Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Need For Energy And Electricity - 952 Words

Humankind has an increasing need for energy and electricity. This is evident in how we live and the overall population. Our lifestyles, especially in developed countries, have a large dependence on ‘conveniences’ that we have come to rely on.Examples of this can range anywhere from expecting lights to be on in a public building or business, the luxuries of indoor plumbing, to items as personal as our cell phones, tablets and computers.The energy for powering these items in the past has traditionally been from non-renewable resources. But as we are getting closer to running out of those, at least for general use, we turn to renewable energy. The most abundant source of raw renewable energy is from the Sun. The amount of solar energy exceeds all other renewable sources combined, and is many times over the actual amount of energy in which humanity needsi. The dilemma is the fact we don’t have the ability in which to harness all the energy emitted. What we can do is to utilize photovoltaic, or PV, panels. These are more commonly known as solar panels. This allows us to capture the energy from the sun as a source of renewable energy that does not emit any carbon emissions. This is important because of the fact our usage of fossil fuels will expire sooner than later, as well as reducing the pollution and other negative effects the extraction and processing of non-renewable energy sources causes. Once in operation, the panels are positioned to capture as much sunlight as possibleShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Renewable Energy On Our Environment1159 Words   |  5 Pagesare formed within the earth. (Origin Energy, 2015). At present the fossil fuel coal, is supplying 73% of Australia’s energy (Origin Energy , 2015) manly due to its excessive availability, however due to its toxic emissions has made Australia on of the highest green house gas contributors in the world. Renewable energy is sourced from products that can be replenished and are more sustainable for our environment. With Australia’s increasing demand for electricity there are debates that we should beRead MoreEnergy Resources : Renewable And Non Renewable Ones1225 Words   |  5 Pagesa discovery of the ability to transform the energy into the electricity. In today’s modern world it is hard to imagine that there was a world without the electricity and that electricity was gifted to the humanit y just 400 years ago. As George Gobel said once: â€Å"If it weren’t for electricity, we’d all be watching television by candlelight†. Electricity is the gift granted to humans and it is our generation’s duty to use the electricity energy smartly and pass it to future generations. ForRead MoreThe Future Of Solar Energy Essay1079 Words   |  5 Pagesand coal as our main sources of energy. These two sources of energy have more than accommodated our needs for power since the early days of electricity. However, as the dangers to both the environment and human race begin to be revealed regarding both substances, scientist begin to turn their heads in search of new and safer processes such as solar and nuclear energy. While both solar and nuclear energy are more than capable pf providing the human race with electricity, both sides have their pros andRead MoreEnvironmental Impacts Of The Future Of Ontario1384 Words   |  6 Pagesdeciding the sources of energy. Environmental and health impacts have led to countries developing energy plans that concentrate on clean sources of energy. I tend to go along with the statement that the only choice for electricity in Ontario is clean generation. In determining the future of Ontario’s electricity, different stakeholders have considered the environmental impact of using other sources of energy other than the clean sources. The environmental impact of using energy sources such as coalRead MoreSustainability And Construction Practices : Department Of Civil Engineering1256 Words   |  6 PagesScope of renewable energy 3 Types of renewable energy i. Solar power 3 ii. Wind power 5 iii. Biomass 6 iv. Geothermal energy 7 v. hydropower 8 Conclusion 8 References 9â€Æ' RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ELECTRICITY IN SUSTAINABILITY INTRODUCTION: It is the energy comes from natural resources like sun light, wind, rain water and geothermal heat. As we all know that coal, oil, gas are limited in nature they might run out some day renewable energy is the best way toRead MoreGeneration Of Electricity From Aloe Vera Plant976 Words   |  4 PagesGeneration of Electricity from Aloe Vera Plant: A Step towards Creating an Era Tanu Bhardwaj 1 , Anushka Singh2, Deeksha Agarwal2, Prerna Singh2 1Assistant Professor 2B.Tech Instrumentation Students Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women University of Delhi ABSTRACT In the emerging world, there is a dire need of generating electricity. Some remote areas, which don’t have access to electricity, need some innovations to be done for energy production. Although, we have plenty of non-renewableRead MoreThe Effects Of Renewable Energy On The Environment1193 Words   |  5 Pagesor replace existing technologies that allow fulfillment of human needs while significantly reducing the human impact on the environment (About Green Technology, n.d.). Renewable energy can be defined as the energy generated from various natural sources such as sunlight,wind,water,geothermal heat and biomass, which are naturally replenished or renewed (What is renewable energy?, n.d.). The use of renewable energy helps in reducing the carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds thatRead MoreOil Shortage During The United States1544 Words   |  7 Pagesfriends and family immediately or drive to their house whenever we want. Moreover, we do not need to wash cloths with our hands. Technology helps us to save a lot of time to do other things. On the