Communication Monographs Essay

Hospice Employees are the employees providing care to those for the sick and terminally ill; they are staffed by physicians, nurses home health aides, social workers, counselors, clergy, and community volunteers. Hospices are a specially trained team that develops a care okay to trail patients’ needs for pain. This study explores the communication of compassion at work, and extends past research on compassion, highlighting its complete nature and a model that presents its communication action. The study was done to bring attention to the discrete details of each patient’s situation is fundamental to the communicative compassion sub process of recognizing. The method of analysis were relied upon a two-level iterative analysis, alternately using etic-level categories bas on existing research and theory and emic level categories that emerged from the data and participant’s voices (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Open coding was engaged then identifying relationships and second-level analytic themes in the codes was processed. The open codes were classified into groups, analytic memos explored the categories, and data was recorded then used theoretically. Interviews with 29 nurses were completed, and the hypothesis stated was ‘Conceptualization not only captures the sub process of compassion, but also highlights the integral role of communication’. Compassion is accomplished through communication behaviors and attending verbal social support, in order to influence organizational performance and work outcomes. Many researchers show that people prefer to die at home, surrounded by their loved ones, and free of pain. But hospice advocates less obtrusive end-of-life techniques, trying to keep the dying free from pain, which is referred to as ‘death with dignity’. Hospice supports physical and psychosocial needs, nursing dying patients and their families. Compassion fatigue is a form of traumatic stress, resulting from extra care, as it is told to be the ‘cost of caring’. The concept evolved from the study of employers who witness suffering (example; nurses) (Abendroth & Flannery, 2006). All employee is inauthentic or organizationally mandated, employees feel ‘put on’ sometimes, the work becomes emotional and they feel that they are authentically expressing warranted emotion. Healthcare provides new jobs and opportunities to workers; hospice workers often enter such jobs with the idea of ‘helping others’, or ‘making a difference’ to this world. However, research shows employees who work in such personal social service cares, experience the highest rates of depression in the US (NSDUH report, 2007). Burnout; conceptualized as a consequence of caregiving stressors is characterized by; emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or a negative shift in responses to others, mainly clients, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishments (Debbie, 2008). Sociologist Clark (1997) insisted on understanding the social and cultural phenomenon of sympathy, and engaged in a collection of analysis. Clark’s study was developed by Kanov et al. (2004); identifying three interrelated processes: noticing another’s emotional state, feeling the other’s pain (through empathic concern), and responding by working to alleviate another’s suffering. Volunteer activities included direct patient care, such as feeding, grooming, changing beds, and providing both the patient and the patients family care. Recognizing is necessary is holistic nature of hospice care, as it implies we understand the value in others’ communicative cues, timing, and context, as well as the cracks between messages. Relating also took several forms of hospice; as you have to relate to the patients position, feel with them and stand by them. Reacting, also plays a role in hospice, how the employee reacts with a client affects the client. In conclusion, emotional connections are the keys to compassion. Two communication issues are revealed in this article; firstly, if a hospice misbehaves towards a client it affects the feelings of the client, and secondly, hospices jobs aren’t as easy as they seem, as it is leading to high depression rates. This study reveals that the contours of compassion in organizational life are complex and dynamic, which I personally agree on. The hypothesis stated was proven, and makes complete sense ‘Conceptualization highlights the integral role of communication’. Helping provide insight on adaptive and energizing emotional processes and illustrating how work can be meaningful, important, and lead to human growth is an important factor to our lives. Care, generosity and compassion should be traded within workplaces. Other Resources: 1. The ACTive intervention in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings: Exploring family caregiver and hospice team communication journal of computer- mediated communication Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles, PhD (April 1, 2010) 2. Improving the way we die: A coorienation study assessing agreement/disagreement in the organization-public relationship of hospices and physicians Journal of health communication Kathleen S. Kelly, Micheal F. Thompson, Richard D. Waters (September 1, 2006) 3. Hospice and the intangible wonders of being Mary Josephone Mahoney (April 1, 2009)

Training and Development Program for Bass Pro

Training and Development program for Bass Pro Shops Top Managers Training and Development Final paper Bass Pro Shop Company Overview Bass Pro Shop (Outdoor World) is a private retailer known of selling hunting, fishing and camping gear related to all outdoor and recreational activities that started in Missouri in 1972. By 1974, Bass Pro Shops became very popular and its first catalog first was mailed out. Soon, it became the world's largest mail order sporting goods store. Around 1995, Bass Pro Shops Sportsman's Warehouse opened in Atlanta, Georgia, its first store outside the state of Missouri.Today, Bass Pro Shops became one of America’s premier outdoor retail leaders serving over 75 million sportsmen. Bass Pro Shops have over 39 stores within the US and have several other stores that do not fall under the Outdoor World flagship brand The article we will be analyzing for this paper is called, Bass Pro Failed to Hire Blacks and Hispanics at its Stores Nationwide, EEOC Says in Suit. The article was press released on September 21, 2011 by The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World is being accused in a nationwide federal lawsuit of discriminating against qualified black and Hispanic employees and applicants since 2005 (EEOC, 2011). Bass Pro Shops is additionally being accused of retaliation against employees who were against the discriminatory practices, firing them or forcing them to quit their jobs. They also destroyed or did not save documents associated to internal discrimination complaints that made racially derogatory remarks about minority employees and employment applications.In the lawsuit it cited examples from Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Indiana showing a national pattern of discrimination. Analysis of the EEOC Article This topic and article was chosen by our team from the EEOC website for the following reasons: 1) It is a credited article 2) It includes the findings and the fact based upon the EEOC filled t he lawsuits against Bass Pro 3) It is well written, accurate, verifiable, clear and concise 4) Broad in its coverage: (a) It addresses the main aspects of the topic; and b) It stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail 5) Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias, giving due weight to each. 6) It is very detailed in the findings and investigation processes. 7) It provides information and help for those who have been discriminated against and never dared to file a lawsuit or complain. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency charged with enforcing antidiscrimination laws in employment.The EEOC found evidence of nationwide discrimination by Brass Pro under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, â€Å"which prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who complain about employment discrimination and requires them to keep certain employment recordsà ¢â‚¬ . (EEOC, 2012) Bass Pro is been held responsible for consistently denying jobs to qualified minorities based on their race (African-American), ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino) or national origin not their skills, knowledge, abilities or work experience.The EEOC did an investigation and found statistical evidence based on the number of minority employees working nationwide for this employer that Bass Pro has engaged in discriminatory hiring procedures. The underrepresentation of minority employees and applicants was so noticeable that the possibility that it could happen without discrimination is extremely small. The EEOC found plenty of data to accuse Bass Pro with a national pattern of discrimination. In the lawsuit there were a number of examples of racially derogatory remarks made by management at different Bass Pro stores.Some of the examples are the following: â€Å"it is getting a little dark in here, you need to hire some white people†, â€Å"Hispanics are wetback s†, â€Å"Hispanics should be shot at the boarder by the Border Patrol†, â€Å"hiring black candidates did not fit the corporate profile. † (Samuel, Post, 2011) The EEOC also specified in the lawsuit that Bass Pro did not offer any evidence that the company is using fair hiring practices. On the EEOC website you can find what is considered Race/Color Discrimination and Harassment.The EEOC considers harassment to include, â€Å"racial slurs, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s race or color. Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision such as the victim being fired or demoted † (EEOC, 2011). The reason Bass Pro is being sued by the EEOC is because they believe they have a case against them based on the evidence and data they collected throughout the investigation. Needs Assessment Organizational Analysis:The top manager s of Bass Pro Shops are reluctant to apply diversity practices on their recruitment processes, which has significantly damage their reputation and organizational climate. The successful implementation of a training and development method focused on promoting diversity will attract more customers and skilled employees to Bass pro shops stores. Thus, improving the reputation of the company in both employees and customers. The lawsuits derived from their discrimination practices has already damage Bass Pro’s reputation and might jeopardize their cost structure.Thus, the implementation of a diversity training method is a good strategy to change the top managers mindset and promote the benefits of having a diverse workforce across the organization. Person Analysis: The top managers of bass pro shops need to be trained to understand the importance of having diverse workforce across the organization. This means, that trainers should ensure that the managers are committed with the tr aining before the implementation of the program.According to (Brighthub, 2011) it is essential for managers to understand the problem they are involved in and be mentally committed to change their mindset regarding discrimination acts. On the other hand, the managers of Bass pro shops have sufficient technical skills that allow them to utilize technological equipment and understand software solutions that the training program might contain. Task Analysis: The task analysis would be focused on the top manager’s job. The activities that the program contain involve the interaction of top managers with non-white employees.The main objective of the interactive activities is to break up with the existing bias that top managers have of non-white employees. Thus, the creation of activities that require the collaboration of both managers and employees will improve the knowledge and skills that top managers require to get along with non-white employees. Recommendation: According the in formation stated in the article, Bass pro shops have four main issues that we as consultants are trying to address by the implementation of a training and development program for the top managers of the organization.The four main issues include, the misconception of the basic assumption, which is the organization necessity to hire only white people in order to maintain customers satisfaction; the legal implications derived from their discriminatory practices against afro-American and Hispanic people in their hiring policies; the potential high costs of losing the case and the bad reputation the organization might build with these discriminatory practices. According to (Noe, 2010), There are six stages that the training and development method should accomplish in order to positively impact the main issues that the organization is facing.These include: Ensuring Managers’ Readiness for Training & Creating a Learning Environment in an open dialog with diversity counselors. This i s very important because managers can get feedback regarding their performances. That way, the manager can evaluate the employees perspectives regarding his/her own diversity practices. According to (PACT Training, 2006) The development plan of a succesful training and development program should always start with the definition of the learning outcomes. There are two learning outcomes of the training and development plan for Bass Pro Shops.The first learning outcome is to increase the knowledge of top managers about discrimination acts, and the seccond learning outcome is to build in top managers, skills and behaviors that enables them to effectively apply diversity practices. If managers successfuly learn how to apply these two expected outcomes, there must be a decrease in the number of complaints and litigations against the Bass pro shops. Thus, reducing the potential costs derived from lawsuits and improving their public image. A Cost-benefit analysis will also be a part of the developing plan.Costs such as the purchase of the training program, learning materials, equipments, facilities, and the salary of trainers will be included in the analysis. Some of the specific benefits that the program will pursue include: improvement of managers performance derived from diversity practices, increase of the number of customers, increasing sales of products, and cost saving derived from a decrease in lawsuit payments. Selecting Training Method The training program has to be in adherence to the legislation.Bass Pro Shops need a training program that helps its managers to understand when their behaviors violate the equal employment opportunity laws. Some of the strategies used to enforce this knowledge include: †¢ Encourage managers to learn about Title VII online. Managers can the web to self-train their knowledge about laws. When the self-training is finished, use evaluation test such as online tests or paper-based tests to evaluate the learning outcomes. †¢ Use case studies (Noe, 2010), to encourage anagers to understand the legislation. Managers might find in case studies, a more practical exercise to learn about behaviors that may violate the law. †¢ Incorporate diversity-related news items into the content of the program (PACT Training, 2006). For example, the article mentioned that Abercrombie & Finch had to paid over $50 million dollars to settle employment discrimination suits in 2004. This type of news might increase the awareness of top managers about the implications of engaging in discriminatory practices. Conduct adventure learning activities that encourage the interaction of top managers with non-white employees (Noe, 2010). These type of activities promote trust between the two groups, which allows top managers to deeply observe the characteristics of non-white employees. Thus, improving the managers ability to hire based on skills qualifications rather than hiring based on a specific race. Monitoring and evaluatin g the program There are different techniques that Bass pro Shops can use to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the training program.Bass Pro Shops can use test methods to evaluate the impact of the training. These test can be conducted online and paper-based, and they will be focused in measuring the training outcomes. Some of the tests that Bass pro shop can use to evaluate the training program include: Performance appraisal and pretest/posttest evaluation methods (Noe, 2010). Both of these evaluation methods will strive to evaluate the extent to which the top managers apply diversity practices in the organization, and how the results are aligned to what was taught, practiced and expected.Additionally, they will also measure the extent to which the employees performance has improved as a result of the diversity practices. Bass pro shops can also encourage managers to research about workforce diversity best practices and continuously put new practices into action as a part of the monitoring process of the program. These new practices maximize the skills, satisfaction and retention of the employees as well as promoting a continuous learning environment. References Basspro. com (2012). Retrieval April 3, 2012, from Bassproshop Website: http://www. basspro. com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC? storeId=10151&ca

