the 3M- Company Essay Example

the 3M the 3M- Company Essay the 3M- Company Essay Case study-The 3M Company Insert name Insert institution Insert instructors name Insert the date Initially known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, this company was pioneered in 1902 at Minnesota near Lake Superior. It was set up to sell mineral deposits which were later proved to be valueless and this initiated early research and development of this company while in Duluth. This saw its success in selling sandpaper products. The company later increased its efficiency in quality production and supply chain. Innovations saw the development of waterproof sandpapers, the asking tape (this initiated the companys prospects towards diversification) sold under the name Scotch Pressure-sensitive Tapes and even was contracted in the production of defense materials in World War II. The company was later to diversify its product portfolio to include the photographic products, electro-mechanical products, pharmaceuticals, radiology and the Post-it Notes that revolutionized communication and organization. In the late 1990s, the total sales of the company reached a $15 billion mark and the assessment of its 2010 public filings has reached a profit mark of 30 billion dollars (NoAuthorFound, 2002). The company today is a multinational conglomerate with a diversified product portfolio of at least 55,000 products. It operates under a franchise distribution system whereby some of its products are available for purchase in more than 200 countries from distributors and retailers; however, most of 3M products are available online directly from the company. The company is enlisted in the New York stock exchange and the US Securities and Exchange Commission where its SEC filings can be obtained. These can be used to assess the companys quarterly and annual returns and even its erformance as pertaining to: (A)lmpact of Globalization and Technology Any multinational company today in most adversely affected by globalization and technology: 3M Company is not an exception to this. The company continuously adapts to changing trends in technology and globalization through marker research and development. RD globalization is a fast evolving process and is more and more recently being kept at one center of opportunity in most contemporary corporations. RD globalization provides a platform for the easy control of 3M Companys critical resources and assets over wide geographical location. Globalization and technology ave led to the Companys increased understanding of RD and innovation. The company unaerstanas transnatlonal RD ana Innovatlon Tor stronger consollaatlon and budgetary and even more methods of managerial restraints (Bertho Crawford, 2008). Globalization and technology have increased the rate detailed analysis undertaken on world product responsibilities and global technology responsibilities within transnational corporations at locations outside their home country. 3M Company has set up effective centers abroad that drive innovation and new business initiatives for company strengthening thanks to globalization and technology. Globalization has also served in addressing ownership and control issues for 3M Companys international intellectual capital and property and has helped the understanding of their effects on corporate responsiveness. Companies that orient themselves towards the market through the understanding of the effects of globalization and technology on corporate functions are more likely to develop and sustain their market scope and margins of profitability. The flow of information within a multinational conglomerate corporation like 3M Company is vital to its development (Bertho Crawford, 2008). For example, customers can use the internet technology to purchase 3M products online and pay through MasterCard or PayPal. (B) Application of industrial organization model and resource-based model for better returns 3M Company can employ the industrial organization and resource-based model to facilitate its efficiency and thus increase it market performance and profit margin gains. The competitive advantage of a corporation firm lies primarily in the initiation of a bundle of valuable tangible and intangible resources at companys disposal globally. Through the resource based strategy the 3M Company can identify and lassify the corporations worldwide resources and appraise their strengths and weaknesses and relate this to the companys competitors by addressing their characteristic trends. Identify the opportunities for better utilization of resources. Then 3M Company shall embark on identifying the corporations capabilities and efficiency against its competitors. The company shall identify resource inputs for each capability and complexity of each capability. Thirdly, the company shall appraise its resources for rent-generating capabilities as pertaining to its potential to sustain the competitive landscape and the appropriability of its returns. The company shall then strategize on the best way to exploit its resources and capabilities in relation to the companys external opportunities. Lastly in the employment of the resource-based model, the company shall identify resource gaps that need to be filled and lay down future plans to augment, upgrade and