Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Safe Journey

SAFEJOURNEY 1. Introduction Since the innovation of diesel engine mankind has got new dimensions in their piece of living conditions i. e. the civilization. Most important achievement thereby was that men got the motion. These diesel engines gave shape in manifold. In transport sector the horse car/coach were started replacing by motorcars of different sizes and shapes to fit the needs of mankind. The addition of petrol engine has accelerated the rate. In the present era nobody can even think of avoiding the elements of transportation because the society has become too much dependent on this.But still there is a problem. The problem lies with the technology. Nobody can claim that these technologies will never fail. Due to mechanical fault, poor maintenance, overuse, overage, misuse etc these failures occur. Though we are aware of these and may take preventive and reactive measures to avoid those situations but these failures are still day-to-day phenomena. Think about a situation â⠂¬â€œ where your personal vehicle becomes out of order on the highway in a remote place. If so, what is the remedy? There are some arrangements by the Government.However, that could not earn the faith of the public. Thus, in our case, this aspect is still remaining uncared. The astute investors could have identified the need of assistance in such situation in many countries. The effort of our new service oriented firm Safejourney is to care these aspects. The purpose of this plan is to analyze the strategic and situational aspect of the firm and focus market product, marketing mix and thereby project a detailed marketing plan of the firm. The scope of this plan will be limited to the following: Concept Development Process †¢ Company Description †¢ Strategic Analysis †¢ Situation Analysis †¢ Market Product Focus †¢ Marketing Mix †¢ Financial Analysis †¢ Organization †¢ Implementation †¢ Evaluation and Control While formulating the plan fir stly our effort is to highlight the concept development process, followed by the orientation with the company. Then Mission, goals and core competency of the organization will be covered under strategic analysis. Thereafter, analytical part of the plan will include – SWOT, industry, competitor, company and customer analysis.The market, product and financing objectives of the organization and also target market identification will be the contents of the product market focus. This part will also mention the Unique Selling Proposition [USP] and positioning plan of the organization. Then under the marketing program 4 P’s i. e. marketing mix will be illustrated. The financial analysis and organization’s planned set up will be discussed followed by the implementation plan. Finally, the evaluation and control measures will be pen-pictured. We have carried out a detailed study, which was a combination of primary and secondary data analysis and empirical study.Our contac t method was mainly in the form of personal interviews with the competent official of the concerned authority, and collecting public views associated to this sector. We have also conducted the market survey deliberately, carried out various statistical analyses by testing related hypotheses. Collection of associated data from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and Bangladesh Police [traffic control] were also a part of the survey. Thereby, we have found it is feasible to serve the victims of the roads. 2. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 2. 1 The Idea GenerationBangladesh is a third world developing country. The country’s GDP is not again encouraging. Therefore, the people cannot always effort to have all first hand / brand new vehicles of any sorts. The used vehicles are not always reliable and often found to be out of order. Moreover, poor infrastructure of the country has also strong influence to cause such failure – a fatal accident is not also an exception to it. The arrangements offered by the Government to support such cases are often seem to be inadequate, time consuming, costly and failed to earn confidence.Thus, there is always a need to support those victims in terms of mechanical, medical, psychological and emergency assistance. This led us to create the idea of a service organization to support in this regard. 2. 2 Concept Development The concept of providing necessary service by Safejourney is to have number of Highway Mobile Patrols [HMP] and Static service points at regular intervals. Maintaining a reliable communication network, our teams will be called by our valued customers and in response, will be capable to reach the spot within 30 minutes. Service charge will be collected depending upon the degree of assistance rendered.Membership will be offered on the basis of annual subscription. 2. 3 Nature of Service Safejourney will have the capability to offer the following services: Small scale repair work on the spot. Medium scale repa ir work at the static service points (Towing facilities will be included) Large scale repair work at the zonal workshops (Towing facilities will be included) Available at the static service points. On call. First aid will be provided on requirement. Evacuation support:Will be provided on emergency basis. 2. 4 Investment/Benefits/ Commissions/ Business 2. 4. Investment Concept 1Invest to purchase vehicles, repair machineries, establishment of Head offices, zonal workshops & static service points. Concept 2Invest to establish versatile communication network. Concept 3Invest in acquiring required manpower. Concept 4Invest in promotional and social activities. 2. 4. 2 Benefits Concept 1Earnings from membership charges. Concept 2Earnings from service charges. Concept 3Earnings from charges of emergency support. 5. Time Frame Concept 1To provide services round the clock. Concept 2To reach the spot within 30 minutes after calling.Concept 3To provide medical and emergency support as and wh en required. 6. Number of Outlets /Service Points Concept 1To arrange service facilities in the major highways. Concept 2At least two mobile patrols under each static service points. Concept 3Static service points are to be established every after 70/80 km. Concept 4Zonal offices are to be established near the major cities. Concept 5Head office is to be established at Dhaka. 3. Company Description 3. 1History Although it is new for the country like Bangladesh, service organization as Safejourney is not a new venture in the world.In Germany, there is such an organization known as â€Å"Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobile- Club† in short ADAC operating for more than 40 years. Earning the confidence and faith of the public is the first and foremost criteria for most of the businesses success. If one can achieve it, other part of the business becomes much easier. The newly established firm Safejourney is the pioneer in Bangladesh in this field. 2. Name The legal name of the firm is SAFEJOURNEY BANGLADESH PRIVATE LIMITED and the motto of Safejourney is Destination Guaranteed†¦ 3. PurposeThe purposes of Safejourney are described as follows: ? To provide quality repair and recovery services to the vehicles on the prescribed highways. To support the under mentioned services in emergency: a. Providing First aid to the accident Injuries. b. Evacuating the serious cases to the nearest hospital/ clinic. c. In case of criminal act, providing support by informing highway Patrol Police. d. To provide transportation service to anyone on payment only in emergency cases. ? In future we plan to render our communication network facilities to the transport companies. 4. Functional ActivitiesSafejourney has started her journey to serve the victims of the roads and persons in emergencies. On receiving the call from the customers our control station will intimate the matter and appropriate location to the responsible zonal office and / or static point keeping divisional offi ce informed. The zonal office or static points will than direct the nearest Highway Mobile Patrol (HMP) to the spot. HMP, upon initial investigation will render effort to repair the necessary defects. If the case appears to be relatively difficult, the vehicle will be towed to the respective static point.Likewise, major cases will be handled by the zonal workshop. In simple cases, on completion of the necessary repair jobs the customer will pay the bill prepared by HMP as per prescribed price chart. The members will get the discount if he/she possesses the Safejourney ID Card. In case of major / difficult cases the customer may pay in the head office or any of the zonal offices. A diagrammatical presentation of functional activities is as in Appendix A 3. 5 Organization It is essential to have a very well structured organisation to achieve the success in any kind of business. Thus, Safejourney has taken all out effort o organize both the administrative and functional aspects in orde r to ensure a quality service, secured and unbroken flow of information, good administration, better co-operation and co-ordination. Therefore, overall planning, organizing, leading and controlling aspects of Safejourney are vested on the head office. Under head office there are various departments for looking after the administrative perspectives of the firm. Moreover, our service areas are divided in three divisions. The divisions are again subdivided into area/zones to have a better control of the functional perspective of our organisation.However, a detail of Administrative Organisation of Safejourney is illustrated in Appendix B and Functional Organization of Safejourney is illustrated in Appendix C of this plan. 6. Establishment and Number of Outlets/Service Points We have offered initially three major route of the country. The routes are as follows: †¢ Dhaka – Chittagong Road †¢ Dhaka – Bogra – Rajshahi Road †¢ Dhaka – Jessore â€⠀œ Khulna Road Our head office is located in Dhaka, whereas the Divisional offices are in Chittagong, Bogra and Jessore. Detail of the Zonal Workshops, Static service points and outlets are presented in Appendix D of this plan. . 0 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS 4. 1 Mission Reaching our customers with in 30 minutes after calling at anytime on the highways when someone gets stuck with his/her vehicle and repair it to make him/her feel safe. 4. 2 Objectives 4. 2. 1 Financial Objective †¢ To earn an annual rate of return on investment at 20%. †¢ To Make Profit 20% above sales. †¢ To reduce the amount of investment capital where possible. †¢ To acquire 3500 members by year 5 †¢ To reach at the breakeven point by year 5 †¢ To achieve 80% of the market share by year 2008. 4. 2. 2 Marketing Objective †¢ To repair 30 vehicles per route each day. To provide better quality service than the potential competitors. †¢ To provide superior and timely repair †¢ To achieve strong brand name. †¢ To establish capable and systematic service outlets at each 60-80 km intervals. †¢ To ensure wide geographic coverage than rivals’ and potential competitors. †¢ To ensure higher level of customer satisfaction. †¢ To provide limited first aid and transportation to accident injuries to increase social value. 4. 3 Core Competency and sustainable competitive advantage Core competency means the achievement of significant competitive advantage by a firm over its rivals.Our core competency will be reaching in time to the customers and providing services of better quality than our competitors. 4. 3. 1 Reaching in time to the customers: We will have number of service centers each after 60-80 km. So, any one calling us over mobile/ T & T phone, we will ensure our presence with in 30 minutes. This will make the customers feel safe and confident about our organization. 4. 3. 2 Providing better quality service: At present our main competit ors are the old aged roadside or sub-urban based repair workshops. Our services will be provided in time with the modern equipment and of course we will maintain our quality. . 3. 3 Pioneer advantage: Though there are number of repair workshops but we are the first to provide on call services on the highways with fast speed and responsibilities. At present we don’t have much strong competitors, but even new competitors enter, we will have customer’s preferences as we are the first in this business. We will already have lot of members and hold the lion share of the market. 5. 0 SITUATION ANALYSIS 5. 1 SWOT Analysis 5. 1. 1 Strength: Main strengths of â€Å"safe journey† are identified as follows: 5. 1. 2. Weakness: The weaknesses are as follows: business is based on happenings of some eventualities . 