ACME and Omega case study Essay

1. Using the mechanistic and organic structure arguments develop in Chapter 2, compare and contrast the management styles at Acme and Omega. Acme’s managerial style consists of a mechanistic structure, while Omega’s managerial style is based on an organic structure. Acme’s vertical differentiation, which consists of four levels of control, constitutes the dispersion of authority between the organizational hierarchy levels and gears to give the organization more control over its projects and activities. Acme is highly centralized, managers of the top of the hierarchy have all the power to make most of the decisions for the company, and subordinates are expected to follow orders. Although, I think that Acme has established a high level of standardization and formalization, they experienced difficulty abiding to their own rules. Employees at Acme exercise individual specialization, where employees specialize in one specific area and work individually. 2. On the other hand, Omega is a decentralized organization,they appointed new president in that post. where managers and subordinates delegate important decisions about new organizational projects. Omega’s management believes in mutual adjustment, which is the practice of using judgment on problem solving and also creates an informal way of communicating with each other rather that using standardization or written rules. Joint specialization at Omega gives their employees and opportunity to work in teams and balance their actions to find the most effective and efficient way of accomplishing an assignment. Omega’s organic structure gives the employees more flexibility to innovative thinking, and creates a unity within the organization, where managers and employees share their knowledge and skills to achieve optimal performance. 3. Which firm should have won the final contract – Acme or Omega? Discuss. The paradoxical twins describes two organizations, Acme and Omega Electronics that are competing for the same contract for manufacturing a memory unit to be used in a photocopier. Omega, having an organic structure, wins the race because they are able to produce higher quality memory unit. On the other hand, Acme having mechanistic structure seems less competent and less reliable because of its low quality memory unit which they are unable to produce in time and some of its prototypes fail to work. Omega even corrects a design error in the original blueprint, which  improves product quality. But, both the company is given half the order, and they were encouraged to find the way to reduce the cost and Acme takes advantage of this opportunity to experiment to find ways to reduce its costs, whereas Omega does not. Finally Acme discovers the way to reduce the cost by 20% and they own the contract. Omega may have won the battle, but Acme has won the war because its mechanistic structure fosters a concern for technical efficiency and cost reduction in what is a routine manufacturing environment. In this particular case, Acme decides to run a â€Å"tight ship† (mechanistic structure) in order to increase productivity and efficiency, and to decrease costs. The advantage of this strategy is that they can undersell their competition (Omega) by selling at a lower cost. Omega, on the other hand, is nearly too opposite. They run a more organic structure, which relies heavily upon communication, delegation and teamwork. This strategy allows Omega to effectively compete with Acme by stressing reliability and by placing emphasis on quality. Omega’s decentralized, organic approach allowed for the building of prototypes 10 days faster than Acme, correction of errors, and a highly reliable prototype—much more reliable than Acme’s, which had a 10 percent failure rate. Omega was more effective when evaluated by these criteria, although Acme’s prices were lower than Omega’s because of that Acme won the competition and which was fair result in my opinion. Its mechanistic structure provided it with the management system and incentives needed to improve and reduce its manufacturing process, so that Acme won the final race over Omega. 4. What changes would you recommend to Acme and Omega if they are to survive in the future in this increasingly competitive industry? I wish to modify their organizational design. I think that in order for these two companies to survive they need to have a combination of organic and mechanistic structure. Once they do this change they will create a better organizational culture, which is the set of shared values and norms that controls organizational member’s interactions with each other . Although, Omega’s employees are working together, I think they have too much freedom. Therefore, I think that Omega’s management needs to be more formalize. Acme’s management are hightec pressure, they don’t give enough flexibility  to their employees. This is affecting Acme because there are missing some of the new ideas that their employees may have, and they are also forcing their workers to do the work which the top mangment as instructed. A combination of organic and mechanistic structure would give them better control and coordination of their employees and it will also motivate them and inspire a better behavior. Another recommendation for Acme Corporation would be to balance differentiation and integration For these two companies to survive and be successful I recommend that if they are going to combine organic and mechanistic structures then they should have a balance between centralization and decentralization. I think that all decision making shouldn’t be left entirely to employees or to management, rather it should be in between. Finally, these two companies should have a mixture of standardization and mutual understanding. Sometimes having too much of each may create an problem in corporate culture, therefore I would recommend to use a combination. Management needs pay close attention to make sure that their organizational design fits with the corporate culture and the organizational environment that they are trying to create.