Case Writeup Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case Writeup - Essay Example Kiva’s existing business model does not allow lenders to receive interest against the funds they loan however; Kiva’s field partners charge the interest from the entrepreneurs. Though this rate is lower however, it is considered as enough to meet the requirements of the Kiva’s field partners. One group which obviously be affected by this will be the poor entrepreneurs because if start paying the interest to its lenders, this cost will certainly be passed on to the actual borrowers. Secondly, by not paying the interest, Kiva’s lenders are being affected though most of its lenders lend the money to gain the emotional returns rather than the financial returns. The situation described above therefore indicate towards the adaptation of a business model which can effectively combine both the elements together in order to create value for each of the stakeholders in terms of financial rewards. A closer analysis of the facts would suggest that Kiva is facing two important problems i.e. strategic as well as of operational nature. It is Strategic in the sense that paying interest rates to the lenders may dilute its overall appeal and can significantly reduce its overall public image. Further, it also need to maintain its operational viability therefore in order to attract more funds, it may require paying interest to the lenders. Apart from this, a change in the business model of the firm would also force it to change its very character therefore may further require it to complete important legal requirements in order to comply with the existing legal requirements for the commercial organizations. Apart from this since the lenders of Kiva may not be directly into the business of lending therefore they may also be subject to the different regulatory requirements which can effectively discourage them to lend to Kiva owing to

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example The resistance could be severe as well when trade unions and the like protest their anger and shut down on work in a swift manner, thus halting the organizational domains in an excessive manner. The need is to deal with resistance in such a manner that will make both the parties happy. (Berkowitz, 2003) The employees as well as the organizational top heads must reach a consensus as to what exactly could be summed up as a compromising situation. Culture is manageable to the extents that it does not hinder the employees’ working space and it is changeable if all the above mentioned parties in unison agree with the notion that the organization’s success is more important than their individual preferences. Organizations can prevent resistance to change if they pre-empt the moves that the employees and stakeholders will take in the event of a changing scenario looming large in their face. The organizations can find out how the people concerned would react when change is put upon them and how they would show their pleasure or the lack of it within the contexts of their personal lives and more importantly at the workplace. This is significant since organizations pose a number of problems for the employees both on the domestic as well as official fronts and change in any such situation could work towards creating problems for them, no matter within the short term or in the longer scheme of things. The cultural change aspect needs to be embedded in a clear and concise manner within the realms of an organization so as to extract the best possible results, both in the short term as well as in the long run. Organization structure impacts the manner in which work is basically carried out. More than anything else it adheres to the different purposes of the discrete services and the related achievements with the passage of time. This brings to

Portfolio Cover Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portfolio Cover Letter - Essay Example However, the main assignments made me come to the realization that I had a long way to go to become an accomplished writer. The connect assignment, the literature review and rhetorical analysis essay as well as the class wikis were some of the assignments we engaged in and while the first ones were pretty simple, however as they became more structured and complex in nature it became more challenging. Assignments such as the forums, essays and creating my Twitter page about Journey to the west were all helpful in enabling me to better structure my writing and integrate the skills that I had gained from connect assignments. Each subsequent writing assignment enabled me to better my skills and open my mind to new, unique and creative ideas. I had the most difficulty with the wiki assignment since I had not yet learned how to be flexible in my writing enough to provide what was needed by the professor. It was also the first time creating a wiki and while I had thought that the presence of links within the information I was giving was optional, I did not do the assignment with as open a mind as I should have had. I also had a difficult time clearly researching on the provided topic which I think actively contributed to the low grade that I got. I did feel a sense of disappointment but fast came to the realization that I could improve and I therefore decided to take the comments that I had been given to heart instead of looking at it from a negative point of view. The connect assignments were also key in my growth; when we first began, I thought that it would be easy since I was familiar with the use of verbs and shifting tenses however the intensity and difficulty of the assignments got to me and I soon found that I was struggling to keep to the set time for handing in the assignments. However, while I was at times late, my level of engagement in each of the assignments I did was consistent and on point since I was driven by

Applied Psychology - Mindfulness meditation as a treatment for Essay

Applied Psychology - Mindfulness meditation as a treatment for depression - Essay Example It is informative to note that Behaviour Therapy developed at a time when psychology regarded classical and operant conditioning as sufficient mechanisms in explaining human behaviour. Later when psychology took on board the mediation of thought and language (what went on inside the ‘black box’) as important in explaining human behaviour, Cognitive Therapy was born. CBT is approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK. However, since no one therapy (including medication) has been proved to be universally beneficial for all patients, the field of counselling and therapy is replete with many alternatives such as psychoanalysis, Gestalt Therapy, and other humanistic therapies. These are not seen as ‘scientific’, objective, and amenable to quantitative research. Increasingly, with the passage of time, it appears that ‘mind’ a concept that had been totally alien to ‘scientific’, positivistic psychology, was beginning to be accepted, at least in the form of neural activity in the brain underpinning all mental schemata as the basis of behaviour. From here, it has been quite a jump to accept ‘mindfulness meditation’, borrowed from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions practised as a religious observance for more than 2500 years as a means of reaching enlightenment. So, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), may be seen as an innovation in therapy through an attempt at a fusion between two widely divergent fields of human endeavour separated not only by time of origin but by distinctiveness of culture as well . Even so, over the last two decades MBCT appears to have proved efficacious in treating persistent or recurring depression in psychiatric patients (Teasdale et al 2000). Meditation in mindfulness is the cultivation of awareness of the activity of one’s consciousness from moment to moment. When one is able to accomplish this, it can stop one being trapped in constant ruminations and automatisms in

Chemical Castration of Pedophiles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 19000 words

Chemical Castration of Pedophiles - Essay Example The author assumes that the most seriously sexuÐ °lly deviÐ °nt individuÐ °ls Ð °re now to be held in psychiÐ °tric hospitÐ °ls or speciÐ °l fÐ °cilities for the treÐ °tment of their sexuÐ °l deviÐ °tion. It is these individuÐ °ls who need to be treÐ °ted using Ð ° chemicÐ °l Ð °pproÐ °ch in Ð °ddition to cognitive behÐ °viouriÐ °l therÐ °py. At the end of the study the author comes to conclusions and gives his recommendations. ChemicÐ °l cÐ °strÐ °tion therÐ °py is Ð °n effective tool in reducing the overwhelming libido of the sexuÐ °lly motivÐ °ted non-violent pedophile. The goÐ °l of treÐ °tment is not ultimÐ °tely to chÐ °nge the sexuÐ °l preference of the pedophile, but rÐ °ther to blunt his erectile cÐ °pÐ °bility Ð °nd sexuÐ °l drive so he no longer poses Ð ° probÐ °ble threÐ °t to potentiÐ °l child victims. It is cleÐ °r thÐ °t child victimizÐ °tion hÐ °s reÐ °ched epidemic proportions in this country, Ð °lthough lessening in re ported numbers in recent yeÐ °rs. For this reÐ °son, stÐ °tes need to look to chemicÐ °l cÐ °strÐ °tion therÐ °py Ð °s Ð ° viÐ °ble Ð °lternÐ °tive to lengthy incÐ °rcerÐ °tion Ð °nd Ð ° step in the treÐ °tment of the biochemicÐ °l cÐ °uses of the pedophiles sexuÐ °l deviÐ °ncy—his unusuÐ °lly high sex drive Ð °nd corresponding levels of testosterone. LegislÐ °tures need to be cognizÐ °nt thÐ °t Ð °lleviÐ °ting the sexuÐ °lly motivÐ °ted criminÐ °l pedophile from his unusuÐ °lly high levels of testosterone might be the most humÐ °ne form of treÐ °tment. In doing so, stÐ °tes need to be respectful of the bÐ °sic fundÐ °mentÐ °l rights of the sexuÐ °l offender. The protection of the child victim should not leÐ °d to the victimizÐ °tion of the pedophiliÐ °c sex offender.

