Indonesia Case Study free essay sample

What political factors explain Indonesia’s poor economic performance? What economic factors? Are the two related? The impeachment of the Indonesian dictator Suharto is widely considered one of the most exciting political happenings of recent years. After dealing with inflation and a bad economic depression during the final year of President Sukarno in the early 1960s, Indonesia experienced rapid and lasting economic growth for three decades under the New Order government of President Suharto. The economic growth was followed by a severe decline in poverty, as it went from 40% of the population in 1976 to 11% in 1996. However, looking only at the New Order’s economic accomplishment and ignoring its downfalls give us an unfair view of that time era. The general view in Indonesia is that after the Asian economic crisis, the New Order brought economic ruin to the country. For thirty years, Indonesia’s economy grew steadily under the ironclad rule of President Suharto – but at the heavy cost of internal suppression of dissent. We will write a custom essay sample on Indonesia Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This suppression of dissent robbed Indonesia’s economy of the vitality and incentives associated with a free-market economy in which individual property owners, who in the process of seeking to accumulate wealth enrich the entire economy and create economic growth. While Indonesia has since overthrown the dictatorial government, corruption and red tape remain rife at almost all levels of government in Indonesia. A World Bank study revealed how excessive red tape in Indonesia hurts business activities: An entrepreneur in Indonesia must wait an average of 151 days to complete the necessary paperwork to start a business, compared to 30 days in Malaysia and a mere 8 days in Singapore, severely hampering the Indonesian entrepreneur’s speed and desire to participate in the economy. In turn, the excessive red tape translates into long lines of government bureaucrats, whose low salaries make it attractive for them to seek a bribe at every step of the business transaction, further distracting and detracting the entrepreneur from legitimate business pursuits. In addition to these political factors, Indonesia also suffers from economics factors that hinder growth. Indonesia’s poor infrastructure makes it difficult to conduct business: A poor infrastructure in roads signifies that it is difficult to transport goods and services to the consumers, and may even hinder export-related businesses if companies cannot ship the finished intermediary or final products to their intended customers abroad. The unreliability of the electric grid means that production and even administrative activities can be interrupted at any moment. Together, these inhospitable business climates decrease business confidence in Indonesia, leading to capital flight and a decrease in investments, shaking the very foundation of economic growth. The political and economic factors that hinder growth in Indonesia are indeed intertwined. The unfriendly political environment makes it less likely that foreign or domestic capital would be interested in investing in Indonesia because of the business costs associated with red tape and corruption. In turn, the lack in investment feeds the desire of government officials to continue to seek bribes and create red tape in order to supplement their low income due to a stagnant or slow-growing economy. Why do you think foreign firms have been exiting Indonesia in recent years? What are the implications for the country? What is required to reverse this trend? After Suharto, Indonesia moved rapidly toward a vigorous democracy, culminating in October 2004 with the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the country’s first directly elected president. The economic front has also seen progress. Public debt as a percentage of GDP fell from close to 100 percent in 2000 to less than 60 percent by 2004. Inflation declined from 12 percent annually in 2001 to 6 percent in 2004, and the economy grew by around 4 percent per annum during 2001 to 2005. During 2006–07 Indonesia was struck by a series of natural disasters, including an earthquake and tsunami in Java in May and July 2006 and earthquakes in Sumatra in March and September 2007. Inflation started to reaccelerate in 2005, hitting 14 percent by year end. Growth in labor productivity has been nonexistent for a decade. Some observers feel that Indonesia is hobbled by its poor infrastructure. Public infrastructure investment has been declining for years. It was about $3 billion in 2003, down from $16 billion in 1996. The road system is a mess, half the country’s population has no access to electricity, the number of brownouts is on the rise as the electricity grid ages, and nearly 99 percent of the population lacks access to modern sewerage facilities. The tsunami that ravaged the coast of Sumatra in late 2004 only made matters worse. Mirroring the decline in public investment has been a slump in private investment. Investment in the country’s all-important oil industry fell from $3. 8 billion in 1996 to just $187 million in 2002. Oil production has declined even though oil prices are at record highs. Investment in mining has also fallen from $2. 6 billion in 1997 to $177 million in 2003. Implications: Indonesias recent economic and political collapse is a stark example of the outright failure of a development paradigm promoting large-scale economic growth without political, social, legal, and environmental safeguards. It is facing a humanitarian and environmental crisis that current domestic and international efforts do not adequately address. After the Suharto’s fall, Indonesia became more democratic and decentralized which were likely to confront corruption. However, corruption has gotten worse as institutions of democracy were still unstable during the critical transition (Smith, 2003). A widely agreed structural factor underlying corruption in Indonesia is a political system which vests an inordinate amount of power in the hands of the executive, and the president in particular. There is no balance between the executive, legislative and judicial arms of power. Commentators differ in the emphasis they give to other factors which characterize the environment of corruption. Lopa (1998) highlights the greed of those in positions of power, who are often already wealthy individuals, combined with a weak system of law enforcement where investigations are poorly carried out and few prosecutions are made. Rose-Ackerman (1997:19–20) argues that incentives for corruption are provided by the high level of funds and resources under the discretionary control of officials, combined with poor formal laws on corruption, the lack of credibility of law enforcers, and the poor conditions of civil service employment. Other contributing factors include the limited extent of auditing and monitoring within government, the lack of public awareness of government activities and a tendency not to file complaints, the low level of press freedom and the controls preventing individuals from forming non-government organizations, and the poor level of active political opposition. Consequences: First, corruption imposed a high burden in business transactions, since virtually all transactions with government bureaucrats require huge illicit payments. It is good to assume that many businesses who could not afford the high cost of bribing government officials either move to the underground economy, which ofter requires less â€Å"corruption – tax† or go out of business together. Second the corruption is also has a huge impact on the culture of Indonesians. It becomes a norm right now that any dealings between citizens and government officials have to be sealed with payment of bribes. Many social commentators have concluded that Indonesia has a culture that tolerates corruptions, in which social behaviors and cultural norms have become so ingrained and so tolerating of corrupt behavior that it is virtually impossible to fight it. Third, corruption has destroyed confidence among citizens toward government officials and bureaucrats, which has reduced their authority among citizens, leading to the significant increase in the level of social anomie and powerlessness among the least well – off members of the society and higher crime rates, violence abuse, decline in social solidarity, etc. Finally, corruption has been blamed as one of the cause of social grievances that are widespread in many parts of Indonesia that if not being addressed immediately, could bring the Indonesian state to the brink of collapse. What is required to reduce these risks? 1. Dollar yields highest risk. The study found that many Asia-Pacific firms showed significant exposure to fluctuations in one or more of the world’s four major currencies: the U. S. ollar, the euro (deutschmark prior to 1999), the Japanese yen and the British pound. Some of the greatest vulnerabilities resulted from fluctuations in the dollar which, over the study period, impacted 54 percent in Indonesia. The researchers pointed out that â€Å"a potentially wide range of firms were exposed to rate movements regardless of their direct financial exposure. † As might be expected, currency fluctuations affected the profitability of companies whose financial assets and liabilities (most notably debt) were held in f oreign currencies and that had foreign-based operations. However, possibly less obvious was the significant impact that exchange rates had on companies with no foreign currency exposures but who competed with companies that did. Such companies could increase their market share as a result of a favorable exchange rate movement to the detriment of the firm with no apparent foreign currency exposure. Not surprisingly, the greatest period of vulnerability was the Asian financial crisis, which occurred during the third study segment (1996-1998). More than half of the studied companies in Indonesia were exposed to the dollar, and about a quarter of the firms in Singapore were exposed to the yen. 2. Risk in insurance rush Increased insurance investment in Indonesia also means heightened exposure to the risks associated with insuring countries that are vulnerable to natural catastrophes. Home to 17,000 islands that straddle the Pacific Ocean’s volcanic â€Å"ring of fire,† the vast archipelago sits on fault lines that make it more susceptible to seismic activity. In October 2010 alone, the country endured an earthquake, tsunami and volcano in two locations. â€Å"A lack of detailed historical claims data [following catastrophes] makes it very difficult for insurers to model, and therefore appropriately price the risks,† Dean Carrigan, a partner at Australia-based law firm Clyde Co, told Insurance Insight. â€Å"If there is sufficient data it can be priced, but with the current low levels of insurance penetration, the question is would anyone buy it? While foreign insurers may see a possible gap in the market as new minimum capital requirements squeeze smaller domestic insurers out of business, optimism should be tempered by the government’s propensity to protect Indonesian business interests.

