The Glass Menagerie Role Of Laura English Literature Essay

The function that Laura played in The Glass Menagerie can non be overlooked as it contributed to the development of the overall subject of the book. The drama is based on the battles that worlds face in accepting world as this is the major subject of the book and Laura Wingfield is one character in the drama that had jobs accepting the challenges that life presented her with. Laura was described as a physically handicapped miss and she had troubles in accepting the world of her status ( Williams ) . Laura wanted a life that was better and would hold loved it, if she was non in the sort of state of affairs she found herself in. Though, it could be argued that, Laura did non truly play a outstanding function in the drama, but the fact remains that, the secret plan and the subjects of the drama are centered on her. Some of the symbols that lend acceptance to the importance of Laura to the overall subject of the drama are the glass unicorn, bluish roses, fire flight and the rubric of the narrative as these symbols represents the character of Laura. Laura could non come to footings with world and this is the ground that she was described as populating a slightly illusional life style in The Glass Menagerie. Due to the challenges and jobs she was faced with, Laura preferred to remain in her comfort zone and she lived in an illusional universe. Laura ‘s life was full of semblances as she lived in what could be described as a universe of glass animate beings. It is this trouble of accepting world that really bonds the Wingfield household together, as each one of them, Tom, Amanda and Laura at one point in clip, had jobs get bying with the worlds of life and its many challenges ( Williams 16-25 ) . Laura could be described as a unit of ammunition nog that suits a unit of ammunition hole as the illusional universe of glass animate beings that she lived is merely a clear representation of the existent universe that was described in the drama. This could be seen in the fact that, the people in the drama tend to deduce more satisfaction in phantasies instead than existent events. Laura created an semblance that is a representation of her inability to accept world as she fantasized about a glass ball ( of glass animate beings ) and a group of people waltzing in the Paradise Dance Hall ( Williams ) . The Glass Menagerie clearly showed that, semblances and worlds inability to accept world has become the norm in our society and Laura absolutely fits into this type of illusional universe. Harmonizing to Williams Laura ‘s fond regard to the glass universe she created is seen when â€Å" there is a ting of shattering glass. Laura cries out as if wounded. † ( qtd in Bloom 38 ) The troubles that Laura faced in accepting world could be traced to her glass menagerie, which was a aggregation of wild animate beings and this is really the chief symbol in The Glass Menagerie. This menagerie represents the illusional universe of Laura in its entirety. It is a universe that is notional and anachronic, but based on the phantasies of Laura. Laura devotes more of her clip to this illusional creative activity of hers and she is merely an illustration of people that, instead than confront the worlds of life, they prefer populating a life of phantasies that does non truly be in the existent universe. The aggregation of animate beings that Laura created was borne out of the defeat and her trouble in accepting the world that, she did non finish high school, she was crippled, and that she could non acquire the love that she desired. It could so be argued that, Laura created her ain universe of glass animate beings to get away from a universe that she felt did non in any man ner favour her. As a consequence of the crippling of one leg that made it shorter than the other, Williams explains that, â€Å" Steming from this, Laura ‘s separation additions till she is like a piece of her ain glass aggregation excessively finely delicate to travel from the shelf. † ( qtd. In Bloom 11 ) . A symbol that appears in the inventive universe of Laura is the glass unicorn and the fact that she used the unicorn merely shows the inexistent universe that Laura lives in. Unicorns are nonextant animals and the visual aspect of a unicorn in Laura ‘s glass menagerie shows that, merely like the unicorn that is nonextant and different from other Equus caballuss, Laura lived an unusual life and was different from other people. Williams says of Laura that, â€Å" the lovely breakability of glass which is her image. † ( qtd. in Bloom 26 ) . Due to the fact that, Laura saw herself different from other people, she lived a alone life and it could besides be said that, she forced herself into being unable to accommodate to the universe and people around her. In position of this fact, it could so be argued that, Laura ‘s trouble in accepting world made her to populate like an castaway. The blue rose is another symbol in the drama that shows Laura ‘s unusual and unrealistic nature. Blue Roses was the name given to Laura by Jim and it symbolizes Laura ‘s unusual but attractive quality. It is pertinent to observe that, bluish roses do non be in the existent universe and the fact that, Jim relates Laura with Blue Roses lets readers know that, Jim besides realized the unrealistic nature of Laura. Another incident that is worthy of note in the book was when Laura slipped on the fire flight in the 4th scene and this shows that, Laura was unable to get away from the hard state of affairs in her life. The drama lacked pragmatism in its entirety as this fact was established by the narrator-character, Tom. The fact that Laura was non realistic in her ideas underlines the importance of her character to the subject of the drama. The abstractionism in the drama could be seen in the assorted sorts of symbols that were used in the drama and Laura was one character that lived a life of semblances

Diliman Preparatory School Essay

Introduction Meeting deadlines appear to be very stressful among students. They like to work at the very last days to run after the deadline. Cramming like a speedy horse in complying with a given specific task the day or night before. Why? It is a matter of upbringing or behavioral pattern that governs the mentality of a student thinking that he could work or think more intelligently and logically if the time has already been running out. Modern technologies like cell phone, internet, and television catch the attention and focus of the students in terms of doing school work. Facebook addiction as a form of leisure and going away from family or environmental problems has been accumulating throughout the daily lives of a number of students. More often than not, students blame their teachers about giving short deadlines and heavy assignments. Failure to meet submission deadlines is one of the causes why students get a low grade. Most teachers give a deduction in the grades if the student does not care with the period within which to prepare the task assigned. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study aims to solve these following questions: 1. What are the disadvantages of not passing projects on time? 2. What are the solutions to the problems bought by the disadvantages? 3. How do the students deal with the set deadlines? 4. What are the factors that make high school students of Diliman Preparatory  School neglect to meet deadlines? HYPOTHESIS â€Å"High school students of Diliman Preparatory School have difficulties in meeting deadlines because of their personal priorities.† IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY The goal of this study is to help the faculty members to know and understand why students fail to meet submission deadlines. This thesis will also assist the students to know their weaknesses, to change and deal with difficulties in school especially when submitting projects. It aims to help further related topics conducted by students on their research work. Furthermore, we would like to know what might cause the problem on school work. Likewise, the researchers want to know the possible ways to prevent failure in submission deadlines. DEFINITION OF TERMS Addiction- to much usage of something Deadline- the time by which something must be finished or submitted Extra-curricular activites- non-academic activities in school Laziness- declined to work Peer pressure- social pressure by members of one’s peer group Procrastination- the act of delaying something Resources- an available means Time management- setting of priorities in a given time SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study is only covers the reasons why high school students of Diliman Preparatory School fail to meet submission deadlines. Conduction of survey will be done from both honors and non honors classes. Random students will be chosen as a sample to avoid biased results. This will only be limited within the Diliman Preparatory School campus. No other people from different campus can be part of this study. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Procrastination or â€Å"intentional delay†?  By Amy Novotney Procrastination hinders many graduate students, but sometimes delaying work to plan ahead or take a break can be beneficial. Jenny Cartinella cleans her apartment. Cathy Webber does math puzzles. Matt Kressin checks sports scores, and Carmen Ramirez Walker updates her Facebook page. All of them are psychology students putting off other tasks they’re supposed to be doing. It’s a tough habit to break, particularly these days when the Internet allows students to escape dissertation-writing frustrations with the click of a mouse. A 2007 meta-analysis by University of Calgary psychologist Piers Steel, PhD, reports that 80 percent to 95 percent of college students procrastinate, particularly when it comes to doing their coursework (Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 133, No. 1). Graduate students may be better than undergrads at fighting off procrastination, but they’re still pretty good at putting things off. In a 1997 survey, University of Denver School of Education professor Kathy Green, PhD, found that procrastination was one of the top reasons doctoral students failed to complete their dissertations (New Directions for Higher Education Vol. 1,997, No. 99). â€Å"Procrastination is a natural part of graduate school,† says self-proclaimed postponer Kressin, a clinical psychology student at the School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute in Springfield, Mo. â€Å"It’s so important to learn how to deal with it.† What triggers students to clean out closets or wax the car when it’s time to work on their statistics paper? Usually it’s self-doubt, says procrastination researcher and Carleton University psychology professor Timothy A. Pychyl, PhD. â€Å"As students, you’re always being pushed out of your depths—that’s what learning is,† Pychyl says. Graduate students worry about performing inadequately or fear their success may raise others’ expectations of them, he says. Other students may actually think they get a thrill out of delaying their work and believe they work best under pressure, though that’s not borne out in the experimental data, says DePaul University psychology professor Joseph Ferrari, PhD. Several studies in Steel’s 2007 meta-analysis suggest procrastination is negatively related to overall GPA, final exam scores and assignment grades. â€Å"Students seem to remember the one time that maybe waiting until the last minute did pay off with a good grade, but they  forget the other nine times when it didn’t,† Ferrari says. Procrastination can also take a toll on a student’s mental health and well-being. In one 2007 study, Florida State University psychologists Dianne M. Tice, PhD, and Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, examined procrastination among students in a health psychology class. They found that early in the semester, procrastinators reported lower stress and less illness than non-procrastinators, but that late in the term, procrastinators reported higher stress and more illness (Psychological Science, Vol. 8, No. 6). Educational psychologist Bruce W. Tuckman, PhD, has devoted much of his career to helping procrastinators learn how to get to work. As director and professor of the Ohio State University W.E. Dennis Learning Center, Tuckman teaches a course on learning and motivation strategies that 1,000 students attend each year. The course teaches students psychological principles and theories about achievement, motivation, self-regulation and information processing. Students also complete a questionnaire asking about which of 15 common rationalizations (see sidebar) for procrastination they use most often. They then learn about the most common reasons for procrastination, including a fear of failure, and several actions to take to ensure they meet their deadlines (see sidebar). In a paper he presented at this year’s American Educational Research Association annual meeting, Tuckman provided evidence that the course may really work: Over seven years, students who took the class ended up with higher grade point averages—typically about 0.5 points higher in the semester after the course. They also reported higher college retention and graduation rates than a control group of matched students who did not take the course. â€Å"It really makes a significant difference,† he says. Yet a small subset of researchers proposes that not all procrastination behaviors are harmful or lead to negative outcomes. In a 2005 study in The Journal of Social Psychology (Vol. 145, No. 3), Jin Nam Choi, PhD, a business professor at Seoul National University in South Korea, differentiated between two types of procrastinators: passive procrastinators, who postpone tasks until the last minute because of an inability to act in a timely manner, and active procrastina tors, who prefer the time pressure and purposely decide to delay a task but are still able to  complete tasks before deadlines and achieve satisfactory outcomes. Choi and co-author Angela Hsin Chun Chu, a doctoral student at Columbia University, tested the 12-item scale they developed to distinguish the two procrastination types among a group of 230 undergraduates from three Canadian universities. They found that although active procrastinators reported the same level of procrastination as their traditional or passive counterparts, they demonstrated a productive use of time, adaptive coping styles and academic performance outcomes that were nearly identical to—and in some cases even better than—those of non-procrastinators. In a study published in April in the same journal, Choi and McGill University organizational behavior doctoral student Sarah V. Moran developed and validated an expanded measure of active procrastination and confirmed the 2005 findings. â€Å"From my own life and findings from these studies, I believe that procrastination characterized by these four effects—outcome satisfaction, preference for pressur e, intentional decision and ability to meet deadlines—is beneficial for individual well-being and performance,† Choi says. But graduate students shouldn’t view this research as a free pass to spend hours on Facebook when they should be developing a bibliography for their thesis, merely because they think they’re doing it purposefully, Pychyl says. He argues that Choi’s research points out the positives of intentional delay, which can be a necessary part of managing daily tasks while pursuing our goals, he says. â€Å"Delay and procrastination are not the same things,† Pychyl says. â€Å"Let’s not confuse deliberate, thoughtful delay of action with the lack of self-regulatory ability known as procrastination.† Instruments, Tools and Techniques We use questionnaire as our survey forms for this study. Random selection of 50 respondents was done in order to get unbiased result. We gather information from the internet in order to find related studies in our research. Data analysis and procedure The survey forms which are approved by the principal asked the respondents if they like doing projects, how many projects did they usually do in a quarter, what are the reasons why teacher set deadlines, how long is the submission of project-making prior to submission, what are the reasons why students fail to meet submission deadlines, and what is the possible solution in order to help the students meet submission deadlines. After getting the information needed, we tallied and used the proper formula to interpret the data and make conclusion. Sampling Procedure We used random as a sampling technique, wherein we chose randomly a subset of individuals from a larger set. Each individual is chosen randomly in every year level by chance. Statistical Treatment We use percentage method and ranking scale for Statistical method. Manual computation took place because we need to rank the reasons of failure of meeting submission deadlines. SUMMARY Most of the students don’t like doing projects. Usually they do 4-6 projects in a quarter. It’s good to know that majority of them meet submission deadlines. They think that teacher’s give projects to teach them proper time management. The duration of project making prior to submission deadline is commonly 2 weeks. Many of the respondents ranked laziness as the main reason why students don’t meet deadlines and setting priority is the best way students think in order to submit requirements on time. CONCLUSION Based on the results of our data, we can conclude that laziness is the main factor why students fail to meet submission deadlines. Laziness may lead to lack of time management, technology addiction, and other factors stated above. Lack of allotted time for project making affects the student’s performance. Having many projects and lack to time may lead to student’s dilemma. RECOMMENDATION We suggest for the next researchers to have a broad study about the solutions in order to help students meet submission deadlines. For the faculty members and school administrators, we recommend conducting a study or survey among

