Coors key business strategies or “six planks” Essay

1/Link the Coors vision statement to Coors key business strategies or â€Å"six planks†. Are there any gaps? Post1:According to Coors Vision Statement, the vison can be come up with four fundamentals: (1)improving quality, (2)improving service, (3)boosting profitability, and (4)developing employee skills. And then to link with â€Å"six planks†so that to drive these fundamentals in the future. 1/baseline growth: we will profitably grow key brands and key markets – (3)boosting profitability 2/incremental growth: we will selectively invest to grow high potential markets, channels, demographics, and brands – (3)boosting profitability 3/product quality: we will continuously elevate consumer perceived quality by improving taste, freshness, package integrity, and package appearance at point of purchase – (1)improving quality 4/distributor service: we will significantly enhance distributor service as measured by improved freshness, less damage, increased o n-time arrivals, and accurate order fill at a lower cost to Coors – (1)improving service 5/productivity gains: we will continuously lower total company costs per barrel so Coors can balance improved profitability, investments to grow volume, market share, and revenues, and funding for the resources needed to drive long-term productivity and success – (1)improving quality, (2)improving service, (3)boosting profitability, (4)employee skills 6/people: we will continuously improve our business performance through engaging and developing our people – (4)employee skills I agree that analyze from macroscopic perspective, the strategies seem to match the visions here, which i sum up above. Each one corresponds to one or more of the fundamentals. However, I believe the gaps occur within the four fundamentals from the vision statement and the â€Å"six planks†due to their broad description and focus. In particular, the last one people mentioned in the â€Å"six planks†which does not cover the development of employee skills overall. Post 2:If the analysis of Coors Vison Statement as follows: at first, it shows two aspects 1) Tradition and history: has a proud history of visionary leadership, quality products and dedicated people; 2) Human, financial and physical: to bring great tasting beer, great brands and superior service to the distributors, retailers and consumers and to be a valued neighbor in the  communities. Then, it focuses on the 4 fundamentals: a) improving quality, b)improving service, c) boosting profitability, and d) developing employee skills. Corresponding to the â€Å"six planks†, we can find out: Basline Growth – boosting profitability Incremental Growth – boosting profitability Product Quality – improving quality Distributor Service – improving quality and service Productivity Gains – – boosting profitability People – employee skills Personally, from the aspect of financial management, Coors’ general business strategies seem to focus a bit more on financial measures than other aspect of the business such as how to become a valued neighbor in the communities. Post3: 回å ¤ Ã¢â‚¬â€œ I like your description way that combine the Vison Statement and â€Å"six planks†correspondently, making the comparison much clearer. So it inspired me to do it with the same way. Post4ï ¼Å¡ Another way to compare Coors vision statement and the business strategies is that we should understand what is the different between them. The Vision of a company is the way that it views its products, its markets, its customers and itself. The Vision answers the simple question â€Å"Why are we here?†. The Vision is a goal. It is not the same as a strategy; business strategy tells you how a company is going to achieve (or maintain) its Vision. The strategy is a plan, the tactics are how the plan will be executed and the Vision is the end-result. Post5: Additional explanation of the last one in â€Å"six planks†, in order to develope employee skills referred in Coors Vision Statement, we can not only improve our business performance through engaging but also, building up salaries rate regulation, developing training system and Providing opportunities for increased responsibility and career advancement 2/Link the Coors Operations and Technology (O&T) department vision statement to the O&T strategies or â€Å"supply chain guiding principles†. Are there any gaps? We can divide Coors Coors Operations and Technology (O&T) department vision  statement into 4 parts:1/process, 2/quality and innovation,3/information and technology, 4/learning and exercises a tenacious approach, and then compare each of one with the O&T strategies as following. 1/Well-defined and understandable processed is required to design, safely produce, and deliver greater tasting beer at its freshest, with superior packaging beer with superior packaging and competitive cost. (1) Simplify and stabilize the process (2) Balance and optimize the overall process 2/By the quality and innovation we employ in all enables Coors to be more competitive and notable. (3)Relentlessly purse continuous improvement (5) People doing the work are critical to lasting improvement (9) Know your customers’ expectations 3/Using accurate information and appropriate technology improve organization’s performance. (6)Short cycle time + reliability = flexibility (12)What gets measured gets done 4/By learning and exercising a tenacious approach, we can eliminate and reduce cost. (2)Eliminate non-value added time and waste (7)Find and fix the root cause (8)Know your costs (10)Make decisions where work is performed With above analysis, Coors O&T department vision statement is pretty much aligned with the its strategies. However, Inventory is a liability, not an asset – The vision statement doesn’t really capture the importance of this concept. Coors should stress the importance of getting inventory out the door and giving special attention to its inventory that sees the most demand from its customers. + è ¡ ¥Ã¥â€¦â€¦: Depending on the Operations and Technology (O&T) department of Coors’business strategy, the 4th one â€Å"Inventory is a liability, not an asset†doubtfully matches with the vision statement. From the stand of the O&T department, it may state that there exists risk when the inventory transfers into merchandises, so at this time, it is kind of reasonable to say that Inventory is a liability, not an asset. Another explanation of the business strategy from the O&T department listed â€Å"Inventory is a liability,  not an asset†is that the purpose of this department is to eliminate the cost of the production and then to increase the profit. Therefore, it kind of make sense to say the inventory is a liability instead of an asset. 3/Provide possible explanations for the performance gaps identified by Coors benchmarking analysis. From Table1 Benchmarking Analysis, it shows clearly that there are three gaps existing: Manufacturing cost per barrel; S,g & A cost per barrel; Net profit per barrel. With the general analysis, the domestic market share of A/B is more than twice that of Miller and more than four times that of Coors. A/B has the advantage in the beer industry as the price leader and has the power of setting the selling price. And Coors has the least attractive results out of the three major beer companies (Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors). The manufacturing cost per barrel is the highest for Coors at $55.00. Anheuser-Busch on the other hand had the lowest at $48.00. The S, G & A cost per barrel was also the highest for Coors at $29.00 and Miller had the lowest at $27.00, which was only $0.50 better than Anheuser-Busch. Therefore, Coors can only make higher profit by cutting costs so that it can be the envy its two competitors. Besides, it can obtain more profits by building its key premium brands in key markets and strengthening its distributor network, with improved supply chain management. (1)The main reason on the gap in the manufacturing cost is because Coors often could not meet its goal to load beer product directly off the production line into waiting railroad cars. This disrupts the production plan and therefore contributes the increase of labor cost.Given Coors lack of production locations, one glaring reason for the gap in profitability is the distance of delivery required under Coors current supply chain. With only 3 domestic production locations and 21 satellite redistribution centers coors will have significantly longer than the 500 mile minimum production to distribution site A/B has established with 13 domestic production plants. (2) The main reason on the gap in the S,G&A cost is due to the distribution deficiency. Compare to the other two competitors, on average, Coors has had to ship its beer eight to nine times further than its competitors. Also, Coors only has a maximum warehouse capacity in Golden, Colorado of 600,000 cases of beer which is equivalent to one 8-hour production shift. Thus, Coors has had to load per week about 1,500 beer  trucks from 68 truck docks and about 400 railroad cars from 22 rail docks.† This distribution deficiency problem causes the variance of sales costs. To sum up, due to both the highest cost of manufacturing cost per barrel and S,G&A Cost per barrel of Coors among the other two competitors, the application of the balanced scorecard seems to the preferable one for Coors. For BSC tries to minimize information overload by providing a limited number of measures that focus on key business processes by level of management. That will help efficiently contribute S,G&A expe ndsure and eliminate these SG&A gaps. 4/Answer the frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) already raised by employees about the Coors BSC project. Which FAQ’s were critical to Coors successful implementation of its BSC over the last decade? First of all, allocating these fifteen questions into five parts will be more easily to understand. The first part is about some related questions of the balanced scoredcard: 1.Will the balanced scorecard be linked to any incentive plans? Yes, the project strategy was to implement a performance measure process that focused on continuous improvement, rewarded reasonable risk taking and learning to advance performance, and enable employees to understand the opportunity and reward for working productively. 2. What if a measure does not drive the correct behavior after implementation? What process will be used to evolve the scorecard? How will my input be heard? The BSC provides a basis for management to improve the company and align the directives to meet both short and long te rm goals. The employees are encouraged to participate in the dialogue surrounding the measurements and speak to their managers about any suggestions or opportunities they see for the Balanced Scorecard. 8. Will the balance scorecard be used to compare the performance of the three U.S. plants? Since each plant is different, how can we be expected to use the same scorecard? Yes. While each plant may be different, all three plants have the same goals. The balanced scorecard will highlight and evaluate how the company can work together to improve and achieve those goals. 10. There may be some important measures excluded from this scorecard. If so, will they eventually be added to the scorecard? Yes. The scorecard will be adapted to business needs and requirements. It will updated to include the relevant measures as required. 11. Will there be a throughput measure on the  scorecard? I cannot affect the number of barrels coming through my plant. That is determined by sales and scheduling that shifts production between my plants. The scorecard will include only those measurements that will help management evaluate the achievement of Coors’ vision and strategy. The purpose of the scorecard is to simplify information, not overload management with information that are not exactly necessary. 13.How often will the scorecard be updated? Non-monetary measures are reported more frequently than monetary measures. Balanced report cards can be updated as often as daily and as infrequent as annually. It depends on the level of the measurement. 14.Will the scorecard be used as a club? No. The scorecard is used to highlight improvements to the company and to be used to strategize how to continue improvements. The intention is not to use this to punish employees The second part refers to the question about load schedule and distributor. 3. Won’t the measures reduce our ability to be flexible with our distributors and make last minute changes for them? No, the balance scorecard includes non-monetary measures such as machine downtime, percentage of capacity used, and deviations from schedule. Part of the Coors vision and strategy is to allow its employees the freedom to continuously improve these measures, and be rewarded for doing so. 4. Why is the window on the Load Schedule Performance measure so tight? What difference does it make if we get a load out within plus or minus two hours? If we get it out the day it is scheduled, won’t the load arrive at the distributor as planned? The window is measured so tight to reduce production bottlenecks. Also, since Coors’ delivery trucks and rail cars have to travel such a distance, they need to be loaded within two hours of their scheduled time to ensure on time delivery. This will increase profitability, customer satisfaction, and the sense of teamwork among Coors’ employees. The third part can be regarded as the measure change: 5.We already have plant measurements that are working. Why would we want to  change them? The traditional, cost-based performance measures are outdated and are no longer an effective means of measuring performance. For example, direct labor variances were becoming less important due to the highly automated nature of the beer production lines. 7. Why would you base Production Stability, Load Schedule Performance, and Load Item Accuracy on the initial weekly schedule? The schedule changes constantly. Why measure me against a weekly schedule that has changed as a result of something I had no control over? Teamwork is critical to the success of Coors. All employees should be engaged whenever it is possible to ensure that the other goals and objectives of the company can be met. Again, production and demand should be homogeneous. The fourth part is about the production of Coors: 6. The Production Stability Measure does not incent the production lines to run ahead. Doesn’t it make sense to allow us to run ahead on major brands as a cushion for those times when we have problems? So what should we do when we are more than an hour ahead, shut the line down? With the viewpoint that inventory is a liability, we do not want to be running ahead as this increases our inventory on hand that is not moving out the door quickly. We do not want our inventory overflowing our limited warehousing space. By not running over, we can keep our storage costs down and increase profitability. The fifth part is about people who play a part in a measure: 12.How can you hold me responsible for a measure when I am not the only one who can affect it? Coors’ vision statement outlines the sense of teamwork that the company values. Every employee is working together for the same goals. No one person will be held responsible for a measurement. Also, the balanced scorecard is to incent improvement, not punish. 15.Who will put together this scorecard? Ken Rider and employees from supply chain management are responsible for putting together this scorecard. However, input from every employee is valued. In my opinion, the 1,3,4 questions are critical to to Coors successful implementation of its BSC over the last decade. 5/Considering the prior gap and benchmarking analyses, design specific performance measures with benchmarked targets (where feasible) and with reporting frequency to  create an operational and acceptable BSC for Coors. Which performance measures were critical to Coors successful implementation of its BSC over the last decade? Based on the Balanced Scorecard path an organization first must first know and understand: 1/The company’s mission statement 2/The company’s strategic plan/vision 3/ (1)the financial status of the organization (Financial Perspective) (2)How the organization is currently structured and operating (Internal Business Process) (3)The level of expertise of their employees (Learning & Growth) (4)Customer satisfaction level (Customer Perspective) For this case study, I have come up the following performance measures of BSC for Coors: 1) Improve productivity, Long-Term shareholder Value, Grow Revenue (Financial Perspective) 2) Satisfy Customer Needs, Gain Market Share, Improve reputation (Customer Perspective) 3) Manage operations, Product leadership (Internal Business Process) 4) Personnel development, Employee attitudes (Learning & Growth) I think the performance measures under Customer Perspective were critical to Coors successful implementation of its BSC. If customers are not satisfied, they will eventually find other suppliers that will meet their needs. Poor performance from this perspective is thus a leading indicator of future decline, even though the current financial picture may look good. The concept of having a balanced scorecard essentially discusses a management control system as a means of gathering and using information to aid and coordinate planning and control decisions throughout an organization. It is usually designed around the concept of the balanced scorecard, with financial and nonfinancial information in each of the four perspectives of the scorecard. These four perspectives are financial, customer, internal business process, and learning-growth. There are four perspectives and information from the case to create performance measures of a balanced scorecard: Financial perspective 1) Manufacturing cost – decrease cost per barrel $2, from $55 to $53 2) S, G & A cost – decrease cost per barrel $2, from $29 to $27 3) Net profit – increase net profit per barrel $2, from $4 to $6 Customer perspective 1) Customer satisfaction – Coors should strive to meet and exceed customer expectations 2) Repeat purchases – Coors should also focus on retaining customers and respecting their input as repeat customers Internal Business Process perspective 1) Load Schedule – improve load time by 40%, from 60% to 100% 2) Load Item Accuracy – improve item accuracy by 5%, from 95% to 100% 3) Production Stability – improve production at planned time by 50%, from 50% to 100% Learning and Growth perspective 1) Employee training – Coors can improve employee performance by continued training and learning opportunities 2) Decentralization – Coors can improve performance by giving employees more freedom to make decisions, especially when quick thinking is needed in a changing environment 6/Perform an economic value added (EVA) analysis to assess its potential as a BSC financial performance measure for Coors. Should EVA become part of Coors BSC? EVA= Net Operating Income (After taxes)- (Capital Invested* Weighted Average Cost of Capital) EVA= Net Operating Income (before taxes) * (1- Tax Rate)- (Capital Invested * Weighted Average Cost of Capital) Based on the given number: (1)EVA = EBIT (1-tax rate) – (Cost of Capital*WACC) EVA = 105(1-.44) – ((900+45+65+30) x 10%) EVA = 58.8 – (1040 x 10%) EVA = 58.8-104 EVA = (45.2 million) (2)Net operating profit – (Cost of capital*capital investment) (105 – (900*10%) = 105 – 90 = $15 million. But i can not make sure wich one is the right one. EVA= after tax operating income-[weighted average cost of capital*(total assets-current liabilities)] $82,543,440-[10%*($1,412,083,000-$359,146,000)] =$82,543,440-(10%*1,052,937,000) =$82,543,440-$105,293,700 =$22,750,260 EVA should be include as part of the BSC. $58,800,000-[10%*($1,400,000,000-$170,000,000)] =$58,800,000-(10%*$1,230,000,000) =$58,800,000-$123,000,000 =($64,200,000) 7/With all the industry changes, especially the recent mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving Coors, what were lessons learned for Coors BSC project over the last decade? Strengths Molson-Coors benefits from their large market share in the beer industry in North America. Molson Coors is an innovative company, first by surviving prohibition in the US, when their product was deemed illegal; they began to bottle water to keep the company going. 1/Strong Financial Position 2/Alliances with NFL and NASCAR 3/Successful joint ventures 4/Growth in foreign markets 5/Strong brand image Weaknesses 1/Lower market share in the U.K 2/They rely on only a few popular brand names, which expose the company to vulnerability when sales and economic regions fluctuate. 3/They have dependencies on raw materials. 4/Don’t appeal to class of people with a lower- disposable income. 5/They rely considerably on a small number of suppliers to obtain their packaging. 6/Molson-Coors relies on 70% of its U.S. sales from Coors Light. Threats 1/Top competitors include: Anheuser- Busch & Heineken 2/Any significant increase in raw materials prices will negatively affect their margins. 3/Any significant decrease in the ability to obtain their raw materials will also affect their margins. 4/Perceptions that beer is not as healthy as other alcoholic beverages like wine. 5/Economic recession in the US increases the sales of beer at first, but as the recession continues over a longer period of time, it may cause sales to decrease ST Strategies 1: Use market share and alliances in North America to promote company. NASCAR and NFL are only big in the US, not other markets, so have to be smart in how they promote and market their products, but can use those sports to their advantage! 2: Expanding into other markets along with diversification of their brand, will help reduce the risk of sales in challenging financial times in the US. 3: Use company`s strong financial position, along with strong market share percentage and alliances to create a stronger/ potentially healthier brand image. WT Strategies 1: Coors`s low market share in other markets will suffer as a result of a recession. Expand into foreign markets! 2: Dependency on suppliers, will be influenced even more if there are any changes in raw material prices or during recession periods. The Balanced Scorecard is the preferable one fo Coors to implement. Over the last ten years Coors has not grown, instead they have held at 10% of the market even though they merged with another company during this time. However, the complexity of their distribution channels has required better management which the Balanced Scorecard did assist with. By tracking the production and shipping performance there were improvements. However, based on no growth within the sales/market share perhaps more focus needed to be placed in this area. In order to grow successfully they need to focus not just on costs but generating the sales to grow.

