Friday, September 6, 2019
My Favorite Memory Essay Example for Free
My Favorite Memory Essay It all began in the summer of 1988 when my parents packed up our car. We began our countless hour journeys from Youngstown, Ohio to FaHoLo Deaf Family Camp in Grass Lake, Michigan. The excitement and thrill that would rush through my veins when going to FAHOLO sent visions to my head about who I would see first, where I would be staying, what I would be doing, and to what fun places I would go. You are never too old to go to FAHOLO, there is always something to do no matter what age you are. Although the cost of camp was somewhat on the pricey side, every dime we spent getting there was well worth it. You cannot place a cost on memories and the people you meet while you are at camp. My memories of camp began when my parents and I arrived at FAHOLO each year. We would unload the car as fast as we could so we could go to the loud sanctuary. As we walked up to the sanctuary we could hear very loud music coming from it, the vibrations shaking the building and the buildings around it. When you walk into the sanctuary all you see is hearing, hard of hearing, deaf, and special needs, all coming together to learn and worship the Lord. It is such an incredible site to see. After the evening service had ended, we would all go to the dining hall. I can remember hearing the doors creak open and the smell of the oak wood inside the lobby. When you walked into the dining hall you could smell whatever was cooking. The first night of camp was always pizza. The pizza that night was delicious; the crust was thick, the sauce very light, the cheese was extra thick, and the toppings piled on high. I remember sitting down to eat pizza, seeing hands signing, and recognizing faces I hadnt seen in years. I remember eating pizza every year with my best friends Jaclyn, Amanda, Amber, Amy, and BJ. Wed sit and talk about all the fun we had over the past year, sports, the things we were going to do during the week, and how much fun we were going to have. We would then start to plan out wh at activities we wanted to do first. As the night came to an end, we said our goodbyes and headed to our different dorms. Jaclyn, Amanda, Amber, Amy, and I always stayed in the Girls Dorm. I can vividly remember the smell of the old dorm room as I opened the door mold and bleach. I can remember hearing giggling, seeing the deaf girls signing, and my friends Amanda, Amber, Amy, and Jaclyn all unpacking their things into dressers as I walked down the hall to my room.. By the time I got done unpacking I was tired and ready for bed and the next day as well. I was ready to learn whos class I was going to be in for the week and I was excited and ready to learn,but most of all I was looking forward to my free time during the afternoon because we were able to do whatever activities we wanted. After our morning classes and lunch came free time in which we could choose from many activities during the afternoon. We had the choices of going swimming in the pool, swimming at the lake, paddle boating, kayaking, canoeing, jumping off the blob, jumping on the water trampoline, playing softball or volleyball, go-karts, riding horses, climbing the rock wall, or going on group trips. For days on end my best friends and I would swim carefree in the glimmering waters of the pool and lake. The outside pool is where I learned how to swim in the deep end and float on my back. I even saved a little girl from drowning because her parents were not paying attention to her. Grass Lake, is the lake where I learned how to row a canoe, kayake, and how to properly skip rocks. I will never forget the crisp, clean air, seeing the ripples of the water on the lake from skipping rocks, and the sound of oars going in and coming out of the water. As the sun slowly began to set, the lake would slowly grow cold. The night sky filled with bright, twinkling stars. It looked as if someone spilled a container of glitter in the sky. I loved those nights, wouldnt you? My absolute favorite memory of camp was the bonfire and hayrides every year. I loved the smell of bonfires, the sound of the wood as it crackled and popped, and of logs collapsing as they disintegrated into nothing but ash while amber ashes floated into the night sky. The best part about a bonfire was roasting marshmallows. Id sit and watch the marshmallow turn from white to a light amber color and thats how I knew my marshmallow was perfect. I remember making a smore one night and giving it to my friend Amanda. She sat and bragged about how good the smore was and told people to have me make their smores. One by one people started coming up to me and asking me to make a smore for them. It was fun for meto compete with other people to see who could make a better smore, but Id always win. While the bonfire was still going, the grounds keeper came to the campgrounds with his red horse drawn wagon and would take turns loading groups of people into the wagon. I loved getting to ride in the wagon with all my friends, talking, laughing, signing, of course, and just being goofy. I remember looking at the night sky thinking â€Å"could this get any better?†and it usually did by my friends burying me or someone else in the hay. I can remember laying down in the wagon and having hay thrown on top of me, stuffed down my sweatshirt, and even into my socks and shoes. I was so warm buried under all the hay. When the hayride came to an end, I had to get out from under all the hay that was thrown on top of me. It was not fun trying to get all the hay off of me. I had to go take a shower to get it all off. I seriously did not know that hay could hide in the tiniest of places. As the night came to a close, I was reminded of how camp was coming to an end. The end of camp was the best but yet the saddest time. Even though everyone was sad that camp was coming to an end, it was still a time of joy and happiness. We made our last day the best. On the last day of camp there would always be a Talent Show. I was in the talent show one year. Since it was a deaf camp and not many people saw me sign I decided to sign a song. I was so nervous when I got on stage, but my nerves subsided when I saw my parents in the audience cheering me on. As I began to sign I saw the looks on peoples faces and their expressions were priceless. They looked stunned like they couldnt believe that I knew how to sign as well as I did. After the talent show, people came up to me and told me that I was astounding, amazing, and that I needed to pursue a career in interpreting. The people also congratulated me on winning the talent show. After the talent show was finished we had a formal banquet to celebrate. It was incredible to see how men could go from wearing basketball shorts and tank tops to suits, the women from shorts and t shirts to dresses and skirts. Before the banquet we would always take a picture of everyone who came to camp. We then proceeded to the dining hall which was decorated each year with a theme. We would be seated at tables and treated like guests at a fancy fest or a royal ball. We used proper manners, ate very well cooked meals, had dessert, talked, and just had fun. After the banquet was over it was time to leave. At the end of the banquet we said our goodbyes, hugged our friends, packed the car, and started our countless hour journey back to Ohio, keeping the memories of the dazzling lake, the nice cool pool, the crisp Michigan summer air, the twinkling stars, the sweet smells of the bonfire, and the fun memories with friends in our minds. Even though I was sad to leave, I knew Id be back next year seeing the same people and creating more memories.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Johnson and johnson
Johnson and johnson a.        Executive Summary Johnson and Johnson company has planned a new product lounge in the market specifically for Pakistan where a big number of peoples having not enough awareness of bacterial and germs infection. The product named as Pak antibacterial soap is designed that provides quick, easy and effective hand washing. Proper hand washing is the most effective preventative measure available to combat communicable diseases. Skin problems are common for people of all ages. Whether you suffer with a rash, itchy skin, skin fungus or infection, skin bumps, or skin tags. Improper handwashing. The Market Through analysed facts and figures Johnson and Johnsons Pak antibacterial soap is wide market such as mothers, children and employees. The target market has population of more than 160 million in which 68% of people are not properly wash their hands before eating. People of the country are not much aware about the bacterial infections. So JJ planned an attractive marketing strategy which will educate the people and provide healthy life in their own hands. Based on detailed financial projections,JJwill require22 million Pakistani Rupees and will generatepositive cash flowin first quarter, Year 1. Sales Forecast b.        Introduction 1.a        Background: Johnson and Johnson (JJ) is a global pharmaceutical product company. This company is a well known organization. The company started its first production in 1886 and after one year in 1987 it is incorporated. The company headquarter is in New Brunswick located at prime location. b.b        History: The company Johnson n Johnson was found in 1886 (around 120 years ago) on a revolutionary idea by Robert Wood Johnson, James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson when doctors and nurses started to using bandages and dressing, sterile suture for treating wounded peoples. The company has maintained friendly environment and very keen in health and safety from the beginning, they first time used non-polycarbonate containers instead of plastic bottles. JJ uses a largest solar power generator as a member of Green House for keeping the environment. b.c        Corporate chairmanship of the Company v Robert Wood Johnson I 1887-1910 v James Wood Johnson 1910-1932 v Robert Wood Johnson II 1932-1963 v Philip B. Hofmann 1963-1973 v Richard B. Sellars 1973-1976 v James E. Burke 1976-1989 v Ralph S. Larsen 1989-2002 v William C. Weldon 2002- b.d        Corporate Governance: Board of directors of Johnson Johnson are listed below: Mary Sue Coleman, James G. Cullen, Dominic Caruso, Michael M.E. Johns, Ann Dibble Jordan, Arnold G. Langbo, Susan L. Lindquist, Leo F. Mullin, Christine A. Poon, Steven S. Reinemund, David Satcher, and William C. Weldon. http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_%26_Johnson In the first period of their development during 1886 to 1926 they got success to establish a company in New Brunswick and they focused on sterile surgical dressing to save the lives of patients. They participate in saving peoples lives in1906 Francisco disaster. Their global expansion began in 1919 from Canada and 1924 from England. During Their 2nd period of product lines expansion been b.e        Company Structure: JJ is with several business segments in all around the world with 250 companies in 57 countries. The companies are concerning with following particular areas: Consumer Health Care Medical Devices and Diagnostics Pharmaceuticals Products of JJ: Medical Devices and Diagnostics: JJ is helping hospitals with the technologies to restore the joys of precious life of human being who are suffering with diseases and chronic conditions all around the world. They are providing more than 20 kind of technological devices including Orthopedics, Implants, Joint Replacements, Sports Medicins, Heart and Vascular Diseases etc. b.f        Consumer Products: For improving the quality of every day life the consumer companies of JJ target the baby care, skin and hair care, oral care, nutritional, pain relief, topical care and much more. Their vision is very clear and the companys slogan is BRINGING SCIENCE TO THE ART OF HEALTHY LIVINGâ„ ¢. b.g        The Pharmaceutical segment: Johnson Johnson invested over $5 billion in 2008 on RD. This investments majority was in five therapeutic areas where the Pharmaceutical segment is strategically focused and where there continues to be significant unmet medical need. Following areas are included: cardiovascular disease and metabolism, neuroscience (including pain); infectious disease, immunology and oncology. b.h        Recent Products: J J is continue to providing healthier life to their consumers. Here are some recent products lounged by the company: AVEENO ® Intense Relief Repair Cream AVEENO ® POSITIVELY AGELESSâ„ ¢ Firming Body Lotion AVEENO ® POSITIVELY AGELESSâ„ ¢ Warming Scrub CLEAN CLEAR ® ADVANTGE ® Blackhead Eraserâ„ ¢ Exfoliating Cleanser JOHNSONS ® HEAD-TO-TOE ® Foaming Wash JOHNSONS ® Baby Bubble Bath Wash 1.        