Why Changes in Consumer Demographics Mean Changes For You

If you’re younger than 38, at least in the US, you’re now in the majority. Demographics are shifting in developed countries and new priorities are emerging as younger generations come to have increasing sway in what they demand from their peers, brands and content. Free Actionable Bonus: Free Actionable Bonus: Want to create better content for social media? Get the complete guide to building a social media strategy and creating content for social, plus 6 awesome examples to inspire your next post. What’s Changed? Younger consumers are now less concerned with the basic products they need. The focus for them has shifted to products that they want to own, either because those products are the ones currently in the hands of celebrities or because the product’s message represents something important to them. Increasingly, the value associated with a product or service is coming from what it represents more than its usefulness. The risk to brands is not recognizing this shift. Focusing simply on the qualities of your features isn’t enough to attract millennials. They expect content to either save them time or bring direct value to them through creative story-telling and true engagement. Content’s New Role Millennials are social media savvy and expect the businesses they buy from them to be as well. Brands that can’t keep up can no longer rely on the loyalty they maintained with older cohorts. The best brands are creating thoughtful, engaging and empowering content and delivering it through the platforms and mediums that their target audience is actually using. How Are They Doing It? Creating True Value Tracksmith, a running apparel company, knew that its customers were competitive runners, and not simply weekend warriors. The brand also recognized that, at the time, no company was filling the ‘running lifestyle’ niche. Other companies, like Nike, were more focused on fitness than running. Matt Taylor, Tracksmith founder and CEO, has said that â€Å"long-term, we want to have a role in anything that someone who is committed to running wants or needs.† And that includes content. Running Influencer Campaigns Your word alone is not enough. Customers are significantly more likely to trust a recommendation from someone they know or from a social media influencer than most marketing materials. This is why many have embraced influencer campaigns within their content strategy. A prime example of a modern influencer campaign is Calvin Klein’s #mycalvins campaign. Calvin Klein contacted 600 influencers across Instagram and Tumblr and had them take photos with Calvin Klein underwear showing from underneath casual-wear. Each post was accompanied with the ‘mycalvins’ hashtag and spurred millions to follow Calvin Klein. Millions of fans imitated the campaign for themselves and Calvin Klein reposted the best user-generated content on a microsite as part of their ecommerce store. Creating Captivating Stories An excellent example of a brand that has transitioned from a company-centric marketing approach to an experience-based one is Mazda. Russel Wager, Mazda’s VP of Marketing, described the key challenge of this new approach as â€Å"connect[ing] our products to an experience, an emotional value,† and finding â€Å"the story that does this for the audience we want to reach.† Mazda chose to tell that story through narrative ads. One follows a protagonist from teen to empty-nester and another (embedded above) has individuals intimately describe how important motorsports are to them, where Mazda has a dominant presence. By framing the ads in a way that connects with people on a more intimate level, Mazda creates higher quality engagement amongst its fans and the comments on the above ad vouch for that. â€Å"Love the film! Love the company! Love their cars! Love2drive! Anything, anywhere, anytime, but most of all in my Mazdas!!!† – Ken â€Å"I love this video so much for that it shows genuine love.† – Alan â€Å"Thank you, Mazda, for being my brand, now and forever. † – DaedalusZero Empowering The last key content element to maximize your marketing effectiveness with younger demographics is to make your content empowering, especially with women. Over the next decade, women will control two-thirds of U.S. consumer wealth so creating content that appeals specifically to women is not optional. Using YouTube and a three-minute long video â€Å"Dove Real Beauty Sketches,† Dove asked women to describe themselves to a forensic artist from behind a curtain and then compare the resulting sketches to reality. This campaign served to start a discussion on women’s self-image and has been viewed over 180 million times. Campaigns like Always’ #LikeAGirl and Nike’s #BetterForIt serve to empower more explicitly, by showing women competing in and training for sports. But whether it resembles Dove’s campaign or one like Nike’s #BetterForIt, it’s critical for brands to start embracing empowering content. Young women, aged 18 to 34, are 80% more likely to like, share, comment and subscribe to empowering content. What It Comes Down To It’s no longer enough for brands to try and let their product speak for itself. The youngest consumers are demanding products and brands that represents their values. To create that brand and deliver that value, you need to create content that captivates, is unique and is delivered through the digital mediums millennials use most, because those are the consumers that are going to control the purse strings going forward.

A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities

A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities By Mark Nichol The English language has, well, a number of words that denote specific or approximate quantities that are themselves not numbers. This post lists and defines a dozen of those words. 1. brace: two, in reference to identical objects 2. century: primarily denotes 100 years, but occasionally used, especially in the context of competitive racing, to refer to something consisting of 100, as in a 100-mile race 3. couple: two, though loosely refers to a few of something 4. decade: primarily denotes 10 years, but occasionally refers to ten of something 5. dozen: twelve (a half dozen, or half a dozen, is six, and a baker’s dozen is thirteen, from the notion that a baker would include an extra item in a batch of twelve so as not to be accused of short-changing a customer) 6. duo: two, in reference to people engaged in an endeavor together, as in musical performance (other words denote three or more people in the same context: trio, quartet, etc.) 7. grand: slang for â€Å"1,000† 8. gross: 144, or twelve dozen 9. large: slang for â€Å"1,000† 10. myriad: originally, ten thousand, but now loosely refers to a very large quantity 11. pair: two, often in reference to identical objects 12. score: twenty Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeAmong vs. Amongst20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting

Measurements Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Measurements Paper - Essay Example Finally the paper concludes with the statement of present research's variables and describe the types of reliability and validity that is intended to be used in respect of such variables. The target object of the proposed research is to evaluate service quality performance versus customer expectations of the same. A variable is a data that can assume one or more attributes called its values. The level of measurement refers to the relationship among the values that are assigned to the attributes for a variable. Level of measurement is important as it helps researcher to decide how to interpret the data from that variable. It also helps the researcher to decide what statistical analysis is most appropriate on the values that were assigned. As is typically posited four levels of measurements are identified i.e nominal(here the numerical values just "name" the attribute uniquely; no ordering of the cases is implied),ordinal( here measurement of the attributes can be rank-ordered and distances between attributes do not have any meaning),interval(in such measures distances between attributes do have meaning) and ratio(in such measurement there is always an absolute zero that is meaningful; this means that you can construct a meaningful fraction (or ratio) with a ratio variable).(Trochim,2006-a). Th ese measurements have to be reliable and valid in an integrated manner and based on true score theory of measurement. to ensure high quality (Trochim, 2006-b). Unobtrusive measures are measures that don't require the researcher to intrude in the research context. Direct and participant observation requires that the researcher be physically present.Reseracher presence can affect respondent behavior and response. Three kinds of unobtrusive measures are normally used in social science research: Indirect Measures, Content Analysis and Secondary Analysis of Data(Trochim,2006-c).In short, unobtrusive measurement work to reduce the bias caused by researcher's presence but result in lesser control over the data. The earlier paper on relationships had identified the primary constructs as: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibles, and business success in relation to services' quality. Construct validity refers to the degree to which inferences can legitimately be made from the operationalizations in your study to the theoretical constructs on which those operationalizations were based. Construct validity involves generalizing from the program or measures to the concept of such program or measures (Trochim, 2006-d). Threats to construct validity may be caused by not properly defining operationally the constructs; using only one version of your treatment; inadequacy of using a single measure to look at a particular concept; interactions between different treatments; interaction of the testing and the treatment; unanticipated consequences etc.( Driebe ) It is posited here that answers to the proposed

A Research Proposal on Dementia Intervention Effectiveness Essay

A Research Proposal on Dementia Intervention Effectiveness - Essay Example 17 billion per year which can  increase  up to ?50 billion per year as dementia cases also  increase  (Comas-Herrera et al., 2007). The medical and economic costs of dementia can potentially  intensify  without  identification  of  effective  solutions. The social and  psychological  costs of its patients and families are also at stake. Dementia damages functions of memory, reasoning, communication skills and skills necessary for daily activities (Banerjee and Wittenberg 2009). It changes the  mood, behaviour and  personality  of the affected person resulting to depressive tendencies (Kenny 2011). However, the difficulty is that these symptoms progress slowly over time and, therefore, not easily recognized. No cure  has been found  yet for dementia and effective treatment that can reduce the  chance  of having one (Dementia Services Development Centre 2009). Recent dementia research  has been focused  on its early detection and prediction ofà ‚  occurrence  on potential disease carriers. For example, researchers had a breakthrough on how Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia, can be diagnosed. ... indicators that can help  detect  the  likelihood  of  dementia  to  occur  in a person and even the actual diagnosis when a person already has the  disease. Objectives of the Research The information available to us now about dementia leaves us to intervention strategies that can be implemented in the early detection of the disease. Although it is worthwhile to  know  how dementia can be avoided, research has yet to be done to ascertain these facts. We  are left  to determining patterns among dementia patients that can be used to manage dementia prevalence. A  clear  example is the  identification  of risk factors for cardio vascular diseases (Kenny 2011). Effective intervention programmes are, therefore,  critical  in  management  of dementia patients. Identification of appropriate steps that can  promote  mental  recovery  and positive attitude by dementia patients could be the best solution. The solution should be on how we can  address  the challenge posed by dementia in the society today. This research aims to: 1. Identify the existing dementia intervention programmes implemented within the United Kingdom according to  literature  and  survey  among dementia clinics. 2. Assess the effectiveness of the intervention programmes  available  within UK clinics according to response of dementia patients. 3. Propose an effective intervention programme directed to UK dementia patients, using information from both literature and  survey. Research Questions This research intends to answer the following questions about the effectiveness of dementia interventions  available  within UK. 1. What are the existing dementia intervention programmes currently implemented within the last 20 years in UK? What are the recent discoveries about the  disease  and actions relating to

