Benefits of a Marketing Plan for Small Business

Research Topic 5: â€Å"I’ve got a small business with only 3 full-time staff. Marketing Planning’s no real practical use to me! Besides, I can’t afford the time and/or the money to do it† The writing of a marketing plan is extremely important step in the functioning of an effective and successful business. A marketing plan will give a snapshot of where the business currently stands, where the business hopes and wants to be and what needs to be done to achieve this. This is crucial if the business wants to grow or maintain its current level of profit. It could even be helpful if a business needed to down-size. Marketing plans can be as detailed as required, and as such are useful tools for large corporations and small businesses alike. The creation of marketing plans can be quite daunting without previous experience, and this is one reason why many small businesses don’t create a plan. Ross Cameron, of Cameron Research Group states â€Å"†¦there appeared to be a large number of small business owners who were not interested in growing. It is possible this is because many small business owners don’t know how to grow† (Hartnett and Keisler 2008, p. ) Many of the smaller businesses don’t understand the benefit of creating a marketing plan, and therefore avoid creating one. One benefit of creating a marketing plan is in analyzing the current situation. Particularly in small businesses, the ability to step back and take an external view of the business is often difficult for an owner, as that time can be put to use elsewhere, and the results of a situational analysis can often be confronting (Hartnett and Keisler 2008). Most successful entrepreneurs of the world are able to view and analyze the business from the outside. Another benefit of producing a marketing plan is the potential for â€Å"greater co-ordination of effort† (Overton 2007). In having a clearly defined plan for the direction of the business, as well as an idea of how to get there, all of the employees can be focused towards that same goal. A business that has no marketing plan can potentially have employees pulling the business in many different directions, as the goal is not clear. Producing a marketing plan can also help measure the success of any efforts put in to improve the business. In creating a marketing plan, it is best to quantify the desired achievement. For example, if a business wanted to improve its sales by 25% over the course of a twelve month period and this goal is identified within the marketing plan, then it can be reviewed after twelve months (or at intervals during this period). The results of the review measures the effectiveness of the marketing plan. If sales figures have grown by 25% or more, then it is seen as successful. If sales grew by under 25%, or worse, declined, then the marketing plan has not been as effective as it should be. The measurement of success of a marketing plan can also be used as a benchmark to set future marketing plans. Using the perceived effectiveness or not of the previous marketing plan, can be a useful tool for looking forward. It can inspire a business to set higher growth in sales figures, or to set the benchmark lower, to enable a sales figure that is a little bit more achievable, based on the previous marketing plan (Overton 2007). A marketing plan can also help a business by looking at its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (also known as a SWOT analysis). In providing this analysis, a business has a better viewpoint from which to build upon. Analysis of strengths provides important information about what the business does well in its operations. For example, it could be how the business differs from its competitors, or what makes the business more successful than others in certain aspects. For instance, this could mean that the employees of the business are better trained or motivated than at rival businesses, the business has higher valued intellectual property, or various other reasons. Similarly, the analysis of weaknesses provides information and comparisons with other businesses to enable better decision making and potential improvements. The analysis of opportunities and threats document how the business could be impacted in the future, for better or for worse. Opportunities enable a business to look at future growth potential, future trends in the marketplace, opportunities to take advantage of competitor’s weaknesses, or any other factor that may or may not have been identified in the strengths or weaknesses. Threats are basically negative opportunities and can be current or future factors that may possibly have a negative impact on the business. In drawing up the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for the business, and similarly for its competitors, the business can have a greater understanding of its current situation, and moving forward, a greater understanding of any potential hurdles or windfalls that may impact the business (positively or negatively). This in turn provides a better platform from which to determine the way forward, and to provide a plan to achieve the goal of the business successfully. One of the main benefits gained by creating a marketing plan is the actual documenting of the businesses goals and direction. By having a plan in hard copy, and having all employees working towards the same goals and in the same direction, the business is more likely to succeed in reaching those goals. A marketing plan is also beneficial in setting a budget for effective marketing. A marketing plan will allow the business to look at its target objectives and determine the amount of money to be spent on that goal. Stephanie Paul (2010) insists that a marketing plan is â€Å"†¦Often considered the most effective budgeting method†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that many experts believe that it is definitely the most logical way of setting a marketing budget. Similarly, a budget can also help create realistic strategies when looking at objectives from a budgeting aspect. â€Å"Understanding the return on investment on a marketing activity enables you to determine whether to keep them running or stop them and try something else†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Murphy 2009) Many small businesses feel that they don’t have time to develop arketing plans and strategies, but a marketing plan can be as thorough as the business needs it to be. In the case of most small businesses, the owner of the business inevitably works â€Å"in† the business, and has very little time to work â€Å"on† the business. However, a marketing plan doesn’t have to take up a lot of time. Whilst a large business may need h undreds of pages for a marketing plan, many small businesses can create effective marketing plans using as little as â€Å"half a dozen pages† (How to Create a Marketing Plan) McDaniel (2003) states â€Å"Developing a marketing plan is free and can be as simple as a time line of when to order business cards, networking opportunities, organizational meetings, speaking engagements and deadlines for publications†. The article also goes on to quote Ronelle Genser of Genser International Consulting â€Å"†¦there are three secrets to marketing. Commitment, Investment (not just money but of time, energy, and talent, as well), and consistency. † A marketing plan would be difficult without these aspects (McDaniel 2003) Around 98% of small business owners state that marketing is the hardest part of their job†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McDaniel 2003). As seen above, a marketing plan can be effective at any scale, and should be a necessary tool for succeeding in business. For addressing the issue of time management in preparing a marketing plan for a small business, How to Create a Marketing Plan suggests taking â€Å"a couple of months to write the plan, even if it’s only a few pages long†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In conclusion, there are many benefits for writing a marketing plan, even for the time-poor owner of a small business. It enables the business owner to analyze the past and the present, as well as plot and plan the future direction of the business, the money spent on that plan and measuring the effectiveness of past, current and future plans. These are all practical uses of marketing plans, and for the basis of successful businesses, whether they are large multi-national corporations, or a small home business with few or no employees. Bibliography Hartnett R. , Keisler, K. , 2008, Small Business, Big Opportunity: Winning the right customers through smart marketing and advertising, Second edition, Sensis, Melbourne How to Create a Marketing Plan, 2010, Entrepreneur, viewed 2nd April 2010, Murphy, D. , 2009, Marketing Budget – Where do I start? , Vista Consulting, viewed 2nd April 2010, Overton, R. , 2007, Marketing Simplified, An introduction to marketing, eBOOK version, Martin Books, EBL EBook Library, viewed 2nd April 2010 Paul, S. , 2010, Cost of Marketing: What Is the Average Budget? , LegalZoom, viewed 2nd April 2010, < http://www. legalzoom. com/business-management/promoting-your-business/cost-marketing-what-is>

I Have a Dream Too Essay

32 years and 364 days before my birth, at Lincoln Memorial over 275,000 people gathered and listened to Dr. Martin Luther King deliver his speech â€Å"I Have a Dream.† During this time, racism was a huge issue in the United States, especially towards African Americans. Among those African Americans was Dr. Martin Luther King, a prominent civil rights activists who inspires our world till this day, especially with his speech â€Å"I Have a Dream.† He spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that was taking place in our nation. The reason for â€Å"I Have a Dream† massive impact is due to the tense social mood of the time and giving African Americans a vision for the future. Hitting home for many African American people but what made â€Å"I Have a Dream† so fascinating that even a 16 years Asian American can relate to? I believe it is King’s use of rhetoric and how he is able to appeal to his audiences’ everyday lives. King uses the structure of his rhetoric to appeal to his different audiences and supporting his ideas by using quotations and allusions, repeating key theme words and phrases, and â€Å"grounding† his arguments. The syntax of a speech can be very important, something that King utilizes really well appealing to all three types of people in his audience; the average blacks who are discriminated against, the average whites who harbor thoughts typical of that time who argue that blacks are evil and the civil rights movement is violent, and radical blacks who think the same. He first starts by making the white realize how blacks are in such a terrible positions and make them feel bad of what they have done, but at the same time hitting home in the hearts of blacks. He goes on explaining problems â€Å"One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years..† Striking home for many African Americans but at the same time causing the whites to be uncomfortable. King then brings in issues about the Declaration of Independence by saying â€Å"This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the â€Å"unalienable Rights† of â€Å"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.† Then goes on saying that America has denied us of these right. His ability to appeal to his audience really amazed because when you put into perspective of how the people of the time interpreted the speech and to me the message was loud and clear; segregation must end. King also perpetrates his speech with careful thoughts and analysis, a key example of this was King’s utilization of quotations and allusions. He starts out the his speech by invoking the presence of Lincoln, not just with his location but with this â€Å"Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the emancipation proclamation.† This is a strong appeal to ethos and using Lincoln’s credibility to create credibility for himself. Then he moves on to the Constitution with â€Å"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness† this is also and an appeal to ethos that relates to every American. His use of allusions and quotations didn’t just revolve around the 16th president and the constitution it also reached out in a biblical manner as well. â€Å"for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no wa ter.â€Å" he evokes Jeremiah 2:13. Similar to this the other biblical terms enhance his credibility and builds a relationship with the common whit population that reads the bible. As for me the text was not as powerful but when King delivered the line â€Å"No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until â€Å"justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.† the idea of freedom in my mind became privilege and made me cherish it much more. King like many other juniors in the 21st century learned a rhetorical device known as anaphora, a skill that only King can make history with. King uses this device 8 times throughout his speech but the most memorable of all is near the end of the speech where he starts with â€Å"I Have a Dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The line that will stick with generations to come and may have been the reason why Dr. King was assassinated. Though we can grieve over Dr. King’s death but I would rather take the time and analyze why his use of anaphora was so powerful. I believe the lines he used in the formation of his anaphora: â€Å"One hundred years later†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"Now is the tim e†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"We must†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"We can never be satisfied†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"I Have a Dream†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , â€Å"With this faith, †¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and â€Å"Let freedom ring (from) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ , can tell us much of King’s stories and the emphasis through repetition makes these phrases more memorable, and, by extension, make King’s story more memorable. What King also did was the repetition of â€Å"theme† words such as freedom (repeated 20 times), nation (10 times), and America (9 times). This style of writing will be one of the many lessons I will be taking away from this speech. The last I think the most important rhetorical device that King used was his ability to â€Å"ground his arguments. King accomplished this by making numerous geographic references throughout the speech. Including Mississippi, New York, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, and Tennessee. King uses Mississippi in many occasions to evoke emotions in the blacks because African Americans in Mississippi where treated the worse among all the states and I believe the best line king used was this â€Å"We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.† Encouraging and informing all American citizens of the predicament tha t is occurring in the great nation of America. This created reliability among the people and connected them even more. Although racism isn’t as large an issue today Dr. King’s speech â€Å"I Have a Dream† managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans bitterly ashamed of their actions, forging a new start for society. Even now, it continues to make generations of people, not just Americans, to give up their racist beliefs and advocate social colorblindness. King’s speech not only had amazing content, but the structure and king’s effective uses of quotations and allusions, use of repeating key theme words and phrases, and â€Å"grounding† his arguments. Taught me a very valuable lesson in both rhetoric and life. Thus from now on I have a dream as well. it is to develop myself and my rhetoric device using.

