AFAS 160D Flashcard

AFAS 160D

Anthrax in America essays

Anthrax in America essays The greatest country in the world has been in a high state of alert for the past month and a half. People looking above in fear, and people looking around in suspicion. Then one day, a word went across the television that many did not know of, and many did not fear. A worthy opponent of the American way of life had appeared. One that would effect the mail system, cause more fear and panic, and danger the lives of innocent people. This evil foe is called Anthrax. In the past three weeks or so, everyone has been taking an extra glance at their mail before opening. The stories of innocent Americans opening their mail only to get a powdery cloud and to be infected with Anthrax has everyone trying their best to take care of themselves and their employees. CBS news, ABC news, and CNN are just a few corporations that have suspended incoming mail until they can further evaluate their mail systems (Noonan 38). In all the panic and fear, there is only one choice U.S. mail has, and that is to keep going. The entire nations mail cannot just stop. The anthrax problem would be solved, but bills would not be paid, orders would not be given, and important, possibly lifesaving, information would not be received. However, different branches have slowed down to ensure safety (Noonan 38). On television, you see all the big names telling us what they are doing to fight this scare, but the people who are really dealing with it, are those in the mailroom. A letter comes in saying, important. A young woman , only three weeks on the job, opens it only to get an infection to which has put her life in danger. (Noonan 38) However, is this an attack by the same terrorist to which attacked in mid-September? As more and more anthrax cases come up, more and more people point to Usama Bin Laden. If one really thinks on the subject, how difficult would it be to send letters with a false return address with a powder in the ...

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 7

Book Review - Essay Example However, the intrinsic qualities of both the works cannot be negated. In the book, â€Å"Taj Mahal† (Wonders of the World) by â€Å"Giles Tillotson†, writer elaborates the history regarding the construction of the â€Å"Taj Mahal†. Writer describes that the design of the Taj is the combination of Iranian, Afghani and Indian construction techniques while Islamic designs have also played an important in the overall construction. The doom and the minarets of the Taj are originally Islamic architectural techniques. According to the writer, Taj Mahal was constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan around 1631 to 1653. White Marble is the main constructional element of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan bought the location of the Taj Mahal from Maharajah Jai Singh and presented a vast palace in Agra as an exchange for the land. The foundation took about 12 years to complete while the whole Taj took about 22 years to get completed. Shah Jahan, built the Taj as the mausoleum of his beloved wife, â€Å"Mumtaz Mahal†. Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth. He immensely loved his wife and decided to build a mausoleum as final resting place for his wife. The mausoleum has four minarets at the four corners of the foundation. Taj lies in the middle of the foundation. It has a single bigger doom. There are several rooms inside the Taj besides a wide-open place in the centre of the building. The foundation is about 5-6 feet about the surface. Wells were dug and then filled with stones to build the foundation of the Taj Mahal. White marble was used in the construction as the major element, while sapphire, silver and gold were used to beautify the structure. The beautiful gardens with lush green grass and trees and fountains enhance the mystical beauty of the structure. At night, the translucent marble of the Taj, shines and presents a beautiful scene. During the day, the sunlight tries to