Political Parties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Political Parties - Essay Example As a result, most of the citizens of the country prefer to have the branding as independent voters instead of being staunch republicans or devout democrats. The bad reputation of the political parties in the United States has led to the formation of other institutions that have taken over the functions designed for the political parties. The essay will analyze the various ways in which the major political parties in the United States have failed in their duties as political parties and how the other institutions have taken over those responsibilities. The analysis will have the inclination of also evaluating whether the result if the take-over by other institutions have led to a more or less democratic country of the United States. One of the major functions for the political parties in the United States is the provision of candidates to run for various government offices in the country during the elections. The running candidates come from the main political parties this helps the voters decide on which candidate to choose, and especially depending on the party that they represent. Another major function for the political parties is to inform the public on the major issues in the country. They take a stand on a variety of issues and offer alternative ways of tackling situations. They also have the responsibility of ensuring the ruling political party does not take over the complete control of the country. This is through ensuring that the president exercises his powers responsibly and in the benefit of the nation. The political parties also form the government and especially the legislature where they ensure that they have representatives for the policies and ideologies of the political party. The rise of the Independent voters in the United States is an indication of the loss of power, influence, and importance of the political parties in the country.

Roman State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Roman State - Essay Example The Romans usually described by their cultural-identity in very simple terms, which included the use of Latin language, regard for traditional Latin literature, loyalty to Roman laws and hereditary civilization. Else - everyone who wasn't a Romanian and didn't want to share this way of life - was barbarian (P.J. Geary, 2001, pp. 107-109). By the similar gauge, all persons who lived inside the borders of Rome were, theoretically, tied by their widespread contribution in Roman culture (P.J. Geary, 2001, pp. 107-109). Following the fall of Alexander and the rejection of Greek domination in the 3rd century BC, the Illyrians twisted their fates to piracy (P.A. Brunt, 1976, pp. 161-74). Carrying out their invasions from the isolated waterfronts of the coastline, they devastate the shoreline of Italy along with Greece and victimized the commerce of the Adriatic. In return to help calls from Greece, Rome demanded a termination of the piracy, but the Illyrians discarded. This negative response caused two consecutive trounces in the Roman wars of 229 and 219 BCE. Illyria, but, remained an influential Empire with its center at Skodra, until 180 BCE, when the Dalmatians stated themselves autonomous of Ruler Gentius (P.A. Brunt, 1976, pp. 161-74). ... They, but, opposed to yield Romans annexation until the earliest part of the 1st century CE. They tied in an endeavor with the Pannonians and to set free their provinces from Romans in 6 C.E. and they were not finally controlled until 9 C.E. by Augustus and Tiberius (P.A. Brunt, 1976, pp. 161-74). From that time on, the entire of Illyria was occupied and unified as the Roman territory of Illyricum and finally developed to be one of the major employing grounds for the Rome's army. Finally, as it developed into highly-Romanized, it was acknowledged as the hometown of some Emperors counting Diocletion. After the demise of King Prasutagus (AD 50-60), though, the Roman overseers in Britain made the Iceni a subject populace. In Iceni, Boudicca was a true combatant ruler. In 60-61 A.D., she enthused and directed the biggest rebellion in opposition to Romans in Britain. Rome had got the wrong impression about Boudicca and the Iceni. Instead of yielding to Romans, Boudicca lifted up a massive army and guided them in opposition to Roman's forces in Britain. Nine out of ten Rome's legions were busy in Wales, combating with Druids. There was less-effective resistance as Boudicca and her territorial army swept into the business centre of Londinium on the Thames (Guy De La Bedoyere, 2003, pp. 64). Rome routed the Britons in one of the very old world's most blood-spattered massacres. The Romans way of life was not as good as all over the place than it is nowadays, mainly for the minor classes. The command was an armed domination - a benevolent one, but domination however. Possessing complete Roman nationality, the former soldiers were at the peak of the 'totem pole' amongst citizens. This was particularly significant as the essential feature of Romanization demanded the

Small Business Management Master Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Small Business Management Master - Case Study Example A brief reference to the theories stated in the literature regarding the above sectors has been considered as necessary in order to understand the operational structure of the firm and to estimate its prospects for the future. Scruffy Dog Media is based in Cumbria. The firm, in accordance with its official website is characterized as 'a family-owned video production company formed in 2007 to produce high quality video material for companies and organisations in and around the Cumbria area' (firm's website). As noticed above two particular sectors of the firm will be examined: the leadership and the HR management. In accordance with the firm's website the firm operates under the guidance of John Gilluley and Lorna Hardy. Both of them have worked in the area for many years before deciding to form their own firm. It seems that the leadership in the firm has been 'distributed' between these two persons who have equal obligations and rights regarding the firm's administration and profits. No other staff is clearly mentioned in the firm's website and it can be assumed that these two persons do the work themselves or they possible hire staff whenever the needs of a particular project require additional staff. Un der these terms, the analysis of the firm's leadership and its HR policies would be based on the role of these two persons in the firm's administration and the appropriateness of their decisions regarding the distribution of tasks in the firm. 3. Leadership and HRM - critical analysis 3.1 Leadership The importance of leadership for the development of any firm around the world cannot be denied. In accordance with Day et al. (1988, 453) 'when several methodological concerns are addressed, it is evident that executive leadership can explain as much as 45% of an organization's performance'. In other words, leadership is considered to have an important role in the firm's performance but it should be rather interpreted as part of the corporate activity, in combination with other characteristics of a firm's operational activities (HR management, operations management, financial management and so on). On the other hand, Hart et al. (1993) highlights the significance of the role of the CEO for the success of any corporate initiatives. More specifically, the above researcher supports that 'CEOs with high "behavioral complexity" - the ability to play multiple, competing roles - produce the best firm performance, particularly with respect to business performance (growth and innovation) and organizational (stakeholder) effectiveness; executive leadership role had little to do with firms' financial performance' (Hart et al., 1993, 543). In the case of small firms, where there is no CEO the above assumptions can be used only in order to evaluate the role of the firms' director(s), i.e. of the persons that have the responsibility for the design and the completion of any firm's activity. In this context, although there is no CEO having the supervision of all plans and initiatives, the responsibility of the directors is not limited but it is equally distributed among them. In the particular firm there is no reference to the firm's staff - apart from its directors. For this reason, only assumptions can be made regarding the HR policies applied by the firm. At a first level, it could be assumed that in any case that a project is too complex, the firm's