Situation analysis: Our antibacterial soap is specially produced to protect people from germs and bacteria. Especially in Pakistan where is not a complete understanding of peoples about the bacterial infection. People in third World countries are not fully aware of these kinds of problems. Even in rural areas of Pakistan where people are not literate, they are facing new skin problems every day. Our new product targets those areas of the third world where people are not aware of bacterial protection. First we focus people who are living in rural areas of Pakistan especially interior Balochistan. 1.1        Market Summary: 1.1.1Market Demographic: According to a survey population and growth rate of Pakistan is under the following: Population of the country: 172,800,000 (according to July 2008 best estimation) Growth rate of population: 2.2% (according to 2008 estimation) Birth ratio: 31 births per 1,000 population (2008 est.) Death ratio: 8 deaths per 1,000 population (2008 est.) Net migration ratio: -1.0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.) Refr:        wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Pakistan In this survey more than 68% population of Pakistan is living in rural areas where people are not aware about the bacterial infections. 1.2        External Analysis: 1.2.1Political Analysis: Constant political instability does affect the company in terms of building relations with the governments. It is very difficult to maintain long term relations with all the governments. Pakistan is aligning with US against the terrorism and because of this their peoples are victims of terrorism and are stressed. 1.2.2Environmental Analysis: Solid waste burning, bad-quality fuels, and the growing use of motor vehicles are contributing towards in air pollution that in some cities as exceeded levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization. The country is suffering a lot from the dry climates. The country has poor water infrastructure even more than 70% population dont have refined water for drinking. Moreover country has not a proper sewerage system. 1.2.3Social Analysis: JJ has to be very careful according to implementation of its promotional campaign. Since the social culture of Pakistan is very conservative and any suggestive advertisement face a lot of reactions on the part of consumers. 1.2.4Technological Analysis: Pakistan is a big consumer of new technology. Internet companies are providing a wide range of coverage. Transportation is cheaper than other big countries but there is a big problem of electricity. Existing infrastructure is unable to fulfil the complete requirements of the country. 1.2.5Economical Analysis: The economic condition of Pakistan will always affect the company. As Pakistan inflation rate is going high and high and income of peoples is not increasing as pricing of products are going up. Pakistan has a semi-industrialized economical country. The growth poles of the countrys economy are situated along the Sindh River (Indus River), diversified economies of Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad are located with less developed areas in other parts of the country. Pakistans economic growth rate has been increased in last 40 years and getting strong as compare to 1947. But still there are not enough facilities that fulfil economic requirements of the population. 1.2.6Legal Analysis: There are no legal issues in Pakistan for JJ as company meets all the legal requirement of the country. 1.3 SWOT Analysis: 1.3.1Strengths: The major strength of JJ in Pakistan is affiliation and support from the Johnson and Johnson global organization which has a good reputation in health sector. Another advantage is availability of high technology infrastructure. JJ never compromise on the quality of services and the products, they provide to the consumer. 1.3.2Weaknesses: JJ have only a weakness that they are coming in that market where already have strong competitors and they are well known and have very strong relations with the consumers. Accordingly JJ is not enough strong in that market so capturing new market is very challenging goal for the company. 1.3.3Opportunities: Although the existing antibacterial soap manufactures have already started the campaign to be aware peoples of the country about the bacterial infection but there is still a big market to capture. We believe that JJ have an opportunity to capture rural areas of the country where people have not mentally prepared to buy these antibacterial products. In urban areas people of Pakistan already familiar with JJ baby shampoo and other valued products for baby care, they will automatically buy these products. 1.3.4Threats: In every market there is a chance of new comer in the same field. Soap industry has very good margins and growing up and up day by day, so there is always a chance to have more competitors. Other main players in the antibacterial soap category (Safeguard by PG, Dettol by Reckitt Benckiser and Lifebuoy by Unilever) in Pakistan have strong positioned their brands for everyday use against bacteria. They are offering some sort of additions in their products by regular basis, they can challenge JJ by providing new improvements and they also reduce their prices to beat JJ in competition. 1.4        Competitor Analysis: The following are three big companies are already operating in this area. 1.4.1PG Proctor Gamble has positioned to provide every day new advertisement and they have 20 percent of market share. A series of marketing campaign distinguished safeguard soap to all other market competitors. They have variety of types and different flavours of products. 1.4.2Uniliver Uniliver have 10 percent market share in the target market. They started marketing campaign and competing with PG but their marketing strategy is not as effective as PG has. 1.4.3Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt Benckiser are producing antibacterial soap named Dettol Soap, they have 5 percent of market share. They are well behind the both top companies products (Unilivers Lifebouy and PGs Safeguard). 1.5Distribution Pattern Analysis Regional providers are providing distribution in the soap industry. These distributors serve a large portion of the market based on the size of the market and delivering to the organizations monthly and weekly depending on the demand of the company and usage patterns. Food services deliveries typically of cleaning products once in a month. Hospitals have a different distribution system; they receive monthly a large amount of soaps. Restaurants typically receive once in a week delivery of soaps and the stores receives some times weekly and some times after two week according to the demand. 3.        Objectives Develop a complete prototype which meets regulatory standards by June2010. Become thespecialty soap of choice for day cares across the Pakistan by December 2010. Achieve sales of Rs10 million by the end of 2010. 4.        Mission Statement: Johnson and Johnson believe on the launching of new products. Business must make a sound profit. We must experiment with new ideas. Research must be carried on, innovative programs developed and mistakes paid for. New equipment must be purchased, new facilities provided and new products launched. Johnson and Johnson is an innovative consumer company which provide new products and new ideas in health sector. Johnson and Johnson never compromise on quality and have well reputation around the world. 5.        Vision: Johnsons Johnsons vision is very clear. There vision is: -Keeping children free of infection We partner with Task Force for Global Health so children can stay healthy -Focussing on Wellness and prevention We remain commited to expand the ways we care the people through out the World. -Fulfilling new need of new markets Our vision is to improve the quality of peoples daily life. Peoples and values are our companys biggest assets. We know that our companys every invention and every product is powered by the people. We also recognise that different age, nationality and sexual orientation, physical ability, thinking ability and backgrounds bring richness to our work environment. 6.        Strategy Our executive team willbuild loyaltyfor our products withdecision-level managers of the organizations in the target markets, and they will create such a strategy in which target people directly target. For this purpose they will make some effective advertisement and will use children, male and mothers to deliver the specific messages to the audience. 6.1        Strategy Pyramid Ourultimate strategyisto build JJ products intothe standard forhome and workplacehand washing and bathing for cleanings and free of bacteria by targeting daily routine of children, mothers and workers. We will contract the insurance, advertising companies as well as government companies to start strong branding campaign to make aware of the peoples of the brand. 6.2        Competitive Strategy: To achieve good results we need to concentrate on the quality price and the same time on the competitors. PG is providing a good product with cheap price. According to the Porters Generic Strategy we will use diversification because our product and market is new, where risk of level is high we need to provide low cost soap and with some new and different attributes of our new brand soap. Reckitt Benckiser is also lounged a campaign through advertisement to educate children about the bacterial infection. Same time Uniliver is playing vital role and they are also focusing on the school level children. In accordance to above factors Johnson Johnson is very keen on pricing and quality of products. 6.3        Marketing Strategy For our initial target market of home consumers, JJ will implement two parallel marketing efforts. One is aimed to the parents of young children who use this antibacterial soap and other is to educate the children regarding bacterial infection. We need to create a push factor by effectively convincing the mothers of children that our product provides an ideal solution for the bacterial infection to the hand washing compliance and bathing.A branding campaign will build awareness and provide education the children of rural areas where children do not have a proper education of germs and bacteria in their daily life. 6.4Market Segmentation: 6.4.1        Demographic: Our antibacterial soap targets the children, adult and households. According to CIA World Fact book age structure of Pakistan is: Age structure: 0-14 years: 36.7% (male 33,037,943/female 31,092,572) 15-64 years: 59.1% (male 53,658,173/female 49,500,786) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 3,495,350/female 3,793,734) (2009 EST.) Our primary target are children and females those are more than 50% of total population who want to fulfil an everyday needs. Females are very conscious about their health and skin diseases. They want full protection against bacteria. We also believe that children are potential agents of change in life and imparting education of the importance of hand washing with antibacterial soap will bring healthy habits in their early life. 6.4.2        Market Growth: The overall market of soap is growing up by 10% in recent scenario and particularly 7% growth in antibacterial soap in Pakistan. 6.4.3        Socioeconomic Middle class and upper middle class will be the main target of the product. Primary target will be cities and surrounding areas of the cities. Rural market penetration is limited and is primarily driven through wholesalers. Psychographic: In this we can target young house wives and mothers who care about the health of whole family and can educate their children about bacterial infections, health and hygiene. 6.4.4        Positioning Strategy Our strategy is to provide healthy life with low cost product and high quality. Our product provides conclusive evidence every time a child washes his or her hands for only a marginally higher cost than traditional soaps. The cost is significantly less than gloves or other hand washing liquids available in the market. 