Company overview of unilever

Company overview of unilever Unilever is one of the fast moving consumer goods (FMNG) in the world. They offer a wide range of products in food, beverages, personal care products and many more. The success story of Unilever can be seen in the annual turnover in the year 2009 which is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬39.8billion worldwide and employs 163,000 employees around the world. Company situation Mission Statement: Unilever main goal is to add value to the life of people. They want to reach out to the consumers by satisfying their everyday needs. By providing the needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care they are able to help the people to feel refresh, look good and get the most out of their life. Moving on, they want to develop a new way of making business with priority towards expanding twice the size of company while reducing environmental impact. Below is a graph of Unilevers annual turnover: Source: (www.unilever.com/images/ir_Charts%201996%202006_tcm13-90292.pdf ) Financial Summary: Source : (www.unilever.co.uk//introductiontounilever/annual-reports/ ) This graph clearly shows Unilever progress throughout the past years. Underlying sale growth (USG) is the percentage of increase in turnover, modify for the impact of acquisitions, disposal and exchange rate fluctuations. In the year 2009, the USG growth is 3.5% compared to 7.4% in 2008. Underlying volume growth (UVG) is sales after the impact of (USG), which is 2.3% in 2009 that shows sustainable development strategy is working because Unilever manage to save in the cost of expenditure.. Operating margin for 2009 is 12.6% compared to 2008 is 17.7%, and this has save the company from net impact profit of disposal, restructuring and other on-off items. Source: (www.unilever.co.uk//introductiontounilever/annual-reports/) This graph above shows the financial review of Unilever in different region such as Asia, Africa, and Central Eastern Europe ( AAC) , America, and also Western Europe. Asia, Africa, and Central Eastern Europe (AAC) In the (AAC) countries, the turnover current rate experience a growth of 2.9% after including the effects of acquisitions, disposals and exchange rate as shown in the graph above. The operating profit at current rate has increase by 13.3% in the year 2009. Despite the fact that market conditions are volatile and challenging in some region, Unilever in (AAC) countries manage to produce a remarkable underlying sales growth of 7.7%. The Americans Unilever in the America has suffered a 2.6% decrease in the turnover growth at current rates after the including the effects of acquisitions, disposal, and exchange rate. The Operating profit at current rates for the year 2009 has experience major lose of 37.4% Western Europe Unilever in the Western Europe has suffered losses as much as 6% in the year 2009, after including the effects of acquisition, disposal and exchange rate as shown in the graph above. The Operating profit in 2009 experience the most losses at current rate as high as 50.4% in Western Europe. The factor that causes such huge losses are because of the lack confidence in the consumers towards the brand in the Western Europe, and there have been an increase in unemployment rate due to the challenging economy in many countries. Market Share Source: (http://zpryme.com/blog/?p=420) Above shows the market share of Unilever Bestfoods NA dominating the market with 26.3%. Lipton tea as Unilevers food segment brand has dominated the market because of their market strategy such as Tea Can Do That campaign to create awareness and Lipton tea has promises innovation tea flavors and at the same time providing a healthy lifestyle drinks for consumer . Source 🙠 http://www.fixedincomeinvestor.co.uk/x/analysis.html?cat=Analysis%20%26%20Commenttype=Bond%20of%20the%20Weekaid=291) Chart above shows the market share of Unilever from 1994 to 2008, Unilever has been operating internationally and generate annual sales of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬40billion and the profitable of this company has produce a relatively stable share price that does not have a major downfall even though tough competitive market in the Europe market with competitor like Procter Gamble ( PG ) . Unilever has also performed much better then what the dismal FTSE 100 index predicted over this decades. Market Situation PESTLE implications Political Environment Unilever being a fast moving consumer goods (FMNG) company in the world does not support any political parties whose activities is to promote the party interest, this is because they believe that the business they operate in must be behave with honesty , integrity and openness. However, the political trends still affects Unilever in the United Kingdom. In early February 2010, Unilever has been burden by the increase of taxation by the UK government. Initially, the company is already facing economic instability because consumer are unwillingly to spend more money. Paul Polman, the chief executive said that the daily mail, If on top of that we would get an additional regulatory or tax environment that would make us non-competitive that would be unfortunate for the UK. Mr Polman is worried with the increase of taxation , Unilever has to pay even more into for expenditure cost for research laboratories, manufacturing facilities and more. Source : (www.unilever.com/images/ir_Charts%201996%202006_tcm13-90292.pdf) The graph above shows from year 2000 until 2004, Unilever has been less on expenditure such as manufacturing facilities, and research and development sector. As of year 2004 onwards the cost has been increasing yearly until 1,700 (million) and with the recent increase of taxation in UK , Unilever will have to spend more on expenditure cost in the year to come. With the increase of expenditure cost and in downfall of net profit made by Unilever , this will affect the momentum of profit generated for the company in UK , and this will cost the performance of improvement in Unilever which is a slow growth in the market business. This is why Mr Polman is concerned with the increment of corporation tax. He also added that , We have to be sure when changes are contemplated [by the Government] that it takes into account what other countries do as well in Europe, or outside of Europe, to provide competitive corporate tax rates. Economic environment In the economic environment, Unilever generates wealth by adding value to raw materials, and manufacturing their product for the consumers. The parties that are involve in the economic environment is their employees, government, investors, and many more communities that benefits from the activities of the company. Source : (www.unilever.com//sd_UnileverSDReport170310_amended_tcm13-212972.pdf) This graph shows the parties that benefit from the activities that are ventured by Unilever in UK. Despite the economic instability that happens in decades, Unilever is still able to generate an operating profit of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5,020 and sales of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 39,823 million in 2009. This graph shows us that the employees gain the biggest share of the company which is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5.2billion, whereas the least share is earn by the local communities which is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬89million. The provider of capital obtains the 2nd highest share which is à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2.5billion and the governments gain à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬959million from the company in the form of corporation tax that is issued by the government. Sociological Environment Making a difference in society is one of Unilevers biggest aim because they want to deliver the best and to give back to the society that has been supporting the success of Unilever. Unilever will be focusing to provide nutrition information to the understanding of consumers and also improving nutrition quality of their products. In order to improve the nutritional quality of the product and maintaining the taste, It is estimated that reduction of salt intake by 1g can reduce the chances of strokes by 5% and heart attack by 3 % reducing salt by as little 1 g. The Nutrition Enhancement Programme has come up with a strategy known as salt reduction strategy; in this strategy it states that in 2009 we set product benchmarks to achieve a dietary intake of 6 g of salt per day by the end of 2010, with the ambition to reduce further to5 g per day by the end of 2015 Unilever has also extended their impact by working together with World Food Programme (WFP) where they support developing countries and improving the health and nutrition of product. In order to reach out to the people , Unilever in UK has donated à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬500,00 through global partnership and with (WFP). They also encourage people to donate through website to the Haitis earthquake disaster relieve cost. Unilever also had donated soap and Puriet ( water purifier that does not need pressured water and or electricity. Technology Environment In the technology sector, Unilever has been spending in the area of e-business to improve brands communication and market through internet, and also making transaction simple along chain. Unilever Technology has work together with Unilever R D