Martha Stewart Essays (Examples)

Martha Inc. The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Purpose Statement: There are four management principles found in Christopher Byron's Martha Inc.: The Incredible story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Main Point: Future managers can obtain success through hard work, determination and understanding marketing and management principles, but all these qualities must be balanced with respect for coworkers, partners and subordinates.

Subpoint- Knowing the market, created a niche and recognizing opportunities are essential to management success.

Conclusion-Martha Stewart's biography shows how hard work and determination got her to the top and how her treatment of coworkers could, in the end, undo her empire.

Book Appreciation Report of Martha Inc.: Martha Inc. The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Christopher Byron's unauthorized biography of Martha Stewart, Martha Inc. The Incredible Story of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia tells two stories that are beneficial to learn for a future career in…

The 'Martha Loyalist' perspective

This perspective is advocated by fans of Stewart, who see her as unjustly accused, and are sympathetic to her cause, and logged on frequently to her Internet blog that she updated during the trial and from prison.

The 'I don't care' perspective

These people are not Martha defenders, but like Martha's sheets and recipes. They feel that these products will still be just as good as they were before Stewart was incarcerated, and they will be equally as good after her release.

Summary

Martha Stewart is a great brand and a great American success story. The American media loves a fall from grace, particularly the fall of a perfectionist, as Stewart herself as noted, in a reflective moment (Toobin 2003:1). However, there are many successful second acts in American life. Yes, the immediate effect upon company morale and stock prices may be negative. But the real…

Since Martha had been capable of cheating, others would probably be too.

3. Training programs

The training programs to be designed for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ought to include technical trainings that assist employees in improving their on job skills. The trainings should include all employees and should be differentiated based on the work areas and positions occupied within the company. Furthermore, aside from trainings, the management should present the workers the company's overall situation and figures, so that they are able to understand the ongoing trend and the company's future prospects.

4. The rationale behind the training programs

The rationale behind the implementation of training programs for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is based on two simple goals: achieving higher levels of productivity and increasing employees' satisfaction in regard to their workplace. The first idea comes to satisfy the company's needs. Technical training on the job will ensure MSO with…

Stewart and Bacanovic were convicted.

But for others there are still many questions about the case and the motivations of the prosecutors. Paul Craig oberts (2004) believes the prosecutor criminalized Stewart's exercise of her constitutional right to declare her innocence. Claiming it constituted fraud for her to declare her innocence.

Nancy Shaw (2003) offers the opinion that the prosecutors charged Stewart with lying about a crime they cannot prove she committed. Shaw's theorizes that the reason for this is to make an example out of a celebrity's small infractions, comprising widely accepted business practices, trumped into allegations of wrongdoing and manipulation.

Joan Hemingway (2007) asserts the system and enforcement of insider trading regulations present opportunities for selective enforcement and the exercise prosecutorial bias. These prospects for selectivity and bias are due to the unclear and imprecise substance of the insider trading regulation and the unrestricted nature of the overlapping enforcement…

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Company Overview

For a time, Martha Stewart and her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (trading on the New York Stock Exchange as MSO) was best known for the brief imprisonment of its founder, namesake, and very public face due to insider trading convictions (Yahoo 2011; Brown & hodes 2011). Both Stewart and her company have more than rebounded form this debacle, however, and the long and almost entirely successful career of this cooking, crafting, and business wizard has hardly been affected by this isolated ordeal (Brown & hodes 2011). After building a moderate name for herself in the 1970s as a woman of taste who knew how to put on a party, from providing food to making the decorations, Stewart struck a publishing deal and in 1982 released Entertaining, which built her into a household name over the next decade (Brown & hodes 2011).

The Martha…

Martha Stewart

Too Much of a Good Thing?: A Quantitative Analysis of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Martha Stewart and her business endeavors have come a very long way since the cooking, crafting, and home makeover maven attended a stock brokerage class and earned her trading license in 1968 (O'ourke 2007). The fact that Stewart even had a brokerage license might seem some what ironic in light of the insider trading scandal and resultant prison sentence that have now become some of the best-known details of her life, but far from being exemplary or definitive of Stewart's character or path to success this episode is quite contrary to the overall trajectory of her life and business acumen (Bhattacharya & Marshall 2009). At the same time, Stewart's current company could certainly stand to be in better financial shape than it currently is.

Beginning with a catering service and then a specialty foods…

During success, for example, a company would wish for more of the same, and increase rather than change its current practices. Customers service for example might focus on establishing a characteristic sense of open friendliness towards customers by thoroughly training new recruits. An example of this is Virgin Mobile, whose employees are trained to be friendly and cheerfully helpful towards customers.

Leadership in a crisis situation would have to focus on what a company is doing to create and perpetuate the crisis and changing this. The aim would then be to change possibly harmful actions that might lead to a poor image of the company in the public mind, such as internal dishonesty. An example of this is the Enron scandal, which crippled the company. Because of the unpleasantly tense atmosphere at the workplace, leadership would also need to aim at reassuring and calming employees.

To deal with its current…

The main objective of leadership training is to teach managers how to relate to their subordinates, understand, support and attend to their needs, all for the purpose of increasing their satisfaction at the work place and consequently the company's productivity. Once the training is complete, employees are prone to receive increased wages, to be better appreciated, to receive premiums, trainings and several other incentives that motivate them.

