Trends toward Western-style China and India Essay

Trends toward Western-style China and India - Essay Example marketers of today should understand that, to attract the large youth dominated markets, they must then provide the goods and services that are interesting to the youth and hence these goods and services must focus on music, fashion, technology and other factors that are influencing to the youth. Both companies from India and China emphasize on the importance of value differentiation in developing their competitive advantage strategies. The consumers in these emerging markets prefer value and are willing to consume more of the goods, which they believe are of quality, safe and have utility. In addition, these consumers are shifting upscale and ready to pay more for goods with integrity, reliability and desirable features that are made from high quality material and components (White, 2012). Therefore, it is evident that the old paradigm when consumers preferred price to all other factors is fading in these markets and consumers are shifting gears in their preference and tastes. Thus, this shift seems to be a new critical factor for marketers in in these emerging markets and a wake call to companies to produce new and better products meeting the consumers’ demands, taste and preferences, which ultimately would lead to customer brand loyalty. However, companies in the United States emphasize on the importance of a standardized marketing strategy, which involves marketing consumer goods in a uniform and consistent way across all the marketing mix. These companies view this strategy as the most influential and effective approach to developing competitive strategies. For instance, some companies in the United States standardize all aspects of their goods while others on the other hand standardize a few elements of their goods. However, whichever way or approach the companies use, they are able to make cost savings and ensure consistency of their goods globally (White, 2012). The consumption style of the West involves increased sensitivity to the different economic

Ethics 2 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics 2 - Article Example There are however, certain limitations, which restrains from the research being a complete empirical study. Firstly, the sample chosen is from one geographical community in Canada. Secondly, the industries chosen does not cover certain important sectors like fashion and hotel industry, which needs to maintain their CSR activities too. Yet, it might be noted that the main sectors, which are highly accountable to the social values, are taken into consideration. Thirdly, the sample size chosen is 16 people from positions of leadership only. A general view of the employees and executives should have been collected in order to judge the awareness towards CSR even at the base level in the industries. Rules and policies are easily formulated but the implementation is brought about through proper level of awareness and responsibility. The empirical study conducted here simply points out a region specific case study involving some managers from certain chosen sectors. Fourthly it may be noted that the interviews were perhaps not conducted in a systematic manner with the same set of questions asked to each respondent. Rather different respondents seem to give opinions from various angles and the reader has little idea about what questions were asked. Fifthly, a chance of bias arises owing to the purposive sampling method. The researchers seem to have obtained a sample in order to prove their predetermined notion. My experience in Saudi Arabia shows that the country’s domestic businesses are not concerned or affected by the global standards of CSR management. Rather they give most stress on the local society and look into their interests first. The company where I worked did provide goods at low cost/ discounts to the local buyers and absorbed local people as their employees especially for the low skilled positions. Saudi Arabia has thus escaped the influence of international standards of CSR, which might not be feasible

Globalisation Effect On Unemployment And Economy Economics Essay

Globalisation Effect On Unemployment And Economy Economics Essay The ever growing impact of Globalization highly supported by the technological innovations on the global market, created new approach and understanding in the labour market. The restructuring of economic and corporate systems resulted of dismantling the traditional institutions, organizations and social protection, paving the way to further insecurity in jobs i.e. incomes for the exerted human power, not only in poor the countries, but in the rich and developed countries as well. The global competition among the corporations, the raise of the number of world inhabitants, technological contribution on production and services, moreover; the global economic issues, led to immense pressure on employers to adopt more flexible, non-standard labour policies with more and growing unwarranted work arrangements. To sustain in these turbulent waters, is the game of adaptation to the ever evolving social and economic uncontrollable macro environment. Since the old and new theory Survival of the fittest is still the most accurate, the only way for both employers and the employees to reach a win-win situation is through finding the perfect common denominator, through which an employee will secure his life and the employer his business. The right balance between the opportunities and threats will be by captivating advantages of opportunities and trying to avoid the threats. As an employer or employee, to survive this never-ending game, the opportunities are there to be seized. Through rapid changes and adaptations, common denominators can be innovated. The emergence and the impact of Globalization Technologys contribution The 21st century is guided by a new era in enterprises ongoing quest for increasing profit through a significant competitive advantage over the rivals. For the first time in history, we can now claim to live in One World. Globalization has removed many of the gaps that have existed between and among nations. While the physical divide is still present, the impact of the Information