Strategic Analysis

Executive Summary This paper provides a strategic analysis of Wal-Mart International. Wal-Mart international is one of the biggest retail chain stores in the world. The company has been growing from strength to strength and now boasts of global leadership among retail chains.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Strategic management implies long term planning and doing everything in an organization with a long-term picture or vision. As defined by Mitzberg et al (1998), strategic planning consists in making long or midterm decisions with the aim of delivering a competitive edge to an organization. Strategic planning is not possible without strategic analysis. Through application of strategic tools, one deploys mechanisms of understanding the organization and the environment within which it operates (Yergin Stanislaw, 2002). Analysis of the business environment is th e primordial function of strategic management (Sadler Craig, 2003). In this paper, Porters Five Forces and PESTEL model are employed towards understanding the market and the macro environment within which Wal-Mart Operates. From the market analysis anchored on the five forces model, it is clear that competition is the biggest headache for Wal-Mart International. The company operates in an environment characterized by high competition. Due to stiff competition, it has had to withdraw from some international markets like South Korea and Germany. The strategies employed by an organization can be based on models and plans or on internal capacity of the organization. Models notwithstanding, the resource based view of strategy holds that organizational resources are the most critical factor in determining a competitive edge (Wernerfelt, 1984). This implies that organizational competencies and capabilities matter a lot when it comes to defining a competitive edge. A SWOT analysis done on Wal-Mart reveals that it has many strengths and hence competencies. The company has an international presence, a strong work force and employs modern information technology platforms to remain ahead of competition. In terms of revenue, the organization is one of the highest revenue earners in the world. In the last year alone, the organization had a 15.4 billion (US dollars) as net revenue. The SWOT matrix on Wal-Mart reveals that it has enough strengths as well as opportunities that put it is a strong competitive position. The opportunities further offer a huge potential for growth. Based on identified characteristics of the organization and the business environment within which it operates, managers adopt given strategies. Tools like the BCG matrix, the GE matrix or the grand strategy matrix are helpful when identifying the kind of strategies to adopt for a company (Ulwick, 2000). The grand strategy matrix was used in identifying the kind of strategies Wal-Mart can employ going in to the future.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the grand strategies matrix, the organization falls in the high market growth and strong competitive position quadrant. This implies that the organization can adopt both market consolidation strategies and market growth strategies. The market consolidation strategies will help it keep and retain its traditional market while the growth strategies will enable it to tap into promising markets; especially the international market. Choice of strategies is an important step; however, there should be policies and mechanism that support adopted strategies. Considering suggested strategies for Wal-Mart, this paper recommends that the management ensure internal consistency of strategies adopted. Internal consistency ensures that the strategies are not in conflict and can thus be harmoniously implemented (Ulwick, 2000). Furthermore, the re is need to ensure that the strategies are organizationally fit and an environmentally fit. Organizationally fit strategies are those that respond to organizational characteristics. Environmentally fit strategies are those that respond to business environment characteristics. Introduction This paper explores benefits and limitations to strategic management. To appraise the benefits of strategic management, this paper discusses in depth how the different aspects of strategic management are applied. To concretize the analysis of strategic management, the paper focuses on Wal-Mart International, which is one of the world’s most successful retail chains. Wal-Mart International has grown steadily to have its presence felt all over the world. Wal-Mart has experienced phenomenal growth since inception due to embracing strategic management practices. Most successful organizations make strategic planning central to their operations (Sanchez Heene, 2004, p. 23). The main aim of work ing on a strategic plan or business plan is to identify ways and means through which an organization can guarantee good results, a competitive edge or a competitive advantage in the long term (Ulwick, 2000, p. 11). A strategic process should be able to help a company or an organization to understand its current situation, identify a desirable future status and ways of ensuring it arrives at its desired status or end (Wernerfelt, 1984, p. 174). Wal-Mart already has a vision, mission and overriding objectives. This is critical because the strategic process begins by identifying or framing the desired future. The future of an organization is captured in its vision, mission and strategic objectives.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Analysis of Wal-Mart International’s Business Environment The process of analyzing a business environment requires looking at dif ferent facets. To do a proper business analysis, one would have to employ such tools as SWOT analysis, Five Forces model by Porter, Global model or PESTEL, the BCG matrices, competitive profile and Value chain analysis, among others (Joyce Woods, 2001, p.233). These tools help in analysis of both the internal and external environment to establish how factors in either environment are affecting or are likely to affect the organization. From the internal environment, the strengths and weakness of the organization are identified for the purposes of defining how best to restructure the organization. From factors in the external environment, the key success factors for the company are adequately mapped out. Porters’ Five Forces: Market Analysis Porter’s five forces are helpful in understanding the market within which Wal-Mart operates. According to Porter, an organization or products performance is dependent on five distinct forces. Threat of new entrants Wal-Mart does not deal in much differentiated products. Therefore, the threat of new entrants is very high. Moreover, given the entrance and exit barriers in the retail industry, the threat of new entrants is present. Threat of substitutes Given the stores provide an array of products, the threat of substitutes is not a big issue in the retail chain industry. However, in individual products, some stores tend towards selling exclusive brands. This creates a challenge in terms of customers going for substitute brands in exclusive stores. Supplier power Considering supplier power in the retail industry, there are many suppliers thus minimizing supplier power. However, the fact that there are many institutions also targeting the produces gives suppliers relative power. For instance, in the grocery business, there are so many competing grocery stores. Despite suppliers being numerous as well, the competition for supplies among supermarkets and retail chains gives suppliers some relative power. Buyer powe r Buyers, in the retail business, have enormous power due to many retailers and a variety of substitutes. Consequently, it is the stockers like Wal-Mart that have to work on value addition and proper market propositions to attract customers.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Competitor Rivalry Therefore, the greatest limit to Wal-Mart’s growth is likely to result from competition activity and customer perception of the competition rivalry. Wal-mart has quite a wide range of competition. The biggest competitors of Wal-Mart are a wide range of departmental stores especially in the US, Canada and Mexico. Moreover, there is quite a number of supermarket chains especially in Eastern parts of the United States. Numerous smaller supermarkets in each locality provide substitute services as well. Examples of small stores that provide immense competition to Wal-Mart include Dollar stores and grocery stores especially in the US. In the foreign markets, Wal-Mart faces stiff competition from local firms. In Germany, the competition was so stiff that Wal-Mart had to withdraw from the German market in 2006. The same happened in South Korea, due to fierce competition, the company had to withdraw by selling its stores to a local firm. PESTEL Analysis: Other succe ss Factors in the Business Environment Further, A PESTEL analysis can help in outline other factors likely to affect the performance of Wal-Mart. Political Factors In the US, Wal-Mart has had no problems due to political interests. There is no opposition to Wal-Mart’s foray into intentional markets (Fishman, 2006). However, changing political interests in different countries have to inform the company’s operations. The company has to be alive to political issues in each particular company and align its operations to host country policies. Economic Factors Wal-Mart thrives on free market systems in the countries in which it operates. Additionally, the fact that it enjoys huge economies of scale due its huge operations places it in an economically advantaged position. Socio-Cultural Factors The company through using proper strategies especially in the international market has been able to align itself to the social-cultural realities in its area of operation. For example , the company has registered relative success in China because of aligning its operations with the preferences of the locals. This is very critical because social perceptions matter a lot in determining organizational success. Technological Factors Wal-Mart is better placed than all other retail stores in the new markets having adopted IT in its logistical processes (Bianco, 2007). Therefore, using its economic advantage and awesome business strategy, Wal-Mart enters other international markets as is able to outwit competition in those markets; consequently, it became a dominant global player. Environmental Factors Wal-Mart is a company that is a live to green strategies. To appeal to customers that are eco-conscious, Wal-Mart strives to store green goods. Moreover, through investing in efficient technology, Wal-Mart has been able to reduce all forms of bad environmental impacts it may have resulting from its operations. Legal Factors Through having clean and properly tailored opera tions, Wal-Mart has been able to steer away from any legal issues in the recent past. The organization has a professional legal department that analyses and responds to legal challenges. The aim of having such a department is to ensure the company complies to legal requirements in area of operation. An Analysis of the Company’s Resources, Capabilities and Distinctive Competencies Wal- Mart’s Capital and