Careers in accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Careers in accounting - Assignment Example Information prepared is for internal use not general public. Helps organization’s plan the cost of doing business, work on budgeting and performance evaluation. Most researched accounting position is accountant, both in public/private sectors. Skills required for success in accounting that will not only increase ones job satisfaction but build towards long term career goals include the following; Organization; being organized is a way of demonstrating to fellow workers/supervisors /managers that you are reliable/competent /able to get a job done. For good accountant one needs to have a system to keep track of those responsibilities they manage to ensure that they fulfill all duties to the best of ability. Tools like calendars, day planners can be used. Time management; good time management skills are essential.one needs to effectively budget their time to be able to manage their workload. Should be able to manage competing priorities while completing everything in time. This therefore aids in healthy work/life balance. Adaptability; since accounting industry is dynamic, one who is able to adapt quickly have an added advantage over others an d able to embrace change.one should focus on their strengths and use in tight situations. Communication skills; strong communication skills are extremely valuable.to communicate well in writing and in person will help you get a job, work as a team with co-workers, interact with clients. Good interpersonal skills vital for networking. Leadership; one needs to balance being a role model and person in charge while still being part of a team.in accounting, leadership skills include long term planning and strategic thinking thus ability to look ahead is key.leardership involves being visionary-making decisions that involves creativity. How the researched accounting position can add value to the company, seeking candidate; the accountant is able

Eating with Your Hands Essay Example for Free

Eating with Your Hands Essay Society today is one big melting pot. People bring their customs and cultural traditions and it conglomerates with others creating these norms we follow. We live by, what time has created over time, a status quo, or social rights and wrongs. In the passage, Eating with Your Hands, the author opens the topic about etiquette, one of the major social controversies. She talks about why some foods are only acceptable to be eaten with proper utensils while others can be â€Å"finger food†. It’s true—but why is that a known rule? And why is it frowned upon? The passage has some background history of people groups within certain countries eating food with their hands, and how it almost gives an individual a better sense of what he or she is eating. The author brings up how it’s the meeting of the soul and the skin; whereas silverware places a distance between you and your food. She compares it to that of two people making love—giving food and yourself an intimate relationship. I got the sense that society has changed the soul and feeling behind food and meals due to the kosher norms of modern day etiquette. Personally I have never given thought to how I eat my food in comparison with other cultures. Growing up in twenty-first century America I have always eaten the way Im â€Å"supposed† to; I never gave it a second thought. My culture has almost given me tunnel vision, letting me focus only on what I know as acceptable or natural. This topic opens my mind to what else I might be blinded to. I have never explored what other cultures grow accustomed to like religion, style, relationships, family dynamics or even school. I have always considered myself incredibly fortunate for the life I live, and therefore I never examined the varying cultural aspects of differing nations or people groups. As far as the message of society erasing the intimacy of our meals to ourselves, I can absolutely sympathize with the author’s thoughts. In retrospect, the singular thing that could most certainly bring my family together was the warm meal that awaited us. The physicality of sharing a meal together provided each of us the opportunities to engage, with every member of my family, our singular experiences. Food is a social activity! Assuredly, eating is an activity. When an individual goes out with his or her friends, more often than not they all get dinner together. When one throws a birthday party, a favorite restaurant or catering or favorite home-cooked meal is involved. Social interactions like dating usually incorporate food of some sort. In the generation of everything digital, it is common to take a picture of a meal and post it to a social media. Food has always been a part of social interaction. I do think that society has put a strain on the comfort of eating how we desire, without our conscious recognition. Perhaps because we grew up learning that we couldnt eat spaghetti with both hands.

