Target Corporation Essays (Examples)

Unfortunately, in comparison to some of its competitors, like al-Mart and dollar stores, because Target does not offer rock-bottom prices, but strikes a balance between quality and low prices, its fortunes have been suffering as of late. Also, it has chosen to emphasize less necessary goods like clothing and home goods, to create its image of giving an exceptional shopping experience, as well as being a place to pick up a box of cornflakes. But for that reason as well, consumers have been more likely to patronize stores that focus on basic necessities like al-Mart, when they must prioritize their needs (Gregory 2009). Consumers do not merely want to 'pay less,' now, they want to pay the lowest prices possible.

orks Cited

Gregory, Sean. (2009). al-Mart vs. Target: No contest in the recession. Time Magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2009 at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1885133,00.html

Our Mission. (2009). Target: Company. Retrieved May 13, 2009…

Works Cited

Gregory, Sean. (2009). Wal-Mart vs. Target: No contest in the recession. Time Magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2009 at  http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1885133,00.html 

Our Mission. (2009). Target: Company. Retrieved May 13, 2009 at http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031699

Target vs. Walmart Financial Analysis

Synopsis of the Companies

Wal-Mart Store Inc. became originally established in the year 1945 and is in the present day undertaking its operations in retail stores in over twenty-seven countries. The company is split into three key segments. These are Walmart International, Walmart United States and Sam's Club. The business undertaken by Walmart as a company encompasses restaurants, superstores, retail stores and also warehouse clubs. The company also undertakes e-commerce through its website Walmart.com. In terms of retail products, the merchandises being sold in Walmart's retail stores include baby products, healthcare products, household goods, electronics, books, automotive products, clothing, furnishings and decor, alcohol, grocery, paper products and so much more. The leadership and control of the company is held by the Walton family, which owns about forty-eight percent of the shares of the company. Walmart was established by Sam Walton and therefore shows why the…

References

Bloomberg News. (2014). Wal-Mart Report Found Profit Boosted by China Maneuvers, Bloomberg. Retrieved from:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-10/wal-mart-report-found-profit-boosted-by-china-maneuvers 

Financial News Release. (2015). Target Announces Settlement Agreement with MasterCard; Estimated Costs Already Reflected in Previously Reported Results. Retrieved 14 June 2016 from: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2035520

Maddox, M. (2015). Should Walmart Be Your Next Bank? WOTW. Retrieved from:  http://www.wowt.com/factfinders/headlines/Should-Walmart-Be-Your-Next-Bank-290835881.html 

Mitchell, D. (2015). Why Wal-Mart and Texas Are Headed for an Epic Showdown, TIME. Retrieved from:  http://time.com/3709606/walmart-texas-lawsuit-liquor/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Fthecheapskateblog+%28TIME%3A+Moneyland%29

Outcomes
Efforts: Cultural Awareness and Civil Engagement Activities
Civil Engagement
Target Corporation believes that sharing their experience and resources with policy makers will give rise to better decisions for communities and businesses. The civic activities of Target can be categorized into public policy, issue advocacy, and political engagement.
1. Public Policy
The company believes that participating in legislative and public-policy activity is a significant and essential constituent of being a differentiated, multinational retail business. Target works in tandem with voted officials of both political parties to aid in shaping positive public policy solutions that are beneficial to its business operations, team members, clientele, as well as the consumers they serve. The corporation is dedicated to ensuring the alignment of public-policy activities and business interests, capitalizing on a decision-making process to support continuing amenability with their alignment goal, and sustaining transparency to all stakeholders. Notably, in the 2012 fiscal year, Target…

Target

etailer name, history of operation

Classification of etailer

The Target Customer

Competition

Analysis of Store Building

Promotional Techniques

Method of Management

Selling Methods

Merchandise/Service Mix

Customer Services Offered

Comparison of Both etailers' Overall Strategies

etailer name, history of operation

Target Corporation

Target is among the leaders in retail trading in the U.S. The company offers perishables, dry grocery, dairy and frozen items and all food items comparable to traditional supermarkets. The company has three primary types of stores -- SuperTarget, CityTarget and TargetExpress. The company recorded a loss of 1.9% in 2014-2015 compared to the previous year with a fall in net earnings of 9.1%. The total sale in the period was $U72.6 billion.

The company has 1,799 stores in the U.S. along with 38 distribution centers. The company has staff strength of 347,000 worldwide. It also does business online through its website 'target.com'.

With the aim of easing…

References

Dogan, K. (2010). Consumer Effort in Promotional Incentives. Decision Sciences, 41(4), 755-785.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2010.00295.x 

Halzak, S. (2015). Target's new strategy: We need more than just minivan moms. The Washington Post, p. 1. Retrieved from  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/03/04/targets-new-strategy-we-need-more-than-just-minivan-moms/ 

Investors.target.com,. (2015). Investor Contacts, News, Stocks & Events -- Target Corporate. Retrieved 8 December 2015, from  http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-govhighlights 

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2009). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Target Israel SOT

Global Fighter Jets, as a producer of military equipment, benefits from the SOT analysis of the countries it wishes to sell its product. Global's F35 is planned to be sold and manufactured within the nation of Israel. The unique factors regarding this particular selection need to be explored to truly gauge and understand the scope and magnitude of such a business venture. The purpose of this essay is to conduct a SOT analysis on Israel regarding the F35 Global Fighter Jet product. This analysis will examine internal strengths and weakness of Global Fighter Jets by analyzing its business mode and how best it might serve the company's objectives. The external opportunities and threats that lie within this specific Israeli market will then be discussed. The paper will conclude with comments on how to best manage the risks of this expenditure and introduce a successful strategy to make…

Works Cited

Israel. Wikipedia. 8 Sep 2012. Retreived from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel 

Maital, S. (2004). Research or die a SWOT analysis for Israel. Globes.com. Retreived from http://archive.globes.co.il/searchgl/A%20SWOT%20analysis%20for%20Israel._s_hd_0L 3OuC30vN3WsCZKoDYveT6ri.html

Target
Trends – External Environment
Target is subject to a number of different trends that affect its business. These include external factors in the economic, technological, political and social environments. The economic environment has the most direct impact on a company like Target that sells a broad range of consumer staples to a broad audience across the entire country. During the last major recession, Target struggled with sales that tracked GDP, flatlined margins and slugglish profit trends, all the result of consumers reeling in their spending during a time of substantial economic uncertainty (Marketwatch, 2010). For many consumers, Target is seen as slightly higher on the discount hierarchy, so when there is a recession, they trade down to Wal-Mart, dollar stores and warehouse stores to save even more money on staples (Marketwatch, 2010).
The political environment is less a factor in Target’s business, until of course it affects the economy.…

"

The analysis cited above continues to describe the ways in which corporate "life" (in the sense of how many different individuals and entities are vital to the running of a corporation in the current climate):

Businesses today must be consumer, profit, and publicly oriented. Only a few years ago, the first two would have sufficed. But, in support of our dualistic argument regarding the marketing concept, that is -- creating exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives more effectively and efficiently than the competition -- Philip Kotler (2000) has labelled marketing as inappropriate in a world of environmental deterioration, population expansion, world hunger and poverty, and neglected, under-funded, and business-like social services. Thus, marketing as exchange has been augmented by the need to preserve or enhance consumer and societal well being, too. Increasingly, this extends beyond 'seeming' to the needed 'substance' of corporate social responsibility.