Ford Motor Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ford Motor Company - Essay Example As can be see in Chart 1 which compares the aggregate Industry Sales in number of units sold to the individual major players, the entire industry suffered and each player reflected a steep decline in the number of automobiles sold until 2009. Auto Unit Sold in ‘000s Years Chart 1. Aggregate Industry Sales vs. Individual Players USA Auto Manufacturing Industry In 2009, GM (Isidore, C. 2009) and Chrysler (Epiq 2009) applied for bankruptcy. Toyota (Toyota 2012) also lost substantially. The performance of Ford was therefore not comparable to these competitors because, unlike the other players, Ford profited in 2009. And it was because Ford retrenched and operated after closing three (3) plants, had lower cost and expenses, and at profitable level to match the demand. Thus, Chart 1 was meant to show how Ford performed along with the industry performance and the industry players’ performance in terms of Units Sold. What cannot be seen in any chart is what Ford did to earn star ting 2009 up to the present. It had nothing to do with competitive designs or pricing strategies, although such strategies helped. But GM also adjusted the design to shift to smaller vehicles. After the recession, individual auto manufacturers like General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan, and Ford realized increases in sales by 2010 and 2011 annual reports. Details of the units sold appearing in Table A show that in terms of market share growth, these auto manufacturers performed as follows: 2010 2011 Market Share (MS) Growth MS2010 Less MS2009 Market Share (MS) Growth MS2011 Less MS2010 Cumulative Growth 2011 Base Year= 2009 GM 19.14% ( 0.78% ) 19.66% + 0.52% ( 0.26% ) Chrysler 9.34% + 0.43% 10.69% + 1.35% +1.78% Nissan 7.86% + 0.46% 8.19% + 0.33% +0.79% Ford 16.49% +0.57% 16.58% + 0.09 % + 0.66% Ford Motor Company has the 2nd biggest market share next to General Motors as of the 2011 yearend. The lead of GM over Ford was reduced during the downturn and recovery years. As a matter of fact , Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2012, p.138) shows the market share of GM to be 19.2 in 2010 and 19.9% in 2011. But the NADA (2012) statistics show a lower market share for GM equivalent to 19.14% in 2010 and 19.66% in 2011, whereas the data of Ford Motor Company in the same years were fairly accurate at 16% in 2010 and 17% in 2011 due to the round-off. Thus, Ford realized both growth in the Net Income and growth in its market share of the US auto sales. Details of market shares and number of vehicles sold each year in the USA came from the National Automotive Dealers Association of USA. See Table A below and in the following page. Table A. New-Vehicle Sales & Market Share by Manufacturer [Source: NADA 2012. New-Vehicle Sales & Market Share by Manufacturer. National Automotive Dealers Association, p.9. Viewed October 24, 2012 @ http://www.nada.org/NR/rdonlyres/C1C58F5A-BE0E-4E1A-9B56-1C3025B5B452/0/NADADATA2012Final.pdf ] How Ford Motor Company actually profited in 2009 even while sa les declined for the entire industry and for individual players can be explained by the initiative of its management to retrench and operate at a more profitable level, seeing the industry declining demand for automobiles. Ford Motor Company retrenched by closing three plants and operating with lower capacity. This resulted in the reduced Total Assets in 2009 and 2010. The lower cost and expenses by 2009 made it possible for the company to generate profits starting 2009. The sales growth

