Critical Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est”...

Critical Analysis of Wilfred Owen’s â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† Wilfred Owen’s poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, is a powerful poem with graphical lifelike images on the reality of war. It is blatantly apparent that the author was a soldier who experienced some of the most gruesome images of war. His choice of words, diction, tone, syntax, and metaphor’s paint a vivid picture in a brilliant poem. His choice for the poem’s name is ironical in itself. The entire phrase is â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori†, which basically translates to â€Å"It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country†. This was a common theme told to young soldiers during the First World War. The phrase itself came from a Roman poet named Horace. The argumentative claim†¦show more content†¦Wilfred Owen utilizes informal diction within this poem, his choice of words and jargon is keenly apparent with readers of military knowl edge and experience. His use of syntax and tone distinctly put the reader in the middle of crisis: Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! – As ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, (Meyer 886) These few lines completely change the feeling of following battle weary soldiers marching to the rear, to complete chaos of the moment. The reader can feel the adrenaline rush through them as they picture young soldiers donning their chemical warfare gear while under attack. This gives the readers the impression of panic and urgency, even though they were exhausted. Equipping their gear â€Å"clumsy† distinguishes that the soldiers cannot put their gear on quick enough, helps to portray the urgency of the moment. Wilfred Owen leaves nothing to the imagination of the reader. He clearly explains that war is not â€Å"sweet† and shows the graphic nature instead by painting a gruesome display of death. He explicitly demonstrates through vivid images and carefully chosen words to articulate the horrors of war: And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin, If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs (Meyer 887) The reader receives a distinct mental image of one of the soldiers dying a slow and painful horrible death. These wordsShow MoreRelatedWilfred Owen : The Greatest English Poet During The First World War Poem Summary1358 Words   |  6 PagesDulce Et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen Wilfred Owen is recognized as the greatest English poet during the First World War. Wilfred Owen notable poems contains the lives and historical records. He wrote out of his intense personal experience as a soldier and wrote with unrivalled power of the physical, moral and psychological trauma of the First World War. From the early age of nineteen, Wilfred Owen wanted to become a poet and immersed himself in poetry, being specially impressed by KeatsRead MoreAnalysis Of Wilfred Owen s Poem Dulce Et Decorum Est1692 Words   |  7 Pagesweek’s poetry type, American slam and we are now studying Protest and Resistance poetry. The protest poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, written by Wilfred Owen, challenges the dominant World War One ideologies of militarism and nationalism. You will find that this poem is a great example as it defies the dominant values and beliefs of war in Britain. Wilfred Owen Let’s discuss the poet. Wilfred Owen was one of the leading voices of the first world war. In January 1917, Owen was deployed but he was innocent

Gender Inequality Around The World - 1437 Words

Gender Inequality Around the World In his book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Nicholas D. Kristof said, â€Å"In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world†. Although women have made great strides in gaining equality, females around the world are not treated as equals to their male counterparts. Their education is taken for granted, their sports are not taken seriously, and their beauty is held to an almost unattainable standard. The inequality that women and girls face does not end here, but they are some of the most overlooked points on the subject. Although most places where girls are deprived of an education boys are too, more girls will not continue their education or will not receive an education at all than boys. There are over one million Ethiopian girls are out of school, along with an estimated three million Pakistani girls and five and a half million Nigerian girls (â€Å"Finding Facts† 1). In only three countries, there are an estimated 10 million girls out school, that is almost the population of Chicago, Illinois. Thousands of young Afghan girls are deprived of reaching a full education. The families of these young girls do not allow them to continue in their education for several reasons; concerns about security,Show MoreRelatedGender Inequalities Around The World993 Words   |  4 PagesAfter doing research on gender inequalities around the world, I realized how bad a lot of countries are to women. Looking at the countries that have gender inequalities, I can see why they are not moving towards sustainabili ty. In this essay, I will be providing detailed examples of how different countries treat their women and wives. In some countries, women and wives don’t have the right to travel without their husband or their closest male relative’s permission. In Egypt, Bahrain, and Syria, itRead MoreGender Inequality : A Critical Issue That Affects Women s Rights1662 Words   |  7 PagesGender Inequality Research Paper Gender inequality is a critical issue that affects more women than their male counterparts all around the world. Gender inequality is a form of legal discrimination towards women’s rights. In order to progress and grow as a community and society, gender equality needs to be acknowledged. According to LISTVERSE, the top ten â€Å"extreme† examples of gender inequality towards women that exists around the world today, specifically in the Middle East and North Africa, areRead MoreGender Equality And Gender Inequality921 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to the dictionary, the definition of gender equality is the state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender. Gender inequality is happening, where women have less control over resources, less power than males, and fewer opportunities across social, economic, and political life. Gender inequality is happening because of women’s physical difference in education, work pay and job opportunities, fa mily and culture, religion, and government. This is due to the stereotypicalRead MoreGender Inequality : A Critical Issue That Affects Women s Rights1665 Words   |  7 PagesProfessor Williamson 11/10/15 Gender Inequality Research Paper Gender inequality is a critical issue that affects more women than their male counterparts