Essay on Maturing Pregnancy and Baby

Essay on Maturing Pregnancy and Baby Essay on Maturing: Pregnancy and Baby Maturing â€Å"Come to my office.† Those four word were going to change everything. The life as we know it was about to become the most confusing and complicated life you could probably imagine. The end of this was either going to be a miracle or a tragedy. Starting at the beginning; about ten months ago at age 18 I met and became inseparable with the person I believe I want to spend the rest of my life with. His name is James William Sarrero but goes by Jae. About four months later in March of 2014 I started getting pains in my abdomen and feeling nauseous randomly throughout the day. So when I missed my period we went and got a pregnancy test and it told me I was over three weeks pregnant. We talked it over and we decided that our only option was to keep the baby. With us both only being 18 we knew our parents would be extremely angry with us. My mom was leaving to Kabul, Afghanistan March 30, 2014 which was only about two weeks after I did the pregnancy test. The Thursday before she was leaving I had a doctor’s appointment to make sure I was actually pregnant. Jae took me to the appointment and the doctor told me not only was I pregnant but I was actually already six weeks pregnant. Shocked, we knew we really had to tell my parents see as his mom already knew because she overheard us a few days after I took the test. We planned to tell my parents together but the Tuesday morning, three days before my mom was leaving, I was in the bathroom with an upset stomach when my mom came to the door and asked me if I was okay. I told her yes I just had an upset stomach and she always had this thing about asking me if I was pregnant just because that’s something she has always done, but this time I told her yes. Of course she got upset with me. She kept yelling at the door that I was ruining my life and how could I do this to her two day before she was leaving. I kept myself locked in the bathroom until she left the house. She later calmed down and so did my dad and they told me they would only let me live in the house but it was my responsibility to care for the baby. They didn’t believe that Jae would stick around and help me since we were so young. My mom was also upset because she was going to miss my whole pregnancy, especially me getting all fat. You see my mom was going to be in Afghanistan until November and I am due November 24th she so will be coming home November 19th just to be able to be here for the baby being born then she is going back for another nine months. We sent picture to my mom throughout my pregnancy and talked on a daily basis. At the time what Jae and I found out that I was pregnant he was a heavy smoker of both legal and illegal things. He knew I didn’t like it at all but giving up cigarettes was going to be hard on him. He didn’t think he would be able to do it. On my birthday April 3rd he took me to this elementary school and got me up on the roof with a blanket and we sat there looking at the lights while he smoked a cigarette. About two drags in to the cigarette he told me that, that was going to be his last cigarette he ever smokes. He told me he was doing it for both the baby and I. And that really was the last time he has smoked anything. Jae has also gotten a good paying job at west and has his own

