hard to ever trust another human. Get high quality custom written essay just for $10 In a rather shocking revelation, research has discovered a correlation between those guilty of animal cruelty and individuals that are guilty of domestic violence and/or child abuse. Many people who participate in abuse and cruelty against children and adults began their cruelty on their family pets. One study stated that when people are being investigated for child abuse a staggering 88% of the pets in those families were subjected to some form of animal cruelty or abuse. Further studies have shown that if a child has a propensity for abusing animals that they are at a greater risk at being violent towards people in general at some point of their lives. When looking at women who enter shelters for domestic violence, between 71% – 83% of those women state their abuse partner abused or killed any pets the family owned. In recent years the reality of animal cruelty has become something not as hidden as it once was to the masses. Lawmakers have heard the outcries of animal activists and have taken steps to legal deal with perpetrators. In 46 states in the United States alone, felony charges are on the books for those convicted of first time offenses of animal cruelty. Other anti-cruelty laws on are the books to protect animals and prosecute those guilty of torturing, abusing, and aggravated cruelty against companion animals. To further get an accurate picture of how many animals are victims are subject to animal cruelty or abuse a year the FBI added a cruelty to animals category to the Uniform Crime Report in January of 2016. Individuals wanting to help with animal cruelty can report suspected animal abuse or neglect to the authorities. With the watchful eye of friends, family, and neighbors there is a greater chance of saving an innocent animal from a life of abuse and cruelty. The active involvement of the community on animal cruelty also helps prosecutors and law enforcement officers to target crimes against animals, potentially saving lives of hundreds if not thousands of animals. Resources: http://www.pawfectnation.org.za/news/153-animal-abuse-statistics-the-facts.html http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/facts/animal_cruelty_facts_statistics.html http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/qa/cruelty_violence_connection_faq.html?credit=web_id235304807 Rely on professional writers with your college paper and take a load off your mind. Relax while we are working on your essay. Your peace of mind is just one click away

The Impact of Lee Alexander McQueen in the Field of Fashion Assignment

The Impact of Lee Alexander McQueen in the Field of Fashion - Assignment Example This essay stresses that the disctinctive style and innovative designs would be identified and the popular celebrities who have contracted his services would be revealed. Finally, a quick glimpse on this financial standing prior to his demise would be presented to evaluate the extent of his impact on the industry. Brief Overview of Lee Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen was considered one of the most inspiring and creative fashion designers of his time. He was born on March 17, 1969 in Lewisham, London. His birthplace was strategically contributory to being closely immersed in the fashion industry through the influence of great designers within his realm. In the foreword of the book written about him by Watt, Daphne Guinness described McQueen as a friend who has been allegedly referred as â€Å"the fashion world’s darling, its rebel and pioneer† . Other adjectives that described McQueen included: designer, architect, artisan, inspired fantasist, defiant, obsessive, among others. Another author, described McQueen as: misogynist, genius, angel and devil, romantic, rude, foulmouthed, influential, innovative, brat, and was acknowledged to allegedly call himself â€Å"a big fat queer†. What was controversial in McQueen’s life was that in the midst of his success as a fashion designer, he opted to apparently end his life on February 11, 2010, at the age of 40 through suicide just after the death of his mother. His remarkable contribution to the fashion industry could have been summed by Slone who indicated that â€Å"Alexander McQueen was a lauded British fashion designer who incorporated prominent images of nature into his designs, from gazelle horned jackets to bird-of-prey ball gowns. His work was both critically acclaimed and massively popular, and his designs are works of art in themselves, worthy of further examination†.

Women in Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women in Islam - Essay Example According to Islam, in the eyes of Allah both men and women are equal. Before we can even begin to argue whether men and women are equal or not, we must define what we mean by equality. For depending on how one looks at it, one can easily argue that equality between men and women does not exist, or vice versa that it does. For instance from a physical and psychological point of view we can claim that the two are not equal. Due to their physical make up, women tend to experience more pain, especially during their menstrual cycles; a kind of pain that a man can never experience. Then generally men tend to be physically stronger then women, and as they grow old are faced with the prospect of balding, something that women rarely have to worry about. Thus if we were to look from this perspective we can claim that men and women cannot considered to be equal. That, "from the Islamic point of view, the question of the equality of men and women is meaningless. It is like discussing the equality of a rose and a jasmine. Each has its own perfume, color, shape and beauty. Men and women are not the same" (Jameelah, 5). However, such a view is ambiguous and misleading, and can be easily taken out of context to make the claim that men are superior to women. In general when we talk about equality, we refer to the rights of the individual, and in that sense Islam does states that both men and women are equal. To elaborate a bit further, "Islam adopts the perspective of gender equality, but it does not endorse the idea of gender equivalency. Islam affirms the difference between the natural dispositions and constitutions of men and women. Women have the ability to bear and nurse children, whereas men do not, so there is a lack of equivalency in regards to the physical and psychological make-up of men and women, but both enjoy rights and bear responsibilities, in which respect they are equal" (Gomaa, 1). The claim that Islam teaches all to treat women with respect and dignity and not to discriminate on the basis of gender, is made by both Gomaa and Jameelah in their articles. However, this point is more clear and more easily understood in 'Gender Equality in Islam', by Gomaa, when compared to 'The Feminist Movement and the Muslim Woman', by Jameelah. The reason for this is not because the topic of Gomaa's piece is about gender equality in Islam, it is because it is more focused, well thought out, when compared to Jamleeah's work. Furthermore, Gomaa provides more credibility to his article by using the Quran as his sole reference. It is common knowledge that the Quran is the most revered book in Islam, since that contains all the teachings of Islam in it. Furthermore, since Muslims also believe that the Quran was written by God himself, and hence a true devout Muslim cannot go against its teaching. If they do then they are not practicing Islam as it was meant to be. It is simply due to this fact that Gomaa has been able to add credibility to his article by using the Quran as his reference. Jameelah on the other hand, does not cite any references at all when she talks about women in Islam. She simply states either Islam says this, or that according to

The legalization of marijuana in the United States Research Paper

The legalization of marijuana in the United States - Research Paper Example However, there is also a giant percentage of public which believes that criminalization of marijuana possession has always been a defeated objective. It is a kind of government objective which has consumed a lot of manpower and valuable limited resources. However still, the government is nowhere close to discouraging the public from smoking marijuana. Basically, this research paper seeks to argue that cannabis should be legalized or decriminalized in the US. The paper will present and explicate multiple reasons to augment the argument that marijuana is a drug with a variety of uses and minor risks. To validate the argument, marijuana will also be compared with alcohol and tobacco as a way of demonstrating how marijuana is so much less detrimental than the latter substances and still looked down upon by the government with such intensity, which is absolutely unjustified. War on drugs, particularly marijuana, is a complete failure. It has consumed trillions of dollars to date and continues to exert more financial pressure on the American government with every passing day. Prohibition on this drug has affected society very badly because more people are reported or jailed for minor drug offenses and people have to go to extreme measures to get this drug. Many such measures often affect their self-esteem in a very bad way given the circumstances and the places they have to bear to get the drug discreetly. Research also claims that the main reason marijuana often affects users’ lives negatively is not because of the drug really, but â€Å"because of the consequences attached with using the drug† (Pitts cited in Millat). Research shows that the US government has wasted a lot of money to keep marijuana from reaching the market in the past. According to an estimate, the US government suffers a total cost of about $10 billion on an annual basis in myriad efforts to make the country free of this drug. On the other hand, the State of California produces

Customer Relationship Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example This research will begin with the importance of customer-centeredness. Businesses need to remember that nowadays, customers are more intelligent, well-informed and therefore more demanding than they ever were before. The Internet gives customers access to more information, and this allows them to educate themselves about products.   Therefore, they are intensely aware of what they have come to expect. In order to make sure that businesses of today can be successful, the business needs to make sure it is â€Å"customer-centered.† This implies a movement away from the former business focus of â€Å"process centered.†Ã‚   This shift means that businesses need to reorganize their focus by implanting a strategy geared toward success factors of the process, technology, people, and environment.   Management process will need to be examined and reviewed in order to make sure that wonderful and effective customer service is being provided. Businesses can gain an edge nowaday s if they are able to form management that focuses on good customer relationship skills.   This is often referred to as customer relationship management or CRM. The notion with CRM is to make sure the focus of the organization is the customer. Therefore, in order to make the company more customer-centered, it is important to ensure that all employees in the business contribute to the customer in the end.   Businesses that have been able to use this concept with success bring together the processes of people and technology.  