Highway on how we communicate and live in the present day is simply staggering. Through globalization, cultural exchange is now open and dynamic. Economies have also been merged, with the economic life of an Asian country affecting other nations in other parts of the world, and vice versa. Rapid improvements in information technology have allowed us to exchange information and communicate almost everywhere, anywhere, and anytime. The nature of business and how it is done had also improved by leaps and bounds all because of globalization. MNCs as tools for globalization Since technology is the main driving force of globalization, MNCs struggled heard to monopolize it. From the invention of the machines, then the aviation industry to the invention of the internet they all served as means for dominance. Just the nature of the tool varied from the hard to the soft power. The symbols of the modern soft means i.e. IMF, WB, internet, language, International business laws and regulations, WTO etc. are the humble servants of the Economic and Financial might of MNCs. These facts led the Big Brands to be the synonym of globalization. The global markets and the labour force These breakthroughs in communication have revolutionized business, commerce, and even the personal lives and relationships of millions of people. Indeed, globalization has produced a new age of connectivity in culture, society, economy, social life, technology, and politics. Globalization, as a general term, is best understood as the spread of ideas about the environment, democracy, human rights, and less complicated issues like fashion and fads. The mass marketing of computers and the wide availability of Internet services have brought many parts of the world together, as if we are all rush on a single pattern or web of daily life. Countries today do not just export raw materials or the usual projects. Global exchange is now taking place as the market of ideas, manpower recruiting through the use of technology. Because of the electronic media, vast amounts of important personal information can reach any parts of the globe in no time. Business establishments, whether big or small, are using the Internet in many ways to build or expand their companys recruitment system through their website or through mediators. With the ever improving technology, new labour markets blossom, high demand for cheap labour, and also greater competition. Making investments in information and communication technology is now a must for any business enterprise. Globalization and the Internet have created many advantages for organizations around the world. This advantage can be utilized while avoiding many business or geographical obstacles by using Internet properly. Employment and globalization For many, globalization is equated with economic interdependence. At the dawn of the 21st century, the scale and magnitude of global economic interaction appears to be unprecedented. The volume of capital flows far exceeds that of the past. The developing world, too, have increasingly become a part of global trade and capital flows. Contemporary patterns of economic globalization suggest the emergence of a new international division of labour. In short, the world has reached a stage in which one can meaningfully refer to one global economy. The question is whether globalization processes have reduced or exacerbated wealth inequalities  within developed countries and developing  ones. While markets will produce winners and losers, liberals argue that the openness accompanying globalization will benefit all. Others see the potential to produce widening disparities. The short answer is that the effect of globalization has been both positive and negative and is dependent on a range of domestic and international factors. Extensive evidence also exists to support the claim that economic interdependence is related to more peaceful relations. States, for example, that trade more with each other are less likely to go to war. The direction of the cause is less clear, however. In other words, does greater trade lead to peace or does peace lead to greater trade? The greater ties from interdependence have been argued to lead to both greater cooperation and conflict. The relationship is, in fact, most likely nonlinear. Variations of the working methods and the Human Recourses Competitive advantage and the competitors Competitive advantage can come in one or combination of the following factors where labour force has very significant role in almost every one of them: Price, Experience, service, Quality, Location, Customer service oriented. The better your business performs against one of these factors, the more likely you are to succeed. Being the low cost provider of a good or service can be a quick path to gaining more business or market share than your competitors. The more efficient firms labour force is the more are the chances to compete in this category. Certainly a firm will need a lower labour, materials or overhead cost, because an organization may find that their competitors are willing to cut prices in response. After all no one can expect that a competitor will let the rival take their customers away without a fight. So if an organization is willing to go down this path it would be better to be certain that they truly do have lower costs, supported mainly by low paid employers or specially arranged non-standard forms of employment. Service can also be serious differentiator and competitive advantage. If a firm can respond quicker, get it done quicker, or get there sooner, customers may prefer it over the competitors even though it costs them more. Yet; these maneuvers heavily rely on well experienced dynamic workforce who will create the much needed differentiation alongside the existing processes and the procedures. Quality is important in almost every industry. Customers do not like to pay good money for work that has to soon be redone or have to purchase a new unit that fails prematurely. Most products are somewhere in between the super and bad quality and the astute business person will seek to produce the highest quality within his means. This detail is also highly related to the workforce and its ability to create quality business with the least