The Success Of Brand Loreal

The Success Of Brand Loreal To start with a brief introduction, explaining which market you have chosen and why, which companies/brands you have chosen and why. The rest of the report can then be organised thematically, such as by operational marketing area that you have chosen to analyse. You might also like to include a short concluding section, tying everything together and setting out your main findings and conclusions. The market chosen is of that of cosmetic products which is a huge market in todays date having contrasting working attitudes and style, producing goods according to the local requirement in accordance to the wants of the customers and consumers. This assignment compares and contrasts the way in which two different companies, LOreal and Unilever carry out their international marketing. Initially this assignment revolves around the two mega cosmetic brand industry LOreal and Unilever and their marketing tactics and strategies around the globe in various countries. LOreal a cosmetic giant operating in over 130 countries worldwide proposes a turnover of over à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 13.7 billion since 2001 (check financial results of 2009 and report). The company records a consistent growth of over 19.6% and 26% increase in profit in 2001 and 2002 respectively. (Check recent growth and report) The consistent growth of the company and the share in the particular market is caused due to its varied marketing activities in the marketing arena. The company differs itself from other companies in the sphere of product/service design; packaging; brand name/logo; price; advertising; sales promotion; website; distribution channel(s). The success of Brand LOreal lies in the fact that the company succeeded in reaching out to the customers of different countries of the world, across different income ranges and cultural patterns, giving them the appropriate product they are worthy of. The area of expertise of LOreal being that it succeeded almost in every country that it entered. The strategies of LOreal was varied enough to help it and stop itself from restricting itself in a single country. LOreal sold its product on the basis of customer demand and country want rather than keeping the product identical across the globe. It built ample number of brands or mammoth brands entrenched to the restricted culture and which appealed to a variety of segment of the universal market instead of generalising the brand and edible in innumerable culture. LOreal went on to being a local product in every international market. The brand extension of LOreal also came in the same sector or the same segment of market. LOreal believed i n growing its expertise in the segment it is conscious of rather than going into a completely new sector of market.. LOreal had built a dozen or so mega brands rooted in the local culture and appealing to different segments of the global market. Instead of homogenizing the various brands and making them palatable in myriad cultures, Owen-Jones decided to embody their (the brands) country of origin, turning what many marketing gurus considered a narrowing factor into a marketing virtue. As a senior LOreal manager put it, You have to be local and as strong as the best locals but backed by an international image and strategy. We have made a conscious effort to diversify the cultural origins of our brands. Brand Extensions LOreal realized the need for caution in case of brand extensions. The company extended its brands after doing a thorough research. When LOreal decided to enter the kids shampoo category in 1998, it debated whether to launch a new brand or go for an extension. The company realized the LOreal name, long associated with womens hair care, would capture instant credibility with moms. But Kids was really a child-oriented product. When LOreal first unveiled its LOreal Kids shampoo line early 1998, retailers were sceptical. Retailers say the value isnt there. We say it is that the child establishes value. We were pretty tenacious. mentioned Carol Hamilton, 45, senior VP-marketing for the LOreal retail division of Cosmair LOreal professionals mechanises with LOreal professional salons in order to not only promote their product but also to help hairdressers to have a vision, excel and accomplish. LOreal have divided their product range in five different categories to focus its marketing activities exclusively designed for the targeted market audience. Professional products Consumer Products Luxury Products Cosmetics Body Shop The body shop was founded in 1976 in the United Kingdome well known for its strong product base of natural ingredients and having a network of over 2550 stores in 63 countries (is this the present situation?) Unilever on the other hand, a British-Duch multinational company owning ample numer of consumer products in the food, beverage and the personal care product sector. Promising to give a consistent evolution in the sustainable living plan of the commoners. Inspiring billions of people to support them in order to give themselves a better life. In a world of hype and stereotypes, the Dove Unilever provides a refreshing alternative for women who recognise that beauty isnt simply about how you look but it makes a genuine difference. Dove Unilever is committed to widening the definition of beauty for women because it believe real beauty comes in all ages, shapes and sizes. To help enjoy your own brand of beauty, Dove provides an extensive range of cleansing and personal care products that make a genuine difference to the condition and feel of skin and hair. Dove is the UKs top Bar Soap brand and 45% of the population bought a Dove product in 2010. In fact, 10.1 million women use Dove every week in the UK. Unilever first launched its products in the US during the 1950s, and in 1957 the basic Dove bar formula was refined and developed into the Original Dove Beauty bar. It was launched as a beauty soap that was clinically proven to be milder on dry and sensitive skins. Launched in the Uk in the late 1990s. The following years saw the launch of more bath time treats like beauty baths and moisturising body washes. Unilever Dove then expanded its brand into antiperspirant deodorants and ProAge, a range of skin cream and hair care products specifically designed in accordance to the requirement of the local women. Unilever re-defined the definition of beauty for women. In 2010 Unilever Dove came out with another revolutionary product of Damage therapy which could be used by the consumers at home rather than spending a fortune on other beauty therapys to keep their hair strong damage free. In 2010 Unilever also diversifies its Dove products from the female sector to the male and hence the birth of a completely new brand of products in which unilever had never stepped its foot into, the Dove Men Care brand was formed offering deodrants and body washes specifically designed for the male skin. LOreal entered India with the hair colour product, they changed the way consumers viewed the product. From being a product for the old-age to turn grey hair into shining black. LOreal targeted the young market for whome looking stylish and to the modern mark was really very important. It was a tough job for LOreal to change the mindsets of the people. Dove entered India in the late 1993. Dove-known to be a custodian to promise gave products to woment to satisfy them all over the world. In India Dove became the fastest growing hair care shampoo product in fifteen month of its launch. ADVERTISING LOreal-because you are worth it, gives a kind of a fulfilment to the consumer that the kind of product the consumer was looking for, this is it. LOreal started its advertising campaign in the late 1920 via posters and other such medims. It first time appeared onscreen in 1950s in movies. In todays date LOreal got celebrity of all ages to promote their product. The strategy that LOreal used here is to use local celebrities to whom the common man relate to rather than having just one celebrity to promote their product globally. For example in India LOreal used ex Miss world Aishwariya Rai to promote their product where as in the K they used Penelope Cruz to promote their product. This got LOreal the image of Traditional Beauty.LOreal knew that the best way to attract customers was to bestow the customers with the image that they could become as beautiful as their favourite celebrities. Resulting into more the sales of the product that would take place Dove on the other hand used the tactic of complementing their customers giving them a profound positive vibe by giving a positive line of you are beautiful resulting into her buying the product. Dove uses various creative marketing strategies like recently dove is using Facebook which is a social commerce networking site to promote its product. Dove has made its products available to the customers on the social website. Dove believes that it makes complete sense to move from a social networking website to a purchase worthwhile at the same place. On the later research when found that email results into more selling rather than social website, the focus of the company changed into sending more personalised emails to the prospective customers. Dove also launched a competitive advertisement in competition with LOreal with the tag line Dove is No.1 Shampoo sending customers emails with such adverts and making customer believe that it is the best the customer can get. Given the image of real women Dove never used or endorced their products through celebrities like in the case of Unilever. Instead Unilever built a new strategy for Dove. Given the cote of being Real Women Dove used a corporate advertising strategy by various culture of women and projecting an image of self-satisfaction for the Unilever brand.s Consumers will soon be able to buy Dove products through Facebook, with Unilever unveiling the new ecommerce offering shortly Marshall Manson, Europe Middle East and Africa managing director of digital at Unilevers PR agency Edelman, said: It makes sense to allow users to move directly from a social word-of-mouth recommendation, or from information a brand has shared, to purchase. He also said that the move makes it easier for Dove to connect social activity with business values and measure their effectiveness. The news comes just days after a study by Foresee found that consumers prefer email marketing messages than social media interactions with retailer websites in the UK. Larry Freed, president and chief executive officer of ForeSee Results, said brands need to be aware of how their target markets are influenced by promotional emails, advertising on Facebook or word-of-mouth recommendations. SALES PROMOTION In India LOreal brought the international style by transforming the looks in the form of amenities to its customers. LOreal marked its products through hair salons in India. Today LOreal owns over 2000 saloons over 36 cities in India. LOreal and Unilever competed on getting positioned in the shelf-space in the United States to be in the eye of the customers. Dove on the other hand promoted its product by positioning itself the best that is as the number one product and also with the help of dove the seven day challenge, where dove promised healthy hair or money back guarantee. In the United States Dove bought about the half-faced challenge. Dove asked the American customers to use the product on half of their face and feel the difference. LOreal on the other hand promised a reduction in the hair fall or in the healthy hair or a complete money back guarantee. LOreal carried out its sales promotion having a wide assortment with varying range of products for premium and the middle class. Though LOreals prmium product were at low demand, LOreal kept on reinforcing them through promoting their premium brand as a look of necessity. WEBSITE The LOreal website not only gives a brief introduction of its varied product features but it also gives information about the company history and also about the various product ranges for women in the market supplementing it with a little extra of for women categorising it specifically for them. LOreal in China launched a website in mandarin to help customers easy accessibility and making it easy for them to use the website. Dove maintains its simplicity in its website also but to it dove also adds up a space for testimonials and various offers and promotions that Dove have, to offer at that minute. To that Dove had also added up an interactive session and video to show how dove has helped peoples hair. Unilever on the other hand used specimens of local commoner beauty to endorse the Dove beauty product on their website. They also came up with advertisement of the websites specific to that part of the region. For example the Indian website had adverts of Dove moisture riser to have soft skin where as in the United Kingdome the website had advertisements on moisturiser on cold cream to protect them from the cols. DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL A market channel is one of the most important factors in the marketing of a product. It closures the period, space and hole in the market between the consumers and the product manufacturers. In India to distribute its product Dove Unilever uses three approaches, indirect coverage, and direct coverage and Streamline method. Dove Unilever looked out for short supply-chain for distribution to meet its customers needs and to reach out to a huge population. In India Unilever elected sub-stockist that covered up the mass part of the marketing areas in India where as in the Unites Kingdome Unilever were in direct contact with the retailers to sell out their products. Over 180 million units are produced in the United Kingdome every year. Most of it, around 65% of it is exported overseas. CONCLUTION à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL LOreals Distribution Channel in the Balkans With 290 subsidiaries, more than 100 distributors and 42 plants, all spread out in about 130 countries, LOreal is the leader of the cosmetic industry. The group has begun its internationalisation in 1912 by following three steps: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ First, commercialisation of professional shampoos to hair-dressers via distributors in near Europe (Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Poland) and in the Americas first landing; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Second, local firms are taken over for example in the USA (Redken 1993, Maybelline 1996 etc.), in Argentina (Miss Y lang 2000) go native; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Third, subsidiaries (production, research and development) are directly created (Greenfield investment) without any first passage via distribution. It is the case in Asia (Japan and Hong Kong) globalisation. The group has to face harsh competition and new stakes like diversify its product segments (baby-boomers which become mammy-boomers; American, French and Japanese young with specific tastes; and men), exploit new means of distribution (like on line sales) and finally, take advantage before the competitors, of new emerging markets like Asia, India, Latin America, Africa and East European countries. For our analysis on distribution channel performance, we will focus on the Balkans region () where the group detains its highest number of distributors as well as no subsidiary. Furthermore, these countries are future new comers in the European Union and such a particular presence in this region is no doubt linked to LOreal internationalisation strategy. Distributors, in this area, buy products directly to the headquarters. There are lot of things you wrote about LOreals distribution channelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. You need to bring in some operational marketing of LOreal and then conclusion. UNQUOTE ABA This report will analysing the international/global marketing activities of two international well known companies LOreal and Garnier operating in a similar market across a range of countries in a contrasting way. The activities that the report will focus on are as follows product/service design or formulation; packaging; brand name/logo; price; advertising; sales promotion; website; distribution channel(s). SLIDE SHOW MAILS http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/html/suppliers/suppliers-performance/suppliers-performance-conception.aspx LOreal a company operating in over 130 countries worldwide propose a turnover of over à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 13.7 billion since 2001. The company records a consistent growth of over 19.6% and 26% increase in profit in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The consistent growth of the company and the share in the particular market is caused due to its varied marketing activities in the marketing arena. The company differs itself from other companies in the sphere of product/service design; packaging; brand name/logo; price; advertising; sales promotion; website; distribution channel(s). http:// http://www.loreal.co.uk/_en/_gb/index.aspx www.loreal.co.in/_hi/_in/index.aspx BRAND- The success of Brand LOreal lies in the fact that the company succeeded in reaching out to the customers of different countries of the world, across different income ranges and cultural patterns. The area of expertise of LOreal being that it succeeded almost in every country that it entered. The strategies of LOreal was varied enough to help it and stop itself from restricting itself in a single country. LOreal sold its product on the basis of customer demand and country want rather than keeping the product identical across the globe. It build ample number of brands or mammoth brands entrenched to the restricted culture and which appealed to the a variety of segment of the universal market instead of generalising the brand and edible in innumerable culture. LOreal went on to being a local product in every international market. The brand extension of LOreal also came in the same sector or the same segment of market. LOreal had built a dozen or so mega brands rooted in the local culture and appealing to different segments of the global market. Instead of homogenizing the various brands and making them palatable in myriad cultures, Owen-Jones decided to embody their (the brands) country of origin, turning what many marketing gurus considered a narrowing factor into a marketing virtue. As a senior LOreal manager put it, You have to be local and as strong as the best locals but backed by an international image and strategy. We have made a conscious effort to diversify the cultural origins of our brands. Brand Extensions LOreal realized the need for caution in case of brand extensions. The company extended its brands after doing a thorough research. When LOreal decided to enter the kids shampoo category in 1998, it debated whether to launch a new brand or go for an extension. The company realized the LOreal name, long associated with womens hair care, would capture instant credibility with moms. But Kids was really a child-oriented product. When LOreal first unveiled its LOreal Kids shampoo line early 1998, retailers were skeptical. Retailers say the value isnt there. We say it is, that the child establishes value. We were pretty tenacious. mentioned Carol Hamilton, 45, senior VP-marketing for the LOreal retail division of Cosmair Loreal professionnel mechanises with Loreal profetional salons in order to not only promote their product but also tp help hairdressers to have a vision, excel and accomplish. They have devided their product range in five different categories Proffestional products Consumer products Luxuary products Active cosmetics and The body shop. The body shop was founded in 1976 in the United Kingdome well known for its strong product base of natural ingredients and having a network of over 2550 stores in 63 countries. http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Marketing1/Branding%20Strategy-Marketing%20Case%20Study.htm#Brand%20Management Dove In a world of hype and stereotypes, the Dove brand provides a refreshing alternative for women who recognise that beauty isnt simply about how you look. Making a genuine difference Dove is committed to widening the definition of beauty for women because we believe real beauty comes in all ages, shapes and sizes. To help you enjoy your own brand of beauty, Dove provides an extensive range of cleansing and personal care products that make a genuine difference to the condition and feel of your skin and hair. Dove is the UKs top Bar Soap brand and 45% of the population bought a Dove product in 2010. In fact, 10.1 million women use Dove every week in the UK. How it all started First launched in the US during the 1950s, Dove cleansing bar with its moisturising properties was originally developed to treat burn victims during the war. In 1957 the basic Dove bar formula was refined and developed into the Original Dove Beauty bar. It was launched as a beauty soap that was clinically proven to be milder on dry and sensitive skins. In the 1970s an independent clinical dermatological study proved Dove Beauty bar was milder than 17 leading bar soaps. Dove was launched in the UK in the 1990s. The following years saw the launch of more bath time treats like beauty baths and moisturising body washes. In 2001 Dove launched its first antiperspirant deodorant. Only Dove Deodorant has its 1/4 moisturising cream formula that helps skin to recover itself after every shave, leaving underarm skin feeling smoother than an ordinary deodorant. 2004 saw the launch of the Campaign for Real Beauty, which highlighted the Dove brands commitment to broadening definitions of beauty. Following on from this Dove launched the Self Esteem Fund in 2005 which acts as an agent of change to educate and inspire young girls on a wider definition of beauty. It aims to boost the self-confidence of young girls and women, enabling them to reach their full potential in life. Also in 2007 Dove launched ProAge, a range of skin care, deodorant and hair care that has been specifically designed to give mature skin what it needs right now. In 2010 the Dove hair care range was revitalised with distinct new benefits. The Dove Damage Therapy range is designed to combat the damage caused by daily brushing, towel drying styling etc. 2010 also saw the launch of the new Dove Men+Care male grooming brand, offering deodorants and body washes specifically designed for mens skin Did you know? British girls suffer the lowest self esteem in the world, after Japan. Almost  ¾ (74%) of girls aged 8 12 are so dissatisfied with their bodies that they would like to change something about their appearance. The Dove team is committed to help girls build positive self-esteem and a healthy body image, with a goal of reaching 5 million girls worldwide by 2010. The Dove Self Esteem Fund has reached over 5 million girls worldwide and is committed to continuing to help girls build positive self-esteem and a healthy body image. For information on the Dove range of products call the customer careline free on 0800 085 1548 in the UK and 1850 404060 in Ireland. From our range Dove Beauty Cream Bar Dove Triple Moisturising Body Wash Dove Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser Dove Original Roll On Deodorant Dove Go Fresh Cucumber Green Tea Scent Deodorant Dove Intensive Repair Shampoo Dove Intensive Repair Express Treatment Conditioner Dove Men+Care Clean Comfort Antiperspirant Dove Men+Care Clean Comfort Body Face wash | http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/personalcarebrands/dove.aspx PRICE ADVERTISING LOreal-because you are worth it gives a kind of a satisfaction that this is the kind of product that the consumer was looking for. LOreal advertised around the world in the 1920 via posters. In the 1950s it brought its advertising medium in movies and made it on screen for the first time. In todays date LOreal has taken various famous actresses of varied celebrities of all ages to promote their product. With the promotion techniques LOreal has kept one thing in mind to also use local celebrity for the local advertisement in order so as to the common can relate themselves and in order to use the image of traditional beautiful women. Having the idea in mind that more beautiful the women would be more the customer would get attracted and in accordance more the sales of the product would take place. In India LOreal advertised through a media onslaught for its global brand featuring Aishwariya Rai re-defining the definition of beautiful hair. LOreal India has just launched a media blitz for its global brand LOreal Paris Total Repair 5 featuring cine star Aishwarya Rai http://www.financialexpress.com/news/loreal-joins-ad-war-with-hul-pg/656116/ Advertising: In 1920s, LOreal advertised around world by posters. Around 1950s, it brought a new advertising medium, especially the movies. LOreal made it on-screen first time during this period and it won an advertising Oscar award. Nowadays, LOreal takes on famous actresses or different celebrities of all ages that promote product and ensures its higher sales. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_LOreal_Promotional_Strategy#ixzz1DxUkzPld http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_LOreal_Promotional_Strategy Dove-you are beautiful gives a positive feeling to the customer that she is beautiful and hence she needs to have the product. Dove uses various creative marketing strategies like recently dove is using Facebook which is a social commerce networking site to promote its product. Dove has made its products available to the customers on the social website. Dove believes that it makes complete sense to move from a social networking website to a purchase worthwhile at the same place. On the later research when found that email results into more selling rather than social website, the focus of the company changed into sending more personalised emails to the prospective customers. Dove also launched a competitive advertisement in competition with Loreal with the tag line Dove is No.1 Shampoo making customer believe that it is the best. a comparative ad campaign with the ad line Dove is No. 1 Shampoo even before http://www.financialexpress.com/news/loreal-joins-ad-war-with-hul-pg/656116/ http://dove.in/tvc_main.php Consumers will soon be able to buy Dove products through Facebook, with Unilever unveiling the new ecommerce offering shortly. Powered by Amazon, the Facebook store will first be available in the US with plans in place for a global rollout later this year. Speaking to Marketing Week, Marshall Manson, Europe Middle East and Africa managing director of digital at Unilevers PR agency Edelman, said: It makes sense to allow users to move directly from a social word-of-mouth recommendation, or from information a brand has shared, to purchase. He also said that the move makes it easier for Dove to connect social activity with business values and measure their effectiveness. The news comes just days after a study by Foresee found that consumers prefer email marketingmessages than social media interactions with retailer websites in the UK. Larry Freed, president and chief executive officer of ForeSee Results, said brands need to be aware of how their target markets are influenced by promotional emails, advertising on Facebook or word-of-mouth recommendations. http://www.dma.org.uk/news/nws-dmitem.asp?id=6391t=Dove+heads+to+Facebook+for+sales SALES PROMOTION In India loreal brought the international style by transforming the looks in the form of amenities to its customers. LOreal marked its products through hair salons in India. Today owning over 2000 saloons over 36 cities in India. In 2002, Mr. Sharma, the general manager of LOreal India Pvt Ltd, expected the sales turnover to double. So he bought the international styles to India, the Indian hair dressers will recreate the looks of customers by converting the interpreted looks in the form of services rendered to them. So nowadays, LOreal India has 2000 saloons across 36 cities. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_LOreal_Promotional_Strategy Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_LOreal_Promotional_Strategy#ixzz1DxTF6zIi WEBSITE The LOreal website not only gives a brief introduction of it varied product features but it also gives information about the company history and also about the various product ranges for women in the market supplementing it with a little extra of for women categorising it specifically for them. Dove maintains its simplicity in its website also but to it dove also adds up a space for testimonials and various offers and promotions that Dove have, to offer at that minute. To that Dove had also added up an interactive session and video to show how dove has helped peoples hair. DIS For our analysis on distribution channel performance, we will focus on the Balkans3 region where the group detains its highest number of distributors as well as no subsidiary4 Furthermore, these countries are future new comers in the European Union and such a particular presence in this region is no doubt linked to LOreal internationalisation strategy. Distributors, in this area, buy products directly to the headquarters and are provided thanks to the Hungarian subsidiary. Performance Evaluation Several criteria, extracted from the Marketing literature5 enable to evaluate LOreal export channel performance. These criteria are divided into four main categories (see schema 1): 1. Selection of foreign intermediaries is the first criterion to examine: what has determined the choice of one distributor better than one another? Indeed, if choice is not well considered, performance tends to be altered. An ineffective foreign distributor can set you back in years; it is almost better to have no distributor than a bad one in a major market6. In the case of LOreal, the choice of a distributor comes from three options: recommendations from business contacts, prospecting or direct requests by the distributor himself. In all cases, a deep audit of the would-be distributor is undertaken7 (financial strengths, commercial force, know-how, etc. ). Obviously, the chosen distributor does not sell direct rival products nor any other cosmetics products. The distributor seems to have a great interest to cooperate to this rule otherwise they lose the opportunity to sell the famous brand. 2. Monitoring: such as reporting, control of selling places, frequency of visits and type of contract, is said to be necessary in order to reduce information asymmetry that undergoes the exporter. All types of monito