Revenue Base Wal-mart is one of the leading global retail chains. It has a formidable capital base and boasts of a well-established tradition that gives it an edge over competition. Given its wide capital base, Wal-Mart is also one of the biggest earners in the world. Forbes ranks it among the 20 biggest and most profitable organizations on planet earth. In the last financial year, Wal-Mart netted 15.4 billion US dollars as net revenues. Despite registered gains, Wal-Mart can only continue extraordinary growth when it identifies and manages strengths, opportunities, wea kness and threats creatively (Mintzberg et al, 1998, p. 100). To consolidate its market share while still growing, Wal-mart needs to capitalize on its strengths, tapping into opportunities in the market, addressing weaknesses and eliminating or minimizing threats. A SWOT analysis is an important tool towards understanding a business’ environment (Ireland et al, 2008, p. 45). To help bring out Wal-Marts strengths, competencies and challenges, a SWOT analysis is informative. Wal-Mart’s SWOT Matrix Strengths High sales (strong brand) Large market IT enabled logistical functions Diverse (international) work force Long tradition of operations (42 years) Good pricing strategy The biggest private employer Largest public company by revenue Weaknesses Store format not appealing in other settings Technology deployment issue Human capital issues Internationalization related challenges e.g. stiff competition from local firms Opportunities International markets E-commer ce Large super store opportunities Threats Vigorous, focused competition Price fluctuations SWOT analysis on Wal-Mart based Yoffie (2005) Extrapolation from SWOT Analysis As shown in the SWOT analysis, Wal-Mart has quite a number of competencies. It is one of the largest retail store chains in the world. It has largely diversified by going into areas like grocery stores. It has an international presence and boasts of a huge employee base. A company’s growth is limited both by internal and external factors (Peteraf, 1993, p. 178). Internal Factors/ Internal Environment Based on the SWOT analysis, considering internal factors, the only limitation to Wal-Mart’s growth is challenge in managing a global conglomerate of sorts. Externally, social and cultural perceptions are likely to shape and limit Wal-Marts expansion. Wal-Mart employs very many people. As it continues on the path of extraordinary growth, it means more people being employed to work in the branches a nd subsidiaries or joint ventures. Managing all the people and the multifaceted conglomerate will not be ease. In actual sense, unless the organization is fragmented such that given regions or lines become completely independent, managing the organization becomes a nightmare. Therefore, the extraordinary growth of Wal-Mart is likely to be checked by management complexities or challenges. External Factors/ External Environment On the external front, there is likely to grow a sort of disenchantment about Wal-Mart and its conglomerate size. For many individuals out there, although Wal-Mart is growing based on honest and best business practices, as it continues to whoop in billions in profits; inevitably, seeds of discontent will sprout among people of different nations. Wal-Marts growth will be interpreted as the reason why small businesses can no longer develop or grow. A percentage of the world population does not like identifying with Mega things (Dess et al, 2009, p. 227). Therefor e, they will continue to seek small specialty brands rather than a mega brand that promises everything. For some people, small specialized is identical to personalized, caring and detailed thus more quality conscious (Sadler Craig, 2003, p. 66). Such like sentiments are likely to make competition buoyant. Other people will just desert Wal-Mart in search of difference or something new. The products may not be new but given they buy from a new brand, the shopping experience is different. Wal-Mart’s Options and possible Strategic Choices There are a number of strategic tools that can be used in determining the strategic direction for a company. To discern the strategic direction for Wal-mart, the grand strategy matrix comes in handy. Grand Strategy Matrix Weak Competitive Position High Market Growth Strong Competitive Position 1 Product development Market development Market penetration Horizontal/vertical integration Liquidation/Divestiture 3 Product development Market de velopment Backward and forward integration Diversification 2 Diversification Integration Liquidation Retrenchment Divestiture 4 Diversification Integration Joint Ventures Divestiture Low Market Growth Grand Strategy Matrix adopted from Joyce Woods (2001). Quadrants in the Grand Strategy Matrix The grand strategy matrix above provides a number of possible strategic choices for an organization. The first quadrant applies to an organization that has a weak competitive position and a high market growth. Such a company has opportunities and thus efforts have to be geared towards penetrating the market. Market penetration can be achieved when products are developed, markets are activated and the organization diversifies its product portfolio. The second quadrant signifies an organization that is not competitive and has no growth prospects. Such an organization does not offer much hope and it is only prudent to either diversify, seek out strategic alliances to breathe life into the company or to liquidate the company. The third quadrant signifies an ideal company that is both strong competitively and in terms of market growth. Such a company utilizes the opportunities available for growth e.g. integration while at the same time trying to consolidate or lock in customers through concentric diversification. The final quadrant signifies an organization that has a strong competitive position but low market growth. Such an organization needs use either rejuvenation strategies or market consolidation strategies. Rejuvenation or consolidation is possible through diversification, integration or through strategic alliances. Wal-Mart’s Position in the Grand Strategy Matrix Wal-Mart’s characteristics make more befitting the quadrant three strategies. As an organization, it has a very strong competitive position. The organization has a high growth rate and there are enough opportunities for growth in the international market. This means that with proper str ategies, the organization can consolidate its market while increasing it at the same time. Strategic Options/ Strategic Direction Wal-mart already has a vision and mission that defines the organization’s aspirations and its purpose or key business functions. As an organization, it has a high market scope and a high low cost competence. The organization’s characteristics and the business environment should determine the kind of strategies that an organization adopts. In the case of Wal-Mart, by adopting multivariate strategy e.g. combining product differentiation, cost leadership and proper market segmentation, it can maintain its extraordinary growth. The two grand strategies should be translated into business objectives that are further translated into operational objectives and strategies. Building and sustaining a competitive advantage is largely dependent on product characteristics, value for customer’s money and proper positioning and targeting of products. In porter’s generic strategies, market segmentation looks at customer peculiarities and narrows concern to particular markets. Product differentiation and cost leadership as strategies are more diverse and broader in their scope. As Wal-mart’s characteristics show clearly, a good fusion of these generic strategies should enable it to continue growing in an extraordinary way (Bianco, 2007). Wal-Mart is a strong brand developed over many years and supported by over 42 years experience as a major market player (Yoffie, 2005, p. 1). It has a high market share and due to expanded operations benefits immensely from economies of scale. Management, by riding on its huge market share and well-built brand resonance, can create more revenue streams under the same brand. The company is already doing this through creation of superstores with a variety of products on offer (Yoffie, 2005, p. 1). There exists opportunities in the international market. However, in as much as the low p ricing strategy has driven its growth in America, the company has to devise market segmentation strategies to enjoy opportunities abroad. One weakness with Wal-Mart is its store formats (Yoffie, 2005, p. 2). It is getting stiff competition because while it is building super stores, competition is going for specialized store formats. Product differentiation comes in handy here so that as competition from specialized stores grows, Wal-Mart retains and grows its market share. Wal-Mart needs to appreciate the growth potential in small stores like the ones it initially had; the stores it is replacing with super stores. Although having superstores has its own advantages, a fusion of superstores and small-specialized stores should guarantee continued extraordinary growth (Fishman, 2006). Structures, Systems and Policies for Strategy Implementation Policy on Internal Consistency in Strategies In implementing strategies, their internal consistency thus plausibility and feasibility should gui de the implementation process (Joyce Woods, 2001, 113). Therefore, each strategy has to be adopted based on a clear strategic direction that the company wishes to adopt. If the strategic direction is not clear, there is danger of running conflicting strategies. For instance, market consolidation tends to be in conflict with market expansion strategies. Wal-mart as a company with a strong competitive base and growth prospects has to do market consolidation while penetrating other markets and growing its market internationally. To be able to do this, strategy implementation has to be monitored and evaluated for the purposes of ensuring internal consistency in the strategies. Strategies have to be broken into specific actions that deliver on strategic objectives. There has to be interrelation and consistence in the specific actions flowing from each adopted strategy. Each strategy should somehow have a bearing on other strategies i.e. they should mutually and intrinsically be compleme ntary towards the same goals. The intrinsic consistency of strategies translates into the internal consistency in the specific actions to be carried out during implementation. This inner consistency and plausibility gives a sequence or order in which the implementation is to be done. Monitoring and Evaluation Even as implementation is done, it is critical that monitoring and evaluation is instituted. The strategic process is not complete without strategic control (Dess et al, 2009, p. 234). Strategic control consists in putting in place long term measures that would ensure deviations are identified and corrected. There are always changes in the environment. Therefore, in as much as one may have a great plan and strategies in place, the environmental changes require close monitoring. Monitoring helps identify ways of improving on strategy or correcting deviations from strategy (Yergin Stanislaw, 