Political and economic development Essay

The wish of every political authority is to ensure that the state under its jurisdiction is economically and politically developed to an extent that its people are not exposed to vulnerable conditions. As such, every sitting government has the responsibility of ascertaining the wellbeing of its subjects. However, this is not an easy task to achieve. Many governments have failed to develop their states economically owing to various factors, much of which remain structural and organizational. For instance, the countries being referred to as third world suffer from major political and economic crisis which make them totally dependent upon other economically stable nations. However, the question that one is bound to ask is why some nations seem to be stable politically while other nations consider this an illusion, something which needs the mediation of higher powers. This paper looks at the factors that promote and undermine political and economic development of nation states. Economic development cannot be dissociated from political stability. Political stability on the other hand comes as a result of superior organizational and structural set up of the state. Higher political participation of citizens at all levels, manifested in organized political system results in a higher socio-economic development. Higher socio-economic development on the other hand stimulates more political participation. Political participation of subjects within a given state or nation is dependent upon the political attitude of those particular subjects since it is this political attitude which finally determines whether a given clique in office if furthering their own interest or the interest of the subjects. As such, the economic and political development of any nation is dependent upon those individuals responsible for the running of the state. Political participation of subjects is the major factor which determines how a nation or state develop politically and socio-economically. However, for subjects to be active politically, they must be of a higher social status. As a state expands economically, individuals achieve higher status roles as income increase. As such, wealth is created which comes with an element of tension. As old groups become displaced, new groups emerge which will naturally compete for domination within the state. The tensions which exist within these groups resulting into conflicts will heighten political awareness among groups and individuals. This will ultimately lead to an increased political participation among the subjects. The expanding economy will also be accompanied with the creation of multifarious organizations that will root for a greater integration resulting in the desire to control the state. The complexities which characterize an expanding economy will necessitate the expansion of the apparatus of the government making its role be seen by the different social groups as relevant to their interests. As this perception increases, they are likely to take actions aimed at influencing government policies. Ever since the birth of nation states in Europe, the process of modernization has emerged and flourished within them. National development has often been realized through the notion of citizenship as part of the political culture. It is an accepted fact that all citizens have equal rights before the law. The political participation of the subjects is legitimized by national political culture to a large extent. However, as much as economic development brings about increased status and wealth, many individuals use political participation as a means to achieving other goals. As such, they withhold political participation once they recognize that they can achieve these goals through other ways. For instance, an individual may use a political office for personal economic gain while ignoring the importance of that office in protecting or furthering the wellbeing of other individuals in the nation or state (Isbister, 1998). This is however dependent on the ideals of the nation. For a nation to achieve a holistic political and economic development, political participation becomes an integral factor for it is through political participation that subjects become aware of the role of government in protecting and furthering their interest. As such, in a nation state where individuals are politically active, politicians are likely to further the nation’s agenda which is primarily political and economic stability. Many politicians gain office by deceiving the majority and while ion office, lead the state to a state of collapse. It also follows that political and economic development can be tied with leadership skills and visions of such political leaders. Many economically stable nations have collapsed due to poor leadership which has in turn led to serious crises. Honest and focussed leaders who truly understand the problems of their people are the key to economic and political stability. However, this also requires the support of the population whose participation may guarantee the nation’s stability. The organization of individuals and groups into a workable political system which represents the interest of the majority is also a key to economic and political development. According to Lijphart, the best political system is the consensus democracy where even the interests of the minority groups are taken into account when it comes to policy (Lijphart, 1999: 31-33). With this regard, economic and political development is dependent upon political participation described by political organization and governance structure.

