Trans-European Plastics.

Its French factory makes a range of over 500 products that are sold to wholesaler and large retailers throughout Europe. The company dispatches orders within 24 hours of receipts using an international carrier. All consumers would expect received their requirements in tull within one week. The manufacturing operation Is based on batch production, employing 24 large Injection molding machines.Mould changes (Set-ups') take on average three hours, at an estimated cost of ‚Â ¬ 500 per set-up. TEP had faced declining in delivery reliability, increased levels of flnlshed goods Inventory and falling productivity. Falling productlvlty apparently resulting from Split-betches' where only part of a planned production batch is produces to overcome immediate shortages. Because of current high demand for many products, the backlog of work for planned stock replenishment currently averages two weeks and so all factory orders must be planned far In advance.Recently. however, to minimize the t otal cost of set-ups and to maximize capacity utilization, all products are planned tor a minimum production run ot 20 ours. The factory operates on three seven-hour shift, Monday to Friday: 105 hours per week, for 50 weeks per year, Regular overtime, typically 15 hours on a Saturday, has been worked most of the last years. Sunday is never used for production, allowing access to machines for routines and major overhauls.Speculate on what the company's strategy appears to be. 6. Compute quality-sales indices and quality cost indices for each of the five years. Is it possible to access the effectiveness of the company's quality-management program from these index values? (10 Marks) 7. List several examples of each quality-related cost; that is, prevention, appraisal, and internal and external failure that might result from the production of TEP products. Improvement and Strategy 8. Adapt an Implementation of six-sigma breakthrough strategy for TEP.Explain each section of TEP six -sigm a clearly. 9. Anticipate if the cost of fuel increased by 25% per liter it would greatly affect the overall of TEP cost of production, price per unit product, and many more. Do estimation of increased in cost on few of TEP product. Some of the product may be above its acceptable price range. And suggest action needed to be taken by TEP to strategize its company. 10. If TEP needed to boost up the positioning in the manufacturing industries.

he cost associated with running Essay

Candidates should be limited on the amount of money they can spend during a campaign. The cost associated with running for public office is expensive, especially in the case of large national scale elections, but also in smaller local ones. The money factor discourages regular middle class individuals from running for office, often leaving the ballot seriously one sided. If spending limits were placed on campaigns, our government could represent the views and issues of the majority of Americans, rather than only those of the wealthy. Further, if candidates are given a spending limit, they are less likely to take money from supporters who will benefit or profit from a particular view. Candidates then are more likely to make choices based on the good of the community, state, or country, rather than what will bring in the most money. Although mandatory voting could produce both positive and negative outcomes, voting should be a requirement of all Americans. On one hand, forcing people who do not support any of the candidates on the ballot might lead to careless voting. Those citizens who have no knowledge of the people who are running or no interest in voting at all will most likely cast their votes simply to uphold the law. On the other hand however, if all people are required to vote, and they do so in an educated manner, the government could represent all people of our country, rather than only those who choose to vote. Additionally, if Americans are forced to vote, candidates will spend less money campaigning. The months leading up to election become a time of voicing views rather than persuading people to vote in the first place. The decreased spending will, once again, ease the chances of a candidate taking a particular stance on an issue due to the influence of those who donate to their campaign. Texas should not hold partisan elections whereby candidates run as a member of a given political party. In these elections, voters are more likely to vote based upon the party that they support in substitution to the views held by the candidate. In a state that is populated by a majority of Republicans such as Texas, a partisan election would limit the amount of Democratic candidates elected to office, resulting in a severely unbalanced government. Suddenly every public office would be held by a Republican. The only real race in a partisan election would be which Republican to vote for. Furthermore, a non partisan election calls attention to the views of the candidate on an individual level, rather than on the views of the political party to which they belong. Those who do not join parties, or who take a stance that is not supported by any party, are more likely to run for office in a non partisan election. These non partisan elections make holding an office more accessible to a wide variety of candidates, instead of only people who share similar views of Republicans or Democrats.

World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World War II - Essay Example 6, 600 million towards damages that were caused by the war, Germany would not build their army and the Rhineland area was to be de-militarized, and finally some parts of Germany was to be allocated to other countries. Despite the harsh conditions imposed by the treaty, Germany went ahead and signed the treaty which resulted in acute poverty in the 1920s as the country suffered serious setbacks and could not pay the money. It was at this juncture that the German people voted Adolf Hitler to power as he promised them that he would put an end to all their sufferings. Once in power, Hitler began to build the German army and also stationed troops in the Rhineland area. Though France and Britain kept track of Hitler’s moves they were unwilling to begin another war and instead believed that a stronger Germany would prevent the spread of Communism to the west. Hitler also entered into an alliance with Italy and Japan in 1936. Hitler wanted to expand his territory by acquiring Austria and with about 99% of the Austrian people favoring a union with Germany; Hitler acquired Austria but promised that this would be the end of his expansion plans.

Gender Roles in Disney Animation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gender Roles in Disney Animation - Essay Example However, follies of young women can come with great consequences that help build character strength and self-confidence in the long run. This is a message that the company clearly supported through their publicity and marketing campaign for the movie. From Disney’s first full length animated features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to their succeeding films, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Mulan, all of these films share something in common with The Little Mermaid. It is a close marketing strategy that ties in closely with the production values promoted by the movie. This campaign has made Disney seem, in the public eye a company that sees gender causes as a commercial issue more than anything else. This, perhaps, has something to do with the unparalleled success of Disney in both the animated film and merchandising sales arena. It was in 2001 when Disney created the Princess line that aggressively targeted and marketed products to l ittle girls and young women. The line was composed of the aforementioned eight traditional Disney Princess films each turning in a huge profit and marketing franchise for each as well. All eight movies are proven to have a strong influence on children in terms of developing concepts of social behavior and norms (Graves 724-5). However, it is The Little Mermaid in particular that struck a chord with the little girls looking for a strong feminine image model that they could identify within our contemporary society. The original Little Mermaid story by Hans Christen Andersen had its main character Ariel suffer a tragic fate as chose to love a man she could never have. In the original, Ariel died carrying an unrequited love to her watery grave with her. As with other fairy tales of its era, the original meant to serve as a warning to young women. It was meant to help control rather than empower them. Disney never believed that fairy tales should have tragic endings which is why their re telling of the fairy tale is a far cry from its original. In the Disney version, we see a playful and oftentimes strong-willed blossoming young lady in Ariel, the little mermaid. She falls in love with a prince whom she saved from drowning. The mere fact that Ariel interacted with human beings and even worse, fell in love with one, was in direct defiance of the edict of King Triton, her father.  

Enterprice system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Enterprice system - Essay Example Therefore, client-server systems can definitely help them in making effective use of client-server technology. However, increased dependence on the centralized server is a disadvantage of such models because if the server goes down, the entire network of computers becomes unable to work. b) Thin-Client Model The thin client technology also provides server-based computing facility to companies (Kumar 2007). There is a browser terminal or a central server from which all other computers can access required information, as well as can do required work through sharing. Companies can use either standalone or wireless thin clients to run their business processes. The purpose of the technology is to facilitate businesses through reducing the total cost of ownership and providing easy and efficient usage. The main advantages of using think clients are security, efficient use of resources, and low cost (Kumar 2007). The main disadvantage of this technology is that not is not designed for heavy tasks. Answer No. 2 a) Risks to Data Integrity of Distributed Databases â€Å"A distributed database is a database that is split over multiple hardware devices but managed by a central database controller† (Holmes n.d.). A distributed database means division of a database into different physical units separated by business or geographical regions. Some of the main advantages of using distributed databases in business include better control of resources and improved business performances. However, the risks associated with data integrity of distributed databases include accuracy of stored data and the risk of unauthorized access to spoil or alter the stored data. b) Strategies to Overcome Risks The first strategy that can be used to overcome such risks include double checking the database for database integrity, domain integrity, and referential integrity before and after making changes to the data. The second strategy is using authentication of the people trying to log on to the network. Using this feature, only officials are provided with passwords and biometrics that they can use to prove their identity, as well as to make secure use of the distributed network. Authentication is done to make the network safe by stopping and preventing unauthorized attempts to the network. Answer No. 3 Groupware is a term that refers to specialized software applications that help members of a group in sharing and synchronizing business information, as well as in communicating with each other in an effective manner. â€Å"Groupware can allow both geographically dispersed team members and a company's on-site workers to collaborate with each other through the use of computer networking technologies† (Pinola, n.d.). Some of the main groupware technologies that are widely used in companies include shared Microsoft Office applications, email systems, video conferencing, electronic whiteboard, and instant messaging through messengers. All of these techniologies help e mployees in communicating with eah other regardig every business matter. These technologies also increase business efficency, as well as employee productivity. Therefore, the statement that helps in icnreasing on-going coordination between people is true. Answer No. 4 ICT, Information and Communication Technology, refers to every such technology that deals with electronic transfer of information from one point to another (Singleton 2010). The information exchange

The family in America Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The family in America - Assignment Example I do believe that there are instances in which one does not need to cite sources, of which I believe that this was an example of such a case. Some of the information presented on page two and three is original based on original research, while the rest may be considered as common knowledge. For example, most problems that face today’s family are not new and have been discussed by the media and with friends. As a result, I considered these to be original thoughts and ideas. Moreover, some of these issues, like children no longer being a reason for families to stay together, are issues that are easily observed. I also noted the reader’s comment about a lack of important detail to illustrate ideas presented by Hansen on page 4 and 5. Indeed, Hansen’s article is the basis of this paper and a lot of care was taken to ensure that her ideas were integrated into the paper as comprehensively as possible. As a result, I strived to include the concept of the family as discussed by Hansen in the article in accordance to the paper’s instructions. The paper especially sought to present Hansen’s argument on how working life for parents, as well as the informal networks constructed by parents, help in caring for children. Most importantly, however, I set out to incorporate her thoughts on the challenges and triumphs that families face in relation to social class, which I believe was essential to answering the research question. Not all concepts of the family covered by Hansen were included, since some of them did not fit with the thesis of the paper regarding the centrality o f kin as providers of care. Therefore, some of the concepts of family may have been left out. Finally, the reader also commented that the quote by Braithwaite could have been analysed and discussed further and I do agree with this observation. Since this quote formed part of my introduction, it was only meant to provide background information on how individuals render voluntary

