A Farewell To Arms Essays (629 words) - English-language Films

A Farewell To Arms When I finished FTA I was of course stunned by the death of Catherine and the baby and Henry's sudden solitude. What happens now? I felt, as I so often do when I finish a book that I want to go on forever. This is infinitely more difficult with a book that has no conclusion, and FTA leaves a reader not only emotionally exhausted but also just as alone as Henry and with nowhere to go. The entire work was aware of where it was going and what was going to happen next, and then to stop the way it did was unfair. Now, I've read enough essays while deciding which would be the topic for my class presentation that I know many people see that the unfairness of life and the insignificance of our free will are apparently the most important themes in the book, but I don't agree. I also don't agree that it is a war story or a love story. Exactly what it is, though, is not clear to me. Can't art exist without being anything? There isn't always an explanation for everything. War and love are obviously important themes in the book, and the relationship between the two is explored by Hemingway and, somewhat, by Henry. In the first two Books we are in the war and the war is overwhelming. In the last two Books we are in love. And, just as the first two Books are peppered with love in the time of war, the last two Books are tinged with war in the time of love. The third Book is the bridge between the two 'stories' and it is not surprising that it centers on the escape. It is during the escape that Henry resolves that he is through with the war (a war in which he really has no place) and decides that all he wants is to be with Catherine. Until the third Book Henry doesn't seem to be agonizingly concerned with matters of right or wrong in the war and it seems, in fact, separate from him. Even when he is injured it doesn't appear that he is really a part of the war which surrounds him. He maintains a distance from it and this distance isn't really closed until Aymo is killed by his own army, he discovers that Bonello is only staying with him out of respect, and he is almost killed as a spy. After this he resolves to desert the army and be reunited with his love, Catherine. Henry is no dummy and he could easily tell that everything was not all correct with Cat, which leads to the question of his love for her. You must admit that Cat is a bit...well... flaky when they first meet. She loses that persona soon enough, although I couldn't help but distrust her integrity until somewhere in the middle of the fourth Book. It is also difficult to believe wholeheartedly in his love for her until much later in their relationship, and it leaves me wondering if he is leaving his involvement in the war because of his unfailing love for Cat or if Cat and any feelings he has for her are just excuses to escape the insanity of the war he experiences in the third Book. When he is with Catherine, they are in another place, untouched by the war, both symbolically (in the tent of her hair) and literally (in Switzerland). [It seems like I don't ever say anything earth-shattering, or even critical, in these response papers, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do that. The line, The war seemed as far away as the football games of some one else's college, is beautiful.]

Purchase and Product Involvement when Buying

Purchase and Product Involvement when Buying Introduction Consumer involvement refers to that â€Å"state of mind that motivates a consumer to identify with a product or service offerings, their consumption patterns and consumption behavior†.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Purchase and Product Involvement when Buying specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Involvement enables consumers to develop the urge to search for or think about the available product categories before selecting a preferred brand and purchasing a product. Involvement reflects the amount of effort (physical and mental) that a person invests in the process of making a purchase decision. Involvement creates a level of relevance to the product or service offering and this, prompts the consumer to collect and interpret relevant information about the product before making a purchase decision (Schiffman and Hansen, 2011, p. 89).Thus, it influences the consumer’s decision making process, as well as, the process of searching, processing and transmitting information. Involvement varies across persons, situations, product offerings and time. The strength and intensity of involvement determines the consumer’s level of involvement. Thus, involvement can be high or low (East, Wright and Vanhucle, 2008, p. 132). Involvement can also be short-term and situational or long-term and enduring. Additionally, involvement is often directed at the elements of marketing mix. This paper focuses on purchase involvement and the process of consumer decision making. Purchase Involvement Purchase involvement refers to the â€Å"level of concern for or interest in the purchase process, once the purchase process has been triggered by the need to consider a particular purchase† (Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins, 2011, p. 67). Purchase involvement is a temporary state that is typical of a consumer, and exists in a process. Purchase involvement is influenced by current external varia bles which include the product, situation, and communication. It is also influenced by past external factors such as enduring, ego, as well as, central values. Thus, purchase involvement reflects the time, thought, as well as, the energy that consumers dedicate to the process of purchasing a given product.