The above touches on…

References

Aaker, D.A., Brand Portfolio Strategy, New York: Free Press, 2004.

Balmer, John and Alan Wilson, "Corporate Identity: There Is More to It Than Meets the Eye," International Studies of Management & Organization, Vol. 28, 1998.

Bridson, K., and Evans, J., 'The secret to a fashion advantage is brand orientation', International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 32(8): 403-11, 2004.

D'Alessandro, David, Brand Warfare, New York: McGraw Hill, 2001.

S. economy is down, Target profits are likely to go down in response.

Problem

The main strategic problem is low employee wages, which has altered public perceptions. The retail industry is very unstable and some of the competition Target faces ebbs and flows quickly. The main competitors Target faces are Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Sears. Most cities have other smaller stores and department stores, which all compete with Target for the same customers. Wal-Mart has more locations than Target, which makes Wal-Mart more accessible to customers. In addition, Wal-Mart has tapped into the foreign market places. This competitor is well-known for its low prices and discounted prices. The goods Wal-Mart offers is not of as high a quality as Target, but most of the consumers who patronize this store is looking for the money savings. The competitors Target faces are a constant threat to the profit margin of the organization.

Currently,…

References

House, C. (2008). Target Corporation SWOT Analysis. London: Datamonitor Plc.

from http://students.washington.edu/dkimble/DataMonitorReport.pdf.

Target Corporation. (2010). Our Company. Retrieved from http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-030795

Target Corporation. (2012). Investors: Corporate overview. Retrieved from  http://investors.target.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=65828&p=irol-homeprofile

Improvements to Target's Logistics Processes

As one of the leading retailers in North America, Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) has one of the most advanced logistics, supply chain management and planning systems and series of processes in the retail industry. Target has specifically designed their entire value chain to deliver higher-end electronic products that can compete with WalMart, specifically in the areas of flat screen televisions, laptop computers and increasingly, Apple-branded iPads and iPod products. Target is also using their advanced supply chain processes including Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and eplenishment (CPF) to compete in the high-end women's clothing lines that WalMart is not choosing to compete in (Target Investor elations, 2012). At the close of their latest fiscal year, Target was operating approximately 1,760 stores in 49 states. Target finances its operations through its retail and credit card business units, using the profits from those two operations to finance the operations of…

References

Columbus, L. (2008, The perfect order meets customer expectations. Supply & Demand Chain Executive, 9(4), 37-38.

Copacino, W.C. (1993). Creating the perfect order. Logistics Management, 32(2), 27-27.

Henderson, T.P. (2001). Kmart, Target outline best practices for ensuring vendor supply chain compliance. Stores, 83(3), 74-78.

Debra Hofman (2004, September). The HIERARCHY of SUPPLY CHAIN METRICS. Supply Chain Management Review, 8(6), 28-37.

Wal-Mart vs. Target

History of Wal-Mart and Target

(a) History of Wal-Mart:

Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart is the largest retail company in the world with its core competence being specialization in the operation of mass retailing and running supermarket stores. The company manages through three segments, viz the Wal-Mart stores, Sam's Club and the international segments based in Asia, Europe and S. America. Wal-Mart's revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan'05 was $285.2 billion which is 11.3% up compared to the pervious year with the net income being $10.3 billion for the year. (Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)

Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, which set the ball rolling for discount retailing. During the same period his small chain of variety stores in Arkansas and Kansas was already encountering competition from the regional discount chains. Founder, Sam traveled the country to research this breakthrough, new retailing concept and could…

REFERENCES

"A message from Bob Ulrich, Chairman and CEO" Retrieved from  http://target.com/targetcorp_group/diversity/index.jhtml  Accessed 16 August 2005

"Business Summary" Retrieved from  http://www.targetcorp.com/targetcorp_group/about /history.jhtml

Accessed 16 August 2005

"Exceeding Customer Expectations" Retrieved from  http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstores/[email protected]@@@[email protected]@@@& ; BV_EngineID=ccchaddfdldmdkfcfkfcfkjdgoodglh.0& pagetype=about& categoryOID=-8276& catID=-8242& subCatOID=-8245& template=DisplayAllContents.jsp Accessed 15 August 2005

Strategic Management Case Study on Target

According to the company's profile provided by Reuter's, the Target Corporation ("Target") operates Target-brand general merchandise discount stores and an online business, Target.com (found to be slow by this researcher). The profile reports that as of November 11, 2004, Target operated 1,313 stores in 47 states; in addition, the Company maintains 22 distribution centers in 19 states. Times have been tough for Target, and the company's discontinued operations include Mervyn's (a middle-market promotional department store located in 14 states in the est, South and Midwest sold in September 2004), and Marshall Field's (a traditional department store located in eight states in the upper Midwest sold in July 2004) (Target 2005).

Statement of the Problem. The sales of Mervyn's and Marshall Field's are symptomatic of the competition that has become increasingly fierce among the major retailers in the United States; today, just five retailers, al-Mart,…

Works Cited

Johnson, Bradford C. (2002). Retail: The Wal-Mart Effect; Information Technology Isn't the Whole Story Behind Productivity. The McKinsey Quarterly, 40.

Target. (2005). Reuter's Business. Retrieved March 16, 2005 from  http://finance.yahoo.com  / q/pr?s=TGT.

Corporations

The modern corporation has a lengthy history that spans four centuries, but this business model has expanded greatly since that time to include a wide range of corporation types with fundamentally different ownership structures and goals (Rao 2). Given the global impact that corporations have on the economy today, it is important to gain a better understanding of corporations, including most especially their similarities and differences and how these affect the manner in which they are operation. To this end, this paper reviews the relevant literature concerning modern corporations to provide their background and an overview, a discussion concerning different types of corporations, and a description concerning how corporations are formed. A discussion concerning corporate financing practices is followed by a description of the respective roles, duties and rights of directors and officers as well as shareholders. Finally, a discussion concerning different types of corporate takeover strategies is followed…

Works Cited

Black's Law Dictionary. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1991. Print.

Coates, John C. (1999, Summer). "Measuring the Domain of Mediating Hierarchy: How Contestable Are U.S. Public Corporations?" Journal of Corporation Law 24(4): 837-841. Print.

Hopkins, Bruce R. Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization: A Legal Guide. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2013. Print.

Kelly, Marjorie. (2000, July/August). "The Divine Right of Capital." Tikkun 33. Print.

