Monday, September 30, 2019

Marketing Strategy In General Motors Essay

  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   General Motors Corporation was founded in the year 1908 with its head quarters based in the United States of America. It’s the world’s largest automaker manufacturing over 35 different brands and generally ranked the fifth largest company worldwide with a work force of over 280000 employees the world over. As part of corporate social responsibility G..M has given millions of dollars in computers to Engineering colleges. It has also created joint ventures dedicated to quality of life needs of employees through offering of medical care and other social services. In terms of marketing strategies, the company has embarked on large scale productions to minimize capital under utilization. Secondly, its diversity on automobile make also spreads the risks thus lowering chances of totally risky ventures. Branding has also been the secret behind their prosperous undertaking mostly with the introduction of trendy sports utility makes. Not to be left behind technologically, G.M has also kept up with the technological advancements with the manufacture of electric vehicles as well as the G.M auto racing models. INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketing strategy is when an organization designs the best combination or package of the traditional 4ps and extended 5ps in an attempt to influence the target market appropriately. There is need to review the current marketing strategy as the marketing environment is dynamic. An effective strategy requires a rich and current database.   An organization should therefore invest in continuous marketing research. General Motors has used various strategies in its growth. Among them are the generic strategies and grand strategies as discussed below.   DISCUSSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The General motors company has used the above strategies to maximize diversification. The company has used a strategy of using new technology in the market so that it can be competitive in market for better performance and facing new challenges coming up in the world market, like, before the 1970s the motor vehicle manufacturing companies in Europe regarded themselves as competing largely in a home market in which they were dominant. However, the subsequent changes in the motor vehicle industry were dramatic. The motor vehicle industry in general was faced with the problems of an increasingly competitive market in a changing business environment; the need was to match the organization’s activity to this environment in such a way as to   take advantage of such opportunities that might be provided and overcome the   many threats that could arise. Since the environment is continually changing the company makes strategic decisions for better growth of the organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategic decisions often have major resource implications for an organization. These may be decisions to do with the disposal or acquisition of assets of substantial value. The company decides as part of the rationalization of its operations to close a plant that is not doing well. Also the company adopts strategy of using new technology so as to achieve economies of scale in production. In other words, strategic decisions may result in major changes in the resource base of the business. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions, to set off waves of lesser decisions. For example, if the firm decides to rationalize its operations and cut back on manufacturing capacity and the workforce, this may give rise to industrial relations problems. Similarly, strategic decisions about rationalization, which lead to a revised product or manufacturing plan, will inevitably mean that the sorts of day-to-day problems faced by a production manager, or a sales manager, in the company turn out to be different. Again, then, it is important to understand that strategic decisions have wide ramifications across the organization. The strategy of an organization will be affected not only by environmental forces and resource availability, but also by the values and  Ã‚   expectations of those who have power in the organization. According to M.E. Porter (1980) corporate strategy is concerned with impact of external environment on the firm. In some respects, strategy can be thought of as a reflection of the attitudes and beliefs of those who have most influence in the organization. Whether a company is expansionist or more concerned with consolidation, or where the boundaries are drawn for a company’s activities, may say such about the values and attitudes of those who most strongly influence strategy. Making organization mission clear to member, this will serve as strategy.   The company uses its mission statement as a strategy which states that it will stand the best in producing motor vehicles, standing against competition, in terms of technological advances and in terms of its role in society. The company uses this strategy with specific aims as to where the organization is conceived to be throughout. Strategic decisions are likely to be concerned with the scope of an organization’s activities: does the organization concentrate on one area of activity, or does it have many activities? For example, should the firm focus? On a small range of products or, as in the past, have a very diverse range? To what extent should it be integrated backwards into manufacturing or forward into distribution? And should it attempt to compete widely in international markets, indeed would it survive without a wider international role?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   General Motors uses a strategy of matching organization’s activities with its resource capability. It also uses a strategy of countering environmental threats and taking advantage of environmental opportunities; by matching organizational resources to threats and opportunities. Before the company takes any strategy it looks at the long term implication it will bring to the firm before implementation is done. The decisions taken now by the management of the company will have long-term implications on the health of the business in later decades, for instance, a decision to close a plant that is not doing well or to move into another area of activity. Strategic decisions therefore tend to have long term horizons and or implications, strategic decisions are often complex in nature. General Motors has managers who look cross-functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. This problem of integration exists in all management tasks but is particularly problematic for strategic decisions. Strategic decisions are likely to involve major changes in organizations. The company has a team of experts who make sure that before a strategy is implemented, it has to be developed, and that there should be a strategic vision. The strategic vision is a view of an organization’s future direction and business course. The task involves visualizing the firm’s future position in five to ten years. The task is to inject sense of purpose into a firm’s activities, provide long-term direction, give the firm a strong identity and decide, who we are, what we do, and where we are An example of a strategic vision of an airline business us â€Å"We want our airline to be the worldwide airline of choice.† The strategic vision of General motors is communicated and shared by all those working for the company. After strategy vision has been done, organization move to the next level that is developing organization’s mission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company mostly uses its mission statement so that it does not get out its main aim. An organization’s mission represents management’s customized answer to the question; â€Å"what is our business?† A mission statement broadly outlines the organization’s future direction and serves as a guiding concept to what the organization is to do and become. (Cole, 1996). It reflects management’s vision of what the firm seeks to do and become, provides a clear view of what the firm is trying to accomplish for its customers, indicate the intent to stake out a particular business position.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Developing an organization’s mission as the strategy which will involve defining: who, what and where.   According to Thompson and Strickland (1990) who suggested that there are tasks of strategic management which they see as bringing together: setting of the overall mission or goals of organization, the establishing of business objectives and the strategy required to achieve the two above. It helps managers avoid losing focus on the firm’s direction to achieve what its aim that to expand and to grow in the market. Another strategy is setting objectiveness of the organization. The purpose of setting objectives is to convert the mission into performance targets, create yardsticks to track performance, establish performance goals and push the firm to be inventive, intentional and focused. Setting challenging but achievable objectives guards against the following: complacency, drift, internal confusion and status quo performance. Objectives provide a direction to the firm in its quest for realizing the vision and mission and benchmarks for judging organizational performance. The company employs qualified staff as strategy since qualified staff can be able to increase production and high quality hence making the firm to grow and increase its market share. It uses lower costs than its rivals as a cost leadership which will assist to reduce expenses charged against profit, making a firm to have high profit comparing with other firm, by increasing profit the company grow and increase the market share. The company does a thorough research as strategy that is becoming the leader in new product introduction to the market, this will assist to increase sales since no other firms will be selling such new product in the market. When one firm is selling a product in the market and no competitor, this means the firm will be selling at abnormal price hence making super profit and this will lead the firm to grow and increase market share. Overtaking rival firms on quality or customer services strategy will make business to grow. Customer service as strategy involves treating customer with very high respect and integrity, making customer to feel cared for and given good service, this will make the firm to increase the number of customers comparing with other firms and retaining those who have visited the firm, this will increase sales hence organization growth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company uses the satisfaction of customer needs as its main strategy. Total Quality Management is used as strategy for organizational growth and increase of the market share to achieve this. Once customer requirements have been identified, they need to be translated into standards which can be interpreted and understood easily by employees and clients. One of the major quality difficulties facing service organizations is the defining of service quality standards. According to Ansoff (1984) redefined strategic management as a systematic approach for managing change which consists of positioning of the firm through strategy and capability planning, real time strategic response through issue management and a systematic management of resistance during strategic implementation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once client requirements have been identified and standards of service defined, it is necessary to define systems which will enable the standards to be translated into achievable processes. To provide a service which satisfies and even delights clients, professional firms need to recruit and train their staff to achieve the required standards throughout the service process. The recruitment and selection of appropriate staff can be used has strategy by organization, as these are the foundation of any quality-conscious firm. The client-centered firm should take into account all relevant criteria and consider recruitment as the first stage in retaining loyal, well-motivated and happy employees. Proper training can also be a good strategy to organization. A professional employee, like any other member of staff, has a limited set of skills which require continual updating in the face of changing market demands and technology. Only by updating these skills using well-developed programs, can professional firms ensure that they equip their staff with the skills needed to respond to future client expectations. Internal communication methods is another important strategy organization can not do without. To ensure that staff members are aware of the importance of clients, it is essential that management communicates, on a regular basis, the need for continuous and organization-wide quality improvement to their staff. To achieve this, there are various internal communication methods available, which include: newsletters; team briefings; meetings; internal customer-supplier workshops; and training key interfacing departments in the main processes and procedures of the supplier and customer activities. To modify client interaction behavior, professional firms can introduce performance-related rewards and recognition systems as strategy to beat their rivals, which encourage client-satisfying behavior, recognizing and praising employees for work well done is not superfluous, but rather confirmation of accomplishments and a reinforcement of commitment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company also uses financial objectives as strategy. Financial objective are those outcomes that relate to improving the firm’s financial performance such as: – a) Increase earnings growth from 10% to 15% per year.   b) Boost return on equity investment from 15% to 20%. For the objectives to have values as a management tool, they must be stated in quantifiable or measurable terms and specify a deadline for achievement. Objective-setting process should be a top-down process in order to achieve unity and cohesion throughout the organization. Because all managers need objectives the process should be top-down and should follow the following pattern: Start with organization-wide objectives, next, set business and product line objectives. Then, establish functional area and department objectives, individual objectives come last. Strategy-making concerns how to achieve desired strategic and financial, objectives out-compete rivals and win a competitive advantage, respond to changing industry and competitive conditions, defend against threats to the firm’s well-being, grow the business, among other things. A firm’s strategy will actually consist of making decisions about the following: How to satisfy customers, how to grow the business, how to respond to changing industry and market conditions, how to best capitalize on new opportunities, how to manage each functional piece of business and how to achieve strategic and financial objectives. Ansoff suggested a matrix of product market alternatives which has become widely used in basic terms the matrix offered the following alternatives: market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification any strategy to work it has to be implemented. Implementing strategies involves creating fits between the way things are done and what it takes for effective strategy execution, executing strategy proficiently and efficiently, and producing excellent results in a timely manner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proficient strategy execution will depend greatly on competent personnel, adequate skills and effect internal organization. There are three types of organization actions that are very important: Selecting able persons for key positions, making certain that the organization has the skills, core competencies, managerial talents, technical expertise, and competitive capabilities it needs and developing an organizational structure that is conducive to successful strategy executioner can be done by: allocating ample resources to strategy-critical activities. Organizational units need enough resources  Ã‚   to carry out their part of the strategic plan. This includes having enough of the right kinds of people and sufficient operating funds for them to do their work successfully, instituting best practices and programs for continuous improvement. A strong commitment to adopt best practices, especially for those activities where the potential for better quality performance or lower costs can translate into a sizable impact on the bottom line, is integral to effective strategy implementation, installing support systems that enable company personnel to carry out their strategy execution. Strategies cannot be executed without a number of support systems to carry on the business operations. For instance, an airline may not hope to provide a world class passenger service without a computerized reservation system, a system for accurate and expeditious handling of luggage and a strong aircraft maintenance program, tying reward structure to achievement of results: the company needs to enlist commitment, throughout the organization, to carrying out the strategic plan by motivating and rewarding people for good performance, creating a strategy-supportive corporate culture. The beliefs, goals and practices called for in a strategy may or may not be compatible with a firm’s culture. When they are not a company finds it difficult to implement strategy successfully. The management should stay focused as to what they are trying to achieve in the face of a changing environment and customer needs; otherwise they will not remain competitive in the industry, lowers management’s threshold to change. The management are made to understand that the environment is changing and thus the need to do things in a different way so as to have a competitive advantage in their area of operation, provides basis for evaluating competing budget requests and steering resources to strategy-supportive, results-producing areas, unites numerous strategy-related decisions of managers at all organizational levels. The managers are made to stay focused on one objective and not to make conflicting decisions, creates a proactive, rather than reactive, atmosphere; with the environmental scanning the organization is aware of changes in the environment and hence will take action to take advantage of the changes and prevent any adverse effects on itself, enhances long-range performance; the organization is always to plan for the long-term and its performance is focused on the achievement of long-term objectives and fewer resources and less time devoted to correcting erroneous or ad hoc decisions; this is because all the managers will be making decisions aimed at achieving the set objectives only and there will be enhanced coordination among them due to the existence of strategic management process. CONCLUSION The role of strategic management cannot be downplayed, given the need to align the organization with the changing environment with a view to realizing the long term objectives of the organization to the future with success. It is critical that all departments in the organization be involved in strategy formulation to ease the implementation process. Proper communication of the vision and mission serves to inspire challenge and motivate the workforce hence making organization grow and increase the market share. The General motor company as used the above strategies to grow by obtaining its objectives, increasing market share and market it to stay in the market. No company can grow or stay in the market if it does not use strategies to face challenges which face market industries RECOMMENDATIONS From the above we can say that due to changes in the environment it necessary to change ways of carrying out business. Any company to continue in business it has to change to new strategies, which will include ways of marketing, using latest technology, for example marketing using internet, having qualified staff in business that will be in appositions to employ new skills. It is very important for any company to look the welfare of employee since this will promote employees morale towards the work. Strategy should be seen as the continuous improvement of accompany so it should not forgotten at all costs, it should be seen as the backbone of the company. Since the company is seen as going concern it must be able to implement all strategies for it survive, this can be seen from the above company that General motors. Last but not least every company to compete in the industry must have clear vision and mission statement for its reference when doing business so that the company can stick to them. REFERENCES 1)Cole, G.A. (1994), Strategic Management, DP Publications. Chandler, Alfred D. (1962), Strategy & Structure, MIT press. Andrews, Kenneth R. (1987), The concept of corporate strategy, 3rd edition, Richard D. Irwin. Ansoff, H.I. (1965), Corporate Strategy, McGraw-Hill. Ansoff, H.I. (1964), Implanting Strategic Management, Prentice Hall International Porter, M.E. (1980), Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors, The Free Press. Thompson, Arthur & Strickland, A.J. (1990), Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, Richard D. Irwin.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Pran Group Swot Analysis