2002). It is only through such a process that strategies are applied effectively. There are about five elements of control i.e. there is the activity or item to be controlled, the performance indicator, the standard against which performance is compared, the corrective action to be taken in case of deviations and the individual who is to take the corrective action (Morden, 2004, p. 165). All these elements have to be identified during strategic planning and proper directions given with respect to each of them (Morden, 2004, p. 165). Organizational Structure An organizational structure is a critical component that determines operations and power spread in an organization. For an organization to achieve its objectives, the organization structure has to be one that allows or facilitates the same. The organizational structure shows how power is shared and balanced in an organization. It forms the central channels of communication and gives the basic reporting structure or official communication channels followed in an organization. The way an organization is systematically designed, planned and arranged determines how effectively and efficiently operations are done in the organization. Strategic control in a conglomerate like Wal-Mart is not easy. However, through standardization of procedures and operations, this can be achieved. To ensure proper monitoring and evaluation, Wal-Mart managers would have to consider setting up a special restructuring team. The restructuring/ strategy team would have to receive daily, weekly and monthly reports on implementation activities. Such a feedback mechanism handled by a special M E team would ensure earlier identification of deviations and prompt corrections Usefulness of Strategic Management Models for Company Analysis This paper explored the benefits and limitations of strategic management. For better appraisal of the strategic process, Wal-Mart International was used. From the discussions based on Wal-Mart, it is clear that strategic management helps guarantee an organization long-term result. Clearly, prop er planning is critical and no organization succeeds without planning. However, environmental changes or not scanning the environment properly limits planning efforts. Due to poor environmental scanning, organizations come up with plans based on wrong data. Environmental Scanning To scan the environment is important however, the data generated is only useful if it is analyzed and properly employed in decision-making. Using models like the SWOT matrix, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are easily identified from data collected. Moreover, using models like PESTEL analysis, other factors that are important for the organizational success are identified. This helps towards crafting strategies that properly respond to the business environment and organizational characteristics. Using models like the Grand Strategy Matrix, the planners are able to easily identify the most viable kind of strategies to employ. Strategic Analysis and Adoption of Proper strategies As discuss ed, detailed planning cannot be accomplished unless one answers the question of â€Å"where to†. Therefore, in strategic management starts in deciding on the long term aspirations of an organization. The long-term aspirations are largely captured through an organization’s vision, mission and strategic objectives. Once the strategic objectives are clear, the organization then considers the necessary changes, steps, or plans that will enable the realization of the same (Kay, 2001, p. 113). Such tactics or plans are widely known as strategies. Strategy implementation is only successful if the strategies have been selected rationally. The strategies have to complement organizational resources, respond accurately to the organizational environment and have internal consistency. Finally, it is clear that strategic management is not complete without the element of control. Conclusion In conclusion, every organization that adopts proper strategic management reaps awesome result s in terms of market share growth and profitability. As the analysis on Wal-Mart has shown, strategic management makes all the difference. Through strategic management, an organization is able to curve out clear long term and midterm plans that deliver on set organizational objectives. To come up with desirable strategies or plans, the use of given strategic tools makes work easy and systematic. References Bianco, A., 2007. Wal-Mart: The Bully Of Bentonville: How The High Cost Of Everyday Low Prices Is Hurting America. Doubleday: New York Dess. G., G., Lumpkin, G., T., Eisner, A., 2009. Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages. McGraw-Hill: London Fishman, C., 2006. The Wal-Mart Effect: How The World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works– And How It’s Transforming The American Economy. Penguin: New York Ireland, D., R., Hoskisson, R., E., Hitt, E., M., 2008. Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases. Cengage Learning: London Joyce, P., W oods, A., 2001. Strategic Management: A Fresh Approach to Developing Skills, Knowledge and Creativity. Kogan Page Publishers: New York Kay, J., 2003. Foundations of Corporate Success: How Business Strategies add Value. Oxford University Press, Oxford Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., W., Lampel, J., 1998. Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management. Free Press: New York Morden, T., 2004. Principles of Management 2nd Ed., Ashgate Publishing, Ltd: London Peteraf, M., A., 1993. â€Å"The cornerstones of competitive advantage: a resource-based view†. Strategic Management Journal, 14(3), 179–191 Sadler, P., Craig, J., C., 2003. Strategic Management. 2nd ed. Kogan Page Publishers: New York Sanchez, R., Heene, A., 2004. The New Strategic Management: Organizations, Competition and Competence. John Wiley Sons: New York Ulwick, A., W., 2000. Business Strategy Formulation: Theory, Process and the Intellectual Revolution. IAP Inc: Charlotte, NC Wernerf elt, B., 1984. â€Å"A Resource-Based View of the Firm†. Strategic Management Journal, 5(3), 171–180 Yergin, D., Stanislaw, J., 2002. The Commanding Heights, New York: Simon and Schuster Yoffie, D., B., 2005. â€Å"Wal-Mart†. Harvard Business School, 9, 705- 460 This essay on Strategic Analysis was written and submitted by user Jamari R. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Are You Up on the Top Resume Cover Letter Trends of 2012-2013

Are You Up on the Top Resume Cover Letter Trends of 2012-2013 Are you up on the top resume cover letter trends of 2012-2013? Many articles posted on line are old and outdated. Thankfully, each year Career Thought Leaders releases an up-to-date report on current job search trends and the 2012 report has been released! Findings of 2012 Global Career Brainstorming Day: Trends for the Now, the New the Next in Careers covers topics including Career Marketing Communications (my focus), Job Search, Career Planning Management, Career Counseling Coaching, The Changing Employment Landscape, and Challenges for Career Professionals. I invite you to read the full report to get a picture of job search trends in all these areas. What follows is a summary of top trends in Resumes Cover Letters, LinkedIn Profiles and Video/Multimedia presentations. The Essay Expert will be following these recommendations and I hope you will too! Resumes Cover Letters Resumes are not dead, despite the fact that some people do get interview offers based solely on their social media profiles and video presentations. In most fields, resumes remain the central career marketing document, around which all other materials (LinkedIn profile, networking resume, bio, etc.) revolve. Ideal length is two pages for most mid- to senior-level professionals; the presentation must be such that the information is readily absorbed in 6-10 seconds. A portfolio of additional, consistently branded materials, including an Executive Summary for senior players, is welcomed by decision-makers; this compilation paints a full picture of what an accomplished applicant offers. An exact street address is no longer necessary, but a LinkedIn URL is recommended. Numbers speak louder than words, so include any you can! Also include CAR (Challenge-Action-Result) or STAR (Situation-Task-Action-Result) stories to demonstrate your value. Each resume must be tailored to the job description. You will need multiple versions to be truly effective. Quotes/testimonials are becoming more and more accepted- and perhaps even expected- on resumes. Photos are still a no-no in the United States for anyone looking for full-time employment; in Europe and the UK, however, photos remain standard. Document Format requirements vary depending on your audience. Some organizations and job search sites accept fully formatted resumes in .doc or .pdf format; others require Word documents or text-based files. Gmail addresses are the standard, and aol addresses are seen as antiquated, especially for tech jobs. Brief, tailored cover letters are still welcome by some HR and hiring managers, so best practice is to include one that makes you stand out. The old â€Å"snail mail† tradition of sending a resume on nice bond paper is also not dead! You can make an impression by doing so and get some attention. If you are working with a recruiter, do whatever the recruiter directs you to do. You can use your more highly formatted resume when interacting directly with hiring managers. LinkedIn LinkedIn is absolutely essential to your job search strategy. Sure, you can be on facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, but LinkedIn is the one non-negotiable. Did you know that recruiters will often accept LinkedIn connection requests even though they will not read an unsolicited resume? Once on LinkedIn, recommendations are as follows: Prioritize keywords and recommendations (vs. endorsements). Update your profile and activity status regularly. There is no need to purchase a Premium account in order to get value from your LinkedIn presence. LinkedIn is not a silver bullet! Simply having a great profile does not guarantee success; you must participate in discussions and â€Å"take it off line† to get full value from the site. Your LinkedIn profile should complement, not copy, your resume. VideoBios, Web Portfolios, Visual CVs Other Multimedia Tools Web portfolios are becoming common, especially for those in the graphic arts field. A web presence may soon be expected for job seekers in some fields! Consistent branding is key. Video resumes are more accepted and utilized on the West Coast than elsewhere, but they have not taken off as anticipated. It seems social media profiles such as LinkedIn are still winning out. Some recruiters like video resumes/bios and Skype. Word to the wise: If you choose to present yourself through video, make sure you use high level technology! A poor quality video image, whether in a video or a Skype conversation, can be worse than no video at all. I hope the above â€Å"hot-off-the-press† advice from top career professionals supports what you’re already doing or encourages you to head in a new direction. Read the full report here. If The Essay Expert can help, let us know! We are available at 608-467-0067 or through our Web Form.

