International Business Entry Modes

Introduction An international entry mode is an institutional agreement necessary for the entry of a company’s products, technology and human capital into a foreign country or market. The reluctance of firms to change entry modes once they are in place, and the difficulty involved in doing so, make the mode of entry decision a key strategic issue for firms operating in today’s rapidly internationalizing market place.The choice of mode will depend on internal characteristics (eg firm size, international experience) and external characteristics (eg the sociocultural distance between the host country and the home country) as well as the trade-off between desired mode characteristics (risk adverse, control and flexibility). The diagram below conveys 3 broad categories of modes of entry, and their fundamental trade offs.Further to the issues discussed above, no matter which of three of the export modes the manufacturer uses in a market, it is important to think about what lev el of ‘mindshare’ the manufacturer occupies in the mind of the export partner, as there has been a strong proven correlation between mindshare levels and how willing the export intermediary is to place on company brand in front of another, or how likely the intermediary is to defect. Good mind share will depend on scoring well across the three drivers of commitment and trust, collaboration and mutuality of interest & common purpose.  Control Key and Word – Text and Graphics.Export Modes Baring in mind the factors discussed above we will now review the different types of entry modes, beginning with export modes, as they are typically the modes used in initial entry to international markets, as they require a lower financial investment than other modes and can be viewed as a ‘toe in the water; for in experienced and smaller firms or where there may be risks (eg political, economic environmental) preventing FDI. The three major types of exporting are indirec t, direct and cooperative.Indirect export modes are modes in which the exporting manufacturer uses independent organizations located in a producer’s country, they include the use of an export buying agent, a broker, an export house, a trading company, or a piggyback. Indirect export modes may be appropriate for firms with limited- rather than long term- international expansion objectives. For example, if international sales are primarily used as a means of disposing of surplus production. The lack of contact with firms abroad will provide limited information to develop a plan for international expansion.In the use of such modes, there is limited control over the marketing mix (other than product). A direct export mode may be more appropriate in gaining a little more control, in which the manufacturer sells directly to an importer, agent or distributor in the foreign target market. The local party will bring the advantage of existing distribution networks, and will provide goo d local market knowledge. However, a company must be careful in entering into contracts as they can be difficult and costly to terminate, and can go wrong when there is a conflict in interests (e. . it may sell rivals goods or competing product lines). Similarly, there is a serious disincentive for the agent/distributor in that if it performs well and develops the market, it risks being replaced by a subsidiary of the principal. Intermediate modes As a firm gradually evolves towards more foreign based operations, Intermediate modes will become more suitable modes of entry. This will likely include firms possessing some sort of competitive advantage that are unable to exploit this advantage because of resource constraints.Intermediate modes take the form of contract manufacturing, licencing, franchising, a joint venture or a strategic alliance. Contract manufacturing- where manufacturing is contracted to an external foreign partner provides a low risk and potentially low cost mode of entry. Benetton and Ikea are a good example of companies who successfully rely on a contractual network of small overseas manufacturers. Benetton has over 80% of its production outsourced to 450 contractors (located in low cost production countries such as India and China).As a result of the money saved on labour, Benetton can sell products 20% cheaper, helping it to maintain a low cost position in comparison to competitors. Of course, this method may not be appropriate for every company as there is a loss of knowledge and intellectual property rights, and the transaction costs involved must also be considered. Licensing differs from contract manufacturing in that more value chain functions have been transferred to the licensee. In outsourcing production and downstream activities a licensor irm can concentrate on its core competences and therefore will remain technologically superior in its product development- for example Apple licenses its brand to manufacturers of accessory prod ucts, and the BBC licenses rights to broadcast TV shows around the world. However a lack of control over licensor operations and therefore quality may lead a company to use franchising (a sub variant of licensing) in which the franchisor gives a right to the franchisee against a payment, EG a right to use a total business concept/system, including the use of