Thursday, October 10, 2019
What is a SWOT analysis?
SWOT Analysis stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats. It is a strategic planning tool which is used by businesses and organization to set a comprehensible rationale of the project. [1]This analysis is not only aimed at analyzing the internal factors but it also scans the external environment. Strengths and weaknesses are usually taken as internal environmental factors while opportunities and threats are viewed as external environmental factors. It helps a company in formulating strategies and utilizes the firm’s resources in the accurate vicinity.Strengths would highlight the areas where investments should be made to further enhance the product or service and make it as a competitive advantage for the company, e.g. low cost. Weaknesses would tell a firm that improvement is required in a particular area, e.g. weak distribution network. Opportunities would define the areas which are not being targeted by the company and investing in that area would bring cha nces of growth and profit, e.g. an unmet customer need. There may be some changes in the external environment which can be a threat for a company, e.g. a new substitute product.[2] SWOT analysis should be performed for every area of the businesses and it should be repeatedly done for every market.What is its purpose in strategic planning?Strategic planning basically helps a business to set its overall objectives and then build a comprehensive plan to accomplish those objectives.[3] In doing so, SWOT analysis performs an important function by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses and spotlighting the opportunities and weaknesses. Through this in-depth market analysis, companies can set their goals in the right direction.Do you have to conduct a SWOTT Analysis to have an effective strategic plan? Why or why not.Yes, it is necessary to perform a SWOT analysis for building an effective strategic plan. The reason is that it tells a company what has been done well, so as to focus in t hat area to earn higher profits. Then it highlights the internal harmful factors that can be improved by a company. Not only this, it gives insights for better opportunities in the market. [4] SWOT Analysis also informs about potential threats for a business. It is an immense planning tool that will help in building a winning strategic plan for a company.Week 2 DQ 2What are the key planning factors for competitive success?Key planning factors for an organization will differ from company to company. However, we can perform a general industry analysis, along with competitor analysis and macro environment analysis. These factors drive the strategy of a company, so it is important to understand then properly. For achieving competitive success, type of business must be taken into account. Some suggested key planning factors for competitive success are: ·Ã‚        Focus on strategic planning ·Ã‚        Right implementation of the strategyà ‚ ·Ã‚        Time management of the entire project ·Ã‚        Using project management techniques for effective planning ·Ã‚        Research and development ·Ã‚        Acquiring land and maintaining liquidity ·Ã‚        Well-constructed product ·Ã‚        Establishing efficient channels of distribution ·Ã‚        Providing after-sales support ·Ã‚        Communicating every decision to everyone in the organization ·Ã‚        Involvement of every employee in decision marking[5] ·Ã‚        Teamwork and Collaboration between all departments ·Ã‚        Following principles of EthicsProvide an example of an organization that has achieved competitive success through planning.An example of an organization that has achieved competitive success through planning is â€Å"Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬ . It is a leading nutrition and health company. They have diversified into new areas by creating value for their products. They were able to achieve that through long term planning by creating value for their shareholders, employees, consumers, and business partners. They strategically planned for the development of their research centers across the globe which is now one of their competitive advantages. Their entry into different countries and creating products with respect to the tastes and culture of that country was also a part of their strategic planning process. This planning is helping them to achieve their long term vision, i.e. creating shared value for society and shareholders.[6]Provide an example of an organization that has failed to achieve competitive success as the result of failed planning.An example of an organization that has failed to achieve competitive success as the result of failed planning is Hershey’s. It is a leading manufacturer of chocolates, confectionaries and beverages in United States of America. Hershey’s was in process of implanting an ERP Solution and they decided to choose SAP ERP. But this implementation failed and caused heavy loss to the company in terms of profits and sales. The reason was not any technical mistake by the vendor but poor planning by Hersey’s. They choose wrong time for implementation when business was at its peak. They made a blunder of restructuring the business process and changing it in a wrong way without doing strategic planning.They spend most of the time on ERP implementation which interrupted the day to day operations of the business, creating confusions for the employees. They might have avoided this issue if they remained focused and planned out all activities properly before implementation. They should have set their priorities in a strategic manner by looking at the business prospects from all angles.