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Difference between Purchase Involvement and Product Involvement Purchase involvement differs from product involvement in the following ways. First, purchase involvement refers to the consumer’s interest in the buying or purchase process (Kim and Sung, 2009, pp. 504-519). This interest is initiated by the need to purchase a product. Product involvement, on the other hand, refers to a consumer’s or a person’s interest in purchasing a given product and the consumer’s commitment to purchase a particular bran d (Quester and Lim, 2008, pp. 22-38). Thus, purchase involvement focuses on the interest in the purchase process, whereas product involvement focuses on the interest in a particular product or brand. In the context of product involvement, the arousal, interest, as well as, emotional attachment is evoked by the product, whereas in purchase involvement, these attachments are evoked by the need to purchase the product. Second, purchase involvement is situational, whereas product involvement is enduring. Situational involvement occurs when the consumer attaches relevance to a product in the short-term. Thus, it is temporary in nature. Purchasing a computer as a gift to a student on his birthday is an example of situational involvement. In this case, the involvement disappears as soon as the purchase is completed. Enduring involvement, on the other hand, occurs when the relevance attached to a particular product last for a long period. A high school student planning to purchase a compute r to use in collage three years from now is an example of enduring involvement. In this case, the student has three years to get involved with the product offering and plan for the purchase. Finally, consumers can have a high purchase involvement in a product without necessarily having a high product involvement. For example, a person purchasing a dish washing machine may have a high purchase involvement due to the high cost of the product. However, he may have a low product involvement due to band loyalty.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Purchase and Product Involvement when Buying specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Factors Influencing Purchase Involvement The factors influencing purchase involvement includes the following. First, the consumer and his personal characteristics such as interests, lifestyle, attitude and motives/ needs determine the level of purchase involvement (Bezenco and Blili, 2011, pp. 682-708). A prudent consumer will always explore and evaluate the available alternatives before deciding on what to buy. A shrewd consumer tends to search for more information in adverts, and sale offers. Additionally, they are willing to spend more time in shopping in order to obtain the product with the lowest price. A consumer who is price conscious gives priority to price when making a purchase decision (Harari and Hornik, 2010, pp. 499-506). The consumer’s cognitive ability determines the extent to which he or she can process, as well as, draw conclusions before purchasing a product. These characteristics lead to high purchase involvement. In general, products associated with the consumer’s image and personality normally leads to high purchase involvement. Consumers associated with high levels of apathy and hassle-free attitudes tend to be less concerned with the shopping process. Thus, their levels of purchase involvement tend to be low. Second, purchase involvement is dete rmined by the product or service to be purchased. The features or benefits associated with the product will influence the level of purchase involvement (Harari and Hornik, 2010, pp. 499-506). Thus, a consumer who is concerned about quality will be willing to spend more time comparing brands with varying benefits and features. Additionally, purchase involvement can be low if the consumer is loyal to a particular brand. The amount of risk associated with the consumption or purchase of the product will also determine the level of purchase involvement. The level of involvement will be high if the product is associated with high risk levels (Radder and Huang, 2008, pp. 232-243).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Third, purchase involvement is determined by the situation under which the act of purchasing a product is undertaken (Ozdipciner, Li and Muzaffer, 2012, pp. 34-43). For example, a person purchasing a gift for a loved one will tend to be highly involved in the purchase process in order to obtain the best product or brand. Social pressures such as shopping in the presence of friends also influence the level of purchase involvement. Socially, individuals tend to be more conscious of the products or brands they buy in the presence of their friends as compared to when they are alone. The amount of time devoted to the purchase process also has a bearing on the level of purchase involvement (Benerjee, Koshy and Shobha, 2007, pp. 746-763). In this case, the available time determines the consumer’s ability to collect and process or interpret the information about the product to be purchased. The level of purchase involvement will be low if the time to be spent in shopping is little an d vice versa. Consumer Decision Making Consumer purchasing decisions â€Å"fall along a continuum of three categories namely, habitual decisions-making, limited decision making and extended decision making† (Neal and Quester, 2007, p. 56). This continuum is anchored by habitual response behavior on one end and extended decision making process on the other extreme. The categories of decision making are influenced by, the level of involvement, available time, information, and the availability of alternatives. The difference between the three decision making categories can be explained as follows. Habitual Decision Making In habitual decision making, the consumers do not make any decisions regarding the purchase of a product (Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins, 2011, p. 67). In this case, the consumers simply purchase a given product whenever there is a need to consume that particular product. The consumers normally depend on their long-term memory to identify the preferred band (Ch ang and Ling, 2003, pp. 94-107). Thus, no effort is devoted to the process of searching for information about the product. In