Discussion Post Essay Example for Free

Discussion Post Essay New Format Requested this week While the format is to be changed thisweek, you are still required to make 3 postings; one original post and comment on two other students post. ORIGINAL POST REQUIREMENTS: You are to apply the major topics covered in the course (finance/accounting, economics, marketing) to your company and provide an analysts report. 1) (Apply Marketing techniques to:) create an interesting, unique or otherwise attractive catch line (humor works great for me! ) as your post title. Make a recommendation (can be here AND in your subject line) (some of you may not feel you have enough experience where your opinion (i. e. , recommendation) is worth something in this world. however note, you may have more experience NOW than some analysts at major investment banking houses! (scary I know! )) 3)(Use your corporate report to:) provide certain and specific quantitative analysis of your company. DONT repeat your entire report. but provide highlights.. as some examples: Net Income rose 20% from 2008-2011 to $1. 35 billion Expenses dropped.  by 15% Shareholder equity (highlights mean outlyers of data.. especially NEGATIVE information 4) (Use some economics learned. predict macro and micro futures).. describe what Macro world events have affected your company (global eco slow-down. price of oil) .. even micro events (consumption among consumers was down due to. )provide sensitivities for world events on your corporation and how it will affect that companys future activities. Provide predictions about future macro economic events and how your company will react going forward. The Network amp; Space Systems segment is engaged in the research, development, production and modification of products and services to assist its customers in transforming their operations through network integration, information, intelligence and surveillance systems, communication, architectures and space exploration. The Global Services amp; Support segment is engaged in the operations, maintenance, training, upgrades and logistics support functions for military platforms and operations. The Boeing Capital Corporation segment facilitates, arranges structures and provides selective financing solutions for its commercial airplanes customers. In the space and defense markets, it primarily arranges and structures financing solutions for its Boeing Defense, Space amp; Security government customers. Its portfolio consists of equipment under operating leases, finance leases, notes and other receivables, assets held for sale or re-lease and investments. The company was founded by William Edward Boeing in 1916 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL. http://www. marketwatch. com/investing/stock/ba/profile 2) The Boeing Company has a long history of providing complex systems and integrated assembly’s to its customers. 3) The Boeing Company is headquartered in Chicago IL. In 1997 Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged to form what is the Boeing Company of today. This was approximately 1 year after Boeing acquired Rockwell Corporations Space and Defense division. The company has over 249 subsidiaries. The largest competitor on the commercial side is Airbus a division of EDS and the largest competitor on the Defense, Space and Security side is Lockheed Martin with many other companies lining up for second place. In order for Boeing to maintain it’s market share the company has had to continually research and develop new products in both major business units. Notes for special consideration† 1. Cash and cash equivalents increased from $5,359 billion to $10,049 billion from 2010 to 2011 2. Retained Earnings rose from $24,784 billion to $27,524 billion during the period of 2010 to 2011 3. Net Earnings rose from $1.3 billion in 2009 to $4. 02 billion in 2011 4) Boeing is a company that is always going to be challenged. The challengers for the Defense, Space and Security market typically have come from within the US but that is starting to change. EADS which is the largest defense business in Europe is continually trying to enter US ma rkets. Also Airbus which is a subsidiary of EADS is the most prominent competitor in the commercial segment but many countries such as Japan, China, Brazil and Canada are working very hard to position themselves as challengers to the commercial market. This will be a challenge for Boeing and Airbus for the next several decades. Commercial airline customers and airlines will continue to demand enhancements and improvements to the commercial airplanes and the service / cost associated with the. This will continue to drive performance by the manufacturers including Boeing which is the industry leader. The US government acquisition may decline depending on the outcome of the presidential and congressional elections. Boeing and it’s competitors in those markets will look toward no US markets to sell their products. Continued increase in energy and material cost will drive Boeings focus on keeping costs down. 5) Research and development are the single most important factor in keeping Boeing relevant for the future. Research and development expense amounted to $3. 9 billion, $4. 1 billion and $6.5 billion in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. In 2009 this included $2. 7 billion alone for the new 787 commercial aircraft. Research and development costs also include bid and proposal efforts related to governme nt products and services, as well as costs incurred in excess of amounts estimated to be recoverable under cost sharing research and development agreements. Bid and proposal costs were $332 million, $355 million and $343 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009 respectively. Ramp;D within the Defense, Space and Security business unit is primarily focused on supporting customer requirements and providing new technologies to meet the needs of military, security and space agencies.