RC design

This submission presents the method statement and corresponding temporary work design for the construction of low-rise building (LRB). Footing foundation will be chosen for the foundation of structure. Design calculation and drawing for the structure, Including beams, columns, foundations, walls, floor slabs will be shown in the following categories. Furthermore, formwork will be adopted for the construction of structure and timber formwork will be the first priority. . Summary of RC Structure Dimension Element Member Size (mm) Type of formwork Foundation Timber Slab 250 Beam 500 x 500 x 5000 ‘Ofs 150 Column 500 x 500 All concrete works shall conform to the General Specification as following: Elements Grade wall Blinding layer Reinforcement 35 260, 460 MPa 4. Competent Persons for Constructions of the Low-rise Building (LRB) Structure Construction Manager ; Engineer – He shall supervise all technical items of construction works of MPS 2 structure, but not limited to the following items: 1 .To handle the difficulties during the construction. 2. All required tests arrangement and Submission to the Engineer 3. Prepare the erticality monitoring records and submit to the Engineer 4. To prepare, manage and implement the documented system in compliance with statutory requirements. Construction Supervisor/ General Foremen – He shall be full time on site to supervise the following works. 1 . To supervise and arrange all the MPS 2 construction works. 2. To arrange and monitor all relevant tests to structural works. . To arrange all setting-out works for MPS 2 structure constructions. 4. To follow the approved method statement for construction Safety Officer – He/ She shall be full time on site. His/ Her major duties are carrying ut regular checking on the implementation of the safety measures adopted with reference to regulations. Safety Supervisor – He shall be full time on site. His major duties are assisting the Safety Officer to carr y out regular safety checking and supervise the construction works for the safety aspects.Environmental Officer – He shall be full time on site to oversee all the environmental and sanitary issue during the construction. Surveyor – He shall be full time on site. His major duties are carrying out the site setting-out and monitoring works including verticality checking, settlement of ground measurement until completion. Certified Workers – They must be at least 18 years old and be a holder of a certificate issued by a person whom the Treatment Plants. The contractor shall ensure the certified workers being physically and mentally suitable for construction works. 5.Plants Plants and equipments Lifting appliances Air Compressors Generator Water pumps Portable pneumatic breaker Welding Machine Hand tools Carpenter Rebar fixer Concretor General Labour According to the site condition and requirement of completion of each phase, the site operation will be arranged in st ages corresponding to different site logistic plans at ifferent time frame of construction. The overall sequence of construction is generally divided into following stages: Stage 1 (Excavation) 1. Carry out underground utilities detection 2. Excavate down to +4. 3mPD to 3. 1 mPD 3.Perform compaction Stage 2 (Foundation) A. Steel preparation 1 . According to the drawings, prepare the steels with appropriate length, bending angle and diameter. 2. According to the drawings, placing the steels in corresponding location and spacing. 3. Pack the steel together, extra steel bend inwards to prevent exposing outside the concrete. 4. Leaving some space for trimming bar B. Formwork 5. Ensure the working area is clean and clear, and with appropriate ligament. 6. According to the drawing, install the timber on the surrounding and fix tightly with nails and screw.Make sure there aren't any gaps. 7. Brush an oil layer on the inner face of timber. C. Concreting 8. Ensure the strength of concrete is with required slump 9. Placing blinding layer on the bottom of foundation. 10. Placing concrete evenly on the area. For separated injection, each layer should not exceed 450mm tall 11. Perform compaction with vibration tube. Note that ibration tube should not place next to the timber and not to control the flow of concrete. 12. Flatten the top of concrete when appropriate level of concrete is placed. 13.Timber can be removed after 16 hours and check whether there are cracks. 14. Perform curing by cover the concrete with plastic sheet and Floor Slab 1 . According to the drawings, prepare the steel with appropriate length, diameter, bending angle, shape. 2. According to the drawings, placing the steels in corresponding location, and spacing. 3. Pack the steel together, extra steel bend inwards to prevent exposing outside the concrete. . Leaving some space for trimming bar 9. Placing concrete evenly on the area. For separated injection, each layer should not exceed 450mm tall 10.Perfo rm compaction with vibration tube. Note that vibration tube should not place next to the timber and not to control the flow of concrete. 11 . Flatten the top of concrete when appropriate level of concrete is placed. 12. Timber can be removed after 16 hours and check whether there are cracks 13. Perform curing by cover the concrete with plastic sheet 8. Construction procedure 1 Excavation and Compaction 2 Construct foundation 2. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing . 2 Formwork elevation 2. 3 Concreting and curing 3 Construction of first floor 3. 1 Column 3. 1. Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 1. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 2 wall 3. 2. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 2. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 3 Bearn 3. 3. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 3. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 4 Floor Slab 3. 4. 1 Reinforcement bar fixing 3. 4. 2 Formwork elevation 3. 5 Concreting 4. Construction of second and third floor, same as construction of first floor temporarily. 10. Environmental Protection Measures Any spoil, debris or silt from construction works area shall be deposited at esignated area within the site as specified in the waste management plan.Such spoil, debris and silt shall be immediately removed and avoid falling into adjacent areas. Drip/ spill trays will be provided to all machines and the fuel storage tanks or drums. All power equipment shall have proper silencers. Construction plant will be kept in good condition and will be properly maintained. Construction activities will be limited to daytime hours as far as possible. All construction works will be carried out limited to the approved working hours subject to the approval of Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and Drainage Services department (DSD).Frequently cleaning and watering the site area to minimize dust emissions. Burning debris or any material shall be prohibited on site at all times. Air and noise pollution will be monitored on a regular basis in accordance with the Air Quality & Noise Management Plan. Noise permit shall be obtained from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) prior to any construction work beyond normal working hours. Chemical waste discharge license shall be obtained before any chemical waste disposed offsite. Surface runoff water arising from the site shall be collected by temporary drainage system.Such temporary drainage system composed of sand bags and temporary channels along the site boundary. The collected surface runoff shall be de-silted at the sedimentation tanks before discharged to public drainage system. The temporary drainage management plan has been submitted separately. Wheel washing bays will be located at the entrances in order to keep a good housekeeping condition inside the site. 11 . Contingency Plan Lifting appliances such as mobile cranes can be deployed on site in order to speed p. Catch up the progress of works.In addition, some major heavily E&M equipment will be handled by the addition cranes on site. Material availability such as concrete, reinforcem ent and formwork can be delivered on site shortly. Normally, 1 – 2 days' advance ordering period is required for the processing from ordering to on site delivery. In view of the current market, no shortage of aforesaid material supply is found. Disposal of the material system has already been set-up. All disposal records and submissions are in order in compliance with statutory requirements.

Critically analyse the role of the board of directors and senior Essay

Critically analyse the role of the board of directors and senior management in managing enterprise risk in an energy company - Essay Example Energy and Resources companies have come increasingly under the regulatory purview. Due to brisk changes in the industry, they face stiffening regulatory requirements, ever-increasing cyber issues and rapidly changing technology. Such compliances and risks have a strong impact on the company’s operations and business strategies that makes it utterly imperative for the management to adopt approaches to manage and mitigate risks and cope up with regulations. Risk Management in the Energy Sector A good progress has been made in the past in developing comprehensive enterprise risk management (ERM) programs. ERM is set to become an industry standard for management of risk because it is probably the most effective way to manage risk internal or external to the organization (Accenture Global Risk Management, 2011). The key risk areas that have been identified for energy and resources sector can be listed as follows: 1. High competition in the industry participants: Energy industry pa rticipants have a very unique competitiveness. Each player has a different advantage within the industry. One firm may have a good resource support while the other might be a technologically strong firm and a third would have a huge market. Nowadays, competition is shifting and each firm is trying to develop on every frontier. International firms are thus facing challenges by national players reducing their market size. 2. Limited sources of alternative energy: Despite the fact that there are alternatives to limited source of non renewable energy, energy companies still haven’t been able to progress much on developing much on alternative sources. Alternate sources have an irreplaceable demand, but on the supply side, they face a lot of constraints. There hydrocarbon content on earth is enough to last a century, but the problem lies in lack of knowledge on its development and usage. These sources are limited by limitations in scale, feasibility and fitness (Holmes, 2004). 3. G overnment Interventions: Most of government regulations in the energy industry are directed towards regulating supply. Operational policies, regulations on carbon emissions and energy security norms affect both the demand as well as the supply side of energy business. Role of Board of Directors and Senior Management Post recession, the scene for energy companies has not only been tough but also challenging in terms of greater project undertakings and complex compliances. Companies have also had to venture in remotest regions simply to manage demand and supply side challenges. Management has to focus on strategy, production, enterprise risk along with operational excellence. With the advent of regulators, management has started to recognise the need for risk management to enhance business performance. With time, a lot of change has come in managing enterprise risk. New tools, better techniques and risk measuring methodologies have come up. One can only predict how enterprise risk man agement shall evolve in the coming times. As Energy sector risk officers, senior managers and the board of directors need to be have the capability to comprehend what possible risks could potentially arise in the near future and how exactly to take preventive measures that will help in combat. With such approach, all downsides that

Dehav Travel report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Dehav Travel report - Essay Example The paper also discusses the issue related to the graduate management development program. There are other issues related to the management of the organization that has been discussed in the paper, that also involves organizational culture and ethics management within the organization (CIPD, 2013). There are employee turnovers within Dehav Travel starting from the junior to senior managers and the factors that leads to employee turnover. The researcher through this paper aims to carry out a detailed analysis on the leadership management strategy followed by the organizations and the challenges that the company faces. The research also offers the researcher the scope to understand the effectiveness of the factors responsible for the leadership management in Dehav Travel. Leadership deals with the ability of the managers to enhance the performance of the employees by motivating them and providing them with the training that is needed. There are various styles of the leadership followed within the organization and it depends on the personality of the individuals who wishes to be team leaders (Zur Muehlen, 2004; Fullan, 2002). Research says that the leader should adapt themselves to the new trends in order to make the team members perform well in order to make them compete with the rivals in the organization (Gaba, 2000). However, there are differences among the leadership and management process followed by the organization. The management process within Dehav Travel involves planning and accounting techniques and finally, establishing the detailed steps for achieving the goals of the organization. This also involves allocating the resources necessary to implement the project successfully (Guthrie, 2001). The leadership process involves a vision set by the managers for the organization and the strategies undertaken by the managers to achieve the vision. The next step under the management

Leadership and Nursing Systems Management Essay - 1

Leadership and Nursing Systems Management - Essay Example Patient care managers form the next level, and these oversee patient care directly. Finally, the service providers are at the lowest level and include nurses and physical therapists. Meeting the Mission Highland Hospital recognizes that everyone has value and is guided by their commitment to leadership and excellence. The Hospital demonstrates this through provision of emotional and physical care for patients and their families, balancing continued commitment to needy patients with highly specialized care for its broader community, creating a working environment that values everyone and offers them the opportunity for professional and personal growth, and fosters a culture of innovation and health science research. Values in Action The four core values at Highland Hospital are service, dignity, justice, and excellence, which guide the actions of its staff. Everyone on the staff is committed to the values indicated and work towards ensuring they are present in their relationship with one another and the patients and their families. Each interaction acts as an opportunity for the staff to serve patients, their families, and one another. Excellence is acted out in their professional development, innovation, accountability, and quality commitment. With regards to dignity, every member of the staff and the patients are valuable members of the community. Finally, with regards to justice, the hospital advocates for structures and systems attuned to the requirements of needy and vulnerable patients. Proposed Change Description and Rationale The shift handover is an essential part of the process of communication among nurses that occurs twice within the gynecological unit nurses’ day at... This paper approves that empirical rational strategy was also utilized in ensuring that the nurses were convinced of the change’s veracity through references to documentary evidence on bedside reporting’s positive outcome, such as improvement of patient satisfaction. Informal leaders empowered by transformational leadership were also encouraged to own part of the change by entrusting to them various responsibilities as role models. This strategy is successful as it encourages nurses to participate in the creation of behavioral and attitude change. This essay makes a conclusion that one major difficulty that faces any change in nursing units, including the gynecology unit, is rallying all nurses behind the change. Re-education, therefore, will have to be used to aid nurses in valuing the change and new knowledge they will gain, as well as readying them to learn. Different tasks, therefore, are identified for future use, such as how to deal with confidentiality issues and patients who may take up too much time in discussing their problems that could drag the handover shift longer, are allocated to nursing team members with regards to their area of expertise. This will prepare them to deal with any issues in the future that could threaten the use of bedside reporting. In dealing with various conflicts that could arise, a humanistic and flexible approach is adopted, while the resistance of some nurses should never be overlooked. Effort is made to ensure that a good relationship between nurses is maintained, while also highlighting safety needs and factors of motivation.