habitual decision making, post-purchase evaluations are rarely done. In most cases, the consumers evaluate the product or brand only when it fails to function as expected. Habitual decisions are often made when the level of purchase involvement is very low. Additionally, the option of not purchasing the product is hardly considered by the consumer. For example, a person whose body lotion has run out may purchase the same brand. In this case, the decision is habitual since, the consumer is loyal to a particular band which she purchases without much thought or consideration of all available alternatives. Habitual consumer decision making can be classified into two categories namely, â€Å"brand loyalty and repeat purchase decisions† (Parsons and Maclaran, 2008, p. 88) Repeat purchase decisions occur when the consumer buys a particular brand repeatedly wi thout being committed to that particular brand. Repeat purchase can be made as a result of apathy. Apathy is a situation in which the consumer is indifferent towards the available brands (Grebila, Colson and Menapare, 2011, pp. 112-115). Consequently, the consumer can settle for any brand that is readily available. For example, a student can be indifferent towards the brands of pens available at a local store. Thus, the student will buy the pen she or he finds in the store. Repeat purchase decisions can also be made due to non-availability of alternative brands. For example, a student can continually purchase locally made pens if the government restrict importation of pens. In the context of brand loyalty, the consumer is usually committed to a particular brand. This usually occurs when the consumer is emotionally attached to a product due to the actual and perceived superior qualities of the product (Gunjan and Amitava, 2011, pp. 430-432). Due to the high level of loyalty, the cons umer will always prefer a particular brand over the rest in the market. For instance, a consumer can consistently purchase a particular brand of soft drink until a better brand is launched in the market. Limited Consumer Decision Making Limited consumer decision-making occurs or exists between the habitual and the extended decision making categories (Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins, 2011, p. 69). The difference between limited and habitual decision making is that the former involves a limited search for information prior to making the purchase decision. For example, a consumer who is interested in purchasing coffee may spare some time to compare the prices of various coffee brands. The consumer may also be interested in trying a new coffee brand. Hence, he or she will have to seek information on the quality and prices of the available coffee brands. Limited decision making is likely to occur if the consumer has past experience with the product. For instance, a consumer interested in trying a new toothpaste brand may allocate limited time to compare available brands. Limited decision making can also occur if the risk associated with the product or making the wrong choice is moderate. In this case, failing to search for some basic information about the product may be costly to the customer (Broderick, Graley, and Dentiste, 2007, pp. 678-681). However, the consumer may not devote a lot of time and resources in searching for product information since the risk associated with the product is moderate. Lack of knowledge about the available brands can also lead to limited decision making. With limited decision-making, consumers tend to depend on personal information rather than external sources of information. Limited decision making is also associated with low levels of purchase involvement. This is because the consumers devote limited time and effort to searching information or comparing available alternatives. Additionally, the post-purchase evaluations are hardly d one. Extended Decision Making This is the most complex purchase decision making process. Extended consumer decision making occurs when the consumer intends to buy a new product. In this case, lack of knowledge about the product will prompt the consumer to consider external sources of information (Torres-Moraga, Vasquez-Parraga and Zamora-Gonzalez, 2008, pp. 302-313). Extended decision making also occurs when the product is very expensive or the product is one that is seldom bought. For example, the purchase of a house involves extended decision making. The person intending to purchase the house must extensively search for information about the house, the financing options and the quality of the environment in which the house is located. Since a house is a very expensive product, purchasing it involves a high risk. This is because the consumer is likely to lose a large potion of his or her investments if the wrong choice is made. In order to avoid these risks, the consumer must engag e in extensive information search, as well as, evaluation of available options (Dobbelstein and Zielke, 2007, pp. 112-121). The evaluation normally involves reviewing the attributes of each brand at a time. The attributes of each brand are then matched to the desired characteristics or expectations of the consumer. The consumer will depend mainly on external sources of information to make the right decision, especially, if the consumer has no past experience with the product. The internal search or the consumer’s memory is also considered an important source of information in extended decision making. Other products that involve extended decision making include cars, and plasma TVs. Extended decision making involves high level of purchase involvement. The extended decision making differs from limited and habitual decision making in the following ways. First, limited and habitual decision making are characterized with low risk products and low purchase involvement. The extende d decision making on the other hand is characterized with high risk products and high purchase involvement. Second, limited and habitual decision-making involve little or no information