group in order to meet consumers needs. In the year 2003, Unilever introduce the new pallet live storage system from Bitto Storage System Ltd. The purpose of this technology is to store frozen products. Plans are being made to improve IT infrastructure in Unilever. For example, increment in the energy-efficiency of data centers and applying power management strategies. Tele presence video conferencing is also applied in order to reduce the impact of business travelling. Telepresence has been generated in 13 countries and plan to add another 39 countries in 2010. This technology have helped us to reduce our emission by 4,230 tonnes and save up to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬12 million in travel cost for the year 2010 . Environmental Environment Unilever is taking the responsibility in reducing the total environmental impact; the main problem is actually to reduce greenhouse gases from the manufacturer of their products. Unilever has been doing a wonderful job in reducing the production of C02 to the environment. They have achieved a 41% reduction of CO2 emission per tonned production since 1995. Their main goal today is to reduce CO2 production in their manufacturing operation by 25% in the year end 2012. Source: (www.unilever.com/images/ir_Charts%201996%202006_tcm13-90292.pdf) In this graph we can see that, in the year 2009 they manage to reduce their CO2 production by 3% per tonne of production compared to 2008. From year 2000 to 2009 we can see that Unilever is able to reduce the production of Co2 consistently. The factor for this success is because of the good manufacturing practice that they adopt in the factories. However, they have to bear a great cost in venturing into technology that will further reduce the emission of CO2. Source : (www.unilever.com/images/ir_Charts%201996%202006_tcm13-90292.pdf) Unilever also make approach into saving water consumption, they have been consistently reducing water use in manufacturing. Quantity of water usage per tonne of production has been reducing by 65% since the year 1995. From this graph we can study that the goal of reducing water usage is also in the right path. Every year since 2000 until 2009 the usage of water reduces per tonne of production. In the year 2009, as show in the graph water consumption was reduce by 5.6 % per tonne of production compared to the earlier year in 2008, which is a reduction in 8.1% in to be precise . Legislation environment Unilever is protected by European Commission to ensure that there is no infringement towards the brand name and product of Unilever. Unilevers business is also govern by laws and regulation to make sure that products are safely used by consumers and also that advertising and labeling are not misleading in the business world. Unilever also has Environment Policy to follow in order to ensure safety of their products and reduce environmental footprint of their brand. Evaluation should be made at every stage, from producing the raw materials to create products to dispose usage by the consumer as the end user. Environmental management systems should be develops and improve in order to enhance the performance of environmental safety and sustainability programmes. Encourage suppliers to develop and improve ingredients and manufacturing of Unilever products. Relationship with industry bodies, government agencies, and business partners should be strong to promote environmental care and to develop the knowledge and disseminate best practice. Competitors situation and SWOT analysis Although Unilever is a fast moving consumer goods (FMNG) in the world, their standing in the world is also affected by competitor around them. Nestle is also one of the worlds largest food manufacturer, that is based In 200 countries worldwide and head quartered in Vevey, Switzerland. Their operating activities include food, beverages, pet care and also pharmaceuticals. They have 253,000 employees around the world. Strength Recognition as a global company Strong brand portfolio Strong relationship with retailer Economic of scales Weaknesses Dual leadership Inefficient management of brands Reduced spending on R D Inability to maximize acquisition Opportunities Changing of costumers taste The high demand of healthy products Responding toward global activities Threats Strong competition- decrease in revenue New development of different brands Exchange rate Weather SWOT Analysis of Unilever Strength Global sales have topped $ 101billion Ranked as worlds largest bottle water company Major brands consistently supported by consumer Weakness Growth in organic food was flat Breakfast cereal was claim to have posses fake health benefits General Mills is a major brand but slow in innovation and health base products Opportunities Introduce more health-based products Opened Nestle Cafà ©s to feature Nestle Products Provide peanut free and gluten free products Threats Raw ingredient price of chocolate has rise Major Competitor in chocolate such as Hersheys, Starbucks and many more Contamination of food supply SWOT Analysis of Nestlà © Comparison of Unilever and Nestle SWOT analysis Strength Unilever is recognizing worldwide because of the success of their products and is base in many other countries. It has an excellent management of portfolio, which includes many leading global wants with powerful category ranking such as Lipton tea. This brand has the marketing expertise to capitalize worldwide including regenerating 44% sales from the increment in D E markets. Nestle has the attention of consumer as they have target environmental issues by ranking as the largest bottle company in the world, and Nestle is easily accessible because they are operating in more than 100 countries. Weaknesses Reports of replacing current CEO has raise uncertainty factor as his role in Unilever is very successful. Unilever has a wide management folio which includes their top 25 brands. There is a lack of management strategy. Some consumer brands might have stronger management compared to others in order to compete with competitors. Nestles breakfast cereal product has been branded as false claim in providing health benefits by American Medical Association. This will cost Nestle a huge loss in the market share and also expenditure in rebranding the brand. This has give Unilever the chance to target consumer with health benefits products in their food and drinks line which is Lipton tea. Opportunities Unilever can improve the need for high quality food, with more nutritious ingredients or organic meal services. Consumers are concern about ingredients knowledge. Products must be different in packaging, example labeling on nutrition facts on product package. For global activities, Unilever has work in partnership with World Food Programmes (WFP) with support in the development of the health and nutrition of children in developing countries. In 2009, 17 million meals were provided for children of 80,000 and in Kenya, Indonesia, and Colombia at least 50,000 schools were taking part in Health and Nutrition Campaign. Nestle has come up with new strategies in order to target health benefit products such as opening Nestle Cafes that sells their products actively in all countries and also give them the chance to promote new products. Threats World economic instability may affect developing countries and continue to spread in the R E markets. Rivals (FMNG) may rise to capture the market share from Unilever growth areas, as they also focus on the same market as Unilever. Brands like P G and Nestle are also coming with new brands that are cheap and still maintain the quality of products. Weather such as drought is also a threat to Unilevers Lipton tea brand as they might fail to produce the targeted tea amount and good quality tea. As for Nestle as they are exposure to chocolate brands such as Hersheys and Cadbury that might come up with more creative chocolate products. Food contamination is also a threat to Nestle as they are afraid it might damage their image as a global food producer. Raw chocolate ingredients have increase in price and might cost Nestle to spend more on expenditure cost. Objectives and assumptions Societal objectives Specific Guide consumer to reduce salt intake by 6g per day Change the hygiene behavior of people through Lifebuoy and its partner programmes Display percentage Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) for key nutrient on the package of products Measureable Food portfolio has reach benchmark of 76% reduction of salt in products Lifebuoy programmes such as has reach out to 23 countries through Global Washing Hand Programmes Food products that are manufactured with key nutrients on packaging Achievable World Health Organisation has recommended 5g intake of salt per day and this will guide consumer to follow them in the path of healthy life Hygiene education has been rolled -out towards countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam All food products will reduce in percentage of salt, and saturated fat but retain the taste of the products Realistic World Health Organisation recommended to reduce intake of salt has help Unilever to guide consumer to reduce salt intake by reducing the salt concentration in products Millions of people has been reach in 23 countries to increase awareness on hygiene Nutrition information helps consumer to understand how healthy is the product Timely In the year 2010, 5g of salt intake has been reduce. By 2015, 6 g of salt