Samsung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Samsung - Essay Example It has been analyzed that the company has a high driving force to expand its business in the future. Thus, the researcher has decided to formulate a research proposal revolving around the scope of business expansion for Samsung through its Smart Phone Products in the global market (Dibb 166). Rational of the Research The states of business affairs for the modern multinational corporations have become highly complex after globalization of the world economy. In this epoch, the corporate firms must try to incorporate modern strategies in their business to effectively exploit the growing market demand for luxuries and comforts. This would help the firms to widen their economic surplus. With the rise in the living standard of the individuals in the global economy and a significant increase in the usage of internet media, the demand for smartphones in the contemporary business world has significantly increased. It is highly rational on behalf of the researcher to choose this situation as t he primary issue of the research proposal (Snowdon and Vane 155). This is because when the demand for smartphones in the global market is significantly increasing and therefore, a growth oriented company like, Samsung, should frame efficient business strategies to increase its smartphones sales in the market (Abideen and Saleem 60). Figure 1: Rise in the demand for Smartphones in the global Market (Source: â€Å"AFP†) The above graph shows that in the world market, the demand for smartphones have increased. Considering the smartphone products of Samsung, the essay will focus on the secondary research method to analyze the precise nature of Samsung smartphones in the industry. For conducting this analysis, the researcher would elaborate on the SWOT and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis of the company, in view of the concerned product lines. SWOT Strengths The smartphones produced by Samsung are highly innovative in terms of design and technology. This is a unique strength of the company and helps the organization to maintain its high brand value in the market. With its quality products and good services, as recorded in 2012, the company has managed to generate a profit of 23.845 billion in the global market. The company enjoys a large share of market demand for its products and thus, has the benefit of economies of scale in production. This has helped the company to manufacture products at low costs. Figure 2: Rising Profit of Samsung (Source: â€Å"About Samsung†) As stated in the above graph, the increasing revenue of the company can be efficiently utilized to explore new business opportunities in future. Weaknesses Samsung does not have its own operating system. So, it needs to acquire an operating system from other companies. This in turn increases its cost of production to some extent. The company tries to increase its revenue by focusing on the improvement of all its products. This is not a strategic business decision. Opportunities The company should capture the growing market demand for smartphones in the emerging economies like, India and China. It will be able to obtain more business patents by making new acquisitions. It should take the advantage of the growing mobile advertising business industry. Threats High competition in the smartphone industry, have saturated the market demand of this

Case Study--Customer Relationship Management Heads to the Cloud (ITM Study

--Customer Relationship Management Heads to the Cloud (ITM class) - Case Study Example It is also ideal for large companies with large numbers of customers located in diverse backgrounds. This service is efficient and effective compared to manual systems of processing information about their customers. Small to medium enterprises may not be suitable for this particular service which is specifically designed to accommodate large volumes of data. Small organizations usually process small volumes of data and this can be done internally using the database of the company which can be updated manually using programmes like excel. Though the subscription fee for this service appears to be little, it might be costly to small enterprises since they can easily manage their own databases without the aid of large clouding computing service if they deal with a small number of customers. 2. The main advantage of using cloud based enterprise application is that it is efficient and can process large volumes of data much faster than using manual methods for processing the same amount of data. The other advantage why large companies should adopt this cloud based CRM service is that it can be customised to meet the need of the organization. It also does not take a long period of time to implement since it is specifically designed to suit the information requirements of the company. The other advantage is that this CRM service is web based and it allows the organization to centralise its information services. This allows the managers to track as well as to monitor all information about the customers which gives them knowledge about the measures they can take in order to improve the operations of their organization. This web based service is secure since it ensures that confidential information cannot be removed from the data base. In terms of processing information about many customers, this service is advantageous to large corporations since it makes information processing fairly easy. However, the main disadvantage for using this service is