Lord Kelvin (1824 - 1907) :: essays research papers

Lord Kelvin (1824 - 1907) William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) was born June 26, 1824 in Belfast, Ireland, and was part of a large family whose mother died when he was six. His father taught Kelvin and his brothers mathematics to a level beyond that of university courses of the time. Kelvin was somewhat of a genius, and had his first papers published in 1840. These papers contained an argument defending the work of Fourier (Fourier transforms), which at the time was being heavily criticized by British scientists. He proved Fourier’s theories to be right. In 1839 Kelvin wrote an essay which he called " An Essay on the Figure of the Earth." He used this essay as a source and inspiration for ideas all his life and won an award from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Kelvin remained at the University for the rest of his working life. Kelvin first defined the absolute temperature scale in 1847, which was later named after him. In 1851 he published the paper, "On the Dynamical Theory of Heat", and in the same year was elected to the Royal Society. This work contained his ideas and version of the second law of thermodynamics as well as James Joule’s idea of the mechanical equivalent of heat. This idea claimed that heat and motion were combined, which now is taken as second nature. At the time, heat was thought to have been a fluid of some kind. Kelvin also maintained an interest in the age of the sun and calculated values for it. He assumed that the sun produced its radiant energy from the gravitational potential of matter falling into the sun. In collaboration with Hermann von Helmholtz, he calculated and published in 1853 a value of 50 million years. He also had an interest in the age of the earth, and he calculated that the earth was a maximum of 400 million years old. These calculations were based on the rate of cooling of a globe of matter after first solidification occurs ( such as the beginning of the earth). He also calculated that molecular motion stops at -273 degrees Celsius. He called this temperature absolute zero. Kelvin started work in 1854 on the project of laying transatlantic cables. His idea was that electrical current flow was similar to that of heat flow, and by applying ideas on heat flow, helped in the problem of transmitting electrical signals over long distances. In 1866, Kelvin succeeded in laying the first successful transatlantic cable. Kelvin invented the mirror galvanometer which he patented in 1858 as a long

Trait-Based Pespectives of Leadership, Zaccaro (2007)

