Volkswagen’s Emission Dilemma

Introduction

Volkswagen Company has been with a lot of challenges over the years, a move which has really affected the productivity of the company. In a bid to understand the ethical issues surrounding Volkswagen, this paper will discuss the Volkswagen’s emission dilemma. 

 Overview of the Company

The Volkswagen (VW) group is comprised of twelve different brands, in seven countries in Europe. These brands include the following: Audi, Seat, Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles, Porsche, Bentley, Ducati, MAN, Bugatti, Scania, Lamborghini, and SKODA (Martin, 2017). The company offers a wide array of monetary services, which include customer funding, supplier, banking, hiring and also insurance events and taskforce management. These factors have consequently enabled the company to be able to gain a huge market in different parts of the world, thus making the company to be among the top performing automobiles in the world (Miles, 2017).        

The group aims at drawing together the different component operations which are scattered in its 12 brand groups, thus combining them into a single unit (Clifford, 2017). This move is aimed at reducing the cost of manufacturing different parts, thus allowing the company to be able to manufacture the spare parts of its vehicles as a single unit, hence increasing productivity, and cutting on the costs of having different operations in different parts, which makes it very expensive to run and maintain the different component operations (Miles, 2017).      

Duplication of Volkswagen parts has been a manager problem which the company has been facing, thus aligning the components of VW, will reduce the chances of duplication. In so doing, the company will be able to realize huge profits, which it had failed to acquire due to duplication. In addition, the company will also be in a position to beat most of its competitors, among them being Toyota. As of 2015, VW spent €144 billion on merchandise, supply and raw materials (Amy, 2017). This value is however subjected to drop, as the company will be able to reduce the cost of operation after aligning its components (Miles, 2017).

       Ethical Issue Surrounding VW

VW was found guilty of violating the Clean Air Act in the year 2015, this after a research was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US. VW had programmed its diesel powered engines, in such a way that they only emitted less nitrogen oxide during the regulatory tests in the laboratory (Martin, 2017).  This programming allowed VW vehicles to pass the nitrogen oxide tests, thus meeting the US standards in the laboratory emissions tests. However, the cars would emit 40 times more nitrogen oxide, while on the roads, thus polluting the environment more than other vehicles which had failed to pass the test did. This programming had been deployed in 11,000, 000 VW cars all over the world, and 500,000 cars in the US alone, with the car model of 2009 to 2015 (Clifford, 2017).

This malpractice was discovered after a study was conducted to observe the inconsistencies of 2014 model of cars in the US and Europe, under the support of International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The study would then sum up data obtained from three dissimilar sources on a total of 15 vehicles (Miles, 2017). This made VW to be a target of regulatory investigations in many countries, thus affecting the company’s stock price. In addition, the company lost its market share, a move which move which made the company to encounter very huge losses ever. This gave other companies a position to shine, thus taking over the company’s position in the market.

In the year 2017, VW pleaded guilty of the charges, thus the federal justice ordered the company to pay a bond of $2.8 billion, for deliberately tampering with diesel powered engines, in order to lie to the US government (Martin, 2017). The huge fine dealt a blow to the company, as it was experiencing marketing challenges, thus not being able to gain any profits whatsoever. This was a factor which really affected the functioning of the company, as it could not be able to realize any profits, and it could not also be able to come up with new strategies, due to the financial challenges which it was experiencing (Miles, 2017).

Stakeholders Impacted by the Scandal 

During this period, most stakeholders were affected, as they could not be able to gain profits or otherwise see the need of working for the company (Martin, 2017). For that reason, VW group CEO resigned, whereas the head of brand progress, Audi research and progress head, Porsche research and progress head respectively, were suspended. In addition, employees in different departments of the company were also suspended and sacked (Clifford, 2017). 

Impact of the Decision  

The company’s decision to suspend and sack its employees was ethical, as it allowed the company to conduct an investigation into the matter, thus coming up with the reasons as to why they cheated (Miles, 2017). In addition, in order to gain the trust of its customers, the company had to make such a decision, thus showing that it was the plan of the employees and not that of the company, to cheat. Furthermore, the company was also able to understand what made those employees to cheat, and why they reached such a decision without communicating with the board of directors (Amy, 2017).   

The company was not impacted positively by the decision, as it was required to spend more money in order to hire and recruit new employees to take up the positions left vacant (Clifford, 2017). In addition, the company had to come up with new marketing strategies, a move which required it to spend more money, than it had done before the incident. In as much as the decision was costly for the company, it had its advantages, which helped in shaping the future of the company (Amy, 2017).       

Personal View on Business Ethics

My original view of business ethics was that it was a set of policies which determine the type of services which a company is supposed to offer (Shaw, 2014). In addition, I believed that business ethics protected consumers against being cheated by the manufactures, thus balancing the relationship between manufacturers and consumers, and the relationship between employees and the employers. However, after attending the lectures, I have been able to understand how broad business ethics, and the factors which are entwined within business ethics (Martin, 2017).   

Out of my original views on business ethics, it was evident that my reasoning was different from what business ethics really is (Shaw, 2014). My view of business ethics being a set of rules which protect the services offered to a customer was wrong. However, I was right when I thought that business ethics seeks to enable employees and the management of the company to be able to relate well, due to providing an understanding of the regulations of employers. Thus my reasoning was similar to the work which business ethics does.  

Conclusion

This paper has discussed the ethical issues which affected VW group. In the paper, it was evident that VW was faced with an emission scandal, whereby the company was found guilty of programming its TDI engines, in such a way that they would pass the emission tests. After the tests, the vehicles would emit 40 nitrogen oxide 40 times more. In addition, the paper also discussed the impact which the scandal had on the company’s stakeholders, and the impact of the company’s decision regarding the issue. Finally, the paper concluded with a personal view on business ethics.   

Reference

Miles, B. (2017). Thousands of Drivers Suffer Loss of Power following VW Emissions ‘fix’: The Guardian.