Evo:Case Study Essay

Do you think Evo’s decision not to set up any physical operation overseas is a good one? Why or why not? I have a mixed opinion on this question. I feel that there is a lot of potential missed business by not going international. The cost of setting up a business internationally is highly expensive, but the revenue made would make that up in a short amount of time. With being based in the United States, they can still reach a large market of the international business. They need to focus on what it is they are trying to achieve. If they are really looking to dive into the international mark, they need to concentrate on being able to be accessible when the customers need them. This means hiring more staff to be available longer hours for customer service. Once the sales start going up they will need to hire more employees in other department’s to fill orders and ship them, along with the many other needs of the company. What political and economic challenges could Evotrip encounter in other countries? Some challenges for Evotrip will be the true market for the service, the means for this type of service, and finding willing participants. The type of vacations that they are marketing is very expensive and can only be affordable if you are among the upper class. They aren’t for everyday Joe’s that want a ski vacation. Politically this might hurt them in the long run; however, by customers wanting revenge. If not everyone can afford these luxury vacations then someone is going to get upset over it any make an issue. Would you recommend that Evo expand the international side of it business? If so, how, and if not, why not? I feel that if they concentrated on their U.S. based business right now, and with continued support geared towards customer service, then international business will get stronger in the next few years, intern giving the opportunity for international growth to happen.

Leadership and service improvement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Leadership and service improvement - Essay Example It barely comes as a shock that the working conditions in most nursing systems are wanting. My work area is no different. I work as a National Health Service nurse in a Short Stay Ward. We keep patients at the ward for a maximum of seventy two hours before we discharge them or transfer them elsewhere if need be. Of late we have adopted a QCC drive to carry out the function of patient observations for the first twenty four hours of their admission at intervals of four hours each. Thereafter the nurses are required to apply their professional intellect and decide how often the patients need observation. My unit of fellow nurses and I decided that eight-hour-intervals would be quite appropriate for patient observations for the next forty eight hours of their admission. All our patient observations go into the database to enable the Trust note when we complete them on time and when we fail to as well. Failure of which, a fine is charged on all the nurses by the QCC. The system perceives itself to be foolproof and top-notch, needless to mention. The reality is quite the contrar y. Despite our commitment to the working of this system, it has proven to be problematic. Here is why. After a much-needed debate for a reasonable amount of time, my unit and I decided that our first patient observations during the initial twenty four hours which are to be done at eight-hour intervals would be at 6:00 hours and 14:00 hours respectively. As for the latter patient observations at four-hour intervals, we agreed upon 6:00 hours, 10:00 hours, 14:00 hours, 18:00 hours, 22:00 hours and 2:00 hours in that order. The rest of the hours are appropriate but for 6:00 hours, which is undoubtedly a challenge. First off, the patients do need their rest. Waking them up at 6:00 hours in the morning for their routine observations certainly does not help this aspect of their recovery. It is deemed problematic and causes a disturbance to the patients a lot more than it helps. As if

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Marketing - Essay Example Financial Data and Projections 9 Executive summary Our business will be situated in New York. It will focus on fast foods, with the unique selling point drawn from the offer of dazzling food products in a fulfilling atmosphere that will make customers enjoy their stay in our premises. Our business will target people doing shopping or students from schools, universities, and colleges from the neighborhood. Dizzy seeks to produce merchandise ranging from pre-packaged sauces and coffee to branded T-shirts (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011). The business will need a capital of $20,000 to start, whereby $15,000 will come from my personal savings and the remaining $5,000 will be obtained from a short-term loan. The business is expected to make revenues of $10,000 during the first year and $100,000 in the fifth year. The projected operating loss for the first year is -$1,500, while the projected operating profits for the fifth year is projected at $ 60,000. Evaluation and control If I will not achi eve the marketing goals that I have set, I will increase the marketing budget so that I can include more aggressive strategies such as roadshow promotions. In addition, I will drastically lower my prices and give incentives to my staff to improve their service to customers. If after marketing efforts I do not achieve my goals, I will try to apply alternative marketing campaigns until I realize my goals. I will especially try to apply al the marketing startgeies that are used by our major competitors such as AFC and Mcdonad. 2. Company description My business will be a New York-based Fast food restaurant, which will go by the name Dizzy Restaurant. Dizzy will offer a recipe of outstanding foods products in a fulfilling ambiance that will offer customers value for their money. This idea was hatched in response to the growing demand for high quality snack-based Fast food, especially by people doing shopping or students from schools, universities, and colleges from the neighborhood. I w ill start the business as a sole proprietor, but with the intentions of expanding the business into a partnership from the second year and into a limited company from the third year. The business will need a capital of $20,000 to start, whereby $15,000 will come from my personal savings and the remaining $5,000 will be sources as a short-term loan. 3. Strategic focus and plan a. Mission/vision statements Mission Dizzy comprises of a dedicated group of professionals who have a powerful devotion and zeal of providing high quality fast-foods, as well as an aspiration to pull their efforts together to deliver a great value to the customers. Vision We strive for broad appeal. We aspire to be the restaurant of preference for everyone, including young and old, families and singles, as well as male or female (Armstrong & Kotler, 2011). b. Goals Company Objectives 1 To establish a first class restaurant that will attract Fast food lovers and gain a substantial market share in New Yorkâ€℠¢s Fast food industry. 2 To make Dizzy an attractive destination for New York shoppers and students. 3 To open at-least 2 new outlets by the end of the third year. Operational financial Objectives 1. To generate up to $100,000 profits by the end of the third year 2. To generate up to $30,000 gross margin by the end of the first fiscal year c. Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage We shall rely on variety of marketing programs to

Pharmacy Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pharmacy Application - Essay Example It made me wish that I could do something for the people I left behind in Vietnam or at least do something to honor their memory. Some time in 2010, I decided that in order to feel better about my good fortune, of having come to the land of plenty, I needed to give back to the community in memory of those ill people I left in Vietnam. My search for relevant part-time work led me to the Oak Park Regional Medical Center. For more than a year, I did assistant work in the Critical Care Unit Dentistry Department where part of my duties included assisting the dentists with paperwork, sterilizing their tools, filling water pitchers, cleaning out shelves and restocking supplies. While I was working there, I began to observe that the patients who were being treated also had the same complaints as the ones in Vietnam, the medicines were too expensive. But somehow they managed to afford it. I wondered if this case was the same everywhere in America. Then in 2012, I found myself fulfilling my dream of honoring the memory of my countrymen by volunteering at the Shawnee Medical Mission Center. This was the first time that I was exposed to the world of Pharmacy. Here I was tasked to do my part at the In-Patient Pharmacy. My duties here were more important than those that I did at the medical center. I was personally in charge of checking and removing outdated medicines form the supply shelves, as well as labeling medicines. I felt like I was in my element as I did my job there. It felt like the perfect fit for me. So I began to consider a career in Pharmacy. While I was contemplating this idea, I learned that my relative in Vietnam had developed a degenerative nerve disease and she could not afford her medication which only cost $.50 Vietnam cents. She died soon after her diagnosis because they could not afford to medicine. This was the catalyst that I was looking for. My relatives death pushed me to enroll in