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Real Estate Development - Case Study Example to protect the flat site which is several metres below the level of the Canal). The western boundary is provided by Gilmore Park. The eastern boundary is formed by another development site that is in the process of being redeveloped (the buildings on this adjoining site have already been demolished and the site leveled). The northern boundary comprises a block of tenement properties (forming the north-west corner of the site) and a main road (Fountain Bridge). The total area of the site is 11,500m2. The site is fully serviced with boundaries clearly marked and established. The owner, Scottish & Newcastle, will offer the property for (freehold) sale with vacant possession. There will be no disturbance costs and it is expected that the demolition of the existing structures and their removal from site will cost 50,000. The site may contain contamination therefore a sum of 50,000 should be included in appraisals to cover for such an eventuality. The Fountainbridge area has undergone considerable change in recent years. Since the announcement that Scottish and Newcastle intended to close Fountain Brewery, the area has continued to be the subject of development pressure. The area occupies a strategically important location to the west of the city centre, close to the Exchange, Tollcross and Haymarket. It also incorporates an important waterway, the Union Canal. The opportunity exists to create a quality urban environment, exploiting and enhancing its distinctive canal side location and establishing important linkages through the Fountainbridge area and beyond. Brewery buildings and structures, all of which are redundant, dominate the existing townscape. Adjacent to Lochrin basin, which is the modern day terminus of the Union Canal, new office, leisure and residential developments have sprung up. Existing residential properties in the Grove Street area and around Gilmore Place/Lochrin Place are located adjacent to some of the key redevelopment opportunity sites in the Fountainbridge area. Other existing uses provide a mix of predominantly commercial, leisure and industrial premises, some of which are underused or vacant. The area is well served by three main east-west transport routes. The West Approach Road and Dundee Street/Fountainbridge both carry high volumes of vehicular traffic into and through the area. The Union canal provides an important pedestrian and cycle link through the area, with the potential for greater use by boats as part of the Millennium Link. North-south links are much less well defined. Context of Policy The development plan covering the Fountainbridge area is the Central Edinburgh Local Plan (adopted May 1997) and the Edinburgh and the Lothian's Structure Plan 2015 (approved June 2004). In terms of current planning, the majority of the site falls within an 'existing industrial area' designation. In general, business and industrial development, including

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Back ground - research method - Essay Example Legislative corruption on the other hand relates to the mode of bribing the political authorities to gain undue advantage at a later stage (Kurer, 2005, p.234). However, this paper focuses on the embezzlement of funds by public officials. The paper tends to infer about the relation of the behavioral practices of embezzlement of funds by public administrators to the low basic salary received. Description of the Background of the Issue The menace of corruption related to embezzlement of Public Funds earns a vivid relation to the pattern of low payment structures offered to the public government officials. It is found that in economies like Tanzania the salary received by the public officials was not enough to cover up their domestic expenditures that contributed as one of the factors in enhancing the embezzlement behavior. This embezzlement practice of the Public Officials related to the tax revenues happens to render fiscal pressures on the economy of the region like Tanzania making i t weaker (Fjeldstad, 2003, p.165, 168-169). Relating to the above issue different instances would be incorporated from other literary sources reflecting on the relation of the embezzlement behavior of the government officials and their low salary structures. It would also focus on rendering effective recommendations thereof. . Description of the Literature Embezzlement of Funds by Public Administrators and its Impact on the Economy Myint (2000) states that one of the significant evidences of corruption in the hands of public government officials relates to the embezzlement of public funds for their own personal and domestic use. Public officials usually engage in embezzlement on an individual basis without third party intervention.. Embezzlement behavior of government officials bears a strong relation to the low salary payments provided to them that, in turn, fails to support their living conditions in this cost driven economy. Further, the embezzlement behavior of these government officials is found to render potential impacts on the economy of the emerging economies thereby increasing their internal and external debt and similarly deteriorating economic and social structure (Myint, 2000, p.35, 40, and 45). Ante (2010) reflects that the practice of the public or government officials relating to the embezzlement of public funds happen to render considerable impacts on the economic and social system of a country or region thereby affecting it both financially and structurally. In the case of emerging economies such types of exploitative practices of government officials drains on the regional economy and thereby tends to be one of the significant factors resulting to economic and social disparity. Drainage of funds kept for social or public use through embezzlement by public government officials contributes in enhancing the poverty level in the society at large. Growing levels of poverty thereby deprives the poor people from their social and economic rights (An te, 2010, p.249). Trebilcock and Prado (2011) observe that the activity related to embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds by government officials tends to have significant consequences pertaining to the large scale reduction of funds meant for development purposes. Thus, misappropriation of public funds deters the government body of the region to rightly and effectively pursue the goals set for programs like the United Nations Development Program to help cater for the needs

An Introduction to Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

An Introduction to Law - Case Study Example However in this scenario, the court only considers the legal rules and principles decided in the earlier case. The court is not bound by the complete decision of the previous case. It is the holding of the principle of the law on which the case gets decided. It is the Ratio-Decidendi that sets the precedent and it's binding on the courts in future and it should be considered in combination to their facts of the case1. Obiter dicta actually mean "outside words". While in law, it is measured as the extra comments made by the judges during the proceedings. These are usually some examples which are related and judge discusses them. It should not be misunderstood as a part of precedent like Ratio Decidendi. The obiter dictum is the language in a decision that is not necessary to the decision. The guiding principles on which the judge and the court give the decision are the Ration of the case and other than this all the other statements made by the single judge or the bench is called the Obiter Dicta. Obiter Dictis is also known as the passing statements. A bench comprises of three judges, if one of the judge dissents against the judgment of the other two judges than the majority view would be called the Ratio Decidend.i Whereas, the dissenting judgment would be part of the obiter dicta of the whole judgment. Ratio Decidendi is binding on the lower courts as they act in the form of examples for them. Obiter Dicta can be just influential but not compulsory. It is also true that the part of the judgment that forms the part of Obiter Dicta are not wholly irrelevant and in some cases under the English legal system have espoused some important legal principles that have acted as a guiding fo rce in a number of later decisions. Obiter Dicta act as a persuasive statement under the English legal system which is not binding. Although, some cases have elaborated on this part of the judgment and have come up with extensive and thorough analysis that though part of the obiter dicta of the judgment have later on acted as persuasive statements and as a guiding light in a number of subsequent cases in the English legal system2. Like in the case of 'Mama v. Flora Sasoon 55 IA360', the Privy Council's full judgment on the case of specific performance was obiter dicta as the Privy Council held 'there was no concluded contract at all'. However, the decision is binding on all courts as it settled the law on particular performance. Similarly, in 'Lawson v. Commissioner of Patents (1970), 62 C.P.R. 101 (Ex. Ct.)' The ratio decidendi or the decision was claiming straight to the "subdivided parcel of land" also does not fall within the description of "invention" in section 2. Especially, a sub-divided parcel of land is not represented as either an "art" or "manufacture" in section 2. The Court gave this narrow ratio, but also discussed in an elaborated manner if a method of subdividing land might constitute an "art" under section 2 (concluding that it would not), even though no such method claim was put before the Court to be decided. An ideal instance of both ratio decidendi and obiter dictum can be found in the judgment in the most famous of all insurance law cases, Castellain v. Preston (1883) in which the principle of indemnity in

Providing Affordable Housing: Modern methods of construction

Providing Affordable Housing: Modern methods of construction So called Modern Methods of construction have been put forward as a solution for solving the problem of providing affordable housing in sustainable communities for the UK. In a report for senior managers of a major housing development company propose and justify modern methods of construction to replace traditional construction production techniques. There is growing concern in UK that housing is becoming more and more expensive. There are a number of concerns among experts that the construction industry as a whole is underperforming. This has been particularly emphasised in the Egan report (Egan, 1998), where it is also mentioned that the initial opportunities for improvements in house building exists in the social housing sector. Another concern that is very much in the lime light recently is sustainability issues. The European community and UK have agreed of environmental and energy targets that are very ambitious. Houses in UK have traditionally been built in traditional materials such as brick and concrete. The construction material and construction techniques have not changed much in centuries, despite the high level of construction know-how that exists in UK. Most of the modern construction techniques are use for high-profile prestige buildings and commercial buildings. The housing sector does not seem to have benefited from the modern methods available. This report aims at fanning-out the various modern methods of construction that can benefit the housing sector in many ways. Most of these modern methods are already used quite successfully in areas other than housing. The target will be to prove how, by means of modern construction techniques, affordable and sustainable housing can be developed. Sustainable Construction Sustainability generally means sustained ability. It means being able for longer. It means being able to benefit from resources for longer, without endangering the depletion of the resources. Sustainable construction is an approach to construction that makes optimal use of resources throughout the lifespan of a building. This includes the resources utilised for the construction of the building, its operation and maintenance, and its eventual disposal. Resources here relate to sources of material, energy, space and money. Those are the basic requirements for a building. It also makes economic sense to use as less resources as possible. So, achieving sustainability should not cost extra to the client, although it may cost extra initially to build the building. A typical building uses many times more resources during its lifespan than during its construction. So globally, it will be in the clients interest to go for sustainable methods. Sustainable construction (Stern and Knapp, 1993) could also be distinct as those buildings that have minimum adverse impacts on the built and natural environment, in terms of the buildings themselves, their immediate surroundings and the broader regional and global setting. The rational use of natural resources and appropriate management of the building stock will contribute to saving scarce resources, reducing energy consumption (energy conservation), and improving environmental quality. Environmental Approach A general strategy