consumption will be achieved Change the hygiene behavior of 1 billion people by the year 2015 Environmental Objectives Specific Reduce environmental impact while doubling size of business All tea for Lipton tea product are from certified sustainable resources All palm oil obtain from certified sustainable resources Reduce CO2 from energy in manufacturing products Measurable Assessed greenhouse gas, water, and waste impact of 1500 products Around 80% of Lipton Tea Label are from certified farms 185,000 tonnes of palm oil are purchase via certified farms Reduce the production of Co2 energy in manufacturing sector of products Achievable Tea that are sold in Western Europe comes from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms Total purchase of 15% palm oil are from Green Palm Certified farms Achieve 41% reduction in Co2 energy from manufacturing products Realistic 65% and 73% reduction in water and total wastage Rainforest Alliance certified farm and Green Palm farms are main supply of tea and palm oil for Lipton tea products Manufacturing sector strategy are able to reduce 44% of Co2 since 1995 Timely By the year 2015, all tea that are sold is certified sustainable sources By the year 2015, all palm oil that are sold is also from certified sustainable sources By the year 2015, water, greenhouse gas, and waste impact is reduce by another 25% Co2 energy reduce by 25%in manufacturing products by the year 2015 Financial Objectives Specific Increase sourcing from smallholder to ensure security supply Reached 49% of sales in developing countries Unilever top line growth in sales by 5% Brand reduction from 1600 to 400 products Measurable Tea and Palm oil are obtain from certified farms 12 brands with sales of 1billion profit Brand extension such as Knorr to increase profit sales Achievable Product production in small portion so that low income earners can purchase it Realistic Increase consumption of products by consumers at all income level in developing product Timely By the year 2012, there is an increase of 5 to 6 % in profit Assumptions In order to prepare this marketing plan, a few assumption to be made for Unilever in the future. Contamination of ingredients in product Unilever takes precaution in producing new products, if the safety of certain ingredients or product that is not sure, Unilever will not put it in the market for sale. This assure consumer that all products manufactured by Unilever are safe to use. Improve technology for better quality of products Technology advancement has assist in finding new ingredients for products and safety precaution measures are taken to improve the new discovery. Unilever will safely exercise substitution method with the product that is already in the market as a development of product quality. Hazardous product that defects product qualities and benefits will be disposed. Strategies Personal care for future sales growth and profitability Unilever has identified the key to achieve sustainable profitable growth through its personal care business segment as it generate the fastest-growing business compared to other sector such as food and beverages. Personal care business refers to the products that are self managed, such as hair shampoo and skin care products. This is because the demand for these products in the market has been increasing, as well as the existing sales from this segment is satisfying. However, Unilevers greatest rival Procter Gamble (PG) for many years have been more innovative and creative in introducing new products. In the previous year in the personal care sale increase only by 1.4% to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬11.30billion while overall turnover rose by 1.4% to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬40.2 billion. In order for creating future sales growth, Unilever will focus more personal care segment for future sale growth and sustaining profit from increasing raw material cost. Graph below shows the revenue increment in Unilever s products line, including personal care segments. External Pressure and Organisational Restructuring High cost of raw material, adverse exchange rates and macroeconomic worries such as politic and regulation of countries might affect the performance of Unilever. In order to secure generation of profit and sustaining raw material cost Unilever has come up with few strategies. Unilever has to reduce 20,000 jobs across its production division and combine its Personal Care and food sector into one category to reduce cost that will be delivered to consumer. Unilever has come up with Path to Growth strategy that promises improvement in its performances. This strategy will help the organisation to restructure its two global divisions, Home Personal Care and Food into one division. This would effectively lower production costs that will be implied into price of the products and influence consumers consumption from price aspect. Price is a crucial matter to consumers due to economy fluctuation that will affect lower spending power. Unilever Marketing Mix Here we will discuss the marketing mix strategy of Unilever in that might boost their sale. Unilever has wide range of brand such as Home Personal Care products to food and drinks like Knorr and Lipton tea. We will now do the marketing mix of Sun silk because Unilevers most profitable line of product is personal care products. So below is the marketing mix of Sun silk from Unilever Marketing mix Explanation Product Sunsilk is one of Unilevers famous brands under personal care product. It targets mainly woman by portraying the 21st century woman that is confident, charismatic, and get going attitude that doesnt wait for things to happen but achieve their goals by sheer hard work. Although the main target is woman but Sunsilk is used by many people of difference class and age group. In order to satisfy the needs of their consumer, Sunsilk has developed various kinds of shampoo and conditioner that suit the different kind of hair type. Sunsilk has manage to gain loyalty of consumers because of their undying effort in producing more innovative products and maintaining its quality through extensive chemical testing until it is truly safe. Place In order for Sunsilk to be the number 1st choice for its consumer, they must distribute their products to all the people no matter where they are. Sunsilk has targeted retail outlets, malls, super market and any other stores as long they are easily access for consumers. The high consumer demand has shown that easy availability factor is very important to reach out to the consumers. Price As the market leader in personal care products, Sunsilk is freely to set the market price. In order to satisfy the main goal of Unilever which is maximise profit , increase the sales and also increase in market share the price of product is an important factors that affect all of this. The research department determines the price of the products while taking account the affordability of consumers of different income level. Unilevers main competition which is Procter Gambles Pantene product has also come up with innovative products to gain the market share of Sunsilk. Fortunately, Sunsilk has the advantage to set the price of product by being the market leader in personal care products. Sunsilk has also take inflation into account, by maintaining constant profit margins. Promotion Advertising and marketing strategy are the main tools for Sunsilk to push up their sales and awareness of their products. In order to promote their brands , Sunsilk has distributed flyers and free sachets at malls, retail outlets and also door to door campaigning. Hair experts are also send to schools to check the hair type of people in one region and how can they improvise their products for such consumers. Free gift hampers and free washes are also given to people to maintain the goodwill and maintain the momentum of brand loyalty. Sunsilk has also increase the awareness of people by using the growing trend of online advertising and communication network of people. Internet access has act as an online material to ensure that people does not escape the attention of Sunsilk. Television is another major communication access for consumer to keep the brand fresh in the mind of consumers and also to attract new consumers and breed interest in the usage of Sunsilk products. Forecast sales budget à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ 2009 (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬)million 2010(à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬)million 2011(à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬)million 2012(à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬)million Turnover 39,823 41,814 43,905 46,100 Cost of Sales 20,580 20,992 21,411 21,840 Percent 51.68% 50.20% 48.77% 47.38% à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Operating Profit 19,243 20,823 22,493 24,260 Percent 48.32% 49.80% 51.23% 52.62% à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Operating Expenses 14,223 14,934 15,681 16,465 Percent 35.72% 35.72% 35.72% 35.72% à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Profit 5,020 5,888 6,813 7,796 Percent 12.61% 14.08% 15.52% 16.91% The increase in profit and operating profit has shown the sales profit of product sales from Unilevers top brand. The increment in operating expenses has shown that promotion strategy has been to use to stay competitive in the market that Unilever venture into.