Nike, Operational Strategy Essay

An example of an operational strategy I found was within the Nike  organization. Nike was created in 1972, by co-founder Bill Bowerman & his University of Oregon runner Phil Knight. Together, with the people they hired, the company was able to grow and expand from a U. S. based footwear distributor to a global marketer of athletic footwear, apparel & equipment that is unrivaled in the world today (www. nikeinc. com). Operations strategy is the development of a long term plan for using the major resources of the firm for a high degree of compatibility between these resources & the firm’s long term corporate strategy (Schroeder & Rungusanatham, 2011). On May 5, 2010 Nike  unveiled one of its strategies & key initiatives to achieve sustainable, long term growth across its global portfolio of brands & businesses (www. nikemedia. com) their plan consists of a revenue target of 27 billion by the end of 2015 and over 12 billion of free cash flow from operations through 2015. Nike   also uses an outsourcing strategy, where they have subcontractors scattered throughout the globe. The cross functional decisions associated with a company of this magnitude is enormous & would involve a multitude of people and departments. Nike  main cross functional decision making process involved that of Dennis Dwyer, Senior Manager Footwear Division; Vice President & CFO, Donald W. Blair; President, Mark G. Parker; Divisional V. P. & General Manager, Craig Zanon; V. P. of New Business Development, Clare L. Hamill; GM, Kirk Richardson and Director of Communications, Jack Gould (www. ifestagingblog. com). There are two types of strategies involved with the supply chain strategy and they are imitative and innovative (Schroeder & Rungusanatham, 2011). Imitative strategies generally relies on following or imitating other companies, while having predictable demand, are efficient and have a low cost supply chain. The Innovative strategy is different from other companies but may still have a sort of â€Å"sameness† imitation, whereas there is unpredictable demand, are flexible and have a fast supply chain.