all around the world. Gender inequality is a form of legal discrimination towards women’s rights. In order to progress and grow as a community and society, gender equality needs to be acknowledged. According to LISTVERSE, the top ten â€Å"extreme† examples of gender inequality towards women that exists around the world today, specifically in the MiddleRead MoreGender Inequality And Gender Equality1667 Words   |  7 PagesGender inequality is the state in which access to rights or opportunities is affected by gender. Gender inequality is an issue not just nationally but globally. This issue is portrayed by the mistreating of individuals, mainly women, and not valuing everyone as one. This presentation will illustrate the exploration of gender equality, propose a solution and why that solution will produce a better future for a better world. Gender inequality is a very important issue common in our world today thatRead MoreGender Inequalities And Gender Inequality922 Words   |  4 PagesGender Inequalities in Education Judge Sonia Sotomayor states, â€Å"Until we get equality in education, we won t have an equal society. That quote resonates throughout the world because of gender inequality in education. Researchers believe gender inequality still exists in the 21st century. Through research, controversial opinions exist about inequality in schools and what has been done to address this situation. What is gender equality? Gender inequality refers to disproportionate dealing or assessmentsRead MoreGender Inequality, Functionalism and Symbolic Interactionism868 Words   |  4 PagesGender inequality refers to the inequality between men and women, or the unequal treatment or perception of a person based on his or her gender. Gender inequality is almost always prominent towards a female rather than towards a male. Women are seen as inferior to men in every country in the world. This form of society is called patriarchal and is one of this biggest issues in American society today. Patriarchy means that the country has a primarily male dominated society. Does anyone realizeRead MoreGender Inequality : A Feminist Perspective770 Words   |  4 Pagestopics of gender inequality become more and more popular in the society because a lot of reports show that many women are killed by bias on all over the world every year and women are hard to find a job in some places nowadays. Under this background, the â€Å"team† of feminist becomes stronger and stronger. In‘’ ‘I’ve been pondering whether you can be a part-feminist’: Young Australian Women’s Studies student discuss gender†, Kate Hughes presents the changing of students who has different gender perceptionsRead MoreGender Inequality And The Corporate World : How Do You Feel About Women Holding Higher Positions Within Corporations?1516 Words   |  7 PagesGender Inequality in the Corporate World How do you feel about women holding higher positions within corporations? In today’s society, there are several inequalities between women and men. These inequalities between women and men have been around since the beginning of time and will always be a factor. Gender inequality can be seen in many different ways across our society today. One major area that this inequality can be seen is in the workforce. There are many women who have jobs in today’sRead MoreGender Inequality Within The World1088 Words   |  5 PagesUnited States attend classes where gender equality exists. Students have classes in which both boys and girls are treated equally and are friends with one another and that is all that they have ever known. However, this is not always the case in every country. As of 2015, 53% of the children who are not attending school throughout the world are female (11 Facts About...). Gender inequality is an important issue that needs to be focused on and fixed throughout the world, especially within the education

Employee Motivation Business Organizational Leader

Question: Describe the Employee Motivation for Business Organizational Leader. Answer: In this competitive era, organizational leaders have realized that motivation is a key driver of employee productivity and the organization can achieve its goals and objectives only when employees are committed and motivated. It is important that the employer should focus to motivate the employees through various intrinsic and extrinsic manners. An example would be if the changes affected the employees in a positive way, by the means of salary increase or promotions. The employees will then benefit from the changes being implemented successfully. When an organization is able to include all stakeholders in the strategic planning and leaves room for self-improvement the employees are able to see whats in it for them (Lazaroiu, 2015). Such rewards are good ways of motivating and rewarding employees after successful changes have been implemented. The implementation process of the strategic plan must be flexible enough and inclusive of all stakeholders. This in turn will motivate the empl oyees to invest in the company and consider the rewards that will be offered. For employees to feel motivated, it is important that they should be able to relate themselves to organization. It can happen if they can understand the organization mission and vision and they can align their personal goal and mission with the organizational goals and objectives. Employers can do this if they can provide a platform where employees can feel themselves associated with the organization and leadership. The Maslow theory of motivation suggests that different employees have different levels of motivation (Maslow, 2015). The managers and leaders of Target should realize the difference between the trigger points of motivation of employees at different levels. The employers must realize that the motivation trigger of a factory worker at Target may not be same as the motivation trigger of a sales executive of Target. It is important to mention that leaders also play a key role in motivation. The presence of a leader cannot be replaced. Therefore, being available becomes crucial when team members know that their leader is not absent nor missing in action. Leadership continuously reaches out to his or her team in order to update, but also to go beyond that to general queries about life, day, and social life. It can be said that employers or leaders should focus to empower employees to motivate them. Empowerment in it-self can be fortified by encouraging creativity and adaptiveness. The dev elopment of groups that can share ideas across the functionality of the organization will be the inspiration of adaptively and innovation leading to collaboration. Therefore the building of good positive and communicative relationships within self-motivated groups will stand a better chance of success towards collaboration and efficiency of the organization. The employers can also use Herzberg motivation theory to keep