Individual report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Individual report - Assignment Example Review and Summary of Brand 10 3a. Brand Equity 10 3b. Brand Position 11 3c. Brand Identity 11 3d. Brand Personality 12 4. ‘Summary of Insight/Key Findings Derived From the Current Brand Status Analysis’ 12 Phase 2:   Decision   Making   And   Long   Term   Management   Of   The   Brand 14 1. Reinforcing and Maintaining Brand Consistency 14 2. Expanding Brand Awareness 16 3. Repositioning the Brand 17 4. Marketing Mix Communication Recommendation 19 5. Synopsis of Recommendation for the Future of Crabtree & Evelyn 21 References 22 Phase 1:   Current  Brand Status Analysis 1. Current Industry Condition in Which the Brand Operates Crabtree & Evelyn is operating in the personal care industry. The personal care products might be comprehended as the products that can be used for the personal hygiene as well as personal health. The products can be tongue cleaner, bathing salts, tooth brush, body scrub, body talc, skin creams, face wash, soaps, nails as we ll as cuticle care products. The chief four subsectors that manufacture wide range of products are face care products, hand and foot care products, hair care as well as cosmetics. 1a. Industry Size and Overall Sales Trends for Major Product/Service Segments The total revenue produced by the market for the UK bath and shower products had been $642.6 million in the year 2009. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for the year 2005-2009 had been 0.5%. The deodorant market of the UK in the year 2009 was successful in generating total revenues of $904.3 million and the compounded annual growth rate had been 4.4% for the period 2005-2009. The hair care markets, hand and body care market, make-up market, fragrances market, facial care market and personal hygiene market were successful in generating the market revenues of $1.8 billion, $611 million, $1.8 billion, $1.7 billion, $1.3 billion and $1.9 billion respectively representing compounded annual growth rate of 11.%, 2.2%, 6.6%, 7.3%, 3.7% and 2.3% respectively (Aarkstore, 2011). According to the views of Irina Barbalova who is the head of the beauty and personal care research at euromonitor tried to throw light upon the current global consumers trends for the personal care and beauty. According to her opinion, rise in the beauty as well as personal care sales in the year 2010 has been evidenced. It was further noted that the consumers returned back to the premium cosmetics since the recession for the first time. The reason behind this phenomenon has been the product innovation that took place in the premium segment. It can be revealed that the regions that saw a decline in the premium cosmetics in the year 2009 observed a recovery in the year 2010. It has been the hi-tech innovation supporting the premium segment recovery which spread to the mass segment and private label thus providing the customers with a better value for money (Euromonitor International, 2011). 1b. Market Share and Market Share Trends for Ma jor Competitors There are many players in the personal care industry whose market share has been quite high. One of them has been Procter & Gamble which is the world’s biggest producer in the household and personnel care product (HPC) in terms of revenue. The products are accessed by 4 billion people all over the globe. The business of Procter and Gamble in the quarter of 2011 is quite strong. The sales volume has surmounted by 5%. The growth has been quite broad consisting of 6 business segments, 16 of its top 17 countries as

Colonial period from 1607 to 1750 Essay Example for Free

Colonial period from 1607 to 1750 Essay During the colonial period from 1607 to 1750 an American way of life emerged, differing from Old World European culture. This new lifestyle developed from the interaction of five major groups, including the; Native Americans, Chesapeake colonies, New England colonies, Indentured servants, and African slaves. Each of these peoples contributed ideas, principals, practices, and beliefs to the melting pot that would later become the United States of America. Native Americans had a significant impact on Europeans as early as Americas discovery in 1492 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 14), during which time, the Columbian Exchange occurred. This initial exchange had a larger influence on Native American life than European, as the Old World explorers introduced diseases to which the Indians had no natural immunity (Yazawa, Melvin 46). According to Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey (15), in the Centuries after Columbus landfall, as many as 90 percent of the Native Americans perished. When Europeans returned to America in the 1600s to develop permanent settlements, Native Americans reintroduced to them planting techniques and crops, such as corn and tobacco, that would revolutionize the early colonies economies and diet allowing them to grow and flourish and making them an important aspect of American culture (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 15). Additionally, Native Americans shared in the celebration of the first Thanksgiving with the Plymouth pilgrims (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 52), a holiday still important and beloved today. Later interactions between the Native Americans and Colonists were mainly hostile, as a result of the Europeans insatiable land-lust, evident in such conflicts as the Pequot War (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 52). The aid Native Americans provided to early settlers allowing them to sustain themselves would result in the downfall and destruction of numerous Indian tribes, who had already dwindling populations as a result of European diseases (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 31). However, conflict forced Native Americans to band together, displaying a way in which Europeans shaped Indian history in America as well (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 32). The Chesapeake colonies were another group that largely influenced the development of the American culture. Virginia was the first colony; founded in 1607 by a joint-stock company hoping to find gold and a passage through America to the Indies (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 28). This company, named the Virginia Company of London, received a charter from the King for a settlement in the new world (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 28). This charter was important to the formation of an American pride. The document guaranteed the New World settlers would be guaranteed the same rights of Englishmen at home. However, this document later fueled the colonists desire for independence from their intrusive and controlling mother country (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 29). The introduction of tobacco to early settlers played a large role in the growth of the Chesapeake colonies, especially Virginia. In fact, tobacco growth was so important to colonists they threatened themselves with starvation by choosing to plant the cash crop over food crops (Wheeler and Becker 29). Without tobaccos economic contribution to the survival of Virginia, contributions made by the colony might not have been made. Virginias House of Burgesses was the first representative legislative assembly in British North America (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 33). This was the first of many parliaments to emerge in America, justifying the efforts of the Colonists to eventually breakaway from British rule, as they believed themselves fit to oversee their own nation. The other Chesapeake colonies also contributed to the formation of a uniquely American way of life. Maryland, founded in 1634 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 33), was haven to Roman Catholics seeking refugee in the new world. Without a