Real Madrid free essay sample

This group of customers comprises the fans who visit the stadiums to watch the live matches, and total up to 80,000. Of the 80,000 seats available in the stadium, 58,000 seats are held by season ticket holders, 4000 box seats and VIPs, while the rest are for sale during the match. A good portion of the VIP seats could be one that is variable, with the club having VIP packages which appeal to premium customers who are willing to pay for the special amenities of a VIP room or box, complete with upmarket meals and beverages. While this number is important, its potential is relatively fixed, apart from the ability to expand the VIP privileges or number of seats. 2. People who purchase Real Madrid-branded Merchandises and Programmes Marketing and merchandising comprises a large proportion of the growing revenues of Real Madrid, and these group of customers involved people from around the world who would visit retail stores to buy all sorts of Real Madrid branded goods. We will write a custom essay sample on Real Madrid or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 3. Sponsors Sponsors remain an essential part of the revenue stream as well as the brand, with sponsors such as Nike having long-term sponsorship of the apparel for Manchester United. These forms of sponsorship help to build the clubs brand and affinity with the partner brands, and partners help to proliferate the sales of merchandises. As in the case of Nike and Manchester United, partnering with Nike will allow for Manchester United apparel to leverage on Nike’s quality as well as the global network of retail outlets in promoting and building the brand. Thus sponsors as customers of the football club’s advertising is fundamental. 4. TV Broadcasters With the deregulation of the media industry, broadcasting rights purchased by TV broadcasters from Real Madrid is an increasingly important source of revenue. We see the importance of TV broadcasters as an important customer to patronize the content that Real Madrid focuses on. Real Madrid continues to build strong players and provide better games for fans, focusing on building greater content for customers. With this, TV broadcasters will see a greater potential in the acquiring of this content as the quality and appeal increases amongst viewers. Merchandising plus members? â€Å"the socios†` Sponsors companies who subscribe to the brand and are willing to buy that advertising and exposure space (on jerseys etc. ) Geography upcoming asian market Age/Class young teens, adults, VIPs Firstly, evidently we see that Real Madrid engages in segmentation based on class – where there are different target audiences for the items that they sell based on the price premium of items. As we can see, there are various target markets of fans – the general public and the VIPs. Real Madrid is looking to double its number of boxes with the understanding that there is a long waiting list for them. This focus on that segment is different from the way in which it would tackle the general fan base. Segmentation seems to have been in merchandising, Real Madrid engaging in specialists to target a variety of geographical markets. For example, the plan for the Asian market would include soccer academies, fan clubs, specialty shops and cafes, however the U. S market was more targeted at partnering with a US major. Furthermore, segmentation would also be targeted according to age groups, with the opening of local school scholarships, local youth soccer organizations meant to be targeted at the youth fan loyalty.

Cultural Diversity in International Hospitality Management Essay Essays

Cultural Diversity in International Hospitality Management Essay Essays Cultural Diversity in International Hospitality Management Essay Paper Cultural Diversity in International Hospitality Management Essay Paper Diverseness in cordial reception industry: One of the biggest impacts of globalisation for those pull offing companies and organisation is covering with a more culturally diverse pool of employees ( Lim and Noriega. 2007 ) . Lim and Noriega ( 2007 ) further argue that in a universe where over 50 % of world’s are owned and controlled by TNCs and MNCs they are bound to cover with work forces from different cultural backgrounds due to their cross boundary operations. their effort to pull endowment from assorted parts of Earth. and at times governments’ force per unit area for greater diverseness at workplace ( Stanley. 2008 ) . Stanley ( 2008 ) note that. the same regulation of pollex applies to the cordial reception industry. which has seen a rush in work force diverseness. Lim and Noriega ( 2007 ) advocate that rapid growing in the cordial reception industry in countries such as East and Southeast Asia ( e. g. China ) have presented the cordial reception MNCs such as Hilton and Sheraton with the much needed infin ite to turn. Stanley’s ( 2008 ) survey of international hotel ironss in Asia continent reveals that Hilton is be aftering to add another 300 subdivisions to its bing 50 subdivisions in the part. Harmonizing to a study by Xinhua ( 2008 ) many international cordial reception organisations showed preparedness to tap into the Chinese market in the face of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Such aggressive conflict for market portion in this booming part has already made its grade on the labor market where there is a tight competition among these companies to pull the gifted employees ( Doherty et al. 2007 ) . Doherty et Al. ( 2007 ) argue that the existent competition in the labor market is to absorb the sort of directors that are able to cover with employees from a different cultural background. Therefore. the of import undertaking for these MNCs is to pull the type of direction endowment ( frequently expatriates ) who are able to cover with multicultural work environments while these directors receive the right male monarch of support from the caput office to get the better of the type of jobs these environments pose due to cultural differences ( Zhang. 