cost possible. Over the long term producing higher quality is almost always less expensive as organizations dont have to deal with as many returns, or as much scrap, or rework. Location can also be a competitive differentiator. If a firm best suitable location in town, then people will have buy from you unless they are willing to drive longer distances to get it. Getting the goods or the services to the customers by certain delivery employees is a kind of location based selling. Prices might be higher than normal but not so high that people refuse to buy. If firms distant service competitors charge for travel time, other things being equal, organizations can charge more money but not so much more that it pays the customer to use competitors products or services. Customer Service base can also be a competitive advantage. Something is highly related to the employees and their attitudes towards the customers, even if this will cost the firms the cost of training and developing such employees. So what if you are a little more costly, or even a little slower? Most people hate change. The prospect of needing to invest the time and energy to build the necessary trust with one of firms competitors can be a real deterrent. We live in a changing world. New competitors with better products or service arrive on the scene almost daily. When demand for firms product or service slacks or increases, it is highly related to the workforce. It is true that the overhead cost, product quality and the price has their significant role, yet the core of these will remain the workforce who are the most significant determines of organizations competitiveness. Standard employment and Nonstandard form of employment. Nonstandard form of employment is usually defined in negative terms in contrast to so-called standard employment. It is, a category that includes relatively varied forms of employment, and these need to be explicitly differentiated in a detailed analysis. The standard employment terms are more or less the same in different countries, moreover they are identical in most common markets like the GCC, organizations do not utilize any part time employees as per the GCC labour law, an employee can only work and operate in companies that sponsor work permitresidency. However companies extend the service of special consultants that work on projects basis. The standard employment is mainly characterized by the following features: Full-time employment with an income sufficient for survival, Permanent employment contract, Integration into the social security system (particularly health and pension plan), Work relationship and employment relationship clarified, Employees subject to direction by the employer. For the functioning of the labour market it is significant that compared with typical forms of employment, whatever their differences, increases the potential flexibility of businesses and, to some extent also of the employees concerned. Nonstandard form of employment deviates from in terms of at least one of the standard criteria: Part-time work, with regular weekly working hours less than under regular contractual level and pay reduced accordingly. Marginal employment, which represents a specific variety of part-time work defined in terms of payment below a certain level. Mini jobs, employees are paid according to hours of service theyve exerted. Limitation of weekly working hours to a maximum amount has been abolished. Fee basis/freelancers, based on experience, internships. Agency work, which is different from all other forms because of the tripartite relationship between the employee, the agency and the company hiring the worker. This peculiarity results in a differentiation between the employment relationship (between the agency and the employee) and the work relationship (between the company and the employee). Self-employment is intended to replace the traditional freelancer category (for example lawyers or doctors even merchandisers), It is not always easy to differentiate between employment and self-employment as the lines between the two can be rather fluid. The workforce and the employment market Individual features can appear in combination form thus, for example, agency workers or part-time workers can at the same time have a fixed-term employment contract. The constant and the obvious are the ever growing bargaining power of the employers due to vast amount of labour supplied and the scarcity of jobs offered. The fearful part is the gap that is steadily and constantly growing between the two. Among many reasons these points could shed the light upon the most significant: Population growth. Production industry is shrinking worldwide except for China and Germany. World economic crisis. Technology Urbanism These major macro aspects are among the most significant factors that are widening the gap among the employers and the employees resulting in high unemployment rates. Moreover; they are creating new unconventional means of employment which usually benefit the employer. Future of Non-standard forms of employment The profiles of a typical forms of employment not only generate the above problems during an individuals working life (above all in terms of income, employability and employment stability), but also creates significant long-term problems in terms of social security. The consequences go beyond the labour market and affect individuals post-work lives, with a considerable impact on social security, especially pensions. In welfare states, such systems are very much focused on working life and strictly linked to the criteria of standard employment (financed through contributions of employers and employees and based on the principle of equivalence). Analysis of the resulting social problems renders the traditionally strict demarcation between labour market and social policy obsolete. Any approach to reform requires integrated solutions. The accumulation of social risks means that, compared to people in standard employment, those in a non-standard employment are more likely to be only on low wages (due to advanced age) and are therefore more often in receipt of governmental or social organizations welfare. The analysis of macro environment as for the organization The macro environment