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management - Essay Example Since then, the debate has been on in favour and against of the thought and more particularly to find the right balance where profits really benefit the society. Counter extreme to the argument was the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility which stated that businesses are required to respond to societal needs in other forms as well than just earning profit to maximise employment. Businesses have to some extend accept this counter thought with further extension in idea regarding maximising shareholder and owner’s wealth and many other sub ideas. However, the finding of the real right balance between the corners is yet being debated as no measure has yet been developed to perfect solution. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF MANAGEMENT- THEORATICAL REFERENCES AND THEIR ANALYSIS To state in one sentence primary objective of the business is to benefit society, at the same time remember the fact that owners and shareholders are also part of society and hence, not at the cost of the sharehold ers’ benefit. The debate shall focus more on the fact that how and to what this benefit extends shall be translated. Exploring the basic idea of Friedman who stated that the aim of business is to achieve maximum profits within boundaries of law and this is how society is benefitted, one finds this idea satisfactory unless there comes any law that does not support societal interest or even more questioning does there exist any law that goes against the interest of society? All the laws are made in larger interest of society and with this it can stressed that Friedman’s thought had no flaw. However, most of the literature questioned the profit maximisation part with taking it to the point that contrast to the societal concern and scope of debate enlarged in direction of benefit of firm or society as whole and how it should be transferred. Considering this school of thought, more appropriate and concrete thought requires it be benefit or wealth of all stakeholders, where stakeholders include every person who is directly or indirectly connected with organisation. This stance has no flaw as the basic idea constrains to remain operational within. (Stakeholder Analysis) To support the argument, consider the example of Marks and Spencer. UK retail giant with global existence recent matter charging higher price to its women lingerie product stating the reason of higher cost and then higher tax was highly negated on social media website where more than 14000 people joined the cause for protest. The protest ultimately forced the giant to bow down accept the decision as their mistake while taking back decision, giving excess discounts to all customer of that product class as well as apologies to the society. To extract from this example is the fact that if it the said argument would have been true in place then M&S’s decision should have been appreciated as the giant only aimed to cover the excess cost incurred on the product, that would have added to its profitability , though in its respective share only. While, people who protested just joined the cause for bias attitude towards certain people and of course not all were affected by the decision. Hence, what needs be made the basis of maximisation is the stakeholders’ wealth that is always in position to affect the position of firm (Bejou, 2011). From the given image, it can also be concluded that stakeholders lie in levels. Firm

Business Plan based on a case study of a leisure centre Essay

Business Plan based on a case study of a leisure centre - Essay Example In order sort out issues better, one of the major problems would be identified for every segment, the aspects that need to be addressed in such problem would be discussed, then the process of implementing the action plan would be stated and the way it would assist the leisure club would also be clarified. Sales, Marketing and Customer Service In this segment focus would be on the marketing, sales and customer service segment of the fitness and leisure club. As the customer survey report indicate, the customers seem to be quite satisfied with the services being offered in the club, but the yearly statistics for marketing or customer service reveal a different picture, and sales is totally depended on these two aspect. The sports hall is closed for two month as the roof is leaky, poor food safety standards, etc. These are maintenance drawbacks, which reveal that the council and employees of the centre are not marketing their services well to the customers. In such case immediate refurb ishment of the centres are required. If the quality of facilities and amenities offered to the customers are improved and provided in a systematic manner, through right planning and restoration, then this condition will improve. Sales will automatically increase when the centres are renovated and re-launched along with all the facilities that would also include a technology based framework for performance, and sales assessment and monitoring (Lewis, 2007). As far as the record of customer service goes for these centres, it is even poor because the female members are not safe; there are no female lifeguards, and many more. The assistant manager is being accused of sexually harassing the female staff, which reveals that when the environment of the organisation and the standard of customer service can be expected from the incidents mentioned. The quality of customer service and safety of members especially female and children is necessary (Jeffs, 2008). The action plan for marketing an d customer service would be discussed in steps to provide a clear view of what needs to be done: The first step would be to list all the refurbishment work that needs to be done for the centres. The second step should be to estimate the refurbishment cost, and assess the sources through which funds would be derived for refurbishment. The third step should be to develop strategies to offer all those facilities appropriately to the customers, for which Fridley Leisure Centre is known for. The fourth step to arrange for financial assistance from the assumed sources. The fifth step would be to re-launch the centres, invite members, and ensure them of good environment, facilities, and safety (Griffin, 2012). The final step would be to stay focused towards the safety and specific requirement of female members and children. This is a way of extensive marketing through which revenue will increase aggressively. The club membership once became stagnant, will start increasing again. Goodwill w ill increase for improved customer service, and increasing level of safety. It will also assist in receiving grants from government for further financial assistance and improvements (Brassington, and Pettitt, 2007). Human Resources or Staff Management This discussion would be based on another most significant area of the organisati

A Clockworkwork Orange (1971 movie) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Clockworkwork Orange (1971 movie) - Essay Example Besides, the director makes use of the characters as his mouthpiece to communicate with the viewers. Thesis statement: An investigation to unearth the scope of the problems faced by human beings, within the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick. Plot summary The plot revolves around the protagonist Alex DeLarge, who is an outlaw and a member of a gang involved in anti-social activities. The film unveils the near future social life in London. But Stuart Y. McDougal states that â€Å"When A clockwork orange appeared in 1971, it was attacked as an unmediated celebration of the violent young self, as a provocation to youthful viewers to imitate what they saw on the screen† (19). As pointed out, Alex represents the gangs in London. After stealing a car, Alex attempts to rape a lady. This incident distracts the members of Alex’s gang but they are helpless to revolt against him. This encourages Alex and leads him to further crimes. At last, Alex was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment (say, 14 years). Within the prison system, Alex was forced to undergo experimentation to reduce social crimes. The Ludivico technique of conditioning, under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior transformed Alex to a new individual. This is the core aspect of the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick.

Informative Speech Essay Example for Free

Informative Speech Essay Attention Getter: Mothers day is coming up, and there is a few options for you to use as gifts. 1. You can spend fifty dollar on flowers just to watch them die in a week. 2. You can buy her chocolates even though most of us are constantly trying to cut back. 4. You can do nothing and look like a jerk. 5. Or can simply spend a dollar at a thrift store, and create a desk ornament using only an old book. Topic Sentence: Recently I’ve made a few of these and have gotten a really great response from family and friends. I suppose I’d call it book-origami, but I’m not sure if there’s a proper title for this sort of thing. My purpose tonight is to teach you how to make one of these. Credibility / goodwill: After I made my first book, I got several compliments on it. Afterward, I came to the conclusion it might make a great mantelpiece, or even a desk ornament. Itsinthestars.com/us shows a survey taken in 2012 that states â€Å"The average person ends up purchasing 16 gifts or more a year.† Gift buying can add up quickly so I have found that it is nice to have a backup plan in case you’re broke at the time. Surely some of us in this very room have come to this dilemma so I am hoping to provide an idea for such an occasion. Thesis: Tonight I will teach you how to make one of these decorations by first teaching you what type of books are best to use, secondly I will tell you how to prepare the process of getting started, and lastly I will be teaching you a few of the folding techniques. Body: (Chronological = steps in a process) I. The First step in making one of these book decorations is to find the right kind of book to work with A. Through trial and error, I have found that it is best to use a hardcover book. 1. The way I have been making these has been without the use of any glues or starches, and the hardcover frame seems to help the book hold its shape naturally. B. When choosing your book you will also need to consider the number of pages that it has. 2. This was actually my first book, and it has about two hundred fifty pages in it. My second book actually has over 550 pages in it. The choice you make depends on your taste, but personally I think the thicker book has a much fuller and professional look. C. You should also consider the size of the cover of your book. 1. I believe that a someone smaller book makes for the best decoration because it doesn’t take up much room. Transition: Now that you have chosen a book to work with, you are ready to divide your book in sections. A. In my first book I didn’t take a whole lot of time, and just approximately divided the book into 3 sections. 1. You might not be able to tell at first glance but one side actually has around 15 pages more using the first folding style. B. If you want to go for a truly symmetrical look, I would suggest counting out each page individually. It will take more time this way, but you will probably be happier with the end result. 1. After you have decided how much you want in each section, I would recommend marking each sections beginning and end with a bookmark. Transition : Now that you have sectioned off your book, you’re ready to start folding. (please excuse my lack of technical terms, but this is really just something I’ve been experimenting with and was not actually taught anything about origami. A. I like to start off each book with several simple corner folds. 1. After each page, you should alternate between folding the top corner down, and folding the bottom corner down. 2. The reason I start the book this way because it is a really easy technique, and it also seems to help the book expand quite a bit. B. Another fold I use quite a bit I would call an airplane fold. I call it this because it is how I remember starting off paper airplanes, again this isn’t a technical lesson. 1. This technique is done simple by folding the top and bottom edges into the middle of the page. 2. I tend to use this technique for the middle section because again, it is very easy to do, and it helps the book to stand up. C. What I have used for the outer-middle section here is actually just a variation of the airplane fold. 1. After folding both edges in, you then take the middle point of the page and fold it to either the upper or lower portion, again alternating with each following page t o get this accordion look. Conclusion: Thesis: Tonight I have taught you how to make one of these decorations by first teaching you what type of books are best to use, secondly telling you how to prepare the process of getting started, and lastly I taught you a few of the folding techniques. Closure: Now you’re ready to make one of these for yourself. I’ve only been doing this for a few months, and I have found that most of the fun comes from trying new techniques. I’ve only shared with you a couple of the techniques that I’ve used. I would highly encourage you to try some of your own ideas, get creative . You could try ripping or cutting the edges of certain pages to give them a rough look, or you could add paperclips to portions of the book to give it a specific hold. Maya Angelou once said in the book Conversations with Maya Angelou printed in 1989 â€Å"You cant use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have† I’ve always agreed with that. I have found this to be a fun, creative and cheap idea for a gift. Mothers day is Sunday the 12th of May this year, so you should get started.