for environmental conscious design (Boontra, 1997) consists of three main steps: Reduce the material demand Any client, investor or governmental body should thoroughly evaluate the need for a new building activity by investigating the possibilities of reuse and renovating existing buildings. Designers should design a building as efficiently as possible by minimising the amount of resources needed. This can be done by optimising both the floor plan and construction. Application of renewable and recycled sources By application of renewable and recycled sources the life cycle of building materials can be closed. Designers should also allow for future recycling. Designing a building for dismantling and not for demolition is one approach. Select materials with the lowest environmental impact The environmental impact of materials is caused during a buildings complete lifetime. Typical environmental issues are raw materials, embodied energy, emissions, hindrance, waste, recycling, repair, lifetime. Throughout the report, it will be demonstrated that the modern methods proposed will respond positively to the above environmental criteria. Energy Approach Buildings account for the largest proportion of energy consumption in most western societies. In UK for example, (Nicholls, 2002) energy consumption in buildings account for 45% of the total UK energy consumption. Energy is widely produced by burning fossil fuel such as petrol and coal. It is also used by nuclear fission of Uranium. Both processes are very harmful to the environment. Why are Modern Methods Important for a Major Housing Developer? Sustainability Previously, sustainability was associated with environmental issues. However, in recent years it has been recognised that one cannot preserve environment at the expense of socio-economic progress. Sustainability is now being redefined in many circles as a balance of: Economic stable economic growth and employment Environment protection of environment and prudent use of natural resources Social social progress for everyone For these reasons, it is not only important that construction is clean and energy efficient, but it is also important to consider other factors such as the impact of the construction on its immediate neighbourhood and the society in general. The cost of construction has a direct impact on the cost of the housing. It is important to make housing economically viable and affordable without cutting down on our margin. Legal Developments in Sustainability There have been several recent legal developments in the area of sustainability that will have a definite future impact on our operations on the UK housing market. Most of these legal developments follow the 1997 Kyoto Earth Summit and are in line with the current governments emission and energy targets. The main developments are: UK Sustainable Construction Strategy 2000 UK Energy White Paper 2003 Sustainable Building Task Group 2003 Some of the impacts of these legal developments are already being felt. For instance, Part E and Part L of Building Regulations are already being revised and will be more demanding in terms of thermal and acoustic performance of buildings. There are several assessment methods being developed to measure quantify and rate the performance of a building in terms of how sustainable it is, and many of these measure will be taken into account for planning permission purposes. One of them is the BREEAM rating, developed by the Building Research Establishment. The BREEAM is an environmental assessment for offices, industrial and retail buildings. It consists of a checklist with scores for energy use, transport, water use, pollution, materials, land use etc. It has four ratings: pass, good, very good and excellent. Another such assessment method is the Eco-Homes, which is applied to housing sector only and therefore more relevant to us. The Sustainable Building Task Group 2003 has put forward a recommendation for a Code of Sustainable Building, which is based on the BREEAM rating but is simpler. The Code has the full backing of the government and is currently compulsory for social housing sector. Although it is not compulsory for our market yet, it is more than likely that it will become so in a near future. Another assessment method that may become important in the future is the WRAP, which measures the recycle content of a building. As for now, any building must have a minimum of 10% of recycle content. Most buildings will easily meet that requirement, even those built by the traditional methods. However, it is the intention of the authorities to steadily increase that 10% requirement in the coming years and it will become increasingly difficult to meet by traditional builds. WRAP is critical for planning permission and it is in the long term interest of the company that we start using methods that will introduce higher recycle contents in our housing developments. Health and Safety Health and Safety is becoming more and more important for the government and also for private clients. The upcoming CDM regulations 2006 will have major changes that put a lot more responsibility on the clients. Consequently, it can be expected that client will be putting health and safety high in their agenda and will chose their developers and contractors with that in mind. Also the HSE is being more and more demanding about the standard of health and safety and work and checks are done on a regular basis on sites across UK. It is therefore important to be proactive and take a holistic approach towards health and safety. Instead of simply supplying more boots and helmets to site, it will be wiser to adopt methods that are inherently safer. Traditional Methods Typically, a housing development will either consist of some blocks of flats with parking space or a series of 2 to 3 storey houses, depending on the locality and the client. In both cases, the construction process is the same, although some differences in scale of operations may occur. Substructure After the planning and survey stages, the first step in the construction process is the substructure. The substructure is that part of the building that is below the ground level. Its purpose is to safely transmit all forces to the ground. Traditionally, the substructure will consist of a series of pad foundations, strip footings, basements or even piles. Most of the old houses have basements whereas newer houses tend to have strip footings. Taller buildings such as apartments or where the building is on weaker grounds, piles may be required. All those foundations are generally formed by digging a hole in the ground and filling it with concrete. The shape, size and depth of the hole depend on the type of foundation being built. Foundations are labour-intensive and time-consuming work. All of the work has to be done on site, exposed to weather conditions. It also produces significant amount of noise and dust during the digging of the ground. Once the trenches or holes are filled with concrete, the site ends up with an excess of soil from the hole. Superstructure The superstructure is the visible part of the building, built on the foundation. The structure for houses will consist of building up brick walls from the ground, brick by brick. Each wall will consist of two leaves of brick with a gap in-between for insulation. The internal floors are generally made of heavy timber joists supporting secondary timber members and finally a plank topping, all nailed together and supported off the brick walls. The brick wall construction will continue until the roof level is reached. At the roof level, a timber roof is built in a way similar to the floor. Recently, concrete columns and beams have been used along with the brick walls. Floors and roofs in newer construction tend to be on concrete, cast in-situ on formwork, supported off the concrete frame members. These methods are very time-consuming and labour intensive and almost all the work has to be done on site. Partitions and Finishes The internal partitions are either timber frames with ply-wood on each side, or single-leaf brick walls built in the same way as the external walls. Stairs are generally of wood. Services The space heating, electricity, air-conditioning and ventilation are all built to suit the building in place. Modern Approach to Construction As opposed to the traditional method where each step of the construction is done independent of each other, the modern methods of construction differ right from the approach to the construction process. The thinking process behind the site works is done well in advance, to allow much better coordination between the various trades involved. The planning stage will think of the proposed and future uses of the building. The design stage is the most important stage of construction as decisions taken at the design stage have the highest impact of performance, economy and many other factors. The approach to modern construction is one that takes sustainability and life-cycle cost of a building right from the onset of the design stage. Many factors can be influenced if thought is given at design stage. The following chapters will now introduce modern techniques used in construction that will result in more economic and sustainable construction in the housing sector. Steel Framed Buildings The use of steel is not new in construction. It has been used for over a century now. However, its full potential has only recently been understood. Steel has the potential to radically change the building and running cost of a building as well as having a major impact on issues such as sustainability, material demand, health and safety and so much more. Developments made over the past decade in steel construction have made it the most exciting material for construction. Steels Role in Sustainable Development Steel is a completely different material from concrete and masonry. It is first of all homogeneous as opposed to a mix and is much stronger. The UK steel construction industry in a very efficient industry and steel can be used to our advantage as a modern construction material for several reasons that will be unveiled below (SCI, 2004). More sustainable Design Good design is fundamental to sustainable construction (SCI, 2004). Decisions made at the initial design stage have the greatest effect on the overall sustainability impact of projects. Steels high strength-to-weight ratio is exploited in light structures which have low overall environmental impact and often require fewer and lighter foundations than alternative methods of construction. Its long-span capabilities create flexible spaces that facilitate changes in use during the life of the building, maximising letting potential and reducing refit costs. The energy associated with the occupation of buildings (operations energy) dominates that used in their manufacture and construction (embodied energy) typically by a factor of between 4 and 10 over a 60 year design life. Reducing operational energy consumption reduces environment impact as well as saving money. Steel frames and associated composite or other type of floor slab achieve high levels of fabric energy storage, which can significantly reduce the energy bill for cooling. Steel-based cladding systems for industrial buildings and light steel-framed residential construction provide well-insulated and airtight solutions. More sustainable manufacture and erection Construction can have significant social and environmental impacts such as noise, dust, ground and surface water pollution and traffic congestions (SCI, 2004).Steel provides the opportunity to maximise off-site construction techniques. Working in a factory under controlled conditions will definitely result in more accurate products and less waste. It also provides a safer and better working environment for the workers. Computer-sided design and manufacture can be put to best use in steel construction to eliminate defects and reworks and to minimise waste. Any steel waste is generally recovered and recycled. Cost, and therefore time, remain key drivers in construction. Steel construction allows us to build fast and reliably, with minimal time spent on site. The small amount of time spent on site has many impacts such as lower noise, less time for the workers to work as height, less noise and dust, less traffic and the whole community benefits. Less time spent on site also has the advantage of fewer interruptions due to weather, which is a very important factor in the UK, because our weather is world famous! As an example of what can be done (SCI, 2004), the 1600 tonnes of steelwork in the TNT Fastract distribution centre was erected in only 21 days! Sustainability in Use Designing a building for long life maximises the payback over the initial investment and is also a key aspect of sustainable construction. In that respect, refurbishment of a building to extend its life is very important. The versatility and flexibility of steel permits the owner of the building to easily modify and adapt to changing time without having to demolish and rebuild, thus extending the life of the building and getting the most value out of it. Steel is a stable product and if protected from the environment with paint, will require little maintenance and will not