Personal Mastery and Effective Team Learning Essay

Personal Mastery and Effective Team Learning - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that  personal mastery was viewed by Peter Senge as a creative approach towards an individual’s life rather than just being competent in various tasks. A person maintains creativity in all aspects of living and avoids being spontaneous in regard to the daily challenges that one faces. A person applies creativity to accomplish what he/she needs in life through personal mastery.As the study stresses a person needs to possess a clear vision and a sense of purpose in life to accomplish personal mastery. It is important to maintain a balance between the prevailing reality and creativity and also to be capable of lessening the negative aspects of conservative beliefs that hinder personal mastery and obligation to stand for the truth. Individuals engage in regular improvement to enhance personal mastery. In other words, there is usually no end to improvements, and an individual is in charge of his/her personal mastery. It involves always exploring n ew ways to expand personal knowledge, which as Amy Tan demonstrates in her talk, is accomplished through creativity. She believes that something may come out of nothing. The individual needs to ensure that he/she learns new things often from different people in the day to day interactions. Such opportunities, though immeasurable may widen a person’s scope of thinking and approach towards learning.  The person expands his/her knowledge base through creativity. Personal mastery allows professional development and satisfaction in the day to day activities.

Global Economy Essay Example for Free

Global Economy Essay Below is a list of essay questions, the ONE question that you will be required to write on will be chosen from the list below. 1. Identify a current international political or economic issue and write on the cause(s) and impact globally. (500 word limit) 2. Select one project you have worked on in the past and write an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the execution, including an assessment of your own contribution. (500 word limit) 3. Identify a key industry leader in Nigeria today and give reasons why you admire this person and outline the person’s contributions to the economy and society. 4. What is the relevance of the MBA degree in the current business environment? Is the degree necessary for success? If you miss this examination or would like to do the GMAT instead, you have until June 28, 2013 to submit your GMAT score in order to have an interview scheduled for you. For details of the GMAT, please visit www. mba. com I wish you all the best. Regards, Nubi Achebo (Dr. ) MBA Director

The Life Saving Benefits of Organ Donation Essay -- Expository Exempli

The Life Saving Benefits of Organ Donation There is one clear fact that every person in this world can agree on: at some point in our lives, we are all going to face the reality of death. Death is imminent to each and every one of us, and the prospect of death is usually unknown and very tragic to most people. It is the unknown that can instill the fear of dying in a person or a family. Tragic accidents and terminal diseases are often the source of many deaths, and invariably in those instances we are unable to control the end result, which is death. However, in the course of life and death, there are life- threatening situations that we do have the ability to control. It becomes a choice by a person or a family to offer the greatest gift, life to another person. Life is spared for many through organ donation. Organ donation is truly a gift of life that saves hundreds of lives each day, however, even greater than the number of lives saved is the number of deaths that occur each day as people on a organ transplant waiting list continue to wait. Organ donation is a precious gift that can be given by anyone and can save many lives. All human beings should understand the importance of being an organ donor. Young or old, rich or poor, any one of us may one day get the chance to save or enhance someone's life by becoming an organ donor. Also of greater importance is that someone else may give you or your loved one a chance to live because they chose to become an organ donor. The choice you or your family makes allows a person that may be following a road to death, the chance to take a different road to the gift of life. This ultimate choice can be a precious gift of life, care, and concern for our fellow human being. In a life o... ....29 January 2002. 12 November 2003 http://olympics.belointeractive.com/snowboarding/0130klug.2fle292.html * Illinois Hospital Association. "Organ/Tissue Donation and Transplantation. 28 October 2003. 12 November 2003 http://www.ihatoday.org/public/organ/ * Diehl, Cynthia. "My Mom Is A Survivor-Organ/Tissue Donor. 12 November 2003 http://www.moms-dads.com/sim7.html * Chicago Sun-Times. "A Transplant Journey". 14 January 2002. 12 November 2003 http://www.robi.org/newsandfeatures/issues/remarks_atransplantjourney.asp * "More Facts About Organ Donation and Transplantation". 1995. 12 November 2001 Http://my.inil.com/-paulh/FACTS.HTM * Journal of the American Medical Association. "Organ Donations Increase When Families Have Good Information about the Donation Process". 3 July 2001. 12 November 2003 http://www.ahrg.gov/news/press/pr2001/organpr.htm

The Complex Process of Selecting a Pair of Shoes Essay -- Research Ess

The Complex Process of Selecting a Pair of Shoes I plan to prove that the majority of people that invest money into footwear do so because of style. People usually don’t choose a pair of shoes because of comfort, color, or any other means at all. They usually base their decision of purchasing a pair of shoes on style. There are three tools that I will use during this experiment that will help me out. These tools will be comprised of surveys, interviews, and observations. Through survey’s I will have a sheet of paper with approximately eight questions on it. These questions range from the subjects personal preference when it comes to purchasing a pair of shoes. Whether they do it for comfort, style, color, work related, price, or even none of the above at all, to how many pairs of shoes that these individuals currently own. This will give me a general idea of what goes through peoples minds when they purchase a pair of shoes. Then I will use my observation skills. I plan to sit in the mall since it’s t he best public place for this experiment, and observe what brand, color, and style of footwear the general public wear. I will more than likely sit in front of Finish Line since they are one of the major footwear sales stores in the country. This will show me exactly what people choose to wear, but won’t tell me why. Since I wouldn’t know why they wear them I plan to interview a couple of volunteers to get their opinion. This plus the rest of my research will give me a good idea of what people choose to wear, and why. I’m going to pick a few individuals from the public that seem to keep â€Å"shoes† an important part of their lives. I will ask them the same questions that are on my survey plus a few more that will go int... ... and style go hand in hand. He said people prefer one brand name against another because of the way they look. On the other hand I interviewed a girl who said that she would buy any pair of shoes as long as it was cheap and looked nice. She said she had no real preference, and owned a lot of shoes. Price was her deciding factor and no matter how it looked, what the brand name was, or even the color, she wouldn’t purchase it unless the price wasn’t very high, or if it was on sale. I think my observations, surveys, and interviews prove my thesis to be correct. Even though not everybody uses style for their deciding factor, the majority of people that participated in my survey, and my interview with Rob the shoe salesman concludes that style usually is the number one factor in one way or another when a person purchases a pair of shoes.