Guilbert, G, Jack, E, Karl R, & Derek, W. (2017). How Volkswagen’s ‘Defeat Devices’ Worked: The New York Times.

Russel, H. (2015). Volkswagen: The Scandal Explained: BBC News.

  Clifford, A. (2017). Everything you Need to Know about the VW Diesel-Emissions Scandal: Car and Driver.

Karl. (2017). The Volkswagen Group is systematically Refunding Owners for EGR Failures after the Emissions ‘fix’: Hypermiler.co.uk.

Martin, S. (2017). VW Emissions Scandal: Unfixed Cars could be deregistered in Germany: Auto Express.

Amy, B. (2017). VW’s Software Fix for Dieselgate Cars causing Performance, Fuel Efficiency Problems, Drivers say: ABC News.

Shaw, W. H. (2014). Business ethics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.    

Decision Making in Collegial Courts

Factors that affect the decision-making process

Attitudinal and strategic models

 In attitudinal model, judges derive their attitudes from personal policy preferences and ideologies. In strategic model, judges follow the presumed interactions and they are influenced by internal dynamics on order to achieve strategic goals (Edwards, 2003). In other words, judges follow these models and tend to ignore the law requirements and others’ ideologies. Given that judges with high supervision focus on quantitative data, judges in lower hierarchy focus on qualitative elements which maximize collective decision, deliberation and personal interaction. These creates dissenting opinions is where judges holds unalterable positions when addressing issue especially in controversial issues (Edwards, 2003).

 Institutional constraints

 In decision making, judges are influenced by the perceptions that courts are institutions rather than viewing it a place where members should express their attitudes (Edwards, 2003). Judges fail to understand that the court is a place where there should be shared purposes, maintenance of corporate authority, participation and professional obligation. Institutional attitudes makes the judges develop institutional perspectives. Judges do not consider the different views of other members and raises a big problem since both parties do not participate at a common ground (Edwards, 2003).

Diversity

 The author of this article states that in decision making, there is diversity in age, sex and other geographical and culture background. These factors bring different issues and make it hard to achieve a collegial environment (Edwards, 2003).  In addition, demographic factors affect the grioup functioning as it contributed to ineffective communication and stereotyping. Diversity brings a conflict since judges develops political preferences. Diversity is also contributed by professional background where group members posses different level of knowledge. In decision making, there is   a judicial division which contributes to ‘ideological camps’ (Edwards, 2003).

Law clerks

 A court with diverse ideologies especially on political views hinders effective conversation between judges (Edwards, 2003). Law clears who supports judicial insularity makes judges in the top level of the hierarchy feel comfortable and this creates a division between judges.  

Theories of Judicial Decision-making

Comparison between the legal theory and political theory

 There is a similarity between   the legal theory and political theory because both follow law and controlling authority. However, there is a big difference in that in legal theory, judges focus on law and employs system application which abides with the law or authority (Cross, 2003).  In others words, judges stick to law and they avoid applying political ideologies in addressing the case. Judges take legal roots from authoritative sources in order to make the right judgment. On the other hand, judges address the case with respect to personal ideologies and tend to provide judgment for the interest of society (Cross, 2003). However, it does not means that judges  violates   the democracy rights, what happens is that they  abides with law but  employs some political concepts. In addition, they are conservative in imposing legal rulings.

Legal theory and The Litigant-Driven Theory during the appeals process

In this theory, litigants decisions have a big impact since they determines the outcomes which judge with make. In other words, law, persona opinions and Supreme Court preferences do not play role. What happens is that judges decide with respect to litigants request and agendas (Cross, 2003).  In addition, the litigants have self-reporting evidence and this may co tribute to a positive verdict and minima damages. Other theory which is effective t during the case of appeal is the legal theory. This is because, there is a legal procedure and there will be a room to view evidence, abuse of discretion and deference. In addition, through the legal standards, there will be more affirmances and an appeal will be accepted (Cross, 2003).

Reference

Cross, F. B. (2003). Decision-making in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. California Law Review, 91(6),

1459-515.

Edwards, H. T. (2003). THE EFFECTS OF COLLEGIALITY ON JUDICIAL DECISION MAKING. University Of

Pennsylvania Law Review, 151(5), 1639.

Marketing Objective for Product

Biolymers as an eco-friendly firm that specializes on plastics, its main marketing objective is to create awareness of the unique products set that is offered to the sensitive consumers. Biolymers is involved in the business of helping others particularly, the biggest life sciences industry including pharmaceuticals and medical devices areas within America. Biolymers is objected at achieving a collective growth in reference to net profit which should be approximately 40 percent in the next five operational years. Half of the anticipated growth should be generated from fresh sales which will be driven by the company’s strong marketing strategy that will not only seek to generate awareness but also familiarity with the economical and eco-friendly nature of the company’s products.

The other marketing objective is to gain a more enhanced understanding of the necessities and satisfaction degree of the existing consumers. Given that the corporation is consumer’s oriented it ought to fully satisfy the consumer’s needs (Lamb, 2012). The responses and knowledge of needs and preferences acquired from the existing consumers can thereafter be utilized in marketing to attract an extensive set of fresh customers (Rosenberg, 2015). Through this, the company will not only be seeking to enlarge and establish fresh marketplace base for its products but also to achieve the targeted growth within the specified financial plan and time. Marketing strategies which will mainly rely on advertising will consistently communicate the strategic objectives to the targeted markets effectively while providing positive purchasing experience to the target consumers. The company will seek to reduce its operating expenses while increasing sales by creating a positive relationship with the existing consumers and working to the fulfillment of their demands.

References

Lamb, C. W. (2012). Marketing. Toronto: Nelson Education.

