Internet Project Target s Social Responsibility

INTERNET PROJECT: TARGET’S SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. (World Business Council for Development, 2016) Environment Goals Specific Task Action Taken to Achieve Task 2014 Progress Source (Page #) Example: Increase sustainable seafood selection Ensure that our fresh and frozen seafood selection is 100 percent sustainable, and traceable, or in a time-bound improvement process by 2015. At the end of fiscal 2014, 58 percent of the fresh and frozen seafood we sell in our U.S. stores met†¦show more content†¦2.7% reduction 4 Team Member Well- Being Goals Specific Task Action Taken to Achieve Task Progress Source (Page #) 7. Increase use of financial tools Increase the percentage of team members participating in the Target 401(k) who are using financial tools and resources provided by Target to 30 percent by 2015. By the end of 2014, 22.5 percent of team members participating in the Target 401(k) plan were using financial tools and resources provided by Target. In 2014, we drove progress against this goal by creating easier access to resources and allowing individuals to personally assess their financial wellness, find financial information based upon a life event, or find tools that help them reach a financial goal. We will continue these efforts in 2015 to increase participation companywide. 22.5% participation 6 5. Increase colon cancer screenings Increase the percentage of eligible team members and dependents enrolled in a Target health plan getting colon cancer screenings to 63 percent by 2015. 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Movie Analysis Boxing Helena - 1086 Words

CAPTION: Main Line Pictures, Inc. v. Basinger, 1994 WL 814244 (Cal.App. 2 Dist.) FACTS: Actress Kim Basinger provided â€Å"loan-out† services to Mighty Wind, Inc. Main Line Pictures, Inc. sent Basinger a copy of the screenplay for the film â€Å"Boxing Helena† in December 1990. On January 24, 1991, Basinger met with her talent agent, Intertalent, and agreed to star in the film. Contract discussions between Basinger’s attorneys (Attorney Philips and Attorney Russell) and Main Line’s attorney (Attorney Wyman) were held. Both parties agreed that Basinger would be compensated $3 million, including $600,000 as well as additional deferred compensation. On February 27, 1991, both party’s attorneys discussed the material terms of the contract, in which Attorney Phillips agreed to each term. Attorney Wyman sent Attorney Phillips a deal memo dated on February 27, 1991 regarding terms for Basinger’s role in the film. Due to time constraints, an oral agreement was reached and material terms were compiled into written documents, including the Acting Service Agreement and a Producer s Standard Terms and Conditions for an Actor/Actress -- Loan-out. An â€Å"inducement† was also created. On March 7, 1991, these documents were sent to Attorney Phillips. Both attorneys exchanged various drafts of the documents in addition to sending Basinger copies. Many ancillary terms were changed and agreed upon. In April 1991, Basinger changed her talent agent to International Creative Management who suggestedShow MoreRelatedMain Line Pictures Vs. Kim Basinger Essay853 Words   |  4 PagesIt seems like an awfully difficult task to calculate lost profits to Main Line Pictures in this case. Kim Basinger, a well-known and very reputable actress, walked away from a movie deal causing Main Line Pictures to lose money. The amount of Main Line’s loss can never be determined with pinpoint accuracy, and Main Line would not have made the profit that they indicate they would have. However, is the plaintiff correct and are the claims the plaintiff is bringing forward reasonable? First, MainRead MoreMain Line vs Basinger2271 Words   |  10 Pagesan excellent example of the importance for accurate cost-profit decision making. Main Line had a verbal contract with Actress Kim Basinger to star in the film, Boxing Helena but had withdrawn from the project. The suit was heard in early 1993 in the Superior Court of the State of California, for the County of Los Angeles. The analysis of plaintiff and defendants’ arguments showcased in this suit indicates that regardless of the business, understanding and documenting the affects of decisions are