The training would be structured onto three stages. The first stage would have managers analyse the employees' demands. Then, they would walk among the employees and heard their requests. Third, they would implement strategies to resolve the employees' problems. All these would be done with the assistance of a specialized team of HRM, hired by the MSLO board of directors.

ibliography

Three Effective Management Styles, All usiness, http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management/11438-1.html, last accessed on October 12, 2007

Martha Stewart Website, http://www.marthastewart.com/,last accessed on October 12, 2007…

This has been the case with Virgin Airlines where employees are given a wide range of incentives so as to enhance their performance as well as motivation levels. On the other hand, during times of crisis, leadership should be focused on damage control. Organizations that have applied this leadership approach before apart from MSO include the Trump Organization in mid-1990 (Greenbaum & Thakor, 2007).

elevant Changes in MSO & Organizational Politics

The current crisis in MSO has informed falling prices of the company shares as well as a significant decrease of the company's profits. To begin with, the company needs to deviate from brand personification. One of the main downsides of brand personification is the inherent tying of the brand to an individual. This essentially means that personal tribulations of an individual may end up affecting the very performance of the brand. The company may also need to borrow from…

In the present times many government officials do the same feeding of celebrities and common people. Anyone can become a target for a prosecutor's conviction record. The war on drugs has come as a bonanza for such U.S. attorneys. It is easy to get a conviction on drug charges. The defendant need not have dealt drugs or even used them. Many defendants charged plead guilty to a lesser crime even when innocent or involve others even if there are not guilty just to get away. So what we know of such cases including that of Martha Stewart is what the government claims. Fiction could become fact by the leaking of 'truth' to the press, where some dutifully report these plants as facts. This is the reason that the Founding Fathers of the nation were determined that the federal government would have nothing to do in matters of business as they…

MSLO Events

Current Events for Martha Stewart Living

Incorporated in 1997, though in many ways in existence since the early 1980s, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has had a fairly eventful life for a corporation despite the brevity of its history. Built as it is around the knowledge, creativity, personality, and actions of its driving force and namesake, it is perhaps understandable that many of the events that have impacted the company and/or the environment in which it operates are in some way related to the personalities involved in the running of the company, and especially of Martha Stewart herself. Ethical dilemmas and potentially political internal moves of and amongst the company's executive personnel can both be seen as related to an overall internal environment that emphasizes the cult of personality, though there might be conscious moves away from this.

The Maven's New Salary

It is almost impossible to address the…

Cardsmax

Marketing Plan for Martha Stewart Clean Brand in Japan

Marketing Objectives

Introduce Martha Stewart Clean Brand in Asia (Japan) and increase brand awareness by at least 25%

Increase advertising and initial sales by 30% in the 1st year

Increase brand equity evidenced by unsolicited purchases and additional information requests.

Financial Objectives

each profitability by the first season.

Maintain a pricing competitive to other eco friendly brands in the Asian (Japan) Market.

Generate sufficient revenues to maintain facilities in the area and keep overall cost low.

Target Marketing

"Martha Stewart Clean" (MSC) products will be targeting the middle class Japanese demographic. MSC is targeting college aged to middle aged individuals as they are most likely to be in charge of cleaning and most likely focused on using products that are eco friendly. Younger homemakers are also more likely to purchase MSC products themselves. MSC will also be targeting homes that…

domestic diva artha Stewart really a convicted criminal?

artha Stewart is a household name -- not only because this icon of home decor and stylish living is awaiting sentencing for allegedly lying to investigators about the reasons she sold shares of a biotechnology company more than two years ago and faces the probability of a prison term -- but chiefly because she is revered as one of the most successful self-made female business owners in American history. She rose from her working-class roots to create a multimillion-dollar enterprise with a personal net worth of close on $2-billion, by selling America good taste.

For years the name artha Stewart personified the ideal of family life and home decor. illions of American consumers imitated her ideas of how to successfully juggle domestic and work responsibilities by adopting a standard of living that personified idyllic family life. According to the artha Stewart viewpoint…

Martha Stewart

Stewart's control of shareholder voting rights disrupted the functioning of the board because Stewart was able to exercise control over the board. She put her hairdresser on the board, and clashed with the board over her compensation. Her involvement, combined with terms of her release, led to a convoluted management structure that undermined both governance and board function, in terms of being able to set the direction of the company. The directors found it difficult to act in the best interests of MSO, when those interests clashed with the best interests of Stewart herself, such as when she vetoed the desire of the board to take the company private, because she took personal offense to the idea.

The board functioned better with more external directors. Many of the governance issues as MSO started when a clash over pay in 2004 led to key external directors leaving. The board…

Creating a homey, comfortable, and beautiful environment is likely to be important for the consumer, as much of the products of the company stress simplicity and elegance, yet adding something a bit extra to everyday life, through the use of homemade crafts, making food from scratch, or added amenities to the home. These are women who are concerned as to what other women think of them, and think of their childrearing and homemaking skills.

hat segments are the ideal targets of the market?

Marketers estimate that although women slightly more than 50% of the population, they women "buy or influence an average of 85% of everything that is sold in the United States," and that number is even higher for food, household items and home improvement items (Clark, 2007) omen are ideal marketing targets because they have "huge appetite to communicate" and often recommend products to their friends, and use…

In this particular case, it appears that at least two elements of Ms. Stewart's arrest and her subsequent sentencing can be related to consensus theory.