trademarks/brands, against some agreed royalty.Franchising not only provides a greater degree of control than licensing, but It can also be seen as low cost and low risk as the franchise are the ones investing in the necessary equipment and know-how. This entry mode has been seen to generate great successes for companies such as McDonalds who now franchises 25000 restaurants globally. However, it should be noted that there is still a lack of full control over franchisee’s operations, which can result in problems with cooperation, communications, quality control etc, and a risk of damage to the company’s internation al reputation if some franchisees underperform (‘’free-riding’’).Another intermediary mode that will allow greater control is a joint venture, in which 2 ‘parent’ companies create a new ‘child’ company. This high degree of control and local knowledge is a clear advantage of such an entry mode. The shared knowledge and resources gained through a JV as compared with wholly owned subsidiaries will bring many advantages such as economies of scale. However of course there is a loss of confidentiality and flexibility, and the use of double management will raise questions about how the company is split- 50/50?If 50/50, it is difficult for the board to make decisions, if at all! Hierarchical modes of entry allow the highest degree of control for a firm, while at the same time, the highest degree of risk as the firm completely owns and controls the foreign entry mode. To have a wholly owned subsidiary a firm can either acquire an existing company (acquisition) or build on its own operations from scratch (greenfield/brownfield investment). An acquisition will provide rapid entry, access to distribution channel, an existing customer base.This may be the only feasible way of establishing a base in the host country in saturated markets, or where there are substantial entry barrier and therefore little room for a new entrant. Of course, as with intermediary modes, there is the issue of contracts, negotiation and the different management styles between companies. If difficulties (eg no appropriate acquisition) are encountered with acquisitions, it may lead firms to prefer to establish greenfield (new facility) and brownfield (existing facilities) operations.Out of the two- greenfield is seen as an advantageous option because the new plant will involve the latest technology and equipment, avoiding the problem of trying to change the traditional practices of an established concern. Although this is a big investment for a com pany involving slow entry into the foreign market, the returns are long term and the firm has control over the entire operation. Conclusion It cannot be stated categorically which alternative is the best.There are many internal and external conditions which affect this choice and it should be emphasized that a manufacturer wanting to engage in global marketing may use more than one of these methods at the same time (Petersen and Welch, 2002). Such ‘mode packages’ may take the form of a concerted use of several operation modes in an integrated, complementary way. Zara is a good example of this- in markets where the hierarchical model is used, there is high growth potential and relative low sociocultural distance between the home country of Spain and target market.The intermediate modes (usually joint venture and franchising) are mainly used in countries where the sociocultural distance is relatively high. For example in 1999, Zara entered into a 50-50 JV with the German firm OTTO Versand, which had experience in the distribution sector and market knowledge in one of Europe’s largest markets, Germany. Whereas franchising is used by Zara in high risk countries which are socio-culturally distant or have small markets which allow sales forecast such as Andorra, Puerto Rico or the Philippines. International Business Entry Modes Introduction An international entry mode is an institutional agreement necessary for the entry of a company’s products, technology and human capital into a foreign country or market. The reluctance of firms to change entry modes once they are in place, and the difficulty involved in doing so, make the mode of entry decision a key strategic issue for firms operating in today’s rapidly internationalizing market place.The choice of mode will depend on internal characteristics (eg firm size, international experience) and external characteristics (eg the sociocultural distance between the host country and the home country) as well as the trade-off between desired mode characteristics (risk adverse, control and flexibility). The diagram below conveys 3 broad categories of modes of entry, and their fundamental trade offs.Further to the issues discussed above, no matter which of three of the export modes the manufacturer uses in a market, it is important to think about what lev el of ‘mindshare’ the manufacturer occupies in the mind of the export partner, as there has been a strong proven correlation between mindshare levels and how willing the export intermediary is to place on company brand in front of another, or how likely the intermediary is to defect. Good mind share will depend on scoring well across the three drivers of commitment and trust, collaboration and mutuality of interest & common purpose.  