Conversation Analysis

Conversation Analysis Conversation is absolutely instilled throughout every corner of every day for the totality of our lives. Whether it is on your favorite morning talk show, a casual encounter with a roommate, or admitting an undying love to your significant other, our lives, along with our realities, are entirely shaped by the conversations we allow ourselves to become continually engulfed in.With so much of our daily lives revolving around the conversations in which we are a part of it becomes clear that the underlining meanings, or messages, of these conversations could very well be the motor that keeps our realities in a state of progress. Conversation is interactional, philosophical, emotional, and entirely necessary in order to fulfill and express any type of accomplishment. When these conversations, these parts of our lives, are put under a trained mental microscope with the motive of finding a better understanding of the interaction taking place, it is referred to as Conve rsation Analysis (CA).Conversation Analysis’ method is aimed at determining the methods and resources that the interactional participants use and rely on to produce interactional contributions while also making sense of the contributions of others (Schegloff, 2007). What follows in this essay is an in-depth look at the practices and methods of Conversation Analysis showing that a better understanding of one’s conversation(s) will ultimately lead to a better understanding of one’s reality; while also showing that every utterance fulfilling some kind of act, or task, and is entirely motive driven toward the accomplishment of one of these tasks.Conversation Analysis is the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and non-verbal cues and conduct. As a field of study, Conversation Analysis was developed in the late 1960’s by Sociologist Harvey Sacks with the help of his associates Emanuel Schegloff and Gail Jefferson. Harvey Sacks is commonly regarde d to as the ‘father’ of the particular study. Conversation Analysis is frequently embodied into the works of sociology, anthropology, linguistics, speech communication, and psychology just to name a few.Although similar, Conversation Analysis differs from Discourse Analysis because its focus is squarely on the processes involved in social interaction, and does not include the work of written texts (Sidnell, 2010). To create an accurate analysis of conversation the interaction should not be viewed from a far or from a perspective that is external to the participants own reasoning and understanding of their circumstances and communication (Sidnell & Stivers, 2012).The analysis in which we are going to use as an example for the remainder of the essay focuses primarily on the functions of turn taking, adjacency pairs, repair, and speech acts; all common perspectives in the field of Conversation Analysis. The format of a conversation can be relatively easy to understand; one party communicates, the remaining parties respond in somewhat of a positive feedback loop; meaning that the feedback loop of the conversational system is continually going around with the addition of new information and new utterances, thus a positive feedback loop.This way of conversation is simply called ‘turn-taking’ implying that it is not a lecture style of communication with primarily one party conducting the conversation, rather an interaction where one party’s conversation is influenced and working together with a separate party’s. After establishing the turn taking method of conversation we are able to take it one step deeper and analyze the chosen utterances. While turn taking the two parties will be exchanging what are called ‘adjacency pairs;’ adjacency pairs are composed of two utterances, one after the other.The first pair provokes a response from the second party, such as: ‘Hello, how are you? † could provoke a resp onse such as: â€Å"Fine, how are you? † That is an adjacency pair. When the conversation fails to provide a relevant response to the pair; for example: If â€Å"Hello, how are you? † were to be responded to with â€Å"My favorite color is purple. † The responder has failed to provide a relevant response and has done what is considered to be a breach of conversational maxim, or the maximum of relevance. If such a breach were to happen one can resort to what is called ‘Repair. Repair is a self-righting mechanism that describes how parties in conversation deal with problems in speaking, hearing, or understanding. If the previous example of â€Å"My favorite color is purple† was said due to a misinterpretation of the required response to repair the conversation they might immediately say, â€Å"Oh, I’m terribly sorry I must have misheard you, I’m doing well how are you? † Lastly, this essay will focus on what are called ‘Spee ch Acts;’ the main goal of the utterance, the underlining message of the conversation.For example, telling someone that you will meet them at 7:00 is creating a commitment, a promise, making an arrangement; it isn’t simply just words pieced together. Speech acts include promising, ordering, responding, greeting, warning, inviting, asking, congratulating, etc. , and are the task in which the conversation is attempting to achieve. These perspectives of conversation analysis are just a few of the many factors that go into the structuring and fulfillment of a successful conversation.Turn taking is one of the easier factors of conversation analysis to point out to one who has yet to gain much experience in the field of communications. In the following transcript T is asking E why he has set up his laptop to record what they are talking about: [0:00 – 0:30] T: Takin’ pics? E: No. I’m just recording what we’re saying. T: Does it matter what we say? E: No, doesn’t matter. T: We can say whatever the f*ck we want? E: Uh-[huh] T: [just like that? ]E: Yeah, haha, we don’t even have to be, like, talking the whole time, just has to be 20 minutes worth of time. T: Soo what is this for? E: I get extra credit for my communications class T: you just get conversation from us? E: uh-huh! haha T: What’s up Commi’s?! This is an example of turn taking because T is not lecturing E about something, he is seeking information from E that is relevant to the conversation, and relevant to T’s reality. The two conversers are using adjacency pairs while speaking to each other in order to keep the onversation flowing in a positive feedback loop, while also not breaching the maxim of relevance. The conversation holds adjacency pairs because the utterances from the two conversing follow one another, and anything E said would not be relevant to the reality of T without T first asking E what was going on with the laptop. T had an underlining task of seeking information through his conversation; he successfully used a Speech Act in order to gain the information in which he sought, thus having a clearer understanding of his reality at the time of the conversation.Repair comes into a conversation when the feedback loop of those conversing becomes skewed; a misunderstanding of an utterance from one party to another can alter the outcome and flow of the conversation until the party that misunderstood an utterance and altered the feedback of the conversation has done repair work to reposition the conversation back into a positive feedback loop. The example in the transcript comes into play when E walks into T and J’s room when J is trying to study.E realizes that his presence in the conversation that T and J were having about the material they were studying is beginning to interrupt the flow of their conversation. E begins his repair work to the conversation: [12:00-13:47] J: I’m going to g o study T: good old study sesh J: You can leave that in our room if you want, while we study haha E: I’ll walk back and fourth (p 3. 0) Did you end up selling those clubs dude? T: Yeah, Yogi bought them E: Dam[n] T: [It would] have been a good deal E: (p 8. 0] Connor how was your day?C: Sick! I did a lot of studying. Now I’m helping out with some extra credit J: Excellent! E: Your day was excellent Jack? J: No! my day was pretty shitty, shitty. E: haha (p 7. 0) You want this door closed? J: Yeah, thanks. E: alright sorry guys, peace J: Give him an A! E: I need an A! haha bye guys Once E realizes that his two roommates, T and J, are studying and that he has interrupted their concentration with the video on the lap top he begins to start the repair process of the conversation, and his present reality.E realizes that he shouldn’t be intruding on T and J and by uttering ‘Do you guys want this door closed† he is implying that the interruption is understoo d and he is going to repair the situation by leaving them alone and closing the door on his way out. The repair work is understood by J and he thanks E for the notion and sends him off by telling the camera that E should get an A for his extra credit work that was mentioned in the previous transcription.Repair work is vital to a misunderstanding in a conversation, if a situation arises where repair work is needed but goes unnoticed, the misunderstanding of the conversation will lead to a further misunderstanding of the present reality. Speech acts are the underlining meanings of our conversation; they are the tasks in which we are trying to fulfill through our interaction. Speech acts can be broken down into three categories: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts.Locutionary is the actual utterance and its phonetic meaning, ilocutionary is its intended significance, and perlocutionary is the actual effect on the conversation and present reality. In the following transc ript E goes back into T and J’s room to try and find information about golf clubs. He is not just trying to strike up a conversation; he is seeking information and is attempting to accomplish a task: [16:47 – 19:30] E: Jack do you have any old golf clubs? J: Naah, only the ones I use. E: Does Nick? J: Nope. E: fuckT: John has old ones, but they’re pretty nice. And I don’t think, I can [ask him] E:[Yeah, if he’s looking to sell them] E: definitely let me know, ‘cause I’m trying to go. T: If he does I can definitely let you know. E: awesome thanks, I’m trying to go. The locutionary meaning of E’s utterance is easy to understand; he is seeking a way to buy golf clubs from his roommates if they happen to have an old set. The illocutionary in this particular example matches the meaning of the locutionary as its intended significance is to find some new golf clubs.The actual effect on the conversation, the perlocutionary act, c auses J and T to respond to E with their answers, as it would be in their better interest to sell some old golf clubs. E uses speech acts to try and acquire the information in which he sought. The topic of golf clubs did not just happen to come up in conversation, but was purposely brought into the realities of T and J by E through E’s search for information. Speech acts revolve around every conversation and interaction taking place throughout our lives.Even in random day-to-day gossip speech acts are the motor that drive these interactions in a forward motion of gaining new information. When one better understands the underlining meanings of the conversations throughout their day there is no doubt that that better understanding of communication leads directly to a better understanding of one’s reality. Our realities are entirely shaped by and understood through the words in which we use to describe them.The motives behind our interactions are what shapes the conversat ions into what they become; whether we are trying to be humorous and crack a joke, give a serious speech, show empathy toward someone, argue our opinions back and fourth, or seeking information these certain motives are what craft our interactions with one another. When one better understands these motives they will better understand their conversation, have a better understanding of how to accomplish tasks through their conversation, and ultimately lead to a better understanding of one’s present reality. ReferencesSchegloff, E. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction: A primer in conversation analysis, volume 1. Retrieved from http://www. sscnet. ucla. edu/soc/faculty/schegloff/pubs/index. php (Schegloff, 2007). Sidnell, J. (2010). Conversation analysis: An introduction. Retrieved from http://individual. utoronto. ca/jsidnell/OverviewResearch. html (Sidnell, 2010). Sidnell, J. , & Stivers, T. (2012). handbook of conversation analysis. boston: Wiley-blackwell.. Retrieved from http://media. wiley. com/product_data/excerpt/82/14443320/1444332082-12. pdf (Sidnell & Stivers, 2012)