1. 3. Opportunity: Opportunity means where the company can operate profitably. The Opportunities of safeJourney are as follows: 5. 1. 4 Threat: The happenings which may create obstruction in achieving our business objectives are as follows: 5. 2 Industry Analysis â€Å"SateJourney â€Å"is a service oriented organization. There are many others who provide the same services to the customers. There are many workshops located in the rural, suburban or urban areas. The rural or suburban based workshops are old aged, that doesn’t have any efficient system of identifying the problems and repairing those.There are few big sized workshops in the city areas but they hardly provide on call service. They also don’t have an efficient way of dealing with the customers. As a whole in the industry nobody is holding absolute supremacy. ‘Safe Journey’ will enter the business considering the aspects of winning customers’ mind. The competitors will not affect its operation and business objectives. The local workshops are weak but close competitors. City based service centers are strong but distant competitors, so ‘SafeJou rney ‘will enjoy almost monopoly in the rural highways and likely to face pure competition in the urban areas. . 3 Competitor Analysis 5. 3. 1 Brand Competitor: SafeJourney is the first company to provide mobile repair service and serve the customers even in the remote place on the high ways. Thereby at present we don’t find any brand competitor of ours. 5. 3. 2 Industry Competitor: Our service is based on repair services of the automobiles. There are many other small or big workshops providing the same kind of services. So they are our industry competitors. 5. 3. 3 Form Competitor: This service provides the need for safety on the high ways by repair and maintaining vehicles.There are few other workshops other than automobile workshops that also carryout some sort of repair works like motor cycle or bicycle repair. They are our form competitors. 5. 3. 4 Generic Competitor: Ours generic competitors would be anyone taking away our customers. The roadside restaurants, towe r vehicles, public transports are few of our generic competitors. 5. 4 Company Analysis Our company will have numbers of static points (service centers) each after 60-80 km distance on the highways. Those static points will remain under direct control of Head office located at Dhaka.We will also have offices in other major cities. They will deal with membership, complains, suggestions for operation and future expansion of the business. 5. 5 Customer Analysis 5. 5. 1 On the basis of buying Roles 5. 5. 2 On the basis of customer Buying Behavior Our service falls in the complex buying behavior group as it is a high involvement service. Customers normally don’t come to the workshops unless they need it. Again for yearly membership one has to pay Tk5000. Thereby, it is a service that involves a good amount of money. Customers will think twice to be a member of Safejourney.Thus, our customers buying will follow complex buying behavior. 6. 0 MERKET PRODUCT FOCUS 6. 1. Financial, Mar keting and Service Objective 6. 1. 1 Financial Objective 6. 1. 2. Marketing Objective. 6. 1. 3. Product / Service objective 6. 2 Target Market 6. 2. 1. The Selection of Target Market The Underlying logic and hypothesis dictated us to select the specific target markets: 6. 2. 2. Market Segmentation To attain the objective of our business plan, bases for our market segmentation is Demographic and psychographic factors. Under the demographic, the segment variables are social class and occupation.In social class the upper class and upper middle class is our focal point. And under occupation we have mainly focused to the business class. Under the psychographic bases we have considered the social values to be our main segment variables. People who are highly security concerned and highly time concerned are the point of concentration here. 6. 2. 3 Specific Target Group Basing on our logic/ hypothesis, our market segmentation has led us to select the following specific target groups as our customers: Private car owners. Business class traveling in personal/ official car.Taxi cab companies Transport owners/ Agencies. The target groups as per the segmentation can be categorized as under: |Market segment |Customer group | |Market segment 1 |Private car owners | |Market segment 2 |Business class | |Market segment 3 |Transport owners/Agencies, Taxicab companies. 6. 2. 4 Effectiveness of the Targeted Market Segment. Effectiveness of the segmentation can be measured using five useful criteria. These are Measurability, Substitutability, Accessibility, Differentiability and Actionable criteria. Testing of our segmentation based on these criteria is shown as under: Market Segment |Measurable |Substantial |Accessible |Differentiable |Action-able | |MS 1 |Very Good |Large and highly |Easily Accessible |Good |Effective and | | | |profitable | | |feasible plan can | | | | | | |be formulated | |MS 2 |very Good |Large and Profitable |Accessible |Good |Effective and | | | | | |feasibl e plan can | | | | | | |be formulated | |MS3 |very Good |Very Large and profit |Accessible |Good |Effective and | | | |able | | |Feasible plan can | | | | | | |be formulated | 6. 3 Point of Difference One of the most important factors for launching any new product/ service is the points of differentiation. We will differentiate our service from the competitor in respect of service, personnel and image differentiation. 6. 3. 1 Service Differentiation The key to success of our business will lie in adding value to the services and continuous improvement of quality. SafeJourney will differentiate its service from others in respect of following attributes: Ordering Ease |Any one facing the problem in highway can easily call us | | |simply making a phone call. Need not to take the trouble of | | |searching around miles together for someone leaving the | | |vehicle in uncertainty. | |Delivery |The mobile workshop of SafeJourney will be committed to solve | | |the problem in a speedy manner with adequate care and | | |accuracy. |Special service and Maintenance |Any one calling SafeJourney for a mechanical problem of | | |vehicles will be provided with free wind shield wash to that | | |vehicle and the assurance will be provided that any further | | |problem for same reason will be given free service in that | | |particular journey. | 6. 3. 2 Personnel Differentiation ‘SafeJourney’ will gain a strong competitive advantage by developing a better-trained people. For attaining this we will emphasize on the following aspect: Competence: The engineer/ mechanics of ‘safeJourney’ will possess the required skill and knowledge to deal with any mechanical/ technical problem of any type of vehicle. The mechanics will be grouped in such manner so that they can deal with any problem of the affected vehicle for which they are called for. ? Courtesy: The employees of our service will be trained to behave in a friendly, respectful and considerate manner in re sponse to any problem given by the customer. ? Credibility: The trustworthiness of the service will be developed by providing price rate card from the company along with the specific identity card for the employees. ? Responsiveness: The Company will have a quick response in any call by sending the mobile workshop within half an hour on the spot. Communication: ‘Safejourney’ will keep the system of communicating about any problem/ comments by giving a comment card while solving the vehicle problem. This will be used by the management for further improvement of service. 6. 3. 3 Image Differentiation Our service will give adequate emphasis on building an image of quick and quality service. To do this, we will express our messages in symbols, written and audiovisual media, different events and also by employee behavior. 6. 3. 4 Unique Selling Proposition (USP) This is the factor which will attract the customer to accept our service rather than the competitors. We will conc entrate on the following USP of our service. Caring about customer's time. Greater attention on safety measures. First to provide reliable mobile repair/ recovery service in the country. 6. 4 Positioning To attain a distinctive position in the customer’s mind we will give adequate emphasis on our unique selling proposition. We will create an image of the company by promoting the idea â€Å"SafeJourney–for people who cares about time and safety†. 6. 4. 1 Positioning strategy For attaining the desired positioning in customer's mind we will adopt the double benefit strategy. We will claim two benefit in this regard: The fastest. The safest 7. 0 MARKETING PROGRAM 7. 1 Service Strategy 7. 1. 1 Type of Service This is a utility service for providing mobile mechanical/ technical support to the vehicles facing problems in highways.This will ensure a quick and easy service which will allow the travelers to reach to their destination safely without wasting the time. 7. 1. 2. Features of service The service will be provided both in membership and non membership basis and have the following features to provide: Repair and Recovery a. The first effort will be given to reach to the spot with mobile workshop by half an hour of receiving any call. b. The main effort will be in repairing the vehicle on spot as quickly as possible. c. Relatively difficult cases will be handled by the static service point d. In case of major difficulties the option will be given to deliver the vehicle to the desired destination after necessary repair works. Emergency Service a.Providing first aid to the accident injuries. b. Evacuating the serious cases to the nearest hospital/ clinic. c. In case of criminal act, providing support by informing highway Patrol Police. d. To provide transportation service to anyone on payment only in emergency cases. Communication service a. The company will establish an internal communication system for its operation. b. The company will rende r this facility to be used by the transport companies on the basis of payment. 7. 1. 3 Brand Name The brand name of the service is given ‘SafeJourney. ’ This is done to create a favorable brand image and brand familiarity by adding the safety as a sensitive issue.All necessary exposure and promotion activities will be done to uphold the different attributes, benefits and values related to the brand. 7. 1. 4 Special / After Service offer To create favorable positive response to the mind of customers the following special offerings will be kept: ? The provision will be kept to provide free windshield wash for the vehicle where applicable. ? Once given service by any mobile workshop the free service guarantee will be given if any problem faced for same reason in that journey. ? For dealing with the emergency situation, the service will be rendered 24 hours. 7. 1. 5 Sources of Spare parts Contacts will be made with the authorized dealer of various motor parts to keep the su pply of spare parts available.The amount of the various spares parts inventory will be decided basing on the requirement. 7. 2 Price Strategy 7. 2. 1 List Price Transparency in transaction is considered as one of the most important issues of our business policy. To maintain the trustworthiness and transparency, list price of all types of service will be kept/ hanged with the mobile service team and other service centre. The list price will be also published in the advertisement in print media. A minimum fixed charge of Tk. 250 will be charged for every vehicle calling for service. Other charges will vary basing on the intensity of the job. A model of list price is shown as under: PRICE LIST SERIAL NO |SERVICE DESCRIPTION |PRICE | | | |(In Taka) | |01 |Call charge |250 | |02 |Membership Subscription |5000 | |03 |Servicing |250 | |04 |Oil change |100 | |05 |Air Lock Clearance |250 | |06 |Fuel line Clearance |250 | |07 |Tappet Clearance |800 |08 |Cylinder Head Leakage Repair |100 0 | |09 |Timing |2000 | |10 |Spark Plug Change |600 | |11 |Self Starter |500 | |12 |Fuse Box |100 | |13 |Carburetor Cleaning |200 | |14 |Gear Box Repair |500 | |15 |AC pump Repair |300 | |16 |Break Repair |500 | |17 |Steering Gear Repair |500 | |18 |Electric Circuit |250 | |19 |Lighting |250 | |20 |Spare parts |As per mkt price | 7. 2. 2 Discount To Increase the membership number and attract the customers a 65% discount will be given to the members of safeJourney. 7. 2. 3 System of payment The Payment system will be on the basis of cash payment before delivery. However, the payment may be made at any zonal / area offices also. 7. 2. 