Analysis Into the Vertical Integration Across the Value Chain of Sony Essay Example

Analysis Into the Vertical Integration Across the Value Chain of Sony Paper â€Å"The greater a firm? s ownership extends over successive stages of the value chain for its product, the greater the degree of vertical integration† (Grant, 2010, pp354). The consumer electronics industry value chain is depicted below: Thus a firm can be said to be vertically integrated if it owns and operates each of these stages of the value chain. The consumer electronics industry has many players who produce goods for purposes such as entertainment, communication and work. There are many determinants of success, including technical innovation, price competitiveness and brand awareness. The degree of integration in the value chain can influence success within the industry. Examples of firms who manage the value chain differently include Apple, who integrates their product design and retailing, but outsources the manufacturing assembly of their products, whereas Dell keeps its product design and assembly in-house, whilst using market contracts for component manufacturing and retailing. This report focuses on the consumer electronics division of Sony, a well-known brand in the industry, whose five different stages of the value chain (same as above chart) is analysed in more depth below. 1. Product Design The first stage of the value chain is Product Design, which Sony keeps in-house. The company emphasises on â€Å"building high-performance, easy-to-use and beautiful products with a distinctive Sony flair† (Sony, 20111). Within the consumer electronics value chain, there are numerous benefits of the vertical integration of product design. Evidence suggests there is strong correlation between the launch of new products and market performance (Souder and Sherman, 2004). Consequently, new designs and products can capture and retain market shares and increase profitability (Tidd et al. , 2001). Thus by having ownership over the product design and innovation stage, Sony can maintain complete control in creating its own competitive advantages to have an edge in the market. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis Into the Vertical Integration Across the Value Chain of Sony specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis Into the Vertical Integration Across the Value Chain of Sony specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis Into the Vertical Integration Across the Value Chain of Sony specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Due to the nature of product design, outsourcing would be unrealistic; Sony is likely to have Proprietary product technology unique to the firm e. g. their 3D technology. Consequently, there is incentive for the contracted company to behave opportunistically (Williamson, 1973), such as expropriating the technology and maybe even leaking it to rivals (Rao Novelli, 2010; Business Week, 2009), and so contracts of vast complexity would need to be written and agreed to prevent such opportunism, which is expensive (Williamson, 1973). Also, for the contractors to be incentivised to come up with the best technology or design, the contracts will have to be designed in such a way that the agency fees that the contractors will receive will be correlated to the market performance of the designed product, and this is extremely hard to measure or enforce in contract. Thus, the potential transaction costs (Coase, 1991), risks and complexity associated with Product Design far outweigh than the administrative and labour costs of vertical integration which makes outsourcing an unfavourable option. However, there are risks associated with keeping the product design process in-house. Most significantly, there is the risk of not having the flexibility, skills and capability to come up with groundbreaking technology and therefore fall behind your competitors. For instance, Sony failed to anticipate the trend towards mp3 technology which led to loss of market share in the portable music devices market in the early 21st century (Uggla and Verick, 2008). Further, the administrative costs of product design in-house are high, with Sonys investment in R activities amounting to JPY432 billion ($4. billion) in FY2010 (Datamonitor, 20111). On balance, vertical integration with respect to Product Design is the best strategy for Sony to adopt. Innovation within the technology industry is the key to success, and so Sony need to keep complete control over this process. 2. Manufacturing Assembly Sony uses both in-house production and outsourcing for the manufacturing and assembly stage of thei r value chain (see Appendix A). In 2009, 50% of their total annual production was in their in-house factories in Japan, with 60% of this production destined for export to other regions (Datamonitor, 20111). There are some benefits of maintaining vertical integration in manufacturing. First and foremost, vertical integration will help with control and coordination throughout Sony? s value chain. By owning production factories and operating its own logistics, it is readily able to respond to changes in consumer demand or market trends, with no reliance on external suppliers. That is, it has full control over its operations. Further, Sony has „trade secrets? which it wishes to protect from its rivals. In an industry which is shaped by technological advancement, keeping such trade ecrets is therefore of great importance. Not adopting an inhouse manufacturing strategy will always bear the risk of these secrets being expropriated by others. Also, if Sony were to outsource, it may require its manufacturers to make transaction-specific investments (Grant, 2010). There is a need for trust and a strong relationship, as well as rigid contractual agreements, thus making the transaction costs potentially high. Therefore it can be seen that manufacturing in house could avoid a lot of complexity. However, keeping manufacturing vertically integrated poses several issues especially with a big part of their operations being based in Japan. Firstly, the average hourly wage rate in Japan is ? 5. 86 (Ministry of Health, Labour Welfare, 2011), compared to countries like China which the rate is only ? 1. 28 (BBC, 2011). This has significant implications on operation overheads, and so the administrative costs associated with vertical integration. Secondly, the appreciating Yen has further raised overhead costs and has driven up the price of exports in recent years and therefore has made Sony? products less price competitive (Euromonitor, 2010). Finally, Japan is prone to natural disasters, with the Tsunami in March 2011 causing a significant disruption in component production, resulting in reduced device volume sales of its smartphones by 1. 5m in the three months to June 30 (Financial Times, 2011). Thus, â€Å"vertical integration represents a compounding of risk insofar, as proble ms at any one stage of production threaten production and profitability at all the other stages† (Grant, 2010 pp358). A further disadvantage that Sony has through integrating manufacturing in their value chain is that it tends to lead to higher overall costs because you need extra layers of management to coordinate all the activities (Kennedy cited in Business Week, 2009). This money could be invested instead in product design which is the fundamental key to success for companies like Sony. Also, there are limited incentives for in house manufacturing to minimise costs or to respond promptly to internal requests or queries (Grant, 2010 pp357), which will affect efficiency in production. The current manufacturing strategy might have to be reviewed as the risks seem to far outweigh the advantages. 