Effects of Addition of Nitrogen on Ph and Availability of Soil Assignment

Effects of Addition of Nitrogen on Ph and Availability of Soil Nutrients - Assignment Example If biomass is divided into root components and the ones above the ground, we find the significant effect to be root biomass of the last generation composed of high N. These effects account for less than 0.1% of variance of root and dry biomass. As 50% of biomass above the ground and root materials are returned as litter to the system, the high N’s soil deposition get greater inputs of nitrogen and organic C. Therefore, a large quantity of N and C accumulate in the soil at the top of the deposition of high N microcosms, compared to deposition of low N microcosms. However, there are no effects in the composition of high N. If soil C is increased in the deposition of high N, it reflects significantly larger NEP. Varied measures reflects decomposer activity: invertase, b-xylosidase and collembolan density activity are significantly larger in deposition of high N microcosms: furthermore, there is no effect in the composition of high nitrogen on the measures. Rates of nitrogen miner alization do not differ in the combinations across, composition and though N leaching rates are a times greater in the deposition of high N. This effect is inconsistent and leaching rates are low. Storage of carbons in the POM fraction is greater under deposition of high nitrogen and is not affected by composition of high N. ... l percentage P value P value P value P value P value Above ground biomass(g/m sq) + 82.5

Hospitals in Brooklyn Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hospitals in Brooklyn - Term Paper Example The government has proposed a way to deal with the imbalance and prevent more public hospitals from filing for bankruptcy. This is through providing measures that will provide short-term relief to the financial crisis. Long-term measure in the Obamacare program is by adopting a socialist way of providing medical care. Short term measures range of redistribution of resources, including finances and the staff (Berger, 2012). These measures are aimed at balancing the operations of the hospitals to ensure that the citizens still have access to basic medical care. The government can also stabilize operations in hospitals by appointing a board made up of capable members. One of the principal causes to bankruptcy is mismanagement of existing funds and this can be achieved by appointing an effective hospital board. One of the reasons as to why Brooklyn hospitals are at the brink of bankruptcy is due to decreased income (McCarter, 2011). Brooklyn hospitals face market Competition from other hospitals such as the Manhattan hospitals. People who are medically insured tend to go to the better-equipped and staffed Manhattan hospitals rather than the Brooklyn hospitals. Thus, it is a common observation to observe empty hospital bed in Brooklyn. This not only reduces the income due to lack of patients, but also there is an unequal distribution of finances. The odds of competition can be evened out by restructuring the operations of the hospital. Renovations to the hospitals and offering of premium healthcare packages will increase the number of economically stable patients. This will increase the income to the hospital. Matching the healthcare provided by the hospital to the level of surrounding hospitals will also attract many investors. The increased income can be used to renovate the hospitals, eq uip, and staff so that they can match the quality of healthcare provided in competitive hospitals. Renovation comes with creating a new system

An overview to the main causes of delays and disruption to large scale Essay

An overview to the main causes of delays and disruption to large scale projects during Initiation and Planning at state of Qatar - Essay Example st all of the previous studies focused only on general causes of project delays at the level of the whole project, or mainly on the implementation phase where the problems come to the fore and impact upon completion. Therefore the present study will make an important and individual contribution to the project management field and explore ways of minimizing the causes and factors of delays, with a focus on the earlier stages and the way the project is conceived by all parties, rather than looking just at specific issues in the later stages. The field of project management has been growing exponentially in recent years, with contributions from multiple discipline areas which use ideas and data from both academics and practitioners. This makes it difficult for even expert project managers to find their way through the multiple theories and approaches that are available. For the purposes of the present study, however, there is a focus on the main issues and causes of delays and disruption, which often occur in mega construction projects. Very often the scholarly literature, and especially the practitioner reports, emphasize the effects or consequences of such issues, but in this case the initial causes are selected as the main point for analysis. These issues can arise at any stage of a project but they often have their roots somewhere early in the process of setting up and starting the project. The purpose of this literature review is therefore to examine the theory and practice of project management with an emphasis on the initiation and planning stages, and the causes of delays and disruption which can occur at any stage. This approach ensures that the literature review provides a sound and comprehensive basis for an investigation into several recent and contemporary projects in Qatar. It highlights highlighted how past experiences with delays and disruptions relate to project management theory and suggested what specific problems may arise in the Qatari context.