Ideology in Heart of Darkness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ideology in Heart of Darkness - Essay Example As per , Yanse(2008)â€Å"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad is a story of a man’s journey into Africa’s dark heart to find a missing explorer. This is a metaphor for the journey into the dark heart of man†. This journey gave realization to the author that white and black skin color does not have relativity to the purity of the heart. He in this book focuses on the ideologies like White ideology, imperialism and slavery on the black race of Africa. â€Å"Conrad warns us of the â€Å"fascination of the abomination† and the â€Å"regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate, that would ensue when we encounter the truly wild other out there†(Harkins). Here the main ideology reflected by the writer is the white ideology, imperialism and slavery practiced by the white over the black men. It is unfortunate to know that white considers themselves to be a superior race and attempts forcefully to conquer the black for the purpose of slavery. According to Conrad, the white men are considered white only because of their skin surface and their heart is completely covered with evilness and darkness. The dominant white ideology largely reflects the aspect of cruelty, violence and arrogance of Europeans race. Here Kabala (2001) states that, â€Å"Africa's campaign for reparations for the injustices of slavery and colonialism recently gained significant ground.†Slavery and the slave trade were appalling tragedies ... a crime against humanity, and should always have been so,† Dominance of White Ideology White ideology is the core racist thoughts and principles of Europeans which gives an idea that only whites are exceptionally beautiful, ideal and perfect among all races. In olden times, the white men considered their race to be superior and believed that all the richness and wealth belongs to them exclusively. According to Post Colonial (2002)â€Å"A large part of colonial expressions of dista ste for African treatment of women and consequent reformist zeal arose in the fact that women's work effectively removed African men from the control of colonial power, ideology, and economic pressures†. White practiced hostile attitudes to the other races and treated them as slaves and servants, which is a heinous act. This can be counted as a sort of imperialism where a stronger race or nation takes over other race by power or by force. Caswell(2003)writes that,â€Å"Imperialism occurs when a strong nation takes over a weaker nation or region and dominates its economic, political, or cultural life† .This white ideology lead to the emergence of violence and atrocities of the west to the people of other ethnic backgrounds. The author Joseph Conrad in his book â€Å"Heart of darkness† states that men of white clan show their dominance on black people, just because their skin is black in color. Europeans, who took over the lands of Africans and exploited their nati onal wealth and power, also did not forget to torture them to great level. The author in his book mentions that just being white in complexion does not imply that they are good at heart. The author being white could never separate himself from his white racial background and on the other hand, he also despised the cruel mentality of white men towards the black race. The

