High School Is Not A Or Greater, Much Of The Reason For It

My GPA is not a 3.0 or greater, much of the reason for that is because I was battling depression that started during my senior year in high school. My first few years in college it was very hard for me to focus on school because I did not even want to wake up in the morning. I was very unhappy with my life and eventually went to see the school psychiatrist. I was even admitted to a hospital for suicidal tendencies. My overnight stay there, seeing others battling depression, was enough for me to realize I was wrong for my suicidal thoughts. Even so I was not in the right mind set to be in school and my grades were suffering because of it. I decided to drop out and take time off. After about a year I decided to try and finish school. This is when I enrolled in Cal State Fullerton. While I was not suicidal I was still depressed and unhappy. I realized very quickly that I was not yet motivated to finish school. I passed my business class that was part of my major, but dropped another class, and put zero effort into the English class I had taken for a GE requirement. The consequence was that I failed the class. I decided to take time off again till I could overcome my depression. I spent the next few years working and gaining valuable experience in leadership and teamwork skills at my position as a Team Trainer and interim Department Lead at Target Corp. I learned how to effectively communicate with conflicting personalities and supervise multiple employees to get tasks doneShow MoreRelatedHigh School Dropout Research1722 Words   |  7 PagesGrowing Trends in High School Drop-outs One of the major concerns of education is the rate of students who are dropping out of school. Statistically, the dropout rate has decreased from a national average of 15 percent in 1972 to 10 percent in 2003, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which rated 16-24 year olds (Child Trend, 2003). Though, there has been signs of a decrease, drop out rates continue to be a concern to the public because of the potential consequencesRead MoreMale and Female High School Students Should be Educated in Separate Schools 1353 Words   |  6 Pagesstrategy for students at high school should be applied to obtain a successful education system, with a voice calling for providing the appropriate environment of education for both gender-students that assists them to concentrate better on their studies and eliminate all aspects of disruptions. Fulfilling such strategies would improve the quality of education at high schools and raise the range of obtaining high marks. Ho wever, should boys and girls be educated separately at high school in order to haveRead MorePurpose of Higher Education Essay1035 Words   |  5 Pageshigher education promises widespread opportunities for graduates. In recent years it was much more common for high school graduates to find high paying jobs, but that is no longer the case in today’s slow economy. A college graduate who obtains a bachelor’s degree may have a much greater opportunity to generate a higher income (Barnett, 1992). Students who experience a post-secondary school also have greater opportunities to experience teachings from professionals in their field of interest; thereforeRead MoreSchool Programs For Empowering The Youth910 Words   |  4 PagesAfter School Programs for Empowering the Youth The wide spectrum of Los Angeles County has as much variety as tourist sites, as told by the media on one end. However, on the other end, unfortunately Los Angeles County also consists of highly disorganized cities and high-crime areas. Cities like Huntington Park and Compton are considered deviant places as described by Siegel (2011) because they are â€Å"poor, densely populated, and highly transient neighborhoods† (p. 71). Therefore, making these communitiesRead MoreWhy Is It Important For College?1330 Words   |  6 Pagesan advantage in the job market over those who have not experienced a high education. People who lack educational degrees are more likely to be limited to basic jobs in service, manufacturing and construction industries. While employees with a high school graduate today are unable to obtain the number of high-paying jobs that were once available, college graduates typically fare better, entering higher-level careers with greater salaries. They are also more likely to receive promotions, earn raisesRead MoreHigh School Sports in America Essay1146 Words   |  5 Pages Save High School Sports For years, sports have been a part of American high schools. They have been a source of school pride and give people a connection to their school. They break up the otherwise mundane routine of going to class and doing schoolwork. In recent years there has been a huge push by researchers, educators, politicians, and parents to figures out why America’s schools are constantly falling behind other countries in crucial test subjects. One of the latest reasons to blame for theRead MoreImportance Of Higher Education1106 Words   |  5 Pagesproven that the median weekly earnings of a high school dropout were around $493, the weekly earnings of a high school graduate were $678, and even higher a person with a bachelor’s degree made up to $1,137 a week (Vilorio). That is almost a $500 to $650 difference a week. You may ask why this matters? Well on average a one-bedroom apartment in the Los Angeles area costs $1000 to $1400. That is almost half the salary of a person workin g with a high school diploma but less than one-third of someoneRead MoreStress And Stress Essay1178 Words   |  5 PagesSchool, Stress, Sleep, and Repeat. Where most graduating students go, no one really knows for sure. Since many high school students are near graduation, some students have already planned their future while others are more indecisive. Eventually, high school has given options for students to prepare for the future, but it is still not enough for them to decide on where to go. Even at a very young age, students were always asked the same questions throughout their school years like, Who do they wantRead MoreA Healthy Constitution And Food For Thought981 Words   |  4 Pages(and for Credit) is also based in a school setting and allows us to realize the importance of a modern day cooking class. Without these classes that provide knowledge about healthy food, America is eating fast and unhealthy. Growing up I was never placed in a home economics class because our school did not offer one. I never had the privilege of learning to cook through an educated instructor and fast food was always easier anyways. If the class was offered at school, I honestly do not know if I wouldRead MoreShould Smoking Be Raised?968 Words   |  4 Pagessmoking age needs to be raised to an age where smoking won’t affect you in some of the harsh ways it affects teens. Yes, it is obvious that smoking will still affect a person some. The age for buying and using tobacco should be raised to 25. The first reason that the legal age for buying and using tobacco should be raised to age twenty-five is teens brains aren’t completely developed at age 18 and tobacco can cause it to not develop properly. A person’s brain isn’t fully developed until age 25 ( â€Å"Brain

Conflict Resolution - 5869 Words

Abstract Conflict is a stubborn fact of organizational life. Regrettably, it is an inevitable when organizations incorporate individuals with such diverse scopes of life. As conflict is identified in organizational work teams, an analytical approach to conceptualizing conflict is the first step. Further development will then focus on the different sources of conflict and how it can compromise the common goal of the team if it is not handled correctly. Searching for ways in which to manage conflict and avoid conflicts in work teams will bring together the underlying focus of this paper. Conflict resolution exist in every society. Conflict more often than not occurs due to a clash in interest in the relationship between, groups,†¦show more content†¦In the book Resolving Conflicts on the Job, authored by Wisinski (1993) the author developed the A-E-I-O-U Model for individual use before engaging in discussions to resolve conflict. Each letter in the model stands for a step, as foll ows: A: Assume the other people involved in the conflict mean well. E: Express your own feelings. I: Identify what you would like to see happen. O: Outcome-express the outcome you would like to see while remaining open to another outcome that may satisfy your needs and concerns. U: Understanding- the agreement should be understood, and committed to, by each member of the team (p.27). Once everyone on the team is aware of what the conflict is about and are willing to share their thoughts and feelings for the betterment of the team, then the group can proceed to the next step of resolving the conflict with open communication and respect. As we all embark on our experience here at the University of Phoenix, it is important to remember that we are all part of a team now. Whether we wanted it or not. We must all learn to work together effectively. We must all remember that everyone is different, we are going to have different opinions and views on every single situation that we encounter and every project that we do. Conflict within a team is a given, it will occur. Conflict or divergence can be destructive or it can be constructive. It is up to the people involved in the conflict to manage the outcome (Porter,Show MoreRelated Conflict Resolution Essay1288 Words   |  6 Pages Major conflict that is not dealt with can devastate a team or organization (Make Conflict Work, 2008). In some situations, conflict can be more constructive than destructive. Recognizing the difference between conflict that is constructive to the team and conflict that is destructive to the team is important. Trying to prevent the conflict is no t always the best way to manage conflict when working within a team setting. Understanding conflict, what causes it, and how to resolve conflict effectivelyRead MoreConflict Resolution : Conflicts Resolution988 Words   |  4 PagesWhen it comes to conflict resolution there are several ways to handle this. There’ve been several times that I’ve had to deal with conflict resolution. Conflict resolution also has several tips that you can learn to be able to handle a conflict. A conflict resolution can be handled in a positive way or a negative way. What is conflict resolution? In Community Tool Box it states â€Å"Conflict resolution is a way for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them. The disagreementRead More Conflict Resolution Essay614 Words   |  3 Pages Conflict Resolution nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;What does conflict resolution mean to me? Conflict resolution is when an impartial or neutral person puts a plan into action to resolve and settle issues within an organization or a team. In the business world today a great amount of focus is being placed on employees working as team unit to increase new ideas, distribute more job responsibilities among a larger group, and most important create a unified front and camaraderie. Along with advantagesRead More Conflict Resolution Essay1017 Words   |  5 Pagesprofessional to personal, they are all prone to encountering some form of conflict. John Dewey has designed a problem solving sequence with 6 (six) steps, listed and explained below, to facilitate resolution of these conflicts. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Since the way one deals with conflict within the relationship will affect how the relationship progresses, it is vital that one posse all the necessary skills to resolve conflict in a way that brings satisfaction to everyone involved. Dewey’s stepsRead MoreThe Family Mediation And Conflict Resolution Process4320 Words   |  18 Pagesmediation and conflict resolution process and techniques. The student endeavored on an educational journey to study mediation within the context of families as a means of resolving conflicts without resort to adversarial means such as litigation. Focus and attention was given to family dynamics, child development, the Texas Family Code, family violence, and facilitating of communication and dispute resolution. The components and benefits of family mediation and conflict resolution were introducedRead MoreConflict Resolution934 Words   |  4 Pagesto them she has licence and authority to watch them as she is their supervisor and they have to obey her commands. This statmemt of her escalted the whole issue and continued for a long time. This situation turned in to a big arguments and conflict that it had a great imapct on the productivity of work. There was a big loss of components as they were not able to process in a timely manner. Next day the staff meeting was called on by Manager and all the night staff were called to attendRead MoreConflict Resolution Strategies Essay1444 Words   |  6 PagesConflict Resolution Strategies Conflict has long been viewed as negative, and is usually associated with things as trivial as an argument to something as extreme as war, and is seldom seen as beneficial. In the team environment however, conflict can be very beneficial if recognized early and managed properly and can enhance team performance as well as relationships between team members. Conflict is inevitable as humans interact, because not everyone shares the same beliefs, values, opinions, levelRead MoreInterpersonal Communication And Conflict Resolution1439 Words   |  6 Pagesresearch resources that helped me understand my interpersonal communication topic, Conflict Management, and how theories, relevant skills and strategies can play a big role throughout the resolution and frequency of conflict among my peers. Personality Types and Development of Adolescents’ Conflict with Friends This study aimed to examine the developmental pattern of adolescents’ conflict frequency and conflict resolution with their best friends, and differences in these developmental changes betweenRead MoreConflict Resolution1281 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Everyone faces conflict in their lives on a daily basis. It is an accepted and expected part of life. Conflict is not a problem in itself - it is what we do with it that counts. You cant avoid conflict in your life, at home, at work, and even at play. Wherever people interact, there is a potential for conflict. That is not bad news because good things can arise, and relationships can improve through conflict, provided conflict is managed with thought and attention. The bad newsRead MoreThird Party Conflict Resolution2113 Words   |  9 PagesThird Party Conflict Resolution MGT/445 Organizational Negotiations March 11, 2013 | | | | Third Party Conflict Resolution

