Serving Customers in Global Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Serving Customers in Global Markets - Essay Example Why: Apple Inc took home repeat Brand of the Year distinctions in three categories—Tablet, Computer and Mobile Phone in 2013. Apple scored strong points for all elements of Brand Equity namely Quality, Familiarity and Purchase Consideration. In the world of tablets, Apple’s iPad series which expanded its offerings in 2012 with the iPad mini and it received the Tablet Brand of the Year award for second consecutive year. The Apple has a more than 100 products under its brand. Purpose: The reason for going into 1 Crossgates Mall Road Albany, NY 12203 is to evaluate the service levels which are offered by the staff present in the store. This is important since it affects the customer satisfaction with respect to product and pricing offered to them. Location: The location was chosen since it was reputed of being the best place to test-drive and explore Apple products. Under one place one can easily find every product of Apple including one of the most knowledgeable Apple people. Choice of Provider: The main reason for choosing Apple Inc. is that the company is world renowned for its top quality products meeting the customer expectation. Apple came out with innovative products like Tablet, iPad, iPhone etc. which revolutionized the mobile industry. Again it is known for good customer service. Expectation: My expectation is that the shop should have all the recent products released by Apple available along with good customer service support staff that should be knowledgeable at resolving my issue and a pleasant atmosphere. Segmentation- Segmentation of the market is very important as it is the key process of capturing the market share and launching the product. When a particular product is been developed by any company it need to find out which segment of customers can utilize that particular product. Apple came up with the i-phone with all the latest technologies in build in, it had kept the price of the product high and segmented it in the

Scientific Concepts and Methodologies Assignment

Scientific Concepts and Methodologies - Assignment Example The lag phase is described with minimized or no uptake of water after the previous imbibition. The water that is imbibed in the first phase is crucial to the processes of physiology that takes place in the second phase. The third phase is the radical protrusion (Vysotï ¸  sï ¸ ¡kiĭ, Kornilova & Smirnov, 2009). The effect of up taking water is the cell enlargement which is characterized by the cell division. The small root enlargement helps in weakening the walls of cells and breaks through the coat of seed. It is evident, that water plays a crucial factor in the germination phases. Water is among the main environmental factors that affect the seed germination. In some cases, water is a single factor that will limit if or not a seed is going to germinate. In the case of marigolds, a given temperature needs to break the dormancy for the marigolds to start the first stage of taking up water. The seeds of marigolds take in water in three staged, each is characterized by the amount of water absorbed and the impact it will have on the amount that is absorbed and the impact it has on the seed itself. The hypothesis if water is given to the marigold seed, the seed will germinate and later grow compared to the seed having no water was supported. From the observation, only three of the seeds without water grew. In the controlled group 8 of the 10 seeds germinated and later grew. The average growth for the controlled group was 4.37 while the average growth for the experimental group was 0.38. Therefore, given water is needed for a seed to grow. The water is important in chemical reactions since it is photosynthesis raw material. Without water no growth can take place and he plants will lack the energy to carry out chemical reactions. 9 of the planted seeds did not grow at all. 2 from the control group and 7 from the experimental group. It is no surprise that some of the marigold seeds did not germinate from the experimental

Personal Ethics Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Ethics Statement Essay My personal ethics statement includes my values and ideals important to me as an academic and in everyday life. My ethics are personal beliefs and morals that reflect and define the person I am. The decisions and choices I make every day should be consistent with integrity and respect toward others. These ethics will ensure my happiness and peace if I keep and hold these values. I believe the value of equality for people regardless of race, religion, and handicaps ensure that all people can be treated fairly. Treating people with respect and dignity while holding myself accountable to these principles will ensure that I treat others as I want to be treated. My preferred ethical lens is the reputation lens. I listen to my intuition and determine what character traits and virtues will best serve the community. The equality of a community is important to ensure a fair and balanced society for all. All people should contribute and develop a voice in a community by actively participating and finding common ground thru diversity. I believe in examining each situation in its own context rather than applying same solutions for the whole community. My blind spot possessing unrealistic role expectations either on myself or others means that I need to pay close attention to my expectations of other individuals. My expectations may not be the same as others, so not forgetting the people make mistakes same as me. Keeping in mind that I am not in control of every situation and that