employees motivated. Herzberg's findings revealed that certain characteristics of a job are consistently related to job satisfaction, while different factors are associated with job dissatisfaction. These factors can be shown as: The characteristics associated with job dissatisfaction are called hygiene factors. When these have been adequately addressed, people will not be dissatisfied nor will they be satisfied. Therefore, it is important that the employers should focus on both sets of factors to keep employees motivated. The employers should also realize that there could also be certain internal factors of motivation. People choose to be self-employed motivated by different factors, such as the need to create a sustainable income, allowing innovation to grow freely or achieving a work-life balance.As Smith Shields (2013) emphasized organizational structures and organizational designs need to be aligned with the organization's purpose and goals. Defining metrics and incorporating metrics as part of a managers and a followers accountability plan creates transparency between managers and followers in an organizational design. The monitoring of metrics ensures the organizational design is effective. The reward can be a motivator to achieve the results set out through the organizational design. Manzoor (2012) analyzed the motivations of the individual to determine that people were most productive when they were satisfied they were making a difference and happy in their work. The Belbin theory is an important theory of motivation in team role. The senior execuives and leaders of Target could also use this theory to keep employees motivated. The Belbin theory advocates that in a team setting, people should be clearly aware of their role. The effective demarcation of the team roles would enable the team to perform better. With this theory, the leaders of Walmart should define the clear role for different employees spread across various teams in the organization. It is important that the Belbin theory should be established as a culture at Target and this culture should cascade from top management to mid level management and from mid-level management to low level employees. According to Kepp (2014), Adapting to changes in the environment is important to managerial and organizational success. Managers must be able to make decisions contingent on current circumstances (Para. 4). Particularly in todays global and technologically innovative world, circumstances can change very quickly. Organizations must have managers on board who can quickly adapt to these changing circumstances and who can make quick decisions based on what is happening at that moment. The best way to achieve this is to have a contingency plan. A manager should be prepared for as many scenarios as possible, and have solutions in place in the event the scenario comes to fruition. Elliger, Watkins, and Bostrom (1999) also indicates that helping employees to broaden their comfortability with decision making is significant because it helps them to see things differently, from a different perspective, and transforms their ability to utilizing different viewing lenses moving forward. The goal i s to be able to promote from within since current personnel are familiar with the current culture and environment. This added benefit might require less training and time spent in guidance at the next level and the focus can be shifted too much needed areas. It is important that the employers should focus to create a culture where employees can feel self-motivated. In an organizational setting, different employees would have different needs and it is the responsibility of employers to understand the need of employees. It would be correct to say that understanding the need of employees is the first step to keep employees motivated. Another key driver of employee motivation is communication. Cerasoli (2014) argued that effective communication at workplace would also keep employees motivated. It is important that employers should establish both formal and informal communication channels to keep an open dialogue with employees. Target is a large organization and the organization has managers at various levels. It is important that the leaders and managers should be able to communicate the organizational values to mid level managers and low-level employees. Brown (2016) talks about managers using facilitative learning to stimulate and encoura ge subordinates to be able to think and act as if they were managers, and need to make decisions in simulated situation. One benefit to this type of behavior and atmosphere is that it gives employees on all levels, the courage to act and make day-to-day decisions on the spot given the severity of the situation. Managers simply provide support and constructive feedback on the thought process and outcomes of the situations, stimulating growth from reflections on subordinates. There could be some employees that would feel motivated by the obvious factors like salary, compensation and rewards. At the same time, there could be some employees that would feel motivated by the factors like workplace condition, support from managers, etc. The employers should focus on all the different ways and parameters to keep employees motivated. It would be correct to say that employee motivation is an internal thing. However, employers can certainly create a culture where employees can work with high m otivation levels. Therefore, it is important that the leaders of Target should focus to create such culture. References Cerasoli, C.P., Nicklin, J.M. and Ford, M.T., 2014. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: A 40-year meta-analysis.Psychological Bulletin,140(4), p.980. Devito, L., Brown, A., Bannister, B., Cianci, M. and Mujtaba, B., 2016. Employee Motivation based on the Hierarchy of Needs, Expectancy and the Two-Factor Theories Applied with Higher Education Employees.International Journal of Advances in Management, Economics and Entrepreneurship,3(1), p.20. Ellinger, A. D., Watkins, K. E., Bostrom, R. P. (1999). Managers as Facilitators of Learning in Learning Organizations. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 10(2), 105-124. Kepp, K. (2014). Theories About Organizational Structure. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/theories-organizational-structure-2777.html Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee Motivation and Job Performance.Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, (14), pp.97-102. Manzoor, Q.A., 2012. Impact of employees motivation on organizational effectiveness.Business management and strategy,3(1), p.1. Maslow, A.H., 2015. A theory of Human Motivation.Classics of Organization Theory,50, p.142. Smith, D.B. and Shields, J., 2013. Factors related to social service workers' job satisfaction: Revisiting Herzberg's motivation to work.Administration in Social Work,37(2), pp.189-198.

