Saturday, August 31, 2019

Company called Bookshop Essay

1. Introduction 1. 1 Background The company that I have chosen to do my project on is a small book distribution company called Bookshop. Bookshop is a small company based in South London and was set up in early 2002. They have a small workforce of 4 people. Each person therefore has a large and important role to the company. Each worker is always hard pushed to meet deadlines for schools and social centres demanding books. Because that are a small company they cannot afford to have large computer staff to look after al their accounts. They are limited to the time that they can spend on different tasks. Each day they deal with a round i 1000 worth of orders, but this might vary to as much as i 4500 or as little as i 500. The director of the company has put in a large lump sum as a loan to start off the company, which she hopes will trunk into profits, which she will later recoup. 1. 2 Statement of the problem I have conducted an interview with the director of the company and we encountered the following problems.   Because the bookshop is new, there are many things that could go wrong and caused bankruptcy. There is the fact that the company has no real image and cannot conduct rely on customers. Therefore they need to profit maximise. They need all staff working to their full potential. They need no wastes of time with things that can be done automatically.   Also with the small amount of money available to them they had o make do with old computers, which ran old computer programs that are DOS based. The problem that ABC Books as a company has is that it is limited to the workforce that it ca spend on different tasks. Therefore time is a major part of what is wrong. If there were a way that was quicker than the current way to do it then the time taken by each person would be greatly reduced and there may be a chance that each person would have more time to do other jobs. For example two people handle all the accounts.   If there were an easier way then they might only need 1 person and therefore there would be an extra person left over to do other work. Because of a shortage of time that they spend on the accounts, orders don’t get delivered and because it is a small business, it needs all the orders it can get and any a late order and schools will look to other suppliers. This was picked up on by Pat Horsefield (director) when a meeting was held to discuss the problems with the system. Mrs. Horsefield feels that:   with the introduction of a computer accounts system,   a system that can process customer orders faster and more accurately,   a reduction in the amount of paper generated by the system and feels that a â€Å"centralised† system could improve communication between staff, then the whole company will run more smoothly and then they would make more money and she would start going in to profit. As the company is new they have not got enough capital to go out and but fleets of vans and cars, they have to rely on people own cars and transport of that of a delivery company which all costs money. Because of this they need to save money on expensive large especially designed programs by large specialist company’s that produce such programs. 2. Investigation 2. 1 The current system The current system that the company use is a spreadsheet package that was created 17 years ago and is therefore quite basic and not easy use for all the staff that are used to more modern forms of spreadsheets. At the moment as each school places an order, it has to go through a processing system that takes a long time to fill out. Input Processing Output Forename Surname Position School Address Home Phone Mobile Books ordered Total Price Paid Payment method This is the route that the current data takes. 2. 2 Constraints of the Current system The format of the current accounting system is in DOS and therefore has no GUI that is useable to a user for formats like EXCEL. The software and hardware are old and need to be replaced. That main one is that it is not like the new accounts systems such as EXCEL and SAGE Line 100. There are many problems encountered when external people wish to view the accounts i. e. Auditors.   Another problem is that when outside people wish to review the accounts, they are totally unfamiliar with the system and are not able to use it correctly. This is mainly because of the layout and the basic look of the interface. There is one major problem with the actual system and that is that it does not automatically perform calculations. Therefore all calculations need to be done using a calculator. This is time consuming. If there were a way that the users could just put in numbers and the computer could automatically calculate the totals and the answers the user would have more time to do other things.   Due to the lack of complexity of the system, errors are often made. 3. Requirements of the new system 3. 1 General objectives The general objectives that I hope to be able to achieve are:   To create an up-to-date system that can be easily used by the staff and new staff   To be based on a modern GUI that all users will understand. To make it self explanatory so that new users will be able to pick up the methods quickly.   It will need o be able to hold the company’s accounts   There will be no need for passwords to any of the data, as no strict personal data is held on the computer 3. 2 Specific objectives – quantitative Customer accounts should be found in less then 20 seconds   The user should be able to locate a page by using in the click of a button.   All users should be able to use the system to do accounts.   Customer Details should be able to be printed off at the click of a button. There should be buttons to do all reasonable jobs (print/open/add) All pages should have links back to all the other pages, with the click of a macro and should be clearly labelled. 4. The current systems 4. 1 Hardware The hardware that is available to the users is a small LAN of 4 computers and a server. All the computers have a barcode scanner for scanning in book barcode numbers and ISBN’s. The computers that I have available for me to use are a set of 5 networked PC’s at my house of which one has a barcode scanner. At college there is a large number of networked PC’s for pupils use.    Intel Pentium 4 Processor Processor Speed: 2. 0 GHz All 5 of the PCs that I have available to me at my house are all the same. (see above) 4. 2 Software The software that the user has available is Microsoft Windows 95 professional edition with Office 95 and all relevant software for the barcode scanners and for the tele-book ordering. What I have available to use is Microsoft XP professional with Office 2000 which has excel, which I’m using to create the new spreadsheet program 4. 3 User’s IT skills and knowledge I feel that the users ICT knowledge and skills are limited to what they can do. They are inexperienced in computer use and therefore they have not developed, because of this there will need to be a basic and informative and self-explanatory interface. I think that the interface will need to be bold and relevant to the tasks. The user manual will have basic information in using the system as well as a trouble shooting section. 1. Consideration of a possible solution There are many different packages that I could use to create an accounts program there is Sage Line100, which is widely used in large company businesses. There is also Microsoft own Excel, which is widely used, in smaller businesses. I am going to use excel to create the program because it is the most commonly available and is therefore the best choice to use. I think that it is also the easiest to use out of the two because many people use the program already and have a basic knowledge of the program already and how it works. It is also a lot clearer to see than the basic graphics of Line100. there is also the case that Excel is cheaper to buy than a copy of Sage Line100. at i 250, Line100 is rather too expensive for a small company. I feel that with the cheaper, only i 89. 99 Excel they will have a better deal on their hands.   

