Coach Inc Essays

Coach Inc Essays Coach Inc Essay Coach Inc Essay Coach Inc. : Is Its Advantage in Luxury Handbags Sustainable? Executive Summary Coach Inc. : Is Its Advantage in Luxury Handbags Sustainable? Company History ? Founded in 1941 by Miles Cahn, a leather artisan, who began producing women’s handbags; simple in style and resilient to wear and tear. ? Even after 40 years of business, coach was able to grow at a steady rate by setting prices about 50% lower than most luxurious handbags, adding new models and establishing accounts with retailers such as Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. After 44 years of family management, Coach was then sold to Sara Lee, a diversified food and consumer goods producer (acquisition strategy). ? Sara Lee left Coach’s strategy and operations intact but by 1990’s the company performance began to decline as consumer shifted preference to a more stylish French and Italian handbags such as Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc. ? In 1996, there was a change in the management having Reed Krakoff as the new creative director, an ex Tommy Hilfiger designer. He believed that new products should be based on market research rather than on designer’s instincts about what would sell. Coach then conducted excessive research and held focus groups to ask customers about styling, comfort, and functionality preferences. They found that customers look for edgier styling, softer leathers, and leather-trimmed fabric handbags. These prototypes were tested in selected coach stores for 6 months before announcing the launch. This process allowed coach to launch a new collection every month instead of â€Å"2 per year† launch prior to Krakoff’s arrival, making it adopting an offensive strategy to improve its market standing or result in a competitive edge fairly quickly. The stores were redesigned to complement the contemporary new designs, the factory stores’ appearance were improved. ? The factory stores carry test models, discontinued models and special l ines that sold at discounts ranging from 15-50%. These discounts were possible because of the company’s policy to outsource production to 40 suppliers in 15 countries. The outsourcing agreements allowed coach to maintain sizeable pricing advantage relative to other luxury brands (outsourcing production line). ? Its attractive ricing enabled Coach to appeal to consumers who would not normally consider luxury brands, while the quality and styling of its products were sufficient to satisfy traditional luxury consumers. (Blue Ocean Strategy) ? By the year 2000, coach was able to build a sizeable lead in the accessible luxury segment of the leather handbags and accessories industry and made it a solid performer in Sara Lee’s business lineup. ? In October 2000, Sara Lee decided to launch an IPO for Coach as part of a restructuring initiative designed to focus the corporation on food and beverages. Offensive strategy) Coach’s Strategy and Industry Positioning ? Coach I nc. designed and marketed women’s handbags; leather accessories such as key fobs, belts, electronic accessories, and cosmetic case; and outwear such as gloves, hats and scarves. ? Licensing agreements (collaborative partnership to achieve product line extension): o Movado Group in 1998 to make coach-branded watches available in coach retail stores. o Jimlar Corporation in 1999, manufacture and market coach’s women footwear. o Marchon Eyewear in 2003, for coach branded eyewear ? Approach to differentiation: o Based on the market research design process developed by Krakoff o Procurement process and its outsourcing agreements also contribute for differentiation and high quality o Voguish image due to monthly new product launch o It sought to make customer service experiences an additional differentiating aspect of the brand. It also has a Special Request service where customers can order merchandise for home delivery if the particular handbag or color wasn’t available during the visit to the coach store (defensive strategy). Strategy: o Increase frequency of customer visits by regular product launch and sending out catalogs to strategically selected households (defensive strategy). The company’s market research found that its best customers visited a coach store once every two months and made a purchase once every 7 months. o They adapted to the fact that women usually use bags to complement their wardrobes the same way the used to use shoes. o Coach is a brick and click company, having its products sold on its web site as well as in the full-price and factory stores (web site strategy). Coach’s web site had 40 million unique visitors and generated $54 million in net sales. The company also sends promotional e-mail to 55 million selected customers in 2006. ? Functional area strategies: o RD engineering: making prototypes and test them with the consumers by keeping them in the factory stores for 6 months before the actual launch. o Production: outsourcing the procurement and manufacturing processes to 40 different suppliers in 15 countries. o Marketing and sales: extensive market research to find out consumer preferences about new styles, comfort and functionality. The retail distribution is both direct (full price and factory stores, internet sales, catalog sales and stores in Japan) and indirect (wholesale accounts with department stores in US and in international market outside Japan). ? Coach can be regarded as a