Adult Learner Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Adult Learner Interview - Assignment Example She feels that her formal education has come to an end, but her love of life and learning will always encourage her to be learning something. A. Well, there was a festival on my block a few months ago in the summer. Many potters were there from all over the country. I was amazed at the variety of artistic pieces that could be made using clay. Some of the most impressive works were not even pots. They were collections of tiles that had been glazed an interesting variety of colors and mounted on a wall. I just thought this was beautiful, so I decided to try it. A. There is local pottery guild in my neighborhood. The guild was established 80 years ago and is staffed by master potters. They offer classes every Tuesday and Thursday evening on a variety of pottery techniques. I have the time right now so I take two classes a week and go at least two other evening to work on projects. A. Wow. There are so many differences. First of all, I am in this class because I want to be there. I never liked elementary school because there were so many bullies and kids that were smarter than me. Here, I get to learn a new skill that I find useful. I am learning by choice, not because someone is making me. I like the fact that learning in a class like this gives me the freedom to experiment as well. That is something I was never able to do when I was younger and in school. Everything was so controlled. I even had a hard time sitting still in courses I took for my MBA four years ago. I like to learn in a way that lets me think and grow outside the box. A. I work in IT all day and the last thing I want to do is to do that more in the evening. I work in a cubicle at work with a bunch of other people that work in cubicles. When my workday is over, I am ready to learn and live outside my cubicle. I do not know what it is, but learning how to use my hands fulfills a very

Introduction to International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Introduction to International Business - Essay Example This can include money or people, and most often refers to a nation offering this investment to a private or publicly held corporation that is owned by people in foreign countries, who are doing the investing (â€Å"Foreign Direct Investment,† 2011). For example, the United States may have some people who are sent to Icecreamists, an ice cream parlor in the city of London that has made headlines for serving a new flavor called the â€Å"Lady Gaga,† which is made with human breast milk (Casciato, 2011) not only to help the budding entrepreneur who owns the establishment, but also to bring new ideas home. When dealing with foreign direct investments, it is paramount that those who deal in them understand that for each nation there are precise regulations that need to be followed in order to operate there. The purpose of foreign investment regulations is to protect industries when trying to catch up to more advanced nations. In some cases, it is to prevent other nations fr om being able to get a hold of the technology, methods, and management practices that make one nation better than all others. This is why some countries allow certain industries to receive a high level of foreign direct investment, and others to receive little. A nation like Ireland, for example, is very open to foreign direct investments while Finland operates in much the opposite fashion (Chang, 2003). Foreign investment regulations vary by country. In the United States, businesses are welcoming to member who participate in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to those who prefer more secrecy. Part of the reason for this is because the United States values the world of ideas and tends to shun isolationist sentiment, which is when a nation does not want to have anything to do with any other country. The idea that one country keeps to itself while others fend for themselves does not often work because while one nation is operating to the best of its ability, the world of nations are o perating to the best of all of their collective talents. For this reason nations who have tried to live in a bubble in the past have ended up paying a price for it later. Foreign investment regulations start with the premise that a firm must be abreast of global trends in their industry. For example, if a textile company wanted to know whether or not a foreign competitor was going to expand into its market, it could try to find out from third party sources, or it could go straight to the source. After all, if a firm from Japan, China, Brazil, or any country wanted to operate in the United States, it would be very interested to get an inside look at a factory (as well as its management and other staff) to see how to be successful, possibly allowing it to capitalize on shortcomings within the operations. Doing so will also allow for a company to see how globalization affects domestic clients, meaning that when a firm travels home, the local company will want to follow their expansion, which could allow for a partnership to form in work that is either performed in the United States or other countries (Chang, 26-30). All of this is related to concerns that management will have in screening potential markets for expansion. Two of the most important concerns are the assessment of internal resources and how competitive a firm can be in the new market. For example, it would not matter that Ford Motor Company has the cash to expand into India and sell sport utility vehicles if the locals would be

International Marketing - Hofstedes Cultural Framework Essay

International Marketing - Hofstedes Cultural Framework - Essay Example (Answer.com) Air conditioner, refrigerator, tube-lights, bulbs, electric fans, heaters etc also come under the same definition. Since the contemporary age is the age of technological advancement, computerization, automation and mechanization, electronics goods and items have become an essential part of everyday life during the modern age and are used in offices, residences and all other institutions at large all over the world. Japan based world’s renowned electronic entrepreneur Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company is one of the supreme electronic organizations of the world, which maintain a wide range of products including air conditioners, refrigerators, heaters, switch-boards, juicers, grinding machines, domestic equipments, medical equipments, allergy diagnostics, automotive components and long list of electronics spare parts. Their consolidated sale is estimated around 10,248 billion Japanese Yen during the fiscal year 2006-07 (wikipedia.org) Recently, it has also introduced computer accessories to provide the customers with high quality products related to information technology. â€Å"Hitachi Ltd. is pulling out of the household computer business in the latest shift among Japanese electronics makers to refocus their sprawling operations.† (GMA News TV) The Company has hired the services of nearly 400,000 employees working in hundreds of its branches in all parts of the globe, which wo rk very hard from dawn to dusk for the good name and fame of the company. It is therefore the products of Hitachi Consumer Electronic Company are thought to be the sign of high quality and the consumers in different countries of the world demand its products for office, domestic, commercial and industrial use. â€Å"The global parts procurement capability of Hitachi, coupled with its state-of–the-art manufacturing facilities, allows to realize

Cross-cultural education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cross-cultural education - Essay Example Moreover, Eiser, Arnold and Ellis suggest that the nurse education should incorporate enhancing cross-cultural awareness, communication, and race. They argue that the knowledge shall boost the competency of physicians to deliver quality services that incorporate social and historical comprehension of a disorder (Eiser, Arnold and Glenn 185). Even though the past and present information is vital for determining and diagnosing, I think it is discriminatory to link specific conditions with African Americans past. The African Americans had ways of treating the diseases, but they are outdated. Hence, studies should address the changing circumstances and disease. However, it is prudent to acknowledge the African American views regarding the handling of the patients and their past health records. I concur with the authors in the section that they describe that cross-cultural education should investigate the conflicting paradigms for illness, issue of mistrust and aspects of conflicting cult ural norms. In this perspective, it is imperative to recognize African Americans social institutions, religious beliefs and practices and perceptions of life. A tolerable knowledge of the social concerns shall generate an environment that fosters unity and peace. Besides, it will minimize the gap between the perceived minority groups in the crucial sector. Conceivably, the authors of the article illustrated the differing viewpoints that hinder African Americans from accessing the health services.

Unethical Practice in Business - Walmarts Gender Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Unethical Practice in Business Walmarts Gender Discrimination Essay Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. It could be called capitalism in its purest form. Making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior. Good business ethics should be a part of every business. There are many factors to consider. When a company does business with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first company unethical by association? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses. Many global businesses, including most of the major brands that the public uses, can be seen not to think too highly of good business ethics. Many major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical business laws. Money is the major deciding factor. Ethics is a branch of social science. It deals with moral principles and social values. It helps us to classify, what is good and what is bad? It tells us to do good things and avoid doing bad things. Is ethical behavior good or bad for business? The advantages of ethical behavior include: 1. Higher revenues demand from positive consumer support 2. Improved brand and business awareness and recognition 3. Better employee motivation and recruitment 4. New sources of finance: e.g. from ethical investors 5. Business ethics offer companies a competitive advantage. Consumers learn to trust ethical brands and remain loyal to them, even during difficult periods. In 1982, Johnson Johnson spent over $100 million dollars recalling Tylenol, its best-selling product, after someone tampered with bottles of the painkiller. The company followed its credo, a set of ethical organizational values, and the result was a boost in consumer confidence, despite the contamination scare. Society benefits from business ethics because ethical companies recognize their social responsibilities. 6. Attract customers to the firms products, thereby boosting sales and profits 7. Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore increase productivity 8. Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees 9. Attract investors and keep the companys share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover. 10. It is good for staff for morale to work in an open culture, with possible benefits of increased productivity and staff loyalty. These are vital ingredients in the current climate when staff may be pushed to the limit. An organization known for fair and responsible practice is likely to attract high quality employees and ‘stand out from the crowd.’ 11. Demonstrating sound ethical practices can often be a condition for tendering for contracts with large customers needing to ensure the integrity of their supply chain. Good relationships with customers based on a commitment to honesty and transparency will enhance a company’s reputation. SMEs that are familiar with these demands will have a competitive advantage. 12. There would be happiness in society as people living a life of sharing and contribution. The disadvantages claimed for ethical business include: 1. Higher costs: e.g. sourcing from Fair-traded suppliers rather than lowest price 2. Higher overheads: e.g. training communication of ethical policy 3. Danger of building up false expectations. 4. Business ethics reduce a companys freedom to maximize its profit. For example, a multinational company may move its manufacturing facility to a developing country to reduce costs. Practices acceptable in that country, such as child labor, poor health and safety, poverty-level wages and coerced employment will not be tolerated by an ethical company. Improvements in working conditions, such as a living wage and minimum health and safety standard, reduce the level of cost-savings that the company generates. 5. Bad business ethics also includes illegal actions. For example, falsification of information regarding financial status can lead to criminal prosecutions of business executives. Investors can lose great sums of money due to such practices. UK clothing firm, Primark, has fired three Indian suppliers because they used child labor to finish goods. Real-World Examples of Bad Business Ethics Reputation is a company’s biggest asset and bad business ethics invariably result in loss of reputation and credibility. Yet many large corporate also find themselves caught red handed indulging in shady conduct. Read on for some real life examples of bad business ethics. There are good business reasons for a strong commitment to ethical values: 1. Ethical companies have been shown to be more profitable. 2. Making ethical choices results in lower stress for corporate managers and other employees. 3. Our reputation, good or bad, endures. 4. Ethical behavior enhances leadership. 5. The alternative to voluntary ethical behavior is demanding and costly regulation.