Control Key and Word – Text and Graphics.Export Modes Baring in mind the factors discussed above we will now review the different types of entry modes, beginning with export modes, as they are typically the modes used in initial entry to international markets, as they require a lower financial investment than other modes and can be viewed as a ‘toe in the water; for in experienced and smaller firms or where there may be risks (eg political, economic environmental) preventing FDI. The three major types of exporting are indirec t, direct and cooperative.Indirect export modes are modes in which the exporting manufacturer uses independent organizations located in a producer’s country, they include the use of an export buying agent, a broker, an export house, a trading company, or a piggyback. Indirect export modes may be appropriate for firms with limited- rather than long term- international expansion objectives. For example, if international sales are primarily used as a means of disposing of surplus production. The lack of contact with firms abroad will provide limited information to develop a plan for international expansion.In the use of such modes, there is limited control over the marketing mix (other than product). A direct export mode may be more appropriate in gaining a little more control, in which the manufacturer sells directly to an importer, agent or distributor in the foreign target market. The local party will bring the advantage of existing distribution networks, and will provide goo d local market knowledge. However, a company must be careful in entering into contracts as they can be difficult and costly to terminate, and can go wrong when there is a conflict in interests (e. . it may sell rivals goods or competing product lines). Similarly, there is a serious disincentive for the agent/distributor in that if it performs well and develops the market, it risks being replaced by a subsidiary of the principal. Intermediate modes As a firm gradually evolves towards more foreign based operations, Intermediate modes will become more suitable modes of entry. This will likely include firms possessing some sort of competitive advantage that are unable to exploit this advantage because of resource constraints.Intermediate modes take the form of contract manufacturing, licencing, franchising, a joint venture or a strategic alliance. Contract manufacturing- where manufacturing is contracted to an external foreign partner provides a low risk and potentially low cost mode of entry. Benetton and Ikea are a good example of companies who successfully rely on a contractual network of small overseas manufacturers. Benetton has over 80% of its production outsourced to 450 contractors (located in low cost production countries such as India and China).As a result of the money saved on labour, Benetton can sell products 20% cheaper, helping it to maintain a low cost position in comparison to competitors. Of course, this method may not be appropriate for every company as there is a loss of knowledge and intellectual property rights, and the transaction costs involved must also be considered. Licensing differs from contract manufacturing in that more value chain functions have been transferred to the licensee. In outsourcing production and downstream activities a licensor irm can concentrate on its core competences and therefore will remain technologically superior in its product development- for example Apple licenses its brand to manufacturers of accessory prod ucts, and the BBC licenses rights to broadcast TV shows around the world. However a lack of control over licensor operations and therefore quality may lead a company to use franchising (a sub variant of licensing) in which the franchisor gives a right to the franchisee against a payment, EG a right to use a total business concept/system, including the use of trademarks/brands, against some agreed royalty.Franchising not only provides a greater degree of control than licensing, but It can also be seen as low cost and low risk as the franchise are the ones investing in the necessary equipment and know-how. This entry mode has been seen to generate great successes for companies such as McDonalds who now franchises 25000 restaurants globally. However, it should be noted that there is still a lack of full control over franchisee’s operations, which can result in problems with cooperation, communications, quality control etc, and a risk of damage to the company’s internation al reputation if some franchisees underperform (‘’free-riding’’).Another intermediary mode that will allow greater control is a joint venture, in which 2 ‘parent’ companies create a new ‘child’ company. This high degree of control and local knowledge is a clear advantage of such an entry mode. The shared knowledge and resources gained through a JV as compared with wholly owned subsidiaries will bring many advantages such as economies of scale. However of course there is a loss of confidentiality and flexibility, and the use of double management will raise questions about how the company is split- 50/50?If 50/50, it is difficult for the board to make decisions, if at all! Hierarchical modes of entry allow the highest degree of control for a firm, while at the same time, the highest degree of risk as the firm completely owns and