fast-follower in the luxury bags industry. It can leapfrog its competitors such as Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc. by quickly adapting new styles to its handbags which eventually became popular among its customers. Hence, in essence, it became the first-mover in the â€Å"accessible† luxury handbags. Coach’s Strategic Options in 2007 ? Key growth involved store expansion in the US, Japan, Hong Kong and China; increasing sales to existing customers to drive comparable store growth; and creating alliances to exploit the coach brand in additional luxury categories. ? Second growth initiative: increase same-store sales through continued development of new styles, the development of new usage collection, and the exploitation of gift giving opportunities. Agreement with Lutz Patmos to launch women’s knitwear collection and Estee Lauder Company for development of fragrance that would be sold in Coach. Analysis of Coach’s Outlook in 2007 Key Success Factors ? Increasing quality and styling ? Merchandising strategy; â€Å"trade up, trade down† ? Outsourcing to push down the price ? Selecting appropriate country for global expansion ? Counterfeiting block ? Store locat ions ? Good economic outlook to encourage shoppers to buy luxury goods ? Low shipping cost Environmental friendly products Strengths Weaknesses ? Customer loyalty Image delusion ? Frequent update of demand ? Equal service and quality between environmental unfriendly products ? full-price and factory stores ? Direct and indirect sales ? Differentiating its product placement OpportunitiesThreats ? The number of millionaires were product counterfeits expected to increase by 23% Italian and French handbags continue by 2009 to be favorites, hence pose as threats Chinese market for luxury goods in unfortunate case of global financial were expected to increase by 24% crisis/recession, sales will drop not to by 2014 making it the world’s mention the plunging of company’s largest market for luxury goods stocks ? Another rapidly growing market for luxury goods was India due to increase in household earnings ? Expansion opportunities in Japan ? Extension of customer service ( gift giving). ? Shift from core store to fashion store and fashion store to flagship ? Product line extension to knitwear and fragrance

A power amplifier

A power amplifier Introduction: A power amplifier is an electronic device that changes the magnitude of a signal. It is usually used to transfer high power to a low output load such as speakers where there load is about 8 ohms [1]. The relationship between the output and input is called the transfer function. An important aspect of the amplifier is the gain. The gain is the ratio between input and output whether this input is current, voltage or power. Therefore, the gain does not have a unit. The quality of the amplifier is determined by many aspects, which are gain, bandwidth, efficiency, linearity, noise and others. As one of these characteristics increase the others may decrease. Therefore, the amplifier will be designed to meet the required specifications determined by the application for which it will be used for. The various designs of the amplifiers are classified into many types which include A,B,C,D and some other types derived by combining the basic ones such as class AB which is obtained from class A and class B pertaining to their efficiency and linearity [1]. Ideally, power amplifiers are supposed to deliver 100% of the power to the load. However, as some of the power dissipates in the components of the amplifier, hence we do not have ideal power amplifiers. It is found that the linearity has an inverse relationship to the efficiency of the amplifier. The classes A, B and C power amplifiers are considered inefficient but linear whereas the other types are considered efficient but more complex than the basic types. Class A power amplifiers are least efficient than the others. The efficiency of class B is much higher than class A, however, class C has the highest efficiency level compared to class A and B [2]. The scope of this paper is to discuss class B power amplifier in details. Class B power amplifier: This class of amplifier was developed in order to improve class A power amplifiers, which have low efficiency rating. [1-3] shows and explains the internal desig n, the efficiency, the advantages and disadvantages, and the applications of class B power amplifiers. Internal circuit and operation: To get a sufficiently good amplification of the input waveform in the output, a push-pull class B power amplifier configuration must be used. This configuration is based on two transistors. The term push-pull comes from the fact that two transistors in a class B amplifier conduct in alternating half-cycles of the input [1]. Moreover, there are two types of push-pull configurations, one with transformers and one without transformers [2]. A balanced centre tapped input transformer is used to split the incoming waveform signal into two equal cycles that are 180 degrees out of phase with each other. Another center-tapped output transformer is used to recombine the signals. If the transformer is ideal we can get two collector currents that flow in opposite directions, hence no magnetization of the transformer core takes place which in turn minimizes the d istortion in between the two signals. Both transistors used are of NPN transistor type where their emitter terminals are connected together [2].