Marketing and Competitive Environment of a University Brand

Question: Discuss about the Marketing and Competitive Environment of a University Brand. Answer: Introduction The report following report is conducted on the marketing strategies and competitive environment of the University of New South Wales in Australia. The University of New South Wales is one of largest research and teaching university. The university has an increasing popularity across Australia. The university has developed an academic environment where outstanding students as well as scholar across the world pursue their programs of study and research. The purpose of the report is to identify the current marketing strategies and assess its efficiency compared to others in the industry. The report provides an intensive analysis of the current marketing strategies of University of New South Wales. Market background NSW in Australia is rapidly growing due to its enhanced marketing strategies. Australian universities have observed an intensive review as well as reform over the past few years. As the Federal government launched a demand-driven funding model for the universities, NSW in Sydney has paved its way for increasing the number of domestic students during the period 2012 to 2015 (Research.unsw.edu.au UNSW, 2017). On the other side, as Australian economy is persistently stable, people are able to spend more money on the universities for receiving higher quality of education. In addition to this, another major significant driver that positively influences the growth of New South Wales is the enrolment of international students. As the government has made changes in the VISA, thousands of students receive the opportunity to pursue higher education in the top universities of large cities like Sydney. Market summary As mentioned by Wheelahan et al., (2012) the demand of high quality of education in Australia is rapidly increasing. Undoubtedly, the universities are gaining a huge amount of profits as they have student from both domestic as well as international market. As mentioned by Behrendt et al., (2012) Australian universities are highly preferred by the students of Asian countries. However, though the demand of Australian education is high, the market has entry barriers due to stringent regulations and high cost of infrastructure. The Australian universities have observed a high cost, which is associated with the delivery of higher education. This may include recruitment of qualified academic teachers, advertising, design and enhancement of course content. The revenue of the university is estimated to expand at an annual rate of 4.5% during the period 2016-2017 (Bossu, Bull Brown, 2012). Market demand Assessment As discussed earlier, the demand of Australian education is significantly high as the universities have been able to provide the desired quality of education. In such context, Siemens, Shah Sid Nair (2013) commented that the Australian universities have gained the tremendous popularity due to the availability of stable economy, advanced technology, favorable regulatory framework and persistent support from the government of the country. On the other side, it is also identified that as the online education is highly preferred in the country, the requirement for classroom is reduced, which eventually decrease the cost of infrastructure for existing universities. However, the new university or the entrants may not get the opportunity to provide online education due to lack of market share and popularity in the new environment (Behrendt et al., 2012). Additionally, it has been found out that Australian universities do not differentiate the domestic students. Therefore, the enrollment of domestic students remains high. For example, the University of New South Wales provides a very similar array of course programs to students of home country with no price competition. Nonetheless, the differences in price have only been found in the global environment. Segmentation and Target market Demographic segmentation-Some particular aspects are usually considered while segmenting the customers demographically. The aspects are such as age, religion, gender, family size, income and education (Sharma Lambert, 2013). When it comes to age and life cycle, the universities know, the needs of the students might change. The University of New South Wales pays the major attention on Post Graduate and the Ph.D students who do not want to drop education in the middle of the course. The graduate and high school student have the tendency to drop education in the middle of the course and then again, they join after years. However, universities cannot earn desired profits from the high school and under graduate students. Based on Australian culture, it is observed that demand of marketing is course programs are high in Australia. Thus, NSW focuses on the students who are interested in marketing programs such MBA and BM. As the economy is comparatively high in Australia, the cost of the programs are little higher but affordable. The families located in the large cities like Sydney, Canberra are prime customers of NSW as the families living in the urban areas and capital of Australia have high disposable income than the sub-urban areas. Geographic segmentation- The opportunities of higher education are largely available in Australia, student from different countries prefer to pursue education. Almost 31% of international student are from the Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Maldives, and Middle East countries (Harmon 2015). Target market- The target markets of University of New South Wales are both the tier-tier-II and I cities in the domestic environment. A large percentage of students from domestic environment take admission at UNSW. However, the focus of the university is also on the Asian market. Almost 13% of international students are from India. Thus, India is one the major market of UNSW (Shah Sid Nair. 2013). Current marketing mix analysis Product: As the demand of marketing is comparatively high than others, UNSW provides different marketing programs such as Masters Business Administration, HRM courses, product development programs, Service Strategy, Strategic Branding, health science, law, finance and many more (Research.unsw.edu.au UNSW, 2017). Price- Implementing the principles of regulatory framework, UNSW sets the competitive prices for its products or courses. For postgraduate Masters Degree, the university charges AUD$20,000 to $37000 per year for international students. However, domestic students, the cost will be about $17,500 to $ 31,500 dollar (Research.unsw.edu.au UNSW, 2017). Promotion-In order to promote the services and courses NSW arranges different educational campaign in different cities Australia. Moreover, in order to reach the global market, the university has paid the attention to social media marketing. The marketing department promotes the courses by developing an advertisement featuring content of course, galleries, infrastructure, events, and alumni programs on social media tools like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Place- University of New South Wales has developed its campus and construction especially in Tier I cities like Sydney and Canberra. PEST analysis Political environment- As put forward by Butler et al., (2013) the Australian government has always been supportive towards the private universities. However, certain regulations have been imposed on private universities. In the recent time, Australian government expressed a demand to maximize the number of students from a larger diversity of backgrounds. In addition, the government of Australia is developing several mechanisms to supervise the quality of learning and teaching in the tertiary education. Environmental- The end of last financial year in Australia indicates that economic position of the country is stable. The nation carries an enviable and strong economy with per capita GDP. However, the funding in higher education sector is very tight as well as competitive. As put forward by Doherty, Steel and Parrish (2012), education is the foundation of Australian economy as the sector employs almost 8% of the workers. Social- The needs students and their expectation are changing. As the fees of the courses have increased, a considerable shift is identified in Australias education sector- client-centre focus. The universities are perceived to be modern with the developed structure and enhanced teaching style. Technology- As Australia is technologically developed, the higher education sector in the country has embraced the innovation technology. Each university has individual online portal for internal submission of projects, papers and other tasks. Competitor analysis The major competitor of University of New South Wale is Western Sydney University. WSU is step ahead due to its capital investment and strategic capability (Bentley et al., 2013) Objective To become the leading global university To provide the advanced courses with the technology and highly skilled staff To create a diverse environment of education To become the largest research centre in the world Strategy Major focus on the large market such as European nations Promote Australian education in the global environment Hire global talents for high quality of education Reduced the cost of operation and attract highest number of students Strategic Capability Highly qualified staff High tech multi-media labs A diversified workforce Strong financial background as the university takes part in the CSR activities Assumptions Western Sydney University could be a major threat for University New South Wales as the University has strong global presence. WSU covers the entire European market, especially, the economically developed countries like Germany, Russia. In the near future, Western Sydney University could get into the Asian market. SWOT analysis Strength v High demand in the internal environment v Wide reach due to the strong presence in digital media v Outstanding performance achievement v Located in the Tier-1 city Weaknesses v Lack of skilled and competent technical staff v UNSW is not able to offer job opportunities to students v Lack of shareholders Opportunities v As the government had made changes in the VISA requirement, the University has many opportunities to enroll students from all nations v As the government cannot arrange the fund for public universities enhancement, the private university like NSW is high preferred. Threats v Increasing competition among the existing universities as the demand is high v As the technology is rapidly changing and the education is vastly dependent on the virtual technology. Thus, present investment on technology is just a mere initiative. The company has to make large investment on the use of technology such as recruitment of IT staff. Table 1: SWOT analysis Value and brand positioning analysis When it comes to brand positioning, UNSW effectively understands the market. The marketing department of the brand knows Asian students are lagging behind in the global environment due to unavailability of developed education and technology. The university keeps the focus on the Asian market. To position the value of the services, University provides optimal opportunities to students such as advanced presentation and audio-visual equipments, a campus library with access to intensive array of online database. Thus, the students are able to keep the latest information in the respective field. Plasma screen is installed in the ground floor to convey latest information. References Behrendt, L. Y., Larkin, S., Griew, R., Kelly, P. (2012). Review of higher education access and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Final report. Bentley, P. J., Coates, H., Dobson, I. R., Goedegebuure, L., Meek, V. L. (2013). Factors associated with job satisfaction amongst Australian university academics and future workforce implications. InJob satisfaction around the academic world(pp. 29-53). Springer Netherlands. Bossu, C., Bull, D., Brown, M. (2012). Opening up Down Under: the role of open educational resources in promoting social inclusion in Australia.Distance Education,33(2), 151-164. Butler, J. R., Wong, G. Y., Metcalfe, D. J., Honzk, M., Pert, P. L., Rao, N., ... Brodie, J. E. (2013). An analysis of trade-offs between multiple ecosystem services and stakeholders linked to land use and water quality management in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.Agriculture, Ecosystems Environment,180, 176-191. Devlin, M. (2013). Bridging socio-cultural incongruity: Conceptualising the success of students from low socio-economic status backgrounds in Australian higher education.Studies in Higher Education,38(6), 939-949. Doherty, I., Steel, C., Parrish, D. (2012). The challenges and opportunities for professional societies in higher education in Australasia: A PEST analysis. Gribble, C., Blackmore, J. (2012). Re-positioning Australia's international education in global knowledge economies: implications of shifts in skilled migration policies for universities.Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management,34(4), 341-354. Harmon, G. (2015). Australia as an higher education exporter. International Higher Education, (42). Harmon, G. (2015). Australia as an higher education exporter.International Higher Education, (42). Research.unsw.edu.au UNSW (2017). Research Gateway | Information about Research at UNSW.. Retrieved 13 April 2017, from https://research.unsw.edu.au Romeo, G., Lloyd, M., Downes, T. (2012). Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF): Building the ICT in education capacity of the next generation of teachers in Australia.Australasian Journal of Educational Technology,28(6). Shah, M., Sid Nair, C. (2013). Private for-profit higher education in Australia: widening access, participation and opportunities for public-private collaboration.Higher Education Research Development,32(5), 820-832. Sharma, A., Lambert, D. M. (2013). Segmentation of markets based on customer service.International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management. Siemens, G., Dawson, S., Lynch, G. (2013). Improving the quality and productivity of the higher education sector.Policy and Strategy for Systems-Level Deployment of Learning Analytics. Canberra, Australia: Society for Learning Analytics Research for the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching. Wardle, J., Steel, A., Adams, J. (2012). A review of tensions and risks in naturopathic education and training in Australia: a need for regulation.The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine,18(4), 363-370. Wheelahan, L., Arkoudis, S., Moodie, G., Fredman, N., Bexley, E. (2012).Shaken Not Stirred? The Development of One Tertiary Education Sector in Australia. NCVER Monograph Series 08/2012. National Centre for Vocational Education Research Ltd. PO Box 8288, Stational Arcade, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