search. The acquired information is often processed passively, and the consumer is likely to make in-store decisions. Extended decision making, on the other hand, involves extensive search for information about the product’s quality, price, promotions and discounts. In extended decision making, information is often processed actively. Additionally, the consumer usually consults multiple sources before settling on a preferred brand or product. Finally, habitual and limited decision making involves limited shopping time. The shopping process is normally self-service in nature with little or no help required from the store attendants. Additionally, the choice of products or brands is often influenced by the store or shop displays (Delgado-Ballester and Munuera-Allemon, 2001, pp. 1238-1258). The e xtended decision making, on the other hand, involves visiting several outlets in order to find the best shopping deal. Communication or assistance from the store personnel is normally required to help the consumer to make the right choice. Conclusion Consumer involvement is a high state of awareness that stimulates a person to search for, attend to, as well as, think about a product’s information before purchasing the product. It reflects the interest, as well as, the importance that a person attaches to the process of acquiring and consuming a given product. In this context, involvement can be conceptualized in terms of product and purchase involvement. Product involvement refers to the interest a person has in purchasing a product and the person’s commitment to a particular brand. Purchase involvement, on the other hand, refers to the consumer’s interest in the purchase process. The level of involvement influences the purchase decision making process. Consumer decision making can be classified into three categories namely, habitual, limited and extended decision making. Habitual decision making does not involve any decision. In limited decision making, the consumer searches for limited information before making any decision (Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins, 2011, p. 69). Habitual and limited decision making are associated with low purchase involvement. Extended decision making, however, involves extensive search for information and high purchase involvement. References Benerjee, B., Koshy, A., and Shobha, G., 2007. Brand Specific Association and Consumer Involvement in the Evaluation of Brand Extension. Journal of International Business Studies, 28(5), pp. 746-763. Bezenco, V., and Blili, S., 2011. Segmenting the Market Through the Determinants of Involvement: the Case of Fair Trade. Psychology and Marketing, 28(7), pp. 682-708. Broderick, A., Graley, L., and Dentiste, R., 2007. The Behavioral Homogeneity Evaluation Framework: Multi-Level Evaluation of Consumer Involvement in International Segementation. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(5), pp. 678-681. Chang, L., and Ling, Y., 2003. Determinants of Habitual Behavior for National and Leading Brands in China. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 12(2), pp. 94-107. Delgado-Ballester, E., and Munuera-Allemon, J., 2001. Brand Trust in the Context of Consumer Loyalty. European Journal of Marketing, 35(1), pp. 1238-1258. Dholakia, U., 2001. A Motivational Porcess Model Product Involevement and Consumer Risk Perception. European Journal of Marketing, 35(11), pp.1340-1362. Dobbelstein, T., and Zielke, S., 2007. Consumers Willingness to Purchase New Store Brands. Journal of Porduct and Brand Management, 16(2), pp. 112-121. East, R., Wright, M., and Vanhucle, M., 2008. Consumer Behavior: Appliocations in Marketing. New York: Routledge. Foxall, G., 2002. Consumer Behavior Analysis. New York: McGraw-Hill. Grebila, C., Colson, G., and Menapare, L., 2011. Analyzi ng Pork Purchase at the Point of Sale: the Role of Consumer Involvement. Advances in Management, 3(2), pp. 112-115. Gunjan, M., and Amitava, M., 2011. Consumer Behavior Towards Mobile Phone Services Provider. Advances in Management, 4(6), pp. 430-432. Harari, T., and Hornik, J., 2010. Factros Influencing Product Involvement among Young Consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 27(6), pp. 499-506. Hawkins, D., 2010. Consumer Behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hoyer, W., 1984. An Examination of Consumer Decision Making for a Common Repeat Purchase Product. Journal of Consumer Research, 11(3), pp. 822-829. Kim, J., and Sung, Y., 2009. Dimensions of Purchase Decision Involvement:Affective and Cognitive Involvement in Product and Brand. Journla of Brand Management, 16(1), pp. 504-519. Laaksonen, P., 2004. Consumer Involvement. New York: Routledge. Mittal, B., 1989. Meaeuring Purchase-Decision Involevement. Psychology and Marketing, 6(2), pp. 147-162. Neal, C., and Quester, P., 2007. Consum er Behavior. New York: Cengage Learning. Ozdipciner, N., Li, X., and Muzaffer, U., 2012. Cross-Cultural Differences in Purchase-Decision Making Criteria. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Reserach, 6(1), pp. 34-43. Parsons, E., and Maclaran, P., 2008. Contemporary Issues in Marketing and Consumer Behavior. New York: Cengage learning. Quester, P., and Lim, L., 2008. Product Involvement/ Brand Loyalty: Is there a Link. Journal fo Product and Brand Mangement, 12(1), pp. 22-38. Quester, P., Pettigrew, S., and Hawkins, D., 2011. Consumer Behavior: Implications for Marketing Startegy. New York: MaGraw-Hill. Radder, L., and Huang, W., 2008. High Involvement and Low Involvement Products: A Comperision of Brand Awareness among Students in a South Afriocan University. Journal of Fashion and Marketing Management, 12(2), pp. 232-243. Schiffman, L., and Hansen, H., 2011. Consumer Behavior: A European Outlook. London: John Wiley and Sons. Torres-Moraga, E., Vasquez-Parraga , A., and Zamora-Gonzalez, J., 2008. Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Starts with the Product Culminates with the Brand. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 25(5), pp. 302-313.