Research Analysis Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Analysis - Research Paper Example This day, terrorists attacked America using four hijacked planes, which they ran into major buildings in the United States, i.e. The World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and Shanksville field, causing great havoc of property and humanity. The country’s national flag flies at half-mast in respect to all those people who lost their lives during the 9/11terror attack. This takes place in all American homes, White House and all government buildings across the world, i.e. embassies of the United States (Crotty 64). Furthermore, all American citizens collectively take the moment of silence at the same time, i.e. exactly at 8.46 AM, marking the moment when the first plane hit the WTC (World Trade Center). Consequently, some communities who suffered the most from the attack hold prayer meetings and special church services. Those personally affected during the attack and those who lost their loved ones or got injured, lay flowers where they buried their loved ones or visit memorial center s, such as the Ground Zero. However, this is not a national holiday and therefore businesses and schools do not close, neither do public transit systems change their operating schedules. What most organizations do is to take some time out of their busy schedules to hold prayers for those who suffered. This is in commemoration of the Patriots Day in the United States, as clearly outlined in the three texts discussed below (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 464). Describing and Analyzing a Poem by Adam Zagajewski Entitled ‘Try to Praise the Mutilated World’ A Polish national Adam Zagajewski wrote a poem ‘Try to Praise the Mutilated World’ in Polish language. Another author, Clare Cavanagh translated it from Polish to English. It was issued on September 24, 2001. The poem refers to America as the world, mutilated after the attack by terrorists on the 11 of September 2001. After the attack, the rosy features of the country changed from blossoming to perp etual failure. Several excerpts from the poem describe how parts of the country and the economy were undergoing successful development and growth, until the fateful attack brought them to a standstill. Thousands of young and capable men and women lost their lives during the attack. The citizens with a lot of potential to give back to the society succumbed to injuries during the attack that transformed them to weaklings and dependants (Mills Vii). The poet uses metaphors and synonyms in presenting America before the attack. The poet uses themes such as wild strawberries to paint a vivid picturesque of America to the readers. He outlines the impacts of the attack using touching phrases, such as abandoned homesteads as their owners run away to exile, stylish ships and yachts at sea in salty oblivion of the dangers awaiting them, refugees who had nowhere in particular to go to in escaping the wars at home. This is a mutilated world and a complete contrast of the original blossoming and successful world where people sang joyfully and music flared. The author equates the terror attack as the main cause of mutilating the world (Mills Vii). Analyzing the First Visual Text on the 9/11, Attacks- Attacking the Twin Towers Visual texts regarding Patriots Day in t

(a) How successful have the American Government and the U.S. Federal Essay

(a) How successful have the American Government and the U.S. Federal Reserve been in running the American economy over the last - Essay Example financial collapse took place during the very last days of the Bush administration and during a U.S. Presidential election. The Fed’s response can be viewed separately and as working in tandem with the political approach of both political administrations and Congress. The historical characteristics of the period preceding the crisis itself can be seen as related to the severity of the crisis, while the aftermath or recovery period can suggest projections about the future consequences of the policies referenced drawn from economic studies and historical parallels in order to illustrate the possible dangers to the macro-economic environment that remain for the global economy. In the period preceding the financial crisis of 2008-9, the major issue of importance is the real estate market, particularly the sub-prime mortgage market in America, and its lending standards which may have led to the creation of a real estate bubble in the country. By some analysts’ regard, the Cl inton administration encouraged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to promote financing policies that made it very easy for even the lower income families to get mortgages for home purchases. This type of encouragement was related to a general deregulation of the financial industry that proceeded under both the Clinton and Bush administrations, which included repeal of Depression era statutes like the Glass-Steagall Act that regulated the trading and investment functions of banks. Ratings agencies oversaw the process through which the Wall St. investment banks packaged thousands of mortgages in both commercial and residential real estate contracts into massive, billion dollar bonds known as MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities) that could be sold by the investment banks to groups like pension funds or hedge funds who were interested in fixed-rate or adjustable-rate long term returns. The contagion of global markets is seen in the way that these MBS entered portfolios around the world of all mann er of different public and private sector investors, corporations, and banks. Risk management, as practiced not only by the investors who purchased these MBS but also by the ratings agencies, failed to recognize that these securities could fail in the manner that they did because they underestimated the deflationary aspects of real estate and overestimated the reliability of the lending standards at their basis. This is the â€Å"Black Swan† aspect of Nicholas Taleb’s analysis, who wrote: â€Å"Globalization creates interlocking fragility, while reducing volatility and giving the appearance of stability. In other words it creates devastating Black Swans. We have never lived before under the threat of a global collapse. Financial Institutions have been merging into a smaller number of very large banks. Almost all banks are interrelated. So the financial ecology is swelling into gigantic, incestuous, bureaucratic banks – when one fails, they all fall. The increas ed concentration among banks seems to have the effect of making financial crises less likely, but when they happen they are more global in scale and hit us very hard. We have moved from a diversified ecology of small banks, with varied lending policies, to a more homogeneous framework of firms that all resemble one another. True, we now have fewer failures, but when they occur †¦.I shiver at the thought.† (Taleb, 2010) If Wall St. planners, securities ratings agencies, and

What is Socrates' argument against Crito in the argument of the same Essay

What is Socrates' argument against Crito in the argument of the same name Is it persuasive why or why not - Essay Example Crito gets to the prison where Socrates was serving time with a plan hatched to break Socrates out of prison. It is after learning about this that a debate ensues on the justification of Socrates escape (Anton 73) In his argument, Socrates fronts that while the sentencing he received was wrong to begin with, it got reached through a legitimate process. In his thinking, Socrates was of the idea that the trial he got subjected to got done according to the law, he had the chance to defend himself against the allegations, and the verdict got passed by citizens. The matter at hand in this argument was whether content justice, which refers to getting the best result, overrules procedural justice that is following the laid down procedure, or vice versa (Anton 74). Socrates states in his argument that we have to pick whether the law enabled social peace is more vital than an innocent man’s life. Socrates is of the idea that social peace, which gets enabled by the law, is superior to his innocence. In building his case, Socrates puts forward a paternalistic claim stating that since the laws enabled his dad to marry his mother, he considered the law as his parents. He also states that the laws ordered his parents to take him to school. As such, he is both a slave and offspring of law. Socrates feels that he owes the law similar unconditional obedience that slaves owe to their owners and children owe to their parents (Anton 75). Socrates conclusion is that an injustice cannot be made right by another injustice. In this effect, the wrong conviction he had been given would not be made right by escaping prison. Socrates chooses to remain in the confines of his cell as a result of his unwavering belief and faith in Greek law, which he acknowledges awarded him the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life, and attain extensive knowledge (Anton 75). In his thinking, without

SMALL-SCALE RESEARCH PROJECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

SMALL-SCALE RESEARCH PROJECT - Essay Example In the recent years, various scholars and researcher have discussed and written about the relationship between learning and teaching in education (college and university). Marsh and Roche (1993) analysed the opinions of the students regarding the effectiveness of teaching for enhancing the teaching levels in colleges or universities. Even Ryan and Harrison (1995) examined the weight that student put forth for different components in teaching for ascertaining the effectiveness. A study was conducted by Ralph (2003) on teaching effectiveness; in which he assessed the effectiveness by examining how rapidly students can learn from the teachings. So the above discussion signifies teaching effectively is one of the major factors that would assist the undergraduate students to learn efficiently (Fridah, 2004; Kothari, 2008). 1.2 Rationale of the Study As discussed above, teaching effectively is definitely one of the major factors to assist students in UEL to learn efficiently for their cour se, but the entire research cannot revolve around teaching because the ways of learning in the present times have changed. Nowadays teaching can definitely be one of the features of helping students, but not the only way. The rationale of this study is based on the objective of identifying the contemporary factors play significant role in recent times in learning process. Those factors are the ones which would assist the undergraduates of UEL to learn effectively. In this area also teaching plays a major role, which signifies teaching is obviously not a substitute, but a necessity. However, the definition of teaching has changed. Various modes of teaching has come up which has re-defined the ways teachers interacted with students. These aspects would be discussed in this study and researched through collection of evidences that would confirm the validity of the findings. 1.3 Overview: University of East London (UEL) The issues of research and discussion is relevant to every student irrespective of any country, but research on such large scale is difficult to conduct, so in this research study the researcher would be specifically focusing on the factors that will assist the undergraduate students of UEL to learn effectively for their lessons. However, in order to move on the research, it is significant to have a concise idea regarding the university, courses it offers and its environment. UEL in London Borough of Newha is a public university, which functions through its three campuses in Docklands, Stratford and another called University of Square Stratford that opened in 2013. UEL got the status of a university in the year 1992, but its operations can be traced back to 1892 (University of East London, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c, 2013d). There are around 28000 students in the university and among them 19520 are the undergraduates, while the rest are postgraduates. Due to the augmenting reputation of UEL, statistics revealed that 13 percent more applications were submi tted in 2011 compared to the previous years, which is indeed an indication that in terms of

GMO's and their negative effects Research Paper

GMO's and their negative effects - Research Paper Example GMOs are unhealthy to human’s health because they are composed of toxic substances. This is so because when they are consumed, they leave behind substances that have long term effects on human health. For instance, genes added into GM soy can shift into the deoxyribonucleic acid of bacteria existing in us. This is proved when a GM com was detected in the blood of a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Therefore, doctors are then urged doctors to give prescription of a non-Genetically Modified diets for all that are affected (Smith and Jeffrey, 2007. Numerous health problems have also increased after GMOs were brought in. The percentage of persons with more chronic illnesses jumped from 8% to 14% in just ten years. There has been a rise in food allergies, disorders like autism, reproductive disorders, and digestive problems. Though there is no enough research to affirm that Genetically Modified foods are a adding element, doctors groups have alerted people not to wait but to start protecting ourselves and more so our children who are at a much risk. GMOS also create allergy that affects boys and adults. This causes allergic reactions in humans that usually occur when a nontoxic protein gets into the body and causes an immune response. Whenever the new protein in a Genetically Modified food gets from a host that is known to bring allergies in humans or one that has never been taken in as human food, the certain that the protein could evoke an immune response in human being increases. Though no allergic reactions to Genetically Modified food by users have been affirmed, in vitro prove indicating that some GM results could bring an allergic reaction has prompted biotechnology parties to cease their exploitation. Getting a GM food into the market is a hectic and costly process. This means most companies run at a loss is they do not carefully take this into account. This may result in other negative effects such as unemployment to many

