Cyclermate Consultancy report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cyclermate Consultancy report - Essay Example This report will attempt to set up whether it is workable for Cyclermate Company to tidy up its obligations and accomplish money related dependability sooner rather than later with the undeniably loss of benefit. Foundation data Cyclermate Company has been getting a charge out of extraordinary development in the assembling of cycles for a long while. In any case, the most recent couple of years have seen the benefits of this organization sink forcefully coming about because of declined deals. The organization was begun in 1988 by two companions, Lewis Llewellyn and Dai Armstrong who had been in this business of making cycles for more than 20 years.The two companions brought their abundance of experience together and they chose to begin a cycle producing business passing by the name Cyclermate. Inside only a range of marginally over two years, the firm had extended to a degree that the two companions chose to obtain premises from where they were directing their business. With expanded interest for their item, the staff additionally expanded significantly however they despite everything demanded keeping the staff at a skeletal least to reduce expenses. Everything was done physically or using old or viable apparatus. Robotization was disheartened as they couldn’t legitimize purchasing the machines that should have been utilized in bowing of the bars to produce these cycles. The issue of value with these cycles emerged when a cycle had a mishap and accused the deficiency of a slowing mechanism. Deals have declined and with a couple of lenders, Linda Llewellyn, who is Lewi’s spouse and she requests that a lot of the business be given to her and along term loaner, Geraint Williams, who depends on the installments from this credit to deal with his feeble wife. There is a lot of money related weight on the business and if measures are not assumed into position, budgetary strain could make the business close down (Campello, Graham, and Harvey, 2010; Bancel , and Mittoo,2011). To this respect, the administrator Dai Armstrong and Gwyneth Morgan the secretary were entrusted with the right of organizing a gathering with the bank to arrange the chance of an overdraft. The bank had just specified that this solicitation would be exceptionally probably not going to be viewed as except if the organization gives evidence that there would be expanded exchanging to pivot the declining benefits. To have the option to know without a doubt whether the organization can be equipped for pivoting and unite itself on the monetary front in the short run, a full outline and appraisal of the nation will be done in this report. A SWOT investigation will be led to distinguish the regions of qualities, shortcomings, open doors just as dangers that face this organization. The issue of value underway will likewise be lit up upon. Measures that the organization is embraced to guarantee it switches these negative benefits will likewise be investigated among other pertinent issues relating to this case. Suppositions made To have the option to give an exhaustive and granular investigation of the organization in type of its money related position and different perspectives, for example, creation methods just as advertising techniques and organization procedures, various presumptions should be made here. These presumptions are talked about in the accompanying sections. The fundamental supposition that will be that both the organization the executives and the bank recognize that the organization had been performing admirably previously yet the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Question: Examine about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Answer: Presentation Asia is the most crowded and different mainland of the world and with ceaseless financial advancement with the improved authority over the transmittable sicknesses, it is clear that the future in all the nations of Asia has surprisingly expanded. The danger of disease increments with age and furthermore with expanding urbanization, changing ways of life and stoutness changed the malignant growth design and expanded the disease trouble in the Asian nations (Shen et al. 2013). Asia is known to be the home for half of the least fortunate populace of the world and this go about as a determinant as disease is related with both higher and lower financial conditions which add to the malignancy weight and example in Asia. Regardless of the weight that is developing on the mainland, the need of medicinal services use and arranging in the vast majority of the Asian nations is low (Pourhoseingholi 2012). This task will be on the subject An examination concerning disease rates in Asian nations, the causes, outcomes and protection gauges and will furnish a broad writing audit alongside the measurable information and their key hugeness. It is accepted that the paces of disease movement in the Asian nations are developing that must be concentrated to know the outcomes of the development and the pertinent preventive measures. Paces of Cancer in Asian Countries Asia is a landmass with various societies and the varieties lie in socio-social conventions and practices, social standards, ethnicity and dietary traditions. These components are all around reflected in the weights and examples of malignancy in the various locales of the mainland. Kimman et al. (2012) directed an exploration work to uncover the latest information accessible on the rates and weight of malignant growth winning in the ASEAN locale. The specialists evaluated that 500,000 instances of malignant growth passings and 700,000 new instances of the feared malady are accounted for consistently and most of them incorporate lung, liver and bosom disease. Around 4 million females and 3.6 million guys are living with malignancy in the nations of Asia and the middle time of disease event has been from 19 years to 44 years. A comparative report was done by Park et al. (2016) to exhibit the rate of colorectal malignant growth in five nations of Asia and saw that the pattern is expanding in the Asian nations mainly because of the expanded pace of colon disease and not because of rectal malignant growth. Colorectal malignant growth is perceived as the fourth most happening disease in the landmass of Asia and was seen as the most elevated among the men of Korea (51.39%) and least among the ladies of Israel (26.60%). From an alternate point of view, the contention was proceeded by Zhang et al. (2011) as they completed an examination work to look at and decide the frequency of prostate disease among the Asian men. The creators found that the mortality to rate, mortality and rate paces of disease in Asian men was seen as 0.44, 59,643 and 7.2 cases for each 105 every year individually. Be that as it may, Chang et al. (2014) considered the power of clinic spending and the results of malignant growth in the Asian nations which was a consolidated contention to both the past investigations. The creators found that the emergency clinic spending record which was the most noteworthy for colorectal malignancy with 30.2% and the least for prostate disease with 6.2%. From the surveyed writing, it was conjectured that the pace of malignancy is expanding in Asia and this is obvious from the enrolled new cases and passings. The qualities of the looked into comprised of their precision of data to display the threat of the infection and the shortcoming comprised of their legitimacy of discoveries with the absence of division of the occurrence of the individual malignancy types. In this way, it is presumed that most of the malignant growth is among the females that start at the youthful age of 19 and the medical clinic spending is generally on colorectal disease. Reasons for Cancer in Asian Countries The causative components of disease in the Asian nations comprise of the socio-social and way of life factors that have caused an expansion in the pervasiveness of bosom malignancy. Utilizing smokeless tobacco in the southern and southeastern nations has expanded the oral hole malignant growth rates. Dietary examples and Helicobacter pylori contamination are answerable for the high predominance of stomach malignant growth. In such manner, Long et al. (2012) completed an exploration work and found that the danger of prostate malignancy is related with diabetes mellitus and since the infection has a high commonness among the Asian men, it underpins the improvement of prostate disease. Different variables are related with the event of diabetes like family ancestry, ecological elements and drug use length that likewise influences the event of prostate disease. Subsequently, change in any of these components will likewise alter the occurrence rates. Aside from this, liquor, physical dorma ncy and undesirable eating regimen are likewise the causative variables of malignancy. Ng et al. (2015) continued with the contention with their exploration work for deciding the relationship that exists between the land areas, nation pay and malignant growth design in Asia and examine the reasons for disease in the mainland. The creators found that the creating nations in Asia are having a rising rate of malignant growth basically because of low fiber diet, corpulence and high fat, physical idleness, liquor utilization, smoking and carrying on with a disease related way of life. In any case, Kristina, Endarti Thavorncharoensap (2016) limited the contention with their exploration work to property the weight of malignant growth to tobacco smoking in the South Asian nations. The creators found that about 22% of the malignancy passings are because of the smoking of tobacco in the low, center and high-pay nations in Asia. Lin et al. (2013) on an alternate point of view found that hepatitis B and C infection are the significant reasons for hepatocellular carcinoma or liver malignant growth. Just around 3 5% of the patients endure the drawn out enduring of liver malignant growth. The surveyed writing built up the theory that there are a few causative components for the various sorts of malignant growth in the Asian nations. The quality of the writing was that they gave a definite record of the different sorts of malignancy in Asia in any case, with the confinement of their absence of data about their commonness among people as per their causative elements, aside from prostate and bosom disease. Accordingly, it very well may be inferred that distinguishing proof of these causative elements can be essential for control of disease in Asia. Results of Cancer in Asian Countries The results of malignancy can be horrible for a mainland like Asia where there are a few creating nations and disease can additionally disturb the destitution. This can be either because of the effect of the ailment on the capacity of the individuals to work or because of the expense of overseeing and treating the disease. In this regard, McCormack and Boffetta (2011) led an exploration work that mirrored the outcomes of ways of life that can prompt the advancement of disease especially in the center and low-pay nations of Asia. This populace is exposed to discretionary cashflow and open markets that cause them to devour liquor, tobacco and open them to progressively inactive occupations and ways of life. This prompts the advancement of prostrate, bosom and colon malignant growth among the Asians. Kimman et al. (2015) continued with the contention and expressed that malignant growth could deleteriously affect the lives of the Asian individuals bringing about a money related disaster. Poor endurance and antagonistic monetary results were distinguished among 75% of the new patients who kick the bucket inside a year because of financial detriments and advance indicative stage. Kimman et al. (2012) considered the effect and outcomes of malignancy on an Asian setting and found that the nations that come up short on a powerful and thorough arrangement of social medical coverage get influenced the most. Without these social wellbeing nets, the endurance, treatment costs, personal satisfaction of the patients, their family units and their financial conditions all goes under danger. The medicinal services use that leaves pocket as a rule surpasses 30% of the salary of the family unit prompting monetary hardship, mental trouble and sickness actuated destitution. Mak et al. (2014) did an examination on a positive note to check the results of disease which presented business related difficulties that are looked by the overcomers of malignant growth. The unintended social results have additionally been talked about by the creators to show the collaboration between the malignant growth survivors and their work environment. From the writing, a speculation can be concluded which expresses that malignant growth can have its results in each part of life. The quality of the writing was the itemized examination of the effect of malignant growth on the lives of the patient and the shortcoming of the writing was the absence of data on the clinical results of disease the board that incorporates the unfriendly responses. In this way, on the end, it very well may be expressed that the appalling results of malignant growth influences the patient actually as well as on an expert scale. Preventive Measures of Cancer in Asian Countries The rising and existing malignant growth weight and examples in the different Asian nations require its political acknowledgment as a significant issue of general wellbeing. Adjusted speculation is likewise basic in the expert and open mindfulness. To stretch more on the preventive measures, D'cruz et al. (2013) led an examination work to express that the preventive proportion of head and neck malignant growth is generally reliant on the site and phase of the tumor. Suitable treatment because of early analysis is critical for progressively the probability of endurance and fix. From the points of view of hepatocellular carcinoma, Han et al. (2011) opined