India is the most hierarchical society

India is the most hierarchical society BRIEF: India is the most hierarchical society in the world and this, obviously, has an impact on its management style. It is imperative that there is a boss and that the manager acts like a boss. The position of manager demands a certain amount of role-playing from the boss and a certain amount of deferential behaviour from his subordinates. The boss is definitely not expected to perform any seemingly menial tasks such as making coffee for everybody or moving chairs in a meeting room! Anglo-Saxon concepts of egalitarianism where the boss is the primus inter pares are virtually incomprehensible in a society still dominated by the historical conventions of the caste system. Therefore, the boss is expected to give explicit instructions which will be followed even if everybody knows that the instruction is incorrect. Managing people in India requires a level of micro-management which many western business people feel very uncomfortable with but, which is likely to bring the best results. Indian management is paternalistic and is characterized by: Patronage Families feelings Sense of security in staff Obedience to authority Personality cult Personality based delegation Aversions of the staff to the leaders who are outsiders Ascent on short rather than long term planning Restricted sharing of information Gulf between personnel policies and practices Traditional Indian management: Management practices:- Traditional Indian management Employee requirements- family relation and caste of employee is considered Leadership style- leaders display a high level of personal involvement with their subordinates. Motivational aspects and rewards- work is viewed as a means to an end i.e for sake of satisfying family needs. Human resource management practices- nepotism and caste consideration affect selection and compensation. Training is less emphasized. TYPES OF MANAGEMENT SYLE IN INDIA- 1) Conservative style: Integrating ideology- old is gold, change carefully Performance control- through traditions, conventions, precedents Coordination- hierarchical Staff motivation- financial security, psychological safety 2) Entrepreneurial style: Intergrating ideology- no risk no gain, pioneer, innovative, revolutionize Performance control- through shared vision of corporate team Coordination- hierarchical Staff motivation- through charisma of the person at top 3) Professional style: Intergrating ideology- scientific, rational approach to management Performance control- through norms of professionalism and other tools of management Coordination- variety of mechanism like hierarchy, committee planning Staff motivation- formalized menu of progressive, productive and quality oriented incentive. 4) Bureaucratic style: Orderly management, clear accountability Through rules and regulation Hierarchical, standard operating procedures Job clarity, steady promotion on basis of seniority 5) Organic style: Flexibility Through peer pressure, personal commitment Team work, mutual feedback, intensive lateral as well as vertical communication Job variety and richness 6) Authoritarian style: Obedience, organizational patriolism Through fear of punishment Hierarchical Patriotic feel and fear of punishment 7) Participative style: Relatively powerless decision making Through collective assessment on jointly agreed criteria of evaluation Through representative committee Feeling of participating in decision making 8) Intuitive style: Experience and common sense Thumb rule Hierarchical, also by informal norms No need for formal qualification 9) Familial style: One big happy family Through relationship of bosses Through personalities Feeling of being a part of family 10) Altruistic style: Its a means to social and spiritual end Through sense of mission or pursuit of great ideal Hierarchical, shared ideal or social commitment Opportunity to control something noble and meaningful Being a Manager in India To ensure successful cross cultural management in India, you need be aware of the strict protocols and rituals that exist. The official caste system may be illegal, but a strong hierarchical structure, based upon job title, still exists in business. The Role of a Manager In India managers may take a somewhat paternalistic attitude to their employees. They may demonstrate a concern for employees that goes beyond the workplace. This may include involvement in their family, housing, health, and other practical life issues. It is the supervisors job to regularly check on the work of a subordinate and to provide regular constructive feedback. This may include monitoring work quality and the timing of its completion. Approach to Change Indias intercultural adaptability and readiness for change is developing all the time. India is seen to have a medium tolerance for change and risk. It is important for innovations to have a track record or history noting the benefits if they are to be accepted and implemented. Failure in India causes a long-term loss of confidence by the individual as well as by others. Because of this attitude, intercultural sensitivity is going to be required, especially when conducting group meetings and discussing contributions made my participating individuals. Approach to Time and Priorities Indians are generally quite careful about time guidelines in business situations where schedules and deadlines are regarded seriously. In addition, however, Indian society is concerned with relationships so there may be instances where there is some flexibility to strict standards of adhering to schedules. When working with people from India, its advisable to reinforce the importance of the agreed-upon deadlines and how that may affect the rest of the organization. Successful cross cultural management will depend on the individuals ability to meet deadlines. Global and intercultural expansion means that some managers may have a greater appreciation of the need to enforce timescales and as such, agreed deadlines are more likely to be met. Decision Making The culture in India is very relationship and group-oriented, so a strong emphasis is placed on maintaining harmony and proper lines of authority in the workplace. Some Indians, however, are extremely direct, in which case you can deal with them in the same way. The manager makes decisions and accepts responsibility for work performed by subordinates. The middle manager may consult with subordinates before reaching a decision, although it is more likely that he will confer with trusted advisors or relatives. To ensure successful cross cultural management, you will need to bear in mind the importance of people in the office maintaining the proper behavior relative to their position. For instance, it would be inappropriate for a manager to make copies or move a piece of furniture because these are tasks that lower level people do. To engage in behavior beneath you would lower your esteem in the office. Boss or Team Player? If you are working in India, it is important to remember that honor and reputation play an important role. The risk becomes amplified in a team or collaborative setting. When meeting together and moderating ideas, intercultural sensitivity is necessary. It is important to qualify ideas that are raised in a gentle manner, protecting the reputation of those bringing up ideas, so no one is shamed. Communication and Negotiation Styles Cross cultural management will be more effective if you understand the importance of personal relationships. They are crucial to conducting business and are based on respect and trust. It takes time to develop a comfortable working relationship and you will need patience and perseverance. Indians are non-confrontational. It is rare for them to overtly disagree, although this is beginning to change in the managerial ranks. Decisions are reached by the person with the most authority but reaching that decision can be a slow process. Never appear over legalistic in negotiations; in general Indians do not trust the legal system and someones word is sufficient to reach an agreement. Successful negotiations may be celebrated over a meal.