of the organization is the uncontrollable part of external forces that might affect the vision and the strategy of any organization. The macro environmental elements which mainly consist of Political, Economic, and Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) aspects and forces might affect the organization either positively or negatively in the growth era of non-standard forms of employment. The positive effects will be considered as opportunities and the negative ones as threats. Opportunities: The non-standard form of employment will open the doors for the new blood from the same or totally new workforce market to pour in the organization; this will bring in the new knowledge, new ideas and innovations a new and dynamic approach to the conducted business. The result of flexible working hours will add efficiency to the production and the outcome since the old boring 9 to 5 system does not exist in the non-standard form of employment. The twenty-first centurys organizations are shifting from communality to diversity to increase dynamism and innovative thinking system among the employees. The high level of shifting hours where lot of employees will leave the job at certain hours and come back later on wouldnt be achieved if advanced IT systems and software didnt exist, since its almost impossible to calculate the total working hours of each employee and calculate the payments accordingly. This whole flexible workforce structure will reduce the labour cost of the organization. For example, instead of paying overtime for working during the night, replace those employees with another who can and willing to work at nightshifts. Furthermore, the organization will save vast amounts of retirement pension funds which will remove a heavy burden from the companys shoulders. The reduction of the labour cost will provide a major competitive advantage for the organization which will lead the competitors to adopt the same strategy. New Strategy, new blood, new technical and IT know how, along with talented educated dynamism from both sexes and innovations that they will add to the organization will be considered as major opportunities for any given organization, especially when theyll have an weaponless army of employees not registered in any form of labour unions etc. since they are not the conventional (standard) form of employees. Threats The non-standard form of employment will spread quickly due to the competition among the rivals; this will result to certain instability in the economy and therefore economical fluctuations. These facts will lead to inevitable inflation to the economic system resulting raise in wages (working hours honorary), therefore rise in rents and expenses so the sequence of the vicious circle will be inevitable, backfiring on the organization in itself. Laws and regulations plus the labour unions who will lobby against the non-standard form of unemployment will be considered a major threat for an organization where in most countries especially in the GCC countries the employment should be on the standard basis, since any employee will be registered under the name of a specific kafeel (Guarantor: could be the organization or the name of the business owner) and where very strict universal and local laws are imposed on the employers especially what concerns the human rights or juveniles related issues. The most threatening fact will be the employee high turnover rates within the organization which will result mainly of knowledge loss i.e. losing knowledge out of companies, moreover; increased turnover triggers diminished effectiveness in corporations. High turnovers will cost companies large amounts of money to recruit new ones (Advertising, mediating agencies, the time for hundreds CVs screenings, selecting, interviewing etc.) while retaining employees through incentives and trainings will cost much less. Such means can be used to cut attrition and increase retention numbers. Working hard at keeping employees through learning and development, retention and persistency rates, an organization not only will cut attrition, but also theyll build a priceless vault of knowledge and loyalty towards the organization. Synopsis: Opportunities Threats New workforce market Cheap labour Competitive advantage More effective production New blood, new know how Diversity Technology and IT Experience / Know how Strategic Imperative (must) High / selected competencies Flexible working hours No Labour unions / home restrictions Gender balance (if applicable) Production and incentives No retirement / pension problems No aging workforce Inflation Raise of wages Rents and inflation Social issues Political issues War Economic crisis Laws and regulation Shared knowledge and experience Less loyal employees Money based relationship Labour unions Human rights / juvenile Reputation Very high labour turnover rate The analysis of macro environment as for the individual The fact of the rise of non-standard forms of employment is considered to be at the macro environmental level of the individual where the uncontrollable several external forces are affecting the plans and life of any person. As discussed previously, the macro environmental elements which mainly consist of Political, Economic, and Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) aspects and forces might affect the individual either positively or negatively. The positive effects will be considered as opportunities and the negative ones as threats. Opportunities: The non-standard forms of employment will open new horizons as for the individual where he or she might find a chance of being hired to a certain job or position that wasnt handy before, the odds are bigger since the constant change in the workforce at any given organization will increase the probability of job vacancies. Mostly in the underdeveloped countries and due to high levels of unemployment, chances of being hired are scarce and where nepotism and interventions are the only recruiting factors, individuals find fairness and equal chances for being hired through non-standard forms of employment. Usually when hired by non-standard forms of employment higher (per hour compensation) than fixed wages are expected even if the paid amount is considered