other hand, these advantages make us more and more rely on technology. Actually, technology consumes a lot of energy or electricity every day. Nowadays, many countries choose to burn fossil fuel to generate electricity, such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas. The fossil fuels are limited. The website EcotricityRead MoreThe Energy Of Solar Energy1687 Words   |  7 Pagesanalyses of solar energy deployment contained in the Word Energy Outlook, Energy Technology Perspectives and several IEA Technology Roadmaps. It aims at offering an updated picture of current technology trends and markets, as well as new analyse s on how solar energy technologies for electricity, heat and fuels can be used in the various energy consuming sectors, now and in the future. If effective support policies are put in place in a wide number of countries during this decade, solar energy in its variousRead MoreRenewebal Energy: Wind power Essay774 Words   |  4 Pagesplants and animals that died. We need fossil fuels for electricities, cooking, and even shampoo we use every day. The most common fossil fuels was coal, oil, and gases, but now scientist estimated that after 150 years, we will be running out of fossil fuels. Another fact was that the digging up the fossil fuels create a huge amount of pollution, and it really harms the environment.The best solution was using the wind power as our energy. Wind power is electricity that is powered by the windmill,

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

James Buchanan Was the Only President Who Never Married

There has never been an openly gay president of the United States, but some historians have argued that James Buchanan, the only president who never shared the White House with a first lady,  may have had feelings for a member of the same sex. The nations 15th president is the nations only bachelor president. Buchanan had been engaged to a woman named Ann Coleman long before he became president, but Coleman died before the two could wed. It would not have been unusual, nor would it have proved Buchanan not to have been gay, if they had married; history is filled with homosexual men who married straight women. Longtime Companions While he remained unmarried his entire life, Buchanan had a very close relationship with William Rufus De Vane King, a diplomat who served as U.S. senator and the nations 13th vice president—coincidentally, the only vice president never to have married. Buchanan and King lived together for more than two decades. It was a relatively common practice in the 1800s. Historians note, however, that the couple’s contemporaries in Washington reportedly described King as effeminate, calling him Miss Nancy and Buchanans better half. They also cite letters written by Buchanan about the man he described as his soul mate. After King left the United States to become the minister to France, Buchanan wrote to a friend: I am now solitary and alone, having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection. King showed his own affection for Buchanan at his departure by writing to him: I am selfish enough to hope you will not be able to procure an associate who will cause you to feel no regret at our separation. A Historian Makes His Claim James Loewen, a prominent American sociologist and historian,  has been outspoken in his claims that  Buchanan was the first gay president, writing in a 2012 essay: There can be no doubt that James Buchanan was gay, before, during, and after his four years in the White House. Moreover, the nation knew it, too—he was not far into the closet. Today, I know no historian who has studied the matter and thinks Buchanan was heterosexual. Loewen has argued that Buchanans homosexuality is not often discussed in modern times because Americans do not want to believe that society was more tolerant of gay relationships in the 19th century than they are now. Another Bachelor Candidate The closest the nation has come to having a bachelor president since  Buchanan was when Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sought the partys presidential nomination in 2016. When asked who would be his first lady, Graham  said the position would be rotating. He also joked that his sister could play the role, if necessary. While Grover Cleveland entered the White House a bachelor in 1885, the 49-year-old was married a year later to 21-year-old Frances Folsom. The One and Only? Although it has long been rumored  that  Richard Nixon had a homosexual affair with his close friend Bebe Rebozo, Buchanan is still the most likely candidate for first, and only, gay American president. Thanks to his vocal support of gay marriage, President Barack Obama  did earn the title briefly, albeit symbolically, in a May 2012 Newsweek  magazine article, written by Andrew Sullivan. Tina Brown, editor-in-chief for Newsweek at the time, explained the term and the cover  photo  of Obama with a rainbow halo superimposed over his head by telling news site Politico, If  President Clinton  was the ‘first black president’ then Obama earns every stripe in that ‘gaylo’ with last week’s gay marriage proclamation.† In his article, Sullivan himself pointed out that the claim was not meant to be taken literally (Obama is married, with two daughters). Its obviously a play on Clinton being the first black president. I am aware that James Buchanan (and maybe Abraham Lincoln) have been in the Oval Office before.   Lincoln has come under speculation as well as having had gay or bisexual affections, but he did marry and father four children. He also was known to have courted women before his marriage to Mary Todd Lincoln. Sources Byers, Dylan. â€Å"Tina Brown Explains Obama Gaylo.†Ã‚  POLITICO, 14 May 2012. Sullivan, Andrew. â€Å"Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obamas Gay Marriage Evolution.†Ã‚  Newsweek, 15 May 2012.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Project Management Student Free Essays