Marketing Plan for Pharmasim free essay sample

These competitors offer various products from general cold medicine offerings to single-use medicines. It is likely that these companies will continue to develop new offerings in that arena to have greater coverage across different segments. To defend against these moves, the Allround brand must expand its line, and introduce new products to the market. This will provide an additional area for growth and revenue, allow the company to use the strong brand recognition to help launch the new products, and ensure that the product lineup is meeting current consumer trends and demands. Our sales force works with the channel’s large retailers/chain stores (direct sales) or with wholesalers/retailers (indirect sales) to ensure prominent product placement. Our sales force also works to maintain relationships with the key decision makers at each of these channels. If these relationships are damaged, there is a direct impact to sales and therefore profitability. Our outlined marketing plan will work to strengthen these relationships and allow for a dialog with the channels that will be invaluable for our organization. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Plan for Pharmasim or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is evident that Allstar Brands needs a detailed marketing plan in order to positively progress in the future. Outlined below are the key areas in a marketing plan as well as suggestions for achieving our marketing objectives. B) Situation and Environment Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Allround has the highest brand awareness of any other competitor. Allround has the highest market share based on sales revenue for OTC medicine. Allstar is the market leader in the cold remedy market. Weaknesses Allround has a low customer retention rate compared to some other competitor brands. Allstar’s current product offering only focuses on the cold category, which is a small portion of the total available market. Allstar has a small sales force to promote its product. Only 14% of total marketing expenses allocated to sales force. Product placement in stores is not optimum. Allround contains alcohol, which is a side effect that consumers dislike. Allstar has only one product on the market. Consumer preference is leading to capsule form, and most competitors already supplying in capsule form. Opportunities Allstar has the ability to tap into another segment of the market by offering a brand extension, such as the cough or allergy segments. -Allstar has the ability to add brand extensions that fit customer needs. -Allstar can remove the alcohol from its product line. Threats -Consumers perceive alcoholic content in OTC medication negatively. -Other OTC competitors are receiving higher doctor recommendations than Allround. -Allround has a lower customer retention rate compared to other competitor brands. Allstar is only focusing on the cold category, which makes up a small portion of the available market. -Product placement in stores not optimal compared to competition. -Introduction of new products by competitors can erode Allstar’s market share. Competitors CompanyAllstarBBEthikDriscolCompetitor Summary Brand NameAllroundBesthelpExtraDryup Market SegmentColdAllergy/ColdCough/Cold/NasalAllergy/Nasal/ColdDiversified in other market segments Product4-hr multi symptom cold liquid4-hr cold capsule12-hr cold capsule4 hr multi-symptom cold capsuleAll cold medicine in capsule form Price$5. 9$4. 89$4. 49$5. 09Lower MSRP unit price for competitors Market share40. 4%25. 2%19. 5%14. 9%59. 6% Share Cold Sales Revenue$355M$222M$172M$131M$525M Total Sales$355M$286M$395M$255M$936M/$1491(63%) % of Business Related to Cold Sales100%78%44%51% Cold Sales $’s Period 0$355M$222M$172M$130M$879M Total Allstar’s major competitors are BB, Ethik, and Driscol. All competitors of Allstar’s are diversified into other categories of the OTC market and not dependent upon just the cold segment. This is one area where Allstar can potentially improve its sales and diversify its product lines. Although Allstar has the highest brand awareness, it also has the highest price amongst competitors. The fact that Allround has a strong reputation in the market place due to the product effectiveness allows Allround to maintain a higher price than its competition. All other competitors supply its OTC in capsule form, which is the preferred method of consumption by consumers. Allstar must be aware of the various formulations of the competitors, be selective in considering new products to market, and pay attention to newly offered products and the markets the competitors are targeting. The Allstar team needs to reassess the strategy and approach each period based upon competitor information while maintaining the long-term strategic objectives. Economics Allstar must monitor the economic conditions when deciding the appropriate budget allocations to advertising, sales force, promotion, and discounts. Inflation is a major influential factor that can affect total pricing and the costs of goods sold, which will affect the company’s bottom line. In order to sustain proper pricing, Allstar’s marketing team must monitor inflation and deflation in the market place to determine the optimum pricing strategy. Allstar must adjust its pricing to reflect inflation rates in the market as this will have a negative impact to net income, as costs will continue to rise. Social/Cultural Allstar must focus on the needs of its customers and monitor any changes in the behaviors of its consumers. One factor to consider is the amount of medication in Allround and the perceptions of physicians and consumers. Obtaining recommendations from the medical community is crucial to the success of the product, as some consumers value the advice from physicians. Some doctors may not recommend Allround because of the alcohol content or that the multi-symptom formulation contains too much medicine. Our team must decide the best formulations of OTC medications that meet the needs of the consumers while at the same time satisfy the medical community in terms of medicinal content and brand effectiveness. Allstar must also consider motivational factors to get consumers to continue to buy our products and the appropriate sales force and incentives to motivate the sales force to promote our brand. Some consumers are motivated to purchase based upon coupons. Motivational factors vary for the various sales channels: large grocery stores, mass merchandisers, and chain drugstores are incentivized by turnover and allowances, and independent drugstores by the number of sales people on the account. Allstar must ensure the appropriate allocation and combination of promotion and sales force to ensure our product gets the optimum attention and exposure. Political/Legal The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the amount of medication that can be contained in a single dose and the frequency in which a consumer should consume the dosage. In selecting new products, the Allstar marketing team must select products that will avert potential risks for the company. Selecting a product that has not received FDA approval could delay time to market and miss a potential sales window. Introducing a product to the market that has higher than average the recommended ingredients could be a potential risk should the FDA impose stricter regulations on the amount of ingredients. The team will pay close attention to the formulations offered before introducing these to the market place, scrutinize the ingredient type and amount of medication in each, and assess the risk associated to the potential regulation of the product. Natural Environment Climate change is an ongoing concern and can affect the weather patterns and temperature fluctuations, which can affect the health of the population as a whole. Changes in climate could potentially increase or decrease the demand for OTC products. The team must monitor symptoms of consumers and offer products that meet the needs of the consumers. Currently, the most reported symptoms are aches, chest congestion, and coughing. The reported symptoms could potentially change over time and Allstar needs to take into consideration potential changes that could occur based upon changing environmental factors. Technological Allstar is C) Marketing Objectives Allstar’s long-term marketing objectives are: 1)Increase market share 10%+ 2)Increase net income annually by 20+ (annual growth) 3)Increase customer satisfaction to at least 60% 4)Increase consumer brand awareness to at least 85% The team will also evaluate results at the end of each period via the performance summary report and adjust the short-term strategy via the various input elements: marketing strategy, marketing mix, pricing, promotion, sales force allocation, target markets and channels. Overall, we will adhere to our long-term plan to achieve our long-term objectives. D) Target Market Prior to determining the best way to market our product, we needed to identify our target market of consumers. In doing so, we sought to identify and profile distinct groups of buyers who might prefer our product over our competitions’ product. Based on this, we aligned our advertising and promotion accordingly. When analyzing the market research, we noticed that young families, mature families, empty nesters, and retired individuals accounted for over eighty-five percent of the cold, cough, and allergy market. Additionally, as Allround treats several different symptoms, it can be appealing to a large market with varying symptoms. Because of this, we used this demographic variable to identify our market. For psychographic considerations, the interests and opinions of the target market were considered. For example, we did not initially target young families. The original formulation of Allround included alcohol as an ingredient. Due to this ingredient, we did not market to young families for fear of an unintentional backlash from this demographic. We were aware that young parents would not approve a pharmaceutical company marketing a cold medicine with alcohol as an ingredient to buyers with young children. When we were able to reformulate our product, we removed the alcohol from Allround’s composition, and added young families to our target market. Another factor we noticed when analyzing the market research was an interest in the effectiveness of the product. We observed that members of our target market (young families, mature families, empty nesters and retirees) were primarily concerned with the effectiveness of a medicine, and had a smaller amount of concern for the price of the product. In other words, we deducted that members of this market group had the socio-economic background that would allow them to purchase a higher priced cold medicine if it was proven to be effective. By including both young and mature families in our target market, we believed we would see an increase in usage. By nature, colds and coughs are contagious. Families living in close quarters are likely to share colds, and therefore increase the need for cold medicine. This was another significant variable we analyzed when identifying our target market. Also, minimal side effects is an appealing attribute of our medication. Both young and mature families have many working parts, and we believe we can effectively target this group by touting our reduced side effects that allow families to go about on their daily routines. Geographic considerations involved reviewing the shopping habits of the target group. We sought to analyze where customers are going to purchase our product. According to the research, our target market shops predominately at grocery stores for cold and cough medicine. Because of this, we will geographically target our market at grocery stores. E) Positioning For value positioning, we are considering several factors to best position our product. We are pleased with the effectiveness of our product in regards to symptom relief. We believe that this will increase value in our product, and result in more satisfied customers. This will also lead to repeat purchases from happy customers, and will increase the likelihood for customers to purchase other Allround products. This will allow us to introduce new Allround products to the market. For positioning in regards to pricing, we are seeking to find the delicate balance between price and customer-perceived value. As Allround has a large portion of market share, we can factor in high volume of sales in our pricing plan. Higher volume sales can lead to a reduced unit cost and overall, more significant profits in the long term. Because our customers view our product as effective in regards to cold symptoms, we can increase the price a bit to reinforce the notion that Allround may be a little more expensive but overall, it is worth the slightly higher price. Factors also used to determine the price positioning of Allround will also include our competitions pricing, customer satisfaction, and overall brand awareness. As line extensions are introduced, we will elect to use either a market penetration or skimming strategy, depending on the product and target market. The strategy used in the future will be determined after an in-depth analysis of the market and evaluation of the new produce. For Allrounds advertising in regards to positioning, we will continue to increase the advertising budget. This will allow Allround to remain on the high-end value side of the market while simultaneously keeping pace with our competitors. Allround is in the mature stage, so the advertising message will focus on reminder messages. The reminder message will be used to stimulate repeat purchases and serve as a reminder that Allround is the superior cold medicine. For Allrounds promotion in regards to positioning, we will devote a portion of our budget only when needed. Times when our promotional budget will increase will likely be if there is a decrease in Allrounds market share, or to combat a competitors new product. When Allround introduces a line extension, we will not devote the majority of our advertising budget to promote it. Rather, we will aim for a low to medium advertising expense, and carefully direct our message. Line extension advertising will be informative in an effort to create awareness of the product. It will also be used to highlight the relationship the product has with Allround. Because Allround is a leader in the market with heightened brand awareness and consumer confidence, the relationship with Allround can be used to our advantage. When Allround introduces a brand new product, we will use a medium to high advertising expense. The new product will be in the introduction stage in its product life cycle, so advertising will need to be used more. The advertising message for new products will be informative, seek to help customers form a preference for the new product, and reassure customers that the new product is as good as Allround Though advertising strategies vary for Allround, line extensions and new products, we will use the same channel decision strategy for all products. This strategy will be used regardless of the products life cycle stage. We will maintain a channel sales force according to demand for the products. When a channel segment is experiencing growth, we will increase the amount of sales force present at these locations. For Allround, these high-volume sales channels are grocery stores and chain drug stores thus far. Because of this, we have allocated more salesmen at these channels. Our strategy is to continue to monitor the level of sales at the different channels, and increase sales force at channels where sales are growing and/or have the potential for large amounts of growth. F) Product Currently, the Allround brand has the highest brand awareness and conversion ratio amongst its competitors. Consumers view the brand positively and it has the highest market share in OTC cold medicine. The main emphasis on the product is the brand’s effectiveness over the various categories and limited side effects. The medical community is recommending products that do not produce side effects. For this reason, the team has made the decision to market products that do not contain alcohol. Product Positioning Allstar’s value proposition to consumers is to offer products that will meet all their cold medication needs, providing high-quality products with multi-symptom relief without adverse side effects. We feel that with the reputation of the Allround brand, consumers are willing to pay for a high-quality product that meets his or her needs. We will emphasize the following four key areas: 1. High Quality Product/Competitive Price: Offer products that are high quality and at a competitive price to maximize net income up to the point that consumers will tolerate. . Product Benefits: Offer products that will meet the needs of the consumer from a multi-symptom perspective that will make them satisfied with our products and motivate them to repurchase. 3. Product Differentiation: Multi-symptom solution compared to competitors, such as, Besthelp 4. Side Effects: Offer products that minimize negative side effects, such as removing alcohol content to gain more physician recommendations. G) Price The pricing strategy will rely upon the following key factors: 1)Inflation/Deflation 2)Consumer purchase decision criteria )Balancing the tradeoff between price and symptom relief 4)Analysis of competitor pricing / competitor product offering / historical pricing We will monitor the tradeoff graph in the PharmaSim module each period to ensure that we are pricing the product close to the optimal line (price vs. symptom relief). Thus far, we have learned that we need to continue increasing our prices to keep up with inflation and make some manual modifications to the price depending on the previous period’s price increase while monitoring what is happening in the future period regarding the economic factors. Consumers’ purchase decision criteria will be the one of the main decision factors in determining how we price our product each period. We determined that the key element in the consumer purchasing decision is product effectiveness for Allround, which we can measure by customer satisfaction. We need to ensure that our product has the highest level of customer satisfaction each period. By linking customer satisfaction with performance-based pricing, we believe we will be successful. Since products offered are at different stages of the product life cycle, we will position the pricing appropriately for each product. As Allround is in the mature stage, we will take advantage of the consumer loyalty and try to maintain an optimum price to reap benefits from this product line to help with the financing of other product introductions. We will price new products competitively using penetration pricing based upon where the competitors are in the market and once consumer loyalty and market presence are established, we will increase the pricing to an optimal level as to maximize net income, while continuing to increase our market share. H) Promotion For Allround, we plan to use a combination of push and pull strategies. For the most part, we will use a pull strategy for Allround as the product is in the mature lifecycle and we need to continue to advertise and contribute funds to the consumer promotion budget using trial sizes, coupons, points of purchase, and co-op advertising. Our push strategies will include our sales force to help promote the brand and detailers to help obtain recommendations from the medical community. We will use trade allowances as a way of enticing the sales channels to buy at the higher volume by decreasing the lowest volume discount and increasing the highest volume discount. When introducing new products, we will use the same trade allowances as Allround and decrease the discounts once the new products establish a market presence over future periods. We believe that this strategy will help us achieve higher unit sales, as we will entice the channels to buy at the larger volumes as they will benefit from a larger discount. As the new products mature, we will gradually decrease the volume discount to maximize our net income. In period 4, we decided to allocate 70% of all funds to Allround and 30% to Allround+. As the majority of the sales are still with Allround and the product is still Allstar’s moneymaker, we did not want to allocate too many funds into the new brand Allround+. As we introduce other products, we will establish a long-term strategy of allocating funds as follows to our product line: Allround40% Allround+30% Allright30% Advertising For Allround, we will use various advertising messages depending where we are in the product cycle. We initially will focus on benefits and reminder advertising, as well as continue to use comparative advertising against Besthelp. On new products, our strategy will focus on heavy primary and benefit, with some comparative advertising. As the product ages, we will place emphasis from primary to benefits and reminder advertising. For Allround, the advertising message is â€Å"Relieves Aches, Clear Nasal Congestion, Reduces Chest Congestion, Suppresses Cough, Minimizes Side Effects, and Won’t Cause Drowsiness. † We added â€Å"Won’t Cause Drowsiness† when we removed the alcohol from Allround and got rid of â€Å"Dries Up Runny Nose† as we already have a message of â€Å"Clear Nasal Congestion,† which could be confusing to consumers. I) Place (distribution) The period zero sales report shows that direct distribution channels are almost twice as much as indirect distribution channels (direct distribution channels account for 63. 4% of sales, while indirect distribution channels account for 36. 7% of sales). Because of this, we will prioritize direct channels for our distribution. The direct channel sales are motivated by volume discount and promotional allowances; these two factors impact overall shelf space for Allround. Volume discount and promotional allowance are factors for indirect channels as well, so we will use this information in our marketing mix with regards to promotion. We will adjust these volume discounts and promotional allowances after each period to correspond with channel growth rates and sales. J) Evaluation and Control We will employ various methods to evaluate our performance after each period. We determined that an in-depth analysis after each period is essential to maintain our product as a leader in the market. The company dashboard and performance summary will serve as primary tools in this analysis. This is where we will gather information regarding our marketing strategy, mix, promotions, sales force and price; we will use this information to compare how effective we were in achieving the marketing goals aforementioned. Another method we will use to evaluate our performance is by analyzing the percentage of changes in each of our decision points. For example, we will calculate the percentage of growth in our sales force, our product price and our advertising budget. We will then cross-reference these calculations with our overall performance in the period. An increase in price of 3. 5% may cause a negative trend in our market share; because of this, we will look to adjust our price to better capture market share. By performing similar calculations and comparative analysis, we hope to identify any positive or negative trends and adjust accordingly. While changes will occur, our overall marketing approach will not change drastically. We will adjust as our line is extended and new products are launched due to differences in the marketing life cycle of each product, but the core of our marketing strategy will remain relatively unchanged.