Rosenberg, M. (2015). Strategy and sustainability: A hard-nosed and clear-eyed approach to environmental sustainability for business. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

MBA - Corporate Finance

Part 1

The aim of the company was to be a leader in producing the most modern and comfortable footwear in the world for both leisure and work.  During the 1999- 2003 period, ECCO performance largely stagnated in terms of decreasing operating margins and also productivity. This is indicated by a decline in operating margin in 2000 by 15 % to around 5 % by 2002. The stagnation could be attributed to lack of good marketing strategy that would ensure that products delivered served the interest and expectations of customers at this time , with the firm  just following the trend in the market and not engaging in active research and customer oriented production. However, the company had managed to stay ahead of its competitors in terms of footwear quality and market performance which could be attributed to over 40 years of constant high quality and improved craftsmanship.  The firm was therefore, able to sustain its commitment to design and comfort and shoes that were perfect fit to the clients. Despite the stagnation, the company was able to beat its competitors in the market due to innovation in technological production.

There was a rise in the level of company debts which increased by DKK 1 billion from 1 billion to billion and this resulted from efforts to expand and also inventories. This is what made the company to adopt some-measures to arrest the situation as shown by the decision to launch strategic initiatives strategic initiatives aimed at streamlining logistics, placing focus on production of modern shoes and enhancing the monitoring of market trends. After adoption of the new strategy to internationalize production and marketing of the products, the firm experienced a turnaround in 2004.  In that year a just a joke in the firm was able to add 300,000  pairs into the sales through sponsoring some international offers like Thomas  and Colin Montgomerie , and other endorsements in United States. The performance of the firm was better than previous year in 2004, where the firm management to export over 90 % of entire production with major exporting markets being Germany, United States and Japan. The investment in expansion efforts are shown to have borne fruits for the company as shown in the consolidated statements that revenues jumped from 3,169 DKK million in 2003 to 3,394 DKK million in 2004.  This was move away from the stagnation in growth that had been experienced between 1999 and 2003. The return on equity ration also improved from 6.5 to 15.2, solvency ratio from 14.1 and 34.1

ECCO faced a very competitive market environment especially for the lifestyle foot ware. This is because the market is susceptible to constant changes in market environment and fierce competition had led to much investment in new technologies and optimization of costs. The firm had to compete with other firms that are finically strong such s Reebok and Nike and the entrance of ECCO into athletic shoes like golf brought about new competitors.

The recommendation for the firm to beat such competition is to place its production facilities in ereas where it is possible to optimize cost. Hence, the action plan involves an establishment of production and distribution centers countries such as China where it would take advantage of cheap production cost and large market. Such a distribution center will reduce cost and time used in transportation.

Part 2

Cost optimization; improve customer quality, market expansion

Balanced score card

Strategy map

Focusing on branding and marketing places the focus of the firm on brand building which is likely to set very high expectations among the mangers. The balanced Scorecard is likely to place more focus on how to beat the competitors and this is likely to lead to less concentration on cost optimization and hence high profitability. Since branding and marketing efforts are important in gaining competitive advantage over the rivals, the objectives may shift to customer focus.

Part 3

Activity Based Cost – can be used by the firm to improve profitability by changing the demand for products that a firm sells to client given that the strategy can increase efficiency of those activities related to production.  This relates to reduced reduction of costs and tendency to improve prices and even phase-out those products that are seen to relative make loss (DRURY, 2013).

Quality management as a strategy can be used to identify those costs that relates to production of poor quality products. The firm can identify internal failure costs relating to defects in products received by customers and  even the cost that are associated with efforts to keeps such failure at  a minimum (DRURY, 2013).

Target costing can be used to incorporate the requirements of the customers such as cost, quality and time in process decisions and products and even guide the analysis of cost. ECCO can ensure that functionality and features that are built into any product are greater than cost of offering them (DRURY, 2013).

References

DRURY, C. M. (2013). Management and cost accounting. Springer. 749

Organizational Culture Paper

• Discuss how these factors may serve to benefit or hinder the organizational culture.

Factors such as cultural training and monthly training are good for improving the organizational culture, as they help in equipping the police with the knowledge of relating with the society positively. In addition, since the police is an organization which is highly respected by the society, training the police on different cultures allows them to be able to relate with people from different races in the best way possible (HENDRICKS & BYERS, 2000). This therefore upholds the integrity of the police, since they will be respected, due to observing high moral values.

The police are tasked with the mandate of protecting the interests of the society, and protecting them from any forms of attack. The public therefore views the police as a body which is supposed to protect them, and not to harm them. Training the police consequently allows them to be able to respect people even though they might be coming from low classes of life, thus encouraging peaceful coexistence within the society (Murrieta.gov. 2017).

• Recommendations

In order to ensure the police adhere to the dictates of the organizational culture, it will be necessary to do the following: articulate the vision of the training program, encourage peaceful coexistence between the police and the society, and provide the significance of upholding the organizational culture, in the training programs (HENDRICKS & BYERS, 2000). Articulating on the vision of the training program is essential in allowing the police to understand why it is good to respect and treat people from all races equally, and what will be achieved through that. Encouraging peaceful coexistence between the police and the society is also significant, as it enables the police to also respect the society, thus doing their work without being bias. Finally, respecting and treating all races equally, allows the police to provide high quality security, thus making it easier for the police to carry out their activities at ease.

Reference

HENDRICKS, J.E., & BYERS, B (2000) Multicultural Perspectives in Criminal Justice and

II Cultural Awareness Training for Police in the United States Criminology J. 2nd Ed., Springfield, Illinois, Charles Thomas Publisher, Ltd.

Murrieta.gov. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.murrietaca.gov/

The Murrieta.gov (2017) website    Insert the paraphrased material.

According to "Murrieta.gov" (2017), "Insert the quotation” ().

International business strategy

Q1. Able Translators was established in 1990 and its operations were internally located until 2014 when the business developed its services to serve three continents. During was this period, the industry ranked as the leading industry with quality interpreting and translation services. Even though the industry was the leader, there were technological innovation which has brought changes in the industry and this is an indication that there was global competitors and micro business which made the company to foresee opportunities (Goerzen, 2015). Due to the innovation and competitors, the company had two strategic choices one being expanding the services internationally and the second was focus on technological development in North America. However, the president of the Able Translators decided to expand the business internationally (language services) in order to compete with other competitors. He focused on competing in the market by paying suppliers a large amount and charge the clients little amount (Goerzen, 2015). The industry decided to provide quality services internationally and competitive price.