cheap labour (effective) as for the hiring organization. The real challenge will be extending as much as possible the hours of being hired. Flexible hours will create the chance and the opportunity for the employee to be able to pursue another interest during or after the traditional 9 to 5 working hours. An employee could continue his / her education at the university, or pursue even higher education if possible. Time flexibility will allow the employees to spend more hours with their families or look after a hobby they like. Technology is considered an opportunity for many employees where the job could be accomplished without or by minimum physical presence at the office. Thanks to the technology virtual offices can easily be setup among employees hundreds of kilometers apart. Even traveling to host/home countries for short period of time is possible due to active, dynamic and low cost communication means. Any task could be accomplished within two days for example and the employee could return to his office and continue the job after a while. This would have never accomplished if there wasnt this technological breakthrough. One of the most annoying aspects for the new recruits especially for the fresh graduates is obtaining experience, mainly where there are high unemployment rates and starting a career is a hard task to be achieved. With non-standard forms of employment, chances will be granted for the fresh graduates to acquire working experience even for short period of time. This will allow them to look for the next vacancy empowered with a certain experience theyve acquired, levering their chanced to be reemployed. It is obvious that being involved and living with active job demands will increase the standard of living for any individual and his/her family. The higher the income generated will be resulted in higher spending due the high potential of the disposable income. Furthermore with the help of non-standard form of employment the employee might have the chance of being promoted and he/she might be invited on the same basis to operate on the other outlets due to the expending strategies that their organization might adopt, or be invited to help a franchisee to inaugurate certain tasks. Non-standard form of employment offers variety of experiences to the employees due to the fact that they will experience several types of carriers during their productive life span. The versatility acquired by the employees will increase the chances of being rehired since the adaptive attitude that theyll foster will be considered added value to the new recruiting organization. Threats The most dominant threat as for the non-standard form of employment will be the retirement where the dynamism of youth will diminish gradually and the chances of being employed will decease. This will add immense pressure on the individual therefore the society will be effected and eventually the state. The constant fear of the absence of safe and steady income will push the employee to a certain austerity measures on his/her spending, therefore consumers spending index will decrease resulting a standstill or slowing the markets normal cycle, which in itself will create a hassle in the marketplace resulting in more job cuts. Furthermore countries economical system is balanced upon the spending power of the population backed by the banking system through micro or medium loans. These loans are hypothecary i.e. based on certain guarantee to the bank, which in most of the cases are, the fixed salaries presented to the banks through certain documents which are approved by their organization. Technology and new machinery are spreading like the fire in the woods; this will affect the job market resulting raise in the unemployment figures, especially for low competency based positions. Uncertainty, lack of income and unconventional working hours will surly affects the lifestyle of any individual especially on those who have a family. On the long run such occurrences will have its devastating consequences on the social structure of that country, which in itself will backfire of the whole economy. Any kind of riots or wars will result a total standstill of the income in case of non-standard form of employment due to the fact that is based on the hours spent in job. The greed of employers could lead to exploitation of the employees by several means. One of the most famous among them is the so called trial period, where the employee agrees to be testes on job for an unpaid certain period of time. The result could be the extension of this period or the employer keeps testing employers for two moths then another employee for another two months and so on. This whole non-standard system will definitely alter the unemployment rates where lots of people will be considered as employed, which in fact they are not. The frequent change of the employees due to the fact that they can be easily substituted will result in total change in organizations values and personnel attitudes where the factor of loyalty will be considered an obsolete theory. Synopsis: Opportunities Threats New Job opportunities Equal and fairness Higher per hour / wages More flexibility / freedom Technology/ Communication means Transport and low cost airlines Learning curve and experience Constant demand of new recruits Career path in various organizations Raise the standard of living Franchising, expansion Versatile employee Retirement and pension No more safe and continues Income Technology new machinery Cultural identity Family issues War and riots Exploitation / misuse Unemployment real figures Values and attitudes Easily substituted Conclusion The global turbulent economy affected widely by the globalization factors and theories, sharpened the competition reducing the profit margins. Moreover, because of the greater employment risk and/or the short periods of employment involved, when they lose their jobs. The differences between agency workers and those in standard employment are particularly striking, with the exception of those on marginal wages. After getting job-less approximately one agency worker in two receives the lower Type 2 unemployment benefit, whereas the figure is only one in seven in the reference group. The main reason for