controls the foreign entry mode. To have a wholly owned subsidiary a firm can either acquire an existing company (acquisition) or build on its own operations from scratch (greenfield/brownfield investment). An acquisition will provide rapid entry, access to distribution channel, an existing customer base.This may be the only feasible way of establishing a base in the host country in saturated markets, or where there are substantial entry barrier and therefore little room for a new entrant. Of course, as with intermediary modes, there is the issue of contracts, negotiation and the different management styles between companies. If difficulties (eg no appropriate acquisition) are encountered with acquisitions, it may lead firms to prefer to establish greenfield (new facility) and brownfield (existing facilities) operations.Out of the two- greenfield is seen as an advantageous option because the new plant will involve the latest technology and equipment, avoiding the problem of trying to change the traditional practices of an established concern. Although this is a big investment for a com pany involving slow entry into the foreign market, the returns are long term and the firm has control over the entire operation. Conclusion It cannot be stated categorically which alternative is the best.There are many internal and external conditions which affect this choice and it should be emphasized that a manufacturer wanting to engage in global marketing may use more than one of these methods at the same time (Petersen and Welch, 2002). Such ‘mode packages’ may take the form of a concerted use of several operation modes in an integrated, complementary way. Zara is a good example of this- in markets where the hierarchical model is used, there is high growth potential and relative low sociocultural distance between the home country of Spain and target market.The intermediate modes (usually joint venture and franchising) are mainly used in countries where the sociocultural distance is relatively high. For example in 1999, Zara entered into a 50-50 JV with the German firm OTTO Versand, which had experience in the distribution sector and market knowledge in one of Europe’s largest markets, Germany. Whereas franchising is used by Zara in high risk countries which are socio-culturally distant or have small markets which allow sales forecast such as Andorra, Puerto Rico or the Philippines.

Easily Misunderstood Essay

How often have you found yourself talking to someone close to you, thinking the conversation is going along great when the other person reacts in an irritated manner? Or even an anxious manner? You think back to what you have said, reviewing your comments and nothing sticks out as being particularly bad. Well you have just experienced a misunderstanding. For many people, their communication skills with loved ones are not as strong as they think† (Anon. , 2011, p. 1). Communication is a two way street where both people need to be traveling the same direction. When one person gets off course or veers then we have a miscommunication. In the article entitled, â€Å"Close Relationships Sometimes Mask Poor Communication† study co-author Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, explained, â€Å"Our problem in communicating with friends and spouses is that we have an illusion of insight. Getting close to someone appears to create the illusion of understanding more than actual understanding† (as cited in Anon. , 2011, p. 1). I had just such a miscommunication take place tonight. â€Å"As social animals, we want and need connections with other people† (Soles, 2011, p. 22). Tonight I experienced a miscommunication with my family. We were planning to get together as we usually try to do on Monday nights, due to misunderstanding and miscommunication on everyone’s part we did not end up getting together. I wanted that connection to my family. So alas I write this paper about that very miscommunication instead. Our first mistake was trying to organize it through texting and two different people trying to coordinate it at the same time. That never works. Secondly, my mom assumed no one was going to show up so she made other plans before waiting for any of us to answer back. The only plus to the experience is she did let us know in time so we didn’t head to her house and accidentally show up when her friend did too. To avoid this type of miscommunication in the future we could talk on the phone or email everyone at one time. Also clarify when one thinks the response is in the negative and not the affirmative. If one of us is questioning an answer as iffy then ask the sender to clarify their response and not assume it is an automatic no. These days with all the social media, texting, emailing, etc. I find miscommunications to be more prevalent and more abundant. Many of us have had our feelings hurt by a simple misunderstanding or misspelling when receiving an electronic message. In my example from tonight there were too many veering cars on our road to communicating though luckily no collisions. Had we just communicated more openly and honestly not assuming anything we could have avoided the misunderstandings and any potential hurt feelings. Communication is a two way street but you both have to be going the same direction or it leads to miscommunication.