Proposed Expansion Strategies Of Starbucks Into Indian Market Marketing Essay

Proposed Expansion Strategies Of Starbucks Into Indian Market Marketing Essay The following report is based on the proposal for Starbucks Corporation to make a direct foreign investment in India by penetrating its market with its product and services. Strategic recommendations for the future course of action is provided in order to achieve market competitive advantage. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Starbucks is the worlds leading speciality coffee retailer, producing and selling a wide variety of beverages, as well as pastries and confections, through some 8,400 coffee shops throughout 30 countries around the world. Starbucks has grown to become one of the most talked about globalized brands in recent times. In the four years since going public, the chain of coffee bars has become wildly successful by turning one of the worlds most pedestrian beverages into a premium product, wrapped in a carefully cultivated, widely recognized brand name that extends far beyond whats in the cup. It is a brand thats defined as much by attitude as it is by products. The Starbucks experience is about more than a daily espresso infusion; it is about immersion in a politically correct, cultured refuge from everyday hassles. Having established itself as a global force, many analysts are asking whether Starbucks can continue to go from strength to strength. Sustained success will require sharp focus on a set of key challenges, including innovation and experimentation. In order to achieve a competitive advantage, the company continues to rapidly expand its retail operations and pursue opportunities to leverage the Starbucks brand through the introduction of new products and the development of new distribution channels. SWOT analysis is given in Appendix A to highlight companys current strategic position. Companys proposed expansion into India is likely to bring a strategic challenge for the company. India is seen as having the greatest potential for multinational corporations. India is a highly diversified country. There is, nonetheless, a core culture based on a shared religion and political experience. India now has a growing middle class, an increase in disposable income that is considered rather opportunistic for companys expansion. To give a more in-depth insight into Indian market for Starbucks operations, macro-environmental framework is presented in Appendix B, including the analysis of political, economical, social and technological factors that will affect Starbucks proposed operations. 2.0 EXPANSION INTO INDIAN MARKET India is a mixed economy, where both public and private sector enterprises work together to achieve economic development for the country. India has many large and dynamic private sector companies which operate in all areas of economic activity trade, commerce and industry, without much interference from the government. India is a nation of more than 1.03 billion consumers (The Economist, 2001). It has an expanding middle class of 150-200 million consumers, most of whom are well educated and speak the English language. In the revised per capita income estimates, on the basis of the World Banks purchasing power parity (the exchange rate that equates a countrys goods and services with international prices), it is estimated that Indias per capita income is $1,150, with a GNP of a trillion dollars. As a result, India is ranked as the sixth largest economy in the world. India is the worlds largest democratic republic; although government bureaucracy does not have ultimate control over business decisions as in China, it has a lot of influence. Multinationals, such as Starbucks will be seen as vanguards of a new colonialism (Cateora and Graham, 1999), are continually thwarted through such measures as prohibitive tariffs (e.g. on computers and softwares), bans in importation (e.g. automobiles), quotas and other non-tariff measures (Schlender, 1997). In spite of the huge potential of the Indian market, there are various challenges Starbucks expansion will have to face, including six distinct issues concerning the economy, management, marketing, government, labour and finance. India is perceived to have a more favourable general business climate than, for instance in China. At current growth rates, corporate investment in Asia will not have a tremendous impact on the short- or medium-term growth and profitability of multinationals. For Starbucks in particular, it will be just another matter of gaining a broader global representation and greater market share. 2.1 Main Investment Advantages The Indian economy, already the fifth largest in the world after US, Japan, China, and Germany, is growing faster now than at any time in the past fifty years. On average, India boasts a GDP growth rate of more than 6 percent annually since 1991 (Panigrahi, Ede and Calcich, 2002). India is fast industrialising and with its vast labour force and talented people, the Indian government is striving to make the country an industrial giant within a decade. India, with the largest middle class in the world, also ranks second, after China, in terms of overall population (over 1 billion). For example, India has 1.03 billion people and about 170 people per car. The US, on the other hand, with a population of 275 million people, has three people per car. Forecasts indicate that by 2010, only 9 percent of the Indian population will be elderly, while the elderly, by comparison, will make up 19 percent of the US and 30 percent of the Japanese populations. Thus, consumers in India are comparatively young, having a potential to powerfully influence economic growth and consumption patterns. In India, the outlook is favorable for companies looking to build long-term value and improve manufacturing efficiencies. But Asian markets may not be the easy answer for companies attempting to boost their short-term growth. By investing in India, Starbucks should take a careful look at what really affects returns to public shareholders. Most investors and executives want a piece of the booming Asian market for the right reasons. With vigorous growth in the region, getting into India, and other countries should position companies well for the expected groundswell of shareholder value. Over the past five years, India, the largest democracy in the world, has put in place the foundations of a deregulated market-driven economy. It is hardly surprising then, that a growing number of US companies, motivated by favourable investment climate and the regions huge reserves for both human and natural resources, have begun to seriously consider investing there. 2.2 Financial Analysis of India Financial matters in India  [1]  are governed through more than 800 decrees and provisional regulations (Belcsà ¡k, 2005). The whole financial system, including banks, financial institutions, and stock markets, is yet to be organised. Simultaneously, in the financial sector, banks and financial markets remain plagued by lack of expertise, government mismanagement, corruption, and unclear legal status. Until recently, virtually all of Indias banks and financial institutions were state-owned, government controlled organisations. However, after the implementation of a liberalisation programme, and imposition of international financial standards, domestic state-owned banks and other financial institutions are less tightly controlled and more professionally managed. India is a functioning market economy with the majority of companies becoming consumer focused and market driven, getting increasingly urbanized, using technology to replace labour, deriving an Asian approach to management as distinct from the same followed by the West and are beginning to establish networks with other nations to face the rest of the world (Marshall, 2005). Many of these trends are applicable to India and it is no wonder that leading multinationals, including Starbucks, are making it a point to ensure that they have a strong presence in India. In todays context, the wealth of a nation is synonymous with the wealth of its organizations and to ensure that large domestic firms play their due role in the countrys development, the government of a developing country must provide the required support. The Government of India seems now to have understood this important requirement and recently proposed that it would delegate required managerial autonomy to various leading public sector units of the country. A number of recent policy changes have promoted foreign direct investment (FDI). The government has reduced exchange control regulations for companies with significant foreign participation. The 10 percent tax rate on long-term (12 months or more) and the 30 percent tax rate on short-term (less than 12 months) capital gains are the same for both Indian and foreign firms and investors. Dividends and interest income are taxed at a rate of 20 percent (Country Review, 2005). Article (2005) states that the key at tribute of multinational company, such as Starbucks is not that it engages in foreign production, but that it finances at least part of the production in its home currency. It is suggested that the stronger currency enables companies in the companys area of advantage in investing over weaker currencies, because of investors preference for securities denominated in the stronger currency and hence, a cheaper cost of capital. A strong home currency discourages and weaker currency en courages FDI in the nation. 2.3 Coffee Market in India India accounts for approximately 4.5 percent of world coffee production and has coffee importing countries, including Italy, Germany, Russian federation, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, US, Japan, Greece, Netherlands and France (Mulligan and Authers, 2003). The coffee market itself in India is rather fragmented with no evidence of market leaders. Meanwhile with increasing competition amongst different multi-national brands, companies are coming up with added facilities. Coffee shops tend to focus on quality service, providing a cool and soothing ambience. Currently, Indian industry is expecting marginal improvement in price realisation in the global market. The quality and aroma of Arabica variety of Indian coffee is much diverse than in other global coffee markets. The Indian Coffee Board is quite sensitive to the plight of the countrys coffee industry and has been consistently following possible corrective measures to make the domestic industry feel least impact of adverse international market condition. Majority of coffee shops in India large cities are privately owned and there are only few bi players, such as Tata Coffee, Hindustan Lever, Nestle India, Barista Coffee. 3.0 PROPOSED EXPANSION STRATEGIES OF STARBUCKS INTO INDIAN MARKET 3.1 Cultural Context According to Hofstede, national culture plays an important role in individuals behavior and attitudes. It is recognized that individuals behavior in culture groups are strongly influenced by the values held in that society. Some of these values influence consumption patterns. Swaidan and Hayes (2005) pointed out that Indian culture, like many other Asian cultures, exhibits high collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. Similarly, Todeva (1999) found that Asian consumers are less prepared to take the social risk to try new products. On the other hand, the discomfort of being left behind presses them to follow suit if they believe others have tried the product. The innovation curve among Asians is, therefore, steeper and negatively skewed. In India, Venezia (2005) observes, you will find a society that has, like Europes, the diversities of a continent and the unities of a civilization. Such is the measure of the magnitude of the nature of diversity in Indian society whose features Indian industry had inherited. Societal diversity is not an unmixed blessing for corporations and their management. It is argued that in India, generally speaking, the weaknesses of societal diversity such as caste, for instance, are superimposed on its business and industrial organizations and exacerbated. Collectivism that is highly evident in India, is characterized by a tight social framework, in which people distinguish between in-groups and out-groups. According to anthropologists Kluckhohn and Kroeber, the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and their attached values. These values influence how people judge behaviour or situations and shared values direct people of the same culture to react in a similar way to a certain situation (Venezia, 2005). A major study by Hofstede defined business culture as learned assumptions and beliefs, attitudes and values shared by members of a group. India can be considered with a high score, along this dimension reveal a cultures orientation toward the present and past. Having a high Confucian dynamism culture India values the relative importance of personal steadiness and stability, saving face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of greetings, favours, and gifts. Understanding of the cultural norms is a reliable basis for understanding behavioural responses and outcomes in the international buyer-seller dissolution process. For example, cultural norms operating in diverse culture in India compared with Australia is likely to have a significant influence on the styles of management and communication strategies that are appropriate for managing long-term and cooperative relationships. In particular, India is likely to have a cultural environment that is considerably complex to manage. Globalization has blurred the line between industrialized countries and developing nations by integrating politics and culture into management improvement. Typically, in business relationships in Asia between Asian and Western companies, where both cultures use and understand that management styles should be designed to be high in collaboration and low in assertiveness, we posit that both parties use a cooperative style. Starbucks needs to understand the national culture within which the company plans to operate, and the extent to which it adjust its communications accordingly. It is possible that Starbucks may have an inappropriate evaluation of the host culture of the overseas company in accordance with which it designs its communications. The trend in Indian public administration continues with a rationalist scientific approach that reflects the values of a nation. Hofstede analyzed as having small power distance, weak uncertainty avoidance, strong individuality, and masculine being exported around the world through globalization (Freeman and Browne, 2004). This is possibly due to the political instability. Higher stress, at the national level, is correlated with weak rule orientation and lower employment stability. It is possible India has found its natural balance in relation to its native culture and values. 3.2 Strategic Alliances  [2]   By entering a new market, Starbucks is likely to spur domestic competition and introduce a more dynamic style and new coffee experience.The company will also generate more labour and promote Western attitudes towards service and its provision. Main barriers to entry, in accordance to Porters competitive forces framework, will include the new power of suppliers and competitors already established supplier relationships and the knowledge of the market. One popular way to become involved in business is through franchising. While franchises are also a popular way of entering some international markets, strategic alliances are increasingly utilized. In fact, strategic alliances are often required by some countries, rather than other modes of entry, as they involve local firms directly in the business. Davis (2000) and Welles (2001) suggest that historically Starbucks does not like franchises, which is why the group in order to successfully enter Indian market, might consider this expansion through joint ventures and other partnerships. However, the company should keep in mind that Asian companies have not been particularly kind to minority and public shareholders. Numerous publicly listed companies have seen their share price d rop amid accusations that the controlling shareholders manipulated the relationship between listed and privately held subsidiaries. Poor governance contributes to market inefficiencies, which in turn lead to volatile markets that have to make larger corrections periodically in order to adjust for gaps in information and in perception. 