House of Spirits Essays -- essays research papers

In her famous The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende documents the life of several characters during the Chilean reality in the 1930s. Her notorious feminist ideology is, at times, extremely obvious. Elements such as the clash of social classes and the social, political and economical conditions of Chile during this period of high turmoil are also well portrayed. Isabel Allende achieves to give us a good image of what life in Chile was like during those years. Some particular characters specially exemplify all of these elements very clearly. Allende’s character Esteban Trueba has a very intricate life. Through his triumphs and defeats and through the different places of this novel, Allende portrays several elements that clearly exemplify historical, political and economic events in Chile. Esteban’s life is that of the low class in Chile. He usually longs for power and money to make good things happen. After leaving, his mother and sister, and starting a new and independent life, Esteban’s ideology changes dramatically. For the first time he directly experiments success and wealth. He feels as if he has no problems, mainly because he does not have a family to weigh him down. Trueba's move to Three Marias seems to appease his hunger temporarily, before his monstrous, demanding, and ever growing needs overwhelms him. The type of lifestyle achieved by Esteban Trueba in Three Marias far surpassed that of living with his mother and sister, however only brief moments of satisfaction are incurred. These, pre viously mentioned, moments created a hunger for perfection and greed that would continue perpetuate at any cost. Only when Trueba receives a letter from Ferula does he remember his life with her and his mother, which forces him to endure his memories of poverty and pain. He even remembers the smell of medicine, which had encompassed their home. These memories force Esteban to reflect on the reasons and ideas that made him leave his origins. He reminisces on that portion of his life, occupied by the deterioration of his family. Esteban’s case represents that of the oppressed, poor class that is constantly struggling to survive. This struggle for survival becomes so pressing that they start thinking how, if they got the chance, could make things better. They usually fight a lot, but finally, when they reach the position of helping, power becomes their obsession... ...rayal of Nivea and her funeral is in direct contrast with that of Nana and Ferula. Nana is said to have: "...been born to cradle other people's children, wear their hand-me-down clothing, eat their left overs, live on borrowed happiness and grief, grow old beneath other people's roofs die one day in her miserable little room in the far courtyard in a bed that did not belong to her, and be buried in a common grave in a public cemetery."(P 57) The fact that: "None of the many children she had raised with so much love attended her funeral."(P 178) Allende reflects sadly on the women who meekly accept their defined role in society of the time. Ferula is portrayed similarly. Ferula: "...had sacrificed her life to care for the mother, and that she had become a spinster for that reason. Ferula had turned down two suitors on the pretext of her mothers illness"(P 178) When Esteban forces her to leave she is not seen in person until her death when she is found : "Festooned like an Austrian queen..." "She was magnificent in her queenly desolation, and on her face was an expression of sweetness and serenity she never had in her grievous life."

My Year in France Essay -- How Education Has Changed My Life

The bus is swerving around corners at uncomfortable speeds, but no one seems to notice. My bags are falling all over the place, while everyone else's are clutched calmly at their sides. I'm wearing a collered shirt with khakis, and everyone else is wearing black I'm feeling a little out of place. Â   As the shuttle zooms between the various terminals at Paris's Charles de Gualle Airport, I glance nervously at my watch. I have a reservation on the train to Marseille that leaves in 20 minutes. In French, I call up to the driver from the middle of the bus, 'is this stop the train station ?' No one responds. I call again, 'is this stop the train station?' A girl my age timidly shakes her head 'no.' I approach the bus driver three stops later and ask him which stop is the train station, and he responds, 'it was the last stop, Monsieur.' I asked him why he didn't indicate that fact to me, as he had heard me call out earlier, and he curtly replied, 'you didn't ask me, Monsieur.' Â   I missed that train, and had to go into Paris to take the next train, which got me into Marseille several hours later than planned, and into Aix-en-Provence with just enough time for the receptionist at my hotel to inform me that my room had been sold because they thought I wasn't coming. My year in France was off to a frustrating start. Â   Flash to mid-November, ten weeks later. After rolling out of bed in my loft, which is decorated with seventeenth century frescos, I climbed downstairs to fix my French toast in my well-equiped kitchen, complete with a view of a courtyard. I'm worried about finding time to go shopping for tonight's dinner party, what kind of wine I should pick up, and whether I should go to Florence or ... ...ure don't look American anymore. Gone are the bluejeans and concert T-shirts. Gone are the IU sweatshirts. In are turtleneck pulls, dark slacks, and smart shoes. Â   I have grown accustomed to the breakneck speed French drivers maintain, and have learned to travel light. I now know to ask the bus driver first thing to signal my stop, and they are always happy to do so. Â   It's amazing how quickly something so different can become so familiar. For me, that is what I love about traveling-learning to understand the differences in order to discover all the similarities. Looking into that girl's eyes and seeing her complete and utter despair, I realized that my mere ten weeks had already given me the knowledge and attitude necessary to feel comfortable in this foreign place. The learning curve in the months that have followed has been exponential.

Illinois Program Plan on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Essay

The government of Illinois is aware of the drug and alcohol addiction on its almost 2 million residents. Abuse of alcohol and drugs may lead to addiction which is hard to control. â€Å"The human suffering and social and economic loss caused by the illness of alcoholism, addiction to controlled substances, the use of cannabis, and the abuse and misuse of alcohol and other drugs are matters of grave concern to the people of the State of Illinois† (2003). The government of Illinois invests on their person that is why they have the great effort to provide the best services as possible to its people. Alcohol and drug addiction if not prevented might cause your life in danger. Government efforts to support families in strengthening their relationship to each other would become a good avoidance. So as the Illinois government created one of its largest agencies such as the Department of Human Services (DHS). The DHS supports Illinoisans to become self-sufficient to live the life to the fullest. Being self-sufficient means Under DHS there are several programs like Alcoholism and Addiction, cash services for the people who are financially in need, child care, customer services, disability and rehabilitation, health and medical, housing, assistance for the victims of violence and abuse, parenting and youth services. â€Å"The Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DASA) under the Department of Human Services consist of operational Offices/Bureau’s designed to reflect their mission and planning goals and objectives. Primary responsibilities are to develop, maintain, monitor and evaluate a statewide treatment delivery system designed to provide screening, assessment, customer-treatment matching, referral, intervention, treatment and continuing care services for indigents alcohol and drug abuse and dependency problems† (Illinois Department of Human Services, 1999). There are different services offered under DASA such as Case Management which is the provision, coordination, or arrangement of additional services. Another is the Community Intervention is provided within the community and focus on the community and its residents. The HIV Testing and Counseling is to identify and provide early intervention for persons who are at risk of becoming infected or who have become infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Intensive Outpatient Services are clinical services that include individual, group and family counseling and patient education. The DASA Early Intervention is pre-treatment services for individuals whose problems appear to be related to substance abuse but do not meet any diagnostic criteria. Residential Rehabilitation provides clinical and treatment rehabilitation services 24 hours a day. And Detoxification provides immediate and short-term clinical support for persons in the withdrawal process. The intention of toxicology services is to analysis urine, blood, or saliva to determine the presence of alcohol and / or other drugs in clients who receive treatment or intervention services. (Illinois Department of Human Services, 1997) According to the Illinois Substance Abuse Plan (2003) The functions of DASA is to design a comprehensive services to carry out in the whole state to prevent drug abuse and design an accessible treatment and