The supply and demand behind United States Oil prices Research Paper

The supply and demand behind United States Oil prices - Research Paper Example Production: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) syndicate accounts for 40 percent of the entire production of oil at the global level. The export of oil by the OECD countries represents approximately 60 percent of the total amount of oil traded in the international markets. The size of supply of crude oil by the OPEC countries is considerably large. This makes its activities and statements influence the oil prices prevailing in the world. Deliberate reduction in production by the OPEC countries leads to fall in prices of oil internationally.   Supply: 60 percent of the world’s oil supply comes from the non-OPEC countries. Although the group of non- OPEC countries is greater in size than the OPEC group, they are the price takers in the international market. This is because they do not enjoy any spare capacity. This implies that these suppliers merely act according to the market prices rather than making attempts to manipulating them. That is, they respond to market prices rather than attempting to manipulate them. The non OPEC countries produce nearly at the full capacity and lapse in production leads to rise in total oil supply. It gives the OPEC the facility to further maneuver world supplies.    Global oil inventories: Inventories of oil maintained globally balance the demand and supply of oil in the world. In case of greater production of oil than the level of demand, excess supplies are stored as inventories. Again these inventories can be used in a reverse situation. When consumption becomes greater than demand, inventories are utilized to meet this incremental demand. The relationship existing between the oil prices and inventories of oil allows the market to correct the effect of any disruptive activity. If the inventory is building up, it implies that there is excess supply. In this situation, oil prices drop ultimately leading to a fall in production. Thus it brings a balance between demand and supply. On the contrary, i f the level of inventory is negative, there is a shortage of supply compared to the demand level. The oil prices would rise and production of oil would also increase.   Financial markets: Trading in oil does not only involve the physical market. Oil brokers also make trade contracts that relate to future dealings in oil. Future delivery of oil is termed as â€Å"futures†. There are customers, such as airlines, that purchase futures in order to hedge against the possibility of oil price rise in future. This might bring unfavorable effects on the ability of the company to operate efficiently and profitably. Often oil producers make future contracts so that it might deliberately lock the price for a particular time period.   Demand: The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) mostly consist of the United States and the greater part of Europe and some other advanced countries. This organization takes the responsibility of the world’s 53 percent of t he total oil demand (Fessler, 2011). The member nations consume oil in much higher quantity than the non-OECD countries. However, they exhibit a lesser rate of growth. The demand from the OECD countries has gone down while that by the non OECD countries has gone up in the period of 10 years between 2000 and 2010 (Fessler, 2011).    Non-OECD demand: China, Saudi Arabia and India together had the

Interpretation of Statistics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interpretation of Statistics - Research Paper Example 2. The ages of the children at the time they underwent intestinal investigation is given in Table 1. Assume that all the children had their MMR immunisation at age 1 year. On average how much time elapsed between the MMR and investigation (calculate this) KM Madsen, A Hviid, M Vestergaard, D Schendel, J Wohlfahrt, P Thorsen, J Olsen, M Melbye. A Population-Based Study of Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccination and Autism. N England J Med, 2002 347: 1477-1482 Answer: Unlike case control study, cohort study gives the freedom to include samples both from affected (diseased) and unaffected (without disease i.e. control) pool. We can compare the effect of a specific phenomenon on both the population types simultaneously and draw inference accordingly through cohort study. Although, the cohort study is more expensive but, the validation of information on exposure is complete and always provide enough information on incidence rates of the diseases. Cohort study is a rare exposure and minimise bias in the exposure determination. But sometimes the diseases are rare. In that situation case-control study is a must which Examine multiple etiologic factors for a single disease. Answer: Information from the Danish Civil Registration System was used to identify the link from the accompanying adult to child. Thus, 98.5 percent of children were identified with the use of child's civil registry number or the civil-registry number of father or mother and the age of the child at the time of vaccination on the basis of additional information The remaining 1.5 percent of children were identified on the basis of additional information from Danish Civil Registration System on other relatives and information on the address at the time of vaccination. So far as the diagnosis is considered, all diagnosis were based on standard criteria like International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) which is similar to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) with regard to autism. e) Is this method of case ascertainment likely to identify all cases of autism in the cohort If some children with

Near field communication (NFC) and its validity as a secure system of Essay

Near field communication (NFC) and its validity as a secure system of data transfer - Essay Example Being a non-contact technology, the NFC is highly advantageous as it does not require establishment of physical electrical contact. As such, in applications such as those requiring the use of cards, there is no need of inserting cards that use NFC into the reader, thus avoiding any problems that may be associated with poor contact. It is important to note that NFC uses inductive-coupling at a license free frequency allocation in the radio spectrum HF portion(Ahson & Ilyas, 2012, p. 33). NFC has a set of standards that govern it thus allowing for connectivity between NFC devices from different manufacturers. Besides creating the contactless environment for NFC interactions, the standards also determine the data transfer rates and the data formats. An NFC connection is simply achieved by bringing two electronic devices together within a close range to allow them to communicate. This eradicates the problem with identification and minimizes the issue with security, allowing for easier exchange of information. The NFC can be used for a variety of applications including in: mobile phones to transfer files from one handset to another; personal computers to link up networks for data transmission; point-of sale machines; turnstiles; parking meters; vending machines; and in other applications in the house or office, such as opening and closing of the garage doors(Finkenzeller, 2010, p. 80). The NFC connections could also be applied in the configuration of the connection between two devices that have wireless connections. Bringing the devices together allows for the initiation of the NFC connection which in turn initiates the set-up procedure. Other long-range wireless devices including the Bluetooth could be configured through communication with the NFC interface(Coskun, et al., 2011). NFC are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attackswhich involve attackers succeeding in interception of the communication

Developing country Essay Example for Free

Developing country Essay Today’s world has been divided into developing and industrialised countries which the main difference between them is the amount of money that governments apply in important sectors such as education, health and commerce. Most of the poorer nations are buried in debts as a result of their unbalanced finances which are reflect in a failed health care, an unstructured education system and a weak international trade. This vicious cycle will continue indefinitely unless wealthier nations show interest in minimizing the worldwide economic differences, as well as taking more responsibility for assisting unfortunate countries. Most of the African countries live in sub-human conditions because of the extreme poverty, upheaval, hunger, disease, unemployment, lack of education and both inexperienced and corrupt administrations. The devastating consequences of the AIDS epidemic in those countries could improve if the infected populations receive free drugs to control the disease, have access to health professionals and get information on how to prevent its spread. But this can only be achieved through international help programs in which leaders of the world’s richest countries donate medicine and also send doctors and nurses to treat and educate those in need. Moreover, most of the poor countries rely on selling agricultural products and raw material to rich nations and buying industrialized products from them resulting in a huge financial deficit. Consequently, they borrow a significant amount of money from the World Bank to try to improve their broken economies, but sometimes the money disappears with no significant changes and they cannot even pay the interest to the bank. Regarding this issue, last year the G8, which is comprised of leaders of the eight richest nations, decided to forgive billions of dollars worth of debt owed by the world’s poorest nations. In addition, they developed adequate loan programs to financially assist those countries. In conclusion, leaders of the industrialised countries play an indispensable role in assisting developing nations deal with essential areas such as health, education and trade. Also, their aid is the key to breaking the vicious cycle, which results in poverty and death.

