" Change must therefore be accomplished by the institution of a strong leadership of just a single individual (Kotter,1996,p.25) .In this case, the person was Ghosn. Change however requires a special team of leaders as well as managers who have a common goal that is communicated succinctly by the team leader. Ghosn therefore "walked the talk" since his leadership style which was transformational, brought real change to the organization.

Conclusion

It is important to note that for any organization to succeed, a balance must be struck between leadership and the management. This is because there can never be any form of transformation without a true leader. All successful organizational transformations are only achieved via the right mix of leadership and management.

eferences

Baggaley, B. 2006. Using strategic performance measurements to accelerate lean performance. Cost Management (January/February): 36-44

Cloud, C (2010). Epilogue: Change leadership and leadership development. New Directions for Community…

References

Baggaley, B. 2006. Using strategic performance measurements to accelerate lean performance. Cost Management (January/February): 36-44

Cloud, RC (2010). Epilogue: Change leadership and leadership development. New Directions for Community Colleges; Spring2010, Issue 149, p73-79,

Elving, W, JL (2005) "The role of communication in organisational change," Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 10 Iss: 2, pp.129-13

Kotter, J.P. (1995), "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail," Harvard Business Review, March-April, 59-67

Managing Operating Exposure and FX isk at Nissan:

Global businesses are usually exposed to financial risks like currency volatility. The foreign exchange risks, which are commonly known as FX risks, have significant effects on all aspects of a global company. Notably, the foreign exchange risks affect firms across various industries including the automobile industry. In this industry, the operations and manufacturing processes of auto makers are usually affected by currency fluctuations. An example of a global firm in the automobile industry that has been involved in managing the foreign exchange risks and operating exposure is Nissan.

In 1999, Nissan was in a death spiral as the firm was experiencing heavy losses, carrying massive debts, and has a bad reputation. During this period, Carlos Ghosn was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer in order to help save the company that was sinking into further challenges and complexities. In attempts to rescue…

References:

Book Review. (2005, January 17). The Gaijin Who Saved Nissan. Retrieved December 7, 2012,

from  http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-01-16/the-gaijin-who-saved-nissan 

Kim, Y. & McElreath, R. (2001). Managing Operating Exposure: A Case Study of the Automobile Industry. Multinational Business Review, 9(1), 21.

Nguyen, C. (2011, October 25). How Nissan Bucked the Auto-bailout Trend. Retrieved December 7, 2012, from http://bizcovering.com/management/how-nissan-bucked-the-auto-bailout-trend/

S. This has partially continued during the 90s as well, so protectionist barriers is one of the things Nissan needs to consider when exporting to its main partners.

There are two different actions Nissan may consider in the future in this sense. The first one refers to the fact that Renault, an European company, still holds a significant part of Nissan shares, which may facilitate exports on the European market. On the other hand, trade barriers can generally be avoided by direct implementation in the respective country, a measure which Japanese companies, especially Toyota, have successfully applied in the U.S. during the 80s.

2. Internal competencies

A. General Motor seems to be currently both the most important producer and the sales leader. However, this should come with several amendments. If we are referring to the market leader, there are several criteria worth mentioning. First of all, the number of cars…

Bibliography

 http://www.nissan-global.com/EN  / www.oanda.com  
In light of these vulnerabilities it…

References

Jones, V.A. (2011). How to Avoid Disaster:RIM's Crucial Role in Business Continuity Planning. Information Management Journal .

Keenan, G. (2011). After a year of disasters, Japan's auto sector fights back. Retrieved January 20, 2012, from CTV News:  http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2284601.html#ixzz1k0x14zsf 

Momani, N.M. (2010). Business Continuity Planning: Are We Prepared for Future Disasters . American Journal of Economics and Business Administration, 272-279.

Omar, A., Alijani, D., & Mason, R. (2011). Information Technology Disaster Recovery Plan: Case Study. Academy of Strategic Management Journal .

Although Carlos Ghosn's leadership abilities cannot be contested, there are certain aspects that must be taken into consideration when analyzing his leadership style. He is considered a successful leader, given the results reported by Nissan and enault and the recognition pachieved from his peers. However, the democratic and laissez-faire style imposed by Ghosn can lead to negative effects on medium term and on long-term. This is because this relaxed attitude he encourages within his companies might determine some of the workers to not take their jobs as seriously as they should. Their motivational levels might be reduced as a result. Therefore, Ghosn should try to impose a firmer leadership style.

Conclusions

Carlos Ghosn is one of the most successful leaders on global level. His interesting approach to leadership and the results he obtained through his companies have determined specialists in the field to analyze his behavior. Their findings are very…

Reference list:

1. Leadership Styles (2010). Leadership Expert. Retrieved February 26, 2011 from http://www.leadership-expert.co.uk/leadership-styles/.

2. Avolio, B. & Gibbons, T. (1988). Charismatic Leadership. Jossey-Bass Publishers. Retrieved February 27, 2011.

3. McDonough, M. (2010). Democratic Leadership in Large Companies. Retrieved February 27, 2011 from  http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/75623.aspx .

4. Laissez Faire Leadership Style and Management Styles Theory (2010). ELS. Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.effectiveleadershipstyles.co.uk/Laissez_faire_leadership_style_&_management_styles_theory.html.

Bias Critique

Thackery, John. "ybrid autos REV up: but will SUV-addicted buyers opt for an environmentally friendly car that saves on gas but commands a premium price?" Electronic Business: Automotive Electronics. Oct 2002 v28 i10 pp. 64(5)

Even before reading the article, "ybrid autos REV up" an informed consumer of the media should know that quite often automobile and electronics magazines are highly favorable of the industries they chronicle. The industry is essentially their 'bread and butter' of such magazines -- i.e. without cars, fancy car gadgets, and car aficiandos, there would be no audiences for such segmented magazines. The credentials of John Thackery, the article's author, are not immediately obvious, but the article's title "ybrid autos REV up: but will SUV-addicted buyers opt for an environmentally friendly car that saves on gas but commands a premium price?" suggests a highly positive slant is being given to the vehicles, for…

However, the article does provide credible statistical evidence to suggest the car's popularity, noting "Toyota has sold a total of 100,000 of all types of HEVs worldwide in the last five years and boasts that it will crank out 300,000 HEVs annually by 2005, as more car buyers show a preference for lower emissions and better mileage." As further testimony to the likely future popularity of the cars it also notes as well that in addition to Toyota, Honda and Nissan have also begun to offer hybrid cars. Other automotive manufacturers plan to introduce electric cars in the next few years, including Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler. All of these manufactures, incidentally, have linked advertisements to this article on the World Wide Web.

The intended audience of this article, however, is clearly more interested in the car's purported power than environmental impact. Although the article does quote a director of alternative power technologies at J.D. Power & Associates, Westlake Village, who notes "the total HEV industry could be as large as one-half-million units by 2007," instead the author is more keen to emphasizes that forward-thinking car makers are "building a new breed of HEVs with smaller sticker premiums and more modest emission-reduction and mileage-enhancement targets." Thackery gently mocks the Toyota Prius, for example, stating that the car "sells on its appeal as a statement of the driver's environmental piety," but the more revved up HEVs, of the future, which are incidentally are more likely to be made by American car manufacturers, "are more attuned to market realities in a country where gas guzzling is an accepted addiction. 'If you do the math, you can see that we can actually save significantly more fuel converting a 20-mpg vehicle into a hybrid than a 30-mpg vehicle, especially if it's a vehicle that sells in high volumes, not a niche vehicle,'" one GM executive is quoted as saying, in defense of GM's future, more modest emissions standards for its electronic vehicles, in contrast to the Toyota Prius.

