Why Have Strategic Alliances Grown in Popularity?

Why Have Strategic Alliances Grown in Popularity? Who gains from strategic alliances? â€Å"Google and Lycos Europe Announce Strategic Alliance† (Google press center, 2003), â€Å"Bayer Healthcare and Intendis announce strategic alliance† (Wayne and Montville, 2007), â€Å"Fiat and Chrysler Announce Strategic Alliance† (Car News Gluckman and Kurcezski, 2009), â€Å"City Bank and American Express announce strategic alliance† (Dhaka, 2009). Alliances have become increasingly popular. Over the past years the number of firms forming strategic alliances has risen constantly. â€Å"According to Securities Data Corporation, the number of alliances has increased about 25% per year for the last decade.† In fact some eight out of ten electronics companies now have alliances or are negotiating new ones (Kolasky 1997). The above listed examples show that the trend of forming alliances not only concerns the electronics companies but all business sectors. This essay will critically evaluate on the basis of various examples why strategic alliances have grown in popularity and who gains. Therefore, it is necessary to understand what strategic alliances are and in which types they can appear. A uniform definition of strategic alliances does not exist. Porter (1990, p. ) defines strategic alliances as â€Å"long-term agreements between firms that go beyond normal market transactions but fall short of merger.† According to Dussauge and Garrette (1999, p. ) alliances can be defined as â€Å"a cooperative agreement or association between two or more independent enterprises, which will manage one specific project, with a determined duration †¦ in order to improve their competences. It is constituted to allow its partners to pool resources and coordinate efforts †¦ to achieve results that neither could obtain by acting alone. The key parameters surrounding alliances are opportunism, necessity and speed.† All in all alliances are partnerships, in which merit is combined in order to achieve a mutual goal and to increase sales volume without bearing all the risks. As there are many ways to define strategic alliances there are also many ways of classifying them. To tie in with Dussauge and Garrette (1999) strategic alliances can be divided into partnerships between non-competing firms and alliances between competitors, which are specified in the following. Partnerships between non-competing firms are relationships between companies from different industries, which therefore are not in direct competition with each other. They implicate international expansion joint venture, vertical partnerships and cross-industry agreements. International expansion joint venture opens a new market to the foreign partner and offers the local partner a product to distribute, e.g. Renault and Diesel Naciona, SA (DINA). Vertical partnership is collaboration at two successive working stages within the same production process, e.g. McDonalds and Coca Cola. Cooperations between completely different industries (cross-industry agreements) aspire the diversification of t he activities of companies through a leverage of their abilities, e.g. Philips and DuPont de Nemours produced surface coatings for data storage. Alliances between competitors are divided into three categories, which are shared-supply alliances, quasi-concentration alliances and complementary alliances. Within shared-supply alliances rivals come together to share elements when the display for a particular production process is much greater than for the whole product. The products remain within each company, e.g. Volkswagen and Renault produced jointly automatic gear boxes. In a quasi-concentration alliance just one common product is developed, produced and marketed by all allies, e.g. the collaboration of British Aerospace, DASA and Alenia in the case of the Tornado fighter plane. In the event of complementary alliances a product produced by one company is marketed with the help of the distribution network of another company, e.g. the distribution of Mitsubishi cars by Chrysler. Strategic alliances have gained popularity across many industries. The typification of alliances mentioned above show that alliances are not industry specific, but mostly cross-sectoral. They include amongst others automobile, pharmaceutical and aerospace industries. The reasons for the growing popularity of strategic alliances are quite evident. According to Segal-Horn and Faulkner (1999) one of the primary drivers of strategic alliances is the growing globalisation and regionalisation of markets. Several forces that resulted from the globalisation make the strategy of alliances very important. â€Å"The steady reduction of trade barriers has led to the dramatic growth of cross-border cooperation between companies† (Segal-Horn and Faulkner, 1999, p. 205). The blurring of industry boundaries forces companies to face new rivals. Alliances can provide the companies with capabilities that they need to front global competitors. â€Å"Alliances can provide firms with many benefits such as access to new knowledge, complementary resources, new markets and new technologiesto learn, exploit economies of scale and scope, share risks and outsource various activities along the value chain.† (Gulati et al. 2000 cited in Segal-Horn 2004, p. ) Gulati ´s statement shows that strategic alliances can offer many opportunities and advantages. In respect to technology development the companies can learn from each other as there is an exchange and sharing of technologies, know-how and expertise. This expertise and technology sharing allows the companies to achieve faster the joint aims. To cite Wagonor (2001) manager of GM, â€Å"leveraging on someone who does it better allows you to get there faster.