PRAN  stands for  Program for  Rural  Advancement  Nationally. The largest fruit and vegetable processing industry in Bangladesh with countrywide distribution network AMCL’s  PRAN  is an established brand of Bangladesh with an extensive sales force all over the country. PRAN  have a well-developed infrastructure for production, sales and distribution. PRAN  has proven itself as –  Local product but of international standard. . Goals: †¢ Quality maintenance and improvement. †¢ Satisfied customers. †¢ Hold on to the current customers and again gain customer loyalty. †¢ Gain competitive advantage over all the competitors. To double sales and expand production capacity every 7-8 years. †¢ To become one of the biggest names in international fruit and vegetable processing industry Scope: The market of soft drinks and beverage is very competitive. We may say that as a strong market. This project paper is prepared as a marketing plan of a product of AMCL which brand name is PRAN. Methodology: To prepare this report, standard methods of report writing have been used. For writing this report different types of data were needed to complete, tabulate and analyze. The required data were collected by using secondary sources.For collecting data from secondary sources, go through various web sites. After completion of the data, these were sorted into different categories. Limitation: The study suffered a number of limitations: 1. Lack of the part of experience of the researchers. 2. Unconfirmed accuracy of certain information acquired. 3. Lack of information from the primary source. 4. The comparisons may not be effective enough. 5. Lack of time for preparing the report. Source of data: Our source of data is internet, other company profile, published magazine by other company etc. e also collect information from our experience. Current market analysis: According to the information from different sources â€Å"Pranâ₠¬  is now the market leader in the juice sector of soft drinks market. After Pran, frutika, fruto are in the position. Most market shares are now holding by AMCL (Pran), next frutika and then fruto. Product Review: Among many of their products  PRAN’s  main product is their fruit juice and fruit drinks, which is very popular among the existing market. The product line is: †¢ Fruit juice in glass bottle (returnable): It is hygienically produced by state-of-the-art machinery.Available in  mango flavor, made from fresh local ripe mangoes. †¢ Fruit juice in glass bottle (non-returnable): This category of juice is found in non-returnable glass bottle in flavors of  mango, guava and orange. †¢ Fruit juice in aseptic pack: Available flavors in this category are:  mango, lemon, orange, pineapple, guava and mango-pine. †¢ Fruit juice in can: The fruit juices in cans are hygienically produced by state-of-the-art machine from flavors of  mango, orange an d guava. Review of competitors: Currently there are so many juice companies in our country. Among them pran is the leader of juice sector in Bangladesh.Except pran, Lemu, Mojo, RC cola, Pepsi, URO Cola, Virgin, Fruti, Coca cola, 7up, Tiger. Shezan Juice, Rasna. Review of distribution: Pran primarily use existing distributors for distributing their product  Pran Juice  then; they make some new channels and assign some distributors to promote their product to all over the country. So pran deal with this chain: Manufacturer >   Wholesaler>  Ã‚   Retailer>   Customer Figure: Distribution Channel Company using mobile shop in the shopping malls, offices and crowded areas so that people can purchase the product easily when they like to consume.We will make our consumer by  Value Delivery Network. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: †¢ Government support:  Being the biggest local force in the industry AMCL always had government by its side. Government has been supporting  PRAN  in many ways like subsidies, export subsidies, tariffs on foreign competitors etc. †¢ First mover’s advantage: PRAN  entered the market when the product was still very new to the consumers and there was little or no presence of any other local companies with such investment. Therefore  PRAN  had the first mover’s advantage which they are still enjoying till now. Internal strength:  AMCL has a very powerful management team to guide a strong gigantic workforce. Despite its huge size  PRAN  has been able to maintain labor productivity and increasing sales. Its labor productivity is twice as much as any other local company in the market (Not foreign companies). †¢ Market share: PRAN  AMCL has a great competitive advantage over the other competitors. As mentioned earlier it is the largest fruit and vegetable processing industry in Bangladesh and holds the biggest share in markets in Bangladesh among the local companies.PRAN  has the largest sales in fruit drinks after Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Weaknesses: †¢ External threats:  Too much competition from international organizations, for example Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, RC-Cola, Virgin Cola, Rasna (India), Shezan (Pakistan) etc. †¢ Internal weaknesses:  Large size of the business and workforce makes it difficult to manage perfectly. As a result it often causes internal conflict. Opportunities †¢ Existing competitor of the current market is not that much strong which the pran company has. †¢ Pran can be export to other countries. †¢ Existing distribution channel is being used. High growth rate in this industry. Threats †¢ Competitor can produce the same product. †¢ Downward pressure on pricing. †¢ Political instability, economy etc. †¢ New innovation from other competitors could be a threat. Marketing Strategy Positioning Pran always try to position their product through image differentiation, because related marketing, and product differ entiation. Pran will use logo and short advertisement so that people can consistently see the advertisement so the product will occupy a clear, distinctive, and desirable place in the mind of the consumer relative to competitors’ product.Pran will use USP (Unique Selling Proposition) for their product. To do brand differences that make a better differentiation or that has the potential to create company costs as well as customer benefits. A difference is worth establishing to the extent that it satisfies the following criteria. †¢ O Important †¢ O Distinctive †¢ O Superior †¢ O Communicable †¢ O Affordable and Profitable Marketing Mix: Our marketing mixes for the product  Pran  are Product Marketing: For launching a product in the market, there is some procedure that should be followed by every marketer to move in the long run.Our product will enable our customers to have a different experience to try our juice. They will be able to differentiate our product in quality which is unique in the soft drinks market. They will not be able to feel the same way for the other soft drinks in the market. Pricing Strategies: We shall charge based on â€Å"Overhead Expenses† and â€Å"Cost Plus†. Overhead Expenses include rent, gas and electricity, business telephone calls, packing and shipping supplies, delivery and freight charges, cleaning, insurance, office supplies, postage, payroll taxes, repairs, and maintenance.The accuracy of our costing will depend on estimating logical amounts for all categories of expenses. We have to list all overhead expense items and total they divide the total overhead figure by the number of items per month (or time period we used above). The answer is our overhead per item: Overhead + Materials + Labor = Total Cost/Item From the market research, we received the following- Company Name  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Price Fruti(250ml)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15 Mojo (250ml)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15 Pran(250 ml)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15 Table: Price of different brands.We want to charge 250 ml Pran soft drinks at the selling price of Tk. 14. On the other hand, the prices for Pran soft drinks are to be charged for 500 ml Tk. 32, for 1000 ml Tk. 60. Place or Distribution: We will primarily use our existing distributors for distributing our new product  Pran Juice  then; we will make some new channels and assign some distributors to promote our product to all over the country. We are using mobile shop in the shopping malls, offices and crowded areas so that people can purchase the product easily when they like to consume.We will make our consumer by  Value Delivery Network. Advertising and Promotion: The most successful advertising will be throu gh  BTV, NTV, Channel I, ATN  Bangla and RTV  which are the most popular television channels in the country. We will also use some bill-boards and leaflets and we will hold a sport event to promote the product. We will also use our experience so that we can create attention to the customers. Target market Our main target market people are the young ages people who like to drink juice very much. Mostly the school going students and the children.Beside that we also focus the young generation people. Although our main target market is young people but we also prefer the people of adult and old ages people. Forecast and Financial analysis: it just a hypothetical forecasting and financial analysis- The brands of â€Å"Pran Juice†Ã‚  will be introduced in September. We make an action program for the next four months. And we believe that, if our four month action programs will run well, then we will achieve our goals easily. June: In June we will arrange meeting with our suppl iers, dealers.And talk about our new product’s quality, product development etc. Our product is low involvement and buyers show habitual buying behavior. Then we will start production new Pran Juice. July: After meeting with the dealers we will provide sample Pran Juice to our customers for getting publicity. On the other hand we will give advertise of our new product in the Television, Radio, Bill Board, Banners, and in the Poster. Then we will launch our product in to the market. In the primary stage we will produce 250ml and 500ml can. August:After doing our successful operations of two month, at the third month we give extra benefits to the dealers and sellers to improve our sales. We will give small toys; arrange game. Observing the situations, at this stage we will produce 250ml can, and 500ml can for the consumers. In this month we will start to produce 1000ml can. And this month our product will be available in almost every shop of the country. September: In our last month of action program, if situation will favorable then we go for Divisional dealers to distribute to the whole country.Observing and analyzing we take necessary actions to develop product sales and increase our profit. In this way we will continue our production and give a particular image to the mind of every customer. Budget: This section will offer a financial overview four company as it relates to our marketing activities. We have shown break-even information. Sales Forecast: The sales forecast is broken down into the three main revenue streams; direct  Ã‚  Ã‚   sales, Web sales, consignment sales. The sale forecast for the upcoming year is based on 30% growth rate.Growth rate for year 2006 to 2010 are based on percentage increases as follows: †¢ Direct sales 20% growth rate per year †¢ Web sales 50% growth rate per year. †¢ Consignment sales 20% growth rate year. [pic] Profit/loss: January 31,2011, AMCL(PRAN) As per un-audited half yearly accounts as on 31. 12. 10 (July’10 to Dec’10), the company has reported net profit after tax of Tk. 19. 44 million with EPS of Tk. 24. 29 as against Tk. 17. 05 million and Tk. 21. 31 respectively for the same period of the previous year. Control: Our control depends on the customer satisfaction.If customer demand different things with which they feel comfortable, then we simply change our controlling techniques. Conclusion: We all know that, today’s fast moving world respect the new, innovative ideas. To keep the same pace with this situation our company had decided to launch a Juice and it has a bright future in its market. As the product is innovative, the consumers are going product will be a strong product mix for our company. And once our  Juice  will reach to the hand of our targeted customers, we will be able to capture the most market shares.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Local Literature