AbstractThis paper is an academic critique of an observational study research article written by Stephen J. Zaccaro (2007) entitled, Trait-Based Perspectives of Leadership. The trait-based perspective on leadership was dismissed by many scientific leadership researchers in the mid-20th century. A primary reason was that the research did not account for situational variance in leadership behavior. Quantitative analysis of leadership was difficult in the past. Recent improvements in research methods, such as statistics, have led to resurgence of interest in trait-based leadership theory.Zaccaro (2007) called for researchers to address fundamental issues or critical points, which he defined. He identified a defining core of leadership traits that transcend organizational domains. Finally, he summarized a multistage model that predicts various traits having more distal or proximal effects, accordingly. The author concludes with proposing future directions of research with the goal of ide ntifying universal qualities of effective leaders. IntroductionThe purpose behind this critique is to evaluate an observational study, published in 2007, by Stephen J. Zaccaro entitled, Trait-Based Perspectives of Leadership. The globally popular trait-based theory of leadership of the early 20th century lost credibility after World War II. Advances in quantitative analysis methods, concepts, and statistical models provided empirical data that challenged studies that had rejected leader trait models. Zaccaro postulated that by refining common traits and attributes of effective leaders into universally standard categories, such commonalities could be analyzed quantitatively.The author introduced four critical points to be considered in models and theories on trait-based leadership. First, the refinement of multiple leader traits and attributes must be made. Secondly, studies should address how joint combinations of characteristics have an influence on behavior. In this way he explain s the curvilinear  relationships of traits with outcomes that were used to discredit leadership-trait theories. Computer models may now calculate complex multiplicative and curvilinear relationships that were confounders in the past.Third, particular situations may predict success or failure depending various traits. Fourth, similar leader traits may be stable in cross situations while others may be situation-bound. Zacarro (2007) went on to provide a broader definition of leader trait that is focused on personality attributes. He then identified actual traits that are distally and proximally influenced by situational parameters. He then illustrated a multistage model that predicts various traits having more distal or proximal effects. MethodologyThe author conducted a literature review to build his four critical points. In this manner he was also able to refine the meaning of successful and effective leadership as, â€Å"fundamentally, influencing others by establishing a collec tive effort and managing, shaping, and developing the collective activities†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 9). He then clarified the role of situations into three circumstances which he calls arguments.He analyzed models of leader individual difference and performance into his own, entitled, A Model of Leader Attributes and Leader Performance.Findings and InterpretationsThis category is not applicable in this case since the proposed model has not been tested sufficiently.ConclusionsThe author concludes with proposing a number of possible future directions of research with the goal of identifying universal qualities of effective leaders. His belief is that these recommendations combined with modern methodological and statistical resources will help reach this goal.

Child and adolescent health Essay

The two most important factors influencing adolescent’s developments are psychological and environmental factors. As they grow, they are influenced by environmental factors such as religion, culture, Schools and religion. The psychological factors that influence their development includes cognitive and emotional factors (Hall & Braverman, 2014). In the western society, what is missing that would benefit health promotion for the adolescents is a focused attention on the diseases most adolescents experience, and the risk factors with their root causes. Moreover, another missing factor in the western society is emphasis on prevention since mostly they concentrate on curing or treatment than prevention, yet prevention is cost effective (Merrick, 2014). The health problems faced by the adolescents impact their health and wellness in several ways in their lifetime. An adolescent who uses tobacco, has unhealthy eating behavior, uses alcohol and other drugs, has inadequate exercise or engages in sexual behaviors that may result to sexually transmitted infections’ and unwanted pregnancy may negatively impact their lives (Hall & Braverman, 2014). Some of the effects of the health problems faced by the adolescents which may impact their health and wellness include lung cancer, obesity or underweight, high blood pressure, and even contracting the incurable HIV virus or being early mothers. There are several areas that must be addressed when taking sexual history of adolescents. According to Hal & Braverman, (2014), â€Å"5 Ps† are used as a general guide for taking the sexual history of adolescents. Partners- questions should ask the sex, number and concurrency, sex partners of the adolescents Practices-the nurse should explore sexual activity types that the adolescent pained engages in such as oral, anal and anal sex Protection- the questions should ask about the teenager’s use condoms and the circumstances making it easier or harder to use he condoms Past history of STD-the nurse should ask about the STD history of the teenager. These includes whether the teens has ever contracted the STDs in Pregnancy. Prevention-lastly, the nurse should ask the teenager whether they want to be pregnant and discuss the future and current contraceptives (Hall & Braverman, 2014). In conclusion, psychological and environmental factors are the two most important factors that influence adolescent’s developments. Focused attention on the diseases experienced by the adolescents and emphasis on prevention is lacking in the western society. Moreover, there are several health problems adolescents face that impact their health and wellness in several ways in their lifetime. Lastly, when taking sexual history, one need to consider the partners, practice, and protection, past history of STD and prevention. References Hall, C., & Braverman, P. K. (2014). Hot topics in adolescent health. man, P. K. (2014). Hot topics in adolescent health. Merrick, J. (2014). Child and adolescent health yearbook 2013. Source document

How to Give an Impromptu Speech (Public Speaking)

How to Give an Impromptu Speech (Public Speaking) An impromptu speech is a speech that you have to make without much or any time to prepare. In life, this can happen when you attend special events, like weddings or celebrations. In school, teachers use impromptu speeches as  homework assignments to help you develop communication skills and to help you prepare for those future life surprises. While this may seem like a cruel trick from a students point of view, it actually builds confidence and is great preparation for life. Rarely will you be asked to stand and deliver a speech with no warning and no time to organize your thoughts. This would be unusual in the classroom unless the teacher is attempting to make a point about the importance of preparedness. At some point in your life, however, you may be asked to speak without notice. There are a few things you can do to avoid panic and embarrassment. Grab a pen and a piece of paper. If you have a few moments before your speech is expected to begin, grab a writing utensil and something to write on, whether its a napkin, envelope, or the back of a receipt you have on hand, and jot down a few thoughts.Highlight a few interesting or significant points.  Keep in mind, your impromptu speech doesnt have to be long. A little-known fact about effective speeches is that if you start with a good line and then end with a really great punch, the speech will  be perceived as a total success. So the beginning and ending markers are critical. The middle portion of your speech should relate to the event youre attending or the class assignment, but if you have to choose one great moment, your ending line is particularly important. If you can walk away gracefully, your speech will be a hit, so keep your big zinger for last.Try to memorize key points. If you have time before your speech, create an outline of the major themes or points and commit it to memory with a memorization trick, like an acronym. Dont try to remember the entire speech in detail like this; just remember important points. Hijack the topic.  There is an old trick that politicians use when theyre being interviewed on TV, and once you realize this, you can use it yourself. They think of questions ahead of time (or topics to discuss), prepare some talking points,  and talk about those, despite the topic or question theyre given. This is a handy trick when youre facing a hard question or asked to discuss a topic with which youre unfamiliar.Remember youre in charge of this time.  Your goal is to deliver a one-sided conversation, off the cuff, so you are in complete control. Relax and make it your own. If you want to make this a funny story about your pesky little brother who always bothers you during homework time, then do it. Everyone will applaud your effort.Feel free to acknowledge that you have not prepared for a speech. If you are speaking in front of friends or family, it may ease your nervousness to express your lack of preparation. This should not be an attempt to garner pity, but rather a way to put yourself and your audience at ease. Then, take a deep breath before you begin speaking. Zone out the audience or choose someone specific to focus on, whichever makes you more comfortable. Begin with your introductory sentence, elaborate, then start working your way to your ending sentence.  Fill in the middle space with as many points as you can, elaborating on each one as you go. Just concentrate on the zinger youve reserved for the end.As you deliver your speech, concentrate on diction and tone.  If you are thinking about this, you wont be thinking about the eyes watching you. Your mind cant think about too many things at once, so think about breathing, enunciating your words, and controlling your tone, and youll maintain more control. What to Do If You Draw a Blank If you suddenly lose your train of thought or draw a complete blank, there are a few you can do to keep from panicking. Pretend youre pausing on purpose. Walk back and forth slowly, as if youre letting your last point sink in.There is always a jokester or friendly person who will stand out in the crowd. Make eye contact and try to draw a response from him or her while you think.If you need more time to think, you may want to ask the audience a question. Have a few prepared ahead, like Do you have any questions, or Can everyone hear me okay?If you still cant remember what you were going to say, make up a reason to pause the speech. You can say, Im sorry, but my throat is very dry. Can I please get a glass of water? Someone will go to get you a drink, and you will have time to think of two or three points to talk about. If these tricks dont appeal to you, think of your own. The goal is to have something ready for every possible scenario ahead of time. If you know you may be asked to give an impromptu speech soon, try going through the entire preparation process with a few common speech topics. When caught off guard, many people can suffer extreme anxiety about speaking off the cuff. Thats why the best speakers are always prepared.

Leni Riefenstahl - Hitlers Favourite Director essays

Leni Riefenstahl - Hitlers Favourite Director essays She was Hitlers favourite director. She was beautiful and talented. She was a woman in a mans field. Three strikes and youre out. Born Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl was born August 22 1902, Leni Riefenstahl would ultimately prove to be one of the most controversial and influential females to be involved in an artistic field. At merely four years old, Leni began to write poetry and paint. At age twelve, she joined a local gymnastics and swim club. At a very early age, Lenis mother noticed that she was very artistically inclined. She saw Leni had the ability to paint with a natural understanding of composition and balance. These two qualities would stand out in some of Lenis later films. At a young age Leni visited the theatre to see the play Snow White. That day set a benchmark in her life, and from then onwards all she wanted to do was dance. Her father did not support her, he wished that she would take up the family business or another suitable profession. He wanted to provide Leni with an education that would lead her into a profession that he considered respectable. Her passion for dancing continued to grow, and despite what her father said, her mother continued to take Leni to ballet. By 1910, Leni was very fond of dance and she decided to enroll in a small dance program in Berlin called the Grimm-Reiter School. Her training continued, and the family found it difficult to keep her love for dance a secret from her father. He soon found out and was outraged at the idea of Leni becoming a dancer. Alfred believed so little of his daughter and her talents and in an effort to spite her, entered her into Berlins most prestigious ballet school. He thought by enrollin g her in such a prestigious dancing school she would soon realize she lacked talent and she would have to listen to her father and pursue another career. This was not to be the case. Lenis teacher...