other people are capable of resolving problems or events that I may believe are only accomplishable by me. Trusting other people’s choices and decisions will help in overcoming this blind spot. My strengths include courage and steadiness in the face of obstacles. I avoid rash decisions and at the same time have courage to face unknown or untested waters. I value friendship and keep close connections with people I trust and value. I appreciate those who work alongside and help to encourage me. I value equality and demonstrate compassion for others in need. My weakness include; entitlement, hardness of heart, and confusion. Believing that I am entitled to special privileges and persuade others that my role gives me pecial rights are inconsistent with good character traits. Hardness of heart comes from experiences of people that did not live up to my expectations. I must develop and practice mindfulness not to be confused on the role that I am identified. Identifying my weakness is important, it allows for self-reflection and improvement. The values I hold, and the resultant behavior allows me to listen to my intuition and determine what traits and virtues will serve the community. My values define me and my behaviors are a reflection of whom I am. My behaviors also affect others in relationships either casual or professional. The choices I make are behaviors and reflect me. My personal ethics determine my course of action allowing me to see more clearly and finding balance in my life. Exploring and digging deep into my own emotions will allow me to discern decisions I make. Keeping an open and honest heart in all situations and reexamining my ethics will allow for improvement and correction. I believe that all these things will help keep me focused and grounded to help with better decision making and improve my quality of life.

What Might We Mean By Firm Performance

What Might We Mean By Firm Performance The firm performance is a complex term which may include different shadows of meaning as long as it relates to organizational performance, functioning of the firm and outcomes of its operations. Normally, the firm performance implies the organizational performance, including manufacturing of products and services, functioning of different units of the firm, performance of its employees and outcomes of their work in total. At the same time, the firm performance can be viewed in a broader context as a part of the business development of the firm. What is meant here is the fact that the business development mirrors the firms performance and allows to assess the extent to which the organizational performance is effective. At this point, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the firms performance is basically measured in terms of efficiency of the firms operations. In fact, the more effective the firms operations are completed the more positive the organizational performance is and, on the contrary, the low efficiency of firms operations and employees performance means the poor firms performance. In this respect, employees performance comprises an integral part of the firms performance because, in the contemporary business environment human resources, comprise an important marketing asset of any organization. Therefore, the efficiency of employees performance affects consistently the firms performance. Furthermore, it is important to take into consideration that the firms performance is an important indicator for investors and stakeholders. What is meant here is the fact that the firms performance indicates whether the company is worth investing or not. For instance, investors are ready to invest money in firms with the positive marketing performance, whereas poor marketing performance indicates at problems firms have in their business development. As a result, investors avoid investing money in companies with poor performance because they are uncertain in the return on investments and because of high risks accompanying such investments. What is competitive advantage, in OPERATIONAL and CONCRETE terms? The competitive advantage of a company is one of the most important factors that define the competitive position of the company in the market. In fact, the competitive position of a company means the marketing position and performance of the company compared to its major rivals. In this regard, it is necessary to pay a particular attention to the return on investments rate of the company because the higher is the return on investments and lower risks associated with investments and business development of the company, the better is the marketing position of the company. In fact, the company with the high return on investment can count for the steady improvement of its marketing and competitive position because it can take advantage of its business development and growth which occur due to the high return on investments. In addition, the competitive advantage should be unique, relevant and sustainable. At the same time, it is important to distinguish competitive position in operational and concrete terms. In this regard, the competitive advantage in operational terms implies the advantage of the company in terms of its business development, introduction of innovations, use of management strategies, organization of production process and other operations conducted by the company. The competitive advantage of the company in operational terms is defined by its ability to take a better position compared to its rival due to a better organization of the production process and other operations conducted by the company compared to its rivals. As for the competitive advantage in concrete terms, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the