deteriorate at all with time. Cladding systems associated with steel construction are also easily modified and allow easy access for maintenance. With changing times, the requirements of a building change and therefore modifications may be necessary. Steel is easy to modify and to extend to suite new needs. Sustainability at end-of-life A concrete building only has a market value as a built-entity. The material itself can hardly be reused because it is cast-in. and cannot be dismantled. The best use of demolished concrete is land-fill. However, steel buildings have a material value even after construction. Because steel buildings consist of independently prepared members joined together by bolts, these members can be dismantled and re-used if the building is no longer required. For example, when the various Paris market halls built by Baltard in 1854 could no longer satisfy the needs of the city (ECCS, 2002), their function was transferred to Rungis, and the buildings replaced by the Centre Pompidou and the Forum. Recognising the need to preserve important architectural examples from the past one of the market halls was demounted and transferred to Nogent-sur-Marne, where it was simply reconstructed. It now accommodates cultural activities. The fact that a steel building can be demolished and rebuilt using the same structural members has far-reaching advantages. The immediate advantage that comes to mind is the market value of the building. Of course, a building has a value when it is in use. But with the use of steel, the building will have a value even after its life-span. The steel members can be sold as separate entities or the whole building can be sold to be built on a different site. This contributes enormously to the cost of redevelopment and therefore can be used to reduce the cost of housing. Looking at the bigger picture, re-using the same material for a new building implies that the natural resources that would have been required for the new building have been spared. Finally, even if the steel is not re-used directly as a construction material, it can always be recycled for new steel members. Steel is 100% recyclable material. Energy in Buildings In buildings, energy is required for: Space heating Domestic hot water heating Lighting Mechanical ventilation Air conditioning General electrical services such as lifts and escalators The quantities of each of the above required vary from place to place and from building to building. Space Heating In UK as in the rest of Europe, space heating is traditionally achieved by gas-powered or electric powered hot water boilers that distribute the hot water to radiators. The envelope of the building is designed to retain as much of that heat as possible to save on energy. However, there are several innovative techniques now available that are very efficient. New Glazing Technology There are new types of glazing that allow the solar heat to go into the building, but not out. Double glazing systems have been used for many years, but now the double-glazing makes use of special glasses. The gap in-between the glasses can be filled with special gases that promote the greenhouse effect. In some cases, simply evacuating the air from the gap works marvellously in acting as a smart glazing system. There are glasses that can be switched from clear to opaque by the action of current, heat, or naturally like sunglasses. New cladding materials used on the walls are translucent. They transmit light and solar energy but act as insulants.Interactive windows and shading system are computer-controlled to change the level of shading and ventilation at different times of the day to optimise energy use. Solar Heating Direct sunlight is used to warm buildings. But solar energy can be used indirectly as well. Solar water heaters are very popular in the Southern Hemisphere. In Europe and especially in Western Europe, people have the misconception that because of the cold climate, solar water heaters will not be effective. In fact, solar water heaters are very efficient even in cold regions. It is also very cheap to build or buy one. It can be used on large scale for schools and hospitals with large roof plans. So instead of boiling water in a gas or electric boiler, solar water heaters can be used. Even if in winter the solar water heater cannot produce sufficiently hot water, it can still be used to preheat the water supplied to the boilers. Thermal Mass In many countries, space heating is required at night more than during the day. In such cases, the mass of the building can be made to heat up during the day by the solar energy methods described above. This mass will absorb this energy during the day but will only start dissipating it after several hours. Concrete floors for example will have a typical time lag of nine hours. Proper use of this thermal mass can lead to very significant saving in energy. The orientation of the building can play a crucial part as well. For example, if the south face is the one that is most exposed to direct sunlight, having more massive walls on the south will improve on the use of thermal mass. Domestic Water Heating Domestic hot water is used in almost all buildings. Solar water heaters as described previously are generally very effective for domestic hot water. Other methods can also been used, depending on the location. If a village is situated not very far from a volcano, they can usually dig deep boreholes and pump the water to the bottom of the hole where the earth temperature is quite high. They can pump back the water and use it as domestic hot water. The concept is not a new one. Thermal spa and natural hot water baths have been used for centuries. Lighting The orientation of a building can be very important to make use of as much natural light as possible. Smart glazing systems discussed before are also very useful and are used more and more now. Lightwells and atria are also more and more used both for its help in natural lighting and ventilation, but also for its aesthetic contributions. When artificial lighting is required, special low-energy bulbs can be used that give the same amount of light but consume smaller amount of energy. Ventilation Natural ventilation has always been used in houses by simply opening and closing windows as required. Commercial buildings have however opted for more high-tech methods such as fans. These can be replaced by careful planning of the openings, of the way the floors are compartmented, and by the use of features such as atria. Also, computer-controlled openings are the high-tech version of manually opening and closing windows as required. Air Conditioning Cooling is always more expensive than heating. Not only does air conditioning consume a lot of energy; it also releases CFCs, which are harmful to the ozone layer. The use of these can be minimised as well. The use of ventilation can be used to improve the comfort level of occupants. The use of the thermal mass concept can also be used in the same way. The floors are cooled at night using natural ventilation, and during the day, they are used to cool the air inside the building. Conclusion The aim of the report was to propose and justify modern methods of construction. The report has exposed the necessity to shift to modern methods of construction. It is not just an option worth considering. It will soon be the only option and unless we as a company start the shift now, we will loose a competitive advantage. Among the modern methods mentioned, steel construction comes out to be the flagship of modern, economic and sustainable construction methods. Added to that, other means such as using thermal mass, natural ventilation and natural heating and cooling can be used in combination to wonderful effect. However, the most important point to remember is not the material or any particular technique. It is the approach and the thinking process required to meet the economic needs of the company, satisfy requirements from the government and other authorities and yet be able to produce affordable and high quality and high performance housing for the future. References Egan, Sir John, Rethinking Construction, Department of Trade and Industry, 1998 David Stern and Daniel Knapp, Reuse, Recycling, Refuse and the Local Economy: A Case Study of the Berkeley Serial MRF (documented by Urban Ore, Inc., and The Centre for Neighbourhood Technology: October, 1993). Boontra Chiel, Sun at Work in Europe, Vol. 12, No.1, March 1997, p3. Nicholls, Richard, Low Energy Design, Interface Publishing, 2002 European Commission for Constructional Steelwork, Merits of Steel, 2002 http://www.szs.ch/merits/vorwort_e.html Achieving Sustainable Construction: Guidance for clients and their professional Advisers, Steel Construction Institute, 2004

Henry James Washington Square :: Henry JamesWashington Square

Henry James'Washington Square Henry James' Washington Square is more than a simple novel with simple characters connected by a simple plot. There are more complex issues brought forth within the text besides a daughter heartbroken over her father's control and the departure of her money grubbing suitor. Yet only the simplistic issues and characterizations are brought forth in the critical article written by Elizabeth Hardwick. Within the pages of "On Washington Square," published in English 3230, Hardwick offers her readers the entire plot, including the ending of James' novel, without shedding new light on the text. She offers little interpretation of the material and only provides readers with the obvious. Hardwick explains the novel in such detail; one could almost use it as a Cliff Notes edition to the book. She uses what is said about Townsend to demonstrate that he wants nothing more than Catherine's money, yet she does not look close enough to realize that he is more complex than the information that the narrator provides ("On Washington Square" 26). The biggest fault in "On Washington Square" is that Hardwick does not recognize that the narrator of Washington Square provides the reader with only the information he wants to, leaving out details that could slant the story. There are several times in the novel when the narrator waffles on his accuracy using phrases like, "It might very well be†¦" in regards to describing Catherine's emotions (James 36). The narrator also leaves out information, which the reader assumes is unimportant, but cannot be sure, for the narrator has already shone that he does not guarantee to know the emotions of the characters, let alone the importance of their actions. For example, during a conversation between Morris and Catherine the narrator cuts off the conversation and states, "This is all that need be recorded of their conversation" (66). These statements and several like them show the narrator to be unreliable, yet Hardwick explains the novel through the narrator's eyes, portraying the inform ation as accurate.

Lean Operations Essay

Task 1: To what extent could or should Deane expect to apply the philosophies and techniques of JIT/Lean to the running of a staircase cell? Staircases Production Company (SPC) is a small, successful, privately owned timber and building materials company based in a small city in the UK. The company offers a wide variety of timber products, from regular doors, windows and staircases to special products such as non-standard sections or special profiles (i.e. old designs of skirting board). Its products stand out from its main competitors (small joinery businesses) with high levels of quality. Due to the quality of its products as well as the huge demand of special stairs in the region, sales has been increasing steady year by year particularly special stairs. However, the business is not as profitable as it was expected and some important customers have been complained recently due to late deliveries. Because of the loss of profitability, Dean Hammond, the new appointed General Manager of SPC, is thinking about carrying out some changes in the organisation in order to cope with the current problems. Precisely, he thinks Lean and Just-in-Time principles and techniques might help SPC increase its profitability as well as improve the performance of the whole organisation. However, although this philosophy has been applied successfully to manufacturing and operations environment (Chowdary and George 2012), Mr. Hammond unknowns if the application of Lean principles in a company that produces a high variety and low volume of products would make sense. The Lean management approach, developed by Taiichi Ohno (1912-1990) at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, forms the basis for the Toyota Production System. The term Lean was first introduced in 1990 in the book entitled The Machine that Changed the World by Womack, Jones and Roos. In â€Å"Lean thinking†, 5 principles were put forward an implementation framework to be used by an organisation (Womack et al. 1990): †¢Specify value from the customer’s perspective, †¢Identify and understand the value stream, †¢Improve work flow (minimize interruptions during processing), †¢Let value flow only through the customer’s pull (all work is initiated by customer demand), and †¢Pursue perfection continuously (the goal is zero waste) The core idea of Lean philosophy is to