Berle's theory of public consensus focuses on conditions within a civil society, where the consensus of the public forms a continuous although informal check on the powers of decision making held by managers (Moore and eberioux, 2010, p. 1113). In other words, managers and other powerful entities within corporations are subject to the public eye, which should serve as a deterrent for corporate crime. In a more formal way, this public consensus is legalized within guidelines and rules implemented by entities such as the SEC and other government agencies governing business ethics.

In the light of the above, one might therefore state that Martha Stewart's arrest for insider trading is the result of legal and public consensus regarding her guilt. She was found guilty according…

Clone case came to the attention of the SEC because it involved the CEO of ImClone, Sam Waksal, who had the same stockbroker as Martha Stewart, and the two were friends. Waksal found out at about an FDA ruling that was going to negatively affect the value of ImClone shares, and sold his shares on the basis of this information. That alone is insider trading, because Waksal was in a privileged position within the company, and traded on information that had yet to be released publicly. The relationship between Waksal and Stewart, along with the broker, brought the case to the attention of the SEC. Undoubtedly, the high profiles of the individuals involved was a factor.

The specific issue here was insider trading, yet ultimately Stewart was never convicted on that. Waksal was, because he was the insider. Stewart was in a position to receive this privileged information, but she…

American Business Culture in Novel and Film -- all Street, Martha Stewart, and a Cookbook Mix of Greed and Gracious Living

Perhaps the quintessential film about American business culture is Oliver Stone's 1987 drama "all Street." The film's infamous Gordon Gekko, as portrayed by Michael Douglass, is shown as a hollow charlatan whose ethos that "greed is good" highlights the corruption of American business culture. However, quite often, breaches of American business ethics are not nearly so obvious. The protagonist of the film, as portrayed by Charlie Sheen, is a callow and easily corrupted young man, eager to make money, and easily swayed by the promises of American capitalism.

However, although the general American business culture's lack value of ethics may 'feel' accurately portrayed in the film, in reality, quite often a lack of ethical norms is not quite so raw nor so obvious on all Street. Business people's reasons…

JC Penney's New Pricing Strategy

J.C. Penney was founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney, and by 1907 he had purchased full interest in three locations, moving his company headquarters from Wyoming to Salt Lake City in 1909. By 1912, there were 34 stores in the ocky Mountain State areas. By 1928 Penny's had opened 1000 stores and by 1941 had 1600 stores in all 48 states. Penny's began national advertising in 1956, offered in-store credit cards in 1959, and acquired The Treasury discount stores in 1962. By 1963 it issued its first catalog, expanded to Alaska and Hawaii, acquired Thrift Drug and by 1969 was a major feature in most American cities. By James Penney's death in 1971, the company had revenues of over $5 billion and peaked with 2,053 stores in 1973 jcpenney.com; Mattioli, 2012).

etailing in the 21st century demands far different strategies than ever before. etailing…

piccolo sogno or little dream is essential to the marketing and the design of the products at Tod's. The objective of the little dream to both of these facets of the Italian shoe conglomerate is to present products to which customers aspire. The goal is to not make things that they need, but things that they want. In fact, the goal is to make products that Tod's customers think are actually a little bit better than themselves, so that they can push themselves and their fashion sense forward by obtaining these products.

One of the best examples of the concept of piccolo sogno as pertaining to Tod's merchandise is in the menswear that is popular among male customers in the United States. The look of this clothing is definitely "preppy" (Seabrook page with the cartoon on the top), which is related to money in the fact that people with wealth…

Prologue

Luxury brands are successful because they enable customers to project an image that may not be a true reflection of themselves. Tod's bags uses the concept of piccolo sogno, a little dream, to help customers bridge the gap between who they really are and who they want to be. Martha tewart Living Omnimedia uses the concept of piccolo sogno, a little dream, to help customers become the person they want to be…a little at a time.

A Little Dream -- A Little Lie

Diego Della Valle understands me. That is the main reason I would buy a pair of his shoes or think I have to have one of his luscious bags. ure, the soft crushable caramel-colored leather is seductive, but not as seductive as the image the products can convey. Once, in the span of two terrible weeks, I was laid off from a job I loved and…

As Austin suggests, "We need to do a better job of teaching our children how to live, and we need to start right now. First of all, that means that we've got to make home ec education a priority on the college level," (p. 5).

I could not disagree. What Austin is arguing for is a deep societal change, one that erases from our lives the horror of fast food and suburban living and replaces genuine caring, whole food, and healthy lifestyle. If our school board can become a beacon of change for America, then I am all for incorporating home economics as part of our academic program. For the time being, I do not know if our budget can accommodate a program as ambitious as Austin's. We can only hope that the push for home economics becomes organic, as an extension of the current obsession with home improvement and…

Electoral Politics

As detailed quite eloquently in Chapter 15 of Haywood's text, having political power is not simply getting one's way in a crude and overt manner, like passing or pushing a bill through congress. Rather, power also involves the task of agenda-setting itself, putting an idea upon the national platform of discourse. The author additionally cites Bacharatz and Baratz as critical in defining not simply making yes or no the key player in politics -- for instance, for many years, the discrimination against Black Americans was not even part of the national discussion, until the civil rights movement. (126) Black Americans were an invisible political voice, though a sizable minority in America.