Growth Strategy

Market Entry Strategy

There are a number of different options for the market entry strategy. These include licensing, joint venture and direct investment. For Target there are a number of considerations to make. First, the company just utilized the direct investment strategy in Canada, buying the real estate assets of a large chain of discount stores that went under. This move gave Target a large real estate footprint with which to work. Theoretically, that should have helped the company with things like economies of scale, but instead it was too big for Target to manage and the company suffered massive stockouts that may have set it back in that country years (Shaw, 2014). Target can view this one of two ways -- either it learned something from the experience and can enter the UK market most effectively via direct investment, or it should avoid direct investment and find…

References

Bermingham, F. (2014). Supermarket price war killing British food producers. International Business Times. Retrieved November 29, 2014 from  http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/supermarket-price-war-killing-british-food-producers-1476283 

QuickMBA. (2010). Foreign market entry modes. QuickMBA. Retrieved November 29, 2014 from  http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/global/marketentry/ 

Shaw, H. (2014). Bare shelves and out-of-stock items at Target's Canadian stores 'unacceptable', says interim CEO. Financial Post. Retrieved November 29, 2014 from  http://business.financialpost.com/2014/05/21/target-still-struggling-to-rebound-from-botched-canadian-expansion-and-hacker-attack/

Lifecycle of Idea
The concept of the business lifecycle reflects the natural stages that all businesses go through, from the moment that the idea is developed into a business, until the moment that the business wraps up. For some businesses, the stages can last a long time, but for other businesses, the stages are relatively short, and the progression through them can be quite fast. In other cases, the business hits a point of maturity, starts into decline, and then is re-invented, to start the business life cycle over again.
The five stages of the business life cycle are development, startup, growth and establishment, expansion and, finally, the maturity and possible exit stage (Petch, 2016). Target’s business is in the maturity stage, but the company is highly successful as a competitor in the big box retail space, and therefore not at all considering exit. It is what would in the…

Accounting

The T&M Company is investigating whether it should use target costing for its towels, especially as it moves into the Italian market. Management might be halfway insane for targeting a country for international expansion that is only going to pay 20% less than our current revenue per towel, but it is my job as to crunch the numbers and figure out how we can do that. One technique is target costing. Target costing begins with the revenue per unit that is expected, then takes into account the margin that we are targeting. What is left is the amount of that is budgeted for the production of the item in question (Arrington, n.d). Target costing is useful in a situation like this because it provides a target for the company. It is easier to earn the profits that we seek if we are able to know what the total production…

References

Arrington, W. (n.d.). Target Costing. Retrieved from www.freequality.org/documents/Training/Target%20Costing.pptx

Feil, P., Yook, K., and Kim, I (2004, Spring). Japanese Target Costing: A Historical Perspective. International Journal of Strategic Cost Management. Retrieved from http://economiceducation.us/dotAsset/785833.pdf

Tsorakidis, N. (2009). Break-Even Analysis. Retrieved from  http://bookboon.com/en/business/finance/break-even-analysis-1 

Walther, l. (2012). Chapter Eighteen. Cost-Volume-Profit and Business Scalability. Retrieved (including video lecture) from  http://www.principlesofaccounting.com/

corporations have been increasingly targeted for terrorist activities. Part of the reason for this, is because the traditional targets such as: military and government facilities have become difficult to conduct a successful attack against. As a result, terrorists have begun to focus more of their efforts on attacking various corporate interests. Where, the security is less and the odds are high of being able to inflict enough casualties as well as collateral damage, to create the same psychological impact. This is important, because it shows how terrorist organizations are increasingly changing their focus. Therefore, corporate interests need to be able to adjust to these changes, to avoid the negative impact that this kind of incident could have.

In the case of Host Marriot, they are wrestling with a number of unique challenges. As they are known for being a popular hotel for: tourists, business people and government dignitaries. At the…

Bibliography

Deadly Bomb Blast Targets Marriot Hotel. (2008). CNN. Retrieved from: http://articles.cnn.com/2008-09-20/world/pakistan.islamabad.marriott.blast_1_vehicle-bomb-explosion-bodies?_s=PM:WORLD

Incident Response Plan. (n.d.). Comptech Doc. Retrieved from:  http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/security/policies/incident-response-example.html 

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks. (2010). Mahalo. Retrieved from:  http://www.mahalo.com/mumbai-terrorist-attacks/ 

Times Square Bomb Scare. (2010). CNN. Retrieved from:

The absolute value represented by the working capital is largely irrelevant for comparison between two different firms because of the different sizes of the firms. Current ratio is the better measure to compare between two different firms. Wal-Mart's current ratios for 004-006 were 1.70, 1.69 and 1.6 respectively. Target's current ratio over these three years was inconsistent, and Wal-Mart's declined. Target's was generally the weaker of the two.

Wal-Mart's asset turnover for 004, 005 and 006 respectively was .58, .49 and .39 based on the following calculations:

004: 56,39 / 99,15.5 = .58

005: 81,488 / 11,979.5 = .49

006: 308,945 / 19,170.5 = .39

Target's figures showed improvement over the three years in this area, but the figures are much lower than those of Wal-Mart. Thus, even though Wal-Mart's numbers are declining, they are stronger than Target's.

I would not invest in Target. The evidence presented here indicates that…

2006: 308,945 / 129,170.5 = 2.39

Target's figures showed improvement over the three years in this area, but the figures are much lower than those of Wal-Mart. Thus, even though Wal-Mart's numbers are declining, they are stronger than Target's.

I would not invest in Target. The evidence presented here indicates that Target is not as good an investment as its close competitor Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's working capital indicates that the company has a much larger size than does Target. While Target's figures for current ratio and asset turnover are perfectly healthy numbers, they are inferior to those of Wal-Mart. It could be argued that Target has the better trend with respect to asset turnover, however, improvements should be expected when the firm underperforms. Wal-Mart's track record of superior performance is only slightly diminished by the shrinking spread between its asset turnover and that of Target. Overall, Wal-Mart's financials are almost entirely superior to those of Target. While Target would not make a bad investment, Wal-Mart would be a better one.

Career esearch eport

esearching companies is very important when anyone is considering a future career. The two companies researched here will be Wal-Mart and Target, in order to determine which one (if any) would be the best choice for me to work at based on all the factors that are important.

The purpose of the report is to discuss both Wal-Mart and Target, in order to show that the companies have many similarities and differences to be addressed when I am looking for employment. The scope of the research addresses a SWOT analysis, along with other information about the company.

The majority of the data will come from Marketline documents that provide company and SWOT analysis information. Other data comes from the companies' websites and an article written about Wal-Mart's expansion to other countries.

Target is the preferred company to work for, for a variety of reasons. Those reasons will…

References

Hayden, P., Lee, S., McMahon, K., & Pereira, M. (2002). Wal-Mart: Staying on top of the Fortune 500. Corporate Strategy and Public Affairs Lecture. George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.

Target Stores, Inc. Company Profile (2014). Marketline.

Target. (2014). Target.com. Retrieved from www.target.com.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Company Profile. (2014). Marketline.

According to Kerin, et al., (2003) all employees posses some form of power to interrupt the smooth running of operations by deciding to be uncooperative in the production processes, or just by terminating their services. Workers may abide to the power of the company, though they usually maintain a strong interest in their employment. Thus, employees and employers, to certain degree, are interdependent. As such, the company cannot depend only on coercion or conformity to get good performance form employees, the company as well require to gain cooperation and consent from the employees.

Chase, et al., (2004) asserts that the issues of subjectivity are related to analysis of actual work practices where interactive services are involved. This is because companies' actively control employees' identities. Chase, et al., (2004) stresses the anguish felt by employees when an organization exploits their feelings and personalities. Nonetheless, Kerin, et al., (2003) notes that some…

References

Chase, R., Jacobs, F., Aquilano, N. (2004). Operations Management for Competitive Advantage (10th Ed.): McGraw-Hill Irwin; Boston.

Kerin, R., Berkowitz, E., Hartley, S., Rudelius, W. (2003). Marketing (7th Ed.): McGraw- Hill Irwin; Boston.