replenish the 3M Companys resource base (Heracleous, 2003). In the industrial organization model, 3M Company shall embark upon the examination of its structure for better demarcation between the company and its market portfolio and demands. This evaluation shall increase the companys ompetitiveness and alleviate barriers that lead to imperfect competition. This initiative baseline shall be to analyze and determinants of the firm and market organization to better competition and adapt to government actions. For instance, 3Ms recent 2012 organization alignment for better consistency in its strategy of building pertinent market presence shall serve to increase its presence in future global markets and customers. The new structure was to comprise five business groups (consumer, Inaustrlal, nealtncare, saTety ana grapnlcs ana Electronics ana energy. These initiatives shall ensure better market and industry interface and erformance (NoAuthorFound, 2002). C) 3Ms vision and mission influence of its market success The companys mission statement states that the company is committed to actively contribute to sustainable development through environmental protection, social responsibility and economic progress. This has oriented the companys employees towards the satisfaction of this mission statement. The company earns customer loyalty and respect when it effectively differentiates its competition and communicates and reinforces the 3M brand strategy (NoAuthorFound, 2002). The companys vision is to contribute to societys move to sustainable development. To 3M, sustainable development refers to the ability to satisfy the companys customers today whilst respecting the capabilities of future generations and thus be able to meet their needs. Thus, both the vision statement and mission statement increase customer and investor loyalty and this enables the companys activities to proceed uninhibited thus ensuring its success. A companys mission and vision perspectives that are customer safety oriented gather and acclaim positive accord and support (NoAuthorFound, 2002). D) Influence of Stakeholders to 3Ms success 3Ms healthy relationship with its stakeholders determines the companys viability nd success. This relationship if sustained shall ensure future companys prospects are successful. Some of the key 3M stakeholder interaction include but are not limited to (Rubinfeld, 2005): Investor: The Company maintains a healthy relationship with its investors by time ly and profitable dividends. The New York exchange and the companys SEC filings report have reported up to 3 dollars dividends per share. The companys enlisting in the US Securities and Exchange Commission reenergizes investor confidence and thus draws in more investors than ever before bearing in mind that this is an international corporation. Employer, employee and customer relationship: The Company has improved it relationship with its employees. Better salaries and working conditions have made the company employees loyal and hard working towards meeting the companys mission, vision and customer needs. There has been a wide forum for better customer-company interaction and relationship. This has made the company very competitive in its scope of the world market and has seen the company retain its hold in the market. The government and community. The company has complied with all the US government corporative laws for foreign nd internal operations. This has enables the company to progress smoothly without inhibitions from the US government. The company also earns community trust and respect by contributing to research and innovations that lead to the production of health products that help protect the environment and reduce harm to the customer and world communities at large. For example, the production of sandpaper that do not produce air contaminants during use. This has seen the company even earn an award by the US government. (E)Conclusions To sum it up, the 3M Company has risen from a small time company at a lake hore to a multinational conglomerate that sells its products worldwide. In India, it is the only public foreign company that does not operate a franchise system of OlstrlDutlon t at n OITTerentlatlng It wlt n coca cola. I ne SEC Tlllng 0T tne company a US Securities and Exchange Commission website show that the company is progressing viably. The most recent employment of industrial organization model ensures the companys sustainability in the contemporary world market dynamic competitiveness (Rubinfeld, (2005). Its diversified product portfolio enables the companys success world wide since it does not have to rely on marketing one roduct to a diversified community of customers who also have dynamic tastes and preferences. These aspects prove the economic viability of 3M now and in the future. Reference Bertho, M. Crawford, B. (2008). The impact of globalization on the United States. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Heracleous, L. (2003). Strategy and organization: realizing strategic management. Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press. NoAuthorFound. (2002). A century of innovation: the 3M story. St. Paul, MN: 3M Co. Rubinfeld, D. L. (2005). 3Ms Bundled Rebates: An Economic Perspective. The University of Chicago law Review, 72(1), 243-264.