The role of employee engagement in an organization, using M & S food Essay

The role of employee engagement in an organization, using M & S food store as an organization - Essay Example Only a third of employees have motivation in their work places in the United Kingdom (BergHind, 2005). Some organizations have embraced a strong sense of developing employee willingness to have a positive mental attitude towards work (Accor Services, 2009). Only twenty nine percent in the United States are enthusiastic about their work and employment. The business landscape is more unpredictable and more dynamic than ever before. However, despite challenges, most organizations have continuously supported employees to create a positive mental attitude towards work. Human resource remains a fundamental resource in any business. Companies that pride themselves in continued improvement of the intangible resources of the business entity. The intangible resources encompass the psychological factors that influence the mental preparedness and willingness of workers in an important pillar of progress in any company. The company has established itself as a true benchmark of success in the reta il industry through creating a sense of belonging among employees ( Bradley, 2007). The human resource personnel and other officials in the company engage the workforce in various developmental steps of the company. In the current dynamic and ever evolving business landscape, companies have stepped up efforts to engage employees. In the past, organizations were concentrating on staff retention plans which were ineffective in guaranteeing high performance. This is because companies were keeping millions of unwilling workers who simply turned for duty but were never interested in building the organization (Clarke & MacLeod 2009, p 168). Organizations today are engaging employees through informing employees about the organizations, creating strong communication channels where there is feedback from employees and committing the top management to proper service delivery. At the moment, several organizations have improved the extent employee engagement effort. What are the benefits of eng aged employees and how they are been rewarded in regards to their engagement to the organization. The psychological factors are key to the success of any company. Any employee who is engaged to a company will produce better results than an employee who is not motivated at work (Baldwin & Davis, 2006). This makes rewards and benefits to an employee who is engaged very necessary if any organization has to continue performing well (Clarke & MacLeod, 2009). Employees who are engaged will be handled well by the organization. Employees who have a positive attitude towards their work have less stress and are less likely to fall sick compared to those who are not engaged. Employees who are engaged derive joy and attach meaning to their work. This makes employee engagement the heart of high performance in an organization (Accor Services 2009, p 162). A strong correlation was established between employee engagement and the level of performance. The stores that were in the top quartile of enga gement achieved eight percent higher mystery shop scores than those in the bottom quartile (Marks and Spencer Group Inc, 2012, p. 56). This underscores the importance of employee engagement in the success of the company. The biggest job related concern among workers in the United Kingdom is the amount of salary employees earn. More than forty six percent of the workers consider the salary they earn as their main concern (Merrit J. E., 2012, p. 29). Engaged employees get offers from the company.

Are we better off Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Are we better off - Assignment Example Practical projects are essential for histotech as they afford the students with hands on experience (Kohl, et al., 2011). Professions dealing with the human health are very critical; as such, they require utmost proficiency and due diligence. Practical project provides the necessary experience since it prepares the learner for the real world. Additionally, it prepares the learner for further learning specifically within the health profession. Tasks performed by Histotechnicians require mechanical capability and patience, what better way is there to prepare the learners than through practical projects (Kohl, et al., 2011). The learners must prove their proficiency in laboratory processes and in immune histo-chemistry. An academic project invokes the student’s analytical capability and hence facilitating the learner’s competence prior to certification. Kohl, S. K., Lewis, S. E., Tunnicliffe, J., Lott, R. L., Spencer, L. T., Carson, F. L.,& Brown, R. W. (2011). The College of American Pathologists and National Society for Histotechnology Workload Study. Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine, 135(6),

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example In every action, there is personal consent of doer himself that drives him to perform or decide something. I argue that Chisholm’s belief is right. A person cannot be influenced by any internal or external reason. He takes decision as he thinks is right for him. He is self-confident and determined enough to take decisions and withstand it. God has made every human being a good brain as well as guts. He is confident enough to stand determined in a position of decisiveness. He can take his own decisions without being influenced by any factor. There can be no factor influential enough on determinism. All influences are psychological which makes a person seek those factors in their decision making ability. Chisholm’s concept is in contradiction with Frankfurt who says that there is no consent of people’s actions. He is always directed by some external or internal factors to do or decide something. It is merely an observation that a person is doing something of his own self. His decisions will apparently by himself but in a real sense, they are backed by some internal and external factors. (Earman) Although Chisholm is right about the determinism of human beings, one cannot neglect the power of external and internal factors that influence a person’s decision. There are lots of emotional, psychological, physical and societal factors that make a person decide on something. Frankfurt rightly says that a person is certainly influenced by other factors for taking his decisions. In this world where people are highly concerned about what is going on each other’s life, it is a pertinent fact that there can be a rare decision that is not influenced by any factor. Determinism of human beings and their free will is not so much free to decide whatever he wants. Being a human being, we look for the factors that are associated and included in our decisions. (Joseph Keim Campbell)We evaluate them and then give them weight of

