Implementing TQM Philosophy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Implementing TQM Philosophy - Case Study Example However, this study is not meant for discussing and comparing the quality measures implementation of large and small organization. In this study, the focus will be mainly on the principles of quality management, rationale behind companies considering the implementation of total quality management, the steps of implementing TQM and the result, outcomes and benefits the company gets for implementing TQM in the system. According to Jablonski (1992) â€Å"a cooperative form of doing business that relies on the talents and capabilities of both labor and management to continually improve quality and productivity using teams† (p.21). Total Quality Management has been one of the most popular business strategies in many leading business firms across the world (Khalid, Irshad and Mahmood, 2011). The principles of quality management are used by the management as a guide towards improving organizational performance. The principles are generally derived from knowledge and experience. There are eight quality management principles which are made apparent by ISO 9000:2005. The eight principles are consumer focus, leadership, participation of people, process approach, system approach to management, constant improvement, realistic approach to decision making, reciprocally advantageous supplier relationships (ISO, 2012). Only a few companies have been able to achieve success by the implementation of TQM. International Business Machines (IBM), Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Nokia are some of the companies achieved success for implementing TQM (Yusof and Aspinwall, 2000). This study will however shed light only on TQM implementation at IBM. Therefore, it is important to present a brief synopsis of the company. IBM: A Brief Overview International Business Machines Corporation or commonly known as IBM is a US based multinational consulting and technology firm. The company was founded by Charles Ranlett Flint in the year 1911 and is currently headquartered at Armonk, New York, U.S. W ith strong business network, the company is able to serve customers across the globe. IBM manufactures and markets software, hardware and offer customers with consulting and hosting services (Chacko, 2005). In the year 2012, Fortune ranked IBM as the second largest company in terms of the number of employees and fourth largest in terms of market capitalization. The achievements of the company clearly reflect their commitment towards gaining quality excellence. According to several company personnel, quality management is considered to be the most essential task. This is principally because of the company’s intention to offer quality products to the customers and enhance their market reputation. Moreover, with increasing level of competition within the consulting and IT industry, IBM was compelled implement TQM to a certain extent. The next section of the study will elaborate on the major rationale behind the implementation of TQM at IBM. Rationale for TQM Implementation Organ izations around the globe are exploring ways to enhance their business practice and achieve competitive advantage. In order to achieve the same companies often take the assistance of technology. One of the most viable technological innovations of the previous decade was materialization of ERP solution. However, the implementation of this system is a challenge for most of the organizations. The lack of technology and societal resistance are some of the major challenges of the organizati

Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry: Nandos

Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry: Nandos Topic: How customer loyalty can be increased in the restaurant industry? The case of Nandos. Why customer loyalty is important? What Nandos is doing and how it can be better develop? Loyalty marketing, loyalty programs, how to manage it? Techniques? Benefits? Problems? Conclusion. Loyalty Marketing: Definitions Of Customer Loyalty The main change concerns in the organization of marketing activities are certainly one of the more remarkable doctrines marketing. The concept of traditional marketing put at the centre of its priorities the creation of a preference for the service, the needs and desires of consumers. The marketing approach, as observed in the theory and practice in recent years focused more on the notion of exchange and the relationship is the focus of analysis. More recent approaches of marketing focus on the customer and make the quality of the relationship the key to loyalty. Indeed, a quality relationship inhibits choice and represses the effect of preferences. Thus, the relationship with the client becomes a primary concern managerial and academic. The market-oriented generates necessary behaviours to create superior value delivered to customers (Kohli and Jaworski 1990) and place the interests of the client first (Deshpande et al. 1993) for a continue satisfaction, permanent, which undergone constant refinement. This satisfaction is no longer about the only service provided by the company, but includes elements of the relationship, such as trust and commitment. For this, we seek an ongoing relationship and oriented in the long term in the context of a relationship marketing (Dwyer, Schurr et Oh 1987, Sheth et Parvatiyar 1994) and in this context that develops loyalty policies (Dawkins and Reichheld 1990). Kyner and Jacoby (1973) define loyalty as follows: Loyalty is defined as a behavioural response bias because non-random (not spontaneous) expressed over time by an entity decision, finding one or several brands taken in an overall, according to a decision process.† In this definition, loyalty requires: A repeat purchase behaviour resulting from several background variables and complement each other; A positive attitude of consumers that must be controlled or directed. This attitude reveals a favourable perception towards the brand, service, differentiating it to the loyalty from routine behaviour. For others loyalty rooted quality and delivered on the positive gap between perceived expectations and post-purchase evaluation. For Shapiro and Varian (1999) loyalty is to the consumer when efforts to change brand, product or supplier are too large to expect a significant gain change. The authors of this school of thought attempt to explain loyalty by exit barriers that prevent a kind of free choice of the client (a client may be considered faithful to a company only because it has characteristics of geographical proximity). Another school of thought on the loyalty is that which gave birth to the management of customer relationship management (CRM) with the emergence of ideas of Life Time Value. It aims to analyze the lifetime value of its current contribution but also on the basis of its potential to better allocate the resources of the company. It is now for an analysis in terms of portfolio of clients (each client has a value for the company that can be measured by the margin gen erated). Customer loyalty can be defined as the tendency of a customer to choose one company or product/service over another for a particular need. Customer/s can be described as being brand loyal because they tend to choose a certain brand of product more often than others. Customer loyalty is evident when it is the customers who make choices and take actions. Customer may express high satisfaction levels in a survey with a product or company, but there is a big difference between satisfaction and loyalty (Kumar (2008). Loyalty is shown by the actions of the customer, who can be satisfied and still not be loyal. The satisfaction with the product is ultimately a condition for loyalty. In fact, satisfaction is necessary for loyalty but not sufficient. It is true that the satisfaction is not only based on the product and service but also the relationship with the staff. Satisfaction towards the product concerns intrinsic attributes: quality, features, design, durability, benefit. Ultimately, th e quality-price emerges as a global assessment. The service specifically covers guaranteed delivery, solving problems and handling complaints. It introduced the relational aspects of accessibility, courtesy, competence and communication. Experience has shown that the first reason why customers leave a company with whom they do business, is that they do not feel that their needs are important to the company, and vice versa for the remaining loyal to the company for a long time, they feel valued and important. This perception and feeling to be considered is the emotional bridge between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Ghaury and Cateora 2006). Companies use a series of programs as relationship marketing, Database marketing, permission marketing or customer relationship management (CRM). Loyalty has a direct effect on sales of a company, and even better on its profits. However, the increased level of loyalty stems directly from the attitude and behaviour staff to clients. Motivation staff is the most powerful vector loyalty which itself contributes to profits. Meanwhile, business processes influence largely on how the staff behave with customers. It is in the interest of the company to develop a long-term relationship with clients where both parties benefit each other. It is much less costly for the company to keep its existing customers than to seek new ones. The scale of customer loyalty has 5 types of customers starting with: Suspect: A suspect is someone who comes across the companies promotion. They are a potential suspect for the company. Prospect: If the person is interested in the promotion they become a potential prospect. Customers: A customer is someone who purchases either the product or service. Clients: Clients are those who come back to the company. Advocates: Promotes the business on the companys behalf. They are so happy about the product/service that they tell others. (http://www.learnmarketing.net/ladder.htm Accessed on 02/08/2009) Marketing And Loyalty There are many definitions of marketing applying to loyalty programs. Several of them have focused these objectives in view of the value of the customer more profitable for the company. Today, programs and loyalty cards are found everywhere on standard credit cards, restaurants, etc Loyalty programs are widespread in all sectors that deliver goods or services used. They rely on marketing databases built from information from the loyalty cards that identify the client and record information about its behaviour. Their rules often refer to the use of methods from the traditional promotional techniques, encouraging consumers to increase and sustain their purchases in order to obtain a reward. In this context, they can be distinguished from the sales promotion of their defensive focus to longer term. The objective of the promotion is offensive, and when it stops, there is nothing that prevents consumers to come back to their old habits (Ehrenberg et al. 1994). In contrast, a loyalty progr am seeks to preserve market share by locking consumers through tangible benefits deferred (promotional techniques) or intangible (individualization, privileges, etc) and acts somewhat like a permanent promotion in the long term. The effectiveness of a loyalty program thus depends on its characteristics and tangible benefits but also intangible, that is to say, the expected value of the potential relationship that is likely to generate and develop. The consumer joining a loyalty program seeks, in making their purchases at shopkeepers, obtaining dividends, gifts. The trader in investing in this program seeks to seduce and imprison the consumer. This method, better known as retention, is actually a rather simple technique by which the consumer is faced with the efforts invested in the bonus points and is losing everything in case of abandonment of the program. A loyalty program is a relationship between the customer and the merchant in which, technically, the 2 parties have benefits. I n promoting their businesses, traders undertake several actions to attract customers. For the management of immediate rewards, they offer special discount store. By managing customer loyalty program, they offer rewards delayed. In contrast to the sales promotion where earnings appear at the same time as the cost or effort, this ratio is reversed in the context of delayed rewards, since an individual must first make an effort to more or less long term for earnings in the future. Investigations on human behaviour have shown that some individuals possess a strong motivation to engage in efforts leading to the award of future earnings (Atkinson 1957, Nicholls 1989). It is this aspect that loyalty programs appropriated in the construction of systems with delayed gratification the aim of managing the length of the relationship (retention) and discrimination. (Meyer-Waarden (2002). P. 2-88). Curiously this strong motivation is akin to the quest for a reward. In other words, the effort is motivated by greed. Some experts say that consumer motivation fades over time as more becomes aware that the bonus is spaced in time, the more likely he become discouraged with the efforts required for obtaining the reward. (Meyer-Waarden (2002), P 2-89) Thus, programs must allow consumers to obtain the benefits of the program while also locking in this program. To counter this behavioural aspect, 2 types of programs are offered: proportional and landing. The first principle is to proportionately reward the best customers. The second system encourages them to consume more to reach the next threshold points providing more benefits. Thus, it offers a minimum of points to small unprofitable consumers, maximum points for customers who are very profitable, and few points to very large consumers who buy anyway. (Meyer-Waarden (2002). P. 2-89) Greed is thus increased to obtain a value of gift supported by the consumers effort. The number of points necessary for obtaining a reward is related to the amount invested in the market by the consumer. By cons, consumer choice to join or not this kind of program that demonstrates the lure of gain accessible to long-term investment requires not only money but also time. There are several types of loyalty programs. Some programs offer a specific product free after a number of agreed purchase (coffee, compact disk, etc..) Or reductions applicable on each purchase while the issuers of credit cards offer privileges such as trave l insurance and car insurance during a rental. Some cards also allow a percentage discount or return money. In practice the system of loyalty cards is simple. It is generally sufficient to consumers to use when buying the card issued or accepted by the merchant to qualify for benefits. The card companies also offer credit to their customers bonus points programs. Unlike cards issued by participating merchants, using credit cards leads automatically, no matter where it is used, the accumulation of points and can sometimes match the accumulation of these points to another program loyalty. It is important to mention the strategy department stores growing strongly consumers use their credit cards to earn double the points they would get by paying cash or get loyalty points better at the price of an interest rate up to 28.8%. More specifically, programs that offer frequent flyer points accumulated encourage consumers to use the card as often as possible when making purchases to earn poin ts available for every penny spent, which will be redeemable against products or services available through a catalogue of premium or cons of coupons or discounts available with designated partners. (Benavent. Christopher. and Lars Meyer-Waarden. 2001. Loyalty Programs: Strategies and Practices). Some loyalty card segment their customers by offering them the opportunity to pay an additional fee to join an enhanced program that offers them a better ratio spent pounds / points accumulated. The holders can be considered as incidental to their privileged relationship with the issuer of the card. From the outset, the consumer, by joining the loyalty program, provides data that feed the database of the issuing company. Subsequently, all transactions for which the loyalty card is used by the consumer are stored in this database comes to prepare a record of its habits. The program relies on both the declarative, where the consumer fills out the questionnaire affiliation, but also on buying behaviour, thanks to its history. (Frenove, A.S. Hivet, N. Joly, P and Josquin, C. 2003. Topic: The Ethics of supermarkets). The ultimate goal of these programs, in addition to customer retention is to allow traders to analyze the data collected in order to increase the value of the customers shopping cart. The Concept Of Customer Life Cycle And Types Of Loyalty The Concept Of Customer Life Cycle: One of the key concepts of customer-oriented marketing is the life cycle dynamics of the customer, based on the idea that the flows of revenues and costs vary over time as requirements change in customer / business relations, contrary to the classical analysis and static demand. The first feature of the approach is that it is done individually and not aggregated, underscoring again the importance of marketing database, made possible thanks to the performance of information technology. Another interesting aspect is that the analysis is performed dynamically. The main idea is that the opinion of a client may occur more or less intense, and we can assume that it is forming a cycle. Practically, these cycles represent changes in purchasing power, but also modes, changing preferences, the phenomena of learning and forgetting. These cycles depend on several factors: the first is age. During the aging characteristics of opinion trends, tastes and attitudes can occur. Aging is characterized by a higher loyalty, more conservative, more risk aversion. Another factor is the generation based on the assumption that successive generations have value systems and own beliefs relatively distinct from others. This generation effect partially covers the different types of experiences. This manifests itself in innovative behaviours that vary with the gap between innovation and generation. This management based on cycles of life is clear to solve three problems: acquiring the customer, maintain, expand consumption and profitability. According to Dwyer, Schurr and Oh (1987), in the sense of relationship marketing, the life cycles of the relationship between a brand, product and a consumer have three distinct phases characterized by changes over time the amount used: (1) initialization or acquisition, (2) maturation or development and (3) breaking. The beginning of the cycle is quite understandable and is in customer acquisition, with a time of discovery of the other as a potential partner. Both parties calculate the attraction of the relationship, the costs and benefits of continuing it. Marked by the process of adoption and learning, this phase is characterized by a positive rate of consumption growth, but with high costs. In a second phase, presumably the consumers level of consumption stabilizes after having fully explored the use of the service. The expectations of the relationship and its benefits are confirmed, which leads to a continuation trade and then the notion of commitment, which results in the ignorance of competitive offers. Incomes of the company increase first and then level off as costs decrease. Finally, a third cycle is where a revival / reactivation, retention or separation from the client must be considered because the contribution weakens. The decrease in sales of service may occur at any time or gradual ly, indicating a process of wear or a more brutal, reflecting the substitution phenomena. Indeed, the dissolution occurs when the unmet expectations of increased transaction costs, the weakening of the switching costs of changing needs. Both partners must make a trade off between the benefits and costs brought by the relationship to decide whether or not its continuation. Any company engaged in the marketing approach dynamic client needs to adapt its strategy according to these phases. Three types of strategies should be considered in terms of life cycles that match: The customer acquisition, The loyalty and customer retention, And the augmentation of customer loyalty which represent a real challenge. Abandonment is considered when the costs of retention are higher than income generated by the client. (Abandonment=Costs loyalty > Income generated by the client). Once the company has determined the position of the life cycle by customer segment, it becomes clearly evident that this strategy must lead to an individualized approach to lead to a balanced allocation of resources. The problem is that each individual has a different value each time t for the company, which requires segmentation based on the potential and value of customers. Types Of Loyalty Customer loyalty is the result of well-managed customer retention programs. Before developing these successful programs, its important to know there are two types of loyalty: behavioural loyalty and the emotional loyalty. Behavioural loyalty is the loyalty to a brand demonstrated by repeat sales and responses to marketing campaigns by the customer. He behaves exactly like the company wants, by purchasing good or service. Behavioural loyaltys measures include response rate to direct marketing to the customer base. Emotional loyalty is the loyalty to a brand driven by favourable perceptions, opinions and giving recommendations. The customer feels empathy and attachment to a company or brand and he is willing to recommend it around him. It is better for the company if the customer has the both types of loyalty, but when its not the case specific strategies are developed to achieve both. (Chauffey, Chadwick, Mayer, Johnston (2006)). Benefits Of Efficient Customer Loyalty Management First, a loyal customer will continue its purchases over the years. Its purchase volume should also normally increase simply by economic growth and inflation. It should accept offers for complementary products and additional (Cross-Selling and Up-Selling). In any event, transaction costs should not increase proportionately. Consequently, they will decrease as a percentage of the cost and improve profitability (Kumar (2008)). Finally, a satisfied customer refers an average of 3 customers should in the best case follow the same progression. A study by the Harvard Business School published in the journal of the same name, shows an improvement in the percentage of loyal customers by 5% per year for 5 years to double, not sales, but profits.(CRM Odyssey Inc (2003)www.crmodyssey.com Accessed on the 09/08/2009 Another benefit from customer loyalty is it creates allow to the company to protect its markets from competitors; the more the customer is satisfied, the less he will be to buy to another product or service to the competitors. Automatically barriers are created against the competitors trying to enter in the market(s) (Ghaury and Cateora (2006)). Finally the word of mouth behaviour of loyal customer increase brand awareness. Customer share their positive feelings and experiences with their friends, family or mates when they are loyal to the company or product. They still purchase to the company and recommend it to others. It means a reduction of advertising cost; the money can be used to boost the word of mouth by making strategies to reward loyal customers. Reichheld goes even further in 1996 in his book The effect of loyalty by writing: the benefits of loyal customers are increasing over time and can recruit new consumers at reduced cost by using the legal Customer faithful because it is supposed to be a good speaker for the company.† It also shows in his work as a loyal customer makes purchases more often, he tends to buy for a higher amount and is less sensitive to the variable price. He becomes a captive of the company and therefore gives a kind of barrier to entry for potential competitors. The work of the TARP (Technical Assistance Program Reseach) supports these observations. They show that winning a new customer returns four to five times more expensive than keeping a customer is already active. Jones and Sasser (Jones 1995) focused on the relationship satisfaction / loyalty and showed a sense of satisfaction may not necessarily result fidelity as a loyal customer may nevertheless want to take advantage of a promotion with another supplier, test another product or refer to another offer. By cons, they also show a sense of dissatisfaction may cause disloyalty if dissatisfaction is not taken into account by the company. These gains must obviously be taken with caution because they rely heavily on industries. There is however no doubt that customer retention can benefit a significant leverage effect on profitability. The main reasons are: lower costs for customer acquisition, the net margin updated on the life of the customer to cover these costs; reduced management costs, a loyal customer knows the business better and less prone to use his front office to make purchases (reservations) effect of recommendation; Increased revenue per customer The Cost Of Lost Customers: A defensive marketing is cheaper than an offensive marketing, which often requires a direct confrontation with the competition. The cost of keeping a customer is five times less than the cost of converting a prospect, and it can cost up to sixteen times more to achieve with the new customer, the profitability of a customer acquired. So its the rate of customer retention rate that is essential, and not the attraction. The company must carefully monitor the defection of customers and minimize the amplitude. There are four stages: Define and measure retention. This may be the reuse of the services. Know the different reasons for discontinuation, and identify those which can be remedied. Estimate the lost profit per customer lost. Calculate how much it would reduce defections. Profitability: We have already mentioned the theory of Reichheld and Sasser that a company can improve profitability by 25% to 85% by reducing its rate of defection by 5%. Thus, loyal customers are often more profitable than occasional customers. Specifically, in the service activities and the Business to Business, customers of a company tend to increase their purchase from the company as they know it and appreciate it better. A positive word of mouth: In many cases, loyal customers of a business will spontaneously promote to their surroundings, and become, through word of mouth, very effective recruiters because disinterested and credible. For all these reasons, the loyal customer service of a company is considered a real capital, called the customer capital. Retention and its challenges: This new focus puts the customer and his control in centre of our concerns. Given the incredible proliferation of professional works in the field, it seems essential to discuss strategic issues and objectives of retention, by reviewing customer orientation and loyalty policies to give a definition and a clear positioning of loyalty. The retention strategy: Loyalty, recognized as indispensable goal of any customer relationship strategy, not confined to mere promotional programs: Some rules must be respected. Rule 1: Be selective: Customers do not all contribute equally to the profitability of the company. Therefore, retention should be selectively adapting any loyalty action from an analysis of customer value. Rule 2: Propose an attractive loyalty offer and truly innovative. The loyalty offers are numerous, but not all have the same impact. The company can arbitrate according to its objectives between different options: Immediate benefits often focus on value and price (price preference ); Privileges, providing intangible benefits to customers (priority systems, assistance ); Rewards delayed in time, seeking to establish lasting relationships with customers the most profitable and likely to extend their relationship with the company. Whatever the choice of the selected offer, interest for customers is based on five attributes, determining its overall perceived value: The perceived value of any premium or net worth; Attractiveness; Accessibility through time; The freedom given to the customer in the choice of options; Simplicity of the offer. Rule 3: Anticipating the costs: The need to assess the costs in advance of any approach to loyalty is essential. Too often, a company focused on profits resulting from the proposed strategy, without taking into account the costs generated before and repeatedly. These costs may be related to both the growing number of customers affected, and ways and means of dealing with relationships with clients, sometimes completely new to the company. Rule 4: Consolidate and exploit customer information: The challenges that the company have just highlighted described the need to build its strategy of strong customer loyalty for the company. Two main lines of action are considered: †¢ The opportunity to integrate operational databases (sales / billing, marketing ) in a baseline. †¢ The interest of exploiting every opportunity to contact customers to gather information about them. This database will allow the tracking of the customer relationship over time, and identification of customer profiles profitable and unprofitable, which will determine the choice of targets to retain. Problems Linked To Customer Loyalty Difficulties In Marketing: Obtaining a good efficiency requires a good understanding of customer behaviour and causes of abandonment. One must distinguish the causes of termination which are inevitable (and often unpredictable) from other, more or less predictable and can be combated. The causes are unavoidable, for example: a change of personal or professional lifestyle, financial problems, death Preventable causes are: inadequate tariff, a history of poor service and complaints. The challenge is to build something, based on information often dispersed. In anticipation of the termination for inadequate tariff, must be able to say what was the invoice for each client if they had chosen the optimum rate? How much would he have saved? From what current difference between invoice and optimum bill is there a risk? To anticipate the claims for termination, you must classify all types of call to customer service (there are easily hundreds) and identify those that increase the probability of termination. We must also take account of differences in behaviour related to age, family status, and place of residence and recover to the extent possible this information. Difficulties In Management Retention also poses problems of management, for example the coexistence of a culture of acquisition and a culture of loyalty: In a young market, corporate culture is naturally directed towards the acquisition. This orientation manifests itself in several ways, for example, budgets are allocated primarily to sales, what is important here is the market share of sales. In these circumstances it is difficult to make a place to loyalty because it is cultural opposition on both fronts: its budget is in competition with the acquisition, because what is important here is the retention of customers and not flow of customers. Difficulties In The Organization: When the market is young, the sales should be focused on conquering, the measure of the rate of effectiveness is still difficult, and loyalty is part of the Marketing. Then improving customer knowledge, customer service records terminations, understand the causes, loyalty becomes profitable and worthy of large budgets, customer service becomes legitimate to ensure loyalty. In consumer, all sale actions are public, as far as loyalty is confidential. Loyalty is indeed a clear competitive advantage. It allows to keep or to take market share in all discretion. Confidentiality is necessary for a second reason: do not create perverse behaviour on the part of customers, who know the rules of the game could benefit for future benefits. (Jean Baptiste COUMAU and Henri WIDMER, La Jaune et la Rouge,2002) Rejection Of Customers: The approach of loyalty can lead to bias by virtue of its objectives: there is concern that the benefits accorded to consumers more loyal to the product or service concerned and not the enterprise. There is a risk of great loss of power marketing consent. Moreover, the strong competition leads to a generalization of loyalty operations that can not only cause fatigue but also a rejection of the approach by customers. The multiplicity of material resources such as loyalty cards generalized in various companies in portfolios causes both a reaction to the trivialization of operation for the customer and a loss of power to the business on target. The implementation of a loyalty operation is tricky: the company must choose carefully because the target must be loyal customers, those holders of profits. This targeting is difficult and requires the development of a database of well-informed. This base is also used to monitor quantitatively and qualitatively loyal customers. These are consider ations of costs related to these investments in information that may be a limit. (Fotso Tagne Achille Rostand, La fidelisation client http://www.ougagner.fr/fidelisation.html Accessed on the 09/09/2009) Means And Factors Influencing Loyalty Factors Influencing Loyalty If they are well structured and well implemented, customer loyalty programs cited above can bring measurable benefits to the company that would stand out positively of competition by reducing costs and in the same time increase its income. This situation is favoured by: Attracting new customers; A high retention rate of existing customers for a long period; Increasing the frequency of visits by the existing customers; Increasing expenditure on new and existing customers; Making customers in good conditions so they feel appreciated and satisfied then they promote products or services through word of mouth around them. (Memberson (2008) http://www.memberson.com/Loyalty/CustomerLoyalty.aspx Accessed on 01/08/2009) Some factors are essential to create and maintain the Customer loyalty. Showing 6 success factors that make some companies

