Global Sourcing Essays (Examples)

Global Marketing

According to Cleveland and Laroche (2007), the global consumer is characterized as someone who fits in with global consumer culture. This is a culture that has certain characteristics that are static internationally, such that the global consumer can be subject to global marketing. The global consumer is understood in contrast to the local consumer. The local consumer bears strong characteristics of the local market, in their tastes and buying patterns. The global consumer trends more towards international norms. The global consumer is aware of and has some preference for international products and bears similarity to international buying patterns. In essence, the global consumer in Shanghai will have tastes and characteristics that relate more to other global consumers in Vancouver, London or Mumbai than to the people of the local Shanghai market.

Global consumers have emerged as the result of two key trends, identified in Czinkota and onkainen (2013).…

References:

Andersson, S. & Servais, P. (2010). Combining industrial buyer and seller strategies for international supply and marketing management. European Business Review. Vol. 22 (1) 64-81.

Balabanis, G. & Diamatopoulos, A. (2004). Domestic country bias, country-of-origin effects and consumer ethnocentrism: A multidimensional unfolding approach. Academy of Marketing Science Journal. Vol. 32 (1) 80-95.

Cleveland, M. & Laroche, M. (2007). Acculturation to the global consumer culture: Scale development and research paradigm. Journal of Business Research. Vol. 60 (3) 249-259.

Czinkota, M. & Ronkainen, I. (2013). International Marketing. South-Western College Publishing.

Global and National Hunger

Hunger can be described as a physical sensation of desiring food. Usually even the highly privileged may experience mild hunger, however brief experience will never be harmful. People suffering from hunger are a larger scale reference to individuals who are unable to eat sufficient food in meeting their basic nutritional needs for a sustained period of time. A large proportion of the world's populations are affected by hunger throughout history. Occasionally it result originates from plagues, war or adverse weather changes.

Several inter-related issues that cause hunger tend to be related to economic as well as other factors that cause poverty. A part from the named above causes of hunger we have drought, famine, diversification of land use to non-productive use, poor eating habit, inefficient agriculture, land right and ownership as other causes of hunger, (Anup Shah, 2010). As we try to solve the problem of…

References Anup Shah, ( 2010). Solving World Hunger Means Solving World Poverty" Retrieved November 4, 2012 from  http://www.globalissues.org/article/8/solving-world-hunger-means-solving-world-poverty 

Miguel De La Torre, (2012). Will You Eat Less to Reduce Global Hunger? Retrieved November 4, 2012 from  http://www.ethicsdaily.com/will-you-eat-less-to-reduce-global-hunger  -- cms-19941

World Hunger Education Service, (2011). "2012 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics" Retrieved November 4, 2012 from  http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm

" The final force of collaboration, which Freidman (2006) calls "informing"-which are search engines like Yahoo, Google, MSN, etc., which has facilitated "Internetizer technologies" to work together with limitless information all by itself (Freidman, 2006).

Therefore, the initial three flatteners formed the novel stage for cooperation, and the subsequent six have been the novel shapes of cooperation that flattened the world. The last flattener is referred to as "the steroids," and these have been regarded as "wireless-access" along with "voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP)." The steroids have accelerated these novel kinds of cooperation, which has allowed "Internetizer technologies" to execute anyone of them, from anyplace in the world, using any tool (Freidman, 2006).

Triple Convergence

The first convergence took place when all ten flatteners united around the beginning of the new millennium. This formed a worldwide, Internet-enabled in performing ground that permitted manifold kinds of cooperation on R&D and work, regardless of not…

Bibliography

Barca, F. And Becht, M. (2001). The Control of Corporate Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chun, R. (2001) 'The strategic management of corporate reputation, aligning image and identity, PhD dissertation, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.

Freidman, Thomas L. (2006), the World is Flat, (Newly Abridged and Revised), Penguin Books, Camberwell Victoria.

Global E-Business Marketing

Sourcing equity / ax management

Contrasting between global tax systems

National taxing has been proven to affect economic decisions made by MNEs. ypically, the settlement of taxation will take two different approaches, which are the worldwide approach and the territorial approach. he first approach will levy taxes based upon the income earned by firms that are controlled in the host country. herefore, an investor earning income internationally would find his/her income taxed by the local tax authorities. For example, a country such as the United States will tax the income earned based upon firms that are located in the U.S. whether the income is received by firms based in the United States, domestically sourced, and/or foreign sourced (Moffett, Stonehill & Eitemen, 2012). However, an issue that arises is that the taxation does not take into consideration the foreign companies that are based in the United States.

herefore, the territorial approach…

They also attract investors as they will provide a deep and liquid market, allows higher investment returns, and are a form of portfolio diversification. Therefore, an investor will profit from the international debt markets as the credit rankings of most of the borrowers are very well, and the borrowers are willing and able to pay a percentage extra for repayment (Sangiuolo & Seidman, 2008). The international debt market consists of unregulated money and capital markets although the dominant currency is the United States dollar. However, the debt securities denominated in euros have grown as the predictability, liquidity and volatility of the euro consolidates. The major forms of Eurocurrency facilities discussed are short-term bank advances (similar to term loans or fully drawn advances) and standby arrangements (source of 'back-up' fund to meet short-term cash shortfalls). They also include medium- to long-term Eurocurrency loans. International debt markets are attractive to both borrows and investors as they can benefit each member in the end. Since major Eurocurrency facilities are attractive because of the lower cost of borrowing, creating a natural hedge and the size of Eurocurrency markets (Razin & Slemrod, 2010).

4. Distinguishing the characteristics of debt instruments

The international debt market uses debt instruments to regulate borrower's repayment plans and investor's investment plans. A debt instrument is a paper or electronically signed obligation that allows the issuing party to raise funds by promising to repay the lender in accordance with the terms of a contract. The borrower will be set up on a plan in order to repay any money used whether it is a short-term or long-term. Typical debt instruments would include the following: notes, bonds, certificates, mortgages, leasing, or other agreements between a

The lack of process orchestration shows that IBM is failing to understand and manage the bargaining power of suppliers effectively. The core requirements of the project center on a series of healthcare professionals who taken together are the stakeholders of a complex payroll processing system (Paull, 2013). The requirements from a project management standpoint is to concentrate on the bargaining power of suppliers as system integration partners and create a unified project plan that can successfully meet multiple stakeholder needs. Making this more difficult than other implementations is the bargaining power of buyers, who also are requiring that IBM construct a system they can quickly use to solve complex supply chain, procurement and strategic sourcing challenges as can be inferred from the article (Paull, 2013).

IBM has also allowed for a greater level of threat from new market entrants as well, through the ineffective management of stakeholder requirements. What's obvious…

References

Ball, L.D. 2000, "IT education success strategies for change management," Information Systems Management, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 74-77.

By, B.P. 2013, "Michael Dell Offered Lower Price for His Shares to Make Dell Deal Work," LBO Wire, .

Fickenscher, K. & Bakerman, M. 2011, "Change Management in Health Care it," Physician Executive, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 64-7.

Gunasekaran, a. & Ngai, E.W.T. 2005, "Build-to-order supply chain management: a literature review and framework for development," Journal of Operations Management, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 423-451.

To be sure, serious obstacles still remain in Europe -- most notably, the rigid labor laws that make relocating jobs a long and costly process. For example, while it's relatively easy for companies in the U.S. To fire employees whose jobs they want to outsource, to lay off an employee in Germany, a company first has to justify its decision to the union and then give its worker a notice period of four weeks to seven months.

The difference in attitudes goes back to the way both regions developed, says ichard Hill, an intercultural consultant with Europublic, a Brussels-based agency that advises companies in international business. "America was based on a can-do mentality, which is a reflection of the first Europeans who got to a huge, open, immensely rich country and were able to exploit it without any inhibitions," Mr. Hill says. On the other hand, Germany became a nation…

References

____. 1997. Exporter, skills upgrading, and the wage gap. Journal of International Economics 47:3-31.

____. 1999. Exceptional exporter performance: Cause, effect, or both? Journal of International Economics 47:1-25. Leach, Peter T. (2004). A developing market. Journal of Commerce. 2. 1

Bernard, a., and Jensen, J.B. (1995). Exporters, jobs, and wages in U.S. manufacturing: 1976-1987. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics, 67-119. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.