The theory of knowledge

The theory of knowledge IN EXPANDING THE FIELD OF KNOWLEDGE WE BUT INCREASE THE HORIZON OF IGNORANCE (HENRY MILLER). IS THIS TRUE? Knowledge is the antonym of ignorance. When we are faced with two opposites, the general notion is that if one increases the other is bound to decrease. Take a pigment for example. The darker pigment you add to your paint, the less lighter it would get. To understand this stance, we must first understand the definition of knowledge and ignorance. However, knowledge is too extensive to be defined in one sentence and discussed in one essay. Therefore, I will be limiting my writing to few areas of knowledge such as religion, language, science and mathematics to enforce my evaluation. Henry Miller talks about the increase in the horizon of ignorance and I feel that horizon is the perfect word for describing ignorance. Karl Popper stated that, Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite. I support his premise because the scope for ignorance is as vast as that of knowledge. As we obtain more knowledge, we only find more fields that could be developed even further, thereby, increasing our ignorance. Barring few exceptions, we can connect this to almost all areas of knowledge because, just like the horizon, as we get closer to it and we think that we have found the final answer, only to realize that, in reality, we are still far away from the end point. A common opinion is that as we increase our knowledge, we get less ignorant because we learn more. Citing environmental science, as we learn more about global warming, we find out the detrimental effects of objects which we were unaware of before, thereby, decreasing our ignorance on this issue. However, we realize that we are oblivious to so many other issues, which we never knew about before, only to discover that our field of horizon has increased. The more acquainted we get with religion, the more aloof we get to the prevailing norms in society. To gain religious knowledge one has to lose, till a certain extent, contact with the outside world. This is because if one actually has to follow one of these books diligently, he ought to compromise with the present customs of society. Looking at Hinduism, there are so many traditions such as Sati that have been abolished by society. Most religions stress the importance of simplicity and abbreviation from materialistic goods. The great sages and priests of the twenty-first century stay as far away from civilization as possible, to get away from the existing crimes and seek solace in the isolated areas. The main reason for this is that these books have been written so many years back that it is impractical for most of the people to follow most, if not all, traditions encrypted in these books. Hence, in gaining this knowledge one gets ignorant and becomes unaware of the scenario in the real world. Looking at a simple arithmetic problem; since kindergarten we have learned that when one and one is added, the end result is two. However, as we study further on and learn about other base theorems such as the Base two theorem where one plus one is not two, it is ten. Only then do we discover that we have so much more to learn about, like other base theorems and how we were ignorant about other base theorems apart from the base ten theorems used primarily in daily life. On learning more theorems, we realize that there are so many fields that we have not even looked at. Hence, arent we ignorant? Isaac Newton discovered Calculus in the seventeenth century. Only after this discovery did we learn the significance of this discovery in other fields such as science, engineering and even mathematics itself. Calculus enabled us to mathematically describe the dimensions of the physical universe and lead to the discovery of Modern science. Once the great scholars of the renaissance period understood the working of Calculus, it opened up doors to aspects of Mathematics and Science that were never even dreamt about before. The further development in these areas of knowledge facilitated us to expand our knowledge in computer science, business studies and engineering. On discovery of these relatively new fields of knowledge, we now understand the potential that lies in front of us to expand our knowledge even more, but this would only open up new areas that we would be ignorant to. As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious. This statement byAlbert Schweitzer is apt for nearly all areas of knowledge. As our knowledge increases we do understand so many new concepts and theories. Space has always been connected with mystery. The development in the field of space science has been tremendous. Forty years back, Man went to the moon for the first time. Since then, we have developed some amazing space shuttles and rockets to boost the advance in the field of astronomy. But as we discover more about our Solar System, we only realize that we are ignorant to so many issues about further planets that we would never think about if our knowledge had not increased. Citing the example of the first space shuttle to land on Mars, when we barely had enough knowledge about the planet, we always thought that life on Mars would be impossible and discounted life on any other planet, beside Earth, too. However, on more research and expeditions, Man found traces of water on Mars that could indicate the possibility of life in Mars. Thereby, increasing our field of knowledge has shed light on so many issues. We learn about so many new aspects as exemplified in the above examples tha t we only get more confused because of the enormity of knowledge or potential knowledge that could be acquired available to us. Looking at the flipside, we must understand that even before acquiring more knowledge, we were still ignorant to all the possible developments that increased our horizon of ignorance. It is only that we were aware of what we are ignorant about, after gaining more knowledge. The only difference is that we now know that we are ignorant about these new fields we do not have any knowledge about. Human beings have constantly evolved from premature cavemen to sophisticated and complex men. The reason for this is the thirst for more knowledge as we only get more curious to learn more. Our curiosity has been the main motivating factor for us to question our intellect and discover more. This drive to know everything pushes us to acquire more and more knowledge. The only way we can expand our current knowledge is by knowing more about those fields that we are aware about but are ignorant of. As we try to learn more about these topics, we ultimately reduce the ignorance that increased when we first discovered about these subjects. Language is one area of knowledge that goes against Henry Millers opinion, particularly when we improve our vocabulary. As we stumble across new words, all we need to do is look up a dictionary to find the meaning of that word and we have acquired new knowledge without getting more ignorant. After finding out the meaning, we have gained knowledge about that word and our quest is over. Knowledge is the expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education. It is the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. Experience is a journey from the womb to the tomb. Hence, throughout our life we keep on acquiring knowledge, it is a never-ending process. Analysing both sides, I comply with John F Kennedy that, The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds. I feel that when we span across new areas or develop any existing theory or knowledge, we only find new paths that could lead to more developments. Only then do we realize that we are ignorant to so many subjects that we would have never come across before, if we had not increased our knowledge. We probably would never be ignorant of anything if we had not started our quest for knowledge because if we were unknowledgeable we would not be ignorant to anything, we would probably not know the meaning of ignorance itself. BIBLIOGRAPHY: answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080404212819AAxaEPM 53k answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080517080546AAv8hzF 62k forums.philosophyforums.com/threads/expansion-of-knowledge-29878.html 35k http://www.math.wright.edu/People/Richard_Mercer/Classes/Common /WhyCalculus.html http://www.thinkexist.com http://www.wikipedia.org The Theory Of Knowledge The Theory Of Knowledge Option 3; Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. (Albert Einstein) Do you agree? Alexandra Albers Einsteins quote is essentially a tautology, as it says the same thing twice. The statement defines, to a certain extent, both knowledge and imagination in such a manner that the claim is true by definition, making imagination the more important of the two definitions. The claim can be seen as logical as it defines both issues; knowledge as being limited to all we now know and understand and imagination as embracing the entire world. Although both definitions can be seen as true as they are logical, does it make the statement true? And more importantly, does it make imagination more important than knowledge? The statement speaks of the relative importance of knowledge and imagination, raising the question whether imagination is more important than knowledge. In order to address the issue effectively, we need to understand the issue of importance. Importance can be defined as something of great significance or value  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  , something that should be noted and paid attention to. This definition suggests that knowledge is more important than imagination as knowledge is reality. Everything we know and see as reality which to us has been confirmed through knowledge. Imagination can be defined as the formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  this suggests that imagination is an extension of knowledge rather than a replacement thereof. Knowledge is defined as The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered or learned.  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  Thus knowledge cannot exist without the necessary information and data that needs to be processed in order to acquire this knowledge in questioning its validity, truth and reliability. Einsteins full quote starts as follows; I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  this suggests that he was not saying that imagination is always of greater importance but rather that it played a vital role in his life as Einstein was a creative person this is emphasised by the fact that he says I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.  [CITATION Alb29 l 7177]  This also shows the importance he sees in imagination and much of his work is probably reflected by his love for music. Imagination plays a large role in the thought process, as we perceive things with perception and therefore the use of our senses. We then remember this thought in our minds and can then re-imagine this perception when we require the knowledge associated with the sense. Once we have this base of knowledge, we can then apply creative imagination to the original thought or prior perception for example when imagining an image of a flower for which you have acquired the knowledge of how it looks, only afterwards can one use creative imagination to add to this initial image when painting a picture or something similar and then using imagination to change the way it is seen in reality. Hence imagination can be used as an extension to knowledge. This suggests that knowledge is a base for imagination as imagination often stems from knowledge. For example, fairy tales and other fictional stories are as a result of the authors imagination. The imagination which originated from the authors basis for knowledge- their sense of perception. After the writer has acquired the base of the story, a firm grasp of language to communicate the imagination and other knowledge issues are required, without which the story would not exist. Many of these stories were also written with an underlying purpose or message. For example in little red riding hood the moral lesson of the story is not to talk to strangers and to be careful who you trust. Suggesting that this way of knowing provides the basis for the story. Ethics are an area of knowledge which In the case of fairy tales are described using emotion and language as these stories are designed to relate to the reader. In order to write this story effectively, the author needs to have an understanding and knowledge of moral issues that he plans to address with his childrens book. Generally speaking, in order to have moral and ethical values, one needs knowledge of what is right or wrong. Although this is subjective knowledge and people therefore have different moral and ethical views, this is still an area of knowledge and something that one is taught as a child and can therefore be considered knowledge. These underlying messages can also be linked to emotion, as the writer must have felt strongly about this theme or message and this is a way of knowing and because he has emotions regarding the issue, it can be considered a form of knowledge. According to Einstein, the use of creative imagination to overthrow existing scientific theories when they become outdated and fail to cover known knowledge, imagination plays a role as it takes this base of knowledge and can improve upon it. Einstein is a conceptual physicist and therefore comes up with new scientific concepts using imagination and then develops it using knowledge. For example Einstein noticed the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his theory of relativity was a result of his attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with those of the electromagnetic field. Dealing with statistical mechanics and problems merged with quantum theory, leading to Einsteins Brownian motion theory. Einstein would have not have been able to do without his prior knowledge and areas of knowledge, including; science, maths and history of the atomic structure and the knowledge he gained from scientists before him. This suggests like in the case of Einstein, imagination requires a basis o f knowledge, without which this imagination would be useless. Knowledge can be seen as a basis for imagination. Thus there are still certain cases in which imagination exists without former knowledge, for example Einsteins theory of the relativity of time. Which suggests that time is relative and that time seems to go faster when one is doing something enjoyable than it does when one is simply waiting for time to pass. Einstein established this theory using his imagination. This shows that although there are only few such examples, there are still counterclaims to the argument that knowledge is more important than imagination. Imagination might be part of knowledge, and vice versa, thereby suggesting that these terms are not separate, in which case, knowledge is not everything we now know. We acquire knowledge through the ways of knowing, which include emotion, reason, perception and language. For example, subjective knowledge is involved in emotion, as well as in imagination, therefore because everybody interprets an issue in their own way, knowledge cannot be limited to all we now know. Even Einsteins definition of imagination includes the word know suggesting that imagination is a part of knowledge. Although imagination is in fact more flexible than knowledge, this does not make it of greater importance. For example, someone who is blind from birth and has never seen what we perceive as reality will not be able to imagine something that is normal for someone with perfect sight. This emphasises that knowledge is gained through perception and in this case sight, because we have this knowledge, it is easy for us to imagine an image that we have seen before. As the blind person would never have seen this image, they cannot imagine it. Therefore without this knowledge, imagination is of little importance. Thus a blind person Might imagine things differently as a person with full sight suggesting that they might even have a broader imagination as theirs is not limited to imperial knowledge, for example there are several extremely talented blind artists who make use of their heightened senses other than sight to produce an image of their imagination without the knowledge from sight. Th is shows that to a certain extent imagination can also be transformed into reality. As explored throughout they essay it seems that although imagination and knowledge go hand in hand in most cases, imagination cannot exist without knowledge whereas knowledge can exist without imagination. Especially in the past where imagination was less important. Such as in tribes where the main objective was to sustain life by looking for food , as they did not have the necessary scientific apparatus, to investigate whether or not it was edible, people could only find out by eating the unknown plants and observing the effects on the people of the tribe. The tribes also observed the food that other animals in their environment ate and could then using logic derive that they could probably also eat the same plants. From these experiments and observations, the tribe people gained purely knowledge as they learned whether or not this plant can be eaten in the future. In conclusion, I do not agree with the Albert Einstein quote as i find knowledge to be more important than imagination because in essence, as explored throughout the essay, imagination, unlike knowledge does not necessarily define or create an image of reality, but is rather an aspiration. Something that we imagine to be true rather than something that is true in reality. Knowledge on the other hand, is something true. Some confirmation of reality that we can accept to be true. Suggesting that reality is of greater importance than the ideal, which is imagination. Thus as shown throughout the essay, there are limitations and counter claims to both opinions of the relative importance of knowledge and imagination. This shows that they are essentially related.