2010 ) . The increasing importance of covering with cultural differences. particularly in direction degree has resulted in creative activity of a huge organic structure of literature on this topic. One of the earliest plant on this topic were presented by Hofstede ( 1980 ) who introduced a conceptual model that is based on 5 dimensions of ; â€Å"power distance. individuality vs. Bolshevism. maleness vs. muliebrity. uncertainness turning away. and long term vs. short term orientation† ( Hostede. 1980 ) . Other theories of civilization are developed by bookmans such as Klutchhohn and Strodtbeck ( 1961 ) who introduced the cultural orientation model and Hall ( 1971 ) who develop the cultural contexts construct. In the this paper the chief purpose of the writer is to compare and contrast these three cultural constructs on the footing of their advantages. disadvantages and suitableness to the direction of Chinese employees in the context of cordial reception industry. However. foremost this writer is traveling to supply a brief debut on civilization and its assorted definitions every bit good as debating why it is of import to understand civilization and cultural differences. What is civilization? Culture has been studied and analysed from assorted different position. which tend to supply changing. but yet at times similar definitions of this term. For case. Keesing ( 1974 ) defines civilization as â€Å"systems ( of socially transmitted behavior forms ) that serve to associate human communities to their ecological scenes. These ways of life of communities include engineerings and manners of economic organisation. colony forms. manners of societal grouping and political organisation. spiritual beliefs and patterns. and so on† ( pp. 5 ) . Binford ( 1968 ) provides the undermentioned definition: â€Å"Culture is all those agencies whose signifiers are non under direct familial control. . . which serve to set persons and groups within their ecological communities† ( p. 323 ) . Based on these interpretation civilization can be defined as a group of behaviors and beliefs associated to a certain group that may shack in a certain geographical location. However. what make civilization and cultural surveies of import is the sensed differences among between civilizations and the deduction of these differences for the universe commercialism. Solomon and Schell ( 2009 ) argue that â€Å"today it’s non uncommon to pull off concern maps in other states with direct describing relationships to functional squads in many states ; it’s besides non unusual to interact with co-workers at place who have a assortment of backgrounds and diverse personal manners. all of which respond to different direction techniques† ( pp. 111 ) . Morris ( 2011 ) besides notes that understanding cultural differences is an of import facet of pull offing diverse pools of employees and asserts that â€Å"a ( director ) who interprets employees from different cultural groups without consciousness of cultural norms can lose or misread of import signals in their communication† . Thus. so far it is established that cultural consciousness is an built-in and of import portion of direction ; the undermentioned subdivisions will take to reexamine the antecedently mentioned cultural theories in the context of cordial reception direction of foreign or expatriate directors in China. Hofstede’s five dimensions: Hofstede’s ( 1980 ) five dimensions was produced on the dorsum of many interviews and observations. and as evident from the rubric it is based on five dimensions ( mentioned before ) and assumes that civilizations vary from one another on the footing of these five facets. In seeking to associate the five dimensions construct to the cordial reception industry there are troubles and confusions as the construct was developed on the dorsum of interviews of employees who chiefly worked in a similar industry ( Newman. 1996 ) . However. in seeking to associate this construct to direction of the Chinese cordial reception companies’ directors can enormously profit from the five dimensions ; whether it is about larning how to take and pull off. motivate. decide jobs and etc. ( Rogers. Hart and Miike. 2002 ) . As it can be seen from the tabular array below. states do vary in the manner they react to inequalities in distribution of power. As a consequence. the concept of the organi sations vary depending on this really fact ( Miroshnik. 2001 ) . Based on this observation. one of the major jobs that a cordial reception director would confront in China is acquiring the director subsidiary distance right. In other words. while in Western organisations and companies the direction manner is instead level and two manner communicating is encouraged. in China the hierarchal direction manner is really dominant and the communications channels are usually top-down ( Tuttle et al. 2009 ) . Therefore. a director who is used to a more democratic manner of direction is now faced with the world of a wok topographic point that does non back up or understand this direction theoretical account. One manner of class would be to try to alter the civilization and present a new direction manner into a multi-national hotel chain’s ( e. g. Hilton ) operations in China ; nevertheless. as it can be seen from the past experiences cultural displacements are non as easy and fluid as one may wish them to be ( Choi et al. 2004 ) . Therefore. the easier and more effectual attack in the short to medium term is to understand and encompass the local civilization. For case. a foreign or expatriate director who is pull offing a transnational cordial reception house in China demands to understand the fact that China is a masculine and corporate society where uncertainness is mostly avoided and people have a really long term orientation in life and work and historically advocated great power distance ( Li. 2008 ) . A glimpse at the tabular array above shows that in a society like China low individuality that is built-in in the civilization implies that persons are more concerned about the harmoniousness at work. for which they are willing to stamp down their emotions. and the accomplishment of the group and esteeming the traditions is an built-in portion of their work moralss. The most of import facet of this dimension ought to be that portion