3. Distribution Distribution is another aspect of Sony? s value chain, which involves taking the finished product from its manufacturing bases to retailing outlets worldwide. With regard to its current distribution policy, Sony can be seen as being vertically integrated, with logistics principally handled by Sony Supply Chain Solutions, Inc, a subsidiary founded and owned by the Sony Group. (SCSS) (Sony, 20112) There are a number of benefits of remaining vertically integrated in the operation of this part of the business. Firstly, it enables Sony to have control over the process. They are able to avoid time delays which potentially could arise if they were to contract with an external company. Related to this is flexibility, whereby they can ensure they have a full lorry before sending out the shipment, which will allow for efficiency. For example, SCSS in Shanghai is utilising a combination of milk round routes and round trip trucks run to increase transportation efficiency, which is also contributing to reduced CO2 emissions (Sony, 20112). As they produce such a large volume of products every year, it is better to avoid the transaction costs associated with contracting out to another logistics company as the minimum optimal scale is reached (Grant, 2010). As the frequency of transactions are high i. e. there will be a large number of shipments per week, the variable transaction costs will be high, and this could be avoided by keeping it vertically integrated. However, there are disadvantages associated with vertical integration in distribution. Essentially, it is another part of the business to manage, and so can give rise to increased administrative costs through extra managerial levels, increased co-ordination across the business†¦ etc. If they were to outsource, such costs could be avoided. An external contractor is likely to offer a significant discount as they ship large volumes of goods, thereby reducing the transaction costs. As for Sony, it is important to ensure the timely and accurate delivery of their products in order to maintain a good relationship with retailers. Moreover, the scale of their distribution is large enough to make vertically integration a cost-effective option. In fact, they are profiting from their distribution subsidiary as they utilise their remaining capability to serve other companies. Thus vertical integration is the preferential strategy for Sony. 4. Marketing Sony? s marketing department prepares the marketing strategies in-house and then employs a number of advertising agencies to develop communication plans for each product genre. For example, the 2011 global TV ad campaign for Bravia, by Grey London, aims to drive awareness of Sony? s 3D TV and the Qriocity streaming service for musics, TV and films (Owen and Brownsell, 2011). However, the company does not just rely on the advertising campaign to build up its brand value, it also resort to public relations by appointing leading PR agencies to create and implement PR strategies to promote the Sony products and the brand, and handle the social media, press office and experiential PR (Sony Electronics, 2011). By employing the professional agencies and not creating/executing the campaigns themselves, Sony can utilise the marketing and PR expertise of the agencies that would be too expensive for Sony to develop themselves and too small part of the business for Sony to reach the optimal scale of efficiency (Grant, 2010, pp356). The transaction costs associated with outsourcing would be worthwhile. 5. Retailing Sony runs its retail operation with three types of vertical relationships: franchise agreements, direct-channel retail stores and partnership with other retailers. Sony provides extensive support to the franchisee on the store concept and operational issues such as staff training and marketing (FranchisePlus, 2007). The benefit of adopting a franchising model for Sony is cost savings as the franchisees bears the investment and fixed costs for their franchises (Carney and Gedajlovi, 1991). Also, as the franchisees ultimately own the businesses, they will be naturally motivated to manage their business well (Rao Novelli, 2010, pp238). However, a disadvantage of franchising is that Sony does not have control over the quality of the operation of the retail stores, which could potentially lead to a negative impact on the brand image if the franchisee although motivated, „gets it wrong?. Indeed, Sonex Communications, a company who operates Sony franchises across UK, recently went into administration (Donnelly, 2011). Also, with a franchising strategy, Sony could obtain little feedback on how their products are perceived by their customers, and this would hinder their research and development and product design processes. Lastly, there would be a loss of managerial expertise if most of Sony? s retail outlets are franchised and therefore managed by non-employees (Carney and Gedajlovi, 1991). Sony also directly owns and manages their online shop and some of its retail stores. Williamson (1979) pointed out the major benefit for companies to own its own retail outlets is that â€Å"adaptations can be made in a sequential way without the need to consult, complete, or revise inter-firm agreements†. For example, Sony has closed nefifth of its direct retail stores (TGDaily, 2011) and replaced them with its new flagship Sony Stores in March 2010 to improve customer experience. This level of flexibility could only be achieved if Sony owns their retail outlets. Also, through interacting with the customers in stores, Sony can receive customers? feedback on its product features and shopping experience directly, which would be useful to future product designs and developments. However, owning their retail st ores can incur high administrative costs which include management costs, overheads and wages. Additionally, Sony distributes its products through other retailers such as Currys, Argos, Wal-mart†¦etc. Sony could benefit from a wider distribution by selling their products through other retailers. The obvious setback of such a strategy is that with retailers also wanting to make a profit, Sony? s profit levels would be further decreased. However, the transaction costs associated with this are completely acceptable as Sony will be losing out a huge market if they give up on partnering with other retailers to sell their products. Appendix B shows that only 18% of people buy their computer straight from manufacturers. Therefore, providing that Sony continue to use reputable firms such as Currys to do so, there is no need to make changes to this aspect of their retailing strategy. It is difficult to judge which the best strategy out of these three is. However, market research has shown that recent trends suggest that less people are going to other retailers to buy their computers (Mintel, 2011). Taking this into account, and also the setbacks of the franchising strategy, the future for Sony on their retailing operations probably lies into owning more of their own retail outlets. Suggestions Analysis of Sony? current value-chain indicates that changes can be made to their manufacturing and retailing. Manufacturing Assembly Firstly, Sony should move most of their manufacturing away from Japan to other countries. Since it is expensive and extremely complex to set up their own factories in other countries, the best option for Sony will be to vertically de-integrate and outsource its manufacturing to c ompanies in lower cost manufacturing countries such as China. By doing so they will avoid the high employee wages in Japan and thus have a positive impact on their cost structure and allow them to be more price competitive in the market. Further, â€Å"dispersing production activities to various locations around the globe where each