Operation Management And Strategies Starbucks And Cocacola Marketing Essay

Operation Management And Strategies Starbucks And Cocacola Marketing Essay In this present document we are going to analyze several aspects of operation management and strategies considering two companies: One from the service industry, Starbucks and one for the manufacture industry, Coca Cola. We will study their supply chain and assess its impact on both companies success and profitability. Then we will analyze their operational strategy to determine in which measure it contributes to their competitiveness and we will strive to provide ways in which challenges of the different companies could be overcome so that they can strengthen their own competitive advantage. Finally we will establish a location analysis in order to identify the best place for the companies to implement a new operation. The supply chain refers to the way that materials flow through different organizations, starting with basic raw materials and ending with finished products delivered (Gaither Frazier, 2002). This involved many activities and therefore we have to think about the best way to manage it in order for a company to be successful and profitable. We can then define the supply chain management as a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations and the right time, in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying service legal requirement. (Simchi-Levi, Kaminski, Simchi-Levi, 2003) The Starbucks supply chain is made of the following activities which are either external or internal to Starbucks organization: Coffee producing, importing, manufacturing and roasting, distribution to retail shop, marketing, delivering to the consumer. Supply Chain Starbucks Activities involved from the coffee production to the roasting are external to the company. They can involve many counterparts such as the small coffee producer, the processor, the exporter, the broker and the importer. To optimize these activities Starbucks manage them in many ways emphasizing its commitment to ethical coffee sourcing and fair-trade and global responsibility. Starbucks establishes relationship with growers and distributors and deal directly with farmers. It offers high prices to ensure that poor coffee growers have enough money to cover their production costs and their family needs. It uses fixed prices purchase commitments to limit its exposure to price fluctuations and purchase future contract to provide price protection. Moreover, to spread companys risk linked to the weather and the political and economical issues, Starbucks sources bean from multiple geographic areas. Starbucks commitment to ethical sourcing (it introduced the C.A.F.E program Coffee And Farmer Equity in 2004) allows having a better quality of product, a greater visibility in the supply chain and better relationship with farmers which contribute to reach success and profitability, that is to say to reach its objectives and generate wealth. Activities involved from the roasting to the delivery to the consumer are part of internal elements to the supply chain. They involve many activities such as the manufacturing, the planning, the inventory, the transportation and distribution. The key to reach success and profitability for Starbucks is to set an integrated supply chain operating system based on managing the flows. They manage the materials flows through DRP (Distribution Resource Planning) and TRP (Transportation Requirement Planning). They also put the emphasis on the information flows management to share the relevant information and to detect the supply chain opportunities at different level. The management of the marketing plays also an important role in developing the awareness of the fair trade initiative that helps justify Starbucks premium prices. The Coca Cola supply chain involves many activities namely, the supplies of raw materials and packaging, the manufacture and production of beverage concentrate, the sales to the bottlers and distributors, the Research and Development and the delivery to customer and ultimate consumer. Supply Chain Coca Cola The internal activities of the companies are limited to the manufacture of the concentrated syrup, the selling to the bottlers, the owning of the brands and the consumer branding initiatives. Therefore the companies can focus on its core competencies such as the production of syrup and the brand development to achieve its objectives and reach success. The fact that the bottling is outsourced allows the company to focus on its core competences and therefore ensure certain profitability. The others activities are part of the external supply chain but Coca Cola strives to integrate all the supply chain activities developing a strong partnership with its bottling partners. They are in charge of manufacturing the final product, packaging, distribution and merchandising the beverage to the customer and vending partners who then sell the product to the ultimate consumer. The supplies of raw materials are mostly linked to specific nutritive and non nutritive sweeteners which are available either within the United States or outside. There are numerous sources of raw materials and they are often subject of prices fluctuations. So Coca Cola has a wide choice of raw materials suppliers so that it can spread the prices fluctuation among them and therefore control its supply chain. The procurement suppliers and bottler partners have to meet certain standard to deal with Coca Cola Company and have to commit to guide principles and incorporate sustainability. Consequently Coca Cola can achieve its objective of quality and control. The Coca Cola supply chain organization allows to enhance customer service and to optimize cost and investment. How does each companys operational strategy improve its competitiveness? According to the Competitive Advantage Model of Porter, a competitive advantage refers to the adoption of offensive or defensive action to create defendable position in an industry in order to cope with competitors and generate a superior return on investment. The basis of above average performance within an industry is sustainable competitive advantage which can be either cost leadership or differentiation. Both of the companies we are analyzing have adopted the differentiation strategy. Furthermore the operation strategy is aimed at providing competitive advantage through its performance at the five competitive objectives namely, the quality, the speed, the dependability, the flexibility and the cost. Starbucks operational strategy improves its competitiveness through different ways. First of all Starbucks has understood that developing successful partnership would be a strength to develop competitive advantage first to ensure quality of product and secondly by adopting fair trade and ethical sourcing of coffee. Indeed Starbucks used to develop relationship with the countries it exports the coffee beans from. For example it collaborated with a small town of Pasto where they set up a special operation to grow the particular Narino Supremo bean and Starbucks committed to buy the entire yield which allow to be the exclusive Narino Supremo , one of the best coffees in the world and therefore to build a competitive advantage. The ethical commitment is a strong part of the operational strategy to develop specific partnership with small farmers and strengthen competitiveness. Starbucks has developed a shared planet program where it establishes environmental, social, economic and coffee quality principles to comply with C.A.F.E (Coffee And Farmers Equity) principles guid elines. This program enables Starbucks to differentiate from its competitors. Secondly Starbucks