Fossil free essay sample

Kosta had noted the recent success of Swatch fashion watches and was aware that watches and other goods could be imported from the Far East at very low cost. On a visit to Hong Kong, Tom studied a number of potential products for import including toys and stuffed animals before following Kosta’s advice and returned to the U. S. to develop a watch import business. Enlisting the aid of two friends, Lynne Stafford for her sense of design and Alan Moore who had a master’s degree in accounting, he invested his savings of $200,000 to found Fossil as a Texas corporation in 1984. Fossil’s initial purchase of watches from a Hong Kong manufacturer included some retro and jumbo designs that Macy’s thought were â€Å"hot,† and significant orders followed. A design staff was developed that included watch buyers from retail chains. Inspiration came from many sources. , however: the strongest was â€Å"retro† themes from the 1940’s and 50’s. Designers paged through magazines from this era, including Life, Look, and Time, and visited flea markets searching for old watches. Between 1987 and 1989 sales grew from $2 million to $20 million, assisted by liberal credit from the Hong Kong manufacturers of Fossil watches. One sector included conservatively styled time pieces including brands such as Citizen and Seiko. The second sector included products designed to reflect emerging fashion trends and included Swatch, Guess? , Anne Klein and Anne Klein II, and Fossil. This segment was fueled by fashion-conscious consumers who considered watches as fashion accessories and often owned multiple watches. Branded fashion watch sales were estimated to represent approximately $400 million in retail sales in 1990. Major Competitors Fossil’s major competitors were Swatch and Guess?. Although market share data were difficult to obtain, it was generally believed that Fossil and Guess? had nearly equal market shares and that Swatch had slipped to third in recent months. Numerous other considerably smaller competitors existed including Anne Klein, Anne Klein II, and Gucci. Swatch Although quartz watch technology had been developed in Switzerland, by the late 1970’s the Japanese companies’ Seiko, Citizen, and Casio and the United States’ firm Texas Instruments exploited production improvements and economies of scale to drive prices down. Strategic use of the manufacturing experience curve led to an oversupply of quartz watch movements and a severe price war. Many competitors were driven out of business with Casio, Hong Kong producers, and a few other firms surviving in mass market watches, and Seiko and Citizen in the moderately priced segment. The Swiss watch industry was under severe attack at the low and mid price points, and both unemployment and losses on bank loans were increasing. In 1978, the Swiss government agreed to provide up to one-third of the costs or a maximum of Sfr. 5 million for a venture of the leading watch manufacturers to develop a Swiss electronic watch program. Additional financing was supplied by banks, who wrote off existing loans and provided hundreds of millions of francs of new capital, and a group of investors who paid $100 million (Sfr 151 at the time) for a 51 percent share. The consulting firm of Hayek Engineering was hired to lead the effort to revive the lower-priced segment. This venture produced a number of new patents and developed both new watch and watch manufacturing technologies, along with the ability to design and manufacture watches efficiently at low cost. The resulting firm, Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking (SMH) included the existing brands Omega, Longines, Tissot, and Rado in the moderate and fine watch segments. N. Hayek and E. Thomke led efforts in the low priced segments that resulted in the Swatch manufactured by SMH’s ETA division. Development of the Swatch began in 1980, resulting in a product launch in 1983. The manufacturing process was highly automated using robots and computers in the manufacturing and assembly processes. The watch had been designed with only 51 parts, instead of the usual 90 to 150 parts in other watches, had an ex-factory price of Sfr15. Parts were injected directly into the plastic case which was sealed by ultrasonic welding. This process was highly capital intensive, leading to direct labor costs of less than ten percent of total costs. The manufacturing process permitted a wide variety of dials, cases, and straps: however, variations in the shape and size of the watch case were quite difficult. One plant could produce up to 35,000 watches a day. Swatch was test marketed in the United States in December 1982 at 100 Sanger Harris department stores in Dallas, Salt Lake City, and San Diego without any advertising or public relations. Although consumer reactions were mixed, Swatch was officially launched in Switzerland in March 1983, followed by a gradual worldwide release. A second U. S. test market in December 1983 through the Zale jewelry chain and Macy’s was not successful. Swatch made extensive adjustments throughout their marketing program, and by 1985, U. S. sales accelerated. In 1986, a worldwide single price of $30 for most models was set and sales accumulated to over 50 million units worldwide by 1988. The 100 millionth Swatch was sold in 1993, when the price of a basic Swatch was $40. In 1992, SMH had combined sales for all brands of $2. 1 billion, producing $286 million in profits and a market equity value exceeding $3. 5 billion. Banks had encouraged Nicholas Hayek to assume a 20 percent equity ownership in the mid-80’s, a successful arrangement for both. Fifteen thousand employees worked in plants in Switzerland and Thailand producing semi-conductors, watches, movements, batteries, and straps. Guess? In 1983, Philip â€Å"Mickey† Callanen acquired the worldwide license to manufacture and market watches with the Guess? name. Investing $40,000 of his personal funds, he opened business in his garage, sourced watches from Hong Kong, and shipped for the 1983 Christmas season. Growth continued through the 1980’s at over 20 percent annually. In 1991, Callanen Company was acquired by Timex, expanding distribution to Japan, Australia, France, England, Germany and Canada and providing Callanen an additional source of watch technologies such as Indiglo dial illumination. In 1993 Callanen marketed both Guess? watches for men and women and Monet watches for women. Guess? represented 85 percent of the $80 million shipments (3 million watches) in 1992. The Guess? product line included 250 to 300 styles including classic, fashion, sporty, multi-function, chronograph, novelty, and metal bracelet watches. About 20 percent of the product line was revised seasonally four times a year. Guess? watches had a suggested retail price between $42 and $115, using department stores as the major retail outlet. Fifteen percent of Guess? sales were in international markets. Additional products included watch bands and private label watches for Disney, Hard Rock Cafe, Limited Express, Macy’s, and others. Virtually all Guess? watches were designed and manufactured at Guess? ’s partly owned manufacturing facility in Hong Kong. The 270 employees included a design staff of 19. Callanen’s business offices, warehouse, and watch repair facility were located in Norwalk, Connecticut, and they had a showroom in New York City. Manufacturing and Sourcing About two million, or eighty-five percent of fine watches sold worldwide, were manufactured in Switzerland in 1988, making Switzerland the largest value producer with sales of $4. 