Thus, the article overall presents solid and credible information about how hybrid cars work, and their burgeoning popularity. But this American car and electronic niche magazine, aimed at car and gadget aficionados rather than the average cost-conscious middle class American car consumer may be too quick to sneer at the petite and cost-conscious hybrids such as the Prius, and too quick to endorse the more mildly conservationist and conserving 'mild-HEVs' that American manufactures plan to make in the future. Although its information its solid, its tone must be regarded with a pinch of proverbial (electrically charged) salt.

Overview

Many countries developed their own automobile industries, and did so in order to create jobs, for national security reasons, and simply because shipping cars overseas was impractical for much of the 20th century. This paper will look at three major automobile manufacturers, one each from Europe, Japan and America, to examine the differences and similarities between them. Each company evolved differently, and did so on the basis of both national culture and in terms of the markets in which they operated. The companies studied are Ford, Hyundai and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi. The latter makes a nice case study because it is a French-Japanese firm, one of the biggest and most powerful transnational automakers, but a model that if successful might be replicated increasingly in the future.

Depictions

American automakers are depicted both as monolithic giants, and as dinosaurs at the same time. It is only grudgingly that international press talks about…

With.573 correlation of Unibody directly influencing Body-on-Frame sales in the years sampled. Table 3 provides the results of the query made in SPSS Version 13.

Table 3: SPSS Correlation Coefficients

Kendall's tau_b

BodyOnFrame

Correlation Coefficient

Sig. (2-tailed)

UnibodyCrossover

Correlation Coefficient

Sig. (2-tailed)

Spearman's rho

BodyOnFrame

Correlation Coefficient

Sig. (2-tailed)

UnibodyCrossover

Correlation Coefficient

Sig. (2-tailed)

With the statistical analysis showing reasonably strong predictability, the next step is to evaluate the specific 14-month time series for greater insights into the variability and predictability of the data. What emerges from completing a Linear egression along with every exponential smoothing techniques for curve fitting is further evidence of linear (.702 regression) in addition to quadratic (.737 regression) shows that variations in Body-on-Frame demand are explained through these statistical techniques.

Table 4: Model Summary and Parameter Estimates

Dependent Variable: BodyOnFrame

Equation

Model Summary

Square

Linear

Logarithmic

Inverse

Quadratic

Cubic

Compound

Power

Growth

Exponential

Logistic

The…

References

Monthly Energy Review (2006) - Posted: August 28, 2006 from the Energy Information Administration at Website:  http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/petro.html . Here is the specific data table used for the analysis:

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/merquery/mer_data.asp?table=T09.04

Appendix a: Comparison Analysis for 14-month Analysis

COMPARING BODY on FRAME SUV vs. CROSS-OVER (UNIBODY) SUV SALES

redit Analysis Smehra

redit Analysis for Neal Harris

Neal Harris recently submitted his credit application for our consideration. Mr. Harris is 45 years old, married and has 2 children. He currently works at Franklin Industries where he has been employed as office manager for 2 years. Prior to that, he was in sales at Providencial Insurance for 3 years. Neal has resided at his current residence in Tennessee for 1 year.

His credit application has been filed in joint with his wife, Helen Harris, 43 years old. Helen has recently returned to the workforce from being a housewife. She is also employed by Franklin Industries where she has been marketing director for 4 months. Both individuals have a checking and savings account with AmSouth. The purpose of their loan is for a 2003 hevrolet Tahoe. Following is a review of the 5 's of redit for Mr. And Mrs. Harris…

Conclusion

After reviewing the joint credit application for Mr. And Mrs. Harris, I have drawn the conclusion that they should be granted the loan under the terms listed. These are for a loan of $24,000, repayable over 48 months at 4%, minimum monthly payment of $540. While Neal Harris has on record a Chapter 7 file in January, 2001, review of their assets and liabilities reveals that they are suitable candidates for this loan. They also demonstrate timely repayments to their current obligations which include a mortgage with Countrywide, an auto payment with Nissan, and 4 credit cards, one of which is currently at a 0 balance.

The couple is also within the 20% average for credit capacity- net income, and have also demonstrated that they will be able to take on the extra expenditure through this loan through their supplementary income listed. I recommend that AmSouth give Mr. And Mrs. Harris their requested loan under the conditions mentioned.

Industry and Firm Analysis

Bennett, J. (2016). Fiat Chrysler to Build Parts Distribution Center in Virginia. Wall Street Journal. etrieved 25 May 2016 from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-to-build-parts-distribution-center-in-virginia-1463662804

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is investing $12.2 million to build a new distribution center in Virginia amid growing demand for parts used by its dealerships to both repair and customize its vehicles.

The 400,000-square-foot Mopar distribution center, located in Winchester, will employ about 70 people and ship more than 9.2 million parts and other items annually. This will be the 22nd center Fiat Chrysler has in operation in North America. It will primarily supply more than 200 dealers in the mid-Atlantic region after it opens sometime in the fourth quarter.

Mopar is the hidden gem of the Fiat Chrysler operation. Currently, the unit distributes more than 500,000 different parts and accessories to more than 150 markets around the world. That number is only expected to…

References

Flak, A. (2014). Fiat Chrysler to spin off Ferrari, issue $2.5 billion convertible bond. Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2016 from:  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-fiatchrysler-ferrari-divestiture-idUSKBN0II1DB20141029 

Weygandt, J. J., Kimmel, P. D., & Kieso, D. E. (2008). Financial Accounting, (6th Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Bennett, J. (2016). Fiat Chrysler to Build Parts Distribution Center in Virginia. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 May 2016 from:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-to-build-parts-distribution-center-in-virginia-1463662804 

Sylvers, E. (2016). Fiat Chrysler Finds New Boss for Alfa Romeo, Maserati. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 May 2016:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-finds-new-boss-for-alfa-romeo-maserati-1464088964

However, if the company / dealers begin using the CM solution, to follow up and address customer service issues, it could help to identify possible factors affecting vehicles after the initial purchase. This would help to improve customer relations by bringing those products which are having problems, into the dealerships, so that they can be repaired quickly. If the situation cannot be fixed, then the dealer should replace the vehicle at no cost to the customer. Utilizing this kind of strategy, would allow both Mercedes and its dealerships to be able to improve effective customer communication. Where, it will eliminate the lack of: communication and follow up that often occurs, once the customer has purchased a vehicle.

Another way that this technology could be utilized is: to identify possible design issues. Where, the various CM tools would help to improve communication and identify specific factors that could be related to…

Reference List

Business Case for CRM. (n, d,). CRM Blog Guy. Retrieved from:  http://www.crmblogguy.com/ 

Definition of OEM Manufacturers on the Web. (2010). Google. Retrieved from:  http://www.google.com.jm/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:OEM+manufacturers&sa=X&ei=nFFoTKWyLcG88gaslbGxBA&ved=0CBMQkAE 

Genuine Mercedes Complaints. (2010). Mercedes Benz USA. Retrieved from:  http://www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/mbusa_complaints.php 

Kristoff, S. (2010). Advances in Automobile Safety Technology. Supply Chain Brain. Retrieved from:  http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/industry-verticals/automotive/single-article-page/article/mercedes-finely-tuned-supply-chain/

Sirius and XM Satellite Radio

Satellite radio has emerged in the past few years as the hot new trend in broadcasting. Operating similar to DirecTV, satellite radio companies bounce their signals off satellites to beam high-quality digital service coast-to-coast, offering exclusive ad-free programming. Satellite radio offers listeners the opportunity to hear any show anywhere in the United States, combining the benefits of premium quality sound and convenience when traveling on the road. Research indicates that similar to the way FM radio grew against dominant AM radio, satellite radio is becoming known for "edgier" alternative programming (McCarthy, at http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2004-10-6-radio-compare_x.htm). The entire satellite radio industry is currently made up only two companies, XM Radio, which started broadcasting in 2001 and has 2.5 million customers, and Sirius, with 600,000 subscribers since going live in 2002. This paper will offer a comparative analysis of the two companies and a general overview of the satellite…

Bibliography

Deitz, C. "A Step-by-step Comparison of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio Features." Radio.