Friday, August 30, 2019

Operations Management Case Studies Essay

1. Introduction This report focuses on the case studies of the Levi Jeans workers and the California Auto Club reengineering customer service. It looks at operations management as a source for gaining a competitive advantage and overcoming potential problems experienced within and organisation or workplace. The questions to be reviewed are as follows: Jeans Therapy – Levi’s factory worker are assigned to teams, and morale takes a hit: 1. What went wrong with Levi’s move to teams in their plants?; 2. What could Levi’s have done differently to avert the problems?; 3. Devise a team incentive plan that you think might work; and 4. Do you think the need to move jeans production offshore was inevitable? Could Levi’s have done anything to avert the problem of increasing labour costs? A California Auto Club reengineering customer service: 1. Discuss the customer service process at CSAA and discuss the different phases of the reengineering effort; 2. What tools from the operations consulting tool kit were applied here? Which other ones would be of value here? Explain; and 3. Discuss process enablers’ role developing the new design. 2. What went wrong with Levi’s move to teams in their plants? In order to respond to both change and complexity, most organisations are turning to new, more adaptive ways of doing their work, such as flatter organisational structures, more team orientated environments and greater support from technology. 2.1 Scientific management It is fair to say that pre-introduction of the new teamwork system, Levi’s had in place the ideals of scientific management. Around the turn of the Twentieth Century, Frederick Winslow Taylor had developed a set of ideas designed to get employees in manufacturing industries to produce more output. Taylor’s objective was to attain high productivity by eliminating inefficient motions in human labour. Hence he divided work process into the smallest elements or motions based on ‘time and motion studies’, separated intellectual and manual work, searched for the ‘first class’ employee, who would then be trained and specialised on specific tasks, and provided them with good tools and paid elevated incentives for their high-quality performance. Taylor and his disciples cited the search for efficiency, ‘one best way’ to do a job, as justification for such changes. Because scientific management consultants claimed they understood the â€Å"natural laws† of human behaviour and endurance, they argued that the implementation of scientific management would benefit both workers and society at-large. Nevertheless, skilled workers and their unions often vociferously protested these changes because such practices made their work monotonous and also trespassed upon what they perceived as their traditional prerogative to manage their own time on the job. 2.2 Implementation of teams In 1992, Levi’s abandoned its old piecework system, under which a worker repeatedly performed a single, specialised task and was paid according to  the total amount of work he or she completed. The new system would adopt groups of 10 to 35 to share tasks in the hope of higher organisational performance being gained from empowered individuals working together to contribute the best of their knowledge, skills and capabilities. While it was thought the new ‘teamwork’ system would be more humane, safe and profitable, the negative affect it had on employees and managers ultimately led to the closing down of the U.S. plants. The new system managed to cause conflict amongst employees, damaged morale and triggered corrosive infighting. Furthermore, many employees complained of shrinking pay packets and increasing workloads. What also could have contributed to the breakdown of the system could have included; individual opinions, were employees can face the struggle between competition over cooperation; establishing responsibilities, employees not assessing each others expectations and connecting them with goals; and misunderstanding, while it was essential for a team to have good communication skills, non-communication promotes confusion. 3. What could Levi’s have done differently to avert the problems? In 1993 Levi’s hired a consulting firm to analyse the problems, concluding the company should start from scratch and include all parties in redesign of pay structures and work processes. In hindsight, it is simple to say that Levi’s should not have phased out the old system as it seemed to be working. Having said this, with the introduction of the new system, there could have been greater emphasis placed on getting it right. What could Levi’s had done better? According to Keogh (2003), motivation is one of the most loaded nouns in the English language. It has an intrinsic negative, as well as positive, connotation and its trigger is different for each individual. In a corporate context, well-motivated employees can enhance a company. Those with poor motivation can generate serious workplace problems. 3.1 Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs In the late 1960’s, Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchical theory of human needs. He set up a hierarchical theory of needs in which all the basic needs are at the bottom, and the needs concerned with man’s highest potential are at the top. The hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower levels representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing the need for self-actualisation. Each level of the pyramid is dependent on the previous level. For example, a person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied. Employees in any organisation, let alone Levi’s, need rewards. Working long hours and spending much time away from their families takes its toll and rewarding employees represents an end to the means. The first reward, which Levi’s could have undertaken, relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. That is, employees feel rewarded with a high amount of self-esteem and a feeling of accomplishment for a job well done. This also ties in with self-actualisation as the employees have endured the many hardships in an industry notorious for low wages and lousy working conditions. Both of these needs are part of Maslow’s higher order need because they encompass more than just basic survival. 3.2 Frederick Herzberg motivator-hygiene theory In the late 1950s, Frederick Herzberg, considered by many to be a pioneer in motivation theory, interviewed a group of employees to find out what made them satisfied and dissatisfied on the job. Based on his findings, Herzberg constructed a two-dimensional paradigm of factors affecting people’s attitudes about work. He concluded that such factors as company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary are hygiene factors rather than motivators. According to the theory, the absence of hygiene factors can create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not motivate or create satisfaction. In contrast, he determined from the data that the motivators  were elements that enriched a person’s job; he found five factors in particular that were strong determiners of job satisfaction: achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and advancement. These motivators (satisfiers) were associated with long-term positive effects in job performance while the hygiene factors (dissatisfiers) consistently produced only short-term changes in job attitudes and performance, which quickly fell back to its previous level. If Levi’s took on the theories of Herzberg, whether in the old or new system, employees more than likely would have embraced change. From the outset, management, could have ensured employees were happy in their environment, by providing incentives, such as, bonus pay to highlight all of their hard work. As a result, the employees feel they have a sense of job security. 4. Devise a team incentive plan that you think might work. An incentive is something that tends to stimulate or spur individual or group action. Incentives (money, treats, certificates, extra privileges, etc.) are external ways of motivating group work. They can be used selectively to build a sense of internal motivation within the group. This is accomplished through another behaviour modification principal paired association (Tracey, 1999). Incentives make group members â€Å"feel good†, and these rewards follow a major accomplishment, then sooner or later the accomplishment itself will lead to a very positive feeling. This, in a nutshell, is the longer term justification for selectively using external incentives. In the case of Levi’s in is of my opinion that the need for affiliation is a basic motivator of work groups. Belonging to a special group, should have been highlighted, and having the time and resources to hang out with that group is very motivating and engaging, rather than monotonous work. Consequently, providing team incentives that allow group members the opportunity to mix is a very effective strategy in motivating group work  (Andrews, 1999). Either incorporating the gain sharing or lump-sum bonuses and individual bonuses would suffice to help morale and productivity. Refer to appendix A. 5. Do you think the need to move jeans production offshore was inevitable? Could Levi’s have done anything to avert the problem of increasing labour costs? By early 1997, the writing was on the wall for Levi’s as their flagship men’s denim jean had fallen to 26% of the market share from a high of 48% in 1990. In contemporary business, world companies need to be innovate in order to survive. Innovation is strongly advocated and treasured throughout the whole process of production. But scientific management hardly pays any attention to innovation. Instead, it focuses on dividing the job into small tasks, increasing the volume of output and then speeding up the rate of output. Was innovation for Levi’s to produce their product in foreign plants? 5.1 Globalisation Globalisation – is the movement of goods, services and money capital or investment across international boundaries and in this way becomes a predominately economic phenomenon sweeping the world. Throughout which, what were formerly national companies become international conglomerates. Hence, countries are no longer seen as independent and closed sovereign states, but as part of one big economy. Primarily this shift in thinking is driven by corporate America’s insatiable appetite to open new frontiers in emerging countries, and claim a monopoly on the source and distribution of products. All of which in short is because they are searching for more profit at a lower cost. Globalisation is also heavily backed by international consumerism, which is seen as the dominant ‘religion’ of the era, which means that the fruits of this global production are rapidly sought after and indeed hungrily consumed. Initially this flood of products into the local markets of major economies causes prices to decrease. Whilst this lower cost to consumers contributes to a higher standard of living, it is short lived. Globalisation also brings the world closer to a central economy. In their endless search for greater profits they turn to the less wealthy, such as many of the Asian countries, i.e. Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. A large number of the poorer (or developing) countries now have rapidly rising employment rates . This is mainly due to the fact that with a lower standard of living in these countries people are prepared to work for significantly less, and still produce the same product. 5.2 Averting increasing labour costs It is inevitable that in any organisation of Levi’s magnitude experiencing a drop in market share, that downsizing be a result because of it. Nowadays, markets have become far more global and dynamic, and the business environment turns more and more complicated and competitive. Employers and employees are faced with plenty of new opportunities and challenges. Also, manufacturing and information technology is getting more sophisticated speedily. To avert increasing labour costs, Levi’s did introduce more employee involvement, thus creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. This could have been a stayer, if not for the toffee- nosed managers. In a team-oriented environment, employees contribute to the overall success of the organisation, working with fellow members to produce results. This may have cut out some mangers, thus reducing escalating costs of consulting firms. However, whilst it’s true that the implementation of self-managing practices in the work place has achieved significant progress in terms of motivation, we must remember that there are always two sides to every story, and bottom line is that many of the U.S. plant were not performing and many workers  felt held back. 6. Discuss the customer service process at CSAA and discuss the different phases of the reengineering effort. CSAA were seeking ways in which to make operations better and more efficient. Gregory A. Smith, vice president and general manager of insurance operations, himself said that â€Å"it was obvious that the old ways of doing business wouldn’t work in the future, and that we needed to make some fundamental changes.† How was CSAA going to implement change to their outdated customer service strategy? 6.1 Pre reengineering effort Before the implementation of the reengineering effort CSAA had seemed like a trusted member of the family to its many members. But under its own admission, and for a need to improve operations, the business process at CSAA needed to go under the microscope. At the time of the old regime, the processes undertaken would not have differed much to many of the large corporations around the world. Addressing customers over the phone, whenever customers needed to rent a car, booking airline tickets, making insurance claims or just general enquiries seemed to be the norm. How they went about this though, as we look at it now, gave the impression of archaic times. With regard to how all claims, bookings, renewals and so on were made, by putting pen to paper, often service consultants needed liberation from a paper-intensive and error-prone work environment. Another problem faced by CSAA was that whenever members phoned in and made an enquiry, many of the consultants would refer their problems to other consultants until there was a resolution. Executive president himself saying, about the system, â€Å"That’s not service – that’s a pinball effect. According to Cole (2001, p.307) † Customer service is one of the most direct tools we have for building loyalty, attracting repeat business, generating word-of-mouth business and boosting profits. It might be full of paradoxes, but customer service can make or break your organisation.† 6.2 Principles of reengineering It would be unprofessional of CSAA to think that all of their problems would disappear without careful thinking and planning. In order for their reengineering efforts to succeed, they needed follow the principles of reengineering initiated by the management expert Michael Hammer. Refer to appendix B. 6.2.1 A reengineered job After much deliberation, CSAA devised a new system designed for better customer service centring around a new position called â€Å"members service consultant. CSAA felt it was time and as Cole (2001, p.8) states, â€Å"planning involves establishing a goal and objectives and deciding how best to achieve them. What needs to be accomplished? By when? What needs to be done to make it happen? Who is best equipped to do it? As the old saying goes ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’ Things don’t happen by themselves: wee need to plan them carefully. After all, a goal without an action plan is just a wish.† Supporting the service consultant would be a new information system that links data that currently reside in three separate systems. This technology will enable a service consultant to most members on the spot (Chase, Jacobs & Acquilano 2004). 6.2.2 Three quickies The new system heralded huge savings for both members and CSAA. Average turnaround time for processing new business applications was reduced from six days to three days; and the proportion of new auto policies that had to  be ‘reworked’ dropped from 50% to 16%. 6.2.3 A comprehensive survey A widespread survey was carried out by four employee teams, to focus on issues encountered by CSAA members and employees. Questions ranged from services, products and previous experiences for members and what you would do if you were president of CSAA for a day, to employees. One of the subjects consistently brought up, by members and employees, was that of how a visiting member would have to go from window to window to tie up different enquiries. 6.2.4 Get Crazy For the member service consultant to work, cross-training for employees on a range of CSAA services was crucial. The new computer system would require a good understanding by employees in order to intertwine all the vital information at CSAA together and make it readily available to those who accessed it. Employees would also have a say on how the system was designed, developed and also tested a prototype that would support the new service consultant. By this they would simulate everyday situation to help modify or identify any foreseeable problems. To further make employees comfortable with the transition to the new system workshops, meetings, posters, newsletter and videotapes were provided. 6.2.5 Sell with scenario On-line prompts, on-screens prompts and what-if scenarios will replace the tedious paperwork and thumbtack memos. John Clark, a regional claims manager, says of the new system, â€Å"we’re trying to create a learning environment for the future, for all levels of employees from clerical to management† (Chase, Jacobs & Acquilano 2004 p.343). 6.2.6 One-stop shop Now members have the luxury of getting complete service with just one stop. 7. What tools from the operations consulting tool kit were applied here? Which other ones would be of value here? Explain. 7.1 Problem definition First on the agenda for CSAA to get their new system up and going would be that of problem definition. 7.1.1 Issue trees Initially, CSSA had identified a problem with their customer service. By embarking on a long-term reengineering effort, business processes were put under the microscope. For this to work, a plan had to be put into place to target problems and figure out possible solutions. By structuring the process into different phases specifies a direction CSAA can take 7.1.2 Customer surveys Chase, Jacobs & Acquilano (2004) suggest that OM consultants frequently observe customer surveys such as to determine customer loyalty. In the case of CSAA a widespread survey was conducted. 7.1.3 Employee surveys These can involve questions on employee satisfaction or as CSAA developed, a question posing what you would do if you were president for a day. 7.2 Data gathering With the goals of CSAA to improve customer service, speeding up turnaround  times is high on the agenda. To have something to aim for, gathering existing information, such as, processing new business applications and the cost of baseline expenses will serve to improve or reduce these fundamentals. 7.3 Data analysis and solution development To rid CSAA of its old working environment, it had to introduce the new computer information system. 7.3.1 Computer simulation For employees to grow accustomed to the new system, CSAA had to cross-train employees to help them understand the computer simulation. Although not as sophisticated as much of the software available, employees had to become familiar with the new package. 7.4 Stakeholder analysis Coming under the heading of cost impact and payoff analysis, CSAA’s most important stakeholder would be its members and employees. In endeavouring to put into operation a new system, the importance of considering the interest of all its stakeholders is central. 7.5 Implementation Chase, Jacobs & Acquilano (2004) indicate that creating a new process and sustaining the improvement requires more than creative application of information technology. In order for implementation of reengineering to be successful any organisation, let alone, CSAA has to follow three important guidelines. Refer to appendix B. 7.5.1 Responsibility charts Having workshops, meetings, posters, newsletters and videotapes issued to all employees would help ensure that each task is being covered by the employees. 7.5.2 Project management techniques The reengineering effort is now being carried forward by five interdisciplinary teams whose focus includes workforce retraining, reward and pefromacne management and information technology (Chase, Jacobs & Acquilano 2004). 7.6 Which other ones would be of value? After observing the operations consulting tool kit, refer to appendix C, it suggests that CSAA took up on at least one aspect of the five categories. Issue trees, customer and employee services for problem definition; data gathering; computer simulation for data analysis and solution development; stakeholder analysis for cost impact and payoff analysis; and both responsibility charts and project management techniques for implementation. 8. Discuss process enablers’ role developing the new design. A number of bridges have to be crossed to help develop the new design. The major one of these being information technology. 8.1 Information technology Information technology (IT) is considered the major enabler for spanning processes over functional and organisational boundaries and supporting process driven organisations. However, the point is not to use IT as an improver for existing activities, as which it often has been conceived, but as enabler for the CSAA. Some of the ways that IT can change the business process at CSAA include: process automation and speed; virtual presence and distance collaboration becomes possible; mobility; allows information to be shared differently; and increases interactivity and allows instant feedback. IT, when used appropriately, can enhance business processes. 8.2 Selection CSAA chose three employees from field officers for intensive training to help with the design and development of the new system. For CSAA it would have been important to select the most appropriate candidates based on the agreed job descriptions and person specifications that have been created over time. This knowledge can be transferred to other employees and the playing out of simulated scenarios would pose not problems. The selection process needs to be handled with care to avoid costs of failure to select the right candidate or legal problems arising down the track. 8.3 Additional information Constant monitoring form senior management and additional information, such as, workshops, meetings, posters, newsletters and videotapes enable a smooth transition for other employees. 9. Conclusion It seemed as though Levi’s decision to promote teamwork only frustrated employees, especially those with superior skills. The common grounding on working in teams is that businesses who have employees working together to reach a common goal are more likely to succeed than the ones that do not. Sadly this was not the case with Levi’s. Psychologically, people desire recognition, need to feel a part of a team, and want to do a good job. But people, after all, are only human. Long-term personal goals often fall prey to daily or weekly frustrations. With Levi’s, employees may have found it hard to meld personal goals with the organisation’s long-term or even short-term goals. This may have contributed to workers being absent or inexperienced and led to increased workloads on other Some people may have trouble sculpting individual performance goals at  all. As Powers (2000), describes, in all cases, excitement, interest and performance can suffer. In the case of CSAA, management needs to consider the importance of customer service in a primarily service organisations. Successful organisations, irrespective of nature or size, have one thing in common – the loyalty of their customers. Organisations that spend time, effort and money on anticipating and fulfilling customers’ needs and requirements will undoubtedly reap the benefits from loyal customers by enhancing customer satisfaction. However management should not put all its efforts in keeping customer satisfaction, as this will be generated by the overall service concept that the company provide to the customer. Certainly the customer has to be in employees’ mind all the time reminding them that they are there because there is a customer who is willing to pay.