place for this minority religion to survive, it might not have been sheltered in the new world. The Carolinas were composed of large expanses of open land, resulting in a large plantation agriculture system in the south (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 38) that resulted in the use of indentured servitude and slavery throughout southern America. However, the colony founded last in 1733, Georgia (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 38), slowed the immediate development of slavery in the Chesapeake colonies. As Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey stated, Georgia was a religiously tolerant settlement, which was slavery free until 1750. The New England colonies were formed largely so those settling in the colonies could be free of religious persecution, especially in Massachusetts Bay (Wheeler and Becker 30). According to Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey, The Mass. Bay colony was formed in 1628 (37), although the puritans who merged into the Massachusetts Bay colony from Plymouth arrived in 1620 (37). The Pilgrims who arrived in Plymouth influenced American ideals of freedom from oppression, through the Mayflower Compact. This document became quintessential to the creation of later constitutions. It was an agreement to form a crude government and submit to the will of the majority ( Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey). The Massachusetts Bay colony contributed early concepts of a liberal government to America. Local affairs and issues were eligible for discussion by a large percentage of adult men, and voting was completed by majority rules (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 47). However, religious leaders held significant power in the lives of the settlers, influencing the beliefs of those residing in the Massachusetts Bay colony. As a result, those threatening Puritan views such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams, were banished (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 48). This was actually advantageous for the development of a diverse American culture, as those forced outside of Massachusetts Bay moved to more accepting colonies, such as Rhode Island. Rhode Island was a region of varying religious beliefs and ways of life as there was a lack of religious oath or taxation present in so many of the other colonies (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey). The Dutch contributed names and settlers to the renamed New York colony after it was surrendered to the Duke of York in 1664 (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey). Pennsylvania, founded in 1681 according to Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey (60), was home to the passive Quakers. Pennsylvania influenced American ethnicity, as the colony attracted people of various backgrounds (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 61). Indentured servants played a large role in the growth of an American lifestyle. Prior to the popularity of slavery in the South, colonies such as Virginia and Maryland utilized indentured servants to tend large plantations (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 33). Indentured servants supported the cash crops that helped the early colonies thrive financially, without which finances, the colonies might not have survived (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 67). Once indentured servants had completed their terms, they became freemen, but remained much in the same position as before. They were penniless and searching for land and a job. These freemen also contributed to a rebellious and headstrong American people, willing to fight for what they believed in. During Bacons Rebellion in 1676, a group of young freemen led by Nathaniel Bacon attacked Indians near jamestown in retaliation of Indian attacks on frontier settlements (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 68). African slaves during the colonial period influenced the development of the American way of life. Due to economic change in colonies in the 1680s (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 70), it was financially possible for plantation owners in the south to purchase African slaves as opposed to using indentured servants. Additionally, by 1662, distinctions between a white indentured servant and african slave were made in Virginia (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 72), which made blacks and their children the property of their white masters for life. African slavery in America made it possible for southern plantations to truly develop, at the cost of a peoples rights. African slaves were subject to a plethora of harsh conditions, including harsh hours and intensive labor in the blistering heat (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 72). This resulted in a large part of American economic success being reliant on the exploitation of a group of people. The American way of life developed as a result of the interaction of numerous groups including the Native Americans, the Chesapeake colonies, the New England colonies, the Indenture servants, and the African slaves. Native Americans contributed staple crops which would support the early settlers and modify the American diet permanantly. Chesapeake colonists, although originally settling the Americas in order to attain wealth, found a permanent home that they would later fight to rule. The New England colonists wrote up the Mayflower compact, a primitive agreement which would inspire later constitutions. The indentured white servants led to the eventual treatment of people solely as property in the case of African American slaves after indentured servitude ended. Slavery would prove to be a social barrier and issue for numerous years to come, as africans struggled to acquire the same rights as granted to white citizens.

Corporate Entrepreneurship Theory

Corporate Entrepreneurship Theory Can we qualify Daimler strategy as entrepreneurial? If so, what are the steps taken by Daimler AG to induce or support their Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) Strategy? How are corporate entrepreneurial behaviors being facilitated in Daimlers management team? What factors are affecting CE applied by Daimler, and how could Daimler be more entrepreneurial? Limitation: The thesis paper mainly focuses on Corporate Entrepreneurship theory specifically entrepreneurial transformation. Even though there are other types of Corporate Entrepreneurship types including corporate venturing, Intrapreneurship, and bringing the market inside, we discussed Corporate Entrepreneurship through the lenses of entrepreneurial transformation by excluding other types of corporate entrepreneurship. Our focus is mainly concerned in the activities inside an organization, and entrepreneurial transformation focus on these activities with a good overall view on the strategy, culture, structure, and leadership and not a single part in particular. As being one of the forefront car  companies, we chose Daimler- one of the leaders in the automotive industry- as our case study. In our preliminary research, we found that Daimler AG focus on innovation and entrepreneurial activities as a crucial role in achieving sustainable growth; therefore, they fit the profile we are conducting the research about. Due to the time factor and the resources allocated to this paper, we also concluded that a study about entrepreneurial activities within organization can be best presented if we concentrate on one company rather than the whole automotive industry since our finding will be more specific, more reliable, and we will reduce the generalization of the results. As being one of the forefront car companies, we chose Daimler as our thesis subject. Furthermore, we only chose to use qualitative method rather than quantitative method due to the time factor and inability to reach a sufficient