Business Level Strategies Versus Corporate Level Strategies Business Essay

Business Level Strategies Versus Corporate Level Strategies Business Essay INTRODUCTION Automobile industry is named the industry of industries by Peter Drucker. Since its humble beginning the automobile industry has involved very much with the times. The industry which is dominated by Europe, US and Japan is currently going through extraordinary changes. After a period of steady growth the industry started to decline in 2008, and declined further in 2009. Currently Toyota holds the majority market share of 10.9 per cent; Volkswagen holds 9.2 per cent share while Ford holds 7.2 per cent of the market share. (Datamonitor, 2009) This report explores the business level and corporate level strategies of Honda Motors and also critically evaluated its process of reconciling dichotomies with reference to product related and process related core competencies. The report examines the Mergers and Acquisitions (MA) in the industry, and the impact of debts, potential synergy and new technology has on MA are investigated with current examples. How automobile players have been dealing with the corporate social responsibilities and its impact on the firms are also discussed. The leadership models by the Japanese management model and Western management model are compared and contrasted. APPLICATION OF STRATEGIES Business Level Strategies Versus Corporate Level Strategies Pizam defined business level strategy as the approach taken by an organization to compete in its chosen markets (2005, pp. 54) Micheal Porter (1980) classified strategies into three generic types; cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategy (cited in Pizam, 2005, pp. 54) Each strategy assists the firm in gaining a certain competitive advantage in a particular competitive scope. However Micheal Porter identified unique features for business level strategies for international businesses (Appendix 1); factors of production, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and firm strategy, structure and rivalry (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson, 2007, pp. 218) A business level strategy of is its research and development. Hondas product development process is respected within the automobile industry for its sheer speed. Reducing lead time, combining productive efficiency with human dignity, mass production reducing the cost and achieving the expense of product variety are some examples of Hondas RD accomplishments. Honda has a wide international production network; with 89 production facilities (Wit Meyer, 2004, pp. 665) Business level strategies determine the number of plants or production facilities and the locations. Corporate level strategies is to identifies which businesses and industries a company should compete in, which value creation activities it should perform in those businesses and how it should enter of leave those businesses or industries to maximize its long-run profitability (Hill Jones, 2009, pp. 285) Corporate strategy in global context focuses on the scope of diversification, both product and geographical. (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson, 2009, pp. 220) Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson also states that corporate strategy dictates business level strategies in order to standardize the firms products and sharing of resources across countries (2009, pp. 220) While western management assumes that there is bound to be trade-offs between product quality, cost and delivery; high quality meant high cost etc. However the Japanese developed a right-first-time approach which Honda adopts, which is a corporate strategy dictated to enhance the quality, reduces cost and differentiate the products hence a business level strategy. Honda is the first Japanese firm to manufacture automobiles in the North America when it opened its assembly plant in Ohio is also a business level strategy dictated by corporate level strategy. Other corporate strategies include venturing into the vehicle production from producing auxiliary engines for bicycles and venturing into foreign markets too. While they are product-related diversification here is an example of geographical diversification. Shareholding with European company British Leyland (now known as Rover Group) which was one of the least capable automobile manufacturers is a corporate strategy. Honda has production facilities at 33 countries, (Wit Meyer, 2004, pp. 665) it is also a corporate level strategy of geographical diversification (Peng, 2006, pp. 390) The Managing of Dichotomies by Honda Motor Core competencies refer to firms internal attributes that provide a basis for competitive advantage (Peng, 2006, pp. 77) Core competencies provide access to a wide variety of markets, contributes significantly to end products benefit and are not are not easily imitated. (www.quickmba.com) Prahalad and Hamel define a competence as collective learning in an organization especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technology (1990, pp. 82) Core competence is often acknowledged in the form of tangible and intangible assets. Organizations should pay equivalent amount of attention to its employees competencies once it starts to pursue core competences track (Bergenhenegouwen et al.,1996) Tangible resources and capabilities are financial, physical, technological and organizational (Peng, 2006, pp. 78) For example, the ability to generate internal funds, ability to raise external capital, location of plants, offices, and equipment, access to raw materials and distribution channels, possession of patents, trademarks and copyrights, formal planning, command and control systems, integrated management information systems (Peng, 2006, pp. 78) Hence tangible resources are those which are directly involved in the manufacturing of a product. Intangible resources and capabilities include human, innovation and reputational (Peng, 2006, pp. 78) Examples of intangible resources are knowledge, trust, managerial talents, organizational culture, a supportive atmosphere for new ideas, research and development capabilities, capacities for organizational innovation and change, perceptions of product quality, durability, and reliability among customers, reputation as a good employer and reputation as a socially responsible corporate citizen (Peng, 2006, pp. 78) These factors are mostly involved in the production process. One of the core competencies Honda is famous for is in the advanced internal combustion engines which power the whole range of its products. The case of CVCC (compound vortox controlled combustion) engine designed so in such a way pollutants are not created. While the rest of the industry was battling with ways to clean up the emitted pollutants, Honda designed so that no pollutants were created to clean in the first place. The dichotomy was reconciled in a way there was no trade-off. Refer to Appendix 2 for the framework to integrate markets, platforms and competencies. In the case of VTEC (variable valve timing and lift electronic control) controlled fuel injection electronically, control the ratio of fuel to air according to driving condition, hence what the process required, hence reconciling the dichotomy of fuel economy vs. engine power. Honda is known for its technologically innovative engines, refusal to accept taken-for-granted trade-offs characterizes all aspects of Hondas strategic approach to technological change (Wit Meyer, 2004, pp. 673) Honda also developed an innovative strategy for the planning of production, a strategy which exhibits characteristics of both the traditional dichotomous poles; one pole is large-lot mass production and the other pole is the one piece flow (Wit Meyer, 2004, pp. 675-6) Hondas own innovative strategy overcame this dichotomy and obtained the advantages of large-lot production which is simpler logistics and quality control, fewer chances of error, easier programming of production schedules. (Wit Meyer, 2004, pp. 676) And also the advantages of small-lot production were obtained, those being ability to offer a wider range of products to consumers and greater worker involvement and satisfaction (Wit Meyer, 2004, pp. 676) MERGERS ACQUISITIONS Mergers are commonly characterised as the consolidation of two organizations into a single organization (Schraeder Self, 2003) Acquisitions are the purchase of one organization from another where the buyer or the acquirer maintains control (Borys and Jemison, 1989) Car-making may be one of the worlds most competitive big industries, but rival producers have always been ready to cooperate on expensive new technologies and products when the cost or risk of going it alone was too high (www.ft.com) The search for partners is now heating as automakers pursue to build scale, lower costs, and pool efforts in zones like small cars, vehicle electrification, and new or emerging markets (www.ft.com) Automotive mergers and acquisitions take place to increase market share, attain economies of scale and augment product ranges (www.reportsure.com) Figure 1; driving factors of Mergers Acquisitions for the years 2007, 2008 2009 Source: KPMGs Global Auto Executive Survey, 2010, pp. 20 Too much Debt and Risk of Bankruptcy Companies believe that a rising rate of MA will be driven partly by crisis factors, and partly by the long-term imperative of finding and developing new technology solutions for a changing market (the continued high stress that companies place upon new technology development KPMGs Global Auto Executive Survey (2010, pp. 20) KPMG predicts that