activity can be performed most efficiently can lower costs† (Rao Novelli, 2010, pp281). If they were to base their production sites in a variety of geographic locations, they minimise the risk of production hold-ups through factors such as natural disasters, diversify the risks of currency fluctuations as well as being closer to their customers and so reducing transportation and distribution costs. Further, there is an extensive global demand for their products, which lowers the minimum efficient scale of production, and so it would be economical to manufacture their goods in several locations. An ideal decision will be to reduce the manufacturing in Japan to the level just satisfying domestic demand (currently 60% of the production in Japan are exported), and to also keep the manufacturing of the innovative products in-house in Japan to minimise the risk of intellectual rights infringements. Also, by de-integrating manufacturing from their value chain, they will be able to focus on their core competence of Product Design. Extensive outsourcing has been a key feature of fast-cycle product development throughout the electronics sector (Grant, 2010, pp358). Costs savings will arise through a reduction in the co-ordination and control of sub units within the business, and so fewer management levels, as well as the fixed costs of manufacture. Sony will be able to invest money saved into Product Design whilst simultaneously being price competitive against other companies such as Apple. In fact, it is consensus that the blame for Sony? s poor performance in recent years is largely down to them not being able to keep up with their competitors in terms of product design and innovation. However, there are risks and disadvantages with adopting this strategy. By outsourcing the manufacturing process, Sony will be outsourcing the „know-how? of its products; its proprietary product technology which is unique to Sony. There is risk that the supplier will expropriate the technology for their own use or that they will sell it on to Sony? s competitors (Rao Novelli, 2010, pp294), which would lead to a loss of competitive advantage in the product design stage of the value chain. However, Sony can apply for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to minimise this risk. By being legally protected, Sony can ensure their property is protected, with the existence of an IPR acting as a deterrent to the outsourcing company of opportunistic behaviour. However, there will be legal costs incurred throughout this process, which is a form of transaction cost. Further, there could be the problem of asset specificity which makes it unfavourable to outsource. If Sony develops some groundbreaking technology whereby in the manufacturing process an investment in specialised equipment is required, the supplier that they outsource the manufacturing to may have to invest in specialised assets to produce their goods, which increases transaction-specific spending. Mutual dependency between the supplier and Sony is created, where each party might fear that the other will abuse the relationship by seeking more favourable terms. It may be difficult to find a supplier who is willing to invest in the technology to manufacture products which are specific to Sony, as they may feel they are becoming reliant on Sony as a source of income, which could act as an inhibitor of trust between the two parties. Further, the supplier will know that Sony is dependent on them and so there is an incentive to charge a higher price and act opportunistically. Thus Sony will need to ensure that they have contractual agreements in place to inhibit opportunistic behaviour, which increases transaction costs. However, where closer supplier-customer ties are needed – particularly when one or both parties need to make transaction-specific investments – then a longer term contract can help avoid opportunism and provide the security needed to make the necessary investment (Grant, 2010, pp363). Thus Sony should establish long term contracts with the outsourced companies. However, the setting up of long term contracts will be a form of transaction cost incurred. A final problem of outsourcing is hold ups. This could be eliminated by contracts that fully specify prices, quality, quantities, and other terms of supply under all possible circumstances (Grant, 2010, pp356), but yet this also contributes to transaction costs. It can be seen that transaction costs are always worrying yet inevitable for companies looking to de-integrate. However, to look at it from a positive perspective, the transaction costs of outsourcing in this industry is relatively ow. This is because that most products in this industry is standardised (Financial Times 2005), and many other players in the electronics market outsource their manufacturing, such as Apple, suggests that there are many potential companies who have the capabilities to manufacture Sony? s products. Setting aside the potential possibility of the asset specificity problem, the existence of many buyers and selle rs in the market, with a number of alternatives, reduces the transaction costs and switching costs (Grant 2010). Retailing In the short term, Sony should continue with the structure that it adopts i. e. a mixture of franchises, ownmanaged retail stores and other retailers. However, once their brand recognition and reputation improves after a few years, they should reduce the number of franchises, and instead increase the number of retail outlets they own (especially in developing countries). The reason that immediate change in the retail ownership is not needed is because brand reputation and recognition is extremely important in determining if retail outlets will succeed. Brands like Apple with outstanding brand recognition could afford to own and open their own retail outlets, while as for example for less well-known brands like Alba, it will be really risky to operate their own retail stores. Therefore, it is recommended that Sony spend a few years on improving its product design and innovation and therefore improving its brand recognition before owning more retail outlets. As stated previously, the existence of a feedback loop is the main incentive for Sony to own their retail stores as opposed to franchises. To compete at the very top level, Sony ought to be cutting the edge in product design and innovation, and the feedback loop could really be of great help. Also, Sony needs to be opening more retail outlets in the developing countries to strengthen their established presence in the market, as Sony has a better brand recognition in those countries. For instance, in 2010, Sony? s sales in India grew faster than the market (Sony, 20113). Also, by having control over the continual investment in opening retail outlets, it will contribute towards increasing Sony? market share and ensure that the direction the brand is going is defined according to their plans rather than the franchisees?. They will be able to monitor the quality of the stores and react quicker to changes in consumer tastes, something which they have less control over if they were to continue store expansion through franchise agreements. Further, Grant (2010) said â€Å"not only do manufacturing and retailing require very d ifferent organisational capabilities; they also require different strategic planning systems, different approaches to control and human resource management, and different top management styles and skills. Therefore, if Sony were to de-integrate the manufacturing process in the value chain, they can focus on Product design and Retailing, adopting a suitable organisational structure like Apple, who display a robust financial position the companys total revenue increased to $65,225 million in FY2010 