number of employees working for Daimler AG. We also analyzed Daimler entrepreneurial activities through the lenses of company perspective. Our work is mainly based on interpretation of interview made with Mark Reine, Daimler Annual report, Integrity Report, High-Tech Report and Sustainability Report. Papers Structure: In chapter 2 we go through our theoretical framework. We describe the theory that we use as a knowledge foundation for our study. We map out some of the studies that are relevant for the theoretical perspective in this study. In chapter 3 we describe the methodology we have used when making our study. We describe the different choices we have made throughout the study, and motivate why we have made these choices. And we briefly present our respondent. In chapter 4 we present our respondent in more details, and we compile our empirical material that we have gathered through our conducted interviews. The information is presented respondent by respondent. In chapter 5 we evaluate the gathered empirical information and analyze it by the support of our theoretical framework. In chapter 6 we present the conclusions drawn from the analysis of the gathered information. Here we also present the conclusions that we arrived with regarding studying CE within organizations.   Theoretical Framework In this chapter we present our theoretical framework and the main theories that will help us answer our research questions. We present the Corporate Entrepreneurship theory, its definition, types, success factors, and dimensions This is where we accumulate a knowledge base that is necessary to fully understand the scope of the thesis paper and the logic used to conduct it. This knowledge base will support the gathering, interpreting and analyzing of our information and empirical data made in latter chapters. Corporate Entrepreneurship In recent years, the conditions of competition in the global environment have changed for the companies. The market is dominated by constant change, complex tasks and environmental turbulence (Rothwell, 1983 as cited in Livesay, 1995; Burns, 2008). As we mentioned earlier; knowledge, innovation and flexibility become an important resource for sustained competitive advantage. In other words, Entrepreneurship is the crucial factor for success or survival (Burns 2008; Czernich 2004). While small firms take the advantage of these conditions and become very successful due to their flexible structure and entrepreneurial spirit, large firms suffer more due to their mechanistic, bureaucratic and rigid structures (Burns, 2008). Many scholars research new ways for large organization and come up with many ideas. One of the solutions for companies to deal with the rigid bureaucratic structures is to induce Corporate Entrepreneurship in their structure (Dess et al., 2003). As it is mentioned earl ier, while CEOs are concerned about profitable organic growth, they find corporate entrepreneurship or creating a new business as one of the solution (Lippitz Wolcott, 2007). As corporate entrepreneurship is becoming popular, research on CE has grown too (Dess et al., 2003). According to Cunningham and Lischeron (1991), CE can be seen as a school within entrepreneurship theory. Since there is no generally accepted definition of entrepreneurship (Swedberg, 2003), the definition of corporate entrepreneurship also suffers from this problem.   In the next sections, we are going to define and explain Corporate Entrepreneurship from different perspectives of many authors. We will present the different point of views on Corporate Entrepreneurship in regards to its definitions, different types, and success factors that affect it. Definition of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE): As it is mentioned above, since there is no generally accepted definition of corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), many scholars define CE differently. According to Sharma and Chrisman (1999 in Dess et al, 2003, p.352), Corporate Entrepreneurship is the process whereby an individual or group of individuals, in association with an existing organization, create a new organization, or instigate renewal or innovation within that organization. Dess et al. (1999) also see it as two types of phenomena and processes: while one is about creating a new business within existing organizations through internal innovation or joint ventures, alliances, the second one is about the transformation of organization through strategic renewal. Burns (2008, p.12) defines CE as a process which encourages CE in every level of organization; corporate, division, business unit etc. Lippitz and Wolcott (2007, p.75) define it as a process in which teams within an establish organization create a new business which is d istinct from parent company but leverages the parents asset, market positions, capabilities or other resources. Also according to Vesper (as cited in Hornsby Kuratko, 1999, p.29), Corporate Entrepreneurship is a new strategic dimension, initiative from below and autonomous business creation. These different definitions show that the meaning of Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) is still ambiguous. CE can be seen as an evolving phenomenon which is still being researched by many researchers (Burns, 2008; Zahra, 1991). In order to fully understand corporate entrepreneurship, different types of CE must be analyzed. The next section will show the difference between these types, and which is more relevant to our research. 17 Types of Corporate Entrepreneurship: Scholars define and classify CE into many different types. These views cover a wide range. According to Birkinshaw (2003 in Burns, 2008, p.13-14) and Thornberry (2001 in Kenney Mutjuba, 2007, p.75-6), there are four types of corporate entrepreneurship: Corporate Venturing: It is the process of starting new ventures related to core business through investing in smaller innovative firms and different forms of corporate venturing units by larger firms Intrapreneurship: It is about the identification of employees who have entrepreneurial skills and it focuses on encouraging these employees to act in an entrepreneurial way within large organizations. Bring the market inside: This dimension takes a marketing approach to encourage entrepreneurial behavior by changing structure. Entrepreneurial Transformation: According to Burns (2008, p.14), it is about the adaptation of organizational structure, and culture to changing environment and create a new organizational environment to encourage entrepreneurial activity. He also mentioned that according to this dimension, the individual behavior in the organization is influenced by leadership, strategy, systems, structures and culture. Moreover, Covin and Miles (1999 in Dess et al., 2003) identify four types of CE. They offer structurally complex firms to use simultaneously one or more forms of CE in different parts of organization. The first one is sustained regeneration, which is stimulated by the firms culture, processes and structures to create new products in its existing market and also to enter with existing product into new markets. Here, companies know their products life cycle and they create strategies according to competitive expectations. The second type of CE is organizational rejuvenation. It is more about process and administrative innovations rather than product innovations. It enables organizations to improve the firms ability to execute strategies. It concerns about inducing entrepreneurship through organizational procedures and standards. Strategic renewal, which is the third one, is about how to change strategies to compete differently. While organizational rejuvenation is about the organizatio n itself, strategic renewal is about both organization and environment. It consists of the ways to exploit the opportunities more profitably and how to explore new ideas in  these changing circumstances. Domain