Volkswagen in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Volkswagen in China - Research Paper Example In order for MNCs to operate effectively and gain a competitive advantage it is important to assess the competitive position and the relationship between success and strategies. In a highly competitive market it is very important for companies to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. This can be achieved by either cost advantage or offering differentiated product. Hills work suggests that the differentiation strategies in the automobile sector in China can be beneficial because of many reasons like Chinese automobile is an expanding market and is the world’s second largest automobile industry, therefore has a lot of potential for business. Automobile industry in general has a lot of potential for differentiation strategies and gaining market through it which is evident by the lavish expenditure done on the promotion of these cars. (Chen, J., & Yao, S. 2006; Barrow, C. 2009) This paper will focus and discuss Volkswagen’s globalization strategies for internalization, how it formed strategic alliances globally and how it positioned itself for global competitiveness through its formulated strategies and built strategic ventures and alliances. VOLKSWAGEN INTERNATIONAL Volkswagen dates back to 1937, was founded by Ferdinand Porsche who started it as an automobile advisory company. Being unsuccessful in selling his proposed model he collaborated with Nazi Government to setup a factory and produce the cars of his proposed model. In the post World war period, VW made the most selling car of the 1950s the Beetles. It was then that VW gained recognition throughout the world. In 1960s it opened a plant in Mexico which produced cars on new lines and technology and with time strengthens its position all around the world. (Rana et al.2005) Volkswagen started off with its two joint ventures in China. Its first project was a 50% venture with local leading brand Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC). The other venture was another 50% joint venture with First Auto Works (FAW) in 1991. Initially the company struggled to gain market but later in 1990s its brand Santana ruled the market. These joint ventures together occupy almost half of the market shar e in Chinese market and have a 70% annual growth rate. China is Volkswagen’s second largest market in the world after German market. (Chen, J., & Yao, S. 2006; Barrow, C. 2009) Volkswagen since its start in its Shanghai joint venture in 1985 was considered to be one of the leading the carmaker in China and occupied an eminent position in the market. The emerging Chinese automotive market was a threat for Volkswagen dominant market and soon it faced severe competition with companies like Toyota, Suzuki and General Motors in Chinese markets. One of the head of VW China commented in 2005 that suddenly China has become the toughest market. (Thun, E. 2006) Not even foreign, local market players like Cherry and Geely also competed and tried to win the market by aggressive pricing strategies. In a research of 2002 Volkswagen occupied the largest market share in China, the details of top 5 market share holders are given below: Manufacturer Sales (units) Market Share Shanghai Volkswag en 301,095 23.8 FAW-Volkswagen 207,858 16.4 Shanghai GM 110,763 8.8 FAW Toyota 95,433 7.5 Dongfeng Citroen 85,088 6.7 The table shows Volkswagen in combination with both its ventures SVW and FAW-VW have been the leading automobile company in China with largest market share in 2002. (Chen, J., & Yao, S. 2006; Barrow, C. 2009) SVW initially competed with minimal investment in China, it was able to capture high market share in the early days but soon it faced competition by the modern foreign and

Issues Arising in International Human Relations Management Essay

Issues Arising in International Human Relations Management - Essay Example Language translation services in IHRM†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.5 iv. Host government relations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..5 Risks associated with IHRM†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦7 Risk management practices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................†¦...10 Executive summary International human resource management involves human resource management functions such as staffing, assortment, guidance and growth, performance assessment and firing at the international level. IHRM is concerned with multinational companies hence deals with three types of employee, that is, parent country employees, host country employees and third country employees. Due to the broad scope of the multinational companies there are a number of issues such as international taxation, international orientation and transfer, administrative services for expatriates, host government relations and language translation services associated with international human resource management. ... Introduction Human Resource Management refers to the management of an entity’s workforce or employees. It is also based on the postulation that the workforce of an organization consists of individuals with different objectives and needs. It therefore requires effective and efficient strategic focus within the organization to ensure that peoples resources facilitates the achievement of organizational goals.i According to Dave Ulrich, there are four major fields which help in defining the HRM function; these include the strategic associate which helps in putting human resource in line with business approach, the administration specialist which helps in restructuring organizational processes, the employee champion which aims at listening and reacting to employee needs and finally the change manager which helps in managing transformations within the organization. HRM therefore involves a number of activities such as making decisions on the staffing needs of the organization, recru iting and training employees, performance issues and ensuring that employee and management practices conform to the relevant regulations.1 International Human Resource Management (IHRM) can therefore be defined as a set of activities aimed managing organizational personnel at worldwide rank to accomplish managerial goals and attain competitive pro over other competitors at both nationwide and worldwide level. IHRM includes typical HRM functions such as staffing, assortment, guidance and growth, performance assessment and firing done at international level and extra activities such as global skills  management and expatriate management.2 Since IHRM is concerned with personnel at