of Chinese civilization that emphasizes on ‘working for the intrinsic reward’ . Although this trait is easy decreasing in China as a consequence of globalisation and outgrowth of a ‘global culture’ ( Tuttle et al. 2009 ) the older coevals still upholds these values. Therefore. directors should be aware of this mentality when it comes to inventing schemes to actuate the employees. An interesting facet of Hostede’s ( 1980 ) five dimensions is the maleness vs. muliebrity issues. A deficiency of apprehension of this factor can do jobs for directors and discontent among employees. Jacob ( 2005 ) postulates that in masculine societies undertakings are developed and assigned base on their nature. In other words. undertakings are either masculine or feminine and directors need to hold a good grasp of this fact before prosecuting in developing undertakings and duties. From a personal position this writer can corroborate that in China [ still ] there is a great grade of accent on maleness and muliebrity and delegating a feminine undertaking to a adult male can be considered violative. This is particularly true in instance of cordial reception industry where undertakings such as housework are considered to be preponderantly feminine undertakings. Cultural orientation: This construct was developed by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck ( 1961 ) and was one of the first comparative cultural surveies to look at civilizations from a multi-dimensional position ( Hills. 2002 ) . This construct has been recognised and acknowledged for its psychological survey of human values ( Russo. 2000 and Hofstede. 2001 ) and its attack to value as an across-the-board property that goes beyond the positive and negative of the attitudinal surveies ( Hills. 2002 ) . Writers such as Segal et Al. ( 1999 ) and Smith and Bond ( 1998 ) argue that this construct is non relevant to direction as the writers did non stipulate the deduction of this survey for concern direction. However. this writer finds dimensions Two ( person’s relationship to others people ) and Six ( the construct of infinite ) relevant to direction and to cordial reception industry. These two dimensions are extremely similar with that of Hofstede’s individuality vs. Bolshevism. Therefore. an apprehension of this dimension would fit directors to cover with the quandary that may originate from covering with those who operate under different value systems. For case. in this instance understanding that single relationship with others in the organisation is based on hierarchy and corporate attempt can be enormously advantageous. This is particularly utile in undertaking development where directors would concentrate more on concerted ( corporate ) as opposed to competitory ( single ) undertakings. Hall’s high vs. low context civilization: This construct refers to the grade of formality that is applied in communications between members of society ( Guffey. 2009 ) . Harmonizing to Solomon ( 2011 ) in high context societies a great trade of communicating is non-verbal and the civilization itself explains the state of affairs as opposed to words. As such. in a high context society the pick of words one utters are really of import and metaphorical statements are often used. Furthermore. in a high context society there is immense accent on separating the insider from foreigner ; for case. in China the word ‘Guanxi’ specifically refers to this issue ( Xin and Pearce. 1996 ) . Grainger ( 2002 ) argues that in a high context society such as China. one’s apprehension and regard of the superiors’ place is the key to developing good relationships and making chances. The same rule applies to foreign or expatriate directors who are running cordial reception or any other type of concerns in China. In an article titled â€Å"Gifts. Favours and Banquets: the art of societal relationships in China† Yang ( 1994 ) reveals the secrets of developing meaningful and successful concern relationships in Middle Kingdom and provides priceless advice on how to prosecute in with functionaries and business communities in a manner accepted and understood in Chinese civilization. Grainger ( 2002 ) provides a instance survey of the Roaring Dragon Hotel in South-West China and uncover how after the amalgamation of the hotel with a European cordial reception group some of the employees who were happening it hard to work with the Western Manager use their Guanxi with the a Chinese senior director to be transferred to a subdivision run by a local. Grainger ( 2002 ) further adds that many foreign directors in cordial reception industry fail to procure good trades as they lack the expertness and right links to make so. There is no denial about the fact that in China favors are performed often. but merely at the right monetary value and to the right individuals. The really construct of Guanxi is a euphemism for favoritism and elusive graft ( Yang. 1994 ) . However. to a foreign director the quandary is how to travel about inquiring for favors without exposing themselves or those who are able to supply the right chances ( Park and Luo. 2001 ) . Such state of affairss absolutely highlight the importance of understanding different civilization ( Chinese in this case ) and happening ways of suiting for the demands and demands of that specific civilization. In an article published in New York Times ( 2009 ) Selignon argues that many foreign directors do non understand the importance of constructing Guanxi non merely with local governments and concern proprietors. but besides with the employees. She goes on explicating that bulk of Western directors follow the same patterns that they would make back place and neglect to understand the importance of constructing relationships with their subsidiaries. In Chinese context employee and director relationship goes beyond the office hours and interactions expand to house visits. dinner assemblages and etc. ( Yang. 1994 ) . Therefore. to most cordial reception directors deployed in China success or failure is a affair of understanding or neglecting to understand these differences. Understanding clients from their cultural position: Kandampully et Al. ( 2001 ) posit that