International strategic alliances

International strategic alliances ADDED VALUE AND SUCCESS FACTORS IN INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC ALLIANCES IN THE FASHION BUSINESS ABSTRACT In the main, this study aims to determine whether there was value added in the merger between Samsung and Georgio Armani. It also intends to identify the key success factors of business partnerships and international strategic alliances of these companies in the fashion world. As such, the following research questions will be answered: 1. What are the key factors that are responsible for their success in the fashion industry? 2. What is the history of international strategic alliances in the fashion industry? and 3. What are the trends for international strategic alliances in the fashion industry? The results of the interview and investigations on the historical data and secondary materials and literature would confirm the following conclusions that international strategic alliances such as Samsung-Armani have the following key factors that made them successful: Mutual trust. Ensure that trust exists between the IJV and its parent organizations; Common understanding. Attain a common understanding of each parent organizations contribution to the IJV agreement; Empowerment. Persuade workers that they are empowered. Mutual long-term commitment. Ensure that both parent organizations are involved in the IJV for the long term. Having both parent organizations committed to the IJV for the long-term decreases the risk of shirking responsibility and increases the likelihood of mutual forbearance between the IJV and its parent firms. It can be concluded that the international strategic alliance between Samsung-Armani has added value to their respective firms through the contributions and synergies of the marketing and distribution expertise of Armani in the fashion industry. Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Context of the Problem Firms and industries in the current global business scenario are constantly changing due to globalization. The development of strategic management can no longer be confined to local settings but it is imperative that it should be prevalent in the international business and markets.. Business partnerships among firms and companies were lately made through mergers, acquisitions and consolidations which have been generally utilized by organizations to remain competitive in the global economy. Thus, many companies have been going into joint ventures in order to have joint alliances with them so that operations and marketing will be synergized.. A joint venture would consists of two or more firms which agree to go into shared capital as well as sharing their technology, and human resources in order to develop into a new company. It is a strategy whereby both companies intend to expand its operations and markets and intending to minimize its risk as well maximize the strengths of both firms in approaching the market as well as operations (Hewitt Associates, 2008). The joint venture between Samsung and Georgio Armani have been formed as the strengths and technology of the former merged with the excellence in fashion of the latter. This study seeks to evaluate whether partnerships have added value to both companies and also to analyze whether were successful in harnessing their strengths in approaching the market as well as operations in the global market. Thus this study will explore the case study of these companies going into joint venture and evaluate the success factors that were responsible for the success of the joint ventures in the fashion industry. Statement of the Problem In the main, this study aims to determine whether there was value added in the merger between Samsung and Georgio Armani. It also intends to identify the key success factors of business partnerships and international strategic alliances of these companies in the fashion world. As such, the following research questions will be answered: 4. What are the key factors that are responsible for their success in the fashion industry? 5. What is the history of international strategic alliances in the fashion industry? and 6. What are the trends for international strategic alliances in the fashion industry? Aims and Objectives of the Study The main objective of this study is to verify whether or not the alliances provide significant value to the companies involved as well as identify the key success factors that ensure the success of international joint ventures in the fashion industry. In order to achieve this main objective, the study aims to examine the shared assets, risks, liabilities and management responsibilities among the firms involved the international joint ventures utilizing the case study of Samsung and Georgio Armani. Significance of the Study This study is significant in the sense that the success factors for partnerships and international joint ventures will be evaluated so as to identify these factors that are important for joint ventures in the fashion industry. As such, the rate of success in the industry will be much higher if these factors are identified and investments in joint venture will be encouraged because of the confirmation of these findings in this study. Structure of the Study This study is organized into five chapters. The first chapter discusses the introduction which comprises of the background of the study; statement of the problem; significance of the study; and the structure of the study. Chapter two presents the review of literature which takes into consideration the theoretical basis of the study. Chapter three explains the methodology of the study and Chapter four presents the data and analysis of the study. Finally, Chapter five presents the conclusion and recommendations of the study. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE In this section, the literature pertaining to this study will be reviewed. The chapter will mainly discuss the key concepts and main authors of the study and the research gap in the review of literature. Why Strategic Alliance? Partnerships that are meaningful are important for success. Many companies go into partnerships in order to improve themselves in mutual undertakings. By sharing their resources, these companies can enjoy benefits and add value to their resources. As Vadim Kotelnikov (2010) writes: â€Å"In the new economy, strategic alliances enable business to gain competitive advantage through access to a partners resources, including markets, technologies, capital and people. Teaming up with other adds complementary resources and capabilities enabling participants to grow and expand more quickly and efficiently. Especially fast growing companies rely heavily on alliances to extend their technical and operational resources. In the process, they save time and boost productivity by not having to develop their own, from scratch. They are thus freed to concentrate on innovation and their core business.