Strategic management of SMEs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic management of SMEs - Essay Example The choice of a competitive strategy helps a firm navigate the competitive environment that defines one’s business. This paper concerns with unraveling the sources of comparative advantage among firms. Comparative advantage regards having the ability to satisfy a market in the best way than any other firm. In addition, the paper shall unravel how strategic management influences SME’s. Segmentation differentiation is a useful competitive strategy for an SME. Segmentation differentiation differs with differentiation in terms of product making. This is because segmentation differentiation concerns with dealing a specific market segment (Julien 2003, pp. 230). In this case, a business studies a market segment and determines different factors that define its existence. For instance, the business studies the general preferences and needs of a given market. In addition, a SME studies the aggregate income levels of a market segment towards determining the price and quality level demanded by a particular market segment. This strategy differs from the idea of approaching a market in its whole form because a firm makes the risk of targeting a single market. There are, however, several benefits of choosing a given market segment. To begin with, an SME has the high chances of exhausting the market. Once consumers are satisfied from particular services, they are highly likely to manifest customer loyalty even in cases whereby new competitors enter the market. Innovation occurs in tests of produced uniqueness that a firm has in a poll of competitors. It is crucial to highlight that innovation is a traversing concept that may occur in every level of the supply chain. To begin with, it is essential to examine uniqueness in production. Innovation in production regards using the available resources to produce that does not exist in a market. It also concerns with designing a production process that carets efficiency in terms of time and costs.

Choose one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Choose one - Essay Example plant whose extract facilitates excretion of urine can for example help in treating complications that are associated with the system of urine excretion such as kidney problems. Similarly, a plant that facilitate running nose can facilitate nasal hygiene. Physical properties of plant extracts such as astringency plants’ curative role. Astringency binds disease-causing organisms to body tissues that facilitate elimination. Plants are also sources of chemicals that are used to manufacture chemical based drugs and consuming a plant that is rich in a chemical treats similar diseases that the resultant manufactured drug treats (http://permaculturenews.org/2013/10/09/medicinal-plants/). Examples of plants with medicinal value are garlic, chamomile, and Dandelion. Garlic is a common plant for domestic use and is effective against microorganisms at different body organs and system while chamomile helps relax the body. (http://www.homestead.org/KarynSweet/MedicinalGarden/MedicinalGarde n.htm). The subject relates to my environment through providing alternatives to management of diseases. It creates awareness of natural solutions to medical problems and offers alternatives to chemical based drugs whose adverse effects are many. The subject also offers a cheaper alternative to care because natural products are either free of cheaper than processed

Emerging Market in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Emerging Market in China - Research Paper Example Cavusgil et al., (2002) stated that the term of emerging market has been used to generalize the meaning of developing country in characterizing low-income level economies. This was a term first mentioned by Antoine W.Van Agtmael, of the International Finance Corporation. It was, however, unclear how to exactly give a definition of an emerging market back then. Some observers defined it as an extremely low-income economies under the umbrella of emerging market. Some observers included countries that experience a dramatic increase in terms of economic growth, and the rest of the countries not considered developed (Pacek et al. 2007). Emerging market countries have many characteristics in common describing their developing countries. They usually have a substantial agricultural region in between the rural and urban areas. Other characteristics include low productivity, poor level of building the foundation, poor education and nutrition. However, countries with these characteristics must have positive momentum in economies and development. According to The World Bank’s definition, emerging economy has an average per capita income of less than approximately 9000 USD and is maintaining a great economic transformation.Characteristics of an emerging marketThere are several aspects that are shared by emerging economies in terms of economic, technological, sociocultural and political aspects. In economic terms, emerging markets have been favoured by some of the fastest growth rate in the world.

