Decisionmaking behavior of the president during a major international Essay

Decisionmaking behavior of the president during a major international or domestic crisis - Essay Example For a time, the airline industry encountered severe economic difficulties. Analysis – Reagan’s decision may be due to his strong work ethics that he developed as a result of his childhood experiences. It was marked by poverty, an alcoholic father and a long-suffering, â€Å"do-gooder† mother. Despite said hardship, Reagan maintained an optimistic outlook that often defied the reality around him. He believed of hardship and that hard work will help people improve their economic standing. When the air controllers refused to abide his bidding, he might have thought of the consequence that time was wasted and that many under privilege would grab the chance to work for the government. Specially, since the time was marked with high unemployment rate. Another thought that must be considered was that his decision was not actually his idea. It could be influenced by his advisers and staff. For one thing known about President Reagan, he is constantly in conference with his government officials. It is good though that he was firm with his decision because it manifested strength as being the leader of the U.S. During the term of President Reagan, the country was in deep recession. To describe the U.S. economy, it was marked with peaked energy prices, high inflation rate and high rate of unemployment. Reagan entered his term with clear goals to change the existing system. From liberal social policy, Reagan wanted to reduce both the size and role of government in the country.1 His domestic policy agenda was concentrated on cutting taxes, balancing the budget, withdrawing support for social welfare programs, and returning powers to state government. He believed that if these can be done by the U.S., the federal government will be able to save billions of dollars and stimulate the economy at the same time.2 He then supported the Reaganomics which was the most ambitious reform effort of the Reagan government since the New

Project Manager to develop a project plan for 4. A fund raising event Assignment

Project Manager to develop a project plan for 4. A fund raising event in Singapore for a charity organization - Assignment Example The scope of this project is to raise funds to these charity organizations. So far we have raised a total of five hundred thousand US dollars ant the estimated cost of constructing the accommodation house is one million US dollar. The money comes from grants from the governments and organizations small business and individuals (Murthy & Mohle, 2001, pp. 123-189). Moreover, public members contributes funds via reaching out to the individual members of the public either through house to house visits; soliciting in streets; an appeal made through the telephone or the media such as the Internet and newspapers; appeal letters by post; or approaching potential donors with a formal proposal. Fundraising have organized within community places. The technical requirements for this project includes expertise in building and construction , quantity surveyors, financial professional accountants who will give how these funds are going to be used. Fundraising will entail putting up a complete accommodation house with associated furniture, beddings but excluding provision of services by the mother organization. For fund-raising appeal to door-to-door assortment or lobbying within the public homes, and Street Gathering Permit ought to be attained from corresponding Police (Murthy & Mohle, 2001, pp. 123-189). A license is never required if it is a private collection that is confined to friends or relatives, appeals made through the telephone or the media such as the Internet and newspapers, appeal letters by post or approaching individual donors. There exist particular permits an individual ought to apply for the pertinent organizations in case an individual is undertaking a fund collection event within the public premises. For any assembly comprising five individuals or more within any public premise to broadcast a basis and campaign, a manager require to apply for the permit from the Singapore