Traditional patriarchal society Essay Example for Free

Traditional patriarchal society Essay Discuss the validity of Rachel Claytons view that Much Ado About Nothing has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of a traditional patriarchal society. In Rachel Claytons essay Who is Hero? she suggests Shakespeare has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of traditional patriarchal society. She suggests that a feminist would find Heros acceptance of Claudio after he disgraced her frustrating. But she suggests when looking at Heros actions again considering the society at the time that her actions are more understandable. Elizabethan society was patriarchal and religious. Women were possessions, owned by fathers or husbands. They had to be compliant; a disobedient wife or child made a man appear incompetent. Whereas men were allowed to behave promiscuously before they were married and even during, women were not. If they were found guilty of this they would never be able to marry and their reputation would be shattered. The savage bull may, but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the horns and set them in my forehead, and let me be vilely painted, and in such great letters as they write Here is a good horse to hire let them signify under my sign Here you may see Benedick, the married man'. When a man could not control his wife they were known as cuckolds by other men, which traditionally had horns on their heads. When Benedick uses this imagery, he is suggesting any woman he marries is likely to cheat on him. This shows that men are insecure about themselves; they assume women would be unfaithful because they never get to know them before they are married. Benedick is paranoid about this, and so he uses his scorn of marriage and women as a defence mechanism to protect himself. It is clear that Shakespeare criticises the existing customs and advocates that a courtship in which couples communicate would be a far more preferable way, and which would prevent the mistakes of Claudio. 1 Beatrice also shows this, as when the slander of Hero has taken place, Beatrice asks Benedick to kill Claudio for her. When he refuses, Beatrice gives her view of men, Claudio in particular. She says that if she were a man she would eat his heart in the market place. She is showing that men are weak and cowardly, whereas women, who are portrayed as the weaker sex, are much stronger and braver than men, but she is also showing a stereotypical view of men, showing a lack of understanding because lovers did not get to know each other. If a woman did not get married, it was believed she would go to hell, because marriage was a sacrament and supposedly brought you closer to God. In this way the church is also an aspect of patriarchal society, used to control women and make them do what men desire of them. In fact, the Church was one of the most influential figures of authority, which is shown later, when friar defends Hero. Rachel Clayton says, In consideration of seventeenth-century marriage, romance and emotional capability were not high on the list of priorities for well-placed young women; generally only low-born women had the freedom to marry for love. When considering this, Heros actions are more understandable, even though the slanderous allegations made against her were untrue, her reputation may still have been tarnished, damaging her chances of marriage. If she did not marry Claudio, she may never be able to marry, and so she marries him for her own sake as much as his. A modern audience would find Heros lack of choice frustrating, but to the contemporary audience this would be the norm in society. In a recent interpretation, Hero rejects Claudio, which is a much more satisfying ending to a modern audience. However, these values did not apply to the lower classes, as although Hero is slandered when it is believed she has been unfaithful and is not virtuous, when it is discovered it is in fact Margaret who was with Borachio, she is not punished and her reputation is not tarnished, showing that society treated women differently according to class. Can the world buy such a jewel? Yea, and a case to put it into. Although Claudio refers to Hero as a jewel, he is also referring to buying her, she is a possession to be bought and sold. The metaphor jewel implies this, as although it is a precious beautiful object, it can be owned by an individual and a price put on it. In the same scene, Claudio asks Hath Leonato any son? so implying he has purely selfish reasons for wanting to marry Hero. This also suggests his earlier romantic speech is merely a pretence, and his true motivation for the match is money and status. Hero is the possession of her father, and this is shown when Beatrice, Antonio, Leonato and Hero are discussing the fact they think Don Pedro is going to propose to Hero. Leonato tells Hero if he does You know your answer. The use of the imperative shows Hero does not have a choice. The Watch, although portrayed as foolish, undermine the upper class society as they work out who is to blame for the slander of Hero, whereas the upper class characters believe the lies. The upper class characters are perceived as more intelligent, but the watch find out the truth because they overhear Borachio bragging Thou shouldst rather ask if it were possible any villainy should be so rich. For when rich villains have need of poor ones, poor ones may make what price they will. He believes that chiefly by my (Borachios) villainy he has bettered members of the upper class society. He is unaware that he is about to be found out by a lower class than him. A Marxist reading would say that many characters, especially the women, are controlled by hierarchical society. This is also shown in Don Pedro, who believes his high status in society gives him the right to mock other characters, especially women. This is shown when plotting the match between Benedick and Beatrice Don Pedro tells Hero I will teach you, assuming Hero would not be able to trick her own friend. This also shows how men in society viewed the women as inferior and insignificant, and he is patronising her. The word patronising and patriarchal both stem from the Greek word pater, meaning father. The theme of noting, overhearing, appears throughout the play, as many of the deceptions are carried out due to people misunderstanding overheard conversations. The title Much Ado About Nothing, is multi-layered, as it could be interpreted as a commotion over nothing, but in the time of Shakespeare it could be read as noting, a commotion over noting. Whereas the higher society misinterpret the conversations they overhear, the lower class make no mistake and it is due to their noting and persistence the deceit was uncovered, which also portrays the faults in the patriarchal society. A third interpretation of the title also looks at the word nothing, which can also be read as no-thing, which was a slang term for female genitalia. This interpretation looks at how the Ado concerns mans fight to control female virginity. When Hero is around the women in the play, she wittily converses about the plot to trick Beatrice, saying Why you speak truth, I never yet say a man, how wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured, but she would spell him backward showing her playful nature and her ability to bond with other women and leave behind the formality. This shows that humanised by the worries and wit she discloses to her friends, Hero embodies the enormous pressure upon women to conform to the male ideal (York Notes); it seems her duty is to demonstrate responsibility and restraint, but her silent nature around men is not who Hero really is, but whom she pretends to be in order to gain a husband. This shows that the male members of society suppressed women, and that this submissive silent quality was attractive to men. Heros name is also interesting. Many have suggested that it can also be read as her-o, o being a metaphor for a woman and her virginity. This seems to fit with the plot of the play, as the slander is because Claudio believes Hero is not innocent, she knows the heat of a luxurious bed. He also says Hero itself can blot out Heros virtue. If this is read as Her-o itself can blot out Heros virtue Claudio is saying her virginity will show she is not faithful and honourable, as he believes she has lost it. However, it is also intended to propose a connection between Hero and the so-called heroes of the play. The men of the play have just returned from fighting in the war, and therefore are war heroes. However the craven behaviour shown by the men, Claudios slander of Hero before even checking to determine its truth, and Benedicks reluctance to challenge Claudio for the crimes he has committed, make the audience question who the real hero of the play is, whether it really is Hero, who spends her entire life submitting to the behaviours she believes men desire, and even when she is slandered still forgives and marries Claudio. Hero has no choice in this, therefore Shakespeare has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of a patriarchal society. The slander of Hero is a cowardly, insecure act. When Claudio says Are our eyes our own? , he is showing his own insecurities, he does not know Hero well enough to marry her, and if he did he might not be so insecure and might know she would not be unfaithful to him. Jackie Shead says Shakespeare intends irony, then, when Claudio asks at the wedding party Are our eyes our own? as if the reply, like Heros guilt, is self-evident. She also says Claudio is constantly borrowing the eyes of others; Hero has been the perfect woman all her life, wealthy, beautiful, respected and most of all obedient. She deliberately becomes the silent women to conform to the male ideal and to slander her because of the words of a villain is a cowardly act. This shows that although society looked upon the courtship of Hero and Claudio to be the correct way of finding a partner, they did not know each other well enough, suggesting that the socially acceptable thing to do is not always the best way, therefore undermining the society of the time. In a recent performance at the National Theatre in London, the only women in the scene of Heros slander are Hero and Beatrice, to illustrate how dominated the society was by men. In my opinion, Shakespeare was ahead of his time when he wrote Much Ado About Nothing. He seemed to be able to see through the common beliefs that members of the upper class society were more intelligent and superior to members of the lower class society, as shown in the perceptive nature of The Watch and the way the upper class characters are fooled so easily, and also the belief that women were of a lower status to men and were possessions of men. The comedy in the play is satire, used to highlight the faults in the patriarchal society. As a feminist, I agree with Clayton that Heros acceptance of Claudio after he had disgraced her is frustrating. I also agree with Claytons view that Much Ado About Nothing has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of a traditional patriarchal society. Shakespeare uses many techniques to mock the upper class characters; especially the way women were treated. One of his motivations for this may have been the fact that the monarch was female at the time Shakespeare was writing. Queen Elizabeth was Shakespeares greatest patron, and if his plays appealed to her she would go to see them, which would also encourage others to go. However, the very last line of the play is given to Benedick, who has the last word in his merry war with Beatrice, giving him the upper hand and kissing her to stop her mouth, which shows Shakespeare could not break entirely away from the restraints of patriarchal society. Bibliography: Berry, Mary, ed, Much Ado About Nothing, Cambridge, Sch.Shakespeare (1993) Clayton, Rachel, Who is hero? The English Review September 2002 Shead, Jackie, Are Our Eyes Our Own? The English Review September 2004 Stuart, Ross, ed. Much Ado About Nothing York Notes Advanced, York Press London, 2001 http://www. sparknotes. com/shakespeare/muchado http://www. megaessays. com/viewpaper/28333. html 1 How does Shakespeare dramatically present power and authority between men and women in Much Ado About Nothing? http://www. megaessays. com/viewpaper/28333. html