Business: More gain than pain; Offshoring; the Economist. London: Jul 17, 2004.Vol.372, Iss. 8384; pg. 60

Future Global Corporate Strategy and International Management

The emergence of strategic management has always been attached to military history (Tallman, 2007). Studies in this area reveal various examples where the strategic management of offensive and counter-offensive led to decisive victories. Within the corporate sphere, it emerged following the Second World War. The dramatic growth of world nations such as China, Japan, and the U.S.A. served a beneficial environment for large international corporations that needed evolution in their planning and thought process. In fact, the competitive climate has created challenges for global corporations to sustain the success chart without meeting the changing requirements of business and adopting a strategy to counter these changes. Strategic management is an art that uses the processes and principles of management to create the mission or objective of any business. It identifies a proper target to meet the objective, established current opportunities and constraints in the…

Reference List

During, W. E., Oakey, R. P., & Kauser, S. (2001). New Technology-Based Firms in the New Millennium. Amsterdam: Pergamon

Dhillon, G., & Ebrary, Inc. (2001). Information Security Management: Global Challenges in the New Millennium. Hershey, Pa: Idea Group.

Devinney, T. M., Pedersen, T., & Tihanyi, L. (2010). The Past, Present, and Future of International Business & Management. Bingley: Emerald

Howes, R., & Tan, J. H. M. (2003). Strategic Management Applied to International Construction. London: Telford

Outsourcing in a Global Community

"Even though 'Outsourcing' has its demerits and has been criticized the benefits which it brings is advantageous to the U.S. both now and in the long run."

This statement identifies a claim of fact showing that even though outsourcing has its demerits as any other condition would entail, the benefits which the U.S. economy would achieve by way of outsourcing is much more than its disadvantages and the advantages are not only beneficial now, but also in the long-term.

Outsourcing results in while a firm contract out a business activity to an outsider supplier. This process is normal within the U.S. economy for quite a substantial period. It has become easier to outsource business activities like the customer service, telemarketing, and document management. Other businesses inclusive of medical transcription, tax preparation, and financial services also outsource their activities. The estimates made by the Gartner research…

Chapter 1

Globalization is delineated as the socio-economic transformation and development process of eradicating trade, investment, cultural information technology, and political barriers across nations. The benefits of globalization include increased growth in the economy, political integration in various expanses, and interdependence among countries of the world. The key international institutions that facilitate globalization include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). To begin with, the IMF plays a significant role in global financial stability by facilitating global trade that promotes job creation, poverty reduction and economic growth. It also encourages exchange rate stability and an open system for international payments. Secondly, the World Bank aids in trade liberalization, transference of information and knowledge to developing countries to underpin sustainable development. Lastly, the WTO established the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which encompasses global trade in goods through the considerable decrease of…

Crowd-Sourcing Service User Funding for Participation in Educational Conferences

eporting on the Joint World Social Work conference held in Melbourne, Australia, Peter Beresford wrote, "There are fears that policymakers have lost interest in ensuring the users of care services have their voices heard" (2014). Social workers established the involvement of service users and carers as a key priority in social service, pioneering efforts to forward user involvement on an international level (Beresford, 2014). As a profession, social work has led service user and carer engagement in education, policy, practice, and research (Beresford, 2014). The long-term impact goal of these efforts has been to equalize relationships between service providers and service users as a means to tapping into their experiential knowledge for the purposes of fostering authentic co-production and improving service provision (Beresford, 2014).

That interest in these goals seems to waning or neglected was manifested by the attendance at the…

References

Anderson, A. (2005). The community builder's approach to theory of change: A practical guide to theory and development. New York: The Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change.

Beresford, P. (2014). Could Melbourne social work conference have done more for service users? The Guardian. Retrieved from  http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/jul/11/melbourne-social-work-conference-service-users 

Beresford, P. And Carr, S. (2012). Social care, service users, and user involvement. British Journal of Social Work, 43(4), 820-821. DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bct093. Retrieved from  http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/4/820.full 

P Beresford (2002). User involvement in research and evaluation: liberation or regulation? Social Policy and Society, 1 (02), 95-105.

Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and other companies have esearch & Development (&D) labs in the nations where the market size and potential for sales can substantiate an investment (Shahhosseini, Ardahaey, 2011). This gives these companies insights and market intelligence they can use in designing next-generation products that closely align with their target customers' unique needs. This strategy of also allowing the product, promotion and place or distribution aspects of the marketing mix to be controlled locally has shown significant value over time in generating brand loyalty (osenbloom, Dimitrova, 2011). This can be attributed to how effectively these &D centers get at matching the unmet needs of prospects with the products being developed by companies known for their marketing expertise, for example Proctor & Gamble.

The globalization drivers that would most affect which aspects of the marketing mix are centralized vs. distributed across regional and country offices are first the economics…

References

Czinkota, M.. (2011). Why international marketing? Marketing Management, 20(2), 14.

Bert Rosenbloom, & Boryana Dimitrova. (2011). The marketing mix paradigm and the Dixonian systems perspective of marketing. Journal of Historic Research in Marketing, 3(1), 53-66.

Shahhosseini, A., & Ardahaey, F.. (2011). Marketing Mix Practices in the Cultural

Industry. International Journal of Business and Management, 6(8), 230-234.

The rules and regulations are designed to level the competition and to disrupt advantages of a country based on price and favored tax status. All of the countries in the union must abide by these tax and trade regulations. In January of 2004, Denmark and Sweden were forced to remove import restrictions on alcohol purchased for personal consumption (EPHA, 2007).

A recent decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) determined that the Swedes have attained a monopoly on alcohol. They are attempting to limit the general consumption and limit underage drinking in their country. Alcoholism is considered to be problematic in Sweden and lawmakers see a need to take measures to attempt to curb overall consumption of alcoholic beverages.

The effects of this decision are two-fold, when one considers the impact on expanding Olde Distillerie products to Sweden. The first affect is that this decision supports alcohol as an…

References

Celtic Whisky Campagne. 2003. History of Whisky and of Distillation (I).[Online]Available at: http://www.celtic-whisky.com/histrya.htm. Accessed 24.

European Public Health Alliance. (EPHA). (2007). *UPDATED* ECJ case on Swedish alcohol retail monopoly. [Online]. Available at: www.epha.org/a/2239Accessed 23 December 2007 [Accessed 23, December 2007].

FedEx. 2007. Czech Republic. Country Profile. [Online] Available at  http://www.FedEx.com/us/international/irc/profiles/irc_cz_profile.html?gtmcc=us [Accessed 26, December 2007].

FedEx. 2007. Ireland. Country Profile. [Online] Available at  http://www.FedEx.com/us/international/irc/profiles/irc_ie_profile.html?gtmcc=us [Accessed 26, December 2007].

E-Commerce Strategy and Global EC

How should the Internet and EC be considered by business strategic planners? By IS strategists and by ICT planners?

Electronic commerce and internet play an important role in the formulation and implementation of the strategy that indicates that how a new or an existing company aims to conduct its business electronically. While developing strategic plan, the concerned authorities shall pay reasonable attention to out sourcing, application development and business process re-engineering. In addition to that, the ICT strategists shall also ensure that there is sufficient flow of relevant information within the organization. Moreover, the strategists shall ensure that their product or business is real time and can be easily integrated on web. (Clark, 2012)

Apart from that, the IS strategists shall keep in mind that the competition levels in e-commerce and internet have reached new unidentifiable levels. Therefore, they shall train, develop and orient the…

References

Clark, G. (2012). E-business Strategic Planning. Redlands: Key Custom Design. pp. 1-4. http://keycustomdesign.com/resources/articles/ecommerce,7/ebusiness-strategic-planning,10.html.

Turban, E., Lee, J., King, D. And Viehland, D. (2006). Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. 4th ed. London: Pearson Education Inc.

Unknown. (2008). The Revolution Is Just Beginning. London: Pearson Education Inc. pp. 1-52.  http://www.pearsonhighered.com/samplechapter/0131735160.pdf  [Accessed: 18 Sep 2013].

Introduction
In the past few years, Myanmar has been one of the world's fastest-growing economies. This success has been the result of a new government under Aung San Suu Kyi, which has resulted in democratic reforms and a shift towards a more capitalist economy. Annual GDP growth rates in the past few years have been around 7%, which puts Myanmar in the top ten for GDP growth, but the country is still very poor, with a GDP per capita of $6300, ranked 163rd in the world. While several neighboring countries are global leaders in textiles, the industry is relatively nascent in Myanmar. Yet, clothing ranks as the #6 export earner for the country (CIA World Factbook, 2018). This paper will examine the current state of the clothing industry in Myanmar, and what this means for fashion merchandising.

The Economic Situation
When Myanmar was under military rule, even in Yangon, the…

VCI Case

VCI/Ellison Case Questions and Analysis

Case Questions

Global sourcing, simply put, is engaging in the procurement of goods and/or services without allowing geopolitical boundaries to limit such procurement (though there are of course effects of these boundaries on the advisability of certain trade relationships). Different levels of global sourcing exist, from using international suppliers when convenient to developing procurement strategies that take full advantage of global systems.