Bang Olufson Marketing Analysis

Bang Olufson Marketing Analysis The aim of this report is to critically assess the marketing strategies of Bang Olufsen considering their business in United Kingdom. It comments on the B2B and B2C products in brief. The report comments on the following: The macro business environment Organisations Marketing Mix Organisations segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies. Based on the findings and observations, some recommendations are put forth at the end of the report. Company Background Bang Olufsen manufactures a highly distinctive and exclusive range of televisions, music systems, loudspeakers, telephones, and multimedia products that combine technological excellence with emotional appeal. Founded in 1925, by Peter Bang  and  Svend Olufsen in Struer, Denmark, Bang Olufsen a/s is world renowned for its distinctive range of quality audio, video and multimedia products that represent their vision: Courage to constantly question the ordinary in search of surprising, long-lasting experiences. Bang Olufsen employs over 2,550 staff members and had a turnover of DKK 4,092 million (EUR 5486 million) in the 2007/2008 financial year. (Bang Olufsen) The Macro Business Environment Most of the BO products are manufactured in Denmark. Considering the business in UK, it has to understand the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological environment in UK. Since Denmark and UK are the members of European Union (EU), there are some advantages for the organisation. Political The European Union (EU) allows the free movement of goods and services between almost 500 million consumers in 27 EU member states. Due to this, import duty is not payable on goods sourced from Denmark, being one of the EU member states. (Business Link UK) There could be changes in the VAT and service taxation policies with the formation of new government. Economic The economic crisis and recession had affected the business of BO as people and businesses are more likely to hold on to their cash and not to spend it on high priced consumer goods. Due to the fall in share prices and real estate markets, the consumers of the high end products, like BO, will be less likely to spend as earlier. Another economic factor faced by the BO is currency exchange rates. As large part of the products produced in Denmark and with the Danish Krone (DKK) pegged to Euro, devaluation of GBP to the Euro has affected sales in UK which is one of the largest markets of the company. Socio-cultural BO has adopted the philosophy of Danish Design, which is renowned for its high class design and quality. The products of this class are considered as status symbols and products of pride. Technological Competitors like Bose, Loewe who are also known for their design, quality with the high prices are coming up with new products with the same functionalities as BO with equal or slightly lower prices. Due to the advancements in the technology, components are getting cheaper which may help companies like Sony, Samsung etc. with range of products in various qualities, targeting customers spanning across price conscious segments to quality focused segments. Legal The company has to ensure the protection of the trademarks of the brand. The logos and other trademarks should be registered in UK. The company should ensure that there are no patent infringements. Environmental Develop and produce products under circumstances that comply with the demands of the standards ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Bang Olufsen as an environmentally responsible company desires to create sustainable products. The considerations involved in the operation, design, and longevity of the products must be in mutual balance with the environmental impact of production. (Environment, Bang Olufsen) The Marketing Mix The marketing mix is a combination of the Four Ps Product, Price, Place and Promotion all used to together to meet the customer needs. To create the right marketing mix, businesses have to meet the following conditions: The product has to have the right features for example, it must look good and work well. The price must be right. Consumer will need to buy in large numbers to produce a healthy profit. The goods must be in the right place at the right time. Making sure that the goods arrive when and where they are wanted is an important operation. The target group needs to be made aware of the existence and availability of the product through promotion. Successful promotion helps a firm to spread costs over a larger output (The Times 100). Product Bang Olufsen manufactures a highly distinctive and exclusive range of televisions, music systems, loudspeakers, telephones, and multimedia products that combine technological excellence with emotional appeal. Classification of Product Speciality products have unique characteristics that are important to buyers at any price. BO products are classified speciality product. BO products are made to fit in at a place where people feel at home. BO products are designed with the philosophy that they should provide: Unique experiences Relaxation Comfort and stability Uncomplicated solutions make life easy Tranquillity and longevity Consumers are ready to pay premium prices for all the above characteristics. Product Mixes, Lines and Items BO product mix comprises of several product lines such as audio, video etc. The company has a diverse product portfolio. The product range today consists of acoustic, audio, video, plasma, telecom, gift items/accessories, as well as the business areas Automotive and Enterprise. The portfolio has more than 50 individual products, many of which are designed and manufactured as per the customer desires. (The Beoworld) Product Line BO has various products in each line, e.g. their audio product line has offerings as BeoSound 8, BeoSound 5, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound 3200 etc. They all belong to the same product class high-end audio systems. (Audio, Bang Olufsen) Four Dimensions of Product Mix: The four dimensions of BOs product mix are as follows: Width: various product lines such as acoustic, audio, video, plasma, telecom etc. Depth: on an average, in each product line 6-8 items are offered Length: video line of the BO offers various dimensions of TV (e.g. BeoVision 7 comes in 3 different dimension viz., 50, 40 and 32) Consistency: all the products lines closely related in end use as all the products fall under similar set of products (i.e. high-end consumer appliances) (Adopted from Bang Olufsen) New Product Development The four product-mix dimensions permit the company to expand its business in four ways. It can add new product lines, thus widening its product mix. It can lengthen each product line. It can add more product variants to each product and deepen its product mix. Finally, a company can pursue more product-line consistency. (Kotler, 381) Line Stretching and Filling The company usually adds the items in the current product lines stretching it both-ways to some extent by adding lower as well as higher price products. It also fills the lines by releasing the products in same line with different versions e.g. a new 50 TV was launched in the video line. BO markets its products in a manner that opens up more than one product from the product portfolio. E.g. the home integration line which consists of remote controls designed to control all of the other lines in just one remote control. In addition all products carry the same type of design and thus fit together aesthetically. Product management Great design, mixed with robust technology, allows it to charge obscene sums to well-heeled consumers who want to buy originality and quality from an exclusive brand. Competing on price and product variety would be a dangerous game. The company is a pipsqueak in a consumer-electronics world dominated by giants such as Sony, Samsung, and Royal Philips Electronics. Like Apple, it brings out very few products a year. In fiscal 2007 it released just 10 new models. But unlike Apple, BO keeps its handful of products on the market for up to a decade or longer without abandoning them for new models or cutting their prices. (Jay Greene, 2007) Product Features/benefits BO products are made to fit in at a place where people feel at home. Products are also designed to be serviced and are expected to have a long life span. BO will actively support products for 10 years following its discontinuation and often longer. The design