Zara Supply Chain

A network and flow explanation to Zara’ success Angel Diaz and Luis Solis Instituto de Empresa, Maria de Molina 12, 5 °, Madrid 28006, Spain E-mails: angel. [email  protected] edu; luis. [email  protected] edu Abstract Zara is a Spanish fashion manufacturer and retailer that has known swift success. Spaniards have become used to visiting Zara frequently, as there is always a new product. Zara launches 100 different collections every year, with over 11000 models, none lasting more than five weeks in production and with an average lead-time (design to store delivery) of four weeks. Inditex, the group to which the brand Zara belongs owns five brands with over 1000 stores in more than 30 countries. Although its global sales are still one sixth those of Gap, its sales have increased at an average 30% per year over the last three years, with net benefits over sales of close to 12% in the same period. In this paper we examine Zara’ production and distribution systems, looking for clues to its mass-customization capabilities. We argue that the key to Zara’ success is its Supply Chain (network and flows) approach. The production network is made of a tightly integrated net of product specialized factories, intensive in capital and run under Toyota’s principles, and a secondary network of over 400 micro enterprises, tightly controlled by Inditex but independent. All these are located in the same small geographical area, Galicia (northwest Spain). The swift flow is facilitated through advanced automation and logistics systems, with emphasis on postponement. We compare these network and flow approaches to those of Benetton and Gap, and argue that the key to Zara’ success is this combination of a tightly integrated local network coupled to the most advanced flow systems. A final consideration is the sustainability of these orderwinners over time. Keywords: Key words: Zara, logistics network, flow, fashion Introduction Intense competition in the global marketplace is forcing organizations to consider new practices by which they could enhance and sustain their competitive capabilities. Network configurations and alliances is such one option through which an organization can leverage its resources to compete effectively against fast and nimble competitors. Furthermore, the emphasis on supplier integration in supply chain management has contributed to the growing interest on strategic supplier alliances by companies around the world. Strategic network alliances are innovative and interesting forms of relationships between buyers and suppliers, however, successful supplier alliances have proved to be very elusive for the most part (Landeros and Monczka, 1991). Despite that academic and practitioner literatures have devoted considerable attention to supply network alliances issues, its dynamics has yet many unanswered questions. Furthermore, most of the literature has focused on cases in few developed countries like USA. There is a need to expand our understanding about international cases since more and more global supply chain networks are becoming more important. The study of the ZARA supply chain network in Spain is a contribution in this direction. The Spanish integrated manufacturer-retailer of apparel Zara has been defined as the Armani for the masses. Although sales of Zara (close to two billion dollars, comparable to Benetton) are much lower than that of the clothing retailer leader Gap, its financial performance has been bright. Net profits of Inditex in 2001 were 340,4 million â‚ ¬, 31% more than the previous year, out of sales of 3. 249,8 million â‚ ¬, a growth of 24% with respect to 2000. Zara launches over 100 collections per year (11. 00 new garments) and has a total design-to-store cycle time of less than 4 weeks. Every garment will be on sale for a maximum of 5 weeks, after which is removed and sent to discount stores or destroyed. Zara invests close to zero percent of its sales in advertisement (5% of sales for Gap), relying instead on keeping customers perpetually interested in finding new surprises (Zara? s customers visit the conveniently located stores an average 17 times a year). While Gap brands, Zara i ntrigues. We argue in this paper that the success of Zara is explained by a business approach in which a highly automated and largely local production and distribution network facilitates very fast response times as the key competitive advantage, and that this design can be due to cultural and market characteristics of Spain. History The founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega started a small garment factory in La Coruna, Galicia in 1963. In 1975 Ortega integrated downstream by opening his first store, Zara. By the end of the decade six stores with that name were located in Galicia. The eighties saw important changes. Ortega created the parent company of Zara, Inditex (stands for Textile Design Industry) announcing a movement toward integrated designfabrication-retail operations. Also in this period an ex-IBM salesman, Jose Maria Castellano, the actual Vice-president of Inditex, imposed a vision of time-based competition sustained on the intensive use of technology that was to dominate the holding in the future. By the end of this decade Zara had 82 stores in Spain and six abroad. In the nineties the group developed the quick response, integrated logistics network described in this case. An important milestone was the adoption at the beginning of the decade, and well ahead of other Spanish companies, of Just in Time and lean production practices, with knowledge provided by Toyota, Japan. By the end of the century, Inditex added four new brands, each for a different market niche and with their own distribution channels. At the closing of the 2001 exercise the group had 1080 stores (449 of Zara, that represents almost 80% of total sales) in 33 countries, over 20. 00 employees and the impressive profitability and growth figures mentioned in the introduction. Networks and Alliances Researchers have provided some evidence that companies relying on strategic network alliances are more profitable since closer buyer-supplier relationships may offer many technical, financial, and strategic advantages over spot market transactions and vertical integration (Mohr and Spec kman, 1994). Furthermore, strategic alliances provide an effective alternative to improve economies of scale and scope. Different scholars have studied the antecedents that lead to different forms of network alliances. These studies suggest that assets type involved will impact the type of relationships (Dwyer, Schurr, and Oh, 1987). A different stream of research has studied the relationship between environmental uncertainty and resource interdependence with the nature of relationships. Handy, 1995; and Mohr and Spekman, 1994, have conducted empirical exploratory studies on the formation and evolution of inter-organizational elationships. Production and logistics are largely regional at Inditex, with much less outsourcing than is common in this sector. Why the network evolved into this configuration can be due to cultural characteristics of Spain. There exist a rich literature on collaboration. According to this Industry Networks, a set of organizations that have developed recurring ties when serving a particular market, is a variation of the old idea of industrial districts (Ebers & Jarillo, 1998). The drivers for collaboration have been extensively analyzed in the literature and can be synthesized in strategies of coespecialization; the search for mutual learning to support fastest product developments, better information and product flows (resulting in cost and time reductions, a dominating theme in logistics); the creation of virtual scale and scope economies; and in the creation of entry barriers, among others (Cervilla and Lorenzo, 2000). Hofstede characterizes Spain? culture as risk avoidance, hierarchical inclined (Granell, 1997). Solis et al. (2000) show that in Spain companies, integration and closer relationships with local and global suppliers in critical processes are becoming paramount. Strategic network alliances require time and resources to be built and sustained. In getting the benefits of integration and synchronization with suppliers, building trust represents the most critical issue for supply network managers. Important for successful strategic supplier alliances is the communication expected behaviour, particularly the quality of information and participation, and the extent to which relevant information is transparent to suppliers. No less important for alliance success is the existence for a formal purchasing commodity selection process and a formal supplier assessment and selection process. These factors plus a comparatively low degree of outsourcing activity in Spain can explain the formation of this type of network. Factories Inditex owns 25 factories, each dedicated to capital-intensive activities (dye, cutting) and the production of a family items. The large majority of these are located in La Coruna. Inditex has additionally developed a network of external micro-companies, many households, that provide labor-intensive services, mainly sewing, which has proven difficult to automate. According to Mr. Castellano the local work force has higher labor cost but also faster reaction time (than outsourced production in a low-cost area). Distribution Inditex owns a single logistics center in La Coruna. This large facility (400,000 square meters) is largely automated, with 2 carrousels for fold garments (60,000 per hour) and 200 kilometers of elevated tracks. Products are transported directly to stores using outsourced but dedicated carriers (Azkar for land transportation –some 80% of deliveries in 2000, and different airlines for exporting, all taking-off from local Galician airports). Flows Two distinct flows can be appreciated at Inditex. One consists of long-term cycles, i. e. purchasing of raw materials and the other a short-term cycle, i. e. , design, fabrication and distribution. The long cycle starts three to six months before each fashion season and consists in the acquisition of two thirds of the raw materials required, mainly cloth (90% of which is sourced from India, China, Morocco, Mauricio, Korea, Italy Germany and Turkey –the remaining one third is supplied during the season), and of one h alf of all garments (15%-20% is acquired in advance, 50%-60% at the beginning of the season and the rest during the season). These are those items that are thought to be stable, i. e. , basic products for which demand is fairly predictable. The rest of the garments (those thought to have a higher risk) are produced inhouse in the short cycle described bellow. The short cycle start with design. This is totally an in-house affair in which over 200 designer work simultaneously on three season collections, the current one for modifications and improvements and the next two (winter 2002 is being currently worked on in the Spring of 2002). Target pricing and low scale customer acceptance trials are usual practices at this step. Patterns are scanned and sent electronically to the manufacturing plants. Here capitalintensive activities such as dying and cutting are performed, while sewing is manually done by the micro-companies described above. Processes in the plants are kept flexible using lean production principles such as multi-skilled and flexible work forces (with an enviable strike record) and simple Japanese-like control systems. Production is thus pushed into the stores (15% at the beginning of the season, the rest according to demand), where the manager uses hand-held devices (currently Cassiopeia PDAs) to send feedback in close to real time about what moves and what doesn’t (colors, sizes, models), allowing for fast adjustments to the production plan. Replenishment to stores is done twice or three times a week, with a lead-time for existing (or subject to slight design modifications) items of two weeks, and of five weeks for new products. Comments It is interesting to compare the strategy of Zara/Inditex to that of Benetton (a similar sized competitor) and of the market leader Gap. Of the three the more integrated, both upstream and downstream is Zara/Inditex. Benetton produces through a network of mainly regional subcontractors, distributes from a centralized, automated warehouse and retails through franchises. Gap subcontracts production to a network of global producers (over 3000 in more than 70 countries) and has a network of global warehouses and distribution centers. Design Zara Benetton Gap Own- continuous Own-periodic Own-periodic Production Distribution 0% own regional factories Centralized D. C. 50% subcontractors Own stores Regional subcontractors Global subcontractors Centralized D. C. Franchises Decentralized warehouses and D. C Zara/Inditex model is not a fashionable global, outsourced network. It evolved as a probable consequence of limitations in the Spanish market, but has proven that a vertically integrated l ocal network when linked to advanced manufacturing and information technology practices can result in quick response times with little stock or waste, a by-product of the synchronization of offer and demand that the integration nature of the process allows. Postponement of the (in-house) fabrication of fashion items considered of high uncertainty, plus the flexibility and quick response implicit in the lean and automated process results in low levels of stock (40% less than Gap, is proportion to sales) An important question is now whether the organization of Mr. Ortega and Castellano can maintain its characteristics and stellar performance as global growth takes place. Due to European expansion a new distribution center is being built in Zaragoza, close to the French border and facilities for production in Mexico are being considered. Labor shortages in the small Galician area have also been reported. The organization could then decide to play in a niche market position and remain as it is, duplicate the actual local Galician network in other regions (e. g. , Mexico) or move towards a global and more externalized network. If the last, and arguably most probable option is pursuit, the challenge for Zara/Inditex will be to maintain their current flexibility. References Cervilla y Lorenzo (2000): â€Å"Redes de empresas y tecnologias de informacion: copciones para el desarrollo de la PYME†. Debates IESA. Vol. 5. No. 1. Dwyer, F. , Schurr, P. , & Oh, S. (1987). â€Å"Developing buyer-seller relationships† Journal of Marketing, vol. 51 (2), 11-27. Ebers, M. y C. Jarillo (1998). â€Å"The construction, forms, and consequences of industry networks† International Studies of Management & Organization. Vol. 27. No. 4 Granell, E. (1998). Managing cluture for success. Ediciones IESA, 1997. Handy, C. (1995). â€Å"Trust and the virtual organization† Harvard Business Review, vol. 73(3), 40-50. Landeros, R. , & Monczka, R. (1991). â€Å"Cooperative buyer/seller relationships and a firm? competitive posture†. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, vol. 11, 2-8. Mohr, J. , & Spekman, R. (1994). â€Å"Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behaviour, and conflict resolution techniques†. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 15(2), 135-152. Solis, L, & Escobar, D. , (2000). â€Å"The Management of Successf ul Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management Networks: An Empirical Study of Success Factors in Spain† Proceedings of XXXV CLADEA Annual Meeting, September, Barcelona. Zara Supply Chain A network and flow explanation to Zara’ success Angel Diaz and Luis Solis Instituto de Empresa, Maria de Molina 12, 5 °, Madrid 28006, Spain E-mails: angel. [email  protected] edu; luis. [email  protected] edu Abstract Zara is a Spanish fashion manufacturer and retailer that has known swift success. Spaniards have become used to visiting Zara frequently, as there is always a new product. Zara launches 100 different collections every year, with over 11000 models, none lasting more than five weeks in production and with an average lead-time (design to store delivery) of four weeks. Inditex, the group to which the brand Zara belongs owns five brands with over 1000 stores in more than 30 countries. Although its global sales are still one sixth those of Gap, its sales have increased at an average 30% per year over the last three years, with net benefits over sales of close to 12% in the same period. In this paper we examine Zara’ production and distribution systems, looking for clues to its mass-customization capabilities. We argue that the key to Zara’ success is its Supply Chain (network and flows) approach. The production network is made of a tightly integrated net of product specialized factories, intensive in capital and run under Toyota’s principles, and a secondary network of over 400 micro enterprises, tightly controlled by Inditex but independent. All these are located in the same small geographical area, Galicia (northwest Spain). The swift flow is facilitated through advanced automation and logistics systems, with emphasis on postponement. We compare these network and flow approaches to those of Benetton and Gap, and argue that the key to Zara’ success is this combination of a tightly integrated local network coupled to the most advanced flow systems. A final consideration is the sustainability of these orderwinners over time. Keywords: Key words: Zara, logistics network, flow, fashion Introduction Intense competition in the global marketplace is forcing organizations to consider new practices by which they could enhance and sustain their competitive capabilities. Network configurations and alliances is such one option through which an organization can leverage its resources to compete effectively against fast and nimble competitors. Furthermore, the emphasis on supplier integration in supply chain management has contributed to the growing interest on strategic supplier alliances by companies around the world. Strategic network alliances are innovative and interesting forms of relationships between buyers and suppliers, however, successful supplier alliances have proved to be very elusive for the most part (Landeros and Monczka, 1991). Despite that academic and practitioner literatures have devoted considerable attention to supply network alliances issues, its dynamics has yet many unanswered questions. Furthermore, most of the literature has focused on cases in few developed countries like USA. There is a need to expand our understanding about international cases since more and more global supply chain networks are becoming more important. The study of the ZARA supply chain network in Spain is a contribution in this direction. The Spanish integrated manufacturer-retailer of apparel Zara has been defined as the Armani for the masses. Although sales of Zara (close to two billion dollars, comparable to Benetton) are much lower than that of the clothing retailer leader Gap, its financial performance has been bright. Net profits of Inditex in 2001 were 340,4 million â‚ ¬, 31% more than the previous year, out of sales of 3. 249,8 million â‚ ¬, a growth of 24% with respect to 2000. Zara launches over 100 collections per year (11. 00 new garments) and has a total design-to-store cycle time of less than 4 weeks. Every garment will be on sale for a maximum of 5 weeks, after which is removed and sent to discount stores or destroyed. Zara invests close to zero percent of its sales in advertisement (5% of sales for Gap), relying instead on keeping customers perpetually interested in finding new surprises (Zara? s customers visit the conveniently located stores an average 17 times a year). While Gap brands, Zara i ntrigues. We argue in this paper that the success of Zara is explained by a business approach in which a highly automated and largely local production and distribution network facilitates very fast response times as the key competitive advantage, and that this design can be due to cultural and market characteristics of Spain. History The founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega started a small garment factory in La Coruna, Galicia in 1963. In 1975 Ortega integrated downstream by opening his first store, Zara. By the end of the decade six stores with that name were located in Galicia. The eighties saw important changes. Ortega created the parent company of Zara, Inditex (stands for Textile Design Industry) announcing a movement toward integrated designfabrication-retail operations. Also in this period an ex-IBM salesman, Jose Maria Castellano, the actual Vice-president of Inditex, imposed a vision of time-based competition sustained on the intensive use of technology that was to dominate the holding in the future. By the end of this decade Zara had 82 stores in Spain and six abroad. In the nineties the group developed the quick response, integrated logistics network described in this case. An important milestone was the adoption at the beginning of the decade, and well ahead of other Spanish companies, of Just in Time and lean production practices, with knowledge provided by Toyota, Japan. By the end of the century, Inditex added four new brands, each for a different market niche and with their own distribution channels. At the closing of the 2001 exercise the group had 1080 stores (449 of Zara, that represents almost 80% of total sales) in 33 countries, over 20. 00 employees and the impressive profitability and growth figures mentioned in the introduction. Networks and Alliances Researchers have provided some evidence that companies relying on strategic network alliances are more profitable since closer buyer-supplier relationships may offer many technical, financial, and strategic advantages over spot market transactions and vertical integration (Mohr and Spec kman, 1994). Furthermore, strategic alliances provide an effective alternative to improve economies of scale and scope. Different scholars have studied the antecedents that lead to different forms of network alliances. These studies suggest that assets type involved will impact the type of relationships (Dwyer, Schurr, and Oh, 1987). A different stream of research has studied the relationship between environmental uncertainty and resource interdependence with the nature of relationships. Handy, 1995; and Mohr and Spekman, 1994, have conducted empirical exploratory studies on the formation and evolution of inter-organizational elationships. Production and logistics are largely regional at Inditex, with much less outsourcing than is common in this sector. Why the network evolved into this configuration can be due to cultural characteristics of Spain. There exist a rich literature on collaboration. According to this Industry Networks, a set of organizations that have developed recurring ties when serving a particular market, is a variation of the old idea of industrial districts (Ebers & Jarillo, 1998). The drivers for collaboration have been extensively analyzed in the literature and can be synthesized in strategies of coespecialization; the search for mutual learning to support fastest product developments, better information and product flows (resulting in cost and time reductions, a dominating theme in logistics); the creation of virtual scale and scope economies; and in the creation of entry barriers, among others (Cervilla and Lorenzo, 2000). Hofstede characterizes Spain? culture as risk avoidance, hierarchical inclined (Granell, 1997). Solis et al. (2000) show that in Spain companies, integration and closer relationships with local and global suppliers in critical processes are becoming paramount. Strategic network alliances require time and resources to be built and sustained. In getting the benefits of integration and synchronization with suppliers, building trust represents the most critical issue for supply network managers. Important for successful strategic supplier alliances is the communication expected behaviour, particularly the quality of information and participation, and the extent to which relevant information is transparent to suppliers. No less important for alliance success is the existence for a formal purchasing commodity selection process and a formal supplier assessment and selection process. These factors plus a comparatively low degree of outsourcing activity in Spain can explain the formation of this type of network. Factories Inditex owns 25 factories, each dedicated to capital-intensive activities (dye, cutting) and the production of a family items. The large majority of these are located in La Coruna. Inditex has additionally developed a network of external micro-companies, many households, that provide labor-intensive services, mainly sewing, which has proven difficult to automate. According to Mr. Castellano the local work force has higher labor cost but also faster reaction time (than outsourced production in a low-cost area). Distribution Inditex owns a single logistics center in La Coruna. This large facility (400,000 square meters) is largely automated, with 2 carrousels for fold garments (60,000 per hour) and 200 kilometers of elevated tracks. Products are transported directly to stores using outsourced but dedicated carriers (Azkar for land transportation –some 80% of deliveries in 2000, and different airlines for exporting, all taking-off from local Galician airports). Flows Two distinct flows can be appreciated at Inditex. One consists of long-term cycles, i. e. purchasing of raw materials and the other a short-term cycle, i. e. , design, fabrication and distribution. The long cycle starts three to six months before each fashion season and consists in the acquisition of two thirds of the raw materials required, mainly cloth (90% of which is sourced from India, China, Morocco, Mauricio, Korea, Italy Germany and Turkey –the remaining one third is supplied during the season), and of one h alf of all garments (15%-20% is acquired in advance, 50%-60% at the beginning of the season and the rest during the season). These are those items that are thought to be stable, i. e. , basic products for which demand is fairly predictable. The rest of the garments (those thought to have a higher risk) are produced inhouse in the short cycle described bellow. The short cycle start with design. This is totally an in-house affair in which over 200 designer work simultaneously on three season collections, the current one for modifications and improvements and the next two (winter 2002 is being currently worked on in the Spring of 2002). Target pricing and low scale customer acceptance trials are usual practices at this step. Patterns are scanned and sent electronically to the manufacturing plants. Here capitalintensive activities such as dying and cutting are performed, while sewing is manually done by the micro-companies described above. Processes in the plants are kept flexible using lean production principles such as multi-skilled and flexible work forces (with an enviable strike record) and simple Japanese-like control systems. Production is thus pushed into the stores (15% at the beginning of the season, the rest according to demand), where the manager uses hand-held devices (currently Cassiopeia PDAs) to send feedback in close to real time about what moves and what doesn’t (colors, sizes, models), allowing for fast adjustments to the production plan. Replenishment to stores is done twice or three times a week, with a lead-time for existing (or subject to slight design modifications) items of two weeks, and of five weeks for new products. Comments It is interesting to compare the strategy of Zara/Inditex to that of Benetton (a similar sized competitor) and of the market leader Gap. Of the three the more integrated, both upstream and downstream is Zara/Inditex. Benetton produces through a network of mainly regional subcontractors, distributes from a centralized, automated warehouse and retails through franchises. Gap subcontracts production to a network of global producers (over 3000 in more than 70 countries) and has a network of global warehouses and distribution centers. Design Zara Benetton Gap Own- continuous Own-periodic Own-periodic Production Distribution 0% own regional factories Centralized D. C. 50% subcontractors Own stores Regional subcontractors Global subcontractors Centralized D. C. Franchises Decentralized warehouses and D. C Zara/Inditex model is not a fashionable global, outsourced network. It evolved as a probable consequence of limitations in the Spanish market, but has proven that a vertically integrated l ocal network when linked to advanced manufacturing and information technology practices can result in quick response times with little stock or waste, a by-product of the synchronization of offer and demand that the integration nature of the process allows. Postponement of the (in-house) fabrication of fashion items considered of high uncertainty, plus the flexibility and quick response implicit in the lean and automated process results in low levels of stock (40% less than Gap, is proportion to sales) An important question is now whether the organization of Mr. Ortega and Castellano can maintain its characteristics and stellar performance as global growth takes place. Due to European expansion a new distribution center is being built in Zaragoza, close to the French border and facilities for production in Mexico are being considered. Labor shortages in the small Galician area have also been reported. The organization could then decide to play in a niche market position and remain as it is, duplicate the actual local Galician network in other regions (e. g. , Mexico) or move towards a global and more externalized network. If the last, and arguably most probable option is pursuit, the challenge for Zara/Inditex will be to maintain their current flexibility. References Cervilla y Lorenzo (2000): â€Å"Redes de empresas y tecnologias de informacion: copciones para el desarrollo de la PYME†. Debates IESA. Vol. 5. No. 1. Dwyer, F. , Schurr, P. , & Oh, S. (1987). â€Å"Developing buyer-seller relationships† Journal of Marketing, vol. 51 (2), 11-27. Ebers, M. y C. Jarillo (1998). â€Å"The construction, forms, and consequences of industry networks† International Studies of Management & Organization. Vol. 27. No. 4 Granell, E. (1998). Managing cluture for success. Ediciones IESA, 1997. Handy, C. (1995). â€Å"Trust and the virtual organization† Harvard Business Review, vol. 73(3), 40-50. Landeros, R. , & Monczka, R. (1991). â€Å"Cooperative buyer/seller relationships and a firm? competitive posture†. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, vol. 11, 2-8. Mohr, J. , & Spekman, R. (1994). â€Å"Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behaviour, and conflict resolution techniques†. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 15(2), 135-152. Solis, L, & Escobar, D. , (2000). â€Å"The Management of Successf ul Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management Networks: An Empirical Study of Success Factors in Spain† Proceedings of XXXV CLADEA Annual Meeting, September, Barcelona.