Sophocles’ prolific Essay Example for Free

Sophocles’ prolific Essay Sophocles’ prolific writing has rarely produced a woman of such stern strength of character as â€Å"Antigone†. Inversely the comedy of Aristophanes â€Å"Lysistrat† was among the first to introduce a strong willed female protagonist, who is not a goddess. The treatment of both great writers differs in the fact that the backdrops and the moods are distinctly different. While Sophocles zeroed in on the sombre tragedy, Aristophanes chose to inject feminist revolt against domination through zestful comedy. From a gender perspective it is important to study the motives behind the actions of the lead characters in both the plays. There have been suicides and suicides in Greek tragedies (which almost define Greek tragedies). Sophocles’ Antigone commits suicide in the dark dungeon left to starve to death. But unlike the suicide of their mother Jocasta who decides to end her life when she learns that her marital relationship with Oedipus was incestuous, Antigone’s death is a defiant protest against the tyranny of her uncle Creon and an emphasis of her strongly held belief, that her brother should be accorded a proper burial. There have been few examples of valour from Greek women who defied the norms of either their contemporary society or their king for a symbolic gesture rather than a cause. In the case of Antigone it was the burial rights to one of her two dead brothers which drives her to go against the will of the ruler, Creon. â€Å"Antigone† begins after both the warring brothers have apparently killed each other and since Polynices revolted against the state and led an Argive army to overthrow his brother Eteocles, he is deemed to be a sinner against the state. Thus Creone, brother of Jocasta, who becomes the ruler decrees his body to be deprived of proper burial rites to ensure that his soul rots beyond redemption. Antigone, in the beginning of the play expresses her wish to accord her brother proper burial. It is a symbolic depiction of Antigone’s moral strength that she decides to go ahead in her chosen course though she is unable to enlist the support of her more timid sister Ismene. This is a marked deviation from the depiction of women in Greek literature of the time where women were always looked upon as dependent on others for the strength of their convictions. Antigone succeeds in her stated mission and when this becomes known to Creone, an argument rages on the choice between the natural law and man-made laws. In another daring drift from established norm, the chorus in Sophocles’ play have the moral courage to call the path of their emperor as the more evil. Creone’s son and Antigone’s fiance Haemon comes to her defence and the ensuing debate on the justice of natural laws which should supersede man made laws is a dramatist’s delight. Creone, however, decides to leave Antigone to starve to death in a sealed cave as her prison. The blind prophet Tiresias also advocates against punishment to Antigone and says he will pay â€Å"corpse for corpse, and flesh for flesh†. The declaration of Tiresias that Creon is causing moral pollution causes a change of heart in Creone. His moral dilemma leads him to conclude that Polynices should be buried and Antigone should be pardoned. But by this time, Hameon reaches Antigone’s cave with the intention of saving her only to find that she has committed suicide by hanging herself, much like her mother Jocasta before her. When Creon reaches the cave he finds Hameon grieving over Antigone and he takes his life by stabbing himself as Creon approaches him. This leads Eurydice, Creon’s wife to give up her life in the grief of her son’s untimely death. Thus Creon loses all his loved ones due to his one fatal erring conviction to hold the laws of the state above the natural law. The tragic flaw, is thus justified in Sophocles’ â€Å"Antigone†. It is easy to categorize the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes as a lewd comedy designed to entertain the Greek literature and drama lovers with a lampooning of the results if women begin to take an interest in affairs of national importance. It is also very convenient to visualize male actors playing all the important roles of the play and the â€Å"male† male characters wearing erect phalluses to depict their masculinity might have led to uproarious laughter. However, with passing time and the aid of retrospection help us to begin to understand that Aristophanes might have devoted considerable time and emotional energy in trying to decipher what goes through the hearts and heads of women of his time who were modelled to be subservient and detached from the affairs of the state. Lysistrata leads a domestic and non violent non-cooperation movement (though the medium of non cooperation seldom ventures beyond the conventional sexual subjugation) to convince the men of the time to end the long standing war (apparently the Peloponnesian war) and bring back peace. The play is an apparent comedy that it depicts women as sex crazed and spine less characters for whom rising beyond their daily chores is a daunting task. Except fro Lysistrata, no other woman comes across as strong willed enough to contribute in any way to the cause of the play. One can imagine the gusty laughter the scene involving the swearing of oath by drinking wine from a shield as it was a portrayal of women as being incapable of self restraint (from all good things in life, including wine and sex). Though Lysistrata as a play has a lot of titillate the viewers, it has been seen in modern light as a commentary on the plight of women who have no say in the affairs of the state entirely decide by the men but have to silently suffer the consequences. This has remained unchanged even after the liberation ages of the 20th century. Aristophanes does manage to draw a caricature of Greek women as incapable of with holding sex or thinking beyond sex as the only weapon in her armour to control or change society. It is possible though to excuse this caricature as Aristophanes’ attempt not to ruffle the feathers of his contemporary society while at the same time recording for future history that women did harbour different opinions on the approaches of the state to war and peace. The widowhood and martyrdom of a mother who loses her children to the ravages of war are not mentioned, perhaps because they would have added the much relegated sobriety to this deemed comedy. Gender domination is a visible thread in Lysistrata, but whether Aristophanes designed this play as a comic fiction based on improbable scenarios of liberated women questioning state policies, or as an underhanded attempt to depict female angst of his contemporary Greek society is debatable. However Lysistrata has remained current and meaningful to this date due to its universal themes of Peace being preferred over War and has helped several social commentators put across their point during the several un necessary wars that dot world history to date be it the Vietnam war or the latest invasion of Iraq. Whatever be the motivation, both Sophocles and Aristophanes manage to leave behind a piece of Literature which continues to engage readers and historians in a healthy debate on the premium placed on female equality by writers from the Greek age to the present day. Works Cited or used as reference Henderson, Jeffrey (contributor) Lysistrata by Aristophanes, London : Oxford University Press, 1990 Translated by Gibbons, Reginald and Segal, Charles Antigone by Sophocles, NewYork : Oxford University Press US, 2003

Human Resource Development Information Technology Essay

Human Resource Development Information Technology Essay What is the role of technology in Human Resource Development. Identify some key forms of e-learning and critically evaluate their advantages and disadvantages, providing appropriate examples from organisations. This essay will identify and discuss the role of technology in Human Resource Development. It will define what Human Resource Development is and why it needs technology. Also it will discuss what electronic learning (e-learning) is, and will explain some key forms of e-learning and why we need to use e-learning. It will give a brief indication as to what technology actually is, and also the progression of technology. The essay will critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using e-learning in Human Resource Development. There will be appropriate examples used to show how different organisations use e-learning within their company/organisation. Finally it will offer conclusions as to why I think technology should or should not be a part of Human Resource Development. Technology Technology is used in nearly all organisations these days including schools, companies and universities as examples. What people may not know is what it actually means. Technology is a branch of knowledge that can deal with the creation and the use of technical means and their interrelation with life, the environment and society. Technology draws upon subjects such as industrial arts, applied science, engineering and there are many more. Technology can be seen as a process or an invention of something. (Technology, N.D) Progressive Technology Technology is always progressing and this is very good for companies who need or even sell technology. If we look at how a few years back within companies the secretary would need to file documents manually and this could take a long time, also apart from the time issue there were more serious problems like documents going missing or being damaged. This is where technology began to progress because there was a new technology progressing and this was the database and this could hold all the documents you needed safely onto the computer and that way it would be a lot faster and more secure for the secretary to file the documents. This is just one example there are many more ways in which technology has helped to progress companies. The example given here is just to show that technology is progressing and it will keep progressing much further in the future years to come. Human Resource Development Human Resource Development is all about learning, training, developing and education the employees in the workplace. There is a difference between these four concepts but there all correlated. If for example we looked at learning; this can be learnt anywhere and you can be learning yourself the new skills, but on the other hand if you looked at education you are being taught something but in a formal way but the two are linked because from both of these you are learning new skills and then you can go on to training and developing them skills. HRD was not always known as this, there was a shift from welfare officers to HRD. HRD was initially set up for training and development and this was to help the employers in crafts such as electricians, or engineers as an example and from this they would be learning from their masters and will be developing their skills to be able to perform in the workplace. HRD created an integration of people management and development and this could become CIPD which stands for the chartered institute of personnel and development. HRD likes to be strategic and is more for the organisation than the employees; it is also a long term method to help to build the company. HRD does like to implement change into their methods and this is why e-learning will be very convenient to help within organisations because it is constantly changing and this change would help employees improve on their learning and training and will be able to implement new skills within the workplace. E-learning What is e-learning? Firstly before I go into detail about how e-learning helps HRD perform you will need to know what e-learning actually is. E-learning used to be known as computer-based learning, this is basically what it still is, it is a way of learning but on a computer or even these days there is even m-learning which is through the mobile. We need e-learning in everyday life to be able to adapt the required skills in education, employment, even at home. It can be defined as any learning activity supported by information and communication technologies which is known as ICTs. There are arguments out there concerning the labels, an example of this is whether ICT-based learning is the same as e-learning, we can gather information from the world wide web channel and this would be our online materials, but we can also get materials from this intranet would could be confused as being from the world wide web but instead this material is delivered through an internal network of personal computers. E-learn ing is in fact taken to mean any form of electronic technology which can support learning this can be opposed to the chalk and blackboard technology which used to be the main form of learning. E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. To implement the learning process the information and communication systems will serve as a specific media. It is essentially the computer and network-enabled transfer of skills and knowledge. The applications and processes will include web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classroom opportunities and also digital collaboration. The contents can be delivered via the Internet or even from an audio or video tape. E-learning can be self-taught or even instructor-led, this can be done in groups or even individually, it can include media in the form of text, image animation, video streaming and audio. (e-learning, 2010) What is the purpose of e-learning? The purpose of e-learning is to advance and develop peoples skills. This is why it is so important to HRD because the aim of HRD is to learn, train, develop and educate people; this is exactly what e-learning does for people. Without e-learning I think people would be under developed with skills and this may not help them progress into a work place. E-learning can help to increase teacher effectiveness and will also improve the learning of the subject matter. With HRD I think trying to teach people new subjects can be quite tedious and this could be off putting for them involved and this can decrease their knowledge levels and even cause them to lose a job because they havent got the right skills needed for the job, this is where e-learning comes in with HRD because it makes the learning more relevant for them involved and helps them to become more interactive. E-learning now changes the way that people were taught new subjects because before people were being taught on a I will writ e out the subject and you will go away and learn it basis, but now computers are involved and people can teach themselves and this is the whole purpose of e-learning and it helps HRD to perform better. (Churchill, 2010) Have you used e-learning? What was your experience? I have used e-learning before, I am actually using a tool of e-learning now and that is Microsoft Word. I am constantly using this to complete assignments for my university work and I can develop my skills using this because there are so many different options within word for me to be able to expand my learning; an example of this would be to add a page number instead of doing this manually I can select an option to do it automatically. Another tool of e-learning that I use regularly is Facebook, I use this to keep in touch with friends and family and there are also applications on their which can help me towards education or my occupation. I am always very happy using e-learning and a lot of the time I actually prefer to use e-learning because I find it more interactive and detailed and when I learn this way I find that I actually want to learn because I dont get bored and uninterested in the subject. Different forms of e-learning There are a number of different ways which e-learning can be presented. The main two forms of e-learning are; traditional e-learning which is based on highly produced web courses and there is rapid e-learning which is based on the name rapid because this is quickly produced web courses. In addition to this there are also two types of Rapid e-learning which are asynchronous and synchronous. Asynchronous is mainly student directed and at a self-paced learning which can come under the learning concept for human resource development. Synchronous is at a set time which could happen in an internet classroom session as an example and this could again come under the education concept for human resource development because education can be taught within a classroom for example. With these two forms of e-learning there are not specific types of companies that should choose between traditional e-learning and rapid e-learning. It just simply means that some projects are best suited for either on e of them. Traditional e-learning the content of this is more fixed and it rarely changes, it is also generic and has a long shelf life. However it does need a large budget in order for it to be put into action. Rapid e-learning the content is rapidly changing and is updated quite frequently, also it may not be generic or have a short shelf life. The budget for this way of learning is limited or non-existent. The information is very hot topic and is just in time. (Readygo, unknown) In order to use traditional or rapid e-learning correctly you will need to use different tools which are available. Traditional e-learning developers will use Power User tools. These are specifically designed for graphics artist, web designers, programmers, and instructional design experts, and this will be useful for any persons working in these sectors and will help to develop human resource development. Rapid e-learning which is typically used in small or medium enterprises will need tools that can produce interesting multi level courses but do not require a graphic or design background. This easiest tool which can be used is Power Point. (Readygo, unknown2) Different types of e-learning: As well as different forms of e-learning there are also a number of different types. I think depending on the workplace and the HRD set up within the workplace it does not matter what types of e-learning you use, it will be the type of e-learning which is best suited for the organisation. Below I will just list a couple of examples of e-learning: You tube Facebook Google search Wikipedia Power Point Microsoft Office Firefox Pb wikis This is just a small example just to show that there are a number of different kinds of e-learning, and also to show that they vary also. There are number of different applications from Microsoft office to Firefox. Each of these applications however does play an important role for human resource development, and will help to implement skills for people. (Hart, 2010) Bangor University An example of an institute using e-learning to develop HRD is Bangor University. Bangor University implement a lot of e-learning to help their students develop their skills. The main type of e-learning which is used by the university is Blackboard. This is has been brought into the mainstream of teaching and learning activities within the university. It is one of the most central systems which are not only used by the students but also the lecturers also. Within blackboard the lecturers are able to integrate presentations which contain both audio and video content onto the online courses. This will then go on to develop online questions and test provisions which will simultaneously drive learning activity and reduce marking workloads. Also included with Blackboard is the use of online discussion forums in supporting the development of learners and understanding and this can become useful for HRD because students can be educated by other students or even lecturers by submitting questi ons onto the forum as an example. Another example of e-learning which the university use is webmail. This is the emailing tool of e-learning in which students, lecturers, support staff or whoever is involved with the institute can communicate with one another or even with people outside of the university. (Bangor University, unknown) Tesco Tesco is an example of a company which also use forms of e-learning within the workplace. Tesco was looking into developing an Online Academy which was going to be a new learning portal which hopefully in the end would eventually serve the learning needs of over 400,000 staff across the global businesses. Their aim was to develop a cost-effective solution, Tesco would be partnered with Kineo to design and also deploy learning based on Moodle. During 2009 Tesco piloted its Academy Online portal as a proof of concept for a learning management solution and portal for their staff across this business. Tesco wanted explore alternatives with open source technologies, with doing so they saw a potential to make highly customised solutions with a strong focus on the user experience. Tesco chose Kineo to design and develop the portal solution based on the experience they had at combing user experience and web design. This was to make it easier for their staff to understand how to use the porta l easily and in a way in which they were able to extend their skills when working for Tesco, also it was to help them to manage and update the software easily. (Kineo, 2009) Critical evaluation Advantages There are many advantages towards e-learning. The advantages are as follows: The work can be scheduled around personal and professional work. It can be cost effective because it can reduce the need to travel. It gives the users the option of selecting the learning materials which will meet their level of knowledge and interest. If an organisation wanted to organise a study session it can be studied wherever they have access to a computer and Internet. E-learning is self-paced which will allow learners to work at their own pace There are a number of different learning styles which are addressed and facilitation of learning occurs through varied activities. An important advantage is that e-learning can build self-knowledge and self-confidence and can also encourage the learner to take responsibility for their learning. E-learning is very good for communication because with online portals such as Black Board the users can contact their tutors or even students very easily. Interaction can also be an advantage for e-learning because some people may feel less confident talking face-to-face, but with e-learning there are some aspects where you can interact with someone without being face-to-face. E-learning can be time flexible; learners are able to access everything they need in one place at any time so long as they have the Internet. More people are able to afford to use e-learning, this can then go on to gain them a place at universities as an example because they can save money from expenses such as travelling, accommodation and even high fees for tutors. There are many advantages that come with e-learning, and all these advantages will play a role in human resource development. Also it will help to play a part in a users everyday life and will help them to progress their learning, training, development and education. (writing, 2006, unknown, 2008) Disadvantages As well as advantages there are a number of disadvantages which come with e-learning. Below I will list a number of disadvantages: There can be some learners who are unmotivated can because of this their poor study habits may fall behind. E-learning is very different from any other kind of learning and this may affect the learners knowledge due to lack of familiar structure, also the will then make the routine longer to get used to. E-learning can be a lonely way of learning which could leave the learner to feel isolated or even miss social interaction. If you required further instructions the instructor for the course may not always be available on demand. A lot of e-learning can be carried out online, however this may be useful for some but for others the can be frustrating due to slow or unreliable Internet connections. Face-to-face communication can be vital to how someone learns and because of the lack of this there can be a lack of understanding between the learner and the instructor. There is a limited amount of time for e-learning if you were using video conferencing as an example, and this could lead to the teaching being rushed and the learner not being able to learn enough. As you can see from the above there are some disadvantages, however there are fewer disadvantages than there are advantages. The disadvantages can however help human resource development because they can learn from this and try and avoid the disadvantages and use this to their advantages. (Writing, 2006, unknown, 2008) Conclusion In my opinion I believe that the role of technology in Human Resource Development is very much needed. I believe that along with technology the main form of this is e-learning and with my own personal use I think that this is very much need in order for us to be able to develop HRD. With e-learning you can learn so many new skills which can help you too improve in the workplace. However there are a couple of disadvantages like the lack of face-to-face communication which can affect how e-learning is used.