3.3 Marketing Mix For a successful penetration into the market, Starbucks will have to establish a defined marketing mix, including: Product: Coffee shops may have their unique characteristics, but it also possible to see many parallels between the sector and other retailing and catering sectors. Over the years, Starbucks has grown to become one of the largest purchasers of high-quality arabica coffees. With a growing proportion of young people in India, the company might put also have in-store entertainment facilities and Internet. Place/distribution: Starbucks need to place its shops into central locations, as the rural part of the country still lives in poverty. Customer convenience and service delivery will have to be understood. Pricing: As Asia emerges from economic downturn, a growing middle class is willing to spend money. However, Indian population is predominantly characterized by an attitude to save money. The company will have to benchmark its products and prices in accordance to competitors, and also considering the market trends and the consumer incomes. Promotion: Starbucks uses various promotional strategies, including catalogs, the Internet, advertisements in local media but mostly, it uses word-of-mouth. The very location of its stores is a strong marketing tactic. To appreciate what is at stake, understand the psychology behind the brand. Advertising has never created Starbucks image. It was built on two things: the quality of its product-it really is a better cup of coffee-and the store experience. The retail experience also extends to sparkling service and an unspoken invitation to linger over a cup of coffee in the store. (Donation, 2003) The middle class populations in India will be targeted by Starbucks as potential markets for consumer durable goods. The company might use community events and sponsorships as the most effective marketing tools. Incorporating knowledge of consumer attitudes about the beverage and food industry Starbucks is entering should help in designing strategies to reach target markets. Indian consumers tend to be opinion leaders; less loyal to the same food product; and more responsive to product promotions and advertisement. Food prices are of a great importance to all Indian consumers. The company will have to use its ability to market itself as an ideal as much as a product-a caffeine-infused oasis for the hip and trendy. 3.4 Strategic Choices There is no best corporate strategy. The main focus of the business-level strategy should be based on how to compete effectively in the market. It is the core issue of how value is realised in a business, after all, value is realised only when a buyer is prepared to pay for the product. The extent to which they are prepared to pay a price which provides profits superior to those of competitors will therefore determine the extent to which that business is highly regarded by its owners and investors. Bases if strategic choice need to take account of the environment in which Starbucks operates. It is important, therefore, to recognise the role of organisational resources, capabilities and core competence in terms of the bases on which competitive strategy and advantage may be built. Porters generic strategic framework enables Starbucks to apply one of three main strategic options in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, that include cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. Sustaining bases of competitive advantage is likely to require a linked set of organisational competences which competitors find difficult to imitate. Strategies of collaboration may also offer alternatives to competitive strategies. In a new uncertain environment, Starbuckss competences need to be found in companys culture and structure, which will encourage speed, innovation and the capacity to gain business success. The choice of a right entry route is critical to the future success of Starbucks. In accordance to Johnson and Scholes (2002), a unified framework linking country risk, country familiarity, the stage of the countrys development, technology and transaction cost has to be provided that a particular entry decision cannot be viewed in isolation and that such decisions are considered in relation to the overall strategic posture of the firm. The marketplace and workforce in India are becoming more diverse every day. In fact, workplace diversity is considered a major challenge and opportunity for human resource management. It makes integration both difficult and easy depending on how diversity is viewed and used. The sources of diversity and its uses make a difference to what it means and how it impinges on organizational purpose and human behaviour at the workplace and beyond. Workplace diversity in India may have been partly inherited from centuries of customs and practices, partly imposed from colonial heritage and largely acquired through corporate omissions and commissions. They have implications for global competitiveness and for managing human resources/ industrial relations (HR/IR). Clearly analysing cultural norms and attitudes towards management will be beneficial for Starbucks in the long-term. 4.0 CONCLUSION Starbucks has become a great successful company in the coffee bean and beverage business. A large part of this success is due to its effective strategy. To further grow, Starbucks will need to expand further in other areas of the United States as well as internationally. Due to India being one of the largest coffee drinking nation in the world, Starbucks expansion into India market will be an effective expansion strategy. Although, the expansion is occurring at such a rapid rate that investors worrying issue is of oversaturation. Therefore, Starbucks will have to look into other avenues for maintaining profits and further success. Considering partnerships and venture might be an effective strategy for Starbucks that can reduce the potential threat of the new market. New market penetration is a challenging and uncertain area of business. Hence, for Starbuckss effective market entry, a great emphasis should be given to market analysis. The culture and corporate strategy must also be maintained for success. This will ensure the health of the organization throughout the proposed expansion. APPENDIX A SWOT ANALYSIS: STARBUCKS 1. Strengths Financial resources: The company is the worlds number one specialty coffee retailer, and as such is has a greater financial reach than practically all of its competitors. Huge financial resources enable the company to take advantage of market opportunities, investments and expansion activities that are not available to smaller firms with a reduced capital. Starbucks has considerable financial strength. For instance, in fiscal 2003, Starbucks generated revenues of $4.1billion, a 24% increase on the previous year. (Company Report, 2004) Global presence: Starbucks is a truly global brand. The company has roughly 7,570 retail store locations around the world (as of September 2004), the majority of which are company owned and operated. The company has cast its net across 30 countries in a bid to establish a pioneering image, and although such a strategy has generated limited early returns form its international business, the company has succeeded in developing a truly global brand. A disciplined innovator: Starbucks is a disciplined innovator, and good management of its innovation time line is one of the primary reasons behind the companys success in generating consistent high level of same store sales. Starbucks currently has a number of new ideas being tried and tested in its stores. In 2002 the company introduced new Frappuccino Blended Beverages, and in 2003, the Iced Shaken refreshments product line was launched. Starbucks ability to roll out new initiatives and produces relatively quickly is a considerable competitive strength for the company. That is can rapidly fill gaps in its calendar is a by-product of Starbucks company-owned retail structure, vertical integration of many products and relatively simple store operations. Customers are also increasingly drawn to the companys music compilations, produced for the company by Hear Music. Consistent strength of core product: In the last eight years, Starbucks has consistently derived increasing proportions of its annual revenue from its beverages business unit. It is good for Starbucks to focus on the beverage market, as this core product division dictates the direction of other units, such as merchandise and food. A continued growth in the beverages unit represents overall company growth for Starbucks, as it shows the consistent strength of the core product. 2. Weaknesses Reliance on US market: Given the company is an international brand with wide ranging operations, it should be looking to generate a greater proportion of revenues from outside the US. Such is Starbucks reliance on this market, the company entire performance will be materially affected should the companys US unit under-perform, as a result of economic conditions or increased levels of competition. Rapid build-out hangover: Starbucks based its international strategy on the basis that maximum benefit can be derived from entering markets early to capture a first mover advantage. In accordance with this, the company rapidly cast its net, establishing operations in around 30 countries since 1995, and in doing so, incurring sizeable overhead charges. Also, in the companys haste to increase its scale, some rash decisions were made and some of these mistakes have delayed progress to profitability. Reliance on beverage innovation: An important long-term risk to the companys stock is a lower valuation caused by a slowdown in US sale store growth. Starbucks store sales growth has been largely driven by beverage innovation, but there are questions over how long this can last. Diminishing return from beverage innovation, one of the companys competitive strengths, would have a significant adverse effect on the companys performance. Performance of International operations unit: Starbucks International operations division has faced problems of expansion, with a number of openings failing to be successful. In 2003 Starbucks Coffee International ended its joint venture with the Delek Group of Israel. Following this decision, Shalom Coffee Company, the joint venture between Starbucks Coffee International and the Delek Group, closed its six Starbucks stores in Tel Aviv. 3. Opportunities International operations: By the end of fiscal 2004, Starbucks international business should finally achieve profitability. About 23% of the companys stores are located outside North America. Key markets include the UK and Japan, which should provide useful indicators for the respective performances of Starbucks other operations in Europe and Asia. Growth market: The specialty coffee sector accounts for roughly 15% of the US retail coffee market, which is already worth $21 billion. By 2005, the retail coffee market is expected to be worth $22 billion, and the specialty coffee sector will grow to account for 41% of this market. Starbucks has a market share of over 40% of the specialty coffee market, and the anticipated growth in this category will offer the company considerable opportunities for further growth and expansion in the near future. Starbucks Visa Card: The Starbucks Visa Card is likely to bolster revenues in 2005. During 2004, the companys retail sales mix by product type was comprised of approximately 78% beverages, 12% food items, 5% whole bean coffees and 5% coffee-making equipment and accessories. (Company Report, 2004) By diversifying its revenue streams Starbucks should be able to both increase the stability of its financial position by reducing its reliance on certain product lines, and also grow its revenues. Clustering of company units: With the continued growth of the coffee market, the company has looked to expand its business, including those areas where it has an established presence. Working on the basis that a key driver of business is the convenience of the companys outlet location, Starbucks has looked to cluster its units so as to dominate particular areas. The financial reward derived from this practice has been found to be considerable, as new outlets have not been found to eat into the business of existing outlets. A continued strategy of unit clustering, and a focus on stores that have convenient access for pedestrians and drivers, represents further opportunity for Starbucks to capture an increasing share of the coffee market. 4. Threats Supply risk: Starbucks is dependent on trading companies and exporters for its supply of green coffee. The company is looking at securing long term supply contracts, and in some cases has had to pay inflated prices in order to obtain such contracts. Starbucks responded to world coffee prices reaching 30-year lows during 2001 by offering suppliers more money to guarantee supply, and as such the risk of non-delivery on such purchase commitments is low. However, the nature of the business dictates that the companys dependency on suppliers does put it at risk. Slowing US retail sales: Long-term concerns regarding US store growth potential still remain. If current growth continues, saturation levels within the North American retail division will be reached inside five years. This represents a considerable concern for Starbucks, given that over the last two years, domestic retail has been the source of about 75% of the companys revenue growth and an even greater proportion of profit growth. Before they reach saturation point, US retail sales growth will slow considerably over the next three to five years, further increasing the pressure on the international division to justify the companys investment in expansion. Competition: The global coffee market is a very competitive sector, and Starbucks must compete against the likes of restaurants, coffee shops, and street carts. A major competitor, with substantially greater financial, marketing and operating resources than Starbucks, could enter this market at any time and compete directly against the company. Starbucks must be aware of competition on all levels and maintain its operational performance if it is to retain its status as the worlds leading specialty coffee retailer. Volatility of market: Starbucks is at risk to the volatility of the supply and price of coffee. The companys search for superior standard coffee means it can be adversely affected by multiple factors in the producing countries, including weather, political and economic conditions. In addition, green coffee prices have been affected in the past, and may be affected in the future, by the actions of organizations and associations that have in the Starbucks Corporation past attempted to influence prices of green coffee through agreements establishing export quotas or restricting global coffee supplies. The actions of these associations could cause a degree of costly disruption to Starbuc