Corporate Strategy For Kingfisher Plc

Corporate Strategy For Kingfisher Plc This paper shall discuss about the financial management of Kingfisher Plc. This report shall include the background information of the organization which will tackle the brief history of the organizations formation and development, its mission statement, and its organizational values. The major stakeholders shall also be examined and their powers and function shall be evaluated as well. An environmental analysis of the organization shall also be conducted. The company shall also be appraised by means of a SWOT analysis. Finally, the organizations strategy shall be identified and evaluated. History of Kingfisher Plc The origins of the company can be traced back in the year 1982 when FW Woolworth was acquired by Paternoster. This deal came with a small chain of home improvement stores. This was the start of the creation of Europes biggest retail company. In 1984, the company bought the chains of Cornet electrical and the health and beauty stores of Superdrug in 1987. During the 1990s, the companys BQ continued its expansion when it opened its Warehouse style stores in the year 1994. On the year 1998, BQ merged with Frances leading home improvement retail store, Castorama. The following year, BQ opened its first store in China. The decade also marked other acquisitions such as Screwfix. The year 2000, the organization has decided on focusing its expansion on its home improvement stores. Woolsworth was demerged and Superdrug was sold towards the end of the year. On the year 2002, the remaining stakes at Castorama was acquired in order to continuously develop the home improvement chains in Europe. The organization has focused in expanding internationally such as creating new businesses in Turkey, Spain and Russia. Core businesses were also developed in the United Kingdom, France and Poland. Towards the end of the decade, the organization has a total of 830 stores and eight markets across Europe and Asia. The organizations mission statement is delivering more value for the shareholders of Kingfisher by focusing on three key priorities namely: management; capital and returns. SCC is geared towards providing an environment that encourages and gives merit to team efforts. They are committed in having consultative and participative management instead of directive management. They also encourage appropriate authority delegation and decision making on the lowest possible member of the organization. Collective effort and teamwork is being insisted. It is Kingfishers belief that a rich network of communication which is informal and open can lead into greater trust, learning and innovation. Kingfisher supports the concept of attractive compensation to a great performance. Kingfisher cultivates a set of beliefs that are shared within the organization wherein all policies and actions are based. It is believed that success is the goal for each effort and that determination in improving and innovating are constant challenges and stimuli. It is also believed that integrity, objectivity and fair play in business as well as in relationships with staff are very important. Mutual trust and respect are also very vital culture being practiced. Work in the company is perceived as enjoyable. Finally, Kingfisher believes with the perpetuity of its organization. Organizational Values The organization aims in achieving sufficient profit so that it can provide very attractive returns to is shareholders as well as financing the companys growth. For the company, profit is the organizations reward for their effort in offering the consumers the right kinds of products and services. For the long term, profit is the one absolute measure of their corporate performance. It is the organizations belief that in continually meeting their profit objective, other corporate objectives shall follow as well. Kingfisher believes that as a company is their duty in providing clients with quality products and services. The organization values that customers shall always come first. The customers interest should be the companys interest as well, and this should provide them with a long-term partnership with one another. The organization is committed in earning a preferred position with each of their clients by offering a consistently highest quality and reliability of service. Kingfisher ensures that they products always represent the best value for money. It is Kingfisher strategy in exerting its efforts only to those markets, industries and products wherein the organization can excel. Kingfisher believes in providing its people an environment wherein they can excel, develop and have growth in the company. Kingfisher considers its human resources as its most important asset. It aims in attracting people, developing them and retaining those with the highest foundations of character and competence. It does its best in providing training and opportunity to the people for development in improving themselves so that they could expand in their career opportunities. It is expected that their manpower will be full of initiative and drive and is eager in staying and growing with Kingfisher. It ensures that the people of Kingfisher get the recognition they deserve and that the people should be grateful with their accomplishments and that the company has its best choice with them. Examination of Major Stakeholders Stockholders elect the members of the board and they represent the stockholders interests in the company. Board members are at the apex of the decision making body of Kingfisher. They ensure that corporate strategies are met and are all in the interest of the stockholders. They can also do sanctions such as voting against nominees for the board of directors. Further, the board of directors has the authority in hiring, firing and compensating corporate employees. Authorities are centralized at Kingfisher. The managers in the organizations upper levels have retained the authority in making decisions. Decision making that is centralized is easier to coordinate with regards to organizational activities in order to carry out the strategy of the company. This also means that the organizations decisions are fit with the organizations objectives. In times of crisis, this decision making gives strong leadership that is focusing with one person or group. It allows a faster decision making process and a concerted response throughout the organization. Kingfisher clusters its people through groups of common expertise and experiences. This is called Functional Structure which has several advantages. First, the employees perform together and from this they can learn from each other. Employees become more productive on something that they do. Second, employees can monitor on their tasks and make sure that they are giving their best and do not let their responsibilities shrink. The result of this is that the work process becomes more effective. Most of all, the Functional Structure gives the manager a greater control of