Sustainability marketung Free Essays

string(227) " product line will continue to be consistent in quality, functionality as well as technical features of the current existing product line but will also be environmentally sustainable through the use of 100% recycled materials\." This report analyses SPINE, an online Korean company specializing in quality mobile phone accessories and its plan to enter the sustainability market. The report further analyses the company’s mission statement that will set the course for sustainable development. It is recommended that SPINE adopts a sustainable strategy and launch new line of CEO-friendly products that is a variant of three of Spine’s best-selling phone cases, â€Å"Neo Hybrid†, â€Å"Slim Armor† and â€Å"Tough Armor†. We will write a custom essay sample on Sustainability marketung or any similar topic only for you Order Now These new phone cases will be made out of 100% recycled materials. This report will further evaluate the marketing mix strategies involved in implementing sustainable development such as the target market, product, price, promotion and distribution. The report finds that with the company shifting towards a CARS policy, the new sustainable product line will now be targeted at technology savvy Gene X and Gene Y consumer age between 22 to 45 seeking green alternatives as well introducing green alternative to already existing customers. The company is to adopt a differentiation strategy to challenge the current market leader head on in this fairly new market. Pricing will continue to be at a premium but a proportion of profit earnings (20%) will be contributed to WFM for funding sustainable campaigns. Distribution strategy will adopt the use of reverse logistic to recycle overstocking of inventory so that raw materials can be reused for future products. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION MARKET BACKGROUND The mobile phones market has received substantial growth in the past years due to the technological advancement as well as the introduction of smart phones becoming an essential part of a person’s life in today’s digitally connected lifestyle. Along with he progressive growth in smart phone sales around the globe, the market for mobile phone accessories has also received a direct boost in growth. Primarily driven by the uprising sales in smart phones, the market for mobile phone accessories is projected to reach $ASS 84. 6 billion by the year 2018. This growth is akin to the fact that currently there are over 5. 9 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide against the world population of 7. Billion people, mirroring a penetration rate of over 80% (Global Industry Analysts, 2012). On top of adding protection to your phone, mobile hone accessories also provide additional customizable and personalization for the user and this creates opportunities for accessories focused on aesthetic. COMPANY BACKGROUND Launched in 2004, SPINE is an online South Korean company specializing in the design of various mobile accessories such as screen protectors, cases, and utility bags for a variety of phones, tablets, and laptop. The company offer products of quality and innovation at a premium price range and is targeted towards the high end consumer market. Some of its notable products include the GLASS series range of . Mm thick tempered glass screen protectors manufactured at different shapes and sizes to fit popular smart phone models and also a line-up of high quality polycarbonate phone casings and frames that are light in weight and shock absorbent. In reaction to global awareness, SPINE has realized the need to cater its products to the shift in consumers’ mindset towards green products. This means to re-establish the current goals and commitment of the company and also to create a new product line to pander towards a new market segment. The objective is to increase the rand’s product reach and also employ ethical and green policy that will bring a positive image to the brand as a company who supports in the sustainability of the world. AIM This report aims to establish a good sustainable strategy that will aid SPINE in the launch of a new product range of mobile accessories that will be 100% environmentally friendly. This will redefine SPINE as sustainable company that will set itself apart from its competitors as well as enrage new customers to the brand through its appeal towards environmental sustainability. This report will state the recommendations for change required to proceed with the munch of this new product such as altering and creating new marketing mix strategies for SPINE to appeal to a new audience. This includes defining a new target market, as well as implementing a suitable product, pricing, and promotion and distribution strategies for the new product line. 2 MISSION STATEMENT In the past, companies were narrowly concern the quantity of production and manufactures only expanded supply and lower cost which burden a huge impact on environment. Nowadays, mass production expanding led to overcapacity in various markets as supply exceeds demand. The sustainable marketing focuses on the target roof of green consumers who would be willing to pay premium prices for more environmentally friendly products. (Frank-Martin Bell and Ken Appetite 2009, pap) SPINE ignited the design of mobile phone markets revolution in the sass with the mobile phone accessories. Today, SPINE continue to lead the industry in innovation with its mobile phone accessories into sustainable market in order to paying more attention for responsibility to society, and ethical concerns about the social and environmental impacts. RECOMMENDATION FOR CHANGE In order to create sustainable development, SPINE will need to look into the economic, environmental and social factors that will contribute to this change. As Creating sustainable development is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (The Borderland report ‘Our Common Future’ 1987), it is crucial for the company to not only look into environmental friendly alternatives but also to support the society through social responsibility such as equality, poverty etc. ND at the same time generating a sustainable profit for economic growth. For this to happen, it is recommended that SPINE adopts a sustainable development tragedy by promoting a new product line that will increase public awareness towards Spine’s decision in adopting a Corporate Social Responsibility CARS policy. This will be accomplished by reinventing three of its most popular product range, namely â€Å"Neo Hybrid†, â€Å"Slim Armor† and â€Å"Tough Armor† and creating new CEO- friendly variants for the respective product. The new product line will continue to be consistent in quality, functionality as well as technical features of the current existing product line but will also be environmentally sustainable through the use of 100% recycled materials. You read "Sustainability marketung" in category "Papers" For example, the Neo-hybrid phone casing CEO variant will continue to provide protection, shock absorption and customization through interchangeable frames and will also be made from 100% recycled parts. The new product line will be marketed towards environmentally aware consumers; it will also reach out to new users within the market to expand total demand. The introduction of new sustainable products will act as a stepping stone for Spine’s to convert more of its existing products into green products in the future and to fully incorporate sustainable development in all of its product range. In addition to helping the environment, SPINE has paired up with World Wide Fund for Nature (WFM) to engage in humanitarian activities through contribution of 20% of their product’s earning in funding charity campaign. Economically, with the cost in research and development as well as the cost of outsourcing recycled materials from various suppliers, SPINE will need to set a maximum cost of goods sold COGS no higher than 30% of mark-up to be able to generate a healthy profit in order to sustain the business. By satisfying the all three elements in creating a balanced sustainable development Truckee, SPINE will create a strong foundation in the shift towards a sustainable solution. MARKETING OBJECTIVES While Spine’s primary marketing goal is to offer products for the mobile phone and gadgets not only from being scratched or impacted but also, as there are potentially a sizeable market for more sustainable products, shifting our marketing focus towards targeting on green market have been identified as a great opportunity. Presently, Spine’s aimed at people between the ages of 22-45 who are searching for functional and sustainable protection covers. If SPINE can put forward an agenda uh for seeking the environmental, safe and recycle products would enable SPINE to start enhancing its positive image as an CEO-friendly company. The following are important objectives for Spine’s green product range. INCREASE MARKET SHARE Conventionally, marketing performance is only concern about economic and growth- oriented issues, managers are not aware of considering in sustainability objectives. Presently, marketing objectives have to be provided by green materials. Frank-Martin Bell and Ken Appetite, 2009) SPINE should increase market share in era of sustainability from 0% into 10%. RAISE PUBLIC CUSTOMER SATISFACTION To connect with consumers by taking advantage of social media could increase more public awareness, faith, loyalty, and by creating higher customer popularity results for making high level of benefits. There are more modern communication tools in today’s society. For example, Faceable is the most popular tools with over 300 million users; SPINE should follow closely with the development of modern communication channels. Social media is the vital tools being used for communicating which provide the fast-paced information from global online channels, making consumers get more acknowledge with the brands. The Faceable online page posts photos, activities, innovations of new products and customer comments. The customers of SPINE on the Faceable can post their individual products photos, information, and impressions in order to let the company to acknowledge immediately. SPINE can then reply to the comments and provide more advices about the products, making the communication more effectively and increase customers’ satisfaction about the products. Specializing on social media will allow SPINE enhance brand awareness and gain more satisfactions from customers. REDUCE THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT ON HEALTH Researches have shown that mobile phone accessories that are made from mass- production plants using cheap materials in the manufacturing process can generate CHIC, a hazardous gas in which if it reaches the point at 0. OMG/mm are very harmful to the human body and also to the environment. Spine’s production plants are closely monitored to ensure all materials are quality controlled and that all emission levels are kept at or below industry levels. All of the recycled materials in production process goes through the same monitoring and control to ensure all the mobile hone covers and gadgets match the highest safety standards not only to keep customer more safe and healthy, but also to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES Camphor Bandage, (2005) mentions in the Journal â€Å"Green Marketing Philosophy’ that if marketing philosophy is a process of which the firm conceives the consumer into an exchange relationship whereby the firm offers a product to the market, which is driven by the desires of the consumer and aims to fulfill that desire in the most beneficial way for the entity or company. Then green marketing philosophy can be scribed as the exchange relationship that goes beyond the current needs of the consumers in terms of addressing the social interests in the conservation and protection of the natural environment at the same time. From a green marketer’s perspective, as Fuller (1999) describes, a ‘new competitive game’ is at play as there are three parties that are involved in the exchange relationship: the company, the consumer and the environment. Green marketing goes beyond the commercial exchange of fulfilling a desire of the consumer, it is a way of understanding the company’s relationship with society in general. With that in mind, green marketing an be found within the approach of social marketing (Kettle, 1995), it is a way of understanding the exchange relationship by planning, implementing and controlling a policy for product, price, promotion and distribution that at the same time fulfill customer needs and the objectives of the company while reducing any current or potential negative effects to the natural environment. TARGET MARKETS The previous target market for SPINE products are technology sax. N. Y Gene X and Gene Y consumers between the ages of 18-45. Primarily enthusiasts for electronic gadgets such as smart phones, tablets and laptops. These consumers seeks for accessories that can not only protects their favorite gadgets, but also be able to do it in a way that allows them to express who they are from Spine’s variety of products that offers form, functionality and protection through innovative designs and materials. As the company re-defines itself through the launch of a new product range of 100% environmental friendly mobile accessories that are made from recyclable materials. The new target market is now aimed at people between the ages of 22-45, who are seeking for greener alternatives to accessories their gadgets without sacrificing quality and functionality. Consumers in their early ass’s start to get more influence from the importance of green sustainable products, also the income level is another factor of consideration as people get older, their disposable income are likely to increase along with the level of green-awareness. SPINE’S green-product range consumers represent a demographic group of well-educated successful young adults, single or married with an annual household income range of ADD $40,000 – $100,000 or more. They are particular about their taste in styling and self-image aware, trendy and strives for high-quality innovative and sustainable products on the racket. PRODUCT STRATEGIES With over ten years in the industry, SPINE has established a solid reputation through its design and innovation. The success of SPINE is a direct result of the fast-growing smartened and tablet users around the globe (SPINE, 2014). With this in mind, SPINE have discovered that there are enormous market opportunities for green-sustainable gadget accessories as there are currently very few numbers of competitors in this segment, for example:, Case-mate, Groveled, Minimize and Ore that produces phone cases and accessories from part to 100% recycled materials, wood and bamboo. SPINE aims to challenge the market leaders by differentiation and with plans to become the market leader of this segment. In order for the company to differentiate from other competitors, it aims to use 100% recycled materials in the production of our green product range. The recycled materials will come from industry and household wastes as well as recycling old mobile phones, phone cases and other electronic devices. The green range products will not substitute quality, functionality or appeal for using recycled materials, in fact, all of our green products are able to keep all of the original features so our customers can est. assure that they are getting high quality products while contribute to our mission to raise awareness and the importance for using sustainable phone and gadget accessories. SPINE will also donate 20% of profits from its green range to WFM and other organizations for research and conservation purposes. PRICING STRATEGIES The prices of our green sustainable product range are set accordingly with the competition in mind, also to cover the initial research and development costs as well as on-going costs associated with recycled materials. The company does not aim to hare a high premium over the green label, nor does it attempt to lower the price in order to sell high quantities of products. It is set at a price where consumers feel that it is reasonable and will be comfortable of purchasing knowing that a large portion of the profits will be used for a better cause such as further research for more sustainable products and in forms of donations to conservation organizations such as the WFM. PROMOTION STRATEGIES SPINE currently has 7 sub divisions apart from the Korean headquarters in different countries around the world which are USA, Japan, Hong Kong, I-J, Turkey, China and Taiwan. Each of the divisions has its own authorized retailers and resellers. These divisions are responsible to interact and provide information with the consumers, retailers and resellers whenever it launches a new product through various methods such as direct mail, face to face, e-mail and through social media sites such as Faceable and twitter. All of Spine’s product range can be found on the division countries respective websites (SPINE, 2014). Promotional activities will take place before the launch of the green product ranges to establish awareness for sellers and errs to grasp an idea of what is to be released and how it is differentiated from the competitor’s products, training programs will be conducted by trained staff assigned from Korean, American and Japanese headquarters to prepare each division’s in-line managers and sales personals to be able to pass on to consumers and individual retailers on the features of the new sustainable products. After launch promotions will include forms of discounts, a further 5% discount for customers who trade-in an old phone case when they purchase a product from the green range at participating detail stores. These promotional activities will be carried out through methods mentioned above. As SPINE depend heavily on online sales through its own websites as well as liaising with Amazon and eBay, online promotional activities through these websites, e-mail and social media are vital to keep up to date with the company’s goals and visions while constantly seek better ways of improving existing products to shift into the new green sustainable future of phone and gadget accessories. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES Currently, SPINE adopts direct marketing channels through online sales from its official weeping and also through third party online distributors such as eBay and Amazon. When adopting a sustainable distribution strategy, the company will look at providing biodegradable and recyclable packaging that enables overall volume reduction when transporting to serve the goal of sustainability. Materials used in the packaging will be in the form of lightweight recycled cardboard boxes that provides good protection but maintain flexibility when it comes to transport efficiency. Information and communication technology is also key to Spine’s sustainable striation as under overstock can be counter intuitive in reaching the goal of creating a sustainable framework. As SPINE uses short distribution chains (products are shipped directly from their warehouse to the customer’s doorsteps) good coordination can increase efficiency, but it should be noted that outsourcing suppliers for recycled materials should be monitored and well communicated to avoid over or under stock in inventory. To counter this, reverse logistics will be implemented to recycle unsold goods so that materials can be reused for future products instead of scraping all unwanted inventory. In conclusion, Spine’s move to a more sustainable direction will set itself in a positive motion. How to cite Sustainability marketung, Papers

