STP analysis on sunsilk Essay

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Executive Summary Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch company, with a history of grand operation, on which it has gradually built its capital. Today it owns most of the world’s consumer product brands in food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd is one of the world’s most successful fast moving consumer goods manufacturing companies with local manufacturing facilities, reporting to regional business groups for innovation and business results. Unilever brands are trusted everywhere and, by listening to the people who buy them, they’ve grown into one of the world’s most successful consumer goods companies. In fact, 150 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product. Unilever Bangladesh Limited has five departments to carry out all the organizational functions. Our report is on â€Å"STP Analysis on Sunsilk†.This report is designed in three chapters. Initially the opening words about the report were described in the first segment titled â€Å"Introduction† where we discuss about â€Å"Overview of Unilever† contains the history of Unilever, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, and Organizational structure. Next chapter is on STP analysis. And in last part we give the conclusion and Bibliography. Introduction: The main objective of this report is to have an assessment about STP analysis. How they manage all their market segmentation, Target market and their positioning. Here we give brief idea about the company, industry and product. Company Overview: Unilever is a corporation, formed of Anglo Dutch parentage that owns many of the world’s consumer brands in foods, beverages, agents and personal care. It was created in 1930 by the merger of British soap Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unit. In the 1930s the business of Unilever grew and new ventures were launched in Latin. Since then Unilever has made tremendous growth, going through economic crises like the First  World War and the Great Depression. Today the company is fully multinational with operating companies in over 100 countries, employing about 179000 employees. With the onset of the 21stcentury, Unilever implemented a strategy known as ‘Path to Growth’ to transform business and to launch their Vitality mission. With 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal care and foods products, no other company touches so many people’s lives in so many different ways. 150 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product. From feeding one’s family to keeping one’s home clean and fresh, Unilever brands are part of everyday life. Unilever’s mission is to add Vitality to life. It meets every day needs for nutrition; hygiene and personal care with brands that help people look good, feel good and get more out of life. Here we give the SWOT analysis of Unilever: SWOT analysis: The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company and describes the opportunities and threats facing Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. Strengths: †¢In depth industry experience and insight †¢Largest amount of share in the market †¢Having a good number of established brands †¢An excellent distribution network †¢Competitive advantages Weaknesses: †¢Reliance on outside raw materials †¢So many substitutes available in the market †¢Lack of control in the market. If any disruption arises between company and distributor then the whole market suffers. †¢Lack of informational reliability, since the market is too large Opportunities: †¢Participation within a growing industry †¢Utilization of changing lifestyle of people for increasing demand †¢Scope of expanding the market vertically and horizontally †¢Application of new tactics and surprise packages †¢Niche marketing Threats: †¢Threats of the market challengers †¢A negative effect on people’s spending because of the current financial crisis †¢Existence of political unrest though out the country The motto of Unilever is to hold its strengths the longest time possible. It is also working constantly with a view to using its opportunities at best. In spite of being the market leader Unilever Bangladesh has some weaknesses and threats. Its research department is working hard to make strategies to overcome those weaknesses and threats. Product Overview: Sunsilk is a hair care brand, primarily aimed at women, produced by the Unilever group, which is now considered the world’s leading company in hair conditioning and the second largest in shampoo.Sunsilk is Unilever’s leading hair care brand, and ranks as one of the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate’s â€Å"billion dollar brands†. Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and other hair care products are sold in 69 countries worldwide. Sunsilk is sold under a variety of different names in markets around the world including Elide, Seda and Sedal. The brand is strongest in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and is the number one hair care brand in India, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Sunsilk was launched in the UK in 1954, and by 1959 it was available in 18 different countries worldwide. At the time, Sunsilk had an advantage over other shampoos in the market as it only needed one application, and so meant washing less natural oils from the hair. Sunsilk  cream shampoo for dry hair was launched in 1956 and from 2009 Sunsilk started working with a number of professional hair â€Å"experts† to develop new and improved products. Each hair â€Å"issue† variant links to an â€Å"expert† with the relevant specialist hair knowledge. For example, Dr Francesca Fusco, a New York dermatologist, co-created a â€Å"hair fall† variant for the brand. The lineup also includes: Jamal Hammadi for Black Shine, Rita Hazan for Vibrant Color, Teddy Charles for Plumped up Volume, Thomas Taw for Damage Reconstruction, Ouidad for Defined Curls and Yuko Yamashita – inventor of Japanese hair straightening process ‘YUKO’ – for Perfect Straight. Due to need of shampoo for oily hair and dandruff unilever launch a new variant of Sunsilk having citrus extracts. The range consists of Sunsilk: Yellow Sunsilk with Bio Proteins from Vegetable Extracts: Normal hair needs wholesome nourishment. New Sunsilk with Bio Protein extracted from Vegetable milk has nutrients that deeply penetrate each hair strand, to nourish it leaving hair strong and beautiful. Black Sunsilk with Melanin from Plant Extracts: Dull hair needs a rich black shine. New Sunsilk with Melanin extracted from plants serves this purpose very effectively. It helps in the growth and retention of the black color of hair, giving it a rich black shine. Green Sunsilk with Fruitamins Vitamins from fruit Extracts: Thin and limp hair needs extra body and volume. New Sunsilk with Fruitamins has natural extracts from fruit that contains Vitamins. These vitamins help in giving extra body, shine and amazing manageability to the thinning and lifeless hair. Pink Sunsilk with yoghurt proteins: Dry hair needs wholesome conditioning, extra shine and style. New Sunsilk with yoghurt proteins makes the dry hair full of life. Its especial ingredients moisturize each hair right to its tips leaving it shiny and beautiful. Orange Sunsilk with active nutrients from Citrus Extracts: The advanced formula of orange Sunsilk is the result of the latest research. This shampoo is especially designed for oily hair type that looks flat and greasy due to the excess of moisture. New Sunsilk with active ingredients from citrus extracts cleans the excess oil off hair while its nutrients deeply penetrate each hair strand to nourish it. Industry Overview: In Bangladesh many brands are available in shampoo category. Unilever, Square Toiletries and P&G are the leading brands. Unilever produces Sunsilk and Clear, Jui is produced by Square and Pantene and Head & Shoulder produced by P&G. Moreover, there are some low brands which are operating in Bangladesh. Unilever grab the highest market share and in the leading position. Figure: Market Share STP Analysis: Segmentation: Geographic Segmentation Sunsilk ignored geographic segmentation for product; sunsilk segmented the market based on intermarket segmentation. But sunsilk segmented the market based on geographic segmentation for advertising, promotion and sales efforts. Sunsilk divided the market into three groups. 1. European countries 2. Middle-East countries 3. Asia pacific countries In those segment advertising, promotion and sales efforts should be different. Demographic segmentation Gender Sunsilk divided the market into two groups based on gender. 1 Male consumer 2 Female consumer Age and life cycle stage Consumer needs and wants change with age. Sunsilk divided the female consumer market into three groups based on age. 1. Market segment of female age 16-21 2. Market segment of female age 22-40 3. Market segment of female age above 40 Income Sunsilk divided the market based on income. They divided the market into three groups based on income. 1. Upper class 2. Middle class 3. Lower class Psychographics: Social class Initially they launched sunsilk black shine mainly for higher class people and to some extent middle class people. Then, they launched mini pack for the lower class people. Behavioral: Benefit Benefit is a factor which effect on buying decision. Sunsilk divided the market into five groups based on benefits. Each segment required difference benefit. 1. Segment â€Å"A† (who need nourishment for normal hair) 2. Segment â€Å"B† (who need a rich black shine for dull hair) 3. Segment â€Å"C† (who need extra body and volume for Thin and limp hair) 4. Segment â€Å"D† (who need conditioning, extra shine and style for dry hair) 5. Segment â€Å"E† (who need oil free hair for oily hair type that looks flat and greasy due to the excess of moisture) Market Targeting Market segmentation reveals sunsilk’s market segment opportunities. In this stage sunsilk had to evaluate the various segments and decide how many and which segments it could serve best. Evaluating market segments Sunsilk mainly targeted the female segment and ignored the male segment. At first, sunsilk targeted tow segments of female consumer which was segment of female age 16-21 and segment of female age 22-40, but in their promotional activities they focused on all female segments. Sunsilk targeted those segments because those segments were the largest, profitable and there was no strong and aggressive competitor. After, sunsilk targeted the five segments of benefit and they lunched separate product for each segment. Undifferentiated marketing At first, sunsilk used undifferentiated marketing or mass-marketing strategy and they ignored market segment difference and targeted the whole market with one offer. Differentiated marketing Sunsilk also practice differentiated marketing strategy, they targeted five segments of benefit and they brought variety in their product. They lunched five varieties product for whole market. Sunsilk target five segments and designed separate offer for each segment. Positioning: Sunsilk is already a renowned brand in the shampoo industry. As we mentioned in the earlier part of the report, they segmented and targeted their market very carefully. We give the customers more benefits with same amount of price. We try to give the best to the customers. More for More More for same More for less Same for less Less for less For positioning our product our tagline will be â€Å"We care about your feeling† Positioning Statement: â€Å"To the young and middle age women, who have dull, oily, rough and dry hair, our sunsilk is hair solution that offers stylish, shiny, strong and oil free hair related to the competitors.† Conclusion: Sunsilk is a most prominent shampoo brand in the market. Now, it is consider as a market leader based on market share and the market size. Manufacturer of leading brands, including Fair & Lovely and Lipton Tea, Our brands help people to look good, feel good and get more out of life. Celebrating life  for over 40 years and today, a company bringing world class consumer products to millions of people in the country we are Unilever.

Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 11-12

Chapter 11 Outside, I let the girl lead me away from the drunken crowd and toward a side alley beyond a bar called Calhouns. â€Å"Im sorry,† she said breathlessly. â€Å"I dont know what came over me. Im usually not so fresh, its just that–â€Å" â€Å"Im thankful for it,† I said, interrupting her. She shivered, and I put my arms around her thin frame. Instantly, she pulled away. â€Å"Youre so cold!† she said in an accusatory tone. â€Å"Am I?† I asked, feigning nonchalance.You want to kiss me, I thought. She shrugged. â€Å"Its okay. Its just that Im sensitive to temperature. But I know a way we could both warm up.† She smiled shyly, then raised up to her tiptoes. Her lips pressed against mine, and for a moment, I allowed myself to enjoy their warmth and feel the girls blood race through her veins as she gave herself over to me. Then I lunged for her neck. â€Å"Ow!† She protested, trying to push me off. â€Å"Stop!† You will succumb, because if you do that, I'll let you live, I thought, using every fiber of my being to compel her at this crucial moment. She gazed up at me, confusion in her eyes, before she fell back over my arms, her face a mask of sleepy satisfaction. I took a few more sips of the blood, all too conscious of Lexi and the others back inside. Then I dragged the woman up to her feet. Id been careful. The holes Id made in her neck were tiny, almost impossible to see with human vision. Still, I adjusted her scarf around her neck to cover them up. â€Å"Wake up,† I whispered softly. Her eyes opened, the gaze unfocused. â€Å"What where am I?† I could sense her heart beating faster, sense her ready to let loose a scream. â€Å"You were helping a drunk customer,† I told her. â€Å"You are free to go. I was simply making sure you were okay.† She snapped to attention, her body relaxing. â€Å"I apologize, sir. Usually, the patrons dont get so rowdy at Miladies. Thank you for assisting me. Ill give you a whiskey, on the house,† she said, winking at me. I walked into Miladies beside her, and was rewarded with Lexis slow smile from the corner table. Good job, boy. I followed the girl until she safely resumed her position behind the polished wood counter of the bar. â€Å"Whats your poison?† she asked, whiskey bottle in hand. She looked pale, as if she were coming down with a slight cold. Meanwhile, her blood was warm in my stomach. â€Å"Ive drunk quite enough, thank you, miss,† I said, as I took her hand and brought it up to my lips, kissing it as tenderly as Id marked her neck. Chapter 12 The following evening Lexi knocked on my bedroom door. She wore a black coat and matching trousers. A cap hid most of her hair, save for a few blond tendrils that fell loose and framed her face. â€Å"I was proud of you last night,† she said. I smiled, despite myself. It was surprising how quickly I took to seeking Lexis approval. â€Å"How much did you take from the barmaid?† â€Å"Not too much. But I wanted more,† I admitted. A look I couldnt quite decipher passed over her face. â€Å"I used to be like you, you know. But the more you feed from humans, the hungrier you get. Its a curse. But there are other ways. Have you hunted for animals blood?† I shook my head no. â€Å"Well, luckily for you, Im going hunting now,† she said, â€Å"and youre coming with me. Put on dark clothes and meet me downstairs in five minutes.† I shrugged on a dark, military-looking jacket Id found hanging in the closet and raced downstairs, loath to put off hunting with Lexi for even five minutes. While I bristled at Buxtons comments about how inexperienced I was, when I heard it from Lexi, I was only eager for a lesson on how our kind survived. We walked out the door, no trace of sunlight in the inky black sky. I sniffed the air, searching out the scent of the nearest human, then stopped when I saw Lexi staring at me with a knowing look. Instead of turning left, toward the bustle of Bourbon Street, she turned right, snaking through side streets until we reached a forest. Above us the trees were bare and ghostly against the dark night sky, the moon our only light. â€Å"There are deer here,† Lexi said, â€Å"and squirrels, bears, rabbits. I think theres a den of foxes that way,† she added, walking into the thick, mossy woods. â€Å"Their blood smells earthier than human blood, and their hearts beat much more rapidly.† I followed her lead. Quickly and silently, we darted from tree to bush without disturbing the underbrush. In a way, it felt like we were playing a game of hide-and-seek, or just playing at hunting, the way young schoolboys do. After all, as a human, Id always carried a weapon on the hunt. Now all I had were my fangs. Lexi held up a hand. I paused, midstep, my eyes darting everywhere. I didnt see anything but thick trunks and racing ants in jagged stumps. Then, without warning, Lexi lunged. When she stood up, blood was dripping from her fangs, and a self-satisfied smile appeared on her face. A creature lay on the fallen leaves, its legs bent as if it were still mid-run. She gestured to the lump of orangish-red fur. â€Å"Fox isnt bad. Would you like to try it?† I knelt down, my lips curling as they made contact with the rough fur. I forced myself to gingerly take a sip of liquid, though, as I knew it was what Lexi wanted. I sucked in, and immediately the blood seared my tongue. I spit it out violently. â€Å"Fox is an acquired taste, I suppose,† Lexi said as she knelt on the ground by my side. â€Å"More for me, at least!† While Lexi fed, I leaned against a tree trunk and listened to the rustling sounds of the forest. The breeze shifted, and suddenly the scent of iron-rich blood was everywhere. It was sweet and spicy, and it wasnt coming from Lexis fox. Somewhere, nearby, there was a human heart, beating out seventy-twothu-thudsa minute. Cautiously I slipped past Lexi, and ventured out past the perimeter of the forest. Set up on the edge of the lake was a shantytown. Tents were pitched at every angle, and makeshift clotheslines ran between wooden posts. The whole setup looked haphazard, as if the inhabitants knew theyd have to pick up and relocate at any second. The camp looked deserted save for one woman who was bathing, the moonlight striking her ivory skin. She was humming to herself, washing the caked dirt off her hands and face. I hid behind a large oak tree, pretending to take the woman by surprise. But then a large painted poster on a neighboring tree caught my eye. I took a step toward it. A branch cracked, the woman whirled around, and I could sense Lexi behind me. â€Å"Stefan,† Lexi murmured, obviously aware of the unfolding scene. But this time, I was the one to hold up my hand to silence her. Mist floated over the portrait on the sign, but the printing was clear:PATRICK GALLAGHERS FREAK SHOW: VAMPIRE VERSUS BEAST. BATTLE TO THE DEATH! OCTOBER 8. I blinked, and the portrait swam into my vision. It was of a dark-haired man with chiseled features and pale-blue eyes. His teeth were bared, his canines elongated, and he was crouched opposite a snarling mountain lion. I knew the face on the poster better than I knew my own. It was Damon.