There are not major cultural differences noted between VCI and Ellison that will adversely affect this merger, however there are some notable differences that need consideration. Teamwork and supplier loyalty are more engrained in Ellison, and VCI will need to incorporate better teamwork while Ellison becomes more aggressive.

3)

Global sourcing has the potential to create much greater cost effectiveness and efficiency for VCI/Ellison, and this is the primary reason for pursuing this strategy. The global sourcing plan is fairly straightforward,…

The article further says that "Japan's grip on the industry has weakened and it is time that the world redesigns the whole supply chain. The article ends with the note that things could go on in a moderate scale for a while and then by the first half of 2012, Japan may come back to the state of overcapacity." (Mutschler, 2002)

Analysis:

In analyzing this article and the impact of a disaster on global management especially supply chain management, while it can be appreciated that there would be some delay and hitches in the recovery of Japan, one cannot go with the prediction of an impending doom in the electronics industry on account of supply closure in the near future. It can be seen that the alternate sources are active and may make use of this scarcity to their advantage. Most multinationals also will not suffer because they have alternate…

References

Asia Monitor Resource Centre. (2007) "Neoliberal Globalization and the electronics industry in the Philippines" Asian Labour Update, vol. 63, Retrieved 20 May 2011 from  http://www.amrc.org.hk/alu_article/labour_in_the_ict_industry/neoliberal_globalization_and_theelectronics_industry_in_the_ 

Editorial Staff. (2011) "Japanese Earthquake Impact Could Cause Major Disruption in Electronics Supply Chain" Supply Demand Chain Magazine,

Retrieved 20 May 2011 from  http://www.sdcexec.com/web/online/Global-Focus-News/Japanese-Earthquake-Impact-Could-Cause-Major-Disruption-in-Electronics-Supply-Chain/50$13,360 

Guedes, Ana Lucia; Faria, Alexandre. (2006) "Globalization and International Management:

Trojan Cor

This project was different from what I expected. I did not see the flow chart, budget and other technical elements. You should indicate these items in your description to ensure that you get someone who is able to or has an interest in doing these. I tried to give you sufficient information so you could create a flow chart or a budget. I am not an expert on these topics and thus just try to do the writing for you. YOU SHOULD DELETE THE ED TEXT AND YOU WILL HAVE FIVE DOUBLE-SPACED PAGES. This site informs you that you pay for double-spaced pages so that is what I produced, plus the instructions say single or double. I added the last page for your cover sheet and I used three references as requested.

The advance work on this project suggests that it may be reasonable for the Trojan to…

REFERENCES

Harton, M. (2010). The do's and don'ts of offshoring and low cost sourcing. Lowcostsourcing.org. Retrieved from  http://lowcostsourcing.org/2010/01/the-dos-and-donts-of-offshoring-and-low-cost-sourcing/ .

IBM (2006). Low cost country sourcing can benefit a company's bottom line. IBM Global Business Services.

Rogers, S. And Cooley, L. (2004). Deciding where to source -- local, national, regional, global. International Supply Management Conference. Procter & Gamble. Retrieved from http://food-hub.org/files/resources/Deciding%20Where%20to%20Source%20-%20Local,%20National,%20Regional,%20or%20Global.pdf.

CLASS

Whole Foods Market

Significant key points

Key financial indicators

Graph of sales growth from year 2002 until 2011.

Opportunities

Threats

Strengths

Weakness

SWOT and TWOS analysis

TOWS Strategic Alternatives Matrix

Pros and Cons

Implementation

Evaluation and control

The Whole Foods Market is a progressive and focused corporation with presence in three developed markets including U.S., United Kingdom, and Canada. The company has achieved growth since its inception. The increasing market share of the company has enabled it to expand in international markets. The company envisions becoming global leader in organic and natural foods market. The competitors in the sector are large stores, supermarkets, and retail outlets with increased presence. The product range of these companies includes a number of related products along with the natural and organic foods.

The company requires maintaining its double digit growth strategy and aims to expand in global market. However the cost of natural and…

References:

Form 10-K. United States Securities and Exchange Commission, (2011). Form 10-k annual report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the securities exchange act of 1934. Retrieved from Whole Foods Market website:  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/sites/default/files/media/Global/Company  Info/PDFs/2011_10K.pdf

Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D., & Hoskisson, R.E. (2012). Strategic Management Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. USA: South-Western Pub.

Lederer, M., Schott, P., Huber, S., & Kurz, M. (2013). Strategic Business Process Analysis: A Procedure Model to Align Business Strategy with Business Process Analysis Methods. In S-BPM ONE-Running Processes (pp. 247-263). New York: Springer.

Ngai, E. (2009). RFID in operations and supply chain management: research and applications, edited by T. Blecker and GQ Huang.

If you were to design a globally focused it application for a multinational corporation, how would you introduce it and would the challenges be for the corporation?

Before beginning the design of a globally focused it application, I would first be sure to understand how its key features, functions, workflows and performance contributed to the users who would use the system daily. After having a thorough review of these key criterion and the development of workflows and benchmarking of existing processes to evaluate total performance, I'd get the initial phase of software development completed. Using agile-based software development methods, I'd continually refine the key functional and workflows areas of the application to ensure it performed as defined.

Next, the application would be tested for real-time data and process integration to the broader it infrastructure of the company. This would concentrate on the integration points across legacy, enterprise-wide and platform systems…

References

Chen, Q., Tu, Q., & Lin, B. (2002). Global it/is outsourcing: Expectations, considerations and implications. Advances in Competitiveness Research, 10(1), 100-111.

Ebert, R.R. (2007). How we compete: What companies around the world are doing to make it in todays global economy. Comparative Economic Studies, 49(1), 167-167.

King, W.R., & Flor, P.R. (2008). The development of global it infrastructure. Omega, 36(3), 486.

Li, F., & Berry, J. (2004). It and business models / the global internet economy. Organization Studies, 25(2), 325-327.

Risks From International Business

What are some risks of international business that may not exist for local business?

There are many risks inherent in competing on a global or internal level compared to being a local business. As the chapter suggests, there is a much greater level of economic and socio-political pressure on governments to work together for the common good of the global economy. Despite these best intentions, global macroeconomic factors often cause nations to restrict or unnecessarily increase the cost of transactions and trade based on fear over the trading partner's economies. Such is the case for American companies attempting to gain sales within China, whose government holds nearly $1.1 trillion in U.S.-based debt. China and the United States are two of the more powerful economic forces in the global economy, and as their economies go, so goes the world. What this means for international businesses is that…

e) Quarterly coupon distribution

elative to this final elements, it has to be noted that it is too part of the strategy of applying customer data to better satisfy the buyers. These coupons reveal the fact that the retailer values the loyalty of the shoppers and rewards it. The levels of customer satisfaction are as such increased and the performances of Tesco are further sustained.

3. ecent developments

Through today, the situation of Tesco has not changed significantly. The company remains strong in both national as well as international markets and is even further consolidating its competitive position. In a context of an internationalized economic crisis in which most economic agents have registered tremendous loses, Tesco has ended fiscal year 2009 with growths in its income (the Tesco Plc.Website, 2010).

The company has increased its product offering and has invested more in its human resource in order to also increase…

References:

Capell, K., 2008, Tesco: "Wal-Mart's worst nightmare," Business Week,  http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2008/gb20081229_497909.htm  last accessed on July 7, 2010

Duff, M., 2010, Walmart vs. Tesco: why the odds favor the British retailer, BNet,  http://industry.bnet.com/retail/10009350/walmart-vs.-tesco-recovery-conditions-favor-the-british-retailer-much-as-they-do-target  / last accessed on July 7, 2010

Goodall, C., 2007, Tesco vs. Wal-Mart vs. carbon emissions, Carbon Commentary, http://www.carboncommentary.com/2007/10/01/20 last accessed on July 7, 2010

2010, Tesco Plc.Website, http://www.tesco.com / last accessed on July 7, 2010

Indeed, authority tended to be given to people who did not have the necessary work hours behind them, and this is where the company's lack of centralized management created a problem.

The loose management structure of the company then played a central role in its lack of accountability and sound decision making, and the company lost $3.51 billion, with a record low in stock prices and looming bankruptcy as a reward for this.

Although the initial organizational structure allowed the company's rapid growth, it was therefore time for change, especially in the areas of discipline and accountability, as well as in the management structure. For this reason, a larger number of managers were employed at the upper level of the company, and a sense of responsibility were included with fun as one of the company's core values.