Business Research Methods -Starbucks Essay

Starbucks Coffee Company originated in 1971 as a small coffee house in SeattleWashington. Over the years, Starbucks has grown into a global company offering its exclusive brand coffees in domestic and international markets. Unfortunately in recent years, increased competition and market saturation has caused the company to re-evaluate its business strategies often leading to the closure of many of its stores in many recently expanded areas. This business problem and optional proposal is designed to address the issues Starbucks is facing as a result of the increased competition and market saturation in the coffee industry. Using statistics to remedy the issue, Team C will develop a hypothesis to study using an appropriate sample pool as well as primary and secondary data sources. The outcome of the research will result in a final recommendation related to the problem and the hypothesis that was tested. Subject ProblemIncreased competition and market saturation has caused Starbucks Coffee Company to reevaluate its business strategies in order to eliminate the closure of many of its stores in recentlyexpanded areas. Consumers are feeling the prices in their pocket and are mindful of the next dollar they spend. Dependent and Independent VariablesA recent slump in sales and revenue has forced the coffee powerhouse company Starbucks to close several hundred stored over the last year and upcoming moths. The new sales plummet will be the dependent variable in our research of the independent variables and their effect of the overall sales. When looking at Starbucks many recent events can be attributed to its sales drought such as the huge unemployment which can be defined as our independent variables. The first independent variable to consider is the over saturation of Starbucks’s locations across the country. Each Starbucks location needs a certain amount of profit to stay open, thus several locations will have to resort to closing their doors. With Starbucks popularity early on it opened the door for other competitors such as  McDonald’s to serve a premium roasted ice coffee for a cheaper price. Also with the gas prices being steady and the economy trying to rebuild itself from this financial state it doesn’t seem economically to purchase a $4-$8 cup of coffee when you can get a similar product from McDonald’s or your local convenience store. Populations of InterestsThe two populations of interest that Learning Team C will be focusing on will be the consumers for cold coffee. The cold coffee market has grown with Starbucks being on the higher end and McDonald’s cold coffee being on the lower end of the market. We will show the comparison of these two companies’ consumers and how the overall market has been effective by the economy. Proposed Sources/Resources for Data CollectionFor a primary research source for Starbucks, data can be collected from market surveys,teleconferencing interviews, consumer questionnaires and focus group sessions by directlycontacting customers. Other information can be derived from sampling techniques and statisticalmethodologies which are documented to be 1 percent of the market profitable value. Secondaryresearch sources are in the form of data which has already been collected in preceding researchstudies. Examples include reports, press released articles, and initial market research projectsthat eventually arrive at a conclusion, governmental agency studies, and trade associations. Sampling methods to be used in researching the two hypotheses will be in simple random sampling and cluster sampling. Samples of customers will be asked to take a survey in different regions and areas of the market. The samples will include an assortment of populations including various age, race, career and education levels. Primary and Secondary DataPrimary resource data includes Starbucks’ mission statement that indicates â€Å"Our Commitment to Being a Deeply Responsible Company Contributing positively to our communities and environment is so important to Starbucks that it’s one of the six guiding principles of our mission statement.† (Starbucks, 2008) The effort that Starbucks exudes is a  positive one and working together with each employee helps them to create the above-average approach that they are known for. Analyzing surveys that were generated at the local Starbucks indicated that even though the price of Starbucks has rose in price, consumers are still willing to buy that product, especially when a competitor like McDonald’s sells it, as long as it bears the name Starbucks. The observations that have been analyzed are that Starbucks is known for providing a relaxing experience which can rival those of fast food restaurants. Starbucks has been known to modify their stores to embrace the coffee experience to entice consumers from every walk of life in local communities and throughout the world. â€Å"One of the benefits of combining primary research with secondary research is in the area of data triangulation. Data triangulation is when a piece of data, a finding, or a generalization is able to be verified with several different research methods.† (Driscoll, 2006) For example, when conducting a study on how many college students drink Starbucks coffee, results indicate that â€Å"Coffee drinking appears to be on the rise, and this might not be a fad. The Dallas Morning News recently wrote an article about a specific new trend in cold coffee. In a Sept. 4 article, staff writer Teresa Gubbins says we have a â€Å"love affair with hot coffee.†(Cooper, 2003)In this experiment, of the students interviewed, 57 percent of them reported to be coffee drinkers. Fifty-five percent had not been regular coffee consumers before college, and admitted they picked up the habit once they arrived at SMU. Because college is such a drastic change in atmosphere, schedules, class loads and stress, many students rely upon coffee as a solution to get them through the day. â€Å"I started drinking coffee because I cannot stay awake in class without it,† sophomore Shunta Richardson said. Fifty-nine percent of students said they prefer Starbucks coffee. â€Å"I drink Starbucks coffee because there are so many stores all around the country. No matter where I go I can trust that my favorite drink will be there,† junior Tyler Torres said. â€Å"(Cooper, 2003)Using secondary data sources, it is necessary to look at what kind of future Starbucks is facing. They also need to ask themselves some questions,  such as should they launch new products considering the trend of the health conscious? How will Starbucks market new products and continue to keep the price down? Starbucks must also look at the demographics of the target market to ensure the validity of concern. Starbucks must also research and use forecasting in an effort to predict future revenue. â€Å"Forecasting long-range predictions are essential to allow sufficient time for the procurement, manufacturing, sales, finance, and other departments of a company to develop plans for possible new plants, financing, development of new products, and new methods of assembling.† (Lind, Marchal & Wathen, 2004)Sample SizeStarbucks has become a well-known company for selling the highest quality coffee beans and best tasting coffee products around the world. Starbucks was one of the first companies to realize that the real money to be made was in beverage retailing, not just coffee beans. What makes Starbucks coffee stands out from the other corporations is the roasters of Starbucks coffees are extensively trained for one year before they start the production of the coffee. Starbucks is the only competitor in the coffee market that has a recognized brand image. Starbucks have introduced gourmet flavored decaffeinated coffees as well as specialty flavors and whole bean coffees for their faithful coffee drinkers. Starbucks stores operated in most metropolitan areas of the United States and have a direct mail business to serve customers in every state. One of Starbucks competitors for the premium roast coffee is McDonalds which they offer a similar product for less than the cost of Starbucks. This has posed a problem for a great deal of Starbucks retailers because customers these days are very conscious of their spending habits and figure why pay the cost of Starbucks when they can get the same product from McDonalds for a lesser cost. The sample sizing consisted of a group of 100 which the first group of 50 is Starbucks customers and the other 50 were McDonald customers. Customer surveys are one of the tools that can quantify the process and use of such tools are important to determine the need for a product and changes. The surveys can measure whether or not the marketing plan is effective, or if it needs to be repackaged and delivered in a different fashion. The initial choice of a quick, yet descriptive questionnaire is paramount to  gather needed information. Starbucks and McDonalds need to identify their customers, what are they willing to pay for this product and how do they rate the premium roast coffee. For each customer at Starbucks and McDonalds every 10th customer can complete the survey and receive 10% off their next purchase. Below would be questions that would be included in the survey for Starbucks and McDonalds customers:†¢How often is premium roast coffee purchased? (daily/weekly/monthly)†¢What is your specific age bracket? (under 18/ 18-24/ 25-44/ over 45)  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Where do you make your purchases? (restaurant/grocery store/mail order)†¢What is the cost that you are willing to pay for premium roast coffee? (less than $2/ $2 – $4/ Over $4)†¢What brand of premium roast coffee do you purchase? (Starbucks/McDonalds/other competitor)As you can see statistics can play an important role when making decisions. A manager at one of these companies can reduce the unexpected, and potentially costly, variances when making business decisions. Starbucks coffee is much expensive than McDonalds but Starbucks puts time and money into their product which ultimately increases the cost. Most consumers are excited about the competition of premium roast coffee such as McDonalds because of the lo w cost yet faithful customers to Starbucks because of the quality. When uncertainty is reduced better conclusions can be drawn that will minimize risk and maximize profit gain. Sample SelectionThe team examined secondary data within this business problem analysis, which can save a firm time and money by using publicly available information as well as information already in the firm’s database. If the company had already conducted research of the best markets within its regions and area of influence, the company would be smart to use this when deciding how to downsize its stores. While using secondary information is cost effective, the use of secondary data must be carefully considered and used only when applicable to the research question. Starbucks will need to gather accurate and reliable secondary information, which can either be sub-contracted out to a firm that specializes in market research or it can form an internal research team to explore opportunities which will start to present themselves as the company begins to downsize. A key concern for the validity of data is the age of the data. All the data is sensitive to the effect of time so any action being taken by the company must account for the  changing nature of the environmental landscape. One questions that Starbucks should ask its internal or external research team is, â€Å"How does the coffee market change once the Starbucks brand is not as strong as it used to be?† Another question would be, â€Å"What types of aftermath will come with coffee saturation in the fast food markets, will customers want quality over quantity?† Starbucks should use accurate, reliable and timely data in its decision-making processes going further. The company would be surprised to see that opportunities will arise even within the decrease of its stores. An example of this type of opportunity occurs when customers get tired of fast food production of coffee, Starbucks can offer extended hours at its current stores to maximize on profits. The team used demographic data within this analysis in which data was collected from Starbucks clientele through various surveys. Although demographic data will change and cultural habits may differ from town to town, the selection of cities with a vibrant coffee drinking base improves the odds of matching consumers that prefer Starbucks premium product line versus that of McDonalds or any other new rival. In an effort to hear from the people who matter the most, Starbucks should look to survey frequent, occasional and without a doubt new customers. When selecting age and gender criteria to survey, the team used careful consideration and attention was paid to all age groups. However, in an effort not to taint the results of this analysis, the team found that typically, pre-teens are neither decision makers, nor do they possess the spending power required for Starbucks products on a continued basis. Therefore, pre-teens were omitted from the sample. Although the teenagers have about the same spending power as pre-teens Starbucks does offer an atmosphere and products in which the company could use in the future as an opportunity. This age group was left in the surveyed population as the team conducted its analysis. Gender was annotated as a means to direct creative marketing and capitalize on the different sexes. Although the research team was efficient in its attempts to give Starbucks the best information available, statistical testing cannot prove the viability of Starbucks’ alternate hypothesis so company executives must weigh the test results using  the wealth of professional experience possessed by the Starbucks’ organization. References Corporate Social Responsibilityhttp://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/csr.aspCraving a caffeine high, SMU opens Java City on campus as coffee houses battle to attract students off the Hilltop, by Melissa Cooper, retrieved on the internet at http://media.www.smudailycampus.com/media/storage/paper949/news/2003/01/16/News/Craving.A.Caffeine.High-2273665.shtmlStarbucks Case Study (2007).