† (http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/partnerships_main.html) Thus, strategic alliances and partnerships among firms are important to create synergy and competence between the resources of the firms. This is really the case for fast growing companies which needs to rely on the technical expertise created from partnerships. According to Brad Sugars (2008): â€Å"From powerhouse financiers like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to retailers like Baskin-Robbins to IT pioneers like Hewlett-Packard, business partnerships have been an important part of entrepreneurship and startup success. The reasons are simple: complementary skill sets, shared equipment or expenses, and the idea that one person with hard money capital can create synergy with the intellectual capital of another person so both can profit from their venture.† (http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/startupbasicscolumnistbradsugars/article196912.html) As such, according to Sugars (2008), it is really important for firms to go into business partnerships as in the case of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts which is big financier and also in the case of Hewlett Packard which is an Information Technology pioneer. As have been discussed earlier, strategic alliances through partnerships are important in the success of many business and many cases of alliances had resulted to more value and profits for their respective firms. According to Baine and Company (2010): â€Å"Strategic Alliances are agreements among firms in which each commits resources to achieve a common set of objectives. Companies may form Strategic Alliances with a wide variety of players: customers, suppliers, competitors, universities or divisions of government. Through Strategic Alliances, companies can improve competitive positioning, gain entry to new markets, supplement critical skills and share the risk or cost of major development projects.† http://www.bain.com/management_tools/tools_alliances.asp?groupCode=2 In a similar study, Vaidya (2006) also highlights the importance of IJVs in order to stay competitive in an increasingly globalized business environment. According to Vaidya (2006), â€Å"organizations in developed countries have realized that they need to pursue opportunities aggressively in other countries in order to remain competitive in this fast-paced global market† (p. 188). Vaidya (2006) cites strategic alliances as the most common forms of partnerships between companies. These alliances can range from licensing agreements to fully blown IJVs. An IJV can be defined as â€Å"a separate legal organizational entity representing the partial holdings of two or more parent firms in which the headquarters of at least one is located outside the country of operation of the joint venture. This entity is subject to the joint control of its parent firms of each of which is economically and legally independent of the other† (Shenkar Zeira, 1987, p. 9). Kinds of Partnerships or Alliances Joint Venture is the creation of an independent company by the two or more parent organizations who are the parties to the business agreement. These Joint Ventures (JVs) may be one of two types: * Equity strategic alliances, This kind of alliance involves two or more partners who have various relative shares of ownership in the new alliance. For example, in a joint venture which is composed of three parent companies, one may have 50% equity, while the remaining two may have 25% equity each. These are also called equity joint ventures. * Non-equity strategic alliances, This kind of alliance involves agreements which are carried out through contract rather than ownership sharing. These are also called contractual joint ventures. Motives of Alliance Formation According to Blanchard (2006) there are four major challenges in the implementation of strategic alliances. In the first place, while alliances present a speedy and less risky means to internationalization, it is also very complex and there are many global linkages and interconnections that must be considered and many alliances resulted to failure because on partner could swallow the other partner. Secondly, the kind of organization structure that the alliance would form is also crucial since this influences their success especially in technologically intensive fields such as in computers, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors (Blanchard, 2006). Thirdly, cross-border allies often encounter difficulty in collaborating effectively, especially in competitively sensitive areas. This breeds mistrust and secrecy, which undermines the very purpose of the alliance. The difficulty that these organizations deal with is the dual nature of strategic alliances the benefits of cooperation versus the dangers of introducing new competition through sharing their knowledge and technological skills about their mutual product or manufacturing process (Blanchard, 2006). According to Vaidya (2006), the motives behind alliance formation can be divided into three categories: * Internal benefits. International Strategic Alliances are usually formed in order to develop internal strengths. These benefits usually include cost and risk sharing and obtaining resources that are scarce. These also includes financing, information, managerial knowledge and expertise (Vaidya, 2006). * Competitive benefits. Strengths that are competitive can be made through vertical integration and these can include the bargaining power in the industry structure, preempting competitors, response to globalization, and creation of more effective competitors (Vaidya, 2006). * Strategic benefits. International Strategic Alliances can also be formed to assist firms in change implementation of their strategic positions which could include the creation and exploitation of synergies, technology transfer, and diversification (Vaidya, 2006). Makino and Beamish (1999) also concluded similarly regarding the motives forming strategic alliances as discussed above and according to them. In their study, Ainuddin et al. (2007) identified four major resource characteristics that can affect the successful performance of 96 IJVs in Malaysia. The study determined the extent to which four resources product reputation, technical expertise, local business network and marketing skills exhibited the following attributes: 1) value; 2) rarity; 3) imperfect imitability; and 4) non-sustainability. The results of their studies showed that value, rarity and non-sustainability were significant drivers of performance for IJV assets, while value, rarity and non-imitability were key attributes for organizational capabilities. According to Beamish and Berdrow (2003), it is not generally true that strategic alliances can be just motivated for the sake of organizational learning but also to provide opportunity for both of the partners to gain and develop new knowledge. The