Friday, September 6, 2019
The Strategic Control Process Essay Example for Free
The Strategic Control Process Essay Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Facts            Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a holding company that allows only in possessing outstanding shares of other companies to own and control a number of various companies. The core business of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is to offer insurance, which comprise of property, casualty and reinsurance services. Also, it is engaged in specialty substandard insurance policies. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is owned by the ‘world’s famous greatest stock market investor of the modern times’, Warren Edward Buffett. He is the current chairperson and the Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. According to Anthony Bianco, author of the article ‘The Warren Buffett You Dont Know’, Warren Buffet considered Berkshire as his baby. He had purchased Berkshire Hathaway that amounts to $11 million in the year 1965. The legendary investor handled his business bearing in mind the investors and managers. However, he managed the holding company the way it is suitable with him. (BIANCO, July 5, 1999)            Warren Edward Buffett is the second richest person next to Bill Gates in the whole world. He just started with a vanishing textile manufacturer and he made good use of the cash flows of his business into an enormous assortment of businesses that is stable and profitable. He invested from insurance and building equipments to clothing and furniture trading. The Insurance and finance subsidiaries are consisted of National Indemnity, GEICO Corporation and General Re, which is a mammoth reinsurance company. Other companies include See’s Candies, Dairy Queen, Clayton Homes, and Flight Safety International. And in the year 2006, the Business wire which is a press release distributor, and Russell, a sportswear company, were added to the list of subsidiaries that Berkshire Hathaway bought. Furthermore, ISCAR Metalworking, a manufacturer of metal cutting tools which was based in Israel was the primary foreign-based company that has been part of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc.            Warren Buffett possesses the 38 percent share of stock of Berkshire Hathaway. His trusted friend, Mr. Charles Munger is the co-owner and Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc holding also big enough share of the company. However, the two principal stock holders of the Berkshire Hathaway business do not engage in a conversation that much anymore. Nevertheless, they did not argue on the matters that concerns the operation of the holding company. As a matter of fact, the two investors are engaged in different leisure pursuit, Buffett on his dedicated way of continuous developing of Berkshire and Munger on his charitable works. (BIANCO, July 5, 1999) Strategic Management Strategic management is functioned as the most advanced and modern stage of the whole management process. It assists in directing employees’ sense of direction toward the accomplishment of the company’s goal. It is the fusion of strategic planning, implementation and controlling management where strategic control is to be focused.            Strategic control organization supports the implementation of the strategic plans. This aims to identify and fix the occurrence of problems that leads away from the main goal of the company without affecting the inventiveness and ingenuity of the process.(Lecture E-Strategic Planning,) This is connected with the monitoring progress towards strategic targets of the company (What is Strategic Control?, 2001). Almost every investments made by the Berkshire Hathaway prospers like gold. With this ability of Buffett, he was entitled as the modern – day Midas, a Phrygian king in Greek mythology, who has the power to turn everything that he had touched into gold. (BIANCO, July 5, 1999) But what makes Warren Buffet the world’s famous and greatest inventor of the modern time? How did Buffet manage Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., the holding company that finances his investments in public quoted stocks and buying companies? As mentioned in page above, Mr. Buffet is the owner and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and Mr. Munger, the Vice-Chairman of the same holding company. The two managing partner of Berkshire Hathaway holding company delegate the responsibility of operating the business to the managers of every company subsidiary. Buffet and Munger left the key manager run their businesses as that is how those key managers like to operate. All the decisions regarding the functioning of the business operation is assigned to the managers. They would just turn over the excess profit that they have generated to the headquarters thus allowing them to concentrate on their responsibilities of the organizational cash flow and not with the diverse temptations. Furthermore, to gain the loyalty and commitment of the subordinates of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc., they comprehend the need to deal with the key managers specifically in the fairest manner possible. Because this is how they wanted to be treated if the situation is inverted. (BUFFET, 1996) As a matter of fact, Buffett intercept less in the operation of the business and rather oversee the whole operations from the top. He cultivated to initiate communication with the company’s executives and waited for them to report to him the things that were likely to cause trouble. He allowed his higher subordinates to directly contact him anytime they want. With that, many believed that the famous Warren Buffet is utilizing the laissez – faire management style. Laissez – faire style of leadership is where delegation of all duties and tasks is placed to the management staff while the role of the leader is just tangential. This is true in the case of how Warren Buffett manage the Berkshire Hathaway. Furthermore, less communication takes place in this type of leadership, the same with what Buffet is executing within the company. It is known that applying this type of leadership style generally leads to poor management, deficient in concentrating and sense of direction toward the main goal of the company. However, the opposite of the result is correct with what is happening in the Berkshire Hathaway management. With Laissez – faire style of leadership implemented in Buffet’s management of the holding company, professionalism and creativity in the group of employees is inculcated.            On the contrary, there is no absolute thing in the world. So the weak point of the Laissez – faire leadership type of Buffet surfaced. According also to the article of Pallavi Gogoi in his article â€Å"Buffet: Right Again?’, in 2002, General Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company which provides insurance for insurance company and the also the major subsidiary of the Berkshire Hathaway crediting for about 25 percent of the revenue of the holding company, got into intensifying reduction of profit and unfortunate operation. These losses are contributed in the desire to put policies in the competition out of business to increase the market share. The company had neglected the fact to allocate enough savings as for the compensation of the maintenance.  (GOGOI, MARCH 4, 2002)            Buffet set down the management to the Ronald Ferguson, the CEO of General Re for a long period of time. He was confident enough of General Re CEO. However, it turned out that Ferguson had ignored the early indications of weaknesses thus resulting to the misfortune losses.            Nonetheless, the business had the chance to rise again after the incident with the occurrence of the September 11 bombing tragedy. There was a sudden increase in the first – class income of the entire insurers. From that time on and for that specific reason, Warren Buffet took an active role in the operation of the reinsurance company. He had abandoned the hands – off rule in dealing with his business. (GOGOI, MARCH 4, 2002) Business Principles            Warren Buffett arranges 13 basic business principles to recognize the management approach. This is made by Mr. Buffett himself in his ‘Owner’s Manual’. (BUFFET, 1996)            The first principle is stated that even if the Berkshire Hathaway is a corporation, the managerial approach is the same with partnership with the shareholders of the holding company as owner – partners. The second principle said that a principal fraction of the company’s net worth endowed in the business is shared to majority of the directors thus both the owners and the shareholders get the advantage and disadvantage of the business operation.            With this comes the ‘long – term economic goal’ of Berkshire Hathaway of making the most of the average annual rate of gain (AARG) through progress and development. Thus, this gives the third principle. Going on the fourth regulation is the acquisition and branching out of varying businesses that could produce earning beyond average returns on capital. The fifth is providing seemed – essential earning reports of the main businesses for individual decision makings. And the sixth code is that the operation and the decision for allocation of resources are indeterminate of the result of any financial reports.            The seventh attitude is by organizing fixed – rate basis in a long period of time when borrowing loans as to be fair with the policyholders, lenders and many equity holders. Protection of the shareholder interest is considered in purchasing whole businesses and by which the eighth rule applies.            