Analysis of FedEx marketing channels

Analysis of FedEx marketing channels Generally, a channel designed to make the service available to customers. A service without good marketing channel consider useless because it is not accessible for customer to get the service. FedEx as a service company that mainly focuses on transportation or shipment services, channel played an important role leading to success. FedEx need a good channel to get and reach more customers. FedEx has a strong network structure linking all the market together. FedEx serves more than 220 countries and territories currently. Further, these networks are linked up by land, air and ocean transportation. FedExs service covered all around the globe, making services available for customers from many countries and almost every place. FedEx has many drops off location around the globe. Customer can choose either one drop- off location that is nearest to them. FedEx has great air network, having more than 320 daily international flight and 654 aircraft ready to ship the packages. FedEx has many hubs around the world working as a midpoint of delivering the packages. There are four hubs in Asia pacific. That is Shanghai, Osaka, Seoul and Guang Zhou. Besides, FedEx has hubs in London, Colonge, Frankfurt and Paris which will later ship the parcel around the European area. Moreover, hubs that link the Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada was in Memphis and Miami. One thing that makes FedEx so special out of so many transportation or shipping company is the collection of airplane uses by FedEx in order to ship the parcel. FedEx is the first company who use the plane called Boeing 777. The uniqueness of the plane is the plane is fuel saver. It shorter the transit time with larger space to put the parcel. This had made the overnight carrier service possible. FedEx was famous in its overnight service. Customers can receive their packages at the same time on the next day. The strong backbone of shipping network structure by FedEx makes this service available. An example given to explained how FedEx manage to ship the parcel between 24 hours and reach at 10.30am. A customer decided to ship his parcel from Shang Hai to New York City. FedEx pick up the shipment in time to make the same-day trans-oceanic flight. FedEx picked up the package from client at the time of 4:50 pm, Tuesday. The package was delivered to Shang Hais facility for sorting process. Then, the package reaches Shang Hai Pudong International Airport at 9:30 pm. At 11:30 pm, the package leaves China and in the Boeing 777 aircraft on the way direct to Memphis, Tenn. The flight travel east of the Pacific Ocean and passed the International Date Line. At the time 11:30 pm, the package arrived in Memphis. In Memphis, the package was on loaded, cleared, sorted and reloaded on to a flight from Memphis to Newark. In Newark, the shipment ship by truck to New York City. This is how the package from Shang Hai reach client in New York City and at the time 10:30 am Wednesday. From the example, the package was first picked up and sends to the facility for process, then to airport. The package then reach the hub and been process again. Finally, the package was delivered by motorized vehicle. FedEx has more than 43,000 motorized vehicles which make FedEx manage to reach many places in different country. Example of motorized vehicle commonly used by FedEx was trucks, vans, containers, and also tricycles. FedEx delivered by electrically-assisted tricycles in Paris to avoid traffic jam in order to ship in time. The tricycle was designed to put packages back on the tricycle. It has a removable storage container that places between the back two wheels. It is 100 per cent electrical and it has to start manually. It is 100 per cent eco-friendly and it enable delivery work more efficient even faster that a car or truck. FedEx not only ship with aircraft and motorized vehicles, but also by ocean cargo. It provides another choice for customer to choose. The ocean cargo services provided by FedEx linking North America, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East together. Besides, FedEx has enough amount of ocean cargo to make their services, choosing on the space of cargo available. For example, allow customer to have full-container-load (FCL) for user that need huge space and less-than-container-load (LCL) for those customer that do not need so much cargo space. Further, FedEx has ocean cargo with different facility like refrigerator, on-board cranes, on the cargo ship to provide the service like ship dry or liquid bulk shipments and handle heavy shipments to smaller ports. Moreover, customers usually expect their package to ship in time with good condition. FedEx understand that and come out a solution that is provided packing service. It tried to help in avoiding damage in packages. In order to make the service available, one of the FedExs subsidiary company was designed to become one of the channels in helping customers to pack their packages. So, customers can now bring their package to any of the FedEx Office and ask for pack up service. Further, FedEx knows that this the era of information technology. Everyone seems to be online often and many things can be done online. FedEx understand that there is a need to open a web site as a channel in order to make the service available for more people, especially for those who seldom go out and always do online shopping. The website makes the process of shipping easier. Everyone can use the service. Now, FedExs customer can ship online with few step and avoid many process of filling up the forms. FedEx reach customers in many different ways. Beside of online, by air, by land, and by sea, FedEx reach customers by telephone and fax. This is another channel provided by FedEx to customer called and pick up service. In order to provide convenient to customer, understanding some people might think lazy to go out just for dropping a small package, and also for people who definitely very busy and lack of time, called and pick up service is a very good way to reach them. Customer can just dial FedExs customer service number and ask for a pick up. FedEx will pick up the package from you and the great thing was the time count once the package was picked up by them. Further, Customer can fax to the company to have the service. In another hand, mobile phone or smart phone are uses as a channel to reach more customers. Smart phone become very popular nowadays. People tend to have one smart phone to do many tasks on the go. FedEx makes the website of FedEx available for smart phone user, trying to attract more customers to use their service. FedEx customer can do tracking of parcel, schedule a pick up, and even billing by using phone. It makes the service become very convenient especially for those who usually travel around and wish to deliver their parcel. FedEx understand the important of customer service. So, a company called FedEx Service is there specialized in information technology. They providing back up and information like tracking information, customers detail, and customers history of using FedExs services, estimate the duties and taxes and handle the claims and complaints. Besides, the company also provides information about the service and company. It is to make the customer service and online tool available at all the time whenever customer needed them. Furthermore, it is a guide for customer because much information was provided on the web site. One of the channels in marketing is employee. As a service provider, employee is the first who reach the customer and make the service available. It often leads to satisfaction of customer. In order to make the service deliver in a certain standard, employee is been train. The employees required test in every six months to ensure their skills meet minimum acceptable requirements. Extra training was required for those who are not met the minimum requirement. Employees need to go through computer-based training, satellite broad-cast training, and staff-conducted training in order to perform the service to customer. FedExs channels are backed by the computer system called COSMOS. That is Customers, Operations and Services Master Online System. It is a centralized computer system to manage people, packages, vehicles and weather scenarios in real time. It is to make sure all the channels are working properly.