this drastic difference is the fact that the previous period of employment subject to compulsory social insurance was not of sufficient duration. In addition, any claim to Type 2 unemployment benefit presupposes that savings above a certain threshold are first used for the purpose of subsistence. In these circumstances the greater degree of individual responsibility for old age provisions demanded of employees becomes unfeasible. What is relevant in the long term in both individual and collective terms is the insufficient integration of such individuals into the pension insurance system. The low levels of contributions made as a result of long periods of part-time work or an entire working career spent on mini-jobs but also unemployment after the expiration of fixed-term jobs results in individuals only having a claim to pension benefits that are inadequate for subsistence purposes. The changes that have occurred in types of employment increase the risk of poverty in old age for the individuals concerned. For years, this issue was regarded as having been solved in Germany, but it could re-emerge in the future unless appropriate measures are taken. And from a collective point of view, the necessary top-up transfer payments represent a considerable drain on public budgets and bring with them the risk of gradual erosion of the basis for contributions.

you know you live in la when :: essays research papers

You're driving on the 101 and see a clear cut definition of where the smog begins and ends You go to a karaoke bar and battle with seven year old divas-in-training who are trying to steal your thunder You're sitting in traffic for at least an hour at any given part of the day You go to the beach and see that real lifeguards actually do look like the lifeguards from Baywatch You see purple and gold and the word "Threepeat" on every corner You begin to "lie" to your friends about where you are (i.e. "Yeah I'm like 20 minutes away") - when you know that it'll take you at least an hour to get there). You eat a different ethnic food for every meal You look around at the nice cars around you during traffic, thinking it'll be your favorite Laker or WB star. You make a conscious choice to watch Jay Leno over David Letterman You mourned for Tupac and not for Biggie You know it's best not to be on the 405 at 4:05 pm. Getting anywhere from point A to point B, no matter what the distance, takes about "twenty minutes". You know what neighborhood someone lives in by the degree of damage incurred during the riots. You've inadvertently learned Spanish. You've got to bring the cat/plants in when it drops to 55 degrees. In the "winter", you can go to the beach and ski at Big Bear on the same day. You've bumped into a celebrity at El Pollo Loco. You know what "sigalert", "PCH", and "the five" mean. Your pizza delivery guy is also on contract with Warner Bros. If your destination is more than 5 minutes away on foot, you're definitely driving. You have a gym membership because it's mandatory. Your TV show is interrupted by a police chase. You can't fall asleep without the lull of a helicopter flying overhead. When tourists ask where they can get souvenirs, you direct them to Venice Beach. You know someone named Freedom, Rainbow, Persephone or Destiny. You've trespassed through private property to get to the "Hollywood" sign. You've partied in Tijuana at least once. You know Hollywood has a "lake". You don't stop at a STOP sign, you do a California Roll. You've lost your car in the Century City Shopping Center parking lot. You've ever bought oranges, flowers, cherries or peanuts on a freeway off-ramp. You think that Venice is a beach. You drive next to a Rolls Royce and don't notice. You've started crossing a street and returned to the curb when the DON'T WALK sign started flashing. you know you live in la when :: essays research papers You're driving on the 101 and see a clear cut definition of where the smog begins and ends You go to a karaoke bar and battle with seven year old divas-in-training who are trying to steal your thunder You're sitting in traffic for at least an hour at any given part of the day You go to the beach and see that real lifeguards actually do look like the lifeguards from Baywatch You see purple and gold and the word "Threepeat" on every corner You begin to "lie" to your friends about where you are (i.e. "Yeah I'm like 20 minutes away") - when you know that it'll take you at least an hour to get there). You eat a different ethnic food for every meal You look around at the nice cars around you during traffic, thinking it'll be your favorite Laker or WB star. You make a conscious choice to watch Jay Leno over David Letterman You mourned for Tupac and not for Biggie You know it's best not to be on the 405 at 4:05 pm. Getting anywhere from point A to point B, no matter what the distance, takes about "twenty minutes". You know what neighborhood someone lives in by the degree of damage incurred during the riots. You've inadvertently learned Spanish. You've got to bring the cat/plants in when it drops to 55 degrees. In the "winter", you can go to the beach and ski at Big Bear on the same day. You've bumped into a celebrity at El Pollo Loco. You know what "sigalert", "PCH", and "the five" mean. Your pizza delivery guy is also on contract with Warner Bros. If your destination is more than 5 minutes away on foot, you're definitely driving. You have a gym membership because it's mandatory. Your TV show is interrupted by a police chase. You can't fall asleep without the lull of a helicopter flying overhead. When tourists ask where they can get souvenirs, you direct them to Venice Beach. You know someone named Freedom, Rainbow, Persephone or Destiny. You've trespassed through private property to get to the "Hollywood" sign. You've partied in Tijuana at least once. You know Hollywood has a "lake". You don't stop at a STOP sign, you do a California Roll. You've lost your car in the Century City Shopping Center parking lot. You've ever bought oranges, flowers, cherries or peanuts on a freeway off-ramp. You think that Venice is a beach. You drive next to a Rolls Royce and don't notice. You've started crossing a street and returned to the curb when the DON'T WALK sign started flashing.