Reality TV Influence on the Audience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reality TV Influence on the Audience - Essay Example As the discussion stresses  during the initial years of the twenty first century, viewers watched reality TV to observe people’s lives, watch them argue, fight, eat bizarre things and reveal personal details of their lives. These reality shows were humored and harmless. But with time, the essence of reality TV has changed. People now participate in reality shows to contest against each other in order to win some prize or gain popularity. This reflects increased competitiveness and materialism prevailing in the society.  This research declares that  as television drama became more violent and sexually explicit, reality TV evolved as a more meaningful genre of TV shows that present viewers with more competitive and bitter versions closer to reality. Psychologists present interesting explanation as to why reality shows are very popular. One of the primary reasons is that viewers can identify themselves with the participants who are initially ordinary people and then become famous. Secondly, they enjoy the competitive nature of such shows since there are always winners and losers.  Reality TV is taking over regular TV and is polluting people’s mind. Violence, distorted pictures of reality, language and stunts are marking a lot of reality TV. These shows are very entertaining but many professionals are expressing concerns over the harmful implications. They point out that negative impacts of reality TV are higher for children and teenagers than adults.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway Research Paper

The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway - Research Paper Example 191). In other words, Hemmingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro tells a story about writing and somehow links this story to human themes. To demonstrate the point, Becnel and Bloom (2009) draw attention to the following passage narrated by Harry and taken from The Snows of Kilimanjaro: We must all be cut out for what we do, he thought. However, you make your living is where your talent lies. He had sold vitality, in one form or another, all his life and when you affections are not too involved you give much better value for the money. He had found that out but he would never write that, now, either. No, he would not write that, although it was well worth writing (Hemmingway 2003, p. 12). Becnel and Bloom (2009) noted that from Harry’s perspective, he acknowledges that during his life as a soldier, writer and husband married into wealth he has been â€Å"selling vitality† his entire life (p. 191). Therefore Harry is able to connect the demands and passions in life via three seemingly unrelated factors: marriage, the military and writing. The connection begs inquiry in to how each of these factors relate to selling vitality. It is therefore first necessary to understand what Harry means by selling his vitality. Looking further into The Snows of Kilimanjaro some guidance can be found in the following excerpt: He had destroyed his talent himself – by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, by drinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, by snobbery, by hook and by crook; selling vitality, trading it for security, for comfort (Hemmingway 2003, p. 11). This excerpt informs that selling vitality means sacrificing one’s own talents and ambitions in favour of security and at times in favour of other human frailties: laziness, greed and other exigencies of human weaknesses. In many ways these human exigencies are seductions and inevitably forced Harry to trade the vital elements of his life for greater comforts (Bush 1995, p. 26). Arguably, Harry was unable to succeed at or find complete satisfaction via marriage, soldiering and writing because he had sought comfort and security rather than the art of mastering each of these factors. The selling of vitality from Harry’s perspective thus informs that Harry sold or surrendered something of significance in his marriage, soldiering and writing. He therefore loses something of importance in each of these life roles. That something must be passion as, he suggests that a man must make his living where his talent lies and for Harry, his talent lies in trading vitality or sacrificing his real ambitions in favor of shortcuts to comfort and security. The suggestion is therefore that Harry’s life is disingenuous or at the very least the reader can form the opinion that Harry is only superficially happy as he has sacrificed what he really wants out of life for comfort and security. He has also allowed his pursuits to be compromised by the seductions that lead to or command shortcuts. His marriage into wealth may perhaps demonstrate the point best as he has obviously succumbed to a shortcut to material possessions or the seductions inherent in sloth. Soldiering would obviously provide Harry with material for his

Sympathy for Lady Macbeth Essay -- Literature Shakespeare Plays Essays

Sympathy for Lady Macbeth In this essay I am going to answer the question above and I will do this by saying whether or not I feel sympathy for lady Macbeth and I go through different parts in the play. After reading parts of the play and watching the video I don’t’ feel very much sympathy for lady Macbeth, although I do feel some sympathy for her in some parts in the play. Over all I think that lady Macbeth is a fiend as she says stuff that’s not very nice to make Macbeth do the things that she is too scared to do herself. I also think that she is a caring person really but she needed to be made evil by witchcraft, as she would not be able to do what she does through out the play in her normal person. The way that the play has been dramatised effects the way we feel about lady Macbeth. In scene 1 where there is a soliloquy lady Macbeth is just standing there speaking to herself and the audience. As she reads the letter I think that you get an insight as to what she is about. â€Å"Hail king that shalt be. This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee†. I think that here she is saying that macbeth is going to be king and that nothing will get in his way as he is crowned king. In this scene you also get a look at lady Macbeth’s interpretation of Macbeth’s personality, this helps you see what type of person she has to live with and you can tak...

Marine Barracks Attack