2005. About. <  http://radio.about.com/od/satelliteradio/ss/blsatstepbystep.htm  >.

Gustafson, C.J. "Sirius Satellite Radio vs. XM Satellite Radio- Which Streams Should You

Choose?" Ezine Articles. 2005. Ezine Articles. 21 Mar. 2005

Therefore, they use strict evaluation criteria to make choice among different alternatives. Keeping in view the strength of customers' bargaining power, Toyota and other automakers are expending huge amounts on advertisements and promotional campaigns to create awareness about their brands and convince these customers to prefer them over all other brands (Jenny & Scammon, 2010).

5. Internal Environmental Analysis for Toyota Motor Corporation

5.1. The esources Types:

Like other types of business corporations, Toyota also relies on four different organizational resources. These are: financial resources, human resources, informational resources, and physical resources. Financial resources are the money invested by the company's shareholders and the profits left after paying off liabilities. These resources enable the company to run its day-to-day operations, run marketing campaigns, and make strategic investments to keep it innovative and competitive in all aspects. Secondly, the human resources are the intellectual capital that plays a major role in…

References

Bearden, W.O., Ingram, T.N. & LaForge, R.W. (2007). Marketing: Principles and Perspectives, 5th Edition. Boston, Mass: McGraw-Hill

Blythe, J., & Megicks, P. (2010). Marketing Planning: Strategy, Environment and Context, 3rd Edition. U.K: Prentice Hall

Brassington, F. & Pettitt, S. (2006). Principles of Marketing, 4th Edition. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall

Frederic, M., Agnes, V. & John, M. (2011). Pest Analysis, 2nd Edition. U.K: Gardners Books

market structures in detail and analyses the pricing strategies that the firms have to undertake when they operate in different regimes. The case study on Toyota is considered next, which indicates that firms competing in various structures does not only have to focus on price and quantity ceteris paribus, they also have to consider external and internal variables that have a bearing on these decisions.

Introduction to Market Structures

Market structures are important parts of economic theory as they model market behavior that can help economists explain activities in industry with ease. Market structures, hence are basically models that define market behavior with respect to certain criteria so that it becomes simpler to compare events in real life to the postulated scenario as described in theory in order to be able to determine casualties and to define optimal strategies that firms operating in different market structures can use.

There are…

References

Bennett, D., Hagiwara, Y., & Kitamura, M. (2011, September 5). Toyota Bets on Japan. Bloomberg Businessweek, pp. 70-73,. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=fbe40510-c02e-4a4c-afc8-b21dbb1445c3%40sessionmgr11&vid=1&hid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=60477158

Cusumano, M.A. (2011). Technology Strategy and Management Reflections on the Toyota Debacle. Communications of the ACM, 54 (1), 33-35.

John Petersen (2011). Bernstein and Ricardo Report: Cheap Will Beat Cool in Vehicle Electrification. Retrieved from http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2011/11/bernstein_and_ricardo_report_cheap_will_beat_cool_in_vehicle_electrification.html

Lipsey, R.G., & Chrystal, K.A. (2007). Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from  http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=HgXWV8JMC10C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Economics+lipsey&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qPIuT9DdPM7wrQeQ_LzYDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Economics%20lipsey&f=false

Competitor Analysis and Competitive Strategy

The competitor analysis for the Kia-Motors has been conducted in order to analyze and identify the key factors related to the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors i.e. Toyota and Dacia Automobiles. The competitive strategies are being suggested for Kia-Motors in order to grow its business in Turkey and attract customers and carry out production processes in ways that ensures the profitability and competitive advantage in the long run.

Kia Motors

Analysis of Competitors

Toyota

Suggested Competitive Strategy

Automobile Dacia

Suggested Competitive Strategy

Kia Motors

Kia-Motors with the sales of 2.75 million in the year 2013 is 33.88% owned by the Hyundai Motors and is known widely for its product Kia-Optima and Cadenza. The company possesses strong market position with respect to the quality that it has been providing to its customers. The company has followed the competitive strategy for pricing at which product quality…

REFERENCES

Bondoc, M.D., & Banuta, M. (2007). Changes in the Romanian automotive parts sector in the context of globalization.

Coman, A., & Ronen, B. (2009).Focused SWOT: diagnosing critical strengths and weaknesses.International Journal of Production Research, 47(20), 5677-5689.

Drummond, G., & Ensor, J. (2006).Introduction to marketing concepts.Routledge.

D'Silva, D.A., & Patil, A.S. (2008). Lean Manufacturing.

Global Company Report: Tesla, Inc.
Introduction: Summary of the Business and Its Industry
Tesla, Inc. was launched in 2003 in California as a niche market luxury carmaker that specialized in electric vehicles (EV). The Tesla Roadster was its first product. The Roadster was a high-end EV and not a mass market car. Today, Tesla offers the much more affordable Tesla Model 3, which is a mass-market EV designed for the common man. Its other products include the Tesla Model S and the Tesla Model X. Tesla sells its cars in North America, Europe and in Asia. It has recently obtained financing to build cars in China, where its vehicles are already being sold, and is currently poised to enter Japan’s market. Tesla’s focus on sustainability and its CEO Elon Musk’s use of social media has made Tesla a favorite among investors who view sustainability as the future and Musk’s innovative…

At the same time, Ford has not shied away entirely from larger vehicles. It still offers a range of crossovers, SUVs and trucks with powerful motors and towing capacity, and has expanded its product line in the last year, now that the economy has picked up again (Ford, 2010). This allows it to compete in a market with limited competition, since companies like Toyota and Nissan do not offer many large vehicles. However, Ford is not offering as great a variety as GM or Chrysler, which have many trucks and SUVs to choose from. This is still beneficial for the company: it is able to compete in the large vehicle market, but has a reduced number of vehicles in comparison to its competitors, so it is not wasting money on developing and assembling too many different models.

Lastly, with a strong variety of vehicle options, Ford has expanded into new…

References

Ford Motor Co. Global Operations. Retrieved Feb 22, 2011 from: http://corporate.ford.com/about-ford/global-operations

Google Finance. Ford Motor Company quote. Retrieved Feb 14, 2011 from:  http://www.google.ca/finance?q=NYSE:F

Yet another strategy adopted by both American competitors (General Motors) as well as Japanese produces regards the outsourcing of their labor force. This means that the producers have chosen to contract workforce from abroad in order to reduce costs and benefits from the services of better qualified personnel.

Another course of action that will be taken by Chrysler competitor Toyota is to improve the quality of their finance and accounting department in order to keep a clear evidence of all activities taking place within the corporation.

A note addressed to General Motors' chief executive officer proposed a rather intriguing strategy and it basically referred to the corporation's falling behind and allowing Toyota to become the international leader. In doing so, General Motors would no longer be preoccupied by marinating its positions and would finally possess the time and energy to focus on reaching other main objectives such as increasing profits.…

Bibliography

Business Week Online, Wagoner's Fighting Chance, the McGraw-Hill Companies, December 11, 2006,  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_50/b4013044.htm , last accessed on March 8, 2007

Ian Rowley, Striving for Perfection, AOL Autos, Business Week Online, 31 January 2007.  http://autos.aol.com/article/safety/v2/_a/striving-for-perfection/20070126112809990001,last  accessed on March 8, 2007

Business Week Online, Sacrificing Size for Success at GM, the McGraw-Hill Companies, January 29, 2007  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_05/b4019057.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_autos , last accessed on March 8, 2007

Business Week Online, Dr. Z's Waning Credibility, the McGraw-Hill Companies, January 29, 2007  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_05/b4019065.htm?campaign_id=rss_autos , last accessed on March 8, 2007

If Boca Raton, Fla. buys 32 Explorers, we need to let the entire municipal market know about it.