An investigation into the effect of social loafing

An investigation into the effect of social loafing The aim of this experiment was to measure the effect of two categories, group or individuals, and the effect they have on the performance of individuals. Participants were involved in the activity of unscrambling as many words as they could in the time limit of five minutes. The hypothesis is that the mean number of words unscrambled by participants working individually is higher than the mean number of words unscrambled by participants working in a group. The experiment consisted of 19 participants which included 10 males and 9 females. The rights of the participants were taken into consideration throughout the whole experiment. Nine of the participants who were selected randomly were divided into groups of three while the other ten participants worked individually. They were given a list of 26 words to unscramble. The number of words which they were able to unscramble in five minutes was then collected and counted to measure the performance of those who are working individually and those working in groups. The results show that the average number of words found for those who were working individually was 12.4 words while the average number of words found per individual who were working in groups were 5.22 words. This shows that the experiment supports the social loafing theory. The significance level were calculated to be p < 0.005. This means that the probability that the results were because of chance was less than 0.5%. The results were highly significant. Thus, according to the results of the statistical test, the research hypothesis is supported while the null hypothesis is rejected. The theory of social loafing is evident in a lot of situations in life. Social loafing is a reduction in effort by individuals when they work in groups as compared to when they work by themselves (Weiten, 2008: 491) Each person in a group usually tends to put in lesser effort than they would working alone. Max Ringelmann (1913) first came up with the idea of social loafing when he found that when a group of men were instructed to pull on a rope, they did not put in as much effort as when they were pulling alone. The force of the pull produced by the participants was measured by a strain gauge attached to the rope. When the group of men was led to believe that they had other team members helping them, he noticed that they tend to put in less effort than they normally would when pulling alone. Ringelmann stated that the amount of effort produced by each individual working alone was not the same as the average amount of effort put in by the individuals who believed that they were in a group. Another study which was used to investigate social loafing is Latanà © et al.s (1979). As cited by Weiten (2008), the study consisted of measuring the level of noise created by participants who were asked to either clap or cheer as loud as they could. A group of participants were told that they working in a group while another group was told that they were working alone. This was in fact not true, as the only purpose was to ensure that they believed that were actually working in a group. Consequently, the amount of effort that they produced individually was measured. From the study, Latanà © and his colleagues found that each person in a group tends to put in lesser effort when in a group than working alone. Research shows that the larger the group, the lesser the effort produced by each of the individuals. The reason is that when more people are assigned to an activity, the amount of work which needs to be produced is divided equally among more people and this consequently causes individuals to think that their effort is not as significant and their contribution is not evaluated suitably. As cited by Antony S. R. Manstead et al. (1995, 1996:275) in the book called The Blackwell encyclopedia of social psychology, Steiner, I.D. (1972) postulated that actual group productivity should always be lower than potential group productivity because of process losses due to poor coordination and low motivation. Furthermore, he added that the potential productivity is usually based on performance of individuals working alone. This study aims to support the social loafing theory. A group of participants will be divided into two categories: those working individually and those working in groups. The mean number unscrambled by participants in each category will be calculated. Their performance in the activity will show that social loafing does exist when working in a group. The experiment is a one-tailed experiment. Research hypothesis (H1): The mean number of words unscrambled by participants working individually is higher than the mean number of words unscrambled by participants working in a group. Null hypothesis (H0): There will be no significant difference in the number of words found in participants working individually than in a group. Method Design The type of method used in this experiment is an independent measures design. This was used to avoid practice effects. Each participant only took part in each condition once which means that both groups consist of different individuals. The independent variable is working individually or in a group. The dependant variable is the difference of performance in each condition. The environment that the participants were in was under controlled conditions. The activity is the unscrambling of words. This experiment is considered as a single blind experiment where only the experimenters know the hypothesis and aim of the experiments. Participants were given consent letters to sign and were briefed and de-briefed accordingly. Those who did not include their signature on the given consent letters prior to the experiment were not allowed to participate in the activity. Those who participated were given the right to withdraw at any point of time. The participants also remained anonymous througho ut the study. Participants The participants tested in this study consisted of 19 Year 6 students from a private school in Victoria. The participants consisted of 10 males and 9 females aged 11 to 13 years. The sample was an opportunity sample but the participants in each category were randomly assigned. The participants came from different backgrounds and cultures. This is to ensure that the experiment is fair and not biased. Materials List of 26 words to unscramble (Refer to Appendix ) Pen Stopwatch Briefing instructions (Refer to Appendix ) De-briefing instructions (Refer to Appendix ) Consent Letter (Refer to Appendix ) Procedure Participants are first briefed (Refer to Appendix ). Participants are randomly divided into two conditions. Half of the participants will be carrying out the activity alone and the other half is to be divided into groups of three to work on the same activity. Participants who are working individually are to sit far from each other to avoid communicating. The other participants who are working in groups of three are to be seated together but each group is to be seated far from another group to avoid communication between groups. Participants who are in the group category are asked to work as a team to unscramble the list of 26 words while the others will be working individually to unscramble the same set of 26 words. When the seating arrangement of all the participants are properly allocated, the list of 26 words is given faced down to the participants. Only one copy of the list will be given to each of the groups instead of one copy for each participant. The participants are then giv en a time limit of five minutes to quickly unscramble the list of 26 words. During the experiment, participants have the right to withdraw if they do not wish to participate. After exactly five minutes, they are asked to stop writing and the sheets are to be collected by the experimenters. Participants are then de-briefed. Results Table 1: Table shows mean number of words found in each category Participants working individually Participants working in a group Mean number of words found 12.4 words 5.22 words Standard Deviation 5.04 words 1.09 words Graph 1: Bar graph shows average no. of words found in each category Graph 1 shows that the average number of words found for those who were working individually were 12.4 words. The average number of words found per individual who were working in groups were 5.22 words. This shows that the experiment supports the social loafing theory. The standard deviation were 5.04 and 1.09 respectively. A Mann-Whitney U test was used in order to test the significance of the results as it is an ordinal level data, and it was an unrelated design. When tested, it was found that the probability that it was the independant variable that changed the dependent variable and not chance. The significance level were calculated to be p < 0.005 (Refer to appendix ). This means that the probability that the results were because of chance was less than 0.5%. The results were highly significant. Thus, according to the results of the statistical test, the research hypothesis is supported while the null hypothesis is rejected. Discussion The results shows that the research hypothesis has been supported. The mean number of words unscrambled by participants working individually is 12.4, higher than the mean number of words unscrambled by participants working in a group which is 5.22 words. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to show that the results were highly significant. This shows that the research hypothesis is supported and the null hypothesis is rejected. According to Ringelmanns study, the amount of effort produced by each individual working alone is not the same as the average amount of effort put in by the individuals who were in pseudogroups. He asserted that the performance of individuals working alone is much more than the average performance of individuals working in groups, which is called the social loafing theory. In this experiment, the social loafing theory is supported as the mean number of words unscrambled by individuals working alone is 12.4, which is definitely higher than 5.22 words, the average number of words unscrambled by individuals working in groups. The aim of this study was to measure the cause and effect relationship of the performance of individuals working in a group or individually. The result of this experiment relates to the study carried out by Latanà © and his colleagues as it supports the theory of social loafing. The reduction in performance of individuals when they are working in groups as compared to working individually is evident in both studies. There are several strengths in the experiment. One of the strengths of the experiment was that the subjects came from different backgrounds and cultures. This is a good as the cultural diversity of the participants was not limited. Also, the fact that there were approximately the same number of males and females is good. If there were a huge difference in females and males, the experiments would not be fair. Another strength of the experiment is that it was designed to be an independent measures design. This was to avoid practice effects. If the participants had taken part in both conditions, the results would have been affected. Though the research hypothesis was supported, there are several limitations in the experiment. As mentioned, the participants were between the ages of 11 to 13 as it was an opportunity sample. It was difficult to get a random sample as there are limited number students available and there was a time constraint. Another limitation of the experiment was that no extra precaution was made ensure that the participants did not cheat by communicating with each other. Though we did our best effort to ensure that they did not communicate with each other, it is not absolute that no one cheated. Also, during the experiment, as all the participants (whether in a group or individually) were in the same environment at the same time, there was a chance that some participants may have overheard the words unscrambled by another person. This component of the experiment was hard to control as no matter how much effort was put in to ensure it was a fair experiment, the participants did have a chance to cheat. With regards to the limitations of the experiment, there are a few areas of improvement. In relation to the sample itself, although the participants and the students were randomly assigned, we could have ensured that the sample were not an opportunity sample. Furthermore, instead of selecting ten males and nine females, it could have been better if there was exactly the same number of females and males. To counteract the problem of cheating, the environment that the participants were in (which was a classroom) could have been different. The experiment could have been carried out in an open space so that there is a significant amount of space between groups and the individuals working alone. This would ensure that there was less opportunity for the participants to cheat. Ethical considerations were taken into account in this experiment. The participants were allowed to withdraw at any point of time during the activity. The rights of the participants were met and they remained anonymous throughout the whole experiment. The participants were not deceived in any way as that would be unethical. The implication of this finding is that the results produced can be shown to teachers/instructors to prove that individuals generally work better alone than working in groups as they tend not to put in as much effort when working in groups. In majority of the groups, some individuals tend to slack off and let their other team members do the work. Some individuals may also think that their effort is not evaluated individually so they tend to put less effort than they would put in when working alone. This could further relate to employers in the work field. For further researches, the sample should be much bigger so that the experiment would have fewer limitations. Also, follow-up studies can manipulate the age groups and compare the difference in performance for various age groups. They could also investigate the effect of culture on the performance of individuals when working in groups. They could test the theory of: Asians generally tend to work well in groups unlike Westerns, who prefer to work individually.