Need For Federal Government Involvement In Educati Essays

Need For Federal Government Involvement In Educati Essays Need For Federal Government Involvement In Education The Need for Federal Government Involvement in Education Reform by____________ Political Science 2301 Federal and State Government OVERVIEW For centuries, generations of families have congregated in the same community or in the same general region of the country. Children grew up expecting to earn a living much like their fathers and mothers or other adults in their community. Any advanced skills they required beyond the three R's (Readin', Ritin' and Rithmatik) were determined by the local community and incorporated into the curriculum of the local schools. These advanced skills were taught to the up- and-coming generation so they could become a vital part of their community. The last several decades has greatly expanded the bounds of the community to almost anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world for that matter. Advances in transportation and communication has made the world a much smaller place then the world we knew as children. The skills our children need to realize parents' perpetual dream of their children having a better life are no longer limited to those seen in the local area. It is becoming more and more apparent that the education system of yesterday cannot adequately prepare students for life and work in the 21st Century. These concerns have prompted people across the country to take a hard look at our education system and to organize their efforts to chance the education system as we know it. WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE? There are two major movements in recent years whose focus is to enhance the education of future generations. The Standards movement focuses on educational content and raising the standards of traditional teaching and measurement means and methods. The Outcome Based Education (OBE) movement is exploring new ways of designing education and changing the way we measure the effectiveness of education by focusing on results or outcomes. STANDARDS MOVEMENT In September 1989, President Bush and the nation's governors called an Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. At this summit, President Bush and the nation s governors, including then-governor Bill Clinton, agreed on six broad goals for education to be reached by the year 2000. Two of those goals (3 and 4) related specifically to academic achievement: * Goal 3: By the year 2000, American students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy. * Goal 4: By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement. Soon after the summit, two groups were established to implement the new educational goals: the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) and the National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST). Together, these two groups were charged with addressing unprecedented questions regarding American education such as: What is the subject matter to be addressed? What types of assessments should be used? What standards of performance should be set? The summit and its aftermath engendered a flurry of activity from national subject matter organizations to establish standards in their respective areas. Many of these groups looked for guidance from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics who publishing the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics in 1989. The NCTM standards redefined the study of math so that topics and concepts would be introduced at an earlier age, and students would view math as a relevant problem-solving discipline rather than as a set of obscure formulas to be memorized. The National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science quickly launched independent attempts to identify standards in science. Efforts soon followed in the fields of civics, dance, theater, music, art, language arts, history, and social studies, to name a few. OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION MOVEMENT The decade of the 80s brought numerous education reforms, but few of them were a dramatic shift from what has gone on before. Outcome-based education (OBE) is one of those that is new, even revolutionary, and is now being promoted as the panacea for America's educational woes. This reform has been driven by educators in response to demands for greater accountability by taxpayers and as a vehicle for breaking with traditional ideas about how we teach our children. If implemented, this approach to curriculum development could change our schools more than any other reform proposal in the last thirty years. The focus of past and present curriculum has been on content, on the knowledge

The Rude French Myth

The Rude French Myth Its hard to think of a more common stereotype about the French than the one about how rude they are. Even people who have never set foot in France take it upon themselves to warn potential visitors about the rude French.The fact is that there are polite people and there are rude people in every country, city, and street on Earth. No matter where you go, no matter who you talk to, if you are rude, they will be rude back. Thats just a given, and France is no exception. However, there is no universal definition of rudeness. Something which is rude in your culture may not be rude in another, and vice versa. This is the key to understanding the two issues behind the rude French myth. Politeness and respect When in Rome, do as the Romans do are words to live by. When youre in France, that means you should make an effort to speak some French. No one expects you to be fluent, but knowing a few key phrases goes a long way. If nothing else, know how to say bonjour and merci, and as many polite terms as possible. Dont go to France expecting to be able to speak English to everyone. Dont tap someone on the shoulder and say Hey, wheres the Louvre? You wouldnt want a tourist to tap you on the shoulder and start jabbering away in Spanish or Japanese, right? In any case, English may be the international language, but it is far from being the only language, and the French, in particular, expect visitors to know this.  In the cities, you will be able to get by with English, but you should use whatever French you can first, even if its just Bonjour Monsieur, parlez-vous anglais?Related to this is the ugly American  syndrome - you know, the tourist who goes around yelling at everyone in English, d enouncing everyone and everything French, and eating at only McDonalds. Showing respect for another culture means enjoying what it has to offer, rather than searching for signs of ones own home. The French are very proud of their language, culture, and country. If you are respectful of the French and their heritage, they will respond in kind. French personality The other aspect of the rude French myth is based on a misunderstanding of the French personality. People from many cultures smile upon meeting new people, and Americans in particular smile a lot, in order to be friendly. The French, however, dont smile unless they mean it, and they dont smile when talking to a perfect stranger. Therefore, when an American smiles at a French person whose face remains impassive, the former tends to feel that the latter is unfriendly. How hard would it be to smile back? the American might wonder. How rude! What you need to understand is that its not meant to be rude; its simply the way of the French. The Rude French? If you make an effort to be polite by speaking a bit of French, asking rather than demanding  that people speak English, and showing respect for French culture, and if you avoid taking it personally when your smile isnt returned, youll have a hard time finding the rude French. In fact, youll be pleasantly surprised to discover how very friendly and helpful the natives are.Still not convinced? Dont take our  word for it.