Foreign sales

The key to foreign sales is understanding that the Explorer will be a luxury item in much of the rest of the world. Ford Explorers may be driven by middle-class families and soccer moms in the United States, but the $30,000 price tag is going to make the Explorer an upper-class item in countries with a lower standard of living than the United States.

Naturally, to overseas upper-class drivers, the vehicles they drive are status symbols, and we must focus on the prestige element of owning an Explorer. We should look for luxury lifestyle magazines - foreign versions of the Robb Report, for example - and purchase adverting that focuses on the luxury features and prestige factor of owning the Explorer. Ads with American celebrities, who often are even more…

Accounting Economics

Marginal Analysis

Define marginal revenue.

Explain its relationship with total revenue.

Marginal Revenue (MR) is the revenue that is linked to one more additional unit of production. The demand for the product will determine whether it will be higher or lower or even the same as the previous unit of production revenue. MR can be defined therefore as the addition realized revenue to the Total Revenue (TR) by a unit increment in the sales volume of a firm in the market (Economics Concepts, 2011).

For instance if a lime factory sells 100 liters of lime at $4 per liter, the total revenue of the factory would be $400. Incase the factory increases the sales volume from 100 liters to 101 liters, then the total revenue of the factory increases to $404. The increase by $4 in the total revenue by one unit increase in rate of sales per…

This has helped to protect the economy against sudden shocks from different events.

The government policies that are supporting growth are designed to encourage foreign direct investment in the South Korean economy. What happened was the Asian financial crisis (in 1997), underscored how government officials needed to open their economy up to foreign investors. As a result, the total amounts of money that was coming in began to increase dramatically with these figures currently sitting at $115.6 billion dollars. This is a part of an effort to diversify the economy away from the manufacturing sector. Over the course of time, this has allowed South Korea to build up their infrastructure and improve personal income with this coming in at $30,000.00 per year. This is significant, because in the early 1970's the average South Korean earned $1,200.00 per year. ("South Korea")

The different policies that were enacted have meant that the…

Bibliography

"Japan." CIA World Fact Book, 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011

"South Korea." CIA World Fact Boo, 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011

Chung, Young. South Korea in the Fast Lane. London: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

Ghosn, Carlos. Shift Inside Nissan. New York: Random House, 2006. Print.

Multi-National Report on Ford Motor Company:

Ford Motor Company is a worldwide company that operates in both the Automotive and Financial Services sectors with its major operations being to build up, devise, produce and service cars and trucks. hile Ford's automotive sector basically sells vehicles under various brand names such as Ford, Volvo, Mercury and Lincoln, the financial services sector provide several automotive financing products both through and to automotive dealers. Ford's automotive sector is responsible for marketing trucks, cars and vehicle parts through the retail dealers, distributors and dealers in North America. Additionally, this sector offers a series of after-sale vehicle products and services in several segments like car accessories, maintenance, repairs and extended service. On the contrary, the financial services sector provides retail financing, wholesale financing and financing to profit-making customers.

Ford's financial services sector also provides other financing services incorporating loans to dealers for operational capital, developments…

Works Cited:

Dornbach-Bender, Rhett, Bill Slade, and Joe Thorpe. "Strategic Report for Ford Motor Company." Oasis Consulting. Oasis Consulting, 20 Apr. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. .

"Ford Motor Company -- Case Study." Business Organizational. Business Organizational, Feb. 2005. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. .

Linn, Allison. "For Ford's Mulally, Big Bets Are Paying Off: Company Lauded for Avoiding Bankruptcy, Government Aid in Recession." Msnbc. Msnbc.com, 26 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. .

Thomaselli, Rich. "Marketer of the Year: Ford Motor Co." Advertising Age. Crain Communications, 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. .

Faced with a stiff competition from the two companies, Toyota must adopt either one of these two, or perhaps both, strategies in order to keep up with the 'numbers' game in sales and marketing of Toyota cars.

ne of the primary bases of Toyota for using the boomer's babies are (1) the consumer market's capability to buy or be enticed to buy a car and (2) dependence on its loyal customers over the years. The first rationale or basis illustrates the nature of consumers who are car-buyers: since it is the adult-middle-aged customers who have disposable incomes big or sufficient enough to buy a car, then they are the most logical target market that Toyota, or any car company for that matter, should center on. The second basis works on the assumption that Toyota has a strong following from its former customers -- customers who were satisfied in the quality,…

One of the primary bases of Toyota for using the boomer's babies are (1) the consumer market's capability to buy or be enticed to buy a car and (2) dependence on its loyal customers over the years. The first rationale or basis illustrates the nature of consumers who are car-buyers: since it is the adult-middle-aged customers who have disposable incomes big or sufficient enough to buy a car, then they are the most logical target market that Toyota, or any car company for that matter, should center on. The second basis works on the assumption that Toyota has a strong following from its former customers -- customers who were satisfied in the quality, design, and make of Toyota cars, they will also be, most likely, the people who will buy Toyota cars in the future. Thus, Toyota patrons must always be kept up-to-date with the latest product releases, car exhibits, and other activities of the company. Its decision to widen its target market starting in the year 1999 (the year the article was published) demonstrates how the notion of possession of disposable incomes have also been extended to include young adult workers who are also financially capable of buying Toyota cars and products.

Over-all assessment of Toyota's marketing strategy is strategy, especially since it fares better in terms of pricing and product quality compared to its competitors, whether be they an Asian, American, or European car brands. Its weak points, however, is its promotional strategy, which is still vague and ineffective in informing the people about the company's target audience (in introducing the said promotional strategy).

Toyota's current market standing is satisfactory, having surpassed the challenge of bringing in an "overhaul" change of the company's product and brand image. At present, the company has successfully re-designed its popular cars such as the ECHO, RAV4, Camry, and Corolla lines in order to clearly delineate its target market (ECHO and RAV4 targets young adults, Corolla in-between the 20s-50s bracket, and Camry, the higher end of the bracket). As a result of this effective program of re-designing its car models, Toyota is now able to create promotional strategies that target the each segment of age bracket 20s-50s (its target market). It also helps that the company is able to maintain its excellent pricing strategy and financial payment scheme.

In January 2004, the J.D. Power and Associates, named Honda as the highest non-luxury brand of car. This same study looked at buyer's perceptions of problems such as engineering problems, quality of workmanship and worker errors in production. Buyers were happy with Honda, and it ranked fourth behind Lexus, Cadillac and Jaguar. The Honda also ranked first in Van and entry level SUV, and in the top three in compact, sports car, and midsize SUV (Honda anks, 2004). This study clearly shows that reliability and quality workmanship are important to the public when they are looking for an automobile to purchase.

Clearly, there are differences in the markets that each automobile company targets for sales and this makes the individual qualities of the vehicle important to the consumer. By 1990, the public could choose from 572 models of vehicles. Advertising and the public's perception of the automobiles are important. The…

References

BMW Classics. (2004). Retrieved November 7, 2004, at  http://www.bmwworld.com/ 

Models/vintage/75th_anniversary.htm

Honda Ranks as the Highest Non-Luxury Brand in J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality

Study. (2004). Retrieved November 7, 2004, at  http://www.hondawindward.com  / about.htm

community (Times Square NY) and how it was addressed with community policing. How did police respond? Was it successful? Why?

Times Square has notoriety for serious crimes, shady and sleazy business establishments and hookers and many illegal activities, not only at present but from the time the Square came to be. In fact recently the former President Bill Clinton while remarking on the changes to a positive side in the area for the last twenty years did remark that in his teens somewhere in 1964 -- there were violent crimes and the President remarked -- "I saw a hooker approach a man in a gray flannel suit, pretty heavy stuff for a guy from Arkansas." (CNN, 2011)

Times Square was the centre point of crime and nefarious activities until recently. In 1990s the steps taken by the then City Mayor udy Giuliani was instrumental in bringing about the modernity by…

References

CNN. (2011) "Clinton remembers old Times Square: crime, hookers"

CNN Political Unit.

Center For Court Innovation. (2012) "Midtown Community Court Overview" Retrieved 12

August, 2012 from  http://www.courtinnovation.org/project/midtown-community-court

cultural differences in today's world. Then explain two ways you might address those challenges in your professional life. Support your responses using current literature.

Challenges of diversity: Positives and negatives

Affirmative action embodies many of the paradoxes of the diversity of American society. On one hand, America has long proclaimed itself a land of freedom and equality. However, for many years, African-Americans and other minority groups were discriminated against, resulting in economic, educational, as well as political disenfranchisement. Affirmative action, or taking race into consideration to promote a more diverse environment in schools and in the workplace, is one way to create a fairer and more pluralistic society. It reflects the fact that persons who are privileged in America have historically come from specific races, classes, and ethnicities. However, many people believe that affirmative action's use of racial preference is, in effect, a form of discrimination itself. The courts have…

References

Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H.R. (2010). Social psychology. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

The Harvard Clinical and Translation Science Center (2009). Cultural Competence in Research. Retrieved on February 10, 2013 from  http://www.mfdp.med.harvard.edu/catalyst/publications/Cultural_Competence_Annotated_Bibliograp 

hy.pdf.

Write Response to colleague's

Collapse of the Big Three

America was once the leader and pioneer in the auto industry, a title that the country had for decades and a title that was so dear to America's heart that it was unfathomable to think that title might ever be lost. It's commonly misconstrued that America invented the automobile, when in reality that honor goes to German Karl Benz in 1885 (ozema, 2010). "Americans did, however, industrialize the love of the automobile. America loves big, fast cars, and for many decades American car companies shared the biggest slice of the auto industry pie" (ozema, 2010). America made having a car and the business of making cars firmly entrenched in American culture. This was a fact which kept the economy stimulated and which provided a consistent level of financial stability for the nation and the civilians within it. However the decade of the eighties marked the…

References

Anderson, P. (2008, November 11). Expert Examines Impact Of Big Three's Collapse. Retrieved from Npr.org:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96875257 

Dunbar, W., & May, G. (1995). Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing.

Gatesman, A. (2005). Why are Foreign Manufactured Cars Gaining Market Share in the U.S. market? . Retrieved from Iwu.edu:  http://www.iwu.edu/economics/PPE13/gatesman.pdf 

Gordon, E. (2005, May 4). The Decline of the 'Big Three' U.S. Auto Makers. Retrieved from npr.org:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4630187

2007 Economic Crisis on American Car market

Effect of the 2008 global economic crisis on automotive industries

Crisis in the United States

Crisis in Canada

Crisis in ussia

Crisis in European markets

Crisis in Asian markets

Effects by other related crisis events

In this paper, we will review the effects of 2008 global automotive crisis. Our main focus will be on the American car manufacturers and the negative impact they suffered due to the crisis. We will also have a look at how this crisis had affected car manufacturers in other major markets around the world notably Europe, Canada and the prominent Asian markets such as China and India. Finally, we will look at some of the other factors which were important to this event namely the energy crisis since the cost of fuel is directly related to the car industry.

Introduction

The automobile industry is a very important part…

References

Lee, C. (2003). Financial Liberalization and Economic Crisis in Asia. New York: Routledge.

Pempel, T.J. (1999). The Politics of Asian Economic Crisis. New York: Cornell University Press.

Arestis, P. (2001). What Global Economic Crisis? New York: Palgrave.

Liou, K.T. (2002). Managing Economic Development in Asia. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Holocaust affected Israeli society and culture and how Jews memorialize/emember it today

There exists no doubt regarding the massacre of the Jews during the phase of World War II and its impact on the lives of the Jewish people and the people who were near and dear to them. A dissention is required against those who assert that the tragedy never occurred, irrespective of whether they hold an opposite perspective to the Holocaust theory or just outright vehemence against Jews. The Holocaust stands for the lowest extreme of Jewish impotence. The affected Jews of the Holocaust were distraught due to it, both by direct means and indirectly, and as a continuance their kith and kin, near and dear ones, were separated by space. The holocaust has been termed rightly as a "Tragic legacy." It has also been looked upon as an unauthentic episode.

Discussion

Just due to the fact they…

References

Anderson, Frank. "Holocaust Atrocity and Suffering." Vol.47. Middle East Studies, Vol.30, 1991, 164-177

Ben-Amos, Avner; Bet-El; Ilana. "Holocaust Day and Memorial Day in Israeli Schools: Ceremonies, Education and History" Israel Studies, Vol. 4, 1999, 258-284

Davison, Todd. "The Holocaust experience." International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol, 24, 1994, 153-165

Najarian, James. "Experiences of Holocaust Survivors." Mid East Quarterly, Vol.56, 1993, 114-128

Behavioral Economics

There is a lot of predictability and patterns when it comes to economics. There are many examples that one can point to. First, there is a bit of a cycle to things. Even when there are economic "booms" in the United States or other capitalistic countries, there are eventually "busts" of varying size and degree called recessions. Most of the time, the recessions are fairly brief and not a lot of damage is done. Other times, one sees recessions like the Great Depression in the 1930's and the Great Recession in the 2000's. There was also the fairly dark period that occurred during the latter part of Jimmy Carter's Presidency and into the early 1980's when Reagan took over (24/7 all Street). Of course, there are behaviors that are expected and realized when economic travails come. People tend to tighten their spending, stick to their current job if…

Works Cited

24/7 Wall Street. "The 13 Worst Recessions, Depressions, And Panics In AmericanA History." 247wallst.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.

Car Scoops. "Want A Car 'Made In The U.S.A.'? Then Check The First Digit Of The VIN Code." Carscoops. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.

Crawford, Steve. "How Does Consumer Spending Change During Boom, Recession, And Recovery?: Beyond The Numbers: U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics." Bls.gov. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.

Fiat. "Fiat.Com - Homepage." fiat.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 21 Dec. 2015.

Electric and Self-Driving Cars

Both the electric car trend and the self-driving car initiative may be considered fads that in the long run are simply untenable. Autonomous cars present numerous safety obstacles that are currently not being addressed, and the electric car phenomenon presents numerous obstacles as well. Currently it is a niche market: increasing power to the electric car and making it equal to gas-powered vehicles is a substantial obstacle, and a solution—expanding the number of electric vehicle charge points—needs to become part of the infrastructural horizon. In the UK, this solution is already being applied, as Murray (2016) shows: charge points are set to outnumber petrol stations in the United Kingdom by 2020.

However, much of the rest of global society is affected by the autonomous car in only a marginal way: if they are ever allowed to proceed into the mass market it will be a different…

Vedanta believed that the company overall was undervalued; Hewitt was trying to avoid the loss of a major segment of business.