McDonald website (2012): Retrieved on June, 30, 2012; from  http://www.mcdonalds.com 

McDonald's (2012). 2011 Annual Report: Retrieved from:  http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Investors/Investors%202012/2011%20Annual%20Report%20Final.pdf

Toyota Corporation

Company Overview

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese company which deals with manufacture of automobile. The company is among the largest companies in the world in manufacture of automobiles. In 2008, the company was ranked the largest company for the first time in automobile industry (Wankel, 2009). The company has approximately 600 subsidiary companies in various parts of the globe. These corporations are involved in the manufacture of automobiles, commercial as well as industrial vehicles, and automobile parts. Headquarters of the company are in Toyota city, Japan.

Toyota Motor Corporation started in 1933 as a constituent of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (Wankel, 2009). The first car to be produced by the company was the Model AA sedan, in early 1936. In 1937, the company was incorporated and it became Toyota motor company. In 1982, the company took its present name (Wankel, 2009). This is when Toyota Motor Company…

References Series on Green Society: Toward a Sustainable Future: Green business: An A-to-Z guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412973793

Hitokoto, T. (2010, May 13).  http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4118409 

Investopedia.com (2011). The industry handbook: Automobiles. Investopedia. Retrieved August, 2011, fromhttp://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/automobile.asp

Toyota. (2012) Annual Report 2011. Retrieved August, 2012 from  http://www.toyota-global.com/investors/ir_library/annual/pdf/2011/ 

Wankel, C. (Ed.). (2009). Encyclopedia of business in today's world. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412964289

Aid to Dependent Corporations

The government of United States is incurring heavy revenue loss on account of the corporate sector subsidies and other special rebates. The friendly policies of the government aimed at promoting a positive business climate are sadly being exploited. In their interests to evade tax, businesses today are taking undue advantage of the favorable federal policies. In this regard I feel that our governments tax policies and corporate procedures need to be reexamined in order to eliminate the loopholes in them and at the same time support the common welfare schemes. Let us analyze the scenario in a little detail so that we can better appreciate the situation.

One by one our leading business corporations are reeling under accounting scams. I need not mention how well such a giant corporation like 'Enron' managed to disguise its financial information from the government and the stockholders. In the prevailing…

Bibliography

Chuck Collins, "Dollars & Sense," 'Aid to dependent corporations: exposing federal handouts to the wealthy', May-June 1995, pg 15

Flexible Budget

My Kiosk Corporation (MKC) is a well-known company in the Malaysian kiosk business. It was one of the first to operate and manage a chain of kiosks selling hand phones and accessories in the nation's shopping malls. The company is currently planning to open another kiosk, this time a new shopping mall in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Cityalk is a shopping center located near two of the city's major malls KLCC Suria and Pavilion, against which it competes. It is important for MKC to have a presence in Cityalk as the shopping center is expected to be another destination shopping area.

As finance manager, my role is to analyze the financial aspects of the new kiosk that is planned for Cityalk. The figures needed will include key managerial accounting metrics such as breakeven ratio, setup costs, cost-volume-profit analysis and return on investment. Each of these will be calculated on…

Works Cited:

eNotes. (2011). Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis. Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. Retrieved July 29, 2011 from  http://www.enotes.com/business-finance-encyclopedia/cost-volume-profit-analysis

International Corporation Walmart

Because of the abilities of the internet and the expansion of global interests, there are many more international corporations today than there were in the past. One of the largest and most recognized of those corporations is Walmart. It operates in nearly all developed countries in the world, and is one of the largest retailers on the planet (Fishman, 2006; Zook & Graham, 2006). While it started out small, the company has grown to enormous proportions. It has become so large that some countries and some communities have taken strong and significant steps to keep the company out. Not everyone is a fan of the company, and not all countries think Walmart is good for business. The way the company comes in and "takes over" is sometimes a problem for much smaller, "mom and pop" businesses that are not able to sell as inexpensively as Walmart. For…

References

Fishman, C. (2006). The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works -- and How It's Transforming the American Economy. NY: Penguin.

Ingram, P., Yue, L.Q., & Rao, H. (2010). Trouble in Store: Probes, Protests, and Store Openings by Wal-Mart, 1998 -- 2007. American Journal of Sociology, 116(1): pp 53 -- 92.

Lichtenstein, N. (2009). The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business. NY: Macmillan.

Vance, S.S. & Scott, R.V. (1997). Wal-Mart: A History of Sam Walton's Retail Phenomenon (Twayne's Evolution of Modern Business Series). NY: Twayne Publishers.

Diversify or Not to Diversify

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

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

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

References

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

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

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

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

Measure

Target

Action

Maintain Starbucks "Ethos"

It is difficult to directly measure consumer sentiment. However, dissatisfied customers provided needed feedback as to problems in the overall objective.

Consumers, Vendors

Take drastic action to address consumers' issues in a timely manner. This may include free samples or refunds but should be as comprehensive as possible to address a wide range of complaints

Ethical Treatment of Internal Employees

Starbucks can gauge its treatment of its employees from industry standards and other similar measures.

Employees

Starbucks should be one of the best companies to work for in their industry at all times and must make sure there compensation packages meet or exceed employee expectations.

Maintain and promote a high level of corporate social responsibility.

Starbucks must not only source its raw materials (mostly coffee) in a sustainable manner, but it should also be proactive in finding new solutions to responsible coffee development in…

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a global manufacturing and marketing company in the consumer products business. The Company is currently concentrating new marketing efforts on emerging markets of Asia, ussia and Latin America. Historically, the Company was an integrated (pulp to finished product) paper products business. It has been reducing its exposure to the basic commodity pulp manufacturing capacity in an effort to improve its profitability in the consumer tissue business. The Company operates with a high degree of ethical behavior. "Doing the right thing" is a critical aspect of the Company's business strategy. The Company's Code of Conduct sets out guidelines for all employees (worldwide) on the topics of freedom of association (right to organize), diversity and non-discrimination, global human rights, workplace safety, and fair dealing with customers, suppliers, competitors and each other. The Company was ranked fifth among the top 100 large U.S. companies by the Corporate esponsibility Magazine. Cost…

References

Asaada, Jason N. (2011, February 1), Kimberly-Clark Corp, Standard & Poor's, Stock Report

CRO, (2011, January), Corporate Responsibility Magazine, Retrieved February 23, 2011 from http://thecro.com/content/corporate-responsibility-reports

Dillon, C.A. & Kelly, Edward J. (2011, January 26), Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Credit Suisse, Equity Research Report

Kimberly-Clark, Code of Conduct, Office of the Chairman of the Board, Retrieved February 23, 2011 from www.iflo.com/fls/Kimberly-Clark

Deluxe Corporation is a leader in the check printing industry. However, recent times have struck Deluxe with financial structure problems associated with obtaining the most optimal capital structure. Therefore, the objective of this summary is to assess the recommended capital structure alternative and its impact on the current capital structure.

The current problems with the capital structure are the equity-based financing to which the company will not have the free-cash flow necessary to repurchase the company stock at the accelerated rate projected by Singh. The cash on hand that Deluxe does generate will have to go to maintaining the operating capital to finance daily operations.

Secondly, the firm does not maintain or manage flexibility in financing well. The optimal choice is to issue debt as the company as the 37% tax shield that makes the cost of debt financing very attractive due to the 1/3 reduction in cost. However, this…

Wal-Mart's most obvious image is that as a low-cost provider. The slogan "Everyday low prices" is common throughout the store and many goods are signed indicated that they have been subject to a recent price reduction.