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Plate Tectonism, Oceanic Ridges and Rises Coursework

Plate Tectonism, Oceanic Ridges and Rises - Coursework Example Similarities and differences between a continental arc and island arc will be provided. In general, oceanic ridges is referring to â€Å"a mountainous chain of young basaltic rock at the active spreading center of an ocean† (Garrison, 2010: 116) whereas oceanic rises are referring to â€Å"a long, broad elevation which can be found at the bottom of the ocean". Oceanic ridges are â€Å"sources of the new ocean floor where lithospheric plates diverge† (ibid). A good example of oceanic ridges includes the Bowers Ridge and Shirshove Ridge which can be found in the Bering Sea close to Alaska, Kamchatka, and Siberia. There are significant differences between oceanic ridges and oceanic rises. Although often mistaken as one, oceanic rises often have a gentler topography as compared to oceanic ridges. Furthermore, oceanic rises also are not characterized by the presence of wide central rift valleys which are often found in oceanic ridges (Garrison, 2010: 116). In fact, oceanic ridges reach its widest when active. The two hypotheses that laid the foundation for plate tectonism a.k.a. plate structure includes: the continental drift and seafloor spreading. To understand the theory behind plate tectonics, it is important to take note of the following features: (1) the Earth’s surface is composed of 7 large crustal plates (i.e. African, North American, South American, Eurasian, Australian, Antarctic, and Pacific plates); (2) ocean floors continuously move in different directions (i.e. vertical and horizontal movements); (3) convection currents underneath the plates causes the movement of crustal plates; and (4) heat that triggers convection currents is radioactively rooted in the Earth’s mantle.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR (Corporate Social Essay

Outline and discuss the evolution of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), including its history, role in the financial crisis - Essay Example Among the many corporate strategies that have been adopted in the corporate world, to ensure both sustainability and profitability is the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which has gradually achieved massive popularity and significance in businesses world over. Corporate Social Responsibility simply refers to the manner in which businesses behave towards the society or conduct their affairs, in accordance to acceptable standards of operation; all businesses have an obligation to pay attention to, or to be responsive to social and environmental issues (Montiel 2008, p.245), rather than merely focusing on making profits. An understanding and integration of both societal needs and business needs is particularly important to business management in the recent times due to the increasing awareness of social challenges and the emphasis on social responsiveness. In that respect, Corporate Social Responsibility entails engaging in business practices and activities that promot e societal goals, thus, is one of the basic means of achieving competitive advantage in the complex and competitive global market environment. Historical background of CSR The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility dates awhile back in history and it has been in existence for more than a decade now, though its prominence and application in the corporate world is largely a present phenomenon for many corporations were not familiar with it until about the mid 1970’s. The pioneers of the concept observed that businesses ought to pursue policies and take decisions or actions that are desirable not only in terms of the objectives but also in terms of the values of society (Archie 1999, p.270). Initial academic debates that led to the development of this concept were the heated exchanges between Adolf Berle, who contended that managers were only responsible to their shareholders, and Merrick Dodd, who maintained that managers were responsible to the public as a whole and not ju st to the shareholders alone. Dodd further developed his contention by positing that besides the economic responsibilities owed to shareholders, managers have social responsibilities to the society as well; businesses serve a purpose in society and are not merely a source of profit to their owners (Snider, Hill & Martin 2003 p.176). Modern activist movements in the 1950’s and ‘60’s particularly in the US gave the debate a new momentum by turning media attention to business practices that they considered to be unethical or irresponsible, and in the wake of 1070’s focus had shifted to Corporate Social Responsiveness. This gave rise to yet another concept, Corporate Social Responsiveness, which refers to the notion that firms have to respond pragmatically to social pressures while paying considerable attention to their social obligations. A new development that took place in this era was the birth of modern corporate philanthropy, which involved corporations making huge donations for purposes not directly linked with immediate corporate profit. A further development in the concept was the shift from mere corporate philanthropy to strategic corporate philant

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Evidence Based Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evidence Based Practice - Essay Example The society expects the public to provide the highest quality of health care for individuals with smallest costs. Nurses need to have clinical information and use their expertise in analyzing it. Analysis of the information is crucial because of its application to the clinical practice. Evidence-based Method involves the practice where nurses use their knowledge to make the decision based on research facts (Jeffs et al., 2013). The nurses use clinical experience to manage and take care of patients. Evidence-based Method works best because there is sufficient evidence of the publication on nursing topics. Nurses should have the ability to access and scrutinize the research of a particular topic (Jeffs et al., 2013). There is anticipation from the society for hospitals to have access to printed health journals. Evidence-based Method is crucial in the modern health care because it creates the atmosphere for nurses to provide care for patients. It is important for the incorporation of the best research with clinical knowledge. The approach also provides the nurses with quality health outcomes. The evidence-based approach gives nurses confidence to use their knowledge of basic principles for the provision of appropriate health care to patients. The nurses should offer suitable health care and manage their patients. All the nurses should have full-time access to up to date evidence to sustain the best practices. Nurses have to stick to their morals and ethics when applying evidence-based Method in their day-to-day activities. Nurses have a strong culture of providing excellent health care to the patients, and they should maintain the culture. Incorporation of evidence-based practices into the education system is important to the nursing sector. It leads to the development of a system that will help nurses manage their patients. The