operational strategy tends to expand its market through a number of channels such as licensing stores but also with hospitals, bank, office buildings, supermarkets, shopping centers, hotel and airlines. The strategic operation model of Starbucks is to blanket an area completely even if one store cannibalizes another one because the Starbucks every-where approach cuts down delivery costs and increase the foot traffic in the area (Mr. Coffee, 2003). It develops partnership using local partner licensee who have experience in retail and restaurant in order to provide a good service to customer and fit the corporate culture of the company. Starbucks strives to develop good relation with the partner licensee to help it recruiting talented employee and put the emphasis on the customer service to build sustainable competitive advantage. The key to successful partnership for Starbucks is to share relevant information and communicate on supply chain opportunities to optimize processes. Added to this Starbucks operational strategy focuses on developing a strong corporate culture which enable to strengthen its competitiveness. Starbucks strategy is to empower employee culture through benefits program, employee stock ownership plan and staff and management training. The management staff is trained to understand how every activities of the supply chain fit together so it can be more effective and competitive. Finally Starbucks operational strategy aims at putting the emphasis on the marketing operations in order to differentiate the format. Indeed Starbucks marketing actions have to develop a given image of a small scale and high quality roaster in ethnic culture enclaves who sells not only quality coffee but also an atmosphere, a personality, an escape, the self esteem and therefore an interpersonal relation. This image reflects Starbucks personality and consequently enables the differentiation. Coca Colas operational strategy is aimed at building its competitiveness in many ways. First its operational strategy is customer focused striving to take into account customer needs and providing a response to it in a right way and in a right time. The company sustains its success and competitive advantage by creating new ways to deliver value through innovation responding to customer and consumer needs in a fast way. For example Coca Zero refers to a new consumer need. Secondly Coca Cola put the emphasis on the differentiation to strengthen its competitiveness by building global brand. It invests in marketing campaign to develop a strong image, improve its fame and impose its brand in a global basis. Therefore consumers have developed a loyalty to the brand and Coca Cola owns several brands that consumers are willing to pay a premium price for it. More over it has developed so much economies of scale through global networks that the emphasis on marketing and advertising fix important barriers to entry for potential competitors. Coca Cola also improves its competitiveness by adopting a collaborative approach to work with their suppliers to green their supply chain. It invests in new technologies and innovation to help their suppliers who do not have the ability to do so, for example in investing in new technologies vending machines which are better for the environment. Therefore it gains competitive benefits not only because of the energy savings but also from a corporate social responsibility point of view. Coca Cola has understood that integrate its suppliers would lead to supply chain excellence and therefore to sustain a competitive advantage. Consequently the Company has created Coca Cola Supply which invites all the bottlers partner to participate. The purpose is to provide a system wide leadership to control supply chain through integrated planning, joint initiatives and best practices processes. According to Coca Cola Supply, they are transforming the supply chain from a series of discrete, inconsistent activities to a single, harmonious and sustainable system (Coca-Cola Supply Created to Drive Supply Chain Innovation, 2009). Polar diagrams performance objective of Starbucks and Coca Cola What challenges do the operational strategies present and suggest ways in which they can be overcome. Operations strategy is the decisions which shape the long term capabilities of the companys operations and their contribution to overall strategy through the on-going reconciliation of market requirements and operations resources. Regarding Starbucks operational strategy many challenges could be addressed according different issues in order to be more profitable and to sustain a competitive advantage. The first thing is to always meet the customer needs for value and quality in identifying the best ways of quality processes. This implies that Starbucks has to find more suppliers quality and stability by developing partnership with different coffee farmers in order not to be dependant of only few suppliers. The quality implies also to control more and more of independent vendors, partners and licensees. Indeed the quality is one of the core value of Starbucks and reach it allows first the differentiation and secondly the conformance with customer expectations and avoid customer complaints. Starbucks has to keep developing ethical sourcing which benefits to the companys quality and image. Starbucks should assess the risk of its supply chain especially in raw materials procurement in the different countries and asses the political, geographical, natural, infrastructural risk of each country. Indeed if an incident happen in one of the procurement place Starbucks must not be dependant of few suppliers and should react quickly. It is therefore really important to develop the partnership with different countries in order to prevent late delivery and save costs. One of the challenge Starbucks will have to face is a potential saturation of the US market. Consequently a globe expansion in key market is an operational strategy Starbucks has to develop. The international expansion of the concept involves prospecting efficiently new markets and assessing the potential of success in each market. The key is to find local partner to grow the number of licensed store and impose Starbucks as a global brand. The partner have to share the same values as Starbucks and the company have to help them finding the best talent and train them in order to strengthen more and more the corporate culture. Developing new product is also an important challenge for Starbucks. Indeed the concept is mostly based on a few products which do not allow very much flexibility. Reaching flexibility will enable Starbucks to be more reactive in case of potential change from the market. Consequently the company has to develop innovative product and service while keeping its strong value of quality. For example it should be interesting to develop co-branding with other brand which presents the same value as Starbucks in order to launch new product like the company did in 2004 with Hewlett Packard when they create a CD service burning in a store in California. Coca Cola is one of the biggest brands in the world but even if its renown and profitability is well established there remain important challenges that the company has to cope with. First of all Coca Cola Company possess many brand but one of them generates around 50% of the total revenue. Therefore the company is in way dependent of one brand which can be a limit to its flexibility even if the customer loyalty to the brand is well established. Indeed Coca Cola needs more flexibility in case of market change and especially in case of consumer behavior changes. Besides we can notice a new trend where people become more and more health consciousness