Application of agenda-setting to today's political life

Today, the role of military service and how it affects one's fitness as commander in chief is part of the national debate. The right to rule (129) is equated with…

grrrl -- here me roar! We've come a long way since the bra-burning days of yore. Feminists in the 1960s and 1970s helped break down significant barriers for grrrls, and helped us to reclaim that fun-filled word. However, that "second wave" of feminism is long gone. We're back to struttin' our stuff, high heels, lipstick, and all. Now 20-somethings don't have to demand to be called a "woman" to assert feminine strength; grrrl is just fine. In fact, the term reeks of fun and frolic, of grrrl power. As Angela Mcobbie states in her book Postmodernism and Popular Culture, "far from having to relinquish their femininity to achieve 'equality, these girls have demanded their right to hold onto it intact, even excessively," (166). Welcome to the Third Wave of Feminism, grrrls!

Ironically, it took hairy legs and armpits to achieve this linguistic transformation and ride this third wave. We had…

Nordstrom

Market Structure

The market structure of the retail industry is that of monopolistic competition. As its name suggests, monopolistic competition is an environment composed of a large number of firms each with a portion of the market. The firms in this type of market structure have similar products but they are differentiated in some way. Nordstrom's for example has private brands that only Nordstrom's can carry. These brands include Hotel Collection sheets, Martha Stewart cookware, Psycho Bunny for men, INC brand clothes for women, and much more. Even though these product offerings may be similar to competitors in regards to color or value proposition, they are differentiated by the fact they are only offered at Nordstrom's locations. Furthermore, there are many firms competing within the retail environment. For example, Nordstrom's must compete with JC Penny, Target, Wal-Mart, Dillard's, Sears, internet stores, and many other outlets. All of these competitors…

Lesson Plan Design: usiness/Corporate Ethics

This lesson plan will be designed to teach students traditional and conventional moral philosophies, standards and ethical convention in a corporate/business environment. As protocol students will be required to examine traditional moral and ethical standards as defined by philosophical and sociological standards.

The purpose of the lesson will be to teach students about the types of ethical considerations they might be faced with in a business or corporate environment. Students will be expected to have adequate knowledge of current events, and engage in discourse related to the morality of recent news events related to corporate ethics. The course will also require students to analyze their own experiences within corporate America where appropriate or the workplace and identify what gaps currently exist in the moral/ethical aspect of employment and asses how improvements made in this area might impact the workforce as a whole.

Students not having…

justification report provides recommendations to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which is a media empire that provides insights into a company's relations with its stakeholders, especially customer and shareholders. The firm is a diversified media and merchandising company that was founded in 1997 by Martha Stewart. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is classified into four business segments i.e. Internet, Merchandising, Publishing, and Broadcasting media platforms product lines. As a result, the firm's business holdings incorporate various print publications, e-commerce websites, and radio and television programming. The founder of the company served as its chairperson, president and Chief Executive Officer until the ImClone Insider Trading saga occurred, which resulted in her forceful resignation. The resignation was fueled by the fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to prohibit Stewart from serving in any capacity that would revolve around preparing, auditing, and disclosing fiscal results and information of a publicly traded company.

In…

She is, like Betty Crocker or Aunt Jemina, more than a woman. According to the company fact sheet released to investors, Martha Stewart, the brand, now has an exclusive deal with Macy's, Inc., the department store behemoth and: "In November 2006, we published Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home. The book, which the ashington Post described as "the ultimate housekeeping resource," enjoyed an enthusiastic reception and climbed high bestseller lists across the country" and Martha's legal difficulties are forgotten ("Company Fact Sheet," 2006, Martha Stewart Omnimedia ebsite).

Of course, brands must constantly reinvent themselves -- all of these homemaking icons have changed their image to become more contemporary. Martha Stewart fixes fast and easy recipes, Betty Crocker makes low fat cake mixes, and Aunt Jemina has grown more politically correct in her depiction on the box. But a brand must stay the…

The CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., Sharon L. Patrick, issued a press release in October: "Despite the losses in the quarter, we continue to benefit from strong consumer support for our products, which offer that unique blend of 'Martha Stewart' brand attributes - inspirational 'how-to' ideas translated into products that stand for quality, style, usefulness and affordability," Patrick reported.

During the 3rd Quarter of 2004, Stewart's company purchased "Body and Soul" magazine, and Patrick also announced that Stewart will launch a new television show; and Mark Burnett Productions will "develop and produce a primetime network television series" set to launch in the fall of 2005 (Burnett is the producer of "Survivor").

Current assets for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., as of Sept. 30, 2004, were $179,298. Current Liabilities for the same period, $61,815. That is a plus $117,483.

For the year ending 2003, "net cash provided by (used…

Goffer made over $300,000 from the illegal deal. As the case expanded, 13 others were also charged. Altogether, they had acquired approximately $40 million or more in profit during the years 2006-2009 (Krantz). And the list could go on and on.

Conclusion - How Does Illegal Insider Trading Affect the Market and Economy?

Unfair advantage. Violation of transparency. Disruptive of a properly functioning market. Investors no longer invest. It begins with the first one and ends with the last. Trading in the market, whether by a professional or an amateur is based on skill and luck. One investor can perform better in the market because he or she learns how to acquire more skill in analyzing equities. But, if one person has an advantage such as inside corporate information no one else has, and he uses it to trade, he now has an unfair advantage (Heakal).