Redefinition focuses on creating a new product market that competitors have not discovered yet or are not successful in that market. Domain redefinition aims to have first mover advantage in that new market. We find the classifications of Birkinshaw (2003 in Burns, 2008, p.13-14) and Thornberry (2001 in Kenney Mutjuba, 2007, p.75-6), and Covin and Miles (1999 in Dess et al., 2003) interesting because we can see that to a certain extent they are interrelated. Burns (2008) argues that corporate venturing and Intrapreneurship are seen as techniques that bring the market inside and can help stimulating the entrepreneurial transformation since it covers the whole aspects of the organization. Furthermore, by comparing entrepreneurial transformation to the types mentioned by Covi n and Miles (1999 in Dess et al., 2003), it is observable that these types to some extent are also contained within the entrepreneurial transformation, because they cover aspects related to structure, culture, environment, and strategy which is what entrepreneurial transformation is about. Before focusing on the aspects affecting entrepreneurial transformation, the dimensions that foster CE must be mentioned. In the next section, the success factors of Corporate Entrepreneurship are going to be explained. The Success Factors of Corporate Entrepreneurship: According to Dess and Lumpkin (2005 in Kenney and Mujtaba, 2007), there are five dimensions which shows that organization is entrepreneurial-oriented: The first dimension is autonomy indicating that employees must be empowered and encouraged to find the innovative products or new internal process. Employees must be supported to create innovative ideas. The second dimension is innovativeness. Organization must invest in research and development. The third dimension is pro-activeness which is related with organizations willingness of being different by exploiting opportunities. Company must be future-oriented. The fourth dimension is competitive aggressiveness. The organization must both willingly and eagerly engage in a competition and conduct strategies that exploit the opportunities better than other competitors. The last dimension is risk taking which is one of  the most important dimensions for Corporate Entrepreneurship. Company must be aware of business, financial and professi onal risks associated with CE (2005 in Kenney and Mujtaba, 2007, p.76). These dimensions stated earlier by Dess and Lumpkin (2005 in Kenney and Mujtaba, 2007) support and slightly similar to the success factors Abraham talks about (1997 in Kenney and Mujtaba, 2007; Sathe, 1985 in Kuratko and Hornsby, 1999). Nonetheless, they overlook the factors of reward and reinforcement, and time availability mentioned by Abraham (1997 in Kenney and Mujtaba, 2007). According to Abraham, there are four important corporate entrepreneurship success factors that must exist within an organization (1997 in Kenney and Mujtaba, 2007; Sathe, 1985 in Kuratko and Hornsby, 1999). The first factor is management support which is about promoting entrepreneurship in the organization. The management support consists of championing the innovative ideas,  providing necessary resources, transparency within organization, being a coach or mentor rather than being a manager. The second factor is autonomy which points out that employees are ready to take risks and failure is tolerated by management. This factor must be strengthened by the organizational structure which facilitates the implementation of ideas. The third factor is reward and reinforcement. The effective reward system will enhance entrepreneurial behavior in organization and help employees to take risks. Both extrinsic (monetary) and intrinsic (recognition) rewards motivate employees to be more entrepreneurial. The last factor is time availability. There must be flexible time constraints which let employees to deal with a long term problem. (Echols and Neck, 1998; Kuratko et al. 1999) As a whole, it can b e seen that corporate entrepreneurship success factors are highly related with entrepreneurial transformation mentioned in the types of corporate entrepreneurship. It can be understood that management support is highly related with leadership and culture (being a coach or mentor rather than being a manager) and structure (championing the innovative ideas, providing necessary resources, transparency within organization); autonomy is also related with structure; reward and reinforcement system can be stipulated by organizational culture, structure and leadership while time availability can be induced by both leadership and organizational culture. In the next section, the factors of entrepreneurial transformation are going to be explained in detail. Entrepreneurial Transformation within organizations: As it is mentioned above; in order to have successful Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE), large organizations must add the success factors of CE to their whole system which is related with entrepreneurial transformation. According to Burns (2008, p.18), entrepreneurial transformation is about adaptation of entrepreneurship to large firms by changing their structure, strategy, system, leadership and culture to cope with change and innovation. He identifies strategy, leadership and management, culture, and structure as necessary elements to achieve entrepreneurial transformation. These elements are: Entrepreneurial Transformation Leadership Management Organizatioal Culture Organizational Structure Corporate Strategy Institutional Field In addition to these elements, institutional field can be seen as one of the element that affects corporate entrepreneurship strategy because while companies are defining their strategies, they have to think both company and companys environment that company exists in. Figure 4 summarizes these elements and shows how they influence the Corporate Entrepreneurship strategy within an organization. As it is shown in the figure above, there are five elements that influence the entrepreneurial transformation within organization; Leadership and Management, Organizational Culture, Organizational Structure, Corporate Strategy, and Institutional Field. All these elements are strongly interrelated and have a strong influence on each other. In order for a successful entrepreneurial transformation within an organization, all the elements must be taken in consideration, simply because they support each other. Having a weak link in the entrepreneurial transformation elements will lead for an ineffective and  inefficient entrepreneurial transformation within any organization. Leader and management set the road for the transformation and eliminate the dysfunctions within the organization which prevent entrepreneurial behaviors (Burns, 2008; Kuratko and Hornsby 1999), and the culture, structure and institutional field is what support this transformation. The strategy is what maintain and f oster the success of the transformation in the later stages. The figure 4 shows an intertwined relationship where all the elements are connected in a way and not as a procedural process. In next sections, the five elements are going to be explained one by one in further details. Leadership Management One of the aspects that affect CE is management and leadership. Burns (2008) discusses the relationship between management and leadership. He states that although they go hand in hand with respect to skills and competencies, there are still some critical differences that could be addressed; Management could be seen as the mechanics of the organization, while its leadership functions as the brains. Burns (2008) emphasizes mainly on the roles of each and state that Management is concerned with execution and handling of complex organizational tasks and processes mainly concerned with efficiency and effectiveness. Compare to management; leadership is concerned with broader principles related