Review of ethics of Wal

How to write a business plan, FM World - Emphasis

How to write a business plan, FM World How to write a business plan, FM World Whether youre setting up a new business venture or want the go-ahead for a project, theres one essential document you need. Robert Ashton gives a step-by-step guide to writing a good business plan. Theres a memorable conversation in the famous Lewis Carroll novel Alice in Wonderland, where Alice asks the Cheshire cat for directions. Unfortunately, Alice doesnt know where she wants to go, stating that it doesnt matter where she gets to, as long as she gets somewhere. This leads the cat to respond that it doesnt matter which way she turns. If you dont have a crystal clear vision of where you want your business to go, youll be as confused as Alice when you hit a crossroads. Your business plan is your road-map. But in order to write it, you have to decide what you really want to achieve. This means youll have to spend time immersed in the strengths and weaknesses of your business, a process which, in itself, has numerous pay-offs. Studying and researching your company helps you to take a critical look at what you have to offer and who your competitors are. This enables you to better navigate the industry minefields and gives you a benchmark against which to measure success. Many people think of business plans as a necessary evil, written only to gain external funding. Instead, look at them as an essential planning tool, whatever your financial situation. Remember, if you dont plan where to go, youre inadvertently planning on going nowhere. Crafting your business plan Heres a seven step guide to writing a winning business plan. Work through each section and youll have an ordered, content-rich document that gets you to where you want to go. Step one Description of the business After the executive summary (see step seven), the first thing youll need is to describe your business. Get started by asking the following questions: What do I sell or offer? And why? Whom do I sell to? What is the history of the business? What is my vision for the future? What is different about the services I offer? What is the legal structure of the company? Think about your audience carefully before you write the description. Ask yourself what words and phrases they will understand and be careful not to include too much jargon. Step two Market research Think about your industry and what you think the future trends will be. Then analyse your competition. Determine what size of the market they hold and then clearly define where you fit into the mix. Step three Marketing and sales strategy Ask yourself why companies buy what you offer and how you plan to sell it. Think about how you are going to reach the organisations that need facilities management support and what pricing plans youll offer. Whether youre an in-house department, specialist contractor or a large multi-service company, therell be a variety of ways to reach prospects. Step four Management and personnel team Many facilities management companies claim that people are their best asset. Think carefully about your management team and outline the background, experience and qualifications of each individual. The people on your team will often make or break your success. Fully evaluate their credentials and look out for any weak skill sets that could be improved with training. Step five Operations Analyse the location of your business, in terms of advantages and disadvantages. Your own premises, production facilities and IT systems must be excellent. Make sure you address any weaknesses in your plan with recommendations for improvement. Step six Financial forecast This section requires you to translate the contents of your plan into numbers. Include cash flow statements, profit and loss forecasts and a sales forecast. Dont forget that if youre looking for funding: you need to spell out how much you need and how youll repay the loan. Step seven The executive summary Leave this until last, even though it goes right at the beginning. Once youve followed all the other steps youre in a position to write this stand alone document, which outlines the key points in your entire plan. Keep it to a maximum of two pages. And remember, some people will only read this section so make it shine. Tip: rather than trying to distil the full document down, follow your original document plan (see Style tips box). Just write less in each section this time (a couple of sentences or a paragraph, rather than several pages). Finally, the ink may be dry but your business and the facilities management industry is constantly changing. Your business plan is a dynamic document, so you need to update it regularly.

Scientific Management and Bureaucracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Scientific Management and Bureaucracy - Essay Example Same can be observed for scientific management based organization structure. Both bureaucracy and scientific management structures are very interesting, evolved and comprehensive. Despite their respective merits and demerits they are still widely chosen forms of organizational structures the globe over. In the following paragraphs we examine each of these structures in some details focusing on their main features, merits and demerits and the specific type of settings where these can be preferred structures. The rationalization process is the practical application of knowledge to achieve a desired end. It leads to efficiency, coordination, and control over both the physical and the social environment. Weberian general theory of rationalization forms the basis for evolution of bureaucratic form of economic organization. Marxists sociologist had detected rationalization in factory settings and the several labor related concerns associated with it. Weber observed and extended rationalization to almost all social spheres - politics, religion, economic organization etc. Rationalization refers to increasing human mastery over the natural and social environment. ... Weberian sociology is conceptualized on the metaphysics of rationalization which eventually converts capitalist society into a system of interconnected bureaucracies. According to Weberian definition of rationalization in economic organization it was simply manifest in the organization of the factory in the bureaucratic form with the calculation of profit by systematic accounting procedures. In ethical connotations it essentially meant an increased reliance on discipline and training in society as a whole, the spread of bureaucracy, state control and administration. Thus bureaucracy held centre stage in Weberian sociology. Weber defines bureaucracy as "a hierarchal organization designed rationally to coordinate the work of many individuals in the pursuit of large scale administrative goals" (Haralambous, 1985).Its main features are a hierarchal structure based on commonality of codified purpose, specialization in the form of well defined division of labor which runs under a power system termed 'rational - legal authority'( based on the concept of domination prevailing in democratic societies and belief in the legality of certain rules. Those who issue the rules are seen as entitled to do so. It is possible to know which rules are formally correct, imposed by accepted procedures. This power authority system creates an impersonal order). That is each stratum expects the authority of higher strata and, in turn, exercises the same downstream for common purposes. Each bureaucracy position is gained by ability and competence. The 'consistent system of codified and abstract rules' and norms are adhered to an d administered with an intent of 'moralistic impersonality'. At its best bureaucracy has an almost a machine like character - each parts