Strategies to Sustain Competitive Advantage

Strategies to Sustain Competitive Advantage Q1: Using an appropriate model, evaluate the business model of a company of your choice, describing how the company differentiates itself from its competitors and sustain competitive advantage. 1. Executive Summary Cummins started off as diesel engine manufacturing company since 1919 and now growing as â€Å"power† leader in the world. Cummins expand network through company- owned distributor, independent distributor and dealer to serve customer globally. In 2009, Cummins reported net income of $428 million in $10.8 billion of sales [1]. Cummins have been diversifying its business to broad range of products from power generation, filtration technology, turbo technology, fuel system, emission controls and air handling [2]. Due to external pressure and growing market in Asia, Cummins recently setup Centre of Excellent in Singapore focus more on Marine and Offshore market. In this post module assignment, competitive strategy will only focus on Cumminss marine and offshore business. In this PMA, the value curve is based on own industry experiences assumption. However, analysis on financial will based overall Cummins business listed in stock market which named â€Å"CMI†. 1.1. Vision Statement â€Å"Making peoples lives better by unleashing the Power of Cummins† [3]. Cummins believe in by developing new technology will lead to better living for the people. 1.2. Mission Statement Cummins mission statement as quoted below [3] â€Å"Motivating people to act like owners working together† â€Å"Exceeding customer expectations by always being first to market the best products† â€Å"Partnering with our customers to make sure that they succeed† â€Å"Demanding that everything we do leads to a cleaner, healthier, safer environment† â€Å"Creating wealth for all stakeholders.† 1.3. Cummins compare with Industrial leader Figure 1 Financial Analysis CMI Vs Industry Leader [4] Figure 1 shows overview financial analysis of Cummins (CMI) compare within industry leader [4]. Cummins rank 35 among 379 diversified machinery industries in industrial goods sector for market capitalisation. Cummins stock values increase more than triple over the past 3 years and promise future growth with its business strategy [4]. 1.4. Ocean Strategy Ocean strategy has been introduced by W.C. Kim and R Mauborge since 2004. Starting then, this strategy is adopted and implemented successfully in various organisations globally. Recently, Malaysias Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak shared his experience on Ocean Strategy when dealing with increasing crime in the country [5]. He is using Blue Ocean Strategy as management tools in order to promote thinking out of the box. Key successful activities such as leveraged untapped resources when replaced police with soldier doing patrolling around countrys border and conduct training for new police force in the underutilised army facilities. This initiative save a lot of money from government and promote cross functioning role among government agency [5]. The principle of the ocean strategy is treating market as universe. There are two oceans available in the universe named Red Ocean and Blue Ocean. Red Ocean defined as known competition. In this Ocean, product is already well defined and competitors only able to compete with price [6] .Customer expectation on the product almost generic and not much technology can be developing in this area. For diesel engine in marine and offshore market, the competitors for Cummins include Caterpillar, MTU and Mitsubishi. How Cummins can break trough become market leaders? Cummins apply Blue Ocean Strategy when dealing with its business. Blue Ocean Strategy defines as untapped market which no competition and industries that do not exist at this point of time [6]. This in return will resulting higher profit compare with conventional approach. This clearly shows in W.C. Kim and R Mauborge studys on business launches in 108 companies. They summarize revenue and profit impact of business launches shows in Figure 2. In this study, 86% business launches within own boundaries (Red Oceans) and 14% business launches looking for new opportunities (Blue Oceans) [6]. Red Oceans approach focus on existing customer by improving their product and study shows that this resulted 62% on total revenue and 39% on total profit. In contrast, 14% of the businesses launches by creating blue oceans can bring in higher return which about 61% of the total profit [6]. Cummins spend heavily on research and development for past 5 years as shown in Figure 3. In 2010 alone, Cummins invest 414million in new technology development [2]. One of recent Blue Oceans initiatives is setting Marine and Offshore Centre of Excellent in Singapore. This business focus on the â€Å"Packaging† instead of selling conventional type of â€Å"bare diesel engine† like other competitor such as CAT, MTU and Mitsubishi. Figure 4 shows pictorial view on the value added components into bare diesel engine 1.5. Strategy Canvas Figure 5 shows strategy canvas of the marine and offshore diesel engine. X-axis represents critical success factors of the markets competition and Y-axis correspond to values perceived by marine and offshore customer. Marine and offshore is a mature and establish market. Engine makers always compete with price, image, brand, delivery, product performance and service availability. Cummins performs averagely in critical successful factors. However, in order to compete in the competitive market, Cummins break through conventional way by creating new team to focus on product value added specifically for marine and offshore customer. Cummins applied Blue Ocean strategy. Figure 6 shows Red Ocean strategy from others diesel engine maker and Blue Ocean strategy from Cummins. Q2: Using either Porters generic strategies or the Strategy Clock, identify examples of organizations following strategies of differentiation, low cost or low price, and stuck-in-the middle or hybrid. How successful are these strategies. 2. Porters 5 forces generic Strategies â€Å"Using the five forces framework, creative strategists may be able to spot an industry with a good future before this good futureis reflected in the prices of acquisition candidates† Michael Porter [7]. Porters five forces: Threat of New Entrants: Analyse potential new comer to market is important to understand potential future competitors Bargaining Power of Buyers: Buyers is the party that create demand for industry, understand buyers requirement will help to maintain competitive advantages. For example, bargaining power of buyers is high if product is standard. Threat of substitute products or service: Buyers always look for alternative or cheapest way to get products or service. Substitute product can bring the overall industry price lower Bargaining Power of Supplier: Supplier supply raw material or service to manufacturer. Bargaining power of supplier is high when to many buyer and less supplier in the market Rivalry among existing competitors: Current fast moving industry, its important understand the strategy of existing competitors. Example: How competitor gain competitive advantages or product differentiation. Porters 5 Forces allowed the company undertand and analyse own industry struture and futher help the management to decide on companys strategy. According to Porter, organisation is able to gain competitive advantanges by strategies the company using one of the â€Å"Porters Generic Strategies† as shown in Figure 8; 1) Cost Leadership, 2) Differentiation, 3) Focus [8]. 2.1. Cost Leadership Strategies Cost leadership strategies emphasize on low cost in company strategies. Company will offer low per-unit cost product or service to customer that sensitive to price. In order to become low cost provider, company can practise integration strategies (backward, forward and horizontal). There are few factors that will affect the strategies include economies of scale, learning curve, productivity, company structure, relationship with supplier and quality control. Several example organizations that practice this are Wal-Mart (general merchandiser), Air Asia (budget Airline) and Macdonalds (Fast Food) [9]. In this PMA, I will use Air Asia as example to study its business model and look into company successful factor. Air Asia strategy as illustrate in Figure 9, the company mission is to continue to be the markets carrier low cost provider. In order to compete with other aircraft carrier and achieve company vision for â€Å"Lowest cost airline†, Air Asia implement a few strategy to reduce operation cost. Strategy implemented as per below: 2.1.1. Keep operation cost low- NO frills In order to compete in this competitive market, Air Asia able to keep operational cost low by implementing few â€Å"NO†s in the strategy [10]: NO meal: No food or drinks will be provided free in the in-flight service. NO frequent flyer program: NO Membership or rewarding program which commonly used for others airline like Kris flyer for Singapore Airline and Skymiles for Delta airline. NO Seat assignment Ticket: In order to keep administrative cost low NO Entertainment: NO news paper and entertainment system such as movie, games and music. No ticket : Ticketless replaced conventional type printed ticket No waiting lounge: NO lounge provide in the airport 2.1.2. Single air craft fleet In order to streamline the operation, Air Asia phasing out its 14 Boeing B737 in 2010 and replace by only operate single air craft which is A320. Few advantages of using single aircraft as stated below Keep inventory cost low Saving cost in service and maintenance such as keeping same model of spares parts. No duplicated resource due to difference Air Craft experience needed Reduce time and training cost due to only one model. This allowed the company avoid going to through the expensive â€Å"learning curve† process and also may dissatisfied demanding customer. Michael and Nikos study on the organisation learning curves for customer dissatisfaction across airlines. They plotted estimate U-Shaped learning curve as show in Figure 10 and show evident that complaint rates followed U-shaped function of experience Able to increase fuel efficiency and improve productivity 2.1.3. Simplified distribution system Air Asia design simple user friendly system for customer to book and check- in their ticket. Customers are able to check in using own mobile as shown in Figure 11. This ticketless system is able to reduce waiting time for customer queuing to check- in at the airport counter. 2.1.4. Point to point network (≠¤ 4 hrs) All Air Asia flight is running by point to point network within 4 hours radius or less as its business model. This model only carry passenger from point A to point B without any connecting flight. This in order to keep operation cost simple in order to reduce costs [10]. 2.1.5. Optimum Aircraft Utilization Another way to keep operating cost low and maximizes profit, Air Asia increase productivity by optimise flight utilisation. Air Asia is the fastest in the region by achieving 25 minute turnaround time. Air Asia is able to achieve equal or more than 75% for last 5 years on the load factor. Once, Air Asia achieve close to 100% load factor for Bali Perth route. Load factor is defined by AirAsia as â€Å"numbers of passengers as a percentage of number of seats flown† [10]. On top of that, Air Asia applies â€Å"Tier based† system for ticketing which depend on supply and demand. When demand is low, the price is low. When demand is high the ticket price will also go high. This system is efficient especially during low season allowed Air Asia maintain the reasonable high percent load factor, 2.2. Differentiate Strategies Differentiation strategies offer service or product which unique perceived by customer. Differentiation strategies do not guarantee good payback especially current standard product offered in the industry is more than enough to meet customer expectation. There will a risk on implementing this strategy and need to study carefully on customer requirement before implementing. Product value added, extra servicing, products flexibility and better compatibility are some of the features that can create differentiate in the industry. Cost is not an issue in this strategy; hence company can demand higher price if customer strongly attached to offered differentiation features. Typical move in this strategy is product development. Organisations that apply these strategies include Apple (Lifestyle product), Raul Lauren (Apparel) and Maytag (Home appliance) Apple is applying differentiate strategies compare with other competitors in the industry by selling lifestyle product instead of conventional electronic gadget. In first 6 months of 2011, Apple spends 1.2 billion in research and development. This is about 40% increase compare with 2010 [13]. One of the successful examples when Apple launches iPad during 2010 and Steve Jobs defined iPad as â€Å"entirely new category of mobile devices†. Apple sold more than 15 million units worldwide after launching [14]. 2.2.1. Innovative and creativity product Apple is a â€Å"trend leading† company in the market. The company famous in creating innovative products and able to capture a significant market share after launching new products. Apple spends heavily in research and development because the company believe RD are critical for future growth and are able to create competitive advantages 2.2.2. Wide range of software and applications Apple created another successful platform for customer to download software and application. Traditional, example like phone, other competitor just focus on few simple features which only contains game, photography function, movie and some basic feature. By introducing new approach, Apple created â€Å"The App Store†. Now â€Å"The App Store† has more than 350,000 apps available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch globally. The apps offered wide range of application from games, entertainment, utilities, social networking, music and others. In Jan 2011, Apple announces that more than 10 billion apps have been downloaded . 2.2.3. Apple store Unlike others competitors store which only focus on products price and feature, Apple differentiate by giving customer different shopping experience in the store. Apple design Apples retail store to give the patrons good impression of stylish, clean, fashion and stream-lined. The product like i Phone, iTunes and etc will placing in a place that customer can try out the features and application. 