A significant amount of literature is available on inventory systems. A majority of the findings are derived from experiences in the US, Japan and Western Europe. Some inventory systems however, can be affected by variations in local conditions such as infrastructure, customs, duties, and regulations. Hence, it is essential to view such systems in an international context. To frame this research, we will examine the literature on operations in NIC countries followed by an analysis of local conditions in Thailand. A number of articles are available that examine the inventory setups in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea (Amsden, 1989). For example, Cheng (1988) and Hum and Ng (1995) examine the workings of Just In Time (JIT) systems in Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively. Other studies related to inventory management include facility location decisions (Sisodia, 1992; Nambiar, fielders, and Van Wassenhove, L. N, 1989; Mathews, 1997) and distributed systems. These studies indicate that Thailand is not as industrialized as the other NIC countries such as Singapore, and infrastructure shortcomings play an important role. Next, we will examine the literature on the quality of infrastructure in Thailand. Infrastructure affects both the productivity and effectiveness of manufacturing companies. It has a direct impact on the distribution of raw materials, parts, and finished goods to customers. The few studies focused on Thailand have primarily addressed infrastructural problems in Thailand (Chalamwong, Chalongphob and Wattanalee, 1994; Chalamwong, 1993). In identifying the infrastructure-related problems, Yukio (1990) calls for the Thai government to pay closer attention to transportation systems in their effort to attract more Japanese and foreign investment. Sibunruang (1986) also points to infrastructural constraints having a bearing on the development of the Thai economy. The present government, however, does realizes the importance of infrastructure for the country's overall economy. In its efforts to improve infrastructure, the Thai government has privatized telecommunication service and has started seeking help from private local and foreign companies to cope with the road shortage. The government has also approved a number of projects for the construction of highways in and around Bangkok. Furthermore, the airports in Thailand are now better managed. Although infrastructure remains a problem, there is a substantial pool of investors looking to open shop in Thailand. Information on production and inventory management practices in Thailand can help managers better understand and identify approaches that might be suitable for their companies' operations in that country. As noted earlier, no research on inventory management in Thailand has been undertaken and reported in the literature. The next section presents the methodology used in examining the types of inventory systems employed by foreign companies in Thailand.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Classical Theories of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Classical Theories of Management - Essay Example The classical management theory comprises of three schools of thought: scientific management, bureaucratic management, and administrative management. Although some organizations apply one or more of these theories in managing their employees, most people consider them outdated and inapplicable in managing the 21st-century workplace that needs more visionary leadership styles. Frederick Taylor advanced scientific management in his quest to increase organizational productivity (Taylor, 2003). Frederick emphasized on the efficiency of production processes that could be achieved through empirical research. Availability of skilled labor became a major problem among the 19th-century industrialists (Cameron & Green, 2009). Only a few people were educated at the time, and the few available were in high demand due to the increased number of industries hiring them. Managers thought that the best way to increase the efficiency of the available labor was to draw strict lines between tasks. This decision might have been arrived at because managers believed that they were more intellectual than the workers were, and their duty was to supervise workers as they perform their work. Taylor’s emphasis on high target is desirable since business organizations desire to grow and expand. However, this principle concentrates on selecting the highest standard possible for employees. Taylor did not accurately define the highest standards; this can cause exploitation of employees especially those who are hired on hourly rates. Although Taylor encouraged managers to use the piece-rate basis of payment, some companies may stress employees to work harder than their capacity as these companies strive to achieve their target standards (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2001). This can cause stress and poor welfare among employees. Standard conditions proposed by Taylor encourage rigidity of organizations.  