and look for nutritive drinks without calories. Therefore a threat of substitutes appears. In order to cope with the potential market change Coca Cola has to put the emphasis on innovation with new brands, products and packaging more adapted to consumers needs and demand. Secondly Coca Cola have to develop ways to be always more and more profitable and efficient. The key is to reduce the cost in order to increase the margin. The areas where the company could reduce these cost is the transportation and the production. Consequently Coca Cola has to identify the best places to buy, make and distribute the product. It has to monitor each region and each country comparing different parameters which will affect the supply chain such as the weather, the port and transportation, the fuel prices, the labor rates and the internal regulations of each country which can provide opportunities. Finally Coca Cola Company has to continue the effort put on green and environmental development. Indeed the company has often benefited from a negative image of a multinational company which tries to reach profit to the detriment of the planet well being. Therefore it has to keep investing in green technologies and support sustainable development with the suppliers in order not only to save energy costs but to benefit from a corporate social responsible company. Each of your company is considering locating a new operation in one of Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Source information on each of these three countries and based on the information found and using the relevant location analysis tools select which country to locate in and support your choice. You need to define why they wish to locate an operation there i.e. what market are they servicing. You should include demographic, infrastructure, cultural, geographic information, etc. Starbucks wants to locate a new operation in Japan, Thailand or Singapore. Indeed the company wants to expand its market on a global basis to cope with a potential saturation of the United States market. Therefore Starbucks wants to develop licensed stores operation in one of these countries. The key factors in such operations are the demographics, the branding and the potential revenue that each country could offer to the company. Therefore the main factors in the decision factors are the following: Quality of life issues in the community: indeed Starbucks targets a relatively high living standard consumer. Worker education and skills: the emphasis of the quality of the staff is really important to strengthen Starbucks Corporate Culture. Site costs: The rent is part of the profitability of the stores. Cultural abilities to modern changes: Starbucks is an American company, and its values have to fit with those of the country choose. Labor availability: It is important for Starbucks to find available talent. Coca Cola Company would like to improve its competitiveness and reduce the cost of transportation and production. Consequently the company would like to set up a new manufacture of syrup in Japan, Thailand or Singapore to reach this objective. Therefore Coca Cola has to monitor each country to assess the potential opportunities it could offer. The main factors in the choice of the location are the following: Proximity to raw materials and suppliers: As a manufacture of syrup, it is important to be closed to the suppliers to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Labor costs: The cheaper is the workforce the greater is the margin. Transportation availability: The products have to be imported to the different bottlers and it is therefore important to optimize the transportation cost. Site costs: The fixed cost linked to the rent should be the least in order to increase profitability. Government fiscal policies: all incentives or taxes impact on the cost. In order to compare each country we will set up a brief overview of each countrys characteristics. Japan has a population of 128 million of inhabitant and is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. With a nominal GDP of about $4,9 trillion in 2008, it is the second richest country in the world. Moreover, with an HDI (Human Development Indicator) of 0.96 it is the tenth highest standard living country. The government is a parliamentary democracy and put the emphasis on the environmental and sustainable development. The infrastructures are well developed and Japan is open in the world. According to the Big Mac Index Japanese people have the highest salary per hour in the world and the unemployment is low with a rate of 4%. Education is quite competitive and 75% of high school graduates attend a university. The culture has seen deep change from a very traditional to contemporary one. It influences by Europe and North America. Japanese people are quite open to modern changes. Thailand has a population of 64 million of inhabitants and a nominal GDP in 2008 of about $273 billion and a medium HDI of 0.783. Thailand has been ranked by the Global Competitiveness Report of 2008 34 out of 125. The quality of education is medium but tends to improve through the private education. The cost of labor remains quite low and unskilled. The government has seen many changes since the last few years but tend today to be stable. It supports today through the National Science and Technology Development Agency the research in science and technology and encourage foreign private investment in this field. Thailand remains a very traditional country where tradition is strongly established. Concerning Singapore, with a population of 5 million of inhabitants and a nominal GDP of 182 billion in 2008 it presents a high standard of living with a HDI of 0.944. It is the least corrupt country in Asia and is a highly market based economy (one of the four Asian Tiger). Singapore has developed free trade agreement with USA in 2003. The unemployment is low and is about 5% and we can notice a shortage of skilled workers. Manufacturing constituted 26% of Singapores GDP in 2005. Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the worlds fourth largest foreign exchange trading center. Singapore is a major international transportation in Asia. Singapores culture is still very traditional society. In order to choose in which country we will operate we are going to use the Factor rating method which is useful for service and industrial location and which is one of the most widely used location technique. (C1= Japan, C2=Thailand, C3=Singapore) STARBUCKS FACTOR RATING METHOD Factors Weight Rate C1 RateC2 RateC3 ScoreC1 ScoreC2 ScoreC3 Quality of life issues in the community 30 90 60 75 2700 1800 2250 Worker education and skills 20 80 50 65 1600 1000 1300 Site costs 15 60 70 65 900 1050 975 Cultural abilities to modern changes 25 80 50 60 2000 1250 1500 Labor availability 10 85 60 70 850 600 700 Total 8050 5700 6725 According to the Factor rating Method, Starbucks should implement its new operations in Japan in order to be successful, profitable and therefore achieve its objective of expanding in new markets. COCA COLA FACTOR RATING METHOD Factors Weight Rate C1 RateC2 RateC3 ScoreC1 ScoreC2 ScoreC3 Proximity to raw materials suppliers 25 60 55 65 1500 1375 1625 Labor costs 20 55 80 70 1100 1600 1400 Transportation availability 25 70 55 85 1750 1375 2125 Site costs 20 60 70 65 1200 1400 1300 Government fiscal policies 10 60 60 70 600 600 700 Total 6150 6350 7150 According to the Rating Factor Method Coca Cola should implement its new manufacture in Singapore in order to reduce its costs of production and transportation. Indeed that is the country which offers the most opportunities to do so in term of proximity to suppliers, transportation costs and labor costs.