Affirmative action plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Affirmative action plan - Assignment Example g that equal rights and treatment are present within the workplace1.The purpose of affirmative action plans is to ensure that there is equal opportunity for all people. However, this approach differs from a traditional equal opportunity approach, because equal opportunity attempts to eliminate discrimination when it occurs, but affirmative action plans are more active, and aim to prevent discrimination happening2. This is an important distinction and is critical in the way that organizations develop and enact affirmative action plans. Despite their prevalence throughout the United States, and the legislative support that is present for them, there is considerable controversy about the use of affirmative action plans. Opponents argue that they promote discrimination through the process of reverse discrimination, where people who are not part of a minority group have less opportunities and benefits than those who are in a minority. The purpose of this paper is to examine this history surrounding affirmative action plans, their use in present day organizations, the controversy about them and to consider what this is likely to mean for affirmative action plans in the future. People of racial or ethnic minority groups as well as women have often experienced legal or social exclusion in many areas. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hispanic Americans and African Americans were mostly segregated into low income jobs, leaving some categories of employment for white males only, including fire departments and police departments in many major cities. In contrast, roles that required hard manual labor tended to be almost exclusively occupied by people from ethnic minorities. Although there were significant improvements to civil rights, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the creation of equal opportunities for women and minority groups was often difficult. This was in part due to the difficulties in implementing the changes and the fact that organizations could easily ignore the

Alcan Paper Five Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alcan Paper Five - Essay Example The enterprise has operating facilities across 61 countries with a work force of about 68,000 employees (Dube, Bernier, & Roy, 2009). The organization takes the leading position in production of raw materials, fabricated products and primary metals. The enterprise is involved in creating and selling of a variety of products, which include bauxite, automobile iron, sheet ingot, aluminum recycling services, forging stock (INDUSTRY CANADA, 2005). This paper explores a report of Alcan based on the case studies. The report discusses the application of Information Technology within the Alcan organization and it is a summary of issues addressed in part 1 to part four all of which focused on the Alcan. It addresses a range of issues that concerns Alcan Organization. The issues of concern include the General Systems, Theory and Social-Technical Theory, Organizational Success, Failures and Consequences, Communication Policies, STS Practices, and application of theories within the Organization, the Alcan’s organization and operating technology, technological contributions to the organization, dominant Information Technology strategies and practices, technological barriers or success, the Alcan’s business continuity plan, the company’s organization and operating technology, technological contributions to the organization, dominant Information Technology strategies and practices, technological barriers disaster recovery plan, and business continuity plan. Organization Environment. Alcan Organization has operating facilities across 61 countries with a work force of about 68,000 employees. It has four principal business groups which are: Bauxite and Alumina, Primary Metal, packaging and the engineered products. The four business groups are the main revenue contributors for the organization (Dube, Bernier, & Roy, 2009). The company sells a variety of products, which include bauxite, automobile iron, sheet ingot, aluminium recycling services, forging stock. It is extremely vertically integrated having eight mines and deposits, a transport network with ports and facilities, seven alumina plants, 26 aluminium smelters, 17 laminated products plants, 12 electric power plants, seven alumina refineries, 180 packaging materials plants and 49 engineered products plants (Dube, Bernier, & Roy, 2009). Organizational Structure. The senior management in Alcan Company consists of a CIO and four associates (Dube, Bernier, & Roy, 2009). These associates include: Strategic IT-Program director, Chief information-security- officer director, performance-management director, and the Enterprise Architectural director. Next to these are two services that are shared. One service is for the application, and the next is for infrastructure. In the centre of the ladder, there are different business groups of Information Technology directors. Each business group is headed by an IT director referred to as VP (Dube, Bernier, & Roy, 2009). Challenges Faced by Alcan Organization. Alcan organization is faced with various environmental, economical, social as well as technological challenges. The environmental challenges facing Alcan include sustainable raw material development, industrial waste, air emissions, and water. The company overcomes this challenge by developing a clean manufacturing process and designing a method of recycling the waste products (Foster, 2005). Economic Challenges in Alcan include high costs due to funds misappropriation in the company, ineffective and inefficiency business