Transparency is now violated…

Business Case Studies

Critical Thinking -- Erroneous Thinking

Logical Fallacies in Business Reporting

lthough the reporting of facts and figures is often thought of as an objective science, quite frequently even business reporting is characterized by logical fallacies, including but not limited to appeals to ignorance, hasty generalizations, and ad hominem attacks. In fact, one could argue that these logical fallacies, however, are particularly common and pernicious in business reporting because of the frequently technically complex nature of the subject matter in regards to facts and figures, combined with the emotional texture of business reporting that involves the fabric and texture of individuals lives. Reporters wish to attract attention and render complexities comprehensible, but frequently fall into logically fallacious traps to accomplish these objectives.

Fallacy

Hasty Generalization hasty generalization is often characterized by an all or nothing style of reporting. The fallacy of the hasty generalization is a failure of…

McLaren and Farahmandpur conceive of the new imperialism as a "combination of old-style military and financial practices as well as recent attempts by developed nations to impose the law of the market on the whole of humanity itself" (2001, 136).

McLaren and Farahmandpur note, too, that the concept of class division is a taboo subject within the "guarded precincts of academic discourse, leaving discussions of class out of discussions of global capitalism, exploitation and oppression linked to capitalism. Certainly, this was true in the Martha Stewart case. The media was at pains to point out how well accepted she was by the other inmates, pointing out that she hadn't even won the Christmas decorating contest. Every once in a while, to use George Orwell's mythology, some of the more equal pigs must appear to be less equal in order to convince the less equal pigs that all pigs are equal.…

Kmart -- Soaring High

ShopperTrak's National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) reported that U.S. retail sales for the week ending April 23 increased 9.9% as compared to the same week last year. Although adverse weather throughout the Midwest led to a sharp 13.0% week-over- week decline, the Easter holiday calendar shift continued to positively impact the year-over-year retail comparison, posting one of the strongest yearly increases seen in 2005. (Vargas, 2005)

Retail industry in U.S. has seen profits soaring high for most of the big retailers like the Wal-mart and Home Depot. While the rich gets richer, the profit of some others has also shot high. One of such names is Kmart. etter customer care, good marketing strategies, reorganization, and now the acquisition of Sears Corp has helped it revive from its bankruptcy condition of 2002.

Kmart Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries (together, "Kmart") is a mass merchandising company that offers…

But if one agrees with the jury that convicted her, that the evidence supports that "Stewart acted on illegally obtained information in selling her stock," the fact that some corporate executives might 'do worse' things does not make her illegal actions correct or 'a good thing.' Ironically, one of the reasons so many celebrities used the 'two wrongs make a right' defense of Stewart -- even if she did lie, there are worse things she could have done, and many CEOs do worse -- is that Stewart has so often been personally attacked as a successful female corporate executive, domestic diva, and brand wrapped up into one -- allegations that have nothing to do with her quality as a leader and a developer of a quality brand. But two logical fallacies in Stewart's case do not make a right either -- merely because Martha Stewart has been unfairly attacked does…

ethics in the business and accounting communities has been a topic of broad discussion. From the collapse of Enron to the mishaps of Andersen the country has seen the most tumultuous ethical behavior in the history of our nation. The purpose of this discussion is to define ethics and the reasons why ethical behavior is important among accountants and business leaders. e will also explore ethical codes within the accounting and business communities. In addition we will provide examples of corporations that have performed both ethically and unethically. Finally we will focus on what changes need to be made to encourage ethical behavior.

Defining Ethics

Ethics is defined as the science of morality. (The Macmillan Encyclopedia) The Oxford Dictionary of Business defines ethical behavior as "Behavior judged to be good, just, right, and honorable, based on principles or guides from a specific ethical theory. However, ethical theories may vary from…

Convenience rather than creating cuisine is the priority of Kraft ads. Adult tastes are given less of a priority than suiting the palate of children. Nutrition is paid homage to, but only in the sense of giving a family a starch, protein, and vegetable on a plate in the Hormel TV dinner advertisement.

One ad that occurred towards the end of the show, a Domino's Pizza advertisement, seemed to clash with the demographic of the other advertisement. However, the cheapness of Domino's many specials enables a mother to feed a large family quickly.

It is interesting to compare the Martha advertising with the advertising for later-night television programs aimed at a younger demographic, with a larger male audience. These ads favor snack food like sodas, have hipper and more conceptual features, and in the case of many fast food advertisements like KFC and McDonald's, often feature minority actors, even those…

The Birkin may still have some durability if it changes and morphs -- if smaller sizes, new colors, new models, or new fabrics suddenly become trendy. However, it cannot remain as it is in the peripatetic world of fashion and still draw attention.

What are the implications of broad diffusion and adoption of this innovation?

Very broad diffusion would result in the 'death' of the bag, even the death of Hermes; given the lack of diffusion of the brand in society is the point of owning the bag. Knock-offs and fakes are extremely common, to the point that many fashion magazines run articles on how to spot a fake Birkin.