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Society's Unhealthy Obsession with Thinness Essay

Society's Unhealthy Obsession with Thinness - Essay Example Before the malady had been studied clinically, people thought that this starving was something religious and some girls would fast for days and weeks at end only to end up either highly ill or dead. Now that we understand the act, it is important to understand the scene. The scene according to Burke is "the background of the act, the situation in which it occurred." We might never know for sure why girls in 18th centuries would starve themselves because there is nothing in the article on the actual reasons for developing anorexia in those days. But in today's society we know for a fact that obsession with thinness is the cause of this problem. With media showing unreal images of thin beauties, many young girls starve themselves to lose weight, both real and imaginary. Doctors have found that these girls do not lack appetite, but simply have "a deathly fear of getting fat". Agent in this case is the girl who is so badly trying to lose weight that she makes herself sick. This girl would usually be a young person, highly impressionable and with a morbid fear of putting on weight. This would be a girl who "wouldn't lick stamps because she was terrified of possible calories". She would still exercise herself to sickness because she simply cannot fathom the problem with her. A young girl with an obsessive desire to lose weight and stay thin is very likely to develop anorexia nervosa. The most detailed part of this article would fall in the area of â€Å"agency†. According to Burke, agency is â€Å"the means or instruments used†. The author has done a good job in explaining how the agent would lose weight. There are more than one ways in which girls suffering from anorexia would keep their weight below the healthy line. Purging is the main instrument. Girls would throw up whatever they ate to at once having the feeling of fullness from eating and the satisfaction of not consuming any calories from the food. There can be other similar habits such as "mixing vinegar in her drinks or lavishing mustard on lettuce salad." Another method is lingering on the food for a very long time, "Anorexics linger over food, drawing out the meal, as people do during times of famine. Prisoners of war had elaborate strategies to make one slice of bread last an hour." The article shows many ways in which we can detect eating disorders in young people around us. It tells p arents to look for warning signs like excessive exercise, little or no food consumption, lingering over food, vomiting, paler complexion and using some specific ingredients like vinegar excessively in their food or liquids. The last is the purpose which according to Burke is the intention for committing the act. If a person is starving herself to death or illness, what possibly could be the purpose As we have already mentioned, the purpose is to lose weight. But this is only partially true because there are many women who would lose weight but not suffer from anorexia. The people suffering from this malady have two purposes a) to lose weight which can often be imaginary, and b) to be accepted by others especially those they idealize. This purpose makes them do weird things to their body and this can lead to serious

Banking Law (question in instruction) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Banking Law (question in instruction) - Essay Example erefore, the holder can be either the person to whom the cheque was written or the individual in possession of it by virtue of a transfer by negotiation2. In this case, the order which has been fraudulently obtained and negotiated by Clara to their debtor is an illegal order cheque requiring an indorsement by the legitimate holder who in this case is Megan. As such, she reserves the right to file charges of cheque fraud against Clara and seek an injunction against any cashing of the cheque by Jason’s bank for purposes of reclaiming the money amounting to 15,000. Regardless, Megan’s success would depend on her ability to prove that: a) Jason’s bank owes her the duty of care; b) there is proximity between her and the bill collecting bank; and c) cashing the money to Jason would result in material injury upon her. In Yuen Kun-Yeu v Attorney-General of Hong Kong (1987) PC, the plaintiff made deposits of money with an accredited deposit taker, but lost the deposits when it became insolvent3. He argued that the Commission regulating the activities of the deposit taken was liable because it was aware or should have been aware of the difficulties facing the depositor. However, in its decision the court said there was no proximity between the Commission and the deposit taker vis-Ã  -vis the claimant. In respect of this decision, Megan would lose the case, which then allows her the option to seek compensation for a breach of banker-customer relationship if the banker proceeds and authorises payment by a fraudulent indorsement. In Foley v. Hill and Others (1848), the court said the banker owes the customer money that is equivalent to the deposits4. The verdict considered the banker the owner of the deposits and the client the investor taking risk. In light of the verdict, Megan could successfully bring claims against the bank for fraud and obtain a refund of all of her money ‘owned’ by the bank courtesy of the fraudulent Clara and her husband if the banker settled

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Environment issues in business subject Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environment issues in business subject - Essay Example The responsibility of an organization for its activities that it has performed and decisions that has been taken which has an impact on society and its surroundings. The Social Corporate Responsibility ensures that the company must undertake sustainable development and should have care for the health and welfare of the society. It makes sure that the company should abide the applicable law and should adhere to the international norms and behavior (Australian Government 2012). The aim to create global standards is to minimize the impact of an organization’s decisions and activities on society and the environment. It is the commitment of the industry to manage health and safety of its workers while pertaining to care for environmental and economic issues and to publicly report the progress of the industry. It also focuses in delivering the shareholders value and to cover the expectation of their shareholders. These norms have been defined by the principal industry body known as the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) which is responsible to look in to the matter of Mineral industries and monitor their operations. However, if industries do not adhere to the principles outlined by the global body then companies might pose serious threat to the overall community (Australian Government 2012). The reporting of CSR activities is the new approach amongst different companies because it addresses issues for the society’s well-being. It can have an impact on the performance and the goodwill of the company which is a greater concern for its stakeholders. It outlines priorities of the company and its stakeholders. It is considered to be an accountability practice for firms that are willing to improve their performance and profitability. In new ways, it is considered to be a marketing strategy to grab attraction of audience (Alfonso 2011). There are numerous social and environmental factors that results in the criticism of the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Auditing - Essay Example Later in the year 1999, she was promoted to the post of Vice President in the department of internal audit. However, when the telecom market got saturated the profitability of the company began declining. Cynthia in the year 2002 discovered that the company used illegal practices to manipulate its accounts. It was observed that although the company suffered loss, the balance sheet showed that the company was attaining significant profit. Cynthia thus decided to carry out a secretive investigation on the fraud practices exercised by the company which then resulted to the termination of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Scott Sullivan. In spite of her effort to unveil the illegal accounting practices exercised by the company, she was considered as a major suspect in the federal investigation. Based on the above presented case scenario, this study intends to describe the key criteria for functioning of an effective whistle blower in the corporate level. It also discusses about the polic ies framed by the regulatory bodies to prevent the illegal accounting practices. The term whistle-blower is allocated to a person within an organisation who is engaged in the disclosure of fraudulent and illegal practices executed by employers within the organisation to other organisations or a person who are eligible to take actions for curbing such malpractice (Beller, n.d.). Concerning with case provided, Cynthia Cooper was the whistle-blower who unveiled the fraudulent practices carried in the WorldCom. Almost all organisations are widely concerned about management and employee related fraud. It is thus very important to establish a corporate whistle-blower hotline which ensures effective operation in organisations. The main objective of this hotline should be to detect wrongful accounting practices and avoid future potential illegal practices in organisations. Thus to ensure that the whistle blower hotline is

Monday, September 23, 2019

Statistics in the workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Statistics in the workplace - Essay Example Health statistics gives information on the health matters of people. This means that every person is part of a health statistic. To get knowledge, an organization first gathers data, these data is processed into facts and figures which are transformed into information. Statistics has several other uses such as making decision on the relevant staffing needs of the hospital facility in relation to information or data collected frequency or number of patients a hospital has per period of time. Some of the many ways in which statistics can be used in rehabilitation health facility include: to carry out surveys on patient satisfaction or employee satisfaction, to carry out tests or experiments on new procedures just to mention but a few. There are various branches of statistics, the two main branches are; descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics that describes data that has been gathered revealing the trends and patter ns of the information. Descriptive statistics illustrates how data is dispersed but does not test any hypothesis so as to form a conclusion on the basis of that data (Bennett, Briggs, Triola, 2009). In healthcare, descriptive statistics is used for various purposes. ... The patients who consent to the trial will undergo close monitoring during the study through close observation and evaluation. The results will be based on specifics such as the degree of side effects, rate of recovery and they are not charged for the process. Descriptive statistics basically uses aspects such as means of central tendency and dispersions these are mean and standard deviation respectively. In this example the mean will be used to give the overall impact of the procedure towards rehabilitation while standard deviation might be used to show how stable or unstable the drug may be. Stability simply means the uniformity in the way patients react to the procedure, therapy or drug. Inferential statistics is simply a method through which conclusions about an aspect of a population is drawn from a sample. A sample is a finite subset of a population. This is the procedure of selecting and using a sample statistic to draw conclusions about the population parameters and eventuall y the population. It is used when we have access to a sample but not the population. Statistical inference uses two methods namely; point estimate and hypothesis testing. The estimation method is usually used to inferences where information about a population is in the given sample. There are two kinds of estimates which are point estimate and interval estimate. The estimates are used to make inference on the population parameters. An example of point-estimates is the mean weight of patients in the hospital while an interval estimate is the range within which we expect the mean of a population to fall at some level of confidence say 95%. Hypothesis testing on the other hand is the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

School Rules Essay Example for Free

School Rules Essay 1. Silence must be observed – a) As the first bell rings b) When coming into and leading out from the place where worship or assembly is conducted. c) When teachers enter the classroom. 2. Quiet talking is allowed between lessons, after a teacher has left a classroom. 3. Day scholars should leave the school as soon as school closes unless they are staying for games or extra lessons. 4. Letters of excuse for absence etc. should be addressed to the Principal. Those should be handed to the Class Teacher who will pass then on to the Office. 5. No day scholar may bring books or magazines to school without permission. 6. No day scholar may carry letters or messages for boarders without special permission from the Principal. 7. No day scholars may go to a dormitory or the refectory without permission. 8. Girls taken ill during school hours are to be taken up to the sick room or dispensary and the Office informed. 9. Borrowing without permission is strictly forbidden. 10. No student may take part in any public stage, televised or other show or advertisement without the prior written permission of the Principal. 11. Birthday parties are not allowed during school hours, but a birthday cake ONLY may be shared with the class after obtaining prior permission from the Principal. 12. The Prefects are responsible for the general tidiness of the school buildings and have the authority to maintain discipline. 13. Only presents of flowers may be given to members of the staff. 14. Visiting shops or homes of friends during school hours or in the course of extra curricular activities after school or in between examinations is strictly forbidden. 15. The uniform includes the school tie, white socks and black leather shoes. Girls are permitted to wear white canvas shoes. Girls are expected to wear a petticoat, or a vest and underskirt and have their uniforms at a reasonable length. Hair must be neat and tidy. Girls wearing their hair short can use clips (black). Those who have shoulder length hair must tie it back with a ribbon. Those having longer hair should plait their hair. Safety pins on belts, front and side openings of the uniform should not be used A small pair of gold ear studs may be worn. Gypsy earrings are not permitted.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Composite Performance framework (CPF) Application