The Construction Of The Great Wall

The Construction Of The Great Wall The construction of the great wall arose throughout the Warring States Period (403 to 221 BC). The Great Wall is a fortification alongside the northern and northwestern boundary of China, running from Shanhaiguan on the Gulf of Bohai on the east to the vicinity of Gaodai, Gansu Province, on the west, with an inner wall consecutively southward from the vicinity of Beijing almost to Handan. Shi Huangdi, first emperor of the Chin dynasty founded the biggest portion of the wall as a defense against raids by nomadic peoples. Organized work on the wall was begun about 221 BC, after Shi Huangdi had united China under his rule, and it was completed about 204 BC. Small segments of the wall were probably already in existence, but Shi Huangdi is thought to have had some nearly 1,200 miles of the wall erected during his reign. 300,000 men several of them political prisoners whose bodies are thought to be buried in the wall (not essentially true) were put to work joining the segments into one h uge rampart of stone and earth. In later times, chiefly during the period of the Ming dynasty (AD 1368-1644), the Great Wall was fixed and extended by reinforcing it with cement and stone. The fortification finally reached a length of about 1,500 miles, ensuing the course of rivers instead of bridging them and conforming to the contours of the mountains and valleys in its path. The wall is built of earth and stone, faced with brick in the eastern parts. It is from 15 to 30 feet thick at the base (about 20 feet on the average) and tapers to some 12 feet at the top. The height averages 25 feet exclusive of the crenellated parapets. Watchtowers about 40 feet in height are placed at intervals of approximately 200 yards. Several hundred kilometers of the Great Wall remain intact in the eastern reaches. The amount of brick and stone working to construct the Great Wall might limit the earth with a barrier eight feet high. From the 6th to the 14th centuries, the wall proved to be an effective barrier against strong-minded invaders, who revealed that bribing the lookouts was their most effective weapon. The Chinese Emperors aided in this cause by failing to pay there army troops, usually a bad mistake. If you dont pay your army, someone else will. Scholars guess that the Great Wall with all its divisions once stretched for 6,200 miles, from the Yalu River in the northern east to Xinjiang in the northwest. Today it measures 6,000 miles. The Great Wall has suffered serious damage from wind and water erosion, as well as man-made destruction. In the past it has been a treasure store of stone for many a poor farmer. Between 1870 and 1974, the 8th Route Army stationed at Gubeikou destroyed 9,840 feet of the wall to use the stone to erect some barracks. Later in 1979, the State ordered the same army group to tea r down their barracks and rebuild the wall. In 226 the armies of the Chu Dynasty and the Qin dynasty met in a great final battle. The victor would get the prize of the richest and most technologically advanced nation of the world. The Qin Emperor needed to defend the country from the marauding bands of nomadic horsemen of the north. These bands of horsemen who raided the rich farmland came from the barren land of the north and were forced to become marauding nomads. It was a clash of farmers against warriors. The group would be difficult to defeat. The strength, stability and prosperity of the new empire were threatened by these marauding hordes. To preserve Chinas borders the Qin set about building a huge defensive barrier in 221 BC. Wall building became the chief defensive strategy to repel the enemy from the north. This was in the age before gunpowder and cannons. The first Great Wall was a massive undertaking. It was the equivalent of building 30 of the great pyramids of Egypt. To build this great wall of 3,000 miles the Qin Emperor chose his most able general Ling Qia. He was given an army of over 300,000 men. They had to build roads, and the infrastructure as well as the wall. Much of the wall was built of beaten clay. Rock was not always available, so tamped earth became the first choice. Dirt was designated from at least four inches below the surface so seeds and grasses could not germinate and thus undermine the strength of the wall. Consuming first a form made of wood, earth was piled and was pounded into a layer of four inches thick. Following layers of this would produce a wall twenty feet high that would still be standing some 2,000 years later. The wall stretched from the borders of North Korea across the northern border to the far reaches in western China. In ten years they built a wall across the entire northern border of China in lands that included marshes, quicksand, deserts, and altitudes of 8,000 feet. They built twenty-five miles a month that is almost a mile a day. One section is across 60 miles of a mountain range. This section was built entirely of native stone with the flat face placed on the outside to face the enemy. This dry stonewall was built 20 feet high with 26-foot high beacon towers. The Qin army invented new weapons to exploit thei r advantage of their new wall. The most deadly of these was the crossbow that could hurl an arrow 250 yards with amazing accuracy. Other weapons included iron casting techniques to produce double edged swords which would not be known in the west for some 1,300 years later. The soft bronze swords of the enemy were no match for the double-edged iron swords of the Qin army. All of this was achieved at great economic and human costs. The emperor thought the wall would bring peace to the nation but the nation was weakened by the heavy cost of the construction. Ditches along the wall were filled with the corpses of workers who died building the wall. Deaths of wall workers are estimated to exceed one million. Some have claimed that the dead workers were entombed in the wall itself. Later investigations proved this untrue. Also decaying bodies would have weakened the structure and would not have been allowed. No society could sustain such a terrible burden. Taxation became heavier and heav ier. Some 3,500,000 people were involved in the building of the Great Wall. That was 70% of the total population of China at that time. For each worker working on the wall, six were required to feed and support them. Construction of the Qin wall became the most loathed imperial plan in Chinese history. In 209 BC, Only a year after the death of the Qin Emperor, millions of laborers rose up and ended the tyranny and bloodshed of wall building. The Qin Dynasty had fallen, brought down by the building of the great wall. Within ten years much of the wall was a neglected ruin. Once again the northern border was at the mercy of the northern invaders. After three years of civil war in 206 BC the first Han Dynasty was formed under the Gao Di Emperor, Liu Bang. At first he attempted to appease the northern invaders with gifts and increased trade but peace was sporadic. A massive force of the Han army attacked the invaders and forced them back across the northern borders. To consolidate their victories they began to mark out their new extended borders. In many areas they simply restored the old Qin wall. In order to build walls in the desert of the west, new methods of construction had to be devised. Here the soil consists of a gravel of sand and small stones. They used alternating layers of red willows and the gravel and lots of tamping. This produced a wall that has survived for some 2,000 years. Using these techniques and hundreds of thousands of people, the Han were able to build the wall far into the Gobi desert. And where clay was used as a skin or coating it made the wall difficult to scale and protected it against the erosion of the weather. The Han leadership knew to have a strong frontier they not only needed to build a strong wall but they also needed crack troops to defend it. They developed a force of light cavalry that could foray into the enemy territory to check on the enemy movements in his own grounds. They had many victories against the Xiongnu. They then employed renegade Xiongnu horse masters to set up horse breeding stables and to train their troops in horsemanship. By the time of the sixth Han Emperor Wu Di some 66 years later, they had crushed the Xiongnu and the wall was extended some 300 miles into the Gobi Desert. The wall now extended across the principle trading routes and if you wished to trade with the Chinese you needed to enter through the gates in the wall. Around these gates towns were established and became the trade centers of the area. At most gates foreigners were not allowed to go past the gates so these became the portals of trade into China. One flawless example is the stunningly preserved Jade Gate. Built in 101 BC, it is 28 feet high and 66 feet square. Close by they built a fort for the Han soldiers defending the wall. This piece of the wall is 453 feet long, 115 feet wide and 23 feet high. The wall became more than a trade route and a barrier to keep out the enemy, it turned out to be vital for communications. Along its ramparts messages can be sent at incredible speeds from one end of the empire to the other. All along the northern border beacon towers were built every 15 to 30 miles. They formed a communication network, which ran from outposts deep into enemy territory to the ancient capital in the east. From these towers the Han troops used smoke by day and torches by night to send messages along the length of the wall. They burnt wood, and straw mixed with wolf dung, which produced rich black columns of smoke. Statutes firmly governed the code of these signals. One column of smoke indicated a n impending attack by a force of less than 500. Two columns showed an attack by a force less than 3,000 and four columns indicated an attack by a force of up to 10,000.China would wait another 1,300 years before embarking on its greatest period of wall building. The Ming Dynasty built much of what remains today. They were driven by desperation to build the ultimate defense and lock the northern frontier once and for all. The Ming renovated the old Qin and Han walls and extended them. The Ming wall stretched some 4,500 miles from the Korean border at Dandong to the city of Jayuguan in the western desert. Today that fort is one of the most impressive, ornate, and sophisticated military constructions in the history of China. The Ming Dynasty came into power in 1368 inheriting a nation crushed by 100 years of rule by the Mongols. The mighty Genghis Khan had united these tribes in 1206 and had pushed their way through China. Ultimately they fell from within. A peasant revolt spelled the defeat of the Mongol empire. The leader of this revolt was Zhu Yangzhong who was installed as the first Ming Emperor. He immediately took up the challenge to begin building the great defense again. The enthusiasm in which the Ming emperors embraced this ambition was staggering. They built more wall than any other dynasty. The Ming wall was typically built with a stone facing over tamped inner clay. This wall was almost indestructible. The Ming bricks were a marvel of engineering holding up to a pressure of over 1000 pounds per square inch. The mortar was of super strength. The mortar was stronger than the bricks themselves. The puzzle of this super strength has now been solved. The mystery ingredient was rice flour. With innovations like these, the Ming was able to build spectacular monuments. A feature of the wall was water drainage systems that channeled the water to the Chinese side and withheld the water to the enemy side and thus inhibited plant growth and so denied cover to the attackers. Warning towers were built in enemy territory. These spurs were built out from the main wall and permitted the Chinese to attack the marauders from two sides. The armies were controlled from watchtowers that were built every 200 yards along the Ming walls. Locks and bolts secured the doors and windows from within creating a formidable fortress. From these towers the defenders could unleash arrows and spears from heavily protected slits. Later cannon were used. Having discovered gunpowder, the Ming was also the first to use hand grenades and mines. Stones were also pushed through special openings to create man made avalanches to crush the enemy. If the attackers succeeded in scaling the wall, the defenders could retreat to the guard towers. These guard towers were only accessible by retractable ladders.