the activities within the organization. Environmental Analysis Five Forces Model and PESTLE Analysis According to Michael Porter (2009), there are five competitive forces that shape strategy. These are the established rivals; supplier power; customer power; new entrants; and the substitutes. According to Porter, customers dictate to lower the prices by playing the organization and its rival against one another. Suppliers on the other hand can hinder an organizations profit if they charge higher prices. The aspiring new entrants are armed with much newer capacities and are hungry for a share in the market can ratchet your investment in keeping Kingfisher in the market. The offered substitutes can just drive customers away. Porter has suggested tactics designed in reshaping these forces for your organizations favor. In neutralizing the power of the supplier, specifications of your organizations should be standardized so that shifting to other vendors can be easy. Customer power can be countered by expanding the organizations services so that it will be hard for the customers to leave. In tempering wars established by rivals, organizations should invest heavily with products that are different with that of the rivals. New entrants can be scared away by elevating your organizations fixed costs like increasing your organizations research and development. Threats brought about by the substitutes can be limited by offering products with greater value. Figure 1 is the PESTEL analysis for the organization of Kingfisher. Political factors such as regulations and politicians often affect an organizations strategy. This is the same as the legislative factors which includes legislation from the European Union and directives from the United Kingdom. Fortunately over almost twenty years in the business Kingfisher is able to adapt through these changes in policy. Economic trends which include world trends as well as that of the United Kingdom and homebuilding industry also affected the strategies of Kingfisher. But through the means of effective planning and execution of strategies, it was able to address the ever changing trends of these factors. Technology has always been a factor in advancements. Kingfisher was able to meet the demands of this fast paced factor. It was able to deliver a more effective service and product to its consumers. Social factors that is very important. Based on the strategies of the company their relationships w ith its stakeholders are of utmost importance. Activities in promoting and practicing corporate social responsibility were ensured to be given top priority. Finally, the environmental factors such as public opinion, cost implications and sites and locations were ensured that adherence to guidelines were followed. SWOT Analysis Kingfishers greatest advantage is its very adept experience in its line of business. Through extensive research and continuous development, it is able to produce top of the line products. With an over 100 operations all over the globe, it has a great marketing advantage over its competitors. Its greatest advantage is its workforce. Kingfisher ensures that the manpower it appoints has the advantage in handling its operations both culturally and technically. Kingfishers most valuable capability is its ability to produce great products and its marketing expertise all over the world. It is best that they would continue to do research for the continual improvement of its products towards customer satisfaction worldwide. Threats to the organizations operations are small homebuilding businesses especially in the local scenarios. These businesses would often offer cheaper prices and its managements are often run by locals that are undeniably more knowledgeable of the local market. Since the firms strength is its efficient product and very capable marketing ability, it is better to continue developing its products to address the ever changing needs of homebuilding industry. The only weakness that can be derived on this case study, based on the facts given, is its inability to train people for future succession plans. The threats are the local competitors in China which in all factors, know the Chinese market very well than anyone. It is with this given threat, that opportunities such as training more competent employees that are culturally and technologically adept should be considered. Evaluation of Organizations Strategy The article of Sveiby focuses on the very little development of strategy in firms that are not in the manufacturing industry. It also emphasised on the notion that strategies were juts formed and developed for the manufacturing industry. It was imposed on this article regarding knowledge intensive companies those in the service industry. This sector is a phenomenon of all types of companies that range from organizations that took the effort in refining and packaging their outputs. Knowledge industries are the ones in the service sector. Heavy investment in knowledge and highly innovative. An ongoing process of solving the problems of the customers by the producers is the emergence of service. Roos, G. R. (1997) came to the conclusion that standardized service or package was only appropriate on a short term base. The provider of the service is an expert while the customers want their problems to be solved by the expertise of the provider. It is therefore fitting that the knowledge in dustries know how to treat their clients as individuals. According to Morton (2010), when strategy and strategic planning is defined, it should always include as taking all the proactive approaches in evaluating all activities basing it in how well the activity moves towards the core goal of the business. More specifically, strategies are the plans for reaching a business objectives and goals. The concept of shaping strategies was discussed by John Hagel in his article Shaping Strategies. According to Hagel (2008), shaping strategies are strategies that use positive incentives in mobilizing and focusing thousand of participants to shape a specific desired industry or market. The elements that come together in this strategy are the compelling shaping view in providing focus for the participants of investments, a very power platform that will shape the economic leverage of the participants, and the shapers sets of acts and assets in communicating conviction and capabilities to potential participants. Hagel (2010) believes that shaping strate gies hold a great promise in the business world as business executives hold a greater freedom in shaping their target markets and industries during these times of high uncertainty and rapid change. For the case of the Kingfishers organization, its strategy is on focus strategy. Over the years it has developed new products engaged in businesses, merged with other companies and many other business ventures. All of these decisions are focused on what they do best to provide the consuming public with the best home improvement products and services that they can give.