Analysis †Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower Essay

Aqualisa is a U.K. based shower manufacturing Company. The Company has been very reputed in the U.K. market for its top quality showers, reliability and great service. It had launched its premium brand Quartz in May 2001. The basic purpose behind launching this brand was to address the concerns of the consumers and the plumbers which perhaps were not satisfied with the existing products in the market. Aqualisa has three products in shower market segments. This product addresses the issues of lower water pressure and allowing for proper temperature control for water. Generally speaking, due to legacy building designs, shower has low pressure and variable temperatures. Electric Showers commands around 60% of the market (Aqua has 20% or so of electric shower market) and easier to install but are positioned awkwardly in bathrooms and does not solve the pressure problem. On flip side, they do not need separate heat water supply, rather heats the water by itself. Also they are by far the cheapest among the three products with price difference in the range of 200- 400 dollars. Mixer Shower – Has two products one with pump one without. Priced at 400- 700.It takes 2 days to install. They have Great reputation in the market. Power Share – Awkwardly installed. they in 480 to 700 price range. It has average quality reputation. The quartz shower solves the awkward installation and long installation time problems. It can be installed in half a day, has easily configurable buttons to set temperature, and the installed box can be tucked away in a closed space. However, it costs 850 -1100 which is higher than the cost of other showers in the market and hence it is perceived as a premium segment product. Because of this and also the reluctance of the plumbers to learn about the new product, Quartz has not been able to achieve its expected sales. It was able to achieve the sales of only 15 units a day. Going with the current sales of Quartz shower of 15 units a day, the Company could probably recover the amount spent on its research and development with a time period of 3-4 years. If the Company could promote the sales of the product to at least 50 units a day it will be able to achieve a break even within the next two years. Analysis Porter’s five forces: 1)Supplier power: As seen in the case of Aqualisa, the supplier has almost no say. The market is completely customer driven. 2)Buyer power: In case of the shower industry, there are three customers. They are the plumbers, the property developers and the consumers. The plumbers here had the maximum bargaining power as they were involved in 73% of times in selecting a suitable shower. Only 17% of the times the consumers selected the shower alone without the consultation of the plumber. Hence the plumbers were the key customers. 3)Threat of new entry: The shower industry has been a growing industry. Only 60% of the U.K homes had showers and hence there were a lot of chances that new companies can come in the market to tap the huge market. This would reduce the market share of Aqualisa. 4)Threat Of substitution: Only 60 % of UK homes have a shower in spite of a bathtub being present in all homes. People are reluctant to buy showers because of the problems of fluctuations in water pressure and temperature. The aqualisa showers overcomes these problems however, if the perception about the showers are not changed in the minds of the people, the may still be reluctant and not use showers 5)Competitive rivalry: There are more than 9 rival brands to Aqualisa in the UK market. The market has been captured by Triton which captures about 30% of the UK shower market. However, Aqualisa has a superior technology which in still not available with any of the rival companies. Strengths: 1)Aqualisa was perceived as a high quality shower manufacturing company in UK.This was due to the superior products which Aqualisa used to sell. 2)They had very high innovation in technology. The Quartz was an example of high technological innovation of Aqualisa which was not present in any other shower making company. 3)The brand image of Aqualisa was very good because of its high quality and innovations. 4)The market share of Aqualisa was also quite high in the UK market. It captured 18% of the total market share and was third largest selling brand in UK. Weakness: 1)Aqualisa was perceived as an expensive brand. As a result of which the sales were less in the lower segments of the market. 