6.5Product 6.5.1        Product Name: Pak Soap 6.5.2        Product Type: Anti-bacterial Soap 6.5.3        Ingredients: Tricloson Palm Oil Water Sodium laurel Sulphate Laura Mide DEA Glycole Disterate Cocamidopropyl betaine Sodium Sulphate Fragrance Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride Citric Acid Hydanation Tetra Sodium EDTA FCD Red No 4 FDC yellow No 5 Alovera Vitamin E 6.5.4        Physical and Chemical Properties: Boiling Point:        Above 21 oF Specific Gravity:        1.02 Volatile by Volume:        80% approx Solubility in Water:        Complete Evaporation Rate:        Same as Water 6.5.5        Convenience good: The product will provide complete protection from all seen and unseen germs and bacteria. 6.6Pricing Strategy Retail pricing for anti bacterial soap will generally be around Rs8/eachand will command a 30% price premium overother available conventional liquidsoaps available in the market. Our values product will not be only attractive toextremely price sensitive customers it will also capture the buyers who are very much caring of their health. The soap market is generally inelastic, but we offer some different benefits overcurrent available soaps that justify the different qualities and price. 6.7        Promotion: 6.7.1        Agency Selection Around 135 advertising agencies working in the market but Johnson Johnson has selected Manhattan International Limited (MIL) Advertising Company because the company has extraordinary technology and well reputation with government and civil sector in Pakistan. TV Advertisement Radio Ads News Paper and Magazines Sign Boards 6.8        Place Pak soap has also planned an in-store placement strategy to promote and market their product so to have maximum visibility to the consumer; they have assigned dedicated shelves to the product and are also promoting their product in metro and makro as well. Their placement strategy is mainly focused on v Place Pak Soap next to Safeguard v Equal or more faces than Safeguard, Dettol and Lifebouy. v Place between Dettol Safeguard where Possible. v Build brand block wherever possible. 6.9        Distribution Strategy Initially our distribution strategy will involve a combination of both distributors and direct sales through some available channels in the market.Relationships with local Pakistani distributors then will be established for promotional reach and potential users. Our executive team will get the first order after direct delivery to the wholesalers and will give some discount to them.In the future entirely outsourcing distribution will allowJohnson Johnson to focus its efforts on marketing and expanding as quickly as possible. 6.10        Action Plan 6.10.1Gantt chart 6.11Financial Strategy (Budgeting): Johnson Johnson pvt ltd is a sub company of Johnson Johnson which operates in the country. This project is only for Rs22 million. We will buy machinery for production of soap which will cost only Rs120,000 and purchase for Raw material is only cost for Pakistani Rs.40000. So all other expenses and salaries of employees for production for the first quarter is can be seen in the following: Pak soap is a Rs 1 billion brand annually and so the marketing budget allocated to it approx 20 % of total Net revenue, not much resources have been allocated to Pak soap marketing efforts due to its squeezed margins and close competition with other antibacterial soaps, it mainly derives its sales from the brand equity of Pak Soap. 6.12Sales Forecast 7.        Evaluation and Control Johnson Johnson is a family company that prides itself on improving the health and well being of its consumers. By targeting all age groups, socioeconomic statuses, and partnering consumers, the new product will provid 22 million of net profit for the first quarter after the launching of the antibacterial soap, which is the actual amount of the projectDomestic sales increased .2%, while international sales increased 13.8% (2.6% from operations and 11.2% from currency). These figures represent Johnson Johnson meeting and exceeding consumer needs, which is partly the reason why it is a Fortune 500 company. 8.        Conclusion and Recommendations: We have carefully research and analysed the market strategies adopted by Johnson Johnson Pakistan to boost the sales of new anti-bacterial soap () in the country and in first quarter Johnson Johnson will capture the 20% of market share. Following are the some suggestions for Johnson Johnson Pakistan Pvt. Ltd.: Price of soap will be set the according to the competitors. If competitors reduce their price they reduce their margin and should reduce the price. After successfully launched they should provide some flavours in the soap, so customers can enjoy different flavours as the other competitor Safeguard have 7 flavours in the market. Start a program in which they can educate children, industrial workers and mothers by hiring teams which will go door to door. 9.        Individual Critical Reflection Report: Marketing Management subject was never interested for me before studying this module. When I started to learn, very first class creates my interest in this subject in which tutor gave us an assignment to analyse the market, which was the turning point for me. And we visited some clothing stores than I get knowledge about how to analyse the different things. Before starting my MBA I was not familiar with the appropriate terminologies used in the marketing field, but I was very much sure that I will understand these concepts. I have managerial experience but not in marketing field and I wasnt know even about to write the different types of marketing. As module was passing day by day I feel many things change in myself, for example when I visit any place or store I started to analyse the things around me. This is the first development which I feel in myself. The concept of learning through case studies was very effective. It polished my reading and implementation of concepts and I come to know how the concepts can be taken out from the printed and electronic Medias. This developed my reading power and I learned how we extract the main points from a whole passage. Initially when I start to read a passage I feel difficulties to take out specific points from the articles, but day by day I feel change in myself, I feel confident and really enjoy reading articles and magazines. Presenting on the front of the class is another opportunity which I got from marketing management module which is very important for a marketing manager or MBA student, because people says presentation is very important for sell some thing. By preparing Wilkinson case study in early classes and presenting on the front of the tutor was an awesome experience which developed a self confidence level and enhanced my presentation and speaking skills. By learning in very depth of the marketing concepts I understand how the all stakeholders are very important in the process of marketing such as how the competitors can effect on the business. After completing this module I can write the marketing plan for any organization as I did in this assignment. Now I know how to use the marketing mix and how we can analyse the performance and how can we position an organization in the marketing. Porters Generic Studies, Ansoffs matrix, consumer behaviour, segmentation strategy and decision power of buyers were new for me and now I completely understand that how these models can be implemented in the marketing strategy of a company. Evolution of marketing metrics, ethics and social responsibilities and managing a marketing team is now not difficult for me as I am planning to start my own business after my MBA, I am very happy that I have enough knowledge of measurement and control a marketing plan and how to write a project plan by assigning different tasks to different teams. As a conclusion the whole module was very helpful to build and develop marketing concepts for me. References and Bibliography: Course Book http://www.jnj.com www.wikipedia.com www.uniliver.com http://www.marketingprofs.com/ http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2010.html 1 / 27 LSBF (MBA)
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Media Impact on War
Media Impact on War Vivienne Owusu-Ansah MEDIA TRANSFORMATION Can media help win – or lose – a war? Answer through detailed discussion of coverage in one war since 1945 – The Gulf War II. In 2003, America and its allies, U.K., Australia and Poland, well known as the coalition forces invaded Iraq and began a conflict which has come to be known as the Gulf war II or Iraq war and were later joined by several other countries. During the Iraq war, the Allied forces permitted the media to travel with them in their tanks and jets to war fields to cover the war so as to get first hand news to the public. Though the media has been involved in covering previous conflicts, the Iraq war was said to be the war which allowed the media to have extensive coverage and brought first hand news to the public. This allowed the Allied forces to control and manage the information that went out in public Frankly, our job is to win the war. Part of that is information warfare. So we are going to attempt to dominate the information environment. Embedding journalists honorably served that end, said Long[1]†(Kahn, 2004). Some journalists argue that the army used the journalists as a propaganda tool. This can be deemed as true because journalists’ reports were always favourable to the coalition forces. Reporting alongside the soldiers in war made the journalists feel a sense of closeness to troops. Moreover, the soldiers were the very people who were protecting the journalists’ whiles at the war front thus it became difficult if not impossible to report any negative issues about them. Another point to consider is that, because the media was reporting from the war front alongside the troops, they were able to send real time reports indirectly to Saddam Hussein’s government about the heavy artillery being used by the Allied forces. This psychologically weakened Iraq as they realised they could not match the ammunition strength of the coalition forces. Pictures of the military tanks rolling into Iraq were also another factor that helped propagate the Allied forces’ aim. This showed the might of the forces which intimidated the Iraqi forces as well as the Iraqi public. A comment purported to have been made by Chris Hughes, the spokesperson of the U.S. Marines a day before the war highlights this, â€Å"The à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst image of this war will deà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ne the conà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ict†(Buncombe 2003 cited in Parry 2010). If the public had initially supported the Iraqi government the pictures of the Allied forces were enough to sway public suppo rt to the powerful side in this case the Allied forces. According to Professor Barbie Zelizer of University of Southern California’s Annenberg school of communication, a picture showing a crowd of Iraqis pulling down Saddam Hussein’s statue was quite influential, this is because it told a story to the public that the government of Saddam Hussein was no longer in power and that the public supported the Allied forces and this was an effective means to winning or losing the war. It showed the crowd as being nationalists thereby triggering the general public to act as nationalists too. During the Iraq war, the army is believed to have had around 600 journalists from various news organisations entrenched with the troops thus there was an overflow of news and all were in favour of the Allied forces. This therefore created a high level of fear amongst the enemies having to always read and listen to the might of the forces on TV, radio and in newspapers. Some journalists argue that the Allied forces had won the war even before any ammunitions were fired and this is because the public had already been scared into fleeing due to the fact that they were made to believe they could be killed by nuclear or chemical weapons, which in effect made it less difficult for the Allied forces