Children Pediatric Growth Charts and Eating Disorders

Children Pediatric Growth Charts and Eating Disorders Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Print Children Pediatric Growth Charts and Eating Disorders By Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, CEDS facebook twitter linkedin Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, is a certified eating disorders expert and clinical psychologist who provides cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. Learn about our editorial policy Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, CEDS Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 23, 2015 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on January 23, 2020 Hero Images / Getty Images More in Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Symptoms Treatment Diagnosis  Hopefully, at every well visit, your pediatrician documents your child’s growth on the  CDC growth chart, which plots height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) against age-based averages. Why? Because the CDC growth chart is one of the best tools for early identification of eating disorders (and other problems). Eating disorders most often begin during adolescence, and they can become severe quickly. Research shows that early intervention improves the chance for a full recovery. Unfortunately, most pediatricians are not trained in the early detection of eating disorders. Furthermore, in the face of the current societal focus on obesity, doctors may be more sensitized to a patients weight being over versus under what is expected and miss signs of restrictive eating disorders including anorexia nervosa. So parental vigilance can make a big difference.   Body weight and height are largely genetically determined. Contrary to what commercial diet companies promise and what the war on fat implies, not every individual is meant to be the average weight for their age and height. Consider foot size, where there is a normal distribution. While the average woman today has an 8 ½ shoe size, most do not â€" some will be size 5 and others will be size 10. And so it is with body weight. Not everyone is predestined to have a body weight in the 50thpercentile â€" some will be heavier and some lighter. Checking a Childs Growth for Problems Throughout the Years During the first year of life, the curve along which a child grows to a significant degree reflects environmental factors for the baby as well as in the mother during pregnancy. By around the second year of life, a child starts to grow along a trend line that more accurately reflects his or her unique genetic growth potential. In healthy children height and weight each increase along a fairly constant growth curve. However, some children grow steadily along with the 25  th  percentile while other children grow steadily along with the 50  th  percentile and still others along with the 95th  percentile. Their height and weight percentages may be similar or different. This may all be normal for that child. Annual measurement is recommended so there’s adequate information to determine whether a child is falling off a growth trajectory in a dangerous way. This is one of the reasons for yearly pediatric appointments. If you change pediatricians, it is a good idea to have the growth records transferred so that a complete record is maintained.   Of note, many children and adolescents who develop anorexia nervosa do not experience actual weight loss. However, they are usually supposed to be growing at this age â€" it is common for children to gain 30 pounds as they go through puberty. Failure to gain weight can be a sign of malnutrition and as dangerous as actual weight loss. Malnutrition during puberty  can lead to weak bones  and permanently stunted height. Failure to gain weight in a growing child should be a cause for concern. It can mean an eating disorder or a multitude of other health issues.   Growth curves are also used by professionals in establishing target weights for recovery, and research shows these curves are the best method for determining an individual’s treatment goal weight (more accurate than using BMI) when they are available. They can help a professional to accurately estimate the weight at which females will resume menstrual periods following amenorrhea (loss of menstrual periods due to malnutrition).   Falling off the growth chart trendline for either height or weight can indicate a potential problem. For example, if a child who has always tracked along the 75thpercentile for either height or weight suddenly starts tracking along the 40thpercentile, there is reason for curiosity and likely concern even if they are not technically underweight on a BMI chart. Sometimes children with anorexia fall off their height curves before they fall off their weight curves, which is why it is important to track both. Parents can plot their child’s growth on the following charts, or obtain growth records from their child’s physician: CDC Growth Chart for Girls Up to Age 20CDC Growth Chart for Boys Up to Age 20 Parents can also plot growth curves electronically (for free) on  My Growth Charts and can learn how to read a growth chart.   A Word From Verywell If you notice that your child has fallen off either his or her height or weight curves, ask your physician to conduct a careful history and physical. There are many possible explanations for a failure to grow and eating disorders are only one of them. Doctors may need to perform additional testing. It is also important to note that not all patients with eating disorders will have weight loss or be at lower weights. Eating disorders may occur in people of all body sizes.  ?