itself carries a price tag as does the exclusive image. Branding BO regards itself as the only company currently bridging the gap between design and consumer electronics. (Hansen and Nielsen, 2008) The philosophy is: creating audio concepts that combine brilliantly authentic sound quality, simple yet surprising design and a touch of magic. So that living with it becomes a special pleasure. (Bang Olufsen Design Philosophy, Beoworld, 2010) The gear should look smart, but technical performance should be outstanding. Designers and technicians work together in close collaboration from the very start of a new product. (Bang Olufsen Design Philosophy, Beoworld, 2010) After sales service Every Bang Olufsen customer is offered customised installation of products and link systems on delivery. Bang Olufsen provides the guidance and advice needed to ensure that the customer gets the full benefit of the new products from day one. (Installation, Bang Olufsen, 2010) The BO products offer performance and pleasure beyond expectations, so does the BOs International Guarantee. The Bang Olufsen product is guaranteed against all defects in workmanship and materials for three years. (International Guarantee, Bang Olufsen, 2010) Price Bang Olufsen: for those who discuss design and quality before price. (Who are Bang Olufsen customers?, Beoworld, 2010). BO follows the Image Enhancement Pricing objective because BO products are seen as lifestyle products. BO products are always highly priced as the company delivers the quality, elegance, design, status quo equivalent of the price. (Solomon et. al., 2009) (Hansen and Nielsen, 2008) Quality Bang Olufsen products are designed to be not only aesthetically pleasing but also essentially functional and easy to use. The expectations raised by a strikingly individual appearance must be completely fulfilled in terms of high quality performance in all areas when the system is switched on. Therefore, excellence in providing the consumer with the highest pleasure in both ownership and use rests on high quality as the common denominator of all activities and competence areas. (Competences, Bang Olufsen, 2010) Place Bang Olufsen products are sold by over 1.200 dealers in more than 100 countries in an extensive network of retail stores. Approximately 65% of these stores are B1-stores, which exclusively sell Bang Olufsen products. The B1 stores account for 81% of the total turnover. (About us, Bang Olufsen, 2010) (Bang Olufsen (2010) Annual Report 2009-10, p24) Bang Olufsen products sold with the premium and luxury cars such as Aston Martin, Mercedes AMG and Audi A8 to name a few. Considering the huge costs involved in the luxury yacht market, it is amazing how little customers spend on their on-board entertainment systems, and how little consideration they give to the total entertainment experience, often buying a pre-defined package; says Torben Ballegaard Sà ¸rensen, CEO, Bang Olufsen. (Ecoustics, 2005) Along with premium cars, BO also offers entertainment systems in the luxury yacht market. Promotion Pull Promotion In order to promote their products and utilize their existing distribution channels (exclusive BO stores), BO needs to address their product turnover life cycles and provide newer and improved products to their stores. In attempt to meet the customers demand for high quality, unusual design and up-to-date technology, BO needs to approach innovation and creation uniquely. This is where Idealab enters into the picture. It is BOs hope that this new, innovative approach to product design, development, production and sales will be their keys to answer this dilemma. Marketing Strategy: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Segmentation Demographic This segmentation categorises market based on age, gender, family structure, income and social class, race and ethnicity and geography. BO customers can be divided into four categories. First category is of people who are young and well qualified, who have very few commitments, have large disposable income and are eager to fulfil their dreams. The next category is of younger people who have just started a family, money is tighter and hence purchases are made only after careful consideration. The third category is of the ones who have it all, children are grown-up, despite of some possible financial obligations, the family still has surplus income and are looking for luxuries as second homes, exotic holidays or may be BO equipment. As per Jan Dalskov from Market Intelligence, most BO customers fall into this category. The last category, Grey gold, whose children have left home, have money to burn and can think of buying BO products for the sake of change or due to the external influences. (Who are Bang Olufsen customers?, Beoworld, 2007) Psychographic Unlike other mass producers of electronics, BO makes a few select products for the clearly defined few. Its therefore: broad appeal versus individual needs! (Who are Bang Olufsen customers?, Beoworld, 2007). Behavioural This segmentation slices consumers on the basis of how they act towards, feel about or use a product (Solomon, Marshall, Stuart, Barnes, Mitchell, 220-21). BO products are often seen as Life-Style products. As the slogan says, BO products are for those who discuss design and quality before price. (The history, Bang Olufsen, 2010) Targeting Differentiated Targeting BO uses a differentiated targeting strategy. It focuses on design and quality over price. As a result of this they charge premium prices to customers to recover the higher designing and production costs. Differentiation is about justifying premium prices to prefer the product over other, less differentiated products. Due to this BO products are positioned as High Price = High Quality. Positioning BO products are very elegant in design to justify the higher price. Price Design BO Sony Samsung BO products deliver best quality as compared other mass production electronics giants. As they describe It will never skip a beat. (BeoSound 2, Bang Olufsen, 2010) Price Quality BO Sony Samsung BO products are available in many of the luxurious 5-star hotels, high-end cars such as Aston Martin, Mercedes SLS AMG S-Class. As Carsten Sander (Senior Director Scandinavia and Baltic) says that people normally have to decide between taking a vacation to some exotic place abroad, renovating their homes, upgrading their car etc. or buying one or more BO products. (Hansen and Nielsen, 2008) Price Status Symbol BO Sony Samsung Discussion and Conclusion The company, BO, looks very strong at their brand position and recognition. Higher prices, elegant designs, supreme quality and collaborations with the luxury brands have placed company products in a niche market. Consumers are buying experience when buying BO products. Ownership of BO products creates a feeling of belonging to certain social class. Company is successful in keeping their brand image intact by delivering cutting-edge technology, high performing products. The company has strong and wide product mix, good length and depth of the product lines. Currently company has a generally tendency to launch 2-3 products in a year. The company can work on stretching the product line in both ways by keeping the brand image intact. Stretching the product line downwards i.e. offering the products of lower costs may affect consumers perception of High price = High quality. Entering into the lower price market will result in increase in competition from electronic giants such as Sony, Samsung etc. If company can concentrate on filling the product line i.e. more variations in existing product lines then it will give the consumer to choose the best suitable and feasible product to their needs. While working on the product designing and manufacturing, company can also invest in promotions. Focussing on top executives of the corporate firms may help the company to approach the potential customers. They can promote some free demonstrations, introductory offers to these executives who are willing to burn out some cash in order to maintain their social status. Exploring and expanding in this new segment of the market will give company the chance to reach to the potential customers. While exploring new B2C segments, company can also enter into B2B solutions by providing Audio Video solutions for the renowned conferences like Apples WWDC, Microsofts PDC etc. Similar to luxury yachts and cars, they can also reach Charter Jet manufacturers for collaboration, widening the product mix.