Social Studies in the Elementary School

About the stone Periodot, the birthstone of the month of august

About the stone Periodot, the birthstone of the month of august PeridotHave you ever heard of the birthstone peridot? Well, if you haven't I'll teach you a little bit about it. The reason why I'm researching peridot is because my birthday is on August 18, so that makes peridot my birthstone.Peridot comes in the color olive-green, and sometimes comes in a yellowish green. It is very pretty and it looks beautiful on a necklace or as a ring. When rubbed on a piece of glass peridots streak is white, and the luster is glassy. Every time I see my birthstone it is shiny and it looks very elegant. Peridot was tested on the Moh's hardness scale and its range is from 6.5 to 7.0, so it is pretty hard but not as hard as a diamond. The chemicals used in a peridot are (Mg, Fe2)2 S04. Now, where is peridot found? It's found in Arizona, Hawaii, China, and in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming.Peridot from the San Carlos Apache reservation in ...Peridot is found pretty close to Kentucky, but it's still a while away. Unlike the diamond, peridot is only semi-precious, and i t can still be valued pretty high. Peridot was named from its color. Its color olive green is referred to peridot. Now you have hopefully learned a lot about peridot.The history, folklore, and superstitions about peridot are, that it is given as a gift to celebrate a 16th wedding anniversary. Peridot was believed to have the power to break evil spells, so people would wear peridot on a necklace. Peridot was thought to bring the wearer to success, peace, and good luck. Cleopatra loved peridot and wore it all the time. Some other powers of peridot are protection, health, and sleep. It is also used to attract love and calm anger while also soothing nerves, and dispelling negative emotion. There...