Factors of Business Essay

The first implication that will impact The business is the European Union, which has been in a deep recession this is because consumer demand has fallen, whilst unemployment rates are increasing across the European union. This has caused great concern to global markets as the possibility that Greece may not be able to pay of their outstanding debts, this could result into the them defaulting the Eurozone, however there is some stability but this situation is very delicate because the European Central Bank and also the International monetary fund, have supported loans which have come with strict conditions attached. By Greece defaulting this could spell the end of the euro, which can have a great affect on all economies around the world, this could result into an extension to the current recession because countries could be seen as an uncertainty to pay back, this will increase the borrowing cost and they may even increase to unafthe businessable rates beyond 5%, a consequence loan ma y dry up leading to countries not importing goods because they can not afthe business this. This would affect The business because consumers would only look to purchase essentials and buying a car would be seen as a luxury. A major fault in the Eurozone is that all countries will have to have the same interest rates, which is not good because they all have different very different economies. A prime example is that countries like, Germany and France have lot stronger economies than the PIIGS, which stands for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. The current EU base rate is 0.250%, which wills suite countries like the PIIGS, but it will also halt the progress of France and Germany. However the UK can change their base rate, which is controlled by the Bank OF England, the current base rate in the U.K is 0.5%, this will encourage more people to take loans because they are relativity cheap and this will allow more money to be spent. Interest rates in the EU and UK will affect The business because if the base rate are low this is good because it will allow consumer to get cheaper loans allowing them to purchase the business luxuries like items, also it allows people to finance cars cheaper because the base interest rate is low. The exchange rate will could work as a benefit to the business this is because if other countries currency is weaker than the US this will mean they will look to sell there for more profit because they will have to pay foreign currency for the product. So if the Euro exchange rate falls this could be seen good because it will mean that countries in the Euro will have to pay more for The business cars, however this can cause more problems for The business because it will mean that some consumers may not be able to afford the companies products. However another advantage is that this would mean that they could have cheaper parts from the suppliers because the exchange rate has fallen. In the European union there are many different rules that you have to comply with to get one of them is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which attempts to rationalise farming and the production of food and other farmed produce, this is done by allowing subsides to be paid to farmers to grow certain crops, however money spent in the EU can not be spent on reliving unemployment, which is a major concern in all EU states. I am going to look at how countries are linked through globalised trade, this is because business are not based in just one country they are in a variety of different countries, an example of this is The business who are an American business however they manufacture there cars across the world, this creates supply for countries to import and export goods. However this can cause problems to whole global economy, a prime example is that this current recession started in the US where the original loans where given to people who weren’t likely to pay and these loans back these then encouraged other banks to the same to allow consumers to purchase goods and property’s, these loans are known as sub prime loans. The globally recession is worst in history and it has lasted longer than the great depression or the Wall Street crash in the 1930’s. This has affected The business this is because they had seen a drop in demand for there product because people did not have the confidence to purchase luxury items, however last year they have seen their profits go up by 26% in 2013, which shows that consumers are having more confidence in spending money, this is due to most countries have decreased their base interest rates. They are global concerns that will cause The business problems, a major concern would be the rising cost of Oil, this would result into the prices rising of all goods including food prices, which will result into consumers changing there buying patterns to ease the cost of goods increasing. This would affect The business because they would have to pay more to suppliers because cost of shipping and delivery are rising, they would also see a reduction in sales across the world because Oil is more expensive, to result this they would have to look to make a reduction in manufacturing meaning jobs will be lost in countries, which will create a problem to country who will see an increase in unemployment rate and this will see consumers spending less money and this could result into countries going back into a recession. There is also issues for The business on environmental issues that is regulated by the world trade organsisation, who will look to make sure that the Carbon output is reduced in the world. However there are suggestions that developing countries like China and India, have less strict environmental which gives them a competitive edge of other countries, by companies like The business manufacturing cars there it will create jobs, and also result into more money being spent, which will boost the economy of these countries. The business are looking at ways of keeping Carbon emission down this is why they have announced they that they will use Aluminum alloys on there wheels instead of steal this is because it will reduce the weight of the car and also by this happening means they can fit smaller engines, which will lead to an improvement in fuel millage. However unlike Europe the global economy is strong in countries like China, where they have been very good, this is shown that they have had a sales increase of 52%, and they are forecasting that the chinese economy is going to expand by 7.5%, and they are going to see an increase of their market in China to 23 million vehicles. The business also have the leading vehicles in the world which is the The business Focus. There is uncertainty suing QE, which stands for quantitative easing, this is a way that centrals banks use to boost the economy they do this by asking permission from the treasury to create a lot of money, this is some by crediting their own accounts, they then spend this money on buying government bonds from financial firms like banks, insurance companies and pension funds, this makes the cost of bonds expensive, which then puts off other investors, which consequently means that the companies selling there bonds may use there money to invest into other companies or lend money to individuals. This would hopefully make banks and insurance companies to lend money to companies or individuals, the interest rates they charge should fall, which will result in more money being spent and this will give the economy a big boost. When the economy has recovered the central banks will sell the bonds it had purchased and then destroy the cash they have received, and this will mean that in the long term extra money has not been created. However this comes with a few risk that the Germans in the 1920s and also Zimbabwe have seen, which was that they saw a huge rise in inflation.

Personal Financial Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal Financial Plan - Assignment Example The main advantage of the plan is that it encourages investment culture. The disadvantage is lack of flexibility on the side of the employee. The employees have no option of investing in other areas apart from the pre-tax and post-tax basis. The following is a description of Amgen retirement plan description: 401(K) retirement and saving plan Provide a core contribution of 5% as well as a company matching contribution of 100% of staff contributions up to a 5% of eligible pay. Professional, customized financial advisory services to help staff make informed investing decisions specific to their retirement planning strategy at no cost to staff members. The main advantage of the plan is that it provides free investing decisions to employees to allow them to make well-informed investing decisions. The disadvantage of the plan is that some employees may not be eligible thus blocking them out of the plan. The plan gives staff an opportunity to buy Amgen stock at a discount. The plan encoura ges and facilitates employees’ to invest in securities. On the contrary, it may not be flexible enough to facilitate employees’ diverse investment options. Retirement medical saving account Provides staff an opportunity to save for eligible health care expenses after retirement. The main advantage of the plan is that it hedges employees’ medical expenses after retiring. On the other hand, the disadvantage may arise in case the employee does not want to subscribe the plan in case of the existence of another medical plan.

Benefits,Limitations, Pitfalls and Challenges Essay

Benefits,Limitations, Pitfalls and Challenges - Essay Example ore, through strategic planning, the organization is able to identify the influence of changes in the environment on the organization and their directions. In addition, strategic planning creates awareness of potentials, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the organization. Other benefits include provision of necessary information to support decision-making and enhancement of the growth process. In fact, through a strategic plan, poor performing are identified in order to improve the locus of control concerning operational problems. It also facilitates development of effective communication within and outside the organization (Taylor, 1984). Lastly, it offers a roadmap that indicates the directions for the company to follow and explains the way to achieve various objectives through development of substantial coordination. On the other hand, there are challenges experienced in the process of strategic planning such as ensuring the commitment of top-level management. This is due to the nature of strategic planning, whereby it contributes to reduction of executive decision-making power. Moreover, it facilitates involvement in the organization thereby empowering people to engage in decision-making (Hax & Majluf, 1996). Consequently, this can result to decision-making role from the executive to the employees and stakeholders. Therefore, strategic planning can lead to impediment of changes and discourage disruptive considerations by the organization. On the other hand, it discourages creativity and innovation given that it fails to handle these

Using the IRAC rule law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Using the IRAC rule law - Essay Example Using the IRAC rule law People always assume that riots and vandalism are not liable for compensation by insurance and the police are also not liable. However, According to commercial property coverage guide a riot is â€Å"any disturbances of the public’s peace by more than three people helping each other execute destruction of property and people by use of force and aggression in an unlawful manner†. According to this rule of law it seems the peoples assumptions are wrong yet the law states otherwise. The confusion here is that for the state to be liable for compensating Eric it must be first be investigated to find out the cause and intention. This is because for the state to compensate Eric, the law states that â€Å"the loss of his pharmacy must be accidental as intentional damages and loss and criminals acts are not liable for compensation†. According to Erick’s case, the people who looted, vandalized and burnt his pharmacy do not know him personally to be doing the damage intentionally nor are they doing it to cause damage for him. Secondly, the looting and vandalism was not done by Erick himself but a rowdy group thus the insurance is liable for compensation. The state is liable for compensation in Erick’s case since the police stood by and did not prevent the rioters from vandalizing and burning his pharmacy. Therefore, Erick must be compensated for losses incurred in his shop. Eric’s pharmacy company VCS was to be delivered pharmaceuticals by Tanya who owns a pharmaceutical delivery business.