string(262) " as the line of command is very short from the top, senator, commissioner to bottom lower management this could be of advantage as there is rapid communication hence close interactions and therefore easy delivery of organisational / municipality goals strategy\." Table of contents Contents page number Executive summary Introduction Problem identification Case analysis Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Conclusion and Recommendations Bibliography EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Polk County is a scarcely populated County in the state. The roads are in a very poor condition and the Transportation Department supervisor, JR has been tasked to manage all the three projects: * The entrance to the Big John’s superstore ELK Mountain road * Bridge on County road 1045 The writer will analyse the case, evaluate the alternatives and propose a solution for the case that would benefit the Polk County Transportation Department to execute their projects effectively. Various models and literature will be used to motivate the assertions. We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management Student or any similar topic only for you Order Now INTRODUCTION Polk County is the largest county in the state it is governed by three-member Board of commissioners: Harold, Richardson and Thomas. The state faces a challenge of delivering critical projects which involve improvements to the local roads which at the current state have put the local residents as well as tourists at risk because they are dilapidated, worn out and inadequate for purpose generally being unsafe for use. This challenge is due to many projects competing over limited resources. The three projects are: * The entrance to Big John’s Superstore * Elk Mountain road Crockett Creek bridge on the country road 1045 near prison The reasecher will analyse the case evaluate it, systematically prioritise the steps to be taken on the approach to successfully propose a solution which will benefit the Transportation Department, Polk municipality and ultimately the community at large. Various shortfalls are evident in the current Polk county municipality. The researcher will discuss them in depth with reference to various models and literatures as well as assumptions to back up the recommendations, below are the identified shortfalls: * No poor project office Funds are very limited to kick start projects that would add value to the community and improve their safety. * The tax is minimal to sustain the developments * Insuffient or no fundraising initiatives * High rate of crime As depicted on the case, there are three projects at hand and below is the gathered information on each project. Body governing the county The following individuals comprise the Polk County administration team NAME | DESTINATION/ STATUS| Thomas| Commissioner retired| Herald| Commissioner retired| Richardson| commissioner| JR| Supervisor- Transport Department| Joe| Former head of Transport Department| Unnamed | Current Senator| Zachary | Transport Department intern (civil engineering)| PROJECT 1 THE ENTRANCE TO THE BIG JOHN’s SUPERSTORE * It is off a two lane high at the base of the hill * It is difficult for cars travelling in the opposite direction until they come over the crest * This makes it difficult for the cars turning left into the store and those pulling out of the parking lot. * A number of accidents have occurred The number of cars travelling on the road has increased over the last three years since the store opened * Several residents have raised concerns at the commissioners meetings in the past * JR had approached the store manager about helping to pay for road improvements to widen the roads to add a turning lane or install a traffic light. * The manager replied that they are barely making any profit and if they do not make profit corporate headquarters will close it down and a lot of people will lose their jobs therefore they cannot afford to assist * Many people go to the store because there are no other shopping malls in the county PROJECT 2 WIDENING AND REPAIR OF ELK MOUNTAIN ROAD IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY * The winters have taken their toll on the road and left it with large deep potholes * The increase in unemployment in the county has led to an increase in independent loggers using the road to bring logs from Elk Mountain to several saw mills, including Ye Olde Saw mill in the adjacent county. The lack of repair over the years and the heavy trucks are causing the road to deteriorate even faster Both commissioners, Thomas and Richardson have seen the worsening condition of the road: they use it frequently to go hunting and fishing on ELK Mountain. * Each has received an earful of complaints from friends who use the road. * Zachary also knows how bad the road is from personal experience as he was nearly sideswiped by the logging truck and was forced off the resulting in his car’s low hanging tail pipe and muffler ripped off as he hit a large pothole. PROJECT 3 CROCKETT CREEK BRIDGE ON COUNTY ROAD 1045 NEAR THE PRISON * It is the main road to the state correctional Institution in the south western past of the county. * The bridge barely passed the last state inspection four years ago. * Each spring during the winter thaw Crockett Creek threatens to wash the bridge. * If the bridge is washed out or closed, the detour would be nearly 15 miles for people who work at the prison. * The largest employer in the county is the state correctional institution for female offenders located in the south western part of the county. A project is an endeavour to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated tasks and the effective utilisation of resources (Clement and Gido, 2012; 4) It has a clear objective of what is to be accomplished and this is usually defined in the form of deliverable, schedule and budget. A project utilises various resources to carry out interdependent task that need to be accomplished in a certain sequence in order to achieve a project objective within a specific time frame. A project has a sponsor who provides the funds necessary to accomplish the project. A project usually has challenges because it is constrained by many factors including scope, quality budget and risks. 