maximize customer value while minimizing waste. From a production perspective, Lean manufacturing uses Just-in-Time (JIT) approach as its production strategy for minimizing waste and improving quality (MindTool 2013). JIT provides for the cost-effective production and delivery of only the necessary quality parts, in the right quantity at the right time and place, while using a minimum of facilities, equipment, materials and human resources. JIT is accomplished through the application of specific techniques which require total employee involvement and teamwork (Lee and Ebrahimpour 1984). The application of these principles in the manufacturing and assembling processes characterized by a high variety and high volume (HVHV) of activity has been widely proven a great success. However, the difficulties associated with applying Lean principles within HVLV organization have been identified and analysed by Jina et. al (1997). The analysis of the applica bility of Lean principles in SPC has been carried out taking into consideration some aspects analysed by Jina et al. (1997): †¢Product and product demand. The manufacturing and assembling process of SPC begins with a customer’s order (simple dimensioned sketches of the required product) what is called â€Å"pull system†. Customer’s pull demand is one of the principles of Lean and it enables a company to produce only what is required, in the correct quantity and at the correct time. However, the nature of the orders (called â€Å"make to order†) makes the application of the Lean principles a huge challenge for SPC due to small changes of the inputs (changes in the schedule, differences of product mix between one period and the next one, volume changes between periods and the frequency of product changes within time-frame of customer lead time expectations) generates a large impact on the performance of the manufacturing system (Jina et. al 1997). Nevertheless, the result can be levelled within a set of well-defined flexibility parameters (Jina et. al 1997), to give some examples: commonizing raw material and finished parts and organizing for high and low level demand. †¢Process. It can be said that processes currently do not follows any flow structure: production is planned without any solid criteria and there is no single flow route for either materials or machinery. This unstructured work floor causes: joinery department job shops are untidy and congested (joiners are working on several part-finished items at once, single pieces of equipment are shared  by 10 or more joiners, joiners try to fit in with each other over the use of machinery, etc.) and big allowance of waste and timbers defects are found around the workshop. Despite of this chaos, it has been identified that the specific case of the manufacturing and assembling staircases follows a repeatable process steps (although staircases are different): cutting ti mber, sanding, machining and tenoning, which makes this process potentially standardised. Therefore, it can be said that Lean principles can be applied to this process. However, in order to identify the applicability of Lean principles to the rest of the processes, more information should be provided. †¢Workers. The processes disorder is supported by the fact that, on one hand, SPC’s joiners are capable of making any product and, on the other hand, because they enjoy the wide variety of challenging work. Despite of this, workers’ flexibility to carry out a wide range of tasks is considered as a factor that would help the implementation of Lean. To sum up, it can be said that the application of Lean principles is possible but it will be a great challenge for SPC. Task 2: What are likely to be the main categories of costs and benefits in establishing the cell? Are there any non-financial benefits which should be taken into account? Listed below, there is an analysis of the benefits (financial and non-financial benefits) and the costs (financial costs) expected to be achieved with the implementation of Lean principles in SPC: -Benefits. The company will gain financial and non-financial benefits which will affect the revenue stream of SPC and the level of satisfaction of both customers and employees. †¢The financial benefit of Lean for the company expected is an increase in its revenues as a consequence of increasing the productivity by finding and eliminating the waste within the process. This is achieved through reorganising and tidying the manufacturing floor (using 5S/CANDO or visual management), improving work flow to eliminate motion and transportation between stages of production (workshop layout) (Page 2004), and increasing employee efficiency by specialising and standardising the work and cutting out wasteful work; †¢Non-financial benefits are shown by the level of customer and employee satisfaction. On one hand, customer satisfaction increases by meeting requirements and on-time delivery; improving customer retention and attracting new customers by, for example, word of mouth (Cudney, Furterer and Dietrich 2013). And on the other hand, employee  satisfaction increases by empowering them and taking into consideration their opinion. -Costs. There are two aspects that would affect the cost stream: cost reduction within the process and cost of lean implementation. †¢Cost reduction can be located from different attributes of the manufacturing process: inventory, defects, maintenance, labour cost, compensation, etc. (Ross 2002; Stegall 2012). Each task in the process gets specialised and standardised, the employee can stop the production line if they detect defects, thereby reducing the number of defects and work-in-process; production line productivity is improved to deliver products on time, helping the company to avoid compensation and discount, and reducing over-time working. Specialised jobs require particular machines or tools, to be handled with care and regularly maintained by the employees using it, reducing risk of break-downs and repair/replacement costs. And also, a reduction of raw materials inventory (waste) is expected. †¢Cost of Lean implementation can be located from: training for employees for redefinition and re-assignment, production line stoppage, workshop layout re-organising, information technology systems and management cost for implementing new system. These costs might be quite high when the company implement the whole system, therefore in the short-term it could overcome the profit of the company. However, because Lean is a long-term commitment, it will help transform the company and enhance the profit for the long term.â€Æ' Task 3: At what stage, and how, should Deane sell his idea to the Joinery Manager and the workers? To sell the idea of Lean implementation and cellular manufacturing to the Joinery Department, Dean should have a strategy to approach first the Joinery Manager (JM) and a its employees (once the manager is already convinced). Frist, Dean needs to sell the idea to the JM because he is the one who will decide whether this plan will be done or not because his commitment and leadership are essential to achieve a successful implementation (Wrye 2013). To convince and engage the Manager with the idea, Dean needs to conduct and present a business report of the company: an analysis of the current status of SPC (covering both quantitative and qualitative aspects), with the pros and cons of Lean implementation in a HVLV organisation. A strategy and implementation pl an which shows the roadmap, methodology, goals, and objectives to be introduced. Dean can then work with the JM to customise the implementation  of the plan to suit with SPC current situation. After gaining the approval of the JM, Dean needs to prepare actions to sell the idea to employees, to create an organisational understanding of the philosophy, methodology, implementation process, in order to take full advantage of the significant changes. The JM and Dean need to explain to the workers the current situation of the company, an overview of Lean and its benefits for the whole company and for each employee’s job. The workers also need to be acknowledged for the value of their work, their power over the production line and their responsibility of product’s quality. Some training and information about the new system might also need to be provided before actual implementation. Some details should be taken into account when the department start implementing Lean: †¢Because SPC is a HVLV manufacturer should adapt Lean principles to the reality of the organiation: product design geared to logistics and manufacture; organising manufacturing along Lean principles; and integrative supplier relationships (Jina et al. 1997); †¢The manager should have a clear goal for implementing Lean for the worker to follow (Womack and Jones 2003); †¢Lean is a new concept so it should be explained without technical terms or phrases to avoid confusion or resistance (Wrye 2013). The strategy of implementation should contain small steps to give the workers time, and help them gain their confidence a nd build momentum to continue with Lean.â€Æ' Task 4: How different would the cell work be from that in the main Joinery Department? Traditionally, each worker has their own zone and working on different product or order. Each worker goes through the same process, uses the same tools so they have to wait for the tools and their turn to use the machine. Lean cell manufacturing is a common workplace that has become an integral part of Lean manufacturing because it seeks to take full advantage of the similarity between parts, through standardisation and common processing. Its implementation in the work floor implies the specialisation of each step so that one person is in charge for one activity, using one particular tool or machine to eliminate delay time (Lean Enterprise Institute 2009). The worker will have space to move for their job but the movement and motion will be minimised by eliminating the gap between their tools and each other so that they can pass the finished part to the next stage immediately. Julian Page (2004) suggested the outward facing U-shape cells which taking up the same amount  of space and give the worker more options to communicate with each other with the least movement required. For the staircases, the workshop new layout will have 5 major cells: cutting timber, sanding, machining, tenoning and assembling: †¢Each cell have its own tools and machine that only that cell uses. The machine which will be used for different purpose will be placed at machining cell; †¢Machining cell will be placed near the middle of the whole workshop so that if any other cell needed to use the machines, they can access them with the least movement; †¢Cutting timber cell: after the order was placed, timber will be delivered by vendor on to the fir st station. Here timber will be cut to required shape. Off-cuts will be at the same place and the workers at this cell know how many and what shape there are, so they can be used for future occasions; †¢Assembling cell can be spilt into 3 smaller cells: glue, wedges and treated. After this cell, the product will be finished and transported straight to packing or delivery; †¢Workers can rotate within or between the cells if they want flexible jobs, since they can all do every stage of the manufacturing line. †¢Kanban card can be used between part manufacturing cells and assembly cells to limit the level of work-in-process (Jina, Bhattacharya and Walton 1997). Further information should be needed in order to assure if this layout can also be apply to the rest of the products of SPC. Another technique to be taken in is CANDO (clean-up, arranging, neatness, discipline and on-going improvement) to help maintain the Lean workshop, control obsolescence and inventory, preserv e working tools (Page 2004). The cells and workshop is presented below: Figure 1. SPC AS-IS workshop layout Figure 2. SPC TO-BE Lean cellular workshop layout Task 5: What risks are associated with Deane’s proposal? The main risks associated with Mr. Hammond’s proposal are listed below: †¢People. Behaviours exhibited by people in the workplace such as the lack of trust and commitment is the main risk identify in Mr. Hammond’s proposal. It is also one of the main reasons for unsuccessful implementation of Lean. oJoiners’ procedures to manufacture and assemble products might experience  changes with the implementation of Lean and, therefore, it may cause stress and rejection to them. Lean manufacturing requires constant employee input on quality control, which some employees may feel disinclined or unqualified to do (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and VienaÃ… ¾indienÄâ€" 2012). oDifficulties in finding managers with sufficient leadership and persuasion skills to overcome this can be also another risk to bear in mind (ÄÅ'iarnienÄâ€" and VienaÃ… ¾indienÄâ€" 2012). †¢Investment. Inability to make invest properly in the change. oDue to the unstructured work flow, SPC will need to make significant upfront investment in achieving a level of standardized processing. oImplementing Lean manufacturing often means completely dismantling previous physical plant setups and systems. The re-location of the machinery as well as training employees can increase considerably companies’ expenses. †¢Duration. The implementation of Lean philosophy and principles is a long journey process and not easy implemented. Bibliography and references CHOWDARY, B. and GEORGE, D. (2012). Improvement of manufacturing operations at a pharmaceutical company: A Lean manufacturing approach. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 23 (1), 56-75. ÄÅ'IARNIENÄâ€", R. and VIENAÃ… ½INDIENÄâ€", M. (2012). Lean Manufacturing: Theory and Practice. Economics and management, 17, 732-738. CUDNEY, E.A., FURTERER, S.L. and DIETRICH, D. (2013). Lean Systems: Applications and Case Studies in Manufacturing, Service, and Healthcare. 1st ed., CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. JINA, J., BHATTACHARYA, A. and WALTON, A. (1997). Applying Lean Principles for High Product Variety and Low Volumes: Some Issues and Propositions. Logistics Information Management, 10 (1), 5-13. LEAN ENTERPRISE RESEARCH CENTRE (2013). What is Lean thinking?. [online]. Last accessed 28 November 2013 at: http://www.Leanenterprise.org.uk/what-is-Lean-thinking/what-is-Lean-thinking-and-key-Lean-thinking-principles.html LEAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (2009). What is Lean?. [online] . Last accessed 28 November 2013 at: http://www.Lean.org/whatsLean/ LEE, S.M. and EEBRAHIMPOUR, M. (1984). Just-In-Time Production System: Some Requirements for Implementation. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 4 (4), 3 – 15. MELTON, T. (2005). The Benefits of Lean Manufacturing: What Lean Thinking