Choose any country, assess its current macroeconomic position and Essay

Choose any country, assess its current macroeconomic position and discuss what policy options might be adopted (or have been ado - Essay Example This is translated in the macro level as the economy’s total income and total expenditure. GDP measures both the income of the people in the economy and expenditure in the form of consumption, investment, government purchases and net exports. We can assess the economic performance of United Kingdom (UK) using the economic indicators mentioned above. We begin with analysis of the trend in UK’s GDP. There were rises and falls in UK’s GDP as results of the economic fluctuations over the years but the latest figures in its trends reveal the positive position of UK. The UK figures show that GDP on a comparable basis (constant basic prices) grew by 0.5 per cent in the year to end-September 2010 and grew by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2010 (www.scotland.gov.uk 2011). These figures are the results of the experienced increase in both services and construction sectors, 0.6 % and 1.6% respectively and the fall in production sector by 0.4 %. This trend was presented in Figure 1. FIGURE 1. UK GDP GROWTH RATE (2000-2010) In this graph, UK’s GDP was positive from year 2000 up to the first quarter of 2008 and started to register negative growth rates in the second quarter of 2008. There was a negative GDP gap as the actual GDP was less than the potential output. This was the same year when the global recession hits most countries around the world. Recession is one of the economic fluctuations that economies have to face and pass through because failure to do so will cause economic depression. It is a period of declining real GDP, accompanied by lower real income and higher unemployment. UK is one of the affected economies by the recent global crisis. The effects were seen and felt by everyone in the economy. The findings of a survey of almost 5,000 small, medium and large businesses suggested that UK faced a serious risk of recession within months (BBC 2008). Major businesses reported fall in their production and sales. Firms particularly i n the manufacturing and services sector have experienced serious cash-flow problems as results of the lowest levels of sales and orders, job expectations and confidence hit. Both consumers and firms were losing confidence in the recovery of the economy. This made them to hold on tight to their money and refrain from spending, making the consumption and investment level very low. We all know from our circular flow of economic activities that expenditures on buyers purchases and consumption will be the income of sellers of products and providers of services. The effects of the changes in consumption behavior of the households were extended to the producers. House builders has to cut their jobs and reported that completion of their house sales fell. The services firms like restaurants, gyms and tour operators were also hard hit by the decrease in consumption level of the households. The low volumes of production and sales of the businesses caused the real income to fall and contributed to higher inflation rate (Friedman and Schwartz 1982, p.253). More firms have decided stop their production activities because the present condition won’

Childhood vaccinations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Childhood vaccinations - Essay Example Describing her helplessness, another polio sufferer writes, â€Å"I found it very frustrating to have an active mind in a permanently disabled body† (Gillan 1). Many individuals suffer from completely preventable diseases that could have been avoided if they were vaccinated in childhood. The very fact that a disease as preventable as polio was allowed to ruin so many lives makes it unbearable. Despite the awareness on immunizations and vaccinations, the multi-million dollar investments made by governments on vaccinations, the free camps and vaccination drives organized every day, there are many who fail to get their children immunized or are too scared to do so. Failure to get children immunized puts them at risk of innumerable life-threatening or permanently disabling diseases that would otherwise have been completely preventable. It is argued here that children should get immunized and that vaccination is the right of every child, as much as is his right to living. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a Millennium Development Goal 4 for reducing child (under five years of age) mortality by up to two thirds by the year 2015 (â€Å"10 facts on immunization† who.int). According to reports, millions of children die every year from diseases that could have been prevented through immunization. Vaccination is also a key strategy for the prevention of emergence of pandemic infections. The WHO reports that vaccination results in the prevention of about 2-3 million deaths all over the world each year (â€Å"10 facts on immunization† who.int). Deaths in all age groups from pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, measles and polio have been prevented through vaccination, which is â€Å"one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions† (â€Å"10 facts on immunization† who.int). However, many individuals fail to get their children immunized, resulting in morbidity or

Observing Toddlers Essay Example for Free