[7]B ibliography:What is SWOT Analysis(2010), Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-swot-analysis.htmStrategic Management(2010), Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/Strategic Planning(2010), Retrieved from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1079687246&type=RESOURCESRoger Lever (Dec 10, 2008), Retrieved from http://strategic-business planning.suite101.com/article.cfm/use_swot_analysis_for_strategic_planningKey Success Factors in Strategic Planning By Bill Birnbaum, CMC(2009) Retrieved from http://www.birnbaumassociates.com/key-success-factors.htmRetrieved from http://www.nestle.com/AllAbout/AllAboutNestle.htmAnalyzing ERP failures in Hershey, Retrieved from http://www.erpwire.com/erp-articles/failure-story-in-erp-process.htm[1] What is SWOT Analysis(2010), Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-swot-analysis.htm [2]Strategic Management(2010), Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/ [3] Strategic Planning(2010), Retriev ed from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1079687246&type=RESOURCES [4] Roger Lever (Dec 10, 2008), Retrieved from http://strategic-business planning.suite101.com/article.cfm/use_swot_analysis_for_strategic_planning [5] Key Success Factors in Strategic Planning By Bill Birnbaum, CMC(2009) Retrieved from http://www.birnbaumassociates.com/key-success-factors.htm [6] Retrieved from http://www.nestle.com/AllAbout/AllAboutNestle.htm [7] Analyzing ERP failures in Hershey, Retrieved from http://www.erpwire.com/erp-articles/failure-story-in-erp-process.htm
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Alcoholic Beverage Should Be Illegal for All Ages Essay Example for Free
Alcoholic Beverage Should Be Illegal for All Ages Essay ?Penalties for drunk driving should be dramatically increased. I strongly believe that penalties for drunk driving should be dramatically increased. When a person decides to drink alcohol there should be thoughts going through their head. A person who drinks alcohol and doesn’t have a designated driver should already know their putting people in danger and going to receive a drastic penalty. On the other hand, for driver’s safety the law should increase the penalties for drunk driving drastically. Not only should their penalty be increased; they should have to participate in effective treatment before they thing about driving under the influence again. D. J. Hanson. (1997-2012) said when drivers drive drunk their speed limit is ten miles higher than their regular speed limit. For instance if a driver is driving 50 miles per hour on the interstate and their under the influence their speed limit is going to 60 miles per hour nonstop. Imagine if there was traffic on the interstate, midnight black outside, and an old lady is only driving 40 miles per hour on the interstate. The driver is under the influence driving 60 miles compared to the elderly lady 40 miles; there’s going to be an sever accident due to the driver driving drunk. This make the old lady be in a reckless predicament. A family has lost a love one and leaves the drunk driver with a DUI. The driver shouldn’t only get charged with a DUI he should go to therapy, rehab, and not be allowed to drive again. Furthermore, even though the drinking again has increased to 21 it shouldn’t make people think its okay to drink and drive drunk. Here’s a quote I found interesting to making penalties dramatically increased. DeWine (R-OH): It is a question of rights†¦ the right to have a fair chance on the highway, not to have someone come at you who has been drinking and driving. People have a right to drive on a highway so why should a person who is driving drunk penalty should be increasly severely. Lastly, I think penalities should be dramacticlly increased because I have lost 3 loved ones because somebody was driving drunk. The driver was driving 80 miles per hour on the expressway. When my auntie switched over to the fast lane the driver can full speed ahead and flipped the car 4 times in the air. My auntie wasn’t the only person in the car my 3 year old cousin and my 15 year old cousin. I was following behind my auntie when the accident happened. The funeral was very dreatful. Losing a love one to drunk driving and only getting a DUI isn’t enough. I agree with the statement penatlties should be dramactility increased to those who decides to drive under the incfluence. Alcoholic Beverage Should Be Illegal for All Ages. (2017, Feb 26).
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Short Paper - ServeNow Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Short - ServeNow - Term Paper Example In order to facilitate the customers and to earn a dominant position in the market, many entrepreneurs aim at maintaining a chain of their business outlets. However this requires tremendous hard work but if their plan works then it yields numerous rewards not only for the entrepreneur but for all the stakeholders. I, being the small business consultant, Solange De Peres, have already advised my client Bushley, that he needs to hire new mangers as internal recruitment is not possible, because the existing staff does not possess the skills required for the vacant positions. In addition to this, I have also advised my client that he must hire those people who are not acquainted with store operations as this way they will spend more time in learning and gaining the experience with Bushley and will not think of changing their jobs quickly. However this will require a lot of time and efforts from my client in training his managerial force, but this can all be managed with the aid of technological good available in the market. I advise Bushley that he should prepare a detailed training program, explaining clearly about the stores’ operations. The training program should describe thoroughly about the responsibilities of each individual manager and how they could perform the respective tasks. After preparing this program Bushley can record it with the help of professional recording software programs such as Pro-tools or logics. Once the training has been recorded he can either upload it on his website, where all manager can have an individual access to it or he can make his account on YouTube and upload his training programs there. The recording software programs that I have mentioned above are the most widely used programs all over the world. They are extremely capable of catering to these professional needs very well. I recommend that Bushley should also consider the option of video conferencing in training his managerial force. Video