Virginia Woolf Essay -- essays papers

An Author’s Brush Virginia Woolf is not unlike any other truly good artist: her writing is vague, her expression can be inhibited, and much of her work is up to interpretation from the spectator. Jacob’s Room is one of her novels that can be hard to digest, but this is where the beauty of the story can be found. It is not written in the blatant style of the authors before her chose and even writers today mimic, but rather Jacob’s Room appears more like a written painting than a book. It is as if Woolf appeared tired and bored of the black and white style of writing that dominated her culture and chose to use a paintbrush to write her story. This individualistic technique is essential to how Woolf creates a portrait of Jacob, the title character of the novel. The portrait the reader gets of Jacob is entirely questionable throughout the entire story, just like any understanding of a human in life is more about opinion than fact. This is how Woolf captures life, the reader’s view of Jacob is almost completely based on interpretations from other characters. These various assessments of Jacob form together to make the collective portrait of Jacob. Woolf states that â€Å"Multiplicity becomes unity, which somehow the secret of life† (147), the secret of the novel as well. The impressions of Jacob are from many different types of characters in the book. There are random people that we don’t even get the name of, Jacob’s own mother, those that love Jacob and even those whom Jacob love. All these impressions are woven on a common thread, that all human being’s have a need to break isolation and cherish attention, love and concreteness. Jacob’s mother, Betty Flanders, sets up her portrait of Jacob as a son that she has lost. Betty Fland... ...s less a true depiction of Jacob himself, but rather the people that tried to interpret him. Jacob's Room is not finally about Jacob, but about the world that forms him. Trying to understand Jacob is task that is just as difficult as finding a place for his empty shoes, at best those who felt closest to Jacob were just observers of his life, â€Å"observer(s)...choked with observations† (75). The portrait of Jacob created from the novel is less a portrait and more like a â€Å"cavern of mystery, endowing Jacob Flanders with all sorts of qualities he had not at all† (80). Our portrait of Jacob is painted to us by Virginia Woolf about the dubiety, skepticism and wonder over true human existence and if it is at all possible to achievew it. Jacob’s own room is exactly that, something so real and physical that is at the same time departed and lifeless. Bibliography:

How to Survive the 1st Week of College

How can you survive the first week of college Do you ever find yourself anxious, nervous, and afraid of the first week of college? Well, you shouldn’t be. College is the best time you will have during your life time and shouldn’t be wasted especially the first week which is the most energetic time. To survive the first week of you college, all you need to do is have proper hygiene, quickly accommodate yourself with new friends, including peers and teachers, and lastly you should adapt yourself to your new environment. Do you like people that come to school with morning breathe, sweat, and look as if they’ve been up for five days straight?A clean person is a healthy person. Without good hygiene you will have a bad first impression. It is important for a student to take care of themselves by properly taking a refreshing bath, so that all the sweat accumulated over night can be washed away and you could feel refreshed and rejuvenated. It is also a good practice to c ome to college with your teeth brushed and your breath smelling fresh and new just like your body after a shower. This will let your peers know that you are properly cleansed and are ready to presume with the educational process.They will also like to be around you for your fresh and new smell. You should not only have proper hygiene but you should also accommodate yourself with new and reliable friends. You should not only make friends with your peers but also with teachers. This will help you to socialize and widen the amount of friends you currently have. Moreover, they will get you out of harsh and intense situations such as a quarrel or argument. Befriending teachers is very useful because they could help you to understand the work better and give you easy learning methods.College provides stress daily; therefore, could bring down your mental focus and also bring down your grades which will then affect your GPA. However, with good companions this will not happen because they wi ll brighten up your day and take away your stress. Your new friends, including peers and teachers will then be your new family during college hours. You guys will be looking out and taking care for one another. Basically, you should always make new friends during your first week of college because in the longer run you will need their help for support and encouragement.Secondly, not only should you have and show good hygiene and make new friends but you should also adapt with your new surroundings. You should learn and adapt to your surroundings as soon as possible so that you can become familiar and comfortable in your new environment. This will help you to easily maneuver your way through the structure of your college. Furthermore, knowing your surroundings is essential so you can prevent getting going astray and having to ask directions. Knowing your surrounding is a good way not to get into trouble, you do not want to find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.In short, the first week of college can be easily survived by have proper hygiene, finding and accommodate yourself with new friends, and lastly adapting yourself with your new environment. You do not want to show a bad first impression, you do need the help of new friends which include classmates and teachers, and you surely have to learn and intertwined yourself with your new surroundings so that it becomes a part of you. These steps will greatly impact your first week in college and make it more comfortable for you to overcome your anxious, nervous and scared feeling.

Pemphigus Vulgaris

Pemphigus Vulgaris Pemphigus Vulgaris is an autoimmune disorder in which there is blistering of the skin. The prefix phemphix comes from the greek work meaning â€Å"bubble†. This disorder affects the epithelial and mucous membranes. Although unlikely, certain medications can cause this disorder. These medications include: blood pressure medications and chelating agents. This autoimmune disease is especially rare and is limited to older adults to the elderly. A way that you can test for it is by performing a Nikolsky test. This test involves rubbing the patient with a cotton swab and if the skin comes off easily, it is positive. To be completely sure about the diagnosis, a skin lesion biopsy can be performed. Symptoms will most likely start with blisters in the mouth or skin. Then these blisters can turn into skin â€Å"lesions†. Lesions are when blisters start to ooze, peel off easily, or drain. The highest likely areas that will be affected are: the mouth, head, back, or stomach. Treatment for Pemphigus Vulgaris may include many different routes. Depending on the severity of the disease, you may need to be hospitalized for treatment. Possible ways to treat this disease include : intravenous solutions that include fluids, electrolytes and proteins, IV feedings in cases where the blisters are predominately on the mouth, numbing agents for the mouth, and some antibiotics may be able to work for this disease. This disease can be deadly if you don’t seek treatment. Even if you do seek treatment, the side effects of these treatments can also be very harsh. Since treatment focuses on the symptoms, this disease is still chronic with treatment. Works Cited â€Å"Pemphigus Vulgaris: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. † National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. . â€Å"Pemphigus Vulgaris: EMedicine Dermatology. † EMedicine – Medical Reference. Web. 12 Oct. 2010. .