International Management Case 1-2 Jollibee Food Corporation free essay sample

Jollibee was established by the Tan family in 1975, originally as a family-owned ice cream parlor in the Philippines, but quickly made the jump into the fast-food market due to the oil crisis of 1977 – an environmental factor which would have caused the price of ice cream to double. The newly diversified company became an instant favorite, largely due to the home-style Philippine recipe of their hamburgers, and thus began to expand. One year later, with five stores in the metro area, the Tan family incorporated the company as Jollibee Foods Corporation. Question 1: How was Jollibee able to build its dominant position in fast food in the Philippines? What sources of competitive advantage was it able to develop against McDonalds in its home market? Jollibee’s philosophy consisted of the â€Å"Five F’s† – Friendliness, Flavorful food, Fun atmosphere, Flexibility in catering to customer needs, and Focus on families. Their main goal was to deliver quality products and ensure that their customers and staff were happy. We will write a custom essay sample on International Management Case 1-2 Jollibee Food Corporation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To do so, the Tan family held many of the key positions of operations and supplemented their expertise with professional managers. They understood the importance of having knowledgeable experts in the right places. The company was already doing business in the food industry, so the entry barrier was low for them to shift from ice cream to fast food. Being an early mover allowed Jollibee to select good locations and franchisees. Their decision to finance growth internally for the first 16 years was also a key factor to their quick expansion. When McDonald’s entered the Philippine market in 1981, this became the first serious competitive challenge that Jollibee faced. Thanks to Jollibee’s menu of culturally desirable food which was highly preferred by Philippine customers over McDonald’s, they felt they had a chance to compete with the big-name brand. Utilizing one of the â€Å"Five F’s† – Flexibility – Jollibee introduced the â€Å"Champ† burger which was intended to compete with the Big Mac. In advertising this new product, Jollibee focused not only on the large size of the burger, but also on its local, cultural taste. This initiative, along with the company’s tight control over operations which kept costs low, were surely key success factors in winning brand appeal over McDonald’s in the Philippines and ultimately allowing them to attain competitive advantage in its home market. Question 2: How would you evaluate Tony Kitchners effectiveness as the first head of Jollibees international division? Does his broad strategic thrust make sense? How effectively did he develop the organization to implement his priorities? As head of Jollibee’s international division, Tony Kitchner felt that his new division should have a different identity and capabilities from its domestic side in the Philippines. He felt that Jollibee’s existing image and management approach would not help his strategies of projecting a world-class company. Very quickly, Kitchner formulated expansion initiatives called â€Å"targeting expats† and â€Å"planting the flag. † To â€Å"plant the flag†, Kitchner built stores in countries that had little or no fast-food presence based on his idea of setting the pace and standards in new markets. He felt that as an early mover, Jollibee could create brand recognition, customer loyalty and high sales before competitors could enter the market, giving them an advantage to remain on top. Kitchner’s idea of â€Å"targeting expats† was aimed at allowing the company to ease its transition into an unfamiliar market. Although there was the risk of targeting too narrow of a segment, Jollibee’s success in the niche market would allow it to later appeal to a broader audience. In my opinion, Kitchner’s strategy makes sense as a concept– unfortunately I’m not convinced that his broad strategic thrust was executed well. During Kitchner’s time at Jollibee, there was great expansion and increased sales – but this may not be indicative of Kitchner’s strategy. In many cases, stores were forced to shut down due to losses. This is a sign of Kitchner’s unplanned strategy that was unsupported by proper analysis and research. In order for Kitchner’s strategy to work, there needed to be a deeper understanding of customer preference in the new markets and expats. The company also needed to appeal to a broader audience. Kitchner also failed to push forward the international division’s initiatives due to internal company conflicts. To create his â€Å"world-class† company, Kitchner stole employees from domestic operations causing a poor first impression that lasted the duration of his careers at Jollibee. Pulling away from the domestic side to create a separate and independent international division also caused failure of RD and other financial activities which were controlled by the domestic division. Kitchner’s continued tension within the organization caused the international division to fail in making potentially beneficial changes such as improved store layout, redesigned logo and menu modifications. If Kitchner had formed an alliance with the domestic division, he could have had their support in his endeavors and effectively executed his expansion strategies.