The ninth conduct is the regular inspection of the retention earning results. The tenth standard implies the issuing of common stock to the deserving businesses that in return generate the same business value. The issue of selling any company of good performance under Berkshire is the eleventh conduct thus maintaining the loyalty of the shareholders.            The assurance of being truthful with the reports given to the shareholders is the twelfth code. And lastly, the thirteenth principle that Warren Buffet organize is in the degree level of lawfully necessity conferring about the business pursuit in profitable safety. â€Å"I love running Berkshire, and if enjoying life promotes longevity, Methuselah’s record is in jeopardy. â€Å" – Warren E. Buffett, Chairman References BIANCO, A. (July 5, 1999). The Warren Buffett You Dont Know [Electronic Version], 54. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://user.chollian.net/~hwangone/notice/notice20040830.htm. BUFFET, W. (1996). â€Å"An Owner’s Manual†[Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/ownman.pdf. GOGOI, P. ( MARCH 4, 2002). Buffett: Right Again? [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_09/b3772094.htm. Lecture E-Strategic Planning [Electronic Version]. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.ee.uwa.edu.au/~ccroft/em333/lectures97/lece.pdf. What is Strategic Control? [Electronic (2001). Version]. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from http://www.2gc.co.uk/pdf/2GC-FAQP02.pdf.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Plasmid Retention and Bacteria Growth in E Coli
Plasmid Retention and Bacteria Growth in E Coli The increasing interest by the industry in recombinant protein production has caused an intensive study in this area during the last years. However, it is well known that there are a number of issues associated with the high expression of a recombinant protein. E. coli is one of the most used organisms for this purpose. In this organism, the most common and challenging problem is the formation of inclusion bodies. Probably, an incorrect folding process provokes that the recombinant protein forms those structures. When the protein forms inclusion bodies, it is insoluble and usually useless. In order to find a proper protocol for the high production of the protein S, we have assessed the expression system which use the BL21*DE3 strain as host and the pCV05 plasmid which contains the protein S sequence fused with the His tag sequence. Growth rate, plasmid loss and recombinant expression level were assessed. We obtained a reasonable production of target protein in the insoluble fraction. Further research is needed to know whether the processing of the His tag is able to make soluble the protein from the inclusion bodies as is described by other researchers. Introduction The increasing interest by the industry in recombinant protein production (RPP), due to the number of applications it can provide, has caused an intensive study in this area in order to improve its protocols. Thus, an improvement would make possible an increment in the target protein yield and the quality production as well as to establish more efficient host and plasmid for each target protein . The most common hosts utilized in RPP are bacteria because of the capacity that they have to express almost any gen and the relative facility to modify and use their plasmids in order to produce the target protein . However, it is widely known the number of problems that these hosts have when they produce a high amount of recombinant protein. Firstly, a frequent problem is the appearance of inclusion bodies which hinder a correct recovery of the target protein produced . Secondly, the host lysis event is the other common problem in RPP in bacteria. This undesirable happening in the production of recombinant proteins can be produced for several reasons. One of them is the high level synthesis of the mRNA and the target protein . Other reasons described are the accumulation of fragments of the recombinant protein because of the proteolysis . Finally, the main cause of the problems related to RPP is the accumulation of incorrectly folded intermediates of the recombinant protein. In E. coli this fact implies general stress responses . In order to find a proper protocol for the protein S (PS) production in E. coli and know more about the RPP process, we conducted an experiment testing post-induction bacteria growth, production of target protein and plasmid retention. In this experiment the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 transformed with the plasmid pCV05 was used to express the PS fused with a C-terminal His tag (6xHis). Materials and Methods The E. coli strain BL21*DE3 transformed with the plasmid pCV05 (a derivative of pET21a plasmid) was utilized to conduct the experiment. This plasmid carries in its sequence the gene of PS fused with a C-terminal extra sequence which encodes a His tag (predicted molecular weight 60 KDa). A flask with 25 mL LB (10 g L-1 tryptone, 5 g L-1 yeast extract, 5 g L-1 NaCl) supplemented with 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin was inoculated with a single colony of E. coli. Subsequently, this flask was incubated during 7 hours (25 °C). The next step was to inoculate the 2.5-L fermenter (ΑG CH-4103 Bottmingen ®), which contained 2 L LB supplemented with 0.5% (w/v) glucose and 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin, with 25 mL from the flask previously inoculated and incubated during 8 hours (25 °C). Immediately before inoculate the fermenter, a sample was taken in order to use it as a blank to measure the OD650nm of the following samples. The culture was grown at 25 °C until an OD650 nm of nearly 0.6 when it was added the inducer of recombinant protein expression (IPTG). The culture was supplemented with 100  µM IPTG. After this step, the culture was grown at 25 °C during 8 hours. The pH was controlled at 7 adding 5% (v/v) HCl and 1 M NH3, and 0.03% (v/v) final concentration of silicone antifoam was added in the fermenter due to prevent foaming during the last hours of the fermentation. During that period of 8 hours, the culture was fed and samples were taken at various times. One sample was picked just before the induction (0h) and the other samples were collected at 1h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h and 7h after the induction in order to check the bacteria growth. Besides, a pellet of bacteria was obtained from those samples collected to check the amount of target protein by a 15% SDS-PAGE gel subsequently stained with 0.2% (w/v) Coomassie Blue using the NEB Prestained Protein Marker, Broad Range (7-175 KDa) ® as a marker. In addition, BugBuster Protein Extraction Reagent ® protocol was cond ucted for additional 0h, 3h, 4h and 8h samples due to separate the insoluble and the soluble protein fractions from the bacteria and assess them by SDS-PAGE as described above. On the other hand, 0h, 3h and 7h samples were plated onto non selective nutrient agar (NA) and later replicated onto NA supplemented with 0.1 g L-1 carbenicillin in order to assess the plasmid retention of the bacteria. Results Inducer effect in Bacteria growth It was conducted a measurement of OD650 nm of the culture during the 8h-period of growth. In order to conduct that assessment, samples were collected immediately before the induction (0h) and 1h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h, 7h after the induction with IPTG. After the IPTG induction the culture grew slowly until time 3h. After that time, the growth rate was increased significantly until time 5h. However, at this time the culture presented a decrease in growth until time 7h. The growth dropped specially between time 5h and 6h (Fig. 1). Plasmid retention To assess how the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 retains the pCV05 plasmid after the IPTG induction, samples from the fermenter were collected at time 0h, 3h and 7h post-induction. Serial dilutions of these samples were plated onto non selective NA and subsequently replicated onto NA supplemented with carbenicillin. The relation between the colonies grown on NA plates and the colonies grown in NA supplemented with carbenicillin give the % of plasmid retention. The plasmid retention was hardly altered during the period of 7 hours post-induction assessed. Unexpectedly, according to the results obtained, the plasmid retention 3 hours after the induction is higher than the rate at time 0h. Regarding the time 7h, the plasmid retention percentage is much lower than in time 0h and 3h (Fig. 2). Target protein yield In order to compare the target protein yield during the growth of the culture, samples were collected immediately before the induction (0h) and different times post-induction (1h, 2h, 3h, 4h and 5h). In addition, insoluble and soluble fractions for time 0h, 3h, 4h and 8h were obtained in order to know if the target protein was correctly folded (protein in soluble fraction) or incorrectly folded (insoluble fraction). These samples were assessed in a SDS-PAGE gel. According to the SDS-PAGE profiles, although the PS::His band should be around 60 KDa, in this experiment the target band seems to be below the expected weight (Fig. 3). Regarding the total protein assessment, this band shows a gradual increase in its intensity from time 3h to time 5h post-induction. However, at time 0h, 1h, 2h after induction there was not significant production of the recombinant protein (Fig. 3a). As for the soluble and insoluble fraction samples, the SDS-PAGE analysis revealed a higher intensity of the target protein band in the insoluble fraction than in the soluble fraction of the times 8h, 4h and 3h. At those times, the intensity of the recombinant protein band for insoluble fraction samples is almost impossible to appreciate. The same occurs for the soluble