to communication, motivation, and setting goals and direction and particularly change. According to Kuratko and Hornsby (1999), the new corporate revolution represents an appreciation for a desire to develop entrepreneurial leadership within the organization structure; in other words in-house entrepreneuring development, or face stagnation, loss of personnel, and decline. In order to do so, effective entrepreneurial leaders strive to construct, define and gain commitment to values and beliefs they try to integrate in the organization they work in. These shared values and beliefs incorporated within the vision and mission of an organization are what make the essence of its culture that binds the organization all together (Burns 2008). The shared vision and values are the desired future state that the organization is striving to achieve thus its acts as a powerful and effective motivational tool. However, in order to create an entrepreneurial culture based on motivation and strive to achievements, entrepreneurial leaders need more than just a  promising vision (Burns 2 008). They need to create a management team that enforce this entrepreneurial culture; a flexible adaptable team that is able to operate under extreme changing environments and to handle risk and uncertainty. Moreover, Kuratko and Hornsby (1999) emphasize on this topic and state that specific elements for entrepreneurial leaders need to be recognized first for a corporate entrepreneurship strategy to be induced effectively and efficiently. These elements are: Developing the Vision. Developing Innovation. Developing Venture Teams. Structuring for an Entrepreneurial Climate. Kuratko and Hornsby (1999) also emphasize on the vision as the first element needed to induce an effective and efficient corporate entrepreneurship strategy. A shared vision that is supported by top management that reinforces innovation and entrepreneurship is what the second element needs to be achieved. Without a vision that is supported by the leadership in the organization, innovation is not achievable. Moreover, the third element is venture team similar to what Burns (2008) defines as management teams who have the potential for stimulating innovation and creativity within the organization. The final and most critical element that Burns didnt emphasize on is structuring for an entrepreneurial climate. And what Kuratko and Hornsby (1999) mean by the entrepreneurial climate is the innovative environment that allows new ideas to flourish. In order to deeply discuss the role of leadership in creating the entrepreneurial climate, the transformational leadership theory needs to be discussed briefly. According to the transformational leadership theory, transformational leaders behavior does not depend on a traditional exchange relationship between leader and follower (Bass, 1990). Their behavior is based on personal value systems that are not negotiable; they modify their followers goals and aspirations to be aligned with their goals by demonstrating: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass, 1990). Bass states that transformational leadership is needed to broaden and elevate the interests of employees, generate awareness and acceptance of the purposes and missions  of the organization, and stir the employees to look beyond their own self-interests for the good of the overall entity (1990, p. 19). Between the four elements used by transformational l eaders to influence followers bass discussed, we are interested in the inspirational motivation which mean the ability to develop and communicate a convincing and attractive future vision. This vision is not only materially based but offers challenges and meanings (Bass, 1990 in Felfe, 2004). Humphreys (2005) also emphasizes the role of transformational leadership and state that it is more suitable for a dynamic external environment, where employees are empowered with greater responsibility and encouraged to innovate, initiative and take risk. Comparing Bass (1990), Kuratko and Hornsby (1999), and Burns (2008) brings us to the point that it is observable that they all agree on the importance of developing a shared future vision that align the goals and objectives of the leadership with all parts of the organization. They all emphasize on the influential role it has in stimulating the entrepreneurial strategy needed to flatten the way for flexibility and adaptability needed for innov ation especially in a dramatic changing business environment. Furthermore; the leadership style and the level of commitment and support they choose to employ defines to what level the entrepreneurial climate could be achieved. However, according to Burns (2008, p.105) quoting Richard Branson, there is no single best leadership style. It always depends on many different factors such as the leader, group, task, and situation, or even the context they are in; similar to the ideology the contingency theory discuss (Burns, 2008). The theory emphasizes that there is no best way to mange or lead in an organization. One of the examples Burns (2008) discusses is the managerial grid which was developed by Blake and Mouton. This model classifies the managerial styles upon leadership concern toward task compared to the concern for people. Figure 5 summarize and explains these styles. It classifies them into five types: Impoverished Management, Country club Management, Middle of the road Managem ent, Team management, and Authority-Compliance Management.   Figure 5: The Leadership Grid (Source: created by the authors, adapted from: Blake and Mouton, 1978 in Burns, 2008) Nevertheless; if the organization desires to stay entrepreneurial, certain styles will not be appropriate such as autocratic or dictatorial- where the leadership dictate what is needed to be done without given any kind or decision making authority to the management team or impoverished management that has low concern for both the task and the group, because it is hardly leadership at all. On the other hand; the organization must encourage the consultative style- where the leadership shares its high level of authority with the management team supervising the decision making process, and if the number of employees in an organization increase, concern for the group must increase and move toward the group and thus team management.   Burns also discusses how managers behave in situations involving conflict in order to obtain the best effective and suitable results (2008). Based on the Thomas-Kilman Conflict modes questionnaire, behavior can be classified under two important dimensions which are Assertiveness the extent to which individuals satisfy their own needs, and Co- operativeness the extent they attempt to satisfy the needs of others. Thomas and Kilman comes up with five behavioral classifications that individuals can be indentified with: Competing, Accommodating, Avoiding, Collaborating, and Compromising. Figure 6 explains these classifications in more details. (Burns, 2008, p. 99) Figure 6: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Modes (Cited from Burns, pg. 99, 2008, adapted from: Thomas and Kilmann, 1975) Furthermore; according to the matrix provided above on how to behave in situations involving conflict, each style has its advantages and disadvantages and can be effective in different situations. However management teams tend always try to resolve conflict through collaborating or compromising approaches. Collaborating deals with finding alternatives that meet everyones concerns, and compromising the in between diplomatic route (Burns, 2008, p.99). Both approaches are assertive and co-operative, thus using informal influence to get their ideology implemented within the organization and its culture. 