4 Different Price strategy. We plan to adopt different price strategies in different situation. ? At Launching Stage.As this is a new service in this country, our company being first to enter in this business will have a pioneer advantage. And as we will not have any brand competitor at this stage so we will adopt cost plus policy at this stage. Th e assumption led us to follow this policy is the substitute awareness effect which tells that customers are less price sensitive when they are less aware of substitutes. ? At Brand competitive Stage. In Brand competitive stage it is likely that new entrants will also come in this business. If we face challenges by the new entrants in terms of price strategy, we will face this by adding new values and better quality through more promotional activities.As the new entrants are likely to face huge amount of initial investment expenditure, it is likely to be difficult for the competitors to snatch our significant market share. Again a substantial amount of revenue in the business will come through the membership subscription which is given yearly. So due to involvement of high switch over cost customers are less likely to switch over to new competitors. ‘The difficult comparison effect’ of price sensitivity also supports our strategy as it speaks — customers are less price sensitive when they cannot easily compare the quality of substitutes. However in this stage we may have to go for the price cut strategy basing on the market condition. 7. 2. 5.Pricing Method Basing on the market survey and the result of our hypothesis we have used a combination of both perceived value pricing and going rate pricing method to select our price. 7. 3 Promotion Strategies Promotion is considered as one of the greatest market winning factor to increase the sales of own product/ service. It consists of different promotion mix i. e. advertisement, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling, Direct Selling and Public Relation (PR) . The promotion activities also varies basing on the product/Service life cycle through which a product/ service comes from introductory stage to growth, maturity and at last at declining stage.So our promotional activity will also vary in response to different life cycle of our service in following ways: 7. 3. 1 Introductory Stage In this stage our main strategy will be to create the customer awareness about the brand name of our service. Since the service involves the complex buying behavior, the main emphasis will be given to the print media. The promotional activities include: Regular advertisement in daily newspaper and magazines. Using Billboard in the entrance and exit of the petrol pump. Using Billboard in highways with repeated intervals. In TV and radio highlighting our USP during the commercial slot. ? Providing attractive and colorful posters, calendars etc to the car sales centre. 7. 3. 2 Growth StageAt this stage the strategy will be to create brand familiarity to keep the present customers satisfied and to attract the new customers. This will be done as follows: ? Differentiation advertisements in both print media and loud media frequently. ? Create value chain for the existing members by sending small gifts like calendars, cards etc containing the brand symbol Arranging different types of PR programs. 7. 3. 3Ma turity Stage At this stage the strategy will be to keep the people conscious about our product by various remainder advertisement and other programs It includes: Remainder advertisement in both print media and loud media. ? To increase brand preferences providing advertisement with celebrities. Arranging various PR Programs.Sponsoring different games/ sports cultural programs etc. 7. 3. 4 Decline stage Starting from the maturity stage onward, the amount of our market share is likely to decrease. At decline stage it will tend to reduce more. But the human psychology about time and safety will always exist. The market is also likely to expand. Even though, the company may face difficulties due to more number of competitors. To overcome the problem, the following strategy will be adopted: Providing new features to the customers by making differentiation. Giving reminder advertisement both in print and loud media Arranging PR programs using satisfied customers etc. 7. Placement (Distrib ution strategy) The Placement strategy is very important to ensure that the company’s product/ service are passed through the right channel to achieve the objective of the company. 7. 4. 1 Places to Serve Initially the service will be started only in three important routes. These routes are: Dhaka – Chittagong highways. Dhaka – Jessore – Khulna highways Dhaka – Bogra- Rajshahi highways Subsequently basing on the feedback and market condition the number of routes will be increased. 7. 4. 2 Channel Strategies The channel of our service will be direct. ? Head office -Zonal service centre – Static Point- Mobile service workshop We will also increase the number of zonal offices/ service centre to most of the district towns. ? We will also acquire the local agency to act as the local representatives in zonal offices. ? The detail distribution channel is illustrated in Appendix E. 8. 0 FINANCIAL DATA AND PROJECTIONS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |8. Initial Investment | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Fixed Expenditure | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Item | | | Tk in Lacs | | | | | |Construction/Office | | |7 | | | | | |Office Furniture | |7 | | | | | |Vehicle Procurement | |223. 4 | | | | | |Tel/Mobile | | |9. 4 | | | | | |Tools and Equip | |25 | | | | | |Promotion | | |10 | | | | | |Training | | |3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Total | | |284. 54 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8. 2 Yearly Expenditure | | | |Tk in Lacs | | |Salary | | |85. 3 |Details Shown in Appendix F | |Tel Bills | | |9. 48 | | |Fuel | | |35 | | |Rent-Office/Outlets | | |81. 4 | | |Promotion | | |12 | | |Electricity/Gas/Water |5. 64 | | |Miscellaneous | | |6. 4 | | | | | | | | |Total | | |235. 69 | | | | | | | | 8. 3 Projected Yearly Return in 5 Years From providing highway Service | | | | |Yearly |In 5 Years | |Per Day 30 Cases X 3 Routes X 500 X 365 |164. 25 |821. 25 | | | | | Tk in Lacs From Membership Charges Year | | |Tk in Lacs | |Year 1 |1000 |5000 |50 | |Year2 |2000 |5000 |100 | |Year 3 |3000 |5000 |150 | |Year 4 |3500 |5000 |175 | |Year 5 |3500 |5000 |175 | | | | | | |Total income in 5 Years 650 | 8. 4 Calculation of Payback Period | | |Taka In Lacs | | | | | | | | | |Year |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 | | | | | | | | | |Opening Bal |-284. 54 |-305. 98 |-277. 42 |-198. 86 |-95. 3 | | |Cash out flow |-235. 69 |-235. 69 |-235. 69 |-235. 69 |-235. 69 |-235. 69 | |Cash in flow |214. 25 |264. 25 |314. 25 |339. 25 |339. 25 |339. 25 | |End Bal |-305. 98 |-277. 42 |-198. 86 |-95. 3 |8. 5 |103. 56 | | | | | | | | | | |Fraction of years=330. 99/339. 25=. 975 Years. | | | | | | | |Total Pay back Period =4+. 975=4. 975 Years. | | 8. 5 Projected Profit |Expected profit in year 5 = Tk 8. 25 Lac | |Expected profit from year 6 onwards = Tk. 103. 56 Lac | 9. 0 IMPLEMENTATION PLANImplementation is the key success factor for any business. The business planning may be the best but if implementation plan is wrong the business will fail to achieve its objectives. To achieve our business objectives we plan our business in the following way: 9. 1 Services Strategy Safejourney will provide services to the customers as and when they call. Someone may get services if they come directly to the static points. Our efforts will be to establish strong communication network to reach our customers using existing T & T facilities and mobile networks. We will also have our own communication network to ease our customers to reach us at anytime.Practice of mobile patrol on the highways to find out and meet any eventualities will also be there. Besides repair, we also plan to provide some additional services in following ways: (1) For ensuring smooth first aid service, our employees will be specially trained on first aid. (2) Delivering the vehicle at desired place after repair will be accomplished with the necessary co-ordination with zonal offices. (3) Evacuation to accident injuries will be provided by mainta ining a good will and liaison with the local hospital and clinics. (4) On establishing our own communication facilities it may be rented to the transport agencies. 9. 2 Price StrategyAs it was stated earlier, services will be provided on the basis of payment and we will have separate price strategy for our members and non-member customers. On accomplishment of any service, the senior mechanics will calculate the price basing on the minimum call charge, price of spare parts, membership discount rate and services as per price table and make the bill to the customer. Customer may pay the bill in cash on the spot or any of our offices/outlets. In the later case, the vehicle will be delivered only after the confirmation of the payment of the due bill. To deal with the competitors in the competitive stage, SafeJourney may also change the service charge or membership subscription as the situation demands but the quality will not be compromised in any case. 9. 3 Promotion Strategy:To implem ent our business strategy we will go for rapid skimming. For this we will spend an amount of Tk 1,000,000 as we launch the service. In addition to it an amount of Tk 12, 00,000 will be spent on promotional activities per year. In this regard maximum emphasis will be given to print media and using the billboard. We plan to provide advertisement on web sites also. 9. 4 Distribution Safejourney is taking all out efforts to establish a smooth, secure and effective distribution channels. Members will be enrolled either by the zonal offices directly or through local agents and few selected petrol pumps. The selected petrol pumps will be considered as exclusive distribution means. 10. 0 ORGANISATIONThe Head office of Safejourney will be established in Dhaka. The whole organisation is headed by Managing Director (MD). The MD will look after the overall planning, organizing, leading and controlling aspects of Safejourney. There are total six departments in head office, which are as follows: †¢ Operations and Planning †¢ Technical Support †¢ Administration and Medical †¢ Management Information System †¢ Accounts and †¢ Human Resource Management Under the department of operation and planning there will be one control station on for 24 hours. The three Divisional managers are responsible to control the three routes under the supervision of Operation department.Dhaka – Chittagong route looked after by Divisional Manager –1 (Chittagong) Dhaka – Bogra-Rajshahi route looked after by Divisional Manager –2 (Bogra) Dhaka – Jessore-Khulna route looked after by Divisional Manager –3 (Jessore) Under each Division there are three zonal offices and under the zonal offices there are three static points each. Each static point is equipped with at least two Highway Mobile Patrols. 11. 0 EVALUATION AND CONTROL To learn how well the company is running, we must evaluate the present strategy. Accordingly management will be taking decision on what should be done. For that we will evaluate our performance by finding the information of following aspects: 1] Is the competitive approach of the company is correct? [2] Could we differentiate our services from our rivals? [3] Could we provide our services at a broad spectrum or to a niche? [4] Is the geographic coverage of our services correct? [5] Are the functional activities of the company correct? [6] Could we make expected return/ cash flow? [7] What is the company’s image and reputation with the customers and competitors? [8] Could we make continuous improvement of our performance? We will also carry out evaluation of information continuously. This will help us to take timely decisions. We plan to carry out analysis of information on the following manner: 1] Daily earnings and expenses report. [2] Total number of customers per day. 12. 0 CONCLUSION Continuous improvement and development of new offerings is an essential part for any business s uccess in the present world. Everyday people in the business world seek for new opportunity and spending millions in this purpose. The overall paper is developed highlighting all the detail that is required to do a successful marketing of a new offerings. The alternatives are highlighted and the provisions are kept open to carry out the necessary adjustments as the market dictates. Proper implementation of the plan can make the service-SafeJourney a successful one.