Frankensteins Innocence Essay -- essays research papers

The Defense of Frankenstein’s Creature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Victor Frankenstein, a character in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, decided that he wanted to bring life into this world; a life that would eventually go on to killing the creator himself. The Creature can be seen as either innocent or guilty. The popular opinion of the Creature seems to be that he is guilty considering how he has burned down a house, set up Justine for murder and murdered three others. However, after taking a close look at the text, it can be seen that Frankenstein’s creature is not guilty. He was brought into this world with a child-like innocence, never progressed past the emotional state of a child and was rejected throughout his whole life causing him to do the things he did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although the Creature later went on to commit crimes, he was not instinctively bad. Victor’s Creature was brought into this world with a child-like innocence. He was abandoned at birth and left to learn about life on his own. After first seeing his creation, Victor â€Å"escaped and rushed downstairs.† (Frankenstein, 59) A Creator has the duty to teach his Creature about life, as well as to love and nurture him. However, Victor did not do any of these; he did not take responsibility for his creature. One of the first things that the creature speaks of is that he was a â€Å"poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, (he) sat ...

Board of Directors

Describe at least six recommendations that you would make to improve the effectiveness of today's boards of directors. 1 I would require the board of directors degree of Involvement In strategic management be active participation (approves, questions and makes final decisions on mission, strategy, policies and objectives) or be that of a catalyst (takes the leading role In establishing and modifying the mission, objectives, strategies and polices).This would ensure that the board of directors takes a hands on approach (Wheeled, p. 47). 2 I would require the board of directors to set corporate strategy, overall direction, Nilsson or vision for the company. This needs to come from the board of directors. They need to set the standard. 3 I would make the board of directors responsible for the hiring and firing of the CEO and top management. This is an important role and must be mandated from the board of directors. Keeping the right CEO in position and keeping top management in place is extremely important (Wheeled, p. 45). 4I would make the board of directors responsible for controlling, monitoring, or supervising top management (Wheeled, p. 45). The guidance that the board of directors provides is much needed and top management will follow the boards lead. 5 Corporations inside the united States usually have 2 insiders and 8 outsiders that make up the board of directors (Wheeled, p. 48). I would have at least 5 insiders and 5 outsiders make up the board of directors. This would make the makeup of the board of directors more even. 6 Of the 5 insiders, I would allow 2 of them to be company employees that sit on the road of directors.These employees can bring an inside look at what is happening from the employees point of view to the board. Of these six suggestions, I would select number 1 as the most important. I would require the board of directors degree of Involvement In strategic management be active participation (approves, questions and makes final decisions on mission, strategy, policies and objectives) or be that of a catalyst (takes the leading role In establishing and modifying the mission, objectives, strategies and policies). This loud ensure that the board of directors takes a hands on approach.Board of Directors By bias]Nanette I would require the board of directors degree of involvement in strategic role in establishing and modifying the mission, objectives, strategies and policies). Mission or vision for the company. This needs to come from the board of directors. Corporations inside the United States usually have 2 insiders and 8 outsiders that require the board of directors degree of involvement in strategic management be strategy, policies and objectives) or be that of a catalyst (takes the leading role in

Free Essays on German U-Boats

Each country in the war had an area which they excelled, and for the Germans that was the powerful U-boats with cannons, big guns and torpedos, sailing the Atlantic. There were many operations for U-boats during WWII. First we’ll discuss the Larconia incident. Larconia Incident A German U-boat (U-156) torpedoed a large target in the South Atlantic Ocean. A British liner (Larconia), carrying a 136-man crew, military material and personnel (268 men), about 80 civilians, and around 1800 Italian prisoners of war along with armed guards of 160 Polish soldiers sank at 2323 hours military time. Amazed to hear Italian voices, the commander, Kptlt. Werner Harenstien at once began a rescue mission for the people struggling in the sea and those in lifeboats. Offering to cease hostilities, he radioed an uncoded message to every vessel within hearing distance for help. In the days that followed Harenstien’s crew save about 400 survivors, half of which were brought on ship and the other half in lifeboats. Next U-506 arrived and began to help rescue the survivors and a little while later U-507 and an Italian submarine came to help. As the boats headed for shore, towing the lifeboats behind them, an American B-24 Liberator bomber operating from the Ascension Island, its pilot spotted the boats. The pilot radioed base asking for instructions. Following orders he attacked, forcing the rescue boats to cut the lines leading to the lifeboats, leaving hundreds of survivors in the water again. Because a French warship from Dakar appeared and began fishing people out of the water again, the US attack didn’t cause as many dead as it could have. Approximately 1500 people survived. Many times U-boats had helped their survivors with supplies, water and directions of which way to go. After this incident, an order was issued (called the Larconia order) that no U-boats were ever to take part in rescue operations again. They were to leave their sur... Free Essays on German U-Boats Free Essays on German U-Boats Each country in the war had an area which they excelled, and for the Germans that was the powerful U-boats with cannons, big guns and torpedos, sailing the Atlantic. There were many operations for U-boats during WWII. First we’ll discuss the Larconia incident. Larconia Incident A German U-boat (U-156) torpedoed a large target in the South Atlantic Ocean. A British liner (Larconia), carrying a 136-man crew, military material and personnel (268 men), about 80 civilians, and around 1800 Italian prisoners of war along with armed guards of 160 Polish soldiers sank at 2323 hours military time. Amazed to hear Italian voices, the commander, Kptlt. Werner Harenstien at once began a rescue mission for the people struggling in the sea and those in lifeboats. Offering to cease hostilities, he radioed an uncoded message to every vessel within hearing distance for help. In the days that followed Harenstien’s crew save about 400 survivors, half of which were brought on ship and the other half in lifeboats. Next U-506 arrived and began to help rescue the survivors and a little while later U-507 and an Italian submarine came to help. As the boats headed for shore, towing the lifeboats behind them, an American B-24 Liberator bomber operating from the Ascension Island, its pilot spotted the boats. The pilot radioed base asking for instructions. Following orders he attacked, forcing the rescue boats to cut the lines leading to the lifeboats, leaving hundreds of survivors in the water again. Because a French warship from Dakar appeared and began fishing people out of the water again, the US attack didn’t cause as many dead as it could have. Approximately 1500 people survived. Many times U-boats had helped their survivors with supplies, water and directions of which way to go. After this incident, an order was issued (called the Larconia order) that no U-boats were ever to take part in rescue operations again. They were to leave their sur...