from $19,315 million in 2006, representing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36% (Datamonitor, 20112). Their growth in the market is attributable to a strong brand image of technical innovation, which Sony is capable of too. The risks of reducing and eventually phasing out the franchise agreements are that there will be increased administrative costs of integration. There will be a need for more managers to control the process. However, the greater the operation i. e. the number of retail stores they manage themselves, the lower the minimum efficiency scale. Thus as they expand the number of stores they operate themselves, they will become more efficient, and so reduce the fixed costs of vertical integration. Also, it is worth mentioning that the main focus for Sony? future development is product design and innovation, so as long as owning more retail stores could help in this aspect, the transaction costs could be negligible. Conclusion Suggestions made to the current value chain of Sony are to serve for one sole purpose, which is to increase the profitability and market share of Sony. This is going to be achieved with a focus on improving product design and innovation, something which Sony has been fal ling behind their competitors in recent years. Therefore, by outsourcing more manufacturing and owning more retail shops, Sony? investment capital, managerial expertise and strategy focus could be reshuffled and used on product design and innovation, which hopefully will see Sony catch up with its competitors and reach the heights they previously were in the late 20th century. References BBC, 2011. China minimum wage up by 21. 7% despite economic cooling [online]. Available from: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-15456509. [Accessed: 29 November 2011]. Business Week 2009. Can Outsourcing Save Sony? [online]. Available from: http://www. businessweek. om/globalbiz/content/jan2009/gb20090130_697510. htm. [Accessed 28 November 2011] Carney and Gedajlovi, 1991. Vertical Integration in Franchise Systems: Agency Theory and Resource. Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, No. 8 (Nov. , 1991), pp. 607-629 Datamonitor 20111. Sony Corporation [online]. Available from: http://360. datamonit or. com. ezp1. bath. ac. uk/Product? pid=881B16EF-3BEC-4BDD-B10A-26FAB18DEC3B [Accessed 26 November 2011]. Datamonitor 20112. Apple Inc [online]. Available from: http://360. datamonitor. com. zp1. bath. ac. uk/Product? pid=5B0A0C20-9BB6-4284-A575AC0F2261F45Cview=SWOTAnalysis. [Accessed 30 November 2011] Donnelly, C. , 2011. Sony Centre owner calls in administrators [online]. Available from: http://www. channelweb. co. uk/crn-uk/news/2112104/sony-centre-owner-calls-administrators. [Accessed 30 November 2011] Euromonitor International 2010. Sony Corporation [online]. Available from: http://www. portal. euromonitor. com. ezp2. bath. ac. uk/Portal/Pages/Analysis/AnalysisPage. aspx. [Accessed 26 November 2011]. Financial Times 2005. Severe pressure on prices, missed opportunities, the need to buy big components and the threat of new format wars are making life difficult for a consumer products group that has lost some of its proprietary grip, writes Michiyo Nakamoto Financial Times:London Financial Times 2011. Sony Ericsson blames loss on Japanese earthquake; Mobile Telecoms. Financial Times: London. FranchisePlus, 2007. [online]. Success Story-The Dividend From Dedication, Jan Feb Issue, 2007 (Vol 3. Issue 6. ) Available from: http://www. ranchise-plus. com/success230107. asp[Accessed 29 November 2011]. Grant, R. , 2010. Contemporary Strategy Analysis: Text and Cases. 7th ed. Wiley Htlounge, 2010. Sony fighting against Apple by opening its own retail stores [Online]. Available from http://www. htlounge. net/art/11050/sony-fighting-against-apple-by-opening-its-own-retail-stores. html. [Accessed 28 November 2011] Hobbs, J. , 1996. A Transaction Cost Approach to Supply Chain Management. Sup ply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 1 Issue: 2, pp. 5 – 27. IPR, 2011. What is Intellectual Property? [online]. Available from: http://www. ipr. co. uk/intellectual_property_guide/what_is_intellectual_property. html. [Accessed: 29 November 2011] Kay, J. , 1993. Foundations of Corporate Success: How business strategies add value. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ministry of Health, Labour Welfare, 2011. Minimum wage [online]. Available from:http://statsjapan. com/t/kiji/11521. [Accessed: 29 November 2011]. Mintel, 2011. Desktop, Laptop and Tablet Computers UK August

Difference Between a Book Report and A Book Review

Difference Between a Book Report and A Book Review The difference between book report and book review is critical, so you have to pay close attention to what you are expected to come up with: if you need to sum up and enumerate, youre in for a book summary (book report), but if you need to analyze, you want to write a book review. There is a great deal of confusion when it comes to discussing book reports and book reviews. As a matter of fact, these two terms keep used quite interchangeably, while a deeper dig-in shows some principal differences between the two. If you submit a book report and you were asked to write a book review, your grade is most likely to go down. The opposite situation, i.e. when you submit a book review instead of a book report, may also entail adverse consequences. Book review writing is believed to require greater intellectual effort than book reports, thats why your marker will most likely forgive you this mistake. HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REVIEW Speaking of differences, first of all, you will have to understand that a book report is simpler (a more primitive if you will) kind of writing, where you have to narrate re-tell the story. A book report is practically identical to a book summary  and they can be used interchangeably. In contrast,  a book review requires you to analyze the book and see beyond the obvious. In it, you will need to examine its contents, understand the plot, the main message of the book, see if the author has managed to convey the message to the reader; you will also have to state strong and weak sides of the book and say whether or not you like it. More differences between the two terms are as follows: LENGTH.  Book report will usually take 200-250 words. Book reviews will range from 200 words if its a simple book to 1000+ words if its a piece of scholarly literature that needs thorough analysis and evaluation. ACADEMIC LEVEL.  Book report is considered to be a K-12 level assignment. Book review is more of a college-level type of assignment. STRUCTURE.  The structure of two papers resemble one another: first off, you would need to introduce the author, the book, state when and who the book was published by. You would need to mention characters, mention the plot, genre, and major themes. MESSAGE.  If you write a book report, you would need to simply sum up the book plot, characters, state major themes and say a few words about the major characters. If you are writing a book summary, the main idea is to say whether or not you like the book, whether or not you would recommend this book to other readers and why. HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REPORT Either of these assignments is generally easy to write, however, each has its own nuances that you need to know. If you have either a book report or a book review to write, feel free to contact us for assistance and we will be happy to help. Our team of professional writers will be glad to help you through book report or book review writing. In the end of our cooperation, you will have learned how to tackle these assignments effectively and ace your assignments.