cordial reception directors in China are preponderantly covering and providing for the Chinese client. although the figure of foreign clients in China is on the rise. which merely adds to the diverseness of the cultural differences that should be understood and accommodated. This point is confirmed by Reisinger and Turner ( 1997 ) who assert that: â€Å"Greater cross-cultural consciousness. apprehension. and credence of cultural differences is needed by touristry practitioners† ( pp. 1 ) . However. in a purely Chinese context it is upon the foreign director to derive penetration into the demands and wants of the Chinese clients in order to run into or transcend their outlooks. Park and Luo ( 2001 ) argue that to a foreign director of a cordial reception house the chief point of contact with the cultural demands of the clients are the local employees. Therefore. in order to understand the market and its demands directors must be able to acquire through the first hurdle which is to acquire through the direction issues they will confront with their employees. Reisinger and Turner ( 1997 ) assert that â€Å"managers of services houses deployed to foreign states have to cover with the ageless quandary of larning. apprehension and accommodating to what can best be described as unseasoned Waterss ; their failure or success entirely depends on their ability to get the better of the cultural one by one through uninterrupted acquisition and adaptation† . Decision: Cultures as value systems that permeate human beings’ lives and find how they behave. act and react are progressively deriving in importance and over the past few decennaries a big organic structure of literature has been developed to help the commercial universe in covering with the ordeals of covering with cultural differences and troubles that arise from these cultural incongruousnesss. This paper tried to foreground how an apprehension of cultural differences can play a important function in assisting foreign cordial reception directors deployed in China to do a successful cultural passage across civilizations. In the class of this paper it was discussed that civilization as unwritten manuals of behavioral forms play a important function in how many interactions develop and flourish into meaningful relationships. Furthermore. it was highlighted. through proviso of existent life illustrations. how a deficiency of apprehension of cultural differences can restrict or barricad e the success of foreign directors in China. As a agency of confirming this statement this paper looked at three different constructs ( i. e. Hofstede’s five dimentions. Klutchohn and Strodtbeck’s cultural orientation and Hall’s cultural context ) each one of which was studied and analysed in footings of its relevancy to the context of direction ( cordial reception specifically ) . In decision. this paper reveals that while the two constructs of Five Dimensions ( Hofstede ) and Cultural Context ( Hall ) carry greater tantrum and are more applicable to direction issues than cultural orientation construct ( Klutchohn and Strodtbeck ) . Nonetheless. overall impact of such constructs and cultural intelligence on easing successful cultural passage for directors can non be over emphatic. As it was noted in this survey in-depth cultural acquisition and passage non merely allows directors to be more effectual in pull offing their human resources. it will besides let them to negociate entree to better chances for greater development and profitableness. Therefore. understanding civilizations and happening ways of bridging the cultural spread is an indispensable when it comes to pull offing across civilizations. In this manner a director would be able to better his/her efficiency through understanding the host civilization every bit good as cut downing the hazard of misinterpretations and possible dissensions that can otherwise be avoided. Mentions:Grainger. S. . ( 2002 ) â€Å"Guanxi Neglect at the Roaring Dragon in South-west China: The Demise of an International Management Contract† . Proceedings of the fifteenth Annual Conference of the Association for Chinese Economics Studies Australia ( ACESA ) Guffey. Mary Ellen ( 2009 ) . Necessities of Business Communication. South-Western/ Cengage Learning Hills. M. D. ( 2002 ) . Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Values Orientation Theory. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. Unit 4. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //scholarworks. gvsu. edu/orpc/vol4/iss4/3 1/11/2012 Hofstede. G. ( 1980 ) . Culture’s Consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hill. CA. Sage. Kluckhohn. F. R. A ; Strodtbeck. F. L. ( 1961 ) . Variations in value orientations. Evanston. IL: Row. Peterson. Luo. Y. ( 1997 ) Guanxi: Principles. doctrines. and deductions. Human Systems Management. 16: 43 – 51. Newman. K. L. ( 1996 ) . â€Å"Culture and congruity: The tantrum between direction patterns and national civilization. †Journal of International Business Studies 27 ( 4 ) : 753. Park. S. H. A ; Luo. Y. ( 2001 ) . Guanxi and Organisational Dynamics: Organizational Networking in Chinese Firms. Strategic Management Journal. 22. pp 455 – 477. Russo. K. W. ( Ed ) . ( 2000 ) . Finding the in-between land: Penetrations and applications of the Value Orientations method. Yarmouth. Maine: Intercultural Press. Samovar. L. A. and Porter. R. E. ( 2004 ) Communication Between Cultures. 5th Ed. Thompson and Wadsworth. Segall. M. H. . Dasen. P. R. . Berry. J. W. . A ; Poortinga. Y. H. ( 1999 ) . Human behaviour in planetary position: An debut to cross-cultural psychological science ( 2nd erectile dysfunction ) . Boston. MA: Allyn and Bacon Seligman. Scott D. ( 1999 ) . Guanxi: Grease the wheels of China. China Business Review. Sep/Oct. Vol. 26 No. 5. pp 34-38. Smith. P. B. . A ; Bond. M. H. ( 1998 ) . Social psychological science across civilizations ( 2nd ed. ) . London. United kingdom: Prentice Hall. Solomon. Michael ( 2011 ) . Consumer Behavior: Buying. Having. and Being. Pearson/ Prentice Hall Yang. M. ( 1994 ) â€Å"Gifts. Favours and Banquets: the art of societal relationships in China† . Ithaca. New york: Cornell University Press.