Empowering Knowledge in Organizations Assignment

Empowering Knowledge in Organizations - Assignment Example 192). That is why we cannot deny the fact that the process of spreading knowledge is facilitated by the development and diffusion of new information technologies. The growth of telecommunications and the multiplication of computers had accelerated the spread of information, giving more people access to more information sooner. That broader access undermines the centralized control of information that was a principal basis for centralized decision making. In the end, as Cleveland (1985) noted, "More and more work gets done by horizontal process-or it doesn't get done. More and more decisions are made with wider and wider consultation-or they don't 'stick'" (p. 192). This is why a new aspect on how knowledge is harnessed was formed. The term knowledge management (KM) has been defined as doing what is needed to get the most out of knowledge resources. Although KM can be applied to individuals, it has recently attracted the attention of organizations. KM is viewed as an increasingly important discipline that promotes the creation, sharing, and leveraging of the organization's knowledge. Peter Drucker (1994), whom many consider as the father of KM, best defines the need for KM: Knowledge has become the key resource, for a nation's military strength as well as for its economic strength is fundamentally different from the traditional key resources of the economist-land, labor, and even capital we need systematic work on the quality of knowledge and the productivity of knowledge the performance capacity, if not the survival, of any organization in the knowledge society will come increasingly to depend on those two factors (pp. 66-69). Thus, it can be argued that the most vital in empowering the businesses today is the collective knowledge residing in the minds of an organization's employees, customers, and suppliers. Learning how to manage organizational knowledge has many benefits, some of which are readily apparent; others are not. These benefits may include leveraging core business competencies, accelerating innovation and time to market, improving cycle times and decision making, strengthening organizational commitment, and building sustainable competitive advantage (Davenport and Prusak, 1998). In short, they make the organization better suited to compete successfully in a much more demanding environment. This is why organizations are increasingly valued for their intellectual capital. An example of this fact is the widening gap between corporate balance sheets and investors' estimation of corporate worth. It is said that knowledge-intensive companies around the world are valued at three to eight times their financial capital. Consider, for example, Microsoft, the highest valued company in the world, with a market capitalization that was estimated at around $284 billion as of July 2003. Clearly, this figure represents more than Microsoft's net worth in buildings, computers, and other physical assets. Microsoft's valuation also represents an estimation of its intellectual assets. This includes structural capital in the form of copyrights, customer databases, and business process software. It also includes human capital in the fo

Brands and other intangible assets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Brands and other intangible assets - Essay Example The financial status with a brand becomes more distinguished as relations to consumers are built through the brand valuation. Recognizing the brand as an intangible asset becomes essential to a corporation because of the impact it has on consumer spending as well as on the financial future of a company. If finances begin to fluctuate from stable growth to increases and decreases in the company, then it can be noted as a direct link to the intangible asset of brand valuation (Wood, 662, 2000). Branding is a concept that began centuries ago as many began to associate the idea of ownership with the products they owned. Branding a home or slaves was the concept used by those who were interested in keeping and maintaining a personal establishment. The main concept was to recognize ownership specifically to gather a return on investment for the ownership. The concept of branding for businesses began to boom with the emergence of the industrial revolution and the building of companies into national entities. During this time, the competition to create products at a mass level while outdoing competitors became the main concept. In the 1920s, General Motors, Ford and companies such as P&G began to use their name identity as a tactic for overcoming the competition. As these brands were identified as an intangible asset demand increased as well as the accounting structure. As consumerism began to rise in the 1980s, most businesses began to incorporate branding into their main ident ity as it was noted that financial differences occurred when a brand was recognized. The main concept was to create a higher amount of demand from potential customers while allowing customers to become loyal to the brand identity over other competitors. The result was the ability to not only build reputation, but also to change the financial increases within a corporation. The concept of brand identity during the 1980s and 1990s also began to emerge at a global level,