Module Ten: Text Questions Essay

Review Questions 1. What is a questioned document? Describe at least one example of something that might be a questioned document. A questioned document is a document in which the script or type used in its composition causes suspicion. 2. What is an exemplar? What are the best types of exemplars? Exemplars are authorized examples of how a text should look as a reference. The best types of exemplars are the ones of similar content and/or in the same format. 3. What are natural variations? Describe how these may happen. Natural variations are subtle changes in handwriting that occur normally. This usually happen with time. 4. How are stamped signatures different from written signatures? Stamped signatures are literal stamps that leave a print of a signature instead of a hand signing. 5. What are some of the typescript machines that document examiners may have to investigate? Choose one of these machines and describe what document examiners may look for when comparing the machine to a questioned document. Some of the typescript machines that document examiners have to investigate are typewriters, photocopiers, and fax machines. With photocopiers, for example, investigators may closely look for discrepancies between copies, as there are little flaws common in every copy. Critical Thinking Questions 1. Why are questioned documents important in forensic science? What is one example of a situation where a questioned document might be an important part of a criminal case? Questioned documents are important in forensic science because the verification of a document could sway a course one way or another. For example, a forged suicide note could suggest foul play. 2. What are some of the ways that a document examiner might try to match a questioned document to a specific typewriter? What aspects might they look at? A document examiner might try to match a questioned document to a specific typewriter by noting possible variations over time that could account for any discrepancies. 3. Imagine that you have been asked to determine whether a signature on a check is authentic or a forgery. What steps would you take in doing this? What aspects would you examine? If I were to determine whether a signature is genuine of a forgery I would closely examine the strokes and curves of the handwrit ing. 4. Imagine that  you have been asked to determine whether a will written fifty years ago is authentic or a modern-day forgery. How would you go about doing this? What aspects would you examine to help you make your determination? To determine whether the will was a forgery or an authentic document I would collect exemplars to compare with the original document. I would closely compare the two and look for suspicious similarities or differences. 5. A law enforcement agent is in charge of getting a writing sample from an uncooperative suspect. The agent puts the suspect in a comfortable room and has the person choose from a bunch of pencils and ink pens. The agent takes the questioned document and dictates the information to the suspect, having the suspect write down what she says as she reads from the questioned document. After several paragraphs, the agent stops and has the suspect rewrite the material two more times. What did the agent do wrong in this situation? What did the agent do right? The agent should not have given the suspect the free range of writing materials but was correct in the material that they had the suspect write down.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