On May 30, 2003, CNN law center made a report, that the attack on the U. S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 241 American servicemen was an example of a state-sponsored terrorist attack. The report goes on to say that U. S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered that the plaintiffs in this case – the servicemen wounded in the bombing and families of those killed, â€Å"†¦have a right to obtain judicial relief†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (see CNN. com, 2003). This piece of news is referring to an event that happened two decades ago and yet carried so much significance that even after twenty years a U. S.District Court deems it worthy of its precious time and resources. The event in question transformed the way the world view terrorism. More importantly the said event transformed the way the United States perceive the capabilities and commitment of a new breed of enemy that does not believe in or rely on conventional warfare. This paper will take a closer look into the bom bing. And to understand its context a part of the study will be devoted to into looking at other acts of terrorism that used the same modus operandi. Beirut, Lebanon In the year 1982, Lebanon was at war with Israel.It is an understatement to say that the country was war-torn. The situation was bad enough that it required the presence of Western soldiers to achieve peace and if this is not possible then at least creating a sense of order in the midst of chaos. In August of 1982 American soldiers came to Lebanon as part of the multi-national peacekeeping force, which included French, Italian, and British personnel. Yet according to Kushner, the peacekeepers had one other thing in mind and it was to negotiate a cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel (2003, p. 386). It was one of the costliest mistakes the U. S. government and its armed forces ever made.They were not welcome in Lebanon and their desire to end the war was seen as a ploy to help their ally the Israelis. So on the 23rd of O ctober 1983, on a beautiful morning, at about 6:20 AM, a yellow five-ton truck was carrying hundreds of kilos of explosives. The unsuspecting Lebanese guards who worked at a nearby checkpoint, â€Å"†¦did not notice that the bed of the Mercedes-Benz truck was pushed lower than it should have been. The truck was carrying a heavy load† (Olson, 2003, p. 4). For days the enemy has been pounding the airport with artillery fire but on this and the day before that all was peace and quiet.This prompted many marines to take a well deserved rest. While the truck was easing its way past the checkpoint most of the marines were asleep in the Battalion Landing Team (BLT) headquarters at the Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) compound (Olson, 2003, p. 6). The Mercedes truck was waved through and â€Å"†¦it proceeded southward at a steady pace along the airport road. To the driver’s right beyond the airport runway, lay the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. To his left ran iron fence t hat separated the road from the marine’s compound† (Olson, 2003, p. 6).Then without warning the suicide bomber driving the vehicle accelerated and made a mad dash to its intended target. The vehicle went crashing into the front door of the BLT buildings were hundreds of marines were sleeping. And then, â€Å"Twelve thousand pounds of dynamite detonated among the sleeping marines. The four-story building collapsed to eye level, and many who were not lucky enough to die instantly were buried under tons of rubble† (2003, p. 7). As a result of the attack Shai remarked, â€Å"Two hundred and forty-one people were killed and eighty were injured, most of which were U. S.Marines †¦ This terror attack took the heaviest toll on the United States prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001† and quoting the then commander of the U. S. Marines Corp General Kelly who twenty years ago said, â€Å"It was the largest terrorist act in the United States history †¦ the day became the Corps’ bloodiest since February 1945, when Marines fought to secure Iwo Jima† (Shai, 2005, p. 91). It is indeed difficult to grasp the significance of this event post-911. But before the September 11, 2001 attacks there was no precedence to the use of guerilla and suicidal tactics to achieve this kind of destruction.A member of the U. S. Marine Corp is considered to be creme de la creme of the U. S. Armed Forces and taking a few out without firing a single shot is considered very unfortunate. But in the car bombing there were not only a handful of marines that were eliminated, there were hundreds of them and it dealt a severe blow to the collective psyche of the American people and perhaps the peacekeeping team sent to Lebanon. It was later found out that the true perpetrators were coming from the Hizballah (Party of God) which according to a fact finding committee of the U. S. government is a:Radical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creatio n of Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from area. Strongly anti-West and anti-Israel. Closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran, but may have conducted rogue operations that were not approved by Tehran (see United States Department of State, 1993, p. 46). Car Bombs The modus operandi used here is of course a car bomb which can be a sedan, van or in this case a truck. It is a favorite method of inflicting severe damage. Shaul Shai asserts that the use of a car bomb has several advantages:†¢ A relatively large amount of explosives can be hidden inside a car and transported to the target. †¢ A car can prevent early detection because it blends in the background; cars, vans and trucks are a normal occurrence especially in a very busy area. †¢ The vehicle offers the attackers mobility and flexibility in choosing the target and reaching it. †¢ The vehicle enhances the lethal effect of the attack. †¢ The vehic le enables the arrival at the target under an innocent guise (2003, p. 15). When it comes to a terrorist attack there is nothing more frightening than the prospect of a car bomb being used against a target.Shai (2003) was correct in saying that a vehicle provides a disguise and place to hide the explosives while at the same time allowing the device to be moved from one place to the next. Detection is almost impossible unless the bomb maker or its accomplice would specifically point out the location of the vehicle. Imagine for a moment a car bomb parked outside a shop, outside a school, outside an office and no one would think twice that there is something wrong with that. Another advantage of a car bomb is the fact that it can be delivered to the target by surprise and moving the device very quickly from point A to point B.In the case of the Beirut bombing the truck was able to cover the relatively long distance from the airport gate – an area designated for the general publi c – to the restricted zone where the temporary barracks was situated. There is no other weapon for a suicide bomber that would have fit his requirements for this specific job. A truck was used not only to provide concealment of the explosive device but it also provides for ample space to store significant amounts of explosives. Also, a truck is one of the most common things that one can see in an airport.And finally a truck has an engine powerful enough to ram through reinforced gates and checkpoints and able to crash through doors. At the same time the bomber can get added protection from the more sturdier frame of a truck than a sedan. Moreover, a car bomb has one final advantage, â€Å"The preparation of a car bomb does not require any special infrastructure; any repair shop or garage can be used for these preparations† (2003, p. 15). With a car bomb a terrorist has a very flexible yet very powerful weapon and if they continue to use it and be successful with it the n they would be able to achieve their main goal which is to instill fear.Serious Intent The bombing of the U. S. Marines