Wal-Mart does appear to want to establish a strong presence in the community. The store is large, as is the parking lot. There is a clear intention to draw a substantial number of customers from the community and to become a major retailing force in the area. The location is a primary form of marketing for the company. Geographically, the location is out of the way, but physically its large presence makes stands out even among other box stores. And the Wal-Mart is much larger than conventional retailers. It would take a long time to walk past the Wal-Mart, and it cannot help but be noticed by all who pass it. Wal-Mart does have…

Others, such as those which inquire as to current levels of usage and optimization of electronic purchase orderings, should help to appropriately guide findings toward process improvements that are directly attendant to vendor concerns.

The survey questions here respond to the primary ethical demands of the process, which require a focus on the research objective without inappropriate deviation into subjects of irrelevance or impropriety. Namely, this survey attempts not to deter from the path of proper behavior between company and clientele, with the surveyed vendors representing a population inherently entitled to privacy and protection from the exploitation of private information. The privileges between the two parties must remain intact through the research process, ensuring that the information used here is not employed to exploit specific accounts or to transfer the findings to other parties. Instead, all survey purposes relating to the interests of product improvement must be conveyed at the…

In a controlled market, the monopoly company will be capable of running the business without paying any attention to the affected parties (customers, employees, suppliers). Americans themselves have initiated a movement against the colossal power of Wal-Mart, suggesting that it should change its business conduct. "The truth is that Wal-Mart has let America down by lowering wages, forcing good paying American jobs overseas, and cutting costs with total disregard for the values that have made this nation great. Wal-Mart has needlessly exploited illegal immigrants, faces the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in history, forced workers to work in an unsafe environment, and -- incredibly -- broken child labor laws. America's largest employer must reflect America's values. ut, Wal-Mart will never change on its own. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO, mistakenly thinks he only answers to a few wealthy shareholders who own Wal-Mart stock. Lee Scott is wrong. Wal-Mart and Lee Scott must…

Bibliography

International Operations," Wal-Mart website, 14th Nov 2006,  http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=369 

Mander, Kai and Boston, Alex. "Wal-Mart Worldwide, The Making of a Global Retailer," The Ecologist vol.25, no.6, Nov/Dec 1995

Fishman, Charles. "The Wal-Mart You Don't Know," Fast Company website, Dec 2003, 14th Nov 2006,  http://www.fastcompany.com/online/77/walmart.html 

Why Wal-Mart Must Change," Wake-Up Wal-Mart website,  http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/change/

What Sony needs to do is concentrate on creating a mobile Web-enabled series of devices, supporting services, and segmented digital content in both music-based and video content. In short, Sony needs to create an economic ecosystem that rivals the Apple ecosystem as shown in Figure 2, Apple Digital Content Ecosystem:

Figure 2: Apple Digital Content Ecosystem

Source: (Apple Investor elations, 2009)

The most critical objective for the three-year planning horizon for Sony is to emulate the model shown in Figure 2 and apply entirely new series of metrics to how they evaluate integration and cross-model compatibility of their entire product line. The strategic objective for the coming three years has to be centered on creating a scalable ecosystem that can deliver a continual stream of revenues through the licensing of digital music and video content in addition to the introduction of entirely new devices into this ecosystem that have not…

References

Apple, Investor Relations (2009). Investor Relations. Retrieved May 21, 2009, from Apple Investor Relations and Filings with the SEC Web site:  http://www.apple.com/investor/ 

Kemal Altinkemer, Wendi Shen. (2008). A Multigeneration Diffusion Model for it-Intensive Game Consoles*. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 9(8), 442-461.

Steven Cherry. (2008). Blu-ray's Empty Victory. IEEE Spectrum, 45(3), 16. ).

Lee G. Cooper. (2000). Strategic marketing planning for radically new products. Journal of Marketing, 64(1), 1-16.

Wal-Mart Corporation

Mission and Vision Statement Analysis

Linking Wal-Mart's Mission and Vision to Their Strategic Goals ands Objectives

Assessing the Link Between Wal-Mart's Financial Performance And Its Strategic Goals

Wal-Mart Competitive and Marketing Analysis

Wal-Mart Marketing Analysis

Selecting An Appropriate Strategy (low cost, differentiation or niche) For Maximizing Organization's eturn on Shareholders

Potential Wal-Mart Merger & Acquisition Strategy

Incentive and eward Strategies for Wal-Mart Employees

Evaluating How Current Strategies Define Ethicacy Levels at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart atio Analysis

Income Statement Analysis, 2007 -- 2011

Wal-Mart Capstone Analysis

Mission and Vision Statement Analysis

The foundations of the Wal-Mart value chain and its global success is predicated on how well this company aligns every internal system and strategy to their unique value proposition of Low Price Everyday (LPED) leadership. This unique value proposition galvanizes the mission and vision statement of Wal-Mart and is one of the foundations of their success and continued growth.…

References

Nabil Alghalith (2005). Competing with IT: The UPS Case. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 7(2), 7-15.

Jonathan Birchall. (2009, October 23). Walmart set to focus on growth outside U.S.. Financial Times,16.

Susan Christopherson 2007. Barriers to 'U.S. style' lean retailing: the case of Wal-Mart's failure in Germany. Journal of Economic Geography: Transnational Retail, Supply Networks, and the Global 7, no. 4 (July 1): 451-469.

Richard De Santa. (1998, January). Technology. Supermarket Business, 53(1), 18.

Strategic Choices at HD Motorcycle Corporation

Harley Davidson's strategy to become a successful organization

The corporate strategy is developed in accordance with the business strategic vision and mission. The organizations also establish business strategy to respond internal and external elements of their operating environment. Harley Davidson is an organization that has a long history of operations and also faced challenges from external and internal environments. The business has also adopted changes in its corporate and business level strategies in response to the environmental factors. The strategies enabling the business a successful business entity are reviewed in the following sections.

Harley Davidson's strategy to become a successful organization:

The business has gained its position in the market over the years. The success story of Harley Davison (HD) is based on the competitive strategy and adopted changes throughout the business. The organization grew over the years and it has followed different strategies…

References:

Daft, R.L. (2009). Organization theory and design. USA: Cengage learning.

Doole, I., & Lowe, R. (2005). Strategic Marketing: Decisions in Global Markets. USA: CengageBrain.

Gee, T. (2008). Hope Is Not a Strategy: Simple Solutions for Doing Business in the 21st Century. USA: Dog Ear Publishing.

In the first instance an attack of this nature usually serves a symbolic purpose from the terrorist's point-of-view in that he or she is seen to be attacking the bastion of global Western commerce. Secondly, many business concerns are more vulnerable to attack as they are usually not as heavily secured as military or energy installations. There is also the factor that American financial institutions are invariably identified with the international polices and political stances of the U.S. government, making them a prime target for terrorists and radical groups. (Kirkpatrick, 1983, p. 94)

American multinational Corporations (MNCs) in particular are an increasing focus of terrorist attention. As Harvey (1993) states, "If the trends of the past are any indication of the future strategies of terrorists, United States MNCs will continue to be their primary targets" (Harvey, 1993 p. 465). In this regard studies have found that financial and commercial institutions…

References

 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002393124 

Bayles, W.J. (2001). The Ethics of Computer Network Attack. Parameters, 31(1), 44.  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000729437 

Beard, J.M. (2002). America's New War on Terror: The Case for Self-Defense under International Law. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 25(2), 559+.  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5017424066 

Beebe, J.L. (2006). Inherently Safer Technology: The Cure for Chemical Plants Which Are Dangerous by Design. Houston Journal of International Law, 28(1), 239+.  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5021769883

Jerry Lopatin is the senior vice president, engineering at Quantum, having joined the company in March 2008. He served in a similar capacity at ONtor, and previously worked at companies such as Iomega, amsung Electronics, IBM.