Response paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Response paper - Essay Example On the other hand, the swing style involved well structured, energetic, and danceable. Whereas swing music appeared to feature coordinated big crew arrangements, bebop music highlighted inventiveness. Characteristically, a topic would be presented collectively at the opening and the end of every piece, with coordinated solos based on the chords of the song. Hence, most parts of a song in bebop style tended to be improvisation, the only connections keeping the work together being the core harmonies played by the rhythm segment. Bebop musicians also used various harmonic devices unlike in sing jazz. The harmonic advancement was experience first during a performance by Charlie Parker, Cherokee. While bebop combo comprised of trumpet, saxophone, piano, drums and double bass, swing used a powerful rhythm section of drums and double bass, brass instruments at times stringed instruments (Erenberg, 2000). During this era, a period involved certain situations of slavery and post-liberation institutionalized racism. The styles depicted a created culture drawn from both the European and the African cultures. The changes were attributed at the fact that the old jazz was an American invention, and therefore, they wanted something that was more African (McDonnel & Cooper, 1998). The two types of music, Bebop and Swing, are much related and in most cases, they are difficult to separate and tell apart. Both styles are part of jazz music that started with an African music and ragtime. Both were started by one person who had strong inspiration and influenced other people to use similar styles in their music. In swing, it was Louis Armstrong whereas in Bebop it was Charlie Parker in conjunction with Dizzy Gillespie. In both swing and Bebop, the instruments making up the bands were same. They consisted of piano, bass, drums, trumpet and saxophone (Ake, 2010). The success of swing era came in 1942 when a recording ban was led by an American Federation of

Technological Innovation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technological Innovation - Research Paper Example To lead in innovations, the concepts of realizing the need, finding people with the relevant technology and citing financial support are key to managing innovations. In addition to this, requirements for diffusion of technology like the knowledge, attitude, the decision to adopt or reject implementation and use and the confirmation of the decision, needs to be put into consideration for effective management (Clark, 2010). These will outline the measure and indicators of the innovation and its overall impact thus enabling decision making. Innovations are meant to bring institutional change through knowledge and application of ideas in relation to the existing products and operations. Innovations change institution’s insight into competitive advantage, new systems, processes and way of conducting business. They are manifested in organization structures of governance, production and marketing systems and employee structuring and specialization. To achieve this there is need to establish leadership to promote, execute and sustain these initiatives. In addition, effective predictions of market/ client trends, generation and evaluation of ideas and communicating the solutions will enhance team work and realization of targeted goals (Conti & Herron, 2006). Technology innovation has impacted the society positively through assurance of convenience, efficiency, comfort and expansion of opportunities. For instance, socially, advancements of telecommunication infrastructure through provision of reliable network and powerful gadgets like computers and smart phones, has integrated the people as they can share ideas and transact business. In the field of business and economics, convenience and efficiency have improved by construction of transport and communication networks which enhance efficient movement of goods, services and ideas

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Essay Example for Free

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Essay Porter’s five-forces model reveals that the overall alternative beverage industry attractiveness is high. Some beverage companies, such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, have mastered the art of brand building in the alternative beverage market and have been rewarded with rapid growth rates. The rising population of health conscious consumers is increasingly leaning towards alternative beverages that are believed to offer greater health benefits. The strongest competitive force, or most important to strategy formulation, is the threat of entry of new competitors. Competitive pressure from rival sellers is high in the alternative beverage industry. The number of brands competing in sports drinks, energy drinks, and vitamin-enhanced beverage segments of the alternative beverage industry continue to grow each year. Both large and small vendors are launching new products and fighting for minimal retail shelf space. More and more consumers are moving away from traditional soft drinks to healthier alternative drinks. Demand is expected to grow worldwide as consumer purchasing power increases. Another strong competitive force is buyer bargaining power. Convenience stores and grocery stores have substantial leverage in negotiating pricing and slotting fees with alternative beverage producers due to the large quantity of their purchase. Newer brands are very vulnerable to buyer power because of limited space on store shelves. Top brands like Red Bull are almost always guaranteed space. This competitive force does not affect Coca-Cola or PepsiCo as much due to the variety of beverages the stores want to offer to the customer. As a result of this certain appeal, the two companies’ alternative beverage brands can almost always be found shelf space in grocery/convenience stores. Distributors, like restaurants, have less ability to negotiate for deep pricing discounts because of quantity limitations. The weakest competitive force is the bargaining power and leverage of suppliers. Most of the raw materials desirable to manufacture alternative beverages are basic merchandise such as flavor, color, packaging, etc. The suppliers of these commodities have no bargaining power over the pricing due to which the suppliers in the industry are relatively weak. Raw materials for these drinks are basic commodities which are easily available to every producer and have low cost which makes no difference for any supplier. Low switching costs limit supplier bargaining power by enabling industry members to change suppliers if any one supplier attempts to raise prices by more than the cost of switching.

Comparing Hurrican Hits England and Not my Business Essay -- Grace Nic

Comparing Hurrican Hits England and Not my Business The two poems I am to compare are Grace Nichols â€Å"Hurricane Hits England† a poem that shows that the whole world is one world and how a storm reminds a Caribbean woman of home. The author obviously misses her home country and feels it in the storm which she wrote about, the violence of the storm is harsh and causes some damage. The second poem, with which I will be comparing â€Å"Hurricane...† is Niyi Osundare’s â€Å"Not my Business†. This poem describes the violent and horrific nature in which the Nigerian Government treated those people who disagreed with the state. It describes the pain and suffering they forced upon these people and how the pain and suffering is then brought to the narrator. This poem is about shared responsibilities and the way that tyranny grows if no one opposes it. It is composed, simply, of three stories about victims of the oppressors, followed by the experience of the speaker in the poem, in which he has not done anything, but the fact that he knows makes him a target. The poet is Nigerian but the situation in the poem could be from many countries, there are words used like â€Å"yam†, and the names of the people which tell you this. The poem echoes, in its four parts, a statement by Pastor Martin Niemà ¶ller, who opposed the Nazis. Speaking later to many audiences he would conclude with these words, more or less: â€Å"First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak... ...oem. The last lines of this poem emphasise the confusion surrounding why they are there. The line, â€Å"The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn† is personification which suggests that no-one, not even his lawn, knows why it’s happening. And then a repetition of the word â€Å"Waiting† makes it seem as though the men have to do a lot of waiting and that time maybe seems to go so slowly because of these things that are happening. Both of these poems are excellent at enforcing their own point in their own ways, â€Å"Hurricane†¦Ã¢â‚¬  through tactile emotional words and beautiful yet violent images of the storm, and â€Å"Not My Business.† through blatant disregard for human life depicted through the eyes of a hunted man, who is hunted because he knows what is going on. All in all two excellent and well thought out poems, each with their own perfectly presented message.