The Leader as a Strategist Report

The Leader as a Strategist Report Holly A. Shones Argosy University Perspectives in Change Leadership B6027 A01 Dr. Karen Ivy April 22, 2012 In late 2009 Mayo Clinic (MC) updated the vision, mission and strategy of the institution to better align with the ever changing healthcare industry. The primary value at MC is â€Å"the needs of the patient come first†. The mission is â€Å"to inspire hope and contribute to health and well-being by providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research†.The vision is â€Å"Mayo Clinic will provide an unparalleled experience as the most trusted partner for health care†. The four strategic requirements at MC are â€Å"solution and hope, trusted and affordable, knowledge to delivery, and transforming health care delivery† (Mayo, 2012a). According to Porter (1996) it can be useful for a company to look at the history of the business and implement the strategy of the past wit h a modern twist. An approach such as this can help to re-energize a company’s strategy and gain the commitment of the employees to carry out the strategies in their daily activities.The idea of â€Å"the needs of the patient come first† was originally attributed to Dr. William Mayo. By aligning the vision, mission and strategy of the institution around the value of the Mayo brothers, MC is able to inspire employees to work towards the goal of the mission statement. In the past MC relied on reputation and word of mouth to attract new patients. The patients had to travel to a physical location for a consultation and/or treatment. The institution did not advertise and was very low key.Only in the past several years has MC considered how to reach the large market population which is unable to access healthcare from MC with such a narrow view of the target market segment. The economic situation of the late 2000’s and the uncertainty of healthcare reimbursements has required MC to take a new look at possible patient populations in order to remain competitive in today’s market. The new motto at MC for targeting customers is â€Å"Mayo here, there and everywhere† (Mayo, 2008). MC is expanding its target market to include populations other than the core business of patients visiting the physical sites.MC is now expanding the target market to include people globally through partnerships in other countries including India, Sweden and the Czech Republic (Springer, 2011). The institution even has a space at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN in order to reach more patients with health and wellness information (Adams, 2011). The healthcare industry is becoming increasingly more customer driven rather than physician driven. MC is starting to utilize the Internet to reach out everywhere to empower people to take control of their healthcare decisions.Patients are using the Internet to research medical issues. They want to be informed and understand the choices in their own healthcare plan. MC provides accurate information on diseases and possible treatments via the Internet. Another way MC has expanded beyond its physical walls is through a collaborative venture with an outside partner to create medical applications for cellular phones (Pesek, 2012). The institution is working on e-Consults and AskMayoExpert sites so physicians at other locations can tap into the knowledge of the MC team.The institution is expanding its sphere of knowledge through an affiliated practice network in several locations within the United States. The affiliated practice network allows other medical institutions within the network the ability to draw on MC’s knowledge. Through the creation of affiliated practice networks MC’s â€Å"new strategy is to extend the Mayo Clinic's geographic reach without building costly new facilities, spending money to acquire hospitals or consolidating with another health system† (Tockne ll, 2011) and at the same time meeting the needs of the patient here, there and everywhere.Another recent addition to MC is The Center for Social Media to bring to the forefront the importance of social media use in healthcare for this generation and the generations to come. With the new target market strategy MC will continue to grow and come closer to the vision of the institution. â€Å"Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities† (Porter, 1996, p. 68). MC has delivered value to patients through its integrated approach to healthcare. The physicians are compensated a flat rate salary rather than compensated based on number of patients seen or procedures done.The physicians are able to fully focus on the patient’s medical issues during consultations without considering their own financial gain from the visit. Dr. William Mayo stated in a speech in 1910 â€Å"The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered† (Fox, 2010). This statement has been a cornerstone of the Mayo culture and work practice since its inception. Through the team based approach of Mayo’s model of care, MC is able to provide superior care compared to other institutions which do not have the team knowledge.Mayo is able to perform similar activities in different ways compared to other healthcare institutions due to the team based philosophy and the integrated approach to healthcare delivery. Porter (1996) considers this key to strategic positioning. MC’s sustainability is different from the competitors due to the reputation of the institution. MC is able to attract and retain a well qualified workforce in all areas. MC was rated as the third top hospital in the nation in 2011(U. S. News ; World Report, 2011).In addition, MC ranked 71 out of the top 100 companies to work for this year (CNNMoney, 2012). MC is able to build on the institutions past reputation to create their unique pos ition in the healthcare market. MC has implemented several new areas or themes to stay ahead of the competitors, also. MC is focused on innovation within healthcare with the creation of the Center for Innovation. To align with the four strategies, MC is investing in cutting edge research and continuing education. The institution recently created three new Centers.The Center for Regenerative Medicine which is focused on ways to healing damaged tissue and organs, the Center for the Science of Healthcare Delivery which is focused on using scientific method to bring efficiencies to medicine, and the Center for Individualized Medicine which is focused on â€Å"leveraging genetic knowledge to find treatments, identify risks, or determine the right drug or dosage for patients† (Discovery’s Edge, 2012). By remaining at the forefront of discovery and translational science MC is able to stay ahead of the competition.The investment into the innovative centers will be the conduit which will allow MC to be able to achieve the mission of providing the best care to every patient through integrated clinical practice, education and research. The strengths of MC as a formidable competitor are abundant, but there is always room for improvement. Dr. William Mayo stated â€Å"If we are satisfied, we are lost† (Mayo, 2011). Table 1 is a SWOT analysis of Mayo Clinic. One of the most important strengths for MC would be its reputation as a world class healthcare facility which helps to reinforce brand recognition.Our reputation has been built on the institution’s patient centered approach to healthcare, education, training and team environment. The institutional reputation has helped with recruitment of quality staff, also. In order to recruit and retain staff, MC offers many career development opportunities such as tuition assistance, continuing education classes and other seminars to increase staff satisfaction. Compensation trends for job classifications are monitored on a yearly basis and salaries are adjusted every year to stay competitive as a way to attract and retain quality employees. Mayo’s strong financial performance is another strength.MC had an operating margin of 6. 5 percent in 2010. In 2011 the operating margin increased to more than 7 percent (Mayo, 2012b). Since Mayo is a non-profit organization the profit is reinvested into the future of healthcare. MC announced the institution will reinvest $3. 5 billion on capital projects in the next five years which will be spent on information technology, equipment, facilities and other strategic investments (Snowbeck, 2012). With such a great financial performance, MC is able to act on opportunities such as telemedicine and cutting edge research to strengthen their position in the healthcare market.The use of electronic medical records (EMR) at MC is an important strength. It enhances the collaboration between teams by allowing any staff member who needs access to a pa tient’s medical record to have immediate access to the data. The EMR system increases efficiency and quality of care for the patient. SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS * Brand recognition * Reputation * Patient-centered approach * Strong financial performance * Quality of staff * Electronic medical record integration. Three shield concept – Practice, Research, Education * Senior leadership’s commitment to the vision and strategic plan| WEAKNESSES * Decision making process – execution of plans are slow * One Mayo concept slow to implementation * Quality differences perceived across campuses * Size of institution continues to grow increasing communication challenges * Geographical location| OPPORTUNITIES * Ability to be a leader in healthcare reform – influence government * Pioneer in healthcare delivery science * Innovation through new strategic initiatives * Telemedicine * Scientific advances with new technologies| THREATS * Healthcare reform/every changing political climate * Aging population * Increasing healthcare expense vs. diminishing healthcare reimbursements * Competitive market * Reliance on philanthropic gifts * Increased dissatisfaction in healthcare among the general population | Table 1 – Mayo Clinic SWOT Analysis Some of the weaknesses which MC faces are related to the size of the institution and the philosophy surrounding decision making. MC is a consensus led institution with many levels of oversight committees.Projects are vetted by many individuals within the organization before they are approved. Mayo thinks about their reputation and is risk adverse in many decisions made. As the institution continues to grow it is becoming more of a challenge to communicate throughout the organization in a personal way. MC continues to add small healthcare sites into the Mayo Clinic Health System. Leadership is working towards a one Mayo concept, but it is a slow process to integrate the newly acquired institutions within Ma yo. Each new site has different systems and processes which must be integrated into Mayo’s system. As Mayo expands its presence there is a perceived quality difference by other campuses.As an example, I am working on a project within the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to integrate four new Mayo Clinic health sites into the electronic system. The sites will be able to submit research protocol applications electronically at an enterprise level rather than each site approving their own research protocols. I have seen first-hand that staff at one location does not believe the quality of the review of the protocols at another site is sufficient. Attitudes such as this can lead to a breakdown of teamwork across the sites. The geographical location of MC can be seen as a weakness, also. The campuses are not located in large metropolitan locations. The weakness will decrease as the use of telemedicine increases. Exciting opportunities in healthcare are happening at MC.With the disc ussion of healthcare reform at the governmental level, MC has been tapped as a resource for discussion surrounding what healthcare should look like in the future. The institution can influence future governmental decisions on healthcare to spread the mission and vision of our institution. As MC continues to invest in the new strategic initiatives of healthcare delivery, regenerative medicine and individualized medicine the doors of opportunity to change health care delivery and increase translational science to practice in a shorter time than in the past. With new technologies healthcare is changing on a daily basis which allows for many new opportunities for discovery of better ways to meet the patient’s needs. Telemedicine is an area of great opportunity for Mayo, also.It could become a fast, efficient way to diagnose and treat patients which cannot physically travel to a MC campus. MC faces threats in the healthcare industry, though. The current state of healthcare reform is in flux. The political climate is continually changing. In addition, healthcare expenses continue to rise as reimbursements continue to decline. The payer mix is changing as the baby boomers are covered by Medicare. Medicare reimbursement is less than the other payers. As the population ages, revenue will decrease. The institution must discover new ways to increase efficiency and quality at the same time. Another financial weakness is the fact that a large portion of Mayo’s research funding comes from the National Institute of Health.As an employee in the research arena, I know the institution does not know what the next year’s governmental budget will be. Each year the selection of grant recipients grows more competitive with fewer grants awarded. Loss of the research funding would have a huge impact on the institution. Another threat is the reliance on philanthropic gifts to support Mayo’s mission. In 2011 $318 million was donated to support Mayo (Snowbeck, 2012). A poor economic climate can cause a decrease of benefactor gifts which would be a threat to the continued success of MC. Finally, the general dissatisfaction in healthcare among the general population could be perceived as a threat to the institution.MC must realize that healthcare can no longer be a physician driven business, but must become a customer driven business. The internal environment at MC is team based and focused on collaboration to accomplish our key value of â€Å"the needs of the patient come first†. MC is a physician led institution. The person in the CEO position must have an MD. The structure of the institution is team orientated. The Board of Trustees determines the direction of MC operations and strategic plan. The Board of Governors is the executive committee of the Board of Trustees. There are Management Teams throughout the institution to ensure the strategies and operation directive are effectively executed by all departments under Mayo leader ship.Executive Operations Committees direct the daily operations within the institution. These board and committees are part of Administration. The Management Teams and Executive Operations Committees are present for all three shields at MC. There are Chairs for each department within the three shields to help with the daily direction of operations. The direction of the institution comes from top leadership, but each department is given flexibility to determine the best way to accomplish the strategies set by the institution. To help reinforce the strategies, MC has adopted a project plan template which includes a section which requires the project group to think about how they will accomplish MC’s strategy with each project.Figure 1 is an example of the project charter (Mayo, n. d. ). Strategic Alignment| People| Processes| Create the healthcare workforce of the future that sustains Mayo’s values (People) D1. Improve staff’s ability to deliver high value care a . Facilities/Equipment b. Training/support for process changes * Implement individual provider scorecards including quality and cost metrics (outcomes, safety, service, cost, competence, adherence to standardized practice guidelines) * Invest in continuous staff development to improve staff satisfaction and retention * Increase diversity of staff and development of diverse staff * Improve leadership training and mentoring Increase the number and skill of physicians and clinical and basic scientists engaged in generating new knowledge * Increase our capacity and skill in comparative effectiveness and health care delivery research| Transform Mayo Clinic’s knowledge management and healthcare delivery process (Process) * Provide solutions and hope for patients a. Clinical Trials b. Implement Individualized Medicine into the practice c. Regenerative medicine d. Advance commercialization of research discoveries research discoveries * Standardize, improve effectiveness (outcomes, sa fety, service), and reduce cost a. Standardization b. Outcomes ; Safety c. Service d.Manage to Reimbursement * Explore new payment mechanisms * Generate, evaluate, integrate, and manage knowledge and information a. Information b. Knowledge c. Delivery * Create global value-adding relationships, alliances, and partnerships a. Patients and Consumers b. Providers C6. Increase our offerings for health and healthy living| Primary Operating Objective (Choose one from above, need sub-objective where applicable):| Secondary Operating Objective Optional (Choose one from above, need sub-objective where applicable):| Figure 1 – Project Charter Example In some ways MC is ahead of the curve by the use of systems to coordinate work throughout the organization. In other areas it is still a work in process.The EMR system is an excellent example of systems working to enhance communication, collaboration and coordinating between groups in the institution which aligns with the strategies of the institution. Finance has been working on a system to help with financial management forecasting and planning. The system is rather new and all of the functionality of the system is not being utilized at the current moment. The culture at Mayo is consensus and collaboration. The organizational culture is an enabler for the institution’s strategy in most cases. All employees are able to speak up and discover areas which need improvement. They are also given the chance to create solutions.MC works diligently to communicate the strategy to everyone. They create internal videos highlighting the vision, mission and strategies of the institution called â€Å"The Mayo Effect. There is a website dedicated to the subject. The culture at Mayo is everyone plays a part in the needs of the patient come first even if you do not have any patient contact. There is a sense of pride to be part of such a noble cause. Sometimes the culture can be a hindrance to the strategy, though. Innovation can be difficult at times in a consensus driven institution. By the time everyone agrees or accepts an idea, another group outside of Mayo could have run with the innovative idea.Another issue is the risk aversion created with consensus decision making. When you are risk averse, it is difficult to be innovative. Mayo incorporates Kouses and Posner’s five practices of exemplary leadership throughout the institution. The following summary highlights some of the ways Mayo has been able to model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act and encourage the heart. Modeling the Way * Setting a positive example: The founders (Will and Charles Mayo) strong belief in helping individuals, researching for solutions, and educating future care givers. Later generations of healthcare individuals are also highlighted. Achieve small wins by creating opportunities: Staff, physicians, and administration are empowered to promote and/or implement cost saving ide as or patient centered healthcare improvements. * Stand up for what you believe in: Mayo’s Three Shields are displayed throughout the organization reminding employees of practice, research, and education. Inspiring a Shared Vision * Envision an uplifting future: Websites and media promote a patient advances, success stories, and innovation improvements. * Let others know how you feel: Patients, external/internal focus groups, and external organizations are regularly polled for feedback, which is used to improve the organization. Believe in the organization: â€Å"We can do anything we set our mind to† is often a common quote used by staff. Challenging the Process * Search for Opportunities: Teams of improvement agents are available to evaluate and act upon suggestions. * Experiment and Take Risks and Challenge the Status Quo: Funding a leading â€Å"Center of Innovation† * Adopt the â€Å"great idea† of others: Entire division devoted to quality improveme nts throughout the entire institution. Enabling Others to Act * Always say â€Å"we†: In publications, both print and electronic, â€Å"we† is commonly used. â€Å"One Mayo† philosophy. * Strengthen people by making them heroes: Mayo allows staff time off to volunteer.It is not uncommon to find physicians playing music for patients, management in blue jackets directing patients, or staff donating blood. * Value teamwork and trust: Consensus and collaboration are key words within the organization. Encouraging the Heart * Recognize individual contributions: Mayo recognizes volunteers and staff who go to extraordinary lengths to support patients or make a difference in healthcare delivery. * Celebrate team accomplishments: â€Å"Team excellence† awards are distributed and highlighted throughout the organization. * Motivate others: Management are encouraged to write â€Å"thank you† notes to staff and may include a small discretionary gift card as reco gnition. Overall, Mayo is taking great strides towards achieving some lofty strategic goals.As long as everyone continues to remember the patient’s needs come first when making decisions which will ultimately affect outcomes, Mayo will stay competitive in the healthcare industry while at the same time delivering the best healthcare outcomes to people throughout the world. References Adams, J. (2011, August 10). Mayo Clinic opening high-tech outpost at the Mall of America. Retrieved from http://www. startribune. com/business/127497038. html CNNMoney (2012). 100 Best Companies to Work For. Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/full_list/ Discovery’s Edge (2012). Research Centers. Retrieved from http://discoverysedge. mayo. edu/de11-1-research-centers. cfm Fox, F. (2010, December 2). Clinic Guide. Retrieved from http://www. clinicguide. org/the-best-interest-of-the-patient-is-the-only-inter

Monday, July 29, 2019

Public sphere in China and japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public sphere in China and japan - Term Paper Example ct for social investigation, but rather a subject for historical report due to their deep cultural heritage and political traditions carefully preserved by them. However, such preservation can’t be considered to be always positive, because it delays the modernization and development. According to Briggs & Burke, (2005),   â€Å"in China and Japan alike, print was controlled more closely by the state than in Europe,  delaying the development of a public sphere for centuries† (pp. 85-6). The given paper will discuss this statement and prove that the governmental control of media really delays the development of public sphere. Such supervision also does not allow to introduce democratic principles. It will also be discussed how new kinds of media can influence the public sphere in China and Japan. It is possible to assume that media play the most important role in the development of public sphere. They are not simply an impartial partaker or an emotional reporter. On the contrary, they represent an evaluator of the situation or a modernizer of the present social balance. According to Habermas (2001), â€Å"By ‘the public sphere’ we mean first of all a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed. Access is guaranteed to all citizens.† p. 102 The disagreement or group effort of the media with strength that tries to take over the public area turns up in this environment. The connection between the country and the media, either as counteractive or as harmonizing, is affected by the character of government’s interference (Rheingold, 1993). This interference has a long history. The attempts to permeate the public area have been constantly suppressed by the government that in many countries delayed the development of the public sphere and the creation of democratic society. The function of media in building the democratic society is explained by Curran (1991): According to classical liberal theory, the public sphere (or, in