PetMed Express Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PetMed Express - Essay Example (Porter, 1985) The Force Field Analysis model defines two opposing forces acting on an organization. The driving forces push for change while the restraining forces act as a barrier for change (Falletta, 2005). To achieve the desired change, it needs to unfreeze the current state of equilibrium in an organization by adding driving forces or by eliminating restraints. Once achieved, the organization must refreeze or reestablish equilibrium. The strength of the model is its simplicity. The weakness is the assumptions that disequilibrium is expected to occur; changes occur simultaneously; and equilibrium will be reestablished. Leavitt's Model depicts a diamond shaped model showing interdependence among four variables: structure, technology, task and people. The model illustrates an assumption that changes in one variable affect the other variables. It is similar to opposing forces of the Force Field Analysis. However, the focus is within the internal environment of the organization and excludes the effect of the external environment. (Falletta, 2005) Likert System Analysis addresses seven organizational variables such as motivation, communication, interaction, decision-making, goal setting, control and performance (Falletta, 2005). ... The weakness of the analysis rests on the exclusion of external environment forces that would affect the organization. The measurement also assumes independence on each level. (Falletta, 2005) The Open Systems Theory conceptualizes an organization as a social system which is dependent on the environment they work in. The theory illustrates a repeated cycle of inputs, throughputs, outputs and renewed input with a feedback loop that connects the output and renewed inputs (Falletta, 2005). Weisbord's Six-Box Model follows the open systems theory. The model illustrates six variables in an organization such as purposes, structure, relationships, leadership, rewards and helpful mechanisms. The model also identifies two management systems - formal and informal systems, which are crucial to the effectiveness of an organization. The strength of the model lies on the assumption that the external environment has great influence through the organizational inputs and outputs. The model also takes into consideration the suitability of an organization to its environment. However, the model does not make any direct causal statement regarding the interconnections between variables. (Falletta, 2005) The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model also follows the open systems theory that assumes an organization as a dynamic, open social system within a larger environment where behavior occurs at the levels of an individual, a group and the whole system. As with Weisbord's model, it takes into account the formal and informal systems. The strength of the model lies on the consideration of the interaction and congruence between the individuals, group and system. The external

Recession Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Recession - Research Paper Example According to Wiegand (2009), recession takes place when a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) â€Å"goes down for six months or more† (p. 18). Also, when recession transpires, a series of economic problems will arise, including unemployment, inflation, adjustments of investments, additional credits, declining values for goods and services, cutting out exports, higher interest rates, and dropping of currency. These problems influence the economic performance of the world market, particularly the European Union (EU). The purpose of this paper is to analyze a recent economic report in relation to recession, and its application in the outside world. Recession and its Problems The phenomenon of recession occurs when the economic development of the country decreases to â€Å"less than three percent† (Wiegand, 2009, p. 19). It has been illustrated that Germany has a GDP contraction rate of 0.6%, â€Å"more than the 0.4% expected for the 4th quarter of 2012† (P ylas & Rising, 2013); the figure shows that the country is nearly in recession, and will be into it if the decline will continue in the following year. Unemployment. In case of Germany’s economic contraction, it is then projected that several establishments will reduce their output due to a lesser demand; hence, the level of unemployment will increase (Pylas & Rising, 2013). Also, the shutting down of businesses will lead to redundancy; in fact, this has been one of the serious problems in EU as shown in figure 1 (â€Å"Taking Europe’s Pulse,† 2013). Figure 1: Unemployment Rate in the EU Source: â€Å"Taking Europe’s Pulse,† 2013 The figure above shows that the unemployment rate of EU members, such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, and many more, is very high since 2012 compared to other members like Germany. Inflation. Germany’s exporters are also concerned on the set-up that their product became â€Å"less competitive in the international marke tplace† (Pylas & Rising, 2013). According to Wiegand (2009), in case of inflation, the value of money decreases over time while the â€Å"price of commodities increases† (p. 23). The declining economic performance of Germany would conceive inflation in terms of purchasing value. Otherwise stated, the amount of money spent on buying a particular good does not maintain its value as times passes because the price of commodities has been increased. For instance, a 10-euro bill in the year 2000 could buy a lot of stuff compared to a 10-euro bill of today. Hence, inflation brings difficulty to consumers in buying their needs and wants, which will result to merchandise unsold. While inflation is the increase in prices, its opposite--deflation, also brings harm to the economy. Deflation happens when the prices of goods and services plummeted consistently and creates surplus of supply and lesser demand (Wiegand, 2009, p. 24). Foreign exchange market. Several exchange rates are b eing established in different countries depending on recent trading performances among countries. Their currencies depict the stability of their economic activity. The stability of euro (â‚ ¬) is one of the primary issues that EU members would be highly concerned of considering that they are using the euro as their â€Å"single currency† (â€Å"One Currency,† n.d.). Frequently, the idea of exchange rates is very confusing;

Discuss critically contemporary international approaches (e.g. World Essay

Discuss critically contemporary international approaches (e.g. World Bank, Financial Stability Board) to consumer credit regulat - Essay Example This reform has been accounted due to the growth in the consumer credits and rise in the numbers of consumer credit institutions1. Contextually, consumer credit is considered as a key driver of economic growth as it is used for the payment of services holding a major proportion of the industrial contribution obtained by any economy in the modern world2. In a general sense, consumer credit is that commodity, which is produced by the private sectors and then sold to the consumers. These regulations are fixed for the sale, available in a wide range of varieties. The most commonly observed regulations in the consumer credit are the price and the interest rates. The information and disclosure regulations are also persistent regarding the debt collection aspects in a particular country, also seemed to be an important aspect to the regulators and legislators as well3. In a recent affair, the European Commission (EC) has denoted the significant role of consumer credit in the growth of nation al economy and also the well being of the consumers and thus, it is seeking to adopt the credit regulation across the country4. The government has further planned to implement the policy of credit regulation across the country so as to regulate strong credit markets all over the nation along with the minimisation of the risk of debt. The strategic approach and aim of adopting the consumer credit regulation along with the objective further differs from one state to another. It can be well understood with the example of both Germany and France, which possess rates at a lower level ceiling along with lower legal maximums. Illustratively, the most stringently market based approach has been adopted by the UK with no rates of ceiling5. The government of the UK had introduced Consumer Credit Act 1974 in its constitution, which focuses on the protection of the consumers and control of traders along with taking due measures to implement the provisions of credit being regulated by the Directo r General of Fair Trading6. In this essay, the major concern has been drawn with the attention towards the critical evaluation of the contemporary international approaches to the consumer credit regulation. The essay has described the concept of consumer credit regulations in respect of the practical case study referrals of World Bank and Financial Stability Board. Defining Consumer Credit Regulation As per the subsidiary legislation of the UK in 2010, the ‘consumer credit regulation’ has been broken into words, viz. Customers and Credit, for drawing a clear understanding of the term. In accordance, consumer is a person who is responding to the trade or business under the regulations of the transaction7. On the other hand, the creditor is that person who has made a commitment to grant credits for performing trade and business. Thus, the consumer credit regulation implies the act that has been developed by the government body for the protection of the consumer and the cr editor performing a trade or business. One of the useful terms that are usually used in the definition of consumer credit regulation is the credit agreement. It is that contract between the consumer and

Life on the Color Line Essay Example for Free

Life on the Color Line Essay A- Gregory Howard Williams wrote the book. Before you read the book you have no idea who he is. Once you read the book you find out that he is mulatto and was raised in a community that was extremely prejudice against blacks. The authors’ point of view is his own story. P-The book takes place in Virginia at the beginning of the book from 1943-1952, and then in Muncie, Indiana from 1952-1969. The source was produced in 1995. The meaning of the source doesn’t really change at all, but now that it is after the problems of racial segregation and discrimination, we are able to read it and look back on the problems of our society and make sure it doesn’t happen again. P- Other than what I learned from the book, I actually knew a lot. I knew that in the 1940’s-50’s there was a major problem with racial discrimination. I knew that the way whites treated blacks was terrible and unjust. I also knew that blacks looked toward whites as horrible people and that it was taboo to interracially date/marry. This helped me better understand why the whites were treating Greg the way that they were and why the blacks had a hard time accepting him into their community. A- The audience is for teenagers and adults. Its pretty graphic so it is intended to be taken seriously and with an open mind. It is it is more so towards teenagers and people with hard lives to show that they aren’t the only ones going through something difficult, because he went through some really complicated times and is now leading a successful, happy life. R-This book was produced in order to show what life was like for the mulatto race and how difficult it was for them. It is an inspirational book to tell people that they can go through anything if they keep their eyes on a goal and work towards it, no matter how hard it gets. T-The theme of the book was trials and success. It tells of his early child hood having to be both white and black in a community that was extremely prejudiced. It shows how he finds his way by keeping with the black influence and embracing it as his own lifestyle. It shows the difficulties he had with bullies and ignorant people and how he used academics as a way to stay out of trouble. It shows how he has to live with an alcoholic father and how he takes care of him even though he would probably be better off not worrying about him. It shows how he went through an extremely difficult childhood and was able to graduate college with a doctorate in law. S-This book is significant because it gives us a deeper look into how messed up our society was during the late 1900’s. It gives us a better understanding into the life that we aren’t familiar with because we usually just look at the black or white side of the story. Life on the Color Line makes us realize that it was just as hard for mulattos in that time as it was for blacks.