competitive advantage in concrete terms implies the advantage of the company in terms of the assets value of the company, costs of its facilities, fixed costs, and other fixed values of the company, along with the products and services provided by the company to its customers. In other words, the competitive advantage in concrete terms implies the advantage the company gains in quantity of products, revenues and other items which can be measured and assessed accurately. Finally, on analyzing the competitive advantage concept, it is worth mentioning the fact that companies have to maintain their competitive advantage. In other words competitive advantage should be sustainable to insure that the company keeps progressing. Otherwise, if the company fails to maintain its competitive advantage, it is doomed to failure because it cannot afford the competition for rivals will keep progressing and outpace the company that has stopped in its development. Question 3: Assess the merits of the VRIO framework when determining a firms competitive advantage? The VRIO framework allows to obtain the basic information on the competitive advantage of a firm. To put it more precisely, the VRIO framework focuses on four key items defining the competitive position of a firm, including value, rarity, imitability, and organization. The value of the company is very important for determining its competitive position. In terms of the VRIO framework, the value implies the ability of a firm to neutralize external threats and hold a better marketing and competitive position compared to its rivals. In such a way, increasing the value, a firm can improve its competitive position and take the lead in the industry. The rarity implies the control over resource in hands a few and the firm should attempt to limit the access of the rivals to the resources. Alternatively, the company may attempt to establish control over resources and, thus, get a consistent competitive advantage over its rivals, especially if they cannot get access to resources. Furthermore, imitability involves the protection of the uniqueness of products and services provided by the company to its customers and the ability of the company to protect its products and services from imitations from the part of its rivals. In this regard, the protection of intellectual property rights, the development of new, original and unique products is crucial because it provides the company with an excellent opportunity to take advantage and hold the dominant competitive position in the market. The uniqueness of products or services is crucial for the competitive position of the company. Finally, the organization is another important factor that determines the competitive position of the company and its competitive advantage. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the effective organization allows the company to optimize the production process and company-customer relationships. As a result, companies with a better organization has a competitive advantage of its rivals because its performance is better compared to its rivals due to the better organization of work and more efficient work of employees within the company.

Snap on Tools Intranet Case Study :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Case Study Snap on Tools Intranet Snap-On is one of many companies that have embraced the Internet as a tool for management. Snap-On runs its own intranet for the exclusive use of Snap-On franchises and dealers. (Senn, 1998) Snap-On’s intranet provides reams of valuable information that would be inconvenient to deliver any other way. The speed of change in today’s market has forced printed material into partial obsolescence. Before Snap-On developed its own intranet, merchandise catalogs and part listings would have to be in printed, bound matter. Anyone who has been to an auto parts store can vouch that each of those catalogs is huge, to say the least. A franchisee would have to carry several catalogs in his vehicle for reference purposes. These catalogs occupied space in the truck that could have been used for inventory, and searching through them would eat into valuable time. Additionally, Snap-On would have to reissue the catalogs or send appendices when there was a change in any of the information. With an intranet, Snap-On merely changes the information on their websites, and the new information is there when the franchisees access it. This means no more expensive mailing of h eavy catalogs and no more wasted time spent flipping through the pages of a book, trying to find the entry he wants, only to find out after fifteen agonizing minutes that the page he needs has been ripped out. (Senn, 1998) Were I a Snap-On franchisee, I would be enthused about the use of a company intranet for the delivery of sales- and product-related information. Timely information is vital to survival in business today. Snap-On’s intranet allows for speedy updates of information. This means I would not have to wait the six to eight weeks for an updated merchandise list, nor would I have to pay exorbitant sums to get the package express-mailed to me. All my questions could be answered almost immediately via research on the different pages, or through email. (Senn, 1998) Snap-On was motivated by the many benefits of the Internet to use the intranet as a tool in developing a communications link to each dealer. Franchisees in far-flung places could easily be contacted and organized. Orders and inventories can be monitored from one location, decreasing the number of personnel and middle management. This flatter organizational structure provides for clearer communication between the field and office personnel.