Observing Toddlers Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are a number of places where toddlers could be observed unobtrusively—at the park, the playground, the mall, and the daycare center. For the purpose of this study, however, I chose to go to the park and observe parents and their toddlers play together. This way, I could easily observe unobtrusively as people would think I was simply there to write or to write down my thoughts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another benefit that the park has to offer is the lack of formal structures and relationships such as those found at daycare centers. At the park, parents and toddlers could interact easily and in a relax manner. That way, the true nature of the relationship between the parents and the toddlers will be easily observed and analyzed and the understanding of the interactions between parents and children will be better understood. This paper then seeks to look at such a relationship by presenting direct observations from families and toddlers that visit the park in our community. I had a small notebook with me and it is where I wrote down my observations, as well as the communication that went on between the parents and the children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The toddlers that I observed were approximately between 16 to 30 months old and appeared to be pampered by care by their parents. One the toddlers belong to an Asian-American racial stock while the other one to an American family. Although the parents brought strollers with them, the toddlers were walking and occasionally carried by their parents. Both of the families of the toddlers seem to belong to the middle class. Notably, the second toddler belongs to a mother without a father. Although the author could not exactly know whether she is a single parent or not, at least based on the observation at the park, the mother does not have any other company in visiting the park.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both toddlers appear to be enamored with their surroundings. They do notice the colors in the park and usually exclaim in delight when they see a butterfly or a bird. Apparently, they are already starting to recognize some of the features of the environment and their understanding of what they are is already being formed in the minds of the young kids. Toddler 1 The first toddler I observed is male. He displayed curiosity in his surroundings. While they were walking in the park, to the way where the family will sit down for an afternoon snack, the toddler was picking up sticks and leaves on the ground. He raised them to his eyes and offered them to his parents. The mother accepted the offer from the toddler and said that it was a leaf. She explained further that the leaf grows on the branch, which the toddler dutifully picked up and offered to her mother again. When the mother pronounced â€Å"leaf† and â€Å"branch†, the toddler also spoke up and attempted to pronounce the same words. A child is very much curious and interested in his surroundings. As part of his cognitive development, he notices the shapes, colors, and different sensations and wonders he encounter in his world. Even at such a young age, he is also being initiated into the process of socialization where he learns the views of his parents and of the larger society where he is located (Turner, 1991). The child, according to Piaget’s theory actively uses his senses to explore his environment and learn about them. Through the use of his senses, he is able to discern relationships among the actions he take and the behavior of the objects that he is viewing (Turner, 1991). Both the component of nature and nurture are at work in this seemingly simple process that the child is going through. He uses his eyes, his ears, his nose, and his whole body to discover the world and learn how it works. His efforts, because they are yet insufficient, are supplemented by his parents, more particularly by his mother, who tells him the names of objects and how they are being referred to in the world. Through the explanation of the mother about the nature of the relationship between leaves and branches, the child is then able to look at the relationship of different objects in his environment albeit in an incomplete fashion. The explanation of the mother regarding the relationship of leaves and branches may not be sufficient for the child to understand the relationship because most of the knowledge of a child advances through his actions and his interpretation about the consequences of the actions he make (Franz White, 1985). Notably, the toddler was now engaging in eye-to-eye contact with his parents and occasionally asks them for what he wants. His father brought out a ball that the toddler apparently loved playing with. The father and the child started playing with the ball—they played catch, and sometimes they would race together to get the ball first. The toddler was delighted with such play with his father. Although this is the case, the child would also look at his mother and he asked her to come and join them. This is consistent with the theory of Erikson, which holds that the child’s relationship with his mother is perhaps the most important one during this stage of development (Franz White, 1985). The child continued to play with the ball and when he saw other children in the park, he also went to them and offered to play the ball with them. Apparently, toddler one has good socialization skills to the point that he can mingle with other kids even when his parents are around. This points to the good relationship that the child is enjoying with his parents. Both his parents encouraged him to play with other children and watched him with other kids. True enough, when the child has strong relationships with his parents, he tends to be more socially responsive and socially amiable. In accordance with Psychosocial theorists, the child is displaying good emotional and social skills because his own relationship with his parents are also good and secure. Otherwise, he might become a recluse and refuse the company of people (Charlesworth, 2003). When Toddler one was playing ball with another child, there was an instance in which the other child managed to grab the ball more quickly than toddler one, so what he did was to forcibly claim the ball from his playmate and withheld it from the latter. Through this, the other child looked as if he was about to cry. It is at this moment that the mother of Toddler one intervened. The mother reasoned out firmly with the toddler in regards to sharing toys so that others would also learn how to share. The tone of the mother appeared to be negotiating instead of imposing. This display of authority on the part of the mother is remarkable and shows the secure connection between her and the child (Charlesworth, 2003). Toddler Two When I