Therapeutic Nursing Analysis free essay sample

Therapeutic nursing is a very vital component of nursing. . Neal (2003, p100) states a therapeutic relationship can be described as being between nurse and patient and is based on patients’ needs for care assistance and guidance. It is a relationship that is established solely to meet the patient’s needs and therefore, is therapeutic in nature. Chambers et al (2005, p303) suggest interpersonal and therapeutic relationships are at the center of nursing work, the relationship that exists between nurse and patient can often provide the energy and be the catalyst, the motivation and the source of strength to continue with treatment or face difficult sometimes life threatening situations. I feel there is a need to establish a therapeutic relationship with your patient in order to build a relationship with them that will allow you to be able to fully meet their needs. So often health care workers are unable to meet a person needs simply because they are unaware of what those needs are. We will write a custom essay sample on Therapeutic Nursing Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Cutcliff (2005, p57) states that you can gain comfort from drawing on your interpersonal skills (therapeutic) and having seven skills within yourself. These are: 1. Strength 2. Endurance 3. Feeling self- confident and brave 4. Competent 5. Independence 6. At peace with self 7. Sense of value Freshwater et al (2005, p101) suggests the nurse patient relationship can be viewed as a major therapeutic tool of effective patient care. McHugh Schuster (200, p7) sates that communication plays an important role in the therapeutic relationship. Clark Bridge (1998, p2) suggest that forms of communication such as asking questions, allowing patients to express their feelings, or reassuring patients by means of touch will also result in important patient care, and increase patient satisfaction and well- being. Nichols (cited in McQueen 2000, p723-731) also suggests that the nurse is the central figure in the patient care and is best placed to provide much of the psychological care and this demands good interpersonal skills to form a therapeutic relationship with patients and to communicate more effectively with relatives and other health professionals. Communication covers a wide range of things including touch, play, and enthusiasm. Touch is important as it showed that I was listening to the patient’s, touch can mean different things, and it is a silent language of non- verbal behavior. Touch is an affectionate way of transmitting warmth. Not all people are comfortable with using touch so it’s important to know the boundaries with each individual patient, which you learn through communication. Another non- verbal communication skill could be silence giving both the patient and the health care worker time to reflect upon prior or future events in the patient’s care. Although it is important that the patient’s needs are still met and that the focus is still on them. Therefore it is important that the nurse involves the patient through other means of communication which again could be through touch or play. The NMC (2004) states that the nurse must recognize and respect the role of the patient/client as partners in their care and the contribution they can make to it. This would be the phase of identification in Peplau’s (1988) model of the nurse patient relationship. Peplau (cited in Hinchliff et al 2003, p130) views the nurse patient relationship as passing through four phases. They are as follows: 1. Orientation 2. Identification 3. Exploitation 4. Resolution Riley (cited in Cutcliffe et al 2005, p304) suggests that therapeutic relationships are about patient’s disclosure of personal and occasionally painful feelings with the nurse at a calculated emotional distance near enough to be involved but objective enough to be of help. Neal (cited in Hinchliffe et al 2003, p102) states that confidentiality and trust are two sides to the same coin and trust is another important attribute to the therapeutic relationship as the patient will place their trust in the nurse. Therapeutic care does not only exist in nursing care but should also be seen in every day interactions with people that you come in contact with on a daily basis. In order to fully understand therapeutic care as a concept, I have reviewed the original definition of this word. The dictionary definition states â€Å"providing good effects of your mind or body†, â€Å"of or relating to the treatment of illness†. Based on the definitions listed above there are some attributes that should be noted with effective therapeutic care. These include but are not limited to: 1. Therapeutic care is healthy 2. Therapeutic care is wholesome 3. Therapeutic care is alleviative 4. Therapeutic care is corrective 5. Therapeutic care is tonic 6. Therapeutic care does note judge based on race, creed, sex or financial basis Model Case An elderly homeless man admitted to the nursing home. He has no insurance nor does he have any support from his family to assist with the financial cost of the facility. The nurse admitting and assessing the patient knows the issues that the patient is dealing with financially. The nurse takes the time to talk to the patient, reassuring him that all things will work out for the best. She informs him of the support services offered through the facility, educates him on the facility therapy benefits, meal times, call- light and rest room locations. She also assisted him to warm shower, reassurance through touch with a nice back wash and light massage with the application of lotion and lastly clean clothes. The model case shows how health care staff can provide full therapeutic care while simply treating people the way anyone should be treated. The nurse took the time to hear the man situation and offer reassurance and referral services to assist in making his transformation easier. Contrary Case An elderly homeless man was admitted to the nursing home. He has no insurance nor does he have any support from his family to assist with the financial cost of the facility. The nurse admitting and assessing the patient knows the issues that the patient is dealing with financially. The nurse advises the man that he will need some means of payment and very soon because the facility can’t provide free service long. She asks â€Å"what did you do to your family to make them not deal with you†. The nurse speaks very fast and short with the man, and shows no care or concern for his well-being. She directs him to the shower room yet does not offer any assistance. Lastly she tells him to enjoy his short visit here unless he acquires some financial assistance. There were no gestures of therapeutic care seen in Contrary case because the nurse never took the time to see the gentleman as being worthy of her care. She allowed her nursing duty and human duty of giving simple therapeutic common concern to be clouded with his lack of finances and his current living situation. Borderline Case An elderly homeless man was admitted to the nursing home. He has no insurance nor does he have any support from his family to assist with the financial cost of the facility. The nurse admitting and assessing the patient knows the issues that the patient is dealing with financially. The nurse takes the time to talk to the patient, reassuring him that all things will work out for the best. She neglects to inform him of the support services offered through the facility, nor does she educate him on the facility therapy benefits, meal times, call- light and rest room locations. She does assist him to warm shower, yet barely touching him. Lastly she does give him clean clothes. The nurse in the borderline case did some of the things she should have done however she didn’t do a lot of things she should have. She was clouded by his current situation yet somewhere in her heart part of her still wanted to try and assist the gentleman. Her bad attributes truly outweighed her good because she should always offer full therapeutic care to the mind and body if given the opportunity. Invented case An elderly tiger allowed to join a community of young tigers. He has some obvious physical disabilities and does not show any positive signs of making a full recovery without assistance. A middle aged female tiger takes notice to him and decides to care for him the way she cared for her ill father before he passed. She nursed his wounds, provided him with food and showed him where to find fresh water. She spent time with him, sometimes in silence and other times with soft sounds and back rubs. They exercised together and shared personal inside jokes. He soon made a full recovery and was able to fully care for himself again. Illegitimate uses of the term therapeutic would be when someone uses therapeutic gestures to gain something for themselves like trying to obtain information that has no bearing on the person’s well-being. Some people may pretend to care about someone’s well-being for financially or materialistic gain. They may offer some therapeutic care like a massage or assistance with a shower just to gain information when they know they have no true desire to help in order to benefit the person in return. Antecedent and Consequence Antecedents for Therapeutic care 1. Having someone whom you can assist 2. Wanting to help someone 3. Assurance that overall therapeutic assistance will not cause harm Consequences for Therapeutic care 1. Increases someone’s overall well-being 2. Feel needed by health care provider 3. Adds quality to someone’s day 4. Shows growth as a person overall Empirical Referent The measurement of therapeutic care would surely require more non-direct research in order to give a more accurate conclusion. These would include but not limited to: 1. Observation of people interacting with total strangers 2. Interviewing people that were assessed by health care professionals 3. Speaking to people that offered a kind word, touch or gesture and inquire into how it made them feel

Psychology Course Essays

Psychology Course Essays Psychology Course Essay Psychology Course Essay As a young child, I was full of curiosity and always was searching for something to feed my curiosity; I often questioned myself and others about life, the world as human beings. When should we seek deep understanding and what are the circumstances that convert simple unambiguous certainties into complex facts? My curiosity grew into interest and found myself frequently at the library. To look for books that answers my question. Something with sure facts, supported with science and research. I stumbled on a psychology book The science of Mind and Behaviour by Charles T. Blair-Broeker, Randal M. Ernst, David G. Myers 2007, which talks about the human mind and behaviour. Remembering how interesting the book was makes me want to learn more from it. Although most of my questions were answered, I found myself having more questions than before. From that day on, I realised that I wanted to pursue a career in Psychology. After completing my Irish leaving cert (GCSE), without hesitation I applied at the Westminister University to study (2009) exploring psychology and successfully completed my first year and got awarded the full credits of 40 points. The experience of being at the Westminister University made me gain allot of confidence in myself. It made me challenge myself and mostly it made me work hard more independently. The experience as an O.U student had its high and low, it was truly something different and different is surely what I was looking for. In 2011 I took a gap year due to planning to move and study in England, therefore decided to work in the meantime to have more work experience. I was offered a job at River Island and was delighted to work for them. This job has given me the opportunity to interact with other people and explore different diversities, habit and background. I am able to speak English, Arabic and a bit of Spanish. In my spare time, I volunteer at my local community to teach children with learning difficulties, such as learning to read and write in English and Arabic. But to me I do not think of it as just teaching, but also giving them a chance to help them develop their knowledge and understanding. It’s fair to say that I’m passionate about psychology; this is why I am still interested in studying psychology. It’s not all about theories, but it helps people answer questions that they want to know and sometimes even need to know. To achieve a degree in Psychology is not going to be easy, but its a start to my dream career and it would take a lot of dedication, tolerance and determination. Its the path to a qualification in which I am prepared to strive and work hard for and add a stepping stone to archive my goals. My father once told me that you have to start at the bottom to get at the top, it is a long ladder that you have to climb, so embrace yourself for the climb because it is never easy one day I will have achieved my ambition to become a psychologist. To me Psychology is not just science; it is a way of life. A source of inspiration and it has inspired me to become a part of it.