Recommendation: CAGE framework

Able Translator should apply CAGE framework in deciding whether to expand internationally and the tool will help in considering issues like where to expand, services to offer and strategies which will maintain the business in international market. The Framework will enable the industry to evaluate culture, economic and geographical issues in order to have effective operations (Sharan, 2013).

Q2a. The strategic decision in offering quality services, charging customers less, implementing technology and competing on price made the company enjoy a competitive advantage in the market. Note that in the competitive market, the industry focused on developing target markets and in this case it focused on providing language services in legal and medical areas (Goerzen, 2015).  With reference to CAGE Framework, Able Translators considered cultural and economic issues for international venture.  For example, cultural identity was a key element in expanding internationally to ensure that customers in the new market will accept and demand the services. Able Translators considered attractive markets in Canada where it could compete with other industries (Ghemawat, 2007). The industry focused on a technological environment where it developed document translation and established a consistent communication.

1. It is worth saying that the competitive advantage is sustainable because the industry has not only expanded business but it has also implemented technological capabilities which will open path for new opportunities (Goerzen, 2015). From the case study, technology is continuing to bring innovation hence increasing value, profitability and competitive advantage. Using the CAGE framework, Able Translators considered cultural distance which stands for values and behaviors in the international market. For example, Able Translators had markets segment where there was a high demand for word translation (Ghemawat, 2007).

 Recommendation: VRIO framework

 Able Translators should apply VRIO framework in order to maintain a competitive advantage. The framework focuses on the internal resources and the industry is able to implement valuable resources which will build and create a sustained advantage. In addition, the framework helps the industry implement rare, valuable and costly to imitate resources (Sharan, 2013).

Q3.  In the language services industry, Able Translators met opportunities and threat. First, the industry met a higher demand in translating and interpreting across many languages. For example in 2014, there was 6, 900 languages (Goerzen, 2015) and people who could translate these languages only focused on two languages.  This made the industry to gain an opportunity to service on language services. However, LSP firms emerged with translation and interpretation services and their growth was high to an extent that they were dealing with outsourced businesses. In addition, LSP firms had various task such as translation and other interrelated tasks. Up to this point, it is important to note that able translators faced threats due to the growth of markets (Goerzen, 2015). In other words, globalization was high and the demand for LSP services grew dramatically. Since LSP industry was operating with outsources businesses, it was dealing with global audiences and both private and public companies demanded the services as they needed to become connected with diverse audiences.  For example, Chinese firms   had advanced their services to advertising since they believed that “if customers can’t read it, they won’t buy it” (Goerzen, 2015). This strategy connected global consumers with these firms. In 2013, the LSP market had grown up to 34billion where market segment for Europe, North America and Asia was 49%, 35% and 13% respectively (Goerzen, 2015). Other threat which was brought by the LSP industry is that there was a high increase of translators and interpreters suppliers. For example, there was a growth rate of 42%, the labor supply was high and LSP was expected to increase since there were new start-ups in the market which would mainly focuses on price competition (Goerzen, 2015).

  The problem with Able translators is that it mainly focused on language line which relied mainly on on-site translation and interpretation. Note that there were other industries offering language services which focused on website and software localization and industries in these sectors were also active in online translation (Goerzen, 2015). This is an indication that LSP was influenced by technological innovation. Technology such as Google Translation, machine translator, cell phone application and others brought a dramatic transforming these industries.

Recommendation: Porter’s five forces

 In expanding internationally, it advisable that Able Translators should analyze the industry using porter’s five forces. The forces acts a tool for competitive strategy hence increase profitability. Thus, Able Translators should focus on level of competition. This will help in the industry in selecting the services to offer in order to maintain a competitive position.  It should also focus on new entrants and the threat they pose.  Third, it is important to consider the substitute of services which can weaken its power. Finally, the industry should consider customers’ and suppliers’ power (Sharan, 2013).

Q4.   Between the two strategic choices, I would recommend growing the existing business (translating and interpreting services).First, Able business made a wise decision of expanding the existing business.  In this case, it expanded its operations in Canada and by 2014, the business had grown in a dramatic way since it had 100 employees, 10million revenue and it was ranked among the10 largest industries for language services in Canada and among 100 industries internationally (Goerzen, 2015). The reason as to why I recommend expanding the existing business is because there are many benefits. Expansion develops new markets, capital is generated from market penetration, and there is core competency, risk management and networking. In year 2005, 2007 and 2009, Able Translators had developed branches in Germany, Portugal and Hong Kong respectively. The revenue was high as it was generated by North America with 20-30% revenue and Europe with 10-20% revenue and this was reinforced by powerful competition (Goerzen, 2015). The important point to note in growing an existing business is that the industry is exposed to various opportunities and these opportunities opens path for competitive advantage.  Even though there are risks and threats, there is a broader customer base. Note that the wider audience increases sales and the industry is able to achieve a high profitability. In order to enjoy a competitive advantage,  the only requirement is  just have a have  picture of the industry in terms its operations and  future growth, create business models  such as joint ventures, identify  the target markets and create a business plan. Note that Able translators passed through these steps and that is why it achieved a competitive and a sustainable advantage (Goerzen, 2015).

Recommendation: Organizational structure /culture

             While deciding to expand the existing business, Able translator should understand the   important of culture and structure and the role they play in business expansion. Note that both structure and culture are independent variables which shape the organization behavior. Even though culture is intrinsic factors while structure is an extrinsic factor, they play role in shaping behaviors. Thus, the decision of expanding internationally should be influenced by structure (design) and   culture (behaviors). Able translators should develop new cultural values and structure (Sharan, 2013).