† Canon and HP shared their technologies in copier business. Canon developed the technology for toner and toner cartridges and HP developed the software and computer chips to operate the cartridges (Acredula, 2001). Concerning the market development collaboration can facilitate international expansion and the companies can benefit from a faster entry to new markets. In the case of the alliance between Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble (PG), Coca-Cola benefited from a faster entry into the snack and non-carbonated beverage market (Acredula 2001). An alliance partner can also help a company that enters a foreign market with local knowledge, logistics and domestic behaviour as well as with the governmental requirements. Another advantage that an alliance offers the companies is maintenance of the market position and production at lowest cost locations which leads to a very important advantage, cost reduction. Allies in cooperation can for example share costs for advertising and marketing as well as the costs for research and development (RD). In the case of failure the partners of an alliance share the risk as it is spread between all allies and can therefore minimize their damage and losses. This makes the companies more willing to take a risk as they would be alone. Finally, the shrinking product life cycle which cause growing pressure for innovation and growth has forced companies to look outside their own borders for new ideas (Bannerman, 2005). To sum up, strategic alliances allow firms to share risks and resources, gain knowledge and technology, expand the existing product base, and obtain access to new markets. The named advantages of strategic alliances can help companies to keep pace with increasingly complex technologies and constantly changing global markets (Kolasky, 1997). Forming alliances seems to be a useful tool to adopt to the changing market conditions and to stay competitive in a global business world. According to Johnson and Scholes (2008) enterprises sometimes cannot cope with increasingly complex environments only with interior resources and competences. They may see the need to obtain materials, skills, innovation, finance or access to markets through other cooperation s. A single firm is unlikely to possess all the resources and capabilities to achieve global competitiveness† (Dussauge and Garrette 1999, p.). Collaboration is often necessary for the survival and growth of a company. Alliances are a useful strategy to pool competences, technology know-how, skills and resources together to create a new unit (De Wit and Meyer, 1998). Toshiba believes that â€Å"a sing le company cannot dominate any technology or business by itself†. That is why Toshiba chose the strategy of developing relationships with different partners (e.g. IBM, Siemens, GE, Ericsson, Microsoft, Samsung) for different technologies which helped the company to become one of the leading players in the global electronics industry. Toshiba is successful with that strategy because of a thorough alliance partner selection. Toshiba has chosen Apple Computers as a partner to develop multimedia computer. Toshibas manufacturing expertise combined with Apples software technology was an achievement because the alliance allowed both companies to gain from each others competences (Kotelnikov, 2001). However, not only companies come off as winners from strategic alliances but also suppliers, employees, consumers, the government as well as shareholders of the allied companies. It is obvious that companies gain higher sales and therefore higher profits, e.g. the collective revenue for the partnership of the Star Alliance is at more than $63 billion. Furthermore, suppliers gain new clients. The increasing number of clients leads to more orders that in turn lead to more turnovers and more profit. The exchange of know-how and expertise mentioned before benefit the employees. The special knowledge makes them more employable and can assure a safer workplace. As companies are able to produce their products at lowest cost locations, reduce costs and diversify their product range consumers can profit from a wider range of products to more favourable prices. The increasing consumptions and more exports than imports lead to a higher Gross National Product (GNP) in the country of the producin g company. As a positive side-effect the shareholders benefit from higher dividends because increased sales force leads to higher turnover and higher share prices (Acredula, 2001). The last two paragraphs show that strategic alliances present several potentially beneficial advantages. However, alliances also have been criticised. Their high failure rates – half of the alliances fail show the other side of the coin (Acredula, 2001 b). Some organisations may only have one option – namely going it alone. This can be in the case of â€Å"working in a field which is breaking new ground or where there are no other suitable partners available† (Johnson and Scholes, 1999, p. ). The risk of exposing competences and technical know-how to partners who can become future competitors and disputes as well as issues that result from working with other partners, sharing of profits and advantages, less autonomy and control are also significant points that have to be considered. For example, one partner may go into an alliance for short term learning gain, whereas the other partner may see the alliance as more strategic, long term and replacing one area of i ts value chain. Dutch KLM and Alitalia could not avoid the failure of their full merger as partners compatibility did not exist and Alitalia did not come up with arranged expectations. Like most alliances they have failed due to differing objectives or motives of the partners (Witt and Mayer 1998). The companies have to be aware that alliances require a clear strategy and hard work. Careful planning like a clear definition of core competencies, goals and objectives as well as a limitation of the partners role and relationship and a timeline – a deal structure with an exit plan are essential to eliminate or rather to avoid disadvantages as well as to succeed. â€Å"According to a survey of 455 CEOs, the most important factor in designing a strategic alliance is the selection of the right partner (chosen by 75% of the CEOs)† (Holohan, 1998). But one has also have to go beyond the visible peak of the iceberg and consider the main fundamentals of a successful alliance including communication, transparency and trust (Johnson, 2005). Although, alliances are often criticised for being a slower form of development and despite the high failure rate the constant growth of alliances will definitely continue in the future (Johnson and Scholes, 1999). References De Wit, B. and Meyer R.J.H. (1998), Strategy – Process, Content, Context: An International Perspective (2nd edn), London: International Thomson Publishing Dussauge, P. and Garrette, B. (1999), Cooperative Strategy: Competing successfully through strategic alliances, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R. (2008), Exploring Corporate Strategy, Text and Cases (8th edn), London: FT Prentice Hall Porter, M. E. (1998), The competitive advantage of nations: with a new introduction by the author, London: Macmillan Press LTD Segal-Horn, S. (2004), The Strategy Reader (2nd edn)., London: Blackwell Publishing, , p 355-366. Segal-Horn, S. and Faulkner, D. (1999), The Dynamics of International Strategy, London: Thomson Business Press, , p 205-236. Aarons, R. (no date) ‘Ten Reasons to Create a Strategic Alliance, [online] Available from URL: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/strategic_alliances_main.html (accessed 10 November 2009). Acredula Newsletter (2001) `Strategic Alliances Gain Popularity Over Mergers and Acquisitions`, August 2001, Vol. II No.9, [online] Available from URL: http://www.bricker.com/Publications/articles/523.pdf (accessed 14 November 2009) Bannerman, P. (2005), `Strategic Alliances in Education and Training Services ,A Literature Review`, Joan Spiller CORDS Pty Ltd., Australian Graduate School of Management, The University of NSW and the University of Sydney , May 2005, [online] Available from URL: http://www.aei.gov.au/AEI/MIP/ItemsOfInterest/05Interest26b_pdf.pdf Car news Gluckman, D. and Kurczewski, N. (2009), `Fiat and chrysler announce strategic alliance`, January 2009, [online] Available from URL: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09q1/fiat_and_chrysler_announce_strategic_alliance-car_news, accessed on 12 November 2009. Dhaka (2009), `City Bank and American Express announce strategic alliance`, 7 November 2009, [online] Available from URL: http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2009/citybank.asp, accessed on 15 November 2009. Google press center (2003), `Google and Lycos Europe Announce Strategic Alliance`, 5 June 2003, Mountain view, California/Gà ¼tersloh, Germany, [online] Available from URL: http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/lycos_de.html, accessed on 12 November 2009. Holohan, M. Paul (1998), `Business alliances: how to find a good partner`,International Journal of Business Performance Management 1998, Vol. 1, No.1, pp.79 – 89, [online] Available from URL: http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=4546prevQuery=ps=10m=or Johnson, L. C. (2005) ‘Understanding the Role of Cross-Sector Strategic Alliances in The Age of corporate social responsibility, 12 April 2005, p47-55, [online] Available from URL: http://fletcher.tufts.edu/research/2005/Johnson.pdf, accessed on 10 November 2009 Kolasky, J., William Jr. (1997), `Antitrust enforcement guidelines for strategic alliances`, presented at the Federal Trade Commissions, Hearings on Joint Ventures, Washington, D.C. Kotelnikov, V. (2001) ‘Strategic Alliances: Why and how to build them, [online] Available from URL: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/strategic_alliances_main.html accessed on 10 November 2009 Wayne and Montville (2007), `Bayer healthcare and intendis announce strategic alliance to co promote yaz drospirenoneethinyl estradiol for treatment of moderate acne`, 7 May 2007, [online] Available from URL: http://www.intendis.com/scripts/pages/en/press_amp_media/news/bayer_healthcare_and_intendis_announce_strategic_alliance_to_copromote_yaz_drospirenoneethinyl_estradiol_for_treatment_of_moderate_acne.php, accessed on 12 November 2009. Acredula (2001), Newsletter,  ´Not All Strategic Alliances Are Successful ´, September 2001, Vol. II No. 10, [online] Available from URL: http://www.bricker.com/publications/articles/528.pdf accessed on 14 November 2009 Cartwright, S., Cooper, C. L. (1996) Managing mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances: integrating people, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Jarillo, J. C. (1995), Strategic networks: creating the borderless organization, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Velasquez, M. G. (2002) Business Ethics – Concepts and Cases, 5th edn, Prentice Hall, London. [emailprotected], University of Pennsylvania (2008) `Thought Leaders II: Collaborating To Compete: The Rise of Coopetition and Strategic Alliances, March 2008, http://executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu/ebuzz/0803/thoughtleaders2.cfm, accessed on 10 November 2009. Segmentation: E-business market Segmentation: E-business market 1.0 Introduction This report will cover some outlines of segmentation and how to target the potential market for our new E-business in the market it is important that we understand what kind of requirements there are for effective segmentation. I would try to compare and contrast some of the important points give some examples. Also to keep our position safe in market and to keep running a successful business first we need to consider different segmentation processes and then I would define the business model according to our E-Business. 1.2 Identify the target markets for Complete Training Solutions intended expansion. The school will need to consider the demographic, geographical, psychographic, and consumer characteristics of there identified markets. For that school need to understand the market segments which are as follows. 2.0 What are the market segments are? Market segmentation may be defined as Jobber says that â€Å"the identification of individuals or organistaions with similar characteristics that have significant implications for the determination of marketing strategy†. â€Å"Where segmentation is the first and one of the most important steps† (Yan, 2008). Where as according to Lancaster Reynolds market segmentation is defined as â€Å"the process of breaking down the total market for a product or service into distinct sub-groups or segments where each segment may conceivably represent a separate target market to be reached with a distinctive marketing mix. 2.1 Market segmentation A segment is a unique group of customers or potential customer who share some kind of common characteristic that make them different from other groups. Proctor thinks that different segments may have different needs, they may ask for different versions of the same product, pay different prices, buy in different places and they may be reached by different media. Every one has the own opinion and own choices. It is very important for us to keep a healthy relationship with the customers and to do this they need to understand their customers demand. According to Proctor in consumer markets customers and prospective customers can be grouped together or segmented by attitude, lifestyle, age, gender, stage in the family, lifecycle, job types, level of earnings and many others relevant variables. These things should be kept in mind whenever introducing any new brand because if we want to maintain our image in the market then we need to fully understands the logic of customers and their purchasing behaviours. It is very important for us to identify what each segment wants, what it can afford, whether it is loyal to a particular competitor and how it might respond to an offer is vital information. As mentioned by Proctor that market segmentation and accurate targeting keeps a firm close to the market. It reduces waste, finds the best customers and helps to keep them satisfied. Segmentation is very useful tool. But it is necessary for us to understand each and every sub-group in order to get the positive result from customers and to compete with competitors in the market. As mentioned by Croft the methods of separating the market according to similarities that exist among the various subgroups within the market. Characteristics, needs and desires may be the common similarities. Market segmentation comes about as a result of the observation that all potential users of a product are not alike, and that the same general appeal will not interest all prospects. Therefore, it is essential to develop different marketing tactics to effectively cover the entire market for a particular product. There are four basic market segmentation strategies: behaviour segmentation, demographic, geographic, and physiographic segmentation. 2.2 Demographic segmentation Involves dividing the market on the basis of statistical differences in personal characteristics, such as age, gender, race, income, life stage, occupation, and education level (Anon 2002) We could focus on customers age because user needs and wants change with their age although they still want to learn the same types of courses. In order to introduce the new ideas in market and we should look at the design of the courses and what will be the learning outcomes we could meet the user demands of different age group. Income is another popular basis of segmentation. Customers will be more attractive towards the less income. We need to understand this point that in marketing the courses that appeal directly to the customer is relatively low prices. So therefore other variables of demographic are as important as mentioned above and they should not be neglected. 2.3 Psychographic segmentation It is based on the assumption that the types of products and brands an individual purchases will reflect that person personality and patterns of living. Generally to promote the product marketers are using celebrities, such as football team. If we use this technique for her new courses then we could create a big image in front of users. As it mentioned in the definition that every one has different life style, they have there own opinions but it could be influenced by other people personalities. This is benefit for us because for example if David Becham is learning the team building strategies from our institute then the user influencing his fans to join in the same course. 2.4 Geographic segmentation Lancaster Reynolds said that geographic is consists of dividing a country into regions that normally represent an individual sales persons territory. This is mostly suitable for broad companies and these massive regions are then broken down into areas with separate regional manager controlling salespeople in distinct area. This will help only if we expand our company our institute international, so far there is need of geographic segmentation. The geographic segmentation method is useful where there are geographic locations differences in consumption patterns and preferences but in our case we need to think about that because our institute is more about online courses so we have to consider about that. 2.5 Behavioural segmentation As stated by Lancaster and Reynolds behavioural segmentation is based on actual customers behaviour towards products. It has the advantages of using variables that are closely related to the product itself. Such as: brand loyalty, benefits sought, occasions (holidays, events which stimulate point for marketing) etc. As Lancaster Reynolds stated that the customers that can be divided into number of groups according to their loyalty, or their propensity to repurchase brand again is called brand loyality. Actually we have to think about if we will provide the those learning facilities are those are enough for the learner requirement with that they can bring some more students for the reappearing in the same courses or tell others to participate in those courses those are good and according to the your standards this is some sort of the advertisement when any costumer tell other customer for the same product just we need to think about if, if the user doesnt like our learning style then what will be our next plan to satisfied the learner. 3.0 Effective segmentation The needs of customers should be central to all business decision making so therefore Effective segmentation can be achieved by solving the problems of users. The major dimensions are price, service, product and quality for example an image of institute. Therefore it is necessary to identify all the requirements of user so realistic segments could be targeted. Kotler said that, â€Å"A customer orientation toward marketing holds that success will come to organizations that best determine the perceptions, needs, and wants of target markets and satisfy them through the design, communication, pricing, and delivery of appropriate and competitive viable offerings†. According to Xu, Jianfeng â€Å"An accurate and effective segmentation technique is the basis of the ideal dynamic heart modeling†. One author state that effective segmentation is about customer needs, demands and other is telling the importance of effective segmentation. Each segment should be evaluated in terms of its overall size, projected rate of growth, actual and potential competition and customer needs. According to the targets we need to decide which criteria is appropriate for assessing different bases. 3.1 Measurable According to Recklies it has to be possible to determine the values of the variables used for segmentation with justifiable efforts. This is important especially for demographic and geographic variables. For an organisation with direct sales the own customer database could deliver valuable information on buying behaviour (frequency, volume, product groups, mode of payment etc. 3.2 Accessibility Lancaster Reynolds researched that accessibility base used should ideally lead to the company being able to reach selected market targets with their individual marketing efforts. 3.3 Validity Reynolds and Lancaster mentioned the extent to which the base is directly associated with the differences in needs and wants between the different segments. Given that segmentation is essentially concerned with identifying groups with different needs and wants, it is vital that the segmentation base is meaningful and that different preferences or needs show clear variations in market behaviour and response to individually designed marketing mixes. 3.4 Substantial According to Lancaster Reynolds substantial is the base used which lead to segments which are sufficiently enormous to economically and practically worthwhile serving as discrete market targets with a distinctive marketing mix. If we need to make segmentation effective it is important that we know that where and who we targeting. Segmentation is the basis for developing targeted and effective marketing plans. 4.0 Targeting Lancaster Reynolds mentioned that after market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments and target them. Each segment has different tastes and demands unique marketing mix in order to make the product or service more attractive to those customers who occupy that market segment. The process of manipulating the marketing mix in terms of differentiating products, methods of communication and other marketing variables is known as ‘target marketing. After the process of segmentation the next step is for us to decide how it is going to target these particular group(s). There are three options Undifferentiated marketing Differentiated marketing strategy Concentrated Marketing We should use differentiated marketing because we can use several segments and develop distinct courses with separate mix strategies at the varying groups. Mr Jobber stated that â€Å"When market segmentation reveals several potential targets, specific marketing mixes can be developed o appeal to all or some of the segments†. As Siklos and Abel says that â€Å"Thegiving inflation targeting an additional credibilityboost many emerging markets†. Comparing these two definitions of different authors its becoming noticeable that targets play an important roll to achieve goals. It would allow us to identify specific customers groups with different needs and wants and also the unfilled gaps in a market can be apprised and then satisfied through unique product or promotional offering (Lancaster Reynolds 1999). Target marketing can thus be said to be the process of identifying market segments that will be the most likely purchasers of a companys products, and devising inventive marketing approaches to suit these specifically distinguished needs (Lancaster Reynolds 1999). After segmentation process has taken place as Lancaster and Reynolds mentioned that each segment should be identified and must be assessed in order to decide whether or not it is worthwhile serving as a potentially profitable target market with its own distinctive marketing mix. Where there is good sales and profit potential the favourable attributes of a target will include segments. If competition is not too intense and where the segment might have some previously identified requirements we should able to serve them. 5.0 Mix marketing As mentioned by Lancaster and Reynolds that the marketing mix describe the functional aspects of marketing over which the company has control. This includes what E Jerome McCarthy dubbed the ‘four Ps in 1960, namely, Product, Price, Promotion and Place. In addition to these four Ps, is sometimes added a fifth P People, which includes the people who mainly carry out the function of marketing and who interface with customers. These have been described as the key elements of the marketing function. There are two further Ps that specially relate to the service industry because of its tangible nature. These are Process and Physical evidence. These are called the seven Ps of service marketing. However we should understand the notions of four Ps which are still prevails in marketing litre. The elements of marketing mix are all related in terms of how they combine in the marketing planning process. Lancaster Reynolds pointed out that it is the skill of marketing management to ensure that the combination chosen is a successful one. â€Å"Marketing is seen as a strategic management activity aimed at developing customer relationships. Concepts such as the four Ps (product, price, place and promotion), marketing plans, the marketing mix, segmentation, promotion and evaluation are identified and discussed in relation† (Wakeham, Maurice 2004). According to these authors we can see that with marketing mix we could raise the strong relationship with users and with the concept of 4 Ps we can identified and evaluate the segmentation. Lets expand on these 4 Ps and see how we can link them with our new online learning facilities of Team Building, Assertiveness, Coaching Skills and Delegation Skills for the Busy Professional. Mission statement draft: A learning experience that prepare students to contribute in a dynamic, global, and diverse business environment. Our mission is to provide training to all level of the users who ever is connected with their business, Including team building, assertiveness, coaching skill and delegation skill for the busy professionals. Objectives Aim Our school of intelligent learners is for the users who wants to build up there extra qualities for to compete the new era requirements. And our aim is to provide them up to date training which is purely concerned for the business levels. Our school is one of the best schools in Bradford. Currently we are struggling for more students that is why we are moving online and we will provide online courses for the relevant business. That was the our main reason to be online but there is one more reason to be online is that before we were enable to mark the global market now we can mark the global market by choosing online learning facilities now we can provide our service across the glob where ever any one and any type of user can access us and learn what ever they want from our main courses. We will provide online video and audio conferencing which is the solution to save the cost of the booking hotels and halls. Our main concern is to think about the user from different back ground from any part of the world we can arrange there course in any language. Our basic and main aim is to provide them solution for their problems. Value proposition: For the learners satisfaction school has to think about the language, course compatibility, learning facilities for the disable people which we dont have at the moment so we have to concerned about those problems and we have to satisfy the learner needs by that as a distance training provider we will have to save their time and they can chose there own learning style and they can manage their staff as possible as they want they can call more people if they want they can organize big halls for more people and they can provide the requirements for the disable peoples as well by using the our video and audio libraries. Product and services: The school will provide Team Building, Assertiveness, Coaching Skills and Delegation Skills for the Busy Professional. That will be a complete training for the bingers as well as for the expert. Expert can learn new techniques and binger can develop some skill too for the requirements of the new era. School will also provide some extra courses as well whoever will join the school for instance, web development in visual basic oracle it is good for the companies for there advertisement and for account as well. Learning on internet is the best learning style then old time styles you can learn while sitting at home at your own pace. The school will provide you the services of all the documentation and applications with which the students and companies can enable to access the schools resources. Business models: There could have been taken several attempts to categorize all the business models emerging with the coming new economy in order to understand how e-companies are making money or not making money. Some of are the company see there business model highly exposed such as the reverse action model of Priceline or online grocery model of shield. But still, is at all so clear so far? For instance, ebay.com might be typical of an Agora B-web like in Chicago but all the same as ebay.com and the main function is to be a online merchandiser. All of them have the same object but the different perspectives. Is there any better or could be worse way to explain or justify the business models? Are those comparing with each other or allowing comparisons? Do they help customer to categories the different actors in the same category, for instance online grocery shop? Do they explain why some of them benefits from the financial figures? Nowadays new business models do not finish emerging in electronic c ommerce and can become a major stake in the e-business game ((Maitre and Aladjidi (1999), Kalakota (1999)). It is even possible to patent them in some countries (Pavento (1999)! Research issue is important to understand the new business for to helping to design but not covered so well until now. E-business modelling has similar as to enterprise modelling in general. Modelling helps the companies to develop their business visions and strategies, redesign and align business to operations, share knowledge about the business and its vision and ensure the acceptance of business decisions through committing stakeholders to the decisions made (Persson, Stirna , 2001). A business model is nothing else than the architecture of a firm and its network of partners for creating, marketing and delivering value and relationship capital to one or several segments of customers in order to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams. The E-Business Model framework is therefore divided into four principal components. The products and services a company offers, representing an ample value to a target customer (value proposition), and for which he is eager to pay. The relationship assets the firm creates and maintains with the customer, in order to suit him and to generate sustainable revenues. The communications and the network of partners that is necessary in order to create a good customer relationship. And last, but not least, The financial aspects that can be found throughout the three previous components, such as cost and revenue structures. If we think in depth how the school is related to the business models and how it will work to generate the more revenue. Basically the intelligent learners is associated with several business models. The main models include business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C). B2B consists of companies and school doing a business with each other, whereas B2C involves selling directly to the end consumer (students). When intelligent learners first began, the B2C model was first to emerge. B2B transactions were more complex and came now. Conclusion: some of the benefits associated with online intelligent learners are include the availability of information 24/7. Students and companies can log onto the Internet and learn about products, as well as purchase them, at any hour. Intelligent learners can also save money because of a reduced need for a sales force. Overall, intelligent learners can help you to expand from a local market to both national and international marketplaces. And, in a way, it levels the playing field for big and small players. Unlike traditional marketing media (like print, radio and TV), entry into the realm of Internet marketing can be a lot less expensive and offers a greater sense of accountability for advertisers.

Ambiguous language Essay

Ambiguous language is often a cause for concern when employment contracts are involved, and this is clearly the situation outlined in â€Å"Case Study 9-1: Contract Interpretation. † 1. The most important point were I arbitrator, would be the intent of the Company regarding the involved provision. â€Å"The company stated that the double-time provision was added to the contract as a means of combating absenteeism during the week† (Carrell, M. , & Heavrin, C. J. D. , 2006, p. 445). Based on this statement, it is clear that the purpose of the provision focused on an employee’s being gone for the day, not late for the shift. (One must concede that the terms â€Å"tardy† and â€Å"absent† certainly have different meanings, and by the Company’s own admission, the involved provision focused on â€Å"absenteeism. †) Although failing to arrive on time is a form