Analysis of Our Day Out

Analysis of Our Day Out Willie Russells Our Day Out is a play which uses humour which covers some serious issues including some serious messages. The play is set in Liverpool; where the author was originally from. The story is about a school trip for a progress class visiting an old castle wreck in Wales however, the progress visits more than the old ruins. The central plot is that Mrs. Kay; the class teacher to give the progress class an opportunity to have fun but this opportunity for the kids tells us of the dissimilarities between the teaching styles of Mrs. Kay and Mr. Briggs. Russell uses this chance to tell us that staff sometimes hides their real feelings but show them when they are enjoying themselves show a completely different side of themselves. This play has several different themes, one of the main themes of the play is: what does the government do for underprivileged children who do not really have a chance to reach the levels. This theme is shows what Willie Russell really thought of the way education was dealt with during 1977. I think Mrs. Kay is the kind of person which is quite calm and collected, Mrs Kay stares at him. She could blow up but she doesnt. This undoubtedly tells you that she can contain herself when angry. She is also very much like an activist as given away by this quote, Ah well well just have to deal with him the best way we can. This precisely portrays her sense of cheerfulness in an attitude which gives of the sense that shes telling you to make the best of what you got. A clear attribute of Mrs Kay is her mother-like care for the pupils as shown by, She always reminds me of a mother hen rather than a teacher. This plainly displays that she wouldnt care if her pupils didnt have education as long as they were happy and safe. Kevin Bryant come here, this quote effectively presents the fact that she knows how to be discipline her pupils. She also gets involved in their games and activities showing that she does more than care for her pupils, that is strongly illustrated by, A game of foot ball is in progress. Mrs Kay is in goal. The quote do you could educate these kids my remedial kids, correctly expresses her belief that there isnt any hope for her pupils to do well in their future life. I believe the reason why Mrs Kay is concerned a lot for her pupils for the reason that she feels that they have no possibility of achievement in their life and other than giving them an education she wants to give them a better chance at being happy by making sure they enjoy themselves before what she believes is the inevitably despondent years that lie ahead. I believe Mr Briggs is someone who provides different attitude to Mrs Kay during the play. Mr Briggs is also intimidating because of, (leaning in close, threatening) Now listen here young lady I dont like your attitude one bit! This powerfully portrays his threatening position and selection of words. He can also get pretty grouchy, (begrudgingly) Morning, He can be very insulting to other people behind their backs which is visibly shown in, Weve got a right head case of a driver. The quote, Youve got some real bright sparks here, suggests a sarcastic way of speech which is to be expected a frequent part of his personality. Dont you mean try and find her, this quote cunningly displays the idea that he has an unenthusiastic view on the world but a logical one, so he always anticipates the worst but not without any proper reasons. I felt Mr Briggs finds it effortful to show care or affection for his pupils for a long-lasting stage of time and considers that education and presenting th e children little affection that will give them the best chance of success in later life, which is the opposite to Mrs. Kays view. Mrs Kay is a open-minded teacher who wishes her pupils to have fun, at the expense of learning, I get the impression she sees education as one long game. She also gives the pupils full control in other word full freedom, In another part of the castle the kids are rushing about playing medieval cowboys and Indians. Mrs Kay sits in a bench overlooking the scene. She may be a pleasant teacher to have for the reason that she puts the happiness of the pupils before their education. She lectures that primarily a pupil must have fun and be shown love and affection before education is even declared. The inconvenience in being taught by Mrs Kay is that the pupils childhood life will be much happier and endurable; by the time they depart from school they will not really have any education and it inevitable that their futures will be unwelcoming and wretched. Mr Briggs teaches in a usual style which engages in not presenting the pupils love and sympathy by enforcing discipline and educating th em properly, It might look like love and kindness but if you ask me I dont think it does the kids a scrap of good,. These two statements, Sit down! We dont wander up and down the aisle. We talk quietly to our neighbour, not shout at our mates, and, Briggs with a group of ordered school children, the customary teaching concept of rules, militaristic discipline and control. Mr Briggs may not be pleasurable as a teacher because of his belief of not allowing the pupils to take pleasure in themselves which will lead to leaving school as educated, regimented and as sensible people. He might be more advantageous as a teacher because you would get taught properly which could immensely enhance the likelihood that you would get an excellent career and a clear future because of that.