Energy Sources of the Future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Energy Sources of the Future - Essay Example Three of these include solar power, wind power and biomass. Solar Power Solar power, or solar energy, is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Solar power comes from the sun through the use of solar panels that contain solar or photovoltaic cells. In fact, one square meter of solar panel can generate as much as 100 watts of electricity (â€Å"Solar Power†). Once used only to power satellites, the solar panel is now used to generate power for houses and companies. Aside from the use of solar panels, solar power can also be used to heat water using glass panels on the roof. This powers up the home’s central heating system (â€Å"Solar Power†). Moreover, a third type of machine that utilizes solar power is a solar furnace. The huge array of mirrors in a solar furnace is used to concentrate all the sunlight into a small space in order to produce an extremely high temperature of heat. Solar furnaces may be used for scientific experiments. There are also solar-powered electric boats and solar towers. (â€Å"Solar Power†) On the subject of availability and renewability, solar power may be advantageous as it basically â€Å"needs no fuel† and is renewable as long as the sun shines (â€Å"Solar Power†). ... Even if only 2.5% of this radiation is converted into electricity, it would be enough for the total energy consumption of the whole nation in a year (Zweibel et al., University of Colorado). Another related development in the utilization of solar energy is the very recent invention of the nanocone-based solar cell. This particular type of solar cell, which boosts the light conversion efficiency of traditional solar cells by a whopping 80%, is in fact a result of the â€Å"minimization of defects and voids in semiconductors† (â€Å"New Solar Cell,† ScienceDaily). This property alone enhances electric and optical properties of the solar cell in order to convert sunlight to electric power more efficiently, thus increasing its availability while maximizing its utilization. Perhaps the only disadvantage of solar power is that, unless stored, it does not work at night and may be very expensive to build. (â€Å"Solar Power†) When it comes to environmental impact, solar power does not produce any pollution or waste (â€Å"Solar Power†). According to the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States, primary environmental issues associated with solar power concerns only â€Å"how [solar power systems] are manufactured, installed, and ultimately disposed of† (â€Å"Environmental Impacts,† UCSUSA.org). Arsenic, silicon and cadmium are the major elements used in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells and are therefore hazardous to workers and anyone else who comes in contact with the solar panels. Safety regulations should therefore be strictly kept. Moreover, solar-thermal plants require cooling water, which may be costly or scarce in the southwest United States where the area is more

Able Tool Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Able Tool Corporation - Case Study Example Since its incorporation the company’s mission statement is that of a genuine commitment to on-time delivery, quality pricing, excellent service and reliability. The company is dedicated to give its customers the best price and timely delivery. In 1987, the company relocated to Ohio. In 1990, Able Tool Company bought the Gilman Company of Ohio in order to broaden its capabilities. The ability of the firm to serve a wide variety of customers is what has seen this company through this volatile industry and a un- predictable market. The PEPT (Portable Electric Power Tools) Industry that able corporation operates is collectively affected by economic variables like general taxation interest rates as well as inflationary variables. General economic indicators such as interest, foreign exchange and inflation rates have always affected the power tool market since these variables greatly affect disposable income that is a very crucial determining factor for the construction and or renov ation of houses or residential estates. Due to high interest rates in the United States, the housing market has continued to decline since 2004, this has greatly affected the power tool market as well as the general cost of houses rising by about 2.8% annually. Apart from the interest rates, foreign exchange rates also affect the operations of the companies in this industry including companies like Milwaukee Electricity Company. Exchange rates affect the sales of the industry since a substantial proportion of these companies sales are in overseas markets. The explicit and underlying costs of housing starts are very crucial to the advancement of this industry. Currently due to high interest rates compounded by high costs of mortgages for the last four years, the demand for portable electric power tools has been on the decline. To compound this situation due to increasing inflation the industry has had to increase moderately the price of their products. According to market analysts, this has led to the increased cost of setting up residential and commercial properties. This in turn has shied of prospective investors in the industry. This in turn has caused some of the industry players to relocate their firms especially in Asia where the cost of production is cheap. By doing this these firms have been able to import back the same products into the American market at a more cheap price. The increased cost of environmental protection, especially through the sale of pollution rights, has led to increased operational costs within the industry that have further caused them to increase their commodity prices. Concerns of air pollution, water pollution and land contamination have been highly emphasized by western countries to a point that many industry players have been forced to relocate to India and china, where environmental protection policies have not been highly emphasized. Incases where the parent company does not relocate, most commonly the firms have relocated production plants either to Asia or Latin America. CONCLUSION: The portable electric power tools industry has been faced with many challenges. However, due to a booming world economy buoyed by among others a more than 5% economic growth rate in many newly industrialized countries, the industry has been able to source new markets especially in china. REFERENCES: www.abletool.com www.free-press-release.com/news/200704/1177416298.html www.ibisworld.com.au/industry/default.aspx www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inimr-ri3.nsf/en/gr-92637e.html

Hawthorne effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hawthorne effect - Essay Example n at Hawthorne, I would define the Hawthorne Effect as the confounding that occurs if experimenters fail to realize how the consequences of subjects performance affect what subjects do". In a Design industry environment consisting of around 150 draftsmen as workforce it was found that the productivity dropped suddenly in the recent six months’ time. Although the workers were given good wages and incentive packages, the productivity didn’t increase. In spite of repeated meetings and re-fixing of targets, there was no improvement in the productivity. The management was confused and tried to study the cause of the situation. After much thought, the Hawthorne studies were taken for experimenting with the situation. The entire workforce was working on a 5 day week, on a general shift of 8Â ½ hours a day, i.e. between 09:00 to 17:30 hours, including 30 minutes break for lunch. Each worker in the entire workforce of 150 draftsmen currently designed 5 AutoCAD drawings per day. The workforce was grouped into two – the formal group and the informal group. At first, both the groups were put on specific targets of 6 AutoCAD drawings per worker per day over a period of 12 weeks. The formal group was made to work on the existing timing. The informal group was given a rest break of 10 minutes twice in the day over a period of 4 weeks. Observations showed that the output of informal group went up. As the next step, the rest breaks for the informal group were lengthened to four 10 minutes rest breaks. The workers complained that the pace of their work was getting disturbed. As a result, their productivity decreased. Then, the rest breaks of informal group were returned to the two rest breaks, the first one with a supply of tea by the Company free of cost. As a result, the productivity increased. Then as the next step, the week was extended to six day working week for the informal group over a period of 4 weeks. The productivity decreased. Finally, the rest breaks

Sustainable design

Sustainable design Introduction Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical and conceptual objects, the built environment and services to fulfil the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. Sustainable designs are more commonly seen nowadays because of the rise in environmental issues like greenhouse effect and global warming. With reference to a survey done by Autodesk Inc, the results indicate that mechanical engineers expect to see an increase in sustainable design work in 2010. â€Å"According to survey results, designs that use less energy or reduce emissions remain the most important sustainable technology practice, while manufacturing processes that use less energy and natural resources were also a priority.† There are several factors to consider when creating a sustainable design. They are ecological sustainability, built environment, economic sustainability and social responsibility. Ecological sustainability deals with issues regarding the natural Ecological Sustainability environmentally-friendly designs Built Environment man-made design, indoor and outdoor design Economic Sustainability marketability of the design Social Sustainability -cohesion, place and people Social Responsibility Ethics is fundamentally a practical matter. It is concerned with how we should live, how we should treat other people and the world around us. It is how we should act in a moral and responsible manner. Sustainable designs are strongly encouraged because it is beneficial to our environment. It is each and every one of our duties and responsibilities to protect and take care of our environment. Achieving Sustainable Design Sustainable designs are achieved through sensitive designs, for example, energy efficiency. Sensitive designs include good contextual studies of the surroundings, factors like site location, weather and local culture. The choice of material for the design is also an important factor as well. It is encouraged that renewable resources are used for building materials as it is environmentally-friendly. An example of a sustainable design is the EDITT (Ecological Design in the Tropics) Tower (Figure 1) in Singapore. It adopts many climatic responsive techniques: â€Å"wind walls† to direct wind to internal spaces, solar panels, mechanically joined connections between building components to facilitate recycling, rainwater collection, sewage composting and grey-water reuse. The tower has well-planted facades and vegetated terraces which is approximately about 3800 sq meters, almost about half of the gross usable area of the building As seen from the layout plan , the greenery are planted at the edges of each level. The placement of the vegetation within the tower at different levels correspond to the microclimates of each individual sub-zone at the tower. Human Nature Relationship A good sustainable design should also relate people with the natural environment. Human and nature interaction are encouraged in architectural designs by creating openings to create views, allowing people to be in touch with the natural surroundings. Man activities that destroy the environment and consume energy are meaningless because they contribute little to our well beings and the quality of life. Recycled furniture is therefore becoming a very popular choice. Wood and glass are good examples of recycled material. However, recycled furniture could also mean to reuse old and unwanted items. Figure 4 shows a recycled chair made of compact discs. As information are conveniently stored into thumb drives and computers in modern days now, old and burned compact discs are not wanted anymore. Alternative suggestions to reuse the discs may include coasters, but the recycled chair in figure 4 is a good way to reuse loads of discs all at once. However, the comfortability of the chair is another issue. Figure 5 is a coffee table made of bicycle wheel. Bent and spoiled bicycle wheel may be useless to some but after some alterations, the faulty wheels could be turned into a useful piece of furniture. Cons of Sustainability The aim of sustainable design is to accommodate peoples current demands and needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to accomodate their own needs. Many of the current processes the modern world chooses to obtain and use our natural resources are short-sighted. Companies looking to make a profit right away can cause long term damage to the environment when they do activities for example, cutting down too many trees or produce pollutants. However, sustainable design would require huge amount of time, money and research to find out which methods of production would damage the environment the least. This is the major reason why people are hesitant to support sustainable development. Case Study The Marcus Beach House designed by BARK Design Architects in Australia has a coastal setting, providing the owner with a relationship with the landscape and sensitive surrounding environment. This site explores filtering natural breezes, lightness, layers of transparency and integrating between indoor and outdoor spaces within dynamic patterns of light and shadow, being a simple frame to enable a contemporary sustainable lifestyle. The Marcus Beach House Design uses open concept where there are a lot of flexible spaces available. Walls are made retractable to allow better air ventilation. As seen from figures 5 and 6, the blue arrows indicated the wind flow directions through windows and void spaces. Such architectural designs made use of available natural surrounding elements, for example the wind and the sunlight. Therefore, the energy consumption is greatly reduced. Conclusion Sustainability in designs is greatly beneficial to our environment and hence strongly encouraged. The factors to consider when creating a sustainable design are ecological sustainability, built environment, economic sustainability and social responsibility. Everyone is responsible for the natural environment that they are living in and hence should play a part in protecting our Earth. Sustainable designs can be created through sensitive designs with reference to the site context to achieve energy efficiency.