Minnesota V. Riff Essay - 1110 Words

Minnesota v. Riff Interpersonal Communications/CJA-304 September 24, 2011 University of Phoenix Abstract Identify and discuss the various types of written or oral communication presented in the case and the guidelines for each type of communication. Consider the prosecution, defense, witnesses, and the judge. Write an arrest-and-incident police report using the specified guidelines and parameters for report writing as outlined in the assigned readings. Assume the role of the investigating officer. The report must be factual, accurate, objective, and complete. Ensure the police report is as long as necessary, concise, clear, and mechanically correct. Types of Written and Oral Communication Prosecution The various types†¦show more content†¦The witnesses stated that the sacks that Mr. Riff was charged with carrying that contained the money were issued to him at the poker game. Mr. Riff testified he grabbed the hammer to use as a security measure for him in order to protect his winnings. The Defense disputes Mr. Riff tossed the hammer away prior to arriving home and in no way meant to steal from the market. The Defense in this case exercised oral communication by exploiting the redundancy in this case. This was to establish that the eyewitness testimonies for the prosecution were incorrect and imperfection was found during the police investigation. Witnesses The witnesses in the Minnesota v. Riff case would have used verbal communication when communicating with the police and the Defense Attorney. During the trial they would have used oral communication. The witnesses would also have used visual communication in describing to the Judge, the Prosecutor, the Defense Attorney, and the Jury what they saw. Also, the witnesses would have used written communication during their personal statements to the police and the Attorneys. Police Arrest/Incident Report Incident Type: Burglary Incident Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011 Time: Approximately 12:30 am Address: Marquette’s Market- Corner of Main and First Street Officer Name: Officer Terry Shields, Minnesota Police Department Offender/Suspect: Ronald Riff Victim: Speedy Marquette (Store Owner) Witnesses: Marty Martini,Show MoreRelatedCommunication and Criminal Justice6158 Words   |  25 Pages|Resource: Minnesota v. Riff court case documents, or a similar court case’s documents that are|in class – | | | |as complex as Minnesota v. Riff and are approved by your instructor. | | | | | |Due by 3-4-13 | | | |Search the Internet for the Minnesota v. Riff courtRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 Pagesdeferred. Hughes described the Montage as poems marked by conflicting changes, sudden nuances, sharp and impudent interjections, broken rhythms, and passages sometimes in the manner of the jam session, sometimes the popular song, punctuated by the riffs, runs, breaks, and disc-tortions of the music of a community in transition. Montage of a Dream Deferred, illustrated by Jacob Lawrence, was not published by Henry Holt until 1951. Many of the poems were later set to music by composer Howard SwansonRead MoreCase Studies67624 Words   |  271 Pages(Living Media India Ltd), 22 April. Connect Magazine, 1998, Worldwide Feedback Form: www.connectmagazine.com/June 1998/Junepgshtml/June98Wwind.html. DeGarmo, K., 1998, ‘Mulan Happy Meal goes worldwide’, The Fort Worth Star Telegram, 16 June. Deshpande, V., ‘McDonald’s goes more Indian’: www.financialexpress.com/fe/daily/20000910/faf10031.html. The Ecologist, 1995, ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken protests in India’ , October. The Economist, 1997, ‘Spice with everything’, 22 November. Happy Birthday, ‘Maharaja

Choc Delux Liability Under the Tort of Negligence Free Essay Example, 1000 words

According to English law for tort of negligence, claimant (Kim) needs to prove number decision points to help the court to find evidences of negligence showed by Choc Delux. Decision Point 1: In order to prove evidence of negligence, Claimant (Kim) will need to show that defendant (Choc Delux) owed the duty of care towards claimant (Harlow, 2005). In similar context, the case of ‘Donoghue versus Stevenson’ can be used as reference point. In that case, House of Lords gave verdict that in case of generally duty being assumed by Claimant, evidence of negligence cannot be proved. However, in this case, Claimant (Kim) is customer defendant (Choc Delux) and defendant gifted the cake to Claimant. Therefore, Choc Delux owed the duty of care towards Kim. Decision Point 2: After showing that Choc Delux owed her duty of care, Claimant (Kim) needs to prove that defendant (Choc Delux) is at fault or the defendant (Choc Delux) has breached its duty of care. In such context, first, the courts determine the standard of care that Choc Delux owed to Kim. We will write a custom essay sample on Choc Delux: Liability Under the Tort of Negligence or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Although, there is no written contract between Claimants (Kim) is customer defendant (Choc Delux) but breach of duty can be proved the court by using the clause of business ethics and quality standards (Marcy, Gentry and McKinnon, 2008). As a result, it is reasonable to think that the court will find evidence for breach of duty of care by defendant (Choc Delux). Decision Point 3: At this phase, Claimant (Kim) needs show that breach of duty by defendant (Choc Delux) caused the damage (physical injury and monetary expense of  £10,000). The court will use ‘but-for’ test to determine the validity of claim by the Claimant (Kim) (Harlow, 2005). Court will ask the question, â€Å"but for the Choc Delux’s (defendant)’ tort, would Kim (Claimant) have suffered the loss. In such case, Kim can use the doctor’s diagnosis, medical reports to show that damage was caused by the defendant (Choc Delux). In extreme case, chemical tests can be conducted to show that ‘false finger nail’ was part of the wedding cake when it was delivered by defendant (Choc Delux). Decision Point 4: finally, damage suffered by Claimant (Kim) must be part of the damage that can be recovered under English law for tort of negligence. Kim’s case is not loss of chance to avoid damage (physical injury and monetary expense of  £10,000). Therefore, it will not be difficult for Kim to pass the 4th decision point (Lewis, Morris and Oliphant, 2006). All the four decision points are in favour of Claimant (Kim) and these criteria can be fulfilled by Kim in the court.