C. Vann Woodwards The Strange Career of Jim Crow Essay -- Woodward St

C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow In the field of history, it is rare that an author actually comes to shape the events discussed in their writing. However, this was the case for C. Vann Woodward and his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow. First published in 1955, it discusses this history of race relations in America, more specifically the Jim Crow laws he equates with the segregation of races. Woodward argues that segregation itself was a fairly new development within the South, and did not begin until after Reconstruction ended. He further argues that since the South has seen so much change, citing the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the development of the Jim Crow laws, it is possible for more changes to occur in a movement away from segregation. Though to a modern reader this seems like a logical argument following the events of history as they occurred, it must be remembered that Woodward was writing during the time period in which all of this was happening and nothing was certain. As William S. McFeely states in his afterword, what Woodward â€Å"so modestly stated, was, in fact, a call for the overthrow of what was perceived to be the very grounding of Southern society.† Unlike most historians, Woodward wrote about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement with such proximity that he came to affect public opinion of the time period as well as the final outcome of events. Furthermore, Woodward wrote with what we can now see to be accurate foresight as well as with a clear understanding of historical writing and the challenges it can pose. In order to support his argument that Jim Crow laws were not developed during the era of slavery in the South, the traditional belief, but rather later in ... ...ctive. But someone has to make a beginning.† Making a beginning is exactly what C. Vann Woodward accomplished with the publication of The Strange Career of Jim Crow. A Southerner, he rebelled against other interpretations, unafraid of provoking anger or disagreement during his era. It is his work which laid the groundwork for future publications and in turn greatly influenced Americans’ opinions of his era and thereafter. Any criticisms of his interpretations would be due to his inability to see the future, and these were usually mistakes he attempted to remedy through revisions and later publications of the book, which, in a true testament to its importance, has yet to go out of print. When the rare occurrence of a historical work affecting the course of history occurs, such as this one, the importance of both the work and the historian becomes clear.

Solitude, Solidarity, and Sexuality in One Hundred Years of Solitude :: One Hundred Years Solitude Essays

Solitude, Solidarity, and Sexuality in One Hundred Years of Solitude Soledad in Spanish means more than our word "solitude," although it means that too. It suggests loneliness, the sense of being apart from others. Although ultimately each human being is alone, because there are parts of our experience we cannot share, some people are more solitary than others. The really solitary figures in this novel are those who deliberately cut themselves off from other humans. They are contrasted with characters who combat their solitude, by making strenuous efforts to reach out to others. The founder of Macondo, Jose Arcadio Buendia, is the first great solitary. He becomes so obsessed with his own search for truth that he neglects his family and ultimately loses all touch with outer reality. His wife, Ursula, is perhaps the greatest of the antisolitary figures, the person who more than anyone else holds the family and the house together. She takes in a foster child and later insists on rearing the bastard children of her sons and grandsons. Her whole life is devoted to strengthening social bonds. Pilar Ternera, the fortuneteller, is also an antisolitary. Her role is to comfort the Buendia men and, in her younger years, to go to bed with them and bear their children. At the end of the book and of her own very long life (she has stopped counting birthdays after one-hundred forty-five), she is the madame of a wonderful zoological brothel, which in this context stands for a generous, bountiful sexuality. There is a lot of sex in the novel, most of it celebrating the size and potency of the Buendia men's phalluses or the lubricity of the women. Sex can be used to combat solitude, because of its power to connect one person to another. Even the two rapes in the novel result in close bonding: Jose Arcadio Buendia rapes his bride Ursula to begin the family line (second chapter), and the last Aureliano rapes Amaranta Ursula (who is not, however, very resistant), who will bring forth the last of the line.

Essay --

X can be seen as high on the openness scale. â€Å"The personality dimension that includes imagination, wit, originality, and creativity; people low on this dimension are shallow, plain and simple† (Friedman). X was very musically talented, having been acknowledged as the â€Å"King of Pop† by Elizabeth Taylor. (Interview with Oprah Part 2) In 1982, he produced the best-selling album of all time, Thriller. He is exceptionally imaginative as he wants to â€Å"bring out the child in everyone.† He constructed the Neverland Ranch which is equipped with candy, magic shows, carnival rides, and film. X worked with the Make a Wish Foundation in order to occupy terminally-ill children who would come every three weeks and he would entertain them with his child-like and spark. X was so generous and loved giving back to the world, and therefore he was also involved with the Heal the World Foundation. With regards to this foundation, the objectives for Heal LA division were f or the vaccination of children, having a mentoring big sister/ big brother program together with a teaching program on drug abuse (Interview with Oprah Part 5). X was also certainly open to experience by being a singer who toured the world. He showed his openness to different individuals through his numerous marriages and management with different performers on several albums. Being an artist, a singer and dancer, X was unsurprisingly imaginative by writing his own lyrics and designing his own dance moves. Michael seemed fairly high on openness. (Friedman, H.B., Schustack, M.W 2009). While X aimed for precision in his music he appears to be fairly low on the conscientiousness scale. â€Å"The personality dimension that includes dependability, cautiousness, organization, and responsibility; pe... ...t just by seeing the sight of his own father (Interview with Oprah Part 3). Owing to the fact of his violation as a child, X had many issues with his physical appearance, as well as sleeping problems. These factors presented him with great amounts of concern, which would position him high in neuroticism. X felt exposed and therefore had numerous amounts of plastic surgeries in order to fix his appearance according to his criteria. At the end of his life X was using potent sleeping medicines called Lorazepam and Midazolam in order to help with his insomnia by bringing about peacefulness, as well as Propofol, which was a sleep-inducing medicine used for general anaesthesia. The fact that X had use such potent medicines to help deal with his insomnia revealed how much it affected his life and indicated his emotional unsteadiness. (Friedman, H.B., Schustack, M.W 2009).