Wal-Mart Consumer Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wal-Mart Consumer Analysis - Research Paper Example The history of Wal-Mart began a little after 1972 as a rural shopping store chain in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri (Lecavalier). The Wal-Mart company has four major divisions at the retail level: Wal-Mart Discount stores, Wal-Mart Super Centers, Sam’s Club Warehouses, and Neighborhood Market stores. The company‘s size can be emphasized by the fact that it employees more than 2 million people, reports a profit of close to 100 billion dollars, and has more than 7,000 outlets and counting. The success of the company lies in their customer strategy (Lecavalier). Being the world’s largest retail stores has been part of the growth challenge and customer care improvement. The rapid growth of the company led to new research strategies on the ways of improving its services to its customer base. The major focus was ways of improving customer care services and customer experiences while shopping at the stores. There are several sources of customer information at the dispo sal of the giant retailer, with some of these not used appropriately. The best and reliable sources of customer information are the touch-points of interaction between the company and the firm. There are majorly two touch-points in the Wal-Mart scenario: the pre-consumption stage and the consumption stage. In the pre-consumption stage, Wal-Mart acknowledges that the consumers interact and share a certain amount of with the customer service or the salespeople. This is an important step for Wal-Mart, and the next decision is that of determining what information to capture, and the manner in which the collected data will assist in making decisions on improving customer care procedures. The frontline operation personnel of Wal-Mart are well positioned to gather customer information, and the firm uses them to obtain the information it requires. The frontline personnel receives training on the what, when, and how of eliciting or observing customers and obtaining information (Feller, Shunk , and Callarman, 2006). The other means of obtaining these consumer data is using intermediaries and resellers of the retailers’ products, mainly through promotion, distribution, customer service, or delivery. Wal-Mart uses the gathered information for negotiating with the leading packaged goods manufacturers like Proctor and Gamble for customized products. In the consumption phase, the firm collects consumer data on the enquiries made by consumers on the directions of use. This data provides the company with a wealth of information, especially in the areas of recovery situations and service failure, and assist in product improvement and development efforts. The consumer data collection processes applied by Wal-Mart are systematically maintained and recorded. Nonetheless, there may be other data requirements not available in the above collection methods. The company collects that information through other forms of data collection techniques, mainly research. However, the comp any first determines the most appropriate and effective information that will assist in understanding consumer preferences and needs (Lisanti). The company then decides on the appropriate decision and choice regarding the suitable consumer research method (Feller, Shunk and Callarman, 2006). For instance, there are several formal and informal measures in the determination of the changes required to improve consumer satisfaction. These methods may be qualitative

Dell Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dell - Case Study Example wn design in the year 1985, this was followed by unveiling of the world’s fastest performing computer in 1986 which was to be promoted by the setting up of the first onsite service to compensate for lack of retail in the year 1987. In 1988, the company changed its name to Dell Computer Corporation then tried to change its marketing strategy by selling to retailers in 1990 through warehouse clubs and superstores. However, this strategy did not last owing to dismal performance. They then embarked again on selling custom-built computers online to the customers. In 2000, Dell became number one seller of computers in USA surpassing even the Compaq (123HelpMe.com, 2015). Dell computers corporations has the mission to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. It was created to operate on a direct selling model where customers are to order for their computers online and then the computer is custom-made according to the needs of the customer (Saunders, 2009). Dell’s success is majorly attributed to the better management of its supply chain. Dell applies the best expertise to process customers’ orders and supply it at the fastest speed possible. Where the rivals take weeks, Dell takes only hours to supply the products to its customers. Dell has adopted as one of its strategies, the shortest supply chain. Dell purpose to minimize the involvement of middle men as a way of minimizing time they take to get products to customers and as a way of getting directly in touch with the customers. The company also ventured into customer relationship management (CRM) as a way of staying close to customers. They hire third party logistics to supply their finished products instead of the middle men. Supplier of Dell supply raw materials on a just in time basis directly to the production line at shortest time hence contributing to success of the company. Success is in terms reduced costs on setting up a

Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in which Essay

Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in which young children learn with enjoyment and challenge (QCA, 2000). Critically evaluate the wor - Essay Example Such play is pleasurable and fun, active and mind absorbing. Considering today’s fast moving world and the technologies, while infants and children can be engaged by videos and technology based toys, they do not provide the same multi-faceted stimulation and developmentally essential experiences those more traditional games, toys, music, and imagination provides. It is true that play has an essential role in building social skills and communication, creativity and problem solving. The best developmental tool that we can give them is by allowing children to participate in self-directed, unstructured free play. Researches insists that while children are playing, we need to create a tolerance for error, allow them fail too, reducing the expectation that they must be perfect. This gives the child a scope of decision making, memory development and the thinking skills necessary for childhood success in the classroom and adult success in the workplace. Play is something that doesn’t intend to target race, religion, or socio-economic status. Data from eminent child specialists gives clear picture that play deprivation leads to increased aggression and violence, anti-social behavior, repressing of emotions, learning disorders, and obesity. Play is crucial to both the cognitive and physical development of children, and its deprivation can have negative and long lasting effects. There could not be any second thoughts that children involved in the outdoor games in the playground enjoys the freedom to be physically active but above all this playing experience works as an outdoor learning laboratory with numerous exciting and challenging activities. When outdoors, children can observe nature, hang bird feeders, plant radishes, search for cicada shells, or watch the communal, determined behavior of ants transporting food. They can