Film Contributions of the Sixties Essay -- essays papers

Film Contributions of the Sixties Beginning roughly with the release of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb in 1964, and continuing for about the next decade, the â€Å"Sixties† era of filmmaking made many lasting impressions on the motion picture industry. Although editing and pacing styles varied greatly from Martin Scorcesse’s hyperactive pace, to Kubrick’s slow methodical pace, there were many uniform contributions made by some of the era’s seminal directors. In particular, the â€Å"Sixties† saw the return of the auteur, as people like Francis Ford Coppola and Stanley Kubrick wrote and directed their own screenplays, while Woody Allen wrote, directed and starred in his own films. Kubrick, Coppola and Allen each experimented with characterization, narrative and editing techniques. By examining the major works of these important directors, their contributions become more apparent. Dr. Strangelove (1964), an adaptation of Peter Bryant’s novel Red Alert, although still bearing the usual traits of a Kubrick film, is something of a departure for him in terms of editing and spatial strategies. The film’s run-time more or less corresponds with the fictional or represented time in the story. This direct correspondence between fictional and real time adds to the sense of temporal compression induced by the film’s insistent editing patterns. Although Dr. Strangelove employs many long takes, it contains the shortest average-shot-length of any Kubrick film. The film consists of roughly 700 shots and has a run time of 94 minutes for an average-shot-length of 8 seconds. Despite the rather short average-shot-length, Dr. Strangelove still resorts to crucial long takes to slow down the rapid momentum of the story (Falsetto, 35). Several spatial and temporal procedures are at work in Dr. Strangelove, such as the use of the long take. Conversely, the B-52 sequences, often accompanied by various versions of â€Å"When Johnny Comes Marching Home,† employ different editing patterns than the rest of the film. These edits reinforce the film’s theme of inevitability. Through editing, the B-52 sequences display a strong cinematic rhythm. The shots are generally shorter than the other sections of the film, and they significantly contribute to the film’s shorter average-shot-length, despite Kubrick’s deliberate use of long takes (Falset... ...ng shots, all three experimented with elements of characterization. Kubrick used both subjective and objective points of view quite deliberately in his films. Coppola took the Mafia, and humanized them more so than previous gangster movies, in addition to redefining what a sequel should be. Woody Allen took comedy back to its roots, and in the process, was able to created some of the most groundbreaking comedy since Charlie Chaplin. In addition, this return of the auteurs paved the way for many of today’s prominent filmmakers. Without Kubrick or Coppola, there would be no Quentin Tarantino, and without Woody Allen, there would be no Kevin Smith. Coppola, Kubrick and Allen have each made enduring films, and continued to do so well after the â€Å"Sixties† had ended. Bibliography: Falsetto, Mario. Stanley Kubrick: A Narrative and Stylistic Analysis. Greenwood Press, Westport, CT. 1994. Girgus, Sam B. The Films of Woody Allen. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1993. Johnson, Robert K. Francis Ford Coppola. Twayne Publishers, Boston, 1977. Mast, Gerald and Bruce F. Kwan. A Short History of the Movies. Allen & Bacon, Boston, 2000.

Easter Island’s End

2013-04-16 ENGL 102 Essay #1 Longer summery In the article, â€Å"Easter Island’s End† by Jared Diamond, he states that the overpopulation and overusing the natural resources can affect and destroy our environment. Easter Island can be used as a warning that cultural and environmental dangers exist due to overexploitation. Although, civilizations have vanished from the island it still has a remaining mystery and history to its untouched landscape. Easter Island was formed out of an ancient volcanic eruption; the island is only sixty-four square miles with habitable land and subtropical weather that makes the soil fertile.Easter Island is famous for its tight-lipped statues that stand across the island, which were erected by the native Rapa Nui people. These are ancient wonders of the world that are still being studied to get a full understanding of how and why these statues were created. From written history, the explorer’s first impression of the island was that it has nothing but a sand island, there were nothing left on the island except for hundreds of the Rapa Nui statues. According to Diamond, the climate and location of the Easter Island should create abundance of trees, soils and other natural resources.Many questions have arisen to Easter Island’s current existence. After many years of research, scientists and sociologists have come to a conclusion that the natural resources of the island were used by the islanders to survive their daily life, they cut down woods to transport those Rapa Nui statues and build canoes in order to find food. As time goes by, the population of Easter Island increased rapidly, and these islanders started to utilize all the natural resources abusively until the last tree was cut down.With today’s rising population around the world, we have been exhausting our limited natural resources, if we do not learn to conserve all the limited natural resources, we will have nothing left for our future generations. Longer summery reflection I was very interested in the Easter Island topic when I first saw the title of the article. I have always seen pictures of the statues on Easter Island and wanted to visit there someday. I thought this would be good information to know about, so I started to read the article â€Å"Easter Island’s End† by Jared Diamond.After I finished reading it the first time, I think I understood most of the article. But I still didn’t understand how the islanders collapsed the Easter Island. So I went on google and did some research. I found a Ted talk by Jared Diamond about how human collapsed the natural and civilization. After watching the video, it helped me a lot in understanding how human are slowly destroying our own planet, similar to what happened on Easter Island. After viewing the video, I went back to read the article again, and started to write down notes.I divided my long summery into five sections, the first section consis ting of the main idea of the article, over population and over using the natural resources lead Easter Island to an end. The second section is about the history of Easter Island, and what was on the island before it was destroyed. The third section is about the condition of Easter Island after it was destroyed. The fourth section is the conclusion of the summery, we can see that Easter Island is the miniature version of our earth, if we don’t stop over using our limited natural resources, our earth will end up like Easter Island. Shorter SummeryIn the article, â€Å"Easter Island’s End† by Jared Diamond, he states that the overpopulation and overusing the natural resources can affect and destroy our environment. Easter Island can be used as a warning that cultural and environmental dangers exist due to overexploitation of natural resources. The local inhabitants of Easter Island over-utilized the island's natural resources to the point of a complete extinction o f those very resources that were sustaining them. Easter Island can be thought of as a small scale model of the earth, and what could hypothetically happen if we do not exercise natural resource sustainability and management.Shorter summery reflection I found that writing a short summery is much harder than writing a longer summery, especially on keeping it under 100 words. At the beginning, I didn’t know how to start with the shorter summery, but I thought a good way to do it is to condense my longer summery and make it into 100 words. So I start with filtering out the least important information from the longer summery. First thing I took out was the history and introduction of Easter Island. Then I filtered out the information about the gigantic statues. Finally, I deleted the example of how they waste the natural resources.After I have the edited version of the summery, I read it again, and thought that the most important part is the author’s thesis, which is †Å"he states that the overpopulation and overusing the natural resources can affect and destroy our environment. † So I decided to keep the same sentence. In the article, the author clearly illustrate that the cause of the ending of the Easter Island is because of the islanders didn’t use their resources wisely. He wants to warn us that the Easter Island is a lesson for us and if we don’t want to end up like the islanders, we should stop abusing our limited natural resources.I expanded the information what I think I have learned from the article, and then make them into a academic form. This is how I put my shorter summery together. Critique and essay In â€Å"Easter Island’s End†, published by Discover Magazine in 1995, written by Jared Diamond, a professor of geography and physiology at UCLA, has shown us the beginning till the end of the former heaven, the Easter Island. In the article, Diamond illustrates that overpopulating and overusing natural resources will result in destroying our natural environment. Easter Island is located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.When the European explorers reached the island in 1722 they found a desolate landscape with less than 2,000 people existing there. They noticed that the islanders lived in caves and had a very limited supply of food. And they also found these gigantic statues that were carved out of stone. Those were evidence which proves that refined civilization once existed in Easter Island. Because of the unique location of the Easter Island, it has very good climate that creates abundance of natural resources. â€Å"In theory, this combination of blessings should have made Easter a miniature paradise, remote from problems that beset the rest of the world. (165) However, when explorers discovered Easter Island, it was a completely opposite of the â€Å"paradise†. It makes us wonder what happened in this Island. The first hypothesis the researchers considered was the fo rest was lost because of climate change, but evidence quickly pointed to the hypothesis that the people had gradually destroyed their own island. Researchers predicted that the trees provided wood, building material for houses and canoes, fruit to eat, fiber for clothing. Most importantly, lots of woods were used as the first resource to move the stone statues.These statues are 33 feet tall, and weighed up to 99 tons. Some of them are very far from where they were constructed in the quarries to the coastal sites where they were positioned. With the trees slowly been cutting down, rain would have eroded the soil away. Population raised rapidly over generations, people started to unmanageably use the limited natural resources on the overpopulated island. As a result the islanders turned against one another because of the shortage of food. â€Å"Gradually trees become fewer, smaller, and less important.By the time the last fruit-bearing adult palm tree was cut, palms had long since ce ased to be of economic significance. †(173)The life of paradise Easter Island has come to an end. In the article, Diamond has point out that we can consider our planet as a large version of the Easter Island. We have a potentially non-sustainable eco system. If we look at our progression over the last 300 years that we have inhabited North America, we will notice that we have removed many natural resources. Such as Trees in the Northwest, plains in the Midwest, the marshes of Florida, all of which have been devastated by humans in the past centuries.Our great grandparents did not notice the destruction, nor will I ever be able to actually notice some of it myself. We must learn from the lesson of the Easter Island and start to use our natural resources wisely. If we don’t preserve our environment by recycling, saving trees, and protecting land, we will be forced to face the same ending as the islanders. Natural resources are important and limited, if we don’t pro tect them, the nature will pay back to us and there will be nothing left for our future generation. Citation Diamond, Jared. â€Å"Easter Island's End. † Science and Society (2007): 164-74. Print.