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Preferences

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Preferences The definition of consumer buying behavior by Kotler describes a person who buys goods and services for their individual needs as for Peter and Olson, (1993) say that consumer behavior is simply an interaction between peoples moods, feeling and affections. The study of purchaser performance has evolved in early prominence of rational choice to focus on irrational buying behavior and the use of logical models to understand the consumers mind set. From the very beginning, researches have been carried out; to replica the effects of advertising mix variables such as income, social groups, lifecycle stage, buyers impulse and access to media, however gradually, the variables affecting consumer behavior kept ever-increasing as researchers came across new factors affecting behavior. Numerous models have been formed to understand consumer behavior, which have been modified, discarded, criticized upon, adjusted, and used over the years. The latest approaches have come up with many consumer behavior models to understand the motivation behind the purchase, information processing model (Bettman 1979) according to this theory the consumer is viewed as a logical thinker who makes purchase decisions. The variety of models thus now includes stochastic models, mathematical models, sociological models, psychological models, economic models and business models; all to define consumer for the manufacturers and service providers. The black box model of human behavior is forever unpredictable; the model has been named as black box, suggesting human mind is like the black hole of the universe. The model revolves around responses of consumers to different stimuli. The model aims to list factors that can define buying decisions by explaining human behavior. Formerly a lot of study has been conducted to identify the consumer response to various marketing strategies, what makes the consumers actually go and buy a product. There have been studies to measure the factors that affect consumer buying behavior. Studies and theories have also been conducted against organization buying behavior (Webster, JR., Fredericke, and Yoram Wind, 1972). Studies have also been conducted to see the long term effect of some factors such as income, age and gender on consumer behavior and how these factors were seen in post purchase and post purchase behavior. Studies related to interpersonal factors and personal factors have also showed a correlation between consumer behavior and these variables. Measurement of Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence (William O. Bearden, and E. Tee, 1989) they had developed a two-dimensional measure of informational and normative interpersonal influence and examined its reliability and validity. A 12-item, two- fact or scale was developed with factors counting to interpersonal influence, susceptibility, value expression, informational influence and self esteem. A questioner was administered and five different studies were conducted to out figure the relationship of normative and informational influences measures of attention-to-social-comparison information (ATSCI) susceptibility to interpersonal influence. The results corresponded as ATSCI was expected to correlate strongly with normative factors then with informational measures, the limitations to their study was more work had to be done in the area of interpersonal influences to further make their scale more reliable. Social Comparison Information: An Individual Difference Factor Affecting Consumer Conformity (William, 1990) attention-to-social-comparison-information (ATSCI) is identified as a variable that can help separate personal from social reasons that influence consumer behavior. The variables involved in this study were neuroticism and fear of negative assessment. If a person scores high on ATSCI, they are well attentive of what people around him think, and thus his decisions are affected by external factors. The papers lay out different studies that were carried out to find out the level to which the clients are sensitive to social cues involving their purchase and consumption patterns. These studies stated that measure of ATSCI is internally constant. The paper thus concludes that the ATSCI internal measurement is consistent valid and reliable. This paper thus reinforces the previous studies which helped identify social reason as one of the main factors affecting consumer behavior. It mo ves on to identify a measure which can help marketers to identify to what scale the social factors affect consumer choices, and thus a combination of strategies can be concluded out from the findings to cater to consumers in their specific market. ATSCI is concerned with normative influences that effect the persons perception in making a decision the study of Normative Influences on Impulsive Buying Behavior (Dennis W. Rook Robert J. Fisher, 1995) explains that normative views are accompanied by a view that spin around large impulsive spending that put forwards that consumer normative evaluations have the potential to manipulate their buying patterns. Consumers impulsive buying traits depends on their normative judgments. The study evaluated consumers impulsive traits with consumer buying behavior, thirty five items measuring buyers impulsiveness were measured by looking at the literature of impulsive buying phenomenology (e,g, Rook 1987). The results explain the hypothesizes that consumers with higher normative values act absolutely well with the degree of impulsive buying traits they posses example even consumers with low cash reserves tend to buy products on impulsive due to their normative influences. The limitations to th is study propose another study suggesting that even when an impulsive purchase is viewed as bad they are still likely to buy things on their impulsive traits due to their normative backgrounds. The normative influences consists of social factors, when a person tries to copy someones judgments worry about societal impressions as compared to informational influences they consist of gaining the knowledge through family friends and option leaders and then making a comprehensive decision to buy a product. The lifecycle stage of a person influences the buying decisions they make which in return reflect the informational influences as well, in