2.2.4. Provide good service and maintenance Apple provides good service respond compare with others competitors like Samsung and Nokia. In Singapore, Apple provides one to one exchange for i Phone if there is defect and still under warranty. This is different from some of the competitors, depend on the level of repair, some will take about 2 to 3 weeks. This will create some issue for some consumer that only has one hand phone. 2.3. Focus Strategies Focus strategies offers product or service to fulfil the requirement for targeted groups of customer in the industry [9]. Focus strategies can be categorized into 2; Focus cost leadership which focus on low cost solution in narrow market and Focus differentiation provide customised product or service to niche market [16]. Market penetration and market development can be use when applying focus strategies [9]. Focus strategies beneficial when competitors are not able to support on unique requirement of certain group of customer. Organisation which pursuing this strategies include IKEA (Furniture), Ferrari (Automotive) and Federal Express (logistic) 2.3.1. Focus Cost Leadership Strategy IKEA is the Swedish global furniture company that applied focus cost leadership strategy in their business strategy. IKEA offering wide range of home furnish product with low price so that many people can afford to purchase. In order to achieve the strategy, IKEA apply below concept: 2.3.1.1. Design and develop base on price In order to keep competitive price, IKEA design and develop product base on price. The price is â€Å"fix† even before the product is launch. The designer will have to work directly with supplier to ensure meeting low cost by optimised productivity, material efficiency and process improvement [17]. 2.3.1.2. Reduce logistic, handling and operating cost In order to reduce logistic, handling and operating cost, IKEA designer always consider flat-pack transportation and self-assembly during design and development phase. Flat-pack furniture is often delivered in multiple sub assemblies together with simple instruction manual and required customer to perform self assembly. This modular concept is able to save transportation, handling and operating cost. For example, assembled furniture tends to be more bulky and is more expensive to store in warehouse and transportation. Besides, that, IKEA is able to save operating cost by reduce one â€Å"Assembly† process in production . 2.3.1.3. Self-Service in IKEA Store In order t keep the operating cost low and reduce the needs of sales assistance, IKEA design the flow of store layout and display the product effectively by using â€Å"actual room† concept. For example, sofa is placed in â€Å"living room† section and bed is placed in â€Å"Bed Room† section. All the furniture is clearly labelled and useful information like dimension is easily located in the display product [17]. 2.3.2. Focus Differentiate strategy Ferrari is applying focus differentiate strategy by develop high performance car within automotive industry. Ferrari focus on high end consumer compare with other automotive competitors like Honda, Toyota or Ford which target more broad customer. Below is the strategy for Ferrari: 2.3.2.1. New Way of Purchase Car Ferrari compete created innovative approach by introduce new way of purchase car â€Å"Premium Ownership Program† to serve its target customer. This program include insurance, maintenance, warranty , Ferrari tailored made driving course and pit stop service which provide the customer â€Å"mind free† after owning and driving Ferrari car [18]. 2.3.2.2. Innovative Technology Ferrari developed own software to meet customer service expectation such as rapid response times, up to date database and personalise customer service. One of the latest features such as, the customer can view the look of the vehicle and change the preference in â€Å"Service configurator system† even in pre-order stage [19]. 2.3.2.3. Best Dealer Ferrari believes choosing the right strategic partner or dealer is the right way to serve the customer. In order to motivate the dealer, Ferrari created prestigious award Podio Awards for supplier or business partner recognition. 2.4. Stuck in the middle or Hybrid Strategies Porter does not recommend â€Å"Stuck in the middle† or Hybrid strategies if the company want to achieve above average performance in the industry. Company must choose either one of the strategy in the Porters Generic strategy. He claimed that it is difficult for a company to strategies the business to produce low cost product but still remain unique perceived by customer [8]. However, Rodney Goon argues on Porters theory and commented some of the company such as Singapore Airline (SIA) are able to success using â€Å"Hybrid strategy†. Figure 12 shows business strategy applied by SIA which plotted by Rodney [21]. Singapore Airline have been awarded 2nd place in World Top Airline in 2010 by Skytrax in Hamburg [22]. Figure 13 shows main operating cost for SIA. Top 3 costs consist of Fuel, Aircraft and People [23]. In order to achieve competitive advantages, SIA apply below approach: 2.4.1. Become Market Leader Differentiation Strategy SIA founded in 1972 started as small airline company and now evolve become the world trend leading company for Airline industry. SIA become market leader by setting trend started since 1970s when introducing headsets, drink and choice of meals in Economy Class. Figure 14 shows overview on SIA trend setting for more than 39 years in the industry. In 1991, SIA introduce satellite- based telephone to enable passenger to call to ground during flying. In 1998, in order to improve the quality and standard of in-flight meal, SIA formed International Culinary Panel which involves renowned chef from all over the world. By doing this, the passengers are able to enjoy world class cuisine even during travelling. In order to improve customer service satisfaction, SIA introduce in-flight entertainment system named Krisworld which include Audio and Video system. Passenger can watch movie, listen to music and playing game during flying. In 2004, SIA reach another milestone by flying world longest non-stop flight from Singapore to New York (Newark). In 2007, SIA flying new Airbus design A380 which is world largest passenger Aircraft from Singapore to Sydney . 2.4.2. Brand â€Å"Singapore Girl† Differentiation Strategy SIA successfully improve its service compare with others competitors by creating unique iconic image for SIAs air stewardess as â€Å"Singapore Girl† and promote â€Å"Youre a great way to fly† started in 1972. This iconic brand is famous of caring, elegant and good looking girl whom will provide good service for the passenger during on board the plane. â€Å"Singapore Girl† has continuously won many awards in Airline and Travel Industry over the years . 2.4.3. Low Cost -Cost Leadership Strategy â€Å"Everything behind The Scenes Is subject To Rigorous Control† quoted by Rodney . SIA spend heavily on the area that customer can be seen as discussed above in order to remain premium in the industry but cutting cost for area that behind the scene in order to remain cost compatible. Total cost for Singapore airline is about 14.2% is the lowest in the market compare with other competitors like American Airline which labor cost is approximately 31% of total operating expense . Other than that, average price per aircraft purchase is less than other airline provider. This is due to SIA is the market leader in trendsetting and always working with aircraft builder like Airbus when there is new product launching. First purchase in world for A380 allowed SIA command a better purchase price. Q3: What are the major advantages and disadvantages of an integrative strategy? 3. Integrative strategy Organisation is able to gain competitive advantages by using integrative strategy. Integrative strategy can be categorized as vertical, backward, forward and horizontal integration. There are advantages and disadvantages when applying each concept and detail discuss as below: 3.1. Vertical Integration Vertical integration is business strategies which expand its business either through gaining control over company that distribute or selling its product (Forward integration) or taking control over company that provide the raw material for finish goods (Backward Integration). Figure 15 illustrate 4 typical stages for value added chain in PC industry (27). Example for Dell or Hewlett Packard, in order to produce a personal computer, assembly components such as chips, microprocessor and disk drive etc is needed from others manufacturing company (Intel/ Micron). Similarly, component parts manufacturing needs raw material like chemical, metal and ceramic to manufacture the component. Kyocera is one of the suppliers for those materials. Backward integration strategy in this case is trying to taking control over components parts manufacturing and raw material supplier. Whereas for forward integration strategy, PC maker try to gains control over the company that selling or distribute the final product such as OfficeMax and ComUSA [27] This company provide platform to reach end user. 3.2. Forward Integration Forward integration strategy involves increase ownership or control over retailers or distributor and illustrates in Figure 16. One of the effective mean of forward integration is through Franchising [9]. Approximate $2 trillion revenue created annually through franchising business every year globally. This equal to 4th largest Gross National Product in the world [28]. Advantages and disadvantages as discuss below: Advantages: Getting understanding customer better One of the companies using forward integration strategy successfully is Dell. Dell founded in 1984 by Michael Dell with one direction â€Å"selling final products to customer directly† [29]. By doing this, company able to reach end user and getting feedback instantly through companys distributor and retailer without filtering. Low development and training cost By introduce franchising; the company are able to reduce development and training cost. Franchisor will provide training, equipment and product to franchisee. This in order to skip the â€Å"trial error† phase for franchisee and able to help franchisee generate profit with less risk. Example companies like Subway, McDonalds and 7-eleven. Provide better services Company can provide better services through its own controlled network and services. Provide lower cost of sales In order to compete in this competitive world, price of the end product is always one of the critical successful factors for the company. Dell is using this strategy to reduce price bypassing third party involvement such as retailers etc. No mark up from other company in the finished goods Disadvantages: Increase bureaucratic cost Expanding business forward which also means that increase bureaucratic cost for whole value- added chain activities. Due to uncertain demand in current market, it will post some risk to the company Increase Inventory Getting control over distributors or retailer, indirectly manufacturer may have to manage whole product cycle inventory include end products. Company may incurred higher inventory cost if wrongly manage 3.3. Backward Integration Manufacturer need supplier provide raw material in order to produce its end products or service. Backward integration allowed company gain control toward supplier as shown in Figure 16. Advantages and disadvantages as discuss below: Advantages: Getting better quality control Company are able to apply standard quality plan throughout the value chain. This is especially important when dealing with sophisticated components such as crankshaft, piston and turbocharger for engine. By improving the quality of this critical component will increase competitive advantages among the rivals Reduce threat from powerful vendors By increasing control over the vendors, it will reduce threat from powerful vendors. Optimized supply chain â€Å"Keeping track of so many suppliers is onerous† says Mark Shimelonis of Xerox [9]. Nowadays, a number of companies following Japanese firms lead in managing the supply chain to ensure uninterrupted supplies and low prices. Lower structure cost Outsourcing is one of the examples of the backward strategy. Outsourcing strategy will able to reduce cost when company engaging third party specialist that performing charging lower than company own operate value-chain activity. Cummins outsource IT support to India Company and panel design to CMR or Auto Maskin to keep the company structure cost lower. Nike outsourcing its manufacturing plant in China due to lower labor cost [27]. Disadvantages: Technology change Technology change is inevitable in current competitive market. But backward vertical integration may lock a company â€Å"way of doing business† and prevent organisation changes due to technology change. One of the examples is when radio manufacturer acquired a manufacturer of vacuum tube in 1950s to reduce production cost. When, transistors replace vacuum tube in 1960s, the competitor rapidly change to latest technology. However for this radio manufacturer company, the management refuse to change and as the result, lost in the competitive advantages and cause business failure. Thus, backward integration can cause serious disadvantages when trying to match rapid technology change [27] Risk of information loss Increase control over the supplier which mean also potentially important information flow to the supplier. For example, Cummins need to provide important parameter and interfacing information in the engine control module to backward supplier like CMR and Auto Maskin in order to joints develop the engine protection panel. Technical drawing will be shared among backward supplier and manufacturer. Potential high cost Less supplier competition will lead to less efficiencies when produce a product. The backward support company will work in the â€Å"comfort zone† and less initiative. The manufacturer is â€Å"forced† to get the input from â€Å"internal supplier† even there will be some others external supplier can produce lower cost .As the result will cause potentially higher production cost . 3.4. Horizontal Integration Horizontal integration refers to company that use â€Å"single industry strategy† and seeking control over competitor in same market. A number of the company apply this concept as growth strategy. Merger and acquisition allowed the company to expand its core business and technical capabi Strategies to Sustain Competitive Advantage Strategies to Sustain Competitive Advantage Q1: Using an appropriate model, evaluate the business model of a company of your choice, describing how the company differentiates itself from its competitors and sustain competitive advantage. 