Dairy Industry Of Pakistan Marketing Essay

Dairy Industry Of Pakistan Marketing Essay The dairy industry of Pakistan is a very competitive industry and has huge potential. Unfortunately, dairy processors in Pakistan still have miles to cover before they can exploit full benefits of this industry. The milk production of the country has not been up to the mark and as a result the demand for dairy products outweighs the supply. Traditionally, people living in urban areas preferred to consume fresh milk delivered to their homes by Gawallas. However with the passage of time, as people became more and more health conscious there was a shift towards the consumption of UHT milk and its demand has been increasing ever since. In the UHT milk segment, firms like Nestle Pakistan Limited and Engro Foods Limited have emerged as leading market players. These firms with their bundle of financial resources have made huge investments in getting state of the art technology, manpower and strengthening their promotion efforts. Despite the fact that local dairy processing industries have b een able to match the quality standards of Nestle and Engro to a greater extent, these firms lack in their marketing efforts. Noon Pakistan Limited is one such firm which is being effected due to poor marketing efforts and has not been able to reap the benefits of the industry in which it operates. Noon Pakistan Limited is a venture of the Noon Family and has been marketing its products under the brand name of Nurpur. The firm enjoys market leadership in the category of butter. Initially when the firm launched its UHT milk the market response was good. However with the passage of time, the brand performance of Nurpur UHT milk has deteriorated due to mismanagement of marketing efforts. While management claims that they are able to sell whatever they produce, the market survey results prove that the prevailing performance of the brand has not been up to the mark. The firm relies on the selling concept which is a short term approach and little emphasis is being given to the concept of brand building. It is the need of the hour that Noon Pakistan Limited adopts a long term strategic approach if it wants to secure its position in the market for years to come. To study the issue being faced by Noon Pakistan Limited, a rigorous Literature review was conducted followed by interviews with employees of the firm, retailers and consumer surveys. Financial analysis and comparison with Nestle and Engro was done. Even though Noon Pakistan Limited does not match the financial strength of its competitors, there are many ways in which the firm can improve its position in the market. The first step in building strong brands is to ensure that the brand has a high salience. The brand should have top of the mind recall and recognition. Unfortunately the survey results analyzed using SPSS software proved that Nurpur milk is not the first brand which comes to the mind when a consumer wants to purchase UHT milk. Majority of the respondents could not even recall any advertisements of Nurpur milk. A major proportion of the respondents also highlighted the fact that Nurpur milk was occasionally short in the market. The results of the retailer interviews also prove that Noon Pakistan Limited has to improve its trade promotion schemes as majority of the retailers were not satisfied with current distribution practices of the company. The retailers highlighted the fact that the company should improve its promotion activities so that consumers start demanding Nurpur milk. Due to weak financial resources, Noon Pakistan Limited should utilize alternative strategies to maintain its position in the market. The firm needs to invest in consumer promotion activities like in store sampling and taste trials. The firm also needs to focus on its BTL activities in order to strengthen the perceptual positioning of the brand in consumer mind. The firm needs to revise its payment policies with retailers and start providing goods on a credit basis to those retailers who have a good reputation in the market. In short, Noon Pakistan Limited should revise its current practices and operations. The firm should let go its old concept of selling and instead focus on building the equity of its brands if it wants to strengthen its position in the market for the future. 2.INTRODUCTION The Noon Group The Noon Group of Companies is being managed by the Noon family. The group has qualified and experienced professionals. The Noon Group of Pakistan strives to improve its profitability and safeguard its stakeholders interest while maintaining highest quality standards and serving the community (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). The Noon Group of Companies has various business ventures and Noon Pakistan Limited is one such profitable venture of the Group. Apart from Noon Pakistan Limited a brief description of the other business ventures are as follows:- 1. Noon Sugar Mills Limited This venture was incorporated in 1964 and manufactures white sugar. Initial crushing capacity was 1500 MT of sugarcane which has been increased to 4000 MT over the passage of time. In 1986 an alcohol distillery was setup to manufacture industrial alcohol. The total number of people employed is 683 and currently efforts are underway to increase the crushing capacity to 8000 MT/day (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 2. Pioneer Cement Limited Pioneer Cement Limited was incorporated in 1985 with a total investment of Rs.2660 million and production capacity of 630000 tons per annum. The plant is situated in Chenki, Khushab. The project was financed by a consortium of foreign lenders led by the Asian Development Bank. Efforts are underway for another line having a capacity of 6000 MT/day (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 3. Noon International Private Limited Noon International Private Limited is a trading company which was established in 1972. The company employs 43 people including a team of 15 professional sales engineers. This firm represents various international companies of repute in Pakistan and markets their equipment in the fields of textile, power generation, sugar, fertilizer, chemical, steel, cement, food and milling (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 4. Textile Technics Private Limited Incorporated in 2004 with a total investment of Rs 100 million, Textile Technics is a joint venture between M/S Blue Reed of Spain and Noon International Private Limited. The project has a production capacity of 22000 meters of reed per annum (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). 5. Textile Services Textile Services was established in 1994 and provides services to over 200 customers of Sulzer Textile Projectile Weaving Machines. The company employs 32 people and provides training, technical service and spare parts for clients (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Noon Pakistan Limited Incorporated in 1966 with a total investment of 553 million, Noon Pakistan Limited produces various products namely Butter, Cheese, UHT milk, HCLF, Pasteurized milk, Flavored milk, Juices, Water, Desi ghee, Honey and Jam. Installed capacity of the plant is 72000 Liters/2 shifts and there are 700 employees. Noon Pakistan Limited has been marketing its products under the brand name of Nurpur. The plant is located in Bhalwal, Sargodha while the head office is situated in Lahore (About Us: Nurpur Foods, 2012). The company has not only built a strong reputation over the past years but has also been able to offer a strong product portfolio to its consumers. Noon Pakistan Limited believes in optimum utilization of resources in order to secure the interests of major stakeholders and fulfilling its obligation as a responsible corporate citizen by serving the community. The company also utilizes rigorous quality control procedures at all stages to ensure supply of quality products to consumers. This has allowed the firm to increase its turnover from Rs 311.7 million in 2004 to Rs 2436.41 million in 2011 (Company Profile: Nurpur Foods, 2012). The year 2011 was a challenging year for Noon Pakistan Limited. Energy Crisis, security situation coupled with devastating floods had exerted significant pressure on the economy and cost of living. Higher inflationary trends continued impacting their key products particularly related to fresh milk when shortages led to a cost increase of 16% compared to last year. Additionally, higher growth of their products led to severe filling capacity constraints and the market demand could not be met fully. Despite all these challenges, the management made serious efforts to achieve performance objectives by effective product mix, controlling fixed costs and locating new cheaper sources of raw material. Economic trends, prolonged gas and electricity outages, severe competition in selling brands and procurement of raw milk are not expected to ease out during the coming months. Due to reduced buying power, trend in the market is changing fast as consumers are looking for cheaper products in small packages. Therefore the management at Noon Pakistan Limited has made plans to reassess the market requirements and also further improve their production efficiency (Noon Pakistan Limited, 2011). Vision The vision statement of Noon Pakistan Limited is as follows:- Our vision at Nurpur is to be a transformative force in our community and world at large and to serve as a model of a sustainable business alternative that nurtures social and economic well being in an environmentally sensitive manner (Our Vision: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Mission The mission statement of Noon Pakistan Limited is as follows:- Nurpur is committed to supplying the consumer and customer with the finest, high quality products and to be a leading industry in healthy and nutritious products. Nurpur supports these goals with a corporate philosophy of adhering to the highest ethical conduct in all its business dealings, treatment of its employees, and social and environmental policies (Our Mission: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Core Values At Noon Pakistan Limited, consumers are at the forefront of everything they do. The core values of the company include the generation of Ideas that can be constantly challenged to develop next generation solutions, to conduct business openly and fairly while competing fiercely at the same time, to encourage teamwork with individual flairs, to set tough goals that can be challenged and beaten, to value preservation of the environment and ensure sustainability of organic agriculture, to value mutually supportive relationships among members of local and global communities (Core Values: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Awards and Certifications Noon Pakistan Limited has won many prestigious awards and certifications which are First dairy company in Pakistan to be certified under ISO 22000:2005, Brand of the year award (2006-07) in the category of Butter, Brand of the year award (2007-08) in category of Butter, Cheese and flavored milk and Brand of the year award (2008-09) in the category of Butter (Certifications: Nurpur Foods, 2012). Three years production snapshot PRODUCTION UNITS 2011 2010 2009 UHT Milk/Tea whitener Liters 30,940,079 20,385,290 16,246,333 UHT Flavored milk Liters 4,668,071 4,075,407 2,498,299 UHT Cream Liters 71,381 461,722 345,580 Butter Kilograms 986,335 1,011,925 862,622 Milk powder Kilograms 927,943 1,160,508 930,894 Cheese Kilograms 203,146 206,508 194,020 Ghee Kilograms 34,371 52,190 31,331 Pasteurized Milk Liters 4,911,778 2,663,294 1,806,733 Loose cream Liters 3,490 Jams and honey Kilograms 34,032 42,812 23,735 Juices Liters 4,421,399 10,341,160 10,402,443 Adapted from the Annual Report (Noon Pakistan Limited, 2011). The production snapshot over the years shows that the production of UHT milk/Tea whitener, UHT flavored milk and Pasteurized milk has increased from 2009-11 while the production of UHT cream, Butter, Milk Powder, Cheese, Ghee, Jams and Juices has decreased from 2009-11. Loose cream was discontinued in the year 2011. The focus of the firm remains on strengthening its position in the UHT milk segment. The Purchase Department To study the operations of the Purchase Department, two interviews were conducted with the Purchase Manager. The findings of the interviews have been utilized to describe the function of the Purchase Department. The purchase department is responsible for purchasing all materials required by the head office and plant other then milk which is purchased at the milk collection centre in Bhalwal. Materials which are purchased by the department range from ordinary items like office and plant stationary to complex materials like Flavors, Spare parts for plant equipment and transportation vehicles, Chemicals, Fuel and everything related to the manufacturing process, Logistics and day to day operations. Demand for requisition comes from the factory and approval has to be given by the Managing Director. The purchase department currently has 4-5 employees. The purchase department stays in coordination with the plant and suppliers through phone and email and as such no software is currently being used by the department. The department uses a manual system of keeping records and storing files. The purchase department always keeps 3 copies of requisitions and delivery challans. One copy is sent to the pla nt, one copy is maintained with the purchase department and one copy is kept by the Purchase Manager. The major suppliers of Noon Pakistan Limited are SMC, Sitara Chemicals , Jason Foods and Danisco. Everyone is involved in the purchase process including the General Manager, Purchase Manager and people from the plant. Payments to suppliers are made either on cash or credit through the head office. Credit terms depend on contacts and relations with suppliers and can range from 15 days up to a month. According to the Purchase Manager, Noon Pakistan Limited believes in maintaining healthy relations with Suppliers and this is one of the key strengths of the department. The primary reason given for this was that Juices and Milk factories in Pakistan have no second option since suppliers are limited and few. They have to purchase materials from the specified suppliers and bargaining power of suppliers is high in this regard. However if relations are good with suppliers not only do supplie rs cooperate but may also be lenient in terms of credit. In this regard price does not play a major issue but a greater issue is that of availability of materials from suppliers. The Purchase Manager also stated that in case of materials needed from local suppliers, the purchase department is given no time and purchase has to be made immediately. However when imported materials are required from foreign suppliers, the Purchase department is informed in advance as shipping takes time. There is no fixed pattern of purchases made throughout the year and it all depends on plant and market requirements. The quality of materials purchased is checked at the plant and if there are defects the merchandise is returned to the supplier. The Purchase Manager also stated that there is no HR department as such and the performance of the purchase department is monitored from the plant and by the Managing Director (Ashraf, 2012). DELIVERY CHALLAN Noon Pakistan Limited 1st Floor, Mustafa Centre, 45 F, Main Market, Gulberg Lahore Pakistan No._______ Date:_________ To, Manager, Noon Pakistan Limited, Bhalwal The following goods have been dispatched to you by Truck No_____________ SR# Description Qty. Amount Supplier Remarks Kindly Sign and Return Duplicate ____________________ _________________ Malik Mohammed Ashraf Bhalwal Store Source: Company Internal Documents NOON PAKISTAN LIMITED, BHALWAL DEMAND OF STORE TO BE PURCHASED DEMAND NO______ DATE____________ SR# Item Code Nomenclature Specification Name A/U Qty Required Stock in Hand Last Purchase Date Rate/Unit Amount Remarks ____________ _______________ Store Manager General Manager Source: Company Internal Documents The Marketing Department To study the operations of the Marketing Department of the firm, two interviews were conducted with the Marketing Manager. Marketing research activities are outsourced. The Marketing Department purchases monthly reports from different marketing research agencies like AC Nielson and Tetra Pak. In this way the marketing department stays in touch with the latest trends and competitor activities. The Marketing department comprises of one marketing manager and a brand manager. The Marketing Manager reports to the General Manager of Marketing and Sales while activities of the brand manager are monitored by the marketing manager. The brand manager is responsible for dealing with various agencies as all marketing research data and ATL as well as BTL activities are outsourced. Some of the agencies with which the marketing department works are SABB Marketing, Time and Space, Orient, HRK Communications, Aura Communications, TOPAZ Communications and ADZ Communications. These agencies prepare designs of print ads and commercials. The brand manager discusses the various designs with the Marketing Manager and after mak ing necessary amendments and recommendations approval is given to Marketing agencies. The Marketing Department does its planning in the beginning of the year in coordination with the Sales Department. A monthly, yearly and 5 year plan is made. The Marketing Department is consulted in all strategic decisions made at the corporate level. There is no fixed method for determining the budget allocated to the Marketing Department and it all depends on various factors like last years profitability and market performance of various brands available in the market. In 2012, three new brands by the name of Yogo Yogo, Dairy Rozana and Jalwa have been launched. The Marketing Strategy of Noon Pakistan Limited is Differentiation strategy. However the strategy to be adopted for each brand depends on the market performance and competitor activities. Since UHT milk is difficult to differentiate, the current strategy being adopted is to position it as a milk which is enriched with vitamins needed for healthy growth and development. The target market of UHT milk is Housewives and working females as well as males. Different SKUs are being used to target different Socio Economic Classes like the 1000ml pack is targeted for SEC-A while the 200ml and 250ml packs are targeted towards low income households. The main competitor brands of Nurpur Milk are Olpers, Milk Pak, Good Milk and Haleeb. The marketing department does not go for an offensive strategy because Nestle and Engro are huge giants with bundle of resources. Noon Pakistan Limited can be classified as an Analyzer because it is operating both in a stable and dynamic market. Another reason for not adopting an offensive strategy is that volumes are low. Importance is not given to gain shelf space because production volumes are so low and everything sells out due to high demand of UHT milk. Recently a new brand by the name of Dairy Rozana has been launched as a flanker brand to compete with the Dairy Omung of Engro. The main weak ness of the Marketing Department is that very little attention is being paid towards building brand equity. The department is focusing on increasing sales which is a short term approach rather than focusing on building their brands (Khan, 2012). Organizational Chart of the Marketing Department Source: Internal Company Documents The Brand Manager is responsible for dealing with various Marketing Agencies and reports to the Marketing Manager. The Marketing Manager reports to the General Manager of Sales and Marketing (Khan, 2012). The Sales Department Two interviews were conducted with the Sales Analyst of the firm to get insights regarding the operations of the Sales Department. The organizational structure of the Sales Department comprises of the General Manager of Sales and Marketing, National Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Area Sales Manager, Field Managers and Sales Officers. The job description of the Field Manager and Sales Officer is the same but position of Field Manager is superior because those Sales Officers whose performance is consistently outstanding are made Field Managers. Territories have been assigned according to location and comprises of Central Zone, Southern Punjab zone and Northern zone which includes RWL/AJK, Hazara belt and Pakhtoon.K belt. Distribution is limited in Quetta and Multan because of heavy freight expenses. The process of forecasting yearly sales is that last years closing sales are doubled and the amount is set as the Sales Target for the next year. Sales Quotas are assigned to Salesmen depending on the Area and potential of salesman. Other factors which are taken into account while assigning quotas are the seaso nality issue because milk production and its demand fluctuates throughout the year. There are more than 280 distributors all over the country and each Sales Officer has to monitor and look after three to four distributors. The Sales department also relies on individual projections from the Sales Team when deciding upon monthly and quarterly targets. If a salesman is unable to achieve his target in the specified time, he has to achieve both, the remaining target as well as the target allocated in the next period. If targets are continuously not being achieved the Salesman is fired. The salesmen who achieve targets are awarded with bonuses and cash rewards. In order to motivate the sales team, a sales competition is held and winner of Sales Man of the Year is rewarded. Besides having a Sales competition, vacation trips are also planned to motivate the Sales Team. If targets set in the year 2012 are met, the entire Sales Team will go on a vacation to Dubai on the companys expenses. Noo n Pakistan Limited has also started exporting its products to countries like England, Kenya and Afghanistan. The documentation process to export products involves the Performa Invoice, E-Form Attestation, Commercial Invoice, Packing List, Certificate of Origin and Analysis Report (Butt, 2012). Organizational Chart of Sales Department Source: Company Internal Documents Product Portfolio and Price List Product Packing Unit/Ctn Retailer Margin Trade Price Consumer Price 1.UHT Milk Ctns Units Ctns Units 1000ml 12 6.09% 1018 84.83 1080 90 200ml 24 4.35% 391 16.29 408 17 250ml 27 5.97% 586 21.7 621 23 2.Chai mix Ctns Units Ctns Units 250ml 27 6.38% 533 19.74 567 21 200ml 24 5.97% 385 16.04 408 17 3.Butter KGs Units KGs Units 200gm 30 8.00% 463 92.6 500 100 100gm 60 12.70% 488 48.8 550 55 50gm 120 13.20% 530 26.5 600 30 20gm 300 13.20% 530 10.6 600 12 10gm 600 13.20% 530 5.3 600 6 1Kg white 20 11.80% 8500 425 9500 475 4.Cheese Ctns Units Ctns Units 200gm cottage 42 9.10% 6930 165 7560 180 200gm slice 36 16.10% 5580 155 6480 180 225gm chedder 40 14.90% 5920 148 6800 170 225gm spicy 40 14.90% 5920 148 6800 170 225gm mozarella 40 14.60% 6980 174.5 8000 200 450gm chedder 20 13.40% 6880 344 7800 390 450gm mozarella 20 13.60% 8800 440 10000 500 1.8Kg mozarella 4 13.10% 5128 1282 5800 1450 1Kg slice 8 13.60% 5072 634 5760 720 1Kg slice (KFC) 8 13.60% 5072 634 5760 720 2Kg Chedder 4 12.10% 3924 981 4400 1100 5.Cream P/Tray Units P/Tray Units 250ml 27 4.20% 1200 44.44 1250 46.3 6.Pasteurized milk P/Tray Liters P/Tray Liters 1000ml 10 11.70% 600 60 670 67 500ml 20 13.30% 600 30 680 34 7.Flavored milk Ctns Units Ctns Units 250ml 12 13.30% 233 19.42 264 22 200ml 12 12.10% 214 17.83 240 20 8.Pure juices Ctns Units Ctns Units Apple 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Guava 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Orange 1000ml 12 7.10% 840 70 900 75 Pineapple 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Mango 1000ml 12 6.10% 792 66 840 70 Apple 200ml 24 11.80% 322 13.42 360 15 Orange 200ml 24 11.80% 322 13.42 360 15 Mango 200ml 24 15.40% 312 13 360 15 9.Yogo yogo Ctns Units Ctns Units 200ml 12 8.70% 276 23 300 25 10.Desi Ghee Ctns Units Ctns Units 1Kg 6 7.50% 2232 372 2400 400 11.Jams 1.5Kg Units 1.5Kg Units Strawberry 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 Apple 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 Marmalade 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 Honey 15gm 600 14.30% 385 3.85 440 4.4 12.Dairy Rozana 1.5Kg Units 1.5Kg Units 1000ml 12 6.12% 735 61.25 780 65 250ml 27 6.11% 458 16.96 486 18 13.JALWA Ctns Units Ctns Units 250ml 27 6.21% 483 17.89 513 19 200ml 24 5.88% 340 14.17 360 15 Source: Company Internal Documents Marketing Mix of Nurpur UHT milk Nurpur UHT milk has been positioned as a milk which is enriched with vitamins needed for healthy growth and development (Khan, 2012). The milk is packed in Tetra Aseptic Packaging which allows long lasting storage and shelf space. Currently three SKUs are available in the market which are 200ml, 250ml and 1000ml. Initially the pricing policy adopted for Nurpur milk was market penetration pricing, which means prices were low compared to competing brands. Recently the pricing policy has been changed and now the pricing policy is competitive pricing policy as shown :- Product Packing Unit/Ctn Retailer Margin Trade Price Consumer Price 1.UHT MILK Ctns Units Ctns Units 1000ml 12 6.09% 1018 84.83 1080 90 200ml 24 4.35% 391 16.29 408 17 250ml 27 5.97% 586 21.7 621 23 Source: Company Internal Documents Due to low volumes produced the company has adopted the policy of selective distribution. The company offers various discounts to retailers to push their products into the market (Khan, 2012). The indirect distribution channel being used is shown below:- Source: Company Internal Documents Due to limited marketing budgets, the marketing department has to promote most of the products through Below The Line(BTL) activitie