Study Of Philosophical Assumption Analysis

Study Of Philosophical Assumption Analysis This chapter depicts reflexivity the way of carrying research and figuring results -, and addresses philosophical reflexivity, methodological reflexivity, and disciplinary reflexivity (Hardy, 2001; Holland, 1999). Reflexivity particularly illustrates the philosophical assumptions, and the executive steps toward the objectives. Thereby, the chapter discusses how the tentative model is refined according qualitative evidences and validated by quantitative supports (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 648; Churchill, 1979; Eisenhardt, 1989; Jick, 1979). Figure below briefly illustrates this chapter content. This section addresses the ontological and epistemological philosophy behind the study. It is necessary to crystallize the philosophical assumptions as the foundation of academic research, which is required to choose applicable methods (Annells, 1996). Given paradigm question, research topic associates with a particular meaning in specific circumstances (Goulding, 2002, p. 36). CEM resembles a complex management approach based on marketing philosophy that utilizes some components such as dealing with brand, interface, employee, and relationship to delight customers. Schembri (2006) assume realism to construct the meaning of services experience in ontological perspective. In this ontological position, understanding the customers service experience needs to reflect the customer as the subject that is conjoined with services as the object (Schembri, 2006). Likewise, services experience must be regarded holistically rather than only as performance, process, or outcome. Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2000; 2004) similarly believe all sources of experience are objects that confirm realism in ontology. On contrary, the earlier implicit underlying assumptions indicate a rationalistic philosophy (Vargo Lusch, 2004). Identification of customer desires in a rationalistic logic keeps us away from a holistic understanding of the customers experiential meaning (Schembri, 2006). Schembri (2006) argued the rationalistic assumptions are limiting the advance of marketing theory since experience ontologically is a relation between customer and world. Given epistemology, understanding of human nature in social worlds is acquired by conducting research to capture and interpret the complex ever changing social world. Here, the research methods are applied to interpret social world in terms of meaningful model. Epistemology in connection with the research objectives leads study to get realistic but interpretive understanding about the management role in orchestrating customer experience regarding internal process and proper response. It means subjective factors (experiential modules) should be concerned in epistemological reflexivity (Hirschman Holbrook, 1982). It thus intensifies the subjectivism in epistemology. Generally, there are three schools of thought based upon different combinations of epistemological and ontological assumptions (Alvesson Deetz, 2000; pp. 60-74; Johnson Duberley, 2003): Neo-empiricism (Thesis) (Epistemic: Objectivism Ontological: Realism) Critical theory (Synthesis) (Epistemic: Subjectivism Ontological: Realism) Postmodernism (Antithesis) (Epistemic: Subjectivism Ontological: Subjectivism) Epistemological subjectivists are researchers who assume it is not possible to observe the behavior of social phenomena neutrally without subjective interpretation of perception (Economic Social Research Council, 2008). Realism is about the ontological status of the phenomena that assumed to constitute social reality (Economic Social Research Council, 2008). In the qualitative study, we assume realistic postulation about the ontological status to constitute social reality that they exist independently of our perceptual or cognitive structures (Goulding, 2002, p. 13). Simply, we might not already know all aspects of the phenomenon but we know this reality exists and it can be discovered. Critical theory thus can be the best nominee to be a philosophical underpinning. Critical management study depends on researcher because of subjectivism in epistemology. However, similar to neo-empiricism view in ontology, there is a chance of unbiased and objective data collection and analysis (Alv esson Deetz, 2000), since social construction lead us to the reality (Myers, 1997, p. 241). Interpretive epistemology (Subjectivism) is a phenomenological, hermeneutic approach to reveal meaningful structure by stepping in social phenomenon within the context (Boland Day, 1989). However, it requires observation in natural setting to gain apt understanding (Anderson, 1986; Neuman 1997, p. 68). In addition, interpretive epistemology underlined following issues: Revealing the complexity by gaining in-depth understanding around the phenomenon Reflecting the reality based on close participation and high sensitivity to all elements Capturing the subjective experience of each individual Addressing the subjectivity by, for example, openness to alternative explanation Interpretive methods are utilized for exploring and explaining since (Desphande, 1983): Previous research may not obtain complete understanding The positivist approach is not proper to cover CEM as a new multi-facets discipline Lack of understanding necessitates the research of a phenomenological nature Quantitative approach is not appropriate since cannot figure out inclusive picture CEM is composed of a series of multiple realities that entirely should be taken into account In the quantitative phase, testing the model is necessary as far as it is a comparison between reality and the recommended model. Data is rendered as an objective external reality to come up with truth and therefore, it might be perceived as positivism (Charmaz, 2000). Positivism is based on three facts: logicality (mathematical facts; Smith, 1983), objectivity, detached manner (Burrell Morgan, 1979, p. 21). Epistemology relies on searching regularities and casual relationship between constituent elements of research to test theory and increase prediction power (Neuman, 1997, p. 63). It is also necessary to turn the phenomenon into generalized measurable fact (McGrath. 2008). This approach is acceptable only in case of success. That means, if we fail to verify the model, it is not appropriate and needs to revise (Hindess, 1977, p. 18). Therefore, epistemology can be interpretive in qualitative phase and positivism in quantitative stage (Yin, 1994). Methodological Consideration Nancy and Bradley (1999) hinted theory building begins with a general research question in stage one and ends with a theory and hypotheses that will be tested in more controlled studies in the future. Regarding philosophical assumption, hybrid methodology can be proper for the model building and given objectives. It is appropriate since it simultaneously concentrates on theory building and theory verification. Next section broadly brings some evidences to support this decision. Why Hybrid Methodology Academicians portray CEM as an imperative approach for modern marketing, which leads to business success. Despite the importance, the concept has begun to flourish without any discipline (Bitner et al., 2008; Holbrook, 2007; Verhoef et al., 2009) because of insufficient formal academic investigations, lack of empirical direction and theoretical foundations (Caru Cova 2003; Gentile et al., 2007; Poulsson Kale, 2004; Pullman Gross, 2004). Besides, CEM has a complex setting due to impacts of many different factors. In such complex and undeveloped subject, Nachmias and Nachmias (1981) noted multiple data collection techniques are preferable to reliance on only one. Morgan (1998) declared, Using either qualitative or quantitative methods in isolation can easily lead to mistaken conclusion. That means the combination of inductive and deductive methods is necessary to enhance the confidence in the results (Eisenhardt, 1989; Jick, 1979). The variety of qualitative methods, in addition to quantities study, reasonably helps to figure out research objectives in more natural setting with comprehensive depiction (Furlong, Lovelace, Lovelace, 2000, pp. 543-544). Eisenhardt (1989) posed, grand theory requires multiple studies an accumulation of both theory building and theory testing. Moreover, new categories (not initially anticipated) can arise because of creative potential of mixed method (Eisenhardt, 1989). This methodological approach refers to hybrid methodology that suggests combining qualitative and quantitative methods in logical order or combination. We benefit the potency of one method to improve the fulfillment of the next method (Morgan, 199 8). There are some others motivations for using multiple methods (Jick, 1979): To help to uncover the deviant dimension of a phenomenon To facilitate refashioning theory and model by looking to different viewpoints To enrich explanation of the research problem To ease a synthesis and integration of theories To serve as the critical test, by virtue of its comprehensiveness, for competing theories Given convolution of subject matter, it seems hybrid methodology is much more practical than other approaches to build a novel construct and figure out comprehensible model. Likewise, successful studies with similar approach in the context of study (e.g. Pullman Gross, 2004; Brakus et al., 2009) or in other discipline (e.g. Liao, Murphy Welsch, 2005; Wilson Vlosky, 1997) can be references for reasonableness of adopted methodology. Combing the different dataset can be also synergistic (Pandit, 1996). Eisenhardt (1989) asserted, When a pattern from one data source is corroborated by the evidence from another, the finding is stronger and better grounded. The use of multiple data enhances construct validity (Pandit, 1996), when the results are validated on the same question by multiple methods (Carson, Gilmore, Perry, Gronhaug, 2001, p. 69; Morgan, 1998). Developing the Construct The importance of construct development as the key part of theoretical explanation is underlined in marketing literature (Churchill, 1979; Diamantopoulos Winklhofer, 2001; Jarvis, Mackenzie, Podsakoff, 2003; Peter, 1981). There is emphasis on introducing precise and measurable constructs as a basis for strong theory, which is facilitated by a prior pattern in the opening step (Eisenhardt, 1989). Thus, to discover CEM construct, we initially mull over several theoretical and practical evidences earlier than qualitative investigation to crystallize a former tentative construct. Developing construct can be reflective, formative or both (Jarvis et al., 2003). In reflective model, measures should be correlated, while dropping an indicator from measurement model does not change the whole construct (Jarvis et al., 2003). In contrast, in formative model, the direction of causality is from measure to construct (Jarvis et al., 2003). Developing multidimensional construct for CEM involves two levels; first order is reflective and second order is formative (Type III in Jarvis et al.s study). CEM is assumed reflective construct consists of reflective components, namely brand experience and interface experience, which are composed of multiple formative indicators. Research Setting Research Population Current study focuses on private service sector. There are three main reasons behind this resolution. In the first place, scholars put extra emphasis on practicality of CEM in service context (see Error: Reference source not found). Secondly, there is tremendous flourish in service industry in Malaysia especially in private sector while it has significant contribution in economy (see Error: Reference source not found). Finally, service sector in Asia have faced lot of difficulties during these years, particularly in dealing with increasing expectation, changing lifestyle, tide competition, and commoditization issues (Lovelock et al., 2002). On the other hand, service sector furnishes us with apposite data to analyze and draw a conclusion; since, customer experience is more meaningful in service context due to following reasons. First, service experience includes more interactions and accordingly provides more opportunities for customers to experience and become engaged. Second, service experience is more flexible than goods experience because of high customer involvement; hence, the brand experience can be more likely to remember. Third, the numerous touchpoints enrich experience in service context. Fourth, experience is more likely to differentiate the service offering. Finally, in service, co-creating experience, social and relational experience, and personalized experience are more achievable than goods experience. These evidences enrich the result of investigation and subsequently enhance the comprehensiveness. Unit of Analysis Unit of analysis usually refers to the level of aggregation of the data during conducting analysis. In the present study, organization level as the lowest independent level is chosen as unit of analysis. Although, experience is investigated in individual level, CEM is practiced by organization, derived by organizational capabilities, and it enhances organization outcomes. This option in line with Kenny (2003) has two characteristic: appropriate level of analysis and independence. The unit of analysis also keeps results away from officious impacts such as compositional effects (Kenny Judd, 1986). Hybrid Research Design (mixed methods strategy) The initial step of research design is the division of labor to integrate the complementary strengths of methods (Creswell, 2003, p. 211), which is accomplished via two primary choices (Morgan, 1998): Priority: which method is a principal method and which is a complementary one Sequence: whether the complementary method precedes or follows the principal method In hybrid methodology, prioritizing and sequencing of qualitative and quantitative methods are crucial to conduct a successful research (Morgan, 1998; Tashakkori Teddlie, 2008, p. 161). By combining these two, four options are yield: (1) Preliminary qualitative methods in quantities study, (2) Preliminary quantitative methods in qualitative study, (3) Follow-up qualitative methods in quantitative study, and (4) Follow-up quantitative methods in qualitative study. The Priority Decision Morgan (1998) illuminated The first research-design decision determines the extent to which either the qualitative or the quantitative method will be the principal tool for gathering the projects data. Conducting research leads to the high range of difficulty by exploiting both quantitative and qualitative methods with same weight or in same time (Morgan, 1998). In traditional triangulation, the results gained from the two methods because of complicated linkage and no effective instruments may be either incommensurate or absolute conflicting (Morgan, 1998). Therefore, the more practical approach is to assign one of the methods as the principal tool and then to allocate the second one as the complementary to effectively assists the principal one (Morgan, 1998; Tashakkori Teddlie, 2008, p. 161). This division of labor is more realistic and convenient. The Sequence Decision Morgan (1998) stated, The more practical strategy is to use the two methods in sequence so that what is learned from one adds to what is learned from the other. That means which method based on its strengths, or probable results should be used first (Creswell, 2003, p. 212). This approach optimizes the effectiveness of the principal method (Morgan, 1998; Tashakkori Teddlie, 2008, p. 164). Hence, it is valid to use preliminary output to improve the next method. It maximizes the worth of results, when it upgrades the next method, which uses a different data set. The Priority and Sequence in the current Research The preferable hybrid approach can be qualitative investigation that follows by quantitative study. This pattern will be implement by preliminary qualitative study provides complementary assistance in developing a larger quantitative study. Scholars recommended the exploratory research as the prior approach for the majority of descriptive studies to build a theoretical model (Churchill Iacobucci, 2002, p. 92; Creswell, 2003, p. 215; Yin, 1994, p. 138). On the word of Kotler (2006, p. 122), The objective of exploratory research is to gather preliminary information that will help define problems and suggest hypotheses. Along with the objectives, exploratory study in early stage expand understanding, provide insight, and develop hypotheses until it lets us to continue the study by testing the hypotheses and validating the construct in a deductive study (Churchill Iacobucci, 2002, p. 93). This approach is against traditional triangulation as comparison between different methods, researcher, theory, or results. Priority and sequence decision emphasizes on complementarily characteristic of each method as well as flexibility, manageability, productivity, and lack of difficulty (Morgan, 1998). The data collection begins with a qualitative method to crystallize the definition, and domain, improve the model, and develop the content of the questionnaire. The qualitative results must be treated as tentative until they are confirmed by quantitative research (Morse, 1996). The strengths of qualitative methods are utilized during exploratory study to conduct more fruitfulness quantitative research later. Further, we make use of the quantitative data to verify and expand on what is learned through the qualitative study. Then the quantitative inquiry covers a much larger sample than in-depth qualitative research to explore the generalizability, and transferability of the results ( Morgan, 1998). Why Qualitative Approach is Chosen in the First Phase? The most common design in hybrid methodology is preliminary qualitative studies plus complementary quantitative research (Morgan, 1998). Qualitative research has been arisen in response to limitations in conventional quantitative management research. Scholars recommend the qualitative study in the initial stage of research to overcome insufficient understanding around unfamiliar phenomenon (Churchill, 1991, p. 132). For example, qualitative study is recommended in service and social experience context (Otto Ritchie, 1996; Verhoef et al., 2009). Morse (1991, p. 120) also highlighted some characteristics of subject matter in qualitative research, which have close agreement with our research objectives. Regarding that, inductive method can be applied when: The concept is immature due to lack of theory or theoretical researches The available theory may be inaccurate, incorrect, inappropriate, or even biased There is need to explore and describe the phenomena or develop the theory The nature of the phenomena may not to be suited to quantitative investigation It seems qualitative approach can be the best nominee to overcome immaturity in CEM concept and generate formal theoretical understanding. Moreover, because of inconsistency in the subject matter, it will be practical to use inductive methodology to explore the phenomenon and integrate the various options into more comprehensive definition. Flexibility is another reason behind choosing preliminary qualitative approach (Churchill, 1991, p. 132), since we can take advantage of data to come up with novel themes and restructured the model (Eisenhardt, 1989). Researcher Function and Time Horizon Researcher has active role in data gathering, data coding and interpreting. In general, it is tried to be skilful in collecting and summarizing data in appropriate manner and self-critical accounts. Moreover, to have accurate data, we try to conduct research in bias-free situation and have precise estimation. In qualitative stage, the researchers role as an instrument for data collection is yielding maximum knowledge to accomplish holistic understanding in natural setting (Creswell, 2003, p. 200). Therefore, it requires direct involvement not only in analysis but also in all data collection steps. Given time horizon, the study will be conducted as cross-sectional study and data are gathered just once, over a period of three months in first phase and another three months in second phase. Qualitative Study Success of hybrid methodology highly depends on qualitative phase (Jick, 1979). Qualitative data contributes as the critical counterpoint to quantitative methods, which drawn from firsthand records to characterize the phenomenon, crystallize holistic picture of research topic and report relevant details. The upshots ameliorate the initial propositions to hypotheses (Carson et al., 2001, p. 42). According Creswell (2003, pp. 198-199), we consider following reflection in conducting qualitative research. Firstly, we more emphasize on the process, rather than outcomes. Secondly, researcher works as an instrument for data collection and analysis to reach holistic understanding. Thirdly, qualitative research needs fieldwork and direct involvement. Fourthly, we have to be descriptive with a sense of gaining deep understanding. Finally, the inductive process has to lead the research to build concept, tentative hypotheses, and model from details in realistic way. The qualitative study, based on exploratory research design, intends to investigate the phenomenon, and provide the rigorous insights (Churchill, 1991, p. 130; Yin, 1994). Churchill (1991, p. 130) recommend exploratory research to discover vague problem and discover the possibilities of conjectural statement that here is called tentative model. To build a proper foundation for quantitative study, based on Selltiz, Wrightsman, and Cook (1981, p. 21) and Yin (1994), we justify the applicability of exploratory case study (analysis of selected cases) in the initial phase of research: It is a proper way to answer research question, study contemporary event, and investigate a phenomenon prior to theory development; The concept novelty necessitates submitting some propositions before developing hypotheses; In respect of the various possible variables for CEM construct, antecedents and consequences, we require setting priorities to purpose the model; Given limitation in literature, we crucially should gain enough insight into the problem; Exploratory study helps to capture the domain and generate the right items (measurement) Our approach in qualitative research is in line with exploratory study, which is based on Experience Survey and Analysis of Selected Cases (Churchill Iacobucci, 2002, p. 95). Churchill (1991, p. 135) defined experience survey as the key informant survey, which figures out valuable insight through who has association whit a particular marketing effort. The target of this approach is coming up with relationship and overall variables picture or tentative explanation (Selltiz et al., 1981, p. 94). Analysis of selected case is an approach to explore for explanation or features that can be common with other cases (Churchill, 1991, p. 143). Thereby, we start qualitative study by choosing convenient cases, which are potentially capable to run CEM (see, 5.4.2). Then, we collect data about the construct and domain, examine the tentative model, and explore the alternative characterization via experienced interviewees. Qualitative data analysis package NVivo 8 will be used to enable effective d ata management. The qualitative study procedure is summarized in Figure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½5 -2. Figure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2: Qualitative Study Procedure Qualitative Research Design and Data Collection Interview can be a practical instrument; since, it results sensible inference through more controllable procedure (Yin, 1994, p. 80). Interview is also the foremost source of data collecting toward theory building (Lillis, 1999). In our case, in-depth interview with non-probability sampling is an applicable technique (Churchill, 1991, p. 135). Interview is carried out face-to-face (one-to-one conversations) in the interviewees self-setting (Denzin Lincoln, 2005, p. 661; Morgan et al., 1990). To make best use of in-depth interview, we design semi-structured questionnaire with following characteristics. According to Furlong et al. (2000, p. 536), semi-structured interview is a proper technique while we have prior idea about questions. Semi-structured questionnaire thus can extract maximum relevant information in specific time because of existing tentative pattern (Yin, 1994, p. 85). It also aids to examine the authenticity of tentative model and prior understanding about propositions. Additionally, to know what is beyond the tentative mode, some open-ended questions empower the interview to have necessary flexibility for further exploration (Furlong et al., 2000, p. 536). The significant advantageous of this method are the modification and completeness (Silverman, 2000). It also systematically saves time and offers specific elaboration in text production and analysis. The standard theme of interview is adopted from Kohli and Jaworski (1990). After a brief description, interviews start open-ended and finalize with more relevant probe questions (Dick, 2005). Thus, there are two kinds of questions. First, the opening questions investigate whether the concept elements are significant and to what extent they are meaningful and practical (Sekaran, 2006, p. 236). Then, interview follows by semi-structured questions to examine, and validate the propositions in details. The respondents are also asked to tell their own stories and experiences (Yin, 1994, p. 84). This kind of information associates with informants experience (Dick, 2005) and leads to find out memories, meanings, and interpretations might be hard to discover in other ways (Carson et al., 2001, p. 73). It is also predictable that after or before some questions a brief explanation is necessary to clarify the intention of questions (Kohli Jaworski, 1990). Interviews are conducted separately and they last 60-120 minutes. The Interview Protocol Appendix 4 is set up to have a systematic procedure. Due to get access to useful information, it is essential to render the right image and convince interviewees the study is non-threatening. This issue can be handled by give the overall summary of the research procedures and objectives in order to minimize the risk of defensive or self-conscious behavior (Waddington, 1994). Additionally, offering some motivations can be practical to encourage respondents for more commitment and collaboration. We consider providing a short report to the participating firms as prospective motivation. It supposes to let them to benchmark themselves within the industry. Keeping with ethical issues, we utilize direct approach and disclose the purpose of study. Choosing Appropriate Cases in Qualitative Stage In private service, consumer banking is nominated as the sample frame for qualitative study. In the retailing of financial services, customer behavior is characterized by full range of possible experience, which leads to achieve results that are more comprehensive. The focus on personal banking is also reasonable to analyze because of various possible interactions and accordingly various meaningful experiences. Moreover, specific characteristics of consumer banking and Malaysian banking perspective are likely to generate more holistic result (see, Error: Reference source not found). The study is set along with a similar research in financial service (e.g. OLoughlin Szmiginthe, 2005) with multiple cases (Yin, 1994, p. 45). It is based on conducting a series of interviews with key informants in banking (Gummesson, 2000, p. 179). Non-probability sampling is preferable, because it is convenient to meet sampling goals. The samples are chosen through purposive and snowball sampling (selective sampling; Patton, 1990; Sandelowski, Holditch-Davis, Harris, 1992, p. 279) as one kind of theoretical sampling (Eisenhardt, 1989). Purposive sampling is nominated for choosing banks (Sekaran, 2006, p. 277; Denzin Lincoln, 2005, p. 378) and snowball sampling for finding branch managers as representatives of the banking (Oloughin Szmigin, 2005). This approach intensifies the diversity of sampling to find different properties (Charles, 1994, p. 99; Dick, 2005). At least three or four sets of data are essential to come across the concept (Martin Turner, 1986). Accordingly, we plan to conduct 12 interviews in six data sets. Five of these sets are part of initial data collection attempt and the sixth one for cross-validation. This is in line with Perry (1998) and Eisenhardt (1989) who respectively suggested four to fifteen and four to ten cases for interview. We project theoretical saturation by five data sets, albeit the openness to increase cases. If there is any contrast between two respondents in a data set, we add another interview session to enhance validity. We nominate five local banks from Bank Negara list as our sampling frame (see, Appendix 6) as well as one foreigner bank for cross-validation. According a study by Goh in 2005, Maybank is the largest commercial bank in Malaysia in terms of asset, net profit, shareholder equity, and number of employees while CIMB holds the second place. Public Bank is the second rank in terms of profit and shareholder equity. RHB bank and Hong Leong Bank also have notable asset as well as considerable development in customer management. Additionally, HSBC is the largest foreigner bank regarding asset, profit, shareholder equity, and number of employee (Goh, 2005). In light of these information Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank, RHB Bank, and Hong Leong Bank are chosen as the first set of data source and HSBC is selected for cross validation. HSBC is leading banks in CEM; thus, verifying the qualitative result with HSBC would be reasonable decision (Lee, 2008; Wing, 2008). The interviews will be conducted with the managers of major branches, since they have close interaction with customers, they have extensive familiarity with consumer banking, and they are well updated with bank marketing strategy regarding consumer banking  [i]  . In this case, snowball technique is utilized to facilitate sampling. The technique suggests the initial respondents recommend other potential interviewees who can contribute to the study (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 200). Recommending conversant is applicable in financial services (Oloughin Szmigin, 2005). However, to refine the process, a purposive approach prioritizes the recommendations (Schmidt Little, 2007). Subsequently, by saturation we move to sorting and coding in the clearest way. Data Capturing, and Coding in Qualitative Stage During qualitative research, we anticipate mass of detailed material. Ensuring about the capturing and recording relevant data would allow us for easy retrieval in analysis. Miles and Huberman (1984) expressed initial coding is compulsory to linking data and weave a story. In order to have systematic coding, some tools from Grounded Theory are utilized. In spite of GT, we do not begin with field data and allow the theory to emerge from the data; instead, we begin with tentative model from previous studies. That means core category does not emerge from data set. The role of literature review is also unlike GT, especially in developing categories. Instead, we follow preferable method by Miles and Huberman (1994) to set provisional codes, namely start list, which is based on the tentative model. To reduce the risk of observer bias, initial data capturing is fulfilled by field remarks throug