Alcoholic beverage Essay Example for Free

Alcoholic beverage Essay Is the End of the German Beer Industry Near? 1. Discuss how the changing technological environment present international threats and opportunities to the German beer industry. To discuss how changing technological environment presents international threats and opportunities for the German beer industry, the term of changing technological environment has to be explained. The literature distinguishes between a micro environment and a macro environment. Micro environment concludes factors, which are directly influenced by a company. These factors are organizational – Marketing-Mix, Structure, processes etc. Macro environment contains political decisions, cultural and social changes and technological changes (Lee and Carter, 2009). Technological changes can include three sections to improve business processes of companies. The First is through technological innovations in products and processes. For instance producing processes in different Industries are much easier and faster today than before 30 years. Product life cycles are less long today – modern technology allows permanent improvements and innovative new products detach older products. That is a Development of modern Industries, which can be observed (Dicken, 2011). The second one is through communication and information. Technology increases productivity by time saving devices and allowing companies to work in collaboration with team members within a Network, who are not present or the ability of fast access to data from anywhere of the world (Obele, 2004). Furthermore modern Technology allows companies to do consumer or market research in a very short time, especially through the internet which provides opportunities for companies to enter new markets across several countries and regions in a very fast and easy way now (Litan et al. , 2010). The third one is through mobility and innovation in transportation. Today manufacturers are able to transport products with the help of airplanes, trains and ships in a geographical freedom without losing quality of products (Dicken, 2011). By increasing productivity generally through time and space saving devices modern technology provided the German industry opportunities to increase general production output. Improved Information and communication technology (ICT) and innovative transport systems results a less complex of processes to enter new markets by aimed communication and fast distribution. But one of the most important international opportunities that changing technological environment presents to the German beer industry is the improvement in production processes. Process optimisation and increased efficiency are priorities of the most companies. For Instance high-gravity wort fermentation or efficiency of wort sugar uptake are process activities resulting in reduced capital expenditure and gains in economies of scale (Stewart, no date). Economics of scale eventuates when a decline in average cost can be achieved through an increase in output of one product (O’Sullivan A.and Seffrin S. , 2003). In addition many of the big global players are leveraging from innovated brewing and fast fermentation processes. There are heavy investments in brewing development to produce more efficient for instance to exploit ingredients or save water and gain economies of scale. In the USA breweries like Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors managed to dominate the mass-producing sector and gained in economies of scale (Tremblay et al. , 2005). World market leader AB InBev from Belgium owns more then 200 beer brands today, undaunted Becks, a German beer. Local breweries did not attempt to expand in the past and today they are suffering from acquisition of big global players. The device of big breweries is to produce efficient and cheap. But many German customers are struggling against this mass-production provided by modern technology. Most of them argue that the quality of the beer is suffering from mass-production and decide to buy local German beer brands, which are more expensive (Schimansky, 2012). In times of cheap mass-production there are still customers, who are ready to pay more for quality – according to the case study the same applies to emerging markets. So local German breweries could use their quality as a unique selling proposition and start to cooperate and get together by mergers for instance to share costs and risks of overseas operations. It is logical, that only a few German breweries will be able to invest in international operations, because of small financial resources. Therefore maybe only 100 of the 1300 German breweries will stay alive in future – but these breweries will be strong enough to create an availability of German beer internationally. One opportunity for German breweries is to expand to emerging markets like China then, where according to the study customers are ready to pay for quality, as we mentioned. Producing towards the Reinheitsgebot promises that required quality. Referring to the Paper that most of the small German breweries got small financial resources and no experiences in overseas markets, so cooperation with another famous German brewery, as we mentioned, or a joint venture in a foreign country like China to reduce certain risks, costs and gain specific market knowledge, could be profitable. The infrastructure, especially communication and information channels to gain knowledge about local preferences will enhance the way of doing business there. But new technologies and innovative processes provide rival producers new opportunities and form new threats for the German beer industry. By producing more efficient and creative with support of modern producing opportunities beer companies adapt their product following new trend of the new generations. Example is given in the study by offering alcopops or mixed beers etc. Eventually global players, who enter the German market by acquiring German breweries and are close to the market, will be in a position to adapt their own products in the future with support of modern technologies in research methods etc. to gain knowledge of local preferences by ongoing efficient industrialized mass producing processes. And if German breweries still stay small in distribution, big global players will be able to dominate more of the almost saturated market. This is especially because of modern efficient way of brewing and the declining costs involved through economies of scale for example. 2. Discuss the impact of the current economic global crisis upon the operations of the German Beer industry, given that it appears to be fractionalised and has smaller financial resources than its main competitors. According to a publication of the new economics foundation (nef, 2012), the world is in the second phase of an economic crisis, which has a global reach and affects nut just only the world’s major institutions, but also the established ways of thinking. The nef asserts that the contemporary global economic crisis is a continuation of the financial crisis of 2008. In 2008 the world’s third-largest investment bank at that time, Lehman brothers, bankrupted and led to eventual a collapse of the whole financial system. The nef explains that the crisis of 2008 was halted but not resolved. Now the results of the second phase of the global economic crisis are stagnation and austerity to cut public spendings, so the nef. Furthermore the nef argues that austerity is hindering economic growth, because firms sell fewer goods and services and therefore this creates job losses as we can see in Ireland, Greece and now in the United Kingdom. That global economic crisis impacts the beer industry in several countries proves a declining number in annual per capita consumption of beer in Greece, which has been hit hardest among the countries by the beer recession and by the crisis itself (Ewing, 2011). The main impact of the economic global crisis upon of German beer industry is, that more and more people loss their jobs worldwide within the crisis (BBC, 2009). Therefore they are not able to spend much. Because of that they fear about the uncertain future and want to save money. This fear impacts their customers buying behaviour. There is a strong resistance to buying and therefore prices have to be lowered (Herrmann, 2009). In addition more and more people are drinking at home rather then in bars or restaurants to save money. This in turn leads to that more people loss their jobs, especially in the hospitality industry, like Hotels, pubs or restaurants. Furthermore governments are hindering productivity