Organisational Audit Of T Mobile Management Essay

Organisational Audit Of T Mobile Management Essay According to Kourdi, Business Strategy is the plans, choices and decisions used to guide a company to greater profitability and success. An inspired and clearly considered strategy provides the impetus for commercial success, whereas a weak or misunderstood strategy may lead to a company going out of business. Understanding what constitutes strategy is therefore crucial in developing a successful business, as is avoiding the tendency to label every plan and decision strategic when most are about implementing strategy rather than setting it. Equally important is for a strategy to be clear and effectively communicated to everyone with a role in implementing it, and to shareholders and other stakeholders. For the purpose of this assignment, my chosen company is the T-Mobile. History and Background of T-Mobile T-Mobile UK is a joint French and German-owned mobile network and mobile broadband operator in the United Kingdom. It is owned and operated by Everything Everywhere, the UKs largest mobile network. T-Mobile UK started life as Mercury One2One, a GSM mobile network operated by the now-defunct Mercury Communications. Later known simply as One2One, it was the worlds second GSM 1800 network when it was launched in September 1993. In its final days it was operated as a joint venture between Cables and Wireless and American cable provider Mediaone Group, which had a number of investments in Britain dating back to its days as the US West Media Group. One 2 One was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 1999 and rebranded as T-Mobile in 2002. On 1 April 2010 Deutsche Telekom and France Telekom finalized the deal to merge their UK based operations, causing Orange UK and T-Mobile UK to cease to exist, although the brands was maintained for at least 18 months. On 11 May 2010 it was announced that both the Orange and T-Mobile brands would remain on British high streets, although their new merged parent company will be called Everything Everywhere  [1]  . The T-Mobile brand is present in 11 European countries   Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany (as Telekom), Hungary, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, as well as the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Globally, T-Mobile International subsidiaries have a combined total of approximately 150 million subscribers, making the company the worlds third-largest mobile-phone service provider by subscribers and the third-largest multinational after the UKs Vodafone and Spains Telefà ³nica. T-Mobile offers both pay-as-you-go and pay-monthly contract phones. The pay-monthly contracts consists of set amounts of minutes and flexible boosters which allow the customer to change them month-to-month depending on their needs. Prior to this T-Mobile had a contract option known as Flext, which gave the user an amount of money to use for calls, texts, MMS and mobile internet as necessary. (Wikipedia, 2012) 3.0 The challenge that T-mobile is facing T-Mobile is the largest mobile service providers in UK. They are at the moment facing severe competition from other service providers such as 3G, Vodafone, Virgin, O2. Competition is coupled with other environmental factors that create a very challenging market for them. The current situation (Riots August 2011) in UK, the increasing debt situation in US and Europe had further worsened the business environment, which makes it unsuitable for business like T-Mobile to grow. The situation is quite alarming and it is high time for T-Mobile to act and tackle the above serious problem. In delaying to do so, would definitely give opportunity to competitors to take the lead. 3.1 The Business Strategies for T-Mobile In reference to the problem above, several strategies can be implemented by T-Mobile during this recession period. Doing nothing is not an option and passivity will only make things worse. At a starting point, T-Mobile would have to make sure that all the strategies that would be agreed upon would have to be in line with its Mission and Vision. Mission and Vision are the inspiring words that would assist T-Mobile to focus in a particular direction by keeping its values. The following are the two business strategies of T-Mobile that need to be implemented. 3.1.1 Concentrate on continuous support to customers. T-Mobile is dependent on their revenue-paying customers and cannot afford to stand by while those customers decline. One-way to make sure T-Mobile survives the economic downturn is to keep focusing on the customers. In a down economy people focus their spending on companies they trust most, as they get choosy. Customers need to be valued, not just for their money, but also for whom they are. In order to do this, T-Mobile has to make sure that its staffs are addressing the customers need for a strong sense of belonging and significance. For instance, make sure that staffs are positive and proactive with complaints rather than negative and reactive. Leaders of a large consulting firm have told their staff that they should worry more about their clients than about themselves, thinking up ways their clients can survive, even if every microsecond isnt billable. Generosity might not bring anything now, but help to position for the future, hopefully with healthier customers and bigger ideas. The big threat to T-Mobile is its competitors such as; 3G, Virgin, Vodafone, O2 and others and without any doubt, the competitors are also working on strategies of how to survive the down turn. So, T-Mobile has to try its utmost in delivering outstanding services to its customers. 3.1.2 Expand in other countries. Other than the two strategies above, T-Mobile can consider expanding in other part of the planet where recession is not present and where the markets are on great demand and wide. The secret to survive a recession is opportunity recognition. The first step in opportunity recognition is to know and believe that there will always be opportunity for those who seek and pursue it. Having focussed a lot in the European market and USA since its existence, T-Mobile might consider penetrating the UAE and Asia markets. For instance, China and India with its high population are two countries that are developing at a rapid pace. T-Mobiles good reputation in the Europe and USA is a good reason for other countries to welcome its presence. Sometimes, it is best method to move away from the recession zone and built from scratch for a better result other than keep fighting in the bush with less profit or no profit at all. Having branches also around the globe would support other branches that are in trouble such as recession, high inflation, political and legal implication or even natural disasters. The strategic plan above addresses the what which is the answer for the challenges that T-Mobile are facing, the why and as from this point the implementation will address the: who, where, when, and how. The Organizational Audit of T-Mobile The first and foremost task that needs to be done in order to implement the above strategies is the gathering of information in relation to the strategic plan. Organisational audit or strategy audit is to arm T-Mobile managers with the tools, information, and commitment to evaluate the degree of advantage and focus provided by their current strategies. An audit produces the data needed to determine whether a change in strategy is necessary and exactly what changes should be made. T-Mobiles actual direction is the sum of what it does and does not do, how well it is internally aligned to support the strategy, and how viable the strategy is when compared to external market, competitor and