“What Factors Contribute to Infant Mortality in Developed and Less Developed Countries?”

â€Å"What factors contribute to infant mortality in developed and less developed countries? † â€Å"Infant mortality is the number of deaths among live-born infants from birth to under age one† (Sidscenter. org, n. d. ). According to a National Vital Statistics Report in 2006, the leading causes of Infant Mortality in the U. S. were deformities, low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, maternal complications, unintentional injuries, respiratory distress of the newborn, bacterial sepsis, neonatal haemorrhage and diseases of the circulatory system (Heron, M. P. , Murphy, S. L. , Xu, J. Q. , Kochanek, K. D. , & Tejada-Vera, B. , 2006). Studies show that in less developed countries around the world some factors contributing to infant mortality are economic development, level of educational attainment, level of female educational attainment and level of expenditure on public health (Nobles, J. , Shandra, J. M. , & London, B. , 2003). In underdeveloped countries around the world, many actions need to be taken to decrease the infant mortality rate. Because of low female education about pregnancy, unlike in developed nations, women are not aware of the importance of breastfeeding in the first six months of a newborn’s life, vital antibodies are given to the child through breastfeeding. Babies in underdeveloped countries who are supplemented with tap water are at risk of infection because of contamination due to the lack of sanitation systems, this means children can die from infection, or, more commonly, dehydration from diarrhoea. In countries with malaria carrying mosquitos and other disease carrying insects, the use of insecticide sprayed sleeping nets is available, but due to low income, the cost of these nets, around five dollars, is a large percentage of many people’s gross incomes (Balbierz, A. N. n. d. ). â€Å"The goal of these nets is the protection of sleeping infants from contractile diseases† (Balbierz, A. N. n. d. ). Vaccination is another important way to prevent disease and therefore, infant mortality. UNICEF developed a network of vaccine refrigerators and trained health care workers that were strategically placed in disease stricken areas of developing countries. † (Peck, P. , 2003). Nutrition for all people as well as mothers and infants needs to be addressed in these underdeveloped nations, prenatal and postnatal care, vaccination and health promotion would all help in reducing the infant mortality rate in many countries around the orld, as well as increasing the health a nd quality for life for all the people in these countries (Peck, P. , 2003). The Academy for Educational Development, AED, is an organization that is working hard to make infant mortality rates decrease, â€Å"each day 80 newborns die in Mali, every three hours a woman in Mali dies due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth† (Academy for Educational Development [AED], 2004). The AED has created a team of 20 people; including a mid-wife, paediatrician, statistician, economist, sociologist, and educator; these people have â€Å"reviewed both local and international surveys, studies, and reports to estimate the cost of inadequate maternal and newborn health services in terms of the number of lives lost and the economic impact on their country† (AED, 2004). Two ways this team of professionals plans to address infant mortality in Mali is by the ‘Reduce’ and ‘Alive’ approaches. The ‘Reduce’ strategy will look at mothers not seeking help in time, not being able to reach health care services due to lack of transportation, and the delay of help when they do reach hospitals or clinics. The ‘Alive’ strategy will look at the cleanliness of the delivery and the cutting of the umbilical cord, the wrapping of the baby in blankets and the cleaning of the baby after delivery, and breastfeeding lessons soon after birth. Breastfeeding is one of the most important factors in this strategy, especially because of the Colostrum which is produced in the mother’s mammary glands which helps build the infants immunity. Income, education and medical care are key factors in the infant mortality rate in underdeveloped countries, as well as community influence and its social and economic wellbeing, an infant needs support from family, community and the government to ensure infant survival (Buckely, K. A. , Koontz, A. M. , & Casey, S. , 1998). Infant mortality in developed countries is declining in recent years, in Australia the Infant Mortality Rate is higher due to the deaths among Indigenous infants. The decrease in the amount of deaths is largely due to improvements in social public health conditions, immunisation, and antibiotics. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been reduced due to the education of mothers in wrapping their children tightly and placing them on their back or side when sleeping (New South Wales Department of Health, 2008). The main causes of Infant Mortality in developed countries is eformities that develop during the growth of the foetus in the womb, disorders developed due to premature births and low birth weights, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, maternal complications during pregnancy, and respiratory distress in a newborn (International Medical News Group, 2004). Unlike in underdeveloped countries, lack of education and poverty is not as much of a prevalent cause for the death of infants, developed c ountries also have less exposure to diseases, especially ones carried by insects etc. However, when we look at the highest Infant Mortality Rates around the world, and discover that they are highest in poor and underdeveloped countries, we cannot assume its causes are only present in here. For example: the Indigenous people of Australia have higher Infant deaths because they are not educated as well as caucasian citizens, their involvement in the education system is often small and their socio-economic status is often low (Richer, K. , Godfrey, J. , Partington, G. , Harslett, M. , & Harrison, B. , 1998). All around the world developed countries have ghettos or poor areas, and in these areas similar conditions could be causes of Infant Mortality like in underdeveloped nations. Infant Mortality cannot be eliminated, but it can be combated and reduced significantly worldwide. Public Health issues are highly affected by poverty, to which there is no solution. Even though poverty does make the Infant Mortality Rate a lot higher, it does not mean the mortality rate discriminates to one class of people either. Infant Mortality is found in all income levels, urban and rural areas, in all countries all over the world. In 2004, the Institute of Medicine said that â€Å"a lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary deaths per year† (James, J. S. , 2010) in the U. S. alone. This could be reduced significantly, and with volunteers and international cooperation, Infant Mortality Rates can be reduced. BIBLIOGRAPHY Academy for Educational Development. AED Advocacy Models Help Combat Infant and Maternal Mortality. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. aed. org/News/Stories/reduce-and-alive. cfm Balbierz, A. N. (n. d. ). Infant Mortality. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. cwru. du/med/epidbio/mphp439/Infant_Mortality. htm Buckely, K. A. , Koontz, A. M. , & Casey, S. (1998). Fetal and Immortality Review. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. acog. org/departments/dept_notice. cfm? recno=10&bulletin=4752 Heron, M. P. , Murphy, S. L. , Xu, J. Q. , Kochanek, K. D. , & Tejada-Vera, B. Deaths: Final data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 57(14). International Medical News Group. (2004). Top five causes for infant mortality. OB/GYN News. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0CYD/is_10_39/ai_n6078883/ James, J. S. (2010). Institute of Medicine Calls for Universal Health Insurance by 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. aidsnews. org/2004/01/IOM. html National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death & Pregnancy Loss Resource Center. Definitions. Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://www. sidscenter. org/definitions. html New South Wales Department of Health. (2008). International rankings of infant mortality. Sydney: Report of the Chief Health Officer. Nobles, J. , Shandra, J. M. , & London, B. (2003). â€Å"Dependency, Democracy, Education, and Infant Mortality: A Quantitative, Cross-National Analysis of Less Developed Countries†. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta Hilton Hotel, Atlanta, GA Online . 2009-05-26 from http://www. allacademic. com/meta/p107575_index. html Peck, P. (2003). 11 Million Forgotten Children. Retrieved March, 29, 2010, from http://www. countercurrents. org/archive02-01150703. htm Richer, K. , Godfrey, J. , Partington, G. , Harslett, M. , Harrison, B. (1998). Attitudes of Aboriginal students to further education. Retrieved March 29, 2010, from http://www. aare. edu. au/98pap/ric98095. htm