Use of Animals in Art Spiegelmans Maus: A Survivors Tale :: Art Spiegelman Maus A Survivor?s Tale

The Use of Animals in Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor’s Tale The Maus series of books tell a very powerful story about one man’s experience in the Holocaust. They do not tell the story in the conventional novel fashion. Instead, the books take on an approach that uses comic windows as a method of conveying the story. One of the most controversial aspects of this method was the use of animals to portray different races of people. The use of animals as human races shows the reader the ideas of the Holocaust a lot more forcefully than simply using humans as the characters. Art Spiegelman decided on a very interesting, and possibly offensive to some, scheme of different animals to use. The first type of animal that appears is the mouse (Maus 1 p. 5). Mice were used to represent the Jewish people during the Holocaust as well as the present day. Polish police were involved in the first arrest of Jewish persons (Maus 1 p. 27). Polish people were represented with pigs. Once the Germans appeared, the scheme of the animals began to make sense (Maus 1 p. 33). Germans were shown by the use of cats. The last animal to appear were the dogs (Maus 2 p. 12). The dogs are Americans, and were always friendly to the Jewish people. The relationship between these animals portray the ideas of the Holocaust very well. Mice are small and scrawny creatures which are usually hunted by Cats. Cats chase mice and attempt to devour them, much like the Germans hunted down the Jews during the mass genocide. Pigs are very greedy and self centered. During the story, the Polish(Pigs) sold out the Jewish people on many occasions (Maus I p. 143). An example is when Vladek and his family were staying at Kawka’s farm. â€Å"They may come search here any minute! You’ve got to leave!† In this situation, Kawka was not telling the truth, but only trying to protect herself. Dogs chase cats, which in the book was symbolic because the Americans sympathized with the Jewish people. These are very rudimentary overviews of the animals, but they will serve for the purposes of this essay. In the Maus series, the life of Vladek during the Holocaust was detailed. The animals were used to illustrate a point of view. Use of Animals in Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale :: Art Spiegelman Maus A Survivor?s Tale The Use of Animals in Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor’s Tale The Maus series of books tell a very powerful story about one man’s experience in the Holocaust. They do not tell the story in the conventional novel fashion. Instead, the books take on an approach that uses comic windows as a method of conveying the story. One of the most controversial aspects of this method was the use of animals to portray different races of people. The use of animals as human races shows the reader the ideas of the Holocaust a lot more forcefully than simply using humans as the characters. Art Spiegelman decided on a very interesting, and possibly offensive to some, scheme of different animals to use. The first type of animal that appears is the mouse (Maus 1 p. 5). Mice were used to represent the Jewish people during the Holocaust as well as the present day. Polish police were involved in the first arrest of Jewish persons (Maus 1 p. 27). Polish people were represented with pigs. Once the Germans appeared, the scheme of the animals began to make sense (Maus 1 p. 33). Germans were shown by the use of cats. The last animal to appear were the dogs (Maus 2 p. 12). The dogs are Americans, and were always friendly to the Jewish people. The relationship between these animals portray the ideas of the Holocaust very well. Mice are small and scrawny creatures which are usually hunted by Cats. Cats chase mice and attempt to devour them, much like the Germans hunted down the Jews during the mass genocide. Pigs are very greedy and self centered. During the story, the Polish(Pigs) sold out the Jewish people on many occasions (Maus I p. 143). An example is when Vladek and his family were staying at Kawka’s farm. â€Å"They may come search here any minute! You’ve got to leave!† In this situation, Kawka was not telling the truth, but only trying to protect herself. Dogs chase cats, which in the book was symbolic because the Americans sympathized with the Jewish people. These are very rudimentary overviews of the animals, but they will serve for the purposes of this essay. In the Maus series, the life of Vladek during the Holocaust was detailed. The animals were used to illustrate a point of view.