financial realities. Thus, the internal assessment and the external or environmental assessment, make up the major elements of an organizational audit. The following are the steps that T-Mobile will have to analysed and at the same time make the necessary adjustment before venturing. Ammunition has to be made available before reaching the battlefield otherwise it will be a disaster before venturing. Before Implementation An analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat of T-Mobile An analysis of the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal aspect that can impact T-Mobile strategic plan An examination of T-Mobiles stakeholders and how to bring them more closer to achieve the goal as one body Making sure that resources such as: human, financial, physical and information resources are available and ready to achieve the objectives together During Implementation Ensuring an honest and solid integration between departments. All the elements in the business plan; the mission, vision, values, goals, strategy and behaviours need to be understood by each and everyone. Simultaneously, commitment and support are needed throughout the process at all management levels: strategic, tactical and operational level. After Implementation Proper monitoring to make certain that targets are achieving in the time frame set and rectifying any issues that may arise in order for the implementation to be a success The SWOT Analysis of T-Mobile An examination of the strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats of T-Mobile, also called the SWOT analysis. Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W) are considered to be internal factors over which T-Mobile have some measure of control whereas Opportunities (O) and Threats (T) are considered to be external factors over which it has essentially no control. SWOT analysis is the most renowned tool for audit and analysis of the overall strategic position of the business and its environment. Its key purpose is to identify the strategies that will create a firm specific business model that will best align an organizations resources and capabilities to the requirements of the environment in which the firm operates. According to David (2006) a SWOT analysis involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective. (David, 2006) Strengths The qualities that enable T-mobile to accomplish its mission T-Mobile has been able to create strong brand equity and also made itself recognized across the Europe and the US. Customers are familiar with the T-Mobiles brand; they hold a strong positive and distinctive bond with its name. T-mobile has been able to establish 4G  [2]   network bases in Europe and the same is growing in US. Thus, having a step ahead over its competitors. T-Mobile has got numerous alliances with industry leading corporations in mobile services technologies, allowing it to offer better services to its customers accordingly. For instance, Comcast Cable and T-Mobile USA, Inc. has announced a strategic marketing alliance to offer the T-Mobile Hotspot Wi-Fi Internet service to Comcasts nearly five million high-speed Internet customers. Thus, Comcast customers can experience the convenience, reliability and value of a T-Mobile wireless broadband connection when theyre away from home, via Wi-Fi, at the more than 4,000 T-Mobile Hotspot locations nationwide. (newsroom.t-mobile.com,2012) T-Mobiles has been able to position itself as the third largest mobile company in the world. T-Mobile has rightly chosen its slogan Everything Everywhere. The two words define T-Mobile purpose on the planet, which instantly create some kind of attachment and curiosity to existing and new customers respectively. T-Mobile was first to introduce Google-based phone in the UK, using android technology Weaknesses Weaknesses are the qualities that prevent T-Mobile from accomplishing its mission and achieving its full potential. T-mobile has no presence in the key emerging markets of the world although it is classified as the third largest mobile company in the world. Customers have reported complaints in consumeraffair.com. They faced issue such as no signal and dropped calls on the roadside, where there was good coverage for other carriers. (theultimatewireless.com, 2011) Coverage of network is not prominent in some areas. It some areas it is intermittent where as in some areas it is simply dead coverage of network. Customers are moving from one mobile service to another and brand loyalty is not present in the customers. Retention of customers strategy is absence. Offering limited bandwidth to its customers. The cap of 500 MB restrained T-Mobile subscribers from using the Internet freely. Opportunities The environment within which T-Mobile operates presents Opportunities Increasing 4G-network coverage in the UK would make T-Mobile stand out from the crowd. 4G, also known as LTE (long term evolution), are the next evolution of mobile network technology. With the customer base that keeps growing steadily, T-Mobile can could easily surprised the world one day to climb the ladder from third to first largest mobile company in the world. T-Mobile could probably expand in ASIA, instead of concentrating only in Europe and the US. China, India and UAE are the key parts in ASIA that T-Mobile could consider expansion. T-Mobile could also amalgamate with other mobile company as it did with Orange mobile company. Thus, more mobile company under the same umbrella Everything Everywhere. Threats Threats arise when conditions in external environment jeopardize the reliability and profitability of T-Mobile Intensifying competition in the UK market. For instance, Virgin Company, 3G mobile Company, O2 and Vodafone Company are the direct rivals of T-Mobile, which T-Mobile has to be very vigilant of. Economic slowdown in the European Union and the US had an adverse effect on T-Mobile. People become very choosy and cautious when it comes to spend money during those economic crises. Proper strategy is important in order to retain and attract new customers. European Union regulation on cross-border cell phone usage by customers (managementparadise, 2011). Sometimes or most of the times Government regulations can be bad for business, such as T-Mobile. 6.0 PESTEL Analysis of T-Mobile After an examination of the SWOT analysis is done, a PESTEL analysis of T-Mobile is essential. They are both commonly used together to get a better understanding of the competitive and economic environment, but they represent two contrasting approaches. SWOT analysis differs from PESTEL in the sense that, it is more flexible and can be applied to various forms of business functions where as PESTEL analysis is more nonconforming, used only to fully understand the implications of entering a new market. PESTEL Analysis is a convenient tool to analyse the macro-environment, which is also called the far environment. PESTEL is an acronym that stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. It is used for determining the opportunities and risks of global expansion. Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal issues often differ domestically and even more so internationally. Hence, it provides a strong framework to set the stage to develop specific tactics to mitigate the risks involved in executing vision in unfamiliar environments such as in strategy (3.1.2) above, expansion in a different country. Political, Government and Legal Forces: Political influences relate to government or constitutional policies that may affect a business and so do legal forces. There were a number of regulatory hurdles that were overcome before the merger was agreed of T-Mobile and Orange. It was by no means guaranteed that UK competition authorities would have approved the deal without some stringent requirements, such as obliging the operators to help to provide rural broadband coverage. These were met and the merger took place back in 2010. (itvoir, 2011). The governments current policies are unable to handle the current riots, which is a direct threat for a healthy business environment, and may affect T-Mobile. So, the actual place of operation are experiencing political, governmental and legal issues representing a barrier for growth. Due to these, T-Mobile has to consider moving in other countries where their political, government and legal system are favourable to operate and grow without any hurdles. T-Mobile would have to make sure that the intended country is politically stable as well its legal system. Economical: With economic downturn, the interest rates are at low of 0.5pc. (telegraph, 2010). This is a great opportunity for the consumers in the form of low lending rates. The government is encouraging consumers, which would ignite the stagnant economy. Now this is a good sign for T-Mobile network in two ways. Firstly, they can borrow at lower rates and secondly, it will increase the consumer buying power as the low rates ignite the economy. But for now the market is quite stagnant and increasing market share looks a bit difficult. (123helpme, 2011) Infact, the strategy of expanding in another country has emerged due to the economic situation that are prevailing in the Europe. Companies including T-Mobile are finding themselves in turmoil to move a step ahead. The economic situation of the intended country needs to be analysed carefully before venturing. Socio-cultural: Socio-cultural influences encompass such factors as class, age and gender, demographics as well as issues such as culture   both local and international and diversity. When T-Mobile started with its Short Messaging Service (SMS), it was the beginning of the mobile multimedia era. T-Mobile also offers Multimedia Messaging (MMS) Service, which enables customers to send and receive picture messages. Both SMS and MMS are popular among women and are seen as a social tool for interact (Mintel, 2011) .In the summer of 2002, T-Mobile launched their GPRS (General Pocket Radio Service) which has seen great success ever since. Customers of T-Mobile generally gain access to the most up-to-date handsets, which are very admired for mobile-conscious people. With increasing trends towards the Android based mobiles and tablets, a new market has emerged. Online application stores require high-speed connectivity; this has increased the usage of Wi-Fi and Internet based services. Thus, a whole new market for T-Mobile to emerge. Approximately 20% of the population lives without a mobile phone. Not being heavy users of mobiles-by their nature, retired people need less mobile contact than those still going to work. Age groups beyond 55 figure little in to the marketing objectives and advertising targets of the mobile industry. But it will come a day where the older generation will be influenced and find the use of mobiles a necessity. (mintel, 2011) It is now easier to switch networks more frequently particularly because handsets are now offered free as part of the service when customers sign up to a 12, or more recently 18-month contract. Exceptionally with private customers (not businesses), they can sometimes have their line rental discounted for a number of months depending on the length of agreement. T-Mobile also offers Fix It option, which allows customer to choose their own free minutes and free text messages according to their usage. Technological: Better performance and faster mobile Internet speeds with T-Mobile supercharged 4G networks. Its three times faster than standard 3G.4G network that offers blazing-fast average download speeds of 10Mbps and peak speeds of up to 27Mbps. The market is competitive but T-Mobile is coping well and offering the best to its customers with new 4G networks. T-Mobile can also consider alliances with other companies that already have already a telecommunication backbone / structure. Both together, hand in hand can offer an excellent service to their subscribers. For instance, T-Mobile and COMCAST in USA came together to better serve their customers. A quote from (newsroom.tmobile, 2012): Comcast Cable and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced a strategic marketing alliance to offer the T-Mobile Hotspot Wi-Fi Internet service to Comcasts nearly five million high-speed Internet customers. With todays announcement, Comcast customers can experience the convenience, reliability and value of a T-Mobile wireless broadband connection when theyre away from home, via Wi-Fi, at the more than 4,000 T-Mobile Hotspot locations nationwide. As part of this strategic marketing alliance, Comcast high-speed Internet customers will receive a special offer when they sign up for T-Mobile Hotspot through their Comcast portal homepage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Comcast customers who subscribe to the T-Mobile Hotspot service can surf the Web, check email or view streaming media at wireless broadband speeds with a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or PDA at T-Mobile Hotspot locations These kinds of alliances would rapidly spread the name of T-Mobile around the intended country. Environmental: Although there is no evidence that they are harmful to public health, transmitter masts are regarded by many as an unwelcome presence in the environment, especially when they are close to schools. Discarded handsets also constitute an environmental problem because of the hazardous materials they contain. For a better world for youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is T-Mobiles environmental motto (t-mobile, 2011). The aim is to minimize their business impact on the environment and all T-Mobile companies in Europe have implemented environmental management programs in order to reduce waste and energy consumption. Other solutions how to safeguard a green environment is continuously reviewed. As demands of new technology increases, more base stations is inevitable but T-Mobile recognizes genuine public concern over mobile communications phones and network infrastructure. Nevertheless, it is worth for T-Mobile to check if its presence would cause any environmental issues in the intended country. The significance of Stakeholders Diagram from Mindtools.com Having known the information about the macro-environment, it is also vital to analyse T-Mobiles microenvironment (Stakeholders), which is also referred to the near environment. As can be seen from the diagram, an organisation is surrounded by both the near and the far environment. Any alteration in them has an impact on the organisation. According to Ryan (2004), a stakeholder is anyone who has a financial interest in a particular business and according to businessdictionary.com (2009), a stakeholder is a person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organizations actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources. T-Mobile has the following stakeholders: Customers Competitors Suppliers Staffs Investors and Shareholders Creditors 7.1 Loyal customers are the lifeblood of businesses and in order to retain them, T-Mobile has to spend time and listen to their customers when developing strategies. They have to get closer to their customers to better understand their needs and concerns and to anticipate their desires. Customer requirements are constantly changing as lifestyles keep on changing. Adding up to the down turn, attention should be more focussed as explain in strategy at (3.1.1) above. Customers should become the focal point as T-Mobile need them to at least survived in such a difficult period. Customers become choosy before spending a penny and their expectations are high too. So, T-mobile has to provide an outstanding and a unique service, which is not comparable to their competitors. Customers should not get the chance or should not at all attempt to make a complaint like in the examples in (3.1.1) instead all the good words should be heard from customers. Failure to do so would compel customers to look for other alternatives, such as looking for another providers, which can be done at a click on the Internet. In relation to the second strategy, the approach to customers would defer. T-Mobile has to research about the market, the culture, the buying pattern, the cost and standard of living. T-Mobile should get the trusts and build a good relationship of the new market right at the beginning. There should be proper marketing, deals and offers to attract the new market. 