2)The service of Aqualisa though perceived as high quality was actually degrading and about 10% of the products had defects in them. 3)Because of the high R&D cost involved in bringing innovative product in the market, the products were highly priced. Opportunities: 1)With a strong R&D already present in Aqualisa, the company could innovate further and bring out technologically advanced low cost, low weight and a highly reliable product. 2)With its shower having very less fluctuations in water pressure and temperature, the products could have very high demand in the UK market if marketed properly. Threats: 1)The main customers for the showers were the plumbers as the end consumer were very heavily dependent on the plumbers. Most of the times, the choice of the consumer was influenced by the plumber. However, the plumbers were usually reluctant to use a new product as they were used to working with the existing product and did not want to learn anything new. This could lead to very low sales of the newly launched Aqualisa Quartz showers. 2)Aqualisa was clear differentiator from the market because of its superior technology and innovations. But the rival companies were also soon catching up and within two years’ time could match up with Aqualisa’s superior products. The 4 P’s of marketing: Product: The current quartz products of Aqualisa ,quartz Standard and Quartz Pumped can be produced to capture the Premium end market . In addition to that a we propose to produce a cut down quartz product named say ShowerMax Lite that could be marketed under the ShowerMax brand to cater to the need from the developers. Similarly a slightly differentiate quartz shower product Say Quartz Easy and Quartz Easy pumped could be introduced under the brand name Gainborough to fulfill the needs of the DO-IT-Yourself Customer group Place: The Aqualisa quartz products such as Quartz Standard and Quartz Pumped should be marketed should be marketed only through Showroom and Trade shops to maintain its status as premium brand. The quartz product under the Shower Max Brand (ShowerMax lite) should be sold only through Specialist Contract oulets to supply developers. Quartz Easy marketed under the brand Gainborough should be sold through DIY sheds. Price: The Aqualisa is a premium brand so we keep the price as Planned but we have to sell Shower Max quartz product at much lower price since the developers are price sensitive and we have to slightly decrease to promote it among DYI group.

Rationale for a Dissemination Plan Essay

Dissemination of information is one of the significant factors in any system development. The firm stakeholders, policy makers and individual in departments involved employs skills and research outcome to win out the approximations to achieve the set ends and aims. Through the use of newsletters, magazine, flyers, brochure, posters, presentation and interviews, the firm will pass along knowledge to the different individual in the organization. In the nursing field, information about Evidence Base Practice is of importance. It should be shared amongst the practicing nurses in order for it to be implemented easily across the department (Hanrahan, Marlow, Aldrich, & Hiatt, 2010). Before embarking on Evidence-Based Practice Research, nurses should first come up with a clear project overview to clarify the aim and change they intend to bring after conducting research. They should spread the ends intended to be achieved by carrying out the research and the impact they will bring to the firm and their patient or customers. Nurses carrying out EBP should categorically choose the people to use the research (Target audiences). The central message is important, and it should be disseminated to the group or individual in the research task. It is important for nurses to identify key people in the research group who can be capable to make a credible message with simplicity to others. A researcher or in this case the nurse will disseminate activities and responsibilities to the target group and clearly explain to them the role they are entitled to work in the task. The researcher conducting EBP will need finance, for instance, he will incur travel expenses, stationaries and miscellaneous to run the task. Final evaluation of the system is a prerequisite when disseminating plan to benchmark the effort of the project and research (Canadian Health Services Rese arch Foundation). References Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. (N.d.). Communication Notes. Ottawa: Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/migrated/pdf/dissemination_plan_e.pdf on April 23, 2015 Hanrahan, K., Marlow, K. L., Aldrich, C., & Hiatt, A. M. (2010). Dissemination of Nursing Knowledge:Tips and Resources. Iowa: The University of Iowa. Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.nursing.uiowa.edu/sites/default/files/documents/research/Disseminating%20nursing%20knowledge.pdf