Healfast Health Center & Nursing Home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Healfast Health Center & Nursing Home - Essay Example With a healthy nation, USA is likely to have potential personality to achieve its set objectives, goals and aims as well as experience an increased in the living standards and life expectancy of individuals. Ohio is also struggling to ensure enough healthcare facilities and services to meet citizen’s health needs. In particular, Monroe town requires additional healthcare facilities and services. The following is a plan outlining a strategy by which Healfast Health Center will define and dominate a new perspective of providing healthcare services and facilities to residents of Monroe town and to the extended United States of America. In a bid to be the best amongst existing healthcare facilities within Monroe town, the proposed health center and nursing will have caring for the elderly who have been rejected in the society. By being a nursing home to the elderly other than the sick is likely to create more opportunities for Healfast Health Center and Nursing home. This plan outlines how the ‘about to be formed’ health center and nursing will take up such opportunities and many more in a bid to not only meet forecasted targets but also to surpass the same. Moreover, this business plan will also outline how the aforementioned services are going to be achieved within both short and long time whilst trying to explain acquisition of competitive advantage over its competitors. A business must have driving factors such as the mission, vision, and objectives. The mission, vision, and objectives of the proposed health center and nursing home is included within this plan. Analysis of the Healfast Health Center and Nursing Home coupled with its organizational culture provides a better understanding of the business. The philosophy under which this health center will operate is â€Å"

The applied significance of teambuilding Research Paper

The applied significance of teambuilding - Research Paper Example The paper tells that the new century has offered a myriad of challenges to managers from all over the world. The impact of globalization and the technological advances that have basically shaped the way businesses are conducted are very real and pressing concerns for business today. Moreover, these developments have paved the way for the emergence of a new breed of workers. These people have been able to almost literally transcend time and space since they are basically prized for their intellectual capabilities and special technical skills. These people are known as knowledge workers. It is very important that managers recognize the existence of these knowledge workers and be able to utilize them to their full potential. Moreover, with the many challenges hounding companies today, teams have been very much relied upon in order to be able to get thru difficult challenges as well as to succeed in many endeavours. However, it is very important for the teams to be composed properly and be able to choose the members well. Furthermore, it is important to have a clear definition and be able to set the expectations of team members as well. Hence, it is very crucial also to be able to set the roles of each team members so that they may work harmoniously towards the achievements of the predetermined goals and objectives. Clearly, these are people that are central to the team building process. Thus, as the functional area primarily concerned with manpower, the human resources department must play a central role in the team building efforts of companies. This will ensure the proper implementation of necessary guidelines so that the team building process will be successful. Hence, Hackman (1993) has put forward excellent examples in order to get these things done whereby the flight trainings that involve flight crews have different functions interdependent in order to bring the group’s goal into fruition. Timing events and the various developments are also necessary . In building teams, it is also important for the members to have a clear understanding when to step up and take the helm for the group. It is important for the different members to take turns at the spotlight and indeed the team members must be ready when the time comes for them to be the one to move forward for the sake of the team (Gersick, 1988). Teambuilding There have been many challenges affecting businesses today among which are the pressing forces of globalization and technological innovations that have enabled companies to utilize various automation processes in place of manual labor. However, despite the many changes that has strongly shaped and continuously form the business landscape, manpower has continuously been the force that companies have continuously relied upon. Though there are automation options, certain processes still require human touch in order to be able to get things done. Consequently, these automation processes usually lessens the labor employed but th ese machines still require human elements to make them function. Thus, manpower continues to be a key enabler for companies to go about their businesses and be able to bring about the realization of their strategies and to bring into fruition the target successes that are being talked about in the boardrooms. Hence, there is the all too important learning and growth perspective in the Balanced Scorecard (BSC). The BSC has four perspectives namely the financial perspective, customer perspective, internal business process perspective and the aforementioned learning and growth perspective. In its most basic sense, the strategic activities illustrated in the BSC seem to have its roots from the learning and growth perspective. Of course there are variations to the model but still, the learning and growth illustrates the need to capture the all too important elements of a company’s manpower which continues to be a crucial enabler in the success of a company’

Coperate Gorvernance Essay Example for Free

Coperate Gorvernance Essay Executive summary: Cadbury Report (1992) stated that â€Å"corporate governance is the process by which companies and directed and controlled† (cited in Tricker, 2009). In other words, it helps the corporate entities increase the value provided to the organisation’s various stakeholders. Therefore, appropriate corporate governance plays a very important role in development of organisations. This  review will define corporate governance and some of its concepts (through the paper). Following, the review will give a Memorandum or a general introduction about Nufarm, which is a publicly listed company and then consider the structure, process and effectiveness of its governance. Besides, the paper will mention about areas such as the composition and responsibilities of the Nufarm Board of Directors, and disclose policies, codes of conduct adopted by the company, which are relevant to the company’s governance scopes. Finally, from information and analyses, there are some recommendations for the Nufarm to achieve appropriate improvements. For example, the company’s governance should recognise and adhere to all relevant laws and regulations and meets high standards with respect to honesty and integrity. In addition, the company should have open and effective communications with its shareholders and the general investment community. Furthermore, the company should have effective methods to review drivers of governance, etc. Table of contents Contents I.Introduction3 II.What is corporate governance?3 III.General introduction about Nufarm, information of the company (Memorandum)3 IV.The Structure, process and effectiveness of the Nufarm’s governance4 The Scope of the company’s Corporate Governance influences the company’s codes:7 V.Recommendations8 VI.References10 I. Introduction Recently, the appearance of high-profile corporate failures, scandals and executive corruption arises the requirement for organisations to follow appropriate corporate governance structures, processes standards and practices. The aim of this paper is to investigate the structure, process and  effectiveness of the governance of Nufarm, a publicly listed company and give recommendations for it to achieve appropriate improvements. II. What is corporate governance? Cadbury report (1992) and OECD (1999) defined that ‘corporate governance is the process by which company are directed and controlled’.  Monks Minow (2001) suggested that ‘corporate governance is the relationship among various participants in determining the direction and performance of corporations. The primary participants are the shareholders, the management and the board of directors’. OECD (2001) supposed that ‘corporate governance refers to the private and public institutions, including laws, regulations and accepted business practices, which together govern the relationship, in a market economy, between corporate managers and entrepreneurs, on the one hand, and those who invest resources in corporations, on the other III. General introduction about Nufarm, information of the company (Memorandum) Nufarm Limited is a publicly listed company, one of the world’s leading crop protection companies (Nufarm’s website, 2012). The company manufactures products to help farmers protect their crops against damage caused by weeds, pests and disease. Its manufacturing and marketing spread throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, The Americas and Europe and sells products in more than 100 countries around the world. According to the Nufarm’s website (2012), the company employs more than 2,600 people around the places having its manufacturing and marketing operations, all of whom make a vital contribution to the companys reputation for quality products, innovation and first class marketing and technical support. Proudly based in Australia, Nufarm is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (with symbol NUF). Its head office is located at Laverton in Melbourne, Australia. Table1: the information contained in the company details table (ASX website, 2012) IV. The Structure, process and effectiveness of the Nufarm’s governance The company’s board structure contains Chairman (Donald Gordon McGauchie), Managing Director/CEO (Doug Rathbone), and five Non Executive Directors who are Anne Bernadette Brennan, Gordon Richard Davis, Bruce Goodfellow, Gary Hounsell, Peter Margin (Nufarm’s website, 2012). According to the company’s website (2012), the Board is the governing body of the Company. The Board is responsible for the oversight of the Company. It is responsible to ensure that the business of the Company is carried out in the best interests of all shareholders and with proper regard to the