9 billion (96 million watches) in 1990. Most other watches were manufactured in the Far East, with the major exception of Swatch, which was manufactured in a highly automated factory in Switzerland. The development of the Swatch and its robotic factory was credited with saving the Swiss watch industry. Japan was the world’s largest producer in terms of units, with 325 million units, representing 44 percent of the world’s production in 1990. Hong Kong, relying on assembly by hand, produced 175 million watches in 1990, and was expected to produce 340 million, or one-third of the world’s watches in 1993 (Table 6). Due to Hong Kong’s focus on low-priced watches, this represented only nine percent of the total value of watches produced. Fossil chose to assemble watches in Hong Kong, using components from Japan, China, Taiwan, Italy, and Korea. FOSSIL IN 1993 Business Strategy Fossil’s initial public offering prospectus defined their business strategy as: â€Å"Brand Development. The Company has established the FOSSIL brand name and image to reflect a theme of fun, fashion, and humor, and believes that the FOSSIL brand name has achieved growing acceptance among fashion-conscious consumers in its target markets. Product Value. The Company’s products provide value by offering quality components and features at moderate prices. For example, the Company’s FOSSIL watches, which offer features such as raised indexes, enamel, textured, shell or semi-precious stone dials, gold electroplating, and fine leather straps, are sold at an average retail price of $63. Likewise, the Company’s RELIC watches, which incorporate a number of features offered in FOSSIL watches, are sold at an average retail price of $42. Fashion Orientation. The Company ifferentiates its products from those of its competitors principally through innovations in fashion details, including variations in the treatment of watch dials, crystals, cases, and straps for the Company’s watches and trimming, lining, and straps for its handbags. Expansion of International Business. The Company is seeking to achieve further growth in its international business through the establishment of a joint venture to operate a European distribution center, the establishment of a branch office in Canada, and the recruitment of new distributors in selected international markets. Introduction of New Product Categories. The Company may leverage its design and marketing expertise to expand the scope of its product offerings through the introduction of new categories of fashion accessories that would complement its existing products. Active Management of Retail Sales. The Company manages the retail sales process by carefully monitoring its customers’ sales and inventories by product category and style and by assisting in the conception, development, and implementation of their marketing program. As a result, the Company believes it enjoys close relationships with its principal customers, often allowing it to influence the mix, quality, and timing of their purchasing decisions. Close Relationships with Manufacturing Sources. The Company has established and maintains close relationships with a number of watch manufacturers located in Hong Kong. The Company believes that these relationships allow it to quickly and efficiently introduce innovative product designs and alter production in response to the retail performance of its products. Coordinated Product Promotion. The Company coordinates product design, packaging, and advertising functions in order to communicate in a cohesive manner to its target markets the themes and images it associates with its products. Personnel Development. The Company actively seeks to recruit and train its design, advertising, sales, and marketing personnel to assist it in achieving further growth in its existing businesses and in expanding the scope of its product offerings. Cost Advantages. Because the Company does not pay royalties on products sold under the FOSSIL and RELIC brand names and because of cost savings associated with the location of its headquarters and warehousing and distribution center in Dallas, Texas, the Company believes that it enjoys certain cost advantages which enhance its ability to achieve attractive profit margins. Centralized Distribution. Substantially all of the Company’s products are distributed from its warehousing and distribution center located in Dallas. The Company believes that its distribution capabilities enable it to reduce inventory risk and increase its flexibility in meeting the delivery requirement of its customers. (Fossil, 1993, 23-24) Manufacturing Fossil East, a 35 employee subsidiary of Fossil (owning 20 percent interest), acted as Fossil’s exclusive agent, buying all of Fossil’s watches from approximately 20 factories located in Hong Kong. In 1992, about 21 percent of these watches were purchased from Pulse Time, a Hong Kong corporation in which Fossil held a minority interest. Three other factories each accounted for more than 10 percent of Fossil’s watches. The company felt that developing long-term relations with suppliers was essential to its success. While the loss of any single manufacturer could disrupt shipments of certain watch styles, it would not impact their overall marketing program. Leather goods were manufactured in 12 factories located in Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, and Uruguay. Fossil believed â€Å"that its policy of outsourcing products allows it to achieve increased production flexibility while avoiding significant capital expenditures, build-ups of work-in-process inventory, and the costs of managing a substantial production work force† (Fossil, 1993, 27). Products Fossil’s flagship products were the Fossil watches introduced as a brand in 1986. Handbags were introduced in 1991 as the first entry into the leather goods market. Watch Products Watches represented 98. 1, 96. 4, and 92. 