Running Head North Sea Oil and Gas Free Essays

Every business or industry is prone to various risks which include floods, earthquake, terrorists which the industry should put mechanisms in place to avoid such. Effective contingency planning has been of importance to most industries that embrace the idea. North Sea oil and Gas has for a long time been prone to the problem of changing weather conditions which is especially experienced in the sea. We will write a custom essay sample on Running Head: North Sea Oil and Gas or any similar topic only for you Order Now The companies that exploit the North Sea oil and gas have put a lot of emphasis on risk management and most of the companies have set up risk management departments (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). Numerous deaths had occurred during the exploitation of North Sea oil and gas in the 1970s and 1980s and this called for effective contingency planning to reduce the losses incurred by loosing workforce and by spillage of oil and gas due to buckles. The companies that exploit the gas and oil have invested in the contingency planning as a way of way of managing the risks (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). North Sea oil and gas has been a source of wealth to the countries that exploit the resource. North Sea oil has been used to refer to the oil and natural gas exists beneath the North Sea. The countries that exploit the North Sea oil and gas include Netherlands, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom and Denmark. Most countries and especially companies that have been given license to exploit the resource have taken proactive measures of risk. Mining beneath the sea has led to many deaths of the people involved and this has called for heavy investment in risk management projects undertaken by the companies. The pipes that transfer the oil and natural gas from underground reservoirs to processing plants which are mainly located some distance from the sea must be strong to withstand the waves in the sea. Depending on weather changes, waves differ in their height and this call for contingency planning otherwise heavy losses are incurred by the particular company (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). In the 1970s, the North Sea oil a gas companies took proactive measures to avoid heavy losses that resulted when waves exceeded the height of 3 meters. The operators laid many pipes which assumed the shape of S to maintain smoothness between the large barge and the ocean floor. The operators used bow anchors to further buckles by raising and resetting the pipes at the barges. The operators had to be keen because improper lowering of pipes would result into a pipe buckle which presented a serious threat in laying the pipes. The excessive height of waves which exceeded the anticipated height resulted in further risk of pipe buckles due to uncontrolled lowering of pipes. The companies therefore had to purchase a large number of steel pipes to avoid delays incase of any pipe buckle and this methods was not cost effective as the company would have desired. Any proactive measure that is taken to manage risk should be cost effective, utility effective and must therefore be maximizing benefits for the company while minimizing cost (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). An effective contingency planning in managing risks in project requires good planning and coordination of all the stakeholders in the project to ensure maximum desirable result. Risk management involves taking measures in dealing with uncertainty. The North Sea and oil contingency planning that was adopted in 19790s involves dealing with uncertainty because in favorable weather conditions, there is less cost involved in dealing with risks since pipe buckles will be few and hence very few new pipes will be required to be laid. However, since it’s hard to predict the height of the waves in the sea which can cause heavy losses if unchecked, the companies that explore the oil and gas in the areas must take precautionary measures (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). Exploration of North Sea oil any natural gas involves making wealth for the companies that are undertaking the projects. The importance of contingency planning in the exploration project is very essential in risk management because it’s used to assess the possibility of bad weather condition which is a threat to the project. The assessment is consequently used to reduce the possibility of underperformance that may be realized when no measures are undertaken to reduce or avoid the pipe buckles. The cost of replacing buckled pipes reduces the profit margin that is realized in the project and therefore effective contingency planning help to manage the risk. Effective contingency planning helps to capture the benefits of fair weather. Uncertainty about weather conditions is a threat that faces the North Sea offshore pipe laying. If effective contingency planning is observed, long periods of bad weather can be sustained because the project major should be able to recognize and deal with the bad condition threat which is inevitable. The project managers should ensure there is plenty supply of pipes during bad weather condition to avoid delays in replacing the buckle pipes. The project managers should observe good contingency planning by ensuring that the oil and gas pipeline are complete before the bad weather sets in and this will assist in reducing the costs associated with contingency planning. Laying pipelines in time helps in avoiding major delays in the project which may result in heavy monetary losses. Contingency planning for reducing possible threats that are associated with North Sea and oil exploration could be a possible way of increasing income to the companies that are undertaking the project. American project management institute (PMI) argue that there is a possible opportunity associated with the risks that threaten the project in winter, bad weather conditions has been known to lead to gas shortage in most cities which due to law of demand, the prices increase. This could be an opportunity for those companies that are concerned with the project. Effective contingency planning in managing risk North Sea oil and gas has created an opportunity to the companies undertaking the project. This is attributed to the precautions taken by the companies in anticipation of bad weather threat. The project involves paying for delivery before the contract begins. Most companies that want to protect themselves from the deficient supply of the resources therefore buy the resources before the contract begins. The high demand has contributed to higher revenue derived from the project and this consequently results to higher profitability (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). Contingency planning which is mainly associated with managing risks should not only focus on the threats that hamper the success of the project but should also view threats as an opportunity to achieve the objectives of the project. Achievement of objectives means the project has succeeded. Therefore effective contingency planning in addressing risks should recognize the close relationship of threats and opportunities. The actions taken by the project manager in reducing the risks should seek to create an opportunity for excellence (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). Effective contingency planning should not focus on managing threats. Instead the project should seek to identify the different sources of risks and consequently how to manage the risks. Focus on risks draw emphasis on the anticipated failure. Therefore, assessing the various sources of uncertainty and how those uncertainties can be a threat to the project and consequently how to manage the uncertainties involves application of effective contingency planning. North Sea oil and gas exploration is associated with many uncertainties which present various threats to the project. Focus on the opportunities created by the uncertainties management can lead to profitability and success of the project. The project manager should identify the origins of uncertainties instead of managing risk first and this will assist in addressing the root of the problem. Most projects have failed to meet the set objectives due to their failure to address the root of the problems. Superficial problem solving has led undesirable results. Therefore identification of the source of uncertainties should be considered as the beginning of the risk management process in effective contingency planning (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). Uncertainty is present in every project and in all stages of the project life cycle (PLC). The uncertainty is contributed by various reasons which are inevitable. All projects success is based on various assumptions which are the main sources of uncertainties. Differences in the performance of project concerning cost, quality and duration that is required to complete the project bring a lot of uncertainties. In laying pipes in the ocean in a way that will avoid pipe buckles involved a lot of uncertainties. This is attributed to the changing weather conditions. Its hard to forecast the height of the waves in the ocean in a particular season and this present source of uncertainties since its hard to know with certainty the cost of dealing with the threat since its hard to tell the amount of pipes to be knocked down and therefore requiring replacement (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). Proactive risk management in the North Sea oil and gas project should be entrenched in both base plans and contingency plans. It’s argued that if a project focuses very much on being cost effective it’s bound to fail on risk management in some occasions. However, crisis management should only be used as principal management in some occasions. However, crisis management should only be used as principal management mode if the risk management fails completely (Leslie and Michaels, 1997). References Leslie, Keith, J. and Michaels, Max, P. â€Å"The Real Power of Real Options†. The McKinsey Quarterly 3 (1997):134-225. How to cite Running Head: North Sea Oil and Gas, Essay examples

Implementing Process Management

Question: Prepare a blog on implementing process management in 500 Words. Answer: This blog talks about running the flourishing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects through planning, implementing and operating by means of Risk management system. It centers on the classification of chief issues in running ERP projects and mounting a risk management structure; planned by investigating the risk and efficiency in the ERP executing projects and recognizing the risk aspects to create some ideas in the extenuating dimensions. In particular, this method made easy the recognition of main issues in the running of ERP projects and the growth of a model for administrating the rising risk issues. These days, business has distorted to the global market. It gives various challenges to an organization by accepting ERP system to achieve competitive advantages presentation, together with attaining customer anticipation and market growth. The rationale is ERP can help out them, particularly big projects in the explanation of the disintegration concerns by incorporating all or ganizations workflow. Furthermore, there are chief issues in the commencement projects that the effects these systems process. There are many issues in applying ERP projects which include matters associated with IT, managerial change, and project management. For example, there are risks such as holdups in conducting over sign-off and consequences of other projects on ERP have important impacts on project management. Inadequate business wealth and holdups in making alteration to a bequest system have high impact on organizational change. Likewise, negligence of overall IT architecture results noteworthy impact on IT associated processes. Also, a flourishing ERP execution engages numerous factors like: Apparent the goal of business planned. Top management has tough obligations. Exceptional project management Change Management organizational. An outstanding implementation group Give high-quality learning and training. Focus on measuring performance. The frameworks of risk management are recognizing, classifying, and evaluating, administrating, and finishing risk. Managing risk across diverse stages of project and equivalent stress to efficient project management, organizational change and IT acceptance are some of the key factors in accomplishment of ERP implementation (Dey, Clegg Bennett, 2010). It is the method to execute the business in the market. In addition, an organization can use the roll-out plan, which can sustain business processes. A flourishing project management requires several checklists in some tasks; which are (Becker, Kugeler, Rosemann, 2011): Influence; Information and training; Training and consultancy; Sensibility; Motivation; Documentation, which must be crystal clear in the business procedures and documenting some, recognized report accomplishments. Organizations regularly put Process Management into practice for an array of motives. Nonetheless, the major motivation is to be further competitive in the powerful rivalry of todays financial system. A bulk of company leaders are forced to be aggressive through enhanced contributions and the accomplishment of improved efficiency, while at the same time falling overall costs and proceeding business processes. ERP systems offer considerable profits but their implementations engage considerable capital pay outs and lofty breakdown risks (Zeng, 2010). References Becker, J., Kugeler, M., Rosemann, M., 2011,Process Management : A Guide for the Design of Business Processes, 2ndedition, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. Dey, P., Clegg, B., Bennett, D., 2010. Managing enterprise resource planning projects.Business Process Management Journal,16, 2 (2010), pp. 282-296. Zeng, Y., 2010. Risk management for enterprise resource planning system implementation in project-based firms.