and insoluble fraction samples at time 0h (Fig. 3b). Overall, according to the results of the SDS-PAGE profiles, there was a significant recombinant protein production since the time 3h after the induction with IPTG. On the other hand, it seems to be that there was not a proper target protein folding because the recombinant protein could be found in the insoluble fraction rather than in the soluble fraction. Discussion The main cause of an incorrect folding of the recombinant protein when a high yield is conducted is well known. The accumulation of misfolded protein intermediates causes considerable stress in the host cell . A wide range of different strategies have been conducted in order to solve this problem . It has been described that the use of IPTG-inducible T7 RNA polymerase system in the BL21 strain to produce high concentrations of recombinant protein usually implies a high level of post-induction stress . The solution proposed by some researchers is select mutants which have lower expression rates of the recombinant protein . Other researchers have opted for limiting the concentration of inducer used . Nowadays, the establishment of general protocols and host for the different target proteins is still a challenge. In this experiment, we have assessed the capacity of the E. coli strain BL21*DE3 to produce a high amount of PS fused with a C-terminal His tag as well as the bacteria growth during the process and the plasmid retention. According to the first part of the results, the bacteria growth rate changed during the 7 hours of fermentation. It is described that the high amount of recombinant protein in the cell causes stress response. This stress response implies that the growth rate of the culture turned into a negative rate (the number of cells in the culture decreases) . The data collected from other groups conducting the same experiment shows that this event has happened in 2 groups but the other 3 groups have a different growth pattern (Fig. 4). Technical issues may explain this incongruity between the different results obtained. Regarding the plasmid retention, the data obtained in this experiment suggest that because of the stress suffered by the cells when the recombinant protein levels are higher, the cells tend to have a lower rate of plasmid retention. An explanation may be that the bacteria with the plasmid suffer a higher stress due to the induction by the IPTG, and thus, they have less chance to survive than the bacteria which accidentally do not have the plasmid. Therefore, the bacteria suffer a selective pressure which results in a plasmid loss and it is more obvious after several hours of growth. Analyzing the data obtained by other colleagues, it is supported that there is a relation between the time after the induction and the plasmid retention rates (Table 1). As for the PS::His yield, the data shows that in the BL21*DE3 strain using pCV05 as a plasmid and with the conditions described before, this expression system needs 3 hours to start expressing the recombinant protein. After that time, it seems that the most part of the target protein is in the insoluble fraction. Regarding the total protein samples assessment, the relative amount of target protein produced by the cultures of the all groups was the same (Table 2). However, the recombinant protein is still in the insoluble fraction after the BugBuster Protein Extraction Reagent protocol. Probably, some of the proteins from the insoluble fraction were forming inclusion bodies . It is described that after the expression of the protein removing the His tag makes the recombinant protein more soluble and thus, it is possible to dissolve the inclusion bodies and recover a functional recombinant protein . Furthermore, the His tag allows an easier purification of the protein due to the affinit y of this polypeptide for metal ions . In order to confirm those statements for PS, it would be necessary to conduct purification and a proteolysis process of the His tag in order to assess whether the efficiency of this expression system is cost-effective and the amount of protein obtained is enough. The conclusion of these data is that this expression system for the PS yield could be a good and profitable system whether the His tag added finally allows to recover the recombinant protein from the inclusion bodies. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Dr Claire Vine, Dr Ian Cadby and Dr Jeff Cole for the excellent support given as well as the rest of the groups which conducted the same experiment because they have contributed to the experiment with very valuable data.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The Erg Theory Of Motivation Business Essay
The Erg Theory Of Motivation Business Essay Human Resource Management (HRM) means managing people effectively in order to achieve the goals and objectives of any organizations, small or big. More sophistically, HRM involves all management decisions and practices that directly affect or influence the people, or human resources, who work for the organization. Corporations today have increased their attention towards managing human capital effectively. The reason behind this notion is that employees enable an organization to achieve its goals and that managing human capital is critical to an organizations success. According to David A. Decenzo and S.P Robbins Human resources management is a process consisting of the acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resource. According to Barry Cushway Human resources management can be defined as a range of strategies. Processes and activities designed to support corporate objectives by integrating the need of the organization and the individual that comprise it. The goal of human resource management is to help an organization to meet strategic goals by attracting, and maintaining employees and also to manage them effectively. I.e. a HRM approach seeks to ensure a fit between the management of an organizations employees, and the overall strategic direction of the company (Miller, 1989). HRM activities The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding how to motivate your staff, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Motivation views Motivation is the acceptance to work hard in order to achieve organisational goal. This is internal state of mind which moves a worker to set himself up for the target. Motivation is a chain of process which helps an individual to identify his intensity, set towards the right direction and make efforts to get his goal. ERG Theory of Motivation Maslows needs theory is very famous but Clayton Alderfer redefined this theory to make it more applicable. This rework is called ERG Theory Of Motivation. Alderfer reshaped Marslows hierarchy of needs into three different and broader sections of need. ERG Theory Existence Relatedness Growth Existence Needs This information includes the basic necessities. Every human has some material needs. Like physical and psychological demands. These needs are attached with every individual since he is born and leaves him when he is dead. In HR these needs play a vital role in a workers life. These needs urge him to get motivated and strive to get success. Relatedness Needs Man is a social animal. He likes to be praised. Ideals are made to follow their footsteps. At work, supervisors and managers became role models. Their subordinate works hard for fame and recognition. It is also very common in co-workers. Growth Needs Like physical growth, everyone wishes to get advanced in his corporate life. In this category, a worker realises his potential and develop his skills and eventually develop himself. Implication of ERG theory Managers must realise that every worker has his own individuality. He has his own personal needs. So at the same time, workers different needs must be satisfied to get him motivated. Introduction of IKEA I choose IKEA Company for investigate and examine HR activities. As it is Scandinavian style. Most of the furniture is from Ikea flat pack Ikea consumers ready to be assembled, internationally known as the home installation approved retailers. This cost of the packaging can be reduced. IKEA has a range of 9,500 products, including furniture and accessories. Performance management IKEA evaluates its employee performance through the human resource system and one of the subsystems. In the appraisal system, customer services and sale people are evaluated in target achievement. The bonus is paid if they achieved agreed target for the job. IKEA set the performance appraisal standards are based on their strategic goals and job analysis job descriptions. Their immediate managers follow up the targets which subordinates have achieved. Based on the target achieved managers measure and indicate the performance compared with the standards and performance of other subordinates. If the target is achieved or exceed relevant person get bonus. Other employees are evaluated by work performance in their job types and contribution towards the department. IKEAs employees are aware about their job objectives and targets. Performance of them is measured by the line mangers and report during the year. End of the year company has performance review. The evaluation is made on a point scale. The results are reflected in remuneration. Superior discusses the evaluation result individually with each employee in order to seek high level of understanding. Motivational problems in IKEA It is believed that human resources function play vital role not only development but also in development and connection of all employees in the organization. The human resources function of IKEA, it is expected, enables its to develop and deliver services that target their most important assets that are the people. It is however