interests of all other stakeholders. Specifically, the Board has responsibility to protect and enhance the value of the assets of the Company, set strategies and directions and monitor and review those strategic objectives, review and ratify internal controls, codes of conduct and legal compliance, review the Company’s accounts, approve and review the one year operating budget and five year strategic plan for the Company, appoint the Managing Director, evaluate performance and determine the remuneration of the Managing Director and senior executives, ensure the significant risks facing the Company have been identified and adequate control monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place, approve transactions relating to acquisitions, divestments and capital expenditure above authority limits delegated to management, approve financial and dividend policy, appoint the Company Secretary, ratify the appointment of the Chief Financial Officer (Nufarm’s website, 2012). The managing Director is delegated to be responsible for the day-to-day leadership and management of the Company. To assist the Board to discharge its responsibilities and duties, the Board has delegated to the Managing Director specific authorities which are subject to appropriate reporting and monitoring procedures. For example: * Shareholder values / corporate strategy: the Managing Director formulates and brings to the Board for review and approval, an appropriate long term strategy for the Nufarm Group  and appropriate financial standards and policies. The strategy is reviewed by the Board at its annual strategic planning review and any changes in financial standards are reviewed by the Audit Committee. * Organisation Planning: the Managing Director formulates an appropriate human resources policy which is reviewed by the Board annually. * Capital Allocation: The Managing Director approves capital expenditure within limits set by the Board. All approvals made by the Managing Director are reported and reviewed at every Board Meeting. * Company Financial Performance: the Managing Director reports to the Board at each Board Meeting on the financial results of the Company. * Compliance: The Managing Director is responsible for ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation. In brief, the Board has delegated to the Managing Director all powers required to manage the business of the Company and the Managing Director reports on a monthly basis on all material matters affecting the Nufarm Group to the Board. Besides, The Board has three committees: the Audit Committee, the Nomination Committee and the Remuneration Committee. These Board Committees review and analyse policies and strategies within their specific terms of reference. The Board Committees examine proposals and, where appropriate, make recommendations to the Board. The Board Committees do not take direct action or make decisions on behalf of the Board unless specifically mandated by prior Board authority (Nufarm’s website). The Nomination Committee consists of three non-executive Directors and is comprised of a majority of independent Directors. The Committee’s purpose is to develop criteria for Board membership and identify specific individuals for nomination; and establish processes for the review of the performance of individual Directors and the Board as a whole. The duties of this committee is facilitating a Board performance assessment, develop criteria for Board membership, identify suitably skilled, qualified and experienced individuals for nomination and to establish processes for the review of the performance of Directors. According to Tricker (2012, p.283), ‘the essential and original role of the audit committee is to act as a bridge between the independent external auditors and the board, avoiding the possibility of powerful executive directors’ and over the years the role and responsibilities of the committee have expanded. Nufarm company’s Audit Committee’s primary function is to assist the Board in fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities in regard to financial reporting, audit and risk management, including: oversight of the preparation of Nufarm Limited’s (the Group) financial reporting; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; oversight of the effectiveness of the Group’s enterprise-wide risk management and internal control framework; and oversight of the relationship with the external and internal auditors. The specific duties and responsibilities of the company’s audit committee in meeting will be: report Committee actions to the Board with such recommendations as the Committee may deem appropriate (e.g. The Committee will report to the Board immediately if it becomes aware of any material misstatement in financial information provided by management to the Board or of any material breakdown in internal controls), continuously monitor a framework and processes for compliance with laws, regulations, standards, best practice guidelines and the Group’s code of conduct, maintain suitable interaction with the Health Safety Environment Committee and the Nomination Governance Committee, perform such other functions assigned by law, the Companys Constitution, or the Board. The Remuneration Committee’s purpose is to recommend to the Board policies and practices which enable Nufarm to attract, develop, retain and motivate high caliber Directors and executives. The Committee will review and make recommendations on policies for remuneration, development, retention and termination of Directors and Key Management Personnel (KMP). The Committee’s duties are to review and make recommendations to the Board in relation to Nufarm’s Board and executive remuneration strategy, structure and practice with regard to: Nufarm strategic objectives; corporate governance principles; and competitive practice. The specific matters the Committee may consider include the review of: executive management and Directors’  remuneration, including the link between Company and individual performance; current industry best practice; the outcome of the annual vote on the adoption of the Remuneration Report; different methods for remunerating senior management and Directors including superannuation arrangements; 2/4 existing or proposed incentive schemes; retirement and termination benefits and payments for senior management; professional indemnity and liability insurance policies. The Committee is responsible for seeking and approving remuneration advisers that will provide independent remuneration advice, as appropriate, on Board, CEO and other KMP remuneration strategy, structure practice and disclosure. However, according to the company website (2012), the Committee does not have executive powers to commit the Board or management to its recommendations except where authorised by a resolution of the Board nor become involved in day to day management activities or decision making. The Scope of the company’s Corporate Governance influences the company’s codes: According to Tricker (2012), the structure, the membership and the process of the governing body are central to corporate governance. However, the relations with shareholders, contractual stakeholders, legal institutions, etc also influence the structure and operation of Nufarm’s corporate governance. Therefore, the company’s corporate governance refers to the private and public institutions, including laws, regulations and public institutions, which together govern the relationship between corporate managers and entrepreneurs, on the one hand, and those who invest resources in corporations on the other (Tricker, 2012). For example, the company’s code of conduct is governed by and contrasted in accordance with the laws in the State of Victoria, Australia. Besides, Nufarm has ensured to be compliance with the ASX Listing Rules, and ensured that Key Management Personnel and their associates are aware of the legal restrictions in dealing in Nufarm’s shares, options or other securities while such a person is in possession of unpublished price sensitive information concerning Nufarm. V. Recommendations There are some recommendations in order for Nufarm to make appropriate  improvements for its corporate governance are: Firstly, Nufarm should conduct its business in a manner which recognises and adheres to all relevant laws and regulations and meets high standards with respect to honesty and integrity. In order to meet this commitment, we require all Nufarm directors, employees, contractors and consultants to be familiar with and uphold the company’s code of conduct in all business dealings. Besides, according to Tricker (2012), the Board, which determines whether the company’s governance is good, is the major driving force in a company. However, there are other drivers of good governance in the company such as shareholders. Therefore, the company should have open and effective communications with its shareholders and the general investment community. For example, with shareholders, the company should adopt a shareholder communications policy in order to: * Ensure that shareholders and the financial markets are provided with full and timely information about its activities; * Comply with continuous disclosure obligations contained in applicable Listing Rules and the Corporations Act in Australia as well as industry guidelines such as the Australasian Investor Relations Associations’, Best Practice Guidelines for Communication between Listed Entities and the Investment Community; and Ensure equality of access to briefings, presentations and meetings for shareholders, analysts and media. * Encourage attendance and voting at shareholder meetings; The company’s Remuneration Committee should review induction and development arrangements for the Board to ensure Board members gain and maintain a suitable level of knowledge about Nufarm. Audit Committee should usually review and make recommendations to the Board on the Nufarm Diversity Policy ensuring the Policy is in line with applicable legislation and governance principles. Self-assess whether the Committees comply with its membership requirements at least once every year. Critically review the Remuneration Committee Charter at least once per year to ensure its relevance and compliance with overall governance legislative requirements and best practice. VI. References Monks, B., Nell, M. 2007, Corporate Governance, 4th edn, Chichester, UK:Wiley. Tricker, B. 2009, Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies, and Practices, Oxford University Press. Nufarm website 2012, http://www.nufarm.com/Home, viewed 15 July, 2012. ASX website 2012, Nufarm Limited (NUF), http://www.asx.com.au/asx/research/companyInfo.do?by=asxCodeasxCode=NUF, viewed 15 July, 2012.