Monday, October 7, 2019
Why Video Games Matter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Why Video Games Matter - Essay Example He does this for several days, showing how addicted he is to video games. Nonetheless, in this excerpt, he addresses the relevance of video games, based on his personal experiences. In this excerpt, Blissel specifically talks about the video game Fallout 3 produced by Bethesda in 2008. To show how addictive video games can get, Blissel begins explaining the circumstances around his playing of Fallout 3. In his case, Blissel remembers nostalgically, how he missed to follow the happenings involving one of the most important events in the history of United States. While people were glued on their screens, watching CNN and other authoritative television channels for the election and swearing in of the first black president in the history of United States, Blissel was busy playing Fallout 3. Even though he had planned to play this for only a few hours before he would watch CNN, the game got interesting, and he spent more hours than expected, thus, missing the important historical event (B lissel 349-350). Even though Blissel clearly reveals that video games can be addictive, he goes ahead to defend this art form with a lot of passion. It is true, we are in a generation of gaming, and most people, including children, young people, and even adults will confess their love for video games. Although Blissel tends to criticize video games in this excerpt, he again believes that these can get even better. He thinks of video games as frustrating, in the way one has to kill characters and watch them die: â€Å"I killed his mother, and then everyone else. . .allowing your decisions to establish for your character identity as a skull-crushing monster. . .these pretensions to morality suddenly bored me†(Blissel 358). At the same time, he gives credit to video games, for being dazzling. This is in the way he thinks video games have a storyline. This is what makes him prefer to play video games than watch a film or read a novel. Although a novel has a storyline too, one mi ght not be able to concentrate on it for a few more hours like they can do with video games. Blissel thinks films do not have a storyline in the same way as video games. What makes video games appealing to Blissel is the fact that the player of the game is the one in control; therefore, it can never get boring. Apart from this, Blissel thinks playing video games creates another world for a person. They can escape the real world life, and get into another world, which they create themselves while playing video games. Blissel justifies this with his depressing moments when he would get a break by playing video games. Nonetheless, this excerpt describes in detail, Blissel’s descent into the world of Fallout 3, a video game, which has themes that are a reflection of his own compulsions that are self-destructive (Blissel 353-5). In this excerpt, Blissel generally discusses the relevance and importance of video games in people’s social lives. He as well defends video games f rom those biased against them. However, Blissel’s stand with regard to the importance of video games in the cultural aspect is quite ambivalent. Here, he compares video games to the traditional art forms such as novels and films. Comparison shows both the negative and positive sides of video games. Nonetheless, what comes out is that video games, to a larger extent, show a greater degree of incompatibility with the traditional art forms. Blissel purpose is quite clear in this excerpt. He aims at showing the importance of video games in society. This however, ends up in a two-sided argument, as one cannot establish whether video games are good or
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Business Simulation in Motor Industry Research Paper
Business Simulation in Motor Industry - Research Paper Example The first model caters to the market segment - City Size and Under 25 age group. The car is 3/5 Door Hatch Type with a 4 Cylinder Engine. It has an option of Superior Sound System/iPod. Buyers under 25 yrs of age are mostly single individuals with low to average income. They normally use the car as basic transportation for everyday activities. The second model caters to the market segment - Medium Size and 25 to 40 age group. The car is a 2/4 Door Saloon/Estate Type with a Large 6-8 Cylinder Engine. It has several options such as Multi Location Airbags, Dual Fuel Operation, 6-Speed Gearbox, Speed Limiter, Electronic Stability Control, and Safety Package. Buyers in this age group are mostly average income individuals who have high preference in comfort, speed, style and safety. As a new entrant to the motor industry, the corporate strategy of the company is cost leadership. The car models will be positioned in the market as low priced in order to effectively penetrate the customer base. The goal of the pricing strategy is to create a company's share in the total market. The first model will be priced at 11,007.08 while the second model will be priced at 18,216.85. However, even at a low price, the company forecasts an 18% gross profit margin. At the first year of production, the company will be manufacturing in one factory. It will be producing 50,000 units of each model. The factory will be employing at full capacity of 4,000 workers. The average wage