indebtedness will be the top of M A. Also states that all cost pressures now seen as less significant (KPMGs Global Auto Executive Survey, 2010, pp. 20) According to the survey (KPMG Global Executive Survey, 2010), the specific global drivers of alliances, mergers and acquisitions will be driven by crisis factors such as too much debt and risk of bankruptcy 89 per cent (Car Magazine, May, 2010) Ford Motors partnered with Mazda since 1970s to raise cash and to focus on its own brand/ business. (www.ft.com) PSA Peugeot Citroen Toyota produces small cars in Czech Republic. (www.ft.com) As the surveys, too much debt and risk of bankruptcys impact on Mergers and Acquisition (MA) is very high and it is one of the driving forces of MA. Volkswagen in December 2009 announced its plans to buy 19.9 per cent of Suzuki which is to take a stake of approximately 3 per cent of Volkswagen. (www.ft.com) General Motors owned an equity stake in Suzuki from 1991 to 2008 Potential for Product Synergies Companies in auto industry merge to gain product synergies. GM has a contract with Renault to produce vans in Luton, England since 2001 to 2013 (www.ft.com) Daimler announced strategic partnership with Renault and Nissan April 2010; three companies are to build small car engines and vans together. BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen produce petrol engines together. (www.ft.com) PSA Peugeot Citroen corporates with Mitsubishi Motors on cross over vehicles, electric cars and a joint plant opened in April 2010 in Kaluga, Russia. They also announced that they would work together to develop a compact sport utility vehicle (www.ft.com) Access to New Technologies and Emerging Markets Nissan has OEM (original equipment manufacturer) / supply deals with Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Mazda and Chryslers Dodge brand (www.ft.com) Volkswagen currently owns 49.9% of Porsches sports car business, and Porsche owns 51.1% of Volkswagen. Talk of full-fledged merge is taking place (www.ft.com) Porshe corporates with Volkswagen and its luxury marque Audi sports vehicles. (www.ft.com) PSA Peugeot Citroen with Fiat produces light commercial vehicles and vans. (www.ft.com) New products and new technologies have moved higher among their highest ranking concerns, from an already high leading position in last years survey (KPMG Global Auto Executive Survey, 2010) ROLE OF CSR IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY A happy convergence between what your shareholders want and what is best for millions of people Kofi Anan (2001) Corporate social responsibility raises consideration of, and response to, issues beyond the narrow economic, technical, and legal requirements of the firm to accomplish social benefits along with the traditional economic gains which the firm seeks (K. Davis, 1973 cited in Peng, 2006, pp. 484) Carroll (1999, p. 286) suggests that social responsibility covers the conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law-abiding, ethical and socially supportive. Global automotive makers and suppliers are also seen to be more corporate responsible now. Going green is a common term in the industry now. Each company in the industry is coming up with a better plan each day. GM has promotes a building greener car, electric car experience and also teach green campaign. (www.gm.com) Toyota has numerous CSR activities as development of environmental vehicles, design for recycling, pedestrian safety campaign, vehicle safety, and customer first, support of art to name a few (www.toyota.com) Refer to Appendix 3 for overview of Toyotas CSR activities. Apart from producing many models of hybrid cars, Honda has devised a Honda LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) system. Honda is determined to measure, assess and analyse the full impact of its products on the environment. Honda LCA will monitor its products entire life cycle from the development and production stages to the final disposal at the end of its life. According to Honda, this will help them identify specific issues at each level of corporate activity and set corresponding targets for action. CSR helps to create shareholder value, increase revenue base, helps in strategic branding, operations efficiency, provides better access to capital, enhance human intellectual capital and also lower business risks (www.csrsingapore.org) Today investors are more aware of corporate governance and social responsibility, associating a firm to these features promote the image of the company and hence better access to capital and other such advantages. Therefore, organizational performance increases. Financial advantages sought in the name of corporate social responsibility are creating shareholders value, increased revenue base, better access to capital and lower business risks. Non-financial benefits are enhanced goodwill of the organisation, strategic branding, and operation efficiency and enhanced human and intellectual capital. While the players of automobile industry focus so much on CSR, the companies are being criticized too. Polonsky and Jevons (2009) states that criticisms has been raised in regarding to global automobile manufacturers who endorse fuel-efficient vehicles of various descriptions, while also producing fuel guzzling SUVs targeted at inner-city users. CSR is a very serious matter. CSR is not only associated with responses to crises, but it has also led to many crises, due to negligence of responsibilities as a corporate citizen. Non-compliance can be expensive and can even push corporations into existence threatening controversy- poor labour relations or public hostility. (Keinert, 2008, pp. 103) And threatening government or civil society action can lead to a slump in sales, lost market share and even withdrawal of capital (Keinert, 2008, pp. 103) LEADERSHIP; JAPANESE STYLE VS. WESTERN STYLE Japanese and American Management are 95% the same, yet differ in all important respects Takeo Fujisawa, founder of Honda Motor Company. In the early 1960s to the 1990s, Japanese management claimed a prominent place in the consciousness and management discourse of the west. Western management involves mass, standardized and fordist production while the Japanese prefer lean, flexible and post-fordist production. A mass production system focuses on producing a single product for a mass market, where else lean production focuses on producing a finite set of standard products designed for a segmented markets demand (Swamidass, 2000, pp. 451) Fordism is the transformation of the economy from agricultural to industrial to mass production to mass consumption. (www.willamette.edu) Where western management model is based at this, the Japanese management mode is post- fordist, the period after that. Mass production equals to fordist standardized production and lean production creates flexible and post-fordist creations. In the work process, western models are taylorist, do workers and unskilled workers. The Japanese work process consists of post-taylor, think workers and polyvalent. Taylorist is a means of detailing a division of labor in time-and-motion studies and a wage system based on performance (www.vanderbilt.edu) which western work process adheres to. The workers are do workers as in, they do what is asked, and thinking is not necessary nor is skilled workers. While the Japanese are post-taylorist, their workers are thinkers, they are to think and come up with ideas for the tasks they are entrusted with. Also under Japanese management style, workers are multi skilled. Production, organization and logistics involve large-lot production, just-in-case method of inventory management and push system. The Japanese management model focuses on, small-lot production, just-in-time and pull system. Just-in-time method is a fool proof method where production, purchasing and distribution all happens just-in-time. In western management model is just-in-case method is more popular. (www.leanmanufacturingconcepts.com) Pull models strive to persistently expand the choices offered while at the same time assisting people to find the resources that are most applicable to them unlike push models treat people as passive consumers (even when they are producers/workers) whose needs can be expected and shaped by centralized decision-makers. (www.johnhagel.com) The organization structure is vertical with fragmented duties and individual as responsible. In the Japanese management model, the structure is horizontal, with broad duties for employees and group is responsible for success of failure. Labour relations are job control focus, cross-company unions and hire and fire strategy. In the Japanese model labour relations are employment conditions focused, enterprise unions and job-for-life employed. Western organizations have separated firms and there are distant inner-firm relations, where else in the Japanese management model it has Keiretsu families and there is close inter-firm relations. There is no better or worse model among the two, as it depends on the situation. And there is no single good method, the situation and the issue in question should be closely examined before choosing the most appropriate model. Just like Honda Motors has, it does not practice one style of management model, the model chosen depends on what the best one is for the firm, given the situation. CONCLUSION The performance of the industry is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 11.5% for the five year period 2009-2014, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of $2,526.6 billion by the end of 2014 (Datamonitor, 2010)