The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule Essay -- Politics Po

The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative command system without destroying its very core, and because Gorbachev's "democratic socialism" was unattainable without abandoning the very notion of Soviet socialism itself. As R. Strayer had pointed out in Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?, the USSR was held together under Communist rule with "a m ixture of ideological illusion and raw coercion" (Strayer, 36). The Gorbachev era saw both of these two bases of the party-state's power falling apart. By the mid-1980s, urbanization and higher education had transformed the Soviet society from a relatively homogenous one into one that was considerably diverse with a sizable middle-class. Educated and exposed to Western culture, the professionals and the white collars were far more likely to understand the Soviet Union's weaknesses and the system's fallacies than their counterparts decades ago. Coupled with the intelligentsia's anti-establishment tradition (as embodied by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakhorav), this new class of economic elite had ... ... an enormous void in Russian society. The old party-state machine was demolished, yet no new concrete political system had risen in its place. The old ideology was discredited, yet no newfound conviction could unite the country. After the 1991 coup, even Gorbachev was powerless to steer his Mother Russia. To this day, the old legacy of Communist rule haunts the nation still. Works Cited Aslund, Anders. How Russia Became a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1995 Brown, Archie. The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. John L. H. Keep. Last of the Empires. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. Strayer, Robert. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? New York: M.E. Sharpe. 1998. Tucker, Robert C. "Lenin and Revolution". The Lenin Anthology. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1994. The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule Essay -- Politics Po The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly accelerated its ruin, there existed fundamental flaws within the Soviet system that would be had been proven ultimately fatal. The USSR became a past chapter of history because it was impossible to significantly reform the administrative command system without destroying its very core, and because Gorbachev's "democratic socialism" was unattainable without abandoning the very notion of Soviet socialism itself. As R. Strayer had pointed out in Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?, the USSR was held together under Communist rule with "a m ixture of ideological illusion and raw coercion" (Strayer, 36). The Gorbachev era saw both of these two bases of the party-state's power falling apart. By the mid-1980s, urbanization and higher education had transformed the Soviet society from a relatively homogenous one into one that was considerably diverse with a sizable middle-class. Educated and exposed to Western culture, the professionals and the white collars were far more likely to understand the Soviet Union's weaknesses and the system's fallacies than their counterparts decades ago. Coupled with the intelligentsia's anti-establishment tradition (as embodied by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakhorav), this new class of economic elite had ... ... an enormous void in Russian society. The old party-state machine was demolished, yet no new concrete political system had risen in its place. The old ideology was discredited, yet no newfound conviction could unite the country. After the 1991 coup, even Gorbachev was powerless to steer his Mother Russia. To this day, the old legacy of Communist rule haunts the nation still. Works Cited Aslund, Anders. How Russia Became a Market Economy. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. 1995 Brown, Archie. The Gorbachev Factor. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. John L. H. Keep. Last of the Empires. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995. Strayer, Robert. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? New York: M.E. Sharpe. 1998. Tucker, Robert C. "Lenin and Revolution". The Lenin Anthology. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. 1994.