1. Executive Summary Cummins started off as diesel engine manufacturing company since 1919 and now growing as â€Å"power† leader in the world. Cummins expand network through company- owned distributor, independent distributor and dealer to serve customer globally. In 2009, Cummins reported net income of $428 million in $10.8 billion of sales [1]. Cummins have been diversifying its business to broad range of products from power generation, filtration technology, turbo technology, fuel system, emission controls and air handling [2]. Due to external pressure and growing market in Asia, Cummins recently setup Centre of Excellent in Singapore focus more on Marine and Offshore market. In this post module assignment, competitive strategy will only focus on Cumminss marine and offshore business. In this PMA, the value curve is based on own industry experiences assumption. However, analysis on financial will based overall Cummins business listed in stock market which named â€Å"CMI†. 1.1. Vision Statement â€Å"Making peoples lives better by unleashing the Power of Cummins† [3]. Cummins believe in by developing new technology will lead to better living for the people. 1.2. Mission Statement Cummins mission statement as quoted below [3] â€Å"Motivating people to act like owners working together† â€Å"Exceeding customer expectations by always being first to market the best products† â€Å"Partnering with our customers to make sure that they succeed† â€Å"Demanding that everything we do leads to a cleaner, healthier, safer environment† â€Å"Creating wealth for all stakeholders.† 1.3. Cummins compare with Industrial leader Figure 1 Financial Analysis CMI Vs Industry Leader [4] Figure 1 shows overview financial analysis of Cummins (CMI) compare within industry leader [4]. Cummins rank 35 among 379 diversified machinery industries in industrial goods sector for market capitalisation. Cummins stock values increase more than triple over the past 3 years and promise future growth with its business strategy [4]. 1.4. Ocean Strategy Ocean strategy has been introduced by W.C. Kim and R Mauborge since 2004. Starting then, this strategy is adopted and implemented successfully in various organisations globally. Recently, Malaysias Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak shared his experience on Ocean Strategy when dealing with increasing crime in the country [5]. He is using Blue Ocean Strategy as management tools in order to promote thinking out of the box. Key successful activities such as leveraged untapped resources when replaced police with soldier doing patrolling around countrys border and conduct training for new police force in the underutilised army facilities. This initiative save a lot of money from government and promote cross functioning role among government agency [5]. The principle of the ocean strategy is treating market as universe. There are two oceans available in the universe named Red Ocean and Blue Ocean. Red Ocean defined as known competition. In this Ocean, product is already well defined and competitors only able to compete with price [6] .Customer expectation on the product almost generic and not much technology can be developing in this area. For diesel engine in marine and offshore market, the competitors for Cummins include Caterpillar, MTU and Mitsubishi. How Cummins can break trough become market leaders? Cummins apply Blue Ocean Strategy when dealing with its business. Blue Ocean Strategy defines as untapped market which no competition and industries that do not exist at this point of time [6]. This in return will resulting higher profit compare with conventional approach. This clearly shows in W.C. Kim and R Mauborge studys on business launches in 108 companies. They summarize revenue and profit impact of business launches shows in Figure 2. In this study, 86% business launches within own boundaries (Red Oceans) and 14% business launches looking for new opportunities (Blue Oceans) [6]. Red Oceans approach focus on existing customer by improving their product and study shows that this resulted 62% on total revenue and 39% on total profit. In contrast, 14% of the businesses launches by creating blue oceans can bring in higher return which about 61% of the total profit [6]. Cummins spend heavily on research and development for past 5 years as shown in Figure 3. In 2010 alone, Cummins invest 414million in new technology development [2]. One of recent Blue Oceans initiatives is setting Marine and Offshore Centre of Excellent in Singapore. This business focus on the â€Å"Packaging† instead of selling conventional type of â€Å"bare diesel engine† like other competitor such as CAT, MTU and Mitsubishi. Figure 4 shows pictorial view on the value added components into bare diesel engine 1.5. Strategy Canvas Figure 5 shows strategy canvas of the marine and offshore diesel engine. X-axis represents critical success factors of the markets competition and Y-axis correspond to values perceived by marine and offshore customer. Marine and offshore is a mature and establish market. Engine makers always compete with price, image, brand, delivery, product performance and service availability. Cummins performs averagely in critical successful factors. However, in order to compete in the competitive market, Cummins break through conventional way by creating new team to focus on product value added specifically for marine and offshore customer. Cummins applied Blue Ocean strategy. Figure 6 shows Red Ocean strategy from others diesel engine maker and Blue Ocean strategy from Cummins. Q2: Using either Porters generic strategies or the Strategy Clock, identify examples of organizations following strategies of differentiation, low cost or low price, and stuck-in-the middle or hybrid. How successful are these strategies. 2. Porters 5 forces generic Strategies â€Å"Using the five forces framework, creative strategists may be able to spot an industry with a good future before this good futureis reflected in the prices of acquisition candidates† Michael Porter [7]. Porters five forces: Threat of New Entrants: Analyse potential new comer to market is important to understand potential future competitors Bargaining Power of Buyers: Buyers is the party that create demand for industry, understand buyers requirement will help to maintain competitive advantages. For example, bargaining power of buyers is high if product is standard. Threat of substitute products or service: Buyers always look for alternative or cheapest way to get products or service. Substitute product can bring the overall industry price lower Bargaining Power of Supplier: Supplier supply raw material or service to manufacturer. Bargaining power of supplier is high when to many buyer and less supplier in the market Rivalry among existing competitors: Current fast moving industry, its important understand the strategy of existing competitors. Example: How competitor gain competitive advantages or product differentiation. Porters 5 Forces allowed the company undertand and analyse own industry struture and futher help the management to decide on companys strategy. According to Porter, organisation is able to gain competitive advantanges by strategies the company using one of the â€Å"Porters Generic Strategies† as shown in Figure 8; 1) Cost Leadership, 2) Differentiation, 3) Focus [8]. 2.1. Cost Leadership Strategies Cost leadership strategies emphasize on low cost in company strategies. Company will offer low per-unit cost product or service to customer that sensitive to price. In order to become low cost provider, company can practise integration strategies (backward, forward and horizontal). There are few factors that will affect the strategies include economies of scale, learning curve, productivity, company structure, relationship with supplier and quality control. Several example organizations that practice this are Wal-Mart (general merchandiser), Air Asia (budget Airline) and Macdonalds (Fast Food) [9]. In this PMA, I will use Air Asia as example to study its business model and look into company successful factor. Air Asia strategy as illustrate in Figure 9, the company mission is to continue to be the markets carrier low cost provider. In order to compete with other aircraft carrier and achieve company vision for â€Å"Lowest cost airline†, Air Asia implement a few strategy to reduce operation cost. Strategy implemented as per below: 2.1.1. Keep operation cost low- NO frills In order to compete in this competitive market, Air Asia able to keep operational cost low by implementing few â€Å"NO†s in the strategy [10]: NO meal: No food or drinks will be provided free in the in-flight service. NO frequent flyer program: NO Membership or rewarding program which commonly used for others airline like Kris flyer for Singapore Airline and Skymiles for Delta airline. NO Seat assignment Ticket: In order to keep administrative cost low NO Entertainment: NO news paper and entertainment system such as movie, games and music. No ticket : Ticketless replaced conventional type printed ticket No waiting lounge: NO lounge provide in the airport 2.1.2. Single air craft fleet In order to streamline the operation, Air Asia phasing out its 14 Boeing B737 in 2010 and replace by only operate single air craft which is A320. Few advantages of using single aircraft as stated below Keep inventory cost low Saving cost in service and maintenance such as keeping same model of spares parts. No duplicated resource due to difference Air Craft experience needed Reduce time and training cost due to only one model. This allowed the company avoid going to through the expensive â€Å"learning curve† process and also may dissatisfied demanding customer. Michael and Nikos study on the organisation learning curves for customer dissatisfaction across airlines. They plotted estimate U-Shaped learning curve as show in Figure 10 and show evident that complaint rates followed U-shaped function of experience Able to increase fuel efficiency and improve productivity 2.1.3. Simplified distribution system Air Asia design simple user friendly system for customer to book and check- in their ticket. Customers are able to check in using own mobile as shown in Figure 11. This ticketless system is able to reduce waiting time for customer queuing to check- in at the airport counter. 2.1.4. Point to point network (≠¤ 4 hrs) All Air Asia flight is running by point to point network within 4 hours radius or less as its business model. This model only carry passenger from point A to point B without any connecting flight. This in order to keep operation cost simple in order to reduce costs [10]. 2.1.5. Optimum Aircraft Utilization Another way to keep operating cost low and maximizes profit, Air Asia increase productivity by optimise flight utilisation. Air Asia is the fastest in the region by achieving 25 minute turnaround time. Air Asia is able to achieve equal or more than 75% for last 5 years on the load factor. Once, Air Asia achieve close to 100% load factor for Bali Perth route. Load factor is defined by AirAsia as â€Å"numbers of passengers as a percentage of number of seats flown† [10]. On top of that, Air Asia applies â€Å"Tier based† system for ticketing which depend on supply and demand. When demand is low, the price is low. When demand is high the ticket price will also go high. This system is efficient especially during low season allowed Air Asia maintain the reasonable high percent load factor, 2.2. Differentiate Strategies Differentiation strategies offer service or product which unique perceived by customer. Differentiation strategies do not guarantee good payback especially current standard product offered in the industry is more than enough to meet customer expectation. There will a risk on implementing this strategy and need to study carefully on customer requirement before implementing. Product value added, extra servicing, products flexibility and better compatibility are some of the features that can create differentiate in the industry. Cost is not an issue in this strategy; hence company can demand higher price if customer strongly attached to offered differentiation features. Typical move in this strategy is product development. Organisations that apply these strategies include Apple (Lifestyle product), Raul Lauren (Apparel) and Maytag (Home appliance) Apple is applying differentiate strategies compare with other competitors in the industry by selling lifestyle product instead of conventional electronic gadget. In first 6 months of 2011, Apple spends 1.2 billion in research and development. This is about 40% increase compare with 2010 [13]. One of the successful examples when Apple launches iPad during 2010 and Steve Jobs defined iPad as â€Å"entirely new category of mobile devices†. Apple sold more than 15 million units worldwide after launching [14]. 2.2.1. Innovative and creativity product Apple is a â€Å"trend leading† company in the market. The company famous in creating innovative products and able to capture a significant market share after launching new products. Apple spends heavily in research and development because the company believe RD are critical for future growth and are able to create competitive advantages 2.2.2. Wide range of software and applications Apple created another successful platform for customer to download software and application. Traditional, example like phone, other competitor just focus on few simple features which only contains game, photography function, movie and some basic feature. By introducing new approach, Apple created â€Å"The App Store†. Now â€Å"The App Store† has more than 350,000 apps available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch globally. The apps offered wide range of application from games, entertainment, utilities, social networking, music and others. In Jan 2011, Apple announces that more than 10 billion apps have been downloaded . 2.2.3. Apple store Unlike others competitors store which only focus on products price and feature, Apple differentiate by giving customer different shopping experience in the store. Apple design Apples retail store to give the patrons good impression of stylish, clean, fashion and stream-lined. The product like i Phone, iTunes and etc will placing in a place that customer can try out the features and application. 