findings of their study proved that international strategic alliances that are production-based were no usually motivated by learning outcomes, and there is no conclusive evidence of a direct relationship between learning performance. The authors assert that only a minority of the firms showed strong indirect learning outcomes, especially with regard to partnering and market knowledge (Beamish Berdrow, 2003). The organizations may be driven by any or all of the motives enumerated by Blanchard (2006), and Vaidya (2006) in their studies, as discussed in this chapter. It is important that a company conducts a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis before entering into an international strategic alliance. The results of the study of Beamish and Inkpen (1995) showed that although International Strategic Alliances are inherently unstable organizational forms, the successful ones survive because the foreign partner firm is prepared with thorough knowledge of the local economic, political, and cultural environments of the partner alliance and the partner organization (Beamish Inkpen, 1995). Economies of Scale The dual nature of strategic alliances (see Table 1) are composed of the cooperative and competitive nature of these alliances. The economies of scale in tangible assets through sharing plants and equipments is a cooperative endeavor in these alliances as well as sharing the overhead cost, production expenses, etc. http://www.slideshare.net/Annie05/global-alliances-and-strategy-implementation-presentation-701036 Technology Exchange and Minimization of Risk Another factor is technology exchange wherein (see Figure 1) the partners would have the opportunity to learn new tangible skills from the partners. Another factor is the partners could minimize risks by limiting investment risk when entering new markets or uncertain technological fields via shared resources. http://www.slideshare.net/Annie05/global-alliances-and-strategy-implementation-presentation-701036 Also, another motivation is the acceleration of diffusion of industry standards and new technologies in order increase barriers to entry. The creation of â€Å"critical mass† to learn and develop new technologies to protect domestic, strategic industries is another objective of firms who strived to go into strategic alliances. http://www.slideshare.net/Annie05/global-alliances-and-strategy-implementation-presentation-701036 Convergences and Other Advantages Other advantage in strategic alliances is in the up streaming or down streaming the division of labor among partners. Another is to deny the technological and learning initiative to partner via out-sourcing and long-term supply arrangements. Another advantage and converge is to fill out product line with components or end products provided by supplier. Furthermore, the advantage of converging into strategic alliances is to encircle existing competitors and preempt the rise of new competitors with alliance partners in â€Å"proxy wars† to control market access, distribution, and access to new technologies. The alliance also serve to assist short-term corporate restructuring by lowering exit barriers in mature or declining industries. According to Blanchard (2006) â€Å"alliances serve as experimental platforms to â€Å"demature† and transform existing mature industries via new components, technologies, or skills to enhance the value of future growth options. http://www.slideshare.net/Annie05/global-alliances-and-strategy-implementation-presentation-701036 Table 1. The Dual Nature of Global Strategic Alliances Cooperative Competitive Economies of scale in tangible assets (ex. Plant and equipment). Opportunity to learn new intangible skills from partner, often tacit or organization embedded. Upstream-downstream division of labor among partners. Accelerate diffusion of industry standards and new technologies to erect barriers to entry. Fill out product line with components or end products provided by supplier. Deny technological and learning initiative to partner via out-sourcing and long-term supply arrangements. Limit investment risk when entering new markets or uncertain technological fields via shared resources. Encircle existing competitors and preempt the rise of new competitors with alliance partners in â€Å"proxy wars† to control market access, distribution, and access to new technologies. Create a â€Å"critical mass† to learn and develop new technologies to protect domestic, strategic industries. Form clusters of learning among suppliers and related firms to avoid or reduce foreign dependence for critical inputs and skills. Assist short-term corporate restructuring by lowering exit barriers in mature or declining industries. Alliances serve as experimental platforms to â€Å"demature† and transform existing mature industries via new components, technologies, or skills to enhance the value of future growth options. (Source: Blanchard, 2006, p. 7-15). http://www.slideshare.net/Annie05/global-alliances-and-strategy-implementation-presentation-701036 Disadvantages and Pitfalls of Alliances Blanchard (2006) in his research concluded benefits of international strategic alliances often have also many pitfalls. These advantages of alliances can be in terms of potential loss of technology and knowledge-skill base. Also, other areas of incompatibility can usually occur like conflicting strategic goals and objectives. Conflicts can also arise in terms of cultural differences and in relation to disputes over who will make the decisions in management as well as in control. Blanchard (2006) also provides for four guidelines for successful alliances in his presentation: * Choose an alliance partner who has compatibility with the strategy as well as the objectives of the firm. * Find alliances where their skills are complementary and that their products and markets also complements with the company. * Seek partner alliances with partners and thresh out how you will each deal with proprietary technology or sensitive data and information. * Recognize that many partnerships could last only a few years and could break up once an alliance partner had already absorbed the skills and information it needs to be independent by itself (p. 7-16). Partner Selection Blanchard (2006) recognized the significance of selecting a partner with compatible strategic goals and objectives before fully entering into an international strategic alliance. It is crucial that the alliance sought will be with an organization or organizations with skills, products, and markets with synergies with each other. According to Cullen et al. (1995), the choice of a partner alliance is the most crucial strategic decision that firms make before actually developing a joint venture. According to Vaidya (2006) the reasons why international strategic alliances failed were due the wrong selection of partners because of their incompatibility; partners which did not fulfill their promises; and the