Quizbowl free essay sample

After lunch, announcements are read over the publicaddress system at my school. When the teacher comes to Quizbowl in room212, I erupt, Yea, Quizbowl! Do not get the wrongimpression Quizbowl is not an important or even a well-liked organization. Infact, compared with the majority of activities, it is at the bottom of the list.Those who advocate Quizbowl are often shunned, and I am the leader of theseoutcasts. But to those who are members, Quizbowl is hard-core, unadulterated fun.As captain, I have thoroughly annoyed many high-ranking school officials on itsbehalf. As one teacher proclaimed, Quizbowl is my baby. In order tounderstand fully my role in Quizbowl and how this intellectual experience givesme such satisfaction, an explanation of the game is required. Quizbowl is, simplyput, a mind game. Our battlefield is (usually) a table, and our weapons are ourbrains. It is best described as Jeopardy! with teams. Teams buzz inanswers with points awarded per question, and occasionally teams lose points forearly, incorrect answers. We will write a custom essay sample on Quizbowl or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Depending on the tournament, there may be one or twoopponents, bonus questions, different types of questions in different rounds andmany other idiosyncrasies. The captains job is not only to lead the team, answerquestions and delegate responsibility, but also to inform teammates of the rules,when they should and should not guess and what strategies to take. Thereare two reasons this intellectual activity gives me so much satisfaction. First,it is not very popular, and the fact that I have helped cultivate interest andmotivate members is a serious accomplishment. The other is that we did fairlywell this year; at one tournament we placed higher than we have in manyyears. The lack of support for the team does surprise me, for I findQuizbowl as exhilarating as a basketball game or tennis match. Fans who watchedus play at our high-placing tournament were in for a treat. There, three teamsplayed at a time, with each guaranteed three matches. The first-, second- andthird-place teams received three, two and one point(s), respectively. Normally ateam needs a score of six to advance. In our first match we were in last place,down by five, with time running out. While the last question was being read, oneof the other teams buzzed in incorrectly and early, getting a 5-point penalty. Ibuzzed in, receiving an awkward look from the moderator. His face seemed to say,Hey, kid, they just got it wrong. I am going to read the whole question foryou. What are you doing? My answer, however, was correct, which brought usinto second place and in contention for the hallowed afternoon rounds. We placedsecond in our second match, which included the challenge of playing last ye arschampions. Our third match was like our first, a nail-biter to the finish. Weended up in exactly the same situation no time left as the last question wasread. One of my teammates buzzed in, and from that point on my memory replays inslow motion. He declared his answer in that slow, deep, wave-like voice one hearsat a suspenseful juncture in a movie. He was correct, we received a bonusquestion (which we also answered correctly) and we won. How can that not be asexhilarating as hitting a home run at the bottom of the ninth with the basesloaded? Our team earned seven points and placed 34th out of 80 schools.Unfortunately, only the top 32 teams advance. Teddy Roosevelt once saidsomething along the lines that there is nothing in life more satisfying thanworking hard at something worth doing. That is why Quizbowl is so important to meand such a great intellectual experience. The team has overcome adversity notonly in competition, but also in its lack of support. I am proud to say that, tosome extent, I am responsible for this.

Multiple Intelligences Essays

Multiple Intelligences Essays Multiple Intelligences Essay Multiple Intelligences Essay Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Multiple Intelligences Intelligence is an inborn ability that can be tested by specific assessment methods. One has to be intelligent to pass the tests given to them. Intelligence is a natural attribute that cannot be acquired from other human beings. An intelligent person is an all-rounded individual skilled in diverse subjects. It constitutes the ability to address specific problems that plague their community. An intelligent person finds methods and ways through which certain problems in society can be solved. The relationship between culture and intelligence is based on the notion that intelligence is aimed at solving specific cultural problems. Intelligence is used to identify the problem and then create solutions to that problem. Intelligence also creates culturally compatible ways to transmit ideas and problem solving knowledge to the community. There are certain cultural roles that require the problem solving ability of intelligent individuals. These cultural roles can however only be solved by a combination of intelligences. Society values logical or mathematical intelligence highly because it is considered more complex than other intelligences. Even though logical intelligence is complex and reserved to the knowledge of a few it should not be highly considered. Logical intelligence cannot exist alone. It is complemented by the other intelligences. Intelligence functions as a combined force and hence every single intelligence ought to be rated as high as the other. It should therefore be rated at the same level as the other intelligences. Intelligence enables an individual to solve complex cultural and societal problems. An intelligent individual identifies problems in society and creates solutions for these problems. Intelligence also enables people to find out ways through which they can convey the problem solving knowledge they possess to other members of society. It entails sharing vital information with those who are directly affected by the problem in order to prevent further problems from arising. Education on the other hand only measures one’s ability to solve logical and linguistic problems. The educated individual is devoid of problem solving qualities. They are only equipped with class-based knowledge in specific fields compared to the all-rounded intelligent individual. Education considers only particular skills while problem solving requires a combination of multiple skills. Education can enhance the seven forms of intelligence. The intelligence level of students can be enhanced through education when the appropriate teaching methods are used. Education should entail methods that incorporate all the seven intelligences. It should strive to develop students’ particular intelligences rather than concentrate only on logical and linguistic intelligences. Intelligence is not fixed. It can be developed to greater and more productive levels. An example is the students who gradually develop their performances in school and end up being better professionals after school. A student can work hard to develop their particular intelligences and in turn gain more knowledge from the experience they get. It is important to identify the skill combination that an individual to be able to suggest appropriate methods through which such skills can be further developed. Knowledge of all the skills and intelligences will allow one to create the best way to assess such an individual. The problem solving process is not a function of a single intelligence. It is rather the function of a collection of multiple intelligences. Assessing a person’s ability based on single intelligences is not an appropriate method of testing one’s ability. Thus, individuals should be assessed based on their multiple skills to prepare them for suitable careers in the future.

Social media plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social media plan - Essay Example In principle, numerous firms have embraced the intensive use of the internet for online business operations. The online market is already flooded with firms, which contest for brand recognition and customer loyalty. In addition, with the constant advancements in IT, internet marketing has opened numerous marketing prospects and has become the trend for a number of companies. Gaining competitive advantage being the target of every firm, a well-organized online marketing strategy is critical for the success of the French bookshop. The proposal assumes that the clients know the firm’s products and care about its products. The other assumption is that the Consumers know the products they want and have time to research on the available products. The plan also assumes that consumers will find the entire French Bookshop’s information on the digital landscape. In addition, the clients are assumed to make rational decisions in purchasing the firm’s products. The proposal also assumes that the clients will market the organization’s products by spreading the information about the products of the firm. Studies indicate increasing trends in the online markets within emerging economies. The use of the mobile devices and internet technology has also increased among the younger generation. The firm will take advantage of these inclinations to introduce new products in the target market and create a global brand for its new products (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Therefore, the target market for the French Bookshop will mainly consist of young people between the ages eighteen and forty years. The market will consist of individuals who are young, outgoing and full of life. In addition, the French Bookshop will utilize premium tactics to appeal to the specific consumer division thereby augmenting the volume of sales. Studies show that the younger populace between the ages of 24 and