Cis 210

^&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& In today’s â€Å"tech† and competitive world, businesses are in transformation from manual inventory system to automated inventory system, including small businesses. Automated Inventory systems can reduce costs, retain the existing customers and gain profits. It can replace the time consuming manual process by providing more accurate data. Every business should have a proper inventory system in order to track whether the store is running out of the stock of an important item or there are some items that are obsolete.Nowadays, automated system is used almost by all the retailers, grocery stores and manufacturing companies. A good inventory control system will alert the retailer when it is time to reorder (www. barcodesinc. com). Automated inventory system will keep the competitive advantage of your company and increase the value of your business. This plan will describe all the necessary equipment required for a low-cost automated inventory system fo r a small clothing store.It will also explain the costs involved in creation of the system and describe the ongoing maintenance that will be required for the smooth running of the system and provide a workflow diagram of how the system will work. The equipments required to install a low-cost automated inventory system in small clothing store consists of a computer- desktop or laptop whichever is more cheaper, system requirements that can handle and store the inventory system, backup/recovery/portable hard disk and archive device, wireless router, inventory software, mobile scanning device like RF gun or any other device, barcode printer and barcode labels.The system will be user-friendly and provide reliability and versatility in performance of application. It will make tracking inventory simple and flexible. It will allow tracking and scanning inventory away from the physical computer. The automated system will update the inventory records and perform transactions on an instant bas is. The system will make it simple to