felt that I have sufficiently observed toddler one, I decided to turn my attention to another toddler playing with a dog not very far from the first toddler. The only companion of the toddler in the park is his mother and their Labrador. I had the impression, although this is difficult to verify, that the mother was a single parent. The mother was silently looking after her child who was playing with the Labrador. Apart from the toy truck and the Frisbee that the child had, there were no other toys that the mother had for the child. The mother appeared to be preoccupied with her own thoughts. When toddler was not busy with his toy truck, he would play with the Frisbee and the dogs with the strength and the capability that he has. The dog seems to act as a guard to the toddler. He does not socialize with other kids very much and he appears content to play by himself. The toddler, it seems is spending most of the time by himself. Although at first glance, this may seem to be a display of autonomy, yet in closer examination of the child, he does not enjoy the benefits that interaction with other kids and with his parent brings. These circumstances will therefore bring forth negative consequences in the development of the social skills of the child and he might find it difficult to relate with other people when he grows up (Keenan, 2002). When the child attempts to play farther from his mother, the latter would come after him and tell him not to move around too much. The mother actually uses her authority over the child to forbid him from going somewhere else. Apparently, the mother wants to keep the child in her sight most of the time. This kind of attitude might breed negative feelings in the child and will contribute to the insecurity of their relationship. Since the relationship of the child with his mother is of utmost importance (Charlesworth, 2003), then his cognitive, emotional and social development will suffer as a consequence. The child also develops a kind of mistrust in the outside world and he will not view the outside world as a safe place. Instead, he might develop the attitude that he always needs his mother to look after him. Erikson warned against this over-protectiveness of parents as it prohibits children to explore and become curious of their environment. Hence, instead of developing self-confidence and self-esteem, toddler two will instead feel shame and doubt (Franz White, 1985). Toddler two cried when his mother forbade him to wander into the park. When the child cried, the mother responded by being firmer and she almost shouted to toddler two to stop. Instead of stopping, however, toddler cried even louder and displayed tantrums. At this time, the mother punished toddler two by spanking him three times. After several minutes, toddler two stopped crying and remained where he was instead. This display of authority may become inimical to the overall development of the child over the long run as the initiative and the natural curiosity of the child will be dampened and what he will remember most will be the fear associated with the parent’s discipline (Charlesworth, 2003). Toddler two recovered from the spanking after several minutes by turning his attention to the dog and his Frisbee. By distracting himself, he forgot about the incident and started to enjoy himself again. His mother, however, still issued a warning for him â€Å"not to move out of her sight.† According to Erikson, if the urge of the child to explore is removed, then the result would be a lower level of self-esteem on the part of the child (Franz White, 1985). Toddler two is very much attached to her mother, however, he is not sufficiently developing autonomy. Through the reprimands and the stern warnings of his mother, he becomes dependent on his mother and unable to explore his environment and his surroundings. Over the course of time as he discovers the world further, he may not have sufficient curiosity and initiative to move away from the familiar and instead, he would keep in sight of whoever is looking after him. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Observing the two toddlers was a good experience for me. It was as if the concepts and theories discussed by Piaget and Erikson were coming to life. Indeed the role of the parents is very crucial in ensuring that a child receives the appropriate socialization and training even while he is young. The strength of the attachment of a child with his parents is very important for him to develop the necessary skills for socialization and in relating with others in his environment. If the relationship of a child with his parents is good as demonstrated by the first toddler I observed, then the child will greatly benefit from it. If, however, the nature of the relationship borders on the dysfunctional, then the socialization skills of the child will be negatively affected. As he grows up, he will have struggles in relating with different kinds of people in his environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By observing toddlers, numerous lessons can be gleaned and the nature of the relationship between child and parents will be assessed. Accordingly, intervention strategies could be arrived at so that the child will not suffer needlessly. Furthermore, parents, and everyone dealing with children, should be sensitive to the different levels of development of the child as demonstrated by Piaget and Erikson. By doing so, perhaps the manner of bringing up of children will be better and over the long run, the society will become a better one because of the good rearing of the children. Reference Charlesworth, R. (2003). Understanding Child Development: For Adults Who Work With Young Children. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning. Franz, C. E. White, K. M. (1985). Individuation and attachment in personality development: Extending Eriksons theory. Journal of Personality, 53 (2), 224-256. Keenan, T. (2002). An Introduction to Child Development. London: Sage Publications. Turner, P. J. (1991). Relations between Attachment, Gender, and Behavior with Peers in Preschool. Child Development, 62 (6), 1475-1488.