3) the financial situation of AE made it obvious that restructuring was necessary.…

Sources

AES Corporation. 2007.  http://www.aes-corp.com/ 

New York Times. AES Corporation News. 2007.  http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/aes_corporation/index.html

Third Way Supply Chain Strategy

VF Supply Chain Strategy

This paper examines VF rands global supply chain strategy as it transitioned to its "Third Way" sourcing strategy. Until 2009, VF's sourcing had followed the more traditional model that was typical of the industry. As with many other apparel companies, VF's supply chain strategy was focused on chasing low cost labor from one country to the next. The industry had evolved to the point that apparel was produced just about "everywhere on Earth," and they, like many of their competitors, had run out of new "low cost" places to source production. This situation led to the conclusion by Chris Fraser, the president of Supply Chain International for VF rands, that it was time that start finding cost savings by managing their supply chain more efficiently.

Rockford Consulting Group (2009) defines a supply chain as a stream of processes of moving goods…

Bibliography

Blanchard, D. 2009, Top nine supply chain challenges for 2009, Industry Week, [Online] Available at:  http://www.industryweek.com/articles/top_nine_supply_chain_challenges_for_2009_18189.aspx?Page=1 

Butcher, D.R. 2010. A new year of supply chain challenges and opportunities. Industry Market Trends, [Online] Available at:  http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2010/01/new-supply-chain-challenges-and-opportunities-for-a-new-year-2010.html 

Carter, P.L., Monczka, R.M., Ragatz, G.L., & Jennings, P.L. 2009, Supply Chain Integration: Challenges and Good Practices, CAPS Research, [Online] Available at:  http://www.capsresearch.org/publications/pdfs-public/carterp2009es.pdf 

DeAngilis, S. 2011. IBM's top five supply chain challenges, [Online] Available at:  http://enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com/enterprise_resilience_man/2011/04/ibms-top-five-supply-chain-challenges.html

Change

This study analyzes outsourcing trends in the next decade. The study assesses this by focusing on the past and current trends, problems and issues in outsourcing via semi-structured interviews. Major trends and processes will be revealed and assessed for their relevancy, depth and breadth.

Companies belonging to most industries are very much considered to be the units that are vertically integrated, or so-called usual industrial firms (Stigler, 1951), where activities in all links in value chain have been internally conducted. For example, gasoline of its own is delivered by 7-Eleven and it is also used to make ice and candy, also it had cows for producing milk which it previously used to sell (Gottfredson et al., 2005). At present, it is not delivering gasoline and ice or candy is not being made by it neither does it posses any cows. Contrarily, IBM used to make the computers containing their…

References

Adams, R.J., 2002. Retail pro-tability and sweatshops: a global dilemma. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 9, 147-153.

Alexander, C., 1964. Notes on the Synthesis of Form. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Alexander, M., Young, D., 1996b. Outsourcing: where is the value? Long-Range Planning 29 (5), 728-730.

Ashkenas, R., Ulrich, D., Jick, T., Kerr, S., 1995. The Boundaryless Organization. Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.

Research conducted to date for example suggests that, for consortia-based procurement exchanges and Sector Procurement Collaboratives the bargaining power of representing multiple groups of buyers and their collective purchasing power provides economies of scale and leverage in bargaining with suppliers (Devine, Dugan, Semaca, Speicher, 2001). The motivations of purchasing consortia are primarily focused upon gaining expected cost savings and collect information on supply markets (Tella, Virolainen, 2005). Although perfectly in line with accepted marketing views and strategies, there is a gap in this research, which does not take into account the long-term effects of inter-process maturity and transaction velocity over time.

According to Johnston et al. (2003, p. 23), the recognition of trust as an important part of the buyer-supplier relationship does not preclude fact of paucity of empirical evidence to suggest the level of such importance. Trust and its dependent behaviors, as well as its impact on inter-organizational activities,…

Bibliography

Matthew G. Anderson, Paul B. Katz. (1998). Strategic sourcing. International Journal of Logistics Management, 9(1), 1-13. Retrieved June 13, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 34024516).

Chad W. Autry, Susan L. Golicic. (2009). Evaluating buyer-supplier relationship-performance spirals: A longitudinal study. Journal of Operations Management

Markus Biehl, Wade Cook and David a. Johnston (2006). The efficiency of joint decision making in buyer-supplier relationships. Ann Oper Res, 145, 15-34.

Nicolas Bloch, Thierry Catfolis. (2001). B2B E-marketplaces: How to succeed. Business Strategy Review, 12(3), 20-28.

Countertrading then is gaining in sophistication throughout developing nations' economies and becoming the foundation for procurement needs. The disadvantages of countertrading include the assigning of liability for the product on resale, interference between the countertrade contract and sales contract, in addition to currency fluctuation risks and pricing risks (Angelidis, Ibrahim, 2001). There are also the risks of non-performance the actual countertrade and the potential for fraud if these transactions are completed from long distances with relatively unknown trading partners.

eferences

Angelidis, J., Ibrahim, N (2001) Countertrading between United States and Western European firms: An empirical analysis of the benefits and pitfalls. International Journal of Management, 18(2), 252-259. etrieved February 5, 2008, from ABI/INFOM Global database. (Document ID: 76660806).

Kim, J., Choi, C., Millar, C., Hilton, B., Cheng, P (2006). Global sourcing partnerships and emerging MNC markets: a conceptual framework. International Journal of Services Technology and…

References

Angelidis, J., Ibrahim, N (2001) Countertrading between United States and Western European firms: An empirical analysis of the benefits and pitfalls. International Journal of Management, 18(2), 252-259. Retrieved February 5, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 76660806).

Kim, J., Choi, C., Millar, C., Hilton, B., Cheng, P (2006). Global sourcing partnerships and emerging MNC markets: a conceptual framework. International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 7(5/6), 463. Retrieved February 5, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1169443071).

International Business

Accounting for Intangible Assets in the Transnational Manufacturing Industry

The international business world has worked to break down barriers that formerly existed to allow businesses to more easily expand their operations to new markets. Much of this trend has been fueled by globalization which has allowed for the increasing connectedness of markets and resources through technological developments in many areas including, but not limited to, information and communications technology, advances in shipping, and a political environment largely accepting of deregulation. However, as companies have acted to expand into new opportunities in foreign markets, many have found that there is a plethora of different challenges that present by the cultural and social factors, among others, that are present in these markets. The main functions of business include operations, marketing, and accounting and there are many aspects of these functions that must be adjusted to effectively carry out international expansions.…

Works Cited

Cagliano, A., Marco, A., & Rafele, C. (2013). The Impact of Near Sourcing on Global Dynamic Supply Chains: A Case Study. Dynamics in Logistics, 489-498.

Chung, C., Park, H., Lee, J., & Kim, K. (2015). Human capital in multinational enterprises: Does strategic alignment matter? Journal of International Business Studies, 806-829.

Hofstede Center. (N.d.). France . Retrieved from Hofstede Center:  https://geert-hofstede.com/france.html 

Jensen, M., & Barfield, C. (2012). Global Value Chains and the Continuing Case for Free Trade. American Enterprise Institute, 1(1), 1-15.

Business

Categories of risk associated with sourcing of IT/IS services

erformance Risk

Delays at third parties may lead to a decline in end customer performance levels and timely delivery. As a product/service is outsourced, this risk gets heightened severely. Several factors can cause delays such as factors that are not within the outsourcing company's control. For instance, delays at the port/custom, weather, labor disputes, and political crisis. More severe examples are delays caused by terrorist activities and uncertainties and interruptions from outbreaks of deadly and contagious diseases like SARS or Ebola. As variability and lead-time increase, the need for greater stock levels and all other expensive buffers also increases, whereas generally, supply chain confidence reduces.

Operational Risk

Also, the outsourcing alteration phase may not succeed if budgets and schedules are not actualized as a result of lack of resources or adequate planning. It is possible to run an outsourcing using…

Pather, S., & Usabuwera, S. (2010). Implications of e-Service Quality Dimensions for the Information Systems Function . Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Hawaii: IEEE.

Scheier, R. (2012, May 14). Cloud computing tools: Improving security through visibility and automation. Retrieved from CSO:  http://www.csoonline.com/article/2131715/identity-access/cloud-computing-tools  -- improving-security-through-visibility-and-automation.html

Seiter, T., Wildenrother, R., & Metzl, C. (2011, May 26). Contractual Issues and Practical Implications. Retrieved from Legal Issues in Outsourcing:  http://outsourcing-legal-issues.blogspot.com.ng/2011_05_01_archive.html

Outsourcing

The Impact of Outsourcing on Information Technology in the U.S.

The greatest impact of outsourcing has been the decrease in the number of jobs in U.S. And this is only a continuation of the process that had begun earlier with the contracting of jobs by the large companies to small suppliers. Only now the jobs are going overseas and this is hurting the chances of certain categories of Americans from getting jobs. In the case of Information Technology jobs, this is a recent development, and even in 2003, the state of Ohio had forecast the career of IT as certain to succeed sort of a career. According to the Department of Job and Family Services in that state had said that the number of computer support specialists would grow by a certain 87% or a total of 1,682 persons a year throughout the next ten years. Following this group…

References

Brunelli, Mark. Report: Offshore outsourcing helps U.S. job market. (15 April, 2004)

Accessed 15 May, 2005. Available from  http://searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid19_gci959840,00.html 

Gambling with the Health of the U.S. Economy? Accessed 15 May, 2005. Available from  http://www.royalforum.com/article.php?id=59 

Griswold, Daniel. Foreign Outsourcing Invigorates U.S. Economy. Accessed 15 May, 2005.