Change Management: The Komatsu Case

Organizations are in constant interactions with their environments.   A change in the environment will subsequently cause a change in the organization that interacts with it.   This change can be positive or negative, and in both cases, it alters the organization’s status on many different levels.   Dealing with this change on all the levels is a key factor in minimizing disruptions to the organization’s functioning and growth.   In other words, change management is â€Å"a managerial and organizational process that realigns an organizations strategy, structure and process in pro-action or reaction to chaos in the environment† (Worthy et. al., 1996, p. 16).   The process of change management, and how it influences an organization’s strategy and management, is analyzed herewith in context of the Komatsu company.Brief HistoryKomatsu Iron Works was a subsidiary of Takeuchi Mining Industry, manufacturing industrial tools for the parent company.   I n 1921, the founder of the company, Mr. Takeuchi, incorporated Komatsu Ltd. as an independent company.   Komatsu originally manufactured mining equipment, but started making agricultural equipment such as tractors by 1931.   During the second world war, it was an important manufacturer of tanks, bulldozers, and other heavy machinery.   Post-war, Komatsu began focusing on the earth moving equipment (EME market).   In the 1950s, the company’s machinery was in demand because of the ongoing postwar construction in Japan.   Although its customer base was strong at that time, Komatsu did not command a significant market share, and the quality of its machines was inadequate.   This was a major factor in customer dissatisfaction, however, the Japanese manufacturers operated in a protected environment at that time, with no significant foreign competitors.In 1963, the Japanese Ministry of Trade allowed the entry of foreign EME manufacturers in Japan.   This signaled a com plete change in Komatsu’s market environment.   Now the competition extended to foreign counterparts, most of whom had long been established as market leaders in the EME category.   The following sections discuss Komatsu’s strategies for managing these challenges, and how they dealt with change in the process.CompetitionMajor heavy machinery manufacturers like Caterpillar, J.I. Case, Fiat-Ellis and John Deere were all technologically more advanced than Komatsu, and had widespread dealer networks and manufacturing bases.   The most formidable competitor in the EME segment was Caterpillar, the world’s largest manufacturer of heavy machinery.   Caterpillar’s equipment was much more sophisticated and of a higher quality, and its distributor and dealer network was very solid.   Komatsu realized then that it was imperative for the company to upgrade its products and operations, in order to survive the competition.The company was headed at the time by Yashinari Kawai, who recognized the urgent need to revamp the company’s product quality, both technically and functionally.   In order to bring Komatsu products up to date, the company signed licensing arrangements with two major EME manufacturers, International Harvester and Bucyrus Erie.   This gave Komatsu the opportunity to improve the equipment quality for the agricultural and the industrial sector.In addition, Kawai implemented the Japanese concept of TQC (Total quality Control), which led to a huge improvement in the performance, reliability, and durability of the equipment.   This was one of the major change management challenges that Kawai handled successfully.   Kawai realized that in order to change the customers’ perception of Komatsu products, it was first necessary to change the employees’ own view of the kind of products that the company made.Changing the mindset of every employee and incorporating the philosophy of uncompromised quality a t every level in the company required a strong, skillful leader.   Kawai manouvered this change implementation by open communication, reward, and most importantly, setting an example for all employees by involving everyone from the top management to the shopfloor workers, in this endeavor.  Ã‚   When Komatsu was awarded the Deming Prize for quality control just 3 years later, it served as a huge morale booster for the company.Another major change measure implemented at this time was Project A.   In the first phase of this project, the employees were instructed to ignore costs and concentrate solely on achieving the best possible quality for their equipment.   Once this goal was achieved, the second phase of Project A was implemented, focusing on cost reduction.   Each and every aspect of design and manufacturing was closely scrutinized, checking for bottlenecks and wastage of resources.This resulted in a lean, finely-tuned manufacturing process, that complemented the high quality of Komatsu’s equipment.   From 1965 to 1970, the company’s domestic market share grew from 50% to 65%, despite the presence of Mitsubishi-Caterpillar.   According to Kawai, this feat was achieved largely due to the employee morale and drive at Komatsu.   In his words, â€Å"the prevailing atmosphere was that of a crisis, resulting in a spirit of unity between the management and the staff†.   This company-wide presence of a common goal took precedence over management and labor issues, and resulted in highly successful change management.Komatsu had implemented a two-pronged strategy to achieve success – vertical integration and TQC.   Vertical integration meant that the entire line of business had to be perfectly aligned and free of defects, right from the bottom.   To ensure this, they started with quality raw materials.   The second aspect was TQC – incorporating the philosophy of quality control everywhere and within everyone in the company.   Komatsu also extended the TQC strategy to its dealerships, encouraging them to implement the system.   This strategy of tackling the problem at the root and improvising upon it was the key to strong growth, and enabled Komatsu to offer formidable competition to Caterpillar – accomplishing what other companies such as J.I. Case and John Deere could not.Business EnvironmentFrom the time Komatsu started implementing change, the business environment was constantly shifting, in terms of demand, cost advantage, and regulations.   By mid-1970s, the domestic market for EME was stagnating, with Komatsu having 60% of the market, and the Mitsubishi-Caterpillar partnership having 30%.   Growth was slowing down in the less developed countries too.   Komatsu’s management responded by developing the V 10 plan, aiming to reduce costs by 10% while improving quality.   In 1976, an unexpected event in the financial markets caused further concern.   The Ja panese Yen was appreciating rapidly against the dollar, rising from 293 in 1976 to 240 in 1977.   To cushion the company’s exports, Komatsu’s management followed an internal exchange rate of 180 yen to the dollar.   This ensured that Komatsu’s costs and pricing were well-adjusted to the market conditions, and their exports did not suffer.   Komatsu’s policy of anticipating change and fortifying the company against any adverse effects again worked to its advantage.Problems faced by KomatsuExporting their equipment to other countries had always been a part of Komatsu’s vision.   This goal constituted the company’s Project B.   With their improved and technically capable equipment, by 1970 Kawai was eager to launch major international operations for the company.   However, there were considerable barriers to this end – Komatsu’s limited international recognition and dealer base, fierce competition, and legal regulation s.The technology license that it had obtained from International Harvester and Bucyrus Erie had imposed export restrictions on them.   Komatsu recognized this as an impediment, and established its R&D laboratory in 1966.   But there were still significant requirements for establishing an international market presence.   Caterpillar, for example, had its dealership centers across the globe, some of which were exclusive dealerships.   This made it difficult for Komatsu, with its relatively limited product line and manufacturing base, to create the required dealer network.   In order to overcome this obstacle, Komatsu priced its products 30 to 40 percent below Caterpillar’s.   This allowed them to get the intial foothold in the international markets.   Komatsu also benefited from the increased demand for construction machinery in less developed countres in Asia and Mexico, and in Saudi Arabia.In the 1970s, Komatsu had also started expanding its product line.   Ry oichi Kawai, now the president of Komatsu, made special efforts to build and develop international client and dealer relationships.   He also instructed managers to regularly visit customers, and get first hand information on their requirements and issues.   Keeping abreast of technological changes and being one of the first to adopt and incorporate new technology in its equipment was a key factor to success.Komatsu incorporated electronic technology into all its machinery, creating differentiated, high quality products.   In 1979, the worldwide construction industry was at a low.   To combat the depressed economy, Komatsu’s management launched the â€Å"F and F† or Future and Frontiers program, formulated to develop new products and new businesses.   Once again, a companywide buzz was created, and suggestions were welcomed from every level within the company.   These suggestions resulted in the production of diverse new products such as arc-welding robots and an excavating system for deep-sea sand.In the early 1980s, Komatsu objected to the export restrictions which still continued to be imposed on it by Bucyrus Erie.   Komatsu won this appeal and gained export rights from Bucyrus Erie.   It also managed to free itself from the agreement with International Harvester, and gained full freedom to export its equipment worldwide.   This was a major milestone for Komatsu, and the company took full advantage of its established quality and dealerships.   It also capitalized on the embargo that prevented Caterpillar from exporting to Russia in the early 1980s.   In 1981, the Siberian Natural Resource Project was handed over entirely to Komatsu.   In a short while, Komatsu was expected to outperform Caterpillar in the Russian market.As their international customer base increased, so did the need for customized equipment for different countries, based on the type of work, environment, and legal regulations.   Designing customized equipment for each customer separately was not cost effective.   To counter this, the management adopted the policy of EPOCHS – Efficient Production-Oriented Choice Specifications.   The idea was to save costs by standardizing production modules for core projects along with the required number of parts, and adding different specifications as necessary.Around this time, the increasing freight and shipping costs, and Japan’s strained trade relations with the US and Europe were increasingly becoming a cause for concern.   It was during this time that the US automakers opposed the import of Japanese cars in the market, and Komatsu was fearful that a similar plea might be raised by Caterpillar and other heavy-machinery manufacturers. In order to curb these potential problems, Komatsu manufactured the core parts of its equipment in all its plants.   This reduced the shipping frequency as well as the freight costs.   It also developed assembly bases in Brazil and Me xico, and was working on a joint venture proposal with its dealer in Indonesia.Current Situation and OptionsThe case refers to the scenario in 1984, a period of recession around the world.   The building and construction industry was also affected, with most players assuming some losses.   The biggest source of concern for Komatsu, however, was Caterpillar.   Caterpillar had experienced its third consecutive year of losses, and was in the midst of a major labor strike.   Kawai knew that this was an opportunity to take over where Caterpillar faltered – but it was also an indication of the increasingly difficult   business environment.   Witnessing a large, successful company like Caterpillar struggling to retain its position in the market, Kawai became concerned about Komatsu, and what it could do to avoid being in a similar situation.Komatsu’s options were centered around keeping a close watch on the market and on Caterpillar.   Komatsu employees were in the habit of reading Caterpillar’s monthly news bulletins and press releases, in order to stay informed regarding their competitor’s activities and plans.   Komatsu also realized the need to keep its labor force functioning, and continue keeping the costs down.   Their international operations also had to be strengthened at this time, capitalizing on Caterpillar’s compromised position.  Ã‚   These options are evaluated in the following section.RecommendationsIn keeping with its established policy, Komatsu should place particular emphasis on anticipating change and devising measures to optimize the benefits while curbing the negative effects.   To an extent, it was complacency that had cost Caterpillar – the managers’ priority was on increasing the customer base without addressing customer value or employee needs.   Therefore, managing labor relations is one of the most important issues for Komatsu.   The workers at Komatsu earn signific antly lesser than their counterparts at Caterpillar.   However, this is offset by high employee morale and  Ã‚   strong labor-management relations.   Maintaining this status is extremely important for Komatsu, both in terms of employee productivity and controlling costs by minimizing overhead.The second recommendation for Komatsu would be to strengthen its international presence.   With the capital that it has accumulated, Komatsu is in a position to either buy out a number of smaller competitors, or acquire a successful ally.   This would further consolidate Komatsu’s manufacturing operations and distributor channels.   It should also continue its R&D efforts and product diversification plans, and stay ahead of the competition.   If necessary, Komatsu can form a joint venture with a company to ease the manufacturing and operations of diversified products.ReferencesWorley, C.G., Hitchen, D.E., & Ross, W.L. (1996). Integrated strategic change: How OD builds a com petitive advantage. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Custom Component Development in Delphi

Custom Component Development in Delphi Components are essential elements of the Delphi environment. One of the most important features of Delphi is that we can use Delphi to create our own components. We can derive a new component from any existing component, but the following are the most common ways to create components: modifying existing controls, creating windowed controls, creating graphic controls, subclassing Windows controls and creating nonvisual components. Visual or not, with or without property editor, from scratch...you name it. Developing Delphi components isnt a simple task, it involves quite a bit of knowledge of the VCL. However, developing custom components is not an impossible task; writing components is just pure programming. Articles, Papers, Tutorials What follows is a list of articles that deal with custom component development in Delphi. Accessing protected members of a componentMany Delphi components have useful properties and methods that are marked invisible (protected) to a Delphi developer. In this article, you will find the workaround to this problem - thus enabling you to access a DBGrids RowHeights property, for example.Creating Custom Delphi Components - Inside and OutThis tutorial will explain component writing to you, which should result in more code reuse. It will go over properties, events, and methods, and will also explain how to install components. The final part of this tutorial is about Object-Oriented design.Creating Custom Delphi Components, Part IThis first part demonstrates some of the best approaches to building components, and at the same time provides tips on deciding on the best base class to inherit from, using virtual declarations, the complexities of overriding, and so on.Creating Custom Delphi Components, Part IIQuite often it is necessary to write components that perform more advanced f unctions. These components often need to either reference other components, have custom property data formats, or have a property that owns a list of values rather than a single value. We will explore various examples covering these very subjects, starting with the most simple. Creating Custom Delphi Components, Part IIIThis article is the final part of a three part article on components. Part one covered the basic creating of components, part two covered how to write advanced properties, how to write custom streaming for those properties and sub-properties. This final part will cover property/component editors, how to write dedicated editors for your component/property, and how to write hidden components. More Resources First, if you want more, consider buying a book on Developing custom components.Second, why not try locating an existing (with source perhaps) component you are looking for.Third, when you are 100% sure there is no such question on custom component development you cant answer...there will be something that you dont know. Everything you have to do is to ask a question on the Delphi Programming Forum and wait for answers. Articles, papers, tutorialsHere is a list of articles that deal with custom component development in Delphi. VCL Component Messages [RTF]Component Messages (CM_) are generated only by the VCL and are not reflected Windows Messages (WM_), as one may assume. In spite of that Component Notifications (CN_) are reflected Windows Messages. The idea behind it is, that Windows often sends messages to a parent window of a control instead of the control itself. The VCL simply converts (reflects) these messages to Component Notifications and then sends it to the control, for which the message originally was meant. Delphi Component Building.In this article, read about every aspect of Delphi Component building. Design a TTicTacToe component and learn about: how to build our own components for Delphi, how to add properties, methods and custom events to them, how to wrap them around DLLs, how to install them, how to design a palette bitmap and write on-line help to support the component user. Building SuperComponents in Delphi [download]SuperComponents, also known as aggregate or compound components, are collections of existing sub-components and their relationships combined into a single component. The collections are typically arranged inside a container parent component that manages the visual layout of the sub-components.