The influence of ancient Indian philosophy Essay -- History, Classica

Think Classical India, and one instantly conjures images of an exotic land filled with mysticism and rich in lore. Now think Classical Indian politics and the first thought that comes to mind, the infamous caste system. To better understand the caste system, one must know that upon its initial introduction the caste system was foreign to Classical India. It was in actuality the political system ordained by the outsider Aryans, Indo-European nomads who would settle in and later integrate with Classical India through the conquering of its eastern and southern regions, soon going on to establish a stable and partially unified administration and spreading its influence across all of Classical India (Bentley & Ziegler 76-77). When the caste system, eventually renamed the varna [color] system by the Aryans, was definitively widespread among Classical India it provided a very detailed social hierarchy amongst the Indian and Aryan peoples which included well defined classes and roles for the people, and etiquettes regarding their respective class and role (Bentley & Ziegler 76-78). The question surmised from this context is how was it that such a discriminate system, which assigned semi-permanent unequal classes, justified? The answer lies within the philosophy practiced by Classical India itself. From sacred text, such as The Vedas and Upanishads, political declarations from the ruler, such as the Edicts of Asoka, and Hindu text, such as The Laws of Manu and The Bhavagad-Gita. Classical Indian Philosophy helped to justify and enforce the varna [caste] system by: explaining and defining the roles of the people, exaggerating the importance of dharma, karma and moksha in relation to their roles, and eventually dictating how one should act i... ...ds, or even the dictations presented in the Laws of Manu, these philosophies all helped to promote the notions of the role of the people in society, the duties one had to fulfill and the reasons for doing so, and the actions one should perform in regularity. By constantly retelling and reinforcing these concepts into the minds of the people, the philosophy was able to embed itself into the mindset of every person in Classical India. By taking away the choice of whether or not to listen to these philosophies, via repeated teachings that one had to follow dharma to find happiness, it was ensured that total dominion over a state, whether or not the subjects were aware, was possible. Humans can learn one very important lesson from Classical India, that with enough pre-programming any will could be forced upon a person, any thought inputted with resounding positivity.