Monday, August 26, 2019

Compare&contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Compare&contrast - Essay Example Though I love writing, yet I used to feel handicapped where expression, translating and grammar were concerned. However, I did not lose heart but tried my best to keep up with it, by widening my vocabulary and clearing major doubts with my professors who were so encouraging. Gradually, as time went by I found that there was positive improvement both in my speech as well as writing abilities. When comparing the two languages, I came across many major contrasts between them and this is the reason why a Chinese person speaks English in a different manner. One such contrast between the two is the use of verb endings such as ‘ed’ or ‘ing’ which is not found in the Chinese language and this makes it difficult to use a sentence with the correct tense. Another major contrast I found was the use of articles like ‘the’ and ‘a’ especially when used in front of a noun. For example, an English speaking person would say – ‘The mango is good’ while a Chinese person would say – ‘Mango is good’. Another challenging aspect when comparing both languages is the use of ‘s’ for plurals in English. This is not the case in Chinese because they convey number based on the context of their sentences. There are also major contrasts where pronunciation and sounds are concerned. The sounds in the Chinese language do not exist in the English language and vice versa. These and many other contrasts really pose very challenging to international students but as we make ourselves more familiar with the language it becomes much easier. In the beginning, it seemed a hard task to write with good expression and not make mistakes but Professor Waluconis has been so patient and encouraging and I feel satisfied that I learned a lot from his classes. I have learned how to organize my thoughts and write a thesis statement which brings out the main ideas in a piece of writing. My speaking and writing abilities

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Assignment 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment 9 - Essay Example Firstly, with regards to the RIAA, it comes as this prize that this group fundamentally reject any form of copyright infringement and/work piracy. The most obvious reason and rationale behind this is with regards fact that the that the RIAA represents a massive number of entities that derive their profitability the fact that individuals legally acquire the products and services that they offer. However, instead of directly discussing the level of financial harm that this does to the RIAA and its bottom line, the website promotes an understanding of the fact that the individual who engages in copyright infringement and/work piracy is directly hurting the individual artist at the very lowest levels of their organization. This commons as somewhat of a surprise due to the fact that the major record companies generally cell a new CD for approximately $15-$16. Of this $15-$16, the individual artist is only receiving approximately $1.60 per records sold. As can be seen, this 10% is negligib le in terms of damages effected upon the artist himself/herself. This is of course not say that copyright infringement work high receipt has little to no effect upon the artist; however, it does help to underscore a level of understanding with regards to why the RIAA is so flagrantly and aggressively advocating the loss of profits that such a process entails. Comparatively, groups such as Piratbyran seek to promote a world in which a free flow of information is both possible and realized. Within groups such as Piraybyran, individuals believe that an alternative method of economics can readily exist that would help to connect the potential user directly to the artist thereby maximizing profitability for the one should be most rewarded and gutting the middleman out of the process entirely. Moreover, the rationale and logic of the particular position that such a group supports is with respect to an understanding that that in and of itself represents a situation in which a good is taken ceases to exist within the possession of the original holder. However, with regards to software piracy and copyright infringement, merely a copy is passed on to another individual with the primary good still being within control of the original holder; thereby signifying that no such that has taken place top Although both of these viewpoints represent reasonable approaches to the issue of copyright infringement in the way in which the world will continue to develop, it is the belief of this author that a middle ground necessarily exists. Seizing upon this middle ground, firms such as Apple and a litany of others have begun offering services such as iTunes which allow individual consumers to directly download content to their personal devices without being charged exorbitant fees they might be charged within a traditional brick and mortar store. In such a way, not only is the individual able to have access to electronic content with a mere click of the mouse, the artist is also able to derive a higher degree of profitability from their output as compared to traditional record releases that it defined so much of the past several decades. Finally, it must be understood that the moral high ground that the RIAA is seeking to take is something much less noble than it claims to

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Coca Cola Buy, Sell or Hold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Coca Cola Buy, Sell or Hold - Essay Example the year 1886, but even though John had great pharmaceutical capabilities, he lacked marketing skills due to which he was not able to create the kind of hype of this non – alcoholic drink as we know today, thus realising Coca Cola as a remarkable and an extraordinary product Asa Candler purchased the formula and the Coca Cola brand from John realising this as the perfect business opportunity. Candler was born in Georgia and had great motivational capabilities, prior to purchasing Coca Cola he was a pharmacist and had purchased this soon to be the most renowned brand - name for just $2,300. And not long after that he became a millionaire and became to be known as one of the top most business tycoons in the United States. He was also elected as the Mayor of Atlanta in 1916 just when he retired from Coca Cola. The most amazing performance of his management skills were displayed when he successfully launched his marketing campaign and distribution channel for the Coca Cola brand name. He decided that it was best to only create the raw soft drink and instead of appointing the company’s executives to market the product the company would appoint various bottling plants as their ‘C & F’ or Carrying and Forwarding agents. The strategy was a success since the early launch and this marketing strategy boosted the sales of Coca – Cola not only in America but throughout the whole wide world. Even today the Coca Cola Company administers its marketing operations in the same way, although with minor adjustments, such as they purchase most of the stake in most of the bottling plants to remain in power. Coca – Cola is the most renowned brand name through out the whole world with an established market base in over 200 countries and in possibly every corner of this world. But recognition has its shortcomings, and one of the negative sides of recognition is that it brings controversies along with it. This is especially true in case of the Coca – Cola Company; it is a

Friday, August 23, 2019

Abstract about Barriers to KMS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abstract about Barriers to KMS - Essay Example The reasons why people shy away leveraging KMS will also be found out in this dissertation. The important of this research is investigate the barriers preventing people to effective use of KMS in PwC(Thailand). The concept of knowledge management will be looked at from a keen eye perspective and after dwelling this concept, the limitations will also be taken into account. The dissertation is divided into several integral sections, each has its own importance and there is something substantial in each section of the dissertation. The case of Thailand will be taken into account in this dissertation; the PwC will be closely monitored in various sections of the dissertation. A well researched conclusion will be arrived at which will sum up all the important points and which will also give a good insight on all the research questions presented in the beginning of the dissertation. The limitations of the dissertation will also be discussed at the end which will focus upon the restrictions that were faced when conducting research on the subject.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Criminals are made, not born. Critically discuss this statement Essay

Criminals are made, not born. Critically discuss this statement - Essay Example In this paper will be discussed why a person would commit a crime, and why a person would need both a sociological determinism and a biological determinism. Biological determinism would include an extra Y chromosome. The normal man is born with only XY chromosomes. Some men are born with XYY chromosomes. Having an XYY chromosome means a man is more aggressive, when a man is more aggressive a man may sometimes commit a crime. Aggressive men commit aggressive crimes. Men with an extra Y chromosome will most often commit crimes like rape, and other violent crimes. This theory is generally accepted. However, it has been determined through conclusive evidence that some men who commit violently, and aggressive crimes like rape do not necessarily have an extra Y chromosome. So if men who commit violent crimes do not all have an extra Y chromosome there must be other determinants in what makes people commit a violent crime. There are also women who commit crime. Women do not have an extra Y chromosome. Some women also commit violent crimes. Therefore, one might need to look at the Chicago school theory. The Chicago school theory of why a person commits crime is one that focuses on a person societal environment. This theory focuses on people committing crime because of the environment they live in. The Chicago school adopts many other theories like the strain theory. The strain theory is a theory that says people commit crimes because these criminals are under strain. The strain can come from a number of sources. Strain can come from breaking up with one’s boyfriend, or girlfriend. Financial strain can come from the environment in which one lives. This is how the strain theory incorporates into the Chicago school theory. The Chicago school theory states that one would commit a crime because of financial strain induced by the environment one lives. Is this possible? Do people commit white-collar crimes, financial crimes, violent crime, and other blue collar crimes due to strain? The labeling theory is one of the most generally accepted theories in criminology. The labeling theory states that one develops deviant behavior because one is often told that one is a juvenile delinquent. The labeling theory states that once someone has a label, it is difficult to get rid of the label. One can also develop deviant behavior because of other labeling. Labeling theory states that many develop deviant behavior, because these people are labeled lazy and delinquent. Many who have been labeled as deviant, and delinquent will often seek the advice, and guidance from other deviant, and delinquent people. Some of these deviant, and delinquent people will be those of gang members. One might think someone with a label of deviant, and delinquent may want to shed that label. However, it appears many do not shed the label. Many are not interested in shedding the label. Many will conform to what society expects them to conform to. When one thinks that someone is no t interested in shedding the label that has them placed upon them one might think that would be impossible. Many people with a label have a difficult time finding a job. Many who are labeled will often commit further crime to meet financial needs. In committing further crime to meet financial needs cuts of a label one cannot find legitimate work. When one cannot get find legitimate