The Impact of Globalization on Poor Countries

The Impact of Globalization on Poor Countries Globalization refers to integration of regional societies, cultures and economies through reduction of state enforced limitations on exchanges between different countries thereby enhancing a global network of trade and communication. While globalization is driven by interaction of different, economies, technology, political factors and social cultures, the term is in most cases used to refer to economic globalization where different countries economies become integrated into an international economy through a globe spanning network of trade, migration, foreign trade investments, technology and capital flows. Globalization also involves transnational exchange of ideas, languages and acculturation (Amin, 2004). Globalization history can be traced from the Hellenistic age and the rise of cosmopolitan when commercialized urban centers of Greek culture like Athens, Antioch and Alexandria enhanced a widespread of trade and commercial links. Globalization continued with the colonization of Americans by Europeans which initiated the Columbian exchange enhancing a wide spread of crops, trade and human populations and migration. Globalization however got its modern form in 19th century shaped by imperialism when industrialization brought about economies of scale which made cheap production which was sustained by increased population demand. Its argued that the forces of globalization enhanced the world war (Barkema Drogendijk, 2007). Globalization as used by different economists and social scientists can be traced back in 1960s and has inspired diverse and numerous definitions and understanding. Globalization and internationalization are interchangeably used; the only distinction in the usage of the two terms is that internationalization is more focused on international relations, trade and treaties which are driven by labor and capital mobility. Globalization as used in economic context refers to reduction and elimination of barriers between different countries economies in away that flow of goods and services capital and labor is facilitated. Some of the things that slowdown globalization include countries political and capital policies which are inward looking and focused to protection of countries industries (Wood,1998).To enhance globalization microeconomics processes need to be focused on economic policies, political subjectivity, capital and other different dynamics and domains so as to denationalize what has been made national. Globalization is seen as a way of flattening the world into global system of trade, supply chain and outsourcing and this has greatly and permanently changed countries economies, political forces both in a good and a bad way. The rate of globalization is increasing and continues to have a rising impact on business practice and commercial organization, giving a neoliberal kind of international economic systems (Beall, 2004). Rapid expansion of transnational corporations in U.S and Europe has given rise to systematic trend of economies growth and die dynamics which are the main drives of the quickening globalization which has stand the counter tendency changes and forces that emanate from trade union actions and political activities. Globalization has become an irreversible phenomenon whose long history in market economic systems has given rise to transnational elites and political globalization which has phased out the traditional form of powerful-nation states, globalization has given rise to cultural and ideological homogenization worldwide coupled with significant inventions. Globalization has largely been driven by political planning which has seen a breakdown of trade borders and increasing interdependence of states through international commerce and trade and the establishment of international institutions to manage the globalization process. These institutions include the World Bank (formerly know n as bank for International Reconstruction and Development), World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund. Advanced Technology has greatly reduced the trade and negotiation cost through agreed trade tariffs which have seen the possibility of free trade among different countries (Ostry, 1998). Some of the actions involved in the General Agreement on Trade Tariffs include elimination of trade tariffs creating free trade zones, lowering the transportation costs and enhancing containerization which has made Ocean hipping in different countries possible, introduction of harmonized trade subsidies globally which has attracted different corporations in the international market. Increased restrictions in the harmonized intellectual property laws have also seen a great breakthrough for free trade such that intellectual properties and patents are recognized across states. Trade treaties enhanced by the WTO like the Uruguay Round which has introduced a uniform trading platform, oth er multilateral and bilateral agreements on trade like North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have greatly reduced the trade tariffs and barriers and enhanced free trade and given a  Ã‚   rise in world exports and the total gross world product (Lazear, 1999). Advanced communication technology; mobile pone and other computer software technology spread among countries which have made communication cheap and possible among countries, and worldwide marketing has greatly driven cultural globalization with western American culture dominating most regions in expense of the traditional diversity. The contrasting trend led by movements in protest to globalization has not given any fruits in its defense for local individuality uniqueness and identity (Yeung, 2002). According to Rothstein (2005), various economic characteristics of globalization like capital, labor, technology and exports and imports, we can easily measure globalization if we take it as economic globalization. Exports and imports can be determined as a proportion gross national income while labor can be determined as net migration rates flow; weighted by population inward and outward flow. Inward and outward capital flow can be determined through investment as a proportion of per capital income while technology can be measured in terms of worldwide research as well as development flows and the rates of change noted through inventions that has given new products in telephone, motor vehicle and broadband industries (Knaude, 2001). However globalization is not economic phenomenon only and therefore requires a multivariate approach in taking its measurement. Swiss index has taken into consideration three key dimensions of globalization as political, economic and cultural effects taking some sub-indices like economic flows and restrictions, personal contact data, information flow and cultural proximity data which are available on annual basis. According to the Swiss index, Belgium is the most globalized country worldwide followed by Austria and Sweden while United Kingdom comes fourth followed by Netherlands (Agell, 1999). The Index has shown that Haiti is the least globalized countries followed by Myanmar and Burundi. Globalization has given forth to good and bad aspects which have affected countries in different ways. Movement of production materials and manufactured goods has given rise to emergence of worldwide markets and given consumers and firms a broader access to foreign products. The trade between China and Africa particularly has rise seven times fro the period between 2000 and 2007. Emergence of international financial markets has given customers worldwide access to external finance. This has however grown fast than the transnational regulatory regime and given rise to instability in the worldwide financial infrastructure as evidenced by the current financial crisis (Mishkin, 2009). Realization of a worldwide market where goods and capital are free exchange has a great economic realization while its interconnectedness would give great effects in case of one economy collapsing. For instance, every worldwide IT company has established its market in India, if Indias economy collapses this would have the adverse effects spread amongst many other economies (Buckley Ghauri, 2004). Globalization has greatly affected the health systems on a global scale where health has became a trade commodity especially in developing nations following the structural adjustment programs which have seen the health sector privatized and the health policy largely fragmented due to various private interests which have focused on partnerships as a way to fight the various problems instead of a comprehensive health strategy. Health policy has greatly been affected by the global trade and economy driven by the technological advancement which has given innovative medical care trade. At time the global priorities have run over the nation health care priorities making the health infrastructure more valuable to public the privatized form of health care which largely focuses on the wealthy (Dunning, 1998). Globalization has led to creation of governments with relaxed relationships and guaranteed social and economic rights. United State has over time taken a powerful position following its strong and wealthy economy. The republic of China has experienced rapid growth following globalization and with support from the United States. Economists have projected that if Chinas growth is maintained at that rate, this would bring a great change world wide in the next twenty years since it will mean power reallocation among world leaders with China being one of the wealthy and industrialized nations and this will rival the United States worldwide powerful position (Jones, 2008). Increased Informational flow between different geographical locations has brought technological change with the introduction of fibre optic communications and improved accessibility via telephone and Internet facility. Globalization has also increased competition due to worldwide market which has challenged different companies and industries to improve their products and skillfully use technology. Globalization has brought various ecological changes and environmental challenges due to cross boundary pollution of water and air and the overfishing of oceans as well as spread species which are invasive. This can be faced out through international cooperation, but its noted that most factories run their plants in developing nations where environmental regulations are lenient. As such globalization and free trade has largely increased pollution in these countries and deteriorated peoples standard of living. The world ecological capacity has proved insufficient to handle the ambitions of C hina, U.S, and Europe among other countries sustainably. Also globalization would bring about depletion of resources like zinc, terbium and indium, if U.S, China and India continue with the current consumption this would lead to conflict over diminishing natural-resources (Casson, 1996).   One classic cultural aspect of globalization is food consumption whereby people in China can be consuming American food while those in Africa can be consuming Italian meals. McDonalds is one of the American food companies with a global network of 31,000 locations worldwide and has had great cultural influence globally. In addition to international travel, migration and tourism internet has broken down cultural borders worldwide through enabling interaction and communication among people from different state, thus sharing different lifestyles and cultures even beyond the language barriers by use of photo sharing websites. Globalization has led to spread of multiculturalism where some come local cultures have been assimilated and others have been supplanted (Taylor, 2008). Globalization has however faced significant opposition internationally arguing that it has lowered the quality of life and increased the environmental degradation by reducing the competitiveness of some countries industries, and perhaps agriculture in nations that have not yet adapted to the changes brought by globalization (Daryl, 2009). The flow of information, products and people across countries has led to spread of deadliest diseases like HIV/Aids which still remain a top cause of death especially in Asia and Africa while the infectious disease actually began in America. Also, globalization played vital role in the recent bird flue which spread to different nations and killed several. Other diseases whose spread has been fueled by globalization include the chagas disease and tuberculosis (Bernstein Cashore, 2000). Globalization has created opportunities in developed and rich nations thereby driving talent from poor countries which has led to brain drains. This has cost Africa continent approximately $4.1 billion expatriate professionals yearly. Globalization negative economic liberalization effects are also manifested by the global financial crisis which has been as a result of interconnected states forming global economic system such as the crumple of subprime financial or mortgage market in U.S. The flow of products like televisions, textiles and others in the U.S have fueled expansion of Asian economies but has as well raised great criticism against Chinese textile products in Europe as well as in African countries (Levy-Livermore, 1999). For instance, the influx of Chinese textile goods in South Africa has led to loss of jobs by textile workers in that industry. Different studies show that, globalization has not fought Income disparity and food insecurity such that the three richest people worldwide owns more financial assets than what 10% of the poorest world population possess. For example, in sub-Saharan basin Africa communities continue to live in extreme poverty with studies indicating that almost half of children population in India is undernourished. Globalization opens door for a poor country to reach international market, and as such large corporations have taken advantage of such economies to facilitate export poverty such that they invest in these nations due to low wage rates and if the countries labor laws are changed in favor of employees the corporations close down and relocate to other countries with conservative economic policies (Zander Mathews, 2007). In conclusion, critics argue that globalization has led most poor countries suffer disadvantages since their exports are mainly agricultural products and they are unable to offer their producers subsidies which are enjoyed in the developed nations thereby lowering the prices for poor producers. Globalization also leads to exploitation of workers who are impoverished in these poor countries through cheap labor and weak labor unions (Taylor, 2008). Globalization is mediated depending of corporate interests which results to alternative institutional policies that address moral claims for both the poor and working population and environmental concerns in an equitable way. References Agell, J. (Feb, 1999). On the Benefits from Rigid Labour Markets: Norms, Market Failures, and Social Insurance .The Economic Journal. 109(453): 143-164. Amin, A. (Jun., 2004). Regulating Economic Globalization. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 29(2): 217-233 Barkema, H, G Drogendijk, R. (Dec., 2007). Internationalizing in Small, Incremental or Larger Steps? Journal of International Business Studies. 38(7): 1132-1148 Beall, J. (June 2004). Rethinking Globalization. Journal of Southern African Studies. 302(2):408-409 Bernstein, S Cashore, B.   (Mar., 2000). Globalization, Four Paths of Internationalization and Domestic Policy Change: The Case of EcoForestry in British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science 33(1):67-99 Buckley, P.J Ghauri, P N. (Mar, 2004). Globalization, Economic Geography and the Strategy of Multinational Enterprises. Journal of International Business Studies. 35(2):81-98 Casson, M. (1996).   An Economic Model of International Joint Venture Strategy. Journal of International Business Studies. 27(5): 849-876. Daryl, C. (2009). Transformational public diplomacy: Rethinking advocacy for the globalisationage. Place Branding Public Diplomacy. 5(2): 97-102. Dunning, J. H. (Sep., 1998). Governments, Globalization, and International Business. The Economic Journal. 108(450):1599-1601. Jones, A. (Jan 2008). The Rise of Global Work Transactions of the Institute of British   Geographers, New Series. 33(1): 12-26. Knaude, S. (Dec., 2001). Globalisation, Urban Progress, Urban Problems, Rural Disadvantages: Evidence from Mozambique. The Journal of Modern African Studies.39 (4):722-723 Lazear, E, P. (Mar., 1999). Globalization and the Market for Team-Mates The Economic Journal. 109(454):15-40 Levy-Livermore, A. (Jun., 1999). Reviewed work(s): Handbook on the Globalization of the World Economy. The Economic Journal .109(456):506-508. Mishkin, F, S. (Feb, 2009). Globalization, macroeconomic performance, and money policy. Journal of Money, Credit Banking (Blackwell).41(1):187-196. Ostry, S (Jan, 1998). Technology, Productivity and the Multinational Enterprise. Journal of International Business Studies. 29(1): 85-99 Rothstein, J.S. ((Sep., 2005). Economic Development Policymaking down the Global Commodity Chain: Attracting an Auto Industry to Silao, Mexico.   Journal of Social Forces. 84(1): 49-69. Taylor, P. J.   (Jan, 2008). City-States and Globalization: A Reply to Sidaway. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 33(1):152-153 Wood, A. (Sep., 1998). Globalization and the Rise in Labour Market Inequalities Economic Journal, 108(450): 1463-1482. Yeung, H. W. (Jul., 2002). The Limits to Globalization Theory: A Geographic Perspective on Global Economic Change  Ã‚   Economic Geography. 78 (3): 285-305   Zander, I Mathews, J.A. (May, 2007). The International Entrepreneurial Dynamics of Accelerated Internationalization.   Journal of International Business Studies. 38(3):387-403