The Benefits of Preschool Essay examples -- Argumentative Persuasive E

The Benefits of Preschool Preschool isn't just a place for parents to drop off their children while they are at work for the day. It is in preschool where children learn the necessary skills needed to succeed in school and in life. With high-quality preschools and qualified teachers the possibilities are endless. It's not only the children who reap the benefits of Early Childhood Education; their parents, fellow peers, and even society feel the positive effects of quality preschool programs. Children enrolled in quality preschool programs are more likely to succeed academically and socially when they are older. Many children begin school at the ages of 5 or 6, the age when a child enters kindergarten. However, children?s learning capabilities are at there peak at earlier ages than that. Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley says, ?Children learn more in their early years than they ever will again. With the dissolution of the extended family, the best way to support early learning is with publicly funded pre-K? (Starr, 2002). Their brains are more primed to learn and will absorb more information earlier in life. Therefore the earlier children begin their education, the better. It is through these programs that the children learn proper etiquettes when dealing with teachers and fellow students. ?Children who attend well-planned, high quality programs?tend to learn more and are better prepared to successfully master the complex demands of formal schooling,? says one government commissioned review of research on early childhood education (Ruben, 2000/2001). The results of quality preschool programs can be seen early after they begin. Children learn many important life le... ...e San Francisco Chronicle, A27. Retrieved October 4, 2002 from Lexis Nexis ? Academic-Document. Rhodes, M. (1999 Fall). What kids really learn in preschool. Parenting, 13(7), 74. Retrieved September 17, 2002 from MasterFILE Premier. Ruben, D. (2000 December/2001 January). Preschool for all?. Parenting, 14(10), 160. Retrieved September 17, 2002 from MasterFILE Premier. Starr, A. (2002 August 19/2002 August 26). The importance of teaching tots. Business Week, (3796), 164. Retrieved October 14, 2002 from Academic Search Premier. Wagner, Senator J. (2002 April 17). Money for early childhood education is money well Spent. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, A-24. Retrieved October 4, 2002 from Lexis Nexis ? Academic-Document. Wang, P. (1998 February). The impact of delaying school. Parenting, 12(1), 26. Retrieved September 17,2002 from MasterFILE Premier.

Physics and Firearms :: physics firearm gun guns ballistics

So you are into reloading and you wonder how well that little package with 77 grains of IMR 4350 powder behind a 300 grain round nose, full metal jacket bullet will do. Well, you can do two things, a little bit of physics calculations, or go out and touch it off, hoping that it doesn’t explode in the barrel! I would choose to do a little physics myself†¦ By using some basic physics equations, you can figure out just about any part of the rifles ballistics data. For instance, if you know a few variables, you can predict range with physics, or if you like you can figure things like drag on the bullet, pressure and expansion values inside the gun, on the bullet and much more, all from physics. So, lets take a look at both the potential and kinetic energies of the .338 Winchester magnum. I will use a load given by the Winchester Reloading manual, which can be found online at: http://www.winchester.com/reloader/index.html This load is a 300 grain bullet, using 59.8 grains of Winchester 760 powder, and this gives a muzzle velocity of 2285 ft/sec. For potential energy we know that PE=mgh, where PE= Potential Energy, m=mass, g=acceleration due to gravity, and h=height. So for a 300-grain bullet, the potential energy is calculated by first finding the mass. To do this, take 300grains/7000grains/pound. This gives you a value of .042857lbs. Then we need to convert pounds to slugs (slugs are the units of mass†¦) .042857lb/32.2ft/s^2=.001331slugs. Now we can calculate the potential energy of our 300-grain bullet. We will assume that h=six feet, since that is roughly the height of the barrel when I shoot from a standing position. So, since PE=mgh, we get PE=(.00133slugs)(32.2ft/sec^2)(6ft)=.256956lbft. The answer is pretty much nothing and so we can pretty much ignore the potential energy of that bullet sitting at six feet in the air, but now lets look at the Kinetic energy of this bullet when shot. Since this bullet will be twisting when it flies, it will have rotational kinetic energy, but I really don’t want to get into those calculations and from what I have read, the amount of energy given by rotation versus that of the charge behi nd the bullet is really insignificant so I will only calculate the KE as if the bullet is not rotating. The formula is KE=1/2mv^2.