Case Study †Operations Management Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Operations management is defined as â€Å"the activity of managing the resources which produce and deliver products and services† (Slack et al. 2010 p4). This encompasses the entire activity carried out within the organization. With increasing pressure on organizations to deliver optimally at reduced cost, the role of operations has been transformed from that of strategy implementer to one of strategy driver. Operations strategy looks at the patterns of strategic decisions and actions in a bid to set the roles, objectives and activities of the operations (Slack et al. 2010). An understanding of these strategies is important in ensuring that organizations are well aware of the requirements needed to meet the corporate objectives set about by management. The report looks at a case study of Concept design services (CDS); a product based manufacturing company looking to break into service operations. It seeks to identify current strategy types evidenced in the organization and the role operations play in the implementation of this strategies. Also considered is the relationship between the core functions highlighting possible conflicts, current practices and perceived strengths and weaknesses. Issues such as servitization and growth strategies are considered in relation to the companies push for development in line with its desire to become a service provider. An analysis of the impact it will have on the company’s manufacturing and service departments is also considered. Finally, recommendations that will ensure operations develop with the new growth plan is presented to management. 2.0 STRATEGIES IN CONCEPT DESIGN Within CDS, there is evidence of an amalgamation of strategies. With a diversification of the company’s portfolio, the corporate strategy of the organization had to be reflecting the changing scenario of the business environment. To identify the different strategy types within CDS, there is first a need to understand what strategy is. Strategy can be defined has â€Å"the total pattern of decisions and actions that  position the organization in its environment and that are intended to achieve its long-term goals† (Slack et al. 2010 P79). Strategy has also been described as the long term direction an organization intends to go (Johnson et al. 2011). In achieving an over arching strategy, three levels of strategies have to be considered; corporate level, business level and operational level. The formulation of these strategies will determine how the different organizational strategies will interact with one another (Zanon et al. 2013) While corporate level strategy deals with the overall purpose and scope of an organization such as where to locate the business, what type of business to engage in; business level strategy is more concerned with the various ways the business can compete successfully against other competitors in its segment. Functional strategy looks at ways in which individual functions can contribute to the overall objective of the organization. Operations strategy is concerned with the strategic decision and actions that set roles, objectives and activities of the operations (Slack et al. 2010). It focuses more on how the different parts of the organization can deliver on set strategies through the management of resources, processes and people. Operations strategy’s primary role is to implement strategy, but with continuous business growth, operations is expected to support and drive the organizations strategy. This will see it contributing to the competitive advantage of the firm (Slack et al. 2010). This is aptly captured in Hayes and wheelwrights four stage model of operations contribution. Figure 1. Hayes and Wheelwrights four-stage model of operations contribution. Adapted from Slack et al. 2010 Slack et al. (2010), identified four different perspective to operations strategy; Top-down, bottom up, market requirement perspective and resource based perspective. He noted though that all four perspectives are required for proper understanding of operations strategy. Although the strategies employed by organizations may differ, it remains important to reconcile the needs of the market with operational resources  (Slack and Lewis 2008). Hence, it is important to analyse the process through which market needs are aligned with operational realities, thereby ensuring that operation can deliver what it is being asked of them and that this alignment will endure over time (Zanon et al. 2013). Evidenced in CDS operations is the implementation of two of the identified perspectives; Market requirement and Operations resource perspective. 2.1MARKET REQUIREMENT PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS A market requirement perspective focuses on what market position requires of operations (Slack et al. 2010). Its focus is not just on the industry, but it considers where the organization intends to compete as well as the nature of competition ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­ (Lowson 2002). Hill (1985), suggested that to win orders in the market place, organizations operations strategy and the marketing strategy need to be in sync. CDS Marketing function identified a trend that seems to have worked for retailers in the decorative product industry. They realised the importance of fashion trends and its appeal to people. This market requirement led to the creation of a whole new industry. The need for premium, high quality household product characterised by the many different colour range became a market qualifying criteria that drove marketing’s strategy. This strategy was in line with the overall organizations strategy that saw a shift in the focus of its production of industrial injection-mould plastics to popular household items. In a bid to meet markets demand, supply services had to upscale its machineries by procuring additional large injection moulding machines to cater for the rapidly growing volume of products. Also, the design team had to be one step ahead of the competition by ensuring that they had a range of products that will keep customers engaged. Hence, the case study has shown that CDS have been able to develop its operations strategy by allowing operations meet the performance criteria required by the market (Slack et al. 2004). 2.2OPERATIONS RESOURCE PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS In the case of operation resource perspective or resource based view (RBV),  focus is on the organizations operation resources, competencies and capabilities (Lowson 2002). It focuses on the key strengths of the organization, looking at internal resources that cannot be purchased externally, thus providing the firm with competitive advantage through superior performance (Clulow et al. 2007; Fahey and Smithee 1999; Barney 1991). With operations-led, strategy is developed through sound understanding of current operational capabilities and an analysis of how it can be developed in the future (Slack et al. 2004). An understanding of the organizations strength will then influence the decision as to which markets should be considered for the deployment of current or future capabilities, and which competitors can pose a threat or can be taken advantage of (Hayes et al. 2005). CDS have clearly shown the strength of their operations over the years. Early experience gained from the manufacturing of industrial products have set them miles ahead of competition. This is evidenced in the quality of their product which drove sales to record highs and resulted in retail outlets signing up for the organizations product. The company prides itself on its technical abilities which has been achieved not just from years of experience but by investing in machineries. CDS have acquired latest precision equipment’s with the best quality moulds available. The technical knowledge of the employees also provides the company a unique advantage. Another area of operations that provides competitive advantage for the organization is its design expertise. CDS have in its employ professionally respected designers with the know-how of translating difficult technical designs into manufacturable saleable products. This has provided the organization leverage when dealing with design houses. The company is clearly leveraging on its operations resources, competencies and capabilities to obtain competitive advantage. 