to win the war. In the case of the Iraq war, the Allied forces controlled their agenda, creating awareness and used the media to portray a one sided view. Most of the pictures that were circulated were of those showing the might of the forces and in some cases a few Iraqi nationals showing their support to the Allied forces and kept any image of casualties suffered by the Allied forces out of the public eye especially in their respective countries because they wanted the public to continue supporting the war till the end. This adds momentum to the political idea of using photography during war to manipulate the public. Journalism is arguably a powerful tool often used in affecting and changing public opinion on issues. Media institutions usually broadcast what attracts their target audience. Prior to invading Iraq, George Bush – the American President, in a national broadcast which was telecast in Iraq, heard him appealing to the ordinary citizens of Iraq to support America and the coalition forces for their own good and also portrayed the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, as an enemy and the cause of all the problems of the Iraqis. He further suggested that the solution to their problem is war to overthrow what the western governments termed as undemocratic regime of Saddam Hussein and urged them to fight for their freedom. His speech was rhetoric and played very well on the public’s emotion as they did not support the Iraq government to fight when they were called to join. Bush used his message to amass public opinion in acknowledging America and its Allied’s military presence in Iraq. According to Samir Khader of Al Jazeera (the most prominent media institution during the invasion), the aim of their station during the war was to educate the world most especially the Arab viewers and to prove to them that in every war there are always civilian casualties. This did not seem to work well initially as their network was not far reached, they were also deemed not to be reliable and as such was a mere propaganda tool used by the Iraqi government and enemy groups who attacked America on September 11. The public in America, United Kingdom and other parts of the world had been persuaded into believing these perceptions by the media though there was no proof. The Arab media did not do much to help its credibility by not reporting human rights abuses against sectarian and ethnic minorities and opposition Iraqi citizens which were perpetuated on a large scale by Saddam Hussein’s government. Although Al Jazeera’s message about war casualties is true, it is worth m entioning that, this is not something new as that is some of the realities of war. There has never been any war fought without any civilian or military casualty and Jack Straw, Britain’s Foreign Secretary during the period of the Iraq war rightly described war in an article in Mail Online as an occurrence that is filled with horror. As pictures and news of war casualties (both civilians and American soldiers) got to the American public their views began to change. The public became angry and began demonstrating against the mission of the government in going to war in Iraq and demanded that troops are withdrawn. This message reflected during some of American president’s foreign visits. In the U.K., President Bush was met by anti war demonstrations in London because of the Iraq war and other cities where he visited also met him with similar demonstrations. During the Iraq war some western media used spin to get specific messages to the international world. An example is a picture showing a crowd chanting and singing which the western media portrayed as Iraqis celebrating Bush but they were rather protesting America’s involvement in the war with chants in Arabic that the troops should be withdrawn from Iraq. A journalist who was reporting for BBC interpreted the story to portray the crowd as singing praises to Bush for getting rid of Saddam Hussein and celebrating their freedom. This helped sway public opinion about the war in the western world. Before the coalition forces marched into any city in Iraq, they used the media to report extensively on how the cities had already been conquered and this plan built fear in the opposing army who showed little resistance, all these stories were however later found to be false but that was after it had served its intended purpose. Most of the coverage by the western media such as CNN and NSBC was deemed as biased to favour the allied forces. This is partly because only a few of the journalists embedded with the troops did get to experience action at the front line. Most of them were stationed at the command centre where information was always received from the military and this played an important role in helping them win the support of the public. The Arab media on the other hand did same, they also used propaganda in getting the Arab world to see the Allied forces as the worst enemy who had no right to be in Iraq with no intention of protecting civilians and alleging the coalition forces rather had their personal interest of getting control of the oil in Iraq. They propagated Arab nationalism to the public. The Allied forces knew the important role played by independent media during war. The public usually believe stories reported by independent journalists at war front as being unbiased. This is not wholly true as they always report from an angle that suits their organisation. The coalition forces used the media to their advantage rather than having the military releasing information to the press which would be seen as biased towards the aim of their mission in Iraq by the general public and not being credible as well. Local media in America had journalists attached to the troops, and most of these media are situated near military bases. The local people who are the main readers in these areas, connected with the media in the neighbourhood during the war through the news items they published, some were messages from the soldiers to their families. The public regarded the news from these newspapers as credible thereby getting them to support the mission of the Allied forces. Studies have shown how media coverage affected public opinion during the war and led to the public supporting the military mainly due to the reason that the public were not made aware of any other options other than going to war to liberate the people of Iraq and the enemy of the coalition forces (the government of Saddam Hussein) coming from the back drop of the September 11, 2001 attacks in America which had attracted massive media coverage thereby the public especially the American public viewed military action in Iraq as the only way. This point is echoed by Berinsky, 2008, â€Å"However, as threats recede, citizens begin to resist encroachments on their basic values. Thus, while the particular circumstances of war may be unique, they influence civil liberties judgements through mechanisms that are familiar from studies of domestic politics†(pg.13). Britain and the other countries that formed the coalition also viewed Iraq as a danger to global peace. Iraq had been portra yed by the coalition forces as a country that had allegedly supported and accommodated the group that attacked America. Another factor worth highlighting is that war casualties were not permitted to be made public by the media and this was strictly enforced by the military at the command centre, any journalist that violated this rule was expelled from the base. In the weeks prior to the invasion of Iraq, the American government saturated the media, especially prime time news programs of major media stations and newspapers in America such as; CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS and New York Times alleging that Iraq was planning to commit atrocities even greater than the September 11 attacks. The American public believed and therefore backed the government’s decision to go to war in Iraq. This situation was no different in U.K. where BBC, Sky and ITN were also used by the then government of Tony Blair to get the public to support the mission. The media which has a duty to present the public with the truth also failed to question these facts presented by the American and British governments but rather circulated the government’s information to the public as being the truth. The media effectively helped the coalition forces by influencing public support and also urged the military to go on to win the war in Iraq. Although certain reports disagree with the fact that the coalition forces had won the war because there were and are still sporadic incidents of fighting taking place in Iraq and also that the coalition forces are yet to completely pull out of the region, it is important to stress that although the war was fought in Iraq, the real war was the one perpetuated by the media through the stories they published which psychologically influenced the public at large and this can be seen as pure propaganda. Without that the coalition forces would not have managed to storm Iraq and win the war within a very short period. According to Jack Straw (Hinsliff 2003 cited in Parry 2010), â€Å"Twenty-four-hour news actually changes the reality of warfare. The media is changing the reality of warfare, it is not just reporting on it†. Given the amount of cov erage the western media managed to achieve in the world at large during the Iraq war, if the media in the Arab world had been able to achieve that on the same scale in the Middle East and other parts of the world, the public may not have supported the war the way they did. This would have led to the morale of the troops being at its lowest and their confidence would also have been down and more importantly America would not have got the support they had from the Allied. [1] Lt. Col. Rick Long was with the U.S. Marine Corps
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Marijuana Should be Considered for Medical Use :: Argumentative Persuasive Essay Examples
      Abstract:  Marijuana, scientifically known as Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica , is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Much evidence supports the fact that it may possess properties that could warrant its usefulness in the medical field. For example, it has been used in the treatment of nausea, glaucoma, and migraines among other things. On the other hand, many of its useful effects are accompanied with side affects such as disorientation and hallucinations. Very little studies have been done concerning the beneficial and malignant effects of marijuana despite its ubiquitous nature in American society. This paper combines many of the tested treatments of marijuana with reported side effects in order to test the validity of the drug as a medicine. Since the passage of the Controlled Substance Act in 1970, marijuana has been considered a Schedule I drug. This means that it fits the following criteria: 1) has a high potential for abuse, 2) has no currently accepted medical use, and 3) lacks safety even under medical supervision (Boire 1993). No one can grow the plant, possess it or any mix or preparation, or absorb it in any way. Many argue in favor of the drug saying that it has no ill effects, and that it, in fact, harbors medicinal properties. Proposition 215 amended California state law to allow people to grow or possess marijuana for medical use when recommended by a physician. The physician may diagnose that a patient may benefit from its use in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. Unfortunately, studies on the effects of marijuana are scarce so its useful purposes are highly debatable. Whether or not medi cal marijuana deserves to be legal shall be further examined here.  "Marijuana" is just one particular term for the hemp plant classified as Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica. Linnaeus gave its name and classification in 1753 and for hundreds of years it has been used as an intoxicant or an herbal remedy. Cannabis is easily distinguishable by its leaf which is often long, has serrated edges and grows in groups of five, resembling the fingers of the hand. It is made up of about 480 substances. The active ingredient in cannabis is known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC, mostly referred to simply as THC).