Tennessee Williams Essay -- essays research papers

Tennessee Williams   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tennessee Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams on March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. As a child, he lived with his mother and grandfather. When he was fourteen, Williams too first place in an essay contest sponsored by a national magazine, The Smart Set. At the age of seventeen, his first published story appeared in the August 1928 issue of Weird Tales. A year later Williams entered the University of Missouri but in 1932 he withdrew and took a job at the shoe factory where his father held a job as a sales manager. In 1935 Williams returned to college and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1938. Williams had begun writing plays while attending the University of Missouri and after his graduation he had supported himself doing a variety of small jobs. In 1939 he won a national drama award for a group of plays called American Blues. Williams achieved his first great stage success with The Glass Menagerie, which was produced in New York City in 1945. This play won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Prize as the years best play. Williams averaged two plays a year since that time. On February 4, 1983, Tennessee Williams died in New York City. Throughout Williams' lifetime he has put forth more than twenty- five full-length plays, more than forty short plays, a dozen produced (and unproduced) screenplays and an opera libretto. These have been translated into at least twenty-seven languages, including Tamil, Welsh, Ma...

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Essay -- Amazing Adventures

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a story of defiance, of successfully breaking and escaping the oppressive mores of society with skill and tenacity, and an embodiment the novelistic tradition of disregard for the monolithic structure on which our world is based. The book is set up around the theme of â€Å"the carnivalesque†, and shows how this rebel attitude can be taken up like a mantel, so a character can make change and find happiness in an oppressive world. These characters come to realize that the carnivalesque is the true way to live, and it is only when they wear the mantle full time that they find satisfaction in their life. In the German occupied Prague, the Jews have been earmarked for hardship and extinction at the hands of the Nazis. Joseph Kavalier, a young man of a bohemian Jewish family, spent his youth under the tutelage of a great escape artist. Fascinated with slight of hand tricks, stealth, and lock picking, Joseph is taught all manner of clandestine skills. It is with these abilities, that he is able to revel in the carnivalesque and escape where others are constrained by their insistence on following the rules. The great protector of the Jews is the golem of Prague from ancient myth, a fantastic example of the Carnivalesque in the form of a Cabalic defiance of power. With the knowledge of how to activate the Golem lost to time, the secret society charged with protecting it must smuggle their massive charge out of Prague before the Nazis discover its location. Young Joseph, already hoodwinked by a bribed Nazi emigration offical, sees in the Golem his opportunity to escape. With the Golem dressed in an enormous suit and posed as a dead... ...tions that determine the structure and order of ordinary . . . life are suspended . . ." (Kohl) Oppressed as he is, Joe fails to embrace the carnivalesque and so fail his family and his love ones. Only by escaping his place in the order and suspending the rules can he manage to make change. As you can see, the Carnivalesque is key to these characters. Though Sam finds that by putting on the cloak of the Carnival, he finds satisfaction, Joe, despite his excellent talents, fails to make the final leap of logic in time to make meaningful change. His family dies and he goes without his loved ones for years because of his failure to take up the mantle of the Carnivalesque. It is not until he returns, soiled as his repuation is, to his old love and son, where their strange new family unit is questioned and mocked by the world, that he finally finds his satisfaction. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Essay -- Amazing Adventures The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a story of defiance, of successfully breaking and escaping the oppressive mores of society with skill and tenacity, and an embodiment the novelistic tradition of disregard for the monolithic structure on which our world is based. The book is set up around the theme of â€Å"the carnivalesque†, and shows how this rebel attitude can be taken up like a mantel, so a character can make change and find happiness in an oppressive world. These characters come to realize that the carnivalesque is the true way to live, and it is only when they wear the mantle full time that they find satisfaction in their life. In the German occupied Prague, the Jews have been earmarked for hardship and extinction at the hands of the Nazis. Joseph Kavalier, a young man of a bohemian Jewish family, spent his youth under the tutelage of a great escape artist. Fascinated with slight of hand tricks, stealth, and lock picking, Joseph is taught all manner of clandestine skills. It is with these abilities, that he is able to revel in the carnivalesque and escape where others are constrained by their insistence on following the rules. The great protector of the Jews is the golem of Prague from ancient myth, a fantastic example of the Carnivalesque in the form of a Cabalic defiance of power. With the knowledge of how to activate the Golem lost to time, the secret society charged with protecting it must smuggle their massive charge out of Prague before the Nazis discover its location. Young Joseph, already hoodwinked by a bribed Nazi emigration offical, sees in the Golem his opportunity to escape. With the Golem dressed in an enormous suit and posed as a dead... ...tions that determine the structure and order of ordinary . . . life are suspended . . ." (Kohl) Oppressed as he is, Joe fails to embrace the carnivalesque and so fail his family and his love ones. Only by escaping his place in the order and suspending the rules can he manage to make change. As you can see, the Carnivalesque is key to these characters. Though Sam finds that by putting on the cloak of the Carnival, he finds satisfaction, Joe, despite his excellent talents, fails to make the final leap of logic in time to make meaningful change. His family dies and he goes without his loved ones for years because of his failure to take up the mantle of the Carnivalesque. It is not until he returns, soiled as his repuation is, to his old love and son, where their strange new family unit is questioned and mocked by the world, that he finally finds his satisfaction.