Composite Performance framework (CPF) Application The scope of this dissertation is; To diagnose issues within a division, project or company within the mining and allied industries. To give guidelines on assessing the nature of the issues. To provide guidelines on corrective actions for those perceived issues. To take steps to prevent it from reoccurring. To embrace continuous improvement in all aspects of the operations and where possible to extend this continuous improvement to employees personal lives. This research has limitations, in that the research of literature is taken from all over the world with much of the literature coming from the USA, and the heuristic component is harvested through local Australian and Africa experience. Whilst these limitations are not all encompassing, they are nonetheless limitations. A research dissertations such as this: Does not guarantee outcomes Only addresses identified issues Does not guarantee access to replacement of personnel Does not guarantee Management driven solutions Does not instantly cure a culture that may be weak Works within the confines of the operational dynamics of that site Research done mostly on coal mines and associated industries This dissertation is based on the application and implementation of the Composite Performance framework (CPF). This research is derived from the experience of this researcher and is harvested from the mining and related industries. The outcomes of this research are intended to benefit the mining industries in its future endeavours, especially management at all levels. Appendix E demonstrates the application of the CPF. Chapter 6 introduced case studies using the CPF and these chapters will introduce the implementation of the composite performance framework (CPF) as well as managerial practices within the mining industry in more detail. This current chapter will address some issues as they are seen by this researcher and methodologies to restrain them. The nature of the mining industry calls for a different and in some cases a unique set of managerial skills and tools, such as a succession and training plans, due to the high attrition rates, discussed in earlier chapters of this dissertation. Implementation practices using the CPF in the mining industry. As demonstrated in Ch 6, management is not a passive function, but rather an ongoing active and proactive function. Ignoring issues and not dealing with them in a prompt and decisive manner will cause issues to morph into potentially larger issues that could be even more difficult to resolve. This dissertation has focused on implementing change in the mining industry. Change merely for the sake of change, and change without gain are of no benefit to the organisation. By the same token; the absence of change is static, and will not help a company progress or take advantage of new technology and possibilities. All change to be implemented must be evaluated to assess the change that will benefit the organisation. As mentioned in Ch 2 of this dissertation, it is not good enough to do things correctly; the correct factors need to be established, and they must be implemented correctly. Management and planned change must be programmed according to the changing and growing objectives of the organisation and its people. All changes must be able to be measured, and based on the continuous improvement philosophy; must show measured change, on track and in accordance with the scheduled objectives of the company or operations. Previous chapters of this dissertation raise various issues within the mining industry including aspects and issues within the management of the mining industry. The mining industry has taken steps to resolve some managerial issues in the mining industry and to this end have introduced some training courses which are mandatory for anyone that will supervise another mine worker in any way. Any intended change must be preceded by a operational process plan, a basic idea of what a broad operational process will look like, when implementing change in accordance with the CPF philosophy. RQ1: What are the elements of a framework that can be used to address mine operational problems and issues? In answer to RQ1 this researcher is convinced that all five aspects of the CPF are valid frames to re-engineer a company or organisation within the mining or allied industries. The five elements can be seen in chapter 4 and also within the case studies presented in chapter 6. The five elements of the CPF were developed to cover all aspects of change management and to be flexible and to deliver sustainable change by way of the continuous cycle of assessment. RQ2: What are the appropriate strategies to initially identify mining operational problems and issues? In answer to RQ2 this researcher states, that by assessing the operation to be re-engineered the manager assigned to implement change, will be made aware of problems and issues within that organisation. His role is to find areas where change will be rejected and how to best deal with that situation as and when it arises. Communication is vital at all stages of the change implementation process. Chapter 4 and the case studies in chapter 6 demonstrate this effectively. RQ3: What is the efficacy of the CPF in mining operations? In answer to RQ3, this researcher is comfortable that the CPF is a highly efficacious tool to re-engineer organisations within the mining industry. Chapter 6 of this dissert Introduction When projects are conceived, they are costed out and a cost is assessed. This cost is invariably a budget cost to complete the project. The next stage is to assess whether that cost can be negotiated down and cost savings to be sought. This is usually done by value improvement processes. This stage is commonly known as a value improvement process (VIP), and assembles a team of experienced managers within the field at assess each cost and see where savings can be gained. A normal project function with any large project in the mining industry is that of Value Improvement Process (VIP); Value Engineering (VE) forms a part of VIP Process. Value Engineering is a methodology where the best possible engineering or process practices are employed to gain a value advantage to ensure that the project remains viable. This is initially achieved by a VIP project using a series of workshops, usually facilitated by an independent facilitator. The primary objective of a VIP project it to gain cost reductions, without losing value or functionality project wide, in order to reduce costs and improve the net present value (NPV) as well as improve operating costs into the future. This researcher uses a number of specific strategies when implementing the CPF. These are briefly considered: Brain storming. This is used in group situations with relevant team members as well as the VIP team. Identification of local champions. Local champions are usually selected in conjunction with supervisors and management meetings, and team leaders that know the team structure better. Identification of local champions s detailed below. As with so many professionals; in developing a VIP project, the VIP project manager will discover that professional single mindedness prevails and can cost the project dearly if not handled correctly. In order to address the above, this researcher in using the CPF uses the workshops as an idea generation methodology. In short it is a Brainstorming exercise. This researcher considers that the usual form of Brainstorming is counter-productive rather than conducive to the idea generation. This is because of some team members that may be experienced but silent during the brain storing sessions. This researcher will introduce a more beneficial manner of generating ideas and concepts in section 7.5 of this chapter. The objective is more than to generate ideas; it is to generate the best quality of new ideas. Another area of integration effectiveness can be derived from self-managed work teams. Of equal importance is the need for local champions (normally leading hands or supervisors) among current work teams†¦they become information gatherers and disseminators, coaches and mentors, teachers, consultants and facilitators. Identification of local champions Local champions at times, are just one of the team members. However, they are crucial because they are usually respected and their peers carefully consider their views. Local champions in the mining industry are quite often the Leading Hands or the Supervisors. When placing champions in work teams, through positive problem solving and conflict management strategies, they may help various group representatives to confront existing conflict. It is the conviction of this researcher that the Leading Hands and Supervisors are the quintessential managers on a mine site or mining project. Enhance / promote problem solving behaviour The effectiveness of each organisation in achieving integration or administering change management programmes is directly related to the extent that its members rely on problem-solving behaviour to resolve conflicts. In order to implement problem-solving behaviour and at the same time establish commitment to work teams, champions need to be competent in their: skills in human interaction ability to form quick and functional relationships deciding priorities among goals ensuring decisions are fair and equitable Some of the conditions, which foster integration within an organisation, are: external communications internal communications empowerment team training and team learning Team work Team work is when a team works in harmony with each other to reach certain goals and objectives for the company, but also to a lesser degree for each member of that team. During the implementation process of change it is critical that teams work together with each member as well as other teams and management. Meet regularly with teams and discuss the planned as well as completed organisational changes and what outcomes are expected. Recognise that teams will understand that you may not have the answers to everything, but it is important for them to feel the communication is candid. Regularly communicate agreed goals and the vision of the new situation Encourage teams to discuss fears and concerns in teams Open suggestion boxes for employees to raise questions in anonymity Whenever possible, assign roles and responsibilities in line with teams interests Obtain individual team member buy-in Obtain commitment from the team members to the change Minimise any resistance that is suspected Reduce team anxiety Ensure total clarity of objectives Share the information and the goals Challenge the current situation and allow the team members to do the same Obtain clarity from the senior management as well as the team members Minimise uncertainty