Analysis of Strategy Formation Essay

Strategy is difficult to define. There are many popular and debated definitions available. One idea is that strategy is top management’s plan to attain outcomes consistent with the organization’s mission and goals (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, & Lambel, 1998). Another definition is that strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions designed to exploit core competencies and gain a competitive advantage (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson 2013). Some argue that strategy cannot be defined at all because many professionals including researchers, practitioners, and theorists all have different thoughts on what strategy is, how it is formulated, and how it is implemented (Dewit & Meyer, 2010). However, all of these ideas have something in common: a strategy is a roadmap for getting from here to there. It is important to understand that strategy is not a single concept, but rather a process made up of many pieces. For this paper, I will define strategy as a roadmap or blueprint for obtaining a competitive advantage. In this analysis of strategy formation I will examine the most important issues involved in strategy formation and explain why they are important, define how corporate-level strategies relate to business-level strategies and functional-area tactics and how these pieces support each other, and finally, I will outline the primary inputs to strategy formulation in a firm. But, before we answer these questions it is important to share a brief history of strategy. The word strategy originated from the Greek work strategos. Strategos was coined when Kleisthenis developed a fresh set of organizational structure in ancient Greece in order to promote a better army. The direct definition of the singular stratos means to lead (DeWit &Meyer, 2010). Essentially the concept is derived directly from a need for a higher organizational structure, change and leadership development. Warfare was pas the point of simply winning a battle but instead was focused upon the coordination of units and tactical approaches to battle (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). When we look at how strategy is formed today we also see a parallel in that firms must coordinate corporate-level, business-level and functional-level tactical issues in order to successful formulate a strategy. By coordinating the approach a strategy helps to gain a competitive advantage for firms just as it does for armies on the battlefield. Now that we understand the history behind strategy formation we will discuss the most important points of strategy formation and discuss what makes them important. Strategy formation can be arduous because planners love to plan out every single details of a plan and press everything into an orderly, mechanistic process (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). It is critical for strategies to follow a mechanistic process with vision and end goal in mind while having a big picture mentality that takes change management and flexibility into account as the unknowns’ surface. Without a proper plan to learn and address needed adjustments the plan can become easily outdated and ineffective. Strategy formation is described as being a new way to understand old problems, however, strategic planning and formation can lead to analysis paralysis if overly complex and planned out (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). Flexibility is an important piece of strategy formation and as strategists we must avoid being married to a specific set of ideas, but rather be open to learning, experimentation, balancing risks and rewards while working towards to vision that creates a competitive advantage. This pattern in a stream of decisions works to get a company to its strategic goal and vision (Dewit & Meyer, 2010). A good approach to this is letting the strategies emerge in the process, rather than focusing on the strategy formation in the beginning. Outside of recognizing the importance of change and emergence there are many other important variables in strategy formation. For example, many organizations develop strategies based on rigid changes like their core competencies, resources, demographics, and market demand. But, there are also many other softer pieces can be equally important when formulating a strategy. According to DeWit and Meyer the most cited key issues in strategy formation are: 1) overall organization structure of its basic management style; 2) relationships with the government or other external interest groups; 3) acquisition, divestiture, or divisional control practices; 4) international posture and relationships; 5) innovative capabilities or personnel motivations as affected by growth; 6) worker and professional relationships reflecting changed social expectations and values nd 7) past or anticipated technological environments (DeWit and Meyer, 2010). These key components help give us a good framework for the most important parts of strategy formation, but they don’t make up everything. Many managers are comfortable with the planning piece of strategy formation, but lag when it comes to actually putting the plan into action (Hrebiniak, 2005). For many organizations putting the strategy in place is the easy part and creating a winning strategy doesn’t actually get you from here to there. A solid planned, documented and even inspiring plan of action doesn’t gain a competitive advantage in and of itself. It is the execution of that strategy that makes all the difference in the company achieving that completive advantage. Here are some key challenges that corporations face when executing on a strategy: 1) the culture of the organization and how it was not appropriate for the challenges ahead; 2) incentives and how people have been rewarded for seniority or â€Å"getting older† and not for performance or competitive achievement (the sacred cows); 3) the need to overcome problems with traditional functional â€Å"silos† in the organizational structure and 4) the challenges inherent in managing change as the division adapted to new competitive conditions (Hrebiniak, 2005). Actually getting the strategy to produce the desired results can clearly be more difficult that forming it in the first place. Execution is not the last important point of strategy formation to discuss; the stakeholders also play a fundamental role in the formation of a strategy. A stakeholder is any individuals, groups or organizations that can affect the firm’s vision and mission, are affected by the strategic outcomes achieved, and have enforceable claims on the firm’s performance (Hitt, Ireland, & Hosskisson, 2010). These stakeholders can be divided into categories. Capital Market Stakeholders are the banking partner and suppliers of capital. Product Market Stakeholders are customers, suppliers, host communities, and union groups. Lastly, are the Organizations Stakeholders, which are comprised of employees, manager, and non-managers. These categories are divided from top to bottom in order of importance, which means that Capital Market Stakeholders have the highest level of influence and the Organizational stakeholders have the least. All takeholders are not created equal. The more critical and valued a stakeholder’s participation, the greater the firm’s dependency on it; greater dependence, in turn, gives the stakeholder more potential influence over a firm’s commitments, decisions, and actions (Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt, 2008). A shift to more emergent characteristics in the strategy making process combining stakeholder considerations and strategic conversations during s trategy formation with select stakeholders is what makes the difference in a balanced strategy (Booth and Segon, 2008). The key point is the degree to which the stakeholder’s goals align with each other, and how those aligned elements are being addressed by the strategists in the organization. Strategic leaders are responsible and accountable for realizing the expectations of each of the many stakeholders. This accountability to the stakeholders plays an important part in developing the strategy. It can also impact the expectations of each of the stakeholders. For example, the vision and mission of the strategic leaders is shared with all of the stakeholders and their confidence or lack of confidence is a direct result of those strategic leaders. The expectations and composition of our stakeholders has a significant and direct affect in our organizations strategic formation. Of course, without security and surprise, a solid plan, execution strategy, flexibility, clear objectives, concentration, and coordinated and committed leadership, a strategy can still fail. Surprise strategy must make use of speed, secrecy and intelligence to attack unprepared opponents at unexpected time, while forcing the opponent to react to your company and not the other way around (Concept Paper #1). Security addresses keeping the core competencies, operations points and resource safe from the competition. For example, if our strategy is based on the talent of our human capital, we must work to keep the working conditions safe and happy so the competition doesn’t work to recruit our talent for their own strategy. We have outlined the most important points of strategy formation and discussed what makes them important, so now it is now time to define how corporate-level strategies relate to business-level strategies and functional-area tactics, and how these pieces support each other. Functional-area tactics are short-term activities each functional area within the firm undertakes to implement the grand strategy (Pierce & Robinson, 2012). Pierce offers three characteristics that differentiate functional area tactics from business-level and corporate-level tactics: 1) time horizon, focus on immediate activities; 2) specificity, business strategies provide general direction, functional area tactics specify activities and how they are expected to be achieved and 3) participants, general managers are responsible for business strategies, operating managers establish short-term objectives and functional tactics that lead to business-level success (Pierce & Robinson, 2012). These activities are put in place as a means of achieving a business-level strategy and so their relationship is one of vision versus direct action to achieve that vision. . A business level strategy is a carefully designed methodology that aids companies in implementing and carrying through with actions designed to meet the financial and other goals set by that business (wiseGEEK, 2013). Whether a firm has a competitive advantage or not, depends on the business system or business-level strategy that is has developed to relate itself to its business environment and if the configuration of resources (inputs), activities (throughput) and product/service offerings (output) intended to create value for its customers – it is the way a firm conducts its business (Dewit & Meyer, 2010). Business strategy can be further understood as the decisions a firm makes about its alternatives when competing in a specific market and how those alternatives works to bring their core competencies to the surface through cost leadership, differentiation, focused cost leadership, focused differentiation, and integrated leadership/differentiation. According to Hitt et. l, the risks associated with cost leadership are 1) loss of competitive advantage to new technology; 2) failure to detect changing customer needs; 3) the ability of competitors to imitate the cost leader’s competitive advantage through their own distinct strategic actions (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson 2013). As also pointed out by Hitt et. al. , there are also differentiation strategy risks such as 1) a customer group’s decision that the differences between the differentiated product and the cost leader’s goods or services are no longer worth a premium price, 2) the inability of a differentiated product to reate the type of value for which customers are willing to pay a premium price, 3) the ability of competitors to provide customers with products that have features similar to those of the differentiated product, but at a lower cost, and 4) the threat of counterfeiting, whereby firms produce a cheap imitation of a differentiated good or service (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2013). Previously, we have identified how business-level strategy impacts functional tactical strategy and now I will address corporate-level strategy and how it, respectively, relates to these levels. A corporate strategy is what makes the corporate whole add up to more than the sum of its parts and typically comprises four concepts: portfolio management, restructuring, transferring skills, and sharing activities (Porter, 2008). Portfolio management and diversification are central strategies for any medium or large business. Market analysis demonstrates that many organizations that are medium sized and larger are made up of multiple businesses and offer several product lines that can cross industries and regions. Organizations can have very different financial characteristics and face different strategic options depending on how they are placed in terms of growth and relative competitive position (Dewit and Meyer, 2010). A portfolio strategy requires firms to grow through investment in existing businesses, acquiring new businesses and withdrawing from failing ones. As porter points out another form of corporate strategy is philanthropic involvement. When it comes to philanthropy, executives increasingly see themselves as caught between critics demanding over higher levels of â€Å"corporate social responsibility† and investors applying pressure to maximize short-term profits (Porter, & Kramer, 2002). It doesn’t end there though, another piece to corporate-level strategy is corporate governance. Corporate governance is concerned with identifying ways to ensure that decisions (especially strategic decisions) are made effectively and that they facilitate a firm’s efforts to achieve strategic competitiveness by maintaining a harmony between the top-level managers and the shareholder’s interests (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2013). We must also point out that mergers and acquisitions play a significant role in corporate-level strategy. Corporate-level strategy is made up of many pieces, but overall it shares the same goals as the other levels, to increase value by creating a competitive advantage. We have discussed the various elements to corporate-level strategy and now we will discuss how it related to business and functional/tactical-level strategy. Since corporate-level strategy is the highest level of decision-making and encompasses the end objective of the organization, allocation of resources, stakeholder’s goals and acquisitions is it always value-oriented, whereas, business-level and functional-level strategy is more relevant to each individual business entity. Corporate strategy is not the sum total of business strategies of the corporation but it deals with different subject matter; while the corporation is concerned with and has impact on business strategy, the former is concerned with the shape and balancing of growth and renewal rather than in market execution (Bhasin, 2010). Although there are different levels to organizational strategy they all relate and impact one another from the top down. Now that we understand the various levels of decision-making we will now turn to the various inputs to strategy formation for a firm. Before we conclude this analysis, it is important to review the different schools on strategy and those schools perceive strategy formation. There are 7 main school of strategy starting with the Design School. In short, the design school looks to create a fit between capabilities and opportunities or possibilities; it resulted in the famous SWOT analysis. Second, the Planning School also uses a SWOT like the design school to take into account internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Although the design school doesn’t delineate the steps like the planning school does. It is this dividing into delineating steps that sets the planning school apart. The three phases of this school are: Objective Setting, Strategy Evaluating, and the Operationalization phase (Concept Paper #4). Third, in the Positioning School we see that the strategy formation is really driven by analyzing the market and deliberately implemented by those analytics. Forth, The entrepreneurial school is more of a singular vision of strategy from 1 person, namely the entrepreneur, rather than a collective approach as we have learned about in previous schools. Fifth, the Learning School of thought approaches strategy formulation in two separate models: 1) the grassroots model approaches strategy as emergent; 2) whereas, the hothouse model formulates strategy deliberately. Sixth, the Cognitive School states that in order to understand how strategies emerge from under other ircumstances we must look into the mind of the actual strategists. And finally, the last school is the Configuration School, as pointed out in Concept Paper #11, different dimensions of an organization cluster together under particular circumstances and conditions to define â€Å"states†, â€Å"models† or â€Å"ideal types†. It was important to review these various schools because when we look at the big picture of strategy formation and analyze how it is made up and why it is important we can glean important points from each of the seven school. Yes, the overall goal of each school is the same as the goal of strategy formation as a whole, to gain competitive advantage and overall value for the corporation, but it is not always as easy as following one school of thought. For example, what might work in one situation won’t necessarily work in another so as strategists we must be able to take pieces from each school and put them in place where appropriate to achieve our desired outcome for that particular problem. Now that we have some big picture understanding of the different perspectives we will now discuss the primary inputs of strategy. As we discuss the inputs it is first important to point out that there is a difference between emergent and intended strategy. Organizations always have an intended strategy but sometimes the inputs move them towards a more emergent strategy. While strategy formulation is the process by which an intended strategy is created, emergent strategies often come out of following a specific pattern in decision making. (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). The primary inputs are identifying, diagnosing, conceiving, and realizing; of course within this specific framework, there are more specific activities (DeWit & Meyer, 2010). The first input of identifying is outlining a mission and agenda, this could also include a vision statement. Diagnosing is the internal an external assessments, such as the SWOT analysis. Next, conceiving is the brainstorming process by which the participants envision where there are trying to go and how they will get there. This is the key component an input of strategy formation, and for most groups it can be the most difficult because it requires creative out-of-the-box thinking. Lastly, but not least, is realizing and this is where the rubber meets the road. It is here where specific activities must be undertaken to achieve the strategic plan. We have identified the most important issues involved in strategy formation and defined why they are important, differentiated between corporate/business/functional-level strategies and how they impact one another, discussed the various schools of thought on strategy formation, and finally outlined the primary inputs to strategy formation in a firm. Now it is time to dig in a little deeper and attempt to bring it all together and analyze what it means as a whole. From a big picture mentality strategy formation must encompass the important items we outlined, while also taking into account the potential for change. Having a change management protocol for the organization as a whole, as well as, for each of the subsidiary organizations is critical in today’s global market economy. Outside of change, as strategists, we must also clearly understand our competitors, threats and regions. Things like technology can play a significant part in the ability to execute on strategy. Surprise and security are also equally important to strategy formation. What this all tells us is what we discussed early on: strategy is very difficult to define as an individual concept. Rather than a singular concept see that strategy is more of a way of big picture thinking that is critical to achieving success in virtually any endeavor, not just business. Yes, you can get lucky and find success without strategy, but we could also win the lottery it doesn’t mean it is going to happen. A strategic way of thinking is also not just thinking it is an executable and traceable tool that can adjust and emerge as needed. As a metaphor we can use going to the gym for physical fitness. Our strategic vision is losing weight, increasing heart health and gaining strength. But, how will we get from here (fat, high cholesterol and weak) to there (strong, heart healthy and thin)? We start by developing an action plan, outlining the inputs and potential threats (bad eating, etc), and we follow our plan daily and adjust as needed based on what emerges from the data we gather. This methodology can be applied to any goal, and large corporate business is no different. Unless we execute by actually going to the gym, following and adjusting our strategy for maximum performance we will never achieve our goals, even if we are lucky. You cannot win heart health in a contest. The same goes for business you can’t accidentally win customers and keep them for extended periods of time with successfully executing on your strategy. As we continue and find success in the gym, we may choose to diversify and bring our success to our friend and family or co-workers. This portfolio diversification also applies to large organizations. Additionally, our goals in the gym have stakeholders like our friends, family, employers, insurance companies, communities and any organizations to which we belong, not the mention, the world as a whole that benefits from our staying healthy. This philosophy our strategic way of thinking can be with us every second of everyday, and by thinking strategically in our lives and our roles in business we not only gain competitive advantage but maintain that advantage overtime. In closing, from the origins of the word strategy, and earlier, human beings have been strategizing. We strategized how to hunt and now we still strategize how to hunt only we are not hunting mammoths, but we are hunted mammoth size endeavors that require mammoth sized strategies. As we create and execute a plan for how to get from here to there towards achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage, as strategists, we are constantly analyzing how to optimize our approach while limiting risks. Strategy as a way of thinking can also be approved upon and as humans we have the power and control to accomplish truly amazing things for our corporations and our world.