1. SITUATION ANALYSIS 1. 1. NO PROPER PROJECT OFFICE Polk County is the largest county in the state with a shallow structure of Authority. This is evident as the line of command is very short from the top, senator, commissioner to bottom lower management this could be of advantage as there is rapid communication hence close interactions and therefore easy delivery of organisational / municipality goals strategy. You read "Project Management Student" in category "Essay examples" JR is the supervisor for the county Transportation Department. The case states that county roads have progressively deteriorated and several critical projects need to be done. He works with his summer intern Zachary and is concerned that if the does not present a good case for the at least one of the project, then the commissioners probably would not fund any of the project. It is evident that JR is struggling as he cannot apply himself explicitly on the tasks at hand as he lack the skills, methodologies that would easily aid to address the projects smoothly, this therefore calls for the introduction of project management office in the municipality 1. 2PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE Project management is defined by the PMBOK as†¦. ’the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques in order to meet stakeholder’s needs and expectation from a project. ’ (Burke, 2011; 18) 1. 3GENERIC ROLES OF A PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE 1. 3. 1The project management office’s aim is to link individual project to the organisation’s dynamic strategic intent through a focused discipline of project management. 1. 3. 2The project management office is established to act as support and reporting channel between projects and senior management without removing the accountability or authority of project managers. . 3. 4The project management office provides top management with a consolidated view on all projects within the organisation and thus assists top management in ensuring that all projects are aligned with the strategic direction of the organisation. 1. 3. 5The project management office will provide value-added assistance to all its ident ified customers in the organisation. 1. 3. 6The project management office will enable support and facilitate project disciplines with a: * A project life cycle Programme/project management * Project management training * Prioritisation support * Project start-up workshops and project administration ‘With the budget situation JR is worried that none of the projects may get done’, the case reads, this emphasises how the department is financially constrained and several projects are competing over this limited funds. The project management office is equipped with tools and techniques which provide a systematic approach on every project. The PMBOK states ‘†¦. Because projects are unique and involve a certain degree of risk, companies performing projects will generally subdivide their project into several project phases to provide better management control. Collectively these project phases are called the project lifecycle’. (Burke, 2011; 40) The general project life cycle has four phases: * Concept or initiation phase * Design or planning phase * Implementation or performing phase * Commissioning and handover or closing phase In the initiating phase, projects are identified and selected. They are then authorised using a document referred to as a project charter. The planning phase includes defining the project scope, identifying resources developing a schedule and budget and identifying risks all of which makes up a baseline plan for doing the project work. In the performing phase the plan is executed and work tasks are carried out to produce all the project deliverables and to accomplish the project objective. During this phase the project progress is monitored and controlled to assure the work remains on schedule and within budget, the scope is fully completed according to specifications and all the deliverables meet the acceptance criteria. Also any changes need to be documented, approved and incorporated into an updated baseline plan if necessary. In the closing phase the project evaluations are conducted lessons learned are identified and documented to help improve performance on future projects and project document are organised and archived. (Clement and Gido, 2012; 9) Phases in a project lifecycle are interrelated which means the previous phase should be successfully completed before progressing to the next phase. In this particular case, JR, the supervisor at a Transportation Department is struggling to make a selection on a project to perform first since there are limited funds. The main focus of this case is based on the initiation phase of the project lifecycle and because of the interrelation of the phases; it has to be successfully completed to move forward to the next phase of project. The initiation phase of the project lifecycle starts with recognising a need, problem or opportunity for which the project or projects are identified to address. Projects are identified in various ways: during an organisation strategic planning, as part of its normal operations, in a response to unexpected events or as a group of individuals deciding to organise a project to address a particular need. It is important to try to quantify the need to help evaluate whether the expected benefits from implementing a project outweigh the costs or consequences of conducting the project. Once the magnitude and the expected benefit or improvement has been estimated the cost for a