How Many Volunteer Hours Do You Need for College

How Many Volunteer Hours Do You Need for College SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Community service is one of the most popular extracurricular activities for high school students to do in their free time. There are hundreds of ways that high school students can get involved in their communities. There is really something out there for everyone, no matter what your personal interests are! Admissions officers also love to see community service on college applications. Having community service experience means you're passionate about making a difference in the world and are ready to take action and be involved. But how many community service hours for college do you actually need in order to make sure your contribution is â€Å"good enough† for admissions officers? Is there a certain numberof hours that you need for different schools? Read on to find out! Do You Need to Complete a CertainNumberof Volunteer Hours for College? As a rough guideline, anything between 50 and 200 hours is going to sound impressive and show that you have made a commitment.However, once you get above 200 hours, you should start to consider if your free time could be better spent doing something else. Unfortunately, there is no one magic number of community service hours that is going to be your golden ticket into college. Grades and test scores will always come first. Though community service work can showcase an aspect of your personality and make admission officers see you as a good citizen and leader, it isn’t going to guarantee admission on its own. Even if youhave spent 500+ hours on volunteering, admissions officers won'thold spots open for you based just on that. You still need to be the full package. So treat volunteer work as you would any other extracurricular activity. If this is what you choose to do with your time, make sure that it counts. Fortunately, a recent study by DoSomething.org will help you to do just that. They asked admissions officers from 33 of the top 50 colleges for guidance on how they judge community service as an extracurricular activity. Their answers are a great guide towhat admissions officers are actually thinking when they see your community service hours on your application. You may be surprised to learn thatthe number of hours you spend doing community service is notthe most important focus. In fact, most admissions officers say thatthey care more about what you have done, why you are doing it, and what you are getting out of it. As long as you can adequately explain these things, they don’t care as much about the number of hours you spent doing it. Two-thirdsof college admission officers say that it’s not possible to have too many community service hours. As long as it’s not affecting your grades or other parts of your life, you can volunteer to your heart’s content. But the opposite is also true. As long as you have made a valuable contribution that you can explain, most admissions officers are probably not going to discount community service work that you have done just because you haven’t spent enough hours doing it. How Should You Allocate Your Volunteer Hours? So if your goal is 50-200 hours, how should you spend that time? In general, it'seasier and takes fewer hours to havean impact if you keep volunteering for the same project, instead of spreading yourself across several different projects. Try to find a project that you can spendat least fifty hours on.If you have much less than this, most admissions officers will not be convinced that you have dedicated enough time to really be making a difference. Be intelligent about how you spend your free time if you're going to dedicate more hours. However, once you get above 200 hours, you should start to consider if your free time could be better spent doing something else. At the end of the day, 500 hoursis not going to seem that much more impressive than 200 hours,and those are hours that probably couldbebetterspent elsewhere, such as on other extracurriculars, getting top grades, or test prep. If the numberof hours you spent doing community service isn't the most important thing that admissions officers are looking for, then what DO they want to see in your community service? What Do Admissions Officers Want to See in Volunteer Work? There are three main qualities that you should be showing inyourcommunity service work: commitment, passion, and leadership.The best students will also use their community service experience as an opportunity forreflection. #1: Commitment You can show commitment by being involved in your chosen project over a long period of time. In the DoSomething study, 70% of admissions officers said they would prefer to see long-term dedication to an unglamorous cause such as local service work instead of a short-term commitment to something flashy like volunteering abroad. Furthermore, 60% of admissions officers would prefer to see students who have made a commitment to just one cause over their high school careers. Why? They're more interested in seeing what you can accomplish when you're dedicated and put your mind to it than they are by a longer list of volunteer activities. One officer noted,â€Å"Longevity and dedication are traits necessary for collegiate success.† Long-term commitment shows passion and dedication. Over 60% of admissions officers say that they would like to see service that goes back to the beginning of high school, and 15% more say that the service commitment should start before high school. But what really matters is that you have been volunteeringfor a long enough time that you have actually made a difference in the community and your own development as well. #2: Passion To showpassion, doa community service activity thatrelates to something thatyou're already interested inor care deeply about. If you have a certain interest, community service can be a great way to explore it. For example, if you're passionate about animals, you could consider volunteering at an animal shelter. As mentioned above, long-term involvement is important. Students who already care about a cause are more likely to make a long-term commitment. Working in an area you care about also shows thatyou can take action to improve things where you see a need, which is a great trait that admission officers look for. Also, the more you can talk about why you care about a cause, the more sincere you will seem in your efforts. #3: Leadership You can show your leadership skills by managing others and being in charge during an event or activity. You can also show leadership by being responsible for motivating others to succeed. As with any extracurricular, schools are interested to see how you've taken charge and made your extracurricular activity better than you found it.Colleges want to admit people who will change the world, and leaders have a better chance of doing this.Over 50% of admissions officers thought that having a founding or leading role in your volunteer work was the most important quality that you could show them. #4: Reflection The best students who have done community service work will also be able toreflect on how their work has made a difference, both to others and to themselves. Students should ask themselves if their community service projects have actually made a positive contribution to society. After all, that is the point of community service. Successful community service can be a lot trickier to gauge than success in other extracurriculars. Ask yourself if you have accomplished what you set out to do and who is better off because of your work. Also, check to see thatyou understand whythe work you've done is important and how you've made an impact. Students who can reflect on these aspects are more likely to impress admissions officers because theyshow that they are thoughtful and have dedicated themselves for sincere reasons – not just to have something to list on their resume. Ask yourself, have you spent enough time doing community servicethat you have actually made a difference?If you just showed up and did some hours for the sake of a better resume, admissions officers won't be impressed. Finally, what kind of experience have you gained? In particular, admissions officers are looking for leadership experience, as mentioned above. However, they're also interested instudents who have become more mature and developed in other ways as a result of their community service. If your service work has made you more empathetic, for example, this would also be a greatthing to write about. Students who can reflect on these aspects are more likely to impress admissions officers becausethey canshow that they did community servicefor sincere reasons – not just to have something to list on their resume. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. What Do Admissions Officers NotWant to See? Many students willdo community service work for the wrong reasons - and it willshow. Admissions officers are always on the lookout for students who volunteer just to fulfill a quota. If you talk about your experience in terms of hours instead of causes and accomplishments, this can be a red flag. Words like â€Å"required† and â€Å"mandatory† are also red flags for admissions officers. If community service was required by your high school, even if you did productive and meaningful work, don't describe it in a way that makes it sound like you were forced to do it. This can make admissions officers feel you hada negative relationship with the work you accomplished and only did it because you had to. If it’s obvious that you are only doing community service work so that you can list it on your application, admissions officers would prefer that you leave it out. As with any other extracurricular activity, you should only list it if it’s beensignificant to your development. The Bottom Line Though all extracurriculars are theoretically equal, I would still recommend that you have some typeof community service on your application if you have the means to do so. This is especially important when applying to top schools. Try to have a project that you have committed at least 50 hours to.If you want community service to be your main extracurricular activity, try to dedicate even more time over several years. Though most officers say that all activities are totally equal and can show the same traits, some admissions officers for top schools say that community service can be mostconspicuous on an application if it'scompletelyabsent. This is especially true in applications for the most competitive schools, where most students will have done some volunteer work. However, also keep in mind that community service is not mandatory, especially if you have a good reason for not having done it.Almost 100% of officers say that there are many ways that you can show you are a good citizen and leader that DON’T involve community service. This can be accomplished through other extracurriculars, work experience, or helping out your family if that is what your personal circumstances require. What's Next? If you need some inspiration, check out our list of 129 community service activities that you can try. Want to find your own project? Here are the 9 best places to do community service. Not sure that community service is worth your time? Learn about some of the ways that community service can benefit you. Did you know that doing community service can help you pay for college?Check out our list of community service scholarships that you can win! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: