Week 4 DB Alex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 4 DB Alex - Essay Example Reasons for considering the firefighters conduct as within the course of employment, is because of the city’s top official was aware of the presence of its employees at the event. As already mentioned, it implies that a significant difference exist between the firefighters that caused the sexual assault and the firefighters, who cause harm when working on a job, which is distinct to their employment. However, there are terms that distinguish between the two kinds of employee that carry out such harmful conduct. The term detour relates to deviance from clear instructions; however, such instructions have relations to the original directives given (Miller et al. 422). For this reason, the original directive given by the captain, instructed the firefighters to take the trucks to the event, but they deviated and assaulted the woman. Therefore, the city is liable for their harmful act. The city is also liable for carelessly hiring employees with criminal

“Syriana” and Successive Marxist Theory Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Syriana† and Successive Marxist Theory Essay Stanley Aronowitz and William Difazio’s work on contemporary Marxist theory following and analyzing Fordism views of labor as a means to exploit and control workers is very interesting when applied to the film, â€Å"Syriana†.   Their ideas illuminate the problems with Fordism (referring to Henry Ford’s method of car production) and its technological effects on control of both workers and their time. Creating â€Å"endless† work through technology and its reach beyond the workplace (cell phones, internet, etc) and, also, alienation from the social processes outside of work, such as in the family and community are part of this Marxist theory. Their idea, also, points to Capitalism used to exploit people, through a dogma or ideology of the need to perform this meaningless and endless work.   Aronowitz and DiFazio believe that when people are free from a menial, controlled, and exploitative environment, then only then can they be free to become part of the social processes outside of work and in the rest of the world around them. The exploitation of all the main characters in â€Å"Syrianaâ€Å", through their various jobs and the contrasting roles of other members of their family, who had more time to â€Å"play† is central to this thesis.   There were four dyads that should be highlighted throughout the film to make this point.   When freed from meaningless work, many different roles can be seen, when exploited by it we can see opposite roles.   George Clooney’s character â€Å"Bobby† is an example of a worker, who was exploited by his employer (the United States CIA). His job life consisted of constantly working for this organization with a mention from one of his former co-workers that he has been â€Å"used† and he probably never even knew why. He states that he never did need to know.   He is used as a â€Å"fall guy† for this organization when an operation goes awry.   This exploitation is an example of what can happen when a worker is constantly alienated from all other processes going on around him.   His son, in contrast, shows interest in â€Å"playing†, in going to college, rowing, and in girls.   He claims to want a normal life, the opposite of what his father has.   But, in the end, when â€Å"Bobby† is under investigation and free to make his own choices, he chooses to do what he believes is right in saving a prince that is to be assassinated.   Only when he is free from his exploiters, can he be free to make his own choices. Another dyad is that of â€Å"Bryan† (Matt Damon’s character) and his son â€Å"Maxâ€Å".   Bryan is an energy analyst and, through Aronowitz and DiFazio’s idea of endless work, Bryan is asked to and agrees to working on his son’s birthday.   While Bryan is working, the family is playing, and this in a very strong point to this thesis, proves fatal.   His son is killed in an accident, caused by technology and its imperfection. If it were not for both technology and endless work, the son, â€Å"Max† would still be alive.   In an interesting twist to this, â€Å"Bryan† goes on to work as an advisor for the same visionary prince that â€Å"Bobby† tries to save.   When â€Å"Bryan† is freed from his analyst job, he goes on to work for this visionary in an attempt to help change the world for the better. â€Å"Bryan† mentions the slow pace of the Persian people and how their work ethic seems different and slower.   He sees this as a sharp contrast to his position that led him to endless work and his son’s death. Two other dyads should be examined and that is of   â€Å"Bennett† the attorney for a powerful oil company and his father and that of a Pakistani, who calls himself â€Å"Johnny† and his father.   Both of these fathers are out of work and have more time to think and play.   â€Å"Bennett† spends so much time working that he cannot see the harm he is doing, though his father has time to think and drink (excessively) and he disagrees with his son’s work.   This shows the negative side of unemployment and disengagement with civil life, which can occur if one does not apply themselves to using their capabilities. â€Å"Bennett’s† father does show his son negative attention, which is all he can do.   Similarly, â€Å"Johnny† desires money to bring his mother to be with his father and he.   The father is shown playing and enjoying the freedom from meaningless work, while â€Å"Johnny† searches for something meaningful.   In a negative twist to this â€Å"Johnny† is recruited and exploited to be a suicide bomber and then his life does have meaning, but it is in his death.   Without this dogma of the meaning of work and the need for commodities, these dyads would not be so complicated.   Work and the idea of â€Å"meaningful† work puts a rift in these families and causes social disease (alcoholism and religious extremism).

Managing And Leading Change

Managing And Leading Change Ashland Case Study Assignment Company background Ashland Inc is a Fortune 500 and Standard and Poors (SP) Midcap 400 company, providing specialised chemical, technologies and insights through Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingredients, Ashland Hercules Waters Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials, Ashland Consumer Markets (Valvoline) and Ashland Distribution. The firm has operations in more than 100 countries worldwide. In 2010 the companys revenue equated to $9bn, but its beginnings in 1924 were far more humble and it has   been though many changes since it was founded in 1924 as part of the refining arm of the Swiss Oil company, and it was then known as the Ashland Refining Company. The company takes its name after the town of its inception, namely Ashland, Kentucky in the United States. In 1936 both companies merged and Ashland General Manager, Paul G. Blazer, became the newly merged companys president and the company achieved $4.8m in sales, and by the entry of the United States into the Second World War they had grown to $12m. During the period a new refinery is built at Catlettsburg to produce aviation fuel. After the war the Ashland brand is developed, and products are sold under the companys name. This enables sales to further rise to $20.4m, and the company makes further strides in 1950 by acquiring the Freedom-Valvoline Oil Company and the contributed to a further boost to sales by 900 per cent. By 1959 the Valvoline brand had begun to reach the top of the lubricants world, thanks to an increase in the firms growing workforce, advertising campaigns, investments in infrastructure and it is highly featured in motorsport to this day. The growth in its petro-chemicals business led to further growth, leading to the acquisition of R.J Brown of St. Louis, Montana and sales grew to $280m. However, in 1966 the company diversified and it purchased Warren Brothers and Ashland Paving And Construction Inc. was born. The firms sales reached $699 million as a result of this acquisition. Furthermore the company continued to evolve during the 1960s with the acquisition of ADM Chemical Group and the formation of Ashland Chemical, making Ashland a leading chemical supplier. In 1969 Ashland Petroleum was formed, a year after the company had reached the milestone of having achieved an annual revenue of $1bn. However, the company further diversified and it enters into the coal-extraction market with the launch of the Arch-Mineral joint venture.   The following year the companys name is changed further to gaining shareholders support, and it became Ashland Oil. It also purchases a refinery, adding the SuperAmerica petrol station and convenience store chain to its holdings. The next milestone appears in 1986 with the establishment of Valvoline Instant Oil Change, which provided a service for lubricating vehicles across 70 units. Since then it has become the second-largest franchised quick lubrication business in the US, and it can be found at 870 locations. The table below, according to the company, shows its other important milestones: Year Event 1992 Ashland acquires most of Unocals chemical distribution business, becoming North Americas leading distributor of chemicals and solvents 1994 Zerex vehicle antifreeze and coolant, the No. 2 brand in the U.S., is added to the Valvoline product line-up. Sales reach $10.3 billion. 1995 Shareholders approve changing the companys name to Ashland Inc. to better reflect our diverse operations. This same year, more than $368 million is invested in 14 acquisitions to strengthen related energy and chemical businesses. 1998 Ashland and Marathon Oil merge their petroleum refining and marketing assets into a joint venture. Eagle One auto appearance products join the Valvoline brand line-up. 1999 Ashland celebrates its 75th anniversary. The company relocates its headquarters from Ashland, Ky., USA, to Covington, Ky., USA, adjacent to Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. 2002 Ashland introduces Envirez resin, the first commercially available unsaturated polyester resin containing a significant quantity of renewable materials. 2004 Ashland reorganizes into two sectors, Chemical and Transportation Construction. This lays the foundation for the companys transformation into a global specialty chemical company. 2005 Ashland divests its joint-venture oil and refining business to partner Marathon Oil, and also acquires Car Brite, a leading marketer of professional auto reconditioning products. Sales are $9.3 billion. 2006 The transformation into a specialty chemical company continues. Northwest Coatings, a technical leader in the development of innovative Waters-based and energy-curable adhesives and coatings, is acquired and Ashland Paving And Construction, Inc. is sold. 2008 Ashland acquires Hercules Incorporated in a $3.3-billion transaction. The deal moves us into the top tier of global specialty chemical companies. 2009 The Nanjing Technical Center opens in China. The applications lab supports customers in the coatings, construction, energy, food, personal care and industrial specialties markets. Sales reach $8.1 billion. 2010 Natrosol hydroxyethylcellulose rolls off the line at a new plant in Nanjing, China. Ashland launches a global joint venture in foundry chemicals with Sà ¼d-Chemie AG and announces plans to sell Ashland Distribution in 2011. 2011 Ashland and our people continue to set the standard for good chemistry and all of the great things it creates around the world. Table data source: Ashland Inc. Ashland vision, mission, values and operating principles The firm aims to be a leading global specialised chemical company by inspiring and engaging with its employees and adding value to everything it does. The company describes its mission as follows: â€Å"We satisfy our customers by delivering results through quality chemical products and services. Our desire to grow drives our passion to win in the marketplace. With a unified, low-cost operating structure, well remain competitive across every business and in every geographic region.† The following are its values and operating principles: Our Values: Who we are We act with integrity and honesty. We focus on customer and shareholder success and compete to win. We recognize each person for the difference he or she makes. We drive innovation and results by understanding the market and its opportunities. We are committed to the values of responsibility, sustainability and transparency. We create safe and health-conscious work environments, require compliance and embrace environmental stewardship. Our Operating Principles: How it happens We operate in compliance with the law and adhere to high ethical standards. We assess the impact on customers and society when making decisions. We are externally focused. Our businesses are defined by markets. We are process-centred. Our processes are designed to optimize global performance. Ashland leaders are first responsible to Ashland and second to a business, resource group or process. We are led by an Executive Committee that enforces our principles, sets our strategy and manages our capital. We are united by our common vision, mission, values and operating principles. Case Study Background Ashland Incs earnings were off track in 2002. The company was also troubled by high levels of redundancy and operating costs throughout its business groups. The annual net results were also lower than the companys share value. Even though the company has evidently gone through a number of transformations and evolutions since 1924, the vice-president of HR at the time felt that the firms troubles because it had turned it into a change-averse organisation. There was apparently no desire for change, and this person felt that as a company they didnt do it well. Doing something different was thought of as change. Between 1998 and 2003 Ashland had gone through a resource group restructuring exercise, relocated its head office, sold its oil exploration business, and it engaged in marketing and refining joint ventures. Dwight King, Ashland Chemicals President for HR, said that there was a lot of rubble left behind, which led to unwanted turnover and reductions in performance. â€Å"As our previous VP of HR would say, a lot of wreckage results from somehow not executing our plans correctly†, he said before explaining that the elements of a previous failure were impacting severely on the business. There was also a new and critical project on the table, and the leadership team recognised that they were not being very efficient due to a lacking of understanding of what it means to be change leaders.   Dwight therefore felt that he was about to watch another car accident occur. What was missing was not the what and why, but the how to change the organisation for the better. So in 2003 the firms senior executives recognised that they hadnt changed direction as well as they could have done. So the organisation was nearly broken when the company tried to implement its first Enterprise Resource Planning system in its distribution unit, and this led to a shut down of west coast operations. The implementation hadnt gone as well as everyone had expected. Change was therefore vital, and so Dwight initiated a change management programme. The company needed to build change into the organisation as a competency. The objectives were to ‘retro-fit several of its major initiatives to a change management methodology, integrate project and change management, to create a training curriculum and to build competencies within the following groups: managers, supervisors, practitioners, intact project teams and employees. He recognised that this had to start from the top of the organisation, and so he arranged an executive briefing with all of the firms business unit presidents. He succeeded in gaining sponsorship for his initiative at the meeting. The programmes focused on HR, project managers and the distribution leadership team. By 2005 this had created tremendous momentum, including the adoption of change management terminologies and a new change management approach. However, the first investments in change occurred in 2004 when Dwight facilitated a conversation with the chemical sector leadership team. He asked them a number of questions to find out where the company should be in five years time, and what it should look like. The discussion also analysed, from that particular hypothetical perspective, how the company got there, and what they would have to do to arrive at their perceived ‘destination. There was also some in-depth discussion about the obstacles theyd face and how they would overcome them. The SAP implementation moved forward too. It was now fully implemented, and Ashland formed its GlobalOne project team for SAP to begin a worldwide roll-out. Dwight convinced the SAP project manager that he needed to include a change management element in its deployment. In fact he said that ‘change needed to go well beyond that which was defined by the SAP consultants. â€Å"There were plenty of people who gave lip-service to the word ‘change, including the consultants, two of the largest consulting firms in the world†, said Dwight. He added that their idea of change involved â€Å"documenting the new physical competencies of change around what new buttons you had to push, what new levers you had to pull, what new screens you were seeing in order to enter or bill an order, or service an account.† There was no understanding about the resistance that would be created by any change programme implementation; their views didnt even consider the creation of a body of knowledge about expectations and then reinforcing them through training. This meant that there would need to be some systems training in place, and so a change management consultant was hired for the GlobalOne team. Previously they had implemented SAP Global One in Canada, and even though there was a good change management plan in place, some issues arose. The trouble was that the assets were only there for just two weeks, and then the team left to implement it in the US. Out of this situation came the realisation that you need a dedicated change management structure within the project to make sure that it succeeds. It was also recognised that certain people were needed in order to be responsible for the change effort. Around the same period the company implemented an organisation-wide rewards scheme, called Total Rewards, which redesigned the firms salary and incentive schemes. This migrated the company to a single incentive scheme. Previously each group had had their own. Ashlands CEO and Board Chairman, Jim OBrien, was introduced to the change leadership tools, and he used them to identify the champions within the company. Working collaboratively with HR and Communications he developed a strategy to target the change sponsors. â€Å"It went incredibly well†, said Dwight before adding that it was â€Å"fraught with potential landmines and we missed most of them, so Jim, our CEO, became an advocate for change competency.† They also adopted a change management methodology and 150 people attended a workshop. The companys distribution managers and projects leaders, upon participating in the workshops, thought that they had at last struck on what change was all about. Subsequently this marked a change in Ashlands deployment strategy. There was no longer a requirement to apply change management to one project at a time. An enterprise-wide approach was sanctioned by OBrien instead, and he selected Hank Waters to be the Ashland Enterprise Change Management Executive sponsor. Dwight King and Hank Waters then set about creating an organisational structure and identified key players within the ECM Deployment Team. The ECM Deployment Team was created in May 2006, and it began to implement the change management programme across the company from this point. While Hank Waters was at its leader, the team also included Pam Yost, Carol Chistobek, Jerry Prochko, Lisa Ireland, Mark Lambeth, Stacy Dunbar and Vondar Melton. An ECM Steering Committee was also formed to provide oversight for the ECM Deployment team, and it became an important catalyst for driving change further into the organisation. Two members of the team also undertook a course to become change management trainers in a change management methodology. The Steering Committee included heads of HR, Corporate Communications, IT, EHS and two business unit leaders. Its purpose was to provide direction to the change management programme. Together they achieved substantial change between 2003 and 2008, and the company made significantly more inroads than it had done previously to achieve their vision to construct a platform for growth. This exercise was repeated across the globe, and it was helped when a former business unit head and a member of the ECM steering committee, Peter Rijneveldshoek, became president of Ashland Europe. He requested that all members of the 200 plus European management team attend change management training in preparation for the SAP implementation. Dwight says that the company lost momentum at one point due to moving a key executive from change management deployment over to Ashlands Waters division, but the aim was to make change part of the organisations DNA. Therefore European project leaders were also required to undergo change management training. However, this was more embedded in the US more than in Europe. The training also occurred with project managers in China. In April 2007 a series of assessments were conducted, and there were also a number of professional development sessions held with the 12 members of the Operating Committee and the CEO. The aim of the assessments was to help the senior executives to understand the true meaning behind sponsorship of change, and it gave them an insight into how they were fulfilling their roles. Coaching sessions followed these ones, and sponsorship development roadmaps were created to enable the leadership team to develop their skills as sponsors of the change management programme. The project was deemed to be successful with 95% of the participants in a survey about the change management programme reporting that the training and tools helped them to provide support for their employees during the SAP EMEA implementation. An online training course was also provided, and 331 employees took part in it. Again 96% agreed strongly or just agreed that the course had been worth the time it took to take it. However, at one point it was felt that the ECM team required another 6-12 months to ensure that 90% of the organisation would be more change-ready. Problems arose due to members of the team being moved to more permanent roles within other parts of the organisation. Nevertheless, change became more part of Ashlands dictionary than it was previously, and more awareness of what change means was created. TASK: You are a change management consultant whose been asked to come into Ashland to assess the companys change programmes. Critically analyse and evaluate the success of the programme mentioned in the case study, consider other approaches that the firm could have taken, and think about what recommendations for change youd make for 2011 onwards based on the your knowledge of the companys history and previous change management efforts. Use the information contained in the case study, plus further primary and secondary research to form your assessment of Ashlands future strategic direction and explain how it will need to adopt new change management programmes. Consider all of the aspects of Managing and Leading Change that were discussed in your lectures, including the theoretical models and approaches to managing, leading and implementing change within an organisation. Compare your approach to the one taken by Ashland between 2003 and 2008, and explain how you would measure the success of your change management programme. For example, which metrics should Ashland be using to assess the success of its change programmes?

Women: Their Freedom, And How They Got It :: Expository Essays Research Papers

Women: Their Freedom, And How They Got It The Light at the End of the Tunnel In the past, women have been oppressed to a point where they were treated as a completely different species. They were in a country that seemed to be a dark tunnel with no hope, dreams, or sense of fulfillment. Now, women have been given their natural birthrights, and they are now able to do everything males can do. As the United States of America was building, women for some reason were not treated like they should have been. Strong women like Sojourner Truth stood up for what they knew was right. She was able to fight for all women, represent a whole "race" and take control, she was one of the very few women who had the strength and will power to face this problem head on, and win. She was able to take on an entire nation and voice her opinion regardless of what her consequences could have been. That is what it takes to free yourself and or other people from the hold of injustice. Not too many people have the quality to be able to stand up in such harsh situations but because of some brave women all of the women are able to walk down the street and feel as equal as any man passing by. They can vote, hold office, get high paying jobs, and be independent women, with independent thoughts. In the lights of the horrible past, women were able to build a defense system far better than any army or navy that any country could produce. The women were able to attack with intelligence, perseverance, and being able to bring up common sense that seemed to have been missing before. With this defense, they were able to produce an illustrious history. Now, women can linger with their pasts, and with the memories of the women who preceded them, and look towards a bright future, where people like Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Rodham Clinton exemplify the American women, who can live out the American Dream, once only available to males. No longer do women write books depicting their insecurities and injustices. Now women are writers of Pulitzer Prize winning works and teach aspiring male authors how to be the best they can be. In a society where it was once unheard of for women to even be educated, women take up the majority of grade school teachers, and many more have blossomed into college professors with Ph D's and MD's.

Etourism – “Global Distribution Systems †Going, Going, Gone”

Global Distribution Systems – Going, Going, Gone? | Table of Contents Introduction:2 Timeline3 Airline Reservation System3 Computer Reservation Systems (CRS)3 Global Distribution Systems (GDS)4 Who uses GDSs? 5 GDS – Through the years:5 The Future of GDS:6 What should they do? 6 What is the role of the global distribution system in today’s travel agencies? 6 The Internet7 Conclusion8 References9 Books:9 Articles:9 Websites:9 Introduction: GDS – Going, going, gone? Well, certainly Global Distribution Systems have been going for a while but are they yet gone?This paper is on the history, present time and the questionable future of Global Distribution System (GDS). Firstly I go through each stage of their timeline: – Airline Reservation Systems began in the 1960s and is a computerized system is designed to control flight inventory, maintain flight schedules, seat assignments and aircraft loading. It’s used to store and retrieve information and c arry out transactions associated to any air travel. The modern airline reservation system is comprehensive suite of products to provide a system that assists with a variety of airline management tasks and ervice customer needs from the time of initial reservation through completion of the flight. – Computer Reservations Systems (CRS) began in the 1970s. These types of systems charge other travel suppliers for the right to market their products and services through these systems. ‘The computer reservation systems are completely keyboard driven and you must learn the formats in order to operate it efficiently. The web based booking engines are the point and click environment. ’ Travel Agent Training Centre, (2011). Global Distribution Systems (GDS) began in the 1980s and refer to the booking tool travel agents use when making an air, hotel, car or other travel service booking. They provide pricing, availability and reservation functionality to many online travel ag encies. There are currently four major GDS systems: 1. Amadeus 2. Galileo 3. Sabre 4. Worldspan Hotel-ICT, (2011) – The Internet has become the main sales channel and customer interface for low-cost airlines because of its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Timeline The timeline stages of CRS/GDS according to Werthner & Klein (1999), is as follows: ———————————————— Time1965197519851995 SystemAirline ReservationCRSGDS Global Travel & FocusSystem Tourism Information Airline Reservation System Airline Reservation System was one of the earliest modifications to improve on efficiency. It’s a moderately simple standalone system that controls flight inventory, maintains flight schedules, seat assignments and aircraft loading. ‘It provides a system that assists with a variety of airline management tasks and service customer needs from the time of initia l reservation through completion of the flight. Videcom, (2006). ARS contain airline schedules, fare tariffs, passenger reservations and ticket records. Airline Reservations Systems sooner or later evolved into Computer Reservation Systems (CRS). Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) ‘A Computer Reservation System (CRS) is a computerized system for saving and retrieving information when needed related to air travel. CRS were created and used by airlines and at a later point they were finally used in tourism intermediaries like travel agencies. ’ marcelvacek. logspot (2010)   An airline's direct distribution works within their own reservation system, as well as pushing out information to the GDS. The second type of direct distribution channels are consumers who use the internet or mobile applications to make their own reservations. Travel agencies and other indirect distribution channels access the same GDS as those accessed by the airlines' reservation systems Well known CRS operations that book and sell tickets for multiple airlines are known as global distribution systems (GDS).Airlines have separated most of their direct holdings to devoted GDS companies, who make their systems available to consumers through Internet gateways. Modern GDSs naturally allow consumers to book hotel rooms and rental cars as well as airline tickets. As well they provide access to railway reservations in some markets although these are not always integrated with the main system. CRS and GDS seem to have the same functions but the major difference between these two systems is that CRS only provide information about airlines whereas by using GDS you can reserve a ticket, a room in a hotel and also a rental car.This is why they are called Global Distribution Systems because you can use GDS to reserve basically everything. Global Distribution Systems (GDS) ‘The term GDS (Global Distribution System) describes a network of one or more CRS for distributing product offer s and functionalities of the participating networks in different countries of the world. In addition to the airline product also other products such as accommodation, car rentals, cruises, or tour operator products are included. Werthner & Klein (1999) Today the travel marketplace is a global arena with hundreds of thousands of buyers (travel agents) and sellers (hotels, resorts, airlines, car rental companies) working together to reserve and deliver the services to the buyer – the traveller. Increasingly Global Distribution System is known for a Global Electronic System, which connects users and suppliers. GDS offer instant access to the supplier's information (i. e. hotels) with immediate function. Many main web portals are also associated to  GDS, including Expedia. com, Orbitz. om, Travelocity. com and priceline. com to name a few. For many years the GDSs had a dominant position in the travel industry. To bypass the GDS and avoid high GDS fees, airlines have started to distribute flights directly from their websites. Another possibility to bypass the GDS is direct connections to the Travel Agencies. According to ITSA there are currently four main GDS companies in operation, these are Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan. These are by far the most used systems, comprising the vast majority of the global bookings in the GDS industry. The Global Distribution Systems (GDSs), a development from the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs), were for a long time the most important distribution channel for airlines. They were effectively developed as travel supermarkets in the pre-Internet era and their primary objective was to connect travel agencies with airlines (Buhalis, 2004). GDSs are still a vital element in the light of the huge variety of tariffs to be administered. GDSs are the main link between airlines and intermediaries, such as tour operators and travel agents.They are also empowering Internet transactions by providing the background link be tween electronic travel agencies and airlines. ’ (Egger ;amp; Buhalis, 2008) There is one downside of using GDS and it is the fact that it costs airlines money to go through a GDS process. Airlines complain that the prices are too high and therefore some poorer airlines have decided to post their best offers by using their own websites instead of the global distribution system so that they do not go bankrupt. CRSs (Computer Reservation Systems) and GDSs were the most important facilities of change in the tourism industry before the arrival of the Internet, as they were established as a comprehensive travel marketing and distribution system and were often called travel supermarkets. The need for GDSs arises from both the demand and supply sides as well as from the expansion of the tourism industry in recent decades. ’ (Buhalis,2003. ) Who uses GDSs? A majority of travel agents (worldwide) and travel websites use the Global Distribution System (GDS) to book their air, ho tel and car reservations. There are currently over 600,000 travel agents worldwide who have access to  GDS. On top of that, there are hundreds of thousands of web portals that use  GDS  to provide information on hotels, airlines, car rentals,  etc. ’ According to 1Hotelsolution, (2009). GDS – Through the years: There have been 3 stages of evolution the first reservation system was called an Airline Reservation system, the second a Computer Reservation System (CRS) and the third evolution is today’s Global Distribution System (GDS). The establishment of the Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) in the 1970s and Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) in the 1980s, followed by the development of the Internet in the late 1990s, have transformed the best operational and strategic practices in the industry dramatically. ’ Buhalis ;amp; Laws (2008) The big winners here are the airlines, followed by the GDSs. The carriers' major concern was to overhaul their di stribution economics and they did that – reducing the fees they pay the GDSs by about 33 per cent per segment.And the airlines, with assistance from the GDSs, did it on the backs of travel agencies. Travel agencies bear about 80 per cent of that reduced airline payment to GDSs through the incentive cuts the agencies agreed to, while the GDSs foot about 20 per cent of the lost revenue themselves. With travel agencies already under financial pressure, the 80-cents incentive cut they agreed to could mean the difference between profit and loss, survival and bankruptcy, according to the article Airlines the big winners in ‘the GDS wars’ Schaal (2006). For the amount of contestable market share is limited given high load factors. Worse this is not going to get any better due to the constraints on supply due to the high price of fuel. If  we look at the market share of the 3 major alliances they now occupy more than 50% of total traffic. When you then remove the Low C ost carriers out of the loop as they don’t participate in the GDSs the amount of neutral traffic unaligned falls significantly. Perhaps for this reason we see traditional unaligned airlines like Virgin Atlantic starting to evaluate their options seriously.   4Hoteliers, (2011). The Future of GDS: Over the last 10 years, the Internet has proved to be a crucially successful platform for selling travel, appealing to a vast group of suppliers. According to Breaking Travel News (2004), the number of travellers booking airline tickets, hotel rooms and other travel services online continues to grow. The GDSs were actually among the first e-commerce companies in the world as early as mid 1970s. Earlier before the beginning of the GDS, travel agents spent huge amounts of time manually entering reservations.The airlines realised that at this point they could make travel agents more productive and essentially re-invent them as an extension of the airlines sales force. It is these orig inal legacy GDSs that provide the strength to the Internet Travel distribution. While online commerce was growing at a fast pace, agents are more and more facing a new reality whereby customers are finding the cheapest fares for themselves on the Internet. The airlines can no longer afford to put fare content through GDSs and are complaining that the prices are too high.The low-cost airlines have added to this pressure, having found an alternative form of distribution that bypasses the GDSs, as stated by Breaking News Travel, (2004). In an attempt to cut their own costs, traditional airlines have started to make their best fares available on their own websites alone. Although GDSs are still a very useful distribution tool, at this stage it is crucial that they reduce their distribution costs in order to restore profitability and ensure the airlines survival (none of the GDSs are now owned by airlines). This is no doubt leading to the volume of the GDS transactions diminishing.What s hould they do? Moving into a de-regulatory environment will change the rules for GDSs, meaning a shift in focus creating new opportunities. They really need to concentrate on value, content and pricing as priorities in moving ahead. They should also re-evaluate their costs and agent incentives. British Airways (BA) has recently negotiated a deal with Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo, which gives them full access to BA’s fares as indicated by Breaking Travel News, (2004). What is the role of the global distribution system in today’s travel agencies?With the dramatic expansion of the Internet and the proliferation of new sources offering bookable travel content, GDSs are still the primary, most comprehensive and reliable platform for travel agencies and their corporate clients to access, shop and book travel. It is also through GDSs and their rich portfolios of travel planning and management tools those agencies and corporations reconcile and manage daily travel business. Due to their range, extent and supplier relationships, GDSs are also fundamental to the supply of travel products to retailers in the online channel according to Travelport, (2011). The InternetThe Internet has become the main sales channel and customer interface for low-cost airlines because of its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The most recent stage of distribution system increase happened in the mid-1990s and counterparts the fast growth of the Internet and its widespread penetration into households by the end of the decade. The internet gave rise to alternative booking channels. ‘ Instead of going to the travel agent to pick up brochures, customers will request details of holidays over the Internet and watch video pictures of the accommodation before booking with the swipe of a credit card. Morgan, (1996). ‘Airlines have a number of options for Internet distribution including airline-owned websites, alliance sites, electronic intermediaries and other forms of sales i ncluding electronic auctioning of unsold seats. A major advantage of these types of services is the ability to offer 24-hour, 7-days-a-week service that in the near future will include bookings via cellular phones using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology. ’ Buhalis & Laws, (2001). By combining the simple protocol of the Internet with a user-friendly interface it represents the main â€Å"vehicle† for creating a worldwide electronic community, integrating research institutes, private companies, public organizations and, most important, private households. ’ Werthner & Klein, (1999). Conclusion The questions are if there is a concentration of power in the hands of the airlines and the intermediaries, is there really a need for a neutral distribution system? What if there was no GDS? If this were the case – would the prices of the products go down or stay the same?From the research in this paper I believe that GDS today is costing us more . As 4Hoteliers stated previously in the paper, the market share of the 3 major alliances they now occupy more than 50% of total traffic. When the Low Cost carriers are removed out of the loop they don’t take part in the GDSs the amount of neutral traffic not united falls considerably. I would agree that the GDS has over time restrained competition and indeed cost the consumer more. GDS – Going, going, gone? They did indeed lasted many, many years but yes I believe they are on their way out.A new generation of people are coming in with more knowledge about technology than the last. They have more of a grasp about computers and the workings of the Internet therefore they will not need GDS, thus, will not need to use travel agencies who are the main users of GDS to book their air, hotel and car reservations. Once travel agencies are out, Global Distribution Systems will no longer be needed. They are soon to be gone. References Books: * Buhalis, D (2003). eTourism. Harlow , England: Pearson Education Limited. P93-94. * Buhalis, D. & Laws, E. (2001).Tourism Distribution Channels-Practices, Issues & Transformations. Cornwall, UK: TJI Digital. P221 * Egger, R. & Buhalis, D. (2008). eTourism Case Studies. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann P264 * Morgan, M. (1996). Marketing for Leisure and Tourism. Hertforshire, UK: Prentice Hall. P263 * Werthner, H. & Klein, S. (1999). Information Technology and Tourism – A Challenging Relationship. Austria: Springer-Verlag Wien. P79 * Werthner, H. & Klein, S. (1999). Information Technology and Tourism – A Challenging Relationship. Austria: Springer-Verlag Wien.P185 * Werthner, H. & Klein, S. (1999). Information Technology and Tourism – A Challenging Relationship. Austria: Springer-Verlag Wien. P188 Articles: * Breaking Travel News (2004) The Future of the GDS. Available from http://www. breakingtravelnews. com/news/article/btn20040216144254916/ [accessed 8th Oct 2011] * Buhalis, D. & Laws, E. (2008) Progress in Tourism Management: Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet—The state of eTourism research. Available from http://www. sciencedirect. om/science/article/pii/S0261517708000162 [accessed 7th Oct 2011] * Schaal, D. (2006) Airlines the big winners in ‘the GDS wars’ in International News. Available from http://0-web. ebscohost. com. ditlib. dit. ie/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=5&hid=8&sid=562024d9-8116-4049-8ab3-6bb0295294dd%40sessionmgr13 [Accessed 7th Oct 2011] Websites: * Hotel-ITC, (2011). GDS (Global Distribution System) – Connect to the world. Available from http://hotel-ict. blogspot. com/2011/04/gds-global-distribution-system-connect. html [Accessed 8th Oct 2011] (Image) * ITSA – GDSs and LTDs http://www. nteractivetravel. org/IndustryBackground/Attachments/GDSs_and_LTDs_FAQs. pdf [accessed 8th Oct] * Marcelvacek. blogspot, (2010). Touri sm & Hospitality Business Applications. Available from http://marcelvacek. blogspot. com/2010/10/what-is-crs-and-gds. html [accessed 7th Oct 2011] * Travel Agent Training Centre, (2011). Computer Reservation System Training Available from http://www. travelagenttrainingcenter. com/Computer%20Reservation%20System%20Training. htm [accessed 8 Oct] * Travelport, (2011). What do travel agents

Should Cosmetic Surgeons Be Influenced By Societys Social Norms As Illistrated In The Ethics Of Complicity By Margaret Olivia Little essays

Should Cosmetic Surgeons Be Influenced By Societys Social Norms As Illistrated In The Ethics Of Complicity By Margaret Olivia Little essays A physician, as any other professional, has a job to do. Granted, the job does entail the preservation of human life, a characteristic which holds great importance and prestige in our society. But why should he/she also be burdened with the responsibility of making societys moral decisions? A physician has no more responsibility for our view of normal than a fry jockey at McDonalds. Although Littles article does raise some truths, I will argue that physicians, particularly cosmetic surgeons, should neither be responsible for nor influenced by societys social norms when approached by a patient requesting cosmetic surgery of any sort. Little argues (with a typical Postmodernists attitude) that requests for cosmetic surgery are often motivated by deep and genuine suffering . . . not from a desire for beauty, but from a desire to end a distressing sense of alienation from some body part or to escape incessant teasing due to the suspect norms of appearance (Little,162, 163). Men and women alike are deceived into thinking they need these surgeries due to the deep rooted norms within our society, similar to the way our largely male dominated society has deep rooted itself into our understanding of biology (Freedman). With this in mind, it is difficult to disagree with this argument. However, I do disagree with her query into the appropriateness of medicine to provide cosmetic surgery for purely vain intentions, in an attempt to conform to these norms. If someone is pursuing such a surgery, he/she has his/her own reasoning behind it. What right does a physician have to tell him/her that his/her reasons are not of medical necessity (Little, 162)? The origins of his/her reasons are insignificant. It is true that doctors are obligated to discuss medical risks with their patients, but why should they inform them of ...

Harley

Harley Executive Summary The rate at which the world economy is growing is making companies to adopt management strategies which will enable them to increase their global market share as well as remain competitive and profitable in the global market. This paper will therefore discuss the various ways in which companies are shifting from their traditional means of production so that they can manage to catch up with the advanced means of production which will enable them to increase their productivity and competitiveness.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Harley-Davidson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The paper will focus on the operations of Harley-Davidson and the manner in which the company has been able to cope with the growing competition in the motorcycle industry. The paper will also illustrate the complexity that is associated with the global market and how it has influenced the performance of Harley-Davidson. The pa per will show the manner in which Harley-Davidson has adopted different management strategies that have enabled it to recover from the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. The paper will also stipulate the inefficiency that is associated with Harley-Davidson production process. It will also show the various strategies that Harley-Davidson should adopt in order to increase its competitiveness in the global market. The paper will also demonstrate how Harley-Davidson understands the competitive nature of the global market and how the company has been able to emerge as one of the most profitable companies in the America. Introduction With the rate at which the world economy is growing, companies are being forced to look for strategies which will enable them to increase their market share and hence remain competitive and profitable. Many organizations are being driven out of business because of their inability to adopt the production processes which are being adopted by the modernized c ompanies. Therefore, in order for organizations to boost their competitiveness, they are implementing strategies aimed at improving their marketing, management, and manufacturing techniques (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, 2009). With the complexity that is associated with the global market, businesses are implementing measures to enable them learn about effective business management strategies so that they can manage to keep producing products which meet the needs of their customers. Technology is changing together with the global market trends thereby making the tastes and preferences of consumers to change considerably. As a result, organizations are being forced to design products which meet the tastes and preferences of the modern consumer (Elliott Percy, 2007). However, they will find this strategy possible if they take time to learn about the needs of the modern customers. Organizations are therefore shifting from their traditional ideas and focusing on developing products that rhym e with the tastes of the consumers in the modern world.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The companies that have been resistant to change are finding it difficult to catch up with those companies which have incorporated technology in their production process. Though shifting from the traditional means of production is an expensive undertaking, it is worthwhile if a company wishes to remain in business for a long time. There are many companies which have been able to shift from their traditional production processes and they have hence been able to satisfy the needs of their consumers. An example of a company that has been able to shift from traditional means of production is Harley-Davidson. The company has been in existence since 1963. Since then, the company has been known to provide its customers with products that meet their specifications. The company’s main activities include the manufacture of motorcycles (Gamble Schafer, 2012). It has therefore been able to design motorcycles tailored for specific markets. The main classes of motorcycles that the company has been able to produce successfully include cruiser, touring, and performance motorcycles. These classes of motorcycles have been able to meet the different riding needs of the customers (Gamble Schafer, 2012). This paper will therefore carry out a case study analysis of Harley-Davidson and illustrate the various management strategies that the company should adopt to enable it to remain a dominant player in the motorcycle industry. The paper will also discuss the various challenges that the company has encountered while trying to take its operations to the international market as well as the effects of the global recession on the profitability and competitiveness of the company. Harley-Davidson Contemporary Strategy Analysis Company overview The revenues of Harley-Davidson declined significantly as a result of the economic recession that hit the US major markets between 2008 and 2009. The effects of the economic recession declared many people jobless while the purchasing power of the consumers also reduced significantly. The international market was also hesitant to purchase products from the US thereby reducing the number of motorcycles that Harley-Davidson sold to the overseas markets (Stermer, 2007). The effects of the global recession made the demand of motorcycles to reduce by 12.7 per cent. This reflected a 15.1 per cent reduction in the revenues that the company had made the previous year. This is an indication that the stability of the financial market plays a very important role in ensuring that the sales of a company remain constant. With the credit crunch that was encountered in 2008, Harley-Davidson was forced to finance its operations using loans (Schembri, 2009). This made the liquidity of the company to go down significantly.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Harley-Davidson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Harley-Davidson as a very profitable company Though Harley-Davidson is one of the most profitable companies in the world, the company has not been effective in its production processes. Since its establishment, the company has always been faced with the problem of insufficient production capacity. It has therefore not been able to meet the demands of its customers. This is a major weakness for any business enterprise. Customers of a company should not be made to wait for a long time for the products they demand to be processed (Schembri, 2009). However, Harley-Davidson has been unable to meet the demands of its customers. The delay in the production process has therefore made the company to lose a large number of customers. Harley-Davidson customers are forced to look for other companies that have the ability to supply the products that they dem and in time (Stermer, 2007). Therefore, to be able to retain its customers, Harley-Davidson needs to increase its production capacity to enable it supply its customers with high quality products when they demand them. Consolidating plants It is important for an organization to ensure that its manufacturing plants are consolidated at a common location in order to reduce the costs of production and also to improve the efficiency of the production process (Smit, 2000). However, the manufacturing operations of Harley-Davidson are dispersed. For example, the company manufactures its engines in Milwaukee and Wisconsin while the engines are assembled in York, Kansas City and Missouri (Fred, 2008). Therefore, in order for the company to cut down on its costs of production, it needs to develop a single facility which can manage to merge the engine manufacturing and assembly operations. This way, the company can be able to achieve a cost leadership advantage thereby enabling it to increase it s market share significantly. However, because of the company’s inability to keep its costs of production down, Harley-Davidson has been unable to expand the sales of its high-priced motorcycles outside the US market. Participating in riding activities In order for motorcycle companies to improve the riding experience of their customers, it is important for the managers and employees of different organizations to participate in organized riding activities together with their customers. This gives the customers a feeling that the products they purchase will meet their needs (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2010). As a result, Harley-Davidson participates in HOG activities to enable it communicate with its customers (Cooney, 2005). This way, the managers and the employees are able to interact with their customers thereby convincing them about the importance of purchasing motorcycles from the company. These kinds of activities therefore serve as marketing tools for the company. Effic iency in the manufacture of different types of products A company should be efficient at manufacturing all types of products which can enable it to capture a substantial share of the market (Hopkins, 1999). However, Harley-Davidson is only efficient at manufacturing super heavy motorcycles but it is not able to design small bikes. This is an indication that the company is weak in terms of implementing certain production processes. In addition, it has been noted that the company is not able to incorporate research and development in its production process. The company also limits its ability to invest in new technology. The recent drop in the market share of Harley-Davidson can therefore be attributed to the technological backwardness of the company (Neghina , 2009). Technological backwardness is therefore a major issue that the company needs to address in order for it to increase its market share.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Importance of technology In order for a company to emerge successful in the global market, it needs to make use of the advancements in technology to enable it design products that are appealing to the customers’ eyes. Technology also facilitates the manufacture of quality and efficient products. It is therefore important for Harley-Davidson to invest in up-to-date means of production to ensure that the products it produces are efficient and that they respond to the needs of the customers. For example, it is true that the market share of Harley- Davidson motorcycles in Europe was the lowest in the year 2007 compared to the market share of Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and BMW (Hopkins, 1999). This is because the customers in Europe are more sensitive to technology while the consumers in the US market believe that Harley-Davidson incorporates the American culture in its manufacturing process. Therefore, in order for Harley-Davidson to increase its market share in the European region, it needs to make use of technology to enable it customize motorcycles for the European market. New Models A company can secure a significant market share by providing its customers with new models. Once new products are introduced in the market, the existing customers are the first to purchase the new models (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2010). Harley-Davidson is well known for introducing new models in the market. As a result, it is able to increase its sales revenue and market share. However, this is not a very effective strategy because not all customers stand ready to replace their old models. Therefore, the introduction of new models alone may not enable the company to increase its revenue and market share to the levels that is desires. To increase its market share therefore, it is important for the company to ensure that the new models it introduces into the market incorporate the latest technology. This would motivate the customers to purchase the products and hence bo ost the company’s profitability. Emphasis on comfort The products that consumers purchase should be able to offer them comfort. It is therefore important for companies to design products which offer customers comfort while using them. Companies should therefore customize their products in a way that meets the specifications of the customers (Schembri, 2009). To increase the sales of its motorcycles therefore, Harley-Davidson customizes products for the customers who need certain specifications. Customers are therefore able to gain maximum satisfaction while riding the motorbikes. This strategy has enabled the company to win over a significant number of customers. Distribution networks The distribution network of products plays a very important role in determining whether an organization can manage to deliver products to its customers on a timely basis and at an affordable price. The channels of distribution used determine whether the customers can manage to gain access to the products that a company produces. Therefore, it is important for an organization to ensure that the distribution network it adopts makes it easy for the customers to access the products at a cheaper price. It has been noted that Harley-Davidson competitors implement distribution networks which are less costly and more efficient in Europe. As a result, the competitors have been able to acquire a larger market share in Europe because of the efficacy of their distribution networks (Cooney, 2005). Therefore, in order for Harley-Davidson to market its products in Europe successfully, it needs to carry out a study about the European market and determine which distribution network to implement. After sales services There are certain services that a business is supposed to offer in order to make people trust in the products that the organization produces. To ensure that customers keep coming back for more products, the management of Harley-Davidson ensures that the customers are accorded p re and after sales services. This way, the customers are able to get all the information and help that they need to begin using the products. In addition, Harley-Davidson offers test-ride services as well as rider instruction classes. The company also rents motorcycles to its trusted customers (Stermer, 2007). As a result, the company has been able to win the confidence of the customers thus making the customers to trust in the products that the company manufactures. This state of affairs has led to an increase in the market share of the company especially in the US. Addressing complexity The process of manufacturing motorcycles is complex. To address this complexity, Harley-Davidson created the Harley-Davidson University whose goal was to ensure that the employees within the organization became competent in dealing with all the products that the company manufactured. Since then the company has been able to boost the knowledge of its employees by showing them how they can come up wi th high quality products that would meet the needs of the customers. The company has therefore been able to manufacture motorcycles which are very competitive in the world market. It is therefore the responsibility of an organization to invest in projects which can boost its production potential. Customers are therefore confident in the motorcycles that Harley-Davidson manufactures because they are sure that the motorcycles are manufactured by experts. Diversification of business practices Before the credit crunch which hit the US market in 2008, Harley-Davidson used to give financial services such as supplying credit, insurance and extended warranties to its dealers. This activity used to generate huge profits for the company. For example, the profit that was generated from this activity was approximately 12 per cent of the total revenue. However, the credit crunch made it difficult for the company to securitize its customers loans (Neghina , 2009). Therefore, it is true that thoug h diversifying in various profit generating activities in a business enterprise is a commendable idea, it is important for an organization to ensure that it can manage to secure its customers from uncertainties. This way, the customers would be confident in the operations of the company and hence trust in the products it produces. However, the inability by Harley-Davidson to secure the loans of the customers made the customers believe that the company was not strong enough to address their needs. This state of affairs made many people to stop believing in the quality of the products that the company offers thus leading to a reduction in the company’s sales. Expanding operations to overseas markets Any company that wishes to gain recognition in the global business environment should expand its operations to overseas markets. This would increase the market share of the company and its sales revenue. However, Harley-Davidson has concentrated so much on the American market. The E uropean market share is very small. To make it easy for Harley-Davidson to acquire a substantial portion of the European motorcycle market, the company should establish headquarters in Europe which would be responsible for monitoring all the activities that the company undertakes in the region. The company should also expand its overseas dealership network. For example, Harley-Davidson made $1.75 billion non-US sales in 2008. These sales reflected 31 per cent of the revenue that the company had earned globally (Elliott Percy, 2007). This is an indication that the markets which are based out of the US also have potential to make the company become competitive. Company operations should rhyme with objectives It is the duty of every manager in any organization to ensure that the operations that the organization undertakes are in line with its objectives. For example, Harley-Davidson engages in practices such as Just-in-time scheduling, Total Quality Management, Computer Aided Manufact uring, and devolution of responsibilities to ensure that its productivity and efficiency remain high (Hopkins, 1999). Such practices are effective in that they make it possible for the manager to detect any flows within the organization and hence implement corrective measures before any serious damage can be realized. Positive relationship between employees and managers The manner in which employees relate with their managers determines whether the productivity of an organization rises or falls. The most successful organizations are known to facilitate effective communication between the employees and the managers. The employees are given the freedom to express their opinions on how they feel that their organization should be operated. Therefore, to ensure that the employees remain motivated, Harley-Davidson ensures that the managers and the employees are able to exchange ideas freely regarding how the productivity of the organization can be improved. This process has been effective in fostering cooperation between the employees and the managers thereby enabling the organization to increase its productivity and efficiency. Understanding competition Any company that wishes to succeed in the global market should understand what is meant by competition and how it can cope with it. For example, Harley-Davidson is well known for increasing its product range and geographical scope to capture a large market. However, the major challenge that is facing the company is the rate at which its products are being imitated by its competitors. In addition, competitors such as Honda, BMW, and Suzuki are known to share technology, marketing skills, engineering capabilities, and distribution knowhow thereby making it difficult for Harley-Davidson to successfully diversify the products that it offers to its customers (Hitt, Ireland, Hoskisson, 2010). This scenario is more prevalent in the European market because this is where Harley-Davidson has less impact. Conclusion From the analysis therefore, it is evident that Harley-Davidson is one of the most successful motorcycle companies in America. Though the company is one of the most profitable companies in the world, there are various key measures that the company should implement to enable it compete effectively in the global market. The company should ensure that it embraces technology, foster positive relationship between the employees and the managers, diversify its products range, expand operations to overseas markets, give the customers pre and after sales services, lower costs of production, seek loyalty from customers, and ensure that it offers the consumers new products and models. This way, the company will be able to increase its competitiveness in the global market. Reference List Cooney, J 2005, Why and How Harley-Davidson has Maintained Consumer Brand Loyalty. Web. Dess, G G, Lumpkin, G T Eisner, A 2009, Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages, McGraw-Hill Irwin, London. Elliott, R Percy, L 2007, Strategic Brand Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Fred, A 2008, Harley Davidson Case Study Building Brand Communities. Web. Gamble, J E Schafer, R 2012, Harley-Davidson. Web. Hitt, M A, Ireland, R D Hoskisson, R E 2010, Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization Concepts, Cengage Learning, New York. Hopkins, H D 1999, Using history for strategic problem-solving: The Harley-Davidson effect, Business Horizons, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 52-60. Neghina , C 2009, Harley Davidson Case Study Building Brand Communities. Web. Schembri, S 2009, Reframing brand experience: The experiential meaning of Harley–Davidson. Journal of Business Research, vol. 62, no. 12, pp. 1299–1310. Smit, P J 2000, Strategy Implementation: Readings, Juta and Company Ltd, New York. Stermer, B 2007, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles: Everything You Need to Know, MotorBooks International, New York. Harley Background Marketing is an important exercise in both services and goods industry; it ensures that target customers access goods and services a company manufactures. Marketing involves processes that determine the kind of products or/and services of interest to customer then the company knows exactly what to manufacture or trade in.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Harley-Davidson Motor Company Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other than advising a company on the kind of products to make, marketing goes further and establishes the right method, channels, strategies and systems to get the products/services to target market (Mullins, Walker, 2010). The American motor cycle industry is one of the fast growing economic sectors where motor cycles are used for various functions like trade, transport, sporting, as security officials automobiles, and sometimes for leisure. Harley is an international mo tor cycle manufacturing company based in the United States of America; the company is respected for making reliable heavyweight (over 750 cc) motorcycles and genuine motorcycle accessories. The automobile industry has been ventured by cheap aftermarket sales that compete with original accessories; the market is favoured by the cost and the room for customizing once motor vehicles offered by the automobile. The challenge by the secondary industry offers a challenge to Harley-Davidson Motor Company; report is a marketing plan that the company can adopt to compete effectively in the market. Company overview Harley-Davidson Motor Company was founded in 1903 by three childhood friends by the names William Harley, Arthur and Walter Davidson; the initial idea was to make racing bikes with engines however they advanced their idea to have the bikes used for transport. In 1905, the company had started to be recognized and advertising its products in media in the United States; currently the c ompany has its head quarters at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States and headed Keith E. Wendell, the company’s chief executive officer.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In 2010, the company recorded total sales of US$ 4.46 billion which translated to US$ 259.7 million; of the amount about thirty percent was derived from sale to foreign markets. As at December 2010, the company had 6302 members of staffs distributed in its outlets (Harley Official Website, 2011). Executive Summary No single statement can explain what is marketing; briefly, it is a link between customers and a company, the feedback from either side is crucial in improving goods and services produced. Harley-Davidson Motor Company is facing an increasing competition from aftermarket accessories, thus the marketing team has found it important to develop a marketing plan to form the base of an aggressive marketing for the products. The main target market that the plan will focus on are existing customers, which the plan will embrace customer relation management strategies to build, maintain and manage customer loyalty; the second fold will focus on automobile users where the company will aim at convincing buyers to use its genuine parts; this will embrace strategic marketing tools like communication marketing strategies (MARCOM). The last target market that the company will focus is diversification of its market base, to use this approach; the company will make use of blue ocean marketing strategies. The report will also include the suggested marketing budget for the launch of the strategy. Target Market The campaign strategy will be divided into three main target groups differentiated by their behaviour as far as use of Harley-Davidson Motor Company spare parts and those from after market sellers. The first category encompasses customers of Harley-Davidson Motor Co mpany spare parts; they can be seen as people who have loyal to the company and have the characteristic of using genuine products. The main focus on these customers involves enacting measures to maintain current market base and improve the relationship with the customers. The main activities that will take place focusing on this target market are the following: measure approach; this is an approach where information from customers is collected; the information is on the level of satisfaction that customers are getting from the company.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Harley-Davidson Motor Company Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The second move will be to manage products and service delivery, what the customers are finding as correctly done should be reinforced and what they find as wanting should be rectified. With the feedback from the customers, then the company can decide on ways to impro ve service delivery; by service delivery, the company should be interested on the level of service that aftermarket accessories suppliers are giving then aim at surpassing the level set. The second target market segment that the company will be looking at is the â€Å"undecided customers†, they are people who buy either Harley-Davidson Motor Company genuine spare parts or sometimes buy after market products. The reason for their behaviour should be determined by a market research. It is likely that they buy the available product, thus policies that make genuine parts available should be made. The third target market that the management should look into is the untapped market; this is market that is less competitive with the aftermarket products. To venture into this, it can be through robust marketing campaigns that sells both bikes and spare parts. The company can decide to open its own market where they sell bikes then later on reinforce the use of genuine spare parts. Comp etitors The main competitors that the company will have to deal with are aftermarket sellers; they are people who sell spare parts or body and engine parts that can fit certain models of Harley-Davidson products. There are many reasons why some people prefer to use these products other than using the genuine parts. One of the post quoted reason why some people prefer after market products is because they are made by specialists thus they are of high quality, other people prefer them because they are less costly than genuine parts. The above two reasons happens to be the strength of competitors; Harley-Davidson company should embrace the challenge and aim at countering the strengths of the companies. To challenge the competitors, the company should venture in programs that improve the quality of their spare parts, in the case there is a certain modification that can breakeven when made as an accessory, and then the company should adopt such an accessory.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Price has always been an issue when marketing for commodities, there may come sometimes that Harley-Davidson products are expensive than those of the aftermarket, the management has two interventions to make; one ensure than the price of accessories represent value for money. The second intervention that the company should ensure is that it has attained high quality products and efficiency in their products. The best weapon to counter competition rests in understanding customers, providing high quality products, aggressive marketing that educate users on differences, and products differentiation. Product or Service The subject of the matter in this marketing plan is the sale of genuine motor cycle parts; the accessories involve engine parts, body parts, and other related accessories like bolts and nuts. When creating the products, the company should be aware of the model and the demand that the parts will have in a specific area. The products aims at offering repair accessories owne rs of Harley-Davidson products, it aims at winning customer loyalty in the market filled with aftermarket products. Different model of bikes require different repairs parts, thus they need to be made available; one of the main characteristic that the product will be selling to the people is its originality, quality, guarantees, and genuineness. When developing and improving the products, the sales book will of great use as it will help the company analysis the market, on where is a certain product or certain model of bike; with the clear understanding, and then campaigns will be focused on the particular area that has a certain machine (Vorhies, Morgan Autry, 2009). Marketing Budget When making a marketing strategy, there is need to develop the budget that various activities involved will fall under. Budget follows some costs heads that is a consolidate figure involving different individual costs. The following budget will be incurred: Activity Cost (US $) Research and collect ion of data 20,000 Staffs subsistence and other fixed costs 10,000 Experts and professional fees 500 Structure and infrastructures laying 5,000 Policies support costs (they include costs of advertising, promotion etc) 5,500 Follow up costs 500 Total 41,500 The above costs heads involves costs that can be classified under the heading. Description of Location Since there are different models of bikes, the location of market will be determined by the model and type of spare parts that may be applicable to the particular area. When the above has been determined, the locations that will make them accessible will be determined by the marketing team. Some of the suggested places that the parts can be stocked include garages, supermarkets, automobiles accessories shops, and the bikes distributing channels. The main reason for determining the location is to ensure that the goods reach to the target customer at the right time in a form that is acceptable. With the suggested pla ce in mind, the marketing team should come up with the best transport, supply and logistics methods that should be implemented to get the goods to the customers. The right channel of communication should ensure that the company’s products get to the target market in the shortest time possible. The nature of some of Harley-Davidson products users is that they are likely to attend motor shows and other promotional events, the management should set a budget that can be used to market the products one on one in these places (Lyus, Rogers Simms, 2011). Pricing Strategy Price is an important marketing parameter that should be looked into when making a marketing strategy; it is through the price of a commodity that the company meets its expenses and gets a gain form the sale. There are two main elements that an effective price should have; the price should be high enough that the company will get some profit from the sale and the price must be affordable. Harley-Davidson products m arketing team will have to undertake a market price review where they will compare the costs and prices that competitors are able to sell, when they note them, they can work back and set their prices. In the situation of Harley-Davidson products, the best pricing approach to use is the premium pricing approach, under the method the management sets a price that is slightly higher than the prevailing price; the reason for the high price is both psychological and economical. From the psychological part, some people believe that quality is expensive thus they are likely to buy the products; the second reason is because the price set should represent quality offered by the company (Hsuen-Ho Jia-Wei, 2010). Summary and Implementation Plan The implementation stage has a number of processes that will be involved, they are as follows: Marketing research Marketing research involves the marketing team undertaking a desk and field research that determines the company’s rate of performan ce verses the rate at which aftermarket products are selling. The information offers the background that the strategy will be built on; the gaps realized should be analysed and meanings derived from them. The initial market research offers the team an overview of the areas they should address in the strategy. Analysis of data The initial stage was involved in the team collecting volumes of qualitative and quantitative data; the data from customers, bureaus, and internal information and industry reports should be reviewed to ensure that the problem that the company is facing is well understood. It is through problem and gap analysis that the company can come up with the most effective solutions. Strategy development With the data and problem well interpolated, there is need to have systems that are focused on the problem. The three main target markets needs different approach thus the marketing team should be clear on the approach to use and at which point they will have to quality a certain employee to the next higher level. Policy enactment and implementation Specific strategies to address a certain issue needs to be enacted through policies and infrastructures; the infrastructures needs to be put in place. For example to maintain customers there is need to have effective communication systems where the company can get feedback on various issues. Enforcing, monitoring and controlling When all is good to go, the management should ensure that it has enacted policies to maintain an improved relationship with customers. The policies enacted should be improved appropriately so that they do not fall out of relevance. In the implementation stage, the management should have the policy of marketing mix in mind; the following sample of an applicable marketing mix can be used: Diagram 1: The above diagram gives a guide of the areas that the management should look into when enacting the marketing strategy (Day, 2011). Conclusion An effective marketing strategy is a comp etitive advantage tool; Harley-Davidson Motor Company should embrace tools of strategic marketing to remain competitive amidst increased suppliers of aftermarket repair accessories. The company should embark on effective communication campaigns that create awareness and differentiation of its products; it should also embrace the concept of â€Å"Blue Ocean† to widen its market base indirectly. For an effective marketing campaign that can stand competition, Harley-Davidson Motor top and line managers need to support efforts made by the marketing department; on the other hand the marketing department should work closely with research and development segment for more informed decisions. References Day, G. (2011). Closing the Marketing Capabilities Gap. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 183-195. Harley Official Website.(2011). Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Retrieved from https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/index.html Hsuen-Ho, H., Jia-Wei, T. (2010). A Model of Marketing Strategic Alliances To Develop Long-Term Relationships for Retailing. International Journal of Business Information, 5(2), 151-172. Lyus, D., Rogers, B., Simms, C. (2011). The role of sales and marketing integration in improving strategic responsiveness to market change. Journal of Database Marketing Customer Strategy Management, 18(1), 39-49. Mullins, J. W., Walker, Jr., O. C. (2010). Marketing management: A strategic decision making approach. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Vorhies, D. W., Morgan, R. E., Autry, C. W. (2009). Product-market strategy and the marketing capabilities of the firm: impact on market effectiveness and cash flow performance. Strategic Management Journal, 30(12), 1310-1334. Harley Overview The onset of the 21st century saw the inception of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company. The motorcycle manufacturing firm started off its operations in Wisconsin, United States of America (Harley-Davidson, 2006). Although it had a small beginning, Harley-Davidson has grown to be a renowned global market leader in the manufacture and sell of heavy duty monocycles.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Harley-Davidson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company successfully went through the hard economic times of the 1920s, which was largely contributed by its unwavering strong background in leadership, marketing and customer satisfaction (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). One of the major challenges faced by Harley-Davidson in its history of successful operation in United States is when the government failed to instituted as well as monitor market forces of demand and as well as quality checks which led to the inf lux of cheap imports into the U.S market. However, this just marked the beginning of a long journey for Harley-Davidson bearing in mind that the motorcycle manufacturer continued with the uninterrupted production of motorcycles with engine capacities above 750cc (Harley-Davidson, 2006). Customer satisfaction was and has been key to this overwhelming market presence. On the other hand, Harley-Davidson is still struggling to penetrate the lightweight motorcycle market. The competition is tough in this line of production and unless the company transforms its value proposition, it may completely miss out on the yet to be tapped profitable lightweight motorcycle market. In this paper, the case study of Harley Davidson has been discussed in terms of the marketing capabilities of the company (Harley-Davidson, 2006). In addition, some marketing strategies that can be adopted by the motorcycle firm have been proposed using relevant marketing theories. Harley-Davidson case study summary and m arketing theories One of the outstanding features of Harley-Davidson is the creation of brand loyalty among its chronic customers. As part of its fundamental marketing strategy, the company has developed a culture of consistent liking and consumption of its heavyweight motorcycles among the long term customers.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, it has managed to maintain its clients for a considerably long period of time in spite of the ever prevailing market competition (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). The most integral ideal being cherished towards customer loyalty is the ability of the company to critically consider the needs of its consumers. Harley-Davidson has a strong belief that customers from its most valuable asset add therefore should always be given the first priority. The department of marketing has put up efforts of reaching out not only the old customers but also the high end market that has not been tapped yet. In order to achieve the best customer loyalty, it has taken the marketing department significant amount of time to study and analyze the needs, tastes and preferences of consumers. The ease with which customers can purchase Harley-Davidson products has been enhanced. In any case, the company believes in serving its customers with a touch of their emotions. In other words, passion drives the marketability of the heavy duty motorcycles (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). The feelings of customers are studied, their perceptions and reactions towards the company products are also evaluated in a regular customer care initiative. Due to such an approach in marketing, the management at Harley-Davidson is quite convinced that they will also venture and conquer the light duty motorcycle market. Moreover, the marketing strategy is also viewed as the reason for the success behind the Harley Owners Group (HOG) that has grown to a 900,000 membership scheme. The sale of motorcycles per se is not the sole duty of Harley-Davidson; the motorcycle manufacturing firm has laid more emphasis on the needs of its customers to experience independence and a free purchasing environment. Customers should feel to be buying Harley-Davidson products without being coerced or technically convinced through advertisement without their own will. If this philosophy is anything to go by, then it implies that Harley-Davidson has a cultivated a buying culture of its motorcycles, a phenomenon absent in other brands (Armstrong Kotler, 2011). Therefore, customer experience, according to Harley-Davidson, goes beyond the manufacture and sale of motorcycles; it is a unique lifestyle of its own kind.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Harley-Davidson specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Customers do not just buy for the sake of meeting their needs; they also do it as part and parcel of their lifestyle. Marketing a brand as a lifestyle product is an uphill task, so to speak. Harley-Davidson is not naà ¯ve of this fact. Consequently, the motorcycle manufacturing firm has set up rigorous marketing tools and devices to enable it maintain and reach out for the untapped markets. Through its marketing department, the company has imitated a high-powered team of individuals charged with the responsibility of marketing Harley-Davidson brand. For instance, there are quite a number of travel adventures that the firm has organized in the past. These adventures are meant to develop consumption and liking culture for its products. Both the existing and non-customers are usually invited to take part. The company also offers other after-sale services to customers. The marketing strategy adopted by Harley-Davidson is not void of relevant marketing theories in daily practice. Firstly, the brand name ‘Harley-Davidson’ has proved to be a very effective auto ma rketing tool for several decades now. Customers have been deriving satisfaction out of the motorcycles manufactured by the company. the fact they have built formidable trust around the brand of the company makes it possible for them to remain loyal in their purchases (Harley-Davidson, 2006). In addition, the consumption experience by Harley-Davidson’s customers is one of its own kind since the firm makes sure that the general and imperative needs of the customers are catered for. it is against this backdrop that the company’s brand name is not only popular, it is also a household name that both active and potential customers would like to identify with. On the same note, decision making by customers is yet another area that the marketing department has put more focus on. It is crucial to observe that the purchasing trend of customers is largely driven by the nature of decisions they make (Kotler, Roberto Lee, 2002). This can be explained from the utility theory of dec ision making.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The utility is paramount in marketing. Consumers will consider the best outcomes as the main driver to their decision making (Gilmore, 2003). The theory tends to perceive customers as rational beings who are not skewed on their choices but would rather settle at a particular brand since the anticipated results suit their needs well. Hence, optimum benefit is instrumental for customers. The utility theory is pragmatic on the usefulness of the product being purchased rather than the cost price of the product. Indeed, Harley-Davidson has taken this into consideration since the company has ensured that its heavy duty motorcycles are not just within the expected standards by customers but also of high quality. This has been laced with the marketing philosophy of selling with passion and touching the customers’ feelings right at the point of sale. However, consumers may lack rationality when making purchasing decisions in some cases (Baker Saren, 2010). Besides, the various intrin sic inputs that may influence decision making patterns when buying may not be easily recognized by customers. Such a limitation among customers when making decisions may not be fully addressed by utility theory. Hence, satisficing can be used to flesh up the limitations of utility theory. The satisficing model elaborates that the process of decision making does not continues once the anticipated outcomes are met. Drawing from the Harley-Davidson marketing experience, there is a higher probability that its chronic customers do no longer makes purchasing decisions when acquiring their purchases from the company since they are outside the brackets of utility theory. At this juncture, it is worthy to note that successful marketing should go beyond utility theory. Consumers can remain loyal to a particular brand irrespective of stiff competition from market rivals. Similarly, the use of a marketing theory referred to as consideration is a vital tool in marketing strategies. According to the theory of consideration, customers play an equally integral role as the identity of a business organisation (Gummesson, 2002). The theory further stresses that the decision making process by a firm should consider the relative value of consumers since they form a subset of a firm without which any decisions made may lack utility. The Harley-Davidson video case study emphasizes the momentous contribution and role of customers in the company. All the strategies are developed around the consumption experience of consumers. The marketing theory of involvement is yet another strong standing point for Harley-Davidson (Kleinaltenkamp Ehret, 2006). One way of attracting and sustaining the attention of customers is by involving them in most company activities that elicit fun and great feeling. The management at Harley-Davidson has made every attempt to involve its pool of customers as well as the prospective ones in lively activities like adventurous riding exercises. Sponsorship of suc h events by Harley-Davidson is a marketing decision I the right step. As mentioned earlier, the motorcycle manufacturing firm is not merely buying the advertising space for marketing its products; it is also in the process of creating a consumption culture of its heavyweight motorcycles alongside building a lifestyle from it. Case study questions How does Harley-Davidson build long term customer relationship? The management at Harley-Davidson value customer relationship as the foundation of business growth. In achieving this, two main building blocks are used. To begin with, the company employs customer satisfaction in its bid to create long term relationships. Unless customers are satisfied by the services and products on offer, it will be practically impossible to maintain their loyalty for long. Secondly, Harley-Davidson is very critical on the value of customers. It is common knowledge that customers who are treated with dignity, a sense of passion as well as liberty are highly likely to remain put with a particular brand (Sheth, 2006). The company values the choice, liberty and independence of its customers, attributes that go a long way in enhancing customer value. Moreover, Harley-Davidson has also made use of the Harley Owners Group (HOG) as a building block for long term customer relationship. For instance, the company has from time to time organized and sponsored outdoor events to boost the relationship between the company and customers and also among customers themselves. Besides, the numerous publications by the company have been viable outreach tool for harnessing customer relationship. What is Harley-Davidson’s value proposition? One of the value propositions for the company is that the price tag is rather on the higher end. The sale of heavy duty motorcycles costs more than the sale of lighter ones with engines capacities below 750cc. although the high price tag may be viewed as slightly disadvantageous to the company; it is indeed the bu siness strategy for Harley-Davidson. Specializing in this line of production attracts the high end of the market. This may be more profitable than dealing with lighter machineries. Besides, the motorcycles cannot be used during bad weather in addition to the fact that there are usually non-monetary costs associated with safe keeping of the motorcycles is yet another value proposition for the company. Nonetheless, the best value proposition should be the benefits received by the consumers of Harley-Davidson brand. Joanne Bischmann in the video case study attempts to emphasize the value received by customers (Harley-Davidson, 2006). As note in the video, customers stand to benefit from freedom, free will, and self-expression as well as the fun and full enjoyment brought about by the company products. Customers are not just buying the motorcycles, they are also interested with the value proposition derived from the purchases. Relate the concept of customer equity to Harley-Davidson. Ho w does Harley-Davidson’s strategy focus on the right relationships with the right customers? Customer equity is well covered under the derived profits as well as loyalty. There are other numerous possibilities through which Harley-Davidson could derive its profits. However, the company is not merely focusing on the other varied channels; it has laid more emphasis on building long term customer relationship through authenticated friendship. Its chronic customers who should also be profitable is the core concern for the company in as far as customer equity is concerned. This profitability is derived from the high-margin products from Harley-Davidson. As part of focusing on the right customer relationships, the company has largely focused on the delivery of three main marketing variables namely customer value, brand stability as well as retention equities. In order to maintain the brand quality and focusing towards the right customer relationship, Harley-Davidson continually ins pects and modifies its products to meet the expectations and needs of customers. Recommendations In spite of the global presence of Harley-Davidson in the manufacture and sale of heavy duty motorcycles, the company can still make a few more strides in capturing both the high and low-end markets. Firstly, Harley-Davidson should devise other competitive marketing strategies that will successfully land them in the light commercial motorcycles bearing in mind that the previous attempts by the company to venture into this market failed. This can be achieved by changing the consumption culture of its long term customers (Baker, Graham Harker, 1998). They should be educated on the relative benefits of embracing lighter motorcycles. The value proposition for the company should go beyond passion for its customers. It is vital for Harley-Davidson to focus on new markets through rigorous marketing campaigns like the internet, billboards and other mass media channels (Wierenga, 2008). Relying on old customers per se may not be sustainable for a long period of time. Finally, Harley-Davidson should also diversify its production portfolio as one way of minimizing market risks. The company can attain this by incorporating the manufacturing of both the heavy and light commercial motorcycles in its plant. References Armstrong, G. Kotler, P. ( 2011). Marketing: an introduction, (10th ed.), New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. Baker, J.M., Graham, P. Harker, D. (1998). Marketing: managerial foundations, South Yarra: Macmillan Publishers. Baker, J.M. Saren, M. (2010). Marketing Theory: A Student Text, London: Sage Publications. Gilmore, A. (2003). Services marketing and management, London: Sage Publications. Gummesson, E. (2002). Total relationship marketing, Oxford: Elsevier Science. Harley-Davidson (2006). Video Case. Web. Kleinaltenkamp, M. Ehret, M. (2006).Relationship theory and business markets Journal of business and industrial Marketing, 21(2): 63-64. Kotler, P., Roberto, N. Lee, N. (2002). Social marketing: improving the quality of life, London: Sage Publications. Sheth, N.J. (2006). Does marketing need reform?: fresh perspectives on the future, New York: M.E. Sharpe Inc. Wierenga, B. (2008). Handbook of marketing decision models, Rotterdam: Springer Science.