Nambudiri, R., & Jayasimha, K.R. (2008). Performance management at the national institute of management. Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, 1-25.

In 2008, Professors Ranjeet Nambudiri and K.R. Jayasimha, a pair of researchers working with the Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation, conducted a case study of the existing performance management systems in place at the National Institute of Management - Central India campus (NIM CI campus), one of India's most prestigious business schools. Their goal was to critically examine the performance management strategies engineered and implemented by the director of the NIM CI campus, ascertaining their various advantages and liabilities, while also comparing the current plan to an alternative proposed by the school board of director's management committee. The resulting case study, entitled Performance Management at the National Institute of Management (Central India Campus) (), explored the complex issue of performance management from the varying perspectives of the different…

Among the other advantages to the NIM CI campus' unit-based philosophy of strategic management were the autonomous conditions afforded to teachers planning their curricula, the allotment of additional units to teachers who receive positive feedback from the student community, and the unambiguous nature of the remuneration system. The authors were particularly impressed with this remuneration system, in which "faculty members were remunerated for each additional unit earned above the minimum stipulation" because "this system obviated the uncertainty and anxiety associated with variable pay systems without compromising the performance expectations of the management" (Nambudiri & Jayasimha, 2008). While these aspects of the plan were lauded by the authors, they were not hesitant in illuminating the disadvantages of employing a unit-based performance management structure, as raised by the NIM CI board of directors. Concerns that the minimum proscribed workload was insufficient were chief among these perceived drawbacks, while the authors also suggested that certain unit benchmarks may be accomplished with little or no difficulty.

Sollish, F. And Semanik, J. (2011) Strategic Global Sourcing Best Practices. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

In their book Strategic Global Sourcing Best Practices, strategic management researchers Fred Sollish and John Semanik assert that complex project requiring the collaborative effort of an organization involves the use of materials, goods, and services that are integrated within the overall project design. The procurement process used to obtain these vital resources is central to the successful accomplishment of project objectives, because every aspect of the management process, from sourcing supplies to shipping products to customers is contingent on procuring the most productive third-party partnerships. The vendor selection process is used to aid project managers in the effective procurement of essential items and services, with a rigorous screening methodology used to identify the most competent and qualified shipping companies, manufacturers, distributors, and equipment suppliers. Another way project managers have refined the procurement process

herefore, the standpoint of social embeddedness is a tool that offers to provide a clear picture if one wants to comprehend the contribution of the relational factors in the success of outsourced IS projects (Rai, Maruping and Venkatesh, 2009).

If one is to increase his/her comprehension and develop an insight about how to monitor and control outsourced IS projects, Johns' (2006 as cited in Rai, Maruping and Venkatesh, 2009) suggestions come in useful. He recommended that the theory be contextualized by assessing the effect of characteristics of social framework in the setting of outsourced IS projects. It should be assessed how the adopted cultural features of the project affect its success and performance.

Later, the social embeddedness standpoint needs to be contextualized to the setting of the outsourcing of IS projects and a cultural variation framework should be applied to assess mutual principles and standards for those projects that are…

Trent, R.J. And R.M. Monczka (2003). "International purchasing and global sourcing -- what are the differences?" Journal of Supply Chain Management 39(4): 26-37. Taken from: Mittal, R. (2010). CULTURAL CONGRUENCE in CROSS-BORDER ALLIANCES: A MULTI-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of Business RESEARCH, Volume 10, Number 3.

Uzzi, B. 1997. "Social Structure and Competition in Interfirm Networks: The Paradox of Embeddedness," Administrative Science Quarterly (42), pp. 35-67. Taken from: Rai, a., Maruping, L.M. And Venkatesh, V. (2009). OFFSHORE INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROJECT SUCCESS: THE ROLE of SOCIAL EMBEDDEDNESS and CULTURALCHARACTERISTICS. MIS Quarterly Vol. 33 No. 3, pp. 617-641.

Werner, S. (2002). "Recent Developments in International Management Research: A Review of 20 Top Management Journals." Journal of Management 28(3): 277-305. Taken from: Mittal, R. (2010). CULTURAL CONGRUENCE in CROSS-BORDER ALLIANCES: A MULTI-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of Business RESEARCH, Volume 10, Number 3.

Merger, Acquisition, And International Strategies

Ford Corporation: The Volvo takeover

It's imperative for the automotive companies to attain benefits of scale whilst developing latest products which is costing exceedingly high in the present business environment. Compared to the 90's the chances of attaining benefits of scale while saving costs has altered quite a bit. Model volumes have declined which creates difficulties for companies to attain economies of scale, while saving costs. Hence, as a last resort, companies merge with each other, acquire and form alliances with each other to save rising costs while developing new technology and products (Lundback, 2002).

Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company is the second leading profitable automaker in the world. Ford has recently acquired the Swedish-based Volvo for $6.45 billion. Fords profits last year were a bit more than that with $6.57 billion. It's yet another quick acquisition among many others. Ford at present…

Bibliography

AECOM. (2014, July 13). Retrieved October 13, 2014, from  http://www.aecom.com/News/Press+Releases/_carousel/AECOM+to+acquire+URS+Corporation+for+U.S.$56.31+per+share+in+cash+and+stock 

AECOM Capital. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2014, from  http://www.aecom.com/About/AECOM+Capital 

Asongu, J. (2007). Innovation as an Argument for Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Business and Public Policy.

Fairholm, M. (2009). Leadership and Organizational Strategy. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 2-15.

The first flow of influence is disarming, the process of omitting any signs of power or control on the part of the seller. Second is liking, or how rapport is established and relationships are trigger with strangers. Third is distinctiveness, which refers to the degree that the seller's approach differs from others to which the buyer has been exposed.

Williams (1998) suggests that firms who want to move from traditional transaction oriented selling to relationship building must look closely at all aspects of sales management including recruitment, training, remuneration and sales planning. Conti and Cron (1998) state that the field sales force must be particularly involved in targeting individual customers, implementing relationship-specific offerings, and evaluating relationship outcomes for relationship selling to be effective. To accomplish those objectives, they suggest a planning framework that includes criteria that are conducive to collaborative relationships. The key criteria include; 1) the customer's business philosophy…

Bibliography

Alessandra, Tony & Barrera, Rick. (1993). Collaborative Selling: How to Gain the Competitive Advantage in Sales. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Anderson, Rolph E. (1996). Personal selling and sales management in the new millennium. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 16 (4), 17-32.

Boorom, Michael L., Goolsby, Jerry R. & Ramsey, Rosemary P. (1998). Relational communication traits and their effect on adaptiveness and sales performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 26 (1), 16-30.

Borys, Bryan & Jemison, David B. (1989). Hybrid arrangements as strategic alliances: theoretical issues in organizational combinations. Academy of Management Review, 14 (2), 234- 249.

isks of Using Computer-Based Procurement

Every complex project requiring the collaborative effort of an organization involves the use of materials, goods, and services that are integrated within the overall project design. The procurement process used to obtain these vital resources is central to the successful accomplishment of project objectives, because every aspect of the management process, from sourcing supplies to shipping products to customers is contingent on procuring the most productive third-party partnerships. The vendor selection process is used to aid project managers in the effective procurement of essential items and services, with a rigorous screening methodology used to identify the most competent and qualified shipping companies, manufacturers, distributors, and equipment suppliers. Another way project managers have refined the procurement process is through the implementation of computer-based tools, with advances in technology enabling researchers to identify a project's critical path through a complex series of algorithms, software programs, and other…

References

Morris, P. And Pinto, J. (2007) The Wiley guide to project technology, supply chain, & procurement management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Sollish, F. And Semanik, J. (2011) Strategic Global Sourcing Best Practices. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc..

China's Economy And Foreign Policy

There have been radical changes in the internal political and economic scenario of China during the last two decades. (Lampton, 2001) The growing economic stability and control has increased the status of china to a great extent among its trading counterparts. Further, it has become obligatory on the part of the Chinese Government to make it certain that the economic development to restructure the political discipline whose ideology had a severe jolt with the fall of Soviet Union. (Part Two - Chinese Foreign Policy) Ever since the inception of economic reforms in China during 1978 there is a considerable enhancement in the Gross Domestic Product to the tune of 9.5% per annum on average. It is pertinent to probe on the factors responsible for such a great success. The success is attributed to the adoption of institutions and policies by the Chinese Government that could…

References

Burns, Robert (1997) "Gore, Gingrich set missions to woo China" The Associated Press.