noted that human resources makes sure that services respond to what matters most to the employee. In IKEA, the sale of Stockport branch (Cheshire) is currently suffering from fewer sales for last six months. The sales team has hired new staff but still there is no big change in sales. The staffs are not achieving their targets so this branch is suffering not from external but internal issues of staff. The main issues, which are observed in this branch, are following: Training The old staffs were not as trained as the new is. Consequently the experienced people are de motivated as they think that fresh breed is generating more profit. Ultimately they stopped working hard. Career There was no further career development in this branch. Mostly workers relied what they have achieved and were satisfied at their current positions. Therefore there wasnt any progress in job positions and bonuses. Evaluation On the above account, Human resource performance is regularly and meticulously monitored by the organization on yearly basis through employee appraisal. This is useful in that it helps to improve employees job performance by identify strength and weakness and determine how their strength can be put in to best use and how their weaknesses can be overcome. It is also acknowledge that staff appraisal also helps to find out problem. Which may be restricting employee progress and causing inefficient work practice? It is further explained that appraisal provides information for human resources planning to assist success planning and to ensure the suitability of employee or provision for particular types of employment and training. However, contrasting to the number of times staff appraisal is conducted by this organization i.e. once a year, it is suggested that employee appraisal should be a continuous process and that should not be confined to a formal review once a year as it and is done in this organization. It is that employee appraisal as part of human resources monitoring system can help workers get in to a mind-set of both introspective constructive criticism and self-recognition, and that it makes them more willing to receive feedback from appraisal. The following are some point of the good thing advantages about employee appraisal as conducted in IKEA. It provided the chance to reflect on human resources performance during period under review and when applicable point out any contribution the staff has made that the manager may not remember. It also gave the worker and the management a good starting point to objectively discuss their, performance and makes its easier for them to portray development area. Its presented an opportunity for management to help the employee see where they are not begins objectives and help them build the ability to appraisal other as well Motivation strategies and its impact The following are some of the motivation strategies applied by IKEA Company. Recruiting and Selection Employees are important to the success of the company. Therefore the importance of recruitment and selection process is essential for IKEA in order to ensure that employees are appropriately chosen. IKEA promotes equals fair and legal choosing the suitable applicants irrespective of gender, race, colour, nationality and ethnic origin. And follow to equal opportunity rules to all staff. IKEA uses on online application form. They use value-based questionnaire to decide applicants suitability. This helps to show which person is best suit. After initial screening, applicants are invited to an interview and assessment centre for the final selection processes. Applications which send direct to the company will have a review on them and verify the suitability comparing the essential company required. Recruitment team have an initial phone interview with applicants those who fit to the position, ensure applicants skills. Who are successful in the interview are invited to the next stage of interview and direct to the assessment centres. Assessment centres are most effective ways to find out if the person is good fit for the role. This gives the chance for the company to see behaviour of the applicant in realistic work base situation. IKEAs assessment centre consist number of exercises designed to access full range of skills and personal attributes required for the job. Exercises may include: Interviews Group discussions Presentations Role plays Business case studies Written exercises Psychological test Training and development According to Gray and Smeitzer (1989), when a worker joins an organization, it would be useful to train and develop the person in order to maximize his/her human resource potential. They note that due to the ever increasing competition among present day organization, companies need to have more sophisticate employees. IKEA trust providing training to supply the skills, knowledge and disposition required by individuals or groups to do their work more effectively and efficient. In this, organization, training for an employee is continuous throughout his/her working life with the organization. In fact training is used to provide new comers with skills or to raise their existing skills to necessary levels. Career development This is another method of motivation and development put in place by IKEA. The organization aims, among other things, to create work environment where employees can work effectively and efficient, to make the IKEA fit for their purpose. And to do it needs to have not only the right amount of committed workers but also those with the right kind of knowledge and skills. On that account the organization gives opportunities for career development to each staff. IKEA provides such types of service and training to their which make develop their career in that area which they are interest. Rewards For IKEA retained trained and high skilled staff is more cost effective than recruiting new staff. Thus IKEA is planning HR policies to offer a mix of financial and non-financial benefits to retain people. Rewards are the value for employees get return for work have done and gives them a job satisfaction and good working environment. IKEA offer rewards for employees to feel the true value at work. Up to 10% bonus paid for work above what is expected in employees day-to-day role. 21 days holiday Choice of company pension scheme. Increase salary of staff every year by performance. Critical evaluation of their effectiveness to meet organizational objectives To begin with the organization recognized that there will be times when an employees fails to do his or her duties for one or two reasons. Therefore the management put in place a policy called individual performance improvement and capacity policy. This procedure explains the way to be followed for performance management in situation that have something to do with capacity. Motivational performance is indicated by the sufficiency and the capability of staffs. The sufficiency of the working staff is about getting right number of staff for certain task. Capability deals with staffs having the ability, skills and knowledge to carry out the work that is required. Another factor that would help indicate human resource performance is the customer satisfaction. In Storeys opinion (1987), there are major differences in HR business strategy. He discussed these as hard and `soft versions of HRM. Of the hard version of the concept, and therefore workers problems in focus, and the effects of HRM (Human Resource Management), the business judgment based on performance criteria. However, the soft HRM (human resource management) is also a major concern of business performance with parallel interest in the results of the employees on the other side to defend, is probably (Storey cited in Guest, D. 1999). Beside the above, there are other factors which are used to indicate HR performance in IKEA. Among these are the following, cost containment, organization, effectiveness, social responsibility and integrity. Meanwhile, stone R(2005) describe cost containment as focusing on cost reduction through reduce unnecessary expenses, improve productivity, reduce absenteeism, and how labour turnover from own organization. He maintains that organizational effectiveness can be realized by focusing on organizational structure, job design, employee innovation, acceptable to change, employee motivation, and flexible reward system and employee relation. On social responsibility ,he notes that by focusing on legal compliance and improvement in area such healthy and safety in working place, equal opportunities, provide accurate information about product and minority opportunities and development, an organization can live up to their expectation. He further argues that organizations would protect their integrity by focusing on the enhancement of organizations reputation for ethical issues, fair treatment of employee, honesty in communication and honouring of agreements. On their part, Scullion and Linehem (2005) content that an organization HR performance would be indicated not only be putting in place a well formulated corporate strategy geared toward creating and sustaining competition advantage but also making sure that employees possess the potential, capability and motivation to implement organizational strategies efficiently and effectively. Conclusion The success of the operation of the any organization depends upon its effective human resource management. In this assignment, the author is able to investigate the contribution of human resource management to achieve the organizational goals. Human Resource planning and development methods in the organization has been examined and finally the ways of performance of organization Human management has been analysed in order to achieve the organizations goal and objective in given time frame.