Overall, merger and acquisition activity has been relatively slow in recent years. However, firms are still trying to find ways to defend their position (GM, Hewitt) and other firms are attempting to creatively extract new value through their transactions (Exxon, a-B/InBev, Vedanta). As long as there are shifting environmental considerations and new opportunities to exploit, firms will continue to seek out merger and acquisition activities.

orks Cited:

McClure, B. (2010). Mergers and acquisitions. Investopedia. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from http://www.investopedia.com/university/mergers/default.asp

Espinoza, J. (2009). Merger pays off for AB InBev. Forbes. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/05/inbev-quarter-profits-markets-equity_drinks.html

Daily, M. & Driver, a. (2009). Exxon Mobil to buy XTO Energy in big U.S. gas bet. Reuters. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BD28G20091214

Reuters. (2010). Vedanta eyes aluminum unit spinoff. The Economic…

Works Cited:

McClure, B. (2010). Mergers and acquisitions. Investopedia. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from  http://www.investopedia.com/university/mergers/default.asp 

Espinoza, J. (2009). Merger pays off for AB InBev. Forbes. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from  http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/05/inbev-quarter-profits-markets-equity_drinks.html 

Daily, M. & Driver, a. (2009). Exxon Mobil to buy XTO Energy in big U.S. gas bet. Reuters. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BD28G20091214 

Reuters. (2010). Vedanta eyes aluminum unit spinoff. The Economic Times. Retrieved March 14, 2010 from  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/Vedanta-eyes-aluminium-unit-spin-off-Report/articleshow/5683287.cms

Since, this one lacks structure means that many employees can become confused about their responsibilities. Once this occurs, it can often lead to employee issues, where this confusion can become an issue of contention between the staff and management. As management is telling them to engage in particular activity, yet they don't understand why they are doing such tasks. Over time, this can cause moral to drop as those employees who do not thrive under such a system, begin to lower the overall positive attitude in the work environment. ("Contingency Theory," 2010)

Despite some of the obvious weaknesses, the contingency theory is effective for those organizations that are small. This is because the in formalized structure allows managers / owners the opportunity to adapt to changes that are occurring in real time. Where, they can use their experience and common sense to adjust to various business conditions. As a result,…

Bibliography

Building Emotional Capital. (2004, June 24). Retrieved April 10, 2010, from Executive Education website:  http://executive.education.insead.edu/programme/documents/Nissan_004.pdf 

Contingency Theory. (2010). Retrieved April 9, 2010, from Values-Based Management website:  http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_contingency_theory.html 

Babineck, M. (2006, March 13). The Enron Trial. Retrieved April 10, 2010 from Chron website:  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/enron/3718892.html 

Bissonette, Z. (2008, August 1). How Does General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner Still Have a Job. Retrieved April 10, 2010 from Blogging Stocks website:  http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/01/how-does-general-motors-ceo-richard-wagoner-still-have-a-job/

(Reich, 2009)

The Japanese Government to usiness Model

The Japanese government has more direct control of private business. The difference is that it is doing so, as a partner to ensure that the business is able to maintain successful long-term economic growth. The government does not offer subsidies or any kind of bail outs. Instead, they help companies through loans, tax breaks and other forms of assistance. This helped to contribute to the success of the Japanese auto industry by allowing executives to focus on how their organization can grow in the future. (Johnson, 1985)

usiness, government and the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan

The Liberal Democratic Party helped to liberalize the relationship that the government would have with the auto industry. As it would be successful in helping Japan to eliminate protectionism; this is something that would allow Japanese cars to become more competitive in markets around the world.…

Bibliography

Automobile Industry Introduction. (2010). Retrieved May 6, 2010, from Plunkett Research website:  http://www.plunkettresearch.com/Industries/AutomobilesTrucks/AutomobileTrends/tabid/89/Default.aspx 

CAFE Overview. (2010). Retrieved May 6, 2010, from NHTSA website:  http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/cafe/overview.htm 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Guidelines. (n.d.). Retrieved May 6, 2010 from NHTSA website:  http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/fmvss/index.html 

G8's Gradual Move. (2008, January 25). Retrieved May 6, 2010, Council of Foreign Relations website:  http://www.cfr.org/publication/13640/

Though he received a hand and knee injury in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Nakamura was still able to compete in many of the post-season games that Celtic played during those years. Nakamura was also nominated for the Ballon d'or award in 2007, or the "golden ball" award (Hurley, 2010). This is a very prestigious award within the league and game of soccer, and Nakamura has always appreciated this nomination as it shows that even through his injury-prone seasons abroad and at eggina, he has been able to secure a more than modest amount of appreciation and recognition.

After the 2008 season, Nakamura moved to Espanyol. He had always indicated he wanted to play in Spain, but finally got the chance in the 2009-2010 season. At Espanyol, Nakamura was subject to a two-year contract, pending medical certifications in the pre-season (Hurley, 2010). After a series of injuries and less than…

References

Hurley, Michael. (2010). World Cup 2010: An Unauthorized Guide. China: CTPS.

Watt, Tom. (2010). A Beautiful Game: The World's Greatest Players and How Soccer Changed

Their Lives. New York: Harper Collins.

"Hopefully, I am evolving as an artist and a designer, and Digital Kitchen seems to be a place that [offers me the best] chance at getting to the next level" (Remson, 2002, p. 6).

There are always "next levels" for Carson. Looking at his design for the book the Architecture of Patterns, at first the eye sees the + signs and interprets them as crosses in a cemetery. A closer look and maybe they are just "X's" turned on their sides. Small, smaller, with a few very large + positioned on the cover. The book title is blurred and interrupted by the +'s. Carson's design for Quicksilver and Pukas Surfboards is rowdy; a surfboard shape is permeated with circles and a macrame-like swirl connecting to what could be a bow. it's bizarre, but it's pure Carson. The Bark catalog design uses fonts creatively, a patented Carson approach. "Born on the…

Works Cited

Adweek. "End of Print?" 44.42, (1994): p. 32.

Blackwell, Lewis, and Carson, David. The End of Print: The Grafik Design of David Carson.

San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000.

Carson, David. "click: dcd work, bio, clients." Retrieved Nov. 17, 2010, from  http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/?dcdc=top/t .

Up here in this parking lot cell coverage was never very good. I wonder if she knows about the improvement (no one who knows this neighborhood would have even attempted to make a call up until September of this year) or just happened to be making a call and it went through.

A senior citizens community bus pulls in and parks right in front of the store, in a place reserved for handicapped drivers. No one gets out for a minute or two. I get out of my car and walk closer so I can see who will get out. I leave my clipboard in my car and go to the newspaper racks as though I'm deciding which one to buy. A white-haired man who is thin and wears a Hawaiian shirt drives the bus. He looks back at the two passengers as if to say, "We're here." The first…

com)

Legal Actions

Information about ongoing legal actions is typically disclosed in the annual report. An examination of Cummins' Form 10-K from 2008 reveals that while the company is subject to a wide range of legal risks, there are no major legal actions pending. Referring to environment-related legal actions, the company states that "we do not believe that these lawsuits are material individually or in the aggregate."

Negative Publicity

At present, there is little indication that Cummins is faced with any significant negative publicity. The company faces some minor environmental lawsuits, which may not be financial material but could generate some negative publicity should the company be found culpable for any impropriety.

Cummins' track record with regards to negative publicity -- or the lack thereof -- is enviable for a multinational country, in particular one with manufacturing operations overseas. Cummins' approach has been proactive. There are hints of the company's…

Works Cited:

Cummins website. Various pages. Retrieved February 22, 2010 from  http://www.cummins.com 

Marx, M. (2005). Cummins Inc. Six Sigma Companies. Retrieved February 22, 2010 from  http://www.sixsigmacompanies.com/archive/cummins_inc_six_sigma.html 

Cummins 2008 Form 10-K.

However, the expatriate has the net advantage of significantly superior product knowledge and control, even if the costs of maintaining him are also higher. Foremost, the expatriate must be able to travel from the host country to the home country in order to conduct face-to-face meetings with his superiors and inform them of the progresses made. Traveling however consumes time and energy and the employee could become tired and unfocused. The need for a strong mind with high motivation and concentration skills becomes as such obvious (Honeycutt, Ford and Simintiras). Also, there is a strong need for the individual to be extremely well adjusted and capable to integrate within the new community. This is most important when "historically, multinational firms have been plagued by the problem of premature return of expatriate managers due to their inability to adapt to the culture of the host country" (Katz and Seifer, 1996). A…

References

Befus, D.R., Mescon, T.S., Mescon, D.L., Vozikis, G.S., 1988, International Investment of Expatriate Entrepreneurs: The Case of Honduras, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 26

Hess, M.B., Linderman, P., 2002, Expert Expatriate: Your Guide to Successful Relocation Abroad: Moving, Living, Thriving, Intercultural Press

Hsieh, T.Y., Lavoie, J., Samek, R.A.P., 1999, Are You Taking Your Expatriate Talent Seriously? The McKinsey Quarterly

Honeycutt, E.D., Ford, J.B., Simintiras, a., 2003, Sales Management - a Global Perspective, Routledge

Aside from the obvious impact upon the Ford employees who found themselves out of jobs, a general effect was the increased unemployment rate. And this was not only because of the positions lost within Ford, but also because of the jobs indirectly lost due to the crisis at the American manufacturer. In a more simplistic formulation, the automobile maker had ongoing contracts with various suppliers and other intermediaries, purchasing various technologies and vehicle components. Once the demand for Ford automobiles had decreased and their supremacy was lost to the Japanese producers, they no longer required the services of all of their purveyors. Then, as the demand and production became reduced, there was also limited need for dealers store to sell the cars. Ergo, additional jobs were lost and the lives of more and more individuals were impacted.