3.0AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CORE FUNCTIONS Within the context of any organization, there are 3 functions that must exist for the organization to realize its goals of meeting customers need. They are; 1) The marketing function 2) The product/service development function 3) The operations function The marketing function which also comprises of the sales unit is primarily responsible for communicating what product/services the organization has to offer to consumers in a bid to generate customers’ requests for the service. The product development functions’ responsibility is to create new and modified products and services in order to generate future customer request for services. And lastly, the operations function is responsible for fulfilling customers request for service through the production and delivery of products and services (Slack et al. 2010). The ability to effectively work with other functions in the organization is a key responsibility for the operation function (Slack et al. 2010; Zanon et al. 2013). Research as shown that in most organizations, different functions within the organization usually employ their own strategies to assist them in realizing their functional objectives. This unfortunately is a basis for corporate misunderstanding, inter-functional differences and rivalry (Hill 2005).While the objective of the operations function remains the production of goods and services whilst managing resources, it has to also manage its relationship with other functions of the organization. Due to the nature of its strategic importance, the operations function usually has conflicts with other functions. MARKETING In determining an organizations strategic objective, operations and marketing usually adopt different approaches. While marketing tends to emphasise improved service features that appeal to customers, operations focus more on efficiency and cost control (Nie and Young 1997). Erickson (2010), stated that the main reason operations and marketing functions in an organization have conflict is due to their perceived differing objectives. Largely, trade-offs are responsible for the conflicts between these functions as they attempt to balance competing priorities (Tang 2010). It is therefore important that organizations manage trade-offs in a manner that will ensure that they don’t compromise the over-arching organizational strategy for gaining competitive advantage. Zanon et al. (2013) in their research identified certain paradigm that organizations needed to implement for the  successful collaboration of the two functions. They argued that there is a need for alignment between market needs and operational realities. The objective here is to satisfy market needs while using appropriate operational resources and jointly developing those resources so that the operations department can acquire new capabilities and provide the firm with sustainable competitive advantage. The marketing function at CDS have been able to effectively market/communicate the value of their products to the market, this is evidenced in the phenomenal growth of the company. Through innovation, extensive advertisement – both on TV and in illustrated magazines, they have been able to drive sales of CDS products. The function have successfully carved a niche market for the organization through the portrayal of its products has been â€Å"classy† and for the upwardly mobile individual. Product differentiation, design partnership and extensive research, combined with a marketing manager with lots of experience and autonomy working with an experienced, technically astute manufacturing department has resulted in the success of the CDS products. The function has also been able to market itself and the value it can give to design houses in Europe. Through its marketing activities, CDS is moving from being just a manufacturer of commodities to a provider of services. Despite the progress that have been recorded by CDS, there still seems to be a misalignment between the marketing and operation functions. With the success of CDS products and the continuous innovation drive of the organization, it would seem that the marketing function is failing to acknowledge the limitations of the company’s capacity. CDS have a problem with the storage of finished goods and this has impacted on the delivery of product availability from supply services. They are currently struggling to ensure that they meet SKU stocking levels. Another problem has been the issue of proper planning and effective forecasting by the marketing team. The seasonal nature of CDS products requires that the marketing function carries out comprehensive forecasting to try and anticipate demand. Currently, poor forecasting by the function is costing the organization. Supply services have to deal constantly with issues of utilization,  efficiency and growing scarp rates; this is as a result of ad-hoc requests for urgent production to meet with un-planned demand. To minimize wastage and ensure proper alignment, marketing and operations will have to network and collaborate better (Johansen and Riis 2005) to ensure that the over corporate objectives are met. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (NPD) â€Å"NPD is defined as the transformation of a market opportunity into a product available for sale, through a set of activities executed in a logical way, sequentially and concurrently† (Almeida and Miguel 2007). It allows organizations to gain competitive advantage, attract new customers, retain existing customers, and strengthen their ties with the distribution networks (Kotler and Keller 2006). Organizations that successfully introduce new products do so through a well-developed process that leads from creative designs to a successful launch of the product by focusing on satisfying specific customer needs (Chandra and Neelankavil 2008). The attainment of this task will require NPD to collaborate closely with both operations and marketing. NPD, in comparison to other functions is usually characterised by a high degree of uncertainty, risk and high cost to make changes to initial decisions made (Slack et al. 2010). For CDS, NPD is responsible for transforming designs from marketing into workable design moulds. Operations then ensure that the products from the mould are standardized and tested appropriately and efficiently. The moulds then have to be tested on the production machines. A great deal of inter-functional collaboration is required to ensure that proper scheduling is in place to enable NDP carry out testing without disrupting production. Getting this right is easier said. The reality is that there is usually a delay in getting the moulds from the suppliers in South Korea. This will then result in a need for an urgent test of the moulds. That said, CDSs’ NPD function are technically sound. They have managed to build for themselves a reputation of being able to overcome problems with designs regardless of its nature. The NPD function contributes to the organizations unique operations resource. 