The Godfather Essay -- essays research papers

The Godfather is the story of a Mafia family. It follows the rise of Michael Corleone within the family. Michael was once a war hero and did not want to be involved in the family business. When his father is shot though, Michael takes revenge on the people who did it and becomes a part of the Mafia lifestyle. When his older brother is murdered, Michael ascends to become the boss of the family, and proves to be more ruthless than his father and brother combined. The scene that I am analyzing is one where Michael is becoming his nephew’s godfather at his baptism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Godfather is a traditionally edited movie. This particular scene however uses Eisenstein’s method of montage editing. Francis Ford Coppola uses hard cutting in order to show a stark contrast in the main character Michael Corleone. The scene begins with a shot of Michael’s godson. In the Catholic religion, a newborn baby is born with original sin. At the moment of its baptism, it is the most pure thing on earth; it has no sin. The godfather is the baby’s guardian into life. The scene cuts to all the different assassins Michael has deployed to take out his enemies. It cuts back to the baptism and the priest asks Michael if he believes in god, Jesus, and the church. Michael replies yes. The scene cuts back to the assassins. The voice of the priest is heard giving the ceremony as the assassins prepare to kill. The scene cuts back to Michael and the priest asks Michael if he rejects Satan ...

The Writing Style of The Catcher in the Rye Essay -- essays research p

Jerome David Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a truly unique novel in terms of writing style. The story is told in a second person narrative style by a character named Holden Caulfield, and is written loosely in a fashion known as 'stream of consciousness writing'. The stream of consciousness style of writing is that in which the writing directly follows the character's thought process in either an interior monologue or through the character's reactions to external occurrences. Stream of consciousness writing is not typically used in books due to its clearly-defined limits and its extreme demand for a talented and devoted author. In order for the writing to be effective, the story must revolve around only one character, and that character must be developed extensively as a believable person through realistic thoughts and actions. The following of Holden's stream of consciousness is the reason that many seemingly unnecessary facts find their way into Salinger's writing. They are a direct result of Holden's roaming teenage mind. Many other works of literature have used the stream of consciousness writing style, so this alone does not make Salinger's work unique. What makes The Catcher in the Rye a unique literary work is Salinger's combination o f stream of consciousness along with several other literary contrivances. One of these contrivances in particular is the way Holden?s thoughts are set up in a specific order so that one ostensibly random tangent relates, contrasts, or plainly contradicts another. A good example of one of Salinger?s very intelligent and slightly vague contrasts can be seen distinctly when Holden places his account of children directly beside his account of actors, showing the difference between the two.... ...er. All-in all, Salinger?s writing style is one of unique, masterminded inventiveness. Some may argue that Salinger has done nothing unique or inventive, but he has combined so many various and beautifully executed writing styles and devices of literature that no one on earth could argue against the fact that J.D. Salinger has masterminded a classic novel that has already lasted over sixty years as a great and controversial story. The examples of relationships, society, and life itself that Salinger has created in The Catcher in the Rye are so exquisite and so timeless that they have already reserved the novel a place in history as one of the greatest stories of all time. As simple and easily understood as the story is, the morals behind the plot and the subtle symbolism scattered all throughout Holden?s tale have turned the teenager?s journey into an epic excursion.

Death by Nagel Essay

At the beginning of Death, Thomas Nagel questions: â€Å"If death is the unequivocal and permanent end to our existence, the question arises whether it is a bad thing to die. † Nagel wonders whether death is evil or not. To some people, like the hedonists, death is not bad. They propose the idea that a person is harmed when he or she has an unpleasant mental state. Furthermore, the hedonists also think a person is harmed when he or she suffers, and somebody is suffered when he or she is alive. Hence, when a person dies, he or she cannot be harmed. Death is the end of a subject. However, Nagel does not agree with the hedonists. He believes death is evil. The author introduces the objections of the hedonist as an opposing voice to argue against the idea that death is not evil. To lead the reader into his own argument, the author proposes the hedonists’ three objections about why they think death is not bad. Then, he opposes these objections by providing three rebuttals. The first objection is death cannot be evil if it cannot be experienced. We imagine how bad it is to be dead; yet we cannot experience death until it happens. In response to the first objection, Nagel states harm does not equal suffering. To him, some harms have to be experienced but a person does not have to go through all of them in order to be sustained. The author gives an example of a man is betrayed and ridiculed by his friends behind his back. To the hedonist, this man does not suffer from any harm, since he does not have any idea about it – what you do not know cannot hurt you. According to the hedonist, he has to have an unpleasant mental state in order to sustain. Nagel opposes to this idea. He thinks this man still suffers. The author states: â€Å"†¦ its discovery makes us unhappy. † Nagel means that even though this person does not have any idea he has been betrayed; but in the future, he might be able to find out about it, he will be suffered. As a result, a person still suffers from harm after he or she dies. The second objection is if death is bad, then who will suffer from it. Who is the subject of harm? The hedonists believe death is the end of the subject, so when a person dies, no one will be harmed. Thomas Nagel replies to this objection with his second rebuttal. The author states that subject of misfortune are identified by a person’s history and possibility rather than by his or her momentary state. That means when a person dies, he or she can still be harmed. The author believes if this person had not died, he or she would have been able to experience and possess whatever good there is living. The author gives an example of an intelligent person whom had a brain injury and become a vegetable. To the hedonist, he is fine as long as he is still alive. He does not suffer from any harm. Nagel, however, does not agree with that idea. He states that this man is sustained because if he did not have the accident, he would still be able to fulfill his wishes or realize his possibilities. The third objection is prenatal and posthumous non-existence should be symmetrical. The hedonists question why we consider the period after our death is bad when we regard the period before our birth is not. Again, Thomas Nagel does not agree with this idea. The author states there is no subject in the period before birth. As a result, there is no one to be deprived. When a person is born, he or she becomes the subject of history and possibilities. The author also proposes if a person was born earlier, he or she would be a different subject. In order to support this argument, Nagel states a person is still himself or herself even when he or she has different directions from the starting point. However, thing would be dissimilar if a person has a different starting point. He or she does not converge on same person anymore. This person would have different parents, siblings and etc. The author believes the period of time after death is when it deprives a person of. Hence, the prenatal and posthumous non-existence should not be symmetrical. In conclusion, Thomas Nagel states death is evil by providing rebuttals to the hedonists’ idea of death is not bad. Unlike the hedonists, Nagel strongly believes death is not the end of the subject. The author also states a person can still be harmed even after he or she dies, and subjects of misfortune are defined by a person’s history and possibility rather than his or her momentary state. Last but not least, Nagel provides that prenatal and posthumous non-existence should not be symmetrical.

Project management process Essay

Which of the four phases of the project management process do you feel is most challenging? Why? The focus of project closedown is to bring the project to an end. Projects can conclude with a natural or unnatural termination. A natural termination occurs when the requirements of the project have been met—the project has been completed and is a success. Closing down the project. During closedown, you perform several diverse activities. Conducting postproject reviews. Once you have closed down the project, final reviews of the project should be conducted with management and customers. Closing the customer contract. The focus of this final activity is to ensure that all contractual terms of the project have been met. A project governed by a contractual agreement is typically not completed until agreed to by both parties, often in writing. Closedown is an important activity. A project is not complete until it is closed, and it is at closedown that projects are deemed a success or failure. Completion also signifies the chance to begin a new project and apply what you have learned. Now that you have an understanding of the project management process, the next section describes specific techniques used in systems development for representing and scheduling activities and resources. What are some sources of risk in a systems analysis and design project, and how does a project manager cope with risk during the stages of project management? The purpose of systems analysis and design is for a business to increase their efficiency, because when you look at a current system you will see flaws that need fixed ans within the new system that you design you will take these into consideration. A new system will make the the business more profitable. The Capital Project Risk Management Process is intended to result in the effective management of project risks (threats and opportunities). The objective of the project risk management process is to help project sponsors and project teams to make informed decisions regarding project alternatives. The project manager, project sponsor, and project team members jointly develop a written plan that enables them to identify, assess, quantify, prepare a response to, monitor, and control capital project risks. There are two stages in the process of Project Risk Management, Risk Assessment and Risk Control. Risk Assessment can take place at any time during the project, though the sooner the better. However, Risk Control cannot be effective without a previous Risk Assessment. Similarly, most people tend to think that having performed a Risk Assessment, they have done all that is needed. Far too many projects spend a great deal of effort on Risk Assessment and then ignore Risk control completely. Search the Web for recent reviews of project management software. Which packages seem to be most popular? What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each package? What advice would you give to someone intending to buy project management software for his or her PC? Why? There are basically two types of online PM applications that can be accessed and utilized with any compatible web browser. The first and most common type is web-based software that is hosted and maintained by a third party, such as Project Genius and Basecamp. These products offer numerous advantages, especially for those groups who are spread out over a large geographical area or who spend a lot of time traveling. The main selling point for these tools is that all you need is an Internet connection to access your project information. That is, there’s no need to worry about remotely connecting to your company server or to lug around copies of data on external storage devices. An added bonus is that multiple people can access and modify the same information simultaneously, so there’s no confusion about which version of a project management form is the most recent. One downside of these applications hosted by third-parties is that most have some sort of monthly fee associated with them, and these fees can start to add up fast. However, there are some services, including Basecamp and Central Desktop, which offer free accounts to those with limited needs. Others, such as Clarizen, offer substantial discounts if you subscribe for an extended period of time and pay for that subscription in advance. A nice thing about the free accounts provided by certain vendors is that they can be upgraded to full paid accounts at any time. So, even if you think that the free version of these applications won’t be enough for your project management needs in the long run, you can still test them out without spending a dime. Another disadvantage of these third-party services that may be a deal-breaker for some is that you are basically locked in to the design and format of the software. That is, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to modify the application so that it includes all the fields and forms you need as well as get rid of all the ones you don’t. If the ability to do this is high on your list, you may be better off going with self-hosted, open-source project management software. I’ll talk more about this option in the next section. Suppose that you have been contracted by a jewelry store to manage a project to create a new inventory tracking system. Describe your initial approach to the project. What should your first activity be? What information would you need? To whom might you need to speak? Initiating the project. Establishing the project initiation team. This activity involves organizing an initial core of project team members to assist in accomplishing the project initiation activities. Establishing a relationship with the customer. A thorough understanding of your customer builds stronger partnerships and higher levels of trust. At PVF, management has tried to foster strong working relationships between business units (such as purchasing) and the IS development group by assigning a specific individual to work as a liaison between both groups. Establishing the project initiation plan. This step defines the activities required to organize the initiation team while it is working to define the scope of the project. Chris’s role was to help Juanita translate her business requirements into a written request for an improved information system. This task required the collection, analysis, organization, and transformation of a lot of information. Establishing management procedures. Successful projects require the development of effective management procedures. Within PVF, many of these management procedures had been established as standard operating procedures by the Systems Priority Board and the IS development group. Establishing the project management environment and project workbook. The focus of this activity is to collect and organize the tools that you will use while managing the project and to construct the project workbook. Developing the project charter. The project charter is a short (typically one page), high-level document prepared for the customer that describes what the project will deliver and outlines many of the key elements of the project. I need to speak to the manager of this company and find the warehouse keeper, because he know the inventory clearly. If I were an employee at Petrie’s Electronics, I would work on this project because a project scope statement is a short document prepared primarily for the customer to clearly describe what the project will deliver and outline generally at a high level all work required for completing the project. Jim was successes to briefly introduce this new project and its objectives to the customer. He also claimed what opportunity and project benefits will bring to the company. We can clearly see the team members and their responsibility and the general estimated project duration. This project scope statement is good, but there are some problems: they need project deliverables and the stakeholders can not show in this document. In addition, the objective of this project cannot enforce customers to regard our products as the first and only choice, this project should be track customer purchase to forecast buying patterns and serve better customer services by this new customer relationship management system. Tangible cost includes hardware and software cost, labor cost, and operational costs from employee training and building renovations.Intangible cost includes loss of time to decision or conflict, employee morale and operational inefficiency.This project will directly bring intangible benefits like organizational and operational benefits: increased employee morale, increased organizational flexibility and competitive necessity, first to market. Every project has risks. Now Jim’s team just has a general idea and plan to this project, but it is still a high-risk project. After they correct the scope statement, they must face some feasibility concerns like operational, technical and schedule feasibility. Because this is a new and challenging system, hardware, software and operating system to be used are very important; the process of examining the system also will be a big risk in the future. If I were part of Jim’s team, the team’s risk is my risk. That is not a big deal; I think we can pass it over together. On this case, if I work in this Jim’s team, I am worrying about operational risk because in current days, competition is fierce and technology changes fast, I hope this system can fit the day-to-day operations of the organization.