rehabilitation needed by the individuals positive on its usage (p. ). The strategy on all state agencies must be coordinated to make one strategy applicable to their residents as a response to their mutual goals as provider of prevention, treatment and support. DASA acts as the state’s premier provider of rehabilitation and treatment of drug dependents in order to monitor any institutions/establishments and to prevent unreliable providers. These providers are private individuals or institutions rendering alcohol and drug treatment and rehabilitation. They should be accredited by DASA and abide by the rules and regulations. The organization of each institution (provider) must have a good management system that rewards their staffs or employees for rendering good service. DASA encourage, develop, and implement practices that help provider institutions to develop competencies within their workforce to collaborate with researchers, influence research designs, and support internal utilization of quality research within the organization. At this cause, each employee will encourage to do good outputs in their work. In the long run, provider institutions will become stable and efficient. These policies on providers make them more standardize and reliable institution for treatment and rehabilitation. Providers also make the treatment and rehabilitation accessible in all area around the state of Illinois. Individual providers should undergo training in DASA to become competent in the workforce. DASA also have standard training program for providers to increase their knowledge and skills. The people addicted to drugs and alcohol may experience discrimination and isolation to the community. The state government encourages respect for their rights as a person who is just in need of understanding and support. These government efforts reflected on their different services. The agency aims to treat the person addicted to alcohol or drugs not to separate or punish them from the deeds that they had. The program plan provided a system responsive to the needs of its recipients and prioritizes the elimination of the gaps between the needs and available resources. Resources must be well allocated to enhance services and secure its future use. The agency use 5 year program plan from 2003-2007 to comply with the National Treatment Plan of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). They developed the plan entitled the Bridging the Illinois Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Gap for Alcoholism and Other Drug Addiction Services Plan. The department formed different work groups supported by different members of the Subcommittee such as the Reducing Stigma and Changing Attitudes, Reducing the Gap in Services, Workforce Development, Connecting Services and Research, Accountability. Work groups are intended to evaluate and address issues in their particular area that will be used to improve objectives and goals for the program. Work groups are not just intended to evaluate the outcome of the existing plan but to develop the next implementation plan of the department. The state government wanted inform the people on the availability of different programs and seeks public understanding. Informing the people about their situation is the best preventive measure; the program used questionnaires and tools for evaluation and implementation of the plan. There is an appendix attached contained questionnaires for identifying if one person is light, moderate or heavy drinkers. These tools help the people to assess themselves in terms of the usage of alcohol and realize how much money they wasted for alcohols. The plan also introduced â€Å"Spending Calculators† for the individual to realize how much money they spend for alcohol use. â€Å"Create active linkages with a variety of agencies, organizations, communities and consumers around Illinois to focus on relevant knowledge development† (Illinois Substance Abuse Plan, 2003, p. ). These evaluation tools are definitely used by the agency for research purposes. Research will tell the agency if the services are still effective and efficient. If not they take developmental plans to improve services. Research will tell the agency how many people affected or addicted with alcohol or any substance. Whatever causes of alcohol or substance addiction may lead to family problems, ga ngs, lack of education and many alarming issues concerning the development of one person. It is a crucial situation to any parents if their child is positive to alcohol and drug addiction. If one of these appeared then the agency must strengthen their program on that particular aspect because all of these aspects influence the behaviour and character of the individual and it is interconnected to one another. It is also important for the agency to know what are the needs of the people addicted to alcohol and substance because the program for treatment and rehabilitation will depend on the needs of its recipients. The present findings will determine if the program plan is effective or not. If it is not then the agency will use the research findings and outcomes to develop the next program plan not only for the alcohol and drug abuse program but as well as on the other programs. Outcome evaluations is very important because the agency wanted not only to produce program plan but this will guide them in providing good and appropriate services for the people. Technology nowadays is present in our society and it is rapidly advancing. Technology became part of every person’s lives; it became our necessity and way of life. People become dependent on technology because this will not waste their time, effort and money. Almost all people have mobile phones, computers at home with internet access. This technological advantage will greatly help the agency in implementing their program. This is the easiest, fastest and non-expensive way to inform the people of the different services and most importantly to get evaluation outcomes needed for development. I must say that the agency uses the easiest, fastest and less expensive means to get evaluation outcomes. This is more comfortable for the agency because they will no longer have to do the door to door method and also for the respondents not to become disturb and if necessary they will participate anytime they want to. But this would become useless if the agency will just post evaluation tools in their website. They must find other way where to post these tools. Like for example posting it on different popular websites visited by a lot of people. Or they may even simultaneously require people to answer their evaluation tools right after they voted during state elections. The agency would enable many internet users to visit the website if it is accessible and user-friendly. Design or make the webpage more accessible to any kind of people whether adults, youth, children or even to those people that has physical disabilities. Create a good navigation in designing websites because this will surely become more usable and accessible. Technologies are essential in today’s society but we must still monitor the accuracy and efficiency of it. Maintaining the website is not that expensive if the agency has an in-charge group in doing maintenance. Research would become accurate if the tools used are efficient so it doesn’t matter how advance it was the most important is that the evaluation tools will answer the program objectives.

Internationanl Business Essay

The organization that I have chosen is Sony Corporation. Sony Corporation is one of the most successful multinational Corporations in the world; it is also one of the best-known names in consumer electronics industry. Since it was established shortly after World War 2, Sony has introduced a stream of revolutionary products, including the transistor radio, the Trinitron television, the Betamax VCR, and the Walkman portable cassette player (FundingUniverse, 2000). Over the years Sony has successfully developed into one of the biggest player in the consumer electronics industry, producing a wide range of products including Audio system, Video cameras, Television, gaming system, Semiconductors and also electronic Components. Valued at $17.12 Billion in the market (Forbes, 2011), Sony Corporation is a great example of successful Multinational Corporation that has competitive advantage in the global market place. Daniel Spulber’s Star Analysis is an analytical framework that helps strategy makers in gathering and processing data about global market (D.F.Spulbur, 2007). By identifying the culture, feature and structure of the business environment in different country, Spulber’s Star Analysis can assist the manager in developing a global strategy that provide their organization with the competitive advantage to succeed in the international market. Star Analysis is based around five major components, which is the features of the company’s home country, supplier countries, customers countries, partner countries and competitor countries. In this case, Star analysis will be used to evaluate the competitive strategy of Sony Corporation and how Sony Corporation improved their global competitiveness. Home Country A company’s home country refers to the country where the business has its headquarters (D.F.Spulber, 2007). In this case, the home country for Sony Corporation is Japan. D.F.Spulber (2007) stated the features of home country are often a good guide to the company’s business practices, corporate culture, and core competencies. D.F.Spulber (2007) also stated that a company can benefit from home-country strengths