Sartre and the Rationalization of Human Sexuality Essay -- Philosophy

Sartre and the Rationalization of Human Sexuality ABSTRACT: Sartre rationalizes sexuality much like Plato. Rationalization here refers to the way Sartre tries to facilitate explanation by changing the terms of the discussion from sexual to nonsexual concepts. As a philosophy which, above all, highlights those features of human existence which seem most resistant to explanation, one would expect existentialism to highlight sexuality as a category that is crucial for considering human existence. Descartes comes immediately to mind when one focuses on Sartre's major categories. In Sartre's case however, it is not mind and matter but consciousness and its opposite: "nothingness" and "being." This irreducible dualism is the key to the trouble human beings have with existence. Humans try to deal with the tensions implied by this dualism by trying to pretend people are not subjects but objects. Sartre calls this "bad faith." He begins by attempting to take human sexuality seriously as a fundamental category, but ends by abandoning the effo rt in favor of other substitutes. Akin to Plato in his rationalization of sexuality is Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre is probably the end of existentialist philosophy in two senses: in the first place in the sense of extending existentialist premises as far as they can be taken, and in the second place in the sense of serving as the canonical example of existentialist thought. Since existentialism is the philosophy above all other philosophies which takes seriously the concrete existence of a human in all of its facticity, anxiety, temporality, and fleshliness, and will place this existence before all decisions about essence, it would seem that above all others we can expect from Sartre a philosop... ...y important in sexuality. This is "bad faith" in reverse, the treating of objectivities as though subjective. On the other hand, the For-itself is too much bound or confined to abstract categories. Is sexuality really a dialectic of subject and object? It is this, but is it only this? These broad categories cover all cosmic relationships. Sex disappears into an abstraction. Wherein lies the distinguishing difference of sexuality and what difference does this make? These considerations are nowhere in Sartre. This is Sartre's sexuality, a bloodless and a passionless dance of the categories. Notes (1) Translated and with an introduction by Hazel E. Barnes and published by Philosophical Library, New York, 1956. Page numbers placed in parentheses in the text refer to this edition. (2) Sartre illustrates "bad faith" with a sexual illustration. See pages 55-56.

The Movie Patriot A Piece Of History Film Studies Essay

The first thing I would state about the film is that about everyone watches the film. Peoples watch all types of film including action films, escapade films, comedy films, and many other classs, but when it comes to the history films, people do non believe if the narrative of the history film is a genuinely based on our existent history or it is merely filled with clump of fiction. Peoples normally guestimate that every history film is a portion of a existent history but the world is that about every individual history film contains at least small spot of fiction in it to do it great narrative and to maintain the audience ‘s attending. Traveling on to the chief point, to turn out it incorrect that non every history film is genuinely a portion of the existent history, I watched the film called the Patriot and in this paper I will compare the narrative of the Patriot with existent history to calculate out if the film contains a true narrative of history or is merely a filled with fiction. Let me get down my giving brief sum-up of the film Patriot. This film is about Benjamin Martin who was male parent of seven kids and he declines an offer to contend for the Continental ground forces. However, as shortly the conflict land reaches his front pace and accordingly plenty his 15 old ages old boy named Thomas is killed by Colonel Tavington who was the chief opposition. In consequence of this, Benjamin joins the ground forces and creates his private ground forces of shred ticket husbandmans and farmworkers. His ground forces ‘s chief end was to maintain General Cornwallis in the province of South Carolina by strategically cutting down his supply and ground forces. Their advancement were effectual nevertheless, subsequently in the narrative Martin ‘s another boy named Gabriel became victim to the same colonel that killed his oldest boy Thomas. This causes a last conflict in the film between Martin and Tavington. And at the terminal of this conflict, Martin kills T avington which besides helps led the Continental ground forces to triumph. ( prezi.com ) In the film, during the scene of the last conflict it shows that soldiers were keeping up the several American flags but in world, the huge bulk of the flags used by the Continental ground forces represented where their reserves is from. Another scene in which Benjamin is giving a shop clerk a money in which you can see that he is giving five dollar note with Abraham Lincoln on it and this can non be true because this film took topographic point more than eighty old ages before he was elected as a president. Besides that during the clip of American Revolution work forces normally saluted by taking their chapeau off and take downing their chapeau to the side, so they would set it back on. While in the film, Gabriel merely salutes by seting his manus on his chapeau. In the film all the Continental soldiers seem to hold same outfits and the British are firing down a church which is full of people. While in the world everyone in the Continental ground forces had really different vesture and there has ne'er been found a historical record which showed that British burned the church. ( prezi.com ) In the film there are many factual mistakes. For illustration, in the beginning of the narrative, during the town hall meeting Burwell was stating that we killed 700 of enemy at the Bunker Hill and they were merely kept coming, but in world they killed 226 of them. Besides harmonizing to the book Down and Out in Early America, it was highly impossible in the 1776 that a southern plantation proprietor could easy run a successful plantation which run by free work forces who worked by rewards. It would be about impossible to compare this plantation proprietor which person who used slaved as the work force. Besides that Benjamin Martin seems to be a rules adult male in the film but in world he killed Indians merely for merriment and was known for knaping his slaves. Therefore, I would state that all of these things did non look or they changed it merely to do Benjamin Martin good character in the film respect less of world. In one scene Benjamin Martin shoots a British troop who was