Employment Problems in the US Essay -- Work Corporation Job Loss Unemp

Employment Problems In The U.S. Downsizing, restructuring, rightsizing, even a term as obscure as census readjustment has been used to describe the plague that has been affecting corporate America for years and has left many of its hardest working employees without work. In the year 2001 we had nearly 1.8 million jub cuts, that’s almost three times as much as the year 2000(Matthew Benz). In the 1990's, one million managers of American corporations with salaries over $40,000 also lost their jobs. In total, Fortune 500 companies have eliminated 4.4 million positions since 1979 including the 65,000 positions cut in February of 2002 (Ellen Florian). Although this downsizing of companies can have many reasons behind it and cannot be avoided at times, there are simple measures a company can take to make the process easier on the laid-off employees and those who survive with the company. There are many reasons why a company might need to downsize. In today's corporate America, it is a plain fact that far fewer employees are necessary to maintain a successful operation. Many times, it is the case where a technological advance or breakthrough makes it possible to replace a previously human job. It is also an all-too-common scenario that outside influences such as sudden shifts in the market or changed government policies force corporate executives to make coinciding decisions regarding their staff and these external changes. The fall in interest rates and energy prices have helped companies control spending in the economic recession, but controlling these costs has taken some of the focus away from there employees and satisfying there wants and needs (Economist Vol. 362). Yet another problem facing the employment of our citizens. Another one of the major problems in today's business world are the salaries being paid to the workers. Since employers are not paying their workers high wages, the workers have little to put back into the economy. Some cities have decided to make mandated pay raises for employees who have been with firms for so many years. It would also guarantee that employees make well above poverty levels to insure that more money is being put back into the economy (Eric Roston). This causes the system to plummet and forces companies to downsize to keep from going under. Wall Street firms cut positions in order to bring the Dow Jones Security ... ...ortunities for growth and skill development. After a restructure, there are many ways an employee can grow vertically and horizontally within their company. Since so many positions are eliminated in such a process, the remaining employees sometimes need to learn new skills and adapt to handling greater amounts of work than ever before. While this may be an inconvenience at first, these skills and abilities can assist these people in future job searches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The downsizing process is a fact of life. It affects all people from managers to laid off employees and their families as well as those who remain with the company. It is something that will continue to occur with no end in sight. As long as our world market continues to grow, so too will the concept of downsizing grow. This process can lead to psychological problems, and creates anxiety and frustration for those of both ends of it. This is a problem that most likely will not have an easy solution, or at least not any time soon. It is something that we all must deal with in one way or another, and as for the victims of downsizing, the only thing they can do is try to piece their lives back together and hope for the best.

Physical Education and Academic Achievement in 10th grade Essay

Physical education in high schools in the United States of America is the one branch of academic filed which is gaining fast attention on the side of the Government policy, the schools administration. More and more emphasis-shift is being observed toward orientation of the students and their parents with regard to the importance of physical education and its connection with real life, health, and, above all, with higher academic achievement. In schools, although all grades bear importance with relation to physical education and higher academic achievement and attendance rate, it is, however, the ninth and tenth-grades where there is a turning point for the students. Therefore, it is the time for the schools administration to pay more attention toward the planning and application of the physical education in these grades. â€Å"Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health. The goal of physical education is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity† (aahperd. org) It is apt to say that the way their physical education is planned and implemented required different parameters. This is so because the demands of students are different. They need to be exposed to such physical activities which not only excite them but also create a sense of responsibility in them; the main focus of such activities should then be to prepare them for real-life situation and challenges. Read more:  Physical Education Essays The present paper examines the link between physical education in 10th-grade and higher academic achievement in secondary schools of the United States of America. It also focuses on the link between physical education and its advantages when it comes to higher attendance rate and so on. The paper also investigates the findings of some major studies conducted in the area of academic achievement and its hypothesized relationship with such other diverse areas as after-school pursuits, homework phenomena, types of activities in and out of school, cross gender and ethnicity issues. This is to give the reader a proper understanding of the major issues in the present debate of achievement in high school and particularly of the tenth-graders. Review of Literature Physical education is a â€Å"systematic instruction in sports, exercises, and hygiene given as part of a school or college program† (infoplease. com). Thus, there are certain goals to be met by implementing the physical education scenario. There have been considerable attempts in encircling the physical education curriculum in the United States of America. However, it is only recently that more and more emphasis is being laid on the importance of physical education and its link between higher academic achievement and proportionate significance of attendance rate. Since the year 1987, NASPE (the National Association for Sport and Physical Education) has been in constant pursuit in the updated information about the awareness in public of physical education in US education system. There are certain reservations that come to us in this regard. Three of them are mainly discussed in the present literature about physical education in the US educational system. These are: (1) There is no federal law, as yet, which says that physical education is to be provided to the students in the US education system; also there are not listed any incentives to offer physical education programs. 