5 percent of sales in the years 1990, 1991, and 1992 respectively. Following the Fossil brand, Fossil introduced the Relic brand, Fossil watch straps, and private label products. FOSSIL Watches: Fossil states its â€Å"watches are targeted at middle and upper income consumers between the ages of 16 and 40 and are sold at retail prices generally ranging from $45 to $110, with an average price of $63† (Fossil, 1993, 25). RELIC Watches: The Relic brand shared many of the features found in Fossil watches but in a format suitable for lower priced fashion watches. Relic watches â€Å"are targeted at lower and middle income consumers and are sold at retail prices generally ranging from $40 to $50, with an average price of $42. † Fossil Watch Straps: Watch straps were targeted at customers who bought Fossil watches; however, they could be used with a wide variety of watches. They were priced from $13 to $15. Private Label Products: Fossil provided private label watches for retailers and other customers. Leather Goods Following the introduction of Fossil handbags in 1991, small leather goods such as coin purses, key chains, personal organizers, wallets, and belts for women were introduced in 1992, accounting for about five percent of sales in 1992. The handbags emphasized classic styles and creative designs, including a tan and black binocular bag, a green and tan drawstring sac, and a natural color military ammunition pouch retailing from $48 to $130, with an average price of $87. Fossil felt that since women’s leather goods tended to be located near women’s watches in department and specialty stores, purchase of one Fossil product might lead to another. They also felt that they were price competitive. Design and Development The design staff sought to â€Å"differentiate its products from those of its competition principally by incorporating innovations in fashion details into its product designs. † These included variations in the treatment of dials, crystals, cases, and straps for the company’s watches and trimming, lining, and straps for handbags (Fossil 1993, 26). Fossil’s watch lines included Airmaster, Casual, Chronograph, Dress, Limited Edition, Pyramid, Crystal, Skeleton, and Vintage watches. About 500 different styles were available at any given time, with new designs offered five times a year. Over 1,000 models were available in 1992. Design prototypes of watches were created in Hong Kong in as little as a week, and lead-time from committing orders to shipment ranged from two to three months. Fossil believed that its close relationships with manufacturers gave it a competitive advantage in quickly introducing innovative product designs. Promotion Fossil made use of an in-house advertising department for design and execution of packaging, advertising, and sales promotions. Company executives felt that extensive use of computer-aided design reduced time and encouraged greater creativity in developing these programs. The company’s stated advertising themes â€Å"aim at evoking nostalgia for the simpler values and more optimistic outlook of the 1950’s through the use of images of cars, trains, airliners, and consumer products that reflect the classic American tastes of the period. These images are carefully coordinated in order to convey the flair for fun, fashion, and humor which the Company associates with its products† (Fossil, 1993, 28). A sundial watch sold over 250,000 pieces at a retail price of $16. Fossil developed cooperative advertising programs with major retail customers and developed in-store visual support through its packaging, signs, and fixtures. Consumers were offered promotional items, including unique tin boxes as watch packaging, T-shirts, caps, and pens. In ten locations, Fossil opened a â€Å"shop-in-shop† format including a wide variety of Fossil products and promotional materials. With greater emphasis on product design, retailer relations, and promotion, Fossil conducted advertising limited to spot television in local markets since 1989, national spots since 1991, outdoor advertising in four markets, and occasional ads in Elle, Mademoiselle, Vogue, and Seventeen. Distribution and Sales Force The majority of Fossil’s products were shipped to its warehouse and distribution center in Dallas. A significant number were bar coded prior to shipment for entry into a computerized inventory control system, which enabled Fossil to track each item from receipt to its ultimate sale. Products were distributed to approximately 12,000 retail locations in the United States including department stores and specialty retail stores. In 1991 and 1992, department stores accounted for about 67 percent of net sales. (Table 8 provides data on watch distribution by price and retail channel. ) Fossil’s ten largest customers accounted for 40 percent of sales. The largest customers were Dillard’s and the May Company, each accounting for from ten to thirteen percent of sales. Other principal customers included Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Dayton Hudson, Federated Department Stores, JCPenney, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Service Merchandise. Although the industry typically used independent sales representatives, Fossil made use of 25 in-house sales and customer service employees and 12 independent sales representatives. In-house personnel received a salary while independent sales reps worked on a commission basis and did not represent competing product lines. International sales in 1990, 1991, and 1992 were 5. 6, 7. 2, and 8. 1 percent of net sales, respectively. Sixteen independent distributors operated in Europe, South and Central America, Africa, and Australia. These distributors resold watches to department stores and specialty retail stores. Fossil received payment in U. S. dollars based on a uniform price schedule. Financial Strategy Fossil had started out as a â€Å"bootstrap† financed firm. Personal income and savings from Tom Kartsotis’ ticket-brokering business had provided the initial capital for the operation, and the company had further financed operations by the creative use of trade credit and bank loans. With sales growing rapidly, Fossil’s expansion needs exceeded what it could raise internally. To sustain sales growth, Fossil needed a substantial increase in working capital. Fossil’s ability to continue to fund itself with debt capital, given their exposure to volatility in the fashion product market, was questionable. An initial public stock offering (IPO) which would provide access to capital needed to expand Fossil’s working capital base and fund additional sales growth, was managed by Montgomery Securities of San Francisco. While not uncommon, IPO’s of less than $20 MM involved transaction costs that many viewed as being too high to justify the offering. A critical decision that needed to be made was what proportion of the ownership should be issued.