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Essay example -- essays research papers

POLYCYSTIC OVARIES SYNDROME Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS) is an ovulation disorder and infertility that occurs in many women. Polycystic ovaries syndrome dates back to 1845 where it was described in a French manuscript as being â€Å"changes in the ovaries†. It was called â€Å"sclerocystic†. Polycystic ovaries syndrome is a problem that occurs in with the ovaries. A â€Å"polycystic ovary is characterized as being a tough, thickened, shiny white covering overlying a layer of many small cysts just under the ovarian surface.† (Thatcher, 10). That was the description that was found in the French manuscript and is still being used to this day for doctors to define polycystic ovaries. A wedge resection in the early 1900’s was the first form of treatment for this syndrome. PCOS involves more than just the ovaries filled with small cysts. Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome causes infertility in women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome can cause a number of symptoms. Its can cause everything from obesity to missed periods. It also causes women to have more of the male hormone in their bodies, which cause male hair growth. Not all of PCOS patients have excessive hair growth some may have other skin conditions, like acne. PCOS is the one of the most notorious cause if missed menstrual cycles and â€Å"infertility due to the lack of ovulation†. (Thatcher, 12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are three main reasons women with PCOS get medical attention. The first is that they have missed menstrual cycles. A woman’s period should not be light, short, or irregular. There are steps that a woman’s body needs to go through in order for women to become pregnant. There is a normal menstrual cycle that a woman’s body   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   should go through and if it doesn’t then the women has an irregular cycle. This process the movement of an egg to a fertilizing position, developing a lining in the uterus, then the shedding of that lining when the egg doesn’t become fertilized. The second reason woman get medical attention for PCOS, is that they have worries about their physical ... ...e to me in order to try and regulate my periods. If I did not want to have a child then he would have prescribed some type of birth control pill to aid in this process of regulating my cycle. The little cysts form when my egg comes out and does not go any further than the outside of my ovary. My egg latches on to my ovary and forms into a cyst. This is what caused me irregular menstrual cycles. I am currently overweight and trying to get it under control by exercising and dieting. PCOS is something that is common among a lot of women and it can happen to anyone even the healthiest woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Work Cited Hammerly, Milton M.D and Kimball, Cheryl, â€Å"What to Do When The Doctor Says its PCOS†, (Fair Winds Press, 2003). Thatcher, Samuel S. M.D, Ph.D., â€Å"PCOS (policystic ovary syndrome) The Hidden Epidemic,† (Perspectives Press, 2000). Personal Experience, Christina Chivalier, Feb. 2005.

Critcal Analysis of CATCHER IN THE RYE :: Essays Papers

Critcal Analysis of CATCHER IN THE RYE 10 Quotes and Responses from The Catcher in the Rye "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." This statement actually caught my full attention. I like the way that he started this book off. It gave me a sense that the book was going to be very interesting and real. This is a very catchy statement that made me want to continue reading at my own willing and not to just be continuing so I can finish this assignment. It shows that the narrator is not going to start the book off by giving the reader boring details about his life. Instead, he is going to skip all of the usual details and jump to the real stories about his life that he finds and interesting, and that I also found very interesting. â€Å"The more expensive the school is, the more crooks it has-I’m not kidding.† I agree with this statement because people tend to assume that if the school is very expensive, then the crime rate will be lower. Although they think that way, they are making the wrong assumption because they have crooks too. Not only do they have crooks, but they also have high-class crooks. The only difference is that the crooks at more expensive schools may get away with the crime because they have an advantage that crooks in other schools do not have. They have money and they can use the money to bribe people so their reputations are not messed up. â€Å"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hotshots are, then it’s a game, all right-I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.† Holden feels that in order for life to be a game one must be a hot-shot. He feels that if people are not considered to be hot-shots, then those people are not participating in this so-called game of life.

James Joyces Araby - Auditory Imagery in Araby :: Joyce Dubliners Araby Essays

Auditory Imagery in Araby  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I noticed a lot of auditory imagery in "Araby" that helped to enhance the meaning of the story. The first is the description of the sound in the streets when the young man is walking by thinking of the girl he loves. He hears the "curses of laborers," the "shrill litanies of shop boys," and "nasal chantings of street singers." All of these images, besides just making the street seem busy, also make it seem like an unpleasant and intruding scene, almost like you would want to cover your ears and hurry through as fast as possible. This compliments perfectly the boy's imagination that he is "carrying his chalice safely through a throng of foes." In the scene where the boy is in the priest's house late at night, the auditory imagery helps contribute to the sense of drama. "There was no sound in the house," but outside boy heard the rain "impinge upon the earth" with "fine incessant needles of water." The choice of words here makes the rain seem almost as if it is hostile. You can hear th e force and fury of the storm, and this makes the emotions the boy is feeling seem even more intense. Later, when the boy is looking out the window of the top story of his house, he looks down and sees his friends playing in the street, and their cries reach him "weakened and indistinct." This image brings about an impression that the boy now feels "removed" from his friends and their games, because he is caught up in his fantasy. Normally, he would probably be down there playing with them, but now his head is filled with much more pressing thoughts, and they drown out the laughter and fun of his friends and their "childish" games. Finally, when the boy enters the bazaar, he recognizes "a silence like that which pervades a church after a church service.