Because of its waiting list, from a typical expensive Hermes bag, "Birkin has become a cultural emblem of elitism, privilege and celebrity" (Givhan 2004). One store put up a sign: "The Wait Is Over. Get Yours Now" (The wait list…

Further the fair pricing strategy which Yousuf refers to as "a permanent discount of at least 40% on all items" could also effectively defend the company's market share from both existing competitors and new entrants. Next, J.C. Penney's move to embrace a new management team could end up yielding some positive results as such a move will inevitably change the way things are done at the firm. Indeed, in the opinion of Heller, the incoming management team possesses some radical new ideas. This can be gleaned from the background (as highlighted earlier on in this text) of some of the key executives who have joined J.C. Penney in recent times. I am also convinced that J.C. Penney's new logo will give the company a brand identity that is largely unique. The same in my opinion could in addition to having the effect of repositioning J.C. Penney's brand in its clients'…

JC Penney

Introduction & on Johnson

At this point it is hard to judge if JC Penney is a well-run company because it just got a new CEO but in recent years it definitely has not been well-run. The recently-fired CEO on Johnson made a few strategic moves to transition the company's store to the modern era (Heller, 2013). Among the moves made were to upgrade the clothing lines, eliminating the deep discounting and reducing the workforce, as well as technology upgrades (Ibid). The problem was that these moves alienated staff and customers, without bringing in any new ones. JC Penney went from $17.2 billion in income in the 2012 fiscal year to $12.95 in the 2013 fiscal year and it lost money both years (MSN Moneycentral, 2013). The decline in net income for 2013 was actually not as great as the decline in revenue would imply, indicating that must…

K-Mart's Bankruptcy -- a Case Study

hy did the store synonymous with low prices for relatively high quality, the famed purveyor of blue-light specials, fall into dissolution and financial despondency and eventual bankruptcy in January of 2002? (CNN, 2002) The fall of Kmart the mega-store cannot be pinned simply to single internal or external phenomena, although the company was misguided and mismanaged on multiple levels, and the economy was enduring one of its rockiest retailing passages at the time. hat left Kmart "singing the blue-light blues," (LaMonica, 2002) can be subscribed to a variety of marketing, positioning, and branding phenomenon, as well as economic miscalculations and the company's leadership.

In 2002 analysts later said that Kmart management had made two big mistakes during the holiday shopping season when retailers consistently attempt to land themselves in the 'black' after 'black Monday,' the season between Thanksgiving and the New Year. Instead, Kmart…

Financial Accounting

The question is missing a clause. "…is more conducive to ethical behavior" than what? The word "more" invites comparison but there is nothing to compare the current environment to. Well, the current environment is not much different than any past environment. The regulatory environment does not dictate ethics, as ethics exist distinct from laws. Ethical behavior rests on how society itself defines ethics, and is only loosely related to the regulatory environment. So while there is definitely a tighter regulatory environment at least with the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley and the PCAOB, these laws do not dictate ethics, just behavior (Lennox & Pittman, 2010). Indeed, an increasingly complex regulatory environment only serves to complicate the issue of individual ethics, and creates confusion among business practitioners between legal/illegal and right/wrong, the two operating entirely different conceptual spheres (Jennings, 2004).

The "business" environment is quite vague -- there are many facets…

global PR trends?

The introduction of the Internet has changed the face of global commerce and thus the role of public relations. Only through the use of the unfiltered medium of the Internet could Martha Stewart issue a Christmas letter on her own personal website, to her many, presumably adoring world fans, about her positive yet trying experiences behind bars. The online medium allows an individual to have unfiltered contact with the public, when disseminating slanted information to the public. The information no longer needs to be passed through any screened form or censorship, as might occur when transmitted through the use of commercial television or radio.

Also, the Internet is more focused in the sense that the speaker does not have to quickly cut back to a sponsor -- public relations on the Internet can be more extensive, yet also more covert, and it can even be disguised as…

J.C. Penney News Is Bigger Than Lawsuit Decisions, evenue Losses, and esignations - Mark Cuban's Stock Purchase Is Better Than Money for J.C. Penney's ecovery (JCP, MSO)

Organizational context: J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney is one of the most famous and renowned of the major U.S. department stores. It is well-known for its image of Americana and its reasonable prices. However, within this particular market segment, J.C. Penney is facing increasingly stiff competition from major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart boasts that it has considerably cheaper prices than all of its competitors, including Penney; Target has managed, despite its bargain-basement image to cultivate a more sophisticated aura than J.C. Penney. J.C. Penney is struggling to eke out a future for itself, despite a host of challenges that are partially environmental and partly of its own making.

History

The J.C. Penney Company was first incorporated in 1913. It expanded rapidly,…

Training is part of this process, so that people explicitly understand the ethical culture of the company. Ethical cultures tend to be self-perpetuating because the people within the organization will hold themselves and their co-workers accountable. When you look at a company like Enron, large parts of that company were devoid of ethical standards, so it was much easier for the frauds to occur. Enron also highlights the need for ethical leadership in order to develop a highly-ethical culture. The organization looks to its leaders for ethical guidance and will likely adopt as part of the culture the ethical standards of the leaders. This is the point of the provisions in SOX holding the CEO and CFO accountable for accounting fraud and raises a lot of red flags about companies that would go private to dodge this requirement.

Lastly, there needs to be a compliance mechanism as well. Culture, training,…

The treatment of the undocumented workers has legal and economic implications, but is only an issue in the political arena.

Companies that hire illegal immigrants are being socially responsible. The argument that illegals suppress wages is not based on sound evidence - the jobs illegals do would otherwise be unfilled. If anything, hiring illegals is socially responsible because it gives those people an opportunity to better themselves, something they otherwise would not have had. The notion is especially absurd given that 99% of Americans received this same opportunity at some point in their own family's history. Furthermore, mankind has an obligation to look out for our fellow man. This duty transcends any sense of duty to a state or that state's rule of law.