Altius Golf free essay sample

Altius Golf is a company leader in golf balls, it has been the market leader of golf balls for a very long time, but because of the global recession, its CEO and its chief marketing officer are trying to develop a new strategy by introducing a ball that is priced more than 40% below the company’s flagship Victor TX line and it would be sold primarily through the â€Å"off-course† channel, keeping it out of the most premium â€Å"on-course† retail outlets. Only two directors viewed the move favorably, agreeing that it was the right strategy to meet the broader growth challenges in the golf industry. The other five weren. t happy at all with the implementation of Elevate, the strategy, voicing concerns that the Elevate strategy would damage the brand, undermine the pricing architecture, and impair margins permanently. One of the main facts to implement a new strategy is to watch out the industry trends. We will write a custom essay sample on Altius Golf or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The most worrying trend for the golf industry, was declining interest in the sport in the U. S. This was reflected in both total golfers, and in degree of engagement, as measured by frequency of play. Also the investment in golf course real estate and development fell over 40% . As total golfers and their spending fell, retail outlets also closed at an alarming rate, with nearly 25% of stores closing in the years immediately following the recession. So the downturn accelerated longer-term trends in golf retailing. Consumer studies showed that high costs, lack of time, and the difficulty of the sport were the leading reasons for not playing golf and the USGA was aware of this negative trends so its efforts were focused on making golf more accesible; based on this two golf balls manufacturers, Primiera and Meridian, demonstrated the potential to make the sport more accessible, especially to new and recreational golfers, that shows that the world in changing so if Altius Golf want to keep up being the markt leader it has to make some moves, one of them is facing its new competitors. Primiera began holding custom ball-fitting sessions around the country and Meridian went one step further in making golf easier and more fun: marketing non-conforming balls with characteristics outside the USGA’s parameters. On the other hand, Evelyn Gracie, CEO of Altius Golf, and and Austin Kai, the chief marketing officer, had to deal with the customer preferences, so to meet those preferences Altius’s made a consumer research. This recent consumer research had been revealing. The brand remained prestigious and nearly all golfers, including those who used other balls, viewed both the brand and the product line positively. the brand perception of competitors, including Bantam, Carlsbad, and Premiera, had improved; Altius’s lead in brand strength had declined modestly, and these facts were followed by other negative signs, the survey suggested that more consumers than before were now open to trying competing golf balls. Based on the survey, Austin thought that Elevate was the best way to secure the company’s longer- term leadership position and Evelyn Gracie believed that ignoring the successful incursions of Altius’ competition was a losing proposition and protecting the company’s market leadership required a new strategy. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Main problems that Altius has to deal with: 1. Global recession. The economy is still dealing with the global recession since 2008, so developing a new strategy/product takes also its risks based on the economy problems that we are still facing. Prior to 2008, one out of every two golf balls sold in the U. S. was an Altius ball, and the company had accounted for nearly 60% of industry revenues. Nowadays Altius Golf is still te market leader but the best way to face a enonomic recession is through innovation, introducing a new product would be the answer to deal with this recession. 2. New competitors. Altius Golf has been the market leader for a long time but new competitors like Meridian and Primiera are taking over. To face this new competitors Altius must make a move implementing a new strategy, building a competitive advantage over its competitors. Although its still the market leader on golf balls, the world is constantly changing so it must make a move. 3. Customers. The company segmented current Altius consumers into three categories by a customer research: loyalists, enthusiasts, and brand agnostics. The survey suggested that more consumers than before were now open to trying competing golf balls; specifically, there were significantly more â€Å"agnostics† than before. Based on the survey: AGNOSTICS: medium high to very high trying a new Brand. (17%) Casual and/or infrequent golfer More likely to be a beginner Price-sensitive and likely to purchase on promotion ENTHUSIASTS: medium to high trying a new Brand. (15%) Moderate frequency golfer Includes both beginners and experienced players, but likely to be â€Å"serious† (e. g. taking lessons, practicing at driving range) Interested in â€Å"best† equipment technology, but moderate price sensitivity 4. Price. Altiu? s prices are much higher compared to its competitors, and based on the recent survey that it has made only one group of customers are not price sensitive. To face this problems Altius Golf should lower its prices or introduce a new product with a lower price to meet the expectations of those customers. CASE ANALYSIS Golf is a multi-billion dollar industry that is showing a growth in popularity due to media attention on rising young stars of the sport. Many different golf products are needed and sold to the millions of consumers who play this sport annually. Because of the large market which exist, there is strong competition between equipment makers to get their products sold. Of the equipment that is needed to play a round of golf, clubs and balls are the most essential. More notably is the fact that clubs have a longer useable life than golf balls. New golf balls may be needed every time a golfer goes to the course to play a round. This is because balls get lost or scuffed during play. The high sales turnover which exists with golf balls makes this product attractive to sports equipment producers. Altius Golf may be the clear leader in the baseball market despite the fact that there has been a decline in the amount of golfers and a drop in sales following a financial meltdown. Altius Golf still maintained its good position in the market by introducing generations of higher level, top quality golf balls that allow their clients to copy professional golf players. The business suffered a loss because of competition who had been cutting the prices down and the Chief Executive Officer really wants to introduce a fresh program called Elevate to foster another generation of golfers. With the introduction of Elevate, Altius Golf will introduce a ball that’s smoother and better to drive for long distances and provide it at a cost 40% below the business’s flagship product. Elevate will undoubtedly be available through â€Å"off the course† channels such as for example golf specialty stores and big box retailers rather than â€Å"on the course† professional shops where in fact Altius Golf sells its products and services. The board of directors is divided on whether to go with this decision or against it. Only two of them support this decision, the others think that the Elevate strategy would damage the brand, undermine the pricing architecture, and impair margins permanently. Altius Golf can outperform rivals only if it can established a difference that it can preserve, with the Elevate strategy Altius would meet those expectations, like delivering greater value to its customers with its main product Victor TX, the flagship premium line would still be offered in two versions, one that maximized distance and one that emphasized â€Å"feel† around the greens with a suggested retail price of $48 per dozen; or creating comparable value at a lower price with Victor, the mid-range line, that would come in two versions, maximizing either distance or control, and had a suggested retail price of $39 per dozen or introducing a new product, Elevate, the new value line would come in four versions: for fast, medium, and slow swing speeds, as well as a non-conforming offering. These would have a suggested price of $27 per dozen. So should Altius make a move and introduce Elevate? In my opinion I would definitely say yes, the world is constantly changing and if you don? t change with it you would get stuck, even though if you are the market leader, innovation means building a competitive advantage over Altius competitors, that would mean transforming its main weaks into strengths, its threats into opportunities. With Elevate, Altius would deliver its main products to its loyal customers, which will keep buying the Victor TX as they are not price sensitive; to the moderate golfers and beginners, which would buy Victor and Elevate, both are moderate or infrequent golfers, so they wont be willing to spend a lot of money in golf balls, and instead they could buy Victor and Elevate. Altius golf, using its recognized brand name would definitely increase sales, because the loyal customers will keep on buying them and the other two groups of customers would buy its golf balls because its prices are much lower and Altius is the best manufacturer of golf balls, so that would attract them even though they are willing to try new brands, Altius Golf is the market leader.