Sunday, July 28, 2019

CIO ORGANIZATION PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

CIO ORGANIZATION PAPER - Essay Example Among the 22 people in the IT department, there is an overlap of roles as was revealed during Carol’s interview with the staff. This calls for the need to change the type of leadership to the department if the new outfit of a CIO organization is to yield intended results. The most appropriate leadership style given the facts is Transactional Leadership. This style has the fundamental concept that; team members agreed to remain obedient to their leader at the time of accepting the job. It follows the principle that the members are paid for their effort and compliance with the rules, failure to which the leader is at liberty to punish (Kippenberger, 2002). It is the right style because it clearly defines everyone’s roles and responsibilities which will bring to an end the present overlap, and rewards performers, so any ambitious member of the team will receive reward for extra effort. The reward system under this style challenges employees to work hard and find a reason t o love their jobs. Given the current situation, Transactional leadership will bring new ways of conducting business in the CIO organization and inject fresh energy among employees for optimal productivity. The current IT framework at WW appears to be segmented with various systems serving specific areas of the organization. Accurate Financial System serves finance; Mobile Application is intended for sales staff, route optimization and freight checking system for operations and dispatch with fleet maintenance system meant for scheduling routine and preventative repairs. The fragmented aspect of this system implies that IT support staff is needed at each terminal with six support people currently offering support at the present six terminals, one per location. This has left few members of the team to handle development of new systems, carryout routine system security checks and keep tab with the new financial system. To ensure WW

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Differences in effectiveness of Humen Resource Management practices Essay

Differences in effectiveness of Humen Resource Management practices (HRM) in Saudi Arabia between local and multinational banks - Essay Example The two fold problem has been considered in this dissertation. First of all it has been identified that what are the main effective human resource practices with respect to banks in Saudi Arabia and in the other developing and developed countries. It is then considered that whether the human resource practices are more effective in international banks as compared with the local banks. The questionnaire method been used for data collection. Equal numbers of people from local and international banks in Saudi Arabia were asked the questions. Likert scale was used to devise the questionnaire. Job satisfaction was considered as proxy for effective human resource practices. The job satisfaction is a direct consequence of the phenomenon and it can be said that the HR is working effectively. So job satisfaction has been taken as a proxy for effective HR practices. SPSS was used for analyzing the responses. It has been found out that in the domain of recruitment and selection the main effecti ve HR practices are scientific recruitment methods and clear job analysis. In performance management the significant practices are quick and professional feedback. Effective training is also an effective HR practice. On the other hand it was found that the multinational banks have more effective HR practices than the local banks. ... Signature: Name: Mana Almana   Dated: 8/9/2010 Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction: 1 1.1 OVERVIEW: 1 1.2 Research Objectives 9 1.4 Research Chapters: 11 1.5 Summary 11 2.LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1.Selection and recruitment: 12 2.2. Performance Management: 19 2.3. Training and Development 25 2.4 Job satisfaction as proxy for HR effectiveness 34 Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY 30 3.1. Introduction 30 3.3. The Research Hypothesis 32 3.4. Data Sources and Collection Methods 34 3.5. Summary 44 Chapter 4: Data Analysis and findings: 44 Through SPSS 45 3.1 Recruitment & selection and HR effectiveness (as represented by job satisfaction) 41 3.2 Performance management and the HR effectiveness (as represented by job satisfaction) 56 3.3 Training and HR effectiveness (as represented by job satisfaction) 53 3.4 Performance of International banks and local Saudi Banks 57 Chapter Summary : 64 Chapter 5: Discussion 74 Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations 76 References: 69 Appendix 1: Questionnai re 74 Chapter 1. Introduction: The first chapter is prepared to give an insight of the research problem discussed. It provides background information in overall structure and function of the Saudi banking sector. It then presents the literature review conducted to elucidate human resource management in general. Following up from the fundamentals the importance of this discipline is studied and explained with respect to the banking sector in particular. The study evaluates the significance of human resource management to this industry by comparing the theoretical grounds with the best practices. Finally the purpose of the research will be explained along with

Friday, July 26, 2019

Implications of Flexibility in the Recruitment and Retention of Essay

Implications of Flexibility in the Recruitment and Retention of International Nurses on UKs Health Care Sector - Essay Example The International Council of Nurses Workforce Forum (2002 as cited in Parker & McMillan 2007) reported that majority of developed nations is or will be confronting shortages in the supply of nurses stemming from a shrinking availability of nurses alongside heightened needs for healthcare services. As the involvement of the UK in the international community expands, it is fundamental to explore likely implications for the growth of IHRM. With intensified advertising intended to persuade nurse to seek for employment opportunities abroad, as stated by Dowling (2007), the population of nurses vacating their current position to fill a vacancy in a richer nation, or those refusing to return to their native soil after obtaining their diplomas in Western colleges or universities is enlarging. Therefore, there is an immediate need to identify the effects of such trends on healthcare provision and to explore techniques in which recruiting organisations and firms can cope successfully. In the context of the current shortage of nurses, recruitment of health care workers by richer nations, like the UK, may witness critically scarce supply of highly trained and experienced nurses in nations where they are in demand. Certainly this is by now the situation in developing countries where vast population of nurses was employed by health care organisations in the UK. Flexibility in the Recruitment and Retention of Migrant Nurses in the UK Nurses wanting to work abroad should be informed of a broad range of recruitment and qualification barriers. Some of these major challenges are expensive and demanding immigration processes, adjusting to diverse clinical traditions, the requirement to become proficient in a new language, the expense of migration, and the requalification procedure (n .a. 2010). Although the procedure could be restructured in a number of instances in behalf of immigration, official endorsement is an indispensable patient and specialised security process that should be rigidly sustained (Connell 2007). National regulatory agencies, according to Choy (2010), are assigned to guarantee the quality and aptitude of migrant nurses. Communication is one of the obstacles to migration, but regarded a foundation of health care organisations. Patients communicate their problems, express their physical or emotional issues, and provide descriptions of their health concerns to healthcare providers (Hearnden 2007). Nurses should be capable of communicating with other stakeholders, including families of patients and health care personnel. They require the technical and existing language proficiency to converse under pressure and constraint. Language has been a significant consideration in the choice of destination country (Hearnden 2007). Nevertheless, according to Kingma (2008), while the supply of nurses in major source nations decreases new source countries are sought for and migration obstacles are not impervious anymore. In the UK, even though nurses offer important health care provisions and nursing is an attractive profession, there exists a critical problem. Budget cuts have led to unsafe and intolerable working conditions. Inflexible recruitment practices

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Business Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Business Communications - Essay Example In case you choose to confirm, the orientation starts from Monday, 6th August 2012 at 9.00 am, which is also your hire date. I will contact Mr. Smith by first emailing him, after which I will give him a call to request for an in-person meeting. The email will be a follow up of the offer letter. In the email, I will briefly indicate the contents of the employment offer letter, such as the salary, the benefits, and the company policies. Additionally, I will give a brief description of the format of filling the documents enclosed to the offer letter. I will also inform him of his duties in case he decides to take the job offer. In addition, I will give him the contact details he can use in case he needs clarification of any data. I will offer details regarding the location of our offices and inform him of the stating date and time for orientation, which will also be your hire date. Another aspect that I would include in the email is the name of a Smith’s superior and how he can get into contact with him if need be. I will explain to him why it is important that he accepts the employment offer but assure him that he is free to make the decision on his own upon reading all the enclosed documents. One day after sending the email, I will give Smith a call to confirm that he had understood the terms and conditions as well as what is required of him in case he chooses to accept the employment offer. Using the email is an appropriate choice because email is a widely used form of communication due to its effectiveness. Email is a favourable communication means; since emails are sent instantly, they are easy to use, are widespread means of communication, and are accessible through varying means such as computer, phone or PDA from nearly anywhere in the world (Merrier, Logan, Krizan, and Williams 447-450). Writing an email takes some time, so it is an

Case of Mohamad vs Rajoub Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case of Mohamad vs Rajoub - Essay Example It is evident from the study that the case of Mohamad vs Rajoub was filed by the widow and children of Azzam Rahim , who was tortured brutally and murdered inside the custody of a Palestinian jail by the officials However the court dismissed the case filed by the accused family on the grounds that that the Torture victim protection act applies only to the natural persons which was later supported by the Supreme of the United States. Though the respondents in the case which included the three officers accepted their guilt but the court provided the decision on their favor considering the fact that Azzam Rahim was not a natural person. The case of Mohammad vs Rajoub was filed in the court with a purpose to investigate the fact that whether Torture victim Protection Act 1991was also applicable only to the natural persons or not. The case was under the jurisdiction of the district court of Colombia though it was later handled by the US Supreme Court. In the case the source of the crimina l was law comprised of the families of the victim and the three officials of the custody. Accomplice liability in legal term refers to the fact that an individual is held guilty for the commitment of the crime by other if the person intentionally is involved in the crime by his solicitation, or advice to commit the crime with the help of the physical conduct or his psychological influence. In the case referred the victim who was in custody was brutally beaten by the officials who caused him death. The three officers who were held as guilty were charged with the Accomplice liability considering the fact that all three were involved in the killing and must have provoked each other in beating the victim in custody which caused him death. It also conferred on the fact that the accomplice had the stake in the act of the principal. As in the case it was difficult to point out the principle accused as all three were equally responsible, so the accused were held guilty under the charge of a ccomplice liability (Rogers, n.d, p.1351). Criminal liability refers to the liability of the accused which arises on the event of breaking the law or committing a crime. In the case mentioned the respondents were held guilty and charged with criminal liability on the grounds that they violated the law and killed the convict in the prison. As a result of the offence they committed, they were sentenced to jail for 1-7 years, but they were not imposed with any other liability considering the fact that the victim was not a natural person. During the petition in the court the officials also accepted their act of violating the law of killing a person in jail. Difference between various elements of crime and the application in the case: The elements of crime which are considered in the paper are Actus Reus, Actus Menus and concurrence. In legal terms the, Actus Reus refers to the conduct of the accused and in order to declare the accused as criminal it is necessary to investigate the reaso n behind the act which causes the harm to the victim and the act must be a voluntary in nature . In the case of Mohammad vs Rajoub, it was found out that the officials in the custody had

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Does Quantitative Easing Policy in US Affect Market Liquidity Research Proposal - 1