difficulty of managers working together for their partnership (Vaidya, 2006). Before selecting a partner for an IJV, the organization must first identify its needs. In his research, Beamish (1994) provided for five different classifications of partners needs and these are: 1) capitalized items that are capitalized such as capital, raw materials, or new technology or equipment; 2) human resource needs such as local labor including local managers; 3) market access needs for a local market for products that can be produced locally or to foreign markets for products produced in the local markets; 4) government needs such as present laws or regulations may require a foreign company to go into a joint venture with a local partner in order to penetrate the local market; 5) knowledge needs such as that the company may require local information and knowledge about the market, production and government regulations, marketing system, domestic culture and traditions, etc. Partners may have different cultures and could have difficulty adjusting to each others ways or customs (Arino et al., 1997). These differences in cultural orientation in the long term can cause conflicts and could affect the performance of the international strategic alliance (Barkema Vermeulen, 1997). It is a really a problem for partners to trust each other if they are in conflict in the various areas of the business operations. Unfortunately, sometimes these differences are too deeply rooted, especially when they are based on each organizations cultural values. The research by Fey and Beamish (2001) evaluated how organizational climate incompatibility between parent organizations and the partner alliance affects performance. Compatible organizational climates will provide more chances of success since inter-party conflicts can be minimized (Fey Beamish, 2000). Managing Strategic Alliances and Success Factors It is important to note that in international joint ventures, trust and commitment is important among the partners and it is crucial in their success (Beamish, 1994; Cullen et al., 1995). It is also proposed by Fey (1996) that attaining a mutual understanding of each parent organizations contribution to their partnership agreement should be clear. Both companies doing the strategic alliance must also ensure that they have long-term commitment. Finally, it is also significant that employees and managers of the strategic alliances must be empowered (Fey, 1996). In his research presentation, Blanchard (2006) outlines the following motivations for global strategic alliances, as executed through strategic alliances such as avoidance of import barriers, licensing requirements, and other legislation that protects local companies. Moreover, another motivation is in the sharing of the costs and risks of the research and development of new products as well as services. Also, another factor is to have access to particular markets as well as in reducing the political risk in penetrating the domestic market of the partner firm. Some firms also went into strategic alliances in order to take advantage of synergies and to earn fast entry into a new industry. Examples of Successful Partnerships The Finest Accessories (TFA) Another example of a company in the fashion business is The Finest Accessories (TFA). This is a firm involved in offering luxury hair accessory products with big clients such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Macys. Value-basis at TFA Laurie and other designers of the firm developed designs that are unique utilizing Italian, French and other fabric styles and integrated these into the hair accessory clip design. They set these fashion trends and customized their partners in manufacturing. The partnership strategy of the company and to its partners is that they would deliver the products ordered to their partners in manufacturing which are exclusive for them and they would have primary right to refuse potential clients which can become their competitors. They formed partnerships and alliances with eight France based manufacturers with the conditions discussed above. (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Marketing/552/Partnership-Success-Story-a-High-Fashion-Entrepreneur-Goes-Global.html) Joint development and manufacturing with eight Oyannax, France based manufacturing companies. It is considered â€Å"joint development† in addition to manufacturing because TFA These value added effect of TFA to the eight manufacturing partners resulted to their success and both partners benefitted from the advantages of the arrangement. In terms of investment cost, TFA did not have to put up large amount of money for land, machineries and equipments since these are all being provided by the manufacturing partners while the manufacturing partners also enjoyed higher markets sales because of the big orders for the unique market developed by TFA. (http://www.evancarmichael.com/Marketing/552/Partnership-Success-Story-a-High-Fashion-Entrepreneur-Goes-Global.html) Electro The IJV Electro is composed of the following three parent organizations: a large international consumer electronics company based in North American, with 63 percent ownership, and two Russian factories, with 37 percent ownership combined. This is an example of a global strategic allegiance between a foreign organization and a local organization. The IJV is one of four facilities in the world which produces circuit boards for one of the North American parent organizations major consumer electronics devices. One factor that contributes to the success of Electro is that it reports to a special venture-capital type division of its North American parent organization, which has profit and loss responsibility for the IJV. The IJV also hires managers originally from the US who either lived in Russia for a long period of time, or have Russian heritage, or both (Fey, 1996). Electro has also been able to develop a trusting relationship with its parent organizations through mutual forbearance (Fey, 1996) which has contributed greatly to the success of the IJV. Electro and its parent organizations have maintained open communication channels to obtain agreement on the parent organizations roles in the IJV, and constantly spend a significant amount of time in discussing, clarifying, and reclarifying these roles (Fey, 1996). Another key success factor (KSF) for Electro is that its parent organizations have pledged long-term commitment to the IJV. Electros parent organizations have not limited their contributions to providing starting capital to their IJV, but continue to be actively involved. For instance, its Russian parents continue to manufacture an input product specifically designed for the IJV, and devote a significant amount of its specialized resources to this production. Electros dominant parent is also its American parent organization, and by delegating many of the operating decisions to the American parent for which the IJV needs approval gains efficiency since having both the Russian and American parent organizations make a joint decision takes up more time, is more difficult, and increases the risk of conflict. This creates long-term commitment to, and need for, the IJV which has been beneficial for both Electro and its parent organizations (Fey, 1996). Research Gap The success factors and valued added theory of forming strategic alliances were validated by various authors in this review. However, in terms of strategic alliances no formal study yet have been conducted so as to validate the success factors of international joint venture formation in the fashion business as well as its value added proposition. As such, this study is being conducted to fill the research gaps in the literature of strategic alliances. Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY Qualitative Research This research study utilized the qualitative research method, which involves the analysis of data such as words, pictures or objects. This research method was selected because it makes use of the exploratory approach in describing complex phenomena, tracking unique or unexpected events, understanding the experience and interpretation of events by actors or players with different stakes and roles, and is useful for conducting initial explorations to develop theories (Yin, 1989). The qualitative research methodology was particularly useful for purposes of this thesis because it was characterized by an emphasis on describing, understanding, and explaining complex phenomena. The phenomena this study seeks to understand were factors that led to the success of international joint ventures (IJVs) in the fashion business. The qualitative research methodology was also the appropriate research tool to use for studying the relationships, patterns, and configurations among factors, and the context in which activities occur (Creswell Plano-Clark, 2006). This methodology was selected over the quantitative research method, which seeks to draw conclusions by making use of random sampling techniques to draw inferences from sample populations. These samples populations were typically made up of a large number of respondents. With this research methodology, surveys and questionnaires were the most common types of tools used for gathering data and information (Creswell Plano-Clark, 2006). The problem with using the quantitative research methodology was that it often involves controlling a variable to determine how other variables were influenced (Wolcott, 2001). Such an approach was not applicable to this thesis because there was no control variable to begin with, which renders it useless to determine how this control variable will influence other variables. The purpose of this thesis was to identify the whether there was value added in the partnerships and identify the key success factors that lead to the success of international joint ventures in the fashion business. As such, an exploratory approach, through the qualitative research methodology was deemed more appropriate. Case Study The exploratory approach was a component of the case study methodology, which in turn is one of the most common research strategies under the qualitative research methodology. The case study research strategy was used to identify value added and success factors for international joint ventures in the fashion business. The case study approach was selected as the research strategy for this thesis

Plethora of Fools in Twelfth Night Essay -- Twelfth Night essays

Plethora of Fools in Twelfth Night Folly is one of the main weaknesses in Twelfth Night with a number of characters portraying their own strange foolish ways. Feste is the professional fool; he is the most noticeable fool and is very quickly recognised by the audience as an intelligent man. Orsino and Olivia are really foolish because of the decisions they make but they are regarded as intelligent. The biggest fool of all is Olivia's steward, Malvolio. Â   Feste was obviously the most noticeable fool. He entertains Orsino and Olivia. He is not a fool by nature; he is a fool by profession. When he entertains Olivia he says the truth about her but she doesn't realise that he is talking about her. Â   FESTE Better a witty fool than a foolish wit' - God bless thee, lady. OLIVIA Take the fool away. FESTE Do you not hear, fellows? Take away the lady. OLIVIA Go to, y'are a dry fool: I'll no more of you; besides, you grow dishonest. Â   FESTE Two faults, Madonna, that a drink and good counsel will amend: for give the dry fool drink, then i...

performance enhancing drugs :: essays research papers

I’m pretty sure you all have engaged in some sort of athletic competition that could be classified as a sport. If you can say that you have, most of you could not keep up with some of the more naturally athletically gifted people you were competing with or against.. If you are sitting there remembering that feeling of being inadequate, thinking back when your parents told you all that mattered is that you tried your best, was a huge crock. No matter how hard you tried you failed, you felt like the scum of the earth, and everyone was laughing at you. You let everyone down, if this has ever happened to you. You are not alone you share the same feelings of many amateur and professional athletes who feel that the only way to reach their goals, to be in the limelight, to make the winning score, they need that edge. The edge that puts them ahead of the rest, to be on a level that most can only dream of achieving. The edge some athletes use is steroids. There are many types of stero ids. To many to name, so they are talked about in groups. These groups are as follows: Stimulants, Narcotic Analgesics, Cannabinoids, Anabolic Agents, Peptide Hormones, Beta-2 Agonists, Masking Agents, and Clucocorticosteroids The most commonly used is called Anabolic steroids. A anabolic steroid is a chemical similar to the male hormone testosterone. Steroids are taken by pill, or injection. They enter the bloodstream they are distributed to organs and muscle all over the body. After reaching the organs the steroids surround individual cells in the organ, and then pass through the cell membranes to enter the cytoplasm of the cells Once in the cytoplasm, the steroids bind to specific receptors and then enter the nucleus of the cells. The steroid-receptor complex is then able to alter the functioning of the genetic material and stimulate the production of new proteins. It is these proteins that carry out the effects of the steroids. The types of proteins and the effects vary dependin g on the specific organ involved. Steroids are able to alter the functioning of many organs, including the liver, kidneys, heart, and brain. They can also have a profound effect on reproductive organs and hormones. Steroids were first experimented with in the 1860 by Brown-Sequard, although he did not know what he was using.