 Q5a. In deciding to expand the business internationally, Able Translators met principal risks on the way. First, Able Translators faced the risk of customer proposition. Note that in the new markets, there were various competitors who dealt with competitive price. For example, the LSP industry were powerful competitors who had expertise on different areas such as technology, financial and more (Goerzen, 2015). Thus, the changing marketplace affected the Able Translators as it was unable to increase markets share and customer loyalty. In other words, the high competition with emerging industries led to high customer choices. In the new market, Able Translators faced the challenge of copping with the economic environment while trying to change the economic model. To maintain the operating margin and achieve better performance is not an easy task.  For example, competitors were involved in interrelated tasks which advanced the industries and increased demand. Last but not least, the industry met the challenges of competition since there a high price pressure which acted as a stumbling block in coping with the changing markets (Goerzen, 2015).

1. Principal risks adversely affect the business, employees, customers, operational performance, financial performance, strategic objectives and stakeholder’s expectations. To manage the risk and prevent the adverse effects, there should be an internal control and in this case the board has a responsibility to create a risk management for the purpose of identifying the risks. In addition, there should be an internal control system and strategic objectives which will evaluate the nature of the risks in order to develop ways to manage the risk (Goerzen, 2015). The risk system should be monitored and corrective action should be taken to ensure effective functions. 

  Recommendation: PESTEL analysis

In expansion the business Able should apply the PESTEL analysis. Political factors will help the industry understand the condition of foreign market in terms of trade policy, government policy, trade restrictions and more. Economic factors (macro and micro factors) will give an insight based on economic growth, inflation, and management of demand, taxation policy, income expenditure and more (Sharan, 2013).  Social-cultural factors will give an insight based on population, age, career and other related factors which will assist the business offer quality services in the market. Technological factors are important in providing the industry will methods of producing quality services and delivering the services to the target markets.

Q6a (i). From the case study, I can say that providing language services and at the same time making the business to be a technology company is a best activity though it is associated with cons.  First, there is an advantage in that Able Translators had gained many opportunities.  Technology such as telecommunication system has helped the company grow significantly (Goerzen, 2015). In addition, technology has helped it maintain core competencies and the technological capabilities created a strategic direction. Generally, technology brought efficiency in operation, communication and new opportunities (Goerzen, 2015). However, technology brought a disadvantage in that it was a burden to both clients and suppliers. For example, for Cisco’s technology to be effective, license were required and finally this led to growth barrier (Goerzen, 2015).  Other point noticed in the case study is that high competition may hinder technological innovation and hinder effective operation. This happens because powerful competitors   may have technology strategies and huge investment.

(ii).  Software Company has benefits in that after developing video interpreting software, there was a greater accessibility and there was no communication barrier. In addition, there were other competitive industries which were using software and they enjoyed value and growth in the business (Goerzen, 2015). In addition, the software established face-to-face interpretation services and Cisco’s system. Focusing on the case study,  there are disadvantages  in combining software  with technology in that Able company faced internal problems which led to failure of the start-up company  which was developed  for the purpose  of developing computer code (Goerzen, 2015).

1. Of the two positions, Able Translators should deal with language services and technology since it will enjoy new opportunities in the competition market. Remember that the survival of business is determined by new opportunities and the latter is achieved through innovation. In addition, in order to remain in the market and sustain profit, effective operations are needed. With technology, Able Translators will manage time, resources and cost (Goerzen, 2015). In addition, it is important for the Able Translators to use the Cage framework since it acts as a helpful tool in considering foreign competitors, bilateral and unilateral attributes, consumers’ buying power and   financial markets (Ghemawat, 2007).

Recommendation: Knowledge management

Knowledge management is a corporate strategy which Able Translators should apply in order to create value and meet goals. In knowledge management, the industry should apply a strategy which will manage and achieve strategic requirement. In addition, the industry should create an organization culture where members interact, shows respect and accepts change together. In knowledge management, effective management and leadership are required so that they can manage and direct effective operations (Sharan, 2013).

Work cited

Goerzen Anthony. (2015).  ABLE TRANSLATIONS: INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY AT THE CROSSROADS. IVER

PUBLISHING

Ghemawat, P. (2007). Redefining global strategy: Crossing borders in a world where differences still

matter.

 Sharan, Vyuptakesh.  (2013). INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: Concept, environment and strategy. S.l.:

PEARSON EDUCATION INDIA.

SAMSUNG Gas Separation P-6 project

This project was handled by a project team from Samsung Engineerung , who carried out procurement , construction and its commissioning on various key basis. The project was hailed for its success but it also experienced various problems relating to risk management and implementation process. However, the project was largely successful especially at the closure stage, and such success could be attributed to an effective teamwork that ensured expectations were successfully surpassed.

Initiation phase

The project was started by laying down the various terms of reference in conjunction with stakeholders to ensure an agreement is arrived at concerning the concerns that were to arise out of it. This establishing the practices and standards based on innovation that would ensure that the project would be completed successfully at every level. Such standards and practices were aimed at ensuring flexibility, ingenuity and tenacity for the project team and reaching an agreement with all stakeholders (Samsung Engineering, 2012). The initiation stage is where a declaration of business case, decision on project scope and expectations of stakeholders are made. In this phase, there setting of time for planning, defining project and communication on the benefits to be gained from it (Richardson, 2010).The mission of the project was set, and involves conducting integrated petrochemical and energy business as the energy firm of the country and equally responding to issues raised by stakeholders who comprised of community, employees, business partners., shareholders and customers.

Planning

Planning the scope of the process is an important part for a project to succeed. The project in this case involved writing an ambitious timeline of the project along with challenges that are expected in the development process. The planning process involves all aspects of the process including risk planning, communication planning, procurement planning and acceptance planning (Kloppenborg, 2015). The budgeting process was also involved in this process with an aim of ensuring that costs remained within the set boundaries as per the limited resources.