on t he traveling Equus caballus utilizing a firelock gun at the scope of about 100 paces. It clearly seems bogus because slug from pulverization gun would non go this much of distance besides that going of this much distance and hitting traveling mark would be really hard with modern guns. ( sbroome ) In the film, Lord Cornwallis is portrayed as really old adult male, which is wrong because during the clip frame of this film in 1780, General Charles Lord Cornwallis was in his mid-fortiess. To be more descriptive, based on my research I found that Cornwallis was born in London on December 31, 1738 and harmonizing to that twelvemonth he would be six old ages younger than George Washington. Traveling to the following point, in the scene where auntie Charlotte takes in the kids after their household place was burned and destroyed, her hair was down. My point is that during the clip frame of the film, adult females merely wore hair down merely during illness or bedtime. Women ever pinned up their hair during the twenty-four hours and eventide, while they were out in the universe therefore, I would state that they this is clear fiction. ( About.com ) In the conflict scene where Benjamin is watching through the farmhouse ‘ window and we can see that Redcoats bayonet charge the Rebels. The soldiers ran across several hundred paces of unfastened land while Redcoat ground forces was good trained ground forces. During that clip military personnels were really of import therefore it was non good thought that parts of the military personnels would merely running about across the battleground. In world, they would hold charged Bayonets and travel towards the enemy. When they are about 50 paces away they would hold marched rapidly and decelerate sufficiency to stay a line. This would treat would do possible to hold control over way in the instance where needed to alter or to call off the order. And when the military personnels reach really near so military personnels could prosecute the enemy. ( sbroome ) In another scene in which Gabriel returns to the Martin plantation with blade lesion from Battle of the Waxhaws, he said that Gates ordered them to process heterosexual at the lobsterbacks. In world, Gates was non present nor the commanding officer at the conflict of Waxhaws. Furthermore, they were processing off when the British attacked. ( sbroome ) In this film, I would state that they tried to flim-flam us, when the British housebreaking to the Charlotte ‘s plantation, Tavington was seeking for the kid that was concealing under the tabular array and when Tavington looks beneath the tabular array to look into if anyone is concealing under or non and at the same clip, Nathan moved out from the underneath the tabular array on the right side and Tavington did non see him. The tablecloth on the table bents several inches from the floor so when Tavington tried to look child under the tabular array he should hold seen the Nathan from the spread that was between the tabular array fabric and floor but he did non saw the kid. Based on this point, it is clear that in this film they tried to flim-flam audience. ( sbroome ) The concluding conflict in the film is the conflict of Cowpens and it seems really large conflict while in world, merely 12 American died and was largely cavalry matter and it was all over in less than an hr. During this conflict there was scene in which cannon ball comes from enemy side and it rolls on the land and cuts the leg off of a figure of soldiers in its way, in which we can clearly see that one of the soldier ‘s leg falls apart good before the ball even touch his leg. Besides in this conflict Tavington and Martin seems contending where Martin foremost attack Tavington with a indicating tool on the terminal of the musket. And he besides attacks into Tavington ‘s pharynx right after first onslaught and we can see that Tavington was falling on the land but in the following onslaught we can see him still standing. The last scene was really confounding so it was difficult to do sense. ( sbroome ) During the American Revolution British were the Masterss of the sea. But in the film they had played with natural Torahs. During the scene of party where we can see that British ship was blown up in the seaport. But the Torahs of natural philosophies describe that behind each action there is an equal and the opposite reaction. When the ship was targeted and destroyed we see the large detonation with fire distributing all over the ship. However, although there was detonation on the ship, ship remains in its original place in the H2O therefore, it did non moved side to side or drop in the H2O it is impossible because based on natural philosophies jurisprudence ship should hold been moved or sunk in the H2O. As we can find that some of the scenes were non accurate hence, there is no drouth that narrative of this film would include fiction. ( Marts.com ) I besides figured geographical mistake in the film, in the scene in which Benjamin and his two of the younger boies were running and go throughing through the forests to disrupt the British who captured their older brother. They seem leaping and concealing around the stones to acquire in place. While in South Carolina it was ne'er glaciated in the portion of the country where this narrative took topographic point. In another scene where Tavington is looking for Martin ‘s kids at the Charlotte ‘s plantation, Susan seem to look out the window covered with Venetian blind. The Venetian blinds was non invented until the 1800s or approximately 100 twelvemonth after the timeframe of the film. To be more descriptive, the recorded innovation of blinds is holds by adult male from Chile named Hernando de Venuto and it was invented on May 20, 1857. ( sbroome ) About every knows that slaves did non like white people during the clip of revolution or any clip during the bondage hence, in the one scene after their place was destroyed, Benjamin Martin direct his household and his friend ‘s household to a slave settlement and they were welcomed at that place and had small jubilation at that place in the consequence of arriving of Benjamin Martin ‘s household. My point is that they should non hold been welcomed to their settlement because during that clip there were really few slaves settlements existed and ointments did non liked the white people. ( chccs.k12.nc.us ) In decision, I would state that even though the film Patriot include many fictional narrative in it but the manager of this film did many of the turn in the existent history to do it look more interesting to audiences and do narrative retrieve. This film besides gives audiences at least small spot of experiencing about American Revolution war. Although I found many mistakes in the film it contains really of import portion of our history and by watching this film, people can larn more about our history and seek to retrieve it as our yesteryear.