Monday, September 2, 2019
Blood Revenge In Julius Caesar :: essays research papers
“Et tu Brute?'; Caesar sputtered before falling into the darkness known as death. But this was not the end of Caesar however. Caesar returns to this world as a “shade'; or ghost form. In fact, in this form he exerts more influence over Brutus than he ever did in mortal form. “Caesar is more powerful in his spirit for to affect Brutus than in his mortal form. It is in this ghost form, Caesar full-fills his revenge on Brutus.'; (netessays.net) Revenge did not occur in the ancient world only in plays and stories. Revenge was a way of life, an every day belief of the ancient times. Â Â Â Â Â In ancient times, the times of the Greeks and Romans to be precise, the inhabitants believed that death was most certainly not the end. As a matter of fact, many of these people built entire religions around the prospect of life after death, such as the Greeks and the Romans. A strong belief of the Greeks was that the ghost or “shade'; was so extremely powerful that “many a time the murderer would mutilate his victim to flee the dead man’s direct revenge.'; (B-Revenge) Â Â Â Â Â Another strong belief in the idea of blood-revenge centered around native gods. The people of the time believed that the gods played an important role in blood-revenge, especially if one of their laws were defied. In the Odyssey, Zeus and Athena intervene on Odysseus’ behalf when Odysseus wishes to destroy the suitors that had plagued his palace for a number of years. Zeus intervenes after his sacred policy, his policy of hospitality, was violated and for that the suitors were punished. In Julius Caesar, there is no evidence of any specific gods interfering, such as dialogue or actions, but there are many supernatural occurrences. These omens show that something supernatural, be it a god or fate, knows what is going to occur in the near future. Therefore, the omens show evidence of god-like activity foreshadowing, either warning or maybe even sponsoring, the revenge. Â Â Â Â Â For every sin committed there is an unavoidable consequence, as is the case when the conspirators try to harness the future. Even though Brutus’ actions are noble, no one can ever hope to control history, those who try suffer a terrible fate. “Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius are all guilty of arrogance in believing they can control history; as a consequence, Caesar precipitates his own death and the other two merit the retribution that overtakes them.
Case study on Implementation of quality systems through information technology systems in Athal Company Essay
Case study on Implementation of quality systems through information technology systems in Athal Company Introduction       Athal is a service offering company that was established in 1980. It offers inspection, testing, consulting, and quality control services. The company offers services to different companies in different industries through its 15 branches in United Kingdom. The company had offered these services in the past using manual quality system but due to competition and emergence of technology in the industry, the company found it necessary to implement a new automated quality assurance system by adapting information technology systems. This would enable it to offer quality services that meet national and international standards. The implementation of the new system was faced with challenges from financial to employees’ resistance to the new technology. The data on the case study was obtained through questionnaires and interviews. The findings were as follows. From the 110 questionnaires administered, only 100 of them were complete and used for this case st udy. From the 100 questionnaires that were complete, 90% discredited the manual system saying it was faulty as it offered minimum monitoring. 70% of the employees had a positive attitude about the manual system, as it was not effective when monitoring employees. 30% had negative attitude on the system as they felt the system caused personal conflicts between them and the people in charge of quality control. 100% of the participants agreed that the automated system was more effective compared to the manual system since all the employees had to log in to automated biometric system. 43% of the employees were resistant to the process and felt that the manual system would continue while 57% of the employees felt that transformation to the automated quality system was necessary. 95% of the employees felt that it was important to implement the quality system for both the external and internal environment of the business to ensure that the overall performance of the company was monitored. 5 % of the participants were not sure if the quality system was supposed to be installed both internally and externally.       The company’s 110 employees were issued with questionnaires and five management staffs from the five departments were interviewed revealing the following: The employees were resistant on the new implementation was because of fear of losing their jobs and their relevance when the new technology would be adapted in the company. Hence, the implementation process heavily relied on the employees in the company. The company sensitization and trainings employees on the new technology saw the implementation process become smooth. The company also faced challenge on the cost of the new system in terms of infrastructures such as software, computers, and training employees and technical staff on running and marinating the process. However, the implementation of the new system improved the services offered and increased its competitive advantage in the market. Through analysis, it was realised that, the company use of technology has limited the buyers’ bargaining power thus retraining and attracting more customers from its unique quality services that it offered. The new technology decreased the profitability of the industry thus decreasing the threats of the new entry. The company was under the threat of high suppliers’ bargaining power due to few suppliers in the industry that made the cost of operations to increase thus decreasing the profits margins. There industry has threats of substitute services that are offered by companies using the manual system at low prices. However, the new automated system was found to be fast and giving effective services that attracted consumers and thus retaining and attracting new employees in the company thus helping it to regain its competitive position in the market. Moreover, the ability of the system to be monitored by different people at the results in services that are accurate is free from errors thus giving consumers’ confidence as opposed to the manual system. The proces s is also cost effective in long term due to reduced time and human capital that can be utilized in other constructive duties that would improve the productivity of the company. The system was recommended for both internal and external controls. Question       Athal is a company was established in 1980 in United Kingdom. It main work is provision of services in that vary from inspection, testing, consulting and quality control. They offer these services to different organizations to ensure that they offer quality services and that they are able to handle managerial and financial problems with the international standards. The company offers these services in more than 15 branches in United Kingdom. For the company to be efficient, it has linked all the 15 offices through information systems and technology. The company also manages to offer these services by employing 110 workers that are of various professional backgrounds. The workers are delegated duties based on 5 different departments of the company that include public relations, finance department, technical, marketing and quality control. The finance department ensures that all the financial services are met for the company and that of the clients looking for consultancy services in the organization. The public relation department ensures that interpersonal relationship for all the clients and workers is maintained at high level thereby improving the performance of the employees, retain, and attract more customers. This has led to productivity of the company due good customer relation and high quality services that the company offers. Technical department ensures all the other department and technical services management meet the goal and mission of the company to offer quality services.       The quality control department ensures that all the services that offered by the company and its internal managements are in line with the international and local standards (Hoyle, 2009 p. 244). The company had adopted manual quality control system that mandated employees to monitor all the services and departments in the company. In addition, the inspections and testing when assessing qualities of their clients was done manually, which was expensive and involving to the employees in charge. The manual system was not efficient and some of the departments, employees, and services monitoring was poor resulting to poor services that affected the productivity of the company. The quality of services that a company or business offers helps it to retain and attract more customers making the company more competitive and commanding a wider share of the market (Berry, & Parasuraman, 2004 p. 134). Therefore, for the company to improve its services and improves its market share, a competitive and efficient quality control systems had to be put in place. Despite the high cost of implementation, the service would ensure that quality services are dispensed through efficient monitoring services.       The company adopted and automated a quality control system developed through information technology to link all the five departments and the employees. Consequently, the company linked all the 15 branches such that all the services offered meet the customers need. The interlinked company departments and branches would ensure that inspection and testing process were efficient. The technical department monitored and maintained all the systems. The marketing department quality system ensured that customers could get all the necessary information and services that meet the international standards. Consequently, through quality control the public relation department would ensure that a good relationship among all the stakeholders of the company by disseminating relevant information and keeping the customers updated throughout.       The questions categorized for questionnaires and interviews. The employees’ questions related to the effectiveness of the new process, their attitude on the change, and the transformation to the new system. Moreover, it also focused on employees’ involvement in the new process, and how monitoring changed comparing the old system. Concerning this question, some employees said that the new system was more effective while few of them did not distinguish between the performance of the manual and the new system saying that they view both systems as the same. On the issue of cost and monitoring, most of them said that the new system on quality assurance was more costly and offered close monitoring of employees and projects on the course thus maintain a high performance rate in the company. On the issue of the attitude of the employees, some employees had a negative attitude on the new system as they said that the new system would limit their free dom and might result to losing their jobs. Those with positive attitude argued that the new automated system would make work easier and improve the performance of the company. Few were confused on the though seemed interested with the implementation of the new technology. The implementation process was expensive from the response of the majority of the participants while few did not care about the cost and they said that it was cheap for the company since it had enough resources to implement the new system. According to the participant in this case study that were working for Athal company for the time of the research, the transformation process was faced with resistant as some employees feared losing jobs due to inadequate skills. Other argued that new technology would result in working overtime because some machines would require monitoring and thus resisted the change and made the transformation process difficult for the management. A number of the employees said that transformat ion was smooth as they cited that the management was able to deal with employees and assured them that nothing would change on the management of employees and their jobs were safe. They also indicated that the management assured them that the transformation to the new automated system would include training of employees in order to adapt to the new system. The employees argue that method would be applicable to both internal and external monitoring, as the company required the monitoring of the quality of other companies that it offered services. To them, this was the best means by which the company would improve its services to its clients.       