Nosocmial Infection Related to Having Surgery In A Hospital Research Paper

Nosocmial Infection Related to Having Surgery In A Hospital - Research Paper Example This is based on the route, duration and time of administration of the antibiotic after susceptibility test and clinical responses. NOSOCOMIAL OR HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONS Care to patients is provided in wide range of facilities ranging from highly equipped clinics to advanced public universities. Despite progress and advancement in hospital care, infections continue to prevail in hospitalized patients and even in hospital staff. Decreased immunity among the patients, variety of invasive techniques creates a kind potential route for the infections to incubate and grow in the ideal atmosphere. Poor controls for the spread of infection can also be the key factor for the stretch of infections among crowded hospital populations. Nosocomial or Hospital acquired infections can be defined as: Nosocomial or hospital acquired infections are defined as the infections acquired by patients during their stay at the hospital, who are admitted for a reason other than that infection and the infec tion causing agent was not present or incubating at the time of admission. This also includes those infections occurring in staff members or patients who are recently discharged from the hospitals. (Pittet ,2011) EPIDIMILOGY Nosocomial infections occur in both developed and third world countries and it is the major cause of death among hospital patients. A survey conducted by WHO in 55 hospitals of 14 countries including Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, South East Asia and Western pacific. The result shows an average of 8.7% patients suffer from Hospital Acquired Infections every year. The burden of HAI is already substantial in developing countries where Nosocomial infections hit every 5 to 155 patients in regular wards and 50% patients in ICU (Vincent, Rello , Marshall, Silva, Anzueto, Martin,2009). The magnitude of the problem remains ignored or unknown because diagnosis is complex and suirvillience activities requires expertise and resources to guide interventions.(Allegranzi& pit tet,2008) PATHOPHYSIOLOGY: Nosocomial infections can be acquired from both exogenous and endogenous sources. Endogenous sources are part of patient’s body or body sites, such as infections growing or incubating inside the body. Exogenous sources are those outside from the body. Examples include visitors, medical personnel, equipment and healthcare environment. HAI’s may be caused by patient’s own flora, the organisms harmlessly entangled with patients own body such as skin (S.Aureus) or intestine (E. coli). The infections targeting ICU patients or patients with weak immune system are those which are the victims of environment filled with the micro-organisms. These organisms usually cause lung infections. Infections may be transferred from one to another person such as Antibiotic resistant micro-organisms are likely to come from the person already infected or colonized from the organism, via the hands of health care worker or through the environment where the pat ient is being cared for. C.difficile is the causative agent for diarrhea and can be carried in the intestine of the patient or can be acquired from other patient already infected because C. Difficile produces spores which make it easier for their spread and also make it resistant to unfavorable conditions. The agents causing HAI are mostly viruses, bacteria’

Weekly ass. #10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Weekly ass. #10 - Essay Example business cant afford, try living in a world without it.† [2] Our Government has also taken initiative to honor the best organization that has effectively followed this principle of "eco-friendly business†. Major issues of global warming and climate change are faced by our planet. These problems affect badly to mankind, scenery and animals. Hence, I request you to help the environment by following "eco-friendly business" factor. There are many ways through which we can help the environment. We can avoid using extra wooden infrastructure and wasting papers in our offices. We can reduce the rate of releasing gases that are harmful for the ozone layer. It is very important for humans to survive on earth. The award of best "eco-friendly business" will be a token of respect, and it will be a great achievement for our company if we win this award. Our efforts will definitely help the environment and increase the awareness of eco-friendly nature of chemical industry. I hope that you will consider our mission of eco-friendly business in future while developing our business. â€Å"The only way we can do this is if we get back in the world’s fight against global warming and prove it is good economics that we will create more jobs to build a sustainable economy that saves the planet for our children and grandchildren. It is the only way it will work.†

Short case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short case study analysis - Essay Example However, his new policy did not work since operating manager including those in Daniels department continued to hire workers informally. David Hall was hired as a research engineer, and his name was presented to the president by a former vice president of engineering company who was not employed by that time. After three months seagle became suspicious about some irregularities in Hall’s background. Hall’s information about where he had undertaken his graduate and undergraduate engineering course was not true. Hall was very competent in his work, and the personnel did not know the strategy for changing the cart before the horse. SWOT analysis Strengths and weaknesses The company’s strength is seen in the fact that it is expecting an increase in of 200% in sales this is a very good margin. Despite giving false information in his application letter, Hall is a very competent professional and even the president wondered what the company would do without him. Personne l manager is a competent human resource manager since he sees the need for having a centralised policy for hiring and recruiting professionals. ... Identification of major problems The major problem in this case study is implementation of centralised policy of hiring professionals. Even after getting the go ahead of coming up with a new practice in his department, the new policy does not work, and other managers are still interfering with how recruitment and hiring is done. When Hall was being employed there was no formal interview done instead, he was called at a home office where a personal interview was done. This act underrated the personnel manager this he was not included in the interview. The interview was conducted by the president who does not have personnel skills and knowledge instead of the personnel director. Another challenge was the uncertainty of how to handle the critical information in Hall’s personnel file. Hall had shown a lot of competence in his work and the company as doing so well through his good work Significant factors Recruitment is one among the foremost vital elements of human resource manage ment, this function of management help to minimise any potential employee’s problems which may arise in the future. Adopting the centralised method is very vital for the organisation to avoid personal conflicts in terms of duties. Possible courses of action However, if the achievement is not done effectively then this may have wide reaching implications for the organisation future. Screening and talent Matching may be a specialist unit of personnel management function. Normally, the human resource manager should accompany the interview panel with an organisational intention of serving to line managers in creating choices on the quality of the candidates to the organisational culture. A

Organizational Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Organizational Culture - Essay Example As such, to establish an organizational culture that embodies the goals of the firm, one would first ensure that there is an effectively designed mission and vision statement, as well as corporate values that would provide the theoretical framework for the kind of organizational culture that one envisions to create. If an organization is to pull together toward common goals, the members must trust one another and work in unison as a cohesive and collaborative group. Openness of information about what is happening to the company and within the company is essential. The lack of information about what is happening demoralizes people. The organizational culture should inspire cooperation and teamwork, from top to bottom, within the work setting. To shape such values, the leader has first to find those values within himself. He must supply the moral leadership in the company, preferably utilizing transformational leadership style and strategies to bring about the kind of organizational culture where people identify their interests with that of the corporation, to find dignity and satisfaction in their work, and with consequent effects on increased productivity, morale and pride in being part of the company. Given this premise, when one is in a leadership position, the kind of organizational culture that one will create would contain the necessary ingredients for manifesting a strong corporate culture, such as: (1) a widely shared philosophy; (2) a concern for individuals; (3) a recognition of heroes; (4) a belief in ritual and ceremony; (5) a well understood sense of the informal rules and expectations; and (6) a belief that what employees do is important to others (Deal and Kennedy 3-85). This information is likely consistent with those elements provided in the course notes that emphasize strong cultures where â€Å"organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared† (Organizational Culture 3). As such,

Problem Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Problem Question - Essay Example On her complaint to the company, regarding her problem, the latter stated that they were not liable, as per clause 4 of their terms and conditions. In the context of contracts, a number of obligations, relating to the common law have been transformed into statutes. The cardinal instance of such codification is provided by the implied obligations that emerge from the Sale of Goods Act 18931 and the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 19802. The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, serves to regulate exclusion clauses that are unreasonable, in Ireland. The case law is partial to the tenet that a fundamental contractual breach cannot be circumvented, via an exclusion clause3. On the other hand, doctrine supports the stance engendered by the English case law In Partridge v Crittenden, the court held that an advertisement was equivalent to an invitation to treat5. Nevertheless, this is not sacrosanct and there are exceptions, wherein an advertisement was deemed to be an offer. An instance of this is available in Carbolic Smoke Ball. In this specific case the defendant had argued that the advertisement placed by it in the newspaper was not to be deemed an offer. This was not accepted by the court; on account of the fact that the plaintiff had complied with the stipulations of the defendant’s advertisement6. As such, in our problem, the advertisement placed by the More Movies Ltd constitutes an offer. A service provider has to exercise reasonable care and skill, in the course of carrying out the contract. This was stipulated in the rulings in Samuels v Davis7 and Allen v Bushnell TV Co and Broadcast News Ltd8. The issues addressed by the court in cases like the Parker v SE Railway, are; whether the party had been aware of the conditions; had any proper notice been given, in this regard; if so, whether the party knew that the notice contained such writing; If the party was aware that there was writing on the document, then the party receiving the