The Use of Soma to Shape and Control Society in Huxleys Brave New Worl

The Use of Soma to Shape and Control Society in Huxley's Brave New World The future of the world is a place of thriving commerce and stability. Safety and happiness are at an all-time high, and no one suffers from depression or any other mental disorders. There are no more wars, as peace and harmony spread to almost every corner of the world. There is no sickness, and people are predestined to be happy and content in their social class. But if anything wrong accidentally occurs, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is soma. The use of soma totally shapes and controls the utopian society described in Huxley's novel Brave New World as well as symbolize Huxley's society as a whole. This pleasure drug is the answer to all of life's little mishaps and also serves as an escape as well as entertainment. The people of this futuristic society use it in every aspect of their lives and depend on it for very many reasons. Although this drug appears to be an escape on the surface, soma is truly a control device used by the government to keep everyone ensla ved in set positions. In the utopian society Huxley creates, everything is artificial. The future of the world depends merely on a handful of directors, and everyone else is simply created as a pawn to maintain this futuristic economy. One of the ten world controllers in the "Brave New World" portrayed in the novel is Mustapha Mond. Mustapha is a driving force behind the utopian society that keeps everyone happy, yet empty inside at the same time. In fact, Mustahpa Mond has been interpreted to mean "the chosen one," for he is like a God to the people (McGiveron 29). People are created in laboratories such as the "Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre," where peo... ... through life without ever truly having to face reality or make logical decisions. Soma symbolizes and shapes many parts of society and is arguably the main symbol in Huxley's satirical masterpiece. The truth is that this utopian society is synthetic and massed produced like soma, and society is cowardly while soma is a crutch to humanity. Works Cited Clareson, Thomas. "The Classic: Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World.'" Extrapolation. 3.1 (1961): 33-40. Hoffman, Nicholas. "Huxley Vindicated." The Spectator 249.8036 (1982): 8-9. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: HarperPerennial, 1989. Jog, D.V. Aldous Huxley The Novelist. India: Book Centre, 1979. McGiveron, Rafeeq. "Huxley's 'Brave New World.'" Explicator 57.1 (1998): 27-30. Meerloo, Joost. "How Will Man Behave?" The New York Times Book Review. New York, 1958: 22-23.

Discuss the role of Marketing and the Marketing Department using an organization of your choice to illustrate the points you make

Marketing plays diverse roles in most organizations of the world. These roles have not been static but have changed with the changing times. Marketing helps in growing revenue for organizations. Every other activity of the organization contributes to the cost factor. It is only through the sale of goods, services and ideas that revenue is generated. Marketing plays a yeoman’s role in this regard. For example, organization XYZ recorded a revenue of 350 million dollars last year (2006). This was a twenty percent increment over that of the previous year (2005). The various marketing activities undertaken such as advertising, sales promotion, customer relation building and management, etc contributed in achieving this feat for organization XYZ. Marketing helps in positioning and branding the organization at the marketplace (Webster, Jr, 1992). There are several vendors and customers in the value chain and the ability of an organization to properly set itself apart from the competitive landscape to a large extent depends on how it is marketed. How an organization is perceived at the marketplace determines the extent to which it prospers. If an organization is poorly perceived, it is unlikely that it can garner the needed customers to patronize its goods and services. On the other hand, if it is well perceived and received by the consuming public, doing business becomes easier. It is the duty of marketing to make the right promises, to come up with an appropriate name and logo for the organization and in projecting a good corporate image for the organization at the marketplace. The marketing function plays a key role in managing several important connections between the customer and critical elements of the organization such as connecting the customer to the product and service delivery (Moorman and Rust, 1999). Special efforts are therefore made not only to woo new customers but also to hold unto the existing ones. Customer relationships building and management are important undertakings by the marketing function. Customer relationship management optimizes demand for the products and services of the organization. It involves in identifying and responding to needs of the customer (SAP and Peppers and Rodgers Group, 2005). Any organization that seeks to prosper at the marketplace cannot afford not to treat its customers well and meet their needs. Marketing plays a vital role in the implementation of supply chain management (Soonhong and Mentzer, 2000). Supply chain management refers to all of the strategies, processes and technologies that together form the basis for working with internal or external sources of supply (SAP and Peppers and Rodgers Group, 2005). Optimizing one’s supply chain does not only lead to drastic cost-savings but also ensures the goods are supplied when they are needed. Integrating an organization’s supply chain management and customer relationship management has been found to lead to even further greater efficiency and effectiveness (SAP and Peppers and Rodgers Group, 2005). Marketing also play an important role in new product development and product launch. The importance of new products to organization cannot be over-emphasized. Treacy and Wiersema (1995) have singled out product development or innovation with other two disciplines as the surest routes to competitive success. New products help in boosting growth and profit margins of the organization. . Some organizations even allot certain proportions of their profit margins that must be contributed by new products. In some cases the very survival of the organization hinges on the new products that it develops for the marketplace. Marketing actively encourages the active participation of customers in new product development. This is a trend gaining increased acceptance in recent years. Many business undertakings are founded on relationships such as strategic partnerships, alliances and networks (Gronroos, 1997). Marketing plays a vital role in fostering these relationships. This viewpoint has grown in