offered to each employee would be 400, which is higher than the minimum wage per week in the industry. In order to increase productivity, the company will initially invest in 20 units of automation. Forecast Production and Sales Model 1 Model 2 Total Model cost per car [Mm] 7,200.00 9,385.00 Design cost per car [Md] 888.00 1,553.50 Options cost per car(1) [Mo] 450.00 3,486.50 Material cost per car [M=Mm+Md+Mo] 8,538.00 14,425.00 Productivity (cars/worker/year) [Pr] 41 39 Workers per car [Wk = 1 / Pr] 0.024 0,026 Weekly wage [W] 400.00 400.00 Labour cost per car [L = Wk*W*50] 487.80 512.82 Total cost per car [C = L + M] 9,025.80 14,937.80 Selling price [P] 11,007.08 18.216.85 Gross Margin % [= 100*(P - C)/P] 18% 18% Forecast Sales (units) [S] 50,000 50,000 100,000 Total Sales Income m [= S*P] 550.35 910.84 1,461.19 Forecast production (units) [N] 50,000 50,000 100,000 Total Material Cost m [= M*N] 426.90 721.25 1,148.15 Total Labour Cost m [= L*N] 24.39 25.64 50.03 Profit Forecast ( million) Income Costs Total Sales Income 1,461.19 Total Material Cost 1,148.15 Total Labour Cost 50.03 Gross Profit 263.01 Fixed Overhead(2) 124.11 Promotion 40.00 Depreciation(2) 66.00 Operating Profit 32.90 Net Interest Payment 14.00 Pre-tax profit 18.90 Tax (30%) 5.67 Post-tax profit 13.23 Cash Flow Forecast ( million) Cash In Cash Out Opening Bank Balance 500.00 Total Sales Income 1,461.19 Total Material Cost 1,148.15 Total Labour Cost 50.03 Fixed Overhead(2) 124.11 Promotion Cost 40.00 Factory Cost 650.00 Automation Expenditure 10.00 Tax Payment 5.67 Balance before Loan (66.77) New Loan 200.00 Closing Bank Balance 133.23 NX0441 Business Game Decision Form Semester 1 2009/10 Seminar Group . Team Number .
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Case Study 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1
Case Study 2 - Essay Example During 1970s quite a few environmental laws and regulations were framed with an effort to control ocean dumping. President Nixon addressed to Congress on banning of unauthorized and harmful waste dumping on the ocean. Subsequently Environmental Protection Agency passed a bill to the Congress which resulted in formation of Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act 1972. It established a permit system for ocean dumping with a view to end all oceans dumping by 1975. EPA along with the Army Corps of Engineers began to issue permit for dumping of waste in ocean. On October 15, 1973, the EPA issued its final regulations and criteria’s for ocean dumping which were strict and highly restrictive. It aimed at terminating all oceans’ dumping regardless of the permit issued to the applicant. It led to a highly protective approach to ocean dumping. But the scenario changed in 1980s when New York City authorities filed a suit in a federal district court against EPA on the rejection of its application on dumping waste in the ocean. The verdict was delivered in favor of city and the power of EPA to terminate ocean dumping was limited. As a consequence of the verdict EPA adopted a more flexible rules regarding ocean dumping and viewed ocean as an authorized disposal option of dumping wastes. 3) The change in the administration with the President ship of Ronald Reagan led EPA to move away from confronting intergovernmental relations and to comply with federal stance towards municipal sludge dumping. 2) The passing of bill by EPA to Congress which resulted in formation of MPRS Act 1972 also changed the ocean dumping policy. A more strict dumping system was followed and permit system was started for dumping of wastes. Ocean dumping should not be allowed liberally. Strict rules regarding dumping of wastes should be adopted by the government. There is already enough pollution in the water world due to various oil tragedies like the Gulf Oil
Friday, October 4, 2019
Religion essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Religion - Essay Example It is illustrated in their teachings that giving up worldly desires would result in eternal peace and harmony resulting in alleviation of the soul. For Shinto, Confucianism and Taoism, HARMONY AND SUPREMACY, act as the fundamental foundations of their beliefs. All three religions believe that world/ nature is supposed to follow a rhythmic cycle which brings harmony into lives on earth. It is the digression from this cycle which results in emergence of evil and good. Furthermore, they also recognize the presence of a supreme power that can be a God, Gods (as per various sects) or rulers of the land who are bestowed with powers to bring harmony and peace on their lands. Islam, Christianity and Judaism are mainly recognized by MONOTHEISM and PHROPHECY. Presence of one God is the fundamental belief of these religions which makes them highly distinctive than other religions. However, Jews have THEIR own ONE GOD, Christians believe that Jesus was the God on earth walking as a human but Islam believes that God relates to everyone irrespective of who he is and treats everyone equally but judge them on the basis of their actions. All three religions have figures that were prophets of their times i.e. Judaism had Noah and Moses, Christianity had Jesus and Islam recognizes Muhammad. Where Islam is the last religion acknowledging monotheism, it also recognizes prophets of the other two religions. Other than holy books, lives of these prophets also act as the guidelines which the followers of these religions are expected to follow. Careful analysis of these religions would reveal that all of them support the tolerance and respect for other individuals. This is where the concept of respect for life and its forms (human, plants and animals) and a clear distinction between good and evil emerges. All of them support the notion that every evil or bad deed meets punishment at the end. If these concepts are
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