Business Model and Strategic Plan Essay

INTRODUCTION Why do businesses need innovation is simple, the world is changing at a rapid speed and no one can predict what is coming in the future. Organizations are facing many new types of vulnerabilities everyday. Innovation helps to determinate the strategic management within an organization and prepares organizations for the unforeseeable change and to make the change. Although very organization have different priorities, or balance the unique issues of their own, ignoring the innovation, or implementing the strategic plan inefficiently can bring risks of losing key employees, inefficiency of the operation, and lose competitive advantages to the competitors. This paper will create a new division for Starbucks Coffee Co. Using this division as an example to explain the importance of the innovation in company’s vision, mission, and values, and how it related to strategic management. THE NEW BUSINESS MODEL Starbucks Corporation, doing business as Starbucks Coffee, is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Today, with more than 21,000 stores in 65 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. And with every cup, the company strives to bring both their heritage and an exceptional experience to life. (Starbucks.com) Since the first Starbucks opened in 1971, the company has a goal to share great coffee with friends and help make the world a little better place. (Starbucks.com) To better server Starbucks Coffee’s customers, and provide quick and easy coffee for the people who have to fight the morning or anytime traffic, Starbucks coffee co. has purposed a new business model of Self Severed Coffee Machine. This new Machine will be located outside of Starbucks stores, shopping centers, and large office buildings to better server the consumers who does not have time to wait in line and get their favorite cup of coffee. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES In this tough economic climate, Starbucks needs to compete smart, this means to stay a step head on ensuring the best response to customers’ need and demand. It is often to see a line of customers either inside the store or in the drive through. While we appreciate the their patience to wait in line, we also share their frustration. It is our intention to ensure everyone loves his or her coffee. While we are proud that every cup is made to earn our customers’ satisfaction, we are also spending a considerable amount of time on making them. The Self Served Starbucks machine has an ability of produce majority flavors of the coffee, which our customer likes. Simply pay the cash, wipe the credit card, or scan the mobile Starbucks App on your smartphone, the machine will make a fresh brew cup of coffee in just 45 seconds. With this machine outside of store or mall, our customer can save time on waiting in line. Even more convenient, the machines outside of the office building not only can save our customer a trip to the coffee shop in the morning, also be able to enjoy a hot fresh coffee when they sat down by their desk. This new machine can ensure the competitive advantage by its product differentiation, more focused group on customer service, and operational efficiency. MISSION VISION AND VALUE Starbucks’ mission is a reason for the company’s existence. With the unique style of combining both, our vision and mission statement is â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.† (Starbucks.com) To align with this mission statement, our new division’s mission statement is to † bring the best quality coffee and convenience to our customers on the go, one machine at the time† This mission statement reflected the company value and beliefs to show our costumers that we care, it will also guide our employees on understand and establish what the company truly does. A good mission statement inspires employees and provides a focus and direction for strategic planning. While mission statements vary from organization to organization and represent the distinctness of each one, they all share similar components. (Mission and Vision Statements, 2010) The new division’s mission statemen ts include descriptions of Starbucks’ target market, the geographic domain, and concern for survival, growth, and profitability. SWOTT ANALYSIS Being the giant leader of the coffee and snacks industry, Starbuck coffee company needs to develop a strong strategic plan through the analysis of SWOTT. SWOTT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and trends. A SWOTT analysis identifies strengths and weaknesses within a company, and outside opportunities and threats. The most important parts of a SWOT analysis specify the actions that correspond to the elements the company identify. By using the results of the analysis to improve the situation of the new division, we can reduce the likelihood of developments that negatively affect the business while improving performance. (Smallbusiness.Chron.com) EXTERNAL SWOTT Starbuck is currently in the retail coffee and snacks industry. The  self-serve coffee machine will be able to satisfy customers not just a cup of coffee but also tea, water and juice, which Starbuck currently provide in the store. The loyal based reward programs provide customers with convenience, giving presents, and increasing frequency of the machine visit. Although there will not be any customer service involved, but the efficiency of leveraging technology with the capability of mobile App will still attract customers. The machine will provide extra ideas on the screen related to recycling and reducing waste; this is a great way to communicate with people about the social responsibility initiatives of the company. Due to the economic crush in 2008, this industry has experiencing a major downfall in sales. Because of the sensitivities to the macroeconomic factors, most of industry consumers have to give up extra expenses such as over priced drinks, snacks, and food. However, with economy slowly recover, consumers will start feeling the relaxation of the financial situation, it is safe to say, this industry will has a considerable amount of growth in the near future. With Starbuck having the most of market share in the industry, they have a monopolistic competition. By far the biggest threat the company face is the mature stage of the industry. Dunkin donuts, McDonalds, or Pete’s coffee are all the main pressure on Starbucks. Starbucks brand recognition and the convenience of the self-severed machines differentiates itself, the brand and the machine will draw more customers’ attention, gain competitive advantages for the company. INTERNAL SWOTT The self-served Starbucks coffee machine will be located in some of the most prime and strategic location across the city such as universities, office buildings, and grocery stores. They will primarily targeting mid-income individuals and students. This strategy will gain competence due to the customer convince factor. The Starbuck coffee-pricing factor does pose a weakness to some targeted consumers; however, the self-severed machine will be 5% cheap because there are no labor costs involved. Expansion into a global market is an opportunity for these machines. Starbucks has a great growth potential in further expanding into the emerging and developing  markets. The company can leverage their size, experience, financial prowess and efficiencies to make new market share. (Forbes.com) Starbuck has putting significant amount of time and money on training their employees. Their employees are known for highly knowledge and experienced. They are the main assets of the company and they are provided with great benefits like stock option, retirement accounts and a healthy culture. This effective human capital management translates into great customer services. It was rated 91st in the 100 best places to work for by Fortune Magazine. (CNN.com) The internal threat for Starbucks currently is the change of life style and taste choices of consumers. More and more customers are shifting towards healthy foods and drinks; this treading can hurt the coffee culture of the company, even to industry in the future. BALANCE SCORECARD The Balanced scorecard is a management system that enables organizations to clarify their vision and strategy and translate them into action. It also provides an organization with feedback of both the internal business processes and external outcomes, which allows for continuous improvement of strategic performance and results. Develop the strategic objectives for the new division of the Starbuck in the balanced scorecard format in the context of key trends, assumptions, and risks. The strategic objectives are measures of attaining the new vision and mission. Below are the three strategic objectives for each of the four balanced scorecard areas identified (Financial, Customer, Process, Learning and Growth). FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE How to gain the market share is the objective in financial perspective. This is aggressive strategy the new division can use to power our organization and weaken the competitors. The new † Self served coffee machine† can gain market shares by: One: New technology. This market has always been a high growth market, and high growth markets has less competitors, it means they will not fight our  efforts as fiercely. Two: Innovation. This new machine is absolutely a breakthrough innovative idea once it is release into the market. Innovation can help the new division obtain large market share. Three: Strategic Alliance. The new machine can advertise other products, which is great choice when drinking coffee. If the alliance company can help with founding, we can lower our coffee price. This is efficient way to lure customers from competitors. CUSTOMER VALUE PERSPECTIVE How do we create value for our customers are the objective for the customer perspective? Customers are the key factor to an organization success. Creating value for our customers in three ways: One: New Value. This is the most challenging way to impress customers. By setting new machines by the office buildings or school parking lots will be most convenience for people do not have time to stop for coffee in the morning, or anytime during the day. Two: More value. The machine will provide the same product as in a Starbucks coffee store, but cheaper. Three: Better Value. To expend on the existing value, the customer will be able to purchase snake from the machine. The addition product provided will simply delivering more powerful impact to consumers. PROCESS OR INTERNAL OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE How we measure the new division performance? The new division will have its own survey attached to the machine. Customers are the top choice for us to know what does the new division do to make them come back for more. Also, customers can leave feedbacks and advice via Facebook, Yelp, or preferred  social Media. Our new division will make huge impact on the organization, because it will release the busy traffic in the morning for the store location. LEARNING AND GROWTH (EMPLOYEE) PERSPECTIVE There is no employees’ turn over or retention involved with the â€Å"Self served machine† However, the mechanics are needed for the daily maintenance and refill. The new technology will notify the mechanic department if the machine needs any attention or checkups. COMMUNICATION PLAN While having a strategic plan, mission and vision Statement is crucial for the new division, but crafting and developing this plan is only the half of the battle. To have a communication plan is one of the most important factors after the plan and analysis is finalized. Although the new division will not have any human operating the machine, there are still the needs of new policies and procedures to be carried out. The effective of these policies and procedures are most likely effect the success of the plan. For example, machines maintenance schedule, or refill of the machine. Failure to take communication plan into account can cause disastrous. MONITORING AND CONTROL Our new business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines key elements of how we going to operate this new division. The plan typically includes an assessment of the market and the competition, operating budget breakdown, and short and long-term business goals. (smallbusiness.chron.com) There are three suggest way to monitor and control our new plan: CREATE PLAN REVIEW DATES Any new business plans within an organization needs to be reviewed on a regular basis, especially the expectancy of the busy traffic with the new  self-served machine. The new division management needs to set a date, this can be quarterly or annually, to review the long-term and short-term goals. Conducting the comparative analysis will help to ensure the strategic plan is on the right path. DEVELOP A TRACKING SYSTEM The management team of new division needs to develop a new tracking system to assess how the sales are doing regularly. For example, if the target sales goal is 5000 cups per month, then track the sales weekly or twice a month to monitor and control the process. Monitor key elements frequently. Key elements of the business plan include research on the market and competition as well as revenue projections. Each of these elements is subject to rapid change, and the management team should remain aware of where you stand with regard to these issues. (Smallbusiness.chorn.com) COORDINATE BUSINESS AND MARKING PLANS Our new division will have both business and marketing plans. Sometimes, they overlap in several ways. For example, if the Marketing plans calls for a major launching campaign with the media, but the business plan’s revenue prediction rejects that plan, then the managers needs to revise the plan to stay on track. ETHICS WITHIN THE NEW DIVISION Ethical behaviors and organization social responsibility is one of the key factors to bring large benefits for the business. With the new self-served coffee machine, it attracts customers with Starbucks signature products, thereby to boosting sales and revenue. It will create more jobs, therefor, help with unemployment. It will also attract more investors and keep the company’s share price high, therefor, protecting the business and employees’ benefits. CONCLUSION The fact is brutally simple: the accelerated change within the business world is unavoidable. Evidence shows in current business world, customers are changing their needs and interest each day, markets are relentlessly unstable, and competitors are more aggressively capture any chance possible at new ideas. With technology advances faster and faster, and modifying the traditional strategic management that it touches, Innovation has become what shapes the current strategic management trends, and the right strategic management is the key to business success. References: Starbuck. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/our-heritage Mission and Vision Statements. Retrieved from: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Mar-No/Mission-and-Vision-Statements.html History of Starbuck. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/our-heritage How to Monitor & Control Your Business Plan. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/monitor-control-business-plan-41401.html by Lisa McQuerrey, Demand Media The new plan of the Starbuck coffee. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2013/01/31/starbucks-global-coffee-giant-has-new- growth-plans/ Why Perform a SWOTT Analysis? Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/perform-swot-analysis-5050.html 100 best company to work for. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/snapshots/94.html

PEST Analysis of the External Environment Essay

The paper provides an analysis of the Case Study for Westjet Airlines, Canada. The case is taken from the work done by Peter Yannoupoulus (pg 376-380) Problem Statement The following problem statements are proposed: 1. Westjet Airlines total debt is higher relative to its shareholder equity a measure that may call for external financing. The company needs a strategy to ensure its self-sufficiency. 2. Westjet has many competitors and has to come up with strategies to ensure it remains in the market and makes profits. The major questions that management of Westjet have to deal with is whether to maintain its status quo of offering low cost and low fare, whether to venture more in the third party charter segment or whether to be involved in the Trans borders segment. The management has to decide the best strategy it will use to achieve its expansion plan and decision must be made urgently. PEST Analysis of the External Environment Political/ Legal After the 9/11 attack operating in the small markets has become uneconomical due to increased costs. Legal measures by the government translated to higher costs to airlines, which were transferred to consumers. Non-profit airport authorities have also led to the increased prices that act as a disincentive to air transportation. Most customers are price sensitive and care must be taken to maintain its competitiveness. Westjet incurred added costs by providing amenities to its customers like leather seats, snacks leg rooms and television. Economic It offers quality services, empowers its employees and shares profits. This way it maintains its competitiveness. Having good relationships with employees creates good relationships with customers. Employees can make decisions and solve customer problems without the unnecessary delay of contracting the management. Employees are made to feel as if they are part of the company. By offering quality services and on job training it improves its highly motivated employees skills. It employs qualified people who also have a right attitude. Employees are motivated by the profit sharing where they get additional money from what the company makes. Through its employees share purchase plan, it encourages its employees to invest in the company’s stock. Pricing Its fares are 55% lower than air Canada fares. It offers services at a low cost so as to increase the traffic flow. It attracts passengers who would prefer other means of transport as well as those without the traveling idea but attracted by the prices. Westjet intends to expand its scope to serve the central and eastern Canada. By early 2004, it was serving 24 Canadian cities. (P. 376) Environment/ Technological In increasing its efficiency Westjet may be obliged to incur high costs but the benefits are worth it. For instance the installation of winglets that cost $ 635,000 per plane would result to $ 112,500 savings p. a per plane. (p. 379) Social and Cultural Westjet airlines provide passenger, cargo and third party charter services to Canada’s domestic market. It started its operations in 1996 with 3 aircrafts and 220 employees by 2003. It has expanded and now employs 3610 employees and 14 aircrafts. It has entered an agreement with Air transit, the leading Canadian charter airline and it rent its airplanes during off-peak seasons like in winter months. It also did its maintenance and rented some of its simulators. Competition Air Canada, the largest competitor has more resources and a higher command in the market. It accessed over 90% of Canadian airline industry, US trans border and international markets. It makes counter decisions to be at better grounds than Westjet. Other low fare competitors include Cantet, HMY airways, Zoom airlines, Tango, and Jazz and Zip air. Decisions Alternative and Solutions Alternative -1 Tran border expansion Westjet may decide to expand in Tran border operations. Venturing into this area calls for increased cost in increasing aircrafts. Tough competition from subsidiary airlines of stronger airline could threaten its low fare strategy. There is very high competition in the trans-boarder market as it includes both the Canadian as well as the US airlines. Replacing the older aircrafts would also be essential to pave way for efficient aircrafts to travel non-stop across cities in Canada as well as across the borders. Alternative -2 Offer low cost and low fare and increase Canada market Westjet can maintain its status quo. It can strengthen or empower its employees results to increase their satisfaction that is further projected to the customers. Its small size will ensures low cost structure and fewer employees. Operating in the profitable routes makes it more efficient than large airlines. It must also ensure that it offers convenient schedules. It can increase or maintain these profits by increasing its scope. Westjet can advertise its services extensively through it the advertising and new media division in its sales and marketing. Advertisements can be through magazines, outdoors advertising, radio, television, and transit messaging and web advertisement. (P. 378). It can also increase offers to act as incentives like random promotion for instance, the prime ministers day special. Westjet offers tickets less reservation system through Internet bookings that are very convenient and effective to consumers. It also eliminated unnecessary costs that go with printing distribution and tracking of tickets Alternative -3 Venture more in charter segment. Westjet can opt to expand in the third party sector or the charter services. It is appropriate as the unutilized aircrafts can be utilized during winter. It can team up with established charter flight businesses. Most Favored Alternative The strategy that best suffice Westjet expansion is to expand its operation in Canada. Westjet has only exploited 10% of its potential market share and therefore has more potential to expand. (p. 375). It can increase the number of flights made and venture into areas that have not been exploited. Profits and ROI In 2001 Westjet had $ 478 million profits that rose to $ 680 million in 2002. It can continue with this trend if it exploits the unexploited 90% of its potential. (P. 380) References: Peter Yannoupoulus. West Jet Airlines Case 4 pg 376-380

Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Rights Essay

This brings me to the system theory. A system has interconnected parts that depend on each other to develop the mutual goal, which is a successful center. The interconnected parts are the environment, the processes, and the outcomes. Each component needs the support of the other to keep the common goal. According to Bloom the system theory is, â€Å"A set of interrelated parts that is characterized by the interdependence of its parts and it differentiation from its environment, a complex network of social relationships, and its own unique culture. † (Bloom, 2005, p. ) The environment is a place where input is implemented. When I think of a childcare center environment I think of children and how they develop. I think of the atmosphere, the setting, and the conditions that can spark the chil d’s analytical thinking abilities. But that is just the internal environment. The external environments consist of the parents, sponsoring agencies, local communities, legislative bo dies, and the professional communities / teachers. â€Å"The external environment places constraints and demands on the center. † (Bloom, 2005) The external environment is the input and processing stage. This is a collaboration of people and agencies that come up with strategies to support the development of the center. The centers that have sponsors have money and agencies that develop supportive programs such as art, literacy, and technology. Columbia College sponsors the center that I work for. The center used the money Columbia gave them to developed a program for the teachers to learn the importance of art and how a person can utilize art throughout the day. Parents, sponsoring agencies, local communities, legislative bodies, and the professional communities / teachers are big factors on the input and processing stage. Parents may demand that the students have more free play and outdoor play. The sponsoring agencies might require more outcome data. The local communities may ask the center to stop the students from writing on the ground with chalk. The Legislative bodies may require the students to take shorter naps for more gross motor activities. The professional communities may ask for better wages for their degrees. (Bloom, 2005, p. 6) After the inputs of complaints or suggestions the director needs to structure and process how to develop a plan of action. Getting feedback from the sources that asked for the changes is essential. After developing a plan of action the director can stand back and observe if the changes are working or not. This system allows the director to process the changes, implement the changes, and revise the changes if needed to prefect the change. The outcome process is very important because it could either sink or sail a center. If the changes in the program are not supported by staff, and parents this may become a problem that causes low enrollment, and staff turnovers. I am experiencing these problematic issues at the center I work for. Four years ago the center hired a new director. During the four years she has made lots of changes. She changed classroom teacher teams. She closed classrooms that were bringing in the students. She put teachers in infant classrooms when they did not want to work with babies. Recently she enforced closed campus lunch. No one can go out for lunch. You have to order your lunch or bring your lunch from home. She stated that it was mandated by the state. She gave all the teachers the head-start licensing standards that stated the teacher child ratio. It said nothing about our lunch hour. We also have low enrollment. Parents are complaining about teachers’ morale and the director’s attitude. How you implement change can affect the outcome and cause staff and parents to be disgruntle. As Bloom stated, â€Å"Problems can arise when directors and boards lack adequate data and bas decisions about outcomes on inference. † (Bloom, 2005, p. 16) My director did not collaborate with her environment. She is an autocratic leader. She is a dictator. She does not give anyone an opportunity to be involved with the decision making process. As it stated in the article Leadership Styles, autocratic leaders are extremely controlling and paternalistic, where leaders have complete power over their staff. Staff and team members have little opportunities to make suggestions, even if these would be in the team’s or the organization’s best interest. (Tools) If my director managed the center in a People oriented/relation oriented approach I believe the center would not be I such a crisis. People oriented/relation oriented approach leaders are totally focused on organizing, supporting, and developing the people on their teams. They treat everyone on the team equally. They’re friendly and approachable. They pay attention to the welfare of everyone in the group, and they make themselves available whenever team members need help or advice. (Tools) Directors need to be mindful of how they lead. A director needs s to know how to coach, mentor and manage the staff. Dictating is not he way to lead. If my director collaborated with the staff, parents, and the community I believe the outcome would be different. Coaching and mentoring is not telling a person what to do.