barracks was not an isolated case where a group suddenly decided to bomb an enemy outpost. It was a premeditated, calculated, and highly coordinated attack. In fact six months before the military barracks’ bombing a similar signature attack was successfully carried out in the U. S. Embassy in Beirut. On April 18, 1983 a Chevrolet pickup truck loaded with about 2,000 pounds of explosives sped through the gate of the Embassy in West Beirut and then rammed itself into the building (Kushner, 2003, p. 386). According to Kushner, the explosion killed 63 people, â€Å"†¦in a blast so powerful it shook the U.S. S. Guadalcanal, anchored five miles away† (2003, p. 386). After the U. S. Marine barracks bombing there was another attack using the same method of bombing the target. In less than a year from the said bombing – on September 20, 1984 †“ another car bomb was successfully detonated in the U. S. Embassy Ideology of Terrorism In all three attacks one can be see a pattern developing. The method used can be broken down into two major aspects. The first one is the use of car bombs and the second part is the use of suicide bombers. Together these two formed a new kind of enemy which is currently being labeled as terrorists.Terrorism is not a very easy thing to comprehend and at the same time a difficult concept that one can put a handle on. As they say, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter is profoundly true in many respects. But there are still a few valid arguments that would separate the fanatics from a true soldier that is merely defending their homeland from a zealot who will even take pride in taking out non-combatants. In the case of the terrorists like members of the Hizbollah they attack those that are not even remotely interested in taking away their lands or their freedom.It is at this point when trying to decipher their actions is a mind boggling experience. This is perhaps the reason why the American soldiers stationed in Beirut at that time did not anticipate such savagery and suicidal intent because to their minds they were not their as oppressors but brokers of peace. And is it not that peace and goodwill are part of a universal language understood by all peoples of the world? Apparently the answer is no and it will take more than the scope of this paper to fully understand the enemy’s point of view.It is sufficient for the sake of this study to argue that the Americans made a very costly mistake. They approached the situation from a purely political standpoint. Lebanon was at war with Israel. So, they came in, putting lives and reputation on the line, being so sure that this would have been understood by the enemy as something worthy of respect, even admiration. But what they did not realize is the fact that there are heavy undercurrents opera ting just below the surface and it can be said that the American government was naive enough – at that point in time – not to understand all these.At that time the idea of fanaticism and radicalism was not fully understood. It has to be put in perspective that the nation of Israeli was still in its infancy. And this is a major issue that is driving the fanatics crazy; they do not want the existence of Israel in the Middle East. Now, here come the Americans with an offer to mediate between the two warring groups. Yet it was clear to all non-Israelis living in the Arab world that the Americans are partial to Israel. The American soldiers had no inkling that in these parts, no one saw them as peacekeepers but on the contrary they are enemy troops defiling a sacred land.It will be found out later that the attack was driven by ideology rather than a kind of nationalistic or ethnic motive driving the perpetrators. This is because the attack was state-sponsored not by Lebanon but by Iran (see CNN. com). According to Shai, the Marine barracks bombings was claimed to be the handiwork of the Islamic Jihad organization which was nothing more than a cover name for Pro-Iranian radical Shiite entities (2005, p. 91). Describing the attackers as a product of a movement or an ideology is not an accurate description.If one uses the argument of ideology then one should use Communism or Marxism as an example which is the struggle for an idea. Communists and Marxists would go to war for this idea and this is similar to what has transpired in the said attacks but there is something more to the suicide bombers than meets the eye. This is because they are not simply fighting for an idea but they are advancing a different kind of spirituality mixed with their own brand of politics. In fact it is difficult to see where politics end and where religion begins in the bombings that occurred in the 1980s and all those that followed subsequently.It is therefore more helpful to see the bombing from the perspective of some theorists like Tore Bjorgo who suggests that the perpetrators of the car bombings were terrorists and that they use methods or strategies of combat that, â€Å"†¦involves premeditated use of violence against (at least primarily) non-combatants in order to achieve a psychological effect of fear on others than the immediate targets† (2005, p. 2). These acts of terrorism are guided by a spiritual and political framework which makes it so difficult to anticipate and so hard to neutralize. Human nature is predictable, it is the preservation of ones own life.People will kill others for self-defense and they would even kill their friends for self-preservation but they will not offer their lives for others. In many instance a person will perhaps die trying to save someone but it is rare to see someone die to make a statement or to force others to do something. It is no wonder why the U. S. personnel were ill-equipped to neutralize a n ew type of enemy soldier that emerged in the battle grounds of the Middle East. The Aftermath From the definition above of terrorism one can say that the attack on the U. S. Marine barracks was unique because in a normal terrorist attack the targets are non-combatants.But in this case the terrorists were able to strike hard and fast against the intended target which are the soldiers. According to Shaul Shai, â€Å"One of the guidelines pertaining to the issue of suicide attacks require that the attack achieve exceptional results which can be applied as leverage for political or military changes, and inflict significant losses upon the enemy. In addition, the suicide terrorist must carry out his deed out of a sense of complete understanding and recognition regarding the value of his deed and his personal martyrdom† (2005, p. 91)Considering the above statement it can be argued that the terrorists responsible for the attack were indeed successful and that they achieved what they set out to do. With regards to the goal of creating leverage for political or military changes, Kushner – referring to the Embassy and Marine barracks attacks – alluded to how the terrorist group indirectly influenced the outcome of the political and military scenario. And Kushner wrote, â€Å"The double horror of these disasters led to a drop in public support of the U. S. military presence in Lebanon and hastened the withdrawal of U.S. and Western European troops from the country† (2003, p. 386). The attacks