How to choose a minor in college

How to choose a minor in college The best minors for your English major Learn about the best minors from our list and decide whether you want to pair Spanish with psychology or linguistics. Psychology Study psychology for a better understanding of the human nature. You can either be a fiction lover or a math fan, but if you dedicate yourself to learning about people’s thinking, you will soon realize you can write a novel psychological enough to win the Nobel prize! Besides, you will be able to embrace different cultures and their mental attitudes apart from the capacity to analyze fictional characters and why students procrastinate on a daily basis. There is a reason we want psychology to be our minor, and that’s not because writing tasks are not that complicated (they actually are). After you get a psychology degree, life suddenly seems to be more diverse, and that’s only the beginning. Humanities If you have a passion for writing that can’t be quelled and can discuss the word origins for hours, then welcome to the humanities league. You will be able to pursue the history of the language and immerse into literary art like a pro, dealing with concepts and forms that have been developed by writers through the centuries. Not a far cry from history, humanities would be a perfect choice for anyone remotely interested in language issues and will certainly add to your understanding of linguistics, if you make enough effort. Besides, you can always get a bonus for being an expert in word definitions and fictional concepts. Foreign language Let’s be honest – foreign language means amazing job opportunities, and hey, who wouldn’t be glad to receive a promotion? If you are learning a second language, however, do not forget to do your research and track the statistics – Chinese still occupies the first place along with Spanish, and you can find many people traveling to Spain for the same reason. If you are too lazy to choose a minor right away, we recommend you reading short stories in another language so that you practice and enrich your vocabulary daily. As they say, learning is one of the pleasures of life if you know how to do it. Suddenly, the world has more color to it and we should say being bilingual does not hurt! History History is kind of associated with humanities, but you will be surprised how much there is to know about the current state of affairs. You may have read Pride and Prejudice, but do you know it was quite revolutionary for its time? Sometimes, you just need history to learn about cause and effect and the consequences of big political decisions on the world arena. What is more, you can add that to your minor list and still be able to attend your major course, since history surveys along topic classes. Journalism For people who know they want to write and just can’t help it, this course should be amazing. You have to remember, however, that fantasy is no longer something you can indulge in once you become a news manager – hello, truth! So, prepare yourself for the change of the subject: instead of your own thoughts and opinions (though they still may be present in blog), you will have to give way to politicians, government leaders and political representatives. Boring? It can be, especially if you are taught the standards of the creative writing, but then, you also gain a lot of experience and spend the majority of your time with the like-minded people. Interviewing celebrities is also included, which can be considered a bonus in some ways. Don’t be afraid to explore the new horizons with a minor!

Property Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Property Development - Essay Example With the help of a case example the paper will mainly highlight the merits of traditional residual valuation approach over other valuation methods. Property valuation and different property valuation techniques has been a subject of intense discussion between researchers, academicians and developers. Different approaches to property valuation have been widely contested between different stakeholders. The issue of property appraisal often takes socio-political color due to the range of stakeholders directly affected by the process. According to Williams and Ventolo (2001, p-65), market value means the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus. Though the theoretically property valuation is defined by some others Hamid (1996)"as means to interpret market without the personal bias, value, emotion and poor assumption", property appraisal is often looked from a personal perspectives of buyers and sellers. Kahr and Thomsett (2005; p-48) states that valuation is distinguished via attributes of properties and markets; further classification of value are based upon the priorities of investors or owners, including cash flow and potential rental income tax benefits or limitations and perception of future growth in market value. Principles that guide the valuation are: Progression: this principle implies that the value of property will increase due to market demand and better locality. Regression: this principle implies that opposite of above principle also holds true when the value of a property may decrease due to negative market sentiments. Conformity: The principle states that valuation of property tends to appreciate with the similar properties in a similar location. Substitution: This principle implies that a property's greatest potential market value is also limited by the valuation of similar properties in a similar locality. Change: This principle tells that all variables used for valuation tend to change resulting in changes in value of the property. Anticipation: This principle implies that valuation depends upon the expectation of future growth. Contribution: This principle states that the investment on an existing property may contribute in valuation, though it is not necessary that increase in valuation is equal to investment. Plottage: This principle implies that the consistency in ownership, zoning and usage of land tend to increase the value of land. Highest and best value: This principle states that the value of a land is maximum when the land is utilized in best possible manner. Competition: This principle implies that the valuation of a property varies according to supply and demand of properties in market. Property appraisal aims to determine different type of values such as market value, value in use, investment value, insurance and taxable value, and liquidation value, which gives rise to need of different valuation methods and standards. These valuation systems also vary in different countries according to their laws and economic practices. In, UK five valuation methods are used which are discussed in following sections whereas in US

Literature Program Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature Program Paper - Essay Example Education is one of the primary and essential activities especially for the preschool-aged children (i.e. children aged between 3 to 5 years) which bestows numerous advantages. In accordance with the present day context, the increasing pace of global economy has resulted in a major emphasis upon the importance of education at the early stage of the life of children which enables them to enhance their human virtue along with facilitating them to cope with different environmental and social factors. Based on the importance and essentiality of education at the early stage, this report intends prepare an effective literature plan especially for the preschool children through identifying the development goals which may enable to support the language, intellectual, personality, social and moral as well as aesthetic and creative development of the preschool age children. ... A range of developmental activities as well as strategies will be implemented in order to perform a streamlined experiential learning (Childs Play Learning Center, 2011). The literature program will also involve television as the primary media which would broadcast various initiatives of the literature program which would enable to draw community involvement. In addition, the parents will be considered as a major part of this literature program to increase the efficiency of the preschool learning activities. Identifying the Development Goals Language The language development activities in the literature program will be focused on providing performing activities which allow the preschool children to effectively understand and develop their linguistic skills. In order enhance the capability of the preschool children the activities will be performed independently for each age group. Moreover, telling stories will also be an effective activity which would enable the preschoolers to remai n interested with regard to the learning process (Childs Play Learning Center, 2011). Intellectual Learning In order to enhance the intellectual capability of the preschoolers, it’s important to observe regarding how the children tend to practice while doing any activity. As it can be observed that predominantly preschool children learn through observing and doing various activities by themselves. Therefore, the literature program will be focused on different cognitive areas such as numbers, shapes and colors which may enable the preschoolers to enhance their intellectual skills (University of Illinois Board of Trustees, 2013). Personality Development Personality development is

Article review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Review - Article Example He emphasizes on the allowing the staff the freedom to execute their duties with innate wisdom rather than following a set of rules laid out by the company. The training staff should be able to impact knowledge on the team of employees with the resolve to end lack of information and hesitation in performing the task at hand. It is clear that the staff should practice critical thinking in various situations so as to come up with the best solution to a problem in question. Such thinking will enable the employees to analyze the problem, evaluate it as well as review the ways of approaching the issue. They use own logic to devise the resolution of conflict after taking in the pros and cons of the problem. No wonder the writer is keen to illustrate that staff have to be capable of using their own initiative to handle problems in the organization. This piece of writing has gone out of its way to outline how the issue is to be handled. Instead of just stating facts, the writer has taken the pain to elaborate on how one should go about upgrading the customer care service of the entire organization. He has given tips for both start-ups and large companies. His pointers are easy to follow and applicable to all types of business ventures irrespective of their size and numbers. This is a simple and well defined article with no hidden meaning or jargons that could confuse or manipulate the point laid across. In addition, the example given is practical and drawn from a well to do organization that has proven track success in their business. One will be more inclined to believe what the writer is talking about rather than read the article for leisure. However, the article is biased as it talks more about airline administration and no other. It as if the ideas were targeted for companies in the airline industry leaving out other business ventures. This approach could cause one to doubt the credibility of the whole idea outlined in the article causing hesitation in the incorpor ation of the mindset put forth. It is also a very short writing that tends to leave us hanging on the subject matter as one is left with many questions in mind. This is shown after the writer lists what he learnt on the training he attended without broadening or adding light on the issues touched. He doesn’t touch on success they have gained from the experience especially on the part of customers. His theory is directed on the employees without shedding light on how their actions have resulted in the realization of the end goal. The missing link in this writing is that success stories that have arisen out of proper customer service have not been recorded. We should have been given examples on reports of the success of the practice that has been instigated rather than just laying out the ideas. Also, a more global approach should have been taken as it is a local borrowing on the subject matter. Other companies in other sectors of the industry have been shut off as the practica bility of the subject has not been proven for their case. We are not convinced on taking up the issue as it has not been fully exhausted as we expected it to be. The starting was very catchy as it was very clear and precise but at the end we are left wondering if there was more to it than was laid out. The title does not suit the writing as one is tempted to think that we will be talking about the customers who are the people of value in the

Mobile Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mobile Marketing - Essay Example Therefore, the marketers of today should have a hawks eye on any new marketing trends and issues so that they can be adopted and addressed respectively and so that they benefit the marketing activities of the product to the maximum possible. The current issues in marketing are those which have not been that prevalent/popular or even existent a year ago, and this is where the need for spotlight on them arises. Marketers in the making need to have a close look at these current issues so that they can incorporate them in their marketing practices when they step into the practical life. Not just those in the making, but it is essential for current established marketers to be flexible for these current issues so as to provide the best marketing services to the product or company. When the mobile phone was initially invented, it was done so for the purpose of wireless communication and was used specifically for emergencies or when someone had to travel. But with the passage of time, dependence on the mobile phone has increased as this little device has become more than just a means of communication for emergency purposes. The mobile phone has become a very interactive medium, with the invention of other services like SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Message Service) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). These services have increased the attractiveness of this little piece of phone and opened many horizons and opportunities for marketers. This can be said because the mobile phone is a device which is present with the owner 24/7. It is not a television, which is seen only when time is available or the newspaper, which is read once its got hold of. It is the mobile phone, which is individually owned by every single person and they keep it. Therefo re, access is unlimited and the user is bound to go through any SMS or mms that hits their cell phone, thereby increasing the chances of attention that a particular marketing attempt will get in the eyes of the target audience. (Salter, 2007) With passing time, the popularity of the mobile phone marketing is ever increasing and this rate is not getting stagnant. In the year 2008 only, it has been reported that over 89% of businesses will be considering marketing through using the mobile phone. At times, the issue in this type of marketing often gets raised that the users of mobile phones are bombarded with unwanted advertisements and marketing efforts, something that stands as a boulder to the important messages that they might be waiting for. It was even regarded as "spam", a term popularly known for email, but can be used when the customers are abused by unwanted content in any other media as well. But in some parts of the world, mobile marketing through using the SMS facility has been made a legal act to do, and therefore, this increases the opportunities for all marketers as they can now reach their optimal potential in marketing without worrying about harming laws. (Goswami, 2008) Mobile marketing can take many forms: they can be done through MMS, through sponsoring the