The Quintessential American Woman Essay -- American Women Henry James
The Quintessential American Woman The American woman is a mystery that has yet to be solved. She is an ever-changing poem that sparks interest in those who are unaccustomed to her mysterious ways. The American women fascinated many authors, including Henry James. To express his enthrallment, James employed his literary talent to create Daisy Miller. Daisy exudes the vast depth of the entity of the American woman, which originally captured James’ attention. John Hay, a contemporary observer of American manners and mores stated of the American woman, â€Å"Her conduct is without blemish, according to the rural American standard, and she knows no other†(qtd. in Fogel 52). James’s Daisy Miller depicts the innocence of the American woman, with its accompanying crudeness. It is through Daisy Miller, and her contradictory characteristics of purity and crudeness that James presents and depicts his American woman to the world. â€Å"Pure†is defined as â€Å"chaste; virgin†in the American Heritage Dictionary (681). This describes one half of the American woman in the Jamesian perspective. Daisy Miller’s character is depicted as the epitome of pure. This purity particularly lies in Daisy’s ignorance of proper social behavior. Daniel Mark Fogel wrote in his critical analysis of Daisy Miller, â€Å"In America, women were under somewhat less rigid control than they were in England or Europe, in part because of the comparatively high degree of social mobility in the United States and the concomi...
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Genetic Engineering New Teeth :: Genetic Engineering Essays
The article I read was about some scientists that were able to grow teeth inside rats’ bodies. This project was led by Pamela C. Yelick, a scientist for Forsyth Institute, and the project was conducted in Massachusetts. Joseph P. Vacanti, a tissue engineer at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Yelick had the idea for the experiment.      Vacanti had previously worked with rats and he found that cells will naturally organize themselves into tissues and other complex structures if they are placed in the right environment. Vacanti and Yelick hypothesized that the same approach could be applied to growing teeth. Previous research had identified the stem cells that make dentin, but no one had been able to use the stem cells that make tooth enamel prior to this experiment. The teeth were formed – inside the bellies of rats – using stem cells from pigs. Yelick obtained the cells from discarded pig jaws at a meat packing plant. The scientists removed a molar that had not yet erupted from the pig jaw to use for the project. They ground the molar into small pieces and treated it with enzymes to break it down into small patches of cells. The cells were then placed into a scaffold and implanted into the rats. The scientists placed the scaffolds in the blood-rich tissue near the rats’ intestines. This area provided the nutrients that the cells needed to grow. The rats used in the experiment had weakened immune systems that would not reject the foreign tissue. At that point, the researchers could only wait for the teeth to grow. As an added precaution, the rats were placed in a special clean room behind locked doors. The researchers would periodically x-ray the rats to see if anything had grown, but it was not until after several months that they actually found encouraging splotches inside the rats. This article showed that we can use stem cells to create tooth enamel that we can use for new teeth and other dental needs in the future. Before this project, the idea of creating teeth using stem cells was only a thought. In class we talked about the creation of human organs inside of animals, cloning animals, and cloning humans, but we had not mentioned â€Å"cloning†teeth. Cloning humans brought up many ethical issues, but I do not think â€Å"cloning†teeth would pose any problems. The information in this article seems biased. The Boston Globe is definitely not a scientific journal.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Nontariff barries Essay
In the Xia case, if the WTO were to rule in favor of Brazil, which of the WTO trade agreements would contain the justification and why? Answer: Brazil banned imports of Xia goods from China because there was allegations and unconfirmed speculation pertaining to China’s use of hazardous materials (for example, lead paint and potentially carcinogenic plastic and rubbers) to manufacture toys cheaply, which sparked consumer panic around the globe. The imports of Xia goods were banned until the test was performed to guarantee that these goods do not possess any health risk. The Chinese government completely refuted this claim and fearing that other country might follow the similar pattern, took the matter before WTO for resolution. If WTO were to rule in favor of Brazil, it would justify it on the basis of â€Å"Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT)†. This agreement is intended that technical regulations, standards and procedures of conformity assessment do not unnecessarily international trade barriers, while recognizing the right of Members to take regulatory measures to achieve its legitimate objectives, including: the imperatives of national security, the requirements in terms of quality, the protection of human health or safety and the life or health of animals, plant life, environmental protection and prevention practices likely to mislead. (Fliess and Schonfeld, 2011) TBT Agreement applies to: †¢Technical regulations: These are measures that establish the features of a product and the processes and production methods which compliance is mandatory. †¢Standards: These are measures approved by a recognized body that provide, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products and processes and production methods which compliance is voluntary. †¢The procedures for conformity assessment: procedures that are used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled. These measures should be applied only to extent necessary to protect human, plan or animal life and should be based on scientific principles. Since Xia goods are alleged to have some health risks, the temporary ban on its import was justified until it was provided that it is free of health hazards. 2.If the details of the Xia case were indeed presented to the WTO, explain what the WTO ruling would most likely be and why. Answer: The objective of the dispute settlement mechanism is to secure a positive solution to a dispute. This is clearly to be preferred to a mutually acceptable to the parties to the dispute and consistent with the covered agreements. Failure to reach a mutually agreed solution, the first objective of the dispute settlement mechanism is usually to secure the withdrawal of the measures concerned if these are found to be inconsistent with the provisions of any of the covered agreements. Do not resort to compensation only where it is not feasible immediately suppress inconsistent with a covered agreement and as a temporary measure pending the withdrawal. The last resort which this Understanding to the Member invoking the dispute settlement procedures is the possibility of suspending a discriminatory manner against another Member, the application of concessions or other obligations under the covered agreements provided that the DSB authorize the adoption of these measures. (Raghavan, 2000). If it is indeed proved that Xia goods are manufactured from hazardous materials, the ruling of WTO is likely to be in favor of Brazil. In such a case, WTO is likely to define an international standard for Xia’s goods to be exported to other countries. If the quality of product falls below this minimum standard, the ban on imports will be justifiable. On the other hand, if goods from China are meeting these standards, the ruling would be in favor of China and Brazil would not be able to restrict its import. 