project to implement the improvement. The transportation epartment of Polk County identified several needs but have limited funds and people available to pursue the projects to address those identified needs. In this case the department must go through a decision making process to prioritise and select the project that will result in the greatest overall benefit. Project selection is making a commitment for the future. The execution of a project will tie up the company resourc es and as an opportunity cost, the selection of one project may preclude your company from pursuing another (perhaps more profitable) project. We live in a world of finite resources and so cannot carry out all the projects we may want or need. Therefore a process is required to select and rank projects on the basis of their beneficial change to a company. (Burke, 2011: 66). The steps in the project selection process include: * develop a set of criteria against which the project will be evaluated * list assumptions that will be used on the basis of each project * Gather data and information for each project to help ensure an intelligent decision regarding project selection. Methods of gathering this information could include surveys, focus groups, interviews or analysis of available reports * Evaluate each project against criteria. Once all the data and information have been collected analysed and summarised for each potential project it should be given to all the people responsible for performing the evaluation. It is beneficial to the have several individuals in the evaluation and selection process in order to get various viewpoints. Each person on the evaluation and selection committee should have a different background and experience to bring to the decision making process, (Clement and Gido, 2012:35) emphasises that although it may take longer and be more stressful to gain group consensus on projects priorities and selections it will most likely be a better quality decision than if the decision is made by just one individual. The committee may develop a set of evaluation criteria with some type of rating system (such as Low-Medium-High, 1 to 5) against which to rate each potential project against each criterion. Various models can be used in project selection. The main purpose of these models is to aid decision making leading to project selection. The models include: * Numeric models * Non- numeric models A numeric model is usually financially focused and quantifies the project in terms of time to repay the investment or return on investment while non-numeric models look at a much wider view of the project considering items such as market share, relocation or environmental issues. Most importantly the models must evaluate projects by how well they meet the company’s strategic goals and corporate mission. 2. NUMERIC MODELS The numeric selection models may be subdivided into financial models and scoring models. The financial models are: * Payback period * Return on investment * Net present value * Internal rate of return Companies tend to prefer financial models and often select solely on profitability. 2. 1SCORING MODELS The numeric models mostly have common limitation, they only look at the financial element of the project. In an attempt to broaden the selection criteria, (Burke, 2011:79) suggest ‘a scoring model called the factor model, which uses multiple criteria to evaluate the project will be introduced’. The factor model simply lists a number of desirable factors on a project selection pro-forma along with columns to show the rating of each factor. A weighted column can be added to increase the score of important factors while reducing the scoring of the less important. The advantages of using a scoring model are; * It encourages objectivity in decision making * It uses multiple selection criteria to widen the range of evaluation * It uses the simple structure therefore easy to use It uses selection factors structured by senior management, this implies that they reflect the company’s goal and objectives * It makes it easy to change factors. * It uses weighted scoring to reflect the factor’s differential importance * It is not biased towards short run projects favoured by financial models. * It is a weighted model which can also be used as a flag to improve projects by identifying the variance between the factor score and the maximum possible score The disadvantages of u sing a scoring model are: If the factors are not weighted they will all equal importance * A simple model may encourage the developments of long lists that could introduce trivia factors and therefore waste management time. Assuming that the county Transportation Department has a budget of hundred million pula (P100  000) to allocate over the three project the researcher has used a scoring model to score some desirable factors on each project. This analysis and evaluation determines which project is critical and assist the project manager to prioritise effectively on which project to perform first followed by others. The figure below shows the factor scoring model for a county Transportation Department. SCORING FACTOR MODEL – PROPOSED SOLUTION| | FACTORS| PROJECT 1| PROJECT 2| PROJECT 3| 1. BENEFITS| 8| 9| 9| alignment to organisation strategy, mission, visions, values|   | 4| 4| 4| impact (organisational Department County)|   | 4| 5| 5|   |   |   |   | 2. COSTS| 4| 6| 8| budget (impact on budget)| 2| 3| 4| expenditure| 2| 3| 4| |   |   |   | 3. TIME| 7| 6| 7| delivery(how long will it take to deliver value to the community| 4| 3| 3| start- up (when can the project start)| 3| 3| 4|   |   |   | 4. RISKS| 5| 7| 9| safety and health (stakeholder and community| 3| 4| 5| environment| 2| 3| 4| |   |   |   | 5 RESOURCES| 7| 7| 8| capacity (at your disposal)| 4| 4| 4| availability| 3| 3| 4| |   |   |   | 6. STAKEHOLDERS| 5| 6| 9| commitment| 2| 3| 4| reputation| 3| 3| 5| TOTAL| 36| 41| 50| PERCENTAGE| 60| 68. 33| 83. 