University Store Case

FIFO or LIFO In the case, the university Store provided plenty of goods and services with various costs. They frequently have their costs, selling prices and discounted prices changed. This process would contain a large amount of work since the Store kept large number of books. Although the Store has planned to record data by establishing a new software system, they used the retail method easing and simplifying inventory tracking. Comparing the FIFO or the LIFO method, the retail method would be the better to value Inventory with two major reasons. One reason is that GAP would accept the report under the retail method.While applying the FIFO or LIFO method, the Store would calculate historical percentages to estimate ending Inventory cost. However, they would use the â€Å"current cost-to-retail† ratios, which are more acceptable and reliable for GAP financial report. The other is that the Store could be easy to record inventory. The Store could record numbers including the to tal cost and purchase retail value, costs and retail prices, and total sales in a period. Also, the Store sometimes marks up the original sale prices, which should be marked down before calculating ending Inventory.By acquiring same Information, cost-to-retail percentage in FIFO or LIFO method are able to be calculated with omitting beginning inventory or only using beginning inventory respectively. Causes and Procedures for Inventory Obsolescence The Store realized that they needed to consider the inventory obsolescence problem. They have found the large volume of â€Å"inactive† books, which could re-adopt in the next semester or could not be returned to publishers. The major causes of this problem could be divided Into four parts. Firstly. E turnover rate of returns manager was significantly high in the recent years, causing difficulties to clear the unneeded textbooks before the new edition published. If the textbooks became obsolete and unable to be returned to publisher s, they would be stored in the bookstore or the warehouse, making losses in the financial report. The first procedure to improve the problem could be to find the reasons of high turnover rate like large workload, high-pressure environment or unexpected salary. Then, the Store should address the problem with different strategies depending on the reasons. Secondly, the Store distributed little employees to work on arranging the inactive textbooks since total employees were insufficient. This problem caused the obsolete books would stored increasingly making financial losses. To solve the problem, the Store could recruit more employees in order to pay more attention on the Inactive textbooks If the Store has ability to hire more. Moreover, the Store tried to actively pay back the used books In order to lower costs. TLS caused the Store would possibly obtain the unneeded books, which professors would stop using next semester.These textbooks would be unable to return to the publishers an d would become losses for financial reporting. The procedure solving the problem could be firstly asking professors or teachers whether the used textbooks would be continually used in the future. Next, the Store would be able to decide which book should pay back depending on their requirements and recommendations. Last but not least, the would lower sales of textbooks recently. If the Store obtained the same number of a specific textbook with decreasing usage, the books would become inactive causing financial losses.In order to solve the problem, the Store could establish a survey about the decreasing demands or possible cancellations of the books. After that, they could estimate the future inventory of fewer books with low demands. Inventory Practices Cause Misstatement Risk of Inventory While calculating the inventory value, some practices would possibly increase the risk of misstatement. At first, errors would appear in recording different costs, selling prices and price changes in sale while organizing hundreds of products.The Store should arrange at least two employees to check the values are correct although they eve already faced the problem of insufficient employees, which would cause individual workload increases. Secondly, the part-time workers with insufficient training and frequent turnover rate would create calculating mistakes. Although heavy reliance of part-time employees could lower the operating cost, it would increase the risk of inventory misstatement. To detect this possible misstatement, the Store should hire more full-time employees or provide a position to monitor the process of switching different part-time employees.Also, the revisions of college extols were published more frequently, which increase the risk of inventory misstatement. The Store needs to obtain the information about the time the revision would be published in the future and content comparison with old version. Likewise, the textbook demand is hard to determine or estim ate since currently students are able to purchase cheaper from different sources like friends or online. The Store can provide some promotion or sale to attract the students. It can obtain small volume of inventory, and then decide to purchase more depending on the demand.

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Shopper Behavior - Essay Example As has been specified above, state of mind might be gathered from the way in which a distinctive carries on. By making perceptions of conduct, an advertiser can induce a customer's state of mind. Case in point, if an individual belittles Colgate toothpaste what's more purchases it, it might be gathered that he prefers that brand.b) Qualitative studies: Attitudes can likewise be measured through qualitative apparatuses and methods that help recognize purchaser sentiments and convictions and their emotions, by getting them included in open examinations. Such methods could take the types of centering bunches, profundity meetings, and mental tests. - Depth meetings:   A profundity meeting is like a particular meeting, where a shopper is questioned about the item/administration offering, the brand, and any or all of the 4ps. The shopper is made inquiries for an extensive time of time, and his notions and convictions are recorded, so are his emotions and substantial motions.   The spec ialist poses a question and the interviewee is swayed to speak long about his responses and sentiments about the item and administration offering and the 4ps. Shopper Behavior - Psychological tests: An assembly of mental tests are accessible that are utilized to construe furthermore measure buyer state of mind. Projective systems are utilized usually; for instance the buyer may be asked to translate a picture (Thematic Apperception Test), or fill in a dialog in a cartoon, or compose ten-twelve words depicting a figure or a picture.

Digital Futures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Digital Futures - Essay Example This creature is then destined to serve in various fields that a normal human being cannot serve. Likewise, cloning has also drawn the attention of many, where people want to replicate superior organisms. The Australian Defense Forces has shown great interest on the emerging cyborg technology, asserting that it will serve a great deal in boosting its security. This paper will discuss digital futures in light of cyborg technology in the Australian Defence Forces. Cyborg technology Human beings have been ambitious in the creation of living things from non-living parts. While this may seem like just a dream, tremendous progress has been made in this field. This artificial creation of life can be categorized into two broad classes. First is carbon-based live, where living organisms are developed from classical building blocks of nature. The other one is where scientists create living organisms using the same principles of creation, but implementing them differently. This may be through m achines such as computers or laboratory bags. Cyborg technology falls under the first mode of creation where organisms are developed from components found in the world. This process uses materials that have no relation with the human body such as metals and plastics (Adami, 1998). Cyborg technology is no longer a myth, as it is possible to develop robots that can function as well as human being. With technology, scientists are now able to develop structures that enhances the functionality of human being. They argue that humans have limited capability and to survive in a complex world, the society needs a structure with superior abilities. As a result they have developed a human-robot with superior intelligent than the normal robots, and named it cyborg. A cyborg, as the name suggests is a cybernetic organism, composed of the human part and the machine part. These two parts are integrated in a special way in order to perform the required tasks (Warwick, n.d). However, there are numer ous challenges that are associated with the functionality of a cyborg, bearing in mind that human beings are the one that control it. The big question still lies as to whether cyborgs have been able to accomplish the purpose they were designed for, or more research needs to be conducted for their improvement (Seed, 2005). What constitutes a cyborg is still vague as it is possible to narrow the definition to any living organism, whose body system has mechanical or biotechnologies. With this regard, about 10% for instance of the United States citizens are cyborgs. This group of people in technical terms includes those who have artificial joints, drug implant systems, artificial skins or with electronic pacemakers. In short, those with an artificial element that prevents their bodies to act naturally. On the other hand, a large number of people engage in careers that make them metaphoric cyborgs. It is with certainty that these people accidentally found themselves in this category (See d, 2005). The creation of the cyborg started when the military saw the need for improving its performance. With rise in human power and military equipment, the military sought to develop a structure that would function more than human beings would. As a result, it opted to combine the human element and the mechanical element to come up with a superior product. Initially, scientists through accidents had replaced most of the vital organs in

Raid Research Essay Example for Free

Raid Research Essay The word RAID stands for redundant ray of independent disks. Raid is usually used in environments with servers or at a business with large file servers, transaction of application servers, where data accessibility is critical, and fault tolerance is required. There are 8 types of raids, Raid 0 is technically not a raid level because it offers no fault tolerance but, it operates by providing data stripping which takes the information and spreads it out over all the disk drives. However, if one drive fails than the entire raid fails. Raid 1 is also referred to as disk mirroring; it basically takes the information from one disk and stores it on multiple disks, this is great for fault tolerance because if one disk fails the information is on another disk. The only drawback to raid 1 is data access speed and the cost because there are more disks involved. Raid 5 is considerably the most commonly used Raid level simply because it provides both stripping and parity. The parity block is distributed to all of the drives making it easier to access the information or have a balanced access load. The parity in raid 5 is used if one of the drives happens to fail, to recover that drive which makes the raid 5 the most common however the only drawback to this raid level is that it has a relatively slow write cycle. Lastly, RAID level 6 which is very similar to raid level 5 but provides two parity functions rather than just one. A minimum of four disks is required to create RAID level 6. Raid level 0, even though it offers no redundancy, is still of use mainly to those who use applications that require high bandwidth such as data streaming or video editing software. Raid level 0 is also used because it’s most simple to implement. Raid level 1 is most expensive because it requires more disks to implement. It also requires heavy software manipulation and configuration to implement Raid level 1. If I were to purchase raid it would absolutely be raid level 0 simply because its easy to implement and it would be efficient for my personal usage.