2.2.2. Organizational Culture: Organizational culture is another important aspect that affects corporate entrepreneurship. According to Sackmann (1991 in Dimitratos and Plakoyiannaki, 2003),  many researches see organizational culture as cognitive framework which consists of values, beliefs, norms, meaning systems, patterns of thoughts. Organizational culture influences the expectation of organizational members to each other and their expectations of external interaction with suppliers, customers, and external environment (Ireland, Hitt, Sirmon, 2003). Parboteaah (2000 in Kenney et al., 2007) claims that developing and nurturing an entrepreneurial culture will help a company to find innovative solutions and sustain strategic competitive advantages, that is why Dess et al. (2005 in Kenney et al., 2007) recommend companies to check their culture if they have an entrepreneurial orientation. According to Ireland et al. (2003, p.970), an effective entrepreneurial culture must dedicate itself to the simultaneous impo rtance of opportunity-seeking behavior and advantage-seeking behaviors, culture must promote innovative ideas and learning, encourage risk- taking activities while accepting the failure, and must be open to continuous change. Furthermore, the dimensions of culture created by Hofstede help to characterize an entrepreneurial culture in the organization (Burns, 2008). First dimension is individuality versus collectivism. It is about the level of preference to work as individuals or groups. According to Burns (2008), entrepreneurial culture must be based on collectivism rather than individuality in larger organizations. The establishment of relationships and networks within the organization will result in a strong sense of in-groups with the feeling of competition against out-groups (competitors). The second dimension is power distance, which is about the degree of in equality among the people that community is willing to accept (Burns, 2008, p.116). Hofstede (1981 in Burns, 2008) claims that while lower power distance encourages the egalitarianism that stimulates flat structure, open relations and unrestricted information flow, higher power distance support hierarchical structure. Burns (2008) indicates entr epreneurial culture involves lower power distance. The third dimension is uncertainty avoidance, which is about the degree of peoples tolerance for complexity and uncertainty. While higher uncertainty avoidance stresses rules and procedures, rewards the compliance to these roles, lower uncertainty avoidance tolerates complexity, encourages flexibility, risk taking, initiative decision-making. Burns (2008) claims that low uncertainty avoidance is suitable for CE. The final dimension is masculinity and femininity. While  masculinity is based on financial and material achievements and competition, femininity focuses on relationships and cooperation. According to Burns (2008), CE must find a balance between masculinity and femininity. They have to establish one culture that focuses on achievements against competitors through networks and cooperation within organization. On the other hand, Beer, Eisenstat and Spector (1990) claim that while corporate culture is one of the aspects that help to establish corporate entrepreneurship in large organizations, Cultural Revolution by itself is not enough to achieve successful revitalization. The management must analyze every field of organization including its structure, strategy, leadership because culture correlates every field of organization. Leaders have to find out the sources of the problem and they have to make changes where it is necessary. Organizational Structure One of the other factors that stimulate entrepreneurship in a company is the organizational structure. Large companies have realized that to survive in todays conditions which are rapid and sociological changes, they have to create a structure that stimulates creativity and innovations (Sapolsky, 1967 in Livesay, 1995; Sinetar, 1985 in Livesay, 1995; Beer et al., 1990; Burns, 2008). However Sapolsky (1967 in Livesay, 1995) and Burns (2008) claim that there are no basic guidelines about one perfect structure that is suitable for every organization. According to Echols and Neck (1998), it is necessary to redesign structure to foster corporate entrepreneurship. Managers must structure organization as flat as possible and support it with entrepreneurial culture. New structure must support entrepreneurial behaviors. They analyzed three specific categories of entrepreneurial behavior which must have been addressed by management while changing structure. The first category is detection of o pportunities which requires transparency in the organization, external and internal networks and easy access to firms information. The second category is opportunity facilitation which demands supportively competition among firms and support from managers as coaches or mentors. Final category is the motivation to pursue opportunity. Managers must consider rewarding their employees for their entrepreneurial behaviors. (Echols et al., 1998, p.40-41) The most suitable structure depends on the nature of the organizations, the strategies employed, the task that they operate, the environment that they exist in and the size (Burns, 2008). Size is one of the most important factors for defining the structure. In recent years, as entrepreneurship becomes an important key success factor for the business, small firms gain a competitive advantage over large firms because of their flexible structure which enables better communication, greater delegation of authority and faster decision making. Nowadays, large firms are downsizing or deconstructing themselves to be entrepreneurial (which is the breaking of the organization down into smaller units) (Burns, 2008, p.137). The following trends are indicated by Pettigrew and Fenton (2000 in Burns, 2008, p.138): decentralizing, de-layering, outsourcing, down-scoping, using project forms of organizing, developing strategic alliances, communicating horizontally as well as vertically, investing in IT , and the application of new HR policies. Furthermore, organizational structure is obliged to change as the organization grows (Greiner, 1972 in Burns, 2008; Morris, Allen, Schindehutte Avila, 2006). But the traditional large firm structures are not suitable in this complex turbulent

Phobias Essay -- essays research papers

Everyone knows that everyone is afraid of something. Everyone recognizes that phobias are not something to be ashamed of, and that everyone has at least one. But what exactly is a phobia? Simply put, it’s an anxiety disorder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The exact definition of a phobia is a bit different though. A phobia is an anxiety disorder in which a person will experience a strong, irrational fear of a situation, object, or activity. Adults with fears usually realize they are being irrational, but children are the opposite. A phobia will produce a feeling of anxiety that will range anywhere from mild, to downright severe. People with mild symptoms don’t usually worry about it too much because it doesn’t interfere with their day to day activities. People with a severe phobia, however, sometimes have no choice than to seek help. Some phobias, if left un-dealt with, can become so severe that the person won’t even leave their bed. There are three main types of phobias. The first is Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a fear of public places. With this fear comes the feeling that the person is trapped or fears having a panic attack in public. The second type of phobia is Social phobia. Social phobia is the fear of social situations or performing in public. When people have this fear, they may be embarrassed by symptoms of having a panic attack or anxiety. A good example of this type of phobia is people who don’t like public speaking. This would be due to mild social phobia (or major, depending how badly you hate it). The final category of phobia is a Specific phobia. This is a very broad category and covers many things. The basic definition of it is it’s the fear of specific objects, places, situations, or activities. The fear is usually driven by fear of harms way. Someone who is experiencing this may get some side affects of losing any emotional control, and possibly even physical control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phobias are very common. Nearly 25 million people suffer from a serious phobia sometime in their life. Agoraphobia is the most common type of phobia. Around 60% of people who seek help for phobias are there for agoraphobia. 