33| Key 5= very good weighting 4= good 0-40% low priority 3=fair 41-60% average priority 2= poor 61- 80% high priority 1= very poor 81- 100%very high priority A priority list of projects from the model depicts Crockett Creek Bridge on road 1045 will progress under the current budget, if enough funds will be secured. ELK mountain road will follow then lastly the entrance to the Big John’s superstore. Therefore the researcher recommends that the county Transport Department should adopt the project management approach by introducing a project management office. The project management office will be merged into the current county municipality opening structure to undertake all the projects across all departments with expertise. A project will be allocated a project manager and through his knowledge and skills. A methodological approach of project management will be applied. From project initiation phase are identified and selected through planning phase which involves defining the project scope, identifying resources, developing a schedule and budget and identifying resources development risks to the performing phase whereby the plan is execute and finally the closing phase/ project handover where the project lifecycle terminates. This methodological approach would be suitable for Polk County Transportation Department as projects would be executed effectively and effectively. To generate funds for the county, the commissioners can come up with initiatives like introducing road levy, introducing toll gates as well as adjusting tax higher so as to acquire funds for local developments. The crime rate is also igh as the case states that the largest employer is the state correctional institution for female offender, therefore prison as an offenders rehabilitation centre with skills they acquire during their serving period, prisoners can produce goods that can be sold to the local community to generate funds which could assist with the developments. CONCLUSION Polk County faces a problem of under development or road improvement because of limited funds. Multiple projects have been identified to address the current situation, besides the limited funds inadequate skills and lack of proper facilities have been identifi ed. The writer analysed the case, quantified case data, evaluated it and suggests that introduction of project management office in the Polk county municipality would highly benefit the organisation as a proper systematic methodology of project management will be used to tackle and manage all projects effectively and also various fund raising initiatives will be implemented to raise money for the local government for developments. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Burke, R. 2011, Project Management Techniques, ( College Edition), China, Burke Publishing 2. Clements, J. P. and Gido J. 2012 Effective Project Management Fifth Edition, Canada. Joe Sabatino How to cite Project Management Student, Essay examples

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Enterprise Development in Competitive Environments †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Enterprise Development in Competitive Environments. Answer: Introduction: The latest issue of Wall Street Journal has presented a News Article about Tesla building a factory in China. The electric-car maker Tesla has agreed to set up a factory in shanghai which is a strategic decision of the organization. The present deal is a strategic decision for the organization as it will give access to the company to the growing electric vehicle market of China. The present arrangement will be focused to build a wholly owned subsidiary which will slash the production cost of the organization. However, China will lose the import tariff by 25%. The organization will get benefit from the largest electric vehicle market of the world. The Chinese government will target the sales of seven million electric vehicle cars by 2025. The strategic move of the company will reduce the production cost of the company by 33% as it can avoid the shipping cost and the import duties. Currently, the company is serving the niche market of luxury vehicles; however, the prices will be strate gically reduced with the action. As a result, the company can move beyond the luxury niche market in the country. This move has also strategically propelled the market value of the shares of Tesla by more than 50%. It has become the rival of General Motors Co., one of the largest automaker in the world. Last year, China circulated a proposal which will assist the electric-car makers to operate in the country without the need of the local partners. In this regard, the country has planned to introduce about ten free trading zones in the country. Till now, the foreign auto makers of the company have to make joint ventures with the local partners (Varbanova, 2013). The foreign companies can avoid 25% tariff on automobiles; however, they will split the profits and sharing of technology. The free-trade agreement will be able to leverage better access to Chinese market in the future. It is a strategic decision of the organization as it will expand the business operations of the organization in one of the major markets for the electric vehicle. It will reduce the excise duty of the organization and the company can reduce the production cost be 33%. Entering into the free trade zone in Chins will also establish cordial relationships with the Chinese government which will be beneficial for the organization while operating in the Chinese market. It is a strategic move at the functional level of the organization as the company will shift its manufacturing plant at a different location. The organization will be able to reduce the production cost as well as increase export tariff in the country. It can be assessed that the decision will be able to increase the demand of the product. The company can strategically reduce the cost of the product which will