On the part of the management interview, it emphasized on the performance of the new technology, employees and clients response, and the cost of the implementation. The interview involved five management employees under the five departments. The management unanimously answered that the performance of the new system showed improvement. They cited that the system could process large information fast, accurately, and effective as compared to the old system. The management argued that the employees had a mixed reaction on the implementation while the clients were happy and welcomed the new system, as they believed that it could improve their services. The implementation process was costly according to the management but they did it as a way of improving their qualities.       The organization experienced problems and poor performance in the marketing department thus caused reduced customers in the company. Similarly, poor performance of public relations department resulted to conflicts and poor employees’ performance that affected the efficiency and productivity of the company in delivering its services. In every company or business, good employees’ relationship is important since it minimizes conflicts and improves their working conditions and as a result, employees become very productive, which is the aim of every business. Consequently, employees are able to offer quality services to the customers thus retaining more customers for the company. Similarly, the slow monitoring and poor services in the finance department caused company poor performances and financial mismanagements. All the problems happened to Athal Company despite it having a manual quality assurance system that was mandated monitoring and ensu ring that the company was able to operate within the local and international business environment. The problems reflected that the manual system was ineffective. Therefore, the company needed to change its method of quality assurance so that it could ensure that customers received quality services. Finance department also needed good management as it ensured that the company operated with the international and national standards. The approach would not only improve the company’s quality systems but also improve its productivity and its competitiveness due to high quality services and standards that it would uphold.       The target market for Athal Company is organizations and businesses that are in need of consultancy, inspection and testing services. The companies or businesses may be diverse and offering various services in the market but for them to provide quality services to their customers, they strengthen their managements through Athal consultation services (Wigand, 2003 p. 33). Therefore, Athal Company needs to provide high quality services and set international standards to its clients. Hence, it was important for it to adapt new technology in quality assurance services that would allow it give quality inspection, testing, and quality control services. Thus, adapting an automated information system would ensure that it would be able to carry out internal and external quality control.       Athal Company offered effective services in the industry, which has maintained its productivity in the market in spite of its manual system. The company has also high skilled employees although the achievement of the company’s goals has been achieved through extra management and monitoring. In addition, the company operates in an industry where competition is not very much stiff. However, the emergence of the new technology that few companies are adapting, competition is becoming a business issue that management has to deal with. Moreover, the companies marketing strategies and technology adaptation has been poor until the recent past when the company adapted the new technology on quality assurance. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the implementation process of the new quality assurance system and how best is suited in the company’s strategies to improve its productivity and growth in the industry. Literature Review       With the development and the industrialization of the world, technology has become inevitable to business industries (Lanz, 2013 p. 6). Many businesses industries adapt technologies to increase efficiency and quality of services they offer. The quality services and efficiency serves as a strategy to compete in the market. Information technology is one of the technologies that have been adapted by many companies and bushiness to improve on their performance (Ho-Chang, Chang, & Prybutok, 2014 p. 316). The information technologies have been used in various areas of specialization for company such as records department, financial, marketing and quality control. The technologies are linked to the business strategies such that they fit the competitive strategies making the company to fit in a dynamic market and environment (Wang et al, 2012 p. 346). The information technology systems help to integrate business entities making it more manageable and efficient i n delivery of its services (Drnevich, & Croson, 2013 p. 488-489). Hence, the quality system that would incorporate information technology system will enhance the integration of the five departments and the external environment making the company more manageable and improve service delivery. Consequently, the business would be able to compete and improve its performance.       The implementation of the new technology in Athal Company involved an organization change. Hence the company needed to prepare the employees for a new change because people tend to resist to changes and particularly to those that tend to affect their freedom (Ford, J., Ford, L., & D’Amelio, 2008 p. 370). The managers have the responsibility to initiate new changes and influence employees to develop positive attitude on the technologies for smooth adoption of new technology (Lilly, & Durr, 2012 p. 199). To avoid resistance managers and executive must provide employees with trainings and other support skills that will help them to adapt to new technologies (KumpikaitÄâ€", & ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€", 2008 p. 93-94.). Methodology       The case study used questionnaires to obtain information from the employees about the manual quality system and the newly implemented quality systems in the company (Appendix 4). All the 110 employees were administered questionnaires to feel that contained both the questions about the old and the new information systems. In addition, interviews were conducted with five members from the top management team to understand the monitoring of the two systems (Appendix 5).       The questionnaires were preferred for the employees because they were a large group in the company and other methods would take a lot of time. Moreover, it was possible to administer all the questionnaires at the same time thus saving time and getting the required information. However, the tool is not appropriate for getting details.       Interviews were preferred for the management team because they were few and it could be managed with a short time. Interview also helps in getting details about the implementation process. However, it is time consuming. The interview involved the three questions attached in the appendix for the management.       Athal Company was chosen in this case study since it was one of the companies that had implemented a new automated quality system using information technology in the recent past. These meant employees could be able to provide the required information as opposed to those that implemented it long time ago. In addition, there was high likely hood that most of the employees working in the company were present during the implementation process thus accurate information. Moreover, the implementation of the new system was faced with many challenges from employees’ resistance to financial support. In addition, the company size was manageable for this study since it had few employees, few departments and only five departments. Hence, finding information from the company would be easier compared to large complicated company.       The region of study was chosen to be United Kingdom because the location has been advanced in quality system technology and so there was high likelihood of finding a company that had implemented a quality system using information system as the study had targeted. The studies show that the United Kingdom has a number of companies operating in quality assurance industry, which made the study more appropriate within the country (Sroufe, & Curkovic, 2008 p. 517). Study       The case study involved the shifting of Athal Company from the manual quality systems to new automated quality systems that would be implemented using information technology systems. To implement the new quality assurance system using information system, the company needed to purchase new computers, information systems software to link various departments and branches. The program required skilled labor that was costly and extra training for the employees so that they could be able to adapt to the new technology freely. In addition, the new technology needed change of organization behavior from a manual system to an automated system, which many of the employees were not conversant. Therefore, the company had to change the behavior of employees from manual to automated systems, which risked objection and resistant. Hence, the management had to use their leadership skills and organization development to implement the new change successfully (Mullins, 2013 p. 8). The new system meant that the employees freedom, poor performance and missing of duties would end. Consequently, their level of services would be monitored and thus giving quality services. The implementation process involved installation of inspection, testing, and quality control infrastructures that were linked using information system software and hardware that would be used to disseminate information.       The change to new technology for Athal Company meant that it would increase its market share due to improved quality of services that it would offer. Its clients would receive quality inspection and testing that would guarantee the quality control. The new information system would be able to monitor external companies that serve as its client at constant rates thus enhancing efficiency of Athal Company. Moreover, the automated system has low errors as compared to the manual system thus, the right services will be offered. This will guarantee the company efficient services that meet the national and international levels.       The new changes to the automated system will enable the management in the Athal Company to be able to define their objectives and delegate to specific employees, which could not be possible with the manual system. Defined objectives and delegation of duties in the company will mean that the tasks would be accomplished in time. Moreover, less time is wasted using the automated quality systems thus the employees become more productive in spite of quality services that they offer. The result is the overall productivity of the company and better services to their clients compared to when they were using the manual system.       