also achieved one of its primary goals which is to wage an effective psychological warfare over their enemies situated thousands of miles away. In a report to the former President Reagan, Vice-President George Bush made the following remarks, â€Å"Terrorism deeply troubles the American people. A Roper poll †¦ showed that 78 percent of all Americans consider terrorism to be one of the most serious problems facing the U. S. Government today †¦Ã¢ €  (Bush, 1987, p. 22).Conclusion The attack on the temporary U. S. Marines barracks on October 23, 1983 at Beirut, Lebanon was one of the deadliest ever. What makes it sadder is the fact that those who died were one of the best and brightest that the U. S. military forces could offer. They died not from combat but from the hands of a fanatical terrorist group that did not consider the fact that they came for peace. The Americans were given strict instructions on maintaining extreme tolerance. They were there to initiate a cease fire between Lebanon and Israel.For their noble efforts they were rewarded with a deadly car bomb that took 241 lives – most of them died in their beds without given a chance to defend themselves. The motivation is a crazy mix of politics, ideology, and religion. Conventional warfare is out of the question and the enemy is content in eliminating even non-combatants. In the case of the barracks bombing they felt double pleasure in knowing that they were not only able to take out American lives but also that they dealt a major blow to their primary targets which were the elite U. S. Marines.

Organisational Strategy Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 11 Words: 3326 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Report Did you like this example? 1. Introduction This report has been prepared on the request of the CEO of Crossover Technologies Limited (Crossover), a UK headquartered supplier of a range of services to health care professionals. The company has four major service groups, namely, (a) medical transcription, (b) scheduling, (c) billing and coding, and (d) customised software solutions. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Organisational Strategy Example For Free" essay for you Create order With delivery centres in the United States, the UK, India and Africa, Crossover has been growing steadily since its founding in 2000. The US governments recent decision on widening the health care net in the country in order to include millions of additional people, presently uncovered by health insurance, in its ambit has been accompanied with the framing of policies and regulations for health care professionals; calling upon them to introduce and maintain Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for all their patients (Adams, 2009, p1). This decision has created an enormous new market for suppliers of such services and has radically altered existing perceptions and paradigms in the sector (McCullagh, 2009, p1). Observers expect an enormous shaking up of the sector to occur because of changes in workforce requirements, adoption of HR strategies and policies, new entrants, and introduction of game changing software (McCullagh, 2009, p1). Whilst Crossover and other industry partic ipants have been anticipating such a development in the US, its actual occurrence has proved to be unsettling and most companies are reviewing their strategic options in this radically changed environment. Crossover has on its own been developing proprietary web based software, which, it feels, will help in improvement of its competitive advantage and in the growth of its market share. Overall projected scenarios of the industry are however unclear, because of the possibility of entry into the sector by big players with deep pockets, ramping up of operations by existing sector participants, and development of alternate products by different companies. This report deals with evaluation of the causes for the development of a paradigm shift and the identification of the different external factors that are expected to impact the organisation. The report analyses the existing strategy of the company and evaluates the possible outcomes of the existing strategic programme of Cross over. The concluding section deals with the actual impact of environmental changes and paradigm shifts on the various organisational strategies of market participants. 2. Organisational Overview Crossover was founded in 2000 by two UK based entrepreneurs as a private limited company with equity from personal sources, as well as from family and friends (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The company aimed to provide services to small and medium medical practices, comprising of one to twenty doctors, in the US and in the UK, for the maintenance of clear and easily accessible records of the medical histories of their patients (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Such records were at that time prepared by the secretarial staff of such practices, either from personal dictations from doctors or from notations on the physical records of individual patients (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Crossover entered the medical transcription business by establishing two small medical transcription centres in South Africa and India (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Health care professionals in the US and the UK would dictate the medical history of patients into recording machines, the contents of which w ould be transmitted across continents over leased lines (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The voice recordings would be converted into data processed word formats by accent trained workers, edited carefully, and sent back to the clients before the commencement of the next working day (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Whilst the initial years were difficult for the company because of numerous production associated problems, Crossover was able to grow steadily in the US market, especially in the affluent Boston Philadelphia corridor (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The company has, over the years, added staff to its Indian and South African delivery centres and introduced services in areas of scheduling, billing and coding, and customised software solutions for the health care sector (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Crossover has gained a reputation for quality that has helped it in retaining clients despite the entry of new competitors and rampant occurrence of price cutting between compa nies to wrest away business (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The company has grown at an annualised growth rate of approximately 13% during the last five years. Its current turnover is approximately 40 million USD (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Crossover employs 450 persons, 375 of whom are based in the delivery centres at Cape Town and Bangalore (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The majority of the marketing staff is located in the US (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The corporate headquarters of the business continues to be in the UK, primarily because of its midway location between the delivery