be beneficial for manufacturing the product at a large scale (Jeffs, 2008). The organization can reduce the cost of the product by 33% which will allow it to target the niche non-luxury market of the country. The proportion of middle-class customer segment is very high in comparison to the luxury market. Therefore, the sales of the product can be increased drastically by reducing the product price. Johnson Johnson is a medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturing company. The company was at the fourth position in the fortunes worlds most admired brands in 2010. The company dropped to number 13 at the fortunes list of 2017. There were a number of reasons which led to the decline of the organization in these years. The company suffered from a number of controversies, regarding the baby powder and vaginal mesh implants. It resulted in numerous law suits from the customers (Freeman, 2010). Other than that, creating an extremely diversified portfolio has also increased declined the image of the organization as several of the products of the organization are not at par in quality. Other than that, there are a large number of organizations which are present in both the list of 2010 as well as 2017. Some of the common names are Apple, Google (Alphabet) and Berkshire Hathaway. These organizations have remained among the top ten brands from 2010 to 2017. Apple has been a renowned brand from 2010 to 2017. It has sustained the top position due to its unique brand image. The organization has created a very strong brand identity and focuses a lot on the brand marketing. As a result, the craze for iPhones is same today as it was in the past years. Facebook is on the ninth number in the list of the most admired companies in 2017. Undoubtedly, the company has made a distinguished place for itself in the last year (Haberberg Reiple, 2008). Today, it has become a common household name and almost every person has a Facebook account. The company has given birth to the social media and used an innovative idea to build the worlds leading business. The organization was founded in 2004 and in a few years, it became the leading business organization across in the social media industry. Today, it ranks 2 in the social media industry. These selected companies operate in different domains; however, they are the most popular brands in the organization (Hiriyappa, 2013). Johnson Johnson is the leading and one of the largest business organization in the pharmaceuticals and the consumer product market. The core competency of the company is its brand image. Johnson Johnson is famous all across the globe for its innovative and unique consumer products. Other than that, the organization also has significant resources in financial and natural resources (Teece, 2008). The organization has an extensive research and development facility which has assisted the organization in creating innovative and unique products. These core competencies distinguish the company from its competitors. Firstly, the company has a very strong brand presence and global brand image. The business model of the organization is unique as it has achieved economy of scale with the help of its production facility. The marketing of the company is also unique and the company has created a unique marketing strategy which has assisted it in securing the top position in the market. Strengths Strong brand name Presence in more than 100 countries Loyal customer following Weakness Recent scandals Reduced customer trust Opportunities Market penetration as a large number of customers are avoiding the companys product due to a recent controversy The organization can also explore other industrial avenues as it has ample resources to enter into diversified fields Threats New competitors in the developing and the developed markets (Ginter, 2013) Competition from generic drugs manufactured by different companies. These drugs are comparatively cheaper in rate. Apple is the leading business organization in the smart-phone and other technical device manufacturing. The company has a combination of several core competencies. It is a very robust brand and the imitation of the products is very difficult. Another core competency is the capability of the organization to innovate constantly. It is considered as the most innovative company across the globe. It also has abundant financial resources which can be used for attaining the service of highly skilled persons. The company is also very consistent in its product portfolio development which has assisted in keeping its customers loyal. Strength Advertising skills which can increase the brand awareness and demand for the products of the company Extensive network of distribution channels Brand reputation Strong financial assets Weakness Dependence on a single product Incompatibility of the product with other operating systems Opportunities Adoption of new technologies such as virtual technology or Internet of Things Diversification to other products, such as health-related wearable (Swayne, Duncan , Ginter, 2012) Threats Intensification of the competition which has reduced the market share, revenue and the profits of the organization Lawsuits regarding intellectual property theft and patent infringement (Pynes Lombardi, 2011) Facebook is a social media networking site and one of the most common websites in the social media. It is the largest social media website and has over one billion users. The organization has over one million users and it is its core competency. No other organization would be able to shift this level of customer base to other social media website. Other than that ease of use, flexibility in the use of website and low-cost operations is the core competency of the organization. Over the years, the organization has built a strong brand image and customer base (Kotler, Shalowitz Stevens, 2011). It is really difficult for the any other organization to break the strong