Mobile phones: A blessing or a curse? Essay

It’s been years since someone had to look for spare change in their pocket to make a call out on the street from a pay phone, have we forgotten that mobile phones are somehow a blessing? The question here is whether mobile phones are a blessing or a curse. According to the â€Å"2013 mobile growth statistics† 91% of all people in the world have mobile phones and 56% own a smart phone, also according to mobile growth statistics the average age of owning a mobile phone now is 13. There are over 1.2 billion people accessing the WEB from their mobile devices and 28.85% of emails are being accessed through mobile phones. So basically humans lately have been living through their phones on a daily basis. Mobile phones have become a necessity in our everyday lives, whether for business, education, emergency, pleasure etc. Mobile phones have been under constant development and upgrade since they were first invented. Today most people have mobile phones, which don’t come close to resembling the first mobile phones, which were just a mean of communication with very little variety. A phone is no longer an electronic phonebook it’s a; mobile phone, computer, reminder, calendar, radio etc. Like any other product mobile phones have advantages and disadvantages, and this is why we ask ourselves whether it’s a blessing or a curse. However as a consumer of mobile phones I would say it is a bit of both. The advantages of having a â€Å"smart phone† are dependable, what I mean by dependable is that I can actually depend on my phone; which might seem like technology is making us into lazy human beings but its not. We educate ourselves we try to make everything as easy as possible so we can enjoy life. So what a â€Å"smart phone† does is that it helps me keep my life in order, and we do so by having applications that help with â€Å"ordering things online, having reminders, alarm clocks, social media, the news, having applications to connect with distant loved ones and of course applications that help with boredom.† We now have all of this at the tip of our fingers, at the touch of one button making life more comfortable. We also consider mobile phones a curse, mobile phones have so much to offer and having so much can become distracting and time consuming. I often find myself lost in another world with my phone pinned to my face, just jumping from one application to another surfing the web and I also get easily distracted when my phone keeps on beeping with notifications, text messages and updates. People have a lot of accidents while checking their phones for text messages, calling someone or just checking who’s doing what on social media. It has been one of the two major causes for accidents in Europe and America, just following driving under the influence of alcohol. Another big issue we are facing nowadays is the fact that we’re not facing people while having a conversation; we’re actually facing our phones. This is a problem because we seem to be caught up more in the virtual world rather than the real one, which will make us regret a lot of things in the future. One has to realize and become aware of the distractions a smart phone can offer, its meant to make life easier not more complicating. So smart phones are both a blessing and a curse it’s the consumer that decides whether it will become a distraction or a gadget that will just make things easier. The mobile phone will then be a perk to your life rather than being a burden and a time consuming device. Citations MLA format: Hepburn, Aden. â€Å"Infographic: 2013 Mobile Growth Statistics | Digital Buzz Blog.† 2013 Mobile Growth Statistics. N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 03 Sept. 2014. .

Global Strategies in International Business

Global Strategies in International Business The industry based view of strategy explains how industry attributes affect the performance of companies. According to Peng et al., the industry specific attributes relate to factors in the external environment of a company (1). These are factors that are determined by many players in the market and not just an operating company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Global Strategies in International Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This means that the company in question does not have full control over how it performs in the market because of the power of external factors. This approach to strategy formation brings out that managers should consider external factors that affect their operations. The manager should not just consider internal characteristics of his company but also those of competitors and other market stakeholders. Even though businesses operate independently in markets, their activities are affec ted by those of other similar businesses in the same industry. Many markets are perfectly competitive and so prices and the level of output produced are determined by many parties. The business level model of global competitive dynamics brings out how different organizational functions enable companies to compete in the global market. Businesses must make use of different functions such as production, accounts and marketing so as to create competitive advantage. Since profits are what keep businesses in operation, all activities must be competitive so that the organization gains advantage over its rivals in the global market. The industry based view of strategy works well with the business level model of entrepreneurship since the two factors are inter-related. Managers must develop strategies in relation to industry factors. When this is done, the strategies become practical and realistic in relation to the market. This approach enables managers to consider how industry factors aff ect individual business functions and the demand and supply of their products so that pricing and product strategies can be effective in creating profits. The industry based approach however neglects the firm’s internal capabilities of dealing with challenges. At times the resources and skills possessed internally are enough to meet the needs of the market while industry factors complicate what could have been solved easily.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The corporate-level model of multinational strategy, structure, and learning looks at the firm as a corporate body. This means that all activities are interrelated so that the organization moves in one direction. In the global arena, organizations need to develop strategies that create harmony and cooperation between individual departments. Corporate strategies also determine organizational activities, str ucture and acquisition of knowledge. The industry based approach to strategy formulation puts the focus of managers on industry factors. When managers consider the impact of industry forces on the firm’s activities, they are able to develop strategies that can overcome challenges from the external environment. When global strategies are based on the industry view, organizations gain the advantage of being in touch with the actual situation in the market. The industry based view however does not optimize on available resources within the organization such as manpower, time, finances and skills since its focus is on the industry factors. In conclusion, the industry based view on strategy has both advantages and disadvantages in relation to the business-level model of global competitive dynamics and the corporate-level model of multinational strategy, structure, and learning. The industry specific factors affect corporate strategies especially in the global business environment. Strategy formulation and implementation should be based on the global perspective of markets. Global strategies therefore have to consider industry factors and how these affect the operations of individual businesses. Managers are faced with the task of ensuring that their organizations remain competitive so that they gain advantage over their competitors. Bibliography Peng Mike W, Wang Denis Y and Jiang Yi. â€Å"An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on Emerging economies†. Journal of International Business Studies. 39(2008): 920–936. Web. https://www.utdallas.edu/~mikepeng/documents/articles/Peng08JIBSWangJiang39(5)pp920-936.pdf

Sources of Alternative Energy essays

Sources of Alternative Energy essays Since the discovery of petroleum in the 1860s, fossil fuels have become the foremost source of power in the world. For over a century after their inception, their availability was very seldom called into question. The oil crisis of 1973, however, brought this issue to the forefront. With the widespread knowledge that the supply of oil and gas would eventually expire, the public eye has turned toward finding renewable sources of power. Moreover, fossil fuels are amazingly destructive to the environment. The burning of oil for power creates great amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes a great deal to the greenhouse effect. The Great London Fog of 1952, wherein over 12,000 people died of smog inhalation, was the result of coal-burning. Additionally, power plants and factories are known to dump their waste into lakes and streams, consequently fouling the water and killing whatever marine life may reside therein. Over the past few decades, three alternative energy sources (henceforth altsources) have become the most well known: solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. The main point of support is, of course, that there is an unlimited supply of sun, wind, and water; equally important is that they all produce minimal amounts of pollution. All three have attracted controversy as being unreliable, costly, and aesthetically unpleasant. Granted, though they have their faults, altsources are ultimately preferable to fossil fuels. The most popular altsource is solar power. As a matter of fact, solar power is the original energy source for all human activity [...] via growing plants. Solar energy's main human application throughout most of history has thus been in agriculture and forestry, via photosynthesis. (wikipedia.org, Renewable Energy). There are two types of solar energy: passive and active. Passive solar energy, which can be used without the use of mechanical systems has been used for centuries, mainly a...