Transformational Leader Profile Essay Example for Free

Transformational Leader Profile Essay One of the most debated, described and defined aspects of managerial competence, leadership continues to claim the attention of practitioners and theorists alike. Leadership, essentially a synthesis of arts, reflects individual experience, understanding, values and capabilities, interacting with situations where, realistically, there is rarely an ideal solution. The recognition that transforming a business is something of an heroic journey explicitly and implicitly acknowledges the key role of leadership in todays world as a determinant of success, in an organization’s change, progression and development. The quality of that leadership is itself largely determined by the leaders effectiveness as a coach and mentor who can grow the skills and confidence in others, necessary to shape tomorrows businesses, organizations and successes. To develop leadership one must work at developing himself.   The transformation of the self is central to the leadership development process. Meeting Peter was a very profound experience for me. I met Peter, CEO of a large healthcare management organization, a year ago. The CEO had recently been picked by the Chairman of the Board to head up the organization of approximately 20,000 employees. Everyone knew him, and it appeared that he was well-liked by employees and generally trusted. Peter is someone I totally admire. He is someone who always makes sure employees all know why they are part of the organization. The terms charismatic and transformational are used more or less interchangeably in much of the literature. Distilling a large literature on the transformational leader, the notion can be broadly captured by reference to six elements: an heroic figure (usually with attributed past success stories); a mystic in touch with higher truths; a value-driven individual rather than one who is apparently purely self-serving; someone who is perceived to know the way; an individual who has a vision of a more desirable and achievable future; and finally someone thought to be capable of caring for and developing followers. All six points reflect attributes of personality and behavior of Peter. Peter has an approach which aspires to significant organizational change through engaged and committed followers. It was John McGregor Burns (1978) who emphasized the meaning and significance of transformational leadership by contrasting it with transactional leadership (Orlikoff 2000). This theme was picked up and elaborated by Bass (1990). According to Bass, transformational leadership has four components: individualized consideration (the leader is alert to the needs of followers and also takes care to develop them); intellectual stimulation (the leader encourages followers to think in creative ways and to propose innovative ideas); inspirational motivation (energizing followers to achieve extraordinary things); idealized influence (offers followers a role model). The core of Peter’s model is cantered on the concept of developing oneself to develop others. Specifically, as Peter matures and gains moral perspective, he invests more time and energy in promoting the development of others versus satisfying his own needs. As Avolio and Yammarino (2002) note, through the accumulation of developmental experiences the moral structure of an individual can be enhanced providing sufficient structure to assess complex moral challenges. This basic premise is at the core of what drives transformational leadership to the highest end of the full range of leadership. In his daily work, Peter identifies developmental opportunities, where there is scope for: Challenge, and the breaking of new ground. Work that makes a significant, demonstrable contribution to the business. Bigger/wider leadership roles, preferably the earlier the better within the leaders career progression. Shifting gear and moving up into more strategic roles/tasks and relationships. Moving and operating out of existing comfort zones. Multi-disciplinary and cross-functional working. Building stakeholder coalitions and alliances, supply chain projects, involving suppliers, deliverers (own organization) and customers. Acquiring new contributive competencies which will test and enhance both skill and will. Working on specific role/task assignments in other comparable, but noncompetitive organizations. Making keynote presentations at major events, where there is a sense of occasion and opportunities to establish reputation and credibility. Leading (preferably) or acting as a member of jointly run projects with a leading business school, professional body or significant consultancy group. Setting up and managing increased outsourcing for supportive activities. In effect, leader learning development (like so much interpersonal skills training) is about building competence – and confidence – in three related areas of activity. On the reasonable assumption that competence – like charity – begins at home, the first priority in Peter development is learning to manage oneself. This includes not only the development of effective self-management skills, but also acquiring high levels of competence in the three primary areas of know-how identified as: Transforming Integrating Mobilising Peter’s personal skills and leader competencies form an appropriately strong base for developing consistently sound working relationships with others. Particularly important are the following interpersonal competencies: Self awareness and awareness of others. Negotiation techniques. Listening and questioning skills. Influencing skills. Coaching skills. Assertiveness. Motivational skills. Working as a partner (primus inter pares) as opposed to leader. Collaborative problem solving. Empowering and delegating skills. I identified five significant distinguishing characteristics which differentiated Peter from the less effective: He is neither perfect, nor perfectionists in their demands of others. He quickly learns skills which he does not possess personally. He sees management as essentially a team effort. He strives endlessly for improvement – to him, the game is not over until its over. He admits his weaknesses and learns from his mistakes, but differentiates himself from the less successful. The leadership theory proposed by Peter is based on the relationship and interaction between the leader and the follower. Under transformational theory, the leader and the follower may possess their own motivations for the interaction, but together they realize a common goal and are changed by the process. The change, or transformation, in the participants is found in the unity of purpose that raises the goal beyond individual satisfaction to a higher level. Peter’s theory is consistent with transformational theory. Collaboration cannot be achieved without the team members reaching a consensus and perhaps giving up something of themselves and changing in the process. Collaboration cannot be realized without facilitation, communication, information, participation, and expectation. Understanding something of the dynamics of group behaviour and the processes underlying transactions between people, is fundamental to effective leadership (Orlikoff 2000). There are no panaceas or cure-alls, but informed awareness of what is really going on, in behavioral terms, within and between groups helps to give managers – and others – a clearer idea of how to handle relationships in more productive ways. Peter believes that a business needs at least three interrelated forms of leadership: One which brings about requisite task performance and goal achievement. One to generate and maintain the commitment of its members. Another to ensure continuity of congruence between the requirements of the task, and peoples needs and expectations (Schein 1985). Peter has ability to overcome or compensate for (transform) organizational and individual limitations. He motivates others to do more than they originally intended and indeed often more than they thought possible. Team spirit is aroused. Enthusiasm and optimism are displayed. Peter enables his staff to overcome, to break through, to see beyond the limitations of their organization: he stimulates his ‘followers efforts to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, re-framing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways’ (Ackoff 1999). Peter is unique leader, on whom organizational success depends (and who therefore receives a considerable share of the benefits of that success). Peter seeks power not for self-aggrandizement but in order to share it. He empowers others to take an active role in carrying out the value-based mission or vision defined by him. That vision is based on what the organization and followers need, not what the leader wants personally. Thus, Peter appeals to followers values, emphasizing that certain important values serve as the common basis for our ideals and goals. Peter transforms organization by first using his cognitive power to understand complex causal chains and then acting to design outcomes that will benefit the organization and advance his vision. While a substantial degree of cognitive power is required in order for Peter to be effective, such effectiveness results as much from his success in developing followers cognitive abilities as from the exercise of his own. Peter with the degree of cognitive power required for a top-level position makes important long-term strategic decisions. But how much do these decisions affect what actually goes on in the organization on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis? It is the thought and action of managers and employees at lower levels that most affect current and short-term future operations. The finest long-term plan and the wisest long-range actions will surely fail if those who must act today and tomorrow are not capable of doing so. Thus, it is more important for top-level leaders with great cognitive power or vision to help followers expand and improve on their own vision than it is for leaders to simply exercise their cognitive power (Smith 2000). Peter empowers others to define organizational policies and develop programs that are explicitly based on the values and beliefs contained in the philosophy that in fact put those values and beliefs into organizational action. For example, hiring and promotion policies should take into account values consistent with those in the organizations philosophy as well as applicants knowledge and skill. Reward systems and bonus programs must be based on the values of cooperation and innovative action instead of on competition over a limited pool of resources. Finally, Peter inculcates values and beliefs through his own individual behavior, his personal practices. He models organizational values and beliefs by living by them constantly and consistently. That is why his leadership behaviors that were described earlier are extremely important. Many people think of these behaviors as tools with which leaders explain their vision to followers and convince them to carry out that vision. Although this is not totally untrue, the far more significant reason these behaviors are important is that leaders use them to demonstrate and illustrate the values and beliefs on which their visions are founded. Thats why Peter takes so much time and effort and why he is good manager with strong management skills. He uses everyday managerial activities a committee meeting, for example as opportunities to inculcate values. In a meeting the leader may guide a decision-making process while making it clear that final authority and responsibility rests with the group. By so doing, Peter takes what might otherwise be a bureaucratic process and instills the value of empowerment into it. Whenever possible, he overlays value-inculcating actions on ordinary bureaucratic management activities. Without a sound base of management skills, this would not be possible. Ultimately, examination of Peter’s leadership leads to the recognition that transformational leaders own personal behaviors play a large part in shaping organizational culture. This comprehensive theory goes beyond behavior to incorporate personal characteristics. Even more, it includes the organizational context of transformational leadership that is, culture building. Peter refers to the challenges as trigger events in our lives that oftentimes have a profoundly positive effect on our development. So how do we create the challenges that you must confront to develop into the full person you can be and to achieve your full potential? I am still searching for that in myself, and I hope you will do the same each and every day, because that is the way to develop leadership—each and every day we emerge, we get better, we know more, and we can influence people more effectively. Peter had a profoundly positive impact on my leadership development. I have chosen a developmental goal for myself, based on my primary style of leadership. After having examined Peter as a transformational leader I have tried to capture the whole process of personal and leadership development in a simple model. Let me explain. The top left-hand part of the model represents what we come into the world with our talents and strengths. Building on those capacities or attempting in some cases to break them down, we have life experiences that shape our development, that comprise our life stream. On the bottom left, we have the context in which we are currently operating and there we specify the importance of the vision and culture to nurturing leadership development. The rest of the model represents what we typically focus on in terms of leadership development, including enhancing our self-awareness of where we are and where we should focus our energies, then focusing those energies by regulating our development and then finally being consistent in our efforts to call it self-development. A number of important individual and contextual factors feed into self-awareness, but we must go beyond simply being aware to enhance leadership development. References Ackoff, R. L. (1999). Transformational leadership. Strategy Leadership, 27, 20–25. Avolio, B. J., Yammarino, F. J. (2002). Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead. Greenwich, CT: JAI. Bass, B.M. (1990). Leadership and Performance beyond Expectations, New York: Free Press. Orlikoff, J. E. (2000). A board as good as its chair. Trusteeship, 8(4). Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Smith, C. J. (2000). Trusteeship in community colleges: A guide for effective governance. Washington, DC: Association of Community College Trustees.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Gender Differences in Speech