Family Members Perceptions of Adolescents Influence in Family Decision Making (Ellen R. Foxman Patriyas. Tansuhaj Karin. Ekstrom, 1989) they demonstrate that the changes in demographics of a house hold structure have shifted towards childrens impact on their parents decisions. There are limited studies that have dealt with the extent of influence children have on family. (Atkin 1978; Belch, Belch, and Ceresino 1985; Darley and Lim 1986; Moschis and Mitchell 1986; Roberts, Wortzel, and Berkeley 1981). Children from all ages were tested to see which age of adolescent effects the most in purchase decisions. They survey with different consumer related items that a family buys, expensive and complex items were chosen because almost most of them have been used in the previous husband and wife decision related studies. Influence on decision process related to five different areas ranging from price, taking part in shopping, suggesting super markets, suggesting different products and paying attention to new products being launched. Multi-trait/multi- method analysis (MTMM; Campbell and Fiske 1959) was use to find patterns of discrepancy among purchase decisions. The study showed the results that mother, father and children all had a significant role in the decision process; the study suggested that spouses decisions were closely linked with each other as compared to their children. Two directions for further research concern the connection between supposed influence in purchase process and supposed influence for unambiguous pr oducts, as well as measurement of house hold decision making needs to be clear. From house hold family decisions researchers have also introduced different theories related to consumer buying behaviors all these theories consist of different factors such as culture, social, personal and physiological. Social factors are considered one of the most important factors that influence consumer behavior. In a research paper, Social Factors in Consumer Choice: Replication and Extension (Gordon, 1975) the studies of Rich and Jain (1968) are challenged which concluded that life cycle stages and social class may not have a direct relation with consumer behavior as many studies point out. The paper uses empirical methods to stand against the general hypothesis; a sample was generated using the random walk sampling method, the main aim being replicating the methods of Rich and Jain but extending the product categories from fashion to food items and domestic appliances. With independent variables, social class and family life cycle, Rich and Jain used dependent variables like different interest in fashion, where do they get there shopping influences and interpersonal influences and the Newcastle study used pre-purchase information, the shopping trips people made and different patterns of interpersonal behavior. The country of origin also differed among the two experiments. Rich and Jains first hypothesis was that there is no difference between different social classes in pre purchase decisions about domestic appliance, as if there was a difference. A very small quantity of the inferior and middle class used newspapers as source of information compared to the high proportion of the upper class. This dissimilarity may be because of the different products that were used in both researches. The second hypothesis stated that there is a difference between classes when it comes to shopping trips, which was refuted since percentages showed that there was a difference between lower and middle classes since trips of shopping were greater in number for the latter. The third hypothesis which was challenged by this replication of study was that there is no difference between women at different life cycle stage when it comes to shopping for groceries, which however is not true, since women over 40 tended to shop more than younger women, plus the presence of children also increased shopping trips for housewives. The fourth and last hypothesis stated that there is no difference in classes with respect to acquaintances on shopping habits. The study showed that lower class seemed to discuss their purchases with their husbands and other family members compared to middle class women who mainly shopped on their own. This paper thus concludes that there may be a lot of reasons that caused this diversity in results, like the area where the research was conducted, the definition of class and the products that were different from one another. Both researches thus had their limitations, its thus obvious that these researches cannot be generalized to all pr oducts and all kinds of consumers, however in their area of focus they may provide insight for firms dealing in that product and area. Social Class and Income as Indicators of Consumer Credit Behavior (John, 1970) is another study which further tested social class as a main factor influencing consumer behavior in the credit card market compared to another important factor, income. The researcher said that the consumer would go for installments if they differ in different social classes. Although social class is considered as a very significant factor while segmenting consumers, and the hypothesis stated that being involved in a social class above their income standing would result in greater use of credit card. A questionnaire was sent out to 25000 credit card holders which used occupation and educational level as variables that comprise social class. The survey helped conclude that consumers attitudes can be understood by income and social class. This study is limited to credit card users, however it helps identify income as another important factor which can be used to segment consumers and identify their differin g buying habits. According to the communication note (Gordon, 1975) social class was the main reason why consumer buying habits changed, but in this paper, it is income which may be a reason why the use of credit cards differs. This study is again not all encompassing, as it cannot go on and explain the correlation of income and social class. Social factors are important but they need to be persistent with the marketing and advertising so the marketers can gain some understanding of their target groups. In a study of Coca-Cola or Pepsi; that is the Question ( Andersson, and Arvidsson ,2006) the researcher have studied the influence of different cultural, social, personal influence, media variables on consumer buying behavior. With these factors they also studies the brand equity of Coco Cola and Pepsi with various factors such as brand strength, brand performance etc. They also looked at sponsored events with celebrity endorsement campaigns. They used the quantitative approach as their methodology by using questioners they gathered information specific to Coco Cola and Pepsi consumers, trying to know what drives people to have Coke or Pepsi. They divided there sample in three different age groups and saw the life cycle stage of every respondent. The conclusion they reached was that their analysis, that they have drawn sho ws the following conclusion that advertising, social factors, brand and age all affect consumer preferences to some extent. The limitations to this study were that the researcher had preconceived notion about Pepsi and Cokes advertisement however there research focused more on advertisement as compared to other cultural and social factors. Reference groups and formal groups form part of the social factor that influences consumer buying behavior. In Social Comparison and Informal Group Influence(George, 1976), according to a theory of Festinger which states that individual have a habit of comparing themselves with others and see the consequence of their behaviors. With social comparison ones evaluation about themselves increases or decreases and due to this people give themselves internal rewards. A consumer can thus use two ways to approach his group, either through a reflected appraisal, or through a comparative appraisal. The study was carried out by sending out questionnaires to 408 females who used cosmetics. The hypothesis that were tested by this survey was that is a positive relationship between consumers communication with informal groups and a need to obtain information from them, secondly, theres a positive relationship with the credibility of the source and thirdly the greater the consumer is associated with the group the greater the influence on purchase decision. The information gathered supported all of the above hypothesis, thus the findings can be useful for marketers in the sense that if they want to penetrate a market, they need to find out if similar characteristics exist in it, since consumers then are significantly exaggerated by the behavior of their social group, or people they find are similar to them. However, this study cannot be used by the marketers who cant operate in such a market where no similarities among customers. Social factors such as price, quality, product attributes and other factors influence a persons mind set for purchase decisions. Explaining the Choice of Organic Produce: Cosmetic Defects, Prices, and Consumer (Gary D. Thompson and Julia Kidwell, 1998) explains how consumers decision differ in buying organic or normal quality products. The researcher used random utility and discrete choice models to see how consumers choose between organic verses a predictable product. Choice between the two items was measured on a scale of price, attributes of the product as well as a persons income, quality of the product and traits of random components, Data was collected through observation of two utility stores in different areas the loyalty towards a store was also looked upon. Information about the consumers demographics and social economic status was also gathered. Researcher wanted to gather that does cosmetic defect in items, price or other factors motivated the consumer to buy organic or conventional items. Some significant results were deduced that age and gender has little significance, however house hold with more children bough organic food. Effects of education on organic food purchase were mixed, the store choice played an important factor in the decision process, nevertheless there were some restrictions to the learning there was geographical concerns, and further studies related to organic produce needs to conduct. All these researches however focus on consumers as the target market, few pieces of literature are found on industry buyers as their area of focus. A General Model for Understanding Organizational Buying Behavior (Frederick, 1972) provides a general model to help understand organizational buying behavior. According to the paper, organization buying decision is a process which involves interacting with other people. The organization is thus affected by four main factors; individual, social, organizational, and environmental. Organizational buying decision is a process rather than a single act and is way more complex. This paper devolves a model called skeleton identifying the major variables that must be selected for planning strategies. The model however fails to point out which factor takes precedence over another, and thus it is obvious that organizational buying behavior is an area needs more detailed analysis, which can help firms point out the glitches in the general model and c reate a more comprehensive model for planners. Many theories have been provided above with the researches point of views on how to interpret consumers buying behavior patterns, what consumers do when they purchase a product. More research needs to be carried out in Consumer Behavior physiology under separate variables to see which variables effects the most in consumer physiology. Different views and some consumer related models need to be test more to gain a deeper understanding of the consumers mind set. By focusing more on consumers reasons to purchase a product, marketers can gain a deeper understanding of the consumer, which will help them in capturing their target market. Judgment making needs to be simplified for marketers, which can only happen if adequate information is presented regarding consumer buying behavior. REFERENCES http://www.jstor.org/stable/1250972 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489047 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489543 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489616 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1244500 (Eva-Lena Andersson ,Evelina Arvidsson ,Cecilie Lindstrà ¶m )Coca-Cola or Pepsi; that is the Question A study about different factors affecting consumer preferences http://www.jstor.org/stable/3150733 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489457 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489544 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1250840