Internal Co-op vs. External Co-op: Is There a Difference? :: Journalism Journalistic Essays

Internal Co-op vs. External Co-op: Is There a Difference? Paul Ethier, a 20-year-old middler entrepreneurship major at Northeastern University, stands at the Information Center in the Curry Student Center on a busy Friday afternoon. In freshly pressed khakis and a slate blue button down shirt, he smiles as he chats casually with one of his employees. Two floors above, Frank Grajales, a middler entrepreneurship and MIS major, sits at the scheduling desk, beside his employees, booking reservations for the student center meeting rooms. Besides the obvious, what do these students have in common? They both are co-op students employed by Northeastern University. The co-op department places students in co-ops with outside companies as well as in positions within Northeastern. According to Doreen Hodgkin, Senior Associate Dean for Administration in the Division of Cooperative Education, the university offers a variety of co-op jobs in most on campus departments. They range from jobs in the Registrar’s Office to the Admissions Office and Public Relations Department. There are also jobs in the Career Services Department as well as managerial positions and a co-op at WRBB, the campus radio station. There are only a few locations on campus, such as Lane Health Center, who do not hire co-op students for confidentiality purposes, Hodgkin said. Ethier manages the Information Center and Game Room in the student center. He oversees 26 work-study employees and his tasks range from hiring and scheduling employees to running staff meetings to managing game room revenues and organizing tournaments. He makes decisions on what games and programs to provide in the game room. Ethier said he was first attracted to the job because he enjoys arcade games and was looking for a managerial position. He thought the job would be a great way to combine his interests and to build his resume and did not think he could find a similar experience anywhere else. Grajales manages the scheduling desk in the Curry Student Center, which is a busy hub responsible for all activities going on in the student center. Grajales’ tasks include managing a work-study staff of 11, hiring and scheduling new employees, taking reservations for rooms and database entry. He also deals with and resolves conflicts with room reservations. â€Å"To some people, I’m sort of a figurehead,† said Grajales. Grajales first interviewed for a different position within the student center, but was offered the scheduling desk job instead. After speaking with his future manager he thought it seemed like a fun environment to work in, which proved true when he began working there.

Case Study – Ford Motor Company

Introduction Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford and eleven business associates. The company was responsible for the innovation of the moving assembly line where employees would remain in the same place while performing the same task on each automobile that move along the assembly line. Ford Motor Company has been a prominent car producer for over 100-years – an icon of U. S. manufacturing. However, the company has reached a pivotal impasse where timely planning has become crucial. Hence, to reestablish the brand and Henry Ford’s original vision to produce â€Å"cars that were affordable to the masses† (What Would You Do? Ford Motor Company, n. d. p. 1). This case study will examine four options; the first option is whether to close down older plants in an effort to realign production and sales. The second option is to re-engineer the company to produce smaller cars eliminating or sharply reducing the SUV and truck lines. The third option is to take the unprecedented step of dramatically reducing North American presence and focus the company efforts on international markets where the company has been very successful. The fourth option is to sell the entire Premier Automotive Group (PAG). To determine what the criterion for the Ford Motor Company four options are, Ford’s management team should collectively utilize the rational-decision making model that is define as â€Å"a systematic process in which managers define problems, evaluate alternatives, and choose optimal solutions that provide the maximum benefits to their organizations† (Williams, 2010, p. 85). In addition, management should utilize the SWOT (acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, to identify their internal strengths and weaknesses and their external opportunities and threats. Ford can use the SWOT analysis for assessing their strategic position in its internal and external environments. Rational decision-making and the SWOT analysis will allow Ford to obtain and ascertain key issues to determine what strategic plans to implement. The case outlines four strategic options Ford is pursuing to increase its profitability. Describe each of the four options. For each option list two criteria, you would use to evaluate the option. Option number one recommends closing older plants to realign production and sales. Closing the older plants managers would have to evaluate how these closures will affect their internal environment, employees will lose their jobs; the company will be obligated to buy out each employee. In addition, the company has to evaluate their external challenges; how will the closure of these plants affect the