Bsnl Change Management Strategy

BSNL competitive portfolio & Change Management M Ramesh, [email  protected] com Synopsis: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed on 1st October „2000, is one of the largest & leading public sector units providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India. They operate under 13 different brands. Their customer base as on July 31, 2011 was at 95. 14 Million. BSNL has an installed Network in the country comprising about 43. 74 million line basic telephone capacity, 8. 83 million WLL capacity, 72. 60 million GSM capacity, 37,885 fixed exchanges, 68,162 GSM BTSs, 12,071 CDMA Towers, 197 Satellite Stations, 6,86,644 RKm. f OFC, 50,430 RKm. of microwave network connecting 623 districts, 7330 cities/towns & 5. 8 lakhs villages. However, with such a large base, excellent brand recall, political backing and huge workforce, the company has not been doing well and in fact has reported a loss in the previous financial year. BSNL had reported the highest net profit of over Rs10,000 crore in 2005-06 but since then its profits have been falling. The losses have more than tripled to about Rs. 6,000 crores during 2010-11 mainly due to hefty outgo for employees' salary and expenses borne by the PSU for procuring 3G and BWA spectrum. The company had registered a net loss of Rs. 1,823 crores during 2009-10. The total revenues of the company also declined to Rs 28,876 crore during the current year, down nearly 10% from Rs 32,072 crore in the previous financial year. Recipient of the Golden Eagle award in 2004 & 2005 for the most trusted brand in telecom sector, BSNL is today struggling to retain its identity. This article aims are preparing a competitive strategy for BSNL and select suitable competitive portfolio so that the company can emerge out of the crisis it is in. Further, the change management strategy that has to be adopted in order to implement the changes in the organisation is given in this section. 1. Competitive Strategy and suitable corporate portfolio: Before we embark upon suggesting a suitable corporate portfolio, it is important to analyse the current the functioning and management of BSNL. a) No doubt that its presence and reach across the country is its biggest strength. Established offices in all the metros, A, B & C class cities, and installations and offices in the remotest parts of the nation, especially J, North East is a strength they can easily exploit on their road to recovery. ) Long serving employees and excellent knowledge of the market, customers, tacit knowledge base of BSNL is unique. They are different from the competition since customers view BSNL as a 2|Page state run firm and profit not being the only motive, would be willing to trust them more than other competitors. c) Even today, they rule the land line conne ctions and command a market share of over 65% of the customer base and any of the revival and restructuring plans for BSNL has to pass through this channel. ) BSNL, being a completely government owned organisation, they can use their political affiliations to change the rules of the market, create entry barriers for competition, and lobby for influencing the market to leverage their strengths, policies that give them an edge, and those which do not violate TRAI and other fair trade practices, can be adopted. While we discuss the selection of suitable portfolio from the competitive strategies, apart from the strengths of BSNL highlighted above, it is important that the crucial questions of what can be done that is not being done at BSNL is pondered. Some of the questions that we have to ask and find answers that hold key to developing a competitive strategy and designing a suitable portfolio are: 1. BSNL has a vision ‘To become the largest Telecom Service provider in South East Asia’. For this it is important to understand the parameter for being the largest. Is it revenue, Av. Revenue per User, profit, subscribers, Network (no of exchanges, BTS etc)? Clarity in purpose and vision is essential to developing a suitable competitive strategy. 2. Is the mission aligned with its current position? Has it redefined its mission from a state run entity, interested in nation development to a corporate that has to deliver to its owners and stake holders? 3. What are the investments that have been made or planned to be made, in order to provide world class State-of-art technology telecom services on demand at affordable price and to provide world class telecom infrastructure to develop country's economy. 4. What has been done towards continuous innovation in product and delivery of services with the appropriate pricing is the key strategy for developing the trust in customer so that he keeps his loyalty with BSNL. . BSNL can target to acquire more than 50% of new acquisitions while maintaining existing clientele. How will this be done? 6. Today landline base is reducing across the globe, BSNL, to be a Significant Market Power (SMP), must increase it base to over 80%. 7. Ultimately it is the quality, customer care, and timely availability apart from price, which will matter. What are the actions being taken towards these critical success factors? 8. Can’t there be just one brand i. e. BSNL? Has there ever been an examination of their revenue break-up? Currently there are 13 brands that have to be developed and positioned. |Page 9. There are certain distinctions that BSNL has, like being awarded the most trusted telecom brand in year 2003 & 2004. They received the Golden Peacock award for Best Corporate Social responsibility. How can these be leveraged? 10. There are over one-lakh retailers, 1000 franchisees, 3300 CSCs, 36000 exchanges and still BSNL is not visible like others? Why can’t the space and people be utilized? 11. How to leverage the franchisee and STD-PCO strengths? Can these outlets be their core strength? 12. Why are the recharge coupons, India Telephone Cards are in shortage when there is no capacity constraint? Is it bad inventory & supply chain management, or bad franchisee management? 13. Are there targets for the recharge coupons just like DELs & CellOne? Why can? t the huge network of franchises be leveraged for better customer care and improve collection efficiency? 14. With competition heating up, gone are the days when customers deposited money with BSNL in advance for connections and security money for value added services. There are no fixed deposits; and the working capital and other funds requirements have to be met from operating revenues. What is the plan to improve collections, realize bills early, not on the last day of payment and reduce bad debts? 15. In line with the market needs, does BSNL have a 24X7 culture in their organization, though operation and maintenance are provided on 24X7 basis? What about provisioning customer care and marketing on 24X7 basis? Competitive strategy: Pricing: On the pricing front, BSNL does not have a choice but to follow the market trend. They can only bundle the packages in such a manner that the premium services bring more revenue. Focus must not be on reducing charges, but upgrading each customer by RS 20 – RS 50 by offering them more add on relevant services. It is usually much easier to sell additional things to existing customers than to add new customer, and the customer base of BSNL is quite huge and substantive for this model. Differentiation: In order to differentiate itself from competition, BSNL Business development units have to be given the task to develop and nurture long-term relations with corporate houses. MoUs have to be signed for bulk bills, One-point payments for multiple service locations. Setting up Key Account Manager servicing different corporate and key accounts and offering single window approach to resolve all issues and prevent any unwanted issues. Focus: BSNL has a strong hold on land line telephones, an important requirement for ADSL connections. There are huge benefits of ADSL over Wi-Fi & is very cost effective way to access Internet. BSNL is in a 4|Page unique position to leverage this advantage and its revenues, customer base and profitability can improve multi-fold if it can capitalise on this one aspect alone. Merging government telecom companies ITI and MTNL with state-run BSNL is one of the options. This will give them a great advantage in terms of increased customer base, implementing change management and brining in changes and most importantly economy of scale, power of bargaining. Hybrid: In order to be more competitive in the present market BSNL must not only differentiate itself from competition, give a good and attractive price and have a focussed approach. The competitive strategy recommended is: Focus on improving ADSL services at attractive rates to households and offices, bundle it with land line connections and mobile connections. Offer central point billing PAN India. For e. g. If a corporate company has branch and regional network, they must have the option of consolidated billing when they want and where they want to the level of Head office control they want to implement. BSNL can also offer special rates and Closed User Group (CUG) for government sector and earn huge revenues, since this segment is very price sensitive and is a very high volume user segment. More aggressive media campaign focussed on the strategically selected segments will help BSNL increase its customer base. A change in its staff attitude making them focussed on customers rather than systems and procedures, fast and efficient decision making with empowered employees. Continuity in supply chains, procuring of quality equipment and products must be focussed on. After defence and railways, BSNL is the country’s largest landholder. Its properties span 3,500 towns across India worth thousands of crores, making it the largest state-owned companies in terms of land assets. A turn around policy of BSNL should have this huge source of revenue at its core. 2. Change management strategy to enable it turnaround. No change in BSNL can happen and can be implemented without change of mindset in addition to the skills of marketing & sales. In this regards it is important to note that a research paper submitted by Vishwakarma Institute of Management, Pune in July 2010 after conducting a survey in BSNL concluded 5|Page that â€Å"the introduction of change seems to be managed effectively in the organisation with proper care and commitment and was agreed by the respondent BSNL employees with a mean 1. 022. The change is introduced by the consent of top management. To keep up the pace with the dynamic environment the management encourages change by explaining and ensuring the minimization of adverse effects, and put efforts to convert employee resistance into the acceptance. Employees were found to be change oriented, as they have continuous learning attitude to keep match with the future organizational requirements. Respondents? shows resistance change in some issues due to some security and personal reasons, which can be taken care by proper change management initiatives†. BSNL must focus on improving its quality of employees and skilled manpower? They must focus the organizational setup more suitable for better results? The staff expense to revenue ratio could be a good indicator. Today, more than 47% of the revenue goes to paying salaries to employees and this is the first aspect of change that must be introduced. The decision making process must be based on scientific analysis of the precious customer data they already have such as calling pattern, payment habits, usage profile etc. Increased number of surveys, customer research and systematic and periodical analysis of Net growth in mobile and churn is to be conducted? Steps must be implemented to reduce the churn? Acquisition cost is usually said to be 5-8 times the retention cost, and hence BSNL must focus on retention of customers. Management must not threaten the employees, they have been long serving and loyal and at the same time demanding. The management should involve the employees in strategy and decision making and should help them to open their minds and apply it to improve the quality of service, network, and expansion of network in time; utilising and selling the products before the technology becomes obsolete (like WIMAX). Considering the current scenario a Revolutionary change is required in BSNL and they should modify their competitive strategy quickly in order to survive in the hyper competitive telecom market in India. If one has to apply the McKinsey 7S framework for the change management process in BSNL, it would be as under: 1. Strategic: BSNL has to revisit its mission and evolve competitive strategies that are in line with the market dominant position that they want to be, exploiting their current strength of market leadership in land line connections. All their activities must be reoriented towards this change of positioning. |Page 2. Substance: BSNL needs to revamp its board and its top management, to be more customer and market oriented, dynamic and profit driven. Culturally, it is established that BSNL is employees are open to adopting change and hence management should provide necessary training to ensure that the process of cultural change is deployed quickly across all levels. 3. Scale: Considering the strengths of BSNL presence and reach of BSNL, scale is never an issue. What the organisation needs today is not infusion of new technology or resources; it is reorientation of the employees and a cultural change. Retrenching employees is not the first and only option available. 4. Scope: Undoubtedly the scope of the change must involve all levels of the organisation and across all regions. BSNL is a homogeneous entity and changes at one level or within certain geography is not possible to implement. Certainly, depending upon the local customer bases, working conditions and cultural differences, adaptations can be allowed, but the change itself, must be pan organisation. 5. Speed: Communications, ICT, and internet industry relies on speed and there is no room for laggards in this. BSNL must implement change management as swiftly as possible. . Sequence: Since BSNL s confronted with many an issues to handle, the best place to start would be internal employee attitude and cultural change and external – customer satisfaction focus. If carefully and rapidly implemented, these two will have a cascading effect on other areas such as revenues, cash flows, asset management and so on that will t urn around the organisation. 7. Style: BSNL has the baggage of being a government owned company and attitude of staff cannot be changed overnight. Unions are strong and public opinion can be made and tarnished by the correct or wrong handling of union issues. Change management in BSNL has to carefully crafted and cannot be dictated or thrust upon. The style has to be one of collaborative effort and everyone involved must be clear with what is expected of them and how it impacts others, his / her results and overall company. Conclusion: BSNL is at cross roads of its existence. The need to refine its competitive strategy and implement change management has never been more urgent than it is today. If BSNL has to survive the tough market conditions, the change management process must be initiated immediately and aligned with the competitive strategies that must be reworked. |Page BIBLIOGRAPHY: ? ? ? ? ? Marketing strategies of BSNL by GS Grover, NK Srivastava, & Sunil Kumar http://www. bsnl. in http://www. business-standard. com/india/index2. php http://www. moneycontrol. com/company-article/bharatsancharnigam/news/BSN http://www. moneycontrol. com/news/business/bsnls-loss-triples-to-rs-6000-cr3g-bwaoutgo_588976. html ? ? http://www. cellular -news. com/tags/bsnl/ Organisation Culture- A Case Study of BSNL LIMITED, Mrs. G. Nagamani, Prof. G. Krishna Mohan, http://www. vim. ac. in/UploadImages/Attachments/G. %20Nagamani%20&% 20G. % 20Krishna%20Mohan. pdf 8|Page