Does Quantitative Easing Policy in US Affect Market Liquidity - Research Proposal Example The effect is due to the contrast it has in increased awareness of potential risk and the cost that are associated to quantitative easing as expressed by policy makers as purchases continued (Krishnamurthy & Vising-Jorgensen, 2011). In the initial program of quantitative easing, officials of Federal Reserves suggested potential risk but the focus they had was mainly on implementation of the program without taking into consideration the costs that were associated with the ongoing purchases. They were mainly concerned with using the policy to support stronger economic recovery (Krishnamurthy & Vissing-Jorgensen, 2011). The effect that quantitative easing had to the economy is on the stimulation. Through the policy, the federal government is able to auction large quantities of treasuries so that they pay for expansionary fiscal policy. As the treasuries are bought, demand increases keeping yields of the treasury low. This leads to keeping the consumer debts affordable since treasuries are the basis of long term interest rates. This is also similar to corporate bonds as they allow business to expand more cheaply. To show liquidity channel, analysis can be made on the second program of Fed which was from November 2010 and was concluded in 2011. In the period, there was effect on priced frictions to trading in the market for treasury inflation protected securities and the markets that they were related for inflation swap contracts. To quantify the effects of TIPS purchases on the functions the market and the related market for inflation swaps, there is use of sum of TIPS and inflation swap liquidity premiums (Lessambo, 2013). The measure is only reliant on the law of one price and provides a good proxy for the priced frictions to trading. The hypothesis formulated for the study is that there are several ways through which quantitative easing has affected

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Leadership and Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership and Management Styles - Essay Example The three approaches to effective leadership are autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. Under autocratic leadership, the â€Å"I tell† philosophy is employed. The managers using autocratic leadership instruct the staff about the necessary actions. The management either instructs or persuades the staff to do whatever is expected by the company. The autocratic approach works best when there is a crisis or emergency and the company is required to act immediately so as to come up with a solution. Under democratic leadership, managers allow subordinates to take part in decisions but reserve the power to withdraw and repossess the same power (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2015). The managers seek the opinions of all relevant subordinates before making the final decisions. Democratic leadership is a collegial and open style of conducting a team. Ideas circulate freely within the group and are openly discussed. The style functions best in environments where not much is taken as a cons tant. In Laissez-faire, the employees are trusted to make personal decisions without the interference of the management. The subordinates enjoy an almost unlimited degree of freedom.In my opinion, the best approach when managing the work of subordinates is the democratic approach. The theory behind this approach asserts that the implementer uses an â€Å"I consult† philosophy (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2015). The approach has a number of advantages which include increased motivation and creativity on the side of the employees.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Iago Manipulates Essay Example for Free

Iago Manipulates Essay In the play Othello, written by William Shakespeare, the antagonist Iago manipulates other characters. He makes them act in ways that benefits his plan of destroying Othello by making him believe that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with his lieutenant, Michael Cassio. In the beginning of the play, Roderigo who is in love with Othello’s wife, Desdemona, comes to Iago for help. Iago manipulates Roderigo by promising him Desdemona’s attention and love if he â€Å"put money in thy purse,† as Iago says. Roderigo gives money to Iago in the mistaken belief that Iago is using his money to help him get to Desdemona, but Iago is using it to finance his own plan. Roderigo is a desperate character in the play and is easy tricked by Iago, because he doesn’t think he has anything to lose and because he would do anything to get Desdemona. His desperate feelings for Desdemona and Iago’s convincing manner make Roderigo easy to deceive. Iago has also a wife, Emilia. He doesn’t really manipulate her, because she is unaware of what’s going on between Othello and Desdemona during almost the whole play, but he makes her do thinks that benefits his plan. For example, he makes her steal Desdemona’s handkerchief, which ended being the â€Å"icing on the cake† for Othello’s suspiciousness on Desdemona’s and Cassio’s love affair. Everyone likes and trusts Iago, and so do Desdemona. Iago is seen as an honest man, which helps him manipulate people, because they always believe him. Iago manipulates Desdemona by acting on her side and by sympathizing with her. When Othello starts to get very suspicious, he gets very angry at Desdemona, but he refuses to tell her why. Iago convinces her that Othello is angry on a letter he got earlier and not on her. Desdemona believes this lie, which probably stops her from questioning Othello’s behavior. Iago’s plan is to make Othello think that Desdemona and Cassio are having an affair together. His first move to manipulate Cassio is to get him in trouble. He gets Cassio in trouble by making him drunk and by developing a fight for him. When Othello hears what happened, he removes Cassio from his post. Othello asks Iago what Cassio did, but Iago refuses to tell him anything, he says, â€Å"I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth than it should do offense to Michael Cassio. By doing this statement in front of Othello and Cassio, he earns Cassio’s trust. Iago uses this trust to manipulate Cassio later in the play. He tells Cassio that the best way to get his position back is to talk to Desdemona and get her on his side. Cassio does what Iago told him, and Desdemona is happy to help him because she knows him and she thinks he is a noble friend to Othello. But when Iag o and Othello come near, Cassio leaves because he doesn’t want to face Othello personally. Iago uses this situation to plant his seed of doubt, and tells Othello that Cassio fled when Othello came near. This is what starts Othello’s suspiciousness. Iago is a smart man who knows how to act and what he should say to manipulate the people around him. The character that Iago manipulates the most is Othello. He makes Othello believe that Cassio talks about Desdemona, while he is actually talking about Bianca and his sexual relationship with her. Iago makes up a story that he heard Cassio talking about Desdemona in his sleep. He also tells Othello that he has seen Cassio wipe his brow with Desdemona’s handkerchief. As a result of this, Othello gets livid and really frustrated, and wants to kill both Desdemona and Cassio. This clearly shows how Iago manipulates Othello. Iago is an intelligent character that is strongly talented in improvising and he has a clear feeling for timing. His most important skill is his acting ability. He’s a perfect actor. Although Iago plants his suspicion step by step by lying and by supplying â€Å"evidence† when it is needed, he always pretends to be a moral and loyal friend who everyone can trust. One of his strategies is to let other people make their own conclusions. Iago is smart enough to use other people’s actual weaknesses and to let them draw wrong conclusions themselves. All these strategies and abilities help him manipulate other characters in the play.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

The Impressionism Vs Post Impressionism Film Studies Essay

The Impressionism Vs Post Impressionism Film Studies Essay Impressionism was a movement or style of painting that originated and developed in France in 1870s and distinguished by its focus on the immediate impression produced by a landscape or scene and use of the primary colors to replicate actual reflected light. The style was characterized mainly by the use of intense colors, open composition, light and movement and brush strokes. The roots of impressionism are the early 19th century plein-air painting methods by the Barbizon school and naturalism of Camille Corot. Impressionists specialized mainly in genre scenes and landscapes. They were mainly concerned with producing visual reality in their paintings in terms of fleeting effects of color and light (Gunderson 35). The pioneers of impressionism included Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Manet and Degas. Monet was one of the most celebrated impressionists of his time. He was best known for his landscape painting. He particularly concentrated on painting the instant changes in nature. For instance, if nature changed color after a short while, Monet would blindly follow the change in his paintings to depict the true color of nature. Another painter who was revered was Manet. At the age of 29 years, he was reputed as the leading realistic painter (Halliwell 45). He was noted mainly for his reinterpretation of neoclassical themes and his approach to oil painting. The main characteristics of impressionism was a sense of immediacy, emphasis on light and its changes in quality, appearance of movement, unusual visual angles, overall effect rather than detail and visual brush strokes. Impressionists sought to capture and display nature at instants. They wanted to depict the changes in nature through paintings. They also aimed at showing the movements of the various phenomena in nature through art. The stylistic developments of impressionism included the use of short and broken brushstrokes that hardly convey forms, use of pure unmixed colors, and emphasis on the effect of light. Post-impressionism, on the other hand, was a style or movement of painting that sought to break away from the naturalism of impressionism and used color in expressive ways like expression of emotions rather than just optical impressions. Post-impressionists rejected the random spontaneity exercised by impressionists in favor of measured painting techniques based in science and study of optics (Nochlin 136). They believed that separate touches of interlaced color produced a higher vibrancy of color than what was being practiced by the impressionists. The main proponents of post-impressionism include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Vincent van Gogh. The most influential person in post-impressionism is Georges Seurat. He is considered the father of post-impressionism. His styles of painting signaled a new trend that shifted from the traditional impressionism. He introduced a new style of painting known as pointillism or divisionism that sought to employ a scientific approach in the use of color. This led to a shift from impressionism, which concentrated in using unmixed primary colors. His main technique was that of using weaving and layering brushstrokes. This enabled him to achieve tapestry-like paint surfaces that depicted complementary and contrasting hues. This made his works to be admired by even other great post-impressionists like Vincent van Gogh making him to be of a great influence to later artists. Seuratà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s influence on post-impressionism artists traversed many decades. This is seen in the works of later artists like Charles Angrand whose work greatly resembled that of Seurat. Another great post-impressionist was Paul Cezanne. Paul Cezanne was a French artist. He was one of the main founders of post-impressionism and his works laid the foundation of the shift from impressionism to post-impressionism (Halliwell 86). His main style of painting was the use short and loaded brushstrokes, a style b orrowed from impressionism. Vincent van Gogh, on the other hand, was a Dutch post-impressionist. His work was notable for its bold color, emotional honesty and rough beauty. Vincent was one of the most influential post-impressionism artists as his work had great influence on art in the 20th century. His love for art began when he was a small child and this would influence his decision to become an artist in his later years. During his lifetime, Vincent produced over 2100 artworks. Paul Gauguin was a French post-impressionism artist. He was one of the artists whose work highly influenced the shift from impressionism to post-impressionism, though he was recognized and appreciated until he died. He was renowned for his experimental use of color and introduction of the synthetist style of art which has had a big influence on the modern art. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter. He is best known for depicting the colorful and theatrical life in Paris in art. This led to production of provocative, elegant and exciting images of life in those days. Together with the likes van Gogh, Gauguin and Cezanne, he was among the post-impressionists that greatly influenced the shift from impressionism (Halliwell 92). Post-impressionism was characterized by many styles due to contribution of each artist. These artists could not agree on a common style of painting. However, their main aim was to shift from impressionism. Some of the styles that characterized the early impressionism art included the detailed painting of a particular landscape, which was mainly employed by Cezanne. This was in a bid to move away from the overall effect style of impressionists. Cezanne sought to depict greater pictorial structure of nature. Another style that was prevalent among post-impressionists was the use of symbolic and expressive content. Artists like Gauguin created paintings from imagination or memory (Stein et al 58). They expressed in their works a great connection with subject that inspired the works. Post-impressionists also placed emphasis on harmony in terms of surface design. The main differences between impressionism and post-impressionism are that impressionists sought to capture nature in its original and primitive state while post-impressionists sought to involve their imagination and memory in their works. Impressionists detached themselves from their works while post-impressionist sought to involve their emotions and expressions in their works. Another difference between impressionism and post-impressionism was that impressionism was mainly characterized with simple and overall depiction of nature while post-impressionism sought to depict details of the works of art and nature. They sought to show the still nature of life while impressionists wanted to show nature in motion (Nochlin 87). Post-impressionism as a form of art was mainly concerned with abstract depiction of works art through imagination while impression sought a realistic depiction of nature. The two works of art that bring out the differences between impressionism and post-impressionis m is the Birth of Venus by Adolphe-William Bouguereau and the Harvester by Jules Adolphe. The two paintings depict the kind of ideals held in the two schools of thought. For instance, in the painting the Birth of Venus, there is evidence of activity. The portray shows immediacy of the scene where the momentary activities of the people are captured. There is also evidence of movement with everyone involved in some activity. There is also the basic use of color where one color is used to paint one scene. On the contrary, the Harvester is a timeless portrait that is detailed (Stein et al 78). There is a combination of reality and imagination in the painting of the portrait. For instance, though the artist the harvester as a commoner, he gives her the beauty not common with commoners. There is also a combination of colors in the portrait.