community. The plants are currently producing more cars (supply) than the consumers are purchasing (demand). Therefore, Ford Motor Company’s has to create and implement a tactical plan that denotes how the internal threat of buying out the employee’s will occur, hence buying out the employees will reduce Ford Motor Company’s operation expense and maximize their internal opportunity because there will be more resources (cash) to invest in other areas of the business. In addition, the company could sell their supply to employees at a discounted price and offer the consumers in the community this same discount at a point lower to achieve goodwill in the community, thus minimizing their external challenges. Option number two is eliminating or sharply reducing the SUV and truck lines and concentrating on the production of smaller cars. The company managers should determine the strength of this option, the company would need to evaluate the following: can fuel economy be realized in these particular vehicle lines without significant cost being passed on to the consumer; will there be a continuing market for SUVs and how will reducing or eliminating truck lines affect overall sales. Therefore, to evaluate these challenges I propose managers review their industry forces that address the question; how should Ford Motor Company compete in the SUV and truck line industry. According to Harvard professor Michal Porter (as cited in Williams, 2010), â€Å"five industry forces determine and industry’s overall attractiveness and potential for long-term profitability† (p. 107). The company can determine if this is a feasible market for the company to continue participating in by assessing their positioning strategies. Option number three requires reducing Ford’s North American presence and focus the company’s efforts on international markets where the company has been very successful, particularly in Europe, South America, and China. Again, it is imperative that managers utilize the rational decision-making process to determine; what is the sustainability of the Ford brand in the international market, how will reducing or removing North American presence affect the overall brand, and which plants in North America should be closed for short periods to allow the demand to catch up with the supply. In addition, Ford should implement an aggressive marketing strategy in Europe, South American and China to gain a sustainable competitive edge in a market that is receptive. Option number four is to sell the entire PAG. The PAG group is part of Fords portfolio strategy that did not align with Ford’s vision. Therefore, retrenchment strategy should be applied for this option, sell the entire line because it is not part of Ford’s original vision – â€Å"production of cars that were affordable to the masses† (What Would You Do, Ford Motor Company, n. . p. 1). According to the Boston Consulting Group, BGC matrix, â€Å"is a portfolio strategy that managers use to categorize their corporation’s business growth and relative market share, helping them decide how to invest corporate funds† (Williams, 2010, p. 103). The PAG group can be defined as a dog; a company that â€Å"have a small share of a slow-growth market† (Williams, 2010, p. 104). I n addition, the hand-built PAG automobiles do not fit Ford’s innovation of the assembly line. In light of the possibility that market conditions can and do change, discuss at least three examples of how the company should build-in flexibility to back-up it decision-making process. Ford Motor Company should implement flexible back-up plans and one plan or method is the option based planning that is the goal â€Å"to keep all options open and acquiring small investments in alternative plans† (Williams, 2010, p. 81). Therefore, when one or several of the alternative plans flourish Ford would invest more in those plans, while reducing investments in other, for example, the North American plants. The second plan for the company to build in flexibility would be its slack resources that are people, money or production. Hence, the partial closing of the North American plant, slack resources would enable Ford to adjust, when demand increases there will be resources available to accommodate these changes. In addition, for any plan to work well, management has to keep communication open with all members of the team to develop and encourage commitment. List at least three steps that make-up a workable plan and explain why each is important. To determine and execute strategies for the four options managers at For Ford Motor Company have to be aware of the essentials steps in preparing a workable plan. Therefore, step number one to prepare a workable plan is setting specific goals, using the S. M. A. R. T. guidelines that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. This is important because it directs behavior and increase efforts when the plan stipulates specific goals. Step number two is developing commitment. Goal commitment â€Å"is the determination to achieve a goal† (Williams, 2010, p. 80). Therefore, both managers and employees should collectively set goals to encourage commitment; setting goals collectively encourages employees to intensify their efforts. The third step is developing an effective action plan that list the specific steps, how the options will be carry out, which employees will perform each task, and what resources are going to be