Australian Aboriginal Art Essay

The aboriginal people mainly used ochre for artworks, such as on rock, wood, bark and the human body.Ochre is mined from particular sites. It is a special type of rock that’s heavily coloured because of the iron oxide contained inside, and comes in a variety of colours: yellow, white, red, purple (it is identical to red ochre chemically but of a different hue) and brown. It could be used on rock (cave walls, or just big rocks), wood (shields, log coffins, etc.), bark and skin, and artifacts. To get the paint from ochre rocks, one simply needs to find a rich coloured rock, ground it up, and add oil.Other materials such as charcoal and plant colourings were used to make black and dark green. Twigs, fibres and fingers were also used to get different strokes of paint, similar to the use of paintbrushes. Art is central to the Aboriginal life. It can be made for political, social, utilitarian and didactive purposes, and is inherently connected to the religious domain. Art is also a means by which the present is connected with the past and the humans with the supernatural. Art also activates the powers of the ancestral beings, expresses individual and group identity and the relationships between the land and the people. It was not until the eighteenth century, when the Europeans came to Australia, that Aboriginal art stopped being made only to fulfill traditional cultural needs, and this has only remained the in the case in varying degrees since. Contemporary Aboriginal Painting Methods In the 1930s, artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner first introduced watercolour painting to an Indigenous man, who later used to create landscape paintings and were immediately successful and became the first indigenous Australian watercolourist. The word â€Å"contemporary† means modern or of the present time. Contemporary aboriginal paintings have adapted the usage of canvas and acrylic paints. Even though these arts still uses the traditional styles and symbols, the methods are a bit different. It is a mixture of the traditional and the modern culture. The main reasons that the European painting materials began to be popular so quickly is because using acrylic colours and canvas saves a lot of time for them and at easy to sell. You can’t really be expected to bring a big boulder to sell! Of course, even so, some artists still paint using the traditional methods. Different artists from different regions create different artworks because of their different surroundings and understandings. But even though their artworks are different, their subjects are all the same: Dream time. Aboriginal paintings and drawings are created to show how they live and how they think the world is made. Even though the materials changed, it doesn’t change the subject. Some paintings also show the aboriginals’ beliefs, but they are sacred to the tribe. These sacred paintings and drawings are only allowed to be viewed by the tribe and nobody else. 2 Contemporary aboriginal artists: Albert Namatjira was an Australian artist. He was an Indigenous Australian of the Western MacDonnell Ranges area. He is perhaps one of Australia’s best known Aboriginal painter. He was famous for his watercolour Australian outback desert landscapes, which were not in the symbolic style of the traditional paintings, but very detailed and colourful. Another is Barbara Weir. She is an Australian Aboriginal artist and politician. Her paintings include representations of particular plants and dreamings, inspired by deep Aboriginal traditions. She uses two distinctive stylistic conventions, which are linear and dot painting. Bibliography * http://www.mineralszone.com/minerals/ochre.html * http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/methods/methods.php * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKqA3RteH1A * Aboriginal art by Caruana, Wally * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Namatjira

Kissan Job

Introduction : History and Evolution : Kissan till now –Acquired by Brooke Bond in 1993 from UB group -Separated from Brooke Bond as an independent brand under HUL Kissan current scenario : Kissan jam Varieties : * Pine apple * Mango * Apple * Strawberry * Mixed fruits Pricing : 100 gm Bottle – Rs. 22 200 gm Bottle – Rs. 47 500 gm Bottle – Rs. 102 Promotion : * Advertising -television -print media -hoardings * Sales promotion Consumer Sales promotion ( gifts and discount ) -Trade Sales promotion ( discounts on bulk purchase ) Position : Initial Positioning : -Captured customers mind as an add-on product with normal foods like snack, bread etc. -In 2000, HUL rebranded â€Å"KISSAN† as â€Å"Annapurna KISSAN† Repositioning : -Alternative applications-chappathi,samosa etc -Dissolves tennsion between mother and child Tackling competition : * General competition : Heinz ketchup – Maggi ketchup – Sil jam – Rasna * Generic compe tition: * Butter * Pickle Distribution strategy : Place : Kissan always plays 1ST as the quality is never down Target customers : Kissan jams are mainly targeting on kids and modern youth who are found to be make their food more tastier and healthy and this is also beneficial for all age groups. A large target market for kissan jam is people who are paying guest and hostelers.Example: Tops and Sil are the major players in this segment. Conclusion : * 46% of sample responded that they prefer jam withbread * 90% of the jam consumer consume kissan jam * 100% of the sample found kissanjam to be availableanywhere * Kissan jam customers are highly loyal towards the product * Only 68% of the sample could recall advertisement of kissanjam * The ad with a celebrity endorsing had a higher brand recall