 Execution

The execution process for this process involved following the developed plan, and it involved the entire project team that started the actual work of plant development while management coordinated the resources (Kloppenborg, 2015). The success of the project depended on the team and hence, the development of the team was necessary for such course. The team involved various specialists with enough information regarding innovation and improved construction process. The chosen team had to adhere to the techniques and standards that ensured that there was smooth running of equipment, materials, labor and the safety of the site. The team members were encouraged to be flexible and creative at the site so as to handle any technical problems out of an open mindset. The project management is required to cultivate an effective team through team-building effort and ensuring communication through stakeholder engagement and supporting the team in whatever area they are in need. The phase involved carrying out the work required for delivering the product and the needed result. Many of the activities related to construction and development of the plant by the Samsung team was realized at this stage under the supervision of the project manager (Samsung Engineering, 2012).

Monitoring and control

 The monitoring and control process involves reviewing and regulating the progress of the project development and identification of any area which changes are required and the actual introduction of these changes (Kloppenborg, 2015). This process involves recognizing challenges and directing efforts back on track where actual results are compared to the plan, variance measurement and taking corrective measures or action.  For this project, there was combined effort from the team with an aim of minimizing any discrepancies, integration of various contracts and even subcontractors so as to ensure that all activities are directed towards achieving the set objectives (PMI, 2012). The team management embarked on engaging all the teams so that operations in adjacent facilities are not interrupted and where such interruption occurs, the staffs were to take the right actions.

Closure

This involved seeking acceptance of the completed project to the customers. The Thailand government was the customer of the gas separation plant and the closure process of involving handing over and commissioning of the complete process. The project was completed before the set timeline and a good-quality outcome of the project was delivered after the development process was closed.

 The success of the projected was hailed across board and it even received an international recognition for such effectiveness in development and implementation process. The challenges involved utilization of technology, availability of technical knowledge and environment pollution related issues have been have emerged in the implementation process (Samsung Engineering, 2012). Solutions were sort for these challenges and for the shortage on technical knowhow, the staff members were equipped with knowledge on the working of the project and maintenance issues. To counter the challenge on pollution, the team included a waste recovery unit to ensure that the required standards of the project were met. Moreover, extensive erection of the sight ensured that the start-up was highly successful while meeting the regulatory measures (Samsung Engineering, 2012).

References

PMI,(2012). World’s Largest Gas Separation Plan. Finished On Time and Under Budget. Retrieved from: http://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/case-study/samsung-engineering.pdf

Samsung Engineering, (2012). Samsung Engineering Sustainability Report.

Richardson, G. L. (2010). Project management theory and practice. CRC Press.25

Kloppenborg, T. J. (2015). Contemporary project management: Organize, plan, perform.19-20

Motivation Leadership Model

Music is one of the ways people can get motivated in life. Many people feel comforted and sympathetic about the life situations when listening to music. Music is one of the major ways humanity was made different from the animals. Music has the inner capability and capacity to break the boundaries and cause an action to take place.  Motivation is fundamental since it creates a significant impact on the life of a person (Martin et al., 2015). Every person needs to be motivated in every way possible to ensure that he or she succeeds. Music is one of the most important factors in a person as it unites and brings the best out of a person.

The title of the song is don’t stop believing, sang by Journey and it is located at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcjzHMhBtf0 In this song, it is all about characters that feel frustrated by life with no future even though still very young and almost gave up, but they never loosed hope for a better place. From the small town where they are brought up, they decide to get up and look for life elsewhere. They both take the initiative to leave the past that is full of trials and tribulations and find another life. They have nowhere to go, but they believe they are headed to somewhere. The song is motivating the listeners with the idea that it does not matter where you were coming from as long as you are focused on where you think life is better. Motivation is all that a person needs to get started with life and progress in whatever he or she decides (Brown & Capozza, 2016). Looking at where one is headed is the main idea of the song. The two young characters knew that they must leave their current place and find somewhere else to be just not where they currently live. The song has a message that one should not stop believing that the brighter days are just a step away from them the only thing required is the effort to move.

Each person has the obligation of holding on to that great feeling of ownership and wanting the best in life. According to the song, it is all about thinking ahead and living life the right and positive way. The street children and the street dwellers are all encouraged to just hold on to that feeling of greatness and self-will, and the best will happen to them (Martin et al., 2015). Losing hope is not the best alternative in life but just a way of distracting one from success. Mostly the street families and the street children are subjects of not having focus in life. In the song, the motivational theory is evident on why they too should be considered as people. They also have the right to live and also the capacity to dream big like many who come from good homes.

Comparing the street people and the two young characters, it is clear that they all have the same purpose and goal. Their goal is to see a better tomorrow where they can feel safe and outstanding to spending their lives there. Motivating another person is very important since it helps him or she sees the purpose and the meaning of being alive again just likes others (Martin et al., 2015). Living in a lonely world will almost kill the person and thus the reason to find a new purpose in a new place. Even though the street people do not intend to leave their current home, they still should be encouraged to hope for the best in the coming times.  Motivating one another is all about showing support and concern that their life to does matter.  

References

Brown, R., & Capozza, D. (Eds.). (2016). Social identities: Motivational, emotional, cultural influences. Psychology Press.

Martin, A. J., Collie, R. J., & Evans, P. (2015). 11 Motivation and engagement in music. How Arts Education Makes a Difference: Research Examining Successful Classroom Practice and Pedagogy, 169.

The Fall of Enron

1. Prior to 2001, Enron was an admired company due to its new economy, due to its investment in different sectors. The company overtook old industries due to its innovativeness and unique mode of operations. It bought and sold electricity and gas, some of the commodities which were on high demand (Fox, 2003). The utility business allowed the company to win over new markets, thus being able to earn huge revenues. Enron used the internet as a means of beating its competitors, since the internet was the new product in high demand. During this time, Enron’s was estimated to be worth $70 billion, with its singles shares trading at $90. This was what really attracted most customers, since they knew the company was out to make profits, and its consistency was good thus making most people to invest in Enron.
2. Enron’s failure was attributed to many factors, some of which included negligence, and issues of accountability. The company’s financial statements were puzzling to both the analysts and shareholders (Fox, 2003). The business model and dishonourable practices required that Enron use accounting boundaries in order to falsify earnings, hence adjusting the balance sheet in order to point out complimentary performance. Due to this issues, the company was faced with bankruptcy since it could not account for the lost money, and the revenues it had earlier on collected. In other words, the company had been providing false information regarding its revenues, hence attracting more customers, due to making them into believing the company was headed in the right direction when it was actually not.