3.In the soybean case, what was the measure adopted by the Chinese government to protect soybean farmers from import surges, and what are the WTO parameters for instituting such measures? Answer: China imported 49% of Brazil’s soybean sued until July 2012. These were 17.1 million tones from 34.9 Total you bought. Thus, the South American country is located on the first exporter of oilseed Asian giant, the largest global importer of the product. (Kassai and Colitt, 2013) Brazilian soybean exports to China were being used to feed domestic cattle and poultry stocks in China. This rise in the demand for soybeans reflected the discovery by animal nutritionists that combining 1 part soybean meal with 4 parts grain, usually corn, in feed rations would sharply boost the efficiency with which livestock and poultry converted grain into animal protein. Chinese government restricted imports on soybean and argued that surge of imported soybeans and its lower cost were negatively affecting the livelihood of domestic coastal farmers who were being forced to increase the domestic price of soybean to offset crop losses from flooding. Here, the Chinese government has used â€Å"Agreement on Safeguard†to protect soybean farmers from import surges. Such measures are used when increased import of particular products seriously threatens the importing country’s domestic industry. WTO parameters for instituting such measures: a) Imports must have serious implications for domestic industry b) Measures should only be temporary c) Should not be discrimination while imposing such measures on different countries. 4. If the details of the soybean case were indeed presented to the WTO, explain what the WTO ruling would most likely be and why. Answer: The Chinese government would reduce or eliminate the quotas and other measures which until now have protected domestic production of soybeans from cheaper imports. China’s consumption of soybeans ballooned by more than 160% between 2000 and 2011 when import barriers were removed, but the area planted with soybeans declined by 20% during those same years. Chinese farmers were simply unable to compete with imported soybeans that were RMB 300 to 600 (US$45-90) cheaper per ton than domestic beans. Imported soybeans now account for three-quarters of the soybeans processed into cooking oil and feed in China, the products of soybean crushing. If China is able to prove that domestic soybean producers are not able to survive because of low cost imports from Brazil, the WTO ruling would be in favor of China and such measures would be upheld. However, if such measures were used as retaliation to Brazilian ban on Chinese toys, the WTO ruling would be in favor of Brazil and China would not be able to restrict import of Soybean from Brazil. REFERENCES Raghavan, Chakravarthi (2000). The World Trade Organization and its Dispute Settlement System. Retrieved from: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/tilting.htm Kassai Lucia, Colitt Raymond. (2013). Brazil Soy Boom Bottlenecked as China Left Waiting: Commodities. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/ Busch, Marc L. Eric Reinhardt (2003), â€Å"Developing Countries and GATT/WTO Dispute Settlement†, Journal of World Trade 37(4) Filess Barbara, Schonfeld Raymond, (2011). Using International Standards in Regulations. OECD Provides a New Tool for Governments. Retrieved from: http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/MJ_2011/perspective_mj11.html World Trade Organization. (2014). Technical barriers to trade. Retrieved from: http://www.wto.org World Trade Organization. (2014). Agreement on Safeguards. Retrieved from: http://www.wto.org
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Global Business Plan for Yankee Candle Company Essay
Yankee Candle Company began in 1969, as penniless Mike Kittredge, age 16, melted crayons to form a candle as a Christmas present for his Mom. A neighbor, mesmerized by his fabulous creation, expressed her desire to purchase one of his candles; thus Yankee Candle Company was born. Mike used his parent’s basement, kitchen, and garage to produce his scented candles. Five years later, in 1974, Mike moved production into an old paper mill located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1998 Forstmann Little & Company partnered with Yankee Candle Company and began to publicly trade on the NYSE in 1999. Mike Kittredge sold his first candle to a neighbor for $1.36, in 1969 and in 2005 Yankee Candle Company’s total sales were $601,180,000. Mike’s humble beginning in the family home has grown into a â€Å"wholesale customer network of 16,400 store locations, a growing base of Company owned and operated retail stores (390 located in 42 states),†¦ direct mail catalogs, its websi te,†¦ international distributors, and to a European wholesale network of approximately 2,200 store locations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (2006) Yankee’s passion for fragrance has become a profitable entity with visions of continued global expansion. Yankee Candle Company has branded their product as long-lasting and strong in fragrance. Yankee has developed over 150 fragrances for their various candle products. Their product line includes jars, votive, tarts, wax potpourri, pillars, tapers, and tea lights candles. Yankee’s design is innovative and their scents are pleasant, relaxing, and rejuvenating. Yankee Candle Company’s design department is visionary in developing candles to accent modern dà ©cor and fragrances that appeal to its customers. Yankee will explore and introduce aromas that are common to the Greek culture as they expand into this new market. Yankee Candle will emulate their â€Å"passion for fragrance†and provide a wide variety of choices for its new customers in Greece. The Yankee Candle Company continues to build on the passion and creativity of Mike Kittredge; driven by a mission to warm hearth and home with the fragrances of life through excellence, innovation, and passion. Yankee has been dedicated to excellence throughout their 37 year history. A company spokesperson attributes their success to, â€Å"our vertically integrated business model, which enables us to control most every aspect of our business, from product development to manufacturing to distribution to marketing and sales. This structure allows us to consistently provide high quality and innovative products†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (2006) Yankee’s innovation is evident in their candles and accessory designs, which acclimate too various dà ©cor preferences and the expanding variety of fragrances, which appeal to its customers. Yankee Candle Company is driven by an intense passion to spread the fragrances of life around the world for all to enjoy. The product expansion into the Greek marketplace is another step towards reaching their objectives. Yankee Candle Company will expand its fragrances to blend in with the cultures of new markets. Yankee will continue to develop partnerships with established Company owned retail stores as venues for their products to be sold. The candle company has already established Yankee Candle  ® Europe with a 30,000 square foot distribution center in Bristol, England that provides Yankee products for approximately 2,200 stores. This distribution center will be used to export Yankee products to be sold by retail stores in Greece. The Yankee Company has decided to expand their markets and head out to the Country of Greece. We will be exporting our candle line product from the United States to Greece. The product expansion into the Greek marketplace is another step towards reaching their objectives. Yankee Candle Company will expand its fragrances to blend in with the cultures of new markets. Yankee will continue to develop partnerships with established Company owned retail stores as venues for their products to be sold. As Yankee Candle expands into new regions of the world, distribution centers will be built to service their wholesale store network. Where trade barriers, economical and political policies will allow. When expanding into new countries, Yankee Candle will establish an online shopping website to market and sell their products. Since 1994, the United States is part of the NAFTA organization between three countries. â€Å"The North American Free Trade Agreement, known usually as NAFTA, is a free trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA went into effect on January 1, 1994. NAFTA is also used to refer to the tripartite trading bloc of North American countries.