Netflix Case Solution Research Paper Example

Netflix Case Solution Research Paper Example Netflix Case Solution Paper Netflix Case Solution Paper Anthony Morand Master in Business Management 1 – How is the online movie rental business changing? Map the industry’s value chain from end to end. Since the creation of Netflix in 1997, the online movie rental business has been changing constantly forcing companies to adapt their strategy. At the earliest activity of Netflix, Blockbuster dominated the market and customers were renting VHS movies and DVDs directly from retail locations, around 70% of the rental concerned new releases. Then Netflix popularized the online movie rental by offering its customers the possibility to rent a movie directly from its website to finally have the DVD mailed to them. Afterward, Netflix has to face a growing competitor network, not only from classical retail locations but also on Internet. Customers became more and more demanding about the delay of deliveries, the availability and choice of the movies and the flexibility concerning the fees for late returns. Customers started to subscribe to prepaid plans enabling them to rent a number of DVDs relative to their plan or package. The next big step came with the development of video- ­? on- ­? demand a mix between pay- ­? per- ­? view programing and Internet downloading and the apparition of HD movies. Customer could now directly watch heir movie on specific TV channels or on Internet; they were also able to download them. The process was and is still complicated and even if VOD is the future of online movie rental the adoption is slow. For VOD to become a mass product market it need to become easier without having some kind of transition system between a PC and a computer but it also need to have a large choice of movies which is filtrated by licencing obligations. Most of the company use a similar value chain model. After the inbound logistic process in which companies buy the DVDs to their suppliers, the customers subscribes to the service and create a profile ith information which will help the company to promote a selected range of DVDs. Customers can chose different plans such as unlimited, 3 movies per months etc. usually charge monthly. When the selection is made by the customer the movie is mailed to him and when he has finished to watch it, he send it back to the company in a provided prepaid envelope. Now, most companies let customers keep the movies as long as they want without charging any extra. The all process could be summarized as fallow: Marketing and communication operations Aquisition of the movie, warehousing and inventory 2 - ­? What are the underlying forces that are riving industry change and are their impacts favourable or unfavourable? The industry change is directly linked to Internet evolution and the growing number of films, series, music etc. Indeed as explained in the case the industry growth is based for 70% on technology and 30% on art which makes the activity hard to forecast. The availability of more and more content the last years has positively impact the demand. Also the development of the cable TV, and the continuously growing content on Internet have participated to this increasing demand and contributed to change customer expectations who now want their needs to be satisfy as oon and as cheap as possible. Internet ecommerce and security of payment are also linked to these changes, peoples feel more confident to make online transaction than before . Online piracy such as peer- ­? to- ­? peer negatively affect the industry by enabling potential customers to get their movie rapidly, for free ands sometime even before they came out on the theatre. Until now, the bad quality of Subscription of cutomers and creation of its profile Selection of the movies from the customer VOD Download or instant watching Customer send back the movie Movie is watch by the customer Classic System Shipping pirated films was a break to ts development but this is a trend that starts to disappear with the recent availability of HD films. Finally, they are still many zones that are still not properly equipped for Internet and this is big threat for Netflix who operate only on the web. 3 - ­? How strong are the competitive forces confronting Netflix in the DVD rental marketplace and what is their impact on competitive intensity and future industry profitability? Do a  « five- ­? forces  » analysis to support you answer. The market for Netflex is highly competitive, indeed the company face both online and traditional competitors. In terms of existing competitors, the main nes are Blockbuster, Hollywood video, Movie gallery etc. each one has its own competitive advantage. For example Netflix is the pioneer of online movie rental, they are specialized in non famous movies and benefit from a large choice of videos comparing to classic retailers which are restricted by their store size. Netflix’s website enables a better understanding of its customers needs and thus a better advertising strategy. In the other hand comparing to Blockbuster who own a huge network of retailers they suffer from a lack of immediacy, they can only reach Internet users. The new entrants on VOD market such as Vongo or MovieBeam epresent an important threat for Netflix regarding all the ventures and agreements that have already been made. Also, these players offer essentially VOD services which are supposed to be the futur e of the online market. In the other hand there is not a big risk to see many companies entering this market because of the high capital required to get access to the movies’ licences. Buyers’ power is very high because they have many stores or website available to rent their movies and they have access to the different prices. Suppliers’ power could be high for new releases but for independent productions or old movies their power trend to ecrease. This is an opportunity for Netflix which is consider as the specialist of non famous films. Supplier power is also dependent on how many they are working with the same distributor. It seems that their power is very high on the VOD market especially in the US because of the need of licence from the content owner. In terms of product of substitution, apart of video theatres, Apple is in my opinion a dangerous competitor with Itunes or the Apple TV. They also offer portable VOD with the possibility to rent a movie and to watch directly on an Ipod, Ipad etc. Film piracy is also a huge threat for all the industry, more and more eople are now able to find what they are looking for in a few click for free at a quality very close to original DVDs. 4 – What does your strategic group map of this industry look like? Is Netflix well positioned? Why or why not? Large Choice Netflix Direct comp. Blockbuster†¦ Internet VOD Vongo, MovieBeam Small Slow Apple Cable TV Time for delivery Fast After years competing on the online movie market Netflix and Blockbuster both performed pretty well. Blockbuster has an important network of retailers which enable a fast service and Netflix an large stock of movies especially not well known ones. They are distributed through a nique website enabling the company to offer a biggest choice for a reduced cost. This is a short term analysis and there is, in my opinion, a new way to see the market, in three or Five years from now we can make the hypotheses that nobody will be renting a movie in a retail store or even more from Internet where customer need to do the effort to return the DVD per mail. The key success factors in the future seems to be the rapidity to provide a movie and a large choice always available without difficulties. At the moment Cable TV have an advantage on this On- ­? demand emerging market by providing a movie immediately and directly the TV screen which remain the favourite customers support. However, even if this is more convenient than transferring a movie from a computer to a TV, they suffer from a lack of choice. Internet VOD allows customers to access to a larger film selection even if this one is still restricted and inferior as traditional players. If online mail order business trend to disappear, it would be hard to say that Netflix is better positioned than Blockbuster, both company could not be able to survive. However Netflix has some advantages that can help them to succeed on the long term. Indeed, Netflix already has an important network of customers and nformation about them, also it is the only one specialised in independent movies with the most important choice of films which involve existing agreement with suppliers. Even if in the short term Netflix is still well positioned it will not remain like that on the long term and it will depend on its next move. 5- ­? Does Netflix has adequate competitive strength to go head- ­? to- ­? head against Blockbuster and other key rivals? What does Netflix need to do to strengthen its competitive position and business prospects vis- ­? a- ­? vis Blockbuster and other rivals? As we have seen previously, Netflix has competitive advantages that enable the

The Life of Astronomer Claudius Ptolemy

The Life of Astronomer Claudius Ptolemy The science of astronomy is one of humanitys oldest sciences. No one knows quite when the first people looked up and began to study the sky, but we do know that very early people began noting the sky thousands of years in the past. Written astronomical records were recorded in ancient times, often on tablets or walls or in artwork. That was when observers began charting what they saw in the sky. They didnt always understand what they observed, but realized that the skys objects move in periodic and predictable ways. Claudius Ptolemy with an armillary sphere he used to predict solstice dates and other celestial sights. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Claudius Ptolemy (often called Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolomaeus, Klaudios Ptolemaios, and simply Ptolemeus) was one of the earliest of these observers. He systematically charted the sky to help predict and explain the motions of the planets and stars. He was a scientist and philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt nearly 2,000 years ago. Not only was he an astronomer, but he also studied geography and used what he learned to make detailed maps of the known world. We know very little of Ptolemys early life, including his birth and death dates. Historians have more information about his observations since they became the basis for later charts and theories. The first of his observations that can be dated exactly occurred on March 12, 127. His last recorded one was February 2, 141. Some experts think his life spanned the years 87 – 150. However long he lived, Ptolemy did much to advance science and appears to have been a very accomplished observer of the stars and planets.   We get a few clues about his background from his name: Claudius Ptolemy. Its a mixture of the Greek Egyptian Ptolemy and the Roman Claudius. Together, they indicate that his family was probably Greek and they had settled in Egypt (which was under Roman rule) for some time before his birth. Very little else is known about his origins.   Ptolemy, the Scientist Ptolemys work was quite advanced, considering that he didnt have the types of tools that astronomers rely on today. He lived in a time of naked eye observations; no telescopes existed to make his life easier. Among other topics. Ptolemy  wrote about the  Greek geocentric view  of the universe (which put Earth at the center of everything). That view seemed to quite nicely put humans at the center of things, as well, a notion that was hard to shake until Galileos time. Ptolemy also calculated the apparent motions of the known planets. He did this by synthesizing and extending the work of Hipparchus of Rhodes, an astronomer who came up with a system of epicycles and eccentric circles to explain why Earth was the center of the solar system. Epicycles are small circles whose centers move around the circumferences of larger ones.  He used at least 80 of these tiny circular orbits  to explain the motions of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets known in his time. Ptolemy expanded this concept and made many fine calculations to fine-tune it.   This drawing by astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini was influenced by the epicycles that Ptolemy refined by his mathematics and observations of the sky. public domain This system came to be called the Ptolemaic System. It was the linchpin of the theories about objects motions in the sky for nearly a millennium and a half. It predicted the positions of the planets accurately enough for naked-eye observations, but it turned out to be wrong and too complicated. As with most other scientific ideas, simpler is better, and coming up with loopy circles wasnt a good answer to why planets orbit the way they do.   Ptolemy the Writer Ptolemy was also a prolific writer in the subjects and disciplined he studied. For astronomy, he described his system in his books that make up the  Almagest (also known as Mathematical Syntaxis). It was a 13-volume mathematical explanation of astronomy  containing information about the numerical and geometrical concepts behind the motions of the Moon and known planets. He also included a star catalog that contained 48 constellations (star patterns) he could observe, all with the same names that are still in use today. As a further example of some of his scholarship, he made regular observations of the sky at the time of the solstices and equinoxes, which allowed him to figure out the lengths of the seasons. From this information, he then went on to try and describe the motion of the Sun around our planet. Of course, he was wrong because the Sun does not orbit Earth. But, without more knowledge of the solar system, it would have been very difficult for him to know that. However, his systematic approach to charting and measuring sky events and objects was among the first scientific attempts to explain what happens in the sky. The Ptolemaic System was the accepted wisdom about the motions of the solar system bodies and the importance of Earth in that system for centuries. In 1543, the Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a heliocentric view which put the Sun at the center of the solar system. The heliocentric calculations he came up with for the movement of planets were further improved by Johannes Keplers laws of motion. Interestingly, some people doubt that Ptolemy truly believed his own system, rather he merely used it as a method of calculating positions. A page of Ptolemys Almagest translated and reproduced by Edward Ball Knobel. public domain   Ptolemy was also very important in the history of geography and cartography. He was well aware that Earth is a sphere and was the first cartographer to project the spherical shape of the planet onto a flat plane. His work, Geography  remained the principal work on the subject until the time of Columbus. It contained amazingly accurate information for the time and given the difficulties of mapping that all cartographers raced. But it did have some problems, including an overestimated size and extent of the Asian landmass. Some scholars think that the maps Ptolemy created may have been a deciding factor in Columbuss decision to sail west for the Indies and ultimately discover the continents of the western hemisphere. Fast Facts about Ptolemy Not much is known about Ptolemys early life. He was a Greek citizen living in Alexandria, Egypt.Ptolemy was a cartographer and geography, and also worked in mathematics.Ptolemy was also an avid skygazer. Sources Claudius Ptolemy, www2.stetson.edu/~efriedma/periodictable/html/Pm.html.â€Å"Claudius Ptolemy.†Ã‚  Ptolemy (about 85-about 165), www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Ptolemy.html.â€Å"Notable People.†Ã‚  Who Was Claudius Ptolemy, microcosmos.uchicago.edu/ptolemy/people.html.? Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Family History and Meaning of the Surname Richardson