image of the organization. In the following section, SWOT analysis is conducted on the organization to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Strengths It can be easily integrated with other websites and applications. It has more than one billion active users Excellent user experience Weaknesses Only one primary source of income Lack of concern for the user privacy Issue of website customization Opportunities Market penetration by increasing the number of users who access the device with the help of mobile phones Diversification of the revenue stream Expansion to other countries and markets (Wilson Gilligan, 2012) Threats Increasing the number of mobile internet users (Proctor, 2014) Users can other extensions. Slow revenue income from online advertising Identity issues In the present section, a hypothetical organization has been created which will sell smart phones to the customers. The organization will sell competitive smartphones which can compete with other leading business organizations in the same industry. The name of the organization will be Cherry Inc. and all the mobile phones will be named as Cherry phones. The company will be dedicated to sell low cost phones to different customers so that people from all income backgrounds can use smartphones with the advanced features. The mission of the organization is to make smartphones available to all people across the globe. The objectives of the organization is to inspire the world to create a better place for the future (Drummond, Ensor , Ashford, 2010). This vision of the organization will reflect the commitment of the organization to inspire the communities and use the key strength of the company such as technology, innovation capabilities and creative solutions to create new values for the organization. It will create new value for the different stakeholders such as industry, partners and employees of the organization and create a better world with rich experience (Ranchod, Marandi, 2007). The external environment has a strong impact on the operations and the functioning of the organization. The external environment of the organization is scanned with the help of PEST analysis. It evaluates that the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the external environment. There are regulations related to intellectual property and patent in the telecommunication industry. Other than that, there are certain other regulations related to bandwidth usage and allocation. It impacts on the overall performance of the telecommunication network. The smartphones must be designed such that it is compatible for different users of the organization. The economic factors also impact on the business operations of the organization. If the purchasing power of the customers is high than they will be able to purchase smart phones with best features. The organization can also attract investment from other companies if the financial conditions of the organization is good. Social factors impact significantly on the business operations of an organization. The interest of the customers and their preference is influenced by the social factors. The latest trends and the lifestyle factors influences on the choice of the customers. The preference of the customers influences on the choice of product and the brand. Therefore, it is important to identify the latest trends and choice of the customers and design products according to these factors. The technology is another factor which impacts on the manufacturing and the infrastructural development of the organization. The manufacturing facility of the organization is influenced by the transportation system and other technological infrastructure of the country (Egen Thomas, 2010). If the location has proper technology and infrastructure then the manufacturing process of the organization eases. The internal corporate environment plays a critical role in achieving the objectives of the organization as well as adapting to the future requirements of the organization. The strengths of the organization is its cost leadership and qualitative products. The organization is offering products at a comparatively low price to the customers. However, the quality of the product is not compromised. The organization produces smartphones which are high-quality in nature and are equipped with all the essential features. However, there are certain weaknesses of the organization too. Such as it is a new organization; therefore, the organization is not that much popular. It is important that the organization should focus on building the brand image of the organization. The business organization should focus on each of its customer so that the organization can build a strong reputation in a small duration. There are several opportunities for the organization in the developing countries, wherein the organization can expand its customer base. There are a large number of customers who want to switch to high-feature mobile phones or are eager to buy a new one. The company should target all these customers for expanding its market share. It can be identified that the organization has opportunity to expand the unexplored market and the price-sensitive customer segment. The organization can adopt cost leadership management strategy to attract the target customers towards the business organization. It can be concluded that the strategic management is important for the business organization for effective management of business. The strategic management is the process of designing the strategies for the future management of the organization. The management of the organization requires effective long-term strategies which can assure that the organization will operate properly in the future. In the present report, the top brands of the in 2010 and 2017 have been evaluated. In the report, the decline of the major brand Johnson Johnson has been examined. 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