Gender Differences in Speech A striking contrast between ‘the taciturn man and the ‘cackling hen Abstract: Are men really more casual and women more sophisticated while speaking? Despite both genders being part of the same human species, they do have a salient difference in the manner they interact, speak, react and even the topics they choose to talk about. While men are more at ease in their social contexts, women appear to be conscious about their status and thus tend to use higher standard language in terms of talking. In addition, both men and women have different purposes when talking: for men it has more to do about imparting information and demonstrating expertise compared to women who aim to maintain and develop relationships. However, like in a lot of other things, exceptions are a part of this issue too; some men are just ‘too feminine and some women are just ‘too boyish. Ever noticed how differently girls and boys talk? What words they use? What topics do they speak on? If you havent yet; next time make sure to do so because linguists have â€Å"claimed to establish a rather intriguing difference between the language used by women and men† (Talbot, 1998, p. 20). Language and gender is a vast topic that attracts a lot of discussion from linguists around the world who aim to extract the variations and distinctions between a males language and a females. Up until today several such distinctions have been discovered, studied and noted. These differences are essential in characterizing the ‘masculine style of talking and the ‘feminine style. The paramount objective of this paper will be to look deep into these specific differences and also to find possible reasons as to why they exist. The ‘he dominance Historically, English was considered as a sexist language with gender bias in its use (Yule, 2006; Jule, 2008). An example of this gender bias is the use of â€Å"pronouns, particularly the generic use of ‘he or ‘him or ‘his to refer to something relating to both men and women† (Jule, 2008, p. 13). For instance, the tendency to say â€Å"each student is required to buy his own dictionary† indicates the sexism in the use of ‘his (Yule, 2006, p. 225). Nevertheless, now it is becoming much less common and there is now strong use of the forms ‘she/he and ‘his/her so that both genders can be included in all contexts where both the genders are being referred to. Variation and Exception Language use not only varies between cultures and religions but also â€Å"varies according to the social context, in terms of level of formality required by the relationship between speaker and hearer and what they are talking about, as well as other aspects† (Talbot, 1998, p. 19). It also varies based on geographical locations, both within and across national boundaries; there are forms like Nigerian English, South African English, Australian English etc However, apart from social dialects and contexts, sociolinguists have asserted that there is a striking divergence between the language used between men and women in general. Several studies have been conducted by sociolinguists to prove that these distinctions in a mens speech and womens speech do exist and are not just for say. In addition, differences not only exist in matters of speech but also in terms of interaction. This gendered language is the reason that not only reflects these social differences between men and women but it also creates and maintains them (Talbot, 1998). However, what is worth remembering is that it is not always the same; not all women have a stereotypical style as outlined by the linguists and not all men have the exact identical way described by linguists. You must have occasionally heard someone say ‘hes too feminine or ‘shes totally boyish. This does indicate that exceptions, as in everything else, exist in gendered language too. All women and men cannot be placed in the category set out by linguists. Nonetheless, a general framework that has been created by linguists clearly defines that differences amongst la nguage used by men and women are present. There are vocal differences, differences in forms, in politeness, in compliments and what is interesting is that these differences exist since childhood. Boy talk vs. girl talk Even as young girls and boys, there is a great amount of difference in the way each one speaks, interacts and responds. There is a difference in interests as well. While girls are busy dressing up Barbie dolls or playing teacher-teacher, boys are fighting for dominance in wrestling games or killing each other in robotics. Linguists have pointed out that girls, since school age, have a more interactive style with â€Å"socializing in small groups, more often in co-operative activities, establishing reciprocal relationships and exchanging roles† (Yule, 2006, p. 224). Boys, on the other hand, tend to exclude girls from their activities and make fun of those who do include them. Comparatively, they tend to â€Å"socialize in much larger groups, often in competitive activities, establishing and maintaining hierarchical relationships† (Yule, 2006, p. 224). Also what is noticed is when conflicts arise between girls and boys, both use different strategies for tackling them. Amy Sheldon undertook an interesting set of analysis of ‘conflict talk and studied the discourse of 3-5 year olds in day care centers. â€Å"Boys she observed handled conflict in a more heavy-handed fashion, expressing more self-assertive statements and dominance, whereas the girls used more collaborative discourse negotiationto mitigate conflict† (Clark, Eschholz, Rosa Simon, 2008, p. 519). In addition to conflict strategies, there is also a difference in forms and pitch ranges between young boys and girls. Fern L. Johnson goes on to state that â€Å"since childhood, girls tend to speak in softer, polite, higher-pitched voices† compared to boys who have more â€Å"forceful, straight forward, lower pitched voices† (Clark, Eschholz, Rosa Simon, 2008, p. 504). However, the differences in pitch and voice range is accounted for by the differences in vocal characteristics of males and females. Males have longer vocal tracts, larger larynxes and thicker vocal chords compared to females and this is the reason why there is a difference in pitch ranges. The result is that men typically speak in a lower pitch range- typically between 80 200 Hertz whereas women speak in a much higher version- between 120 400 Hertz. The term pitch refers to the vibration in the vocal chords, â€Å"with slower vibration making voices sound lower and rapid vibration making voices sound higher† (Yule, 2006, p. 224). What you might also notice is that at an early age parents are often heard telling their kids different things to sons and to their daughters. Sons are always told to ‘toughen- up and ‘stand-up for themselves and if they dont act like it, they are advised ‘dont be a sissy. In contrast, girls are always commanded to ‘act ladylike, ‘sit and speak properly and to ‘dress decently. These reasons are also responsible for the differences in a womans speaking style and a mans. ‘Chatty women and ‘Men of few words Women have always been addressed with typical phrases like ‘cackling hens, ‘chatty women and ‘the gossip whereas men have been tagged with ‘the taciturn man and ‘man of few words (Clark, Eschholz, Rosa Simon, 2008, p. 523-524). Women, undoubtedly, have been believed to talk more than men. Jule mentions a study statistic done by Mark Peters (2007) on the number of words used by women and those used by men in a single day. â€Å"Peter indicates that women use about 7000 words a day compared to only 2000 for men† (Jule, 2008, p. 27). Apart from the fact that females talk more, what is interesting is that the ‘speech they use varies considerably than that used by men. Womens speech has been associated with the use of tag questions, super polite forms, affective adjectives, hedges, rising intonations and hypercorrect grammar. Tag questions are questions at the end of a sentence, like an utterance, often asking for an opinion, approval or confirm ation, like ‘this dress is pretty, isnt it? or similarly ‘dont you? ‘havent we? are all questions tagged at the end of a sentence. Super polite forms refer to the â€Å"avoidance of swear-words and extensive use of euphemism. Euphemism is the use of veiled, indirect expression (for instance, saying passed away instead of died)† (Talbot, 1998, p. 39). These tend to make womens language more standard and often higher in prestige compared to men. Hedges are filler items or an utterance like ‘you know, ‘well, ‘kind of or sounds like ‘hmm and ‘yeah. These hedges are often a reason of misinterpretation amongst men and women. Since hedges are in a womens use, men consider it to be a sign of agreement whereas when women do not see men using such hedges, they take it as if the men are not paying attention to what the speaker is saying (Yule, 2006). Affective adjectives are used in expressing approval, or admiration, many of which are use d by women, words such as ‘divine, ‘adorable and ‘charming. Hypercorrect grammar, as stated by Lackoff, is simply to state that women tend to use more standardized forms, which implies that â€Å"they are more correct than they ought to be† (Talbot, 1998, p. 40). All these above mentioned characteristics are rarely heard from a man and are usually not a part of their speech. These characteristics also point to something else: interaction between and amongst the two genders. The casual man and the sophisticated woman   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Women have a completely differing style of interaction than men. Also, topic choices vary between men and women. Each gender speaks more about the topic that they are comfortable with. The general view of linguists is that men speak more casually than women. This is perhaps because women are more conscious about their social status and how others around them perceive them to be. In a study mentioned by Jule, the conclusion drawn was that â€Å"men are more at ease in their social settingsand that women are more anxiousin social situations because of their need to achieve or maintain social status† (Jule, 2008, p. 20). Deborah Tannen also asserts that men and women â€Å"have different goals in conversation and that the conversational strategies men use, such as interruptions, help to establish their own status and authority† (Clark, Eschholz, Rosa Simon, 2008, p. 506). Jennifer Coates mentions a study conducted by Zimmerman and West (1975) which cle arly suggests that the number of interruptions is very high in mixed- sex conversations, with men interrupting more than women. Also, there is a fact that men rarely interrupt each other while speaking amongst themselves, â€Å"it is when they are talking to women that they use interruptions† (Coates, 1993, p. 109). Conversely, women do not use overlaps in conversation with men (while they do use amongst themselves) suggesting that they are â€Å"concerned not to violate the mans turn but wait until hes finished† (Coates, 1993, p. 110). There is also a difference in communication and interaction of men and women within social contexts and private contexts. According to a study mentioned by Janet Holmes â€Å"males tend to talk more than women in public contexts where talk is highly valued and attracts positive attention† (Holmes, 1995, p. 37). Therefore, each gender provides more contribution in the situation they are most contented in. In private contexts â€Å"women tend to regard talk as means of maintaining and developing relationships† (Holmes, 1993, p. 38). Mary M. Talbot also puts forward that â€Å"men tend to use conversation as arenas for negotiating and maintaining status.Conversations are about imparting information, talking for a purpose, demonstrating expertise† (1998, p. 99). This then explains why men are more aware about their status in public perspectives than in casual conditions. Tannen mentions a personal experience where at a party she noticed that when men dont know much a bout a particular topic, they tend to â€Å"change the subject to something they know more about† (Clark, Eschholz, Rosa Simon, 2008, p. 533). Whos more polite? With regards to politeness, there are two things that are of great significance in indicating the level of politeness: compliments and apologies. In both the aspects of compliments and apologies, women definitely hold their flag much high than men. In a study conducted by Janet Holmes (1995) on the levels of politeness amongst men and women, what was found was that â€Å"women give 70% of compliments and receive about 75% of them; compliments between men are rare- less than 10%† (Jule, 2008, p. 83). She further presents a study conducted between New Zealand men and women in regards to who apologizes most and what Holmess data relates is that â€Å"apologies were more frequent between and amongst women† typically around 58% compared to only 8% amongst men (1995, p. 157). However, â€Å"the number of apologies between women and men is remarkably evenly distributed† close to the 20% mark (1995, p. 159). As an explanation to this, Holmes offers that women might consi der explicit apologies for offences as more important in maintaining relationships than men do which may also be why women tend to be more polite, aware of their surroundings and status than men. In conclusion, as Holmes points out; it is not always this way, not all women speak in the way describes above i.e. using hedges, super polite forms, tag questions, standard language, hypercorrect grammar etc. This is the general view of linguists that has been established after a wide range of studies and this is what outlines such patterns in the styles of gendered language. However, this does not mean that women do not have an abrasive, challenging and antagonistic speech style, some of them do but then they are considered to have adopted a ‘masculine style of talking and thus, they are placed under the category of exceptions. Nonetheless, these exceptions exist as a minority and the general pattern in womens and mens speech is the one described above and the one that is observed and accepted by several linguists of this field. A brief word about the cited authors: Janet Holmes is a professor of linguists at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. She is a teacher of sociolinguistic courses, New Zealand English, and language and gender issues. Her publications consist of ‘An introduction to sociolinguistics, ‘New Zealand ways of speaking English, ‘Gendered talk at work, ‘Women, men and politeness and several others. Jennifer Coates is a professor of English language and linguistics at Roehampton University, UK. Her works comprise of ‘Women, men and language, ‘Women in their speech communities, ‘Women talk, ‘Conversations between women friends along with many others. Recently, she has completed a book on men, masculinity and narrative entitled ‘Men talk. Most of her research interests address the issue of language and sexuality and the conversational patterns in gendered talk. She is also the editor of the Blackwell sociolinguistic series ‘Language and Social change and the senior editor of the Longman ‘Real Language series. Allyson Jule, a PhD from Roehampton University, London, has particular research interests in the field of gender and language. She is an associate professor of education at the Trinity Western University along with being on the Advisory committee of the International Gender and Language Association (IGALA). Her famous works are composed of ‘Sh-shushing the Girls, ‘A beginners guide to language and gender, along with several other journal articles and co-edited books on the same issue. She is also part of the British Association of Applied linguists (BAAL) and is the reviewer of the Gender and Education journal. References Clark, V., Eschholz, P., Rosa, A., Simon, B. L. (Ed.). (2008). Language: Introductory readings (7th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St.Martins. Coates, J. (1993). Women, men, and language: A sociolinguistic account of gender differences in language (2nd ed.). New York: Longman. Holmes, J. (1995). Women, men, and politeness. New York: Longman. Jule, A. (2008). A beginners guide to language and gender. Toronto: Cromwell Press. Talbot, M. M. (1998). Language and gender: An introduction. Malden: Blackwell Publishers. Yule, G. (2006). The study of language (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Case Study Fuala Choclates Company Marketing Essay