III Opportunities/Threats

According to Quantum's Web site (2008), it is in a very favorable position in terms of opportunities. By nature, the it world is developing with increasing rapidity, with computers and software developing almost more rapidly than companies can upgrade. Quantum's position is then such that it can make use of this phenomenon by providing companies with solutions that are effective for their changing needs. Change is therefore the main driver of opportunity for the company.

A further driver of opportunity is development. First-world companies are increasingly developing sophisticated it software, as mentioned above. With this, the sophistication of storage needs is increasing. Quantum's team of innovation experts then have the opportunity to…

Sources

Quantum Corporation (2008). Data Storage Solutions.  http://www.Quantum.com .

Quantum Corporation (2008, Aug 13). News Release: Quantum Achieves Major Milestone With 20,000th Shipment of Scalar i500 Tape Automation System. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/staging/phoenix.zhtml?c=69905&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1186977&highlight=

Quantum Corporation (2008). Board of Directors.  http://www.quantum.com/AboutUs/CorporateProfile /BoardofDirectors/Index.aspx' target='_blank' REL='NOFOLLOW'>

There is no room for miscommunication. This leads to reductions in time to market, for the organization.

In addition, by spelling out the quality demands within a contract, the contract further facilitates the high-degree of collaboration between the organization and the supplier, as needed in JIT (Kristensen, Dahlgaard, Kanji, & Juhl, 1999), by ensuring that both parties understand what is required of the supplier, from the very beginning.

With such detailed quality levels spelled out for their suppliers, suppliers are less likely to try to deliver inferior parts or materials. When unacceptable parts or materials are received, there is significant time lost as the material is sorted through, and communication between the supplier and Infotechnics occurs to rectify the problem. In addition, further time can elapse while replacement parts or materials are redelivered to the company. This can lead to significant production challenges considering the nature of the JITQC system.…

References

Chakravarty, A. & Balakrishnan, N. (Summer 2004). Real-time revision of order quantities with capacity constraint: A single period model. Production & Operations Management, 13(2). Retrieved December 7, 2006, from Business Source Complete database.

Clarke, B. & Lockman, M. (1993). JIT manufacturing systems: Use and application in Australia. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 13(7). Retrieved December 7, 2006, from Business Source Complete database.

Dion, P., Banting, P., Picard, S., & Blenkhorn, D. (Fall 1992). JIT implementation: A growth opportunity for purchasing. International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 28(4). Retrieved December 7, 2006, from InfoTrac database.

Garg, D. & Deshmukh, S. (Apr. 1999). JIT purchasing: Literature review and implications for Indian industry. Production Planning & Control, 10(3). Retrieved December 7, 2006, from Business Source Complete database.

Rayovac Corporation

Welcome to the new and improved Spectrum Brands ®. The organization has embarked on a cost reducing strategy that will enable our business to focus on our primary businesses whilst removing the non-core businesses. Divesture will not facilitate a cost to our firm. We seek to obtain profits by selling off assets and by reducing liabilities outstanding. The liabilities such as pensions can be bought at a value below maturity and therefore removed from the balance sheet as a future long-term liability obligation.

The feasibility of divesture, as well as debt restructuring is not novel. However, many businesses choose not to 'cut the fat' so to speak and remain marginally profitable due to the dragging business lines. We seek to sell off these marginal performers and perhaps invest into a new line of business. new line that will continue to see growth in a booming industry such as…

Additionally, given the lower growth forecasts in a few of the business lines, the idea of restructuring the debt makes great sense. The debt obligations for the short-term include a number of term loans in varying currencies as well as revolving credit and capitalized lease obligations. The amounts of all debts aggregate to over 2.270mm through 2015. The rate of interest is of particular importance as a loan for 26 is pegged @ 10.3% with two large outstanding loan amounts totaling almost 1mm at 8.55%.

The stock price will be a bargain considering the debt elimination from the balance sheet and therefore will likely be recommended as a buy given the debt restructuring, the divesture of non-core operating businesses, and the revenue growth from the stable brands in the growing markets. Increases in commodities costs also seek to undermine profitability and therefore futures hedging which is a function of the currency hedge should continue.

Largely, the profits generated (16.1mm approx.) from the overseas markets were from the sales as a function of the currency value of the Euro to the U.S. Dollar. Yet when commodity costs increase, the firm relies more on these overseas sales to drive profits which can cause an artificial increase in sales revenue due to the overheated nature of the overseas economy. Hedging by engaging the futures market and locking in current prices in case of a supply crunch yielding a supply constraint does occur.

Shareholders

Future

Chester Corporation is dedicated to focus its efforts to capitalize on future opportunities and continuous growth. For the time being, most of the company's earnings are going to be plowed back into the company. However, we expect to enjoy growth that will allow us to increase our dividend to $5 per share by the 2030 fiscal year. Suffice to say, such growth would also imply an increase in stock price as well.

There are several opportunities that will be leveraged to help fuel this growth. One of these is to focus on customer service. By increasing the customer awareness within the organization, we believe that we can extract more revenue from our existing customers, fuelling internal growth. In addition, as we build our customer service reputation, we feel that will attract new customers as customer service is one of the industry's key success factors. Another opportunity that we…

Financial Objectives

Throughout the few recent years, the Ford Company has ended fiscal years with negative profits. Despite this however, they remain strong and able to finance their operations without endangering organizational stability. Nonetheless, the past profits are not able to sustain long periods of time of losses. In this order of ideas then, the financial objectives of the managerial team at Ford can be summarized as follows:

"Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet" (Ford Motor Company 2008 Annual eport)

Increase sales to generate more revenues

Increase investments with the aim of generating sustainable revenues, not only in terms of actual revenues, but also in terms of prestige and position within the market

6. Target Markets

As it has been mentioned before, modifications have occurred in the way Ford segments its customer base. Once appealing to wealthy individuals who wanted to make a socio-economic statement, the marketing team…

References:

Tippins, R., 2006, Ford's Bold New Marketing Strategy, All Business,  http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/advertising/3877648-1.html  last accessed on June 29, 2009

Ford Motor Company 2008 Annual Report, Retrieved from http://www.ford.com/about-ford/investor-relations/company-reports/annual-reports on June 29, 2009

2008, Ford Rethinking Marketing Strategy for 2009 F-150, Left Lane,  http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-rethinking-marketing-strategy-for-2009-f-150.html  last accessed on June 29, 2009

2009, One Ford Mission, Ford Motor Company Website, http://www.ford.com/about-ford/company-information/one-ford last accessed on June 29, 2009

Marriott Corporation

The Marriott Company has three major lines of business, including lodging, contract services, and restaurants. Lodging operations include 361 hotels, with a total room count of over 100,000. These establishments range from full-service, high-quality hotels and suites to more moderately priced hotels, known as the Fairfield Inn. In 1987, 41% of sales were generated by lodging, along with 51% of profits.