by value-added taxes, which lower consumption and cots jobs (Ewing, 2011). That means that there is a declining buying power and changing careful buying behaviour, especially of price sensitive German customers, like it is told in the study. The paper shows already a declining number of beer consumption, because of some factors, like Trends, demographic changes and government decisions against alcoholic drinks etc. The fact that the people spent less money, as mentioned before, will accelerate this process. The general economic crisis in Europe, like in Greece, Italy and Spain intensified the situation (Bloomberg, 2013). So this countries import less to overcome the crisis and are out of the question of a potential markets. There is one matter occurred within the global economic crisis especially in Europe that could have a huge affect on the German beer industry in future. The European Union follows a common policy outwards in interests of each country. But in times of economic crisis like in Greece, the idea of a common Identity of several nations within the European Union failed. Many Greeks for instance are blaming Germany and France to benefiting from their spending for Greece in order to help (The Independent, 2012). Both are the main supporters for Greece attempt to overcome the crisis by attempt to support investment and economic growth there (RTE, 2012). But as mentioned, not only Greece; Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy are heavily indebted countries, who are next to face the economic crisis in an extreme kind (BBC, 2012). Situations like these can destroy a common relationship between countries within the EU, because everyone seeks for reasons for the fail of the economy in each country and as it had been said especially Greece is blaming the policy of EU about that. This fact forces countries and governments to shut themselves off from the EU and concentrate on local policy, economy and matters instead showing common interest in the EU as a whole. This could lead people to think more nationalized and consumption could concentrate on domestic products instead of expensive imports, like of a good quality German beer, to save money. These happenings, particularly in Europe, show a negative initial situation for German beer industry and as we said above potential markets in Europe in the future. According to the case study the German breweries are fractionalised and got smaller financial resources than their competitors, which is hindering the Industry to expand overseas an enter new markets to gain sustain success and profit. Like Koenig says in the study the German market is saturated and as I said before the economic crisis in Europe precludes a potential market there. Emerging markets are potential markets because for instance of several factors like the market size in China etc. and according to the paper the fact that customers are ready to pay more for quality in emerging markets. Economy in China for example has continued to grow, while the economy in Europe has fallen into a critical situation. Increased consumer spending and the open business policy of China provide really new opportunities for western companies (B2B International, no date). The expansion to such markets is related with new costs, which complicates the operations of the German beer industry, because of small financial resources. Grave et al. (2012) analyzed the beer industry in China in a journal article in the case of Carlsberg. The paper argues that Porter’s (1980) differentiation or focus strategy may work in western countries, but not in emerging ones. The challenge is, it says, to maintain value proposition as a quality beer while responding to local demands. The Five forces industry analysis resulted that there is a high competition in the Chinese beer market, high supplier power, low buyer power, medium threats of entrants with high entry barriers, i. e. language barriers, and low to medium threats of substitutes. So no matter how attractive emerging markets are, it might be risky to enter China; but first you are established, you will gain big success. This success requires financial resources, which German breweries can only gain by consolidation with associated German breweries or joint ventures with Chinese companies. Carlsberg gained big success by Chinese acquisitions and undergone little affects of the economic crisis, so the journal article. So certain German breweries should get together to share costs and try to enter new emerging markets – as we mentioned European and German markets are almost saturated; if they do not try to find new markets, most of them will collapse, raddled from the impacts of the global economic crisis by declining numbers in consumption, less buying power and changes in buying behaviours. 3. With reference to the EU market only, explain how contemporary cultural and social changes might affect the future development of the German Beer industry. Cultural and social changes are macro environmental matters that businesses have to adapt on to stay competitive. Consumer preferences are dynamic and invariably changing. As consumer preferences have to form adaptations, companies have to consider trends to produce goods which satisfy consumer needs in real. Not only demographic changes, on which I will be come back later, but different ethnical, religious, racial groups and changes in proportion of gender within a society can affect companies in their businesses (Richards, no date). By referring to the Paper an important social change is that more and more people in Europe and in the world become more health conscious. This includes government decisions about penalties related with alcohol in public and suggestions, like it says in the study, to general lifestyle and nutrition of the public. Science and medicine promote this trend by distribute the opinion that long term use of alcohol leads to cancer, liver failure, neurological, psychological and social problems (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Wellness products are shaping food markets, especially in Germany. Health is status symbol for newly olds and young people are interested in healthy products, as well to prevent illness (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2010). Further drinking beer has a bad image today. We associate beer drinking with lushes and riots in football stadiums. In an era in which apparently health and wellness plays a significant role, especially people who cares about their outward appearances, do not drink beer, because they do not want a beer-belly (Reilly, 2012). These described trends can have a significant affect on German beer industry, especially in a shrinking market, like the paper says. According to the Study besides this there is a declining number of consumption of beer. A low birth rate in Germany, within a declining number of population impacts every area in life and influence economy, as well. (Bundesministerium des Innern, 2011). Particularly demographic changes in Germany and Europe lead to a cease of the core target group. A low birth rate in Germany, within a declining number of population impacts every area in life and influence economy, as well. In addition the case study provides that younger generations prefer to drink alcopops and mixed beers instead of traditional beer. The beer industry recognized the demand and for example the German brewery Schofferhofer gained a big success in 2007 with Schofferhofer Grapefruit – a mixed wheat beer with grapefruit extract. Bitburger, another famous German brewery introduced Copa, a Caipirinha flavoured beer and a pomegranate flavoured one, containing less alcohol to satisfy health awareness of customers (Strohmaier, 2007). Therefore more German breweries have to adapt their beers to local consumer preferences and trends to gain sustainable success in future, which is associated with new costs, like for research and development. Small breweries are threatened, because of small financial resources. Besides that the sophisticated choice of alcoholic drinks is wine, as the study says. At this end the low consumption of beer, changing buying behaviour of German price sensitive customers and less buying power of customers in Europe within the economic global crisis reduce chances of German beer industries of a positive development in the future at the moment. In addition cultural and social changes, like demographic changes, health consciousness, trends of new generations and government behaviour against alcohol consumption, argued above, are threats for the German beer industry, especially in the case of small breweries.