Why is it important to differentiate your product Would a cost Essay

Why is it important to differentiate your product Would a cost leadership strategy be more effective Why or Why not - Essay Example The use of internet and cell phones made the purchasers to shift from 'marketplace'1 to the 'marketspace'2. The companies are to appeal both to the cognitive as well as to the emotional aspect of the buyers to sell their products in this fast changing consumer preferences. The task of diversifying the product or value addition to it to get more consumer acceptability is becoming more and more complex in this era. The marketing stalwarts are to devise different strategies to achieve success in making their product moving. Sometimes they differentiate their product and justify the demand of a premium price for the same while in other cases they reduce the manufacturing cost of the produce thereby making it cost effective. In this paper discussions are made regarding pros and cons of two such strategies such as 'Product Differentiation' and 'Cost Leadership' strategies and an analysis has been made regarding their applicability in different situations. Before the globalization process started the national firms were catering to the local needs thus making the choices for the customers restricted. But with globalization new companies with a varied range of products entered the market giving customers ample scope to choose the best among them. This gives rise to hyper competition for the companies to sell a similar kind of product. As choosing among the multiple products mainly based on differences between various attributes of the same, addition of value to the product as per the requirement of the customer became one of the important marketing strategies. "Product Differentiation is the modification of a product to make it more attractive to the target market" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_differentiation). It can be used as a complement or means of implementing market segmentation. This differentiation is being made to create a perception of uniqueness in the mind of a customer(Irene, Handouts). It gives a brand reputatio n thus catching the emotions of the customers to buy the particular product even if by giving a premium price. With product differentiation the changing needs of the buyer is duly addressed. The techno savvy buyer gets the goods with latest technology with a high price he has to pay for the same. For example "General Motors offers the OnStar system on selected vehicles. It includes GPS(Global Positioning System)for locating the car's exact position. The Driver can locate te nearest ATM, Hospital, convenience store, gas station and even book a room. The driver can a press a button in case of emergency to get immediate aid."(Kotler 318). Thus differentiation of the product always preceeds market research and study of various market segments. Some products are capable of high degree of differentiation (e.g. automobiles, furniture, cell pones etc.) while the scope for differentiating some other are very very less( e.g. steel). This differentiation can be made to various product attributes such as its form, features, performance, durability, style etc. Also we can differentiate a service by modifying its mode of delivery, installation, training etc. The primary task in this process is determing that "which features are worth adding. For each potential feature the company sould calcualte the customer value

Organizational Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Organizational Culture - Essay Example As such, to establish an organizational culture that embodies the goals of the firm, one would first ensure that there is an effectively designed mission and vision statement, as well as corporate values that would provide the theoretical framework for the kind of organizational culture that one envisions to create. If an organization is to pull together toward common goals, the members must trust one another and work in unison as a cohesive and collaborative group. Openness of information about what is happening to the company and within the company is essential. The lack of information about what is happening demoralizes people. The organizational culture should inspire cooperation and teamwork, from top to bottom, within the work setting. To shape such values, the leader has first to find those values within himself. He must supply the moral leadership in the company, preferably utilizing transformational leadership style and strategies to bring about the kind of organizational culture where people identify their interests with that of the corporation, to find dignity and satisfaction in their work, and with consequent effects on increased productivity, morale and pride in being part of the company. Given this premise, when one is in a leadership position, the kind of organizational culture that one will create would contain the necessary ingredients for manifesting a strong corporate culture, such as: (1) a widely shared philosophy; (2) a concern for individuals; (3) a recognition of heroes; (4) a belief in ritual and ceremony; (5) a well understood sense of the informal rules and expectations; and (6) a belief that what employees do is important to others (Deal and Kennedy 3-85). This information is likely consistent with those elements provided in the course notes that emphasize strong cultures where â€Å"organization’s core values are both intensely held and widely shared† (Organizational Culture 3). As such,

Why is it important to differentiate your product Would a cost Essay

Why is it important to differentiate your product Would a cost leadership strategy be more effective Why or Why not - Essay Example The use of internet and cell phones made the purchasers to shift from 'marketplace'1 to the 'marketspace'2. The companies are to appeal both to the cognitive as well as to the emotional aspect of the buyers to sell their products in this fast changing consumer preferences. The task of diversifying the product or value addition to it to get more consumer acceptability is becoming more and more complex in this era. The marketing stalwarts are to devise different strategies to achieve success in making their product moving. Sometimes they differentiate their product and justify the demand of a premium price for the same while in other cases they reduce the manufacturing cost of the produce thereby making it cost effective. In this paper discussions are made regarding pros and cons of two such strategies such as 'Product Differentiation' and 'Cost Leadership' strategies and an analysis has been made regarding their applicability in different situations. Before the globalization process started the national firms were catering to the local needs thus making the choices for the customers restricted. But with globalization new companies with a varied range of products entered the market giving customers ample scope to choose the best among them. This gives rise to hyper competition for the companies to sell a similar kind of product. As choosing among the multiple products mainly based on differences between various attributes of the same, addition of value to the product as per the requirement of the customer became one of the important marketing strategies. "Product Differentiation is the modification of a product to make it more attractive to the target market" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_differentiation). It can be used as a complement or means of implementing market segmentation. This differentiation is being made to create a perception of uniqueness in the mind of a customer(Irene, Handouts). It gives a brand reputatio n thus catching the emotions of the customers to buy the particular product even if by giving a premium price. With product differentiation the changing needs of the buyer is duly addressed. The techno savvy buyer gets the goods with latest technology with a high price he has to pay for the same. For example "General Motors offers the OnStar system on selected vehicles. It includes GPS(Global Positioning System)for locating the car's exact position. The Driver can locate te nearest ATM, Hospital, convenience store, gas station and even book a room. The driver can a press a button in case of emergency to get immediate aid."(Kotler 318). Thus differentiation of the product always preceeds market research and study of various market segments. Some products are capable of high degree of differentiation (e.g. automobiles, furniture, cell pones etc.) while the scope for differentiating some other are very very less( e.g. steel). This differentiation can be made to various product attributes such as its form, features, performance, durability, style etc. Also we can differentiate a service by modifying its mode of delivery, installation, training etc. The primary task in this process is determing that "which features are worth adding. For each potential feature the company sould calcualte the customer value