ancestry: roots :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The experiment calls for us to trace our ancestry in any manner possible and trace where we as an ethnicity came from. I decided to concentrate on my mothers’ side of the family because it is more interesting and something other members in my family have already started to investigate. I choose not to concentrate on my fathers’ side because being Mexican is the general term people associate me with. I wanted to elaborate on the other part of my culture, being Native American.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the stories my great grandmother told my mother back in the day, we have always known that we were Native American Indians. When my mother was told these stories it was not that big of a deal to be Indian, therefore she did not pay much attention to detail. After my great grandfather died, we found out his brother was receiving benefits from certain Indian tribes and was entitled to land. This information made my mother and her siblings start to question their original background in specific detail. When they contacted their uncle he had no information for them and told them that he would not share how he was able to receive benefits. He told my aunt that he wanted the family to work hard and not accept free money. My aunt explained that she just wanted to know about her father, who was deceased by now, so my great uncle shared some stories with her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We found out that my great grandfather was from the Mascalero-Apache tribe in New Mexico. He was born in New Mexico, Katilino Quivas, in the late 1890’s. He was kicked out of his own tribe for marrying my great grandmother, who was from a different tribe. Some people in my family say that he was the chief of the tribe, so then did he kick himself out? We are not sure if that is true and are trying to find literature on the notion. What we do know is that he changed his last name from Quivas to Beltran. At that time there was a lot of segregation and hostility towards Indians. His brother notes that it was better to be considered Mexican than Indian at the time, for Indians were lower than Blacks. They concealed their Native American background and hid the fact that they were from a tribe. Katilino Beltran then joined the army and fought in World War I. ancestry: roots :: essays research papers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The experiment calls for us to trace our ancestry in any manner possible and trace where we as an ethnicity came from. I decided to concentrate on my mothers’ side of the family because it is more interesting and something other members in my family have already started to investigate. I choose not to concentrate on my fathers’ side because being Mexican is the general term people associate me with. I wanted to elaborate on the other part of my culture, being Native American.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the stories my great grandmother told my mother back in the day, we have always known that we were Native American Indians. When my mother was told these stories it was not that big of a deal to be Indian, therefore she did not pay much attention to detail. After my great grandfather died, we found out his brother was receiving benefits from certain Indian tribes and was entitled to land. This information made my mother and her siblings start to question their original background in specific detail. When they contacted their uncle he had no information for them and told them that he would not share how he was able to receive benefits. He told my aunt that he wanted the family to work hard and not accept free money. My aunt explained that she just wanted to know about her father, who was deceased by now, so my great uncle shared some stories with her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We found out that my great grandfather was from the Mascalero-Apache tribe in New Mexico. He was born in New Mexico, Katilino Quivas, in the late 1890’s. He was kicked out of his own tribe for marrying my great grandmother, who was from a different tribe. Some people in my family say that he was the chief of the tribe, so then did he kick himself out? We are not sure if that is true and are trying to find literature on the notion. What we do know is that he changed his last name from Quivas to Beltran. At that time there was a lot of segregation and hostility towards Indians. His brother notes that it was better to be considered Mexican than Indian at the time, for Indians were lower than Blacks. They concealed their Native American background and hid the fact that they were from a tribe. Katilino Beltran then joined the army and fought in World War I.

Shell Case Study

The Case Study on â€Å"Organizational change at Royal Dutch/Shell† This case study on â€Å"Organizational Change at Royal Dutch/Shell† deals with the organizational change that the world’s largest non-state-owned oil company made to respond its operating environmental changes in 1990s (Hill, C 2005, pp. 476-477) While there are a few different structures of global organizations such as worldwide area structure, worldwide product divisional structure and global matrix structure, the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch/Shell (hereinafter Shell) decided to be structured with a matrix structure from the 1950s until 1994.Under the matrix structure, the head of each operating company reported to two bosses; one boss was responsible for the geographical region or country and the other was responsible for the business activity worldwide (Shell’s business activities included oil exploration and production, oil products, chemicals, gas and coal). There were two major benefits that Shell enjoyed from this matrix structure for about 40 years. First, their decision making process was based on the consensus building between the two bosses. Because of its side effects such as slow and cumbersome process, it might be not proper for some organizations.However as the nature of Shell’s business environment is that most big decisions are long-term ones that involve huge capital expenditures and as a result they could review thoroughly all the big decisions, this decision making process was beneficial to the company. Second, this slow decision making process caused substantial decentralization by default to the heads of the individual operating companies. Thanks to this decentralization, Shell could respond to local differences in government regulations, competitive conditions and consumer tastes.Even though there were drawbacks such as slow and cumbersome process, the matrix structure fit the environment of the global oil and chemical industries in the 1980s. In the 1980s, Shell sought to grow through acquisition. It bought out the remaining 30% shareholding in Shell Oil in 1985 to consolidate its American operations. While the oil price plummeted in the winter of 1986 when the price fell from $31 per barrel to $10, Shell managed its budget by half: the company had to work much harder to develop new projects more cheaply. As a esult, Shell could make huge improvements in drilling techniques such as slim-hole drilling and directional drilling. The use of 3D seismic became widespread. (from Shell’s official homepage; 1980s to the new millennium). All of these activities worked well under the matrix structure of Shell until the end of 1980s. There was a huge environmental change in 1990. It’s the Gulf War. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, partly prompted by the low price of oil, led to uncertainty about production and prices spiked. Iraq wanted to gain control of the world's third largest oil producer to give it more control over the world market.Following the Gulf war to liberate Kuwait, crude oil prices entered a period of steady decline, reaching their lowest level in 1994 for 21 years (BBC, Why the oil price keeps rising, June 2008). As the oil prices declined, naturally there was pressure on Shell’s profit margins. Although it had traditionally been among the most profitable oil companies in the world, its relative performance began to slip in the early 1990s as its competitors adapted rapidly to the environment changes. As a result, this suggested that the Shell senior management team review its strategy and the fit between strategy and organizational structure.In 1995, Shell abandoned its 40 year old matrix structure and adopted divisional line structure based on its new strategy to lower the operating costs just as its competitors did. Under the new divisional line structure, Shell now operates with five global product divisions- exploration and production, oil products, chemical, gas and coal. The difference between the organization after 1995 and that before 1994 is that the power of the each global division will increase and the responsibilities of the country (or regional) chefs are reduced.The Shell’s change led to enhanced fit between operating environment, strategy and organizational architecture. As mentioned earlier, Shell's operating environment changed in the early of 1990s with continuing slack demand for oil and weak oil price which caused pressure on profit margins. In order to overcome the challenges, Shell changed its strategy to lowering operating costs by a sharp reduction in head office overhead and the elimination of unnecessary duplication of facilities across countries.This new strategy could be achieved via the change of its reorganization in 1995 from matrix organization to divisional lines structure. As a result of the change, Shell could reduce the need for a large head office bureaucracy and eliminated unnecessary duplicatio n of facilities across countries. Eventually, production may be consolidated in lager facilities that serve an entire region, rather than a single country, with which it could enjoy the greater scale economies. In summary, Shell’s organizational structure change in 1995 could contribute its business strategy changes which were driven by the operating environment changes.

Digital Marketing: Benefits Consumers or Advertisers?

The internet has revolutionized a lot of things in our lives, including one of our favorite hobbies, shopping. Shopping has gone to a new level in the new millennium. Online shopping has hit the market with consumers and advertisers trying to buy and sell products. Customers now have the opportunity to search for their required products online, with a price that they want and with a price that fits their wallets. On the other hand, advertisers can now easily market their products online without even renting a shop!So many websites like Buy. com, Amazon. com, NewEgg. com and many others have come with their websites to feature various advertisers and suppliers to market their products on their websites where online consumers from across the globe can purchase these products and services. So who has more control over digital products and services? In my opinion, advertisers have more control over consumers. First of all, advertisers have the opportunity to market their products to an i nternational market without even having a shop.All they have to do is to search a product that is wanted by the market, and take some pictures of this product and put in on websites like e-bay or even create an own site for free! Potential consumers from all over the world will be able to see this product, and if it is a wanted product, business will start booming. According to recent research, it was estimated that there was around 1 billion internet users in 2008 and this number is expected to grow annually (Bischof et.al 2000). It could be assumed that the internet market would keep growing and that would give internet advertisers a vast opportunity to advertise and market their products online. Therefore, this mainly benefits advertisers over consumers. Apart from that, advertisers will also have the opportunity to position themselves to cater to selected market segments due to the wide variety of consumers from different countries and expectations (Bischof et. al 2000).To do th is, an advertiser must first study the market segment so that the advertiser can then study the behavior of the consumer and understand the consumers’ expectations and therefore capture this market segment (Rodgers & Thorson 2000). The size of this market share may increase or decrease according to population growth and other social, economic and environmental factors. Even if advertisers get 1% out of the 1 billion internet market, they will be making a lot of money due to the volume of business online.Apart from that, if advertisers could find their ideal positioning in the market, the advertiser’s brand or business name would be easily spread thru the internet as there are many third party websites that allow consumers to share their views and opinions on certain products or services. As a matter of fact, from the above, advertisers are actually choosing who they want to sell their products or services too, again a benefit towards advertisers rather than consumers. There is also a competitive environment online which would keep the company growing and not stagnant like a brick and mortar store.Advertisers can now track the number of customers that are visiting their websites (Wind & Mahajan 2001). This will give them an indication as to the number of customers that they get every month and the number of purchases made. With this information, these advertisers could get an idea of how well or how poor their business is doing; and by using this information, companies can then decide on their next course of action. Consumers can compare price, product brand, quality and other features online while sharing notes with other fellow consumers.As mentioned above, there are also third party websites who function as an intermediary between sellers and consumers who provide full details of price and product quality rating that makes it easy for consumers to choose from. Competition is good for advertisers as it allows the company to grow and make more pr ofit and therefore once again, benefits advertisers over consumers. Keeping this in mind, advertisers also have the opportunity to check out competition online and provide competitive products to their customers.According to Wang et. al (2001), customers who are happy with their purchases are less likely to have complaints and are therefore more prone to become return customers. Return customers could mean loyal customers that allow advertisers to sell their products and services without the worry of finding new online customers. Apart from that, if the advertisers’ product or service is compatible or better than the competitors’ products, there will be free publicity of the product by third party reviews.Although most research actually argue that consumers have more benefits than advertisers, based on the argument above, advertisers manipulate consumers into thinking that they have more benefits when they actually do not. Websites who promote themselves as catering to customer needs are actually advertisers themselves, and therefore this creates an illusion to the customer that they are controlling what and how the shop online. As a conclusion, digital marketing benefits the advertisers more than the consumers.To summarize, one of the reasons for this is that advertisers have the opportunity to market their products to an international market without even having a shop. Furthermore, advertisers will also have the opportunity to position themselves to cater to selected market segments due to the wide variety of consumers from different countries and expectations. Apart from that, there is also a competitive environment online which would keep the company growing and not stagnant like a brick and mortar store. Advertisers also have the opportunity to check out competition online and provide competitive products to their customers.