The negative outcome could have been avoided had the company been more receptive…

Works Cited

Burgos, a., July 12, 2005, Ford Layoffs Could Hit 30,000, Business News Bulletin

Burgos, a., September 15, 2006, New Layoffs at Ford, Business News Bulletin

Ramstack, T., May 23, 2001, Ford Plans Total Recall of Wilderness at Tires, the Washington Times

Randall, K., August 2001, Ford to Cut Up to 5,000 white-collar Jobs in North America, World Socialist Website,  http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/aug2001/jobs-a18.shtmllast  accessed on June 23, 2008

These businesses represented potential revenue with a lower startup cost than expansions on the manufacturing side.

To this point, the strategy had been successful. Ford's development functions had improved in efficiency and profitability had increased. Cost savings in 2000 totalled $500 million, for a total of $3.7 billion over the previous three years. There was some strategic logic to the push into services, in terms of capturing downstream revenues. However, this initiative did not support the previous objectives.

n 2001, Ford fell into tougher times. Whether the service businesses could be viewed as a distraction that harmed Ford's focus on its core business is questionable, but certainly those businesses were not a major factor helping Ford through this period. The main successes that helped Ford in this period were sales in Europe, which generated significant improvements in both revenues and profit. n North America, it was again automobile manufacturing that…

I would also recommend that a greater emphasis be placed on predicting future trends. For most of the time period in the case, Ford's marketing was geared towards selling what the production units were making. At times, this strategy left Ford in a situation where they were reacting after the fact to shifts in the automotive industry's key drivers. Nasser started taking a more consumer-centric approach with the made-to-order idea, but the follow-through does not appear to have been strong. However, the idea has merit - if Tauruses and Explorers are on the downswing, it is best not to have lots full of them.

The environment in which Ford operates moves quickly. Key drivers like fuel prices and the strength of the global economy change more quickly than do Ford's production and marketing capabilities, as we saw in 2001, a year in which Ford recorded heavy losses despite the fact that it was realizing cost savings from the Globalisation 2000 plan. Ford needs to continue on the path towards reading customer needs in advance, so that they are not caught so far out of position when these shifts occur. There is no evidence that Ford had a plan, for example, in the event that fuel prices spiked. Indeed, they knew throughout the 1990s that the Taurus was slumping, but did not put a strong focus on this vehicle until well into the 2000s, after fuel prices had spiked.

The third main recommendation is that Ford should focus its marketing on the developing world. The competition in the developed world is intense. The market is both mature and lucrative. This fierce rivalry has lead to rounds of cost-cutting in order to maintain profitability in the face of declining market share. In this type of situation, marketers may not be limited in the tools they have at their disposal, but they will inherently be limited in their effectiveness. The easier money is to be made in growing markets. This can be seen in the multi-billion dollar figures that each of the global auto companies is plugging into the Chinese market, for example. Ford's $1 billion, however, is not enough. That sort of money will get them into the game, but will not allow them to win it. Ford needs to put a greater focus on key emerging markets in order to capture the easy market share that is there for the taking. As the North American market in particular has shown, once a market matures, there is little a firm like Ford can do to retain market share, much less gain new share. Securing a dominant position in emerging markets like India and China should be a marketing priority now.

MESIC's have been singularly unsuccessful, and have been deemphasized in recent years.

Related to this are: State-sponsored venture capital investments. Countries and regions invest in venture capital funds as Limited Partners, meaning that they have the same or similar financial returns as all other investors in a Fund. In many cases, such state investments require some conditions on the privately-run venture fund. The most popular conditions include:

fixed percentage threshold of investment in the region or country, or certain number of jobs to be generated by their investments, or Attracting a certain multiple of investment from outside the state or region into the fund, or Limiting the venture investments to the types of technologies and industries which are of greatest interest to that state or region.

Examples of the above can include the Indiana Futures Fund, in which the State of Indiana invested $100 million in several venture funds. Among…

Bibliography

Asen, R. "The Multiple Mr. Dewey: Multiple Publics and Permeable Borders in John Dewey's Theory of the Public Sphere." Argumentation and Advocacy, 2003: 174-182.

Balzac, M. "Recent Trends in the Research on National Innovation Systems." REPEC. November 26, 2007.  http://ideas.repec.org/p/aug/augsbe/0254.html  (Accessed November 28, 2007).

Birch, D.L. MIT Program on Neighborhood and Regional Change. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1987.

Christensen, C. The Innovator's Dilemma. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995.

The process would then need to continue so that the changes that can be seen in the environment can also affect the changes in entry strategies.

Environmental factors, economic factors, political/legal factors, social/cultural factors and also technological factors should all be considered. The legal factors that need to be addressed include issues in employee law, monopolies and mergers legislation, environmental protection laws, and wider issues such as foreign trade regulations. The political factors refer to the stability of the government. The taxation policy, the government spending, the relationship that the government has with other countries, and the industrial policy and all issues should be considered.

The economic factors that need to be addressed refer to inflation, disposable income, unemployment, business cycles, GNP growth rates, interest rates, exchange rates, energy, and the basic prices for raw materials. Factors from cultural and social standpoints include population demographics, the income distribution, what levels…

Bibliography

Altman, E. & Kao, D.L. (1991). Corporate Bond Rating Drift: An Examination of Rating Agency Credit Quality Changes Over Time. New York University-Salomon Brothers Working Paper S-91-40.

Billet, M. (1996). Targeting Capital Structure: The Relationship Between Risky Debt and the Firm's Likelihood of Being Acquired. Journal of Business.

Ederington, L., Yawitz, J., & Roberts, B. (1987). The Information Content of Bond Ratings. Journal of Financial Research 10, 3 (fall): 211-26.

Kaplan, R. & Urwitz, G. (1979). Statistical Models of Bond Ratings: A Methodological Inquiry. Journal of Business 52, 2: 231-61.

Operational efficiency and flexibility in all GM production equipment is maximized by having "everything prepared ahead of time" in a "fully capable tool room, where tools are preset and I.D. And offset information are loaded into a memory chip that accompanies the tool before, during and after its use so the part is cut right the first time" instead of a "cut-and-adjust approach that has long been common to production operations (Vasilash, 2001). Employee training is also critical in maximizing capacity of all available resources. Employees are taken "to the machine tool builder to run machines to build prototype parts," to learn "about failure mode affects, how to detect when a tool was wearing out, building control and operating plans" (Vasilash, 2001).

Finally, GM is also entering into an alliance with the more financially stable Renault-Nissan corporation to better deploy its existing idle manufacturing capacity and increase its revenue from…

Works Cited

Ghosn wants GM tie-up to fight Toyota?"(10 Jul 2006). Left Lane News. Retrieved 12 Jun 2007. (h ttp: / / www.leftlanenews.com/ghosn-wants-gm-tie-up-to-fight-toyota.html

GM North America to Undergo Major Capacity Reduction." (2007). Buzz Trader.