50% of the people who get treated for this are women. Social phobia occurs in both men and women about equally. It occurs is about 2% of the population. When it comes to specific phobias, they are usually outgrown by adultho... ...ns. The main importance with the treatment of this phobia though, is that the patient avoid any abusive drugs or alcohol. If they turn to those for help, it is very difficult for doctors to cure them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patients that have specific phobias are treated in three main ways, just like the other two. These ways are medication, progressive desensitization, and exposure. Exposure is by far the most important factor in curing someone with a specific phobia. People with specific phobias are often afraid of things that will usually do them no harm, such as snakes or spiders. If patients want to get treated fast and effectively, they need to start exposing themselves to the variable that gives them fear. The quicker they do this, the faster they will be cured.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyone one this planet will have a fear of something at some point in their lifetime. For some it may be simple flies or bees. Others it may be lions or alligators. And for some it can impair their everyday lifestyle, such as the people with social phobia and agoraphobia. Phobias come in all different degrees in every person, and are a quite interesting if you look into them. Phobias Essay -- essays research papers Everyone knows that everyone is afraid of something. Everyone recognizes that phobias are not something to be ashamed of, and that everyone has at least one. But what exactly is a phobia? Simply put, it’s an anxiety disorder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The exact definition of a phobia is a bit different though. A phobia is an anxiety disorder in which a person will experience a strong, irrational fear of a situation, object, or activity. Adults with fears usually realize they are being irrational, but children are the opposite. A phobia will produce a feeling of anxiety that will range anywhere from mild, to downright severe. People with mild symptoms don’t usually worry about it too much because it doesn’t interfere with their day to day activities. People with a severe phobia, however, sometimes have no choice than to seek help. Some phobias, if left un-dealt with, can become so severe that the person won’t even leave their bed. There are three main types of phobias. The first is Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a fear of public places. With this fear comes the feeling that the person is trapped or fears having a panic attack in public. The second type of phobia is Social phobia. Social phobia is the fear of social situations or performing in public. When people have this fear, they may be embarrassed by symptoms of having a panic attack or anxiety. A good example of this type of phobia is people who don’t like public speaking. This would be due to mild social phobia (or major, depending how badly you hate it). The final category of phobia is a Specific phobia. This is a very broad category and covers many things. The basic definition of it is it’s the fear of specific objects, places, situations, or activities. The fear is usually driven by fear of harms way. Someone who is experiencing this may get some side affects of losing any emotional control, and possibly even physical control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phobias are very common. Nearly 25 million people suffer from a serious phobia sometime in their life. Agoraphobia is the most common type of phobia. Around 60% of people who seek help for phobias are there for agoraphobia. 50% of the people who get treated for this are women. Social phobia occurs in both men and women about equally. It occurs is about 2% of the population. When it comes to specific phobias, they are usually outgrown by adultho... ...ns. The main importance with the treatment of this phobia though, is that the patient avoid any abusive drugs or alcohol. If they turn to those for help, it is very difficult for doctors to cure them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patients that have specific phobias are treated in three main ways, just like the other two. These ways are medication, progressive desensitization, and exposure. Exposure is by far the most important factor in curing someone with a specific phobia. People with specific phobias are often afraid of things that will usually do them no harm, such as snakes or spiders. If patients want to get treated fast and effectively, they need to start exposing themselves to the variable that gives them fear. The quicker they do this, the faster they will be cured.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyone one this planet will have a fear of something at some point in their lifetime. For some it may be simple flies or bees. Others it may be lions or alligators. And for some it can impair their everyday lifestyle, such as the people with social phobia and agoraphobia. Phobias come in all different degrees in every person, and are a quite interesting if you look into them.

Supply Chain Case 1

Case Study 1 BioPharma, Inc. 1. How should BioPharma have used its production network in 2009? Should any of the plants have been idled? What is the annual cost of your proposal, including import duties? It produces and sells its same kind of products in both of chemicals for any parts of the world. If its plants in one country are not enough products, it would move products from other countries to add the number of products that are sold in this country. Plants of Relax in Germany and Japan have been idled. The total annual cost is $1,488. 1 million including: * Total Transportation Cost is $24. 85 million * Total Production Cost is $1,268. 31 million * Total Tariffs is $195. 15 million 2. How should Phil structure his global production network? Assume that the past is a reasonable indicator of the future in terms of exchange rates. Dollar and Peso have been decreased to compare with the Euro, Real, Rupee and the Yen the last three years include 2007, 2008, and 2009. However, the bu siness cycle needs to retain capacity and capabilities throughout the entire supply chain. Therefore, production can be diverted as currencies move against each other. 3. Is there any plant for which it may be worth adding a million kilograms of additional capacity at a fixed cost of $3 million per year? There is no any plant for which it may be worth adding a million kilograms of additional capacity at a fixed cost of $3 million per year. 4. How are your recommendations affected by the reduction of duties? If the BioPharma, Inc. wants to reduce duties, it would increase production in Germany, Japan, and The U. S. nd decrease imports into Latin America, Asia without Japan, and Mexico. 5. The analysis has assumed that each plant has a 100 percent yield (percent output of acceptable quality). How would you modify your analysis to account for yield differences across plants? To change the percentage yield, BioPharma, Inc. need to desert capacity or decrease the amount of shipment. 6. What other factors should be accounted for when making your recommendations? Factors should b e accounted for when making my recommendations such as disasters, delay, inaccurate forecasting, and inventory.