†www.wikipedia.org. Since the inception of the Eurpeon Union in 1957 six countries were a part of this union. Nineteen further states have joined in and creasted a successful union. Greece joined the EU January, 1981. The exchange and repatriation of funds risks the Euro’s exchange rate against the dollar, remains unstable. The low interest rates, increased competition in the banking industry, and continued growth in commercial bank lending; to raise bad debt and strong growth in consumer borrowing. Economic growth is forecast to slow in 2006 and 2007. The consumer price inflation slowed dramatically in Greece before its entry into pre-economic and monetary union (EMU) in January 2001 and was helped by other temporary measures. The economy of the United States is stable made up of natural resource, labor and manufacturing, and investments. The United States†has the largest and one of the most technologically advanced national economies in the world, with a GDP of 13.049 trillion dollars.†www.wikipedia.org. Consumers and producers have some decision-making that form the economy, but the government also has a powerful role on the effects of the economy. The economy of Greece â€Å"is growing fast after the implementation of stabilization policies in recent years. Greece remains a net importer of industrial and capital goods, foodstuffs, and petroleum. Leading exports are manufactured goods, food and beverages, petroleum products, cement, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.†www.wikipedia.org. Greece is global leader in shipping, which is the transportation of goods and cargo by land, air, or sea. Types of currency used through out the world vary from country to country and or by region. The Unites States of America official currency is the dollar, symbol: USD also known to be abbreviated by $. The US currency was adopted in 1785 by the United States Congress. The United States dollar is also known as a world currency; in 1985 $300 billion dollars were in circulation, with two thirds being out side of the Untied States. Each year the amount of U.S dollars is being circulated around the world continues to increase. In comparison to the Untied States of America, Greece uses the euro as denomination of currency type, symbol â‚ ¬. Greece is part of the European Union also knows as the EU. What I found most interesting is the European Monetary Union has ceded control of monetary policy to the European Central Bank. Versus the Untied States taking control over their own currency. â€Å"The European Union has a large economy, probably slightly larger than that of the United States of America with a 2005 GDP of 12,865,602 million vs. 11,734,300 million (USD figures) (using nominal US Dollar GDP) according to the International Monetary Fund.†www.wikipedia.org. Greece’s relations with other countries in the region have been steadily improving. Greece is working with Turkey to resolve their disagreements, mainly with regard to Cyprus. Failure to resolve the division of the island of Cyprus may increase tensions between Greece and Turkey as the latter finds its bid to join the European Union partially dependent on success, but tensions rise sharply with Turkey over the issue of Cyprus. Greece is also assisting and improving relations with the economic development of the Balkans. The Balkans is now viewed by Greece as a greater threat to security than Turkey. Also, renewed instability in the Balkans leads to unrest in Greece and trade disruption. Political corruption is considered higher in Greece than many other European Union countries. Politicians are dependent on media with strong ties to business interests. There is a politicized, anti-globalization environmental movement in Greece which is increasingly complicated in its use of th e courts and the European Union to block large projects. United States culture is very diverse but due to the level of the American culture there are many integrated but exclusive subculture within the U.S. The subcultures differentiated by status, ethnic background, residence, religion or other factors that functionally combine the group and act jointly on each subculture member. The ethnic groups are White, Black, Asian, Amerindian, Alaska native, native Hawaiian, and other Pacific islander. The various religion are Protestant, Roman, Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Baptist, and others. Lastly, the languages are English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian, Pacific island and others. Let us not forget that the government type is constitution-based federal republic but strong democratic tradition. As a result, the subcultures have their own joint set of customs, attitudes, and values. Greece is a diverse culture partial by its place at the crossroads between the East and the West and by the various occupations endured by the Greek people throughout history. The Greeks are proud of their culture which is the definition of their national and ethnic belonging. The Greeks culture is made of their traditions, religion, music, language, food and wines. Some of the traditions and superstitions vary from one island to another. Many countries differ within a range of dimensions including social structure, language, religion, and traditions to name a few. The difference has important implications on marketing strategy of the product. The most cultural difference that has an impact would be traditions. Candle scent preference may differ from one country to another. The company may encounter resistance to some of its different scents or wax. The organization must careful research Greece cultural norms and understanding the difference between US and Greece. Cross-Cultural training (literacy) would be needed to make sure the company advertising or marketing strategy does not offend anyone in the other country. The candles should be affordable due to the unemployment rate within Greece; however the organization must make a profit consider the cost to export the candles within that country. Yankee Candle is aware of the culture difference between the US and Greece, therefore staffing would be important to the organization. The organization would provide their US employees with language and cultural training. Yankee understands that one of their vendors Berlitz has experience and knowledge in cross cultural and language training that would help assist the expatriates. Berlitz offers a variety of programs and has been in the business for 128 years, more than 450 centers in over 60 countries. Berlitz offers online, adult, children and teen programs for cultural and language training including one-on-one sessions. The cultural and language training would be for the family as well. The cultural training would be for two days and 100 hours for language training, however if more hours are needed for language the company would approve this cost. The employees that are going on the international assignment would have other benefits including when they are expatriating back in to the US. However, the expatriates will receive just a  ½ day of cultural training and language will not be necessary. The US dollar is not equal to the same amount in most other countries. Hence, the company would pay an additional allowance to cover the difference. The cost of living may be higher in the other countries, as a result a housing allowance is provided to the employee. The company does consider the cost living in the US and then compare that cost to living in Greece. The education in Greece is not the same for US citizens. As a result, to the language barrier and cultural it may be very difficult for the employee’s children to attend the local school in the host country for that reason private schools or boarding school may be required. Consequently the company is aware of this and therefore would provide tuition allowance. Due to the cultural and language difference there are going to be diversity issues, so human resource has provided an open door policy. The open door policy would allow employees to express him or she concerns and human resource will try to provide a solution to the problem, if possible. Supply chain management is an important role for the success of Yankee Candle Company to sell scented candles in Greece. Supply chain is most effective for optimal resource use, minimum total cost, and maximum value to the customer. Decisions with in supply chain are to buy your product or make your own. Yankee Candle Company already produces its own scented candles and will be the same for candles being shipped overseas. The production will be manufactured in the Company’s 294,000 square foot facility in Whately, Massachusetts. As a manufacturer, the Company is able to closely monitor product quality and control production costs, which ensures high quality products and maintains affordable pricing. Information has been gathered from the Greece from the candle