Retrieved 12 Jun 2007 at  http://buzztrader.com/news/gm011.html 

GM Announces Job Cuts, Plant Closures." (21 Nov 2005). Online News Hour. Retrieved 12 Jun 2007.  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec05/gm_11-21.html

In the same manner, the importance of apology is similarly tied to humility and the capacity of humbling yourself. This is also one of the reasons an apology generally comes together with a deep bow in which the person recognizes his or her mistake.

On the other hand, Japanese obsession for quality definitely has its roots in the Japanese obsession for perfection. Ever since its creation by gods, Japan was seen by its inhabitants as being a privileged, perfect nation. Such a nation could only produce, in its turn, perfect products. In modern times, this tendency to continuously strive for perfection was translated into the need for constantly high quality on all production.

Additionally, this is also tied to the sense of duty that goes back to the samurai and warrior tradition. As such, while working for your company, you can only give it your very best and the sentiment…

Bibliography

1. Sugimoto, Yoshio. An Introduction to Japanese Society, Cambridge University Press. 2002

2. De Mente, Boye Lafayette. Japan's Secret Weapon: The Kata Factor The Cultural Programming That Made the Japanese a Superior People. Phoenix Books, 1990.

3. Henshall, Kenneth G. A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower, Second Edition. Palgrave Macmillan; 2nd edition. 2004.

The ability to end or terminate the contract is unilateral. Gabbard expresses the fact that changes must also be unilateral. The terms in settling a dispute must be predetermined before entering contract. The Government contract gives the authoritative party the right to audit the books of the company selling the product or service. In this court case, the government was allowed to appeal the case won by Agredano resulting in a reversal of the former court ruling.

Government Contract Comparison to Uniform Commercial Code/Contract

The U.C.C. Or commercial contract is less formal and authority to enter a contract is assumed by the parties involved (Gabbard, 2011). In a UCC the terms are not detailed or written out in a formal document as required by a government contract. In fact the details are implied (Gabbard, 2011).

Analyzing and Evaluation Example: Carpet Cleaning Contract

For example in a UCC contract with a…

References

Cengage Learning, (2011). Buyer beware applies to vehicle bought by the government.

June 12, 2010 from  http://www.swlearning.com/blaw/cases/sales/0410_sales_01.html 

Gabbard, E.G. (2011). Relationship of far and ucc in subcontracting. Retrieved June

10, 2011 from http://www. fasmg. org/farucc. html

46). Likewise, Gillispie suggests that an incremental approach can be used to "test the waters" for even very small companies seeking to project an internationalized presence. In this regard, Gillespie recommends that companies, "Craft a scaleable master design that represents the major aspects of your business worldwide and anticipates the degree of localization that will be required in each market. The degree of localization can have a real impact on budgets and timelines" (2008, p. 45). These are important factors for companies in general where limited resources and a lack of experience may preclude more aggressive internationalization initiatives, and these issues are directly related to a company's internal resources as discussed further below.

Internal resources

The company has a wide range of specialized internal resources which are described in Table 2 below.

Table 2

Internal resources of BG Limited

Business Unit

Description

Specialist Cleaning

BG's Specialist Cleaning division offers a…

References

Angola. 2011 CIA World Factbook. [online] available:  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications  / the-world-factbook/geos/ao.html.

Black's Law Dictionary. 1999 St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.

Carthew, A. 2006, September/October 'Spreading the Word.' Communication World, vol. 23,

no. 5, pp. 30-32.

Consumer Buying Decision

Consumer purchase decision may appear random at times as a person goes to the market to buy groceries. But whether it is a low involvement product (LIP) like a jar of mayonnaise or a high involvement product (HIP) like a house, the consumer will usually go through five stages of purchase decision which are less pronounced in the case of LIP than it would for a HIP.

A low involvement product is defined as "a product where the process of searching for information is minimal, without distinct brand loyalties." (Grebitus, p. 43) A hair brush, beauty soap, a bath towel for example would all be low involvement purchases. They do not require considerable amount of effort, energy or money and hence even if the decision goes wrong, it won't have a significant effect on the consumer.

A high involvement product on the other hand is the one…

REFERENCES

Kurtz, D. Boone. Contemporary Marketing. Nelson Publishing. 2009

Grebitus, C. Food Quality from the Consumer's Perspective: An Empirical Analysis of Perceived Pork Quality. 2008

South Australia Ambulance Service

Organizational Behaviour Case Analysis

Who

ay Main should develop a system which empowers the culture of organization along with the shift towards automation and excellent customer service.

Has to do what

The leadership of South Australia Ambulance Service is required to do the following:

To set a strategic direction for SAAS this would be compatible to the new strategic plan.

Meet the service expectations of the clients by focusing more on efficient customer services.

Empower the service delivery personnel fully and hold them accountable for every action.

The expectations of donators and community should be aligned.

Make SAAS compatible to respond to mass casualties.

Workforce retention should be increased.

Emergency sector and healthcare should be integrated to respond efficiently to any casualty.

Interventions should be prioritized.

The impact of any change should be evaluated on the patient as patients' life is more important. (Daniels 2009)

The…

References

Steven McShane, Sandra Steen, (2008). Canadian Organizational Behaviour, Seventh Edition. McGraw-Hill Ryerson Higher Education; Canadian edition

Abernathy, W.B. (2006). Designing and managing an organization-wide incentive pay system. Memphis, TN: Abernathy & Associates.

Abernathy, W.B. (2006). The sin of wages: Where the conventional pay system has led us and how to find a way out. Memphis, TN: PerfSys Press.

Alvero, A.M., Bucklin, B.R., and Austin, J. An objective review of the effectiveness and essential characteristics of performance feedback in organizational settings. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management vol. 21 (2001). pp. 3 -- 29

5. Who benefits most when a "foreign" car that is produced (manufactured) in the U.S. is sold in the U.S. Who else benefits?

It may depend on which brand of car is being sold, but the car company, and the country of origin, appear to benefit the most. Much of the activity occurs in the country where the company has its world headquarters. For example, U.S. cars are most likely to use U.S. manufactured parts and employ American engineers, while cars built by foreign care companies are likely to use foreign parts and have their research and development in another country. "Also, Ford (F, Fortune 500) and General Motors employ more people in the U.S. than Toyota (TM) or Honda (HMC), Nissan or Hyundai do. (Chrysler currently employs slightly fewer people in this country than Toyota, according the automakers' own numbers)" (Valdes-Dapena, 2009).

6. What about when a U.S. product…

References

Friedman, T. (2012, January 29). Made in the world. New York Times, p. SR 11.

Investopedia. (2012). Balance of trade. Retrieved May 21, 2012 from Investopedia website:

 http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bot.asp#axzz1vXU2uV1S 

Newman, R. (2012). 20 industries that are bouncing back. Retrieved May 21, 2012 from U.S.

The last century has seen an increase in the level of international purchases which has been supported by the developments in transportation and technology. Goods can move faster than before with developments in logistics. The negotiation and forming contracts for purchase with companies and communicate with potential suppliers in distant countries is also easier than in the past with the internet and tools such as video conferencing and emails. This facilitates the use of international suppliers. However, other firms may choose local suppliers believing strategy will best suit their needs. Local suppliers may be able to provide where there is an increase in the transparency of the supply chain, less exposure to risks such as interruption and exchange rate risks and proximity may allow closer collaborative relationships to develop. Both procurement strategies are viable, to assess the advantages associated with each approach the procurement from international and local suppliers can…

REFERENCES

'Automotive and Auto Parts Industry in Turkey.' (2012). Turkish Ministry of Economy. [online] available:  http://blog.tcp.gov.tr/?p=2632 .

"Automotive Industry Trends Affecting Component Suppliers.' (2005). International Labour Review, vol. 144, no. 1, pp. 130-133.

Borrus, M., Ernst, D. & Haggard, S. (2001). International Production Networks in Asia: Rivalry or Riches. London: Routledge.

Burton, S., & Steane, P. (2004). Surviving Your Thesis. New York: Routledge.