recent times with the concept of relationship marketing. According to Gummesson (1996) the primary role of marketing is to connect suppliers and customers, which also include other stakeholders, both inside and outside of the organization. Marketing also actively promotes the organization at the marketplace or society. Through advertising, sales and trade promotion, sponsorships, contests, etc, the organization sells itself and the goods and services it has on offer. It can therefore be said that without the role of marketing it may be difficult for the organization to be known and its products and services patronized by the general public. The social responsibility of the marketing function cannot go unmentioned. According to Handelman and Arnold (1999) marketers are becoming increasingly aware of the positive impact that marketing actions with a social dimension can have for their organizations. This dimension of marketing has been tied to organizational effectiveness in actively reaching and meeting the needs of target customers or market. Marketing also plays a vital role in corporate planning and decision-making. The research component of marketing provides managers with data on the effectiveness of current marketing mix and provides insights for necessary changes (McDaniel and Gates, 1999) as well as other information for managerial decision-making. Marketing research also offers an avenue for exploring new opportunities in the marketplace. According to Hogarth-Scott and Parkinson (1993) there are two parallel strands in the development of marketing within organizations. One is the growth of a corporate marketing department with responsibility for advertising, the conduct and or purchase of market research and corporate image building in the marketplace. Presently, a great deal of these functions are outsourced to advertising, research, media and brand development agencies. The marketing department plays a coordinating role between the outsourcee agencies and the organization. Apart from liaising with agencies, marketing departments are also responsible for developing marketing strategies and plans for the organizations. The other element, according to Hogarth-Scott and Parkinson (1993), is the role of the buyer and the trading departments. The trading department has influential clout in the organization. They are responsible for product selection, pricing, merchandising and promotion in the organization. To a large extent, effective marketing depends on an integrated organizational effort. There is no doubt that marketing function and the marketing departments have grown in influence in recent decades. According to Moorman and Rust (1999) there has been a movement towards thinking of marketing less as a function and more as a set of values and processes that all functions of the organization participate in implementing. In this view, marketing becomes everybody’s job, which potentially diffuses the marketing function’s role but increases marketing’s influence.

Budgeting in Cooperatives

BUDGETING IN CO OPERATIVES A budget is a statement about the allocation of money (income and expenditure) according to a set of priorities or a plan over a period of time. The advantages of having a budget and budgeting system are as follows: Â ¦ It ensures the plans and ultimately the objectives of the co-operative are realized; Â ¦ It provides a means to control expenditure and ensure corrective measures are in place if over-expenditure has occurred or is happening; Â ¦ It assists in communicating financial information to all in the co-operative – everyone will know how money coming in will be spent; It assists with plan implementation; Â ¦ It helps to measure performance of the co-operative; Â ¦ It is also a motivational tool because it gives direction. If a co-operative does not budget the following disadvantages will occur: Â ¦ There will be no sense of direction; Â ¦ Overspending will happen and financial control will breakdown; Â ¦ Decisions will be made in an a d hoc or unplanned way; Â ¦ There will be unrealiable financial information. There are two main ways of budgeting: (1) Incremental: incremental budgeting works with last year’s figures.It means adjusting to some degree the budget to fit the current year. This is a very problematic way to budget. It assumes the objectives or priorities for the co-operative are the same every year. It might even repeat some of the problems of last year’s budget. (2) Zero Based: zero-based budgeting is based on analyzing the costs afresh for the year. It allows the budget to be aligned to new objectives for the coming period. All expenditures have to be justified and in line with the objectives of the co-operative.There are many things that should and should not be done when drawing up a budget. The Do’s: Â ¦ Be hard nosed and realistic; Â ¦ Take last year’s budget expenditure and the actual results into account – assess where there were variances; Â ¦ Know what t he fixed and variable costs of the co-operative are; Â ¦ Develop budget headings that fit in with the operations of the co-operative as a whole; Â ¦ Collect information thoroughly; Â ¦ Decide to go for incremental or zero-based budgeting. The Don’ts: Â ¦ Neglect to involve members and other stakeholders; Leave too little time to prepare the budget; Â ¦ Make over-optimistic assumptions about income, in particular. The drawing up of a budget should take at least a full month of research, participatory input and drafting. It should come after the board has had an opportunity to plan for the forthcoming year. How should a budget be drawn up? Step 1: Identify the key plans and objectives/priorities for the co-operative. Step 2: Cost these objectives or priorities using last year’s budget and the actual results.Know what is coming in and out by breaking costs under different headings such as wages, rent, telephone, etc. Think through the fixed and variable costs such as permanent staff costs and the cost of raw material. Ask important questions about the income and outgoings. Are there likely to be any changes? Step 3: Build in budget control parameters such as monthly or weekly tracking income and expenditure against the budget. The C E O should give reports to the board on changes or variances and recommend corrective action.Step 4: A draft budget must be presented to the all worker-owners for input. It must then be tabled at the board and General Body for approval. Step 5: Once AGM’s approval is given, the budget must be communicated to everyone in the co-operative and must be freely available. Step 6: Consistent and ongoing monitoring by the C E O and the finance subcommitteemust occur. Regular reports must be given to the board and where there are variances between income or expenditure and budgets, this must be reported to the board and corrective action put into place.