The Practice of Leadership and Management as a Nurse

The Practice of Leadership and Management as a Nurse Management is an economic resource to meet objective. It is a social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulations of the operations of an enterprise in fulfillment of the given purpose. Leadership on the other hand is the process of influencing individuals or groups towards achievement of a goal in a given situation. The purpose of this paper is mainly to synthesize differing leadership and management concepts and to apply principles of leadership and management, team building concepts, and organizational theory to nursing clinical practice. This is to ensure quality improvement, ensuring that the financial data is up to date, to ensure minimal risks occur at the health centers and avoid recurrent clinical problems. It is therefore important as a nurse to apply leadership and management concepts to ensure that there is motivation for the good operation under the hospitals. Nursing management is the performance of the leadership functions whilst ensuring the leadership powers are kept in place. This leadership powers include: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, reference, information and should make sure they are all wrapped and exercised. Nursing management includes all the main functions of management namely: Planning; this includes the forecasting and the selection of objectives with the policies, programs and procedures for achieving them. Nurses should therefore be in a position to plan with clear focus Organizing; this is concerned with decision of work and the allocation of duties, authority and responsibility. This will enable nurses to avoid reoccurring of previous errors. Directing/leading; it involves the guiding and supervising subordinates. The nurses must make sure the subordinates are oriented into the understanding why, guided towards improved performance and motivated to work effectively towards the hospitals goals Controlling; it is the process involved in setting up of standards, the regular comparison of physical events with standards and then taking up the corrective actions. The nursing management is therefore applying this functions and leadership roles especially at the nursing unit. They also have other primary responsibilities of staffing, motivating, communicating, commanding and budgeting among others. Importance of Management and Leadership to Nurse Managers Firstly, it ensure quality improvement by incorporating unity of direction, unity of command, stability of staff which will lead to a sense of belonging and ensures patients are well taken care of. Also it helps by ensuring that the financial data is up to date by employing the principle of authority and responsibility which calls for accountability and prevents misuse of authority. In addition it minimizes risks at the health centers by making sure there are order and a scalar chain of command and conclusively, avoids recurrent clinical problems. Difference between Leaders and Managers leaders generally innovate and develop while managers administer and maintain Leaders focus on people inspiring trust and openness while managers focus on systems and structures and make staffs rely on control Leaders do the right things and keep an eye on the horizon while managers do things right and keep an eye on the bottom line Leaders originate things whereas managers imitate things Leaders change the status quo while managers accept the status quo Management Style and Leadership style The contingency approach or situational approach suggests that there is no one best way to manage and organize but rather, successful managerial decisions options depends upon the situations and circumstances in which such decisions are made. Autocratic leadership style is considered as a classical approach to leadership or dictatorship. It is one in which the managers retain as much decision making authority as possible. Bureaucratic leadership is where the managers manage by the book that is; everything must be done according to procedure or policy. Laissez fair is the one in which the leader provides little or no direction and gives employees as much freedom as possible. All authorities are given to employees and they must determine their goals, make decision and resolve problems on their own. Democratic leadership style encourages employees to perform part of their decisions. Democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed about everything that affect their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibility. I would therefore apply the democratic leadership style since it will ensure that I consider the subordinates that units for the benefit of the health care and the society at large. II. Application of leadership and management of nursing practice Case Scenario A health care that envisages providing the best and competitive health care facilities must have staff example the charge nurse, sister nurse who are excellent in their chosen disciplines, have strong leadership capabilities, and are comfortable working in the environment. Top managers of the unit should therefore posses distinct characteristics of great leaders, thus being a boon to the health unit and society especially as patients. Also strategic management is believed to spread the realization of organizational objectives. The intensity of global competitiveness in best service requires managers to adopt strategic management and be well versed with the characteristics associated with strategic decisions. Problem Being the nurse in charge of advanced health care institute, there has been problems as a result of poor management and leadership skills. Firstly the employees turnover is high that is the numbers of employees under various department employed per year is almost 100%.Secondly the health care members usually receive orders from various supervisors bringing forth a lot of confusion, the division of labor is poorly done such that some patients may be attended by more than one nurse and the others may fail to be attended. The problems that were previously done are reoccurred therefore making the number of patients to get services to other health care unit .In addition there are a lot of complains from other staff that their remuneration is not fair enough and that the level of job satisfaction is quite low. Plan action Behavioral approach to management; this is based on the perception that those involved in the organization are the predetermining of organizational and managerial effectiveness. It is concerned with understanding of the individual workers with emphasis on motivation, needs, interpersonal relationships and group dynamics. For instance, Douglas Mc Greggor-Theory X and Theory Y .Douglas MC Greggor believed that employees are lazy beings hence managers should use carrot and stick in motivating employees in theory X assumption. In theory Y assumptions Douglar MC Greggor believed that work is like a play and if a play is not interesting the employees will not be interested in the play. With this kind of a system and applying Henri Fayols principles of management that are relevant to principles management, I will ensure that there is fair remuneration, that also there is stability of staff, the principle of unity of command will also be useful by ensuring that members receive orders from on ly one supervisor. The most appropriate leadership style to succumb the problem is democratic leadership style which requires a leader to be a couch that has the final say but gathers information from the staffs before making a decision Steps in resolving this problem Problem recognition Problem definition Planning and design Solve the problem Implement the problem Strategies of leading and managing people Motivation is the process that accounts for an individual intensity, directions and persistence of efforts towards attaining a goal. It is the reasons why employees would want to work hard and work effectively for the organization. To motivate those involved towards a solution requires the elements of motivation which are; ability, level of skills, knowledge about how to complete the task, attitude, fillings and beliefs. By applying the motivation that is content theory and process theory, managers will be able to increase their motivation capacity. To gain effective support, the managers should ensure that they guide and supervise the subordinates accordingly and by way of example. The transfer of information between different people in a business should have a unit of direction to avoid conflict and confusion in authority. Change Theory Change is making things different or doing things in different ways. In most organization, change activities are activated. The modern approach to changes requires organization to be proactive to changes. In nursing management, for instance there are stimulants to changes. The emergence of newly created or reregulations of existing laws, increased in the number of accidents and errors, high level of labour turnover, changes in the legal system governing labour and other general areas. The change process includes; Initial problem identification where the initial problem is identified Obtaining data relating to the problem through different methods of data collection Problem diagnosis to understand the roots of the problem Action planning; this involves strategically having plans for solving the problem Implementation which involves application of the problem solving techniques to the problem Assessment of the consequences and learning from the process and giving feedback to other interconnected individuals and steps Organizational Environment Management environment refers to forces influencing organizational activity and management policies from within and outside the organization. The internal environment refers to the internal resources, activities and events of the organizational members. The stakeholders depending if it is a profitable or non profitable organization have a direct and specific impact upon organizational operation, the general environment especially the patients affect the organization. My strategy to solve the problem will have a social, cultural, economic, political impact on the agency. III. Evaluation Today the notion of total quality management means that the total organization is committed to quality. Total quality management means a total effort towards meeting customer needs and ensures selection by planning for quality. This can be easily evaluated by the outcomes of the staff members in accordance to the expected results. My plan would have work if the results are as per my plans and all the other problems are resolved. This is by ensuring there are no recurrent clinical problems and the clinic operates efficiently. Barriers Staff resistance to change is as a result of selective perception, fear of unknown, organizational culture and custom, anticipated inconveniences and probably economic factors. In addition the cost of analyses and making these changes is high and the organization may consider the cost outweighing the benefits. Also, the time required to solve the problems, making changes and coming up with a new plan may be too much and the organization may decide to ignore the problems. Furthermore there may be circumstances where the project will fail land this may lead to abandoning the project that was to incorporate change. In addition there can be changing priority and another plan has to be developed. IV. Summary In summary a leader should employ aspects of a good and effective leader. By applying the different leadership style that is autocratic, bureaucratic, and democratic and laissez fair, a leader should ensure that he is competent enough. Management is a social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulations of the operations of the enterprise, in fulfillment of the given purpose. Also the manager should ensure that he applies the principle of management especially scientific management and art management. There is still a sense of art in all management and in intuition is a very useful guide. Nobody will say that book learning will make successful manager. The importance fear of human relations with its psychological contacts is often a matter of personality more than procedure .Nursing management will thus involve incorporating all the principles and functions of management in order to ensure effective work is done and incorporating leadershi p style to motivate and cooperate with other staffs. Conclusion

Global Application Or Local Application Information Technology Essay

Global Application Or Local Application Information Technology Essay Management information system is make to handle the information create by the organization of a specific of business. There system key in the information and allow the business for work, handle and accumulate the information via the software application. Information and inquiry get from the information system and can support in the pointing, organization and decision making of administrators. MIS is a classification that offers data need to handle organizations efficiently. The first question is discussed about selecting the computer hardware and software for the organization. It means as the hardware and software of tools to manage the organization in the selecting of hardware and software. And what kind of management, organization and technology are issues faced when select the computer hardware and software. The issues that are face is management issues, staff issues, organization issues and so on. Furthermore in question two is discussing about if i were a manager in a company that operates in many countries, the criteria would i use to determine whether a new system should be developed as a global application .A global business plan determines how a business will develop and manage its operations around the world. Regularly its used by accessible companies as a plan for increasing rather than by new businesses Why is selecting computer hardware and software for the organization an important for management decision? What management, organization and technology issues should be considered when selecting computer hardware? Our choice of hardware and software will have a huge influence on the efficiency of our employees and our organizations bottom line. We need the right tools to get the job completed. Computers consist of two main elements, namely hardware and software. Hardware is basically the physical parts of the infrastructure used in running the program. They include parts like workstations and servers, tablet PC, laptops, monitors, scanners, printers, networking components like Routers and Bridges, etc. Software is the interface that we use to perform certain actions on our computer. We may ask few questions such as below to give us some idea on how to choose the hardware and software: Can this hardware and software do the job that we need it to do? How the hardware and software will suits in with other products that our organization uses? Are this hardware and software going to leave us in a proprietary niche or without support? What ups and downs can we forecast for our organization? Do we need to plan for different needs or working practices? Whats our budget? Can we pay for the hardware / software, the license, the training, and the upgrades? It is important to consider whether the hardware and software is from recognized and well established source. Software and hardware are often expensive and should come with good after-sales service and a good guarantee. For Example, wholesale computers come with bundled software packages that are not compatible with your network software, and by the time we purchase the required software we have over paid and have voided the 1 year manufacturers warranty. So we have to make sure to ask about these before choosing the products that we are going to use. Another important concern to take into account when choosing hardware and software is whether it will do the job that we require it to do and who will be using this hardware and software. Theres no point in buying hardware or software that does nothing. Each computer should complement the user and the software that is being used. For example, a business server is a different type of computer than a PC. It is used by every person, computer, printer, and any peripheral within your business. A PC does not have the components to withstand the workload of a server, and will ultimately fail resulting in company downtime that affects your bottom line. We also have to check the system requirements of hardware or software to ensure they work well. For example, some peripherals only work in Windows or Mac OS. Other might require certain software to fully function. It is essential to buy legal hardware and software and to register the products that we purchase. By registering our software, we are often able to receive additional upgrades, service and support at no additional fees. Add-ons, plug-ins, useful tools and information from the software company can benefit our organizations use of purchased software. For example, if we are using Windows then we will need to register our Windows software in order to be able to download important service packs and updates. Pirated software is hacked to take out the copy protection. This affects the performance of the software. This affects the performance of the software and can cause freezing/crashing on our PC and conflicts with other legitimate software programs. Pirated software results in our paid employees being unable to do their job, which affects their performance and our business bottom line. Security management is a vital aspect of risk control. We have to consider about the validation routines, access control and authorization. Usually basic hardware and software includes a security package including fire walls, anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-spyware for the network and computer systems themselves. The most prohibitive factor in selecting hardware or software is the cost. We have to make sure our organization can afford the hardware or software. If the product is very expensive, then we should consider alternatives that provide similar functionalities. Computer software contains of sets of instructions written in computer language to address particular tasks. In all sectors, software is used to address specific needs. For example, a Banking application handles banking operations and functions, while Human Resources software treats payroll, personnel and other employee issues. Furthermore in selecting computer hardware and software for the organization is have business strategy, organizational strategy and IS strategy. As known for the business strategy drives both organizational and information strategy and all decisions are driven by the firms business objectives. Business Strategy drives all other strategies. An organizational and Information Strategy are dependent upon the Business Strategy. IS strategy is affected by the other strategies as a firm uses and IS strategy always involves consequences. In addition for the organizational strategy includes the organizations design as well as the choices it makes in its work processes. How will the company organize in order to achieve its goals and implement its business strategy. Business Diamond is a simple framework for identifying crucial components of an organizations plan and Managerial Levers another framework for organizational design, states that successful execution of the firms organizational strategy is the best combination of organizational, control, and cultural variables. For next is IS strategy and it plan an organization uses in providing information services. IS allows business to implement its business strategy. IS also helps to determine the companys capabilities. Four key of IS infrastructure components are key to IS strategy. These key components are sufficient to allow the general manager to assess critical IS issues. What Who Where Hardware List of physical components of the system Individuals who use it Individuals who manage it Physical location Software List of programs, applications and utilities Individuals who use it Individuals who manage it What hardware it resides upon and where that hardware is located Networking Diagram of how hardware and software components are connected Individuals who us it/individuals who manage it/company service obtained from Where the nodes are located ,where the wires and other transport media are located Data Bits of information stored in the system Individuals who use it Individuals who manage it Where the information resides Information systems strategy matrix What management, organization and technology issues should be considered when selecting computer hardware Price the great equalizer, most important because it establishes the basic ground rule Performance what do you need the hardware to perform, this is where decisions are refined to meet specific needs within a specific budget. Reliability- IMHO most modern equipment is very reliable in hardware terms (software installations can be troublesome, but thats a different issue). Hardware and software costs a lot of money. IT is now critical to an organizations success so its important that the software meets the needs of the organization. Hardware needs to be sufficiently powerful to meet the demands that will be placed on it by the users. Management issues help our identify, communicate, monitor and resolve project issues. The project issue management process will help us to put in place the steps needed to quantify and report all issues within the project. Although it discuss about organization issues is about management, its not so much concerned with how to train and grade the staff as with how to build a usable system. However, it need to understand the auditors and checkout staff, or you wont be able to do even a halfway passable job. Many systems fail because their designers make unrealistic assumptions about the ability, motivation, and discipline of the people who will operate it. This isnt just a matter of one-off analysis. For example, an initially low rate of fraud can cause people to get complacent and careless, until suddenly things explode. Also, an externally induced change in the organization such as a merger or acquisition can undermine control. If you were a manager in a company that operates in many countries, what criteria would you use to determine whether a new system should be developed as a global application or local application? If I were a manager in a company that operates in many countries, the criteria would I use to determine a new system is global application. A global business plan determines how a business will develop and manage its operations around the world. Regularly its used by accessible companies as a plan for increasing rather than by new businesses. This business plan prepares a business to change its operations internally. Its also used externally for solved an investment capital that will be used for development. The criteria will I use to determine the new system is global application known as Feasibility studies purpose to goal and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simple term, the two criteria to consider feasibility is cost require and value to be attained. Such as a well-designed feasibility study have to provide a historical background of the business or project depiction of the product or service, accounting statements, details of the operations and management, marketing research and policies, financial data, legal requirements and tax dependent. Furthermore feasibility studies preliminary technical development and project consummation. Four common criteria: Technology and system feasibility The review is based on an outline design of system requirements in terms of Input, Processes, Output, Fields, Programs, and Procedures. It can be quantifier in terms of volumes of data, trends, frequency of updating, in order to interpret whether the new system will perform sufficiently or not. Technological feasibility is carried away to specify whether the company has the capability, of term in software, hardware, personnel and proficiency, to handle the completion of the project when writing a feasibility report, the following should be taken to consideration: †¢ A brief description of the business †¢ The part of the business being looked towards †¢ The human and economic factors †¢ The possible solutions to the problem Economic feasibility An economic criticism is the most oftentimes used method for evaluate the effective of a new system. More general known as cost/benefit analysis, the instruction is to define the benefits and savings that are expect from a candidate system and compare them with costs. If advantages outweigh costs, then the conclusion is made to design and implement the system. An entrepreneur must precise weigh the cost versus benefits before taking an action. Cost-based study: It is significant to identified cost and benefit factors, which can be categorize in a Development costs, and Operating costs. It is a criticism of the costs to be occasion in the system and the utility can be derivable out of the system. Time-based study: This is a significant of the time require achieving a return on investments. In a day value of a project also will become a factor. Operational feasibility Operational feasibility is a proceeding of how well a suggest system solves the problems, and takes benefits of the opportunities identified during scope definition and how it satisfies the requirements identified in the requirements analysis phase of system development. Scedule feasibility The project will abort if it takes too long to be completed before it is useful. Exclusively this means commentary how long the system will take to development, and if it can be completed in a given time phase using some system like payback term. Schedule feasibility is a action of how reasonable the project timetable is. Other feasibility factors Resource feasibility Resource feasibility involving questions such as how much time is available to build the new system, when it can be built, whether it interferes with normal business operations, type and amount of resources required, dependencies, Cultural feasibility In this stage, the projects alternatives are evaluated for their impact on the local and general culture. For example, environmental factors need to be considered and these factors are to be well known. Further an enterprises own culture can clash with the results of the project. Financial feasibility In matter of a new project, financial viability can be judged on the following parameters: †¢ Total estimated cost of the project †¢ Financing of the project in terms of its capital structure, debt equity ratio and promoters share of total cost †¢ Existing investment by the promoter in any other business †¢ Projected cash flow and profitability Conclusion As a conclusion, first question on the assignment can be consider as easy to do and give us a lot of understanding because by finding about the selecting computer hardware and software for the organization an important for management decision and what are the issues will be when selecting computer hardware. The first question and second question provides many acknowledgements to the students because by doing the question, student is learning about the hardware and software of tools to manage the organization in the selecting of hardware and software. When choosing hardware and software is whether it will do the job that we require it to do and who will be using this hardware and software. Theres no point in buying hardware or software that does nothing By doing the assignment, students can realize management information system played an important role in technology world. For those that always support and help us in this assignment, we want to say thank you very much. Bibliography Website address: http://www.formsthatwork.com/files/Articles/5F.pdf http://www.jidaw.com/article3.html (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070220193855AAZuhUY) Reference of books Business Analysis (2nd Edition), Paul, Debra Yeates, Donald Cadle, James, Publisher: British Informatics Society Limited , Date Published: 2010 Integrated Project Management, Barkley, Bruce T, Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing , Date Published: 04/2006

Normandy Essay example -- essays research papers fc

The battle of Normandy was the major turning point in the Second World War. It was a very well planned out attack of the Allies on western France against the Germans. Many people know a little about the day, but few know about the long planning, strategy, and results for both sides. At the end of November, Roosevelt and Churchill journeyed to Tehran for their first meeting with Stalin. The president and the Prime Minister had already approved, under the code name Overlord, a plan for a cross-channel attack. Roosevelt wholeheartedly favored executing Overlord as early in 1944 as the weather permitted. Chief Meteorologist for Eisenhower said, â€Å"By the time the conference was due to start we could not expect to have a complete set of surface level and upper air charts but a handful of reports from one or two critical areas west and south-west of Ireland, if consistent among themselves, would decide the issue- the terrifying issue whether Overlord would be definitely postponed for at least 24 hours or go irrevocably forward to the assault on the coasts of France at dawn next mourning†(Stagg 100-101). At Tehran, Churchill argued for giving priority to Italy and possible new offensives in the Balkans or southern France, but he was outvoted by Roosevelt and Stalin. Overlord was set for May 1944. After the meeting, the CCS recalled Eisenhower from the Mediterranean and gave him command of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), which was to organize and carry o...

Katherine Patterson’s Bridge to Terabithia Essay -- Bridge Terabithia

Katherine Patterson’s Bridge to Terabithia All children can relate in someway to Katherine Patterson’s Newberry Medal-winning children’s novel, Bridge to Terabithia. The characters are realistic people who could be one’s next door neighbors. From the shy and demure Jess to the vivacious and carefree Leslie, every kid can relate to one of the characters in this novel. The themes in this novel vary as much as the characters. Bridge to Terabithia is a good coming-of-age book that captures our imaginations and our hearts. Bridge to Terabithia is a story about a lonely boy, Jess Aarons, who grows up in a house where he is the only boy surrounded by four sisters and his mother. His father is there but always gone either working or looking for work. His greatest hope is to become the fastest runner in the fifth grade. All summer long he practices running but on the first day of school, he gets beat by the new girl, Leslie Burke. At first, she repels him. However, they soon become inseparable. Leslie and Jess are complete opposites. Jess is scared of a lot but Leslie is fearless. Leslie has imagination and inspiration and Jess envies that. Leslie’s family has money and gets along. Jess’ family is always scraping by and nearly dysfunctional. But nonetheless, they become best friends. In the woods, they create Terabithia, their own secret kingdom where they rule together. Leslie and Terabithia change Jess. He becomes a stronger person, less afraid of the world. But one cruel mor ning, tragedy strikes and Leslie dies. Jess must come to grips with her death and the world. Except now he has to do it alone. Symbolism is a literary element that stands out most in this novel. Patterson uses symbolism so well in this story. The title itself symbolizes Leslie. In chapter seven, Jess’ thoughts bring this symbol to light. â€Å"Jess tried going to Terabithia alone, but it was no good. It needed Leslie to make the magic. He was afraid he would destroy everything by trying to force the magic on his own, when it was plain that the magic was reluctant to come for him.†(65) We see this a second time in chapter eleven. The only way to enter Terabithia was to swing from the hanging rope, which was their bridge. Leslie died because the rope broke, causing her to fall and hit her head before landing in the stream, causing her to drown. The bro... ...r and the schoolyard bullies, and he realizes that he doesn’t need Leslie to protect him anymore and he does not need to take refuge in Terabithia because he can face his obstacles. â€Å"He thought about it all day, how before Leslie came, he had been a nothing-a stupid†¦It was Leslie who had taken him from the cow pasture into Terabithia and turned him into a king. Now it occurred to him that perhaps Terabithia was like a castle where you came to be knighted. After you stayed awhile and grew strong you had to move on.† (126) In the end, Jess builds a bridge to Terabithia and takes May Belle there and he becomes to May Belle who Leslie was for him. Jess does not need Leslie to enter Terabithia because although Leslie is gone, Terabithia will remain and live on with May Belle. There are a lot of children out there like Jess who are alone and scared and they just need to find their own Terabithia to give them courage to face the antagonists of their world. That is why Bridge to Terabithia is an excellent book for young readers. It gives them hope that they can face their world too. Works Cited: Patterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. New York. Harper Trophy. 1977.

Firepower Kills

â€Å"Le feu tue† (‘Firepower kills') Henri-Philippe Petain – 1916 Verdun. World War 1 is often called â€Å"the first modern war†. During World War 1 many new kinds of weapons and technology were invented and improved. Some of these weapons included tanks, chemical gases, grenades, and machine guns. Chemical Warfare was used for the first time on a large scale in World War I. many advancements were made during the war; in the air, on the ground, and in the sea. World War 1 started by a conflict and was fought between countries that were equipped with modern weapons. Some of these weapons rose and were very powerful like machine guns and others declined like bayonets. Both weapons and technology made a drastic impact on World War 1.Land battles were mostly fought on both the Western and Eastern fronts. Soldiers were surrounded by new technology and weapons that helped throughout the battlefield but also caused danger/death. Soldiers experienced a great deal of hardship while fighting on the fronts. The western front consisted of small parts of Europe, most of the fighting took over in France and Belgium. The eastern front was made up of battlefields in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia. â€Å"But on the last day, an astonishing number of English field guns opened up on us with high-explosive, drumming ceaselessly on our position, so that we suffered heavily and came back only eighty strong† (1.4). land war started by the use of Machine guns. Machine guns were the first and most famous weapon used in war, they are claimed to be the most dangerous weapon because the killed numerous lives during the war. Machine guns were invented by the Americans, however, the idea was stolen by the Germans. Machine guns at the time could fire up to 500 rounds per minute, but they were very heavy and they were very heavy. They had to be used by well-trained men who knew how to setup a gun and operate it quickly.Tanks were armored steel plated, belt tired, and heavily armed combat vehicles. First use of tanks on a battlefield was the use of British mark 1 tank at the battle of flers courcelette in 1915. The French soon followed the idea and created Renault FT, which established the look of the tank we see today. The Germans never got to producing their own tanks in WW1. The only German design of war was the A7V.Flamethrowers were first invented by a German inventor named Richard Fiedler. The flamethrower was designed to be carried on soldiers backs. It had two tanks, one that carried flammable liquid and the other that carried propellant gas. The squeeze of the trigger would send shooting flammable liquid up to 18 meters away, it was a weapon used to shoot big flames of fire against its enemies. It was used to burn soldiers and wooden obstacles such as bunkers. The Germans used these flamethrowers to attack more than 650 soldiers, mainly the British and French.Small bombs thrown by hand or shot by a rifle attachment were called grenades/bombs. Germans are the ones who created and mostly used these grenades during the war. The British made their own model of a grenade but it needed more work. By the year of 1917, all troops were required to carry extra grenades to capture and hold them against their enemies.Poisonous gas was introduced by the Germans in 1915. It is toxic smoke that can be very deadly if inhaled by humans. When the gas is inhaled it burns and liquidizes your lungs which causes death. If wind currents occurred while soldiers threw the gas at their enemies then it could easily be brought back to them and kill them. The only way to avoid the poisonous gas was to urinate on a cloth and hold up to ur mouth and nose. However, over time gas mask kits were provided to the soldiers. Airplanes were very recent they were invented by the Wright brothers 11 years ago. Airplanes were simple machines, more like to birds than anything else. The first missions were carried out as an observation. Most airplanes at the time were slow/flimsy contraptions with barely enough power to lift a single pilot and perhaps one passenger. Airplanes technology developed throughout war they became very important/useful.At the beginning of the war, most soldiers used the planes to spy on their enemies strategies. These planes usually carried a pilot and a photographer who would photograph the soldier's positions. The use of planes became very popular during the war, it became a crucial part of achieving victories. One of the first contributions in the war was at the first battle of Marne were reconnaissance planes spotted a gap in the German lines. The allies attacked the gap and were able to split the German army and drive them back. Fighter planes came into the war when they wanted to stop the reconnaissance planes. With more planes in the skies, enemy pilots began to fight each other in the air. At first, they tried throwing grenades at each other or shooting with rifles and pistols. It was useless and it didn't work very well. Pilots soon found out that the best way to shoot down an enemy is to mount a machine gun to the plane. However, because the machine gun was mounted to the front of the plane the propeller would get in the way of the bullets. Soon a new invention called the â€Å"interredur† was invented by Anton Fokker, it allowed the machine gun to be synchronized with the propeller, all planes started using this invention. As the war progressed, both sides began to use airplanes to drop bombs on enemy locations. The first planes used for bombings were made by the Russians and could only carry small bombs and they were very powerless to attack from the ground. By the end of the war, faster long-range bombers were built that could carry much larger weight bombs.Germany used zeppelins to drop bombs on targets from far away. These were slow moving but could carry a large load of explosives. Zeppelins were filled with hydrogen, so a small spark could blow up the entire aircraft. Germans used these zeppelins to bomb London and eastern England. â€Å"Germany's enemies, however, soon found that zeppelins, which were filled with hydrogen gas, quickly became raging infernos when hit by anti-aircraft guns† (Spielvogel, McTighe, 331). As the war continued it became useless because of the fast fighter planes that were used. The battles at sea were known as naval battles. These battles mainly took place in the northern sea and the Atlantic. The wars were mainly between Britain and Germany. Britain was trying to stop Germany from traveling or trading with the rest of the world across the north sea. that meant Germany could not receive important resources like food. Germany reacted by using u-boats to attack the ships that were trading and sending resources to Britain. Germany is the first one to create U-Boats and used them to destroy many enemy ships. U-Boats were dangerous and accurate. â€Å"U-boat is an abbreviation of the German unterseeboot and is a synonym for submarine†(Axelrod, 127). On September 1914, a U-Boat sank 3 British ships. In the U.S. U-boats turned its public opinion against Germany. This increased when Germany ordered a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, they sank every boat seen on the surface. This eventually made the U.S start sending ships into the war. Later on the British liner, Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat which carried innocent British and American civilians. Then on February 1, 1917, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare effective, But on February 3, 1917, Germany stopped unrestricted submarine warfare. Britain, France, Russia and the U.S had all developed submarine forces before Germany began development on the U-Boats in 1906, but during WW1 submarines were associated with the Imperial German Navy, which used the submarines to try to bridge the gap in naval strength because it struggles compared to Britain's Royal Navy. Longer-range U-boats were developed and torpedo quality improved during the war. Submarines could strike long bombs from beneath the waves with torpedoes but also surfaced them to use as their deck gun. An unsuccessful post-war effort was made to ban submarine warfare.Torpedoes are self-propelled missiles that can be launched from submarines or ships, or dropped into the sea from the undercarriage of planes. The first torpedoes were produced in the 1870s, it ran on compressed air and was slow and inaccurate. By 1914 German torpedoes could travel at up to 75 kilometers per hour over a range of several miles. This gave German U-boats a deadly advantage over the Allied ships. As the war progressed the British made rapid advances in torpedoes and sank at least 18 German U-boats with them. Mines were large explosive bombs planted underground, they were either remotely activated or by the impact of the soldier's footsteps. Navies also used sea mines which floated on the ocean and exploded when in contact with ships. Trench soldiers often dug tunnels to plant huge mines under enemy trenches and positions. One example of an incident occurred at Hill 60 during the Battle of Messines (June 1917) where Australian tunneling specialists exploded 450,000 kilograms of underground explosives, killing thousands of German troops.So it is clear that although the war was very deadly it still inherited many new weapons and technologies that helped throughout the war. Weapons and new technology really did affect the war it changed many lives, it brought innovation, creativity, and originality. WW1 weapons and technology proved to other countries who fought that humans will adapt to difficult environments and strategies that come by.

Bata Shoes Ltd Case study Essay

how has Bata interacted with foreign political systems Question 1 Following the First world War the Austro-Hungarian empire was fragmented into Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. During this period the Czechoslovakian state was conceived as a parliamentary democracy, with the constitution of 1920 giving the central government a high degree of control over local government. Czechoslovakia, in particular, saw rapid economic growth during the 1920 brought about by foreign investment and advances in manufacturing technology. The country proved particularly tempting for foreign investors such as the British, French, Belgian and Dutch due to low labour costs and readily available natural resources. Only in the shoe industry the foreign capital played no important role. Thanks to a monopoly position of Bata Works Czechoslovakia held the first place among the world’s leading shoe exporters in 1930’s after overtaking Great Britain and the USA. In 1938 interference by Hitler resulted in the old Slovak and Ruthenian demands for autonomy finally been granted. Czechoslovakia was deprived of one third of its territory containing some of its most important industrial centres and most fertile farm-land, leaving the country economically crippled. Following this Bata realised his business did not have good future prospects if it were to remain in Czechoslovakia. He sought to continue operations and preserve the business by moving to Canada as the country was viewed as a safer operating environment, both economically and politically. Bata move to Canada, along with one hundred of his staff and families, would see the company and its workers having to adapt to operations in a different political system to Czechoslovakia, the first of many adaptations they would have to make as the company expanded across the globe. The relocation in Canada was a big change for Bata, as the government there gives significant political power to the provinces which each have their own  trade barriers. This is a big contrast to Czechoslovakia, where the central government has great power over the provinces. However, Canada was seen as very politically and economically stable in comparison to Czechoslovakia despite the political differences mentioned above. With operations in over 60 countries across the world, Bata Limited runs as a decentralised operation in order to allow its managers to adjust operating procedures to local environments. However tight control of Bata’s core philosophies and strategies are in place, even though these may be different from that of the country the operation is in and the managers and workers employed there. This could potentially cause problems if pursued too rigorously. However, the text states that Bata does interact with foreign political systems with Thomas G. Bata travelling extensively to check on quality control and to ensure good relations with the governments of the countries in which Bata operates. This interaction is particularly important as I feel Bata offers a number of key benefits to many of the countries it chooses to invest in such as increased economic stability due to their labour intensive operations and policy of purchasing materials locally. The countries Bata operates in vary in the amount of political and economic freedom they offer to their citizens and companies operating there. The case states that Bata does not won 100 percent of the factories it has in some countries. It appears that Bata prefer to own 100 percent of their factories, but are willing to compromise if the political situation requires. This includes taking minority ownership, or in some cases providing licensing, consulting and technical assistance where it does not have an equity interest in a country. Bata seem to work this policy well as they have the flexibility to cope with these different operating environments. I believe this is a sensible policy as it allows Bata intrusion into markets that may become freer and more prosperous in the future. Bata serves its markets by producing in each market all it will sell there. It will buy raw materials locally and achieves economies of scale due to its processes being very labour intensive. One may suggest that the lack of  exports would make Bata a less attractive prospect for the host countries as little outside money is feeding into the economy. However, since operations are labour intensive there will be a great benefit from the job opportunities created. The main issue that causes problems to arise in some countries is if raw materials are imported into the countries in question rather than being brought locally. In such cases the case states that Bata â€Å"must adjust to local laws and requirements for operation†. However, by normally buying raw materials within the countries Bata operates in it appears to work well with the governments concerned. The main driving force behind Bata choosing not to export goods is the security that operating domestically brings, such as the avoidance of problems associated with exporting like if an importing country were to restrict trade. Bata obviously feels that stability is of key importance to its strategy, particularly in many of the less economically developed areas in which it operates. In these countries there are not the laws to protect workers rights and safeguard income in times of unemployment, so if a factory were to close the effect would be very hard hitting to the workers and would potentially ruin Bata’s political relations permanently. Bata operates in countries with varying degrees of freedom. Tom Bata Snr. prefers to operate in democratic countries as these offer the chance to discuss issues, whereas totalitarian regimes do not. However, Bata have still operated under some Totalitarian regimes such as South Africa, Chile and Uganda. In Uganda Bata has had its operations nationalised and de-nationalised twice while operating under a violent and repressive regime that saw the expulsion of many skilled foreigners. Bata took the view that people would still need jobs and shoes whatever political system they were living under, a similar view that has been expressed recently by many people talking about Iraq. Therefore operations would continue. Bata benefited as the way it operated fitted in with the Ugandan governments policy of becoming more self sufficient, rather than relying on imports. This is because Bata obtained its raw materials from with the country and offered the stability of selling  in their home market. Bata also helped the government with a second policy that aimed to promote links between agriculture and industry, with the raw materials coming from rural areas. The continued presence of Bata in Uganda, despite the expulsion of many foreign workers, reinforces its faith in local workforce, which in turn helped build trust. By fitting in with these policies Bata was able to operate in Uganda while many other companies were forced to leave, and benefit from a 98% share of the shoe market. Bata followed a similar model in Chile where Pinochet ruled the country for a period of time while the company operated there. Again Bata saw no need to leave to country as it viewed its investment there to be long term, in which time various political systems would come and go, but people would always need jobs and shoes. Many of the benefits offered by Bata to Uganda were also of benefit to the Chilean government and people. The regimes in both Uganda and Penochet Chile both suffered from poor human rights records. Bata was therefore put under some pressure to withdraw from these countries by various parties including governments and international organisations. However, Bata was always able to argue that it had been in the countries far longer than the regimes in place and had seen many come and go. Its simple reason for being there was the fact that people needed shoes, and it was in a good position of providing this basic need. South Africa caused far greater problems for Bata. Here the same type of extreme regime was seen as in countries such Uganda and Chile. The difference for Bata was that South Africa attracted far more public attention across the globe. The Canadian government took a very negative view of Canadian countries having interests in South Africa. Maybe more importantly public opinion and knowledge about the regime in South Africa were to have a big effect on the company. Bata possibly realised that if it continued to operate in South Africa it would risk alienating itself from its consumers in countries such as Canada and the US and set itself up for ridicule by the large number of international organisations opposed to apartheid. In this situation it was important for Bata to interact with the various political systems involved to withdraw operations from South Africa while causing minimum disruption. It sold its holding in South Africa in 1986. It did not identify the buyer or the sales price, and it denied that apartheid was the reason for its pulling out, citing that all factors had been taken into account with respect to its investment. Bata ensured that the Bata name and trademark could not be used by the buyer and that the jobs of the workers in its plants would be preserved. Why they now operate in Czech Rep, but not Slovakia. Question 2 Czechoslovakia has being subject to turbulent time in the period following World War II. With the advent of communist rule countries were often formed from different ethnic groups held together by totalitarian rule, as was the case here. The break-up of the communist bloc in 1989 resulted in the disintegration of countries such as Czechoslovakia, that would be split into two independent nations; The Czech Republic and Slovakia. The fact that both of these countries are now free from communist rule does not necessarily mean that they are free. Freedom House is an organisation that monitors the political rights and civil liberties of countries around the world and rank them to the degree that freedom exists. Below is a summary of the assessment they give to the Czech republic and Slovakia. Since 1972, Freedom House has published an annual assessment of state state of freedom by assigning each country and territory the status of â€Å"Free,† â€Å"Partly Free,† or â€Å"Not Free† by averaging their political rights and civil liberties ratings. Countries whose combined averages for political rights and for civil liberties fall between 1.0 and 2.5 are designated â€Å"free†; between 3.0 and 5.5. artly free? and between 5.5 and 7.0 ot free.? As we can see from the chart above, both countries are now considered politically free. However, economically Slovakia still lags behind the Czech Republic. It has being politically free for less time and lacks consistency in the freedom scores it achieves, suggesting that the political system may be subject to some instability. Bata express concern relating to Slovakia not being economically free in the case. As The Czech Republic is clearly further along in its progress to economic freedom than is Slovakia, Bata is likely to face considerably less government intervention in its business. Private property ownership and protection, property rights, and economic competition are likely to be more common in the Czech Republic making the operating environment more stable. In Slovakia, Bata is likely to face greater political risks. There is likely to be more political instability in Slovakia, usually an indicator that there is also a lack of economic freedom. It also appears from the case that Slovakia may not have a very positive attitude toward foreign investment, despite Bata roots in the region. Bata would benefit from investment in both the Czech republic and Slovakia. From a nostalgic point of view, Bata will be able to return to the home country. Bata will also gain access to large facilities and a huge market in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The Czech Republic and Slovakia would also benefit from Bata’s investment themselves. They would gain access to Bata global design, production, and marketing expertise. They will be able to design better, more fashionable, and more reasonably priced shoes. The Czech Republic and Slovakia might be able to get Bata to invest significant capital into the plant to get it up to world-class standards. Bata will create new jobs for Czech and Slovakian workers, especially as the processes are quite labour intensive. Bata also has a policy of buying raw materials locally, benefiting the host countries economy as a whole. There are some disadvantages of investment for both parties too. Bata may be forced to pay compensation for its own plants if the company chooses to invest in Slovakia. There is also a slightly higher risk of political instability and economic restrictions in the country. There are also disadvantages for the countries involved. Bata may actually have better production processes than are currently employed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Therefore they may actually require less workers than are currently employed in the factories so workers would be made unemployed. Bata do not export goods so do not bring as much foreign capital into the country as maybe would be expected by a company of their size. Bata reentered the Czech Republic and not Slovakia because the two countries have very different economic environments. The Czech Republic is moving more quickly than Slovakia toward a free market system. Slovakia are also in dispute with Bata regarding the ownership of the companies former factories in the country. The Slovak government appear disinterested in helping to solve the problem by implementing new laws to make it very difficult for companies in the same situation as Bata to regain their former property without either reaching agreement with the new owners or by taking expensive  legal action. When looking at this evidence it looks advantageous for Bata not to seek to reinvest in Slovakia at present. Explain the current situation and relate to probable causes mentioned above The political environment can have a dramatic impact on the operations of a firm. For example managers in most western European countries may be accustomed to a stable political system and a relatively homogenous population. This is often not true in other countries. A political system integrates the parts of a society into a viable, functioning unit. Sometimes that is a very difficult task. A country political system influences how business is conducted domestically and internationally. The basic political ideologies of a country are the body of ideas, theories and aims that constitute a socio-political program. The ultimate test of any political system in its ability to hold a society together despite pressures from different ideologies tending to split it apart. History, culture, language, religion, geography and political ideologies help define national borders. Forms of government range from Democracy to Totalitarianism. Democracies usually have economic freedom and laws that safeguard individual and corporate rights and are often preferred by investors. The more developed democracies tend to have the following characteristics. Freedom in the areas of political rights and civil liberties are particularly important in democracies. These are measured by the organisation Freedom House using a number of indicating factors, and the results compiled to rank countries according to their degree of freedom. In 1998, 88 of the worlds countries were â€Å"free† and 50 were â€Å"not free†. Free countries are high in both political rights and civil liberties, whereas those countries who deny their citizens basic political rights and civil liberties are not free. In addition 53 countries were partly free, with limited political rights and civil liberties, often in the context of corruption, weak rule of law, ethnic strife or civil war. Despite the large proportion of countries claiming to operate democratic governments, many new democracies around the world are not yet stable with few political parties and corruption threatening the system’s survival. Examples include Indonesia and some countries from the former Soviet union. Businesses should be cautious when looking to invest in these areas. In contrast to democracies, totalitarian regimes offer far less political and economic freedom. Forms of totalitarianism include fascism (Mussolini Italy), authoritarianism (Chile under Pinochet), and communism. Communists believe in the equal distribution of wealth, which entails total government ownership and control of resources. Political systems have a great impact on management decisions. This includes political risk and government intervention in the economy. Political risk occurs when there is a possibility that the political climate in a foreign country will change in such a way that the operations of  international companies in that country will deteriorate. Types of political risk include government takeovers of property, operating restrictions, and agitation that damage the company performance. Such problems can be caused by changing opinions of political leadership, civil disorder, and changes in external relations (such as animosity between the home and host country governments. We can see many examples of the above in the Bata case. The companies operations were taken over in Czechoslovakia with the advent of communist rule. They are subject to operating restrictions in several countries where they are not allowed to have 100 percent ownership of their plants. Animosity between the home Canadian government and the South African host government during the Apartheid era was a contributing factor that lead to Bata’s eventual withdrawal from South Africa. Civil disorder and strike action has affected the companies operations in several countries over the years. Government intervention in the economy occurs because some governments adopt an ndividualistic paradigm?and keep intervention in the economy at a minimum. Others adopt a ommunitarian paradigm?wherein the government plays a larger role in the economy. They thrive on a respected, centralised bureaucracy with a stable political party or coalition in power. If a U.S. firm moves from the United States (individualistic) to Germany, Japan, or South Korea (communitarian), it may have to develop new strategies for its relationships with government, suppliers, customers, and competitors. Bata show evidence of adapting to different environments as the case states that the company is â€Å"run as a decentralised operation in which its managers are free to adjust operating procedures to local environments†. This highlights how the company acknowledge the need to be flexible in order to fit in under varying restrictions depending where in the world they are. Stable democracies are usually seen as the safest operating environment for businesses. In the Bata case Tom Bata Snr states that he prefers a democratic system â€Å"a democracy offers the potential to discuss and change proceedings, whereas under totalitarianism it is sometimes wisest to remain silent†. However, one must remember that not all democracies operate in the same way. For example the degree to which citizens are involved in the  political process and the degree of centralised control. In the case Bata relocate from Czechoslovakia to Canada. Here the provinces have significant political power at expense of the federal government. Many provinces have their own trade barriers. Companies often have difficulty determining how to operate in decentralised democratic systems because they face many different laws and regulations. For example different tax laws. For this reason one assumes that Bata carefully chose exactly which state it would relocate to when it moved to Canada. Bibliography ?Kurian, George Thomas 1992. Encyclopedia of the Third World, fourth edition, volume III, Facts on File: New York, N.Y., pp. 2009-2011. ?Source: Byrnes, Rita M. (ed.) 1992. Uganda A Country Study, Library of Congress: Washington D.C. p. 123 ?The history of Slovakia (1929 – 1938) From Wall Street Crash to Munich http://www.adc.sk/english/slovakia/index.htm ?Skilling H. G. ed.: Czechoslovakia 1918-88. MacMillan Academic and Professional LTD., 1991. ?J.D. Daniels and L.H. Radebaugh, International Business, Environment and Operations, 9th Edition – 2001, Prentice Hall. Ch 3 ?D. Holt and K. Wiggington, International Business, Second Edition ?2002, Harcourt College Publishers, Ch 3 ?Freedom House, http://www.freedomhouse.org/ ?R. Griffin and M. Pustay, International Business, A managerial perspective, Third Edition ?2002, Prentice Hall