4.0 AN EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE OPERATION OF THE  MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE DEPARTMENTS CDS like most manufacturing organizations are starting to appreciate the intrinsic value of adopting servitization as a practice. Servitization have been described as the process of transforming manufacturers to compete through product-service systems rather than products alone (Baines et al. 2007). The rationale for this transition from ‘purely product’ to ‘product- service’ or ‘purely service’ can be viewed from three perspectives (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). They identified the reasons as; First, economic. Research has shown that substantial revenue can be generated from products with a long life cycle; also services in general have higher margins than products and services also provides a more stable source of revenue as they are resistant to the economic cycles that drive investment and equipment purchases. Secondly, there is pressure on organizations from customers demanding more services. This has led to firms adopting a narrow definition of core competencies while increasing their dependence on technology to help in their bid to specialize. Lastly, it is viewed as providing competitive advantage. The less visible a service is, and the more labour dependent it gets, the more the probability of imitation reduces (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). Manufacturing has long moved beyond production alone and a combination of both products and service business model are now generally accepted as playing a key role in the success of any modern business (Baines et al. 2014). Companies that have adopted the concept of servitization will probably not follow the product-service classification, but will instead seek to distinguish on the basis of the value proposition with their customers (Baines and Lightfoot 2013). This is the case in CDS, where the company have had to adopt differing service model while dealing with the design houses and retailer service market. While the design houses have adopted a proposition that sees both companies working together – that is the customer wants the company to work with them (Baines et al. 2014), the retailers on the other hand, are happy to leave the management of the entire operation to CDS. Baines et al. (2014) have identified this differing forms of proposition has been ‘base’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘advanced services’. The relationship between the retailer services market and CDS can be classified as advanced. This categorization of product-service offering is centred on  the idea that due to the competencies of the company, maintenance and workability of the operations should be managed by the provider of the service. A feature of this type of offering includes customer support agreements, risk and reward sharing contract, and revenue through use contact (Baines and Lightfoot 2013). To meet with demand, and ensure that customer’s needs are met in terms of product availability, CDS will have to increase its production lines and increase holding capacity. Storage facilities will have to be located closer to the location of their customers. Localised facilities will ensure that store replenishment lead times are reduced. CDS will also have to invest in ICT. Setting up an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will help connect the stores database with that of CDS. That way, they can easily track inventory levels and are able to respond in a proactive manner. Also, Oliva and Kallenberg (2003) argued that a good practice will be to set up a new service department whose focus will be to drive and improve performance objectives. The consolidation of the service offered is usually accompanied by a strong initiative to improve the efficiency, quality and delivery time of the services provided, and the creation of additional services to supplement the service offering. The consolidation of services also comes with the development of a monitoring system to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the service delivery. This monitoring system allows managers realize the size of the service market and account for services’ contribution to the firm’s operations (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). Internally, these changes create the transparency of numbers needed to get a clear sense of direction and to monitor the success or failure of executed changes (Oliva and Kallenberg 2003). Externally, the improvement of quality will establish CDS as a reputable service provider among its clients. CDS has seen steady and continuous growth over the years, albeit its focus had been centred on a single product type. With the recent direction of the organization, there are real concerns surrounding it rapid growth and its diversification into services. Southard and Swenseth (2003) identified certain issues that evolving organizations encounter due to rapid growth, they include bottle-necks, back-orders, and decreased profits despite increased sales. Some of these issues are evidenced in CDS. The rapid growth  of the organization has resulted in capacity related issues. There is one in every twelve chances of a product not being available, continuous scheduling disruption due to demand surpassing supply and the popularity of its product and wide acceptance usually leads to stock outs. The manufacturing function seems to be stretched to the limit with support services equally struggling. It would seem that the organization is currently unprepared for the changes. 5.0RECOMMENDATION TO MANAGEMENT In line with the company’s objective for growth, it has become imperative to address the operational issues that can hinder the organizations growth strategy. Using the product/service lifecycle to analyse the organizations current operations, it is obvious that the transition from being a purely product based manufacturing company to a product-service based organization is still in the infancy state. This is characterised by uncertainty as customer’s needs are not well understood. Hence, operations management will be required to develop flexibility to cope with any changes and be able to give the product/service performance that will ensure quality is maintained (Slack et al. 2010). Other issues to be considered by management includes; the issue of capacity management. To meet with the demand of the market and its growth strategy, CDS will be required to get more warehouses and hold more inventories. The plastic business is clearly one of volume; hence CDS has to ensure that it maintains its status of been a reliable supplier. It also has to effectively operationalize it marketing strategy. The company is currently plagued by poor forecasting and planning. There is a need to upscale the competencies of the sales representatives. This will enable them gather appropriate data that can then be fed into the organizations planning to help reduce scheduling related issues, stock outs and disruptions. Also required is an alignment between the strategies of the core functions. Regular business meetings, where issues relating to each function get tabled will help build better understanding among the different functions. REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY ALMEIDA, L.F. and MIGUEL, P., 2007. 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