Essay on Marketing and Consumer PsychologyEssay Writing Service

Essay on Marketing and Consumer PsychologyEssay Writing Service Essay on Marketing and Consumer Psychology Essay on Marketing and Consumer PsychologyDiscussion 1: Priming and Consumer BehaviorPriming is the effect of the impact of the foregoing information on the subsequent without active human intervention or, in other words, the activation of specific associations in memory. Using priming effects in groceries marketing is based on creating the impression of freshness and naturalness of products starting from the entry into the store. Thus, in Martin Lindstrom’s (2011) example with Whole Foods, the owners placed fresh flowers and vegetables at the entrance to the supermarket in order to make the primary impression of goods quality in the store as a whole. Having seen definitely fresh foods at the entrance, people transfer the feeling of freshness to the rest of products in the sales area. The use of symbols of purity like water drops and ice contribute to the overall effect, as well as the color associations, which we will further discuss in more detail.Indeed, using colors with c ertain symbols and color combinations to create a certain image is applied effectively today to attract the attention of consumers in both the design of retail areas, packages of goods and means of in-store advertising, and display of goods. Studies show that colors appeal to people’s senses rather than logic: 80% of light and color is perceived by the nervous system and only 20% by vision (Haugtvedt et al., 2008, p. 361). Thus, influence of color on consumer choice can be illustrated by the following experiment (cited in Haugtvedt et al., 2008, p. 367-68). Housewives were given four cups of coffee to taste standing next to the boxes of brown, blue, red and yellow color. Coffee was the same in all the cups, but tasters did not know that. Results showed that 75% of participants noted that the coffee standing next to the brown box, in their opinion, was too strong. About 85% of the subjects found the coffee standing next to the red box most fragrant and tasty. Almost all claime d that the coffee standing next to the blue box was mild, and the one that stood next to the yellow box was weak.In particular, Whole Foods actively uses green as the color of nature and harmony because its light hues directly symbolize freshness, as well as meet the desires of buyers to compensate for the lack of vitamins, fresh fruits and vegetables. Banana growers use a similar mechanism in the example cited by Lindstrom (2011). In general, we can conclude that food marketing becomes more successful with proper use of the color pallet which eventually becomes the corporate identity and causes persistent associations based on previous experience.Discussion 2: Personal BrandingIn the information age recommendations on creating a brand become important not only for material goods, but also for individuals. With respect to the personality, brand can be defined as a stable set of associations, the image formed in the perception of the surrounding people. It is worth saying that the de finition of personal brand, in general, does not differ from the definition of product brand. For example, Chanel perfume is associated with aristocracy, refinement, high price, and personality of Coco Chanel. For connoisseurs of opera baritone Hvorostovsky is associated with a beautiful voice and a bright appearance, the mind immediately recollects such characteristics as the star of the world opera, the soloist of the leading opera houses in the world, as well as the arias he performed in the memory. In both cases there are strong associative images. If the ultimate goal of product brand is to increase profits in the long run, the personal brand depending on the scope of application, in addition to capitalization, may still pursue other goals. For example, a presidential candidate must create a positive and holistic image to make the voters believe and vote in one’s favor. But all in all, the ultimate goal of personal brands is recognition in a particular environment, high reputation, relevance, popularity and increase of the value in the labor market.Indeed, personality brands are subject to the same rules and use the same benefits as product brands: their product sells better, their services are paid higher, they have weight in society and respect of others, they are listened to, and trusted. For example, advertising a particular product, a celebrity actually indirectly vouches for its quality. Typically, this proven strategy brings good fruit to companies, because consumers are more willing to trust the information received from a famous (in other words, almost familiar) person. However, personality brands are not only media persons or celebrities. Professionalism in any field today is regarded as a marketable commodity, and the professional as a brand. Thus, in case of looking for a new job, I would first try to answer a question whether it is authentic to make the CV in the same way as 999 000 others, and then would make efforts to construct my p ersonal brand through applying Dan Schawbel’s three obligatory elements of: value proposition, differentiation, and marketability(Schawbel Buckingham, 2013).Discussion 3: The Effectiveness of Online MarketingToday, companies are starting to use online solutions for all types of marketing tasks from creating awareness to after-sales services, and recognize that online tools are important and effective parts of the marketing strategies. Internet combines the interactive nature of communication, hypermedia nature and the possibility of establishing individual interaction. Global computer network has become both a new communication environment and the market with tens of millions of potential customers with a sufficiently high income level. The main advantages of internet marketing are considered interactiveness, opportunities for most accurate targeting, possibility of post-click analysis which leads to the maximization of indicators such as Site Conversion and ROI of the inter net advertising. Moreover, marketers claim that online tools help them achieve marketing goals throughout their clients’ decision-making process, sometimes in ways that are not consistent with the general ideas of certain tools should be used.As a result, according to the recent survey of CEOs, in the next three years they are most likely to plan to increase the advertising budget for Online Marketing, in particular, for search and video advertising, while budgets for media advertising and mailout are less likely to be increased (Scott, 2013, p. 113-115). In this perspective, the relevant question occurs of how to raise online marketing efficiency through the use of constantly updating mechanisms in the spirit of dynamic online audience. For example, involving social media in the communications process the companies should offer its readers/subscribers not the end sale, but something more interesting and useful, representing a â€Å"transactional† action in the buying process (Scott, 2013; Lindstrom, 2011). For example, if you sell cars, offers applications for test drives through your social media platforms, if you are selling training courses, invite for a free lesson, if you sell consumer electronics, promise a discount coupon, for complex B2B hardware fix number of downloads of brochures and price sheets, etc. In addition, it must be remembered that a robust interaction in real time allows producers to not only respond to comments and feedback of buyers, but also develop the right reputation policy. The brand’s reply to a user’s question or a comment is more important than the comment itself, because the producer’s reaction is the attitude of the brand to consumers that forms buying activity and brand loyalty.Discussion 4: Online DistributionFor quite a long time, the famous Internet retailer Amazon has been intensively testing the fresh food delivery service Amazon Fresh, thus capturing another niche in the market and co mpeting with major players like Wal-Mart.com or Alice.com. Expanding into new segments allows the company to declare itself as a retailer with the largest range of products offering to purchase any type of product not leaving the house.The very idea grocery-shopping online is absolutely in the spirit of the time: it saves time and, depending on local prices, might save money. According to data from Tesco, the share of online food sales in the UK in 2009 accounted for about 3% of the total retail sales of food, while in 2014 online sales of food products are expected to increase to 5.5%, due to the fact that the growing number of consumers begins to positively evaluate the advantage of delivering, wide range, and affordable prices in the online grocery stores (Scott, 2013, p. 159). However, by now Amazon Fresh is mostly presented by third-party sellers, which makes their prices incompatible in many cases, especially if Wal-Mart coupons would be taken into account. In addition, unlike Amazon that doesn’t take back groceries or personal care items, Wal-Mart allows its consumers to return anything bought online to a local store within 90 days. At the same time, willingness to sell products with delivery is a proof of the high level of responsibility that cannot be achieved without special equipment, which involves the use of trucks with refrigerators and sealed compartments, special boxes for food storage, quality control at all stages. Together with attractive wholesale prices and direct manufacturer offers, these advantages of large retail chains are designed to ensure higher customer loyalty in the nearest future.Discussion 5: â€Å"Free† MarketingAccording to behavioral economists, neuro-marketers and copywriting experts, the word â€Å"free† has a huge impact on the buyer. Studies show that consumers cannot help noticing it, miss it or pass it by (Haugtvedt et al., 2008, Lindstrom, 2011). The word â€Å"free† literally means that à ¢â‚¬Å"something is offered for nothing† and even though deep down people perfectly subconsciously realize that nothing happens for no reason and the company certainly gets benefit from something else, every time they hope that â€Å"maybe it is really so this time.†An interesting example of the impact of the word â€Å"free† on consumers was demonstrated in Billund, the international airport in Denmark (Scott, 2013, p. 205). The company decided to carry out the split testing the call to action located on the fourth menu button of their online store, which was proposed to change from â€Å"Buy online† to â€Å"Buy Tax-Free.† Buy Tax-Free in this example meant buying without local Value Added Tax (saving 7-22%). Eventually, the second version showed better results, and surpassed the first one by 49.85% in CTR.Practice shows that neutral inscriptions â€Å"Buy online† or â€Å"Order delivery† do not have any clearly defined economic or em otional effect: they just speak for themselves causing no special feelings, not showing benefits to the client, do not disclose the advantages. In turn, basing on Haugtvedt et al. (2008) research, the phrase including the word â€Å"Free† (tax free, free shipping) has many advantages: 1. Thoughtful valuable offer (assertion giving the user a complete picture of why one should buy a product or use the services of the company); 2. Competitive advantages (better offer capable to interest an online user who surfed today the entire Internet far and wide in search of the best prices and offers); 3. Demonstration of care for buyer’s benefits. This impact on the consumer’s psyche makes the technique of using the effect of the word â€Å"free† one of the most effective in promoting the products, along with the offer of discounts and coupons.