The company decision to implement the new quality assurance system was because of increased competition and the deteriorating performance on its inspection, testing, and quality control services. The few companies in the industry had improved their performance, they had started to command the market, and therefore, the company had to look for means by which it could be able to compete with the other companies. The adoption of the new automated quality assurance system was seen as the only way that the company would be able to compete successfully in the market and thus a decision was finally reached to implement the new system. However, the decision was subject to employees support as they would be the one s that would use the technology for the benefit of the company. The decision process involved all the employees in the company where opinions were included in the new projects. Due to fear of most of the employees on their relevance when the new techno logy would be implemented, training of existing and recruiting of new employees was included as part of the implementation of the new system. When all the employees were comfortable with the new technology and sensitized on the need to shift to the new technology, the management went ahead to implement the new automated quality system in the company. Since the employees are growth oriented, they were able to adapt to the new system. Analysis       The company wanted to implement new system as a sign of its improvement from the manual to the automated system. The automated system would allow the company to improve its services and the ability to upgrade and update the systems software will give the company ability to adapt to continued improvement of its services. Therefore, the new technology will be advantageous to the manual quality system that limited continued improvement throughout the operations.       The case study can be analyzed using various porters’ five forces to determine its applicability of the new technology in Athal Company and the external business environment (Appendix 7). The porters’ five forces help to analyze the business in terms of competition, threat of new entry, power of buyers, suppliers, and substitute’s products or services.       Consulting industry in United Kingdom is very competitive and thus companies in the industry must devise strategies that will make them more competitive and make them the leading companies in the market. Therefore, for Athal Company to remain relevant in the market, it must adopt the best technologies that will enable it to provide the best quality assurance services in the industry. In the industry, company adapt to manual systems due to their low operation cost (Ahuja, & Khamba, 2008 p. 745). Hence, Athal company shift to new technology gives it competitive advantages over the other companies in the industry. According to the research carried out on the company, 90% of the employees credited the automated system saying that it was effective compared to the manual system. Thus, the system would be able to deliver quality effective services to its target market. Quality services help a company to retain its customers and place it in a more competitive po sition in the market as customer or buyers tend to be attracted by quality and not the prices (Porter, 2008 p. 33). Therefore, the company’s choice on the automated system would be advantageous in the market despite the cost that is associated with it. The implementation of the new automated case study led to the improvement of the company’s performance and increase in customers seeking services from the company and thus improved incomes as shown in figure 1 below (Appendix 1). According to the interview carried out on the company’s income performance, the income is expected to rise to $ 27,000 million with the new automated system.       The industry suffers from the presence of companies that are still using manual systems as a means of quality assurance system. The manual system forms the substitute services offered in the industry. These companies charge their inspection services at lower prices that threaten Athal automated services. Hence, Athal Company must offer good services beyond their clients’ expectations so that they will be able to shift from the manual to the automated. The company also needs to put in place marketing strategies that will advertise the new system emphasizing on the quality of services that it will offer as opposed to their previous method of quality assurance. Moreover, the company needs to offer quality services that will meet the needs of the clients. Hence, the company needs to improve its management and staff training so that it will be able to cope up with the substitute services from the company.       In every market, companies maintain the large share of the market through limiting the bargaining power of the consumers. Initially, the company was offering manual services that were offered by other companies in the market. This gave consumers more bargaining power as they had a wide choice of obtaining services from various companies. However, the shift of Athal company from manual system to the new technology that was adapted by few companies make consumers to have limited choices of seeking services from the automated companies. The presence of few companies with the automated quality control system makes it possible for Athal Company to limit the bargaining power of consumers. When the bargaining power of consumers in the market is limited, they will tend to buy or obtain services from a single business (Chen, 2008 p. 241). Therefore, Athal Company will limit the customers and thus they will tend to seek the new services from the company thus impro ving its productivity and making it more competitive in the market.       Athal Company shifting to the new technology meant that it would also shift its suppliers from those that provided the manual facilities to those that would suppliers it with facilities and infrastructures for the new technology. Since many companies in the industry have not adapted the new technology, it means that the suppliers are few in the industry. Few suppliers mean that the suppliers provide their services with strict conditions and high prices due to lack of competition. Moreover, the suppliers have high bargaining power in the market. This led to high installation cost for the automated quality system and the maintenance cost. The high prices offered by suppliers in the market reduce the profits margins for the companies operating in the industry (Chen, 2008 p. 241). Therefore, the new technology was costly to the company and the consecutive maintenance costs remain high thus reducing the profits margin for the company. Hence, limited suppliers in the industry threaten Athal Company adaptation to the new technology for quality system.       The decreased number of suppliers and the reduced profits margin in the industry discourage new entrants in the industry. The decreased new entrants in the industry result in decreased competition in the market and threats for the existing companies. Therefore, Athal Company is free from threats of new entry due to high cost of adapting new quality system technology. The reduced competition creates favorable environment for the existing company to operate and improve their services in order to achieve their desired profit margin and growth in the market. According to the management, the maintenance cost for the new technology in the quality system is 40% more than the previous manual system. Hence, few companies in the industry can adapt it and especially those that are profit oriented. Advantage of Athal Company on implementation of the new quality assurance system       The implementation of the new quality assurance system by Athal Company will accrue various advantages over the old manual system. The advantages will be in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, cost, involvement, and result oriented.       The automated system will be advantageous in that inspection and tests will be run fast and effectively thus saving time that can be used to do other constructive duties in the company. Automated system will mean that the same type of the information will be fed to the system for various clients at a very short time and giving results instantly (Mak, & Peng, 2008 p. 366). One can only repeat similar information for the automated system. However, on the manual system one would be forced to record similar information for various entry and different clients thus taking a lot of time for a given task and giving out delayed results. This can be distractive to clients making them to shift their services to other companies that can offer fast and effective services. Hence, the automated system will not only give effective services at a very short time, but also retain the customer making the company more competitive in the market as opposed to the manual system (GE inspections N.d p. 1).       Although the automated system installation and training of employees on the new system is costly in the short term, in long term, the system will be cheap as there will be saving of time and decreased human involvement thus saving the cost of labour for the company. The time saved could be used to do other constructive and productive services for the company, which would in turn give returns that subsidise the cost incurred by the company. Since the new system utilises decreased human labour, the company can opt reducing its labour, which may as well reduce its cost of operation and thus increase its profits margin (GE inspections N.d p. 18). However, the manual system required a lot of time to fill out the forms and extra human labour to attend different labour thus the process becoming expensive in the long term and but cheap in the short term since there are is no cost of installation. Hence, the automated system is less expensive in the long term and thus more advantageous to the company compared to the manual system.       The automated system is results oriented and the results can be assessed by different employees since they will be available from the system thus minimizing errors being transferred to clients. Moreover, different employees can monitor the results in their various destinations so that a perfect final product is achieved. Hence, the system forms the best collaborative monitoring system. This is in contrast to the manual where results are only processed by an individual subjecting them to errors that may be transferred to clients and may affect the customer relation with the company and affect its performance and provision of services. Therefore, Athal implementation of the new quality system through information system presents it with advantage on accurate and quality services for the customer thus maintain customer relations and maintaining its market performance at improved level.       However, the new automated system will be a challenge to the company as the information system tool is expensive on purchase and replacement in cases of breakdown. Moreover, the process of maintenance and training of employees can be very expensive for the company thus accruing unplanned cost, which may make its services more expensive thus making it less competitive in the market. Customers are attracted by low prices in the market. Although the automated system performs various tests for the information fed for the machine, the system has limitations and some of the tests such as images, and colour are only tested using manual system. Hence, the system cannot operate fully independently. Thus the cost of operation is increased by additional services for manual system. Findings       The data obtained from this case study from Athal Company was summarised as follows. From the questionnaires, only 100 of them were complete and used for this case study. From the 100 questionnaires that were complete, 90% discredited the manual system saying it was faulty as it offered minimum monitoring. 10% saw it as the means to abscond their duties for their private jobs. All the employees agreed that the manual system was costly in terms of monitoring but cheap on the maintenance. 70% of the employees had a positive attitude about the manual system as it was not effective when monitoring employees. Employees could be absent from work without the knowledge of the top management due to unreported cases. 30% had negative attitude on the system as they felt the system caused personal conflicts between them and the people in charge of quality control. 100% of the participants agreed that the automated system was more effective compared to the manual sys tem since all the employees had to log in to automated biometric system. The information could be relayed fast and reach the target group within the shortest time possible. 