by using the home country as a launching pad for international expansion, and this is the case for Sony Corporation. Benefiting from the culture and features of Japan, Sony Corporation has developed a strong foundation for their international expansion. This can be justified using the Porter’s diamond theory. M. Porter states that basic factors of endowment, such as natural resources, climate, location and demographics, can provide an initial advantage that is subsequently reinforced and extended by investment in advanced factors, examples of advanced factor s are communication infrastructure, sophisticated and skilled labor, research facilities and technological know-how. Conversely, disadvantages in basic factors can create pressure to invest in advanced factors (Charles.W.L.Hills, 2010). That is the case in Japan, where they lack arable land and mineral deposit, and yet through investment from government and organizations has built a substantial endowment of advanced factors. Japan government’s subsidies and investment in education system, has created large pool of engineers, which is vital to Japan’s success in many manufacturing industries (Charles.W.L.Hills, 2010). This environment provides Sony Corporation with sufficient workforce and skilled labor. Japanese’s constant investment on Research & Development has developed the technological know-how of the country. This practice can also be seen in Sony Corporation’s strategy, which spent approximately 6.99% of their revenue, which is $5.5 billion on R&D annually and the percentage of employees engaged in R&D is 32.49% (TechnologyReview, 2012). This gives Sony Corporation the competitive advantage in the global technological market. Another attribute in Porter’s Diamond is demand condition; In this case, the pressure from Japan’s sophisticated and knowledgeable buyers of cameras has helped stimulate the Japanese camera industry, including Sony Corporation, to improve product quality and to introduce innovative models (Charles.W.L.Hills, 2010). This constant demand for innovative and high quality product has forced Sony Corporation to invest in R&D and hence, improved the performance of the company and therefore, gained competitive advantage in the global market. The next attribute is the presence of suppliers or related industries that are internationally competitive. In this case, most of the suppliers of Sony Corporation, for example, Dai Nippon Printing Co, Ltd are one of the top smart card vendors in Asia (Sony.Net, 2011) .Successful electronic IT manufacturers including Hitachi Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp has contributed to the semiconductor industry in Japan, which provided the basis for Sony Corporation’s success in cameras and other technically advanced electronic products (DailyYomiuriOnline, 2012) The last attribute of Portal’s Diamond is the strategy, structure and rivalry of firms within a nation (Charles.W.L.Hills, 2010). ). In this case, there are many successful Multinational Corporation in Japan’s technological manufacturing field, such as Toyota, has come out with management philosophies like Total Quality Management, Just-in Time Philosophy and so on ( James et al, 2009). By practicing the same Sony Corporation has benefited from these practices and be more cost effective(Richard A.Gershon, 2007). Major domestic competitors such as Panasonic Corporation also induce Sony Corporation to look for ways to improve efficiency and produce more innovative products. All t hese factors have improved Sony Corporation’s overall global competitiveness. Supplier Country Supplier countries refer to those countries in which the international business transacts with its input suppliers and countries in which the international business manufactures its products (Daniel.F.Spulber, 2007). In this case, Sony Corporation previously had more than 2,500 suppliers around the globe; however after incurring heavy lost in year 2009, Sony Corporation has decided to cut down the number of suppliers (CRN, 2009). To achieve global competitiveness advantage, Sony Corporation’s strategy is to outsource, or externalize part of their value chain activities to different supplier countries, and internalize their core competence, which in this case is their innovative design and technology of their product. Their current major suppliers are companies from China and USA, for example Shenzhen LVSUN Electronics Co., Ltd, which supplied laptop batteries and Nvidia Corporation, which supplied Laptop’s graphic cards (Sony.Net, 2010). China are well-known for their l ow wage labor force so the cost of production for Sony will be much lower compare to their global competitors. USA is a technology-advanced country and by buying new technologies from firms in USA, Sony Corporation’s products are much more advance and better in quality, which in turn increased their global competitiveness. The company is vertically integrated in their supplier’s countries. Sony Corporation established production facilities such as manufacturing plants in Japan, China, USA, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand (Sony Supply Chain Solution. Inc, 2011). Country like USA and Singapore has low trade-barriers and their government policies encouraged Foreign Direct investment, which smoothen Sony’s plan to establish manufacturing plant in their land. Conversely, China and Malaysia has higher trade barriers and strict government policies that might increase the risk of recovering the cost of investment. This strategy has both positive and negative effects on Sony Corporation. By establishing their own manufacturing plants in suppliers countries, Sony are able to protect their proprietary product technology from their competitors, this view is supported by Charles.W.L.Hills (pg 558, 2010). Besides that, majority of Sony’s manufacturing plant are located in technologically advanced countries such as Japan and USA. Therefore with the advanced infrastructure and skilled labor, Sony’s production are more cost-savings and efficient. However, on the other hand, managing and operating plants and firms in different countries has increased Sony’s organization scope, which in turn will increase the organizational complexity and hence raise the firm’s cost structure, this cost is known as cost of hierarchical governance. This view is support by Charles W.L.Hills (pg 559, 2010). In fact, the high cost of governance in different country has been such a burden to Sony that the top management has decided to shutter some of the factories and manufacturing plants, in order to reduce overall cost (CRN, 2009). Furthermore, to overcome this issue, Sony has decided to outsource part of their production to companies in China and USA. Examples are Foxconn Technology Group for the manufacturing of Sony LCD TV and Blackboard Inc for the manufacturing of Sony’s FeliCa Card readers (Sony.Net, 2011). By outsourcing part of the manufacturing,, Sony was able to take advantage of less costly workforce in China and more efficient production facilities in USA. As a result, Sony has been able to avoid bureaucratic inefficiencies and reduce their cost of operation that arise from vertically integrate, and the resulting increased in global competitiveness. This view is supported by Charles.W.L.Hills (pg 559, 2010). Customer Countries In this case, Sony Corporation’s major customers, or target market are the home country itself, Japan, USA and Europe countries. The Japan market is accounted for 24.2% of Sony Corporation’s revenue while USA market is accounted for 23.6%, Europe market for 25.7% and others minor customer countries for 26.5% (Sony.Net,2010). Evaluating the Entry mode of Sony Corporation, the company has initially chosen wholly owned subsidiaries as their strategy to enter the U.S market. More specifically, Sony Corporation practices Greenfield ventures, by establishing manufacturing plants and retails stores in U.S. Sony Corporation first move was the establishment of a small television assembly plant in San Diego, California back in 1972. Sony then expanded and diversified its U.S operation by adding more production facilities in different region of U.S (Sony.com, 2011). In 1960, Sony Corporation of America (SONAM) was established in the United States to manage operation in U.S (Sony.com, 2011).Sony Corporation’s initial entry to U.S. market was facilitated by the unfavorable exchange rate between yen and dollars at that particular period of time, and also the U.S government policies that encouraged foreign investment (SonyNet-history, 2011). Similar scenario happened in Europe, where Sony Corporation initially enter the Europe market by Greenfield ventures, establishing operating firms such as Sony (U.K.) Ltd in United Kingdom, Sony G.m.b.H.in Germany and so on. This strategy proved to be beneficial because this entry mode allowed Sony to protect their technological competence and gives Sony the ability to engage in global strategic coordination. However, the drawback is that this method of entry can be very costly. This view is supported by Charles.W.L.Hills (pg 482, 2010) After establishing firms and production facilities in foreign market, Sony Corporation further strengthen their position by joint ventures with Tektronic Inc from U.S and Ericsson in Sweden, which later on has been wholly acquired by Sony (Sony.com, 2011). Besides that, Sony Corporation has also established strong distribution network, by having retail stores and distributors throughout the U.S and Europe region. Through the establishment of operating firms in foreign market and joint ventures