Contract services entail food and service management for health-care and educational institutions and corporations. Airline catering and services are also included by means of Marriott In-Flite Services and host International operations. These generated 46% of sales in 1987 and 33% of profits.

Restaurants include Bob's Big Boy, Roy Rogers, and Hot Shoppes, which resulted in 13% of sales for 1987 and 33% of profits.

Marriott's financial strategy includes four key elements: 1) Manage rather than own hotel assets; 2) Invest in projects that increase shareholder value; 3)…

IRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT) company designs and markets robots for a variety of markets (manufacturing is outsourced). The company markets cleaning robots to consumers, but also has a variety of products aimed at the police, military and undersea research markets as well. The retail business is conducted through national retailers and the company's online store. It markets to government, the military and institutions through those institutions' purchasing processes. Among the more well-known of iRobot's products are its bomb-disposal robots, the Roomba vacuuming robot and its Seaglider unmanned underwater robot.

iRobot has a wide range of strengths. The firm has a unique market position. There are few competitors in the household robot niche. Although iRobot's products are still limited in terms of functionality, they are ahead of the competitive curve, giving iRobot some first mover advantages in this nascent industry. iRobot faces more competition with respect to military and research robots but…

Works Cited:

Financial statements from MSN Moneycentral. Retrieved April 16, 2009 from  http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt.aspx?Symbol=IRBT 

Weiner, Tim. (2005). New Model Army Soldier Rolls Closer to Battle. New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2009 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/16/technology/16robots.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1 

iRobot Corporation 2008 Form 10-K. Retrieved April 16, 2009 from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/IRBT/615109736x0x287542/b2538720-118b-4411-8114-15da2107f4aa/iRobot2009ProxyAnnualReport.pdf

On the prevention side, there needs to be research about the most infectious diseases, widespread vaccination against the most threatening animal borne pathogens, monitoring and intelligence to identify potential threats, and education about bioterrorism at all levels of government (RAND, 2). On the response side, early detection, early containment, treatment plans, stockpiles of vaccines and drugs, and an animal depopulation and disposal plan are all necessary (RAND, 2).

The government has passed a number of laws to help address potential threats and be ready in the event of an attack. For example, the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act tightens control of certain toxins and threatening agents and expands agricultural security. The FDA and USDA have both passed rules to increase record-keeping and monitoring related to potentially dangerous agents. Homeland Security has been authorized to increase agricultural border inspections, with the assistance of the USDA. These inspections identify and quarantine potential threats. (Monke…

Works Cited

Gonzales, Alberto, Regina Schofield, and Glenn Schmitt. Agroterrorism -- Why We're Not Ready: A Look at the Role of Law Enforcement. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 2006. Print.

Monke, Jim. Agroterrorism: Threats and Preparedness. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2004. Print.

RAND National Defense Research Institute. Agroterrorism: What Is the Threat and What Can Be Done About it? Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2003. Print.

Corporate Governance in ussia

Accountability of Corporations

Delivering a financial report in a timely manner is quite important. Financial report becomes stale quickly, so informing while the information is still new and relevant is important. The longer one waits to post financial information, the less significant it is[footnoteef:1]. Timeliness of financial reporting and channeling is one of the benchmarks the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has began to show the quality of a corporation's corporate governance practices. The present research shows the timeliness of financial posting of the ussian banking sector and contrasts it to the timeliness of financial publishing for selected banks in the U.S. And Europe. [1: Guriev, Sergei and Andrei achinsky, "Ownership concentration in ussian industry," Background paper for ussia CEM 2003 March 2004]

Approach and characteristics of the system

Ten years of improvements, during which the economy in ussia has undergone historical changes, have…

References

International Finance Corporation, the Russia Corporate Governance Manual, Part III Shareholder Rights, Alpina Business Books, Moscow 2004

International Finance Corporation, the Russia Corporate Governance Manual, Part IV Information Disclosure and Transparency, Alpina Business Books, Moscow 2004

Gompers, Paul A., Ishii, Joy L. And Metrick, Andrew, "Corporate Governance and Equity Prices." Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 118, No. 1, pp. 107-155, February 2003

Brown, Lawrence D. And Caylor, Marcus L., "Corporate Governance and Firm Performance" (December 7, 2004)

net, 2010). For HNI, the objective is to build market share, as much as possible, in ergonomic chairs. The pricing strategy is going to need to reflect that, and should therefore be at the low end of the ergonomic segment.

In this situation, we have chosen a skimming strategy. The skimming strategy involves setting high prices based on value. The company wants to build market share on the basis of quality (Meissner, 2010). Ergonomic chairs are a growth market, and this strategy will allow us to gain entry into the market without sacrificing margins. e do not intend to be the biggest player in the market, but to build a solid market share based on a high quality product. e want to make good margins on our products and a skimming strategy will allow us to do this while staking our position in the market overall. Ergonomic chairs are relatively…

Works Cited:

Johansson, C. (2000). Top 10 emerging practice areas to watch in the new millennium. American Occupational Therapy Association. Retrieved April 24, 2010 from  http://www.aota.org/nonmembers/area1/links/link61.asp 

No author. (2010). Industry overview -- retail office furniture in the United States. ZPryme.com. Retrieved April 24, 2010 from  http://zpryme.com/news-room/industry-overview-a-retail-office-furniture-in-the-united-states-including-market-leaders-ashley-lane-haverty-and-global-leader-ikea-zprymehtml.html 

No author. (2010). Best ergonomic office chair. Ergonomic-Chairs.net. Retrieved April 24, 2010 from  http://ergonomic-chairs.net/ 

Meissner, J. (2010). Basic pricing strategies and when to use them. Meissner Research Group. Retrieved April 24, 2010 from  http://www.meiss.com/blog/tag/skimming-strategy/

enchmarking should not include sensitive data or negative advertising using sensitive data to put down the other company. Confidential information must not be shared without the proper confidentiality contract in place, and confidential information should not be illegally obtained from competitors.

After internal cost disadvantages are found, steps should be made to correct them by revamping the value chain system, moving high cost activities to lower cost areas, implementing cost-saving technology, or simplifying some aspects of the product design. Competitive advantage can be worked into the value chain by utilizing employee knowledge more effectively, coordinating related activities, and building dominating expertise that is essential to customer satisfaction or market success. Competitive strength against competitors must be assessed to determine the overall competitive position of the company, and a new strategy must be based on the company's current position. This strategy should include every issue listed in the industry and competitive…

Bibliography

CQUAY. Location Data. Retrieved March 13, 2007, at http://www.cquay.com/products_location_data.html.

Ivey Management Services. (2004). CQUAY Technologies Corp., Chapter 8.

Kestle, J. (2005). CQUAY Supports Environics Analytics in Consumer Marketing.

Retrieved March 13, 2007, at http://www.cquay.com/media/pr20050121.html.