43% of the employees were resistant to the process and felt that the manual system would continue while 57% of the employees felt that transformation to the automated quality system was necessary. 95% of the employees felt that it was important to implement the quality system for both the external and internal environment of the business to ensure that the overall performance of the company was monitored. 5% of the participants were not sure if the quality system was supposed to be installed both internally and externally.       The data that was obtained from the management was as follows. According to the management, the automated quality system was more effective and efficient in monitoring and delivery of information across the company departments and branches. Moreover, the system was fast as compared to the manual systems. The management agreed that the automated quality system improved the performance of the employees and that of the company thus increasing attracting more customers. The customers had increased from 300 to 550 per day when the new system was implemented as shown in figure 3 below (appendix 3). Similarly, it is expected that the income would increase from $ 13,000 to $ 27,000 million by the end of the first year the figure 2 below in appendix 3 analysis the change. The management said that the employees had mixed reactions on the new quality systems, with almost half number of the employees arguing against it. However, concerted trainings and sensitization s led to smooth implementation of the new systems. From the questionnaires, it was found that managers appreciated the new systems and saw it a good system for medium companies. The implementation process was expensive and the maintenance cost is high. The installation and maintenance cost is 60% more for the new technology than the manual system as shown in the figure below. Conclusions and Recommendations       The objectives of this case study were achieved in that the new quality assurance system that was implemented by Athal Company could be upgraded unlike the manual system through update of information system software.       The process of full implementation, handling, monitoring, operating the system for the Athal Company involved the employees and organization management. Therefore, the process of quality assurance is effective when coupled to individuals, groups and organisations.       According to the management, the type of the information system adapted to be used by quality assurance system depend on the size of the organization, services offered, financial ability and availability of resources. Athal Company being a medium company chose the relevant information system that meets their size of the company, financial ability and ability for continuous improvement.       The process of quality assurance automation involves installation of testing, inspection and quality control equipments that are interlinked with information system software and hand wares such as computers to record information and deliver results. Athal Company followed the protocol and successfully implemented a quality system using information system.       The following recommendations would be most appropriate for the company and other that would take the initiative to implement the same system in their premises.       The company should prepare its employees in advance through hiring the right employees who have the skills to prevent unnecessary cost from extra trainings. If there has to be a training, only few employees should be trained and not the entire workforce. This would prevent resistant to new technology and save the company unplanned costs.       The company should asses the availability of suppliers of the technology that is planning to adopt to prevent exploitation of the company by suppliers as evidenced in this case study. Few suppliers in the market resulted to increased cost, which in turn led to reduced profits from high cost of operations. References Ahuja, I. P. S., & Khamba, J. S. 2008. Total productive maintenance: literature review and directions. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 25(7), 709-756. Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. 2004. Marketing services: Competing through quality. Simon and Schuster. Chen, Z. 2008. Defining buyer power. Antitrust Bull., 53, 241. Ford, J. D., Ford, L. W., & D’Amelio, A. 2008. Resistance to change: The rest of the story. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 362-377. GE Inspections. Inspection Technologies: Productivity through inspection solution. N.d 1-19 Ho-Chang, C., Chang E., K., & Prybutok, V. R. 2014. Information technology capability and firm performance: contradictory findings and their possible causes. MIS Quarterly, 38(1), 305-A14. Hoyle, D. 2009. ISO 9000 quality systems handbook. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. KumpikaitÄâ€", V., & ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€", R. 2008. New training technologies developing human resources. Economics & Management, 93-94. Lanz, J. 2013. Helping Small and Midsized Businesses Succeed in a Technology-Driven World. CPA Journal, 6-9. Lilly, J. D., & Durr, D. W. 2012. Technology changes at work and employee reactions: The role of leader behavior. Human Systems Management, 31(3/4), 193-201. Mak, K. L., & Peng, P. 2008. An automated inspection system for textile fabrics based on Gabor filters. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 24(3), 359-369. Mullins, L.J. (2013). Management & Organisational Behaviour. Pearson Porter, M. E. 2008. The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40. Sroufe, R., & Curkovic, S. (2008). An examination of ISO 9000: 2000 and supply chain quality assurance. Journal of Operations Management, 26(4), 503-520. Wang, N., Liang, H., Zhong, W., Xue, Y., & Xiao, J. 2012. Resource Structuring or Capability Building? An Empirical Study of the Business Value of Information Technology. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(2), 325-367. Wigand, R. T. 2003. Introduction to business information systems. Berlin [u.a.: Springer-Verl. Appendices Appendix 1 Figure 1: showing the changes in income with respect to change in quality assurance system Appendix 2 Figure 2: increase in number of employees with the change in technology Appendix 3 Figure 3: comparison between the cost of the automated and manual quality system. Appendix 4 Questionnaires Serial no. Question Answers Employees 1 How effective was the manual system 2 Was the manual system costly in terms of monitoring and maintenance 3 What was your attitude on the manual system 4 How effective has the automated quality system been compared to the manual system 5 Comparing to the manual system, was it costly in terms of implementation and maintenance 6 How was the transformation to the new automated system 7 Was the automated system applicable to internal and external monitoring of the company 8 Was you involved when deciding on the new system Appendix 5 Management interview questions 8 How do you compare between the manual and automated quality control system on their performance 9 How did the employees and customers respond to the new system automated system 10 Kindly comments on the overall implementation process and whether the cost of the installation of the process is high or low Appendix 6 Manual system Automated system Customers 300 per day 550 per day Income $ 13,000 million $ 27,000 million Cost and maintenance 100% of the standard cost 160% of the standard cost Appendix 7 Source document
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Medieval Pilgrimage
Medieval Pilgrimage In this essay I will discuss how medieval pilgrimages were considered to be a cultural phenomenon. Overall there were many motivations for pilgrims to participate in the act of a pilgrimage. Elaborate excessive artwork led to competitions at pilgrimage sites. Medieval pilgrimages changed Christians along with other religious people, spiritually and emotionally. Pilgrims went on journeys that were over long distances that proved to be physical and mental hardships.Before they left they would receive a blessing after a full confession to a priest or Bishop, mostly if their pilgrimage was to be a journey of penance. Christians believed that these particular pilgrimages would help them in a number of ways. They believed that the journey would deepen his or her faith, would cure the impossible disease or illness, or just bring them closer to God. The beginning pilgrimages started off by traveling to the places where Jesus and the Apostles lived while on earth.Constanti ne was the first Roman emperor that believed in Christianity. With him believing, and respecting what the pilgrimage stood for, Constantine constructed three major sites designed for major pilgrimages; such as, the Basilica in Jerusalem at the place where Christ was crucified, the Holy Sepulcher which was the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection, and finally in Bethlehem Constantine commissioned another church over the cave said to be Jesus’ birthplace. Sorabella) Even though the three sites said above were the most popular of pilgrimages, â€Å"Rome became another destination for pilgrims because it was easier access for European pilgrims than the Holy land. †(Sorabella) Rome had many relics of saints and martyrs which over a period of time became a reason to set foot on a pilgrimage. Many would flock to see a saint’s hand or the Virgin Mary’s veil. Art played a huge role in this cultural phenomenon. Having many relics all over Europe sparked m any opportunities for artists to create important works of art for the relics themselves. Sculptors and goldsmiths made reliquaries required to enshrine the holy objects. Jewelers produced small containers for sacred material for the faithful to wear. †(Sorabella) This was one of the better times to be an artist. Artists created different souvenirs for pilgrims to celebrate and remember their pilgrimage. Every relic and Holy place had a different souvenir for that location. The souvenirs ranged from simple badges, mirrors, or even miniature elaborate reliquaries.Churches would trade or even steal relics from their original resting place, which for at least one location was cause for immense celebration, and was often depicted in art. â€Å"It was customary for pilgrims to bring offerings to the shines they visited, and many of these, too, were works of art: costly liturgical vessels, elaborate priestly vestments, and other precious objects enriched the treasury of every pilg rimage church. †(Sorabella) In the later Middle Ages pilgrims traveled because churches would promise to consolidate with god about their sins over a whole lifetime to be forgiven.With this in effect, churches made extreme renovations to accommodate larger numbers of pilgrims at one time. A perfect example of this is the church Saint Denis which dramatically had undergone many changes in the early twelfth century. I have not experienced a journey of this magnitude in my lifetime. However, I think it would be a great experience from an emotional point of view. It may not be an exact pilgrimage but in the month of October I will be going on my own journey to Europe. I hope to gain a broader outlook on cultural differences.I am so used to living in the same place, so it will be an exciting new adventure to be thrown into a different world and experience Europe’s normal aspects of life. There are certain places that I am specifically going just to see, such as the Roman Co liseum, Saint Peter’s Basilica, and the Leaning tower of Pisa. I can imagine that these three destinations will bring a number of emotions out in me. I also can imagine that this is probably the same way a pilgrim felt on his or her journey once they finally saw what they had travelled so far for.I also see myself buying trinkets in memory of a particular destination just like a pilgrim buying a miniature relic once seeing Santiago de Compostela where Saint James was discovered. The concept and experiences of a pilgrimage were widely popular all throughout Medieval Europe. It sparked imagination and hope, and set the tone for travel of many different kinds. These basic concepts have not changed much in today’s time. Most travelers do not travel from a spiritual standpoint, however most travelers will travel far and wide for an emotional experience.
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