Case Study Fuala Choclates Company Marketing Essay Fuala Company considered as one of the most famous chocolate companies in the UAE, this company has been established in 2002 moreover it has many branches in all Emirates states. The name of Fuala comes from the hospitality of UAE people. This report will cover many points such as business description, unique selling point, Company advertising, Strengths plus weaknesses, Company problems in addition to the solutions and Companys market share. LiRead phonetically khaleejia.blogspot.com/Fuala-Emirati-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½ 2. Business Description  Dictionary View detailed dictionary noun introduction prelude preface preamble foreword premise vanguard advance guard proem adjective headlong adverb fore pFuala pride identity of the UAE is a national company specializing in making all kinds of sweets and chocolate, founded in 2002 to be the sample of local industry with excellent quality, belief in the importance of participating in the report of development and experience of those who made it paid to the challenge of all that is imported to begin with the idea of manufacturing Fuala inspired from the date of the UAE and the taste of the community and his love disease. Fuala makes marvelous cakes, cookies, in addition to biscuit with high quality dates filled by different kind of nuts. If you need to make an official gift Fuala makes dazzling gift-sets, perfectly decorated on the big plate or in basket .Often local emirate buy them for el- Edie, weddings ,moreover baby birth .I usually buy them when I go to visit my dear friends or occasion . Faula has shops all over UAE cities with the same price also company offers 80 flavors. www.thenational.ae//Ramadans-sweetest-job Fuala companys by the general manager detection Radwan ALHosni built a large factory special with its products in the city of Dubai In 2007 at total cost of up to AED 50 million, noting that there are continuous efforts to expand the plant to meet the needs and demands increased and contributes to the increase in production for the opening of stations selling. www.facebook.com/fuala 3. Unique selling point The company has several rival of foreign companies, but depends section to accept the consumer industries and products, and at the same time the company try to get a high level to be with global companies, despite the major differences, the field of providing products that beat their quality from other companies such as sweets the most impressive kind of date, dry figs apricots and biscuits. The company makes fresh chocolates simple as that. Our difference is double The taste Fair trade part sourced this will make a difference to both your taste flower and to cocoa growers conscience clear! vimeo.com/tag: snacks/page:8/sort: newest The design of the basket and checkout has been a labor of love to try and give customers all the options they need in a simple interface. Customers can choose to collect their order (and save money) or have the Chico delivered. They can also choose multiple recipients to send any www.flickr.com/photos/again/31159915 number of containers to, with a note for each and even decide how the tins should be packed-either individually to letter box size or in a single pack. The company goes step by step to be more famous than another competitor in UAE plus all over the world in next view year because it use some thing special to make their products, furthermore it has managements enjoys ability along with renewable goals with provides the best. According Fuala became an associate to all society members in all occasion and availed its powers to record great results. www.facebook.com/fuala?v=wallviewas=0à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½ 4. Company advertising Fuala company from time to time dose several things for the advancement of the definition of its products for example in the firstly, advertise in newspapers and magazines to attach some pictures + Posting some of the paragraphs concerning chocolates Secondly, its offer programs for the company and shows products through television channels with the work of a television program are displayed some of the products Company. Thirdly, shows products through the screens in malls in the State Assembly. Fourthly, its shows products in exhibitions by using some kinds to explained how its tasty and delicious .Finaly,Fuala use the internet to advertising the products in several website ØÙ„ØØ ³ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¹ قؠ±ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¡ÃƒËœÃ‚ © Ø µÃƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒâ„¢Ã…  ÃƒËœÃ‚ © للكلÙ†¦ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ª ØلقØÙ†¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³ Ø ¹ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¶ ØلقØÙ†¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³ Øلن¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‚ ÃƒËœÃ‚ µÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ ØØ ³Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ reinforcement article.wn.com/view/chocolate 5. Strengths and weaknesses All companies have something good and bad all over the word for example, the strengths in Fuala the brand which the company take it from UAEs hospitality which people used to have it in the past and still have it now .The tasty of the chocolates and the flavors when you try it for the first time you will never forget it at all, so in the next time you will need more.. Products experts specialize in the art of pastries, citrus and chocolate. annmariemcqueen.blogspot.com The company has an experience of international chefs are trained by the chefs of Europe. Its use the best types of dates, figs and apricots in their products so its make them delicious and more needs from customers. Select the best types of raw materials as well as they use of best natural products .Fuala has modern shops with new machines and their staff the know how to management them in right way in all condition without any problems. The weaknesses in Fuala Company are a little put still effect their work for example, it has limited scope of work within the State only. The company provide expert foreign to offer training courses for workers in it so it cost DH 50000 during the week .On the other hand some Arab workers inexperienced for the variety work so they need for continuous training, which cost the company a lot. Some sweets attitude a high amount of sugar, which can unhealthy for users. Although it has shops in all emirate cities put, it has only one warehousing it based in Abu Dabi. ØÙ„ØØ ³ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¹ قؠ±ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¡ÃƒËœÃ‚ © Ø µÃƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒâ„¢Ã…  ÃƒËœÃ‚ © للكلÙ†¦ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ª ØلقØÙ†¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³ Ø ¹ÃƒËœÃ‚ ±ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¶ ØلقØÙ†¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³ Øلن¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‚ ÃƒËœÃ‚ µÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ ØØ ³Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ attenuating circumstances www.facebook.com/fuala 6. Company problems and the solutions All company has problems some are similar and another are different for example in Fuala company they have many problem firstly it hasnt any support form the government so that it will be always keep it in risk. Then the company is new in the market, so it might be failure at any time. Next, it sales their products in UAE so the profit will not increase like if it has external work .Finally, The rent of the shops were it sale their products is very high so the profit will be decrease. The solutions to solve the problems the company open a big factory in Dubai to use it for providing more products, which can seals to other countries. The company started to open shops in out side boarder for example, Oman, Qatar and KSA so this plan will make more profit for the company and it will be famous all over the world. The company try to create some thing new in the market so it will be good for customers to have a new tasty product ,so it will be satisfied them so the profits will increase. Vimeo.com/fualaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½ 7. Companys market share However, this company begins by less than one million dirhams step by step they became good company with good reputation. In 2007 they spent about 50 millions just to built new factory in Dubai. If we think about the history of this company as we mentioned before it started in 2002 by less than 1million as well as in 2007 they built new factory cost 50 million this tell us that this company still developing furthermore this is indicate to high amount of people who are dealing with this company. 8. Conclusion Fuala Company now is hard challenger to other chocolates companies and there is plan to offer some types of sweets in other countries such as France and Italy. Absolutely it will attract many people and this will give us good reputation for Arabic sweet. www.facebook.com/fuala