with local companies, Sony Corporation has managed to get closer and understand the demand and preference of consumers in the U.S and Europe market. Consumers in the USA and EU are generally technologically savvy and have always been demanding innovative technological products; The income per capita for US is 47199 US dollars and research shows that the highest technology expenditure for households in US is at around $94 per month ( Huffingpost.com, 2011). They are certainly willing to spend more on technologically products (Accenture, 2010). By understanding these preferences and demand of consumers in USA and Europe, Sony Corporation is able to design and produce innovative products that satisfied consumers, hence achieving the global competitive advantage. Partner Countries According to Daniel.F.Spulber (2007), the features of partner countries are highly useful in determining the potential contribution that the business and its partner will bring to the joint activities. One of Sony Corporation’s most beneficial and strategic alliances is their partnership with Korea’s Samsung. Sony and Samsung shared complementary technology that would benefit each other. Sony was able to utilize Samsung’s knowledge and technology to make LCD, which is critical for the large flat –panel TVs that were in high demand. Samsung’s skills were complementary to Sony’s since they were tuned to computer displays while Sony brought TV display knowledge (Daniel F.Spulber, 2007). According to Charles W.L.Hill (2010), one of the benefits of strategic alliance is the share of cost and risk. This is certainly the case for the Sony-Samsung joint venture. The Sony-Samsung Joint venture set up a manufacturing facility in Tangjung, South Korea ( Daniel F.Spulber, 2007). The joint venture helped Sony and Samsung save significant cost in R&D and manufacturing and helped the companies gain substantial economies of scale in manufacturing (Daniel F.Spulber, 2007). By sharing ideas between both companies, product innovation is enhanced, allowing Sony to boost its global sales of flat-panel TVs (Daniel F.Spulber, 2007). In order to keep up with advances in digital technologies that was driving innovations in the global market, Sony and Samsung agreed to share patents for a variety of technologies-13,000 patents from Sony and 11,000 patents from Samsung (Daniel F.Spulber, 2007). Another successful alliance for Sony Corporation is the research joint venture between IBM and Toshiba. This particular joint venture had developed the Cell chip that powered the Sony PlayStation 3 (SonyNet, 2011). The companies split the high development costs and employed engineers around the world. Besides that, Sony Corporation’s joint venture with Ericsson from Sweden allowed Sony to enter the mobile communication industry in Europe, which later expanded to Asia with the name of Sony Ericsson. Sony’s successful alliance with global companies like Samsung, IBM and Ericsson has allowed Sony to produce and design innovative products with high quality. Besides that, joint venture with Ericsson allowed Sony to understand Europe’s market condition better which smoothen their entry to Europe market and all these have helped Sony to achieve global competitive advantage. Competitor Countries One of Sony Corporation’s major competitors is LG Electronics. LG Electronics is a Korean-based company that sells electronic products such as televisions, mobile phone, Air conditioners, Home appliances and a lot more. The features of LG Electronics’s Home Country, South Korea, has played an important role in the company’s business culture and global strategy. South Korea’s government has set their goal to open new opportunities for the electronics industry and this has given LG Electronics an extra boost for expanding their market internationally (Frost-Sullivan, 2007), which is a treat to Sony Corporation in the global market. However, Korean’s culture of high uncertainty avoidance might be the reason they are less innovative, since LG Electronic employed their staffs from Korea, their products might not be as innovative as Japanese companies like Sony. As for LG Electronics supplier countries, their major suppliers are Hong Kong HuiChun Co.Ltd a nd Veise Electronic Co.Ltd from China mainland. Utilizing the labor of lower wages in China, the cost of production for LG electronics might be lower than other companies in the industry, which is a treat to Sony as well (GlobalSources, 2012). As for LG Electronics partner countries, LG Electronics has established strong alliance with multinational companies like Intel, Microsoft and Mozilla has given them the technological advantage to compete in the global market. These alliances have helped LG Electronics to overcome their lack of technological innovation in their home country. In order to compete with LG Electronics in the global market, Sony Corporation has initially practices the international strategy. According to Charles W.L.Hill, an enterprise pursuing an international strategy is confronted with low cost pressures and low pressures for local responsiveness. These type of enterprise tend to centralize product development at home but tend to establish manufacturing and marketing function in each major country or geographi c region in which they do business (Charles W.L.Hill, 2010). This is initially the case for Sony Corporation, who started their entry to foreign market in such pattern. By centralizing R&D in Japan, Sony entered foreign market by establishing manufacturing plant and operating firms in USA, Europe and other Asia countries. However, as the cost pressure and pressure for local responsiveness increases, Sony Corporation has change to transnational strategy. According to Charles W.L.Hill (2010), a firm that pursue a transnational strategy is trying to simultaneously achieve low costs through location economies, economies of scale, and learning effects; differentiate their product offering across geographic markets to account for local differences; and foster a multidirectional flow of skills between different subsidiaries in the firm’s global network of operations. By partnering with strong suppliers in China and USA, economics of scale can be achieved. Besides that, multidirectional flow of technological skills and knowledge from different subsidiaries, such as Sony Ericsson in Sweden, and the Samsung-Sony joint venture in South Korea and so on is also happening constantly. However, such strategy is so difficult to implement that Sony Corporation has faced some negative impact, having too high cost due to differentiation of product in different market. Conclusion As a conclusion, by applying the Spulber’s Star Analysis, Sony Corporation was able to achieve global competitive advantage in the global market. By using their strong foundation in Japan, where they receive not only support from government but also the culture, knowledge and infrastructure, Sony successfully expanded their business worldwide. Economics of scale has been achieved with the help of strong suppliers from mainland China and USA. Sony was able to enter their customer’s countries easily with joint ventures with local firms and Greenfield ventures. Using the information gathered they managed to understand the demand and consumer preferences of each market. Sony further strengthens their positions in the global market with help from their strong alliances such as IBM, Ericsson, and Samsung and so on. Evaluating the function of Star Analysis, such analysis is fairly useful for international managers to plan their strategy. By studying the features of the home, suppliers, customers, partners and competitors countries, the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a organization can be found and this information can be use to help the organization achieve global competitive advantage. For example, the SWOT of Sony has been identified after applying the Star Analysis. Therefore, international managers should practice Star Analysis before implementing their global strategy. Reference Charles W.L.Hill (2010). International Business, Competing in the global marketplace. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. pg181-183, pg255, pg405-407, pg487-489, pg556-560. Spulber, F.Daniel (2007). Global Competitive Strategy. London: Cambridge University Press. pg 134-150. Michele Masterson. (2009). Sony Says Sayonara to 1250 Suppliers. News, Analysis, and Perspective for Vars and Technology integrators. 13 (2), pg23-24 Bob Ferrari. (2011). Sony’s Supply Chain Remains in Turmoil. Supply Chain Strategy. 12 (5), pg 5-6. Anon.(2011).Partner&Supplier.Available:http://www.sony.net/Products/felica/business/partners/index.html. Last accessed 29th Feb 2012. Anon. (2010). Sony said to be outsourcing production of high-end LCDs, Foxconn and Wistron getting the nod. Available: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/18/sony-said-to-be-outsourcing-production-of-high-end-lcds-foxconn/. Last accessed 29th Feb 2012 Anon. (2011). Sony Supply Chain Solution. Available: http://www.sonyscs.co.jp/english/index.html. Last accessed 29th Feb 2012 Anon.(2011).SonyCorporateHistory.Available:http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/history.html. Last accessed 29th Feb 2012. Anon. (2011). LG Suppliers. Available: http://www.globalsources.com/manufacturers/LG.html. Last accessed 28th Feb 2012. Anon. (2007). Government Policies Set to Position South Korea Among the World’s Top Industrial Nations . Available: http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag?Src=RSS&docid=103675273#top. Last accessed 28th Feb 2012.