Apple Corporation

When considering the ever-changing and highly competitive global landscape of business today, firms must stay at the cutting edge of their respective fields in order to sustain profitability in the long-term. With the current exponential growth and advancement of technology and the computerization of business and learning, consumers and investors have become much more connected to the businesses they patronize (Kurzweil, 2001). Accordingly, companies are faced with the continuous task of finding new ways to understand and subsequently accommodate the needs of those customers and shareholders, while simultaneously securing lucrative business models and job environments. Due to the variety in the effects of the globalized market realized by different nations and regions, some areas of the world have targeted specific business sectors and have subsequently gained a competitive advantage . The manufacturing industry provides a superb example of an industry that has grown, been geographically compartmentalized, and transformed…

Bibliography

Busch, J. (2010, April 7). The New Apple iPad: High-Tech Supply Chain Transparency. Retrieved September 27, 2011, from  http://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/16057/the-new-apple-iPad-high-tech-supply-chain-transparency-part-1/ 

Clark, D. (2010, April 5). iPad Taps Familiar Apple Suppliers. The Wall Street Journal .

Fleisher, B.M., & Yang, D.T. (2003). Labor Laws and Regulations in China. China Economic Review, 14 (4), 426-433.

Hejazi, W. (2011, February). International Trade Theories. Retrieved September 27, 2011, from  http://www.witiger.com/internationalbusiness/tradetheories.htm

motivates people or corporations to partake in enterprise crime?

Among the peculiar aspects that come with business ethics, as in comparison with other domain names of applied ethics, is it handles a wide array of human matters which are more often than not stricken by serious criminality, as well as an institutional structure and atmosphere that is also oftentimes noticeably criminally inclined (Hilts, 2003). The oddity of the situation may also be lost on professionals within the area. It's quite common, for example, at business ethics discussions for most of presentations to become more concerned with straight-forward criminality and they tend to avoid ethical issues within these debates which are actually where we find frequent questions regarding where the correct strategy for countering crimes lies. In this way, all of the discussions of the 'ethics dilemmas' at the beginning of the twenty-first century continues to be very deceptive, since the…

References

Doris, J.: 2002, Lack of Character (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).

Friedrichs, D. O. And Schwartz, M.D. (2008). Low Self-Control and High Organizational Control: The Paradoxes of White Collar Crimes. In E. Goode (Ed.), Out of Control? Assessing the general theory of crime (pp. 145-159). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press

Heath, J. 2008, Business Ethics and Moral Motivation: A Criminological Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 83:595 -- 614.

Heath, J.: 2006, 'Business Ethics Without Stakeholders', Business Ethics Quarterly 16, 533 -- 557.

Therefore, bankruptcy becomes the other option to deal with the liability to Crossroads. The issue of subordination should be dealt with before bankruptcy proceedings are undertaken, to best protect the Thompsons. At that point, the courts can sort out the extent to which ragonfly will honor its liability to Crossroads. The downside of bankruptcy is that the Thompsons are major creditors to ragonfly as well, and the bankruptcy could jeopardize their net worth if they are unable to convince Janet's parents to write off the Thompson's obligations to them. Bankruptcy, however, is lever that can be used against Crossroads, since the mall cannot unilaterally impose bankruptcy on ragonfly and would ideally like to receive the monies owed.

Turning ragonfly around is possible, if they are able to maintain solvency while getting out of the Crossroads lease. The Thompsons had gambled that Crossroads would attract ragonfly's target market and that does…

Dragonfly's rent liability at Crossroads can be addressed in one of two ways. The best option is to negotiate an early exit from the lease. This would get Dragonfly out of the struggling mall and allow them to put more focus on the Bellevue location and possibly open another store elsewhere. The deal would allow them to pay Crossroads from their more profitable operations without incurring further liability. Despite the fact that the Thompson's feel 1997 was a successful year, they were not able to make any headway on their liability to Crossroads. However, given that Crossroads is about to lose 1/6 of their tenant base, they may be unwilling to make such a deal with 1 1/4 years still remaining on the lease.

Therefore, bankruptcy becomes the other option to deal with the liability to Crossroads. The issue of subordination should be dealt with before bankruptcy proceedings are undertaken, to best protect the Thompsons. At that point, the courts can sort out the extent to which Dragonfly will honor its liability to Crossroads. The downside of bankruptcy is that the Thompsons are major creditors to Dragonfly as well, and the bankruptcy could jeopardize their net worth if they are unable to convince Janet's parents to write off the Thompson's obligations to them. Bankruptcy, however, is lever that can be used against Crossroads, since the mall cannot unilaterally impose bankruptcy on Dragonfly and would ideally like to receive the monies owed.

Turning Dragonfly around is possible, if they are able to maintain solvency while getting out of the Crossroads lease. The Thompsons had gambled that Crossroads would attract Dragonfly's target market and that does not appear to have come to pass. This means that much of the business Dragonfly did generate was destination business - people who came their to shop at Dragonfly. The Thompson's have a large mailing list that can be used to attract these customers to the Bellevue location or a third location. Given that Dragonfly is no longer marking down merchandise to move it, they may be able to be sufficiently profitable with other locations to pay down the $20,000 payment. The best course of action if Crossroads would agree to it is to borrow the money to make the payment and exit the Crossroads mall early. This way, Dragonfly should be able to turn their business around, without the anchor that is their poor original location.

WalMart Corporation

Mission and Vision tatement Analysis

Linking Wal-Mart's Mission and Vision to Their trategic Goals and Objectives

Assessing the Link Between Wal-Mart's Financial Performance And Its trategic Goals

Wal-Mart Competitive and Marketing Analysis

Wal-Mart Marketing Analysis

Potential Wal-Mart Merger & Acquisition trategy

Incentive and Reward trategies for Wal-Mart Employees

Evaluating How Current trategies Define Ethicacy Levels at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Ratio Analysis

Income tatement Analysis, 2007 -- 2012

Analysis of WalMart Corporation

Mission and Vision tatement Analysis

All internal systems, processes, external stakeholder management initiatives, supply chain management, sourcing, quality management and merchandising initiatives in WalMart revolve around the fulfillment of the expectations they create with their customers daily. Their Low Price Everyday (LPED) value proposition permeates their entire value chain, galvanizing it around the mission of delivering exceptional value on a consistent basis to customers. The mission and vision of WalMart rely on LPED as the catalyst and unifying…

Sources: (Wal-Mart, 2012) (Sodhi, Son, 2009) (Gosman, Kohlbeck, 2009)

Selecting the Best Possible Strategy for Maximizing Return to Shareholders

For WalMart to deliver the greatest potential value to shareholders, they need to pursue a mid-tier market strategy that differentiates store product

Management Technologies in American Corporations

An exploration of knowledge organizations and their management of information using both the Internet and digital means

This paper will explore the pros and cons of both, and make recommendations for implementing them into companies, both large and small, and finally show real-world examples of these technologies in use in some of the most prominent American companies today.

Today, we live in a very complex world. Technology is proliferating at an exponential pace, and we are constantly bombarded with new technologies and ways of accessing information. Some of us find it very hard to keep up with all these technologies in our own homes (some of us may not even know how to use the internet). But these problems are much more problematic for businesses.

hile we might be able to still operate, and live our everyday lives despite our lack of technical knowledge, companies…

Works Cited

Holt, DH 1997, Management Principles and Practices, Prentice-Hall, Sydney.

Aldrich, Douglass. 1999. Mastering the Digital Marketplace. John Wiley, New York.

Nonaka, Ikujiro and Toshihiro Nishiguchi. 2001. Knowledge Emergence. Oxford UP, Oxford.

Levine, Rick. 2000. Talk is Cheap. The Cluetrain Manifesto. Perseus, Cambridge.