2) Although states may come up with some ground for the physical education policies, the state schools are free to work on their own in promoting, retaining, reducing the physical education portfolio in their own way. ) Another issue is that many states let go the responsibility for all content taught in schools to local school districts. (pe4life. com) The evidence is also found on other literature and net resources that plainly make it public that in the United States of America, physical education is not something prioritized. Even physical education in high school and elsewhere are â€Å"in sorry shape† and that the physical education â€Å"has been squeezed out of school by new curriculum requirements and other factors† (ducationworld. om). Apart from this, there is now word by such professionals as physicians who see that physical education is very necessary for a better future generation. More solid evidence comes form the Report to the President: Promoting Better Health for Young People through Physical Activity and Sports. In this report, Donna Shalala, Health and Human Services Secretary, and Richard Riley, Education Secretary, boldly wrote: â€Å"Our nation’s young people are, in large measure, inactive, unfit, and increasingly overweight. This report should stimulate action to make sure that daily physical activity for young people becomes the norm in our nation† (pe4life. com). Although we can see that today more and more attention is being paid to the physical education policy in US education system, there are grave critical areas that need to be addressed for a better physical education policy. For example there are trends of abating physical education time in schools because of pressure from academic side. This is very much a problem present in today’s education system. The simple fact is that more and more research findings are coming along with results that show that the old maxim â€Å"sound mind in a sound body† is aptly right. Thus it is now acknowledged that the students who are physically fit perform better on the academic side as well. In this connection we see that: â€Å"a 2002 California Department of Education study found a direct correlation between higher levels of physical fitness and higher academic test scores. According to Delaine Eastin, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, â€Å"We now have the proof we’ve been looking for: students achieve best when they are physically fit† (pe4life. com (b)). As such, a new educational approach is now being said to be coming up on the educational front of the US schools that is called ‘total mind, total body educational approach’. In addition to the above, U. S. Surgeon General Report states that â€Å"Nearly two out of three adult Americans, or 130 million of us, are overweight or obese†; as such The health problems related to our growing girths are well known – more heart diseases, diabetes and other weigh-related ailments that send 300,000 Americans to an early grave every year. In fact, if childhood obesity continues to grow at current levels, some health officials contend, this generation of youngsters may actually have a shorter lifespan than their parents – a first in history† (smc. edu). When the report gives this alerting call to the nation, it is of much relief that in the same report the U. S. surgeons also carve out some strategies to overcome the problem. Among these strategies, the most prominent place is give to the physical education for the youths in the high schools. However, this is also not wrong to state that with the advent of the recognition of physical education in high schools, specially in ninth- and tenth-grades, another debate has taken birth: Whether or not physical education grade be included in high school students’ GPA. This school of thought considers that inclusion of physical education grades in student’s GPA will boost up students’ morale and will encourage them to do better in the physical education class because â€Å"Physical education is truly a microcosm of life, and every lesson taught has the potential to translate into the â€Å"real world† and prepare students to become healthy, productive members of society† (elibrary. bigchalk. com). Whatever the arguments are, we can be certain that in today’s literature about physical activity and high schools, physical education is something that needs more and more space in schools policies so that a better tomorrow can be handed down to our future generation that is already getting more pressure from academic side. If we look at the schools curriculum regarding physical education of ninth- and tenth-grades, we find that there are no serious attempts at defining the education. For example, a school in US states only three basic goals for physical education for the ninth- and tenth-grades (benton. k12. wi. us). Another school very shortly gives only the names of the physical activities to be observed by the students (rockingham. k12. va. us). This kind of treatment is in abundance and needs serious attention on the part of the government and school administrations to bring solid measures for the improvement in this area. Physical Education and Academic Achievement in 10th-grade When it comes to physical education in high schools, we find that it is very important for people who are in grades ninth and tenth because â€Å"This is an age when students begin to impose self-judgement in terms of accepting their physical appearance and their willingness to involve themselves in positive physical activities† (teacherweb. com). According to the Physical Activity and Health (a report of the