Carr, Earl. (February 19, 2004) "U.S. Diplomacy Needs Chinese Characteristics" Asia Times. pp: 5-7

Chinese Foreign Policy. Program for Contemporary Silk Road Studies. Retrieved from http://www.silkroadstudies.org/china.htm Accessed on 18 March, 2005

Chow, Gregory. (2000) China's Economic Reform and Policies at the Beginning of the 21st Century. Perspectives. Vol: 2; No: 1; pp: 47-53

In fact many identify as European as opposed to Latin American. In addition, although Spanish is spoken in Argentina and it is the official language of the country, it is also a quite different type of Spanish than the Spanish spoken in other Latin American countries ("Argentina cultural guide").

In addition to the aforementioned differences, there are also differences associated with Business Etiquette. In Argentina the culture is driven by relationships and as such when people are conducting businesses they tend to be more comfortable conducting business with people that they know and they are already familiar with. However, in London it will often be the case that the person that business is conducted with is not someone that is familiar to the individual. Because this is the case it will be important to prepare the Argentineans who will work in London by educating them concerning the norms of business…

Reference List

Argentina cultural guide. Retrieved April 7, 2009 from;

 http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/argentina.html 

Business Etiquette. Retrieved April 7, 2009 from; http://www.london-

guides.co.uk/pages.php?id=b0701010

al-Mart

Introduction number of companies today are experiencing financial setbacks and bankruptcies.

It is important to examine al-Mart and understand how the company is functioning in the economy today.

Marketing

al-Mart standardizes its global marketing strategies with methods such as global sourcing. This global marketing strategy is aimed at improving a product's quality, lowering its price or gaining efficiency.

al-Mart has become a global firm as it has learned to incorporate proven marketing strategies of the countries it has expanded to. The company has done well in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom, which could be attributed to the fact that consumers in these markets are looking for more for their money, and have lower incomes.

al-Mart will do well in the Russian market, however it needs to be aware of the depressed economy the country is experiencing. al-Mart may do well in Japan, however, it should remember…

Works Cited

Annual Report. (accessed 06 December, 2003). www.wal-mart.com).

TQM

Total Management Quality

Question 1 Company Mission Statements

According to these organization's website's the mission statement of the Marriott-Ritz Carlton Corporation is simply that the consumer or the investor "Look no further," for quality. McDonald's website, although it provides an additional page detailing the wealth of values upheld by the corporation ultimately simply proclaims, "I'm Loving it" as its mission statement. GE, in contrast, has a far more extensive mission statement, proclaiming that: "From jet engines to power generation, financial services to plastics, and medical imaging to news and information, GE people worldwide are dedicated to turning imaginative ideas into leading products and services that help solve some of the world's toughest problems." The UPS website provides even more detail, noting little-known facts how the company was "founded in 1907 as a messenger company in the United States, UPS has grown into a $30 billion corporation by clearly focusing…

Works Cited

American Productivity Porthole -- APQC. "Benchmarking and Outsourcing Report." Retrieved on June 17, 2004  http://www.apqc.org/portal/apqc/site?path=root 

American Productivity Porthole -- APQC. Official Website. Retrieved on June 17, 2004 at  http://www.apqc.org/portal/apqc/site/generic2;jsessionid=2LWFIOH0L33RRQFIAJICFEQ?path=/site/products_services/research_reports/cs_prop_offshoring.jhtml 

GE. (2004) Official Company Website. Retrieved on June 17, 2004  http://www.ge.com/en/company/index.htm 

GE -- Six Sigma. (2004) "Six Sigma Principles." Retrieved on June 17, 2004.

Organization Behavior

Human esource Management Policies of Wal-Mart

Employment Law Wal-Mart

Human esource Management Policies of Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is a large scale multinational retailer that employs more than 2.2 million employees in 27 countries. The management of this large workforce requires it to implement effective human resource management and employment relations policies at its workplace. Wal-Mart believes in effective recruitment and selection process in order to fill the vacant job positions with the most talented and skillful employees. It uses one way and two way virtual interviewing techniques in order to minimize its heavy recruitment and administrative costs. Wal-Mart generally fills its vacant job positions from the industry through fresh graduate induction and experienced professionals. It trains them through different methods in order to make them learn the most advanced knowledge related to their job responsibilities.

The Wal-Mart workforce consists of individuals from different cultures, nationalities, and races. In order…

REFERENCES

Bergdahl, 2010, How the HR Division at Wal-Mart drives the Company's Success through People. Available at [Accessed November 28th, 2012]

Celentino, J. 2012, Wal-Mart Doesn't Owe Pregnancy Light Duty. Available from [Accessed November 29th, 2012]

Greenwald, J. 2011, Court rules against Wal-Mart in sexual harassment, retaliation case. Available from [Accessed November 29th, 2012]

Hinshaw & Culbertson, 2012, Wal-Mart Follows Properly-Drafted Accommodation Policy, Still Ends Up Potentially Liable for Retaliation. Available from [Accessed November 29th, 2012]

These two factors of aspirational value of the brand and customer experience are what also make this factor a very critical opne in the augmented analytical framework.

Market Growth

The growth of coffee retailing continues to be flat, only generating 5% growth on a compound annual basis (Joo, Min, Kwon, Kwon, 490). This is forcing coffee retailers to concentrate on highly differentiated approaches to selling. For Dunkin' Donuts their approach is to branch out into retail channels with their coffee being available in grocery stores. Other competitive strategies include creating satellite locations and smaller airport kiosks, a strategy Caribou Coffee has tried in the northwest U.S..

Market Turbulence

The rapid pace of disruptive innovation in coffee retailing is increasing, as Starbucks is now challenged by McDonald's entering the high end of the coffee retailing market with their McCafe brand of customized coffee beverages. There is also a shakeout of smaller…

References

Seong-Jong Joo, Hokey Min, Ik-Whan G. Kwon, and Heboong Kwon. "Comparative efficiencies of specialty coffee retailers from the perspectives of socially responsible global sourcing. " International Journal of Logistics Management 21.3 (2010): 490.

Stanley Slater and Eric Olson. "A fresh look at industry and market analysis. " Business Horizons 45.1 (2002): 15.

Olla Aljboul

Edmonton, Alberta T5X-1G1

Phone [HIDDEN]

To Whom it May Concern:

I am a recently graduated charter accountant. I am writing in response to your advertisement after reading your job description, I am confident that my skills and my passion for technology are a perfect match for this position.

I would bring to your company a broad range of skills, including:

Progressive continuing educational track as a chartered accountant

Effective team member who works well both individually and in a group

Enthusiastic, intrinsically motivated individual with superior interpersonal, communication and organizational skills

Ability to adapt to a busy team environment

I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss this position with you. If you have questions or would like to schedule an interview, please contact me by phone at or by e-mail. I have enclosed my resume for your review and I look forward to hearing from you. Thank…

Executive Summary
IKEA’s core founding value was based on the concept of making life better for people by giving them access to affordable products (Bartlett, Dessain & Sjoman, 2006). The problem that arose for IKEA in the 1990s, several decades after IKEA’s founding, was the issue of child labor and whether or not IKEA should continue to source rugs from a supplier that had been reported as using child labor in its manufacturing of rugs. From a social issues standpoint in the Western perspective, IKEA had to break ties with the supplier; however, in countries like India, unbonded child labor was not viewed as heinously as it was in the West: on the contrary, it was socially acceptable because children worked under the guidance of their parents and learned their trade in this manner. To break ties with a supplier that was simply engaging in a traditional custom of its…

These three strengths of their content methodology, depth of expertise in the Asian manufacturing sector, and commitment to being a leader in electronic enablement and IT form a defensible competitive position. As a result, the company is well positioned to attract investors.

In supporting the contention that Global Sources is well positioned to attract investors based on the three unique strengths of a scalable content collection and management methodology, expertise with the Asian manufacturing community and that communities' unique needs and requirements, and an emerging strength in electronic enablement and IT, the following points need to be kept in mind. When these three factors are combined, the potential exists for Global Sources to move beyond just being a provider of content management services to leads for Asian manufacturers on the one hand, and sourcing, procurement and buy-side contacts for companies globally on the other. Taking into account the aggregation of…

References:

Sri Beldona, Mahesh S. Raisinghani. (2004). Exchanges in the Digital Economy: The Case of StorebrandXchange.com. Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications, 6(1), 11-22.

D Randall Brandt. (2008). Getting more from the voice of the customer. Marketing Management, 17(6), 36.

John Elia. (2009). Transparency rights, technology, and trust. Ethics and Information Technology, 11(2), 145-153.