Northcentral's Expectation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Northcentral's Expectation - Research Paper Example Introduction It is important for the researchers to clearly differentiate and distinguish the quantitative research method and qualitative research method. In order to make sure that the research is properly carried out and the stated aim and objectives are fulfilled in effective and efficient manner, it is essential for the researcher to carefully select the research method. For this purpose, the researcher should be able to clearly distinguish the two research methods from each other. The qualitative research method is descriptive as it focus on depth and details, on the other hand quantitative research method is precise as it focus on the quantity. The research designs in the quantitative research method are more formal and use more numbers and statistics. Apart from this the quantitative research designs are designed for the statistical treatment and analysis. On the other hand, the qualitative research method and designs focus more on different informal sources like words, image s and other things. This in turn, allow the researcher to get hold of the topic being investigated on more personal level. It is also important to acknowledge here that some researchers often use a mix method approach in which both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used. ... For this purpose, researchers also take help from different statistical tests. The numbers are interpreted with the help of different mathematical and statistical techniques for example, mean, frequency, z-score test, and many other. In order to increase the generalization of the research study, there should be large amount of information or data. Researchers normally use different well structured questionnaires and surveys in order to gather quantitative data. Along with this the experimental studies are also common in order to identify and establish causal relationship between difference variables. These experiments are either performed in controlled setting or non controlled setting (Creswell, 2007). In order to come up with the problem statement in the quantitative research study it is first essential to identify different variables which includes confounding variables, covariates, mediating variables, dependent variable, independent variable, etc. Along with this in quantitative research study the researcher has to come up with different research questions and the related proposed hypothesis. The researcher should make sure that the research questions and hypothesis are formulated in such a manner that they are aligned with the problem statement of the research study. Hypotheses are only formulated in the quantitative research study or mix method research study. The quantitative research study focuses on exploring the direct relationship between two or more variables with the help of different tests and experiments. For this reason, in quantitative research studies and mix method research studies it is essential for the researcher to present the operational definition of the