The company had also made partnerships with other companies, whereby it the new companies were used as a means of hiding the debts which it had. The company had encountered huge debts and very heavy losses on the trading business, but this was hidden from the public through its partner companies (Fox, 2003). The company which also audited Enron’s statements refused to recognize the problems faced by the company. The auditor was also guilty of undertaking one of the major frauds ever committed in history.     

Due to ignorance and negligence, the company had ignored warnings surrounding the process of accounting. The executives were only concerned with pocketing a lot of money, and not with the issues surrounding the company (Fox, 2003).  This led to the collapse of the company since the company could not make any profits whatsoever. A lot of investors and employees were rendered out of service, and other companies also lost a lot of money which they had invested in Enron.        

3. The company’s internal checks and balances and incentive systems could not prevent it from the collapse because they were not done in an ethical way (Fox, 2003). The company was only concerned with the positive side of its performance, making it to use false means in order to cover up for its failures. The balance sheets were adjusted, thus allowing the company to cook up results hence making it look as if it was performing well. In addition, Enron used the companies it had partnered with, these companies’ being the companies it hard made, to seek debts. This made the company to look good before the public but in real sense things were not as they seemed. The company’s checks and balances were consequently falsified, a move which led to the collapse of the company.

Reference

Fox, L. (2003). Enron: The rise and fall. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Diagnosing change – Walmart

Wal-mart Stores, Inc. is a multinational firm whose operations involves wholesale,  retail and other business units in a range of formats. The history of the firm dates back to 1962 when Sam Walton, inspired by success he experienced at Walton’s 5&10 stores, started the first Walmart in 1962 to exploit a greater opportunity of providing value to customers of his business (Wal-Mart, n.d).   The business strategy utilized at the time involved providing products at lower products and improved service which enabled the firm to beat its competitors with time. The company has grown to be a leader in the industry globally and in fact, becoming among the largest firms in the world. For 2016 fiscal year, the firm earned revenue of $485.9 in total which was an increment from the previous year (Reuters, 2017). The company’s workforce is composed of 2.3 million people around the world, with about three quarter of the store management team starting their employment on hourly wages and growing gradually (Wal-Mart, n.d).

 Wal-mart is the largest employer not only in United States but around the world and its policies and procedures on human resource management have bought about many challenges at the work place. The challenges can be attributed to HR policy that encourages low compensation, poor work-life balance and lack of morale or motivation. The compensation structure of the company has seen the firm reduce employee benefits over the last two decades which has resulted to internal resentments among managers and their teams. The policy has involved minimizing the merit-based benefit raises, full-time hour employment and even the profit sharing programs (National Labor Relations Board ,2014). There have also been pay caps programs for some positions so that some employees’ compensations have not been raised for nearly a decade. There is centralization of HR policies at the head office so that store managers do not participate in raising employees’ salaries.  Another issue regards long-working hours especially for stores managers which leave them less time to develop other aspects of personal growth and development. The working conditions have, thus, deteriorated over the years. Given that employees are not encouraged to form trades unions, those who have spoken out about these conditions have been retaliated against by the management. These challenges have also seen the firm being sued by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) due to violation of employee’s rights and consequently the operations of the firm have been affected (National Labor Relations Board , 2014). The challenges employees are facing at are leading to high rate of turnover across the organization .This calls for a complete change on compensation and reward policies and communication procedures between management and the employees.

 The need for these changes is based on various reasons.  To begin with, employees in Wal-mart need to feel safe working in the organization such that whenever they feel unsatisfied with current conditions they can speak out without fear of being retaliated against. Employees need to feel that they are working an environment where is no constant fear of failing to progress in their career or development in other aspects in life. This is based on Lewin’s Change Management Model which holds that most people prefer to operate in zones that offer safety (Mourfield, 2014). Another reason is the need to have shared values which plays a central role in developing other critical elements in the organization. Shared values include why the firms were created and what its stands so that other aspects including skills and staffing are based on this. Employees determine the performance of the organization and meeting the set objective and goals.  Wal-mart needs to create values that are shared with employees so that human resource policies appreciate the role played by employees in its global success so that even where policies are aimed at cutting costs, they do not affect employees’ motivation and morale. This is based on McKinsey 7-S Model. The other reason is to create a build a team that is dedicated to a change that will benefit both the employer and employee. There is need to bring change in HR policies that will improve the working conditions for employee and at the same time prevent actions by employees, compensation programs that will disrupt the operations of Walmart. This is based on Kotter’s Change Model which holds that employees will accept a change if management convinces them of the need for the urgency in bringing changes (Mourfield, 2014).

4.                    

To assess the Wal-mart readiness for change there are three tools that can be used which include stakeholder analysis, force-field analysis and questionnaires and the use of questionnaires. Stakeholder analysis is an important tool that assists in assessing the needs of all the groups and individuals who are to be affected by this change. The tool helps in learning how the approach they are likely to use in adjusting and influencing the change process. This ensures that all individuals who are initiating change have put into consideration the needs and expectations of all relevant stakeholders of the organization (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols, 2012). Force-field analysis as a diagnostic tool enables one to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the change to be introduced, the desired outcomes and how it will impact the organization. The tool depicts the positive forces and negative forces that are supporting or opposing the specific change and in this case the change that is to be done on human resources policies and practices. This technique looks for the means of strengthening support, reducing any opposition and inducing new forces that perceive the change in a positive way (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols, 2012). Another tool that can be used in assessing change readiness is a questionnaire whose aim is to determine the extent to which individuals in an organization are prepared for a change. The tool will help in assessing each person in different departments especially the management on how ready they are to accept the human resource policy changes that are to be introduced. The questionnaire can measure various dimension such capability and willingness to change and how people understand the aspect of change (Information Resources Management Association, 2017).