H&M Analysis Essay

1. Question 1 Evaluate the external environment in which H & M operates in. 1.1. PESTEL Analysis 1.1.1. Political As companies begin to expand globally, it needs to understand the laws of each country. Since each country regulations are different, its needs to take special consideration before entering and investing into a new market in order to prevent violating any of them. This is especially true when regulations involving imports and exports are affected. While the restrictions of goods shipments may not be a major concern, selection and switching of suppliers relating to manufacturing and outsourcing can greatly affect profit margins, production costs as well as other incentives in different areas. Moreover, laws governing corporate social responsibility like minimum wages, child labour and other environmental issues affect organisational growth. 1.1.2. Economic Due to inflation, the rising costs of raw materials like cotton are felt globally. This in turn forces manufacturers to increase their production cost and future affecting potential profits globally. As international trade liberalises, the demand for suppliers and manufacturers in low-wage countries increases and completion between fashion retailers intensifies. In-addition, the recent economic crisis has affected consumer spending patterns, forcing organisations to push their retail prices low to meet consumers’ lower spending power. 1.1.3. Social/Cultural Different cultures have different fashion senses, likewise while consumers in Europe like Sweden embraces ‘fast Fashion’, Customers in Asia for example Singapore adopts fashion at a slow pace. To understand ‘local fashion’, most companies depend on home grown designers or in-house sales employees to pick up the latest treads to redesign their products. Moreover consumers globally are growing more conscious about the environment, which encourages the production of environmental friendly/sustainable products. 1.1.4. Technological As technology develops, consumers are getting more informed of their purchase  choices. Today most every individual are able to access the web to gather information, meet friends as well as purchase online. Hence it is not surprising that companies are upgrading their websites to gain attraction. To stay ahead, some companies are employing the latest IT systems to improve operation effectiveness and efficiency. For example, advance logistics capabilities allows organisations to control inventories better and reduce wastage, due to effective information sharing as well as proper empolyee training. 1.1.5. Environmental With the growing need to embrace green culture, consumers are more self-aware about their needs and would prefer to purchase from companies that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible. 1.2. Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 1.2.1. Threat of entrants (Low) Viewing from a Global perspective, it will be difficult for new entrants to gain huge economies of scales without investing huge initial investments, which includes inventories, start up fund and cost for advertising, research and development expenses, etc. Large international incumbents like Zara, Gaps and H&M had already established strong footholds in multiple countries and with many years of experience to deter new comers. Moreover new entrants will expect retaliations from financially strong incumbents in events like price wars. Being in the fashion industry also makes it difficult for new organisations to differentiate their products. Although access to distribution channels have eased due to information technology advancement, most of the good ones would already have been contracted by bigger competitors. Therefore, I would conclude that threat of entrants is low for H&M. 1.2.2. Power of buyers (High) The bargaining power of buyers considered high because there are multiple alternatives like Zara, Gap, UNIQLO, etc. Moreover there is little or no switching cost involved when selecting fashion needs, thus resulting in little or no customer loyalty to the brands. Finally, H&M is required to monitor their needs as they are the end consumers of their products and is its main source of revenue. 1.2.3. Power of Suppliers (Low) The bargaining power of suppliers is low because suppliers/manufacturers for the fashion industry are numerous. As international trade liberalises, H&M have more options to source and even backward integrate by buying or merging with suppliers to meet organisation’s requirements. In addition, with the opening of cheap labour markets like China and India, the switching cost between suppliers to ensure low cost and better quality is consider low. 1.2.4. Competitive Rivalry (High) Rivalry is high because there are multiple players both large and small in the same business category as H&M. Moreover the recent recession experienced in recent years, have affected consumers’ spending and reduce demand thus intensifying competition. With more funds invested into research and design, firms are constantly renewing their products to capture market share, hence H&M have to be always vigilant to combat market changes. 1.2.5. Threat of Substitutes (Low) Threats of substitute products are low, since apparels are irreplaceable. Although online competitors may erode sales from H&M physical stores, the firm is currently developing its online sales strategy in USA to increase recognition. Rivalry is high because there are multiple players both large and small in the same business category as H&M. Moreover the recent recession experienced in recent years, have affected consumers’ spending and reduce demand thus intensifying competition. With more funds invested into research and design, firms are constantly renewing their products to capture market share, hence H&M have to be always vigilant to combat market changes. 2.1.1. Physical Utilizing the latest IT system allows H&M’s logistics to receive and transmit effective communication to not only make better decisions as well as to provide information based on customer’s needs and placement of products. In addition, renting of retail spaces in good locations can help reduce investment risk, attract more walk-in customers as well as to enable better flexibility and adaptability to the ever-changing environment. 2.1.2. Financial Firstly from the financial data, H&M has a high profit margin of 19.04% compared to its rivals, Zara, Gap and Uniqlo at 18.53%, 13.52% and 16.52% respectively, which proves that the firm have superior cost control. It also has a healthy solvency ratio of 73.28%, which meant that H&M is able to meet all its obligations namely short n long term liabilities. In addition, with a high liquidity ratio of 1.77, H&M will be able to settle its short term debt with ease, therefore proving that the firm is stable and will be able to withstand unexpected issues. 2.1.3. Marketing To further expand its reputation and fashion designs, H&M collaborated with famous designers like Stella McCartney and Versace. The firm have also successfully contracted high-profile celebrities for long-term advertising campaigns. In addition to its strong social media presence through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc, the firm has achieved high level of consumer awareness and was ranked 21st out of 100 most valuable global brands with a  brand value of $16.5 billion in 2011 by Interbrand. 2.1.4. Human Resource Management H&M has a policy of hiring locals whenever new stories are established; this allows the firm to easily tap into local culture and understanding of the based country. In-addition to align them to the corporate culture, formal training is being provided to adopt the core values of the firm. The strong participative corporate culture also allows employees make their own decisions during their work for the store’s sales and image, if successful would be adopted by other store to generate more profits. 2.1.5. Processes Unlike most competitors, H&M centralises its Design Department consisting for 200 designers and 100 pattern makers to achieve minimum time-to-market as well as effective information sharing between production offices globally. This way design could not only be created rapidly due to shared skills, rapid-response production can be immediately capitalised on the latest design trends. Having constantly redefining the firm’s production and distribution processes to combat the ever-changing business environment, H&M has managed to create a complex integrated logistics and production system that support cost-cutting measures and generates economies of scale. This system has enabled the firm to achieve quick turnaround timing of about 20days as well as reduction of production lead times of 15-20%. (b) Analyse the strategic capabilities providing competitive advantages for H & M Focusing on the distinctive competencies of H&M, can we understand the competitive advantages of the firm? 3. Question 3 Apply the value chain model to analyse the strongest and weakest links in H & M’s global value chain by examining its primary and secondary activities. 3.1. Value Chain To analysis a company, it is important to first understand its structure. Hence through Micheal Porter’s Value Chain which consisted of both Support and Primary Activities, then will we be able to understand H&M’s strongest and weakest links 3.1.1. Support Activities 3.1.1.1. Firm Infrastructure Currently H&M group have over 2,205 stores in 43 countries and employed about 94,000 employees worldwide. Its headquarters is base in Stockholm, Sweden,  where most of the firm’s central activities like buying, logistics, etc are centralised. With 50 production offices which handle about 1,652 factories globally, information is rapidly exchanged to achieve latest trends as well as timely Design to Production to Delivery process. With 70% majority voting rights held by the Persson Family, most corporate decisions are handled by them. 3.1.1.2. Human Resource Management H&M embraces participative corporate culture, which focuses on employees’ involvement that encourages experimentation, trial and error learning, quick decision making, and willingness to take initiative to try new ideas. Mistakes are usually forgiven as long as it is not repeated. The firm also believes strongly in teamwork and expect great results. With little attention to titles and work descriptions, employees are encourage to challenge themselves to learn new skill or even have different job functions. To be social responsible, H&M also employs local staff for its new outlets and ensure fair treatment of global employees by signing agreements with suppliers to practice ethical business prescribed by law. 3.1.1.3. Technological Development H&M a cloth’s retailer organisation, has utilized the latest IT systems to help improve organisation’s logistics and production capabilities as well as reduce significant costs. Having multiple stores globally, H&M is also investing in its online sales capabilities to attract global consumers. 3.1.1.4. Procurement Without owning any production factories or supply farms, H&M is greatly dependent on its suppliers’ capabilities. Small chances in raw material prices can great affect the profit margins of the firm, for example a slight increase in cottons prices will increase the cost of making H&M clothing. However without factories, H&M can easily switch suppliers to achieve better costing and quality. In addition to the firm’s huge purchases, it can easily control supplier to provide huge discount upon delivery of finished goods. 3.1.2. Primary Activities 3.1.2.1. Inbound Logistics H&M do not own any manufacturing plants and has outsourced its production needs globally. Hence it relays on various suppliers to deliver the necessary inputs on its behalf. 3.1.2.2. Operations  H&M utilizes a centralized in-house designing model, its design operation located in its headquarters in Stockholm. With 200 design and 100 pattern makers, the firm is able to quickly churn out multiple fashion designs decided by various well-know designers and markets analysis to meet the latest trends. Having direct connection with the production office also allows immediate production which enhances cost-efficiencies. Training is provided from workers to adopt company’s values and provide better customer services. 3.1.2.3. Outbound Logistics Outsourcing of H&M’s goods transportation needs allows the firm to cut cost by reduction in labour chargers. Utilizing the integrated direct distribution channel that connects distribution centres, warehouses and stores, has ensured that individual store’s needs are communicated resulting in timely delivery of goods daily. 3.1.2.4. Marketing and Sales H&M philosophy is to provide affordable quality fashion to consumers. Benefiting from economies of Scales due to bulk purchases, the firm can negotiate with suppliers to provide huge discounts. Utilizing its philosophy, H&M has successfully communicated its position to the world through advertising means by working with famous designers, being long term advertising contract with famous celebrities, as well as its strong presence in social media. To further achieve its goals, the firm constantly revamp or renovate its stores every 2-3years to embrace the latest cultural trends, thus attracting its target customers. 3.1.2.5. Services H&M views services as a very important aspect of their business, formal training is provided for new employees to adopt its firm’s value. Moreover, employees are highly encouraged to adopt initiatives and new ideas to only improve the working environment as well as customers’ satisfaction. To maintain employees high moral which in turn lead to better services, H&M has introduced many employee welfare initiatives and was consider one of the best work environments. Hence from the above analysis, it can be seen that  marketing and sales is H&M strongest link, due to its links to famous designers and celebrities, which attracted consumers to get knowledge of the brand. Moreover, utilising social media also attracts the tech savvy users to share and expand the brand name at low cost. However, I would say that the firm’s weakest links is in its family business management, since most decisions is made internally and new management ideas from external means may be difficult to flow through. In addition, there is also a risk of business succession where the heir of the company is not as capable as its predecessor resulting in the firm’s failure. 4. Question 4 (a) Based on the preceding analyses, conduct a SWOT analysis on H & M. 4.1. Strengths H&M is a well-known clothing retail firm that specializes in fast fashion and cheap apparels for men, women and kids. Its strong marketing arm has managed to raise brand awareness among consumers globally. In addition to the firm’s commitment to procure sustainable materials for product design has future enhanced brand image. H&M differentiated itself by ensure their designs are unique and not copies from other competitors. 4.2. Weakness H&M is totally dependent on its suppliers for manufactured products, caused the firm to have limited control over manufacturers, which could lead to low quality products and negatively affect branding. With H&M core operation is highly centralized in Europe, leveraging of risk is weak. In addition, being a family own business, most corporate decisions are made internally, which may prevent external ideas to flow through preventing further growth, 4.3. Opportunity Having huge experience in running world-wide business, H&M may expand further new penetrating new markets like Ukraine or Israel. The firm may also want to backward integrate its business process by absorbing various suppliers to better control its product quality. 4.4. Threads Inflations and Currency changes can greatly affect the cost of raw material as well as production cost. Moreover with China’s aggressive product piracy, H&M design could easily be copied and cost globally eating market share.  Europe’s unstable economic nature due to crisis may force governments to raise corporate taxes to keep the economic afloat, which further affect profits. (b) Identify the key issues, challenges and opportunities facing H & M. As H&M centralized design processes, its products are not tailored to individual markets, thus allowing competitors who can better differentiate their products to target different consumer groups eating into the firm’s market share. Focusing on cost leadership strategy, H&M have to ensure production cost is low to achieve profits. Hence to reduce cost of materials companies tend to order huge quantities of raw materials, which may result in overstock and incur unwanted inventory costs. Outsourcing of manufacturing reduces H&M direct control over the production process, thus making it vulnerable to quality issues resulting in bad reputation among consumers. In order to expand its presence globally, H&M may need to penetrate to new markets. It could also improve cost savings through backward integration by buying over various suppliers for its own requirements. 5. Question 5 Based on the preceding analysis, formulate and discuss appropriate strategies that you would recommend to H & M in order for it to achieve above-average returns in the future. After analysing the above information, I understood that H&M is adopting the cost leadership strategy to advance it goals. Since the firm focused on â€Å"Economies of Scales† by purchasing huge qualities of goods in order receive better discounts, have long term â€Å"experience† to monitor its cost savings as well as constantly â€Å"redefining production and distribution† to achieve cost efficiencies (Johnson, G. 2014). However the most important factor that H&M lacks is the control of â€Å"input cost† since the firm had totally depended on suppliers for its productions needs. Hence, it is strongly recommended that the firm adopts backward integration by buying over or controlling various supplier/manufacturers in order to reduce its reliance as well as to be able to handle its â€Å"input cost† well. Even if that is not achievable, H&M could also hire service engineers to better train and monitor the suppliers’ progress through direct collaboration by planting its employees in manufacturing sites. This way, management will be more able to understand the quality and direct cost involved through the manufacturer plant’s production process, thus find ways to reduce cost and  improve efficiencies. Finally to improve total sales, H&M should also seek to venture into new markets so as to increase income and create new opportunities. References Johnson, G. (2014). Exploring Strategy. 10th ed. Harlow [u.a.]: Pearson.