Research Critique Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Critique - Article Example Initially, the lecturer had to introduce some problem-based coursework in the learning discussion which incorporated the phases of problem discovery, result generation, solution appraisal, and even the answer execution. The authors hired sixty four teachers to play a part and carry out an assessment of course syllabi for the given assignments that included a weekly issue pinpointing action or had some wide-ranging semester problem cracking bustle. Moreover, it was requisite that minimum sixty five students must be registered in each subject to make sure that enough undergraduate annotations are present for an authentic data analysis. Out of those 64 hired instructors, 15 met the preceding two criteria for analysis of the study; however, the third criterion used for the courses’ selection was basically for the each course mentor to boast a cognitive approach recognized as analogous to the two further instructors in order to figure out an additional and adaptive teacher group. Once the cognitive styles of the instructors were identified, nine instructors were chosen and grouped by similar cognitive style. Those students that were enrolled in the nine courses were administered the KAI and NSSE immediately one week after the midterms in the spring semester to guarantee instructors and learners had the occasion to work together in some problem-solving action. Students were directed the instruments throughout the programmed class times, though, it was only the instructor’s preference if the implements were to be finished at some point with in the class time. The study is pretty much in a way acceptable and can be generalized to any educational institutions or students. It suggests that student engagement within the course and the class is very essential for the achievement of some potential outcomes. However, the teacher in this regard also plays a very important role. They must introduce such curricula and programs in their classes that promote student

Expansion strategy of Starbucks

Expansion strategy of Starbucks Introduction: Starbucks as a corporation started its business from the year 1971 in the city of Seattle in Washington. In its early stages Starbucks opened four stores in the city and the business was looking good. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). After some major changes and alterations the company opened about fifty outlets by 1989. The focus of the company was not only expanding the number of stores but also at the same time educate the consumers .(Starbucks Corporation, 1997). But at that situation the owners were reluctant of entering into the main industry. But in the year 1984, the company management acquired another coffee retailer called the Peets Coffee and Tea. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). Since then the company adapted many significant changes in order to establish its brand in the international market. Supply Chain and Expansion Strategy: With various competitors the industry is a monopolistic in nature. For that reason a strong player like Starbucks is has to depend on the product mix and strategic locations as the main differentiating factor in order to influence effective consumers demand for their products. For that reason the marketing strategy that Starbucks adapts targets only one particular segment of customers. This marketing strategy for years has yielded great results for the company. Starbucks can be considered as the market leader with over $1.3 billion in sales in the year 1998. Due to the complexity of the network it is important that the management locates the cost centers and allocates the resources accordingly. In order to evaluate the supply chain issues it is important to realize the expansion strategy of the firm. The expansion strategy adapted by the firm is mainly increasing the market share in the retail segment and for that reason t focused on increasing the number of stores.(Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). It is important to note that Starbucks followed a pattern of store opening strategy in order to form a network. The company adapted a hub and spoke model for its regional expansions. Starbucks at the initial stage selected a large city in the region which will serve the purpose of a hub; and tried to open as many as twenty or more stores in the hub city itself in the first two years. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). After opening the targeted stores in the hub city the other stores are also being opened in the surrounding areas which are considered as the spoke stores. In the year 1995 alone, new stores opened generated average revenue of US$700,000 in their first year, which is far more than the average revenue figure of US$427,000 in 1990. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The growth in the sales was mainly due to the growing brand image of the firm. With the increase in the number of stores the complexity of the supply chain increased and this lead to the various security issues for the firm. For that reason a security team is being introduced in the system which is called the Enterprise Security Platform and it keeps track of the critical facilities , operations at the retail outlets and the also monitors the activities in the international market. This centrally integrated supply chain model helps the company management to keep track of the proceedings and predict demand so that they can adjust their expansion strategy accordingly. Critical Issues and factors affecting import and export: The Company faced some obstacles in the last two years of operation. The global economic crisis has reduced the disposable income of the mass and for that reason the spending in the industry has reduced. (Starbucks Recent Same Store Sales; Implication for future growth, 2009). The store closing has its other implications. The negative sales figure actually got compounded each quarter and it is mainly contributed by the sudden decrease in demand and the increasing cost component as the company focused on sustaining the expansion strategy. (Starbucks Recent Same Store Sales; Implication for future growth, 2009). It has to be noted that about Eighty four percent of the revenue for the company was realized from the retail stores and thus the expansion strategy remained as the core business strategy of the firm. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). Before this drop of the net revenues the company was experiencing a steady increase of 27% per year. In the years 1998-1999 in North America, the company launched about two hundred and ninety three stores was opened and the retail sale immediately went up by twenty five percent. The other segment of business apart from the retail sales also flourished during that period. (Starbucks Company 10K, 1998). The major concern for Starbucks is their cost of sales. It has been noted that the cost of sales is as high as 78.8% of the sales revenues and the problem multiplied as the labor cost increased which increased the operating expense of the stores by 37.6%.(Starbucks Company 10K, 1998). In order to handle this situation Starbucks transited its grocery business to Kraft which automatically resulted in lower of the operating expenses and as a result there was a net increase in revenues in the specialty sales division by 20%. The main strength of the firm is in the specialty coffee market and for that reason it targets a particular segment of the population while at the same time maintaining its niche. The extensive opining of stores has led to market cannibalization in certain regions of the world. The employee training and development program have ensured quality service throughout the globe. There are industry level factors that drive the operations of the firm and there is a constant level of risk which affects the business operation of the company. The lack of ownership in the coffee supplier segment in Central and South America is a crucial factor which affects the import of the company. This makes the variable cost to go up and hampers the net profit. Over exporting and concentration of retail outlets at some regions hampers the sales per store figure of the company. The major exporting countries for Starbucks are Canada and countries in Europe, while the importing countries of the company are mainly countries of eastern Africa like Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. Qualitative Techniques: The qualitative studies for forecasting will use various sources of data and information in order to ascertain the current position the firm. The two qualitative method used in this study are secondary market research and the Delphi method. Market Research: Coffee as an industry has now great global level demand and all the coffee companies through out the globe provide employment to more than twenty million people. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009). It is being observed that coffee as a commodity alone occupies the second position to petroleum in terms of the dollars traded throughout the world. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009). A market research results found out that over four hundred billion cups of coffee is being consumed every year. In the country of Brazil itself over five million people are involved in the industry of cultivating coffee beans. The overall sales premium of specialty coffee in United States of America has now reached a multi-billion dollar level. (Coffee in the 21st Century, 2009).But Starbucks particularly does not operate in coffee industry alone but the industry can be identified as the Specialty Eatery Industry. This industry can be regarded as the part of food and beverage industry which occupies the largest segment of disposable income. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). This indicates a huge potential market to capture. The level of competition also increased due to the huge scope available after the year 1990. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). The year 1997 recorded an estimated eight thousand specialty coffee outlets in the United States. According to the industry analysts the beverage industry at that particular point had enough space for about two or three national players, maybe even more. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The closest competitor at that time for Starbucks was a Canadian franchisor with many stores in Canada but when compared the size it was less than one-third of the total size of Starbucks. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The other national level competitor was Gloria Jeans which was also a franchisor of specialty coffees, and its stores are located in most of the malls throughout the United States of America. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). T he other rivals did not have more that two hundred and fifty stores, but there were about twenty small local and regional coffee shop chains that aspired to grow into rivals of Starbucks, most notably New World Coffee, Coffee People, Coffee Station, Java Centrale, and Caribou Coffee. These coffee shops together captured a considerable portion of the market and made the competition tougher. (Berger, Buchman, Chase, Hsu, N.d). The company (Starbucks) also faced huge competition from the nationwide coffee manufacturers like the Kraft General Foods, Procter Gamble and Nestlà ©, the company who were known for distributing the coffees mainly through supermarkets. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). For that reason the market structure thus can be considered to be a monopolistic one as there are several competitors present in the market who are at the same time offering almost similar kind of products and services. This reveals the competitive nature of the market both domestically and internationally. The competitors used certain parameters to gain the competitive advantages. These parameters are mainly strategic store locations, the product mix and most importantly the store atmosphere. The last parameter actually does influences to a great extent in building loyal customer base. Now there are certain other influences which affect the overall industry. Large coffee producers like Nestle and Kraft are constantly being pressed to introduce a voluntary levy on raw coffee beans which is considered as part of a greater move to promote sustainable development of coffee throughout the globe. The Worldwide Sustainable Coffee Fund headed by the members of the coffee industry has put forward a proposal to levy one dollar on every sixty kilograms bag of beans at an International Coffee Organization meeting held in London. (The Future of Coffee industry, 2009). This proposal got informal backing from the seventy per cent of coffee-producing countries all over the world. Delphi Method: A controlled group of executives were interviewed in order to understand the opinions for them regarding the future prospect of the firm. The questionnaire was designed in order to reflect on the opinions of the executives regarding the future and the strategies of the firm. A total of twenty five members were selected for this controlled session. The first statement of the questionnaire stated that the sales revenue of the company will certainly take a positive turn. About forty eight percent of the respondents agreed to the statement. The findings also reveal that there are forty four percent of the respondents who are unaware of the future so provided a neutral view. This may be due to the sudden dip in the sales revenue observed last year, the employees are now not certain of the dramatic comeback. Figure 2: Percentage feedback on question number 1 The statement asked about more of a strategic issue for the firm. The question asked whether the operating expenses of the firm are hindering the performance or in other words controlling the same would improve on the overall turnover. Figure 3: Percentage feedback on question number 2 The feedback suggests that the selected executives of the firm do not accept the fact that the operating cost is the main determining factor which is hindering the process of growth. They consider that due to the complexity of the business model of the company minor variations are observable in the period of economic downturn; otherwise the operating margin is quite satisfying for them. Figure 4: Percentage feedback on question number 3 The response to the third statement is a mixed one. The question was regarding the aggressive store expansion strategy adapted by the company. It is being observed that a major percentage of the employees under the control group are not in favor of the aggressive strategy adapted by the firm. Thus the overall qualitative forecasting using the Delphi method suggests that the closed group considers that the sales figure to go up but does not really support the aggressive expansion strategy adapted by the firm. Reasons for selecting the methods: The two qualitative methods used for the purpose of the study are secondary market research and the Delphi methods. The first one is useful for gathering information regarding the industry and the competitor analysis of the company which are essential parameters for determining the future or forecasting the sales. The second one is the Delphi method where the responses are summarized in order to understand the view of the employees regarding the future. The point of view of the employees is essential as they reflect on the actual picture of the firm. While the market research surveyed the external environment the Delphi analysis helped in realizing the internal point of view of the employees. Time Series Analysis: Apart from the qualitative methods of forecasting quantitative analysis are also required in to estimate and forecast the exact figure of sales that can be estimated. Two time series analysis methods are applied in this case in order