Comm 399 Assignment 2

Comm 399- 204 Question 1: a) The flow unit for the above steps is patients. b) The resources needed for: i) pre-surgery examination and orientation are the blood and urine test equipment, dinner supplies, tea and cookies and a bed. ii) surgery are the anesthetic, operating table, supplies, operating room, a surgeon iii) recovery are a wheel chair, cookies and tea and a bed. Question 2 a) The weekly throughput rate of the hospital is 120 patients/ week b) The average bed utilization is 450/ 630 = 71% c) | 90| 90| 90| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 60| | | | 60| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 30| 30| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mond| Tues| Wed| Thurs| Fri| Sat| Sun| Question 3 a) The average bed utilization would be 540/ 630= 86%. b) | 90| 90| 90| 90| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 60| | | | | 60| 60| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Mond| Tues| Wed| Thurs| Fri| Sat| Sun| Question 4 a) Yes more capacity does need to be added to the faci lity. The bottleneck resource is the available beds and this directly affects the throughput rate.By increasing the number of available beds the hospital can admit more patients and operate on more of them leading to an increased throughput rate. b) My suggestion would be to first add an additional operation room so the throughput rate of operations from doctors could match that of the operating rooms available at 48 per day. Then I would suggest adding additional beds adding up to as many as 54 [ (48-30) *3 ]. This would maximize the number or patients able to be operated on and take care of, reaching the capacity rate for the different stages.

A REPORT ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND CHANGE LEADERSHIP Essay

There is a fundamental difference in the definitions of change management and change leadership. Change management is an embodiment of processes and mechanisms that are designed by an organization to effect transformation within the ranks of an organization. Another process that is often mistaken with change management is change leadership, although the two processes might have the same conation, change leadership involves planning and implementing processes, tools or mechanisms that are associated with large scale changes across an organization, it involves putting structures in place to make the institution process go faster, smarter and more efficiently. It should be noted however that with both processes, it is critical to keep things under control as there would be outflow of resources to ensure that the change is kept in perspective. From the above definitions, it is evident that when change management works efficiently, it tends to be associated with smaller structural changes in an organization while change in leadership is fundamentally different as it involves putting structures in place that have the potential to take things out of control; it also involves implementing big visions, empowering people and institutions by placing experienced and dedicated persons at the helm of affairs to minimize risk of failure. Due to the scope of events involved in change leadership, the business world often clamours for change management as change leadership involves bigger leaps, investments, entering windows of opportunity at a fast and challenging pace. It is important however to note that no matter the change effort implemented whether management or leadership, for change to be successful, it must begin with an individual or group of individuals or some group(s) who have to study the current state of the business, ref lect on the organization’s financial performance as well as its market position and initiate a process that requires cooperation from all individuals as without proper motivation, all change effort would be futile. When organizations begin, often much emphasis is placed on leadership and short on management. People responded quickly to change. Organizations could, and often did, roll out new programs promptly without challenges, however as organizations develop the dynamics are different — slower, costlier, stuck in red tape, less tangible, less experimental. That is because big organizations are complex and have to continually evolve to  remain relevant. When organizations are accosted by complexity, people get anxious hence the need for certainty and coordination — in the form of structures, policies, responsibilities, and rules — to push that fear away. We cannot change our fear of complexity rather there needs to be a paradigm shift from management to leadership. Organizations have to remain robust — even as they grow, they must ensure that innovation does not get crushed with the advent of globalization. When organizations have high competencies in management and leadership, they are able to meet challenges today and in the future as businesses should be forward looking. However, most organizations are usually lacking one or the other. When management exists without leadership, the company is often unable to change. However the management methodologies that helped successfully develop organizations a century ago are no longer sufficient. Achieving continuous growth in an ever-increasing, fast paced society requires a change. The key to survival is a good blend of change leadership and change management. Change Leadership The management methodologies that helped successfully develop enterprises throughout the 20th century are no longer sufficient. Driving results in a world of ever-increasing change requires a new kind of leadership. Management is about coping with complexity. Its practices and procedures are largely responses to one of the most significant developments of the twentieth century: the emergence of large organizations. Without good management, complex enterprises tend to become chaotic in ways that threaten their very existence. Good management brings a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like the quality and profitability of products. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change. Part of the reason it has become so important in recent years is that the business world has become more competitive and more volatile. Faster technological change, greater international competition, the deregulation of markets, overcapacity in capital-intensive industries, an unstable oil cartel, raiders with junk bonds, and the changing demographics of the work-force are among the many factors that have contributed to this shift. We should not try to fight the natural tendency toward coordination and control rather we should embrace change. As a matter of fact, some people will argue against the benefits of consistency as rules they claim offer consistency and, so the theory goes, coherence throughout the organization, but there is a better way to do this than to insist on rigid rules.