7.2 An awareness of the competitors position in the market place needs to be known. To do that, a competitive analysis needs to be performed and the diagram below might help. It analyses the strength in four important areas such as: Creativity, level of service, the cost that might incurred and the reputation position. Diagram from Managingabusiness.com Competitive analysis of the marketplace demonstrated that the major competitors had a poor reputation and were not perceived to be innovative or adding value. Hence, helping T-Mobile to be at the forefront of the game. For instance, the android technology was a good shot for T-Mobile. The latter is famously known to be the first provider to introduce it. 7.3 Other forces that can have an adverse effect on the changes are the suppliers. Without suppliers support, businesses including T-Mobile would not be able to survive or even exist. The bargaining power of suppliers and the actions they take can directly influence an organization. So, an excellent relationship is imperative and long terms reasonable contract should be maintained between T-Mobile and its different suppliers to gain competitive edge over its competitors. For examples, Blackberry, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericson, Alcatel are among its suppliers. 7.4 Staffs sayings, interests and contribution are also vital to T-Mobile growth. Workforce is directly impacted on an organizations performance. In an economic downturn, employees become increasingly anxious about job security and financial worries, satisfaction with the job they have, commitment to their company and engagement with their work are all affected detrimentally. This trend could be self-fulfilling in that disengaged employees could have a negative impact on T-Mobiles products or services and lead to its decline, which would inevitably see the company failing. The employees concerned are about whether or not they would keep their jobs and whether or not they would be compensated if their company did not survive the recession. So, T-Mobile has serious reason to be concerned about the emotional well being of their employees by constantly motivating them, involving them, re-assuring them, appreciating them and rewarding them. 7.5 Investors and shareholders concern are necessary to consider, as they are injectors of capitals and cash into the business. Their main concern is the success of the business without interfering about the mechanisms to make it successful. All the answers about how to tackle potential risks need to be explained to them in order to reassure the return on their investments. Recently T-Mobile USA has failed to impress the MetroPCS Communications shareholders, which has disrupted a merger between them due to a fall in revenue by 5.9% to $ 4.9 billion. (new.investors.com, 2012). Well, thats a bad example to convince the other parties to join T-Mobile. Confidence is very important to investment in a recession. 5.6 Creditors are also important stakeholders who definitely have an interest in T-Mobile growth. If they were not willing to lend more money then the latter would be in deep dilemma. So, good credit scoring, positive financial statement such as profit loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement would be desirable to convince creditors for the ongoing money borrowing. Good professional relationships with the stakeholders and regularly interacting with the stakeholders are crucial for project completion. Organizing regular meetings with stakeholders, accompanied by documentation, will help boost the confidence levels of shareholders. Lack of regular communication with stakeholders will instill in the minds of the stakeholders needless apprehensions and unfounded fears. Thus, the above stakeholders analysis is crucial to T-Mobile, as any sort of reluctance on their behalf would have an adverse effect, which may to lead to losing subscribers and goes bankrupt. 8.0 Resource Requirements to Implement the Strategy for T-Mobile Another aspect that is fundamental for T-Mobile to look at before actually implement the above strategy is the availability of resources and allocating them effectively for the benefit of the strategy. To organize the operational process of a Company, resource is a basic element of that company. A resource or set of resources helps organization to obtain competitive advantage. When the resources are combined they can lead to the formation of competencies and capabilities. According to Kourdi (2009), A better approach is to adopt a rigorous, dynamic and time-based view of resources, the factors driving success or failure. That is, success is determined by whether resources strengthen or decline. 8.1 Human resource: Having just a pool of staffs is not enough but a well trained and experience team is needed. The first stage of implementing the strategy plan is to make sure to have the right people on board. The right people include those individuals with required competencies and skills that are needed to support the plan. In the months following the planning process, expand employee skills through training, recruitment, or new hires to include new competencies required by the strategic plan. If T-Mobile cannot afford to recruit then to reinforce the workforce, re-shuffling of employees to perform different jobs is important. This can be done through job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. It is also a mean to motivate staffs, as the latter feel valued in knowing and performing different tasks. T-Mobile has to ensure high morale at works, involving staffs in decision-making, creating team spirits, providing good working environment and friendly frequent meeting. In short, T-Mobile should create an environment that connects employees to the organizations mission and that makes them feel comfortable. To reinforce the importance of focusing on strategy and vision, reward success. The rewards may be big or small, as long as they lift the strategy above the day-to-day so people make it a priority. T-Mobile directly employs around 36,000 people. It has 300 retail shops and 13 million mobile customers. (T-Mobile, 2011). They are the part of the biggest mobile operator (Everything Everywhere) In UK. (bizyahoo, 2011). It has a young, enthusiastic and trained workforce across the country that can be re-shuffling to work in other countries if T-mobile is considering expanding in other countries like China. Since the workforce is young, they will be easily adept to the new technology of the merging company, for instance, Blackberry. 8.2 Financial resource: T-Mobile would need to have sufficient funds. The answer to this would be analysis of the Balance sheet. Stakeholders support like Shareholders, investors and creditors support are primary a