2.2.4. Provide good service and maintenance Apple provides good service respond compare with others competitors like Samsung and Nokia. In Singapore, Apple provides one to one exchange for i Phone if there is defect and still under warranty. This is different from some of the competitors, depend on the level of repair, some will take about 2 to 3 weeks. This will create some issue for some consumer that only has one hand phone. 2.3. Focus Strategies Focus strategies offers product or service to fulfil the requirement for targeted groups of customer in the industry [9]. Focus strategies can be categorized into 2; Focus cost leadership which focus on low cost solution in narrow market and Focus differentiation provide customised product or service to niche market [16]. Market penetration and market development can be use when applying focus strategies [9]. Focus strategies beneficial when competitors are not able to support on unique requirement of certain group of customer. Organisation which pursuing this strategies include IKEA (Furniture), Ferrari (Automotive) and Federal Express (logistic) 2.3.1. Focus Cost Leadership Strategy IKEA is the Swedish global furniture company that applied focus cost leadership strategy in their business strategy. IKEA offering wide range of home furnish product with low price so that many people can afford to purchase. In order to achieve the strategy, IKEA apply below concept: 2.3.1.1. Design and develop base on price In order to keep competitive price, IKEA design and develop product base on price. The price is â€Å"fix† even before the product is launch. The designer will have to work directly with supplier to ensure meeting low cost by optimised productivity, material efficiency and process improvement [17]. 2.3.1.2. Reduce logistic, handling and operating cost In order to reduce logistic, handling and operating cost, IKEA designer always consider flat-pack transportation and self-assembly during design and development phase. Flat-pack furniture is often delivered in multiple sub assemblies together with simple instruction manual and required customer to perform self assembly. This modular concept is able to save transportation, handling and operating cost. For example, assembled furniture tends to be more bulky and is more expensive to store in warehouse and transportation. Besides, that, IKEA is able to save operating cost by reduce one â€Å"Assembly† process in production . 2.3.1.3. Self-Service in IKEA Store In order t keep the operating cost low and reduce the needs of sales assistance, IKEA design the flow of store layout and display the product effectively by using â€Å"actual room† concept. For example, sofa is placed in â€Å"living room† section and bed is placed in â€Å"Bed Room† section. All the furniture is clearly labelled and useful information like dimension is easily located in the display product [17]. 2.3.2. Focus Differentiate strategy Ferrari is applying focus differentiate strategy by develop high performance car within automotive industry. Ferrari focus on high end consumer compare with other automotive competitors like Honda, Toyota or Ford which target more broad customer. Below is the strategy for Ferrari: 2.3.2.1. New Way of Purchase Car Ferrari compete created innovative approach by introduce new way of purchase car â€Å"Premium Ownership Program† to serve its target customer. This program include insurance, maintenance, warranty , Ferrari tailored made driving course and pit stop service which provide the customer â€Å"mind free† after owning and driving Ferrari car [18]. 2.3.2.2. Innovative Technology Ferrari developed own software to meet customer service expectation such as rapid response times, up to date database and personalise customer service. One of the latest features such as, the customer can view the look of the vehicle and change the preference in â€Å"Service configurator system† even in pre-order stage [19]. 2.3.2.3. Best Dealer Ferrari believes choosing the right strategic partner or dealer is the right way to serve the customer. In order to motivate the dealer, Ferrari created prestigious award Podio Awards for supplier or business partner recognition. 2.4. Stuck in the middle or Hybrid Strategies Porter does not recommend â€Å"Stuck in the middle† or Hybrid strategies if the company want to achieve above average performance in the industry. Company must choose either one of the strategy in the Porters Generic strategy. He claimed that it is difficult for a company to strategies the business to produce low cost product but still remain unique perceived by customer [8]. However, Rodney Goon argues on Porters theory and commented some of the company such as Singapore Airline (SIA) are able to success using â€Å"Hybrid strategy†. Figure 12 shows business strategy applied by SIA which plotted by Rodney [21]. Singapore Airline have been awarded 2nd place in World Top Airline in 2010 by Skytrax in Hamburg [22]. Figure 13 shows main operating cost for SIA. Top 3 costs consist of Fuel, Aircraft and People [23]. In order to achieve competitive advantages, SIA apply below approach: 2.4.1. Become Market Leader Differentiation Strategy SIA founded in 1972 started as small airline company and now evolve become the world trend leading company for Airline industry. SIA become market leader by setting trend started since 1970s when introducing headsets, drink and choice of meals in Economy Class. Figure 14 shows overview on SIA trend setting for more than 39 years in the industry. In 1991, SIA introduce satellite- based telephone to enable passenger to call to ground during flying. In 1998, in order to improve the quality and standard of in-flight meal, SIA formed International Culinary Panel which involves renowned chef from all over the world. By doing this, the passengers are able to enjoy world class cuisine even during travelling. In order to improve customer service satisfaction, SIA introduce in-flight entertainment system named Krisworld which include Audio and Video system. Passenger can watch movie, listen to music and playing game during flying. In 2004, SIA reach another milestone by flying world longest non-stop flight from Singapore to New York (Newark). In 2007, SIA flying new Airbus design A380 which is world largest passenger Aircraft from Singapore to Sydney . 2.4.2. Brand â€Å"Singapore Girl† Differentiation Strategy SIA successfully improve its service compare with others competitors by creating unique iconic image for SIAs air stewardess as â€Å"Singapore Girl† and promote â€Å"Youre a great way to fly† started in 1972. This iconic brand is famous of caring, elegant and good looking girl whom will provide good service for the passenger during on board the plane. â€Å"Singapore Girl† has continuously won many awards in Airline and Travel Industry over the years . 2.4.3. Low Cost -Cost Leadership Strategy â€Å"Everything behind The Scenes Is subject To Rigorous Control† quoted by Rodney . SIA spend heavily on the area that customer can be seen as discussed above in order to remain premium in the industry but cutting cost for area that behind the scene in order to remain cost compatible. Total cost for Singapore airline is about 14.2% is the lowest in the market compare with other competitors like American Airline which labor cost is approximately 31% of total operating expense . Other than that, average price per aircraft purchase is less than other airline provider. This is due to SIA is the market leader in trendsetting and always working with aircraft builder like Airbus when there is new product launching. First purchase in world for A380 allowed SIA command a better purchase price. Q3: What are the major advantages and disadvantages of an integrative strategy? 3. Integrative strategy Organisation is able to gain competitive advantages by using integrative strategy. Integrative strategy can be categorized as vertical, backward, forward and horizontal integration. There are advantages and disadvantages when applying each concept and detail discuss as below: 3.1. Vertical Integration Vertical integration is business strategies which expand its business either through gaining control over company that distribute or selling its product (Forward integration) or taking control over company that provide the raw material for finish goods (Backward Integration). Figure 15 illustrate 4 typical stages for value added chain in PC industry (27). Example for Dell or Hewlett Packard, in order to produce a personal computer, assembly components such as chips, microprocessor and disk drive etc is needed from others manufacturing company (Intel/ Micron). Similarly, component parts manufacturing needs raw material like chemical, metal and ceramic to manufacture the component. Kyocera is one of the suppliers for those materials. Backward integration strategy in this case is trying to taking control over components parts manufacturing and raw material supplier. Whereas for forward integration strategy, PC maker try to gains control over the company that selling or distribute the final product such as OfficeMax and ComUSA [27] This company provide platform to reach end user. 3.2. Forward Integration Forward integration strategy involves increase ownership or control over retailers or distributor and illustrates in Figure 16. One of the effective mean of forward integration is through Franchising [9]. Approximate $2 trillion revenue created annually through franchising business every year globally. This equal to 4th largest Gross National Product in the world [28]. Advantages and disadvantages as discuss below: Advantages: Getting understanding customer better One of the companies using forward integration strategy successfully is Dell. Dell founded in 1984 by Michael Dell with one direction â€Å"selling final products to customer directly† [29]. By doing this, company able to reach end user and getting feedback instantly through companys distributor and retailer without filtering. Low development and training cost By introduce franchising; the company are able to reduce development and training cost. Franchisor will provide training, equipment and product to franchisee. This in order to skip the â€Å"trial error† phase for franchisee and able to help franchisee generate profit with less risk. Example companies like Subway, McDonalds and 7-eleven. Provide better services Company can provide better services through its own controlled network and services. Provide lower cost of sales In order to compete in this competitive world, price of the end product is always one of the critical successful factors for the company. Dell is using this strategy to reduce price bypassing third party involvement such as retailers etc. No mark up from other company in the finished goods Disadvantages: Increase bureaucratic cost Expanding business forward which also means that increase bureaucratic cost for whole value- added chain activities. Due to uncertain demand in current market, it will post some risk to the company Increase Inventory Getting control over distributors or retailer, indirectly manufacturer may have to manage whole product cycle inventory include end products. Company may incurred higher inventory cost if wrongly manage 3.3. Backward Integration Manufacturer need supplier provide raw material in order to produce its end products or service. Backward integration allowed company gain control toward supplier as shown in Figure 16. Advantages and disadvantages as discuss below: Advantages: Getting better quality control Company are able to apply standard quality plan throughout the value chain. This is especially important when dealing with sophisticated components such as crankshaft, piston and turbocharger for engine. By improving the quality of this critical component will increase competitive advantages among the rivals Reduce threat from powerful vendors By increasing control over the vendors, it will reduce threat from powerful vendors. Optimized supply chain â€Å"Keeping track of so many suppliers is onerous† says Mark Shimelonis of Xerox [9]. Nowadays, a number of companies following Japanese firms lead in managing the supply chain to ensure uninterrupted supplies and low prices. Lower structure cost Outsourcing is one of the examples of the backward strategy. Outsourcing strategy will able to reduce cost when company engaging third party specialist that performing charging lower than company own operate value-chain activity. Cummins outsource IT support to India Company and panel design to CMR or Auto Maskin to keep the company structure cost lower. Nike outsourcing its manufacturing plant in China due to lower labor cost [27]. Disadvantages: Technology change Technology change is inevitable in current competitive market. But backward vertical integration may lock a company â€Å"way of doing business† and prevent organisation changes due to technology change. One of the examples is when radio manufacturer acquired a manufacturer of vacuum tube in 1950s to reduce production cost. When, transistors replace vacuum tube in 1960s, the competitor rapidly change to latest technology. However for this radio manufacturer company, the management refuse to change and as the result, lost in the competitive advantages and cause business failure. Thus, backward integration can cause serious disadvantages when trying to match rapid technology change [27] Risk of information loss Increase control over the supplier which mean also potentially important information flow to the supplier. For example, Cummins need to provide important parameter and interfacing information in the engine control module to backward supplier like CMR and Auto Maskin in order to joints develop the engine protection panel. Technical drawing will be shared among backward supplier and manufacturer. Potential high cost Less supplier competition will lead to less efficiencies when produce a product. The backward support company will work in the â€Å"comfort zone† and less initiative. The manufacturer is â€Å"forced† to get the input from â€Å"internal supplier† even there will be some others external supplier can produce lower cost .As the result will cause potentially higher production cost . 3.4. Horizontal Integration Horizontal integration refers to company that use â€Å"single industry strategy† and seeking control over competitor in same market. A number of the company apply this concept as growth strategy. Merger and acquisition allowed the company to expand its core business and technical capabi