Cisco’s Strategy in Recessionary Times Essay

Executive Summary This report is an examination into the strategic management practices used by Cisco Systems, Inc., over the dot com bubble from 1997 to 2000 and an overview of Cisco as a company, and its acquisitions over the past 20 years. The report was created by Alex Quigley, Eoin McCrann and Daniel Ozac, as part of a continuous assessment deliverable as part of BSHCE3, Hons Degree in  computing at the National College of Ireland. It is supported by a PowerPoint presentation of the same name, in the attached appendix. Introduction The report will first review the literature used during the research of the topic and outline the types of information resources used during the reports generation and an overview of these findings. There is an attached overview of Cisco as a company (Appendix A) which outlines how it was founded, and its current market position, and a brief history. Next, we will take a high level overview of their strategy and then identify the key strategic tools used by the company and how they differed at the time from their competitors in this regard. Next we will look in detail at Cisco’s acquisitions over the past 20 years since the company formed, and how this particular strategy was affected by the crash. After this we will look at Cisco’s financials and how their strategy has enabled such large growth. The importance of their strategic choices in developing this financial growth, and finally some of the possible risks associated with the key strategic tools used by the company during this period. Finally, a conclusion and summary of our findings and an appendix for the resource references used during the research, and an appendix of financial information. Literature Review  From the outset the base for all our research started with the case study (Indu, 2010). This gave us a very good overview of the company and how it has, over the past 20 years, faced great triumph in the face of adversity, and bounced back, particularly after difficult times throughout the company’s history In particular during recessionary times such as the dot com crash and the recent global economic downturn. The course notes from BSHCE3 Strategic Management were used to identify the key strategic management tools. Wikipedia was also liberally used to identify and further expand on some of these tools, their founders and also  as a high level overview of Cisco as a company. Other online resources that proved very informative during research were CNN and in particular the money section of the website which maintains detailed information on a large number of companies, and the NASDAQ website which also maintains (as expected) detailed stock and financial information. It’s also worth mentioning that Cisco’s own website is very informative, with detailed financial and organizational structure. Strategic Overview From the case study delivered during class (Indu, 2010) it is clear that Cisco’s goal was to increase market share and maintain a sustained growth. Added to this continued improvement to customer and supplier relations. The company’s current mission statement states that; ‘Cisco’s mission is to shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for our customers, employees, investors, and ecosystem partners.’ (Cisco.com) With a strong customer focus at the core of their business, another strategy employed by Cisco is to position themselves close to not only the customer but suppliers too. This closeness and strength of supplier relations allows Cisco to respond quickly to changing customer and in fact market demands and trends. One of the strategic applications to enable growth and innovation was the use of acquisitions. From 1993 to present day Cisco has acquired over 150 companies in a wide range of Information Technology and Networking sectors. This is facilitating gaining and maintaining competitive advantage. However, proving the strength of the management and effective adaptation, Cisco has been able to change their strategy when required and in 2000, after the dot com bubble burst, its highly successful strategy of procurement was abandoned and under the leadership of John Chambers, the  company was able to successfully tighten its purse string, downsize the business and successfully ride out the storm. This leads to another strategy employed by Cisco, and one that has not been helped employee relations, the choice to downsize during periods of economic or market downturn. This retrenchment again shows Cisco’s effective adaptation, but has led to issues with morale among employees. Ciscos core business is networks, communication and information technology. So it is no surprise that in parallel to providing companies with the tools and information systems seen as ‘strategically important’, they themselves view these systems as paramount to the company’s success. Examples of this are the ‘bug alert’ system implemented in 93 and even earlier, the FTP site a database to allow customers and developers improve existing components and systems. One defining factor in all Cisco’s strategic choices has been to stick to the knitting. As Peter Drucker stated; ‘Think through the overall mission of a business, and ask the question: What is our business?’ In Cisco’s case, their business through numerous acquisitions and strategic changes has essentially remained the same. Chambers believed that there are 4 key elements that a company needs in order to survive a recession; 1. Being realistic about the CAUSE of your challenges – don’t just blame a recession, focus internally as well, is there something you’re doing as well? 2. Try to determine the length and intensity of the downturn – then respond appropriately 3. Prepare for the upturn – Survive and thrive, gain market share 4. Expand customer relationships – customers can give insight into when the recession may end And this isn’t always the best strategy, as it does not allow for innovation internally within the organisation. The lack of intrapreneurship has led to poor company ratings in terms of ‘great place to work’ scores. In order for Cisco to get new products or enter into a new market, they generally have to purchase a new company rather than use organic growth or in-house smarts. Their competitors on the other hand employ strategies of organic growth and are less inclined to purchase companies in order to gain entry into different markets. However there have been some key acquisitions that allowed direct competition to Cisco, which will be discussed in more detail in the next section. Cisco through every recession have maintained large assets and cash. They saw it as vital in order to survive. This allowed them to make bold decisions when most companies are cutting back, and also respond immediately when the market begins to pick up again. Something competitors have had difficulty with. Acquisition Timeline As stated previously, Cisco’s core business has been a factor in the type of businesses acquired over the company’s history. From 1993 to 2000, there was a sustained level of acquisition, increasing year on year. During this time Cisco has acquired over 150 companies, most of which were US based. Figure [ 1 ]| However, it’s clear from ‘Figure 1’ above that after the crash in 2000, Cisco drastically decreased acquisitions with only one acquisition in 2001. In the two years previous to this Cisco had acquired an amazing total of 40 companies. And once again in 2008 the company slowed acquisitions to match the downturn in demand for their products. Although not as drastically as 2001. They used these times to focus on new emerging markets, and develop new technologies. Figure [ 2 ]| Most of these businesses were related to the area of Computer Networking, Lan Switching, Gateways and Routers. This is in keeping with Cisco’s strategy of ‘stick to the knitting’. Second to these is the VOIP technology sector. By 2004, Cisco had returned to its acquisition strategy and sustains this level for a number of years. What is interesting is if you map the NASDAQ composite index, which is heavily populated with IT related companies; it almost perfectly matches the acquisition timeline for Cisco, as can be seen  in ‘Figure 3’ below. Figure [ 3 ]| Cisco didn’t just acquire the companies and integrate the management of them into their own structure. For the most part these companies were allowed to continue as individual entities, and keep their existing structure and organisational managers. Competitors Acquisitions Hewlett Packard One of Cisco’s competitors is HP, the computer hardware and software giant. In 2008, HP acquired Colubris Networks. Colubris Networks provide organizations with advanced wireless networking solutions that unify and integrate with existing network infrastructures, as well as security and management systems. This was an attempt by HP to try and take market share of Cisco’s strong hold on network infrastructure, and in this case the wireless LAN market. In 2009, HP purchased 3COM, the digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products, for $2.7 billion. This was a huge strategic move from HP to strengthen their position in the market which Cisco has been controlling. HP realized there were large gaps in its product line, mainly network switching, which would take too long to fill organically and needed a quick-fix. HP wanted to take on Cisco in this sector, and 3Com wanted to expand outside of China. This acquisition meant the Introduction of low-cost switches, which was a competitive advantage that Cisco was unable to match. Juniper Networks Another of Cisco’s direct competitors, Juniper networks, a networking equipment manufacturer based in Sunnyvale, California. In contrast, Juniper had no acquisitions between 2006 and 2009, and instead focused all their efforts on internal innovation and organic growth. However in 2010 they acquired Ankeena Networks for $100 million. This was a  move to directly compete against CSICO’s video conferencing market position. Ankeena Networks deliver new media infrastructure technology, and their technology is designed to help service providers deliver a better video experience on both fixed and mobile devices. Also in 2010, Juniper purchased Blackwave Networks in order to support Ankeena networks. Blackwave networks key business is to provide video storage and delivery. Both of these purchases were seen as Juniper bulking-up its video delivery capabilities in order to take on Cisco in this area. Polycom As with Juniper acquisitions in 2010, Polycom’s core business is in the area of video conferencing and in particular Telepresence and supporting infrastructure equipment. Between 2008 and 2010 they did not acquire any companies. In 2011 they acquired HP Visual Collaboration, a network and video management company for $89m. This move was in response to Cisco’s hostile $3.3bln takeover of Tandberg. The purchase was to strengthen Polycom’s position and ensure that they are strong enough to compete with Cisco. Strategic Tools A number of tools exist to assist organisations in developing strategies and insight on what industries and areas their business should focus on. Some of these are outlined below. SWOT Analysis A planning method used to determine the internal factors: strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the external factors: opportunities and threats, facing a project or organisation. The SWOT analysis helps project managers or organisations with the decision-making process. It is especially useful when considering entry into a new market, or when releasing a new product. It can be used to develop a strategy to help distinguish your organisation from your competitors. Porter’s 5 Forces A technique used to determine the intensity of competition within your market. The five forces are: threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, and bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers and the intensity of competitive rivalry. It is used to show the relative attractiveness of a particular market, and as such helps with the decision-making process for project managers and organisations. PEST Market Analysis Tool A tool used to help understand market growth or decline. PEST is an acronym for Political/Legal, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Technological. Like SWOT and Porter’s 5 Forces, PEST is used to analyse or review a strategy or position at a given time and then help with the decision-making process. Other Other tools include Management by Objectives (MBO), TOWS Matrix, Internal Analysis, Value Chain and BCG Portfolio Model, but for this report we will focus on the three tools above, and how they relate to Ciscos management strategy. Strategic Tools on Cisco SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis outlines internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Strengths  In terms of internal strengths, Cisco is in a very good market position for its main core products (networking equipment) and is seen as the market leader in this area. Cisco has number of alliances with major players in the market, including Microsoft and IBM. Cisco also maintains a very strong balance sheet every year, ensuring a large supply of cash is available. Weaknesses Conversely, its main weakness is the high cost of its products, when compared to its competitors (e.g. HP and their low-cost range of network switches). This is not a major problem for Cisco however, as their focus is on reliability and customer satisfaction, not beating prices with competitors. Other weaknesses include the lack of a presence in the consumer market and the lack of innovation. Cisco’s growth and new product line comes from acquisitions rather than internal innovation and organic development. Opportunities Opportunities in the market include cloud computing, smart-grid technology, the home consumer market and the area of video conferencing thanks to its acquisition of Tandberg. Threats  The main external threat to Cisco is the unstable global economy. Chambers was initially very optimistic about the economic recovery; however he has recently toned-down his statements and has admitted that recovery may take longer than initially expected. Other threats include cheaper alternatives and their direct competitors: Hewlett-Packard, Juniper and IBM. Figure [ 4 ]| Porter’s 5 Forces Porter’s 5 Forces model helps to determine the level of a number of factors. Once established, this helps to determine the relative attractiveness of a particular market or sector. Threat of New Entrants: MEDIUM Large enterprises will generally only enter the market by acquiring specialist companies, and small companies will not really be able to compete due to the infrastructure and resources required. Any small, successful start-up will generally be acquisitioned by a larger one. Because of these factors the threat of new entrants into Cisco’s core market (design and manufacture of networking equipment) is medium. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: LOW Cisco generally uses short-term contracts with its suppliers. This allows them to easily adjust their output depending on supply and demand. Cisco also uses a multitude of different suppliers across the globe. Their main focus is on reliability and customer satisfaction rather than competing on price. For these reasons the suppliers have a low level of bargaining power. Bargaining Power of Buyers: HIGH In terms of networking equipment and video conferencing facilities, there are a wide range of suppliers for customers to choose from. These include Hewlett-Packard, Juniper, and Polycom. There are also cheaper alternatives in the market. This gives the customers much more bargaining power. Threat of Substitute Products: LOW Organisations rely on networking equipment such as hubs, switches and routers. They are vital to networks and will not be replaced by substitute products. Therefore the threat to Cisco is low. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry: HIGH The sector is very competitive with HP and Juniper seen as Cisco’s main rivals. Cisco’s entry into the videoconferencing and Telepresence market has increased this rivalry. Cisco is still seen as the market leader. PEST Market Analysis This market analysis used to help understand market growth or decline and help to influence the decision-making process. Political & Legal  Political and legal considerations for Cisco include regulations regarding customer and employee data privacy and security. Given the market they operate in, their products need to adhere to many different standards and certifications. These include ISO, IEEE, IETF, ITU and Wi-Fi Alliance. As Cisco is an international organisation operating in many different countries across the globe, they must be aware of differing national laws and regulations. A major strategy of theirs is the acquisition of other organisations. They must therefore be aware of the laws and regulations governing this process in different countries and continents, e.g. the acquisition of TV software developer NDS had to be approved by the European Commission. Economic The current economic outlook is poor, with low growth and uncertainty about when it will end. There are high unemployment rates across the globe, low inflation rates and increased labour costs. Current rates of interest are also important. These are all factors that Cisco will consider with any new  venture. Socio-Cultural Demographics, language, culture, customs and religion are not really a huge concern for Cisco. One socio-cultural issue that may relate to them is the current trend of technical people leaning more towards open-source software and hardware products. This may have a negative impact on some areas that Cisco operates in, as Cisco IOS is closed-source. However Cisco does work with over 40 open source software projects. Another area that Cisco will consider is the green and renewable energy sectors. Cisco’s recycling and emissions and energy consumption reduction programs have worked well and even resulted in them becoming certified. Cisco is also one of the driving forces behind making purchases from women, veteran and minority-owned companies. Technological Cisco spends nearly $5.3 billion on research and development per year, ensuring that they stay at the cutting-edge of technology. In terms of innovation Cisco generally â€Å"stick to the knitting†, i.e. they stick to their core competencies and acquisition other organisations when moving into new areas. Areas of technological growth include video and teleconferencing, telepresence, unified communication, big-data, cloud computing and smart grid (overlaying a digital network onto the existing electrical network). Figure [ 5 ]| Financial Overview Looking at Cisco’s finances provides and insight into invest psychology. Going back to 1993 (Figure 6) we can see that Cisco had strong earnings growth. Cisco really suffered during the recession in 2001 as they were unable to predict economic downturn and net sales fell by almost 30 per cent. Chambers was forced to write off inventory of $2.2 billion, and 8,500 people were made redundant. Figure [ 6 ]| Reorganisation The reorganisation of its operations after the crisis in 2001 was followed by  strong growth. By looking at the Cisco’s last year’s financial statements (Figure 7) we observe that their bottom line, in other words, Net Income was pretty stable and year over year, has known a continued growth from 2003 onwards, except the last couple of years, starting with 2008 when the net income declined to 2009 and got back pretty much as the same level in 2010 and once again declined from 2010 to 2011 but then increased from 2011 to 2012 exceeding this time the 2010 level. Figure 7| Technology Bubble The orange line on the graph represents earnings per share growth and as we can see since 1993, the average operating earnings growth rate has averaged 24.5% a year. The black line represents the monthly closing stock prices. As we can see at the beginning the earnings in price track each other very closely and then between 1997 and 2000 we observe that Cisco stocks became overpriced which matched the other trends in the technology market during the dotcom bubble. It climaxed on March 10, 2000, with the NASDAQ peaking at 5132.52 in intraday trading before closing at 5048.62. (Jesse Colombo, 2012). We can clearly see how during this period Cisco became disconnected from growth and earnings. The price collapsed as a consequence. However, since 2002 – 2003 Cisco stocks has traded more in line with its operating earnings growth (Appendix A, Earnings Growth). Price Earnings Ratio Although Cisco is trying to ensure a dominant position in all of its markets (and reflected in last quarterly results) their earnings were above expectations. This doesn’t give a clear picture of the potential for continued growth for investors. Price Earnings Ratio demonstrates investor psychology in the (Figure 7). It illustrates value in relation to the company’s earnings and is strictly related their yearly financial statements translated into net income. The higher the price earnings ratio the more the market is willing to pay for the company’s earnings. Conversely, a low P/E may indicate a â€Å"vote of no confidence† by the market or it could mean this is a sleeper that the market has overlooked. Known as value stocks, many investors made their fortunes spotting these â€Å"diamonds in the rough† before the rest of the market discovered their true worth. (Ken Little. 2012). Looking closer at earnings growth rate for the time frame 2003 – 2012, we observe that Cisco is averaging at almost 20 per cent stock growth a year (Figure 8) and since 2003 there was a time when the P/E ratio was much higher. Figure 8| By looking below at the P/E graph (Figure 9) we can see that by Fiscal Year End 2003 was nearly 40, by Fiscal Year End 2004 it dropped to 28 and then by Fiscal Year 2005 again to 21. We can see a continuous drop, in 2012 was just over 10 and currently the P/E ratio is around 12.0 based on the closing price of March 28th 2013. Figure 9| Finances over the Last Decade Looking at Cisco’s financial statements for 2003 – 2013 and the historical stock price trends, we can see that Cisco had an accelerated earnings growth. The graph below (Figure 10) outlines this cyclical nature. Figure 10| They had a growth rate of 89 per cent in 2003, 43 per cent in 2004 but by 2009 there was a 19 per cent decrease. This was during the global economic downturn and reflected in their financial statement. Despite that, it’s clear that the company was very profitable. Their earnings increased 24 per cent and are forecasted to reach 20 per cent by the end of the fiscal year 2013. Financial Observations Below are observations on Cisco’s last Financial Results for Q2 2013 released  February 13, 2013. Cisco reported so far a very strong FY 2013 earnings, maintaining their leadership positions in key areas of IT infrastructure such as Switches and Routers, while the firm’s financial strength in terms of cash flow allow them to catch up and surpass other companies in areas such as Wireless, where it wasn’t initially a market leader. Figure 11| The data above, (Figure 11) illustrates Q2 net sales of $12.098 billion, with an increase of 5% year over year. GAAP net income and GAAP earnings per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2013, included total tax benefits of approximately $926 million or $0.17 per share (Julie Bort, 2013). Product revenue grew 3% while services revenue grew an impressive 10%. Cash flow from operations was well over $3 billion and the company continues its prodigious free cash flow production, which according to Frank Calderoni the CFO, Cisco: â€Å"Cash is King. It enables us to make bold moves.† Gross margins have been very stable around 62% lately for Cisco, exhibiting the strength of the brand versus its competition. According to the analysts, Cisco’s Services business is a key differentiator between it and its competition, and because the margins are higher on Services than Products, the company’s total gross margin should continue to improve slightly (Tim Travis, 2013). According to John Chambers, Cisco chairman and chief executive officer: â€Å"Cisco delivered earnings per share this quarter and record revenue for the 8th quarter in a row in a challenging economic environment. We continue to drive the innovation, quality and leadership our customers expect, and we remain focused on consistent returns to our shareholders†. Strategic Risks Innovation Momentum According to Forbes magazine Cisco lost its â€Å"innovation momentum† and that’s because they relied more on external acquisitions for new product  development: the reliance on external rather than internal sources of innovation, e.g., the purchase of start-ups with promising products. The problem with this strategy, however, is that it is costly, destructive, and unsustainable. It is costly because the would-be acquirers end up buying start-ups that fail to produce any marketable products. It is destructive because it eventually distances would-be acquirers from their end customers. It is unsustainable because it often ends up fuelling bidding wars, as the owners of these smaller companies demand higher and higher premium to compensate them for the risks they assume. (Panos Mourdoukoutas, 2012) Acquisition Strategy Over the period 1993-2013, Cisco acquired one hundred and fifty six companies. Some of the latest acquisitions are Meraki (2012) operating in the Wired and Wireless Cloud networking market, SolveDirect (2013) operating in the Cloud Services market, Intucell (2013) operating in the Mobile Software market†¦etc. By relaying your company strategy only on acquisition you forget to cultivate innovation and creativity across your own organisation and we believe that Cisco strategy in the long run might bounce back as a failure and affect their core competencies. Core Competencies By definition the core competencies differentiate an organization from its competition. The Core Competencies create a company’s competitive advantage in the marketplace and typically, a core competency refers to a company’s set of skills or experience in some activity, rather than physical or financial assets. If we look at the case study (Indu, 2010) and where Cisco stands today within the IT market, we realise indeed that their resources in terms of reputation, brand, financial assets and products are still strong, but in terms of capabilities and talent which help to sustain innovation as a key differentiator between market leaders and their rivals, they have chosen the wrong path. New Markets There is no doubt that Chambers is a successful CEO. This can be seen in Cisco’s last year’s financial statements but since Cloud computing technology has gone mainstream and greater use of mobile telephony networks. Cisco has been unable to innovate, launch and grow new markets for services or applications. According to Forbes Magazine, Chambers has reorganized the company 3 times – but it has been much like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: â€Å"Lots of confusion, but no improvement in results† (Adam Hartung, 2012). Strategic Vision Another risk to be noted is the â€Å"Where to go vision† – distraction and lack of a long-term vision adopted by Cisco is a major risk for the company. In one of his statements, Chambers said: â€Å"I don’t make my decision on the next quarter or on the next year. I make my decision three or five years out so I do not adjust my strategy based on what’s the spending is going to be next quarter or three quarters.† With instability shown in the financial markets for the last couple of years and the prolonged economic recession along with low consumer confidence there is a disjoint with Chambers strategic statements. Consumer Market Penetration Cisco’s growth has been based on a strategy of acquisitions. The main reason behind this was the penetration or expansion of new market opportunities. Cisco have made several ambitious moves into the markets for enterprise tablets, video conferencing and consumer products. Some of these decisions have been ineffective in competing in these markets. In some cases, due to excessive prices and faster development and deployment cycles of competitors. In today’s competitive tech environment those who are slow in bringing innovation and new products to the market will fail to succeed. An example of reinventing the wheel could be Cisco’s Flip camcorder which they acquired in 2009 from Pure Digital. The product failed and the $590 million investment was lost. Customers’ needs are constantly changing and want their technology suppliers to offer those sophisticated services and equipment. Like other tech giants, Cisco is struggling to adapt to changing market conditions and demand in terms of technology and products. Building Revenue Erik Suppiger, an analyst with JMP Securities in San FranCisco, said Cisco â€Å"did a good job managing costs, and keeping their margins up, but there’s a lot of concern about what they can do to build revenue. Building a cloud and wireless business eats into your traditional product lines. If you have a wireless laptop, you don’t need a desktop computer connected to your office network† (Quentin Hardy, 2013). It seems that Chambers, who has led Cisco for 18 years, is well aware of this problem, in one of the latest interviews he said: â€Å"We’d gotten too fat. And when you get fat, you’re slow in decision-making. It had been so easy to say we’re the best in our industry, we don’t need to change, but that’s exactly how you disappear† (Charlie Rose, 2012). Although Cisco reported Q2 earnings more than Wall Street expected, Chambers warned of â€Å"a challenging economic environment.† Distinction Considering Cisco’s latest acquisitions (Intucell, Jan 2013; Solve Direct, March 2013) in mobile software and cloud services, there are signs of progress. However, it is unclear whether Cisco will succeed before Chambers retires in two to four years. His greatest achievement may be building software and services that are distinct from its existing core competencies and product line. Conclusion After in depth analysis of Cisco’s strategic management practices it is clear the company is not without its faults. People in the business community do not agree with some of the strategic decisions made by chambers and this has in some cases lead to a lack of confidence in the company’s progress. It’s also worth mentioning the workforce have ranked the company low in terms of ‘great place to work’ scores. Acquisitions prevent entrepreneurship, and  the lack of solid competition has meant that it is unclear whether Cisco would be able to cope with less of the market share if another big player offering cheaper products was to gain momentum. However, Cisco is a large company with a huge workforce, a substantial stockpile of cash and assets, strong share price and excellent revenue. So for the time being, Chambers and Cisco, have put their critics in their place. References Jim Duffy. (2009). HP’s 3Com acquisition: An inside look. Available: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/111309-hp-3com-haas.html?nwwpkg=hp. Last accessed March 2013. John Dix. (2009). HP puts the net pedal to the metal. Available: https://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/091409-haas.html. Last accessed March 2013. wikipedia. (2013). HP puts the net pedal to the metal. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Hewlett-Packard. Last accessed March 2013. wikipedia. (2013). Juniper Networks. 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(2013). 12 Years After The Bubble Cisco Is Ripe For The Taking: Update. Available: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1183801-12-years-after-the-bubble-Cisco-is-ripe-for-the-taking-update. Last accessed 30th March 2013. Hardy, Quentin. (2013). Cisco Struggles to Adapt, Even as Profit Rises. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/business/Cisco-tops-expectations-with-rise-in-profit-of-44.html. Last accessed 1st April 2013. P, Indu . (2010). Cisco strategy in recessionary times. Under the direction of Vivek Gupta Cisco Overview Cisco Overview Appendix A In 1984, a small group of computer scientists, namely Leonard Bosack, Sandy Lerner and Richard Troiano, created an Internet Operating System in San Jose. This OS was loaded into a box for routing and facilitated the communication between two computers. It’s interesting to note that ‘In search of Excellence’ (1982, Peters and Waterman) states that one of the key themes for a successful company are to stick to the knitting. In other words stay with the core business. Cisco, since 1984 have done just that. Their popularity grew and they implemented an FTP site to allow customers and developers to access a DB of bug information. By 1990 the company had gone public and had sales in the region of $70m with a net income of almost $14m. They had massive amounts of support centre calls, and supplied routers to the biggest players in the telecom world at the time. By 1992, ‘Fortune’s second fastest growing company in the US, had achieved sales of almost $340m, and had branched out to Europe and beyond. In 1993 they again showed strong customer focus by creating bug tracking systems, to support large corporation who used their products. In 1993 the company completed their first large scale acquisition of Crescendo communications for $95m and the following year New Port solutions for $93m. These were the first in a long list of acquisitions for Cisco and by the mid 90’s the company had a strong brand signature, excellent customer focus and a global footprint. By 1999, the company had revenues of over $12bn. This surge continued and in 2000 market capitalization grossed over $450bn. The company acquired over 40 companies over these 2 years, and demand was so high the production of equipment could not meet the customer demands. Customers began to look elsewhere, and at the same time the cracks in the IT market began to show. Cisco began stock piling, which was not in keeping with their practices, and in the ensuing recession, the company were forced to downsize, with 8500 job losses, and reported loses of almost $2.7bn, a complete reversal of the growth and fortunes up to that time. Figure 12 Figure 12 With John Chambers at the helm, the company drastically slowed down acquisitions, reduced the number of suppliers and resellers and began to steadily grow the company once again, and by 2009 emerged as a pioneer in data management with 75% of the world’s data being managed in some form by the company. One of the few companies to successfully withstand economic slowdown, Cisco, at present sits at number 64 of the fortune 500 list, with total equity of $51bn and 73k+ employees worldwide. Appendix B Earnings Growth Earnings Growth Acquisitions