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities

Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘ Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities Analysis of Ethiopia for Business Opportunities 1. Introduction 1.1 The Country Ethiopia is almost five times bigger in the size of the United Kingdom and 27 times in the size of the Netherlands, is geographically located in the east of Africa with border line Somalia(1626 km) from east , Eritrea(912km) on north ,Sudan(1606 km) from the west and Kenya (830 km from the south. Ethiopia has geographically importance due to easy access to reach the Middle East and Europe, increase its importance in international trade. Geographically having an area of approximately 1.12 million square kilometers (444,000 square miles) out of which land is on 1,119 million square kilometers and water is on 7444 square meters. Ethiopia is high plateau with central mountain ranges almost over the country is divided by Great Rift Valley. The major rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekezie and Wabe Shebele. Ethiopia has also small amount of natural resources with small reserves of platinum, gold, potash, copper, hydropower and natural gas. 1.2 The People Ethiopia is country with around 80 million people, and in comparison to other country it comes on 14th rank in world. Almost more than 80 percent of the population still lives in the rural areas. The age structure in Ethiopia is 0-14 years are (46.1%),15-64 years are (51.2%) and 65 years and over are (2.7%).Ethiopia has average birth rate of 2.7%. In Ethiopia is total freedom of religious practice, and the Christianity and Islam are the two main religions in Ethiopia with other religions which are in very number most of them are located in south side. Almost two-third of the population used the three main languages Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna the official language of the Ethiopian government is Amharic. In schools, colleges and university teaching and medium of instruction are in English, also used mostly in the banking, insurance and business transactions, Arabic and Italian languages are also widely used in Ethiopia. Almost the 42.7 % of over 15 years old people can read and write mean having basic literacy rate. The Ethiopian government is spending almost 5.5 percent of their GDP in education programs. 1.3 The Government Ethiopia is conventional short form of name, and conventional long form of name is Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The first time election was held in 1995 and country adopted a new constitution and the government there is known as the federal republic government. The government involves in the foreign policy and relations, defense system and common interest benefits. The Federal State divisions are in nine ethnically based states vested with powers for self administration. The FDRE represent the common peoples interest and peoples of the states, the federal government is structured as a lines of bicameral parliament, with the Council of Peoples representatives being the highest authority of the Federal Government the representative of Councils Members are elected democratically for six year term. 1.4 Cities and Towns Addis Ababa, the largest city and capital of the Ethiopia, also is the seat of the Federal Government of Ethiopia. The capital city was founded in 1887 and population of around about 3 million. Addis Ababa is the host city for Organization for African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; also there is more international organization with their headquarters and branch offices. Addis Ababa I also centre point for business, commerce and industries. In Addis can find different manufacturing plants located in and around the city. There are lots of entertainment and sport facilities in the city, with national parks. The main centre of point are resort centers with hot springs and lake, all of them are easily accessible through road. The other important and big cities in term of trade and industries having potential of expansion are Awassa, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Dessie, Nazareth, Jimma, Harar, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Debre Markos and Nekemte. All of them are interconnected with Addis through road,most of them have their historical importance with good infrastructure facilities. 1.5 THE ECONOMY The Ethiopian economy is totally dependable on agriculture which has 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 65 % of total exports and 85% of employment. Coffee is the main export product and its alone having a share of over 85 % of total agricultural exports. In Ethiopia different crops in different area of the country cultivated but the main crops are cereals, pulses, coffee, cotton, tobacco, fruits, sugarcane and oil seeds. The industrial sector plays also big role in economy and having almost 11% of share in total GDP, which provides their product to local and global markets. The most important products in term of local market and export are textiles, foodstuffs, tiles, paper, beverages, cement, semi- processed leather, finished leather products and non-metallic products. In Ethiopia even it is small reserve amount of natural resources and it contribute only 1% to the total GDP, but still there are lots of opportunities in mining to explore and contribute in Ethiopian economy. Communications There is total monopoly of Ethiopian Telecommunications corporations over the telephonic services open-wire, microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service. Ethiopia has only 1 public TV broadcast station which broadcasting it nationally and only 1 public radio broadcaster with stations in each state, there are some commercial and dozens of community radio stations. Transportation Till 2010 in Ethiopia there 61 airports, out of which 17 airports are with paved runways and 44 airports are unpaved. The railway is under joint control of Ethiopia and Djibouti, but most of it is inoperable and need lots of improvement and expansion to improve the transportation. The conditions of Ethiopian roads are also not in very good conditions out of 36469 km long road only 6980 k are in better conditions other are unpaved around about 29849 km. Ethiopia has 9 merchant marine 8 cargo and 1 roll on/ roll off, they are landlocked and uses the ports Djibouti in Djibouti and Berbera in Somalia. In Ethiopia transportation is a big problem and effects also in the business. Ethiopian government takes this problem very seriously and many projects are on progress for improvement and modernization of Ethiopian transportation system. 1 .6 Banking Systems 1.6.1 Introduction In Ethiopia banking system was introduced in 1905 with the coordination of Bank of Egypt and the first name of bank was Bank of Abyssinia which is controlled by private company in Ethiopia. Later in 1931 it was replaced by the Bank of Ethiopia. During the Italian invasion period and subsequent British occupation Ethiopia become one of the important places for East Africa Currency Board. Later again it is renamed as State bank of Ethiopia having two active departments involves in the process of separate function of issuing banks and commercial bank. In 1963 the bank is divided into two parts two new bank national Bank of Ethiopia involves in the process of centralizing and issuing bank and the second one the commercial bank of Ethiopia. In 1974 there was merging of maximum of financial institutes available tat time including state owned also some of them are The Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank The Savings and Mortgage Corporation of Ethiopia The Imperial Savings and Home Ownership Public Association The Addis Ababa Bank The Banco di Napoli The Banco di Roma In 1975 change in government policy and change into Marxist government bring again lots of changes in banking system like nationalization of private financial institutes and insurance companies. The big and important commercial bank of Ethiopia is now known as Addis Ababa bank and the total control of all banks and financial institutes are under supervision of National Bank of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Insurances corporation take all power and control for the all insurance companies and for the home loan and renovation loan is provide by the new Housing and savings bank. 1.6.2 Current Conditions The whole banking system condition is still undeveloped and need lots of improvement and development. In Ethiopia there is also no stock exchange and foreign bank as the banking system is still not globalized, while higher government authorities are afraid of losing control over the economy because of globalizing the banking system. Thats why they have full control over the banking system even they decide the interest rate as per the high inflation rate. Below provided table to have a look on the condition of ease of doing business in Ethiopia. Table 1 Business Climate of Ethiopia As National Bank of Ethiopia is Ethiopian central bank and the state owned Commercial Bank is one of the biggest and largest bank in Ethiopia having approx. control of more than 75% of total banking assets in Ethiopia, tables 2 tried to explain the banking system in Ethiopia. Table 2 Value of Ethiopian Bank Assets Insurance companies and other financial institutions In Ethiopia the Ethiopia Insurance Corporation controls 10 insurance companies performing business in more than 200 branches all over the country Below in the table the number of branches and their capital are explained figures available are from 2007 and till then only nine insurance companies are in business the 10th company (Lion Insurance Company) comes in business after 2007 thats why it is not mention in table. Table 3: Branches and Capital of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia (Capital in Millions of Birr) Stock Market No stock exchange exists Other Types of Finance/Financial Market Micro finance After the establishment of the government in 1994/1995. It started also and supporting for the development of microfinance industry, the purpose of Ethiopian government to developed the microfinance industry to help poor people in both rural and urban area. According to the 2005 microfinance industry report in Ethiopia that there are 23 microfinance industries and around about more than 1 million peoples are connected directly to the industry. As from above it is cleared that government had totally prohibited any kind of foreign company involved in the process of financial or banking services in country. In Ethiopia microfinance industry can be opened by people having Ethiopian nationality and having full 100% share in company or by those organization which are totally settled and have their registration under the law and having their head office in Ethiopia. As in country most of the microfinance initial capital comes from the foreign investors and which leads to the not clear transparency of microfinance industry, normally person investing in the microfinance industry local or foreigner must enlist as a shareholder. As government authorized high authorities decided interest rate according to the high inflation rate, and in microfinance industry there is no fixed interest rate on credit according to law minimum interest on credit is 3%, which is a loss for those people wants to open microfinance industry in rural areas because of added administrative cost in capital of investment. Top ten reasons to do business in Ethiopia Political and social stability; Macro-economic stability and growing economy; Adequate guarantees and protections; Transparent laws and streamlined procedures; Ample investment opportunities; Abundant and trainable labor force; Wide domestic, regional and international market opportunity; Competitive investment incentive packages ; Welcoming attitude of the people to FDI; and Pleasant climate and fertile soils. 2. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 2.1 Introduction 2.1.1 Strategy Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. 2.1.2 Strategic Decisions Strategic decisions are likely to be complex in nature. This complexity is a defining feature of strategy and strategic decisions and is especially so in organizations with wide geographical scope, such as multinational firms, or wide ranges of products or services. Strategic decisions may also have to be made in situations of uncertainty about the future. Strategic decisions are likely to affect operational decisions: for example, an increased emphasis on consumer electronics would trigger off a whole series of new operational activities, such as finding new suppliers and building strong new brands. This link between overall strategy and operational aspects of the organization is important for two other reasons. First, if the operational aspects of the organization are not in line with the strategy, then, no matter how well considered the strategy is, it will not succeed. Second, it is at the operational level that real strategic advantage can be achieved. Indeed, competence in particular operational activities might determine which strategic developments might make most sense. Strategic decisions are also likely to demand an integrated approach to managing the organization. Managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with strategic problems and come to agreements with other managers who, inevitably, have different interests and perhaps different priorities. Managers may also have to sustain relationships and networks outside the organization, for example with suppliers, distributors and customers. Strategic decisions usually involve change in organizations which may prove difficult because of the heritage of resources and because of culture. These cultural issues are heightened following mergers as two very different cultures need to be brought closer together or at least learn how to tolerate each other. Indeed, this often proves difficult to achieve a large percentage of mergers fail to deliver their ‘promise for these reasons. 2.1.3 Levels of Strategy Corporate-level strategy: Itis concerned with the overall purpose and scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different parts (business units) of the organization. Business-level strategy: It is about how to compete successfully in particular markets. Operational strategies: These are concerned with how the component parts of an organization deliver effectively the corporate and business-level strategies in terms of resources, processes and people. 2.1.4 Strategic Management Strategic management includes understanding the strategic position of an organization, strategic choices for the future and turning strategy into action. The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders. Strategic choices involve understanding the underlying bases for future strategy at both the business unit and corporate levels and the options for developing strategy in terms of both the directions and methods of development. Strategy into action is concerned with ensuring that strategies are working in practice. Strategy development processes are the ways in which strategy develops in organizations. 