Misogynistic portrayals of women in Othello Essay

Misogynistic portrayals of women in Othello - Essay Example In Shakespeares celebrated play Othello we find three women who play vital role. Towards the end of the play we find that only one woman survives. All the three women are deprived of an identity in the play. We find that all the three women are either married or maintaining relationship with a male. During the time when the play was written, women exercised no power in the society. The Venetian society maintained a hierarchy in which men possessed all powers and women were considered inferior to men. In Othello we find Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona being in relation with the male characters Cassio, Iago and Othello. In those days women were considered as creatures with no intellectual power. However we find that the women characters of the play speak sense throughout the play. Women characters are also found trusting other characters. All the women characters of the play represent a specific social level. Desdemona represents the highest social level and Bianca represents the lowest social level. Each sexual relationship initiates some feeling of jealousy between the couple. Bianca is not frequently found in the play like other characters. However, her presence is crucial in the matter of death of Desdemona and other crucial matters. Iago considers her as a prostitute. Even though she fell in love with Cassio, we never find Cassio acknowledging her affection because of his desire for status. He knew that her social standing would highly influence this matter. She is found to be extremely jealous in this relationship. We find Iago using Bianca’s name to trigger the entire confusion in the play. This finally led to the tragedy end of the play. Regarding Emilia we find that she never questions Iago when she gives handkerchief to him. This shows the women’s ability to trust. However she is also found to be ignorant of the whole story till the end of the play. Her life comes to a sudden end, in the hands of her husband. She

Film, Television and Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Film, Television and Society - Research Paper Example Such as in 1973, new shows that were introduced increased the number to 28 but most of the new shows were cancelled. Similar evidences were reported in 1975 to 1977 but majority of the efforts failed. This constant failure reflected boredom of viewer for the various programs that were significantly similar and other emergent trends in the society (Dunnett, 126-127). The era of 1970 in US television is also regarded "The Decade of Norman Lear." This show characterized the Lear and Bud in situation comedy of an American society with an opportunity to see the various dimensions that were earlier considered as restricted domain by other channels. The shows casted different aspects of women rights identifying pressing women for identifying her true strength. For example, One Day At A Time presented the success of single mom in gaining success in the their lives. The show presented single mom as Heroes. All In The Family was another show despite being the controversial gained much populari ty. The show depicted the ways with which American family deals with issues. Various taboos in the American families were pushed aside in this program that created complexities. The news on television was given more acceptance than newspaper. The era viewed the increased influence on the television by the government. For example, the government banned the cigarettes advertisement on television and caused broadcasters loosing revenue of around US $ 200. In addition to this, the influence of US government was also witnessed in the government attempting to gain the support for the defence policies. The television in the era of 1970s also gained some greater exposures to country political conditions and other related matters. For... This paper approves that another factor that was raised from the freedom was loss of grounds that binds the society. The religious, social and even governmental grounds of society were increasingly losing its strength. The society was more inclined to free love, trends of rock and roll, changing genders etc has immense impact. In addition to this, the rising freedom orientation and frustration led to usage of drugs in society. People increasingly relied on drugs such as cocaine to continuously keep the energy level high and nitrate to arouse sexual abilities. The disco parties for all night had to offer these artificial energizers to keep people going on. The other negative impact from these factors resulted in promiscuity within constantly rising heterosexuals and homosexuals set in society. This report makes a conclusion that the above document attempted to comprehend the conditions of society transition from one state to other as result of the infusions from media of communication. TV and film selected as the medium for transmitting these changes. With central focus on the programs aired on TV and content that formed the subjects of film the document entails the varying factors reflected. Though there has been constant debate on the fact of the TV and film picks up subjects from surrounding and so happened in the 1970s era but at the same time the fact remains that such content further had devastating impact on the society. The worsened impact as concluded is the societal condition where government loses all morals and reflections are observed in the society’s conduct.