Ethics in Business Essays - Applied Ethics, Business Ethics

Ethics in Business Essays - Applied Ethics, Business Ethics Ethics in Business From a business perspective, working under government contracts can be a very lucrative proposition. In general, a stream of orders keep coming in, revenue increases and the company grows in the aggregate. The obvious downfalls to working in this manner is both higher quality expected as well as the extensive research and documentation required for government contracts. If a part fails to perform correctly it can cause minor glitches as well as problems that can carry serious repercussions, such as in the National Semiconductor case. When both the culpable component and company are found, the question arises of how extensive these repercussions should be. Is the company as an entity liable or do you look into individual employees within that company? From an ethical perspective one would have to look at the mitigating factors of both the employees and their superiors along with the role of others in the failure of these components. Next you would have to analyze the final ruling from a corporate perspective and then we must examine the macro issue of corporate responsibility in order to attempt to find a resolution for cases like these. The first mitigating factor involved in the National Semiconductor case is the uncertainty, on the part of the employees, on the duties that they were assigned. It is plausible that during the testing procedure, an employee couldnt distinguish which parts they were to test under government standards and commercial standards. In some cases they might have even been misinformed on the final consumers of the products that they tested. In fact, ignorance on the part of the employees would fully excuse them from any moral responsibility for any damage that may result from their work. Whether it is decided that an employees is fully excused, or is given some moral responsibility, would have to be looked at on an individual basis. The second mitigating factor is the duress or threats that an employee might suffer if they do not follow through with their assignment. After the bogus testing was completed in the National Semiconductor labs, the documentation department also had to falsify documents stating that the parts had surpassed the governmental testing standards. From a legal and ethical standpoint, both the testers and the writers of the reports were merely acting as agents on direct orders from a superior. This was also the case when the plant in Singapore refused to falsify the documents and were later falsified by the employees at the have California plant before being submitted to the approval committees (Velazquez, 53). The writers of the reports were well aware of the situation yet they acted in this manner on the instruction of a supervisor. Acting in an ethical manner becomes a secondary priority in this type of environment. As stated by Alan Reder, . . . if they [the employees] feel they will suffer retribution, if they report a problem, they arent too likely to open their mouths. (113). The workers knew that if the reports were not falsified they would come under questioning and perhaps their employment would go into jeopardy. Although working under these conditions does not fully excuse an employees from moral fault, it does start the divulging process for determining the order of the chain of command of superiors and it helps to narrow down the person or department that issued the original request for the unethical acts. The third mitigating factor is one that perhaps encompasses the majority of the employees in the National Semiconductor case. We have to balance the direct involvement that each employee had with the defective parts. Thus, it has to be made clear that many of the employees did not have a direct duty with the testing departments or with the parts that eventually failed. Even employees, or sub-contractors, that were directly involved with the production were not aware of the incompetence on the part of the testing department. For example, the electrical engineer that designed the defective computer chip could act in good faith that it would be tested to ensure that it did indeed meet the required government endurance tests. Also, for the employees that handled the part after the testing process, they were dealing with what they believed to be a component that met every governmental standard. If it was not tested properly, and did eventually fail, isnt the testing department more morally responsible than the designer or the assembly line worker that was in charge of installing the chip? Plus, in large corporations there may be several testing departments and is some cases one may

Hotel Management Interview Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hotel Management Interview Paper - Essay Example Where the internal auditor is not trustworthy, a random independent audit will help the organization to detect fraud and financial errors that lead to a fair and true reflection of the organization’s financial position. Moreover, a random independent audit helps business owner to establish the effectiveness of specific business operations and the performance of various departments (Kotan Australia, 2011). The audit exposes the errors of omission and commission in the company’s financial statements and prevents the reoccurrence of such errors in the future. Ideally, a random independent audit delivers a sovereign opinion on the organization’s financial condition since independent auditors seek to establish the truth and fairness of financial statements (Kotan Australia, 2011). The sovereign opinion by an independent auditor helps the management to make informed decisions. More so, a random independent audit is a fundamental requirement for all public companies. As such, it enhances compliance to audit and accounting requirements (Kotan Australia, 2011). A random independent audit would equally help in promoting the goodwill and competiveness of a company. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is an accounting firm that would do a random independent audit (PwC, 2014) I contacted PWC and sought their comment on the benefits and costs of a random independent audit. PricewaterhouseCoopers noted that most companies hire independent auditors or external auditors to inspect their financial statements. The main objective of hiring independent auditors is to offer independent opinion of a company’s financial position. Independent auditors provide an independent opinion that reflects the true and fair financial position of the company. Independent auditors are more proficient than internal auditors are and hence organizations and their

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM WHY DO YOU THINK PLAGIARISM IS A PROBLEM IN Essay

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM WHY DO YOU THINK PLAGIARISM IS A PROBLEM IN ACADEMIC WORK HOW CAN YOU AVOID COMMON CAUSES OF PLAGIARISM - Essay Example It is a serious problem in the academic work because it defeats the valuable essence of education, which is to make students grow intellectually and prepare them to all the challenges life may bring. Also, educators cannot fully perform their duties because they cannot thoroughly assess the potentials of their students as they are deceived by the output of plagiarism. There are many common causes of intentional and unintentional plagiarism, and experts believed that there is no common antidote for all these grounds. For instance, stress and time pressure are among the common causes of plagiarism; therefore, to avoid these causes, I need to start doing my research papers/assignments as early as possible so that I will have ample time for researching and for rechecking proper citation usages and documentation (e.g., using quotation marks for a direct quote & paraphrasing). Another cause is ignorance of documentation; hence, I need to take notes carefully, understand not the words but the information so that I can use my own words/ideas, and be keen on using quotation marks for a direct quote. Also, I need to put automatically all the sources that I have used in my research paper in the reference page for me to avoid neglecting those. I can also check my paper to the school’s online plagiarism software to make sure that I did not fail to cred it some sources or if I have copied words/ideas of someone else without any