The only small issue with regards to illegal immigrants is that with regard to legal immigrants, those who play by the rules, sometimes to their detriment.…

She has committed herself to helping people in difficult circumstances help themselves. hile in prison Stewart volunteered at the omen's Venture Fund, teaching poor women how to start their own businesses, and has continued to show an interest in empowering former female inmates since her release ("Stewart aims to lighten sentence with charity," 2004, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Since she is barred from serving as the CEO of her own company, Stewart does not formally have an organization to run, thus adding the stewardship of Heifer to her portfolio might be an attractive offer for the successful businesswoman. She would bring added publicity to the cause's mission. It would draw a larger donor base for Heifer, as Stewart's traditional Macy and Kmart shopping audience would hear about the organization through Stewart's website and media broadcasts.

orks Cited

Leadership Team." (2007). Heifer International. Retrieved 14 Feb 2007 at http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.201524/

Singer, Peter and…

Since people are less apt to be attracted by excess gadgetry in the market of clothes washers and dryer, and fewer people own more than one laundry machine than own a wide array of kitchen gadgets, remaining in the high-end market sphere for this product line, barring some substantial new R&D development may be questionable.

To find out what is the newest and best product lines, increasing the company's sales presence at trade shows might be a good idea. Improving its reputation at trade shows would increase retailer's interest in the product, and encourage major vendors to showcase the product more prominently in their store displays and promotions. Expanding the range of stores might be a good idea since the product line is so deep, but there is also the possibility of establishing a special relationship with a particular store whose brand seems uniquely suited to the image of the…

Men and women have many more options today when it comes to their choices in periodicals opposed to even a short thirty years ago. Although they both have the shared increase in choices, there are some very universal differences between the two genders.

It may be men preferring topic specific magazines while women enjoy generalized periodicals, or the way members of their sex and the opposite sex are displayed, or even the thrust of advertising campaigns found throughout, in the end there's no getting around it, men and women's periodicals are simply different, just as men and women themselves are.

Differences in Gender Specific Publications

Despite the influx of numerous e-zines, the magazine industry continues to branch out into a variety of genres. Each year, new publications are introduced on newsstands around the country. Not so surprising, these general and topic specific magazines are often gender specific. Interestingly enough, although…

Kmart-Strategy

Kmart was the second largest retail chain in the United States before it announced bankruptcy in the early part of the 2002. But while for some it may have appeared as the biggest blow to the country's already waning economy, economic analysts were not exactly surprised that KMAT had filed for 'chapter 11' protection. This is because the company had been encountering several problems since past many years and despite its numerous measures had been unable to fight with the other two retail giants i.e. Wal-Mart and Target. It is important to understand that Kmart would have never immersed itself in such deep waters, if it had not tried to compete with its rivals using their strategies. In other words it was extremely important for the chain to develop a strategy that was not only different from its competitors' but was based on the core niche of the company.…

Aristotle Ran GM

Query and Book Review

Morrison, Thomas V. (1998) If Aristotle Ran General Motors. Owl Books.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote his most formative text upon "Ethics." Thus to apply his four fold philosophy about the dimensions of human experience to self-help in the context of business development may seem strange. Yet Aristotle also emphasized human excellence, stressing that the intellectual dimension and orientation of human life is to aim at truth; the aesthetic human striving aims for beauty; the moral human impulse is for goodness; and the spiritual is for unity, or unified growth and development. All of these principles, suggests the author in the step-by-step fashion to the genre, are exemplified in companies that succeed in the current business environment.

Thus, as suggested by Thomas V. Morrison, a company that has recently endured adversity, such as Martha Stewart Omni media, continues to succeed because it has…

Healthy Snack

TO EAT CEEPY SPIDES!

Have you ever had a devilled spider egg? They're perfect for Halloween, but they are a healthy choice any time of the year -- and great for scaring your mom! All it takes to make a devilled spider egg is one hard boiled egg and one carefully sliced kalamata olive. It's nutritious and fun!

Instructions: Hard-boil the eggs, and slice them carefully in half, removing the yolks. Mash up the yolks, adding mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and paprika. Then fill the egg whites with a dollop of this mixture. To make the spiders, carefully slice a kalamata olive in half. One half will be the body. Thin-slice the other half into eight segments for the legs, and place carefully on top of the devilled eggs!

einhold, Dorothy. "Halloween Deviled Spider Eggs." Shockingly Delicious, Oct 26, 2010. Accessed 21 January 2015 at: http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/halloween-deviled-spider-eggs/

Safety Precautions…

Instead, they will spend less on dish detergent and diapers at Wal-Mart, to compensate in their household budget. Perhaps watching Martha Stewart convinced the consumer of the value of such unique additions to the home. They may also buy Martha's towels in loyalty to her image of fine living at K-Mart. Now, even K-Mart proudly boasts Martha's up-scale products, as it too trades up in with the aim to dominate a wider and more affluent market segment.

The title of the book refers to the fact that middle-class households are spending differently and target themselves as part of a wider array of market segments when creating a budget. Households cut back on some purchases to trade up, or to buy more status-conscious goods in other market sectors. Thus, traditional market segmentation of a uniformly 'middle class' consumer uninterested in high-quality goods no longer holds / Consumers can be persuaded that…

The host is particularly sensitive to issues related to class, and urged her guests and audience members to think hard about the way social class impacts opportunity. On the other hand, many audience members nodded in sympathy at the genuine desire to bear a child. Motherhood does, in fact, link women together regardless of their social backgrounds. As most of Winfrey's audience members are female, few were not unaffected by the topic. The audience members selected to participate in the question-and-answer sessions asked a range of questions related to their personal experiences with trying to have children. "Wombs for Rent" called into question the notion that motherhood is a right -- or even a duty.