Harvard business publishing Essay

In mid-September of 2010, Emily Harris, vice president of New Heritage Doll Company’s production division, was weighing project proposals for the company’s upcoming capital budgeting meetings in October. Two proposals stood out based on their potential to strengthen the division’s innovative product lines and drive future growth. However, due to constraints on financial and managerial resources, Harris knew it was possible that the firm’s capital budgeting committee would decline to approve both projects. She also knew that New Heritage’s licensing and retail divisions would promote compelling projects of their own. Consequently, Harris had to be prepared to recommend one of her projects over the other. The Doll Industry Revenues in the U.S. toy and game industry totaled $42 billion in 2008 and were projected to increase by 4.6% per year to $52.5 billion by 2013. The market was divided into two broad segments: video games (48%) and traditional toys and games (52%). The second segment was further divided into infant/preschool toys (14.5%), dolls (14.1%), outdoor & sports toys (12.3%), and other toys & games (59.1%) including arts and crafts, plush toys, action figures, vehicles, and youth electronics. The U.S. market for toys and games was dominated by large global enterprises that enjoyed economies of scale in design, production, and distribution. Revenues were highly seasonal; the largest selling season in the United States coincided with the winter holiday period. Within the toy and game segment, U.S. retail sales of dolls totaled $3.1 billion in 2008 and were projected to grow by 3% per year to $3.6 billion by 2013. The doll category included large, soft, and mini dolls, as well as doll clothing and other accessories. The phenomenon of â€Å"age compression†Ã¢â‚¬â€ the tendency of younger children to acquire dolls that had traditionally been designed for older girls—reduced growth in the â€Å"baby-doll† sub-segment. Competition among doll producers was vigorous, as a small number of large producers targeted similar demographics and marketed their dolls through the same media. Lasting franchise value for a branded line of dolls was rare; the enormous success of Barbie ® dolls was an obvious exception. More recently and on a much smaller ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HBS Professor Timothy Luehrman and HBS MBA Heide Abelli prepared this case solely as a basis for class discussion and not as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or ineffective management. Th is case, though based on real events, is fictionalized, and any resemblance to actual persons or entities is coincidental. There are occasional references to actual companies in the narration. Copyright  © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business Publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting 4212 | New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting scale, New Heritage also had created a durable franchise for its line of heirloom dolls. But the popularity of most doll lines waned after a few years. New Heritage Dolls By 2009, New Heritage had grown to 450 employees and generated approximately $245 million of revenue1 and $27 million of operating profit from three divisions: production, retailing, and licensing. The production division, discussed further below, designed and produced dolls and doll accessories. The retailing division offered a unique â€Å"intergenerational experience† for grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, centered upon the character histories and storylines of the company’s dolls and delivered through an online website (42%), a mail-order paper catalog (33%), and a network of retail stores (25%). In fiscal 2009, the retailing division generated roughly $190 million of revenue and $4.8 million of operating profit. The licensing division was started in 1998, and represented the company’s newest and most profitable division. It sought to extend the New Heritage brand and capitalize on high levels of customer loyalty by selectively licensing the company’s doll characters and themes to a variety of media that reached the firm’s target demographic of toddler to pre-teen girls. In fiscal year 2009 the licensing division generated $24.5 million of revenue and $14.5 million in operating profit. New Heritage’s Production Division Production was New Heritage’s largest division as measured by total assets, and easily its most asset-intensive. Approximately 75% of the division’s sales were made to the company’s retailing division, with the remaining 25% comprising private label goods manufactured for other firms. Table 1 summarizes the division’s various sources of revenue and operating income. Table 1 Production Division Data: Revenue ($ millions) Operating Income ($ millions)    New Heritage’s dolls and accessories were offered under distinct brands with different price points, targeting girls between the ages of 3 and 12 years. The company’s baby dolls were generally priced from $15–$30, and were offered to younger girls in earlier stages of development. These dolls typically came with a â€Å"birth certificate† and a short personal history. Dolls in the higher-end of this category incorporated technology that produced a limited amount of speech and motion. For the 1 The division revenue figures include approximately $95 million of internal sales within divisions which are eliminated when considering consolidated revenue for the company. BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 The New Heritage Doll Company was founded in 1985 by Ingrid Beckwith, a retired psychologist specializing in child development and the grandmother of two young girls. Dr. Beckwith believed the dolls produced by the major toy companies did little to develop girls’ imagination or foster a positive self-image, so she created a line of dolls with unique storylines and wholesome themes. Dr. Beckwith’s dolls struck a chord among mothers and grandmothers who also rejected the dated, clichà ©d images portrayed by the popular dolls of the day. New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting | 4212 New Heritage outsourced much of its production to a select number of contract manufacturers in Asia. To ensure product quality and safety, the company maintained a fulltime staff to oversee material sourcing, production, and quality control on site at each of its manufacturing partners. Manufacturing activities that required precise tolerances or proprietary processes, along with all the creative elements (design and product prototyping, for example), were handled in-house at the company’s headquarters facilities in Sacramento, California. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 Capital Budgeting at New Heritage New Heritage’s capital budgeting process retained some of the informality that characterized the company’s early years as an innovative startup. As the company grew, deliberate steps were taken to decentralize some of the project approval process and increase spending authority at the division level. However, large and/or strategic spending proposals were reviewed at the corporate level by a capital budgeting committee consisting of the CEO, CFO, COO, the controller, and the division presidents. The committee examined projects for consistency with New Heritage’s business strategy and sought to balance the needs and priorities of each division against practical financial and organizational constraints. The committee also sought to understand project interdependencies and the potential for a given investment to strengthen the whole company, not solely the division proposing it. New Heritage’s capital budget was set by the board of directors in consultation with top officers, who in turn sought input from each of the divisions. The capital and operating budgets were linked; historically, the capital budget comprised approximately 15% of the company’s EBITDA. The committee had limited discretion to expand or contract the budget, according to its view of the quality of the investment opportunities, competitive dynamics, and general industry conditions. Before being considered by the committee, projects were described, analyzed, and summarized in self-contained proposal documents prepared by each division. These contained business descriptions, at least five years of operating and cash flow forecasts, spending requirements by asset category, personnel requirements, calculations of standard investment metrics, and identification of key project risks and milestones. Financial Analyses Financial analysis began with operating forecasts developed with oversight from New Heritage operating managers. Revenue projections were derived from forecasts of future prices and volumes. Fixed and variable costs were estimated separately, by expense category. Forecasts of working capital requirements were likewise vetted by line managers, who paid particular attention to a project’s requirements for various types of inventory. Forecasts for fixed assets and related depreciation charges were developed in cooperation with analysts reporting to the controller. HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING | BRIEFCASES Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org $75–$150 price range, New Heritage produced a line of heirloom-quality dolls and accessories. These were designed to appeal to older girls and to convey a sense of cultural and family tradition among grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. The heirloom dolls had more elaborate accessories and personal histories. Finally, the company offered a line of high-end dolls based on fictional â€Å"celebrities,† each associated with a charitable cause and embracing more contemporary fashion trends. These dolls targeted girls in the so-called â€Å"tween† age range of 8–12 years, and also were priced from $75–$150. Like the heirloom dolls, celebrity dolls also came with more elaborate stories and accessories. 4212 | New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting New Heritage assigned discount rates to projects according to a subjective assessment of each project’s risk. High-, medium-, and low-risk categories for each division were associated with a corresponding discount rate set by the capital budgeting committee in consultation with the corporate treasurer. Assessments of each project’s risk were made at the division level, but subject to review by the capital committee. Factors considered in the assessment of a project’s risk included, for example, whether it required new consumer acceptance or new technology, high levels of fixed costs and hence high breakeven production volumes, the sensitivity of price or volume to macroeconomic recession, the anticipated degree of price competition, and so forth. In 2010, â€Å"medium†-risk projects in the production division received a discount rate of 8.4%. High- and low-risk projects were assessed at 9.0% and 7.7%, respectively. Projects that created value indefinitely, given continuing investment, were treated as going concerns with a perpetual life. That is, NPV calculations included a terminal value computed as the value of a perpetuity growing at a constant rate. However, to preserve an element of conservatism, the capital committee generally insisted on relatively low perpetual growth rates – lower than New Heritage’s historical growth and lower than near-term growth forecasts for a given division. Investment Opportunities in the Production Division Emily Harris was focused on two of the production division’s most attractive current proposals. The first involved expanding the successful Match My Doll Clothing Line to include matching allseason clothing for tween girls and their favorite dolls. The second involved a new initiative, the Design Your Own Doll line, which employed web-based doll-design software to let users â€Å"customize† a doll’s features to the customer’s specifications. Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion The Match My Doll Clothing line originally consisted of a few sets of matching doll and child clothing and accessories for warm weather. It quickly became successful after the daughters of a few celebrities were spotted and photographed wearing items from the line, and girls’ magazines included some of the line in â€Å"what’s hot to wear† sections. Given recent publicity, Marcy McAdams, the brand manager responsible for the line, believed the timing was perfect to expand. Specifically, McAdams proposed to create an â€Å"All Seasons Collection† of apparel and gear covering all four seasons of the year. She expected the new offerings to be at least as profitable as the existing line, since its current popularity would make it possible to maintain premium prices. She also hoped to take advantage of off-peak discounts offered by some suppliers and contract manufacturers as they tried to smooth their capacity utilization. In the same fashion, McAdams argued the expansion would help reduce, or at least not exacerbate, the seasonality in New Heritage’s sales and earnings. BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 Operating projections for a given project were used to develop cash flow forecasts that would underpin calculations of net present value (NPV), internal rates of return (IRR), payback period, and other investment metrics. Cash flow forecasts were intended to capture the incremental effect of a proposed project on the firm’s cash flow for each year within the forecast period. That is, each project’s cash flow forecasts excluded non-cash items, such as depreciation charges, and nonincremental items such as sunk costs (i.e., costs that would be incurred regardless of whether a given project was undertaken or not). The cash flow forecasts were computed on an after-corporate-tax basis, but excluded all financing charges. Some elements of the cash flow forecasts were prepared with assistance from treasury analysts, but most of the necessary adjustments were well understood by division staff. New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting | 4212 To exploit the current popularity of the original Match My Doll Clothing line, especially given the fickle nature of children’s fashion trends, McAdams believed the opportunity had to be exploited without delay. Her investment proposal contained relatively large outlays for R&D, market research, and marketing to maximize the probability of quick acceptance and longer-term success for the follow-on line. Upfront investment expenditures are summarized in Table 2. Table 2 Match My Doll Clothing Extension Outlays The R&D and marketing expenditures would be deductible for tax purposes at New Heritage’s 40% corporate tax rate. The property, plant and equipment was expected to have a useful life of 10 years; the associated depreciation charges, shown in Exhibit 1, were based on the modified accelerated cost recovery system (â€Å"MACRS†) allowed by the IRS. Working capital requirements, shown in Table 2 for 2010 and in Exhibit 1 for subsequent years were based largely on recent historical experience with the original Match My Doll Clothing line. Finally, given the proven success of Match My Doll Clothing, Harris believed the project entailed moderate risk—that is, about the same degree of risk as the production division’s existing business as a whole. Design Your Own Doll This initiative targeted existing New Heritage customers, many of whom owned several of the company’s heirloom dolls. The company’s research showed that, when asked what features (e.g., appearance, ethnicity, â€Å"life story,† etc.) New Heritage should give to future dolls, loyal customers’ responses had a high correlation with their own personal data. That is, girls wanted dolls like themselves. Further research suggested that many loyal customers would purchase yet another doll if they could customize the doll’s features to create a â€Å"one-of-a-kind† addition to a girl’s or family’s existing collection of dolls. It also promised to increase the girl’s pride in and identification with the doll, both because of their shared features and because of the girl’s participation in creating the doll. This in turn further cemented customer loyalty. The customization process would begin with a new section of New Heritage’s website, where proprietary design software enabled the customer to select physical attributes of the doll such as hair color, hair length & style, skin color, eye shape, eye color, and other facial features. The software could combine selected features and produce a photo-realistic image showing the finished doll with user-selected accessories. The customer could zoom in or out on the image and rotate it to see different aspects. The software made it easy to try out different combinations of features and accessories before making a purchase. Elizabeth Holtz, brand manager for heirloom dolls, was very excited about the project. She observed, â€Å"A girl’s relationship with her favorite doll is often partly mommy and partly big sister. Either way, having your doll look more like you is really powerful. And there’s excitement in the experience: exploring the website, naming the doll-to-be, selecting her first outfit†¦even the anticipation of waiting for the new doll to arrive. I really think this is big.† Holtz also believed that the dolls could command a premium price. â€Å"Customers will naturally expect to pay more [for a HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING | BRIEFCASES Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org Initial Expenditures ($ thousands) 4212 | New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting custom doll],† she said. Market research with focus groups revealed significant enthusiasm for the product concept and supported the notion of premium prices. The web-based software tools and order entry system required New Heritage to make significant modifications to its existing technology infrastructure, expand its webhosting capacity, and modify the terms of its third-party service agreements to ensure a higher level of service quality. The majority of the R&D expenditures shown below were related to software development, hardware upgrades, and web design. The development time involved, including product testing, was expected to be approximately 12 months. Initial outlays, some of which occurred in 2010 and some in 2011 As with Match My Doll Clothing, the required R&D and marketing costs would be tax deductible. Manufacturing equipment had to be ordered by the end of 2010 to be ready for production at the beginning of 2012. While New Heritage had the option to pay for custom equipment in quarterly installments, the firm could get a substantial discount by paying for the equipment up front, in 2010. Figures in Table 3 and Exhibit 2 reflect the discounted cost of the equipment. To support the forecasted level of sales, substantial investment in working capital (primarily work in process inventory of partially manufactured dolls) would be required beginning in 2011. And still more equipment would have to be purchased and installed no later than 2014. In years 2015 and following, investments in working capital and equipment would revert to patterns familiar from the production division’s traditional lines of dolls. To complete development work, Holtz planned to use some of the company’s existing IT staff. The majority of the work would take place during calendar 2011. The number of people and their fully loaded costs are shown Table 4. These costs were not included by Holtz in the initial outlays shown in Table 3 or in the forecasts presented in Exhibit 2. The development personnel Holtz needed were considered â€Å"corporate† resources and were almost certainly available to work on the project. Table 4 Design Your Own Doll Development Personnel, ($ 000s) Application Development Personnel Costs: Web Application Developers Database Manager Systems Integration Specialist Total Cost BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org However, even a limited degree of customization increased manufacturing complexity and expense. Further, because of the low production runs and volume, fixed costs on a per unit basis were expected to be relatively high. Consequently, the breakeven volume for the project was also expected to be high. New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting | 4212 Finally, Holtz needed to give Harris her assessment of the project’s riskiness. On the one hand, Design Your Own Doll had a relatively long payback period, introduced some untested elements into the manufacturing process, and depended on near-flawless operation of new customer-facing software and user interfaces. If the project stumbled for some reason, New Heritage risked damaging relationships with its best customers. On the other hand, the project had a relatively modest fixed cost ratio, and it played to the company’s key strength—creating a unique experience for its consumers. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 Emily Harris still needed to complete her review and financial analysis of the two proposals. McAdams and Holtz were in frequent touch with Harris and both had offered to respond to any questions she might have about the proposals: the business case, the financial projections, the operating details, or anything else. Harris expected that she would indeed have some follow-up questions as she worked through her financial analyses. She also knew that her final recommendation might disappoint some executives within the division, who would scrutinize it closely. It had to be well-supported.