Friday, September 20, 2019

Business Essays Heineken Beer Market

Business Essays Heineken Beer Market Heineken Beer Market Executive Summary Chapter 1 analyze threats Heineken is facing and opportunities the company can get from the beer market by using two model PESTLE and Porter Five Forces. PESTLE describe what difficulties come from external environmental factors that the company is facing and Porter five force analyze the threats as well as opportunities of Heineken in suppliers, buyers, competitors, substitutes and new entrant. OT factors in SWOT analysis also use to define in chapter 1 for threats and opportunities of the company. Chapter 2 describes strengths and weaknesses in the company operation through the analysis of internal environment such as company resources, organizational structure and culture. The resources with include tangible, intangible, management capability and marketing which used to identify what the advantages Heineken are managing for the performance of their operation. SW in SWOT also use at the same time to analyze strongly what strengths and weaknesses Heineken is taking. Chapter 3 assesses how Heineken perform in term of effectiveness, efficiency and return to shareholders based on efficiency ratios and performance investment ratios. This assessment identifies the market share and market growth of company in the market. Chapter 4 finding the options those are available to the company and recommendation of the most appropriate ones for future strategic direction. Chapter 5 finding recommendations for structures, systems and policies which use to implement these strategies successfully. Chapter 6 the outline of my assessment of the usefulness of strategic management models for Heineken analysis. How PEST, Porter Five Force, SWOT, resource-based and financial analysis use to be described for my analysis successfully. Introduction Today beer is widely available and enjoyed in most countries and cultures around the world. Heineken is one of the largest companies in a global network of distributors and breweries. In addition, Heineken owns and manages one of the worlds leading portfolios of beer brands in terms of sales volume and profitability. Moreover, the company has been able to remain one of the worlds leading consumer and corporate brands for more than 130 years. It became Europes favorite beer brand successfully exported to every corner of the world. Chapter 1 Analysis of the external general PESTLE model Political Beer is a kind of drink that the government excises significantly because it contains alcohol which is addicted people. Therefore, this will affect Heineken Company in sale volume in the market. With internationalisation and globalisation, more and more brewers are hunting for new markets, governments on the other hand with and intention to gain maximum profit as well as get empathy on ethical grounds are imposing heavy taxes on liquor and beer imports. As a result, this fact will bring threat for Heineken. For example, recently drinking alcohol is prohibited on public transport in London. This hence will impact on the beer market because people want to enjoy their beer not only at home but also at public where they can have fun time with their friends. Economic Heineken has many operations in mature – mainly Western European and it is reported in Euros. Therefore, the currency fluctuations could create threat to the overall company results, especially relating to the US dollar. However, Heineken has a clear policy on hedging transactional exchange risks; this would postpone the impact on financial results. Nowadays, unemployment has risen due to recession in the market and this will result in more people will choose some cheaper alternative. As a result, Heineken with premium price will be impacted for that. This also brings threats for company in distribution aspect. Social culture Nowadays, beer is not only for men enjoy it but women also drink beer to enjoy its taste. Furthermore, life style of the new generation has become very fast and different, which result in lack of time in today life. Thus the consumption at bars is declining. This means that the beer market will be affected by this as well as Heineken Company, this will lead to go down in sale volume. Furthermore, demographic changes would influence the company a lot. For examples, in China where the population is going up rapidly and this combined with consumer having increasing amounts of leisure time. Therefore, these would lead to consumption of beer in China grew by 33.56% between 2000 and 2006. China now has overtaken the United State to become the largest national beer market in the world. As a result Heineken Company will have significant sale volume in this market. Technology Now it is hard to find a part of the company’s business that doesn’t use technology. Therefore, technology is developed will impact the company as well as beer industry. Information technology security upgraded has created opportunities for Heineken’s worldwide business operations, and connectivity in the company and with outside partners is increasing. For example, the recent advancement in the technology has opened huge markets for organizations to access world population without any barriers. This can be taken as a chance to reach out to almost every location on the globe. Hence Heineken will open their market in many locations in the world. Porter’s five forces model The bargaining power of suppliers The suppliers of raw materials to Heineken Company are mainly farmers. Therefore, the threat for power of supplier is high. The bottle supplier for Heineken is provided by Heye Glas Nederland which is fully supplied the green bottle for the worldwide distribution of Heineken beer. In the past, Heineken kept only 33% its stake in Heye Glas in order to secure the supply of high quality export bottles at a lower cost to meet the needs for demand but now Heineken has kept 100% stake in 2002. Beer is produced by water, barley, hops and yeast. These ingredients are supplied by farmers. Heineken also mentioned that competition for agricultural products from the biofuels industry that is affecting their costs. The bargaining power of buyers The buyers in this industry have many choices as there are many companies serving beer. This will increase the choice of the customer and hence the threat for power of buyers is high. For example, for serving customer at the pub, there are a lot of beer brands for them to fit their taste such as Guiness, Carlsberg, Tiger. Therefore, buyers now have a choice to choose the one they like. As a result, choosing of customer for what kind beer they want to drink will bring threats for Heineken. The threat of potential new entrants Nowadays, an explosion of smaller brewers has entered the market during the past decade that making the industry much more competitive. Heineken is one of the largest brewers in the world and they have to share market with other brewer. The barrier in the beer market is low. Therefore, the threat of potential new entrants for Heineken is high. This will make Heineken considering to create innovation or uniqueness into their product that can sustain competitive advantages in the beer market. The threat of substitutes Beer is a kind of beverage which contains alcohol. However, people can switch to drink wine which also is alcohol drink. Customer’s taste is not similar so that they have right to choose what they want to enjoy, so this will affect the beer market as well as Heineken Company. As a result, the threat of substitute for beer market is high. The extent of competitive rivalry Heineken has achieved the economy of scale in the market especially in Europe. It holds about 30% of market share in European beer market. Since the beer market is growing, so the competitors will try to attain their growth targets. The large brewer like Heineken tends to enforce their own strategies to the beer industry and due the economies of scale they will produce higher quality and unique products which can make their own place in the market, hence keep themselves growing to achieve their target. Chapter 2 Internal analysis of the company Analysis the resources Tangible: Since Heineken know that their plant and equipment is a key for company production, they invest so much in the infrastructure to make sure that their operation is working efficiently. For example, Heineken have four breweries in Russia, all those use KHS Till plant technology. This equipment at Heineken’s packaging can processes 50 liter kegs in addition to 30 liter at an output of up to 140 kegs an hour. As a result, the two-lane machine can operate with one racking, six washing and sterilizing stations. Intangible: brand name is most valuable asset of the Heineken Company, they has built this name Heineken with premium brand. The company recognizes that brand is very important key for them to develop a strong presence globally in the beer market so that Heineken have a lot of marketing activities for its brand name. Furthermore, branding is also a highly defensible competitive advantage for Heineken; this would bring strength to company expansion. Hence Heineken Company can stretch their production internationally and add more money for company. Management capability: Heineken implemented a number of new initiatives in the area of leadership development in 2004. One is a new leadership competency model that defines behavior expectations from all senior managers at Heineken. The model takes Heineken company ambitions and values as a starting point and translates these into the leadership behavior required from senior managers. With marketing differentiation using different message within normal media advertising can also have differentiating effect. This differentiation will bring strengths for Heineken. When most advertisers are pursuing essentially the beer market with the same message like showing gregarious groups of males in public houses having an enjoyable night out. In the other hand, Heineken managed to differentiate its beer by using a series of advertisements employing humour and the caption Heineken refreshed the parts other beers can not reach. Organizational structure In 2005 Heineken announced that it was created a new top management structure, this would drive and support growth as a global organization. In order to connect functions, operation and finance in a more effective way, the company create a new more streamlines Executive Board. Hence change would lead to create strengths for operating regions and global functions. Furthermore, Heineken has grown substantially over the past four years. The new structure is better suited to the present organization and ensures faster decision-making. In the beer market where the consolidation process is accelerating and rapid introduction of innovations is essential, this is crucial to the achievement of Heineken’s long term ambitions. Culture Heineken is proud of they are one of the world’s great beer companies. Hence their culture will reflect the company view and values. These values create so many strengths for company to develop their environment within the company. Heineken based on the value that they respect their employees, business partners, customers, shareholders and all others who are connected to the company. Furthermore, Heineken make life more enjoyable by bring enjoyment to life, they also encourage this core value within the working places and atmosphere within the company. In addition, company has a fundamental belief in the concept and delivery of quality, it is also reflected in their other activities such as their social and employment policies. This will create benefit and value both for Heineken and their reputation. As a result, these values define Heineken corporate culture and working methods which help company to do the business successfully. Chapter 3 Evaluation of the company’s financial performance 2005 2006 2007 Return on investment (ROI) 14% 20% 12% Return on equity (ROE) 21.1% 27.0% 15.5% Net profit margin 7.05% 11.02% 7.72% Dividend payout ratio 25.8% 24.3% 42.5% Earnings per share 1.71 1.90 2.29 Return on investment of Heineken changed from 2005 to 2007. In 2006 return on investment have a significant improvement compared to 2005. The increasing of ROI show the efficiency which Heineken got profit from its technology investment. The reason for increasing ROI is that the company deployed Windows Mobile 5.0 in 2006 and has experienced significant business benefits. Company has improves account development by offering its sales representatives instant access to pricing, promotions, availability and accounts receivable data. Window mobile led to an average sales increase after deployment. The return on equity of Heineken rose 5.9% in 2006 then declined 11.5% in 2007.The reason for going up return on equity is net profit increasing. In 2005 Heineken’s net profit is â‚ ¬761 millions and it was increasing to â‚ ¬1211 millions in 2006.The rising of return on equity shows that the company have used money from shareholders effectively in manufacturing. However, declining return on equity indicated that the Heineken beer was getting more expensive to produce because the prices of raw materials and packaging have raised significantly, transportation, energy and pressure on labor costs were also expected in the beer market. In 2006 net profit margin of Heineken increased so much compared with 2005 and 2007. 11.02 % show that the company got more profit from their sale. In that year, the distribution of Heineken went up with 111.9 hectoliters in consolidated beer volumes. Furthermore, the company achieved the best annual growth rate for Heineken premium brand for many years with growth of 11.8 %. With these reason Heineken achieved their performance effectively. From the table above we can see dividend pay out ratio decrease 1.5% in 2006 and then increase so much 18.2 % in 2007.The reason of increasing is that Heineken  has been changing its dividend pay-out policy at the end of 2006. This means that it would up the amount paid to shareholders from 20-25% of net profit before exceptional items and amortization to between 30% and 35%. These proposals support Heinekens intention to preserve its independence, to maintain a healthy financial structure in order to grow the business both organically and through acquisition. Earning per share of Heineken increased from 2005 to 2007. These figures above show the company has maintenance revenue. Distributions of company increase every year so that Heineken could earn from 1 share which investors have invested. Moreover, increasing company market share by earning per share will indicate that the profit getting from every dollar invested can satisfy both Heinekens’ stakeholders and shareholder. Chapter 4 Recommendations on strategic options 4.1. To face with the alcohol pressure in the market, Heineken have the strategy to produce and sell beer in the ways that have a positive impact on society at large. With this strategy, Heineken promotes awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of alcohol, this also encourage informed consumers to be accountable for their own actions. For example, in 2006 the launching of the â€Å"Enjoy Heineken Responsibly† program was finalized. Therefore nowadays company is becoming more and more engaged to promote responsible consumption in partnership with consumers. By using this strategy as purpose the company does not want beer consumers to condone in any way the abuse of alcohol, particularly Heineken Brand. As a result this will lead to the Company get positive aspect for their production in the society. I strongly recommend Heineken should use this strategy. 4.2. For solving the problem with currency risks as the global market is unstable in exchange money, Heineken have a strategy on hedging transactional exchange risks which postpones the impact on company finance result. After deduction of dollar-denominated costs, a net cash inflow in US dollars remains. This cash flow is hedged in advance mostly by means of forward contracts. This reduces the volatility of export results and the â‚ ¬ cash flows due to short-term fluctuations in the value of the US dollar against the Euro. Transactions are entered into with a limited number of counterparties. I don’t recommend that the company use this strategy because the global market is unpredictable. 4.3. To intensify the international marketing Heineken have sponsored for a lot of entertainments activities in the world. This strategy would bring the biggest strengths for Heineken brand name. For example, company is a major sponsor of tennis champion such as Wimbledon, the US Open, Australia Open and the Shanghai Open. Moreover, the music plan adopted also remains a key sponsorship area for Heineken. For example, in Singapore has been successful that it is now used in other markets such as Malaysia and Thailand. Following with these marketing strategies on advertisement, the good thing company would show that Heineken always attend to social activities that mean they are not only bring enjoyable but also bring responsible to people around the world. I recommend Heineken should continue to pursue this strategy. 4.4. For adapting with development of technology, Heineken has a strict information technology (IT) security strategy to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and data. Furthermore, supporting and monitoring activities towards operating IT are being strengthened for the company. Moreover, IT contingency measures with regard to the partly outsourced IT shared service centre. The benefit of this strategy on IT would help Heineken to connect with so many operations around the world. I recommend company use this strategy. 4.5. By using brand strategy Heineken has built a strong portfolio that combines the power of local and international brands. Furthermore, the consistent growth of brand requires solid creative brand management which Heineken coordinate centrally. Company has developed and adopted brand strategy to get strengthening in the market share where there are lots of other brewers there. I recommend Heineken use this strategy. 4.6. To sustain with strong position in the beer market, Heineken have adapted competitive strategy in its management. By offering competitively priced and quality products, Heineken want to give consumers the premium product with reasonable price compare with other brewers. The management of company recognizes that to maintain Heineken’s sales, they need to focus on what consumer needs. In addition to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the competitor in the key business segments, competitive strategy would bring advantages for Heineken to compete with it’s competitor for attracting customers. Chapter 5 Recommendations on the most feasible strategic options 5.1. Responsibility is a heart of alcohol policy. Based on the alcohol policy adopted Heineken want to stress that their operations need to sustain dialogue with government and health organizations. The objectives of policy are to prevent misuse and abuse of alcohol. Furthermore, they want to ensure that responsible consumption of beer is socially acceptable. In addition to help Heineken be a truly sustainable business. With this alcohol policy would implement for succeed of strategy. 5.2. As consumer needs and tastes vary, Heineken must decide how much to adapt marketing strategy to local needs using a variance of standardized marketing mix adapted marketing mix, owing to the strong brand preferences loyalties that exist among the beer drinkers. Also, Heineken need to prioritize between global integration versus national responsiveness evident from decreasing sales in Holland, Rest of Europe, and Africa. Besides that the beer market is also attractive in terms of size and future growth, this approach would help the company differentiate Heineken beer with premium price compared with other beer brewer. 5.3. Data synchronization provider system can manage data behind the firewall while benefiting from one point of access to the Global Data Synchronization Network. This system would help to minimal disruption to Heinekens day-to-day operations. This integration is the first in a series of initiatives that Heineken International has been planning to accelerate its data synchronization activities through one central connection point. As a result, this system would implement highly for technology strategy to the company. 5.4. Using the branding policy the company has built brand recognition for long-term to differentiate the brand Heineken and be sure to add value to the product in order to get the brand loyalty. The brand policy also stresses for maintenance of beer quality or creates benefits for society and culture, and also provides an emotion to its consumers. This policy would add more value for Heineken Company in successful way. 5.5. Heineken has in place a strong competition compliance policy across the entire business and has a comprehensive code of business conduct for all employees. Furthermore, Heineken believes in the principle of fair competition. It will keep in place policies and programmes aimed at giving guidance to employees to ensure that they understand competition laws and act in compliance with them. Chapter 6 The assessment of the usefulness of strategic management models 6.1. To me, I find that the PEST analysis is a useful business measurement tool. It’s looking at external factors to the organization. Following the factors of the analysis, I can see the big picture of Heineken’s environment in which they are operating and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By analyzing factors of PEST model I can understand the Heineken external environment and how the environment affects business performance of the company. 6.2. For me, I find that The Porter’s five forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This model is useful because it helps me understand both the threats of Heineken current competitive position and the strength of a position company are looking to move into. Furthermore, understanding the nature of Heineken competitive environment by using Porter’s five forces model, I can analyze what are crucially important for company to build long-term business strategy and sustain competitive advantages in the market. 6.3. SWOT analysis is a powerful model for me to understand Heineken strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that company face. This model helps me to assess what Heineken can and can not do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. Therefore, I can know what may assist the firm in accomplishing Heineken’s objectives and obstacles. Moreover, the model is also useful in the way that it gives me the overall performance of Heineken. Hence I can analyze where the place the company get their position. 6.4. Resource-based theory is useful to me in the analysis of internal factors of Heineken following these reasons. Firstly, I can find the factors that deliver sustainable competitive for the company like branding. Secondly, the physical resources can give me a look about the efficient operation of Heineken in new technology they adopted. Thirdly, by understanding resource-based I can recognize that the way company has the dominant position in the beer market compare with other breweries. 6.5. Financial analysis method is useful for me to understand the measurement of performance of Heineken. Based on the ratio formula I can see how effectiveness and how the financial risk company was doing. Moreover, looking at the numbers which company has represented on the financial statement, I can know the market share that Heineken has positioned in the market place and the market growth company has developed. As a result of calculating for financial analysis for every year I can find how the company has operated in the effectiveness way. Conclusion I think that with all analysis include external and internal environments, company performance and all the strategy and policies Heineken adopted will help company to step more successful in the future. Although Heineken now have some troubles in production or distributions but the top management are considering creating flexible way to overcome them and then Heineken Company will keep their position is that one of the most largest brewers in the world. Appendix Key financial ratios 2007 IFRS 2006 IFRS 2005 IFRS Net profit margin 7.72% 11.02% 7.05% Operating profit margin 12.0% 15.3% 11.6% EBIT margin 12.2% 15.5% 11.9% EPS 2.29 1.90 1.71 Operating cash flow per share 3.53 3.77 3.82 ROE 15.5% 27.0% 21.1% Equity/ borrowed capital 0.85 0.74 0.62 Interest coverage ratio 22.7 19.7 14.8 Net Debt/ EBITDA 0.8 0.7 1.3 Operating free cash flow/ net debt 0.39 0.59 0.43 Cash conversion rate