business industry. This data will assist in forecasting how much product is needed for a three months supply to meet the supply and demand in Greece. Lead time for the initiation of Yankee Candle Company to enter the Greece market is 10 months. In turn this will give enough time to meet the three month stock supply. The information gathered from the Greece candle market will support the types of scented candles that will be produced to ship overseas. Lead time for the shipment to arrive at the distribution warehouse is three month’s; the life span of a candle is three years. Placing our product will be near or around the largest cities and ports in Greece. The largest and most important city in Greece is Athens, the capital with population based in 1991 of 748,110. The largest port in Greece is Thessalonà ki, with a population of 377,951. Also another large port is located on the North part of the Peloponnesus, is a major seaport, with 155,180 inhabitants. Other sizable cities include Là ¡risa (113,426), Irà ¡klion (117,167), and Và ³los (76,463). The ports and its population are important factors in knowing were to place the Yankee Candle Stores. These would be in areas in the region that have the most population and are easily accessible to Tourist from vacation boats that may doc on these ports. Promoting Yankee Candle Company in Greece would be similar as it is currently in the Untied States. Through its retail stores the Yankee Candle company would open in Greece, direct mail catalogs. To include a large market Yankee candle will also promote is U.S product through television commercials newspapers, bill board singes through out the larger cities of Greece, and through its own web page http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/retail.jsp. Promotion for this product will be introduced to all who wants to have special fragrances in their homes. Business will also be targeted to have fresh new fragrances for their offices. Candles are an excellent gift for all ages and for any special occasion. The middle class in Greece is the main target market Yankee Candle Company is promoting the scented U.S candle product. In 2005 the labor force in Greece was at 4.72 million compared to unemployment rate of 10.8% figures from www.cia.gov. These figures give Yankee Candle Company the green light to proceed with international distribution into the Greece market. Pricing the candles will be 30% above the sale price of a U.S product. This will ensure the costs of having a U.S product of seas. Yankee Candle’s has successfully developed and market new products and earn enormous returns. We have success springs for the fact that it has a vertically integrated business model, with the in-house expertise required to design, develop, manufacture, distribute and sell our candle products. Our vertically integrated business model acts as a powerful platform to support our product innovation initiatives. This business model included strong research and development activities, an experienced employee team, and a basis skill in test marketing our products. We collected these resources to research consumer interests and home decor buying trends, and then to create original candle designs, fragrances, accessories, gift sets, home fragrance merchandise, and personal care items that align with our findings. We then release this merchandise into our distribution channels in a way that permits us to seek and track consumer feedback. This process positions us to fine-tune our new pro ducts from performance, to packaging, to labeling, to pricing helping to maximize the potential for each item we develop to have a successful launch and widespread acceptance. Together, these efforts helped to drive sales, attract new customers and extend the appeal of the Yankee Candle brand. Once exporting was chosen as the mode of entry, Yankee Candle secured assistance from a company called, Export Trade of America; to learn about insurance, tariff, and tax laws involved in trading with Greece. Yankee Candle Company will face various legal challenges when exporting its candles into Greece, but the process will go much easier with the help of an export management company. Yankee will need to comply with employee laws and have knowledge about hiring, firing, and discipline regulations in Greece. They will need to be acquainted with their legal system and how those laws are enforced. Greece is a parliamentary republic with a president, who is heads the executive administration, a prime minister, who is head of the government, and a 300 seat legislature. The judicial includes a Supreme Court, regional districts, and prefectures to decide civil and criminal cases. There is a national police force as well as policing agencies from the European Union. As a member of the European Union, the EU laws supersede those of the individual member nations. Yankee Candle Company will need to be aware of the EU laws, enforcement, penalties, and necessary trade practices. The European Union could cause legal complications as the union adds new members, arbitrates disagreements among its memberships, and as competition increases in the global marketplace. There has been a longstanding relationship between Greece and the United States of America. The two countries have diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement ties. Greece and the United States, recently signed treaties â€Å"covering extradition and mutual legal assistance, which further strengthened this cooperation.†(2006) Trade between these two nations should proceed with success barring increased terrorism, war, or a terrific natural disaster that impacts the global economy. It is important for any company to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As Yankee Candle employees examines their organization they listed the following as company strengths; strong business model, long-lasting candles, well-branded product, variety of fragrances, adaptability of product to various cultures and dà ©cor, strong financial backing, increasing profitability, expanding marketplace, efficient manufacturing and distribution process, and an innovative product development. Yankee Candle Company’s weaknesses include; rising cost for manufacturing and distributions, technological skills, single manufacturing center, adapting products to various cultures and customs, and material shortages. There are several opportunities that must be pursued to maintain profitability; increase presence in the global marketplace, expanded online shopping options, adapt fragrance choices to new markets, build foreign manufacturing and distribution center, and add accessories to their product line. There are many threats to the existence of Yankee Candle Company including; competition’s pricing and product differentiation, terrorism, natural disasters, exchange rate, rising costs for manufacturing and distribution, and the products life-cycle. The external environment strengths include; reduction in trade barriers, strong European Union, technological advancements, and utilization of websites. The external weaknesses are; trade blocs, closed economic and political policies that prevent or limit imports/exports, and the affects of terrorism. External opportunities include; improving the economic levels of third world countries, utilizing the skills, resources, and expertise of various countries to lower costs and create an integrated economy, develop innovative products, and create a global network. Finally, the external threats include; terrorism, political instability, natural disasters, increased global competition, trade blocs that become fortresses against those outside their union, countries imposing regulations against outsiders who want to merger or acquire other foreign companies, conflict among existing trade bloc members, and inflation/deflation of the monitory systems. Reference: (2006, 4,12). The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. 2006 First Quarter Earnings Webcast. Retrieved 4/23/06, from SBC Yahoo Finance Web site: http://biz,yahoo.com/bw/060412/20060412005002.html?.v=1www.wikipedia.org., retreived April 24, 2006. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gr.html#EconRetrieved 5/13/06 from the World FactbookUnknown, Retrieve on April 23, 2006 fromhttp://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/gr.htmlUnknown, Retrieve on April 23, 2006 fromhttp://www.greeka.com/greece-culture.htm
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