Family History and Meaning of the Surname Richardson Richardson is a patronymic name meaning son of Richard. The given name Richard is Germanic in origin and means powerful and brave, composed of the elements ric,  meaning power and hard, meaning hardy or brave. Example: Richard the Lion Hearted Richardson is the 76th most popular surname in the United States. Richardson is also popular in England, coming in as the 55th most common surname. Alternate Surname Spellings:  Richards, Richardsen, Richerdson Famous People With the Surname Richardson Natasha Richardson - British actress.Henry Hobson Richardson - American architect.Calvin Richardson - American RB music artist. Where Is the Richardson  Surname Most Common? The Richardson  surname is most prevalent in the United States, according to surname distribution information from  Forebears, where it ranks as the 76th most common surname in the country. Within the U.S., Richardson is found most frequently in South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, Vermont and Alabama. Richardson is also a very common surname in England (64th) and Australia (76th). Surname distribution maps from  WorldNames PublicProfiler  show that Richardson is especially common in the northern part of England, particularly in the counties of Northumberland and Durham, as well as in York. Richardson is also especially common in Australia (particularly Tasmania and Northern Territory) and New Zealand (Clutha, Gore, and Grey districts). Concerning the Richardson Family Crest... Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Richardson traditional family crest or coat of arms for the Richardson surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Connecting With the World of Richardson Individuals with the Richardson surname, and variants such as Richards, Richarson, Richerson, Riches, Richeson, Richison, Ritchardson, Ritcharson, Ritcheson, are invited to join  this project to  work together to find their common heritage through DNA testing and sharing of information. There is a free message board is focused on descendants of Richardson ancestors around the world available through Genology.com. This allows you to search the Richardson forum for posts about your Richardson ancestors, or join the forum and post your own queries.   Similar to Geonology.com, FamilySearch.com allows you to explore over 12  million  results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Richardson surname on their free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One can also join a free mailing list designed for researchers of the Richardson surname and its variations. This mailing list includes subscription details and searchable archives of past messages. GeneaNet.org has compiled archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Richardson surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. For genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Richardson surname you can visit the comprehesive website Richardson page at Genealogy Today. Perhaps the most well-known genealogy page is Ancestory.com, where you can explore over 11 million digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Richardson surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Is good communication in the workplace important Essay - 2

Is good communication in the workplace important - Essay Example In the current times of rapid globalization, development of pluralistic society and diverse workforce necessitate cross-cultural understanding. Effective communication helps to overcome the barrier of cultural differences and promotes mutual respect. Consequently, good communication within workforce significantly enhances work productivity. Promoting and creating effective channels of communication within workplace has emerged as critical issue mainly because it helps to disseminate important information across the workforce. Various channels and tools of communication serve as vital linkages for the management and workers to keep abreast of changes within and outside the organizations. Technology has significantly widened the scope of communication and provided people with wide array of communication tools like computer, internet, emails, mobiles, social networking sites etc. The organizational communication thrives on technology-based tools to communicate across workers. The management exploits these tools to inform its workforce about its vision, mission, plans and policies. This helps workers to align their personal and professional goals for achieving organizational goals with higher efficiency. Moreover, effective communication between management and workers empowers workforce with relevant information and equips them with informed choices to make effective decisions. Feedback on work and organizational policies is also important communication strategy within workplace. The feedback system is important way that management exploits in order to encourage workers’ participation in developing strategies and plans for more efficient delivery of organizational goals and objectives. It promotes collective goals and shared learning. The informal chats with employees help management to understand workers’ expectations, ideologies and cultural competencies that can be exploited judiciously for higher personal and

Changes brought on by blogging and social media on public relations Research Paper

Changes brought on by blogging and social media on public relations - Research Paper Example Public Relations (PR) is the act of managing the informational flow that occurs between a business/company or organization and the public (Stuart, 2012). It is an essential part of business operations, and any successful company requires this part of business in order to maintain a relationship with its target market which in this case can be referred to as the audience. The introduction of blogging to the business world has affected the public relations sector in a number of ways, and it can be said that it has become an essential factor in this part of business as its popularity has continued to rise over the years (Fraser, 2007). Companies have developed the need to integrate blogs and blogging into their PR system as its growth has made it a medium of importance. There are various changes that have been brought on by blogging on Public relations as it has affected various areas related to this practice. Some of these areas and the changes that have been to them include: Communication can be said to be the sector that has been mostly affected by the introduction of blogging to Public Relations. The mode of communication has developed as a result of the introduction of blogs to the internet as the traditional methods can be said to have been surpassed as a result of this new activity (Bruns & Jacobs, 2006). Whereas in the past most companies depended on the more traditional mediums such as TV, Radio and Print media to pass on their information to the public, the introduction of blogs has brought on a new trend where these mediums are no longer a necessity for those organizations who may wish to pass on certain information to the public (Fraser, 2007). The internet has spread throughout the world like wild fire, and as a result there is a large demographic population that have turned to the World Wide Web as a source of information thus

Mini-Literature Review Evaluation assignment Research Paper

Mini-Literature Review Evaluation assignment - Research Paper Example The patients experienced physical discomfort and difficult behavior. The intervention employed to make the patients comfortable is STA OP! (Dutch version of the STI protocol) Compared to the control intervention. The design used is cluster randomized controlled trial in moderate or mild patients in nursing homes (Pieper et al., 2011). This study was conducted by several persons with end-stage dementia who were under the care of a hospice. The method used was randomized controlled palliative care trial with an objective of enhancing patient’s comfort. The intervention employed comprised of long-term enteral feeding, phlebotomy, systematic antibiotics and new feeding tubes. The research concluded that it was not possible to assess the degree of comfort and awareness of feeding through a tube (Ahronheim, Morrison, Morris, Baskin & Meier, 2000). This research was conducted to analyze the end-of-life care in patients with dementia. The method used was in a form of questionnaires that consisted of questions in regard to emotional and physical signs that hap ended in the last three months of the patient. The interventions utilized include (CAD-EOLD) comfort assessment of dying individual with dementia, psychological and physical signs (Volicer, Hurley & Blasi, 2001). The implementation of the serial trial intervention for pain and challenging behaviour in advanced dementia patients (STA OP!): A clustered randomized controlled trial. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from

Social Welfare Dependence of Single Mothers Research Paper

Social Welfare Dependence of Single Mothers - Research Paper Example The support is provided with the proviso that it may well be reduced and/or withdrawn any time when the condition of the recipient improves. Subsequent to the relief support provided to people in distress, 'make work', a New Deal concept created during the 1930s or later on redefined as 'workfare' were initiated so that the temporarily affected would feel that they earned their relief support rather than receiving it as a hand out (Prabhakar 1). Workfare is also a concept used in relation to welfare reform. It is a mechanism of imposing work requirements on recipients of public assistance. Despite several problems workfare encountered in the past, a number of states use it now as a means of shifting welfare dependent persons into the formal wage work with the proviso that sometime in the future those who, it is claimed, did not have work experiences, would be acquainted with the world of work, and would somehow hook themselves to jobs and eventually become self-sufficient. Single mot her parents, the recipients of public and other institutional assistance, are people, who for various reasons, including the death of or abandonment, separation or unmarried status, become household heads and take care of their children and other members of the family in place of the traditional breadwinner - the husband. The number of poor people in single mother household heads rose from some two million in the 1950s and 1960s to 11.4 million in 2010 (Seccombe 23; Open City Foundations, 1). Although single mothers were provided with welfare checks and other basic need supplies from the state on a relief basis, many were not able to achieve self-sufficiency. Alternative approaches that would capacitate single mothers need to be explored. Policy Issues and Poverty Urban poverty as it relates to single mothers has been a serious problem that had defied meaningful solution in the U.S.

Medicaid Health Care Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medicaid Health Care Finance - Essay Example Medical Science is still in its development stages as cures for diseases that were incurable are being developed. Such an example is of cancer, Hepatitis B and etc. These diseases were incurable some time ago but the advancement in medical sciences has enabled doctors to cure such diseases. Treatment for these diseases is not only available but is also done at cheap rates that are affordable, but still affordability has been a problem. Medical Science has experienced two major problems in the last decade. Number one is the affordability of treatment and medicines for people and secondly the fraud and abuse of medicines which has become very common around the world (Kelman & Straker, 1999). In this paper we will discuss how the federal government of US has controlled the cost associated with the Medicaid program and how it has helped reduce the Medicaid fraud and abuse. Good health is significant to everyone. If a person can't pay for medical care right now, Medicaid can make it probable for him or her to get the care that is needed so that the person can get healthy and stay fit. Medicaid is obtainable only to certain low-income individuals and families who fit into an eligibility cluster that is recognized by federal and state law. Medicaid does not disburse money to a person instead, it sends payments straight to the person's health care provider (Heiser, 2008). Depending on the state's rules, a person may also be asked to compensate a small division of the charge for a few medical services. Medicaid is a state administered plan and each state sets its individual guidelines regarding eligibility and services. Many groups of people are roofed by Medicaid, even within these groups, though, definite requirements must be met. These may comprise of age, pregnancy, disability, blindness, or old age, income and resources and if a person is a U.S. citiz en or a lawfully admitted immigrant. The regulations for counting the income and resources differ from state to state and from group to group. There are particular rules for those who reside in nursing homes and for disabled children living at home (Commerce Clearing House, 2007). A child may be entitled for coverage if he or she is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant, even if his or her parents are not. Eligibility for children is based on the child's status, not the parent's. Also, if someone else's child lives with a person, the child may be qualified even if that person is not because the earnings and resources will not add up for the child. Fraud and Abuse The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS is dedicated to fighting fraud and abuse, which redirect dollars that could or else be spent to preserve the health and welfare of Medicaid customers. To fortify its obligation, CMS has implemented a Medicaid veracity module. This is in reply to the requirements of the Deficit Reduction Act DRA of 2005, finalized on February 8, 2006 by the President, in which Congress proposed CMS to establish the Medicaid Integrity Program MIP. In doing so, it spectacularly augmented the resources accessible to CMS to fight fraud, misuse and exploitation in the Medicaid program. The DRA says that a five-year Comprehensive Medicaid Integrity Plan CMIP be printed to guide MIP growth and functions. This CMIP specially discusses statutory necessities, program