Free Essays on Personality Test`

Personality and Work Behavior By taking the three personality tests I discovered some interesting things about myself. First, was the â€Å"Big Five† Dimension of Personality test where I scored relatively high in the dimensions of extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability. Whereas, I posted average scores in the dimensions of openness and conscientiousness. According to the book a high score on conscientiousness and emotional stability were associated with high performance across all occupational groups and all measures of performance. Since I scored high in extraversion I would most likely be successful in jobs that require interaction with many other people during the day. The second test was the Machiavellianism test. Overall I scored average on this test. People who score high on this test are charming, lie easily and show little guilt when harming others. These people are usually more successful in jobs where there is a great deal of autonomy. Apparently, this happens because they are mor e free to do their own thing, and are not tied down by strict rules. Lastly, there was the self-monitoring test. Since my score was above eight I am high in self-monitoring. Those who are high self-monitors are better in jobs where they have to act different in different situations. Also high self-monitors tend to receive more promotions because they can adapt to different surroundings easier. The book also states, that high self-monitors do whatever it takes to generate positive reactions from others. Personally, I have to disagree with some of the predictions made by these tests. Some of the predictions made by these tests I feel are not accurate. An example would be that I scored high in the extravert section, but I do not feel like I would enjoy an interactive job with many people. As stated above I scored high on the self-monitoring test but I really do not do whatever it takes to get positive reactions from people. Basicall... Free Essays on Personality Test` Free Essays on Personality Test` Personality and Work Behavior By taking the three personality tests I discovered some interesting things about myself. First, was the â€Å"Big Five† Dimension of Personality test where I scored relatively high in the dimensions of extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability. Whereas, I posted average scores in the dimensions of openness and conscientiousness. According to the book a high score on conscientiousness and emotional stability were associated with high performance across all occupational groups and all measures of performance. Since I scored high in extraversion I would most likely be successful in jobs that require interaction with many other people during the day. The second test was the Machiavellianism test. Overall I scored average on this test. People who score high on this test are charming, lie easily and show little guilt when harming others. These people are usually more successful in jobs where there is a great deal of autonomy. Apparently, this happens because they are mor e free to do their own thing, and are not tied down by strict rules. Lastly, there was the self-monitoring test. Since my score was above eight I am high in self-monitoring. Those who are high self-monitors are better in jobs where they have to act different in different situations. Also high self-monitors tend to receive more promotions because they can adapt to different surroundings easier. The book also states, that high self-monitors do whatever it takes to generate positive reactions from others. Personally, I have to disagree with some of the predictions made by these tests. Some of the predictions made by these tests I feel are not accurate. An example would be that I scored high in the extravert section, but I do not feel like I would enjoy an interactive job with many people. As stated above I scored high on the self-monitoring test but I really do not do whatever it takes to get positive reactions from people. Basicall...

The Elements of Multidisciplinary Approach Addressing the Needs of Essay

The Elements of Multidisciplinary Approach Addressing the Needs of Female Offenders - Essay Example Reports revealed that most women offenders are mothers, and females who have experienced some form of abuse, with broken homes, big financial problems or unable to sustain stable jobs, addiction to drugs and alcohol, psychological distress, with low self-esteem, with a history of severe emotional and verbal abuse, and a lot more. There is then a need to continuously educate the public in supporting and even intervening to prevent or at least minimize these increasing problems, especially the juvenile. The school, family, and community are avenues where the government and non-government agencies should focus on. As they say in medicine, prevention is better than cure. It does apply to our community as well that before making the multidisciplinary approach in addressing the needs of female offenders, it is quite proper to first identify and treat the causes. It is harder to come up with solutions when females already became offenders and eventually are in jail. Strip-search and â€Å" squat and cough† are only among the procedures undergone by every female offender before entering their prison cells which could be really humiliating and completely no privacy. Then there’s booking, mugshots, fingerprints, medical screening, shower (with no doors) and changing into a jail uniform. After this, the female offender is taken to her cell where the worst things can happen. Many women are abused while in prison and can be subjected to conditions which not only revictimize them but are below international human rights standards which the United States has endorsed (Belknap). This should be then another concern of the government to re-evaluate available treatment programs in correctional institutions and do some program revisions as needed. It is the responsibility of the criminal justice system starting from the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and corrections to come up with a multidisciplinary approach exclusively designed for them. Women, as describe d are far more emotional. Emotions make women whole people; without emotions, women would be machines (Booher 17).