2.2 Environment The most general ‘layer of the environment is often referred to as the macro environment. This consists of broad environmental factors that impact to a greater or lesser extent on almost all organizations. It is important to build up an understanding of how changes in the macro-environment are likely to impact on individual organizations. A starting point can be provided by the PESTEL framework which can be used to identify how future trends in the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal environments might impinge on organizations. This provides the broad ‘data from which the key drivers of change can be identified. These will differ from sector to sector and from country to country. Therefore they will have a different impact on one organization from another. If the future environment is likely to be very different from the past it is helpful to construct scenarios of possible futures. This helps managers consider how strategies might need to change depending on the different ways in which the business environment might change. Within this broad general environment the next ‘layer is called an industry or a sector. This is a group of organizations producing the same products or services. The five forces framework and the concept of cycles of competition can be useful in understanding how the competitive dynamics within and around an industry are changing. The most immediate layer of the environment consists of competitors and markets. Within most industries or sectors there will be many different organizations with different characteristics and competing on different bases. The concept of strategic groups can help with the identification of both direct and indirect competitors. Similarly customers expectations are not all the same. They have a range of different requirements the importance of which can be understood through the concepts of market segments and critical success factors. 2.2.1 Key driver of change Key drivers of change are forces likely to affect the structure of an industry, sector or market. There is an increasing trend to market globalization for a variety of reasons. In some markets, customer needs and preferences are becoming more similar. For example, there is increasing homogeneity of consumer tastes in goods such as soft drinks, jeans, electrical items (e.g. audio equipment) and personal computers. The opening of McDonalds outlets in most countries of the world signaled similar tendencies in fast food. As some markets globalize, those operating in such markets become global customers and may search for suppliers who can operate on a global basis. For example, the global clients of the major accountancy firms may expect the accountancy firms to provide global services. The development of global communication and distribution channels may drive globalization the obvious example being the impact of the internet. In turn, this may provide opportunities for transference of marketing (e.g. global brands) across countries. Marketing policies, brand names and identities, and advertising may all be developed globally. This further generates global demand and expectations from customers, and may also provide marketing cost advantages for global operators. Nor is the public sector immune from such forces. Universities are subject to similar trends influenced by changing delivery technologies through the internet. This means, for example, that there is developing a genuinely global market for MBA students particularly where the majority of ‘tuition is done online. Cost globalization may give potential for competitive advantage since some organizations will have greater access to and/or be more aware of these advantages than others. This is especially the case in industries in which large volume; standardized production is required for optimum economies of scale, as in many components for the electronics industry. There might also be cost advantages from the experience built through wider-scale operations. Other cost advantages might be achieved by central sourcing efficiencies from lowest-cost suppliers across the world. Country-specific costs, such as labor or exchange rates, encourage businesses to search globally for low cost in these respects as ways of matching the costs of competitors that have such advantages because of their location. For example, given increased reliability of communication and cost differentials of labor, software companies and call centers are being located in India, where there is highly skilled but low-cost staff. Other businesses face high costs of product development and may see advantages in operating globally with fewer products rather than incurring the costs of wide ranges of products on a more limited geographical scale. The activities and policies of governments have also tended to drive the globalization of industry. Political changes in the 1990s meant that almost all trading nations function with market-based economies and their trade policies have tended to encourage free markets between nations. Globalization has been further encouraged by technical standardization between countries of many products, such as in the automobile, aerospace and computing industries. It may also be that particular host governments actively seek to encourage global operators to base themselves in their countries. However, it is worth noting that in many industries country-specific regulations still persists and reduces the extent to which global strategies are possible. Also, the early 2000s have seen a rise in citizen activism about the impact of globalization on developing countries most notably at meetings of the World Trade Organization Changes in the macro-environment are increasing global competition which, in turn, encourages further globalization. If the levels of exports and imports between countries are high, it increases interaction between competitors on a more global scale. If a business is competing globally, it also tends to place globalization pressures on competitors, especially if customers are also operating on a global basis. It may also be that the interdependence of a companys operations across the world encourages the globalization of its competitors. For example, if a company has sought out low-cost production sites in different countries, these low costs may be used to subsidize competitive activity in high-cost areas against local competitors, thus encouraging them to follow similar strategies. 2.2.2 Industries and sectors The macro-environment might influence the success or failure of an organizations strategies. But the impact of these general factors tends to surface in the more immediate environment through changes in the competitive forces on organizations. An important aspect of this for most organizations will be competition within their industry or sector. Economic theory defines an industry as ‘a group of firms producing the same principal product or, more broadly, ‘a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other. This concept of an industry can be extended into the public services through the idea of a sector. Social services, health care or educations also have many producers of the same kinds of services. From a strategic management perspective it is useful for managers in any organization to understand the competitive forces acting on and between organizations in the same industry or sector since this will determine the attractiveness of that industry and the way in which individual organizations might choose to compete. It may inform important decisions about product/market strategy and whether to leave or enter industries or sectors. It is important to remember that the boundaries of an industry may be changing for example, by convergence of previously separate ‘industries such as between computing, telecommunications and entertainment. Convergence is where previously separate industries begin to overlap in terms of activities, technologies, products and customers. There are two sets of ‘forces that might drive convergence. First, convergence might be supply-led where organizations start to behave as though there are linkages between the separate industries or sectors. This is very common in the public services where sectors seem to be constantly bundled and un-bundled into ministries with ever-changing names (‘Education, ‘Education and Science, ‘Education and Employment, ‘Education and Skills etc.). This type of convergence may be driven by external factors in the business environment. For example, governments can help or hinder convergence through regulation or deregulation a major factor in the financial services sector in many countries. The boundaries of an industry might also be destroyed by other forces in the macro-environment. For example, e-commerce is destroying the boundary of traditional retailing by offering manufacturers new or complementary ways to trade what are now being called new ‘business models12 such as websites or e-auctions. But the real test of these types of changes is the extent to which consumers see benefit to them in any of this supply-side convergence. So, secondly, convergence may also occur through demand-side (market) forces where consumers start to behave as though industries have converged. For example, they start to substitute one product with another (e.g. TVs and PCs). Or they start to see links between complementary products that they want to have ‘bundled. The package holiday is an example of bundling air travel, hotels and entertainment to form a new market segment in the travel industry. 2.2.3 Competitors and market An industry or sector may be a too-general level to provide for a detailed understanding  of competition. For example, Ford and Morgan Cars are in the same industry (automobiles) but are they competitors? The former is a publicly quoted multinational business; the latter is owned by a British family, produces about 500 cars a year and concentrates on a specialist market niche where customers want hand-built cars and are prepared to wait up to four years for one. In a given industry there may be many companies each of which has different capabilities and which compete on different bases. This is the concept of strategic groups. But  competition occurs in markets which are not confined to the boundaries of an industry and there will almost certainly be important differences in the expectations of different customer groups. This is the concept of market segments. What links these two issues is an understanding of what customers value. Strategic groups are organizations within an industry or sector with similar strategic  characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases. These characteristics are different from those in other strategic groups in the same industry or sector. For example, in grocery retailing, supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops are three of the strategic groups. There may be many different characteristics that distinguish between strategic groups but these can be grouped into two major categories .First, the scope of an organizations activities (such as product range, geographical coverage and range  of distribution channels used). Second, the resource commitment (such as brands, marketing spend and extent of vertical integration). Which of these characteristics are especially relevant in terms of a given industry needs to be understood in terms of the history and development of that industry and the forces at work in the environment. 2. Market segments The concept of strategic groups discussed above helps with understanding the similarities and differences in the characteristics of ‘producers those organizations that are actual or potential competitors. However, the success or failure of organizations is also concerned with how well they understand customer needs and are able to meet those needs. So an understanding of markets is crucial. In most markets there is a wide diversity of customers needs, so the concept of market segments can be useful in identifying similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs that are different from customer needs in other parts of the Market 2.2.4 Opportunities and threat The critical issue is the implications that are drawn from this understanding in guiding strategic decisions and choices. There is usually a need to understand in a more detailed way how this collection of environmental factors might influence strategic success or failure. This can be done in more than one way. This identification of opportunities and threats can be extremely valuable when thinking about strategic choices for the future. A strategic gap is an opportunity in the competitive environment that is not being fully exploited by competitors. By using some of the frameworks described in this chapter, managers can begin to identify opportunities to gain competitive advantage in this way: Opportunities in substitute industries Organizations face competition from industries that are producing substitutes. But substitution also provides opportunities. In order to identify gaps a realistic assessment has to be made of the relative merits of the products/technologies (incumbent and potential substitutes) in the eyes of the customer. An example would be software companies substituting electronic versions of reference books and atlases for the traditional paper versions. The paper versions have more advantages than meet the eye: no hardware requirement (hence greater portability) and the ability to browse are two important benefits. This means that software producers need to design features to counter the strengths of the paper versions; for example, the search features in the software. Of course, as computer hardware develops into a new generation of portable handheld devices, this particular shortcoming of electronic versions might be rectified. Opportunities in other strategic groups or strategic spaces It is also possible to identify opportunities by looking across strategic groups particularly if changes in the macro-environment make new market spaces economically viable. For example, deregulation of markets (say in electricity generation and distribution) and advances in IT (say with educational study programs) could both create new market gaps. In the first case, the locally based smaller-scale generation of electricity becomes viable possibly linked to waste incineration plants. In the latter case, geography can be ‘shrunk and educational programs delivered across continents through the internet and teleconferencing (together with local tutorial support). New strategic groups emerge in these industries/sectors. Opportunities in the chain of buyers It was noted that this can be confusing, as there may be several people involved in the overall purchase decision. The user is one party but they may not buy the product themselves. There may be other influencers on the purchase decision too. Importantly, each of these parties may  value different aspects of the product or service. These distinctions are often quite marked in business-to-business transactions, say with the purchase of capital equipment. The purchasing department may be looking for low prices and financial stability of suppliers. The user department (production) may place emphasis on special product features. Others such as the marketing department may be concerned with whether the equipment will speed throughput and reduce delivery times. By considering who is the ‘most profitable buyer an organization  may shift its view of the market and aim its promotion and selling at those ‘buyers with the intention of creating new strategic customers. Opportunities for complementary products and services This involves a consideration of the potential value of complementary products and services. For example, in book retailing the overall ‘