Business Ethics - Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics Discrimination Essay Discrimination is defined as distinguishing something from something else (i. e. don’t hire him because he has no experience). Unjustified discrimination is distinguishing something from something else on a basis that is not justified (i. e. don’t hire him because he is black). The term discrimination commonly replaces the term unjustified discrimination in business, philosophy, psychology and day-to-day community life. In a just and fair society, such as we Canadians aspire to, a job applicant’s race, ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, orientation, mental ability, or physical condition should not disadvantage them in career choices or job competitions. If a short Asian female firefighter can do the job, she should get the job. Conversely she should not expect to receive concessions that are not available to all; that is in effect also discrimination. Unfortunately, discrimination often arises in business in regards to hiring, job placement, wage, and promotion. Affirmative Action Ideally, discrimination should be of no concern at all; everyone should have an equal opportunity to anything. In a perfect world a hiring manager would not have to think thoughts such as, â€Å"They are disabled, they are women, they are aboriginal,† and would only think, â€Å"This person will be perfect for the job because†¦. † Unfortunately this may never completely happen. For example if a person in a wheelchair applies to be a stock person at Costco and another person who is not in a wheelchair applies for the same position the manager will be debating, â€Å"Should I hire the person who cannot walk because I want to be socially responsible? Or should I hire the person who can walk, who will probably do a better job and who I won’t have to make special accommodations for? † Another example is a man and a woman who are applying to be a nurse on the obstetrics ward; they have both just graduated and have exactly the same experience. If only one position is available who is more likely to be hired? Affirmative action programs often come into place to encourage equal opportunity. Affirmative action refers to policies or rograms that take factors such as; age, sex, race, color or religion and give preferential treatment to people that belong to an identifiable disadvantaged group, or outgroup. Cons Reverse discrimination occurs when preferential treatment is given to one person and the other is left out. For example if a woman is hired to work in an oil patch just because she is a woman and man is not hired (perhaps only because of quota requirements), he will experience reverse discrimination. This may in fact v iolate a province’s human rights code. Some would also argue that it is wrong to place at a disadvantage a current day job applicant in order to attempt to compensate for historical wrong treatment of certain categories of job applicants. Merit may not exist if affirmative action is in place. A situation could arise where an applicant may deserve a job more because he or she has more education and more experience than the hired applicant who is disabled, if the hiring was done only in the interest of a representative workplace. May condescend or offend outgroups because the people belonging to that group don’t believe they need preferential treatment in order to succeed. Affirmative action creates a perception that all racial minorities or physically disabled persons have low self image, poor job marketing skills, missed opportunities, and are in need government regulated assistance. Efficiency may be compromised if a company is forced to hirer a proportionally representative workforce. Instead of hiring the best fitting candidate, companies would be forced to seek out a visible minority or a disabled candidate. This simply is not good business practice. A company should be free to hire the best candidate. Morale and workplace cooperation may be negatively impacted by a person being hired because of affirmative action policies which clearly give special considerations not available to all. The outgroup may develop a sense of entitlement that is not supported by the majority of the workers. Affirmative action may cause a widening of the gap (and an affirmation of bigotry) instead of a diverse and inclusive work force. For example, a white man at a steel factory may think that he got his job because he is qualified for it while being angry that the Asian man only got hired because there were no other Asians working in the plant and the hiring manager did not want to be discriminating. Pros Assistance in obtaining a desired job may be necessary for members of an identifiable disadvantaged group, or outgroup, since discrimination may make it difficult to establish a career. For example, men can be excellent nurses, but if a female hiring officer doesn’t understand or embrace the benefits of diversity, the obstetrics ward would have all female nurses. Another example might be a hair dressing trainee who is in a wheelchair; this applicant may have more obstacles to overcome and more convincing to do with a prospective employer. It is not fair, or just, that these applicants would have to be much better that the â€Å"normal† kind of applicant in order to be desirable to the employer. This â€Å"assistance† is given in affirmative action plans such as requiring employers to choose the disadvantaged applicant when all other skills are equal. Affirmative action makes working in different areas more desirable. Ex, Okanagan College has free introductory welding courses for women only. If colleges did not have these affirmative action programs there would probably be less female welders. This creates an incentive for a member of an outgroup to step forward and be part of the creation of workplace diversity. Affirmative action ensures justice for those who have historically been oppressed. Although hopefully not in Canada, there may still be a stigma attached to those whose ancestors were slaves, lower class, or aboriginal and thus seen as lesser that those with good career jobs. Some people may believe that affirmative action is necessary to change the attitudes of society by mandating a diverse work force. Canada cannot ignore the fact that a few generations ago a person with mental challenges or physical disabilities would not have been offered a position if there was a reasonable candidate who was considered â€Å"normal. † Affirmative action envisions a just work place where everyone is normal because the new normal is diverse and inclusive. Affirmative action encourages a representative work force. If 2% of the community’s population is visually impaired, then in a company of 100 employees, there should be a least two people who have some kind of sight impairment. In Canada, 3% of the population is aboriginal; therefore, there should be three members of a First Nation employed at the above company. A disabled person aged 25 to 44 accounts for 8% of the population. Statistically speaking, the above company, if it were in British Columbia, should have 27 employees who are recent immigrants. With roughly 60% of Canada’s population being Caucasian, all the numbers above would create a representative work force. It could be described as a diverse, dynamic, and exciting place to work; but does it exist? By requiring the inclusion of a representative work force affirmative action will in the long term change attitudes and encourage diversity. Thesis Affirmative action programs are still necessary to ensure equal opportunities in the work place and to encourage diversity, which over time will extinguish discrimination and contribute to a just, fair, and tolerant society. History I believe discrimination stems from history. If a young person learned from parents, schools, or media that women are not good trade workers, they will continue this discrimination for generations. This is what happens in all forms of discrimination because discrimination is learned. Discrimination can be reduced in a society with the influence of laws, education, and incentives. Affirmative action mandates exposure, which with encouragement by supportive government and ethical businesses will result in workplace diversity, and that over time will influence the thinking of society as a whole. Further Discussion: Continue Affirmative Action Dimock and Tucker thoroughly discussed their views on affirmative action policies about how such policies cause problems for employment equity in Canada. Dimock and Tucker did not discuss why such policies may still be necessary and did not thoroughly discuss a solution to discrimination. Their conclusion, while pointing out that affirmative action programs have not met intended goals, does not offer concrete solutions other than education. I disagree that the young should be the only target to ensure against discrimination. Youth can be racist, sexist, and exclusive. That’s why our society has a large problem with bullying. If discrimination is a learned trait, then the youth are learning it from above, and that is precisely the target of affirmative action. I believe affirmative action should still be used to some extent in order to encourage diversification. I think a combination of education and the experience of exposure is more useful that a single target group (such as educating the young). If groups (young, school aged, post secondary, and the work force) are created with diverse and representative participants, the likelihood of all groups beginning to like each other because of repeated exposure is much higher then if they remain separated. Well informed members of society who have personal experience with diversity are the least discriminating for several reasons: †¢They have been educated not be discriminating (from classes like this). †¢They have been put together in groups with all different types of people, and †¢They have become comfortable with that diversity. The result is that they have learned to be less discriminating than their peers or previous generation. For example, a white 18 year old’s great grandparents may have been what is now considered racist toward black people. In the grandparent’s time racism, even segregation, was thought of as perfectly normal, and those views were passed down generation to generation. However, through education and exposure racism was slowly extinguished until we have a grade 12 student who welcomes a new immigrant from Zambia. Instead of being completely racist like his great grandparents the 18 year old now only believes the stereotype that all black people like rap music which he hates. The next generation will (hopefully) not even notice that a black person is in the group. If affirmative action continues it will help the top (the existing generation of employers) meet the bottom (the well informed and accepting job applicant) and the result will be a tolerant, inclusive, and diverse work place. The attitudes of the work place will in time influence society as a whole. Conclusion I was lucky enough to learn about discrimination in both psychology and philosophy class in the same week. Although solutions are not offered in this paper, I believe discrimination can be eliminated through education and diversification. If it were normal to have a representative and diverse â€Å"melting pot† of opportunities and experiences, there would be no need to practice discrimination. Diversification is good. It makes a community tolerant and compassionate; it makes a secure and exciting place to live. Including all groups in all employment opportunities will ultimately create a better society – the melting pot that Canada so prides its identity in. Affirmative action plans ensure that the work place will contribute to this pride.