Fiona Czerniawska. (2005). THE NEW Business CONSULTING LANDSCAPE. Consulting to Management, 16(4), 3-6.

Global Communications

For many companies, how they should survive in a changing market is very important to them and often results in many difficult decisions being made. These decisions can include whether to lay off employees, outsourcing some work to other countries, pay and benefit cuts, and many other concerns. Since this is the case, companies such as Global Communications have very serious issues that must be resolved in the best interest of the future of the company while still ensuring that the employees and others that have some stake in the company are treated fairly and in the best way possible. In order to understand some of the problems that Global Communications is facing, it is important to understand the issues of globalization and outsourcing, which is the act of sending work to other countries because of less expensive labor costs in those countries. There will be three main…

Works Cited

Clark, R. 2004. The real cost of outsourcing: turning over IT operations, call centers and network maintenance often involves more than service providers bargained for. America's Network.

Connolly, T. (2004). Computer security and risky computing practices: a rational choice perspective. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing.

Pagach, D. 2004. Outsourcing at your own risk: before outsourcing any process of function, it's essential to assess the risks enterprise-wide. Strategic Finance.

Whirlpool

Whirl Pool Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management

Critical appraisal of Whirlpool's Supply Chain Management

Company Overview

Products and Services

Critical review of Operations

Contribution to business performance

System Changes

Changes in Internal Forecasting Process

usiness Performance Results

Criteria for trade Partner Fit

Competitive advantage

Critical Evaluation of System

Customer Centric-Supply Chain Management System

Collaborative Supply Chain

Whirlpool's production

Current System Changes

Planning and sourcing decisions

Planning

Sourcing

Drawbacks of Whirlpool delivery system

Inventory

Delivery

Factors for taking supply chain management decision

Figure: Supply Chain Performance factors

Gap Analysis

Strategic partnership

Integration

Reduced Cost and Inventory

Future trends in home appliances supply chain management

RFID usage

RFIDs to Individual Products

Vendor Managed Inventories

Challenges for home appliances businesses in managing supply chain

Complex features

Multiple Channels Conflicts

Short life Cycles

Conclusion

ibliography

Executive summary

Whirlpool is renowned as a global electronic appliances manufacturer and marketer. The company's products and…

Bibliography:

Basu, R. & Wright, J.N. 2008, Supply Chain Management, Elsevier, USA.

Chang, S.J. 2011, Sony vs. Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants' Battle For Global Supremacy, Wiley, USA.

Coyle, J.J, Langley, C.J., Gibson, B & Novack, RA 2008, Supply chain management: a logistics perspective, South-Western Pub, USA.

Ding, S, Guariglia, A, & Knight, J. 2012, Investment and financing constraints in China: does working capital management make a difference, Journal of Banking & Finance.

A fourth foundational element is the strength of the Starbucks brand itself and is ubiquity globally. As a result of rapid and well-defined strategies for opening up retail stores, Starbucks is now considered one of the most preeminent and strongest brands globally.

Starbucks has generated the strength of their brand through combining high-quality coffee and tea beverages with the third-place concept to generate customer loyalty and world-of-mouth among customers and their friends. It is common to hear students mention they will have a team meeting at the local Starbucks, for studying or completing projects.

In summary the Starbucks model is strengthened by the company's coffee expertise, impressive new product development record, and the development of Starbucks locations as "third places" where friends can meet and enjoy coffee and pastries. Underscoring all these points is the strength of the Starbucks brand.

What were the key issues and the decision by Starbucks…

References

Patrick Burnson (2002, December). Amsterdam's key role in Starbucks' global strategy. World Trade, 15(12), 40-41. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 241805271).

Deutsche Bank (2006) - Starbucks Overview. Deutsche Bank Securities Research. New York, NY. 10 July 2006.

Geoffrey a. Fowler (2003, July 14). Starbucks' Road to China; Prime Locations Are the Key, but So Is Using Snob Appeal to Lure Nation of Tea Drinkers. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. B.1. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 369860271).

Jeffrey S. Harrison, Eun-Young Chang, Carina Gauthier, Todd Joerchel, et al. (2005). Exporting a North American Concept to Asia: Starbucks in China. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 46(2), 275-283. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 832085141).

This strategy of investing face-time has continued to scale extremely well in the U.S., yet has faced many challenges in other nations that value data, hard numbers and strong methodologies to validate the claims of products. One nations' buyers of cosmetics in particular, the Japanese, are more focused on the specifics of the how a product is produced and want to know in great detail what the ingredients are in specific measures. The level of data analysis presented by cosmetics providers in Japan is often taken as a measure of the elegancy and exclusivity of a given cosmetic product over another (Grammenou, 2009). Due to these wide variations in how cosmetics are sold, Avon continues to excel in westernized cultures with the U.S. being their flagship market. In Asian cultures were the depth and sophistication of data is an indicator of exclusory and elegance, Avon continues to struggle in other…

References

Shoshanah Cohen, & Joseph Roussel. (2004, November). Avon Gets Its (Supply Chain) Makeover. Fortune, 150(9).

Grammenou, E.. (2009, April). WHAT'S NEXT? FOR COSMECEUTICALS AND NUTRICOSMETICS. Global Cosmetic Industry, 177(4), 38.

Hill, John S., & Still, Richard R. (1990). Organizing the Overseas Sales Force: How Multinationals Do It. The Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 10(2), 57.

Molly Prior. (2010, March). Avon Launches Environmental Effort. WWD, 199(57), 5.

VON Calls on Foreign Markets

von believed that having regionalized new product development centers, supply chain operations, marketing and sales divisions would make them more competitive in foreign markets. Ironically the exact opposite happened, as the case illustrates. von's performance was drastically reduced and the duplication of effort crippled the organization. Unfortunately the highly decentralized, market-driven organizational structure that von had such high expectations for failure to deliver the results needed to keep the company growing. The net outcome of the highly decentralized organizational structure was a massive duplication of effort and cost overruns; the organizational structure turned into more of a liability than strategic asset. The goal of this case analysis is to explain and recommend how von can regain profitability while also attaining a higher level of internal new product development, production and selling efficiency. nother objective of this analysis is to evaluate how von can attain a…

As is the case with MNCs that have a global brand yet lack governance frameworks, the brand began to atrophy and lose relevance in core markets. When highly decentralized operations that include region-specific product development, supply chain and marketing strategies begin showing a negative Return on Investment (ROI) it is time to re-evaluate the strategy and seek to create a more unified strategic framework (Cohen, Roussel, 2004). Despite all of these regional variations in the core aspects of their value chain, the sales organization continued to attain sales levels necessary for the company to at least stay in business (Hill, Still, 1990). The lack of governance framework coupled with insights into the regional requirements of customers from a cultural, religious and ethnocentric level however stopped sales from being as potentially profitable as they could have been however.

Case Analysis

The decision to initially decentralize new product development, supply chain management and marketing initially appear to be an insightful one based on the broad differences between market segments Avon serves (Grammenou, 2009). There are significant differences between each of the markets

The article does not set for itself the objective of tackling cultural differences as a wider concept, but points out to specific challenges of cultural differences.

The second textbook excerpt makes reference to distinctive aspects of free trade agreements, including here protectionism, however, contrary to the article, it does not address the aspect of jobs protectionism or the challenges of outsourcing for different countries.

Question 3: There are several things presented as truisms in the first article, however, there are important points that raise questions as well. One of these aspects is the idea that the author proposes of identifying local citizens to help in better understanding local cultures. If by identifying the author refers to actually hiring them, in some cases this is not possible. In some countries, the local citizens do not have the right business approach and sufficiently training them often takes time and may imply higher…

Globalism is certainly a new concept that humans have been working toward for centuries. It is just that in the late 20th and early 21st technology finally advanced enough to allow for instantaneous communication via satellites and Internet. This, plus technological advances in transportation and scientific measurement, has also helped us realize that although the world is closer politically, economically, and culturally -- it is also tied together environmentally. What happens in one area does have an effect on another area which makes the idea called globalism more of an umbrella concept. The whole picture of globalism tends to refer to the theories that see modern life as a series of very complex webs, almost string theory, that tie together most all of modern life.

Part 1 -- Describe Bata's international business strategy. Would you consider Bata a multinational corporation? The Bata Show Company is clearly a multinational corporation. It…

Shanghai Tang Strategic Case Analysis

Strategic Case Analysis: Shanghai Tang (ST)

Fashion and Clothing Industry Overview

Shanghai Tang (ST)

Business Strategy

Global Business Expansion

Strategic Placement

Analysis of Environmental Factors

Suitability of Shanghai Tang Strategy

Technology

Business Focus

The strategic review of Shanghai Tang is conducted in order to explore brand presence, business focus, and other related functional strategies. The business is quite well placed in terms of its growth, revenues, and profitability. The company has also expanded its business line in other business. It is regarded as a flair for growth. However the expansion in unrelated businesses also creates an impact on the focused approach for young businesses. The fashion industry overview provides a significant account of the industry trends and key variable influencing the business. The micro and macro environmental analysis along with the SWOT analysis also provides a significant understanding of the business. The assessment of Shanghai…

References

Bhardwaj, V, & Fairhurst, A2010, Fast fashion: response to changes in the fashion industry, The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 165-173.