Comparative studies and performance evaluation Reebok

Comparative studies and performance evaluation Reebok INTRODUCTION Reebok International Limited is a producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories and is currently a subsidiary of German sportswear giant Adidas. The name comes from the frikaans spelling of Reebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle. The company, founded in England in 1895, was originally called J.W. FOSTER SONS but was renamed Reebok in 1958. The companys founders, Joe and Jeff Foster, found the name in a dictionary won in a race by Joe Foster as a boy; the dictionary was a South African edition, hence the spelling. Reebok surged in popularity in 1982 after the introduction of the Freestyle athletic shoe, which was specifically designed for women and came out when the aerobics fitness craze started. Not only was the Reebok Freestyle popular as athletic wear, but also on the streets as casual wear because of its comfort and styling. As a result the Freestyle became an icon of the 1980s fashion scene with hi-top versions (including two velcro straps at the top) and colors including white, black, red, yellow, and blue. Reebok contines to produce the Freestyle to this day as it is popular with cheerleading, aerobic dancing, the gym, and other consumers. HUMAN RIGHTS AND PRODUCTION DETAILS In the past, Reebok had an association with outsourcing through sweatshops, but today it claims it is firmly committed to human rights. In April 2004, Reeboks footwear division became the first company to be accredited by the Fair Labor Association. In 2004, Reebok also became a founding member of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving worker conditions across the apparel industry. Supplier information, according to the Reebok website as of May 2007: Footwear Reebok uses footwear factories in 14 countries. Most factories making Reebok footwear are based in Asia-primarily China (accounting for 51% of total footwear production), Indonesia (21%), Vietnam (17%) and Thailand (7%). Production is consolidated, with 88% of Reebok footwear manfactured in 11 factories, employing over 75,000 workers. Apparel Reebok has factories in 45 countries. The process of purchasing products from suppliers is organized by region. Most (52%) of Reeboks apparel sold in the US is produced in Asia, with the rest coming from countries in the Caribbean, North America, Africa and the Middle East. Apparel sold in Europe is typically sourced from Asia and Europe. Apparel sold in the Asia Pacific region is typically produced by Asian-based manfacturers. The company holds exclusive rights to manfacture and market both authentic and replica uniform jerseys and sideline apparel of the teams of the National Football League (Gridiron) since 2002, the Canadian Football League since 2004, and is the official shoe supplier to the NFL Gridiron and Major League Baseball. In addition Reebok acquired official National Hockey League sponsor CCM in 2004, and is now manfacturing ice hockey equipment under the CCM and Reebok brands, and has signed popular young stars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to endorsement deals (Crosby for Reebok, Ovechkin for CCM). Reebok has phased out the CCM name on NHL authentic and replica jerseys in recent years, using the Reebok logo since 2005. Reebok is also endorsed by Allen Iverson, Yao Ming, Carolina Klà ¼ft, Amà ©lie Mauresmo, Nicole VaidiÃ… ¡ovà ¡, Shahar Peer, Ivy, Thierry Henry, Vince Young, Iker Casillas, Ryan Giggs, Andriy Shevchenko and Amir Khan It maintains its relationship with its origins in England through a long-term sponsorship deal with Bolton Wanderers, a Premiership football club. When the team moved to a brand new ground in the late-1990s, their new home was named the Reebok Stadium. Several other English clubs had Reebok sponsorship deals up until the purchase by Adidas, but most have since switched to either the parent brand (which has a long history in football) or another company altogether. PRODUCT RANGE Reebok has many variety of products which is as under:- Cricket teams with kits manfactured by Reebok Asia Chennai Super Kings Isasthan Royals Bangalore Royal Challengers Kolkata Knight Riders Football (soccer) clubs/leagues with kits manfactured by Reebok Europe Bolton Wanderers Aris FC KF Drenica 1. FC Kà ¶ln PFC CSKA Moscow Africa Bloemfontein Celtic AmaZulu F.C. Reebok technologies Hex Ride Play Shield Play Dry Rbk Edge Uniform System Hydro move DMX DMX10 DMX6 Griptonite The Pump DMX Foam DMX Reflex Hexalite 3D Ultralite E.R.S. (Energy Return System) TRANSFORMATION PROCESS Every organization, be it a product or service organization, transforms certain inputs into outputs. For getting the desired output, the quality of these inputs are to be monitored regularly, and also a comparion is to be made for the real output and the desired output. This all process is done in an environment of random disturbances which are unexpected and therefore sometimes not planned too. This all process is hence known as transformation process in context to operations management. Reebok adopt transformation process which creates input into output. This process creates good product of reebok. The following example shows us the transformation of reebok and it starts from learning and ends with interpretation. Reebok is main player in the market. It has its own image in the market Reebok creates good working environment for their employees Several months were taken out of the product developmentprocess, which allowedReebokto bring new and more relevant products to market much faster. FACILITY LAYOUT Whether your company is looking to incorporate new processing equipment, expand facilities or integrate a data collection system into your existing, expanded, or planned facility, reebok can help you realize the maximum benefit from your efforts. Proper Facilities Layout of reebok includes optimally locating equipment, materials, people, infrastructure and data collection points to minimize movement, handling and travel distance of the material and labor while increasing overall productivity. Reebok Facilities Layout Approach Develop and/or verify a baseline drawing Reebok and will develop and/or verify a baseline drawing of your existing facility, to include, if applicable: Production Production area drawing will show production equipment, personnel, locations and routing of primary utilities (electrical, pneumatic, vacuum, coolant, data, etc.), lighting, cranes, column locations, transportation aisles, material storage areas, docks, doors Warehouse/shipping Warehouse/shipping will show racks, columns, aisles, electrical, material handling equipment, computer workstations, data collection points, printers, inventory location and quantities Office Data infrastructure, electrical, personnel locations, solid and partition walls, common equipment (copiers, printers, etc.), Facilitate employee input meetings reebok will facilitate meetings to gain input and identify the facilities layout requirements with regard to: Product/process flow Facility / infrastructure Data transfer Equipment Inventory levels and management Develop, design and present potential new layout(s) Reebok will work to improve the process flow and efficiency based upon underlying principles of lean manfacturing and process flow efficiency. Efforts will focus on dock locations, equipment configurations, inventory management and handling practices, and expansion. The team will develop facilities layout options, showing the current operation best arranged within the facility, and offer recommendations to accommodate future growth. FACALITY LOCATION Facility location, also known as location analysis, is a branch of operations research concerning itself with mathematical modeling and solution of problems concerning optimal placement of facilities in order to minimize transportation costs, avoid placing hazardous materials near housing, outperform competitors facilities, etc Input validation assumption output PRODUCTION PLANING SYSTEM PRODUCTION PLANNING AND INVENTORY CONTROL includes the analysis of six key factors. Forecasts of future demand for both new and existing products provide information for developing production plans. In capacity planning, the firm analyzes how much of a product it must be able to produce. Location planning for goods and for low-contact services involves analyzing proposed facility sites in terms of proximity to raw materials and markets, availability of labor, and energy and transportation costs. Layout planning includes designing a facility so that customer needs are supplied for high-contact services and so as to enhance production efficiency. In quality planning, systems are developed to ensure that products meet a firms quality standards. Finally, in methods planning, specific production steps and methods for performing them are identified. The training program provides in-depth conceptual and practical skills about PRODUCTION PLANNING AND INVENTORY CONTROL Objectives of Reebok in planning It is the key concepts of Production Planning and Inventory Control. Explain the meaning of the term production or operations. Describe the four kinds of utility provided by production and explain the two classifications of operations processes. Describe the FIFO FILO concepts and processes. Identify opportunities in inventory management. Learn how to apply the tools by participating in a simulation. Explain factors in operations scheduling, operations control, materials management and the use of operations control tools. QUALITY SYSTEM First of all I m telling that why quality system needed:- How is customer satisfaction achieved? Two dimensions: Product features and Freedom from deficiencies. Product features Refers to quality of design. Examples in manfacturing industry: Performance, Reliability, Durability, Ease of use, Esthetics etc. Examples in service industry: Accuracy, Timeliness, Friendliness and courtesy, Knowledge of server etc. Freedom from deficiencies Refers to quality of conformance. Higher conformance means fewer complaints and increased customer satisfaction. Reebok take in mind all these things before designing product. It has good quality system . INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Inventoryis a list forgoodsandmaterials, or those goods and materials themselves, held available in stock by abusiness. It is also used for a list of the contents of a household and for a list for testamentarypurposes of the possessions of someone who has died. In accounting inventory is considered anasset. In business management, inventory consists of a list of goods and materials held available in stock. Inventory Management of reebok includes:- Inventory Control Must tie together the following objectives, to insure there is continity between functions: Company Strategic Goals Sales Forecasting Sales Operations Planning Production Material Planning Reebok adopt this inventory management. CONCLUSION We analyze the overall structure of the Reebok company so we conclude the it is in good position in the market. The transformation process adopted by Reebok is very good and quality of his products is very good and finally we can say the overall position of Reebok is very good. BIBLIOGRAPHY www.reebok.com www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facility_location www.invatol.com Books Stevenson Philip Kotler