The Implementation Of Erp At Tektronix Information Technology Essay

The Implementation Of Erp At Tektronix Information Technology Essay The Tektronix Inc: Global case study is a classic example of a case where an iconic leader with his team of motivated leaders and sponsors manages change by empowering and guiding people. Even though the ERP project was not an easy task, clear focus, planning and the executive push from the top meant the project was executed on a priority and various challenges tackled at the right time. In addition, the accomplishment of an ERP normally considered as a biggest information system project ever completed by a corporation (Whitten et al., 2000, Ehie and Madsen, 2005, Vlachopoulou and Manthou, 2006, Hitt et al., 2002). This case study also highlights the crucial role that business processes and business process reengineering play in the success of a global organisation. Additionally what is remarkable is the successful international implementation and rollout across divisions and geographies. Lets look at the various aspects of the ERP rollout at Tektronix one by one. The biggest challenge for any such initiative or a project is the management of change and the associated people management for such a large transformation project. This is in line with Grabski and Leech (2007) view that implementation of an ERP and associated BPR is not unchallenging. However, Carl Neun seems to manage this change as a true leader who is experienced and aware of challenges of change management (Westerman et al., 1999). Change management is a planned approach to causing people to accept transitions to develop operations (Joyce, 2000). Lets look at the change aspect of the project first and how the transformation from a legacy system to new generation ERP was successfully run. I am using the framework based of Harvard Business Review on Leading through Change. In John P Kotters (1995) article on Why Transformations fail, he highlights the eight steps to successful transformation of a organization as: Establishing a sense of Urgency Neun being an experienced CFO and an able leader knew that in order for the project to succeed and to link up the organization with an ERP system and create an ecosystem where information was available needed a sense of urgency to be created. He understood that for Tektronix to move forward and to invest and divest in various businesses, it needed to be connected via an information system else the company was headed for disaster. As Grabski and Leech (2007) stated that one approach to overcome this issue is investing in advanced information system, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, to improve the business competitiveness. Moreover, the dwindling financial performance was a factor to create the sense of urgency required. The impetus from Roy Barkers goal to double the printer business and also the realisation that the printer business would be volume game created the urgency for Tektronix to be ready with an IT system that would support growth. Forming a powerful guiding coalition Neun and his senior management team were the powerful guiding coalition that was assembled by the CEO. In the case study it is mentioned that the CEO had given Neun the unlimited authority on implementation and the buck stopped with Neun with regards to the ERP implementation. Neun then selected his long time associate Bob Vance as the CIO. Along with the business justification from Roy Barker, the team become a powerful guiding coalition and the individuals worked together as a great a team. Creating a vision Carl Neun knew his end goal was to create an organisation where information was readily available and could be shared easily. He wanted to simplify the complexity and address change by removing archaic processes and systems. Neuns Frankfurt is Orlando analogy was the vision of the project. It highlighted that the business all over the world was similar barring language and certain local legal requirements. To support this, Bingi et al. (2002) believed that Integration through ERP systems allows organizations to share information in a standard format across its various divisions both in the headquarter and in its global offices, with no modifications for language and currency differences needed. Carl very clearly expanded his vision toward the implementation as with three components of a) separability of businesses b) leveraging shared services c) staying plain vanilla as possible, as alterations could lead to budget and time overruns, defective functionality (Sumner, 2000). Standardi sing the business processes was a key component of Carls vision and he was focussed to ensure that complex processes were simplified to the maximum possible extent. Communicating the vision The vision was communicated first by getting the business heads such as Barker to back the plan. Once he had raised the concerns other managers and senior managers joined in the cause. Carl and Vance took the lead to communicate the vision by first explaining their ideas of the simplified architecture of the transformed information system. They also took pain to simplify and push for standardisation. The idea of starting with implementation at CPID and then moving onto other divisions also gave the opportunity for the learnings at one place to be applied to the next one, as noted by Rogers (1995) that the adoption of a new system will follow an S curve by having innovator or early adopter organisations taking the lead, followed by early majority, late majority adopters, then at last laggards. This approach helped to teach the new behaviours as the guiding coalition was at the forefront of the change and were leading by example. Empowering others to act on the vision The key component for empowering others to change include a) Getting rid of obstacles to change b) Changing systems and structures that seriously undermine change c) Encouraging risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities and actions. As identified by Ahadi (2006) as the change management effectiveness in the organisation. He asserts that the ability of the organisation to authorize employees, appraise performance, apply reward systems, conduct training and education and facilitate communication during the process of change is crucial. Carl Neun was empowered by the CEO to take the project through and the empowerment trickled down to the level of execution. This allowed the CIO and his team to put extra people, fire people who were acting as hindrance to the implementation. In addition the team structure put in place and the roles ensured that the projects in various geographies rolled up together very well in a coherent way. The key hindrance to success was lack of financial information and Carl Neun took the right steps to simplify the business processes and reduce disparities across the world and then put in the ERP system, which would enable the change. He shuffled the European organisation structure and chang ed it to commission basis as it would allow for the changes to be made swiftly and removal of the country managers helped the cause further. Planning for a creating Short Term wins The key to success of the Tektronix ERP implementation was the implementation of the project in waves. The concept of allowing the project to be implemented in waves did in turn create short-term wins where people and teams could see things were working. Not only did implementing the project in waves allowed for it to be implemented well but also allowed the learning from previous waves to be carried out into further projects. That is allowing what is known as windows of opportunity (Tyre and Orlikowski, 1994) to develop where the users would discover novel and better ways to carry out their daily work after implementation which could be fed back to the global group in other divisions. Consolidating improvements and producing still more change Once the first wave was successful the leadership team kept moving in to implement the changes across the organisation and across geographies. The credibility that came from implementing the first wave was used to push forward the further waves as the momentum picked up as things started to work. One very interesting aspect was the Neun and Vance decision to use consulting support for the implementation of the project. I think it was a great idea that saved the internal teams and people coordinating the project valuable time that would have been spent learning the nuances of Oracle ERP, as argued by Olsen and Saetre (2007) that the users of an ERP system may not fully be familiar with system and thus utilise it. It took the right call by allowing the firm that developed an interface between its manufacturing system and oracle to give it the rights to sell/license the interface. All these successful implementations of the one wave after another gave the momentum to keep pushing the change further and ensuring that the change agents were constantly at work on the key vision of Frankfurt is Orlando. The learning from every wave was useful and the managers were quick on their feet. They consolidated improvement to produce change and whatever was not working in a wave was changed and the successful behaviour then became a part of the next wave. For instance when the consulting firm called into help CPID was not helping, they quickly moved onto a combination of Aris, Oracle and other consultants to speed up the lost time. The project management team teamed up consultants with Tektronix staff who took the charge of business change while the consultants were given the responsibility to deal with system deals. The case clearly illustrates how the first wave was used to consolidate improvements and produce further change. While the implementation at CPID took a little longer than expected, it was considered successful. With this first domestic implementation, Tektronix was able to learn powerful lessons, build internal skills, and establish practices that helped with all of future implementation waves. Institutionalising new approaches The new business processes were thoroughly discussed before being implemented in different decisions and catered to the individual needs of each business unit. The senior team at each business unit understood the needs of the business unit and institutionalised the new approaches to doing business. Large scale project implementation and strategic alignment Tektronix managed a large-scale project very well despite lots of previous difficulties with regards to implementing other IT projects. However this one was a success because of the understanding and the vision of Neun and Vance to ensure that the business processes were simplified, as Hammer (1990) stated that the projects success involving companies investing in IT to develop their business, was usually not attained as the IT was only used to expedite existing processes. This process of alignment of the IT strategy and Business strategy is key to successful performance for any organisation as highlighted in the MIT90S (Scott Morton, 1991) and Strategic Alignment Models (SAM) (Henderson and Venkatraman, 1992). SAM suggests that for firms to be competitive, business and information strategies need to aligned (Avison et al., 2004). Henderson and Venkatraman (1992) have clearly demarcated the various domains in their strategic alignment model as shown below in the figure. They have highlighted the importance of internal and external perspectives and how the strategic fit between these aspects influences the competitiveness of firms. The key perspective that comes of the SAM is the straightforward relation between Business strategy and Business Infrastructure and IT strategy and IT infrastructure and processes. Also the cross dimensional alignment between Business Strategy and IT Infrastructure, IT strategy and Business Infrastructure and Processes is key to competitiveness. Fig 1: Strategic Alignment Model (Source: Henderson and Venkatraman, 1992) Looking at the case study it becomes apparent that Carl Neun understood the principle of a successful global organisation and his vision clearly brought together the functional integration as well as cross dimensional alignments. He knew that business processes needed to be reengineered first. As Skok and Legge (2002) acknowledged that the success of an ERP implementation is attained with preceding implementation of BPR. Accordingly, the business processes needed to be simplified and then the appropriate IT infrastructure and IT systems and processes to be put in place to get the benefits that Tektronix was seeking from the IT alignment. The strategy of implementing the project in waves was crucial to the success of the project and also the project team structure was the right structure for successful implementation of such a large project. Looking at the project management strategy, I feel that the team structure of Neun being the Project sponsor and Vance spending considerable time on the project in detail was very important. The local implementation was the guiding factor on how to move ahead with the implementation even though the global implementation had its own challenges as argued by Ross (1999), that overabundance of distinct and independent systems in different parts of the organisation impeding globalization. Program management and giving team members the authority and power to decide on the critical aspects that affected their business the most was a smart project management decision. I am particularly impressed by the structure at the local implementation where for each wave there were functional experts, change control team, Functional sub team and most importantly the test team. Each wave at the different business units had its peculiarity and different business processes depending on the structure and the need of the individual business units. If we look at the role of Functional experts who were allocated to each wave to ensure that all the essential knowledge and remained with the implementation teams till the final wave. As it has been highlighted that this led to postponement of some initiatives because other initiatives also depended on the availability of the most knowledgeable resources. I believe that this was the right strategy even though that led to delay of initiatives that were to be started; the waves that were on were implemented successfully. The project and program management of Neun and Vance must be commended, as they understood that they could not afford delays in projects. All project management is a delicate balance of the resources, time and cost as sides of a triangle. Affecting one has impact on the others. So when the projects were facing delays the management did not shy in putting in more consultants on the project. The team structure of leaving the system aspects to external consultants was a g ood decision as it freed up the business people and Tektronix experts to focus on the business processes and the knowledge aspect rather than having to understand the deep technical aspects or the architectural nuances of the ERP system. Software selection and extending the software functionality Tektronix has already seen the worse effects of the not invented here with regards to the software and infrastructure solutions. Neun made the right call with going for the Oracle ERP solution. Neun understood the outsourcing advantage and also the core competency of Tektronix was not at developing software solution. He left the development of the software and implementation to the right experts. Vance took the right decision with regards to the manufacturing ERP and leaving it in place. Had the manufacturing system been taken off and Oracle ERP components used, then it would have been a challenge as the people in manufacturing who had recently undergone a systems change would be swamped by the next change wave and would feel unsettled. I think this was the best decision taken to get an external company to do the interface between manufacturing ERP and the Oracle ERP. Vance and Neun also did not waste eons of time on deciding the alternatives and which ERP package to select. Such evaluation programs usually cost organisations lots of money and they highlight trivial differences between the best of the breed packages. The decision taken to go ahead with the oracle implementation, as the team was Neun and Vance had experience of working with Oracle and knew that the oracle solution would cater to the needs. The idea of using a small dedicated team that focussed on the capabilities of what Oracle could do and the time they spent upfront on ensuring that Oracle could do what was required for Tektronix shows the discipline and focus from top to bottom to get a solution working for the organisation. Another laudable aspect of the software implementation was the plain vanilla approach adopted by the Neun. His understanding that software adaptation and customisation not only costs money and time but also introduces other behaviours that need to regression tested showed a mature thinking with regards to software customisation and development . Instead he focussed on simplifying and adapting the business processes such that they could be realised in the plain vanilla implementation of the software. Only in special and rare cases was customisation allowed and then also where customisation was done, the teams were dedicated to rigorous testing and testing with full load scenarios to ensure that the customisation did not introduce any unintended errors and behaviours. Nevertheless, Markus et als (2000) studies of businesses implementing ERP observed that some adjustments to the system were unnecessary after the users began using it more effectively. The implementation move to using Aris and Oracle consultants once the Tektronix team were sure on what sort of consultants were useful showed the ability of the business and implementation leaders to take the best decisions for the business. They cut out the slack and unnecessary admin overheads related to evaluating consultants, interviewing and employing them. The idea to use consultants on a time and material basis was a smart idea on keeping the project on time. Use of low cost resources and contractors kept the project costs in rein and the putting of extra consultants on waves where a delay could occur, shows dedication and commitment to ensure roll outs happen in time and are successful for the projects. Replicating this success to the international level and using the waves methodology is commendable. The project team and execution structure for the international project was exemplary. The idea to do away with the country managers and keep a simple structure as the global structure was exemplary for the global project management. In fact selection of individuals who had long term ties and understanding of the global regions was the right approach taken by the program management team. Also the idea to create a central processing centre in Marlow was an excellent idea towards consolidation. Keeping English as the language of communication for the company was a sensible decision that fast tracked the implementation. Personally I feel that the brilliant job done at customisation for the printing of bills and local communication was hitting the nail on the head in terms of implementation. At the time when the project was implemented localisation was still picking up as a technology domain and would have taken much longer than expected. The consolidation of the infrastructure was another bold move which was taken by Vance; outsourcing the data centres completely freed the valuable resources and the company could focus on the core work of making the implementation a success. It was exemplary how they managed to pull off the whole thing together as a success. The results were satisfactory and when the people quoted that they spent 90% of their time just collecting data and only 10% analysing it. The whole situation changed after then implementation as people spent 90% of their time analysing information which was the core purpose of the implementation was to make information readily available and convert data into information. The Tektronix team did an excellent job. Conclusion I believe that the job was successful and what Tektronix needs to do for further implementations and such large programs is to keep the spirit and the learnings from the Oracle ERP implementation. One area that they need to pay a lot of attention would be the evolving business process framework and pay special attention to the management of Business processes. Going further in time with complex business needs and changing customer requirements and global environments would require Tektronix to adapt the business processes and if Tektronix paid special attention to keeping the business process framework up to date and then use it to drive the software changes it will keep things in control. The best way to do so would be to have process owners and process sponsors who are in charge of maintaining and consulting the stakeholders on process changes and then keep the process architecture of the organisation updated. This will ensure all further projects could experience similar success i f the right team structure and leaders are engaged.