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Life of Frederick Douglass :: American History Slavery Narratives Essays

The Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, near Hillsborough. He doesn’t know for sure of his age, he has seen no proof and his master will not inform him. Most masters prefer for their slaves to stay ignorant. He believes that he was around twenty-seven and twenty-eight when he began writing his narrative - he overheard his master say he was about seventeen years of age during 1835. His mother, Harriet Bailey, was separated from him when he was an infant and she died when he was seven years old. Frederick’s father was a white man who could have been his master but he never found out. Education was of utmost importance in his life. He received his first lesson while living with Mr. and Mrs. Auld. Sophia Auld, Frederick’s "mistress", was very humane to him and spent time teaching him the A, B, C’s. After he mastered this, she assisted him in spelling three and four letter words. At this point in his lesson Mr. Auld encountered what his wife was doing for Frederick and forbid her to continue. He believed that "if you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell" and continuing with "learning would spoil the best nigger in the world". The masters felt that an ignorant slave formed a choice slave and any beneficial learning would damage the slave and therefore be futile to his master. His next step on the road to success was during his seven years living with Master Hugh’s family. Frederick would make friends with as many white boys as he possibly could on the street. His new friends would be transformed into teachers. When he could, Frederick carried bread on him as a means of trade to the famished kids for knowledge. He would also carry a book anytime he had an errand to run. The errand would be completed quickly, allowing extra study time. When Frederick was working in Durgin and Bailey’s ship-yard he would notice timber marked with various letters. He soon discovered how the letters matched the type of wood and the names of these letters. Any boy he met that could write he would challenge them to a writing contest. Frederick would use the letters he recently learned and told the child to challenge that. He then copied the Italics in Webster’s Spelling Book until he knew them well.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Mccartney Songwriter :: essays research papers