centres and the main market of the company (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Medical practitioners in the UK are however beginning to look at EMR seriously and Crossover hopes to achieve some growth in UK revenues in the coming years (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Crossover has invested the major portion of its profits during the last 3 years into the development of a web based technology that can be bought and installed by individual practices (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). The new system has numerous features that simplify and add flexibility to the existing EMR process (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Doctors can manage their complete medical records efficiently with the system, and use voice recording options, if they wish to dispense with transcontinental transcription processes (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Installation of such systems is expected to result in substantial savings of recurrent costs for health care practices (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Crossover derives practically 80% of its revenues from the medical transcription division. The other service divisions came about primarily because of demand from existing clients and the company has made little effort to grow them, both in terms of internal competencies and in terms of sales. 3. Environmental Changes and Development of Paradigm Shift The US government passed a path breaking health care reform bill in March 2010 (Lotich, 2010, p1). The bill aims to make health care more affordable to Americans through (a) the introduction of substantial tax cuts that will benefit middle class families investing in health care, and (b) by reducing premium costs for the families who are unable to afford coverage today (Lotich, 2010, p1). The legislation is expected to help approximately 32 million Americans, (who are at present uncovered), to invest in health care coverage (Lotich, 2010, p1). Approximately 95% of the population of the country is now expected to be covered under health care (Lotich, 2010, p1). The bill will also bring about far greater accountability in the health care sector through the introduction of appropriate rules and regulations for insurance companies and medical practitioners (Lotich, 2010, p1). The health care bill places significant emphasis on implementation of electronic medical records and sy stems, considering them to be instrumental to the ultimate success of health care reform policies (McCullagh, 2009, p1). A recent report from Accenture predicts that approximately 60% of US doctors in small and medium practices, which do not presently use EMRs, intend to purchase and install EMR systems in the coming two years (McCullagh, 2009, p1). Considering that only 6% of such practices use EMRs at present, the expansion in demand is expected to be exponential in nature (McCullagh, 2009, p1). Such increase in adoption of EMR is expected to come about because of two specific causes, financial incentives for implementation of EMR systems and federal financial penalties for their non-adoption (McCullagh, 2009, p1). The intention of hundreds of thousands of doctors in the US to buy and implement EMR systems is expected to radically change a number of premises about the EMR industry and associated businesses like medical transcription. The medical transcription industry wil l be impacted in several ways by the passing of the health care bill. The market for services to health care practitioners is expected to explode in the coming years and generate work of magnitudes that can be compared to the Y2K period. The requirement for implementation of EMRs in the US will lead to the creation of an enormous new market in EMR services. This will in turn spur the formation of thousands of companies across the world that aim to provide such services and lead to the creation of millions of jobs. Market expansion will lead to a surge of new entrants from across the world, especially from countries like India, Brazil and South Africa, and lead to the fresh demand for thousands of jobs in developing countries. With it being difficult to meet such sharp demand in services in such a short period, the increased needs of the US health care sector will inevitably lead to (a) the entry of companies with lesser competencies, (B) quality issues, (c) HR and training ch allenges, and (d) the inevitable demise of many start-ups. The exponential increase in demand will also lead to intense work in development of software and applications by resource rich organisations and to the possible generation of breakthroughs and game changing software. The coming years are thus expected to be uncertain in areas of market size, product development, service formulation, entry of new entrants, development of substitute technology, creation of jobs, cross continental transfer of wealth and services, and intensification of competition. A paradigm shift of such dimensions will very obviously have numerous strategic implications for industry participants, including companies like Crossover. 4. Strategic Implications of Paradigm Shift in Business Environment The anticipated alteration in the US health care services environment will obviously have wide strategic ramifications for market participants (Henry, 2008, p 14-36). The extent of competitiveness in a market is fundamentally gauged, with the use of Porters five forces analysis, from the power of buyers, the power of sellers, the possibility of new entrants, the threats from substitutes, and the intensity of competition between market participants (Henry, 2008, p 14-36). The power of buyers in the sector is expected to reduce because of the enormous anticipated increase in the number of medical practices intending to purchase and implement EMR services. The power of suppliers, namely EMR and medical transcription companies, is not very high at present because of low levels of interest for EMRs among medical practices. Whilst the power of suppliers should in the normal course of events increase with such projected increase in demand, their power could be reduced by the entr y of numerous new entrants in the market place. The threat from substitutes is also expected to be extremely high, with high resource organisations like Google readying their EMR products for the market. Competition amongst existing suppliers is keen at present and is expected to intensify further, as all participants shore up their infrastructure and pitch for increased market share. The overall market is thus expected to be in a state of flux even as competitive activity is expected to increase. The market for medical transcription in the US has until now been influenced mostly by costs considerations, with suppliers ready to provide transcription services at fees ranging from 8 to 12 cents per line (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Whilst the price of medical transcription services is expected to increase in future because of greater demand, as well as financial incentives to medical practices for EMR implementation, the benefit of such increase in prices and market demand m ay well be offset by greater required investment in infrastructure and recruitment and training costs (Crossoverint.com, 2008, p1). Porters theory of generic strategies calls upon companies to choose between strategies that aim either at cost leadership or at differentiation of products and services (Gilligan, 2005, p 7-28). Whilst cost leadership in this area of business will possibly require substantial investments in infrastructure, size of workforce, and training, companies could also find lucrative niche markets through differentiation of services, introduction of new products, and improvement of quality (Gilligan, 2005, p 7-28). Companies will therefore be required to choose specific strategies for the future, whose relevance and market suitability could well decide the success, failure and the ultimate fortunes of such organisations (Gilligan, 2005, p 7-28). Companies like Crossover have different services in their service portfolio, some of which provide them with growth and sustenance, even as others either pull them down or provide hope for the future. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix separates such portfolio components into easily understandable categories like Cash Cows, Stars, Dogs and Question Marks. Cash Cows denote product groups that generate cash and are in the mature period of the product lifecycle, even as Stars represent product groups that are expected to do well and drive organisational growth in future (Business Resourceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, 2010, p1). Dogs represent products that are adversely affecting business operations, whilst Question Marks represent groups that are yet to show indication of advantage or disadvantage (Business Resourceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, 2010, p1). Crossover, for instance has only one Cash Cow, the transcription business, and its other services can be categorised, either as dogs, or more charitably as question marks. The company does however have a proprietary software product that could become a Star in the changed environment and drive the companys growth considerably in the coming years. Crossover thus faces very important strategic challenges and will need to take important strategic decisions in the near future in light of the shifting of the basic paradigms of its business sector. Crossover will have to give serious thought to the changing environment of its business sector, forecast likely scenarios and competitive environments, take note of the shifting paradigms and decide upon a medium and long term corporate strategy (Baker, 1992, p 3-19) defined paradigm to be sets of rules that define boundaries and instruct organisations on how to behave within such boundaries (Alhujailli, 2008, p1). With the basic premises, assumptions and the boundaries of its business sector going through radical alteration, Crossover will need to decide between staying with its established business of medical transcription and trying to take advantage of its existing infrastruct ure, customer base and skill sets to grow its business, or change the established rules of the game and establish new paradigms for the business (Alhujailli, 2008, p1). The company has over the past few years developed proprietary software that can help doctors to manage their EMR records on their own with great efficiency and dispense with cross continental medical transcription processes. The product provides doctors with the option of recording case details and updating medical histories from any location of their choice, choosing between voice recognition and transcription facilities, and handling medical records on their own or through Crossover. The development of the software through the joint working of its software personnel at South Africa and India has also led to its development at a fraction of the cost that would have been incurred in the UK or the USA and the company can therefore sell it at an extremely attractive price to thousands of doctors. Crossover will need to decide on making a serious effort to sell its proprietary software product and by so doing shift or possibly pioneer a new paradigm in the EMR sector, wherein medical practices become increasingly self-reliant in handling their medical records, or stay with its established medical transcription business and take advantage of the anticipated market expansion to grow its business. The first option appears to be the more optimal strategic decision for the company because of associated first mover benefits and the opportunity to increase growth substantially in its chosen business sector. Continuing with its current service mix might well lead to obsolescence, growing irrelevance, and loss of competitive advantage to other fleet footed, innovative and dynamic market participants. Whilst the company will necessarily have to fund its product introduction through the funds generated from its medical transcription business, it will have to alter its business model of prov iding economical transcription services to clients from distant locations by incorporating the selling of a pioneering and potentially game changing product to a much wider audience in its market strategy. The decision will also require the company to change from its current strategy of cost leadership to one of product differentiation and target a significantly increased market. Such significant strategic changes will require Crossword to bring about important changes in its organisational culture and make marketing of products an important business objective. Organisational cultures are developed over time and whilst represented by a range of symbols and totems are usually manifested in organisational attitudes towards market aggressiveness, innovativeness, internal communication, hierarchical structures, and taking of risks. Crossword is likely to have an entrenched service oriented culture, which whilst customer friendly, may possibly lack the market aggression and init iative of successful selling organisations. The senior management will thus have to bring about changes in organisational culture. Changing organisational culture is a difficult task because of changed resistant attitudes of employees. Experts like Kotter and Lewin recommend the implementation of carefully planned stage wise implementation of change management initiatives for achievement of optimal results. Crossover will be well served by the use of their theories in the formulation of its change management programme. 5. Conclusions This review of the recent developments in the market for services to small and medium health care professionals reveals how the passing of health care legislation in the US has radically changed the existing paradigms of this sector, introduced huge opportunities for market participants to grow and develop their businesses, and created significant challenges that will need to be overcome by such participants for organisational success in a dramatically altered environment. The analysis also reveals the significant effect of environmental changes on the competitiveness of specific business sectors, with special regard to, in this case, increase in intensity of competition and the possibility of threats from substitutes and new entrants. 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