The Culture And Practices In Islam Theology

The Culture And Practices In Islam Theology The origins of Islam are from Saudi Arabia, it is a religious tradition that is monotheistic. The literal meaning of the word Islam is submission to God Julie Williams, 2008 This complete code of life is based on the divine revelations preached by Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) it addresses all aspects of life: spiritual, social, moral, intellectual, political, economical etc. Its teachings show us how to surrender to Allahs will in every area of life, Who is the supreme creator and sustainer of this world. The sacred scripture of Islam is the Quran, which is the compilation of all the divine revelations sent to Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) and were taught by him. The underlying principle which is the foundation of Islam is that there is only one God, Allah. He has no equal or any partner. Five Pillars of Islam are its unifying characteristic; they are the primary aspect of religion. These five pillars include Tauhid, which is the first and most important; it is faith in one true God, Allah. The second is Salah or Namaz, which is the ritual prayer Muslims are required to perform five times a day. Fasting is the third pillar of Islam where Muslims fast for a whole month. Zakat, the charity compulsory on certain wealth is the fourth pillar, the fifth pillar is Hajj, which is a pilgrimage a Muslim with enough wealth is required to take at least once in his lifetime. Apart from the five pillars of Islam, there are also six articles of faith. These include: Belief in One God Belief in all the prophets Belief in the four original Holy scriptures Belief in the angels Belief in the Hereafter and day of judgement Belief in Divine verdict Muslims are usually distinguished by their devotion to the obligation of praying fives times to Allah in a day. Another defining characteristic of Islam is pre-eminence of the sacred places, which are Makah, Medina and Jerusalem. A ritual of Muslims is to gather in a congregation at mosque to pray and worship Allah, also study the divine scripture, Quran. The distinction as to who is better in the Muslim community is based on solely the individual Muslims devotion to serving in the path of Allah. The universal aspect of Islam caused it to expand almost instantly after it evolved in Arabian Peninsula, in the present world it has spread across Africa, Europe, Asia and rest of the world. Although most of the Muslims are born into faith but Islam always welcomes the coverts too (Julie Williams, 2008). Even though Islam originated from Arab region, the Muslims are not necessarily Arab; it is a universal religion which is for everyone across the globe. There are Muslims from almost every n ationality in the world, now the Arabs are only 20% of the Muslim population across the world. The influence of Arab culture on Islam has had effects on those who belonged to other cultures but adopted Islam too. This has created a cultural bond due to similarities that they share among their societies, although these different societies do still have characteristics that clearly distinguish them. The culture of Islam inherited an Arab culture that was originated in desert, which although is simple yet not in any way unsophisticated. It has a verbal tradition founded on the broadcast of culture by means of narrative as well as poetry. Although, the largest impact on Islamic civilization is that of the written scripture, the whole civilization is based on the teachings written down and compiled in form of Holy Quran and taught by the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h). A ts of animate beings. The focus of Islamic art is on Allahs omnipresence, which cannot be illustrate ts of animate beings. The focus of Islamic art is on Allahs omnipresence, which cannot be illustrated in any imagery. The calligraphy in Arabic is a famous art form to beautifully write Quranic verses. The Islamic art with its artistry as well as grandeur has not failed to inspire awe over the centuries.d in any imagery. The calligraphy in Arabic is a famous art form to beautifully write Quranic verses. The Islamic art with its artistry as well as grandeur has not failed to inspire awe over the centuries.n important part of the Islamic culture is its signature art and architecture (Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel, 2009) which is marked by floral decorative patterns and abstract art. The fundamental aspect of Islamic art is that it is devoid of illustrations of living beings, especially humans according to the teachings of Islam, since it is forbidden in religi on to paint or draw portraits of animate beings. The focus of Islamic art is on Allahs omnipresence, which cannot be illustrated in any imagery. The calligraphy in Arabic is a famous art form to beautifully write Quranic verses. The Islamic art with its artistry as well as grandeur has not failed to inspire awe over the centuries. Critically outlines how the history and practices of Islam shape the lives of Muslims today in a short paragraph Most of the practices which are prevailing in Muslim world of today are not mentioned in The Quran. Although, the saying of Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) and his conduct of every day life provide the Muslims of today the basis for traditions and the practices of today in form of Sunnah. The Sunnah and Hadith of holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) provides a guiding path for all the Muslims of today from every day rituals like eating with the right hand, growing beard for men and hijab to cover the head for women, greeting another Muslim with salaam etc to major issues like marriage and legal problems. In the troubled world of today however, it is crucial to be able to differentiate as to what is true to Islamic nature and what only a part of culture. Many of the customs that prevail in todays Muslim world have no roots in either Quran or Sunnah. Compare Islamic culture with other cultures Islam is one of the three Divine religions, other two being Judaism and Christianity which preceded Islam but were annulled when Allah sent the message of Islam through Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), which was to be the last and universal religion for the entire mankind. The preceding cultures have various similarities but major differences in comparison to Islam. Lets take Judaism for instance, there are many differences among these two religions yet they all originate from one basic difference. Although they both believe in One God, they have difference in the belief of Prophet, Islam is based on the teachings that Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) came with and believes him to be the Last Prophet. Where as Jews believe only in the prophet hood of Moses. According to Islamic belief any who denies that Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was the last prophet would be doomed to an eternity in hell. There are other contrasting beliefs in both the religions too, for example Jews believe prophet Ismail to be an idolater where as Muslims respect him as prophet of Allah. Christianity and Islam have a lot of similarities. Both of them hold the belief in Prophets, Divine scriptures, day of judgement/resurrection, importance of religion. Many of the teachings in their scriptures are similar too, although the Original transcript of Bible has now been tampered with. Regardless of these similarities there are a lot of crucial differences too. Their Understanding of Allah is very different, in Islam God is one and only with no equals where as in Christianity they deem Jesus to be the son of God. In Christian culture, the belief of divine revelation is that God himself appeared to preach and provide redemption. Islam on the other hand looks upon revelation as a form of guidance. Aside from difference of islam with these two major religion cultures, since islam has spread across the world, its true culture has taken various changes depending on the region it exists in, for example in subcontinent, Malaysia and Indonesia. The influence of hindu culture is dominant on muslim practices too, since the people that converted to islam and formed muslim communities there were originally hindus. Practices like lighting candles on the last seven Ramadan nights has been adopted from a Hindu festival, so are many of the customs involved in marriage that require bride and groom to sit centre stage and get appraised and blessed by the crowd. These practices are contrasting to what is truly Islamic and have no origins in islam whatsoever.