When someone mentions the Beatles, most people who know of the band would think of Lennon, McCartney, Ringo and Harrison playing great music on stage. The Beatles still are the best pop rock group ever and it has been said that no other pop rock band will come close to their level of success. Their music was fresh, new and of course it sounded fantastic. But there have been rumors and stories about what the Beatles were singing about, and also about the band members such as whether Paul McCartney was dead or alive along with many other well-known controversial rumors.Elson manages to bypass all this hearsay and write and intimate diary of Paul McCartney's life and also a short history of his father and mother. It is in two parts, the first explores Paul's childhood and his experiences of growing up, meeting other members of the Beatles and how their careers developed.The book also goes on to clear up rumors about their music and what stimulated the Beatles to write songs. The second part explores Paul's solo career and life as a family man with Linda.The book starts off when Paul is a young child and explores Paul's influences such as his father who had a deep passion for music and shared this passion with his two boys. Epstien explains how Paul loved the guitar and how this enabled him to write songs to communicate his feelings inside him, an example is when he wrote "Let it be" which was about his mothers death. "When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, Let it be"The book continues to travel through the various stages Paul went through as a child, his passion for music, his talents at school and his aspirations for become a teacher. It describes his first meeting with John Lennon and how the two boys shared their musical talents and songwriting ideas that developed songs that later on in life would be hits all over the world.Originally John and Paul didn't have compatible styles o f music. However, after time spent together they shared their music and songwriting ideas and most of the Beatles music was composed even before the band was formed.The other two members of the band Ringo Star and George Harrison and their entrance into McCartney's life is written about as well as their influences on the music a very brief history of their family life.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

HRMG Midterm Essay

When a company experiences a financial setback of the magnitude that More Beer, Incorporated had after its failed venture into internet marketing, it sometimes becomes necessary to reduce the workforce in order to mitigate the losses. The Human Resources (HR) Department faced a very difficult decision in choosing whom to fire, as there was a potential for legal action with each of the five candidates presented for possible termination. In addition, many of the candidates also had personality traits or issues in their personal lives that could have contributed to the decision. In the ending analysis, however, one must remember that More Beer, Incorporated is a business, and the personnel decisions made herein must first serve the best interest of the company, not the individual. Therefore, after careful consideration, the HR Department has concluded that the best way for the company to survive the economic downturn is to terminate three of the five employees and internally transfer the other two, according to the following recommendation, effective at the start of the pay cycle three weeks from Monday. Terminations The three individuals recommended for termination will all receive a severance package equal to one week’s salary for every year of service to the company, plus additional pay and benefits noted below. Each individual will be required to sign a waiver that releases More Beer, Incorporated, from any future claims against the company regarding their termination. The employees will be given 45 days from the date of notification to consider their respective severance packages. All three employees will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement that stipulates they are not to divulge any proprietary information they may have acquired during their employment with More Beer, Incorporated. Mike Williams Mike Williams’ employment is recommended for termination because his particular area of expertise involves maintaining the computer systems which will be obsolete when that segment of the company closes. Therefore, his skills will no longer be an asset to the company. His above average productivity, excellent attendance, and educational background indicate a strong work ethic that will be an asset to another organization. A Letter of Recommendation stating as much will accompany his severance package. In addition, Mr. Williams will receive all of his accrued sick leave, vacation, and holiday pay. In terms of post termination litigation, the company must ensure it is in compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as it pertains to race, as Mr. Williams is of Asian descent, and he may allege that his strong accent was a reason for his termination. In Fragante v. City and County of Honolulu, the appellate court determined that â€Å"[a]n adverse employment decision may be predicated upon an individual’s accent when – but only when – it interferes materially with job performance† (Twomey, 2013, p. 450). Although other employees complained they had difficulty understanding his heavily-accented English, Mr. Williams’ primary job was with maintaining computers, which has no requirement for oral communications. Accordingly, this argument should hold as a successful defense against both a disparate treatment and disparate impact claim, should Mr. Williams choose to pursue either of those allegations of unlawful employment discrimination. Phillip Price Phillip Price is also recommended for termination on the appointed effective date. The only positive contribution he made to the company was in the programming area, which is being eliminated. Mr. Price is an average performer, with an attendance record showing that he was absent nearly 43 percent of the time he was scheduled to work in the past two months. His overall track record is average. His supervisors have documented all of these performance items. There is no apparent benefit to transferring him elsewhere in the company, especially since Mr. Price mentioned he feels he has been treated differently after recently announcing that he is homosexual. Mr. Price will likely argue his termination is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as it pertains to sex. He may also claim disparate treatment or disparate impact. Title VII does not contain specific language protecting against discrimination based on homosexuality, as both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the courts â€Å"have determined that the word sex as used in Title VII means a person’s gender and not a person’s sexual orientation† (Twomey, 2013, p. 427). Still, in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. , the Supreme Court found that sex discrimination consisting of same-sex harassment is actionable under Title VII. To have a claim under Title VII, Mr. Price would have to allege that his termination was solely based on â€Å"sex, † thus bringing his case within the precedent set by Oncale. More Beer, Incorporated is an at-will employer, which means it is â€Å"free to terminate the relationship with or without cause,† (Twomey, 2013, p. 598), so his argument will be moot. Mr. Price will receive the severance package that consists of one week of pay for every year of service to the company. He had used all of his sick leave, annual and holiday leave, and so will not receive any additional pay. Sally James Sally James is the third employee recommended for termination. While she is a very popular employee, and has longevity with the company, neither of those factors contributed to the company’s bottom line. Her productivity and performance were very good, but they were in a segment of the company that failed overall. Ms. James’ age, 55, puts her in a protected class, so the company must be wary of potential violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA). The company can use the â€Å"reasonable factors other than age† (RFOA) provision (Twomey, 2013, p. 536) as an affirmative defense of these claims. Because Ms. James has been with the company for twenty years, the company is going to offer her an early retirement package that will include the standard severance offer of one week basic pay for every year of service to the company. In addition, she will be offered stock options in the company, enrollment in the company’s Tuition Assistance plan for her son for one full semester of college, and Social Security â€Å"bridge† payments until she reaches retirement eligibility age (Twomey, 2013. p. 546). Acceptance of the retirement package would require Ms. James to waive any future claims against the under ADEA in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc. These requirements would include: 1. The waiver is part of a written agreement. 2. It makes specific reference to rights or claims under the ADEA and may refer to Title VII and all other claims. 3. It does not apply to rights or claims that may occur after the agreement is signed. 4. It is exchanged for value that is in addition to what the employee would otherwise be entitled to receive. 5. The employee is given written advice from the employer to consult with an attorney. 6. The employee is given a 21-day waiting period to consider the agreement and a 7-day period to revoke the agreement. (Twomey, 2013, p. 548) Transfers The remaining two individuals on the list will be transferred to positions within the company effective immediately. They will retain their current salaries and seniority in the company. Margaret Jones Margaret Jones will be transferred to the Sales Department. Although the internet sales concept for More Beer, Incorporated was a failure overall, Ms. Jones’ contributions were significant, and she has demonstrated that she is a dynamic salesperson who can contribute to the company’s profits. The decision to retain Ms. Jones was not made in any part because of her race and her affiliation with a local chapter of a civil rights group. To elect to retain or fire her based on her race or gender would be discriminatory, and would be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on the basis of race or sex. The fact that she is perceived to be a ladder climber, out only for herself, or not a team player, has no bearing on the success of the company, and therefore has no consideration in making this business decision. Jenny Smith Jenny Smith’s multi-lingual status has been a boon to the company’s global marketing efforts. Accordingly, she will be transferred to the Human Resources Department, Marketing and Public Relations Division. She will continue in that capacity if she chooses to return to work at the completion of her six weeks of maternity leave in compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act. That she is female and of Hispanic origin gives her protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The fact that she is currently pregnant puts her in a protected status under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. In order to make a reasonable accommodation to the disability of her morning sickness, the company will permit her to work from home as necessary, which will reduce her absenteeism and increase her productivity for the company. Conclusion The decision to fire a group of employees is never a popular one, and is rarely a pleasant task. The Vice President of Human Resources for More Beer, Incorporated performed a detailed analysis of the candidates, and makes the above recommendations with the company’s financial future as the primary basis for its decisions. Additionally, the HR Department had to consider potential legal ramifications of terminating these employees, even the ones who were ultimately retained. Finally, the profoundly distressing effects of terminations on the individuals were not lost, and every attempt has been made to mitigate the financial or professional impact wherever possible. References Twomey, D. (2013). Labor & employment law: Text & cases. (Fifteenth ed. ). Mason, OH: South-Western.