needed and how long it will take to accomplish the goal. The fourth step is tracking progress this will allow you to track your short-term (proximal) and long-term (distal) goals. In addition, the company managers should use a Gantt chart that will aid them in tracking this progress and keeping projects on task. When you know where you are going, how you getting there, who is assisting and how long it will take allows you to be flexible when conditions change. Discuss the option or combination of options you selected as the best course of actions for Ford Motor Company and detail your reasons for selecting that option or combination of options. I recommend Ford Motor Company put into operation, option number three, to take the unprecedented step to dramatically reduce their North American presence and focus their efforts on international markets where they have been successful. Ford Motor Company also should elect option number four, to sell the entire PAG group. To maximize Ford’s profits, it is clear that North American factories are not doing well and are the major sources of losses. Ford has lost a substantial amount of market share to its competitors. Ford does not want to produce more cars than they sell. Therefore, by reducing production in this market will provide them with slack resources to fund their European market. In addition, operation expense for their North American operations is expensive due to unionization. The United Auto Workers (UAW) â€Å"represents most of the company’s production employees and the contract terms over the years have been designed to provide significant long-term support to those employees† (What Would You Do? Ford Motor Company, n. d. , p. 1), and these generous benefits are weighing down the company operations and liquidity; therefore, Ford Motor Company should pay out the severance package to these employees and this will free up those monies to reinvest in the markets that are doing well or to repair older plants. In addition, due to the general environment changes – the economy, the company should negotiate new compensation packages with UAW to decrease their operational expenses. Additionally, Ford Motor Company should sell PAG because they are not in the luxury car business and refocus their attention to what they do best — producing cars that are affordable to masses. ? References Williams, C. (2010). Management. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

What Is an Oasis in the Desert

An oasis is a lush green area in the middle of a desert, centered around a natural spring or a well. It is almost a reverse island, in a sense, because it is a tiny area of water surrounded by a sea of sand or rock. Oases can be fairly easy to spot—at least in deserts that do not have towering sand dunes.  In many cases, the oasis will be the only place where trees such as date palms grow for miles around. For centuries, the sight of an oasis on the horizon has been a very welcome one for desert travelers. Scientific Explanation It seems amazing that trees could sprout in an oasis. Where do the seeds come from? As it happens, scientists believe that migrating birds spot the glint of water from the air and swoop down for a drink. Any seeds that they happen to have swallowed earlier will be deposited in the damp sand around the waterhole, and those seeds that are hardy enough will sprout, providing the oasis with its tell-tale splash of color in the sand. Caravans in desert areas such as Africas Sahara or the dry regions of Central Asia have long depended on such oases for food and water, both for their camels and their drivers, during difficult desert crossings. Today, some pastoral peoples in western Africa still depend on oases to keep themselves and their livestock alive as they travel through deserts between different grazing areas. In addition, many kinds of desert-adapted wildlife will seek water and also take shelter from the blazing sun in local oases. Historical Significance Historically, many of the major cities of the Silk Road sprang up around oases, such as Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan), Merv (Turkmenistan), and Yarkand (Xinjiang). In such cases, of course, the spring or well could not be some mere trickle—it had to be almost a subterranean river in order to support a large permanent population, plus travelers. In a few cases, like that of Turpan, also in Xinjiang, the oasis was even large enough to support irrigation works and local agriculture. Smaller oases in Asia might support only a caravanserai, which was essentially a hotel and tea house set out along a desert trade route. Generally, these establishments were fairly isolated and had very small permanent populations. Word Origins and Modern Usage The term oasis comes from the Egyptian word wht, which later evolved into the Coptic term ouahe.  The Greeks then borrowed the Coptic word, reworking it into oasis. Some scholars believe that the Greek historian Herodotus was actually the first person to borrow this word from Egypt. In any case, the word must have had an exotic flavor to it even back in ancient Greek times, since Greece does not have expansive deserts or oases among its landforms. Because an oasis is such a welcome sight and a haven for desert travelers, the word is now used in English to indicate any sort of relaxing stopping point—particularly pubs and bars, with their promise of liquid refreshments.