Introduction to the internet and E- Business Essay

Introduction to the internet and E- Business - Essay Example They prepared all the food by themselves without outsourcing. They always welcome the new ideas to promote their quality of services and menus. The company is currently operating in two areas i.e. Cheshire and Manchester. Currently offering catering services to other local restaurants as well as private events and has gained a very prestigious in the area. The company has great quality of foods and services, but unfortunately they are not as good in their e-business segment. The company has beautifully designed website which clearly explains their expertise and taste but don’t have online support system or order booking system. This makes it very difficult to process online orders and queries, as it will delay their response to the customers. The importance and scope of E-Business needed to be elaborated to the company. It looks they are unaware about the technology, if proper demonstration is conducted to explain the possibilities, and benefits associated with it. The company should be educated about different e-business models and their acceptance & success in Catering industry. It can be said that the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), for conducting or supporting are used to improve the business activities and processes, including development and research, design and development, procurement, operation, marketing, manufacturing, and sales, human resources management, logistics, value chain integration and finance. The evolution of e-business became more popular with the introduction of Internet, especially, the www (World Wide Web) or web, revolution. The history of e-business is not longer than 15 years. However, its enhancements and developments, i.e. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Material Requirements Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), have the history of more than forty years. EDI is an electronic communication of commercial transactions, such as placements of orders, consignment

Medicaid Health Care Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medicaid Health Care Finance - Essay Example Medical Science is still in its development stages as cures for diseases that were incurable are being developed. Such an example is of cancer, Hepatitis B and etc. These diseases were incurable some time ago but the advancement in medical sciences has enabled doctors to cure such diseases. Treatment for these diseases is not only available but is also done at cheap rates that are affordable, but still affordability has been a problem. Medical Science has experienced two major problems in the last decade. Number one is the affordability of treatment and medicines for people and secondly the fraud and abuse of medicines which has become very common around the world (Kelman & Straker, 1999). In this paper we will discuss how the federal government of US has controlled the cost associated with the Medicaid program and how it has helped reduce the Medicaid fraud and abuse. Good health is significant to everyone. If a person can't pay for medical care right now, Medicaid can make it probable for him or her to get the care that is needed so that the person can get healthy and stay fit. Medicaid is obtainable only to certain low-income individuals and families who fit into an eligibility cluster that is recognized by federal and state law. Medicaid does not disburse money to a person instead, it sends payments straight to the person's health care provider (Heiser, 2008). Depending on the state's rules, a person may also be asked to compensate a small division of the charge for a few medical services. Medicaid is a state administered plan and each state sets its individual guidelines regarding eligibility and services. Many groups of people are roofed by Medicaid, even within these groups, though, definite requirements must be met. These may comprise of age, pregnancy, disability, blindness, or old age, income and resources and if a person is a U.S. citiz en or a lawfully admitted immigrant. The regulations for counting the income and resources differ from state to state and from group to group. There are particular rules for those who reside in nursing homes and for disabled children living at home (Commerce Clearing House, 2007). A child may be entitled for coverage if he or she is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully admitted immigrant, even if his or her parents are not. Eligibility for children is based on the child's status, not the parent's. Also, if someone else's child lives with a person, the child may be qualified even if that person is not because the earnings and resources will not add up for the child. Fraud and Abuse The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS is dedicated to fighting fraud and abuse, which redirect dollars that could or else be spent to preserve the health and welfare of Medicaid customers. To fortify its obligation, CMS has implemented a Medicaid veracity module. This is in reply to the requirements of the Deficit Reduction Act DRA of 2005, finalized on February 8, 2006 by the President, in which Congress proposed CMS to establish the Medicaid Integrity Program MIP. In doing so, it spectacularly augmented the resources accessible to CMS to fight fraud, misuse and exploitation in the Medicaid program. The DRA says that a five-year Comprehensive Medicaid Integrity Plan CMIP be printed to guide MIP growth and functions. This CMIP specially discusses statutory necessities, program

Leadership Branding in Singapore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership Branding in Singapore - Essay Example As the report declares a leadership brand is moreover rooted within the companies’ customs, throughout its rules as well as its supplies for the workers. during the study of an approximate 100 flourishing leader corporations of diverse ranges over the precedent decade, it has been established that most of them have urbanized a comparable technique , which assists them in creating an outstanding channel of leaders cohort after cohort. They moreover tend to like extremely the stable earnings each year, as they have held the ongoing assurance of the external fundamentals whose prospects are contentedly full by leaders all through the organization. In view of Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, in order to put together a well built leadership brand the corporations need to pursue five major values. Initially, they need to be aware of the basics that constitute towards leadership, such as establishing strategies along with coaching the employees well. This discussion stresses that the Leadership Brand in regards to the Singapore business community also lays more stress towards the the question of leadership improvement that would help the community lift up a there overall market significance along with being able to build the desired aggressive lead. Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood, their disagreement on the fact that leadership brand tends to characterize an insubstantial significance in addition to the element of communal individuality in the midst of the corporations leaders, who also tend to distinguish as to what their specific corporations are capable of achieving, in comparison to the competition they face in the market. Most of the Singapore business community , in view of several investigations that have been carried out in this jauner , is observed as pursuing the writers loom towards leadership brand helping determine how in actual to form worth for the shareholders ( Ed Cohen , 2007) , the consumers, in addition to the human resources moreover generate a more aggressive circumference for their corporations . The corporations in Singapore , by each passing day are also realizing , and implementing a more internationally pursued