 The best tools for assessing the readiness of the organization to human resource policy change include stakeholder analysis and force-field analysis. Stakeholder analysis ensures that those individuals who are supporting change understand the need for considering the view of others on change and various concerns that are raised. Using force-field analysis assists in understanding the ways of strengethening support, reducing opposition to change and generation of other forces that will support the change (Cawsey et. al  2012).

The stakeholders’ analysis can be used in assessing the readiness of Wal-mart to accept human resource changes on policies and practices. The management has centralized the human resource policy and thereby depriving store managers of any involvement in employees’ compensation, working conditions and growth. The results has been disgruntled employees who have tried to raise alarm on these conditions but have faced backlash from the management,  whose policy has been minimizing cost through reduced benefits. The company has even faced court battles on the same but has settled such in the court of law. The firm has been endeavoring to avoid loss of morale and motivation among the employees and discouraging formation of workers union. The firm has embarked on retaliating against workers who speaks up on the poor working conditions that exist in the company and which relates to centralized human resource policy. The various civil actions against the company and even strikes have in the past cost the company billions in revenues. There have been increased turnover rates as dissatisfied managers leave the firm followed by their subordinates. The management presents a force against change the centralized polices which is likely to increase costs. Employees and government agencies are pro-change and have desired for revised human resource policy that will not violate workers’ rights.

In conclusion, the organization is not ready for change since the management has not shown any sign of improving working conditions through better benefits while employees have not acknowledged that maintaining low wages has sustained profitability. Relating this to Lewin’s Change Management Model, there people in the organization including employees and managers do not view the issue as leading to safety in the firm. Organization is resisting change with an aim maintain status quo while employees are unwilling to compromise. There is a need to make both sides come to a common ground where a change will be adopted that brings benefits to all parties involved.

Reference

Mourfield, R. (2014). Organizational Change: A Guide to Bringing Everyone on Board. Management.

Cawsey, T. F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2012). Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit. London: SAGE. 201-203

Information Resources Management Association. (2017). Organizational culture and behavior: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. Hershey: Information Science Reference.858-859

Table of Contents

Tina’s Restaurant 2

SWOT Analysis. 2

Strengths. 2

Weaknesses. 4

Opportunities. 4

Threats. 5

3 Competitive Analysis. 5

Customer Segment Analysis. 6

Target Selection. 8

Mission Statement and Objectives. 9

Price and Products Analysis 10

Distribution, Location, name and Floor Plan. 12

Distribution Decisions. 12

Marketing Communications Plan. 13

Advertisement 13

Pamphlets. 13

Promotion Strategies 13

References. 14

Tina’s Restaurant

            Statement of Academic Purpose for Enterprise Risk Management

            Today, businesses are operating under more uncertainties than before ranging from economic to financial thus most of these actual risks cannot be gleaned from manuals without adequate knowledge exposure. I am applying for Enterprise Risk management Program to help contemporary firms in managing their financial risks by developing and incorporating effective strategies to managing risks. In particular, I am fascinated by the forces that affect the financial and economic performance of businesses and the manner in which rapid technological and economic changes affect the long run business structure, structure, information needs and risk management systems. Risk management systems tend to be effective when applied adequately within the scope of the business but it is a dynamic and complex process given that one strategy does not fit all (Hopkin, 2012). In gaining an appreciation of these as well as other related issues, it is important for me to own a firm ground in Enterprise Risk Management.

            It is my firm belief that a master’s degree in Risk management concentrating in enterprise risks would be irreplaceable in equipping me with the capability to achieve these objectives. This would offer a potent opportunity for me to network my theoretical and quantitative skills in evaluating Enterprise related risks management approaches and would thus open fresh avenues for further study. I believe that my background and extensive experience in accounting has prepared me adequately for the program.

            My social and academic background has instilled in me a risk management mindset and has found a passion in the sector. Risk management to me is not only a field of knowledge but it is my passion. I desire to gain enterprise risk management knowledge in general not just to advance my career via the obtained skills but to be part of the necessary solutions development. I have been working as an accountant and senior account for the last ten years where about five years I have worked in the insurance industry. My major job responsibility is to prepare financial statements, record, analyze, and reconcile investment portfolio, and prepare all kinds of financial and investment reports. My undergraduate GPA is 3.19 and Graduate GPA is 3.82. I am a Certified Public Accountant since 2007. I passed all parts of CPA exam in my first trial with an average score of 90.5. Since my work is closely related to financial risk, investment risk, and underwriting risk, I feel a formal education in risk management will be very beneficial for my future career development in the insurance industry or maybe later in finance and investment industry. With my educational and professional background, I am certain that I possess what is required to being exceptional and excelling in the program.

            As a graduate with an accounting master’s degree, the Enterprise risk management master’s degree will serve an important role in increasing my capabilities and polishing my career. The prime reason for my undying desire to pursue this program is to gain the best skills and knowledge that will improve the capability to serve the necessity for a professional Risk management professional graduate. In this context, I will gain the ability the most delicate role in either the public of private field. The accounting career mainly involves the analysis and evaluation of financial data and reports and thus pursuing a master’s degree in a program that is associated with the assessment aspects in essential in setting my long run career objectives and direction.

            Professionally and personally, I am influenced by the trust that the actual meaning of life is grounded in the ability to generate efficiency, a thing that I am seeking through this course. My intention for boarding on the master’s program is fueled by the desire to enhance knowledge in enterprise risks management. I have acquired vast concepts and experience by taking a number of academic ventures. As a learner and professional the program will give me a competitive edge in the demanding labor market an opportunity for applying the program’s concepts. I am assertive that you will consider me as a suitable and reliable choice for the program.

References

Hopkin, P. (2012). Fundamentals of risk management: Understanding evaluating and implementing effective risk management. London: Kogan Page.