Arthur Asa Bergers Analysis of Cheers Essay -- essays research papers

"Cheers" - A Semiotic Analysis by Berger   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Arthur Asa Berger’s essay, he conducts a semiotic analysis of the comedy television show "Cheers." In his analysis of the show he points out many characteristics that refer to semiotics. Even though one could not agree with all of his findings, many of them are reasonable. One discrepancy someone might have with his ideas is that he applies his analysis to simply one episode rather than the entire series. Berger could have been able to conduct a more thorough examination if he used the whole series as a basis for his semiotic analysis. There are many examples Berger uses to explain his point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One such example Berger uses is the instance about the signs. He states that there is more than one significant meaning of the word â€Å"cheers.'...

Baroque Art Essay

This paper will start with an explanation of what Baroque art is. Baroque art is art that utilizes the effects between lightness and darkness. We will begin by looking at three paintings from the Baroque period. The first painting we will be discussing from the Baroque period is Annibale Carracci’s Pieta. A pieta is a sculpture or painting of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. This particular pieta was done by the artist Annibale Carracci from Bologna, Italy. Annibale’s Pieta depicts the Virgin Mary holding her son Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Annibale used his lighting very well in this painting. Because of the way he used the lighting in his painting it made Jesus Christ the main figure, but still managed to have the Virgin Mary in the center along with Jesus. Annibale painted Mary in a soft blue, which contrasted well with the paleness of Jesus Christ. Annibale painted the look of sorrow onto Mary’s face and out stretched her left hand as if she was questioning how this could happen to her. This painting has so much detailed to it, along with Mary and Jesus there are also two angels in the painting: one angel scrutinizes the crown of thorns, while the other mourns while holding Jesus’ hand. Annibale Carracci was a well-known and admired painter that helped create the Baroque style. Annibale Carracci, along with his brother and cousin founded the Accademia degli Incamminati, which translates to the Academy of progressives. Later in the 15th century the Carracci family was painting some of the most advanced paintings throughout Europe. Annibale created a new broken brushwork style to capture movement and the effects of light on form (Christiansen, Keith. 2003). This new style resulted in paintings being put inside churches. The fresco painting on the ceiling of Pope Farnese’s Palace was Annibale’s greatest masterpiece. The second painting from the Baroque Period is The Entombment by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The symmetry of the group of people in this painting is miraculous . This painting shows everyone bowing down or bending towards Jesus, showing that his death has an impact not only emotionally but physically on them. The look of terror and shock is remarkably captured in this painting. The group of people look traumatized at the death of their beloved Savior Jesus Christ, however at the same time they look relieved. I love how Caravaggio illustrates these people. He doesn’t make the people beautiful or extravagant looking, he makes them look like ordinary people. Just as Annibale used the lightness and darkness as did Caravaggio, bringing out the drama and suspense of the moment. Caravaggio was a wild and carefree person. He believed in truth, that not everyone was beautiful or heroic as they are made to seem. He refused to portray the human individual as sublime, beautiful and heroic (Christiansen, Keith 2003). During Caravaggio’s time the Catholic Church had complete control of what was considered to be acceptable art if it wasn’t deemed acceptable by the church then it wasn’t art. Caravaggio disdained the masters of the Renaissance and the mannerist style (Sayre 2010). In the Baroque Period, religion was the best thing you could paint about, this is the only topic that would be profitable. The third painting from the Baroque Period is Belshazzar’s feast by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. The painting displays King Belshazzar and his visitants feasting while using the holy items from the Jewish temple. Rembrandt depicts a moment when a glorious hand appears in right to the inscription on the wall when transliterated the inscription reads: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN; meaning ‘God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; your kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians. ‘. â€Å"Rembrandt | Belshazzar’s Feast | NG6350 | The National Gallery, London†, 2004) . After that night, King Belshazzar was killed. Rembrandt utilizes the light in this painting to give light more effect the hand. The main figure is King Belshazzar who is struck with fear as the hand continues to write on the wall. Not only is the King and shock but so are all his adversaries. Rembrandt uses chiaroscuro in his painting by outlining the outside of the painting in a dark color. Chiaroscuro is the contrast of light and dark to create atmosphere, drama, and emotion (Sayre, 2010). Rembrandt was asked what he truly wanted to achieve through his art, he stated â€Å"the greatest and most natural movement† translated from die meeste ende di naetuereelste beweechgelickheijt (encyclopedia. stateuniversity, 2010. He didn’t want the subjects of his paintings in poses contrived as was the case in Mannerist style. (Sayre, 2010). His main goal was to portray the naturalness of the human body. In Holland, during the 16th-century at the Utrecht school Italianate architecture continued because of most of its attendance, especially the notable Gerard van Honthorst. He later traveled to Italy where he met Caravaggio and was inspired by his work. The Utrecht school artists ended up influencing Pieter Lastman with their styles of using lightness and darkness. Pieter ended up becoming Rembrandts, therefore providing a monolithic background for what would become known as Dutch Art. All three of examples I chose are religious; depicting an important scene from the bible. The first two paintings show Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. The third painting is from the Old Testament from the prophet Daniel. All three paintings used lightness and darkness to add drama to their paintings as well as chiaroscuro. These paintings show characters are very lifelike as well as the difference of chiaroscuro from its very beginning to it being perfected by Rembrandt. There are differences within these paintings. The way emotion is depicted upon each of the characters faces in every painting is different. What shocked me the most was that the The Pieta depicting the crucifixion showed the least detailed emotion. You see that Mary is grieving and is in sorrow but in the entombment the emotion is really detailed upon the faces of everyone. However, I believe Rembrandts Belshazzar’s feast has most emotional of all three paintings. You can actually see the fear and terror upon their faces. Also, the use lighting is more evident in Rembrandt paintings and his characters look more realistic; whereas in the Pieta the characters are perfect and beautiful when they’re supposed to be mourning the death of their loved one. In comparison to the Entombment the Pieta was the least dramatic and emotional of the two. Through these paintings you can see how the church has influence over the art and how it changes throughout the centuries. You can also see how each painter understands chiaroscuro. For instance, Rembrandt perfected it whereas Annibale merely understood it. While studying this I learned that art styles progress throughout the years, sometimes getting better and sometimes becoming worse.

The Human Paradox essays

The Human Paradox essays Human Inconsistency: Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" Thesis: Dostoevsky's manic and depressive episodes aided in his ability to properly illustrate the workings of the human mind, through his writing. II. What is Manic Depression and Depression? III. Other Writers with Mental Illnesses Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, author of several acclaimed books-including "Notes From Underground"-a semi-autobiographical story, introduced a new form of writing, "stream-of-consciousness", to Russia and Europe. Soon, this form of writing that would become the mark of the Existentialist, spread to the America's. Interestingly enough, the "stream-of-consciousness" that manifested itself in his writing was actually the product of a mood disorder, which can be characterized by intensely emotional thoughts. Caught in a rift of contrasting thoughts, the Manic-Depressive-commonly endowed with superior artistic abilities, can be very insightful to the ways of man. Manic-depression can clinically be defined as a mood disorder with two contrasting states: mania and depression. There must be an occurrence of one or more Manic or Mixed episodes and often, the individual has also had one or more Major Depressive episodes in the past. In Manic-Depressive disorder, also known as Bipolar disorder, the manic and depressive episodes recur in varying degrees of intensity. The DSM-IV describes Manic and Depressive episodes as: "The essential feature is a distinct period when the predominant mood is either elevated, expansive or irritable, and when there are associated symptoms of the manic syndrome." These symptoms include hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences, which are not recognized. The manual describes depressive episodes as: "The essential feature is either a dysphoric mood...

Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management

Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management Secondary waste water treatment is majorly aimed at removing dissolved but biodegradable organic matter from water after physically suspended materials are removed by the primary process(Bengtson, 2010, p. 2).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Majorly, these types of treatment use biological treatment processes to treat water but final consumption is done after tertiary treatment has been done. Tertiary treatment is sometimes referred to as the advanced treatment because it treats what the primary and secondary methods have been unable to treat. Many of these types of treatment (tertiary) utilize chemical compounds to treat water (Bengtson, 2010, p. 1). Both the secondary and tertiary treatment methods utilize a number of processes to make each step a success but tertiary treatment is never usually a necessity because it depend s on the toxicity of the source of water. Some of the most significant differences in these treatment methods are that the secondary treatment methods majorly utilize physical processes but tertiary treatment methods utilize chemical methods of treatment. Also, the tertiary treatment method is majorly undertaken with the aim of removing nitrate and phosphorous compounds from the water but the secondary treatment method is aimed at removing organic waste materials. Lastly, the tertiary treatment method is not a mandatory procedure and varies from place to place but the secondary treatment method is mandatory and involves a couple of common processes such as the trickling filter, stabilization pond treatment systems and activated sludge (Bengtson, 2010, p. 4). Appropriate Uses of Reclaimed Water Reclaimed water can be obtained from many sources but it bears the qualities of being odorless, clear and high quality water, which enables it to be used for a number of purposes.Advertising Looking for essay on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, the most appropriate source for reclaimed water is irrigation but it is quite unfortunate that up to 50% of high quality water, which could be used for drinking, is used for irrigation (National Academy of Sciences, 2010, p. 3). Reclaimed water can therefore act as a good substitute. However, reclaimed water can be used in a number of industrial irrigation processes and in supplementing natural system needs. In this context, reclaimed water can be appropriately used in street cleaning operations; power generation plants; decorating fountains, quelling fires, dust control, aquifer discharge; cooling in industrial processes; and restoring depleted, natural systems (National Academy of Sciences, 2010, p. 3). However, some people have got the whole concept of using reclaimed water for body contact wrong because it is inappropriate to use reclaimed water for recreational purposes (like swimming pool); cooking or drinking; or irrigating vegetable and other foods such as herb gardens because they can directly absorb the contaminated chemicals from the reclaimed water and store them in their tissues. Recommendation Tertiary treatment methods are not good for ground water recharge and instead secondary treatment is recommended for this purpose. This is true because the operational plant facilities are likely to be affected by tertiary treatment methods because they eliminate nitrates and phosphates which are essential for ground water recharge, especially when the recharge is expected to support portable use, including metallic toxicants, or when the recharge process is expected to use nitrogen compounds and pathogens. However, tertiary treatment methods are useful for treating drinking water because many drinking water purification plants use the process to clean raw water. Moreover, the process can be used to remove i mpurities which the primary and secondary processes are unable to. References Bengtson, H. (2010). An Introduction to Primary, Secondary, and Advanced Wastewater Treatment Methods. Retrieved from  https://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/68537.aspxAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Waste Water Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More National Academy of Sciences. (2010). Source Waters and Their Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/4780/chapter/4

Marketing Communications Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Communications Plan - Essay Example - introduce new ways and new experiences of eating chocolates, given the technological advances in the manufacturing process, i.e. sugar-free chocolates, chocolates with fruits and nuts, chocolates with cereals, etc. - While there is common notion that chocolate purchases decline during economic recession, there are reports that suggest portion of the consumer budget is being used for personal indulgence, as indicated by the decline in savings ratio during economic downturn. Strategic communications must be able to target this market that will spend on chocolates for indulgence in spite of economic downturn - Strategies should include campaigns that will highlight the lingering good feelings resulting from eating chocolates at a time when negative sentiments brought about by economic recession dominate the general mood of the public Given the above objectives, the marketing communication efforts should be able to contribute to the overall target of the chocolate confectionary industry to grow by as much as 17 percent in the next five years, or an increase of two percent in real terms. Message 3 – Chocolates are produced by corporate citizens who give back to society what it has received from the public. It practices social responsibility and looks after the welfare of the community where it operates. To communicate effectively, the promotional mix efforts will have to hire advertising agencies to develop effective sales ads; sales promotion specialists to design targeted sales promotion programs; direct-marketing specialists to build database and interact with customers and prospects by mail and telephone; web developers/graphics design artists/IT experts to develop and maintain the marketing campaign online, and public relations firms to supply product publicity and develop positive image for chocolate products and the chocolate-eating habits. What is important in the marketing

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Drugs - Essay Example The government starts experiencing constraints in sustaining its citizens and therefore is forced to result to heavy borrowing from other nations, non-governmental organizations, World Bank among other financial institutions. The resulting effect is a huge deficit in the balance of payments, which in turn leads to bad debts (Parks 2009). b) High costs incurred- The costs incurred by the government in following up and arresting drug traffickers are high. It involves the use of machines like vehicles and detectors, to track the criminals and this means expenditure has to be incurred. When these criminals have been arrested and prosecuted, they have to be retained in the cells and provided with the basic needs. If any of them falls sick, they have to be taken to the hospital by the government and it settles their medical bills. This all are extra costs incurred which should have otherwise been saved (Bean 2010). Many nations find it unreasonable nowadays to arrest and prosecute drug offenders as that is not helping in any way to reduce the vice and hence the urge to legalize drugs. The graph below compares the total number of people jailed for drug abusing in U.S.A and the total number of people arrested and jailed by the European Union for all offenses:Medical expenditure by the government increases since many fall vic tims of drug abuse. Many of them become addicted to the drugs to a point whereby they cannot do without them, and this means rehabilitation is the only solution to save their lives. The sensitization programs that the government may decide to organize to enlighten the people on the effects of drug abuse and ways of avoiding drug abuse are very costly. c) Increased mortality rate- Due to drug legalization, many drivers will be under the influence of drugs when driving. This increases road accidents hence leading to loss of lives of many civilians and traffic jams in the roads. In addition, since it is legal to use drugs, many people will result to abusing them. Drug abuse may lead to death of the victim at the end because the drugs have their side effects on human health. For example, many people have been abusing pharmaceutical products that are legal and this has resulted in the death of the individuals. These deaths reduce the population of a country, which should have provided the country with enough labor force to maximize output thus profits (Parks 2009). d) Increased war with other nations and terrorism- Many terrorists do abuse drugs so that they can stimulate their bodies for the plans ahead. Many of these drugs affect the reasoning capacity of an individual and