surgeon genera) there is deep linkage between physical education and academic achievement. Physical education makes it possible for a better and healthy start in life enabling students to go for challenges that are not touched upon by those who are not active through physical activity. Moreover, the report suggests that schools should create such programs that can offer students opportunities by which they can get into physical activity. At this stage, this becomes more important because that report informs that as people grow, they show more and more declination in goring for physical activity: â€Å"Physical activity declines dramatically with age during adolescence† (cdc. gov). Thus, there is stark need that students of ninth and tenth-grade must be made aware of the importance of physical education and their academic achievement. The physical education should also be given priority by the school administration so that a sound educational environment can be achieved for healthier and academically better grounds for the students of high schools. This has been found through the research that physical activities may enhance cognitive functioning of the brain. This, as a result, may explain the relationship found between the students’ involvement in physical activities and their academic success (nps. 12. va. us). There are three major findings in the literature that relate physical activity involvement and the cognitive functioning. These are: 1) There is a significantly â€Å"positive relationship between physical activity and cognitive functioning in children†; 2) â€Å"Results support possibility that participation in physical activity causes improvements in cognitive function†; 3) â€Å"Acute bouts of physical activity exert short-term positive benefits on the behavioural and cognitive functioning of youths†; ) It has also been found that â€Å"Being on a school sports team and having a positive achievement orientation were positively associated with physical activity levels† (holidaycalendar. dsr. wa). Therefore, from this very analysis it becomes pretty clear that in 10th grade (or roughly in high school), physical education plays a very important role as far as the phenomena of long, healthy life is concerned; as far as real-life active participation by the youth is concerned; and, above all, their academic achievement is concerned. However, looking at the picture more closely, we find that the present scenario in the United States of America, when it comes to physical education, academic success, link between physical education and academic success and real-life situation; there are certain challenges present to the Government. For example, â€Å"Nearly half of young people aged 12-21 are not vigorously active on a regular basis and physical activity declines dramatically with age during adolescence† (arlington. k12. va. us). And this has surely given the government a call of high alert because it is simply suggested that less physical activity on the side of the youth will give rise to ailments that will in return proportionately affect academic achievement of the students. Thus, today we can see that the United States of America is building more solid policies for coping up with the situation. In this very connection, a recent example is the President’s Challenge program, which purely focuses on bringing the people of the U.  S. to the physical activity grounds so that a healthier society for the future can be the possibility. This is â€Å"a program that encourages all Americans to make being active part of their everyday lives. No matter what your activity and fitness level, the President’s Challenge can help motivate you to improve† (presidentschallenge. org). The Presidential Challenge program is all about remaining with an active lifestyle and the program specifically focuses on how to assess the citizens in this regard. This program also introduces some rewards for the participants of the program like PALA (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (presidentschallenge. org). This simply gives us the idea that the government of the U. S. has come up with grave policies which focus on the physical fitness of the citizens for a better tomorrow and a healthy society. Physical Education and Academic Achievement Debate  There are different schools of thoughts within the research that circle around the relationship between academic achievement in students and such other phenomena as physical education, homework, social loafing, and so forth. A considerable area of research exists that especially takes into examination the students of eighth to tenth grade. For example the article After-school pursuits, ethnicity, and achievement for 8th- and 10th-grade students which is one of the remarkable piece showing the contribution of people like James B.  Schreiber , Elisha A. Chambers, Walberg, Paschal, & Weinstein, Cooper, and so on. Thus the proponents of homework suggest that â€Å"Homework has been shown to have a positive relationship with† academic achievement. And that there is also a proportionate difference between the amount of time spent on homework (After-School Pursuits). However, the other side of the pole comes up with the argument that there is not total contribution that can be related to homework alone when looking into the matter of higher academic achievement. This school of though aptly analyzes the effects of physical education on academic achievement of the students. For example, a research review by Holland and Andre in the year 1987 brought into their examination the relationship, if any, between physical education or athletic participation and academic achievement in the students. Their findings brought some more elements of debate in the intellectual circle because they found that there were sex-related differences among students as far as physical education and academic achievement is concerned. They reported that the research demonstrated that male high school athletes received somewhat higher grade point averages (GPAs) than did nonathletes. However, when one considers standardized achievement or aptitude tests, boys whose only after-school activity was sports scored lower than national averages on the Standardized achievement Test. No significant differences in GPAs or standardized tests were observed between female athletes and nonathletes† (After-School Pursuits).