Return on Financial Assets Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Return on Financial Assets - Math Problem Example tainty (low risk). In other words, invested money can earn higher profits only if there is a possibility of it being lost. Likewise, a corporate bond has several risks attached to it such as term to maturity risk, degree of liquidity risk and its credit rating. Each bond is discussed below with regard to the risk attached to it. I. Bond X will earn the highest return because of low credit rating which means that agencies regard this firm as highly risky. Moreover, it also involves maturity risk and degree of liquidity risk which is assumed as it is not stated. II. Bond W will earn a lower return in comparison to X but higher than Y and Z, as it is rated better by the rating agency which denotes low risk in terms of business operation. However maturity and liquidity risk exists which makes investor hesitant to take it unless it offers required return for it. III. Bond Y will yield more than Z but less than W and X because of its high credit rating, low term to maturity risk which is e vident from the fact that investor will get his principal amount back before investor of bond W and X. But still it contains liquidity risk which will result in paying a higher return than bond Z. IV. Lastly, bond Z will yield the least amount of return as it does not have liquidity risk, maturity risk and neither low credit rating. Investors won’t demand high return as their investment is relatively safe. 2. Explain how an economist could use the slope of the yield curve to analyze the probability that a recession will occur and why the spread may matter.   Answer: Yield curve shows a relationship between yield and maturity of a debt instrument. Its slope has always been a good indicator of economic movements, as it can indicate where investor sentiments are heading. It indicates investors’ expectation of economy and interest rate. A sharply upward sloping, or steep yield curve, has often been an indication of an economic shift. Yield curve can indicate upcoming rec ession when it starts to invert. It occurs when long-term yields fall below short-term yields (Besley and Brigham, 2000). Under anomalies, if investors think that economy will slow down or decline in the future they will be satisfied with lower yield. Inverted yield curves also suggest that the market is expecting inflation to remain low. This is because, even if there is a recession, a low bond yield will still be offset by low inflation. 3. One year ago, you bought a bond for $10,000. You received interest of $400 at the end of the year, as well as your $10,000 principal. If the inflation rate over the last year was five percent, calculate the real return. Show your work.   Answer: Real return of a security is calculated by discounting the interest earned and principal invested to (t=0) i.e. today and then finding percentage return of the investment. For the above given question, firstly, principal amount and interest earned is added to get $10,400 and then discounted at a rate of 5%

Authority, Structure and Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Authority, Structure and Organization - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  board of directors plays a very rudimentary role in plan implementation. They formulate organization’s vision and mission. They audit all components of plan implementation.   The board of directors also ensures the planned strategy is effective and efficient. At the beginning of the process, they help the team, members in choosing the ideal course and direction. Similarly, they provide an overview of specific opportunities and planning process. After implementation program, they review all strategies to ensure consistency of the implementation plans and main aims. Additionally, they give planning teams insight on the current trends. Lastly, they evaluate opportunities and threats.This paper discusses that the executive leaders execute the strategies of implementation. They ensure there is clear communication between the implementation committee. In future consideration, the leaders make long-term and short-term goals. Also, they play a cru cial role in strategy implementation that helps the idea to become part of the organisation.   In the long run the leaders align, measure make plan implementable.  The committee addresses issues of quality when the plans are being implemented. They evaluate the plan and give a further recommendation on how to improve the quality. The committee also evaluates, provide a report and implement involvement. Furthermore, they help in developing action plans in the health sector.