to predict the sales figures and also the relationship among the various parameters. Moving Average Method: This method simply takes the average of the previous figures and forecast the next figures. Figure 5: Sales Forecast for the year 2010 and 2011 In this case a span of six years has been taken in order to forecast the sales figure. The forecasted figures for the year 2010 and 2011 come to be 8.2 billion and 8.7 billion dollar respectively. It should be noted that these figures is much less compared to the peak sales figure of 10.4 billion dollar that the company achieved in the year 2008. But due to the certain dip in the market conditions and United States economy the net revenue of the year 2009 also dropped. Due to the late drop in the sales figure the forecasted figures of the year 2010 and 2011 are low and it will take certain time for the firm to achieve the previous level. Though the last trend is increasing as the forecasted revenue for 2011 is higher that of 201 Linear Regression: This method of forecasting is used for determining the causal relationship between predicting parameters and the variable which is depending on the others. Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.9952172 R Square 0.9904572 Adjusted R Square 0.9840953 Standard Error 256.28309 Observations 6 ANOVA df SS MS F Significance F Regression 2 20451290 10225645 155.6865 0.000932 Residual 3 197043.1 65681.02 Total 5 20648333 Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept -58.491328 663.0271 -0.08822 0.935262 -2168.54 2051.557 -2168.54 2051.557 Operating Income 0.8536555 1.104188 0.773107 0.495786 -2.66036 4.367675 -2.66036 4.367675 No of Stores 0.5670203 0.048045 11.80197 0.001308 0.414121 0.71992 0.414121 0.71992Figure 6: Linear Regression analysis using figures from the year 2004 to 2009 In this particular case the sales revenue is the dependent variable, or the variable which will be forecasted, while the operating income and the number of stores are the predicting variables. The results show that the value of the adjusted R-square is 0.9840953 which means that 98% of the variation of these two parameters explains the variation in the sales revenue. This reflects on the high predictability rate of these two parameters. Now the forecasting equation that is being derived from this analysis is given by Y= -58.5+ 0.85 OI + 0.57 N Where Y is the sales revenue, OI is the operating income of the firm and N is the number of stores. This provides the model with which the future sales figures can be forecasted. This model provides the causal relationship among the parameters. Recommendation: According to the industry analysts Starbucks was a company which can replicate the giants like Nike or Coca-Cola in its own industry segment. In the period 1998 StarBucks was the only company with almost national market coverage in the United States of America. The immediate objective at that time for the firm was to have about two thousand stores in operation by the year 2000 and this target was fulfilled in time. The long term objective was to become the most recognized and respected brand in the world. This goes well with the actual value proposition of the company. The companys efforts to greatly increase its domain were stimulated by the joint ventures with Pepsi and Dreyers and its move to sell coffee in supermarkets. (Starbucks Corporation, 1997). The company was also thinking of a possibility of marketing fruit-juice drinks and candy under the Starbucks label. But prior to any expansion that the firm must adapt, it should consider two crucial aspects. Firstly the cost component being so high the company cannot afford radical product line of store expansion in the given situation. Secondly if the company tries to expand its target customer base, it may dilute it overall brand and the customers as well as the employees (who have been a major asset for the company) may see this as a shift from the overall value proposition of the firm. This is bound to affect in a negative way. For that reason whichever among the two possible options that the company chooses to increase its sales revenue, it must analyze the long term growth and prosperity of the company. Conclusion: The Company must continue on its expansion strategy as it is only way they can increase the sales revenue. Shifting the target base or shrinking the network will cause equal harm for their brand which will again hamper the future sales. Though the threat of competition is huge, still every time the company came out with successful marketing strategy to overcome the situation and it continues with its aim of continuous expansion plans. Quality product delivery along with increasing the network is what the company mainly works on, and for that reason it is expected the company will certainly overcome the current situation and its stock market figures will show positive trend again in the future.

Becoming The Third Dimension: Cubism In In The Skin Of A Lion :: essays research papers fc

Becoming the Third Dimension Images splatter against the viewer's face like a moth on the windshield when gazing at the pigmented speckles dappled along the textured canvas hanging on the wall in the local gallery. Examining the seemingly incomplete picture before them, the viewer may inquire as to the perception of the painted figure from various angles as opposed to the solitary linear image presented by the artist. Mona Lisa's intriguing smile may birth more questions if the art critic could view it from a profile, or the back of her head, or even from the underside of the canvas as a whole. Although a picture may say a thousand words, a panoramic view of the same subject would utter a hundred thousand more. Realizing the human desire to know and understand what they witness in full, artists such as Pablo Picasso began a style known as cubism between 1907 and 1914. Cubism acknowledges the idea that objects (and perhaps ideas?) are three-dimensional and should therefore be expressed as that. The cubist theory drives itself into the minds of artists of numerous mediums including literature. But in bringing a prismatic feel to a two-dimensional topic, the audience is bombarded with more questions than answers given. This reader then is likely to draw a blank at the images forming in his mind as he pieces the angles together. By producing these multiple angles, whether it be in art or literature, the creator fails to emphasize any particular perspective and often leaves one of them open without explanation, that of the reader. Through its development in the literary cubism method, In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje defies the reader's initial perception of a single story by trivializing the narrow linear view of the lead character and in turn completing the multidimensional view of the story by invoking the reader's own perspective. In composing this multidimensional story line, Ondaatje eradicates the reader's inclination to base the story off of the linear perspective of one character by delineating the main character's nugatory existence. Obliterating the linear perspective concept, the author allows the cubist conditions of portraying a three-dimensional story contrived from the perspectives of a multitude of characters to unfold. This destruction begins when he states, in reference to Patrick Lewis' homeland, that "He was born into a region which did not appear on a map until 1910, though his family had worked there for twenty years and the land had been homesteaded since 1816" (Ondaatje 10).