Leadership is a critical management skill in various organizations

Leadership is a critical management skill in various organizations Introduction Leadership is as a critical management skill in various organizations, which influences and motivates a group toward the achievement of organizational goals (Rafferty Griffin 2004). One of the greatest assets of an organization is that strong managers create an environment to encourage members and motivate their high energy (Taggart, 1989). It is highlighted that leadership is an influence relationship between leaders and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their shared purposes. Effective leadership has drawn great attention from organization management in recent years due to its contribution to organizations competitive advantage. Leadership is become very much on every managers mind today in organizations. Originations are struggling due to the increasingly dynamic environment. As the challenges of leading and managing increase, leaders of organizations need to understand process, skills and knowledge to perform leader functions effectively. The most important reason for the position of a leader is to create a group of people to deliver desirable sales as unprofitable sales is a leaders biggest nightmare. Numeral reasons that can lead to undesirable sales include competitive market conditions, poor cooperation, strategies and decisions from the team or that the product is too expensive or not unique enough compared to other rival products (Robbins, 2005). Although certain circumstances are beyond control such as poor market conditions or a weak team, others are possible to have control over such as product exclusivity or special features and this is where the job of a capable leader comes in. Capable leaders are constantly pressured in searching for solutions that produce more results but equipped with depleting resources such as team members and budgets. However, it does not require much, only a new perspective to fully utilize each and every member of the team without overworking them or the budget. Open-minded leaders always have the upper hand as new methods and solutions can be created to increase sales. Some of the issues that arise are as follows: Getting fresh clients Boosting profits on advertising Inability to regularly reach expected sales revenue Shorten long tedious sale cycles Maintaining the effort input of the sales team Growing expenses to support a productive and efficient team Reduced margins due to increasing demands to discount Sustaining and expanding diminishing major accounts Rising inability to accurately predict sales revenue Inexperience and lack of knowledge of the products involved Recruiting and sustaining effective employees Constant decrease of market share Rising customer demands and decreasing consumer satisfaction Growing amount and aggressive rivals and reduced sales compared to them Dealing with salesperson who have no proper strategies in securing sales and poor time management Rationalization of the worlds economy Getting rid of the repeated occurrence of reduced margins due to desperate attempts of making sales towards the end of a sales quarter Rising amount of sales attempts that go unfinished Getting the exact requirements and needs from customers when purchasing products is progressively difficult Completing the whole process of buying and securing sales as fast as possible is increasingly difficult Having to constantly help and motivate team members that have little enthusiasm, drive and attention Salesperson that are investing too much time and effort into devising proposal for possible customers that have no genuine interest in purchasing from them Constant feedback from customers that claims our rivals are able to perform faster and cheaper it is harder to make sales against that as it is true Lack of the surest method in selling products to drive towards higher sales No ideas or strategies to get sales back on course Usual routine of inefficient, expensive and uneconomical sales methods such as weak direct marketing and expensive advertising or product improvement In this assignment we will be discussing about 2 leaders from different backgrounds respectively. The first leader is Indra Nooyi which is the CEO of Pepsi. The second leader is Philip Green which is the CEO of Arcadia Group. The similarities and differences of both the leaders will be discussed further below. Indra Nooyi Before examining three aspects of Indra Nooyis leadership, let us first review her background to get some idea of the person and leader she is. Born and educated in India, she moved to America to study for her Masters degree at Yale. Upon graduation, she got a job at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and she credits much of her subsequent success on her experiences there. From there, she worked in other companies before joining PepsiCo in 1994. Her track record there was impressive as she was instrumental in making moves that led to long term profitability for the company such as moving away from fast food affiliations to acquiring beverage companies like Tropicana and Gatorade (Businessweek, 2008). Consequently, she was made CEO of the company in 2006, a record of sorts as she was the first woman and the first Asian to hold the powerful post. Since then, she has steered the company well with her leadership philosophy of performance with purpose. In a speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006, Indra cited the five Cs of her success. They are competency, courage and confidence, consistency, compass and coaching. In this report, we will examine how they are incorporated into three aspects of her leadership in terms of leadership style, coaching and mentoring and motivating employees. Indras leadership style can best be described as transformative (Seltzer and Bass, 1990). She is not content to maintain the status quo but redefines the concept of CEO. The traditional role of the CEO was akin to a autocratic monarch, in which power was wielded in punitive and tyrannical ways. Indra feels that that is outmoded and unsuitable for the 21st century (CNBC Business, 2008). The CEO must lead people, not rule over them. The leader must constantly keep abreast with changes in technology and new developments so that they can harness them to achieve competitive advantage. The workplace is getting increasingly diverse as more women and minorities constitute the average multinational corporation. Demographic changes at the workplace require a change in management style and Indra is aware of this. For example, the new generation is more technologically savvy and is less tied to the concept of lifetime employment at one company (Useem, 2008). Understanding this groups mindset is crucial in ensuring that the best and brightest are recruited and retained. Similarly, the organization cannot operate along mono-ethnic and mono-gender lines as there is increasing diversity. Diversity should not be viewed as a problem but as an asset to the company since the company can get the cream of the crop and an employee composition that is representative of the entire population. No longer can the CEO afford to direct from his or her office, but must go out and mingle with the masses. This does not only mean fostering better ties with employees but engaging with other stakeholders as well, As Indra points out, a CEO now not only has to deal with corporate stakeholders but with governments and NGOs too. Consequently, the CEO must travel a lot, especially for a multinational corporation like Pepsi. That way, they can meet their various customers and business partners to formulate new and better corporate level strategies. As a leader, Indra is friendly and approachable. She is energetic and has a fondness of singing (Useem, 2008). Yet, she is no pushover as she is very much in control of her company. In terms of Indras leadership style, we may use one of the behavioral theories, in which we can pinpoint behaviours that set apart good and poor leaders. Her leadership style can be described as democratic, if we use one of the University of Iowa Studies (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). Indra gets her employees involved in the decision making process and delegates authority. She listens to all opinions, even from those who may disagree with her. Also, she encourages employee feedback which is used as a coaching technique. From the University of Michigan Studies viewpoint, Indra is an example of a leader who shows consideration. She has genuine respect and mutual trust for her subordinates. Another interesting aspect of her leadership style can best be described as reconciliatory leadership (Bass, 1985). When there was an opening for CEO, Indra and another executive were in the running. However, when Indra was selected, she immediately sought to retain her erstwhile rival because she felt the other person would be good for the company. Many CEOs assemble a team of yes men and eliminate all threats and rivals but Indra thrives on building a team of rivals because she feels dissent and other opinions are crucial in building a thriving organization. Indra places great importance on coaching and mentoring programs. These are part of the broader spectrum of creating a learning organization. Training programs are formulated to nurture future leadership talent for the company and the company has a unique approach by seeking input from outside. Lifelong and practical learning are emphasized as well. Pepsi tries to help each employee discover their strengths and weaknesses so that they can build upon their strengths and reduce their weaknesses to make a more meaningful contribution. Employees and executives are taught to think for the long term and not focus too narrowly on short term gains. This approach has worked well for Indra as it allows her to spot trends and changes before competitors. Indras attitude towards coaching and mentoring can be described using the path goal theory. This states that a leaders job is to help followers in achieving their goals and to guide them in the right direction (Wofford and Liska, 1993). This type of leader also gives the necessary support to make sure that employees succeed and that goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the firm. Indra believes in motivating and empowering employees. While there may be slump in sales growth in Western markets, Indra motivates her employees not to give but to see the bigger picture of the business cycle. As a result, employees who relish a challenge are given the opportunity to have work stints abroad. Similarly, she did not close down or reduce the research and development facility, but did the reverse. By retaining employees during hard times, PepsiCo demonstrates that it values their contributions and this gesture causes tremendous goodwill among staff who reciprocated by working harder. One interesting way in which Indra motivates her senior executives is through non-financial ways. Most companies reward their senior executives with attractive remuneration packages. PepsiCo does more than that. Recently, Indra did the unprecedented by writing to the parents of the executives and thanking them for bringing up their children well. This created an emotional bond among her, the executives and their parents. The idea behind this occurred some years ago when she visited her mother in India. Her mother asked her to attend a formal function at home and all the guests complemented her mother on the good job she did in raising her (CNBC Business, 2008). This made Indra realize that she ought to thank the parents of her employees who did an amazing job raising them. As mentioned earlier, Indra is a firm believer in workplace diversity (CNBC Business, 2008). This may stem from the fact that as a woman and an Indian in America, she has a different outlook on life than the average white male CEO. Hence, men and women, people from different ethnic backgrounds and religious all stand an equal chance at getting promotion. Promotions are based solely on merit and diversity is also applied in the companys relations with its suppliers and customers. This is a strong motivator for all employees to try their best. Some organizations reward employees based on gender and racial lines. Hence, women and ethnic minorities are sidelined and not given due recognition for their contributions. This problem does not occur at Pepsi and there is evidence to show that employees are happier, more motivated and derive greater pride and satisfaction from their jobs. Similarly, the younger generations are drawn to work at Pepsi because they find it a challenging and enjoya ble place where they are understood and treated with respect. I am very inspired by Indra Nooyis leadership. She is proof that with intelligence, hard work and determination, anybody can succeed in whatever they choose. Yet, she is humble, friendly and does not lose sight of the more important things in life. She has repeatedly mentioned that she has to juggle the roles of CEO, mother, wife, daughter and daughter in law. Perhaps growing up in a traditional Indian family has taught her the importance of maintaining strong family bonds. This attitude is evident in PepsiCo, where she treats all employees as her extended family. Indra demonstrates that one does not have to be ruthless, manipulative and cruel to rise to the top as her nurturing and warm leadership style has not only endeared her to her employees, but motivates them to strive to do their best. This is leadership at its finest. Philip Green Able To Capitalize Opportunity Sir Philip Green is apparently planning to bring British Home Stores under the Arcadia umbrella (Seltzer Bass, 1990). This move might witness a cull of management jobs as he combines the two companies, which have previously been run as separate entities. But with the high street feeling the squeeze as more shoppers take the radical step of leaving their money in the bank (or under the mattress), Sir Philip is clearly on a mission to cut costs and this is an obvious way of doing it. The new set-up will see Bhs run in much the same way as the other brands in the Arcadia stable, allowing Green to combine head office functions like marketing, finance and supply chain. This will almost certainly mean that some executive roles will become surplus to requirements hence the likely nervousness this morning. Bhs became a real success story for Green after he bought it in 2000, although its sales have been flagging recently. Arcadia has also seen a mixed bag of results lately: the likes of Dorothy Perkins and Burton have been struggling, but Top Shop and Miss Selfridge have continued to produce record sales and profits (possibly because their younger clientele have more disposable income/ more money than sense). So its no surprise that Green is looking to retrench now, particularly with little sign of the high street gloom receding (Yukl, 1994). Equity theory Equity theory states that individuals compares their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then responds to eliminate any inequities (Robbins Judge 2007, p.185). That is, employees will become de-motivated if their perceived inputs are greater than the outputs from the company (Adams 1965, cited in Chapman 2006). His reputation as a retailer is arguably second only to his renown for striking remarkable deals. In 2005, he paid himself a  £1.2bn dividend from Arcadia, the retailer he had bought in 2002 with only a few million pounds of his own money. He can identify a target in hours, secure billions of pounds worth of funding in days and be exiting the business with multimillion pound profits in months. While his detractors have levelled accusations of asset stripping at him, he vigorously denies his deal-making nous makes him a one-man personification of private equity. From his location, he can survey the world famous high street of which he controls a major slice. In fact, thanks to Arcadia, he runs 12% of the UK clothing retail market. In its industry, Green is ranked second and on more than an occasion he was close to owning Marks Spencer. In fact, they could have taken a large amount looking at the number of people borrowing and even up to eight times cashflow. After they had done 1.2bn of dividend, that year the company made a  £327m operating profit. They could have borrowed far more, but thats never been my strategy. Its hard to argue when you consider that six years on, Arcadia has added a quarter of a million square feet of selling space, employs 25% more people and has generated in excess of  £2bn in EBITDA. Green worked very hard to develop Arcadias brand, which includes Topman, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Evans. For once, Green is the master of understatement. Under his stewardship, the shop has revolutionised high-street retailing. The previously mediocre store is now a talisman of UK fashion, loved by teenagers, celebrities and fashion editors. Increasing Influence Upon leaving school, Green worked for the family firm, one of the first shoe importers to bring products in from China and Hong Kong. Exposure to international trade proved invaluable, he is grateful that the people who trained him taught him about finance, credit, importing and product. If he was to become interested in the more creative, product-buying side of the business, his understanding of the basic principles of retailing was instinctive. The high street fashion tycoon is as well known for his affluent lifestyle as he is for his business acquisitions a  £7m yacht,  £5m birthday party and a present from his wife of a solid gold Monopoly set, to name a few of his extravagances. Of late he has become something of a celebrity thanks in part to a friendship and business arrangement he has struck up with supermodel Kate Moss, who designs a range for his Topshop chain. Hes also been spotted holidaying with both Sylvester Stallone and Simon Cowell. Conclusion and Recommendation In sum, developing an effective leadership in organizations is the most essential, yet the most difficult tasks for organization management. Great leadership is the combinations of individual traits, leading skills and of course the situational contexts (Kotler, 1990). As we have discussed above, effective leadership is require both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. The intrapersonal skills are of paramount important, as it is logical and obvious that success or great leader all start from within. Only with personal inside strong desire to excel, passion, enthusiasm, determination, commitment, faith and effective personal values can a person become a true leader for others. A great leader among the people always starts as a great leader of his own. Then, interpersonal skills come into place, where the ability and skills to network, communicate and interact with the other people come into place. The effective leaders can guide companies through many different channels. Because o f this, it is important to know which leadership qualities motivate employees the best. Throughout the analysis and evaluation, there have been many leadership style theories identified. As we have found that, the autocratic leadership style has gone out of fashion in recent years, though certain situations, such as emergencies situations. Therefore, effective leaders must adjust the leadership style to various situations. In that sense, there is no one leadership style is appropriate for every occasion or situation. The most effective style to use depends upon the situation and whether the group members are willing and able to take on the responsibility. To be effective as a leader, its important to know your group in terms of knowledge, ability, desire and willingness, and be ready to adapt your style to suit the dynamic environment. An important task in the coming years will be the training and testing of future leaders. Further more, organizations have to have a bigger picture of long term success, that is strengthening leadership competencies will improve organizational effectiveness. When subordinates trusted their leaders leadership, and they deem it is equitable for them to obtain satisfactory rewards and outcomes when they made the greatest efforts. Therefore, effective leadership lead to a positive motivation and motivated employees will satisfy the customers of the organizations. In a long-term, it will help organization creating or maintaining a sustainable organizational competitive advantage.