Policy Analysis: Free Speech and Social Media

Free speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. The founding fathers believed the freedom of the citizenry to question and publicly scorn the government to be of such importance, it was their first order of business. Such speech is not absent limits and some fail to understand what the First Amendment prohibits. The protections for individuals include the language; Congress shall make no law that abridges free speech.Certainly case law has provided some examples of unprotected speech to Include statements that would cause public terror such as oiling â€Å"fire† In a theater, harassing statements, disturbance of another's peace, and statements In the workplace that could create a hostile work environment (Van Broccoli, 2011). Because the founding fathers left the First Amendment vague, the Congress, through legislation, and the courts through legal decisions have defined certain speech as unprotected. Important differences exist between the speech of a ci tizen and the speech of an employee.Even more disparity exists between employees who work in private industry than employees of the government. Technology available wrought social media and the ability to communicate internationally in seconds has created a whole new arena for employees and employers (Van Broccoli, 2011). Private Employees versus Public Employees Substantial differences exist between private employers and governmental employees. Essentially, free speech protections do not extend to employees of private businesses.Although free speech In the workplace Is restricted, laws related to â€Å"whistle blower† protections and certain protected classes of people persist. Furthermore, the National Labor Relations Act (ANAL) protects employees from an employer interfering with an employee's fertilization regarding work conditions, supervisors, and the organization. These same protections do not apply to government Jobs, such as municipal police departments. It is import ant to understand that these protections are not founded in the First Amendment, but in statutes, contracts, case law, and policies and procedures (Van Broccoli, 2011).Public employees enjoy some protections related to the First Amendment, however these are limited. Case law has carved out a three prong test which is continually being applied to new cases before the courts. The three-prong test applies to oral and written communications, photographic depictions, videos, music, and performing arts. The following prongs of the test determine whether or not the officers speech Is protected by the First Amendment: 1. The speech must touch on a matter of public concern 2. The speech must be made as a citizen, not as part of the officers official duties 3.The speech must address an issue of public interest, and the officers interest must outweigh the agencies interest in promoting and maintaining efficient operations (Baker, 2011). Public Concern Typically, the public is not interested in the inner-workings of police agency. Issues surrounding promotions, advancements, or displeasure with the bosses is not a matter of public interest. For example, in Iconic v. Myers an assistant district attorney circulated a letter inquiring about employees morale and work conditions.The assistant district attorney was fired for his communique and the Supreme Court upheld his termination. In City of San Diego v. Roe a police officer was claiming to be expressing free speech by masturbating on a website and selling police memorabilia. The officer was ordered to cease and desist, yet he maintained the web-site that had depicted San Diego Police Department uniforms. Again, the Supreme Court ruled that his speech was of no interest to the public at large (Van Broccoli, 2011).Official Capacity versus Private Citizen This prong of the test is more difficult to apply. Often police officers believe they are acting as a citizen, when in fact, the opposite is true. Speech related to the offi cers official duties is not protected. In Cigarette v Caballeros, a deputy district attorney reviewed an affidavit used by police to secure a search warrant. Deputy District Attorney Caballeros found misrepresentations that he brought to his supervisor. The supervisor removed the deputy from the case and the case went forward.Caballeros testified for the defense and was reassigned to another division and denied a promotion. Caballeros claimed his speech was protected and sued. The Supreme Court ruled that although honorable, his speech was the result of his professional responsibilities as a prosecutor and therefore not the speech of a private citizen (Van Broccoli, 2011). Other cases have illustrated this nexus, including a sergeant in charge of a argotic unit who brought to light wrong doings of his subordinates. Not only was he told to work harmoniously, he was threatened with transfer.When he resigned and sued, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals again reaffirmed his speech was not that of a private citizen, but the product of his employment (Van Broccoli, 2011). Notoriety, such as an officer who is regularly on the news may place that officer in an official capacity more than other officers (Baker, 2011). Promoting and Maintaining Efficiency The Supreme Court has ruled that even if the officer's speech was related to an issue of public concern, and the officer was acting as a citizen, the interests of the officer will be weighed against the department's interests.This prong was discussed in Nixon v. City of Houston (Van Broccoli, 2011). Nixon, a Houston Police Officer, authored opinion columns in local publications. Although he never identified himself as a Houston Police officer, he regularly mentioned that he was a police officer and wrote about Houston Police activities and policies as well as his activities. His columns contained offensive remarks about minorities, citizen groups, women and the homeless. Although off-duty and not calming to De a Houston Police emcee, en was eventually terminated Tort tans Ana other incidents.Nixon claimed that his speech was protected, yet the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Houston Police Departments interests in protecting their relationship with the community outweighed his interests (Van Broccoli, 2011) . The Policy Because of issues previously discussed, criminal Justice agencies have been forced to adopt new policies related to social media. These policies are derived from case law and legislative action and must comply with labor agreements.Because freedom of speech is a Constitutional issue, individual cases will continue to be determined on their merit within the three-prong test. Police agencies should be encouraged to draft social media policies and educate employees in the nuances of free speech and the acceptable uses of social media. Currently the Washoe County Sheriffs Office does not have a social media policy, although a new policy update is being formulated to addres s the deficiency (Washoe County Sheriff, 2011). Conclusion The public has little sympathy for police officers who use their trusted role to elate policy.On the other hand, the public has little interest in the daily politics of a police organization. Where police officers fail, and expose their department to embarrassment, are cases in which they post inappropriate materiel for public view. Such examples are widespread and include police officers posting Faceable photographs in uniform pointing guns at their heads, a police officer who shot a man 11 times then posted comments about how he would rather be emptying his guns than cleaning them, and a police officer with a bikini-clad girl leaned over his patrol ar (Wilson, 2011).

Battleship Sailor by Theodore Mason

Ensuring one’s safety is a task we ought to do for ourselves. However, serving in battle for one’s country is not very common to all. In this way, we can say that military officers are real heroes. Being in the service, they promise to do their best not only to defend lives in danger, but guard the nation’s security. In his book, Theodore Mason details the war he witnessed as a navy officer during the bombing of the Pearl Harbor. Set in 1941, the author provides details on the struggles of being in the navy—the challenges and boredom, success and fears.Unlike other accounts of wars, this book takes a different angle in that the author is not a colored officer, rather a low-rank radio operator who was not well-trained in ammunitions. At first, the book is a bit monotonous, as it talks about the usual everyday life of the members of the navy. Mason's use of acronyms and his namecalling could almost make the ordinary reader sleep for difficulty of relating wi th the characters and things he mentioned. Nevertheless, he is good at describing virtually the environment and the people around him.He wrote about the drinking sprees they had in Honolulu, San Francisco and Seattle when they went on shore. Just like the usual navy officers, they had fun drinking, dancing, and watching girls. The main part of the book is the Japanese plot on the ships, which is made intense by the fact that the navy officials that time were on shore, thus the ammunitions were all locked up. To worsen the situation, Mason states that crews did not have much knowledge of defense, and were not trained to hold ammunitions.When the Japanese attacked on the Pearl Harbor, Mason was sent to USS California's maintop, which allowed him a bird's eyeview of everything happening, including the sinking of their ship and the devastation caused by the enemies. At the end of the book, the author gives his reflections about the war. From what he witnessed, he expressed sadness from the ruins of war to a nation so beautiful and great. Work Cited Mason, Theodore. â€Å"Battleship Sailor. † Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1994.