Winfrey rarely gets religious. However, the Oprah Winfrey Show can be undeniably New Age. The word "spiritual" is tossed around a lot. Recent episodes have been relatively mundane, though. For instance, an episode on interior…

No one specific type of shoe was 'pushed' with a marketing campaign.

Pull marketing is often used in products that tap into a certain 'lifestyle' component, such as fashion, beauty, and makeup. Customers purchase an image as well as the item itself. Even Whole Foods, the organic supermarket, uses pull-based strategies. Consumers are less drawn to the (expensive) food store for specific deals or even specific items. ather, they come seeking a certain moral 'ethos' in terms of the way the company markets its product. Push-based products, such as investment services or hospitals, base their appeal upon trust, rather than a demonstrable, tangible item or short-term savings 'payoff.'

Describe the transition from push to pull: Process and an example of a successful transition

Almost all companies begin as 'push' companies. However, they may find that a more pull-based strategy is fruitful, once they have built some rudimentary brand awareness. A…

Ethics Training for Employees

"ecently we have become aware of massive fraud and abuses that are tolerated and even encouraged by executives in large and formerly reputable organizations" (Lee, 2004). The Enron scandal sent ricochets through corporate America, causing literally thousands of people to lose their jobs and sending a major city into a deeper recession than that experienced by the rest of the country. Even seemingly minor corporate scandals have had a tremendous impact on both corporate America and on consumer confidence in corporations. One need only look at the recent media fury surrounding Martha Stewart's recent release from prison to realize that corporate misbehavior is the hot-button issue of the day. As evidenced by the abundance of "Free Martha" t-shirts, the negative impacts of corporate ethical issues are not always apparent on the surface. However, the fact is that abusive and illegal practices that have been permitted, and…

Even poor De Beers seems flummoxed. (Twitchell, 2002, p. xv)

Some consider this trend, of luxury for the every day buyer a negative trend as non-luxury brands claim luxury status and luxury brands like Prada are pressured to provide their products for a lower scale market, yet the trend is essential to international and national creative industries development.

In fact one trend in international creative industries is a system nicknamed "grey marketing" where goods and services are sold outside the traditional contracts and supply systems but are not sold illegally, such as is the caser of black marketed items. In other words industries, such as the fashion industry are populated by organizations that are willing to make alternative contractual agreements with companies that might sell their "labels" for lesser prices, such as in the case of overstock or in some cases even exclusive sales of products that might require less…

Earlier, shares touched 79 cents" (Hovnanian sales hit 6-month high, 2009, Asbury Park Press). But Hovnanian has bent over backwards to offer low-cost housing to consumers, and this has paid off. Its free-fall seems to have bottomed out. The cancellation rate for current projects was 31% compared with 38% in the first fiscal quarter of 2008 and 42% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. New sales rose 8.1% in February Hovnanian sales hit 6-month high, 2009, the Asbury Park Press). Sales are coming at the expense of profit margins, however -- the company is selling homes as low as possible, simply to generate demand and spread the name of the company. It hopes sales will disseminate positive buzz for the company that will pay off when the economy improves. Regardless, Hovnanian has at least mastered one KSF for the new market place. hile K.B. Homes still only stress their…

If police officers are not sufficiently deterred by the prospect of evidence being suppressed at a hearing where a person's liberty is in jeopardy, it is a fortiori that they will not be deterred by the possibility of suppression at a civil forfeiture hearing where only the person's property is in jeopardy.

Law enforcement officials have much to gain in the outcome of the issues raised in Scott, and will likely bring challenges to the exclusionary rule in civil forfeiture. While the court's trend is moving away from applying the exclusionary rule in civil contexts, law enforcement agencies are increasingly relying on civil tools to attack crime. At the forefront of this movement is the use of civil forfeiture to seize the fruits and instrumentalities of the narcotics trade. Civil forfeiture statutes allow law enforcement officers to seize privately held assets that have been used in a crime, a practice…

company having strong ethics across the entire organization, including ethical leadership, training & codes, and an ethical culture. The first and most important thing is that the company needs to have ethical leadership in place. People within organizations take their behavioral cues from the leaders of that organization, and the result of that is that when the leaders are the ethical leaders, the other members of the organization will follow. Thus, it is critical that the leaders set a strong ethical tone, to the point where they probably have to be the most ethical members of the organization. A good example of this would be when Martha Stewart was found guilty of insider trading, her company Omnimedia, faced a decline in its stock price. The concern was not that the company would have trouble succeeding without Stewart for a few months while she did time, but that if her ethical…

Rahm Emmanuel, the son of an Israeli immigrant, fits the elite 'profile' less well but was highly prominent in the Clinton Administration, thus reflecting a 'hold over' of power rather than a radical break with the previous Republican administration. Emmanuel also has an MA from Northwestern University. Obama senior advisor David Axelrod was a prominent member of the Chicago media and has a degree from the University of Chicago. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is a career civil servant. Geithner is also the former President of the Fed of New York State, where the financial industry of the nation is based (Pijanowski 2010).

hile members of the current Democratic-lead cabinet may have more public policy and legal expertise than corporate experience, overall Domhoff's thesis seems to receive at least some support, given their biographies. Additionally, while recent Latina Supreme Court appointee Sonya Sotomayor might seem to be a deviation from an…