Purhsing Paper Can Be Fun Essay Example for Free

Purhsing Paper Can Be Fun Essay Question: What Performance problems is the captain trying to correct. Ans: 1 Poor Reporting Performance among the employees. Question: Use the MARS model of individual behavior and performance to diagnose the possible causes of the unacceptable behavior. Ans: 2 Possible causes for the unacceptable behavior is as follows: MARS Model: There are four main factors that directly influence an employee’s voluntary behavior and resulting performance. Employee Motivation: There was no clear motivation for employees to do their job perfectly as required. Motivation does not mean only financial motivation; people are motivated not only with money but also with an appreciation by the leaders of the company is enough to motivate them and pump in the force required to do the job with intensity. Captain must have set some goals which on achieving, the employees get recognition through an appreciation letter at least from the higher ranked personnel in the organization, keeping in mind that he was under the budget crunch which limited him in motivating employees by rewarding them financially. Ability: Analyzing the employees based on their capabilities was one of the cause. You will find some people whose interest is in doing the office work, captain should have recognize the skills and knowledge and segregate the work within depending on their capabilities. Coaching was also missing by the captain. Role Perceptions: They were aware about the consequences for inadequately doing the reporting as they were having issues when the case reached the court. Captain should have given them priorities from their various responsibilities by explaining them that the what matters is the quality of the work and not quantity. This would have helped them to improve. Situational Factors: As captain explained they set-up the team competitions based on the excellence of the reports, but the leaders were not committed and none of them were receiving any type of rewards for winning the competition. Leadership is responsible for the well-being of the employee in the company so they need to be committed. Question: Has the captain considered all the possible solutions to the problem? IF not what else might be done? Ans: NO What else can be done is as follows: 1. Task related trainings should be provided to strengthen the capabilities of the employees. 2. Improved Employee Engagement should be done, by recognizing the best employees, rewarding them which will boost their moral and they will feel that they are an integral part of the team. He can set-up a mechanism, like Employee of the Month Award and can display it in the office. 3. Coaching is also an important aspect of the leader, as a leader he should coach his team as and when required.

Mission, Vision, and Goals Essay Example for Free

Mission, Vision, and Goals Essay My mission in life is to be happy with the way my life turned out. Yes, I would love to have a lot of money and to be known, but whats the point of having all of that when Im not happy that I have it? Most people mistake being grateful for happiness. Wrong! Many of the rich and famous are grateful for what they have, but not all are happy with it. No matter how my life turns out, I just want to be happy. Whether I am a homeless woman living in a shelter, or a successful entrepreneur living in a million dollar home, I just want to be happy!! Five-ten years from now, I see myself working on my clothing line and generating a good amount of sales. I see myself getting talked about in some of the hottest fashion magazines saying that I am one of the hottest successful plus size fashion designers around. During this time I hope to have a high rolling website for my line, and that I have a huge amount of customers that buy my items. I would also love to have at least one- two fashion boutiques fully designed and fully staffed. Being a fashion designer is my main career goal. I do not see myself being anything but a designer. Fifteen-twenty years from now, I see myself being in runway shows showing off all of my fabulous designs. I see luxurious clothing stores all across the map with my brand name a logo on the front. My stores will be fabulous and glamorous like Gucci, Guess, Coach, and Juicy Couture. My clothing will be very elegant and formal. Celebrities, both small and plus size will be flaunting my designs to the Grammys, Oscars, VMAs, and more. My name will be everywhere. I have a dream to be compared to other famous designer brands like Prada, Dior, Christian Louboutin, Vera Wang, Fendi and more! I want celebreties to specifically request me and my company to design an exclusive garment for a special occasion such as a wedding. Today, I am studying business management at Johnson and Wales University. My financial aid has recently put me in a position where unfortunately, I will most likely not be attending school next year. Instead, I will be working and saving money, so that I can go to a fashion school and get a fashion degree. While I am working during the summer, I play to buy a sewing machine, and teach myself how to sew clothes. I have been looking to buy a mannequin dress form, but unfortunately they range from $95 to nearly $500, so I have decided to make my own. I will be doing a small project where I will make my own mannequin dress form of my best friends body. My plan to help me get a better understanding of the fashion world, is to be an intern at a fashion company. I hope to land my first job as a fashion assistant, either before I go to fashion school (if Im lucky) or after I receive my degree. Fashion is a huge part of my life, and no matter what obstacles come in my way like not being able to attend school next year, I will make my dreams of becoming a fashion designer come true!