Lower Quadrant Sport Injuries - Rehabilitation program for Grade 2+ Essay

Lower Quadrant Sport Injuries - Rehabilitation program for Grade 2+ Adductor Muscle Strain - Essay Example He was afraid to make movements and told the physiotherapist that he had lost his confidence in his ability to return to his previous level of sporting activity. I checked if the groin muscles of the patient were tightened due to the injury. The muscles usually tighten the next day after the strain. The intensity of pain was checked in the groin area where the adductor muscles are located. Swelling and bruising was checked which was present. Then I checked for contraction of adductor muscles by squeezing the legs of the patient together. I was not able to contract his adductor muscles and a gap was felt in the adductor muscles. He felt pain and discomfort on stretching the muscle (Knaniik T., Tones B, Bauman C, et al). Pathophysiology The hip adductor is a group of powerful muscles which acts to pull the legs together. There are five adductor muscles namely: pectineus muscles, brevis muscles and longus muscles (these are the short adductors that go from the pelvis to the thigh bones) , Magnus muscles and Gracilis muscles (these are the long adductors which go from pelvis to the knee). These muscles are innervated by the obturator nerve except pectineus muscle which is innervated by the femoral nerve(L2- L4) and the Magnus adductor is also innervated by the tibial nerve (L4- LS )The groin strain on the hip adductors could rapture any of the muscles. (Fry, Bruce, F. 2009). I informed the patient that he had grade 2 Adductor muscle strain as he had swelling, bruisung and felt pain when it was touched. He was not able to run the way he used to before but could walk with some support till his torn muscles joined again. He was told that it would take four to five weeks for him to return to his sports activity. In grade 1 strain, a person feels mild discomfort, slight tenderness but swelling is not present. In grade 3 strain, a person presents with lots of swelling and in not capable of running or even making slight motions. A groin strain is a partial tear of the sma ll fibers of the adductor muscles. The adductors are a group of three muscles located on the inner side of the thigh. They start in the groin area and run down the inner thigh to attach to the inner side of the knee. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/frontthigh/adductorinflam.htm Before the start of the treatment I asked the patient to get a MRI scan done for me along with his physician to study the depth of the injury and thus plan the treatment according to the severity of the injury to the muscles. After examining the groin area with the help of X-Rays and movement of the muscles, the footballer was advised ultra sound treatment by ultrasound therapists. Ultrasound Therapy Ultrasound therapies are used by therapists to treat soft tissue injuries. The therapist used ultrasonic waves (sound waves of a high frequency). The waves were then moved over the surface of the skin in the area affected by the injury. A special ultrasound gel was placed on the skin to ens ure maximal contact between the treatment head (the instrument producing the waves) and the surface of the skin. The benefits of ultrasound therapy include reduction of the healing time of the soft tissue injuries. It fastens the normal resolution time of the inflammatory process by gathering more mast cells at the site of injury. The application of ultrasound is not advised immediately after injury as it may cause an increase in blood flow. Increased blood flow is beneficial in the sub-acute phase of tissue injury. Ultrasound treatment is advantageous for patients with strains as it stimulates the production of more collagen which is the main protein component in soft tissue such as tendons and ligaments. This way there is acceleration in the proliferative phase of tissue healing. The treatment through

Rethinking Graffiti Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rethinking Graffiti - Essay Example Because of its unsanctioned element and its wide variations, the legitimacy of graffiti as an art form is constantly questioned. According to Bowen, the practice of graffiti first emerged as a phenomena called tagging. Tagging consists of different artists contriving ways of marking their initials or names in strongly stylized lettering and using these marks to denote places they either claimed as their territory or as a means of informing others that the territory had been infiltrated. â€Å"Territorialism, as opposed to creativity and art, was the main motivation for the 1970s and 1980s New York graffiti artists. Their graffiti was considered vandalism, and was studied by sociologists, urban planners and anthropologists until placed in commercial galleries as art". As the taggers began to add more colors and images to their designs, graffiti became more advanced and started to cross the line between defacement and art. For many, therefore, it is considered the art of the streets. It was because of the easy accessibility to surfaces such as the subway cars in New York and the ability to gain widespread recognition throughout a large geographical area as these cars moved through the city that first gave rise to the art form in the 1970s. Through this medium, â€Å"art was delivered throughout the boroughs†. The unique position of graffiti enables it to become a voice of the common people. It is recognized as â€Å"one of the strongest assertions of individual identity in the art world†.