Marketing principles for organizations

1. Marketing PhilosophyThe adoption of marketing is nearly as old as humanity itself.   Whenever there is a consumer demanding a product or service and a supplier willing to supply such good, marketing is adopted.   The marketing philosophy essentially entails the strategic organizational aim of determining needs and wants of selected markets and providing goods and services that satisfy such wants in a more efficient and effective way than competitors.   In the last decade several organizations started following such principle in order to endure in the market.For instance, McDonald’s Corporation applies a strong marketing orientation.   They are constantly keen on what the customer wants and change their products and services accordingly.   For example, McDonald’s adopted the philosophy of ‘QSC & V’ to attract and retain clients.   It stands for quality, service, cleanliness and value.   They guarantee that clients enter a spotless clean rest aurant and are served by friendly personnel.   Indeed employees are carefully thought the art of servicing clients in all regions across the world.Recently the aforementioned marketing concept has evolved to consider also the need of society.   The societal marketing philosophy, as it is commonly known, comprises that apart from determining the needs and wants of clientele in target markets and delivering goods and services that better than competitors, these goods and services are also provided in a way that sustain the society’s well-being.This is a challenging principle as one can note.   However, some meticulous organizations are already following it.   For example, when the tampered cyanide-laced capsules of Tylenol were marketed by Johnson & Johnson and ended up killing a number of persons, the company immediately collected back all the defective goods, even though the corporation supposed that the pills had been altered only in a few retail shops.   Although the collection expenses amounted to $240 million, the company managed to keep customers’ confidence and loyalty on the products offered, leading such good to remain a leading pain reliever in its market.1.1   Need for market researchAs one can note, to successfully adopt an effective marketing orientation, it is important that managers are fully aware of the customers needs and wants.   To further compound the issue, today’s markets are extremely dynamic and susceptible to change.   For example, car manufacturers are extremely keen on customer tastes in order to produce vehicles in line with such wants.   Therefore management is required to be constantly on the alert of what the client is demanding.   The effectiveness of marketing intelligence systems to obtain such information is weak. The need thus arose of obtaining information directly from the market through marketing research.The marketing research process consists of the following four steps: · Defi ning the problem and research objectives – market management and researchers define thoroughly the problem at hand and the research objectives that can aid in solving such issue. · Developing the research plan – the information needed is determined at this stage.   Researchers will then seek the secondary data already available and how the primary data can be obtained.  Ã‚   Primary market data can be achieved through a variety of marketing research mediums available, such as experimental research, observational research and more. · Implementing the research plan – once the methods of collecting information are set, the collection of such information commences in this stage together with the processing and analyzing of such information gathered. · Interpreting and Reporting the findings – the last but not least step is the interpretation of the date collected and presented jointly with valid conclusions.Marketing research is a very expensive bus iness operation, which sometimes may amount to millions of dollars.   However, the information derived is very valuable to the organization and can aid management in good decisions to be a market leader.   A typical example that comes to mind is the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) venture in the Japanese market.Such market seems impenetrable by many American and European organizations.   The non-tariff barriers, the iron grip of the keiretsu kigyi (banking groups), and the committed Japanese workforce make it very complex for an outside firm to infiltrate their market.   KFC, yet, was capable to enter this market and is actually performing better than the United States Market.   As a matter of fact, in the 90s the 1,470 Asian outlets sales averaged 60% more than the United States average.Through vigilant marketing research the KFC management, comprehended that in large Asian cities there is an increasing absorption of young middle-class workforce with growing income who are e ager to pay further for American-style restaurants.   This exposed the viability of the project to KFC managers.   Market research also brought to KFC attention that the number of Asian women in the labour force is increasing considerably, who has a smaller amount of time for food preparation at home and consequently the need for fast-food restaurants in Asia is increasing.   With this information KFC management instantaneously recognised the strategic window of opportunity that is available and took appropriate action to operate fruitfully in that market.1.2   Marketing Mix ElementsThe marketing mix concept originated from Neil. H. Borden who suggests the utilization of the four main controllable variables of management to reach the marketing orientation approach.   The marketing mix elements are the following: · Product – there are three levels of products, which the organization should classify their products in, because customer attitude and response would be different under each category.   These are augmented, actual and core products.   In marketing, the product quality and features are not the only elements that form a good product.   Today’s fierce competition demands that managers also focus on the product design apart from the ones previously mentioned.   Nike, for example, employs 60 designers and issue 500 different footwear designs each year.   Attention should also be directed towards branding, product packaging and labeling.  Ã‚   These are important features to attain market leadership.Every product or service marketed passes through a life, commonly known as product life cycle.   These are product development stage, introduction, growth, maturity and decline.   The other marketing mix elements described below should be in line with the stage the product is in to ensure a proper market orientation. ·   Price – the price decision is also an important one.   Management can choose from three main categories, being cost based pricing methods, market pricing methods and competition based pricing methods.   The selection of the optimal price depends on internal and external variables.   Internal factors affecting pricing decisions are:   marketing objectives, marketing-mix strategies, costs and organizational considerations.   The external factors are:   market features and demand, competitors’ costs, prices and offers and other external factors like economic conditions. · Distribution – the distribution channels utilized should be effective in order to ensure that the product is delivered more effectively than competitors.   There are different number of distribution channels used, like direct-marketing channel in which no intermediary levels are adopted, vertical marketing system and horizontal marketing system.   Under the latter two intermediaries are used. · Promotion – the promotion mix is a very expensive but effective marketin g mix element.   It can for instance sustain a product brand.   Promotion is also important to inform clients about the product or services offered especially at the introductory stage of a product/service.   The mass-promotion tools available are advertising, sales promotion and public relations.   These should be designed and implemented carefully to maximize their effectiveness.   Likewise it is important that personal selling maintain the messages adopted in the promotion mix through the sales force behavior with clients.1.3   Final Thought – Benefits of MarketingEven though marketing seems elaborate it is very fruitful for a firm.   By understanding the customer we can reach the clients and sell our goods.   Client retention and market leadership can also be attained with the aid of marketing.   Failure to apply marketing to understand the client can be detrimental.   .   For instance, Disney made the fatal mistake of not separating European custome rs with American ones in the Euro Disney project.They originally designed a park similar to the American one, incorrectly neglecting the cultural differences that exist.   For example, they adopted a policy of serving no alcohol in the park.   This was extremely unpleasant to such culture because in France wine is habitual for lunch and dinner.   Thus the organization suffered $921 million losses in the first financial year, and had to rapidly change some aspects of the park in order to survive in the European market.References:Hartley R. (2000).   Management Mistakes & Successes.   Sixth Edition.   New York:   John Wiley & Sons Inc.Hume S (1990).   Advertising Age.   McDonald’s Fred Turner:   making all the right moves.Kotler P.; Armstrong G.; Saunders J.; Wong V. (1999).   Principles of Marketing.   Second Edition.   London:   Prentice Hall.