Caniato, F, Caridi, M, Moretto, A, Sianesi, A & Spina, G 2013, Integrating international fashion retail into new product development, International Journal of Production Economics.

Choi, TM 2011, Fashion supply chain management: industry and business analysis, IGI Global, USA.

Gillespie, K, Jeannet, JP & Hennessey, HD2010, Global marketing, South-Western Pub, USA.

37).

This approach is highly congruent with the guidance of marketing experts such as Wheaton (2004) who advises, "There are synergies between different lifestyle sports industries and their media. Corporations make equipment for several lifestyle sports, sometimes under different brand names. Clothing companies like Quiksilver sell to a range of lifestyle sport markets including skating, surfing, windsurfing, snowboarding and have been quick to exploit the potential of emergent and rapidly growing activities like kite-surfing" (2004, p. 10). Because the company also designs and manufactures the core sporting needs for these sporting enthusiasts, it is important to identify defining characteristics of this market. These sports are characterized by a number of features of interest to Quiksilver's and its competitors' marketers with respect to their various core product and accessory lines, including those set forth in Table 2 below.

Table 2

Defining features of the surf and sports industries

Feature

Description

Such…

References

'About Us.' (2012). Quiksilver, Inc. [online] available: www.quiksilver.com.

Chokkavelu, a. (2012, April 27). 'How Cheap Is Quiksilver's Stock by the Numbers?' the

Motley Fool. [online] available:  http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/04/27/how-cheap-is-quiksilvers-stock-by-the-numbers.aspx .

Dowling, P.J. Liesch, P., Gray, S.J., & Hill, C.W.L. (2009). International Business: Asia-

The current construction of World-Systems analysis holds that core countries, including America, Europe's thriving economies, and developed nations in Africa and Asia, derive enormous economic and political power from "the axial division of labor of a capitalist world-economy (that) divides production into core-like products and peripheral products" (Wallerstein 28). Madagascar's relative abundance of untapped natural resources, in the form of massive "old-growth" tropical rainforests, and deposits of minerals like chromite and titanium ore which are now used in the construction of cellular telephones and laptop computing devices, represent peripheral products that can be exploited for the ongoing manufacture and distribution of the core products driving the engine of globalized commerce.

Pictograph:

Periphery Countries

(Madagascar)

Goods

ods

esources

Core Countries

(America, China, India)

eferences

Babones, Salvatore J., and Maria Jose Alvarez-ivadulla. "Standardized Income Inequality Data for Use in Cross-National esearch." Sociological Inquiry 77.1 (2007): 3-22.

Chase-Dunn, Christopher, Yukio Kawano, and Benjamin…

References

Babones, Salvatore J., and Maria Jose Alvarez-Rivadulla. "Standardized Income Inequality Data for Use in Cross-National Research." Sociological Inquiry 77.1 (2007): 3-22.

Chase-Dunn, Christopher, Yukio Kawano, and Benjamin D. Brewer. "Trade globalization since 1795: Waves of integration in the world-system." American Sociological Review (2000): 77-95.

Duiker, William J. Contemporary World History. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2009.

Friedman, Thomas L. The world is flat [updated and expanded]: A brief history of the twenty- first century. Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2006.

Diversify or Not to Diversify

Wal-Mart Corporation (NYSE: WMT) and K-Mart, who is privately held, both have extensive investments in merger, acquisition, joint venture and global market development programs and initiatives. Both companies have had exceptional success with their diversification strategies domestically and internationally. Yet both have also faced very significant challenges and failures too. The intent of this analysis is to compare and contrast the two businesses, analyze the outcomes of their diversification decisions and results. Three primary reasons for their outcomes will be provided in this analysis for each company, and two recommendations will be made that could have made the unsuccessful diversifications more effective.

K-Mart and Wal-Mart: Two Domestic Giants Struggling Globally

The greatest strength both companies have in common is a proven and highly effective unique value proposition that captures the concerns, needs and pains of the price-conscious shopper. Wal-Mart's Every Day Low Price (EDLP) value…

References

Calandro, J. (2008). The Sears acquisition: A retrospective case study of value detection. Strategy & Leadership, 36(3), 26-34.

Christopherson, S. (2007). Barriers to U.S. style lean retailing: The case of wal-marts failure in Germany. Journal of Economic Geography, 7(4), 451-469.

Craib, D.F. (1985). Sears financial strategy told. National Underwriter.Life & Health, 89(5), 9-9.

Drobian, I. (2010). Sears introduces online advice. DM News, 32(12), 6-6.

Apple -- Outsourcing manufacturing operations

Apple Inc. is a very powerful American company that has been outsourcing its manufacturing in a very successful manner and for a very long time as, majority of its manufacturing takes place in China.

It has been since the 1970s that the concept of outsourcing is being used however; it is only in the recent years that it has become very popular as big companies such as Apple have started making use of it. Today more and more companies are opting to outsource a lot of their projects and departments whether on a national level or on an international level. This is being done by the companies in order to improve their efficiencies and reduce their production costs.

Advantages

There are a lot of advantages associated with outsourcing such as, low production costs, faster delivery, more products in less time, increased cash flow, quick and…

References

Duhigg, C., Bradsher, K., (2012, January 21). How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work. The New York Times. Retrieved from  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& ;

Corbett, M. (2004). The Outsourcing Revolution. Retrieved September 12, 2014 from  http://www.economist.com/media/globalexecutive/outsourcing_revolution_e_02.pdf 

Outsourcing to China A Case Study Revisited Seven Years Later. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2014 from http://www.dfma.com/truecost/revisited.pdf

To evaluate weak areas of the current strategy and propose solutions for improvement.

2.0 LITEATUE EVIEW

2.1 Introduction

According to Zou and Cavusgil (1995), the subject of global strategy has attracted a lot of attention in the recent past. Zou and Cavisgil (1995) calim that a major reason behind this has been the increasing progress in the telecommunications and other technological areas that has brought the world closer and transnational existence of organizations

Eastcompeace culture has been building momentum as a congruent culture. Its aspiration to achieve continuous growth in the field of research has ensured the sustainability and viability of its products in the market. Moreover, Eastcompeace ensures highest standards of corporate compliance from the highest C-level management to the employees at lowest level (Teece, Piassano & Shuen, 1997).

The low employee turnover of Eastcompeace is the evidence of Eastcompeace's congruent culture, low employee turnover is very good sign…

References

Eastcompeace. (2011). Doing Business Responsibly. Retrieved from http://www.Eastcompeace.com/responsibility/protecting_environment/waste_and_recycling.jsp

Grant, R. (2005). Contemporary Strategy Analysis. USA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Marshall, S. (1995). The vision, meaning and language of educational transformation. School Administrator. 52(1), 8.

Harrison, A., Wheeler, P. And Whitehead, C. (2003). The distributed workplace: sustainable work environments. New York, Routledge.

The Helferich analysis also supports the findings of other researchers as well in the area of supply chain risk management and security. It has been found that the supply chain design characteristics of complexity of logistics and information sharing, node criticality, density of supply chain partnerships geographically and from a product perspective all influence the capacity for risk mitigation and minimization (Craighead, Blackhurst, ungtusanatham, Handfield, 2007). Simply put the greater the complexity of a supply chain and its logistics and collaboration functions the greater the need to have an agile, parallel-based supply chain and sourcing strategy in place (Stecke, Kumar, 2009). The need for an integrated framework is crucial if supply chains are able to anticipate and react quickly to disruptions, whether they are from natural disasters or acts of terrorism (Peck, 2005). The need then is for a framework that put agility ahead of formality and response times ahead…

References

Corey Billington, Gianpaolo Callioni, Barrett Crane, John D. Ruark, & et al. (2004). Accelerating the Profitability of Hewlett-Packard's Supply Chains. Interfaces, 34(1), 59-72.

Karen Butner. (2010). The smarter supply chain of the future. Strategy & Leadership, 38(1), 22-31.

Chris W. Craighead, Jennifer Blackhurst, M JohnRungtusanatham, & Robert Handfield (2007). The Severity of Supply Chain Disruptions: Design Characteristics and Mitigation Capabilities. Decision Sciences, 38(1), 131-156.

Gunasekaran, a., & Ngai, E.. (2009). Modeling and analysis of build-to-order supply chains. European Journal of Operational Research, 195(2), 319.