Assignment 5 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

5 - Assignment Example f dependent variables are fatalities rate, night time fatalities and frequency of accidents based on drunken driving (Benson, et al., 1999; McCarthy & Pedersen, 2009). Frequency of accidents based on drunken driving has a number of attributes such as acquiring a driver’s license by youngsters that can eventually affect the frequency of substance abuse and different male and female drinking ratio affecting the overall frequency (McCarthy & Pedersen, 2009). The examples of independent variables are legal drinking age of people, anticonsumption laws and preliminary breath test laws (Benson, et al., 1999). Enforcement of laws related to drinking is advantageous for the people of any age whether they are youngsters or adults. Legal drinking age of people is an independent variable that has many possible attributes such as deterring drunk driving of youngsters, the legal age is usually twenty one years old in most of the states and the defined legal age for drinking decreases the drinking experience of youngsters while driving (Benson, et al., 1999). Anticonsumption laws are independent variables that have possible attributes like banning usage of alcoholic drinks in automobiles, deterrence of drunk driving and role of police in abstaining people from increasing the probability of alcoholic usage (Benson, et al., 1999). Anticomsumption laws are effective in controlling the issue of drunk driving because of implementation of laws that keep a check on drunk driving and deter dangerous limit of alcoholic usage. The preliminary breadth test laws have possible attributes such as suspension of driving license after identification of alcohol usage by the drivers, deterring future driving after drinking and imposing minimum fines for the law breakage and ensuring future limited usage (Benson, et al., 1999). The law enforcement officials conduct a preliminary breadth test that shows whether the driver is drunk or not. This test makes sure that the driver is not drunk and

Mobile Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mobile Marketing - Essay Example Therefore, the marketers of today should have a hawks eye on any new marketing trends and issues so that they can be adopted and addressed respectively and so that they benefit the marketing activities of the product to the maximum possible. The current issues in marketing are those which have not been that prevalent/popular or even existent a year ago, and this is where the need for spotlight on them arises. Marketers in the making need to have a close look at these current issues so that they can incorporate them in their marketing practices when they step into the practical life. Not just those in the making, but it is essential for current established marketers to be flexible for these current issues so as to provide the best marketing services to the product or company. When the mobile phone was initially invented, it was done so for the purpose of wireless communication and was used specifically for emergencies or when someone had to travel. But with the passage of time, dependence on the mobile phone has increased as this little device has become more than just a means of communication for emergency purposes. The mobile phone has become a very interactive medium, with the invention of other services like SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Message Service) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). These services have increased the attractiveness of this little piece of phone and opened many horizons and opportunities for marketers. This can be said because the mobile phone is a device which is present with the owner 24/7. It is not a television, which is seen only when time is available or the newspaper, which is read once its got hold of. It is the mobile phone, which is individually owned by every single person and they keep it. Therefo re, access is unlimited and the user is bound to go through any SMS or mms that hits their cell phone, thereby increasing the chances of attention that a particular marketing attempt will get in the eyes of the target audience. (Salter, 2007) With passing time, the popularity of the mobile phone marketing is ever increasing and this rate is not getting stagnant. In the year 2008 only, it has been reported that over 89% of businesses will be considering marketing through using the mobile phone. At times, the issue in this type of marketing often gets raised that the users of mobile phones are bombarded with unwanted advertisements and marketing efforts, something that stands as a boulder to the important messages that they might be waiting for. It was even regarded as "spam", a term popularly known for email, but can be used when the customers are abused by unwanted content in any other media as well. But in some parts of the world, mobile marketing through using the SMS facility has been made a legal act to do, and therefore, this increases the opportunities for all marketers as they can now reach their optimal potential in marketing without worrying about harming laws. (Goswami, 2008) Mobile marketing can take many forms: they can be done through MMS, through sponsoring the

The Effect of Ingestion of Beverages or Meal That Contains Research Paper

The Effect of Ingestion of Beverages or Meal That Contains Electrolytes Prior to Exercise - Research Paper Example Commercially available carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage and chicken noodle soup were used in the study. The purpose of the article is well defined and the study population includes both men and women as the participant’s hence eliminating gender bias and the response of both men and women towards intake of electrolytes prior to exercise would be determined. The introduction explains the importance of pre-exercise hydration status and states that this aspect is mostly neglected in the guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine. The authors believe that body fluid balance will greatly aid in the performance and endurance levels. It further states that research carried out using consumption of water alone has not yielded any beneficial result and it only increased urine output during exercise. The authors of the present study have ascertained, after conducting laboratory investigation, that intake of high sodium containing beverage or meal before exercise speeds up the recovery of plasma volume and also increase water retention within the body by decreasing urinary output. The article also cites previous research studies in which consumption of electrolyte containing beverages, especially those rich in sodium, both before and after exercising have improved body fluid balance and also aided in preventing excessive water loss through urine. However previous studies had not related water intake with the consumption of sodium-rich beverages. The present study proposed to determine that fluid balance could be maintained by increasing the ad libitum water intake and reducing water loss through urine upon consumption of sodium-rich beverages and meals before exercise. It hypothesized that consumption of chicken noodle soup 45 minutes before exercise would improve fluid balance by increasing water intake and reducing urine output while no considerable improvement was expected after consumption of water alone and carbohydrate-electrolyte beverages. The authors also expected the responses in both men and women to be similar. The population sampling and methods to be used have not been elaborated in the introduction.

The Rate of Diffusion Essay Example for Free

The Rate of Diffusion Essay Abstract I found that this experiment gives me an understanding on how osmosis and  diffusion works. In its simplicity, it explains the process that our bodies (mainly cells)  use all the time. It also showed me that even with the temperature changing, it doesnt  drastically change the rate of diffusion. Introduction Diffusion is important in all living systems. Osmosis is the passage of water from a region of high water concentration through a semi-permeable membrane to a region of low water concentration (Purchon 1). Diffusion is the movement of a substance from an area of high concentration to low concentration (Biological 21). With this knowledge we tried to recreate diffusion for students to understand the process. The dialysis bags represented our selectively permeable membrane with the fluid inside it, sucrose. How much of the substance moves from the cup to the bag quickly depends on the temperature of the substance. The class used four different temperatures to measure the rate of diffusion. I thought that the rate of diffusion would increase as temperature increased because the more heat put into the process the quicker the molecules will move. The null hypothesis is that no matter what the temperature is the rate of diffusion will stay the same. Materials and Methods The materials used were a dialysis bag, string, pipet, beaker with water, 10% sucrose water, and a balance. The variables that we made standardized were the concentration of the solute, length of the dialysis bags, and time. Each group poured 10 milliliters of 10% sucrose into two 15 cm long dialysis bags and bent the end of the bags and tied them. Then the bags were immersed in water, dried, and measured. Next the bags were put into room temperature (about 20 °C), 60 ° C, 45 °C, or ice water (0 °C). Each group measured the bags three more times at 10 minute intervals drying them off each time. Once they finished, each group subtracted the final measurement from the initial to see how quickly the water diffused into or out of the bag. My partner and I did the experiment twice, once with ice water and the next in room temperature water. We had two dialysis bags for each of the two experiments that we did. The independent variable is ______________. The dependent variable is __________. Results The first two tables are the information that my partner and I got through our two experiments. The data from our experiments show that the rate of diffusion was faster with the room temperature water. The last table shows the classs data. The classs results show that the rate of diffusion occurs the fastest in room temperature water. Both my data and the rest of the classs data show that the rate of diffusion is fastest in room temperature water. The overall total weights of the dialysis bags immersed in room temperature water weighed the most which shows the rate of diffusion being the fastest in those experiments. Table 1 Graph 1: The Change in weight of the 2 diallysis bags of 10 ml of 10% sucrose left in ice water (2 °C). Time in minutes Weight of 1st bag in grams Weight of 2nd bag in grams 0 10.93 10.89 10 11.49 11.28 20 11.76 11.66 30 12.05 11.94 Total weight gained in each bag 1.12 1.05 Table Graph 2: The change in weight in the 2 dialysis bags of 10ml of 10% sucrose left in room temperature water (21 °C). Time in minutes Weight of 1st bag in grams Weight of 2nd bag in grams 0 10.92 10.92 10 11.56 11.45 20 12.08 11.90 30 12.56 12.35 Total weight gained in each bag 1.64 1.43 The change in weight in the 2 dialysis bags of 10ml of 10% sucrose left in room temperature water (21 °C). Table Graph 3: Each groups change in weight of each of the dialysis bags in the different types of water. 21-23 ° C Room Temperature 47-49 ° C 59-60 ° C 2 ° C ice water -1.77 .03 -0.30 .24 .16 .20 -0.38 .61 .34 .28 .06 .76 .35 .40 .16 .77 .42 .68 .56 .88 .76 .73 .75 .93 1.01 .89 .76 .96 1.05 2.06 .83 1.01 1.60 2.21 1.14 1.02 1.12 1.25 1.03 1.12 1.42 1.05 1.33 1.12 1.39 1.19 1.42 1.30 1.43 1.34 1.47 1.45 1.52 1.56 1.61 1.64 1.75 1.78 Total Average weight gain 1.05 overall 0.83 0.57 0.98 Each groups change in weight of each of the dialysis bags in the different types of water. Discussion The data seems to agree with me in the fact that the rate of diffusion was the quickest in the room temperature water. My partners and my experiments average was 1.085 grams with the ice water and 1.53 with the room temperature water. This shows that the rate of diffusion was faster in the room temperature water, but not by much; it only had 0.445 grams more than the bags that were in ice water. In the classs experiments, the bags in room temperature water only weighed 0.07 grams more than the bags in ice water. The bags in the 47-49 ° C range came as third fastest, leaving 59-60 ° C range dead last. They varied by 0.26 grams. Overall the rate of diffusion didnt make a huge jump in any certain temperature change in the water. It changed slightly, but not enough to make quite an impact on the process. This data also shows that there wasnt much change overall between room temperature water, ice water, and the 47-49 ° C water. The problem with this data is the class chart. It seems as though overall people messed up in very common ways. Some of the data were in the negative which probably means they either didnt tie the dialysis bag tight enough or poked a whole in the bag. Also, some people didnt have enough  time to complete the experiment at the correct interval time.

Candia Milk: Expansion Strategy and SWOT

Candia Milk: Expansion Strategy and SWOT CDL (Chaudhry Dairy Limited) is one of the reputable and renowned companies in Pakistan. CDL was established in 1984 as a private limited company. The company came up with its first product Haleeb Milk ´ and continued to expand its product line. In 1988, CDL introduced Haleeb Cream ´ which was not only launched directly for consumer market but also supplied to many ice cream factories where it was used as a core ingredient. The company has its head office in Lahore and a plant located 65-km from Lahore in BhaiPheru. The plant is equipped with latest equipment and technology, specialized workers scientists and professionals who assure quality at every level of production process. Chaudhry Dairies limited is one of those who have entered the dairy industry of Pakistan and have posed serious threats to well established firms like Nestle. The name of Chaudhry Dairies limited was changed to Haleeb Foods Limited with effect from February, 2004. Candia is a product of CDL, which was launched in 1999. Candia is a French brand and it is processed and packed under and licensed in CDL. Candia already is a very popular brand in Europe and other 52 countries. Now it is also available in Pakistans major cities under CDL distribution channels. CDL invested around 200 million rupees to launch Candia in Pakistan out of which 10 to 15 million were spent on its advertisements as it was launched early during the World Cup of 1999. Candia is Europes Number One selling milk. CDL Foods Limited and Candia of France have joined hands to bring the people highest quality milk. For the first time in Pakistan, CDL Foods Limited has introduced milk packed in food grade plastic bottles. These bottles are manufactured from imported materials at CDL Foods latest plant. They ensure longer shelf life, highest quality and storage with ease of use. SWOT Analysis Strengths The Major strength of Candia is the product itself because there is no other product with such uniqueness in the market. Thickness: It is more caramelized milk in its nature. Convenience: It is in a bottle shape so it is easier to open. Just take the lid off and pour milk. Weaknesses Their product is ignoring female taste; Mostly, Men use to drink thick milk as compared to Women. The color of the milk was yellowish thus making the consumers reluctant to buy. There is no running promotion. Only Niche markets targeted to serve the likes of N.W.F.P and Punjab. Music plays a vital role in marketing of any product. According to one research in 70% ads, it is music, which attracts the attention of audience. The ads for Candia did not have any music or melody in them. Opportunities Big Market is there because 77% of the market share is yet to be captured. Threats Haleeb bottle milk is its biggest threat since there will be a cannibalizing situation in the market. Tetra Pack is the biggest threat for CANDIA because it is the only bottled natural product in Pakistan. Reasons Why Candia Milk Failed In Pakistan According to research, it was noticed that there are areas of weaknesses in the market efforts of Candia. Candia has not shown the result which was expected of it.It launched the whole advertisement expense in the beginning and it only paid in for the first three months. After that, the sale of Candia milk has been falling and it is forcing the company to cut down on its promotional expenses. Following are the major factors of its failure: POOR ADVERTISING AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN Candia milk failed to do a proper advertisement and marketing campaign. There was hardly any on air advertisement and no other medium for advertisement was used let alone marketing. COLOR AND TASTE The important attributes that Candia lacks are color and taste of the milk. The color is not purely white due to which people begin to think that the milk is not pure and hygienic. AGE GROUP Candia does not cover all ages of group. It fails to cover all age groups. It targets the age group of 6-12. People over this age barrier; Youth and elderly people, they are not targeted. The young people aged 20-34 have a high purchasing power. However, they do not prefer Candia or any other packaged milk and prefer fresh milk. PRICING Another area of weakness is the pricing strategy used for Candia. Its price was higher than the other brands available in Pakistan. This did not allow Candia to penetrate the market effectively. PACKAGING Packaging is the the most important factor contributing to bad taste and coloring of the milk. Even though it has a USP packaging but if exposed in the sunlight, the milk is discolored. BRANDING The name Candia was relatively unknown to the people of Pakistan and many thought it was some kind of candy or something of that sort. They were and still not aware of the original Candia, which was so popular in Europe and other 52 countries around the world. The brand has flavor of milks rather than just plain milk. DEPTH Another major reason for the failure of Candia is that the company has not been able to increase the depth of their product since launching its flavors, colors, sizes, and overall variety. These innovations are necessary tocreate a good image of the brand in the mind of the consumer. INCENTIVES No incentive or discounts are offered to the consumers. No bulk discounts are given either. The competitors however, follow this practice. CDL is also not providing deep freezers and fridges to big retail outlets and departmental stores of Candia. Due to this, there are many areas where Candia milk is not performing well, especially in areas of their target markets. Candia milk targets the high-income person living in pushing areas, which has dramatically reduced its sale. Research Material The concept of packaged milk has grown over the last decade and is getting increasingly popular. The questionnaire that we floated adamants this as 62% of the people said they consumed packaged milk whereas 38% did not. One of the main reasons for the increased trend, as depicted by our questionnaire was the peoples concern for hygiene. A large percentage, nearly 46% of the people said they consumed packaged milk since they thought it was much more hygienic. About 20% ought for it based on its convenience, 15% as per the recommendation of their family/friends and 18% because of its longer shelf life. According to our questionnaire, 40% of the people believe that they consider high-priced milk brands to be deceiving and do not fulfill their quality criterion. 23% perceived such a brand to be of higher quality, 29% were indifferent and a negligible 8% thought they would see it as targeting a specific market segment. About 36% of the people said that a tune or a jingle could single-handedly be the most important factor in making them notice or recall an advertisement. 16% said that the theme of the ad would be that important factor, whereas the duration, frequency, and endorser scored 20%, 18%, and 10% respectively. 5. As per the stats that we received from our questionnaire, 49% of the people believe that the color of the milk itself affects their buying decision. Whereas 38% disagree with this and a mere 13% were not particularly sure on either one of thee. Upon asking, what sort of packaging did the consumers preferred to buy the milk in, to half; 54% of the people said they preferred it in a bottle. The remaining favored otherwise, meaning they preferred the packaging to be either in a pouch or a tetra pack. The percentages were 16% and 30% respectively. A high percentage of the consumers, 35%, errand the diversity in flavors offered in a milk brand to affect their buying habits of consuming a particular milk brand. Whereas 26% said that, the catchiness of the advertisements itself increases their chances of choosing milk brand. Apart from that, a relatively similar amount of consumers were affected by the popularity, type and pricing of the milk brand. The medium of advertisement that the consumers thought hooked them the most again, had more or less the same percentages. However, 39% of the people said that, it was not just one medium of promotion but it was instead the amalgamation of all these means together, the combined advertisement through all these mediums that caught their attention the most. The mediums being Television, Magazines, Radio, Social media and Signboards. In accordance with the data that we gathered from the questionnaire, Candia as a milk brand is seen/recalled by 39% of the people as a brand that was not promoted a lot let alone highly advertised. About 15% of the people remember it as being highly priced, 13% as popular, 15% as targeting a target market, and 18% as a brand imparting high quality. 10. A fairly high amount of the people recommended that Candia ought to use a much more catchy theme, along with a nice jingle, something that clicks the minds of the people and stays in their heads. They also proposed that Candia should advertise its brand much more than it already does so that the people are more aware of the brand. Apart from that, they projected the possibility of success of Candia if they targeted not just the youngsters or a specific target market but a mass market instead. Changing Consumers Perception Consumers come across many products daily but do not always remember them all. The ones they recall are usually the ones they have experienced or just the ones they are exposed to.There are some products to which they get exposed in such a way that the memory of that product stays with them. Such products have attributes like flashy packaging or something unusual. Other such factors include the way the product is promoted, how it is advertised, and who endorses it. The medium used for advertising plays an important part in the learning and memory of a consumer concerning a particular product. The frequency of a television ad might be more than a print ad or a billboard and that television ads incorporate the sense of sight and hearing. It is seen that most consumers over time associate the product with a jingle or melody used in the ad as it seems to be repetitive and catchy in nature. The slogan, Candia All-purpose milk The best for your family shows that the company is trying to position the brand as having a high quality in the consumers mind and right for everyone in the family, also depicting a change of lifestyle.This indicates that Candia has now employed a more aggressive promotional approach and is trying to be more persuasive and displaying a new brand personality and attitude. Candia has looked at similar factors in its re-launch as previously it was lacking;a musical television ad thus not engrossing the consumers in the ad itself. Its new ad has a very catchy tune and triggers the happy mood. In addition, the way the advertisement is shot is quite different from its competitors that exist in the market. They typically show how the milk is processed and tested or simply show a family using milk forming a story ad. According to the survey, Candia is recalled as a lowly promoted milk brand, therefore Candia has now engrossed in heavy promotional activities to persuade the consumers. Also the fact that how the ad would be shown, at what times and at what frequency has been looked at by the company as it plays a vital role. Too much repetition of the ad tends to annoy the viewers so keeping that in mind it shall not be repeated at short intervals instead it would be aired at the peak times at which people watch television. Furthermore the billboards along the road are put up in such a way that while driving or passing by that area it comes within the threshold and is easily viewed by everyone who passes by. While advertising it is important to keep in mind to somehow involve the consumers and trigger their sensory receptors immediately to capture their attention. Candia in its ad has done the same, the melody used in it immediately grabs attention and also the innovativeness in the ad, the concept of stop motion used in the ad is interesting and visually appealing and makes sure that the viewer watches till the end as it seems to be stimulating seeing a bottle of milk moving on its own. Companies tend to use more than one sensory appeal and the most important in a television ad are both sight and hearing as in the Candia ad. Thus, this can be counted as a competitive advantage for the company. Until this date, the consumers tend to remember Candia as the first milk brand in Pakistan that was launched in a plastic bottle. Keeping that in mind, while re-launching, Candia used this and changed the shape of the bottle a bit, so that it stays at the differential threshold level. According to the survey, 54% of the people preferred to buy milk in a bottle with a handle, thus Candia made the changes required. Candia Consumer Related Factors Candia was introduced in Pakistan in 1999, and although, when launched, it had high expectations attached, it failed to deliver. If it were to be re-launched, Candia would have to change its overall perception in the minds of the consumer. Factors like Self-Concept, Self Esteem, Personality and Life style of the consumer and overall consumer attitude do have an impact on the sales of a certain product. Hence, Candia should focus on these concepts to understand their consumers in a better way and to make their product more appealing to the consumer mind. Self Concept- The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives him or herself. The self-concept is how we think about and evaluate ourselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. The self-concept is a very complex structure. We describe attributes of self-concept along with dimensions such as content, positivity, intensity, and stability over time and accuracy. In the discipline of consumer behavior, people derive their sense of self at least partially from the goods and services they consume. Through the consumption of the symbols contained in products, consumers attempt to enhance their self-concepts by using products to communicate particular personal characteristics to themselves and others. When it was first launched, Candia mainly focused the younger generation. If it were to be re-launched now, it should target people of all ages. They should present themselves in a way that everyone can associate himself or herself with Candia. Nestle is a brand that was very successful in doing so. It should highlight how it is healthy, because a major portion of the market is kids and they should focus on attracting the mothers and focusing on how the consumption of Candia is good for their kids can do that. Self Esteem- The term self esteem refers to the positivity of a persons self-concept. People with low self-esteem feel that they will not perform very well, and they would try to avoid embarrassment, failure, or rejection. If Candia were to re-launch it would have to plan its strategies out in such a way that the consumers feel that consuming Candia would be good for their image. When asked in a questionnaire whether the color of the milk was of any relevance to the consumer a majority of 49 % said yes. This affected the self-esteem of the consumer as they felt that the milk that they were consuming as not pure/ healthy. Candia should plan their strategies out in a way that people would feel good about consuming it and feel that they made the right decision in choosing Candia as a brand. Personality- Each person has personality characteristics that influence his or her buying behavior. By personality, we mean a set of distinguishing human psychological traits that lead to relatively consistent and enduring responses to environmental stimuli. Personality is often described in terms of such traits as self-confidence, dominance, autonomy, deference, sociability, defensiveness, and adaptability. Personality can be useful variable in analyzing consumer brand choices. The idea is that brands also have personalities, and consumers are likely to choose brands whose personalities match their own. We define brand personality as the specific mix of human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand. 1. Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, and cheerful) 2. Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, and up-to-date.) 3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, and successful) 4. Sophistication (upper-class and charming) 5. Ruggedness (outdoorsy and tough) Candia should go for the personality attributes of Sincerity and Competence. As the brand would be targeting the mass, the consumers should feel that what they are consuming is good for them and the brand would give good value. Lifestyles- Lifestyles defines a pattern of consumption and reflects a persons choices on how to spend his/her time and money. In an economic sense your lifestyle represents the way to elect to allocate income. Candia should strategize in a way that the consumer feels that they are able to meet high standards of quality and fit their perceived lifestyles within the disposable income that they have. Consumer Attitude- An attitude is a predisposition to evaluate an object or product positively or negatively. We form attitudes towards products and services that often determine whether we will purchase them or not. The strategy that Candia should adopt should focus on it being a safe brand. The consumer should think of it as a brand that would deliver value and is able to meet high standards of Quality. Candia was criticized for not using very effective promotions. This resulted in the consumers forming a very negative attitude about the brand. They should focus on their promotions and they need to maintain consistency among their promotional messages. Gaining Competitive Edge over Competitors Concentrate on the consumers and try to understand their physical and emotional desires. Introduce a wide range of products that can be consumed by all age groups. Try to understand the economic, geographic and social factors which affect the diets of the consumers and try to concentrate on the nutritional and health value of the products. Also in the long run concentrate on the lower-income consumers and make their products available at affordable prices while providing a diet compensating the local dietary deficiencies and including relevant nutrition. Try to understand the motivations, routines, decision making and purchasing habits of the customers by spending time with the people Has to become a more market oriented company to understand the customer or market needs and produce products accordingly to achieve the organizations goals. Should try to create a brand name as strong as; A Nestle brand name on a product is a promise to the customer that it is safe to consume, that it complies with all regulations and that it meets high standards of quality Candia can try to be at the forefront of developing new customer- centric health products and align their researches accordingly with consumer and business needs. Should use promotion as one of the major sources to reach their customers to make them aware of the different products introduced in the market and the value of the products introduced. Candia should adopt a promotion mix with a perfect blend of several different promotion tools to promote the value of its product and make the customers aware of their different products. Advertisements should be attractive through all the possible media. Internet is one of the latest media and should be used by Candia to promote their products, where they have different websites hosted for different products. Different strategies for each product like online competitions and distribution. Through public relations Candia can try to bring to the attention of all the customers and organizations concerned about the various issues or concerns and the current approach they are taking towards these concerns. Candia should adopt a favorable marketing channel, which is most appropriate for the consumers. They should try to focus on differentiation strategy. They differentiate their products with their competitors by giving them better customer satisfaction and quality with in an acceptable price limit. They reduce the risk of complexity of supply chain and lower attractiveness for discounters to follow this differentiation strategy In addition, Candia must maintain a good customer relationship according to the taste and demand of the emerging market. Corrective Actions To Be Taken By The Company Buyer behavior and readiness: Candias market share was declining and there was a need to make a comeback policy to strengthen the brand and this can only be done through promotion mix to make an image in the minds of the people. Advertising strategy: During summers, as the milk production declines because of low supply of raw milk from dairy farms, the supply decreases, which increases the demand for packaged milk, it was recommended that the management should emphasize on a Pull strategy as Candia now may be used as an alternative product. Advertisements, print media, electric media campaign, etc.must be used for the heavy promotion of the product. Sales promotion strategy: During winters, push strategy was recommended by giving incentives to the consumers because the milk supply is good and the competition is intense. Personal selling tools: Emotions- sales force should target the emotions of parents and persuade them to select Candia as drinking milk for their kids. Direct marketing tools: It was strongly recommended that Haleeb foods must have an effective web presence in this interactive world. To promote the entire site, an online marketing program was launched. A comprehensive, highly targeted group of destination web sites was chosen for the program. The web site was registered with yahoo search portal and a number of tactical elements helped drive online awareness and inquiries into the program Internal Communication: Over the years, organizations have now started understanding the importance of internal communication in achieving corporate goals and objectives. We strongly believed that by implementing the above-mentioned strategies the management has been capable of enhancing corporate profitability; create a resounding brand name of Candia. Positioning strategy: Candia has a current positioning strategy that Candia milk is mostly meant for drinking purposes. It is firmly believed that the management has modified the product positioning and has positioned it as being a multipurpose milk brand that can be consumed by all age groups. Promotion strategy: Following ways were adopted for the promotion of Candia that was helpful for the improvement of the sale of Candia Television Television played an important role for the promotion of Candia a marketing budget was spent on the ad on different TV channels for the promotion of that product. Newspapers Haleeb Foods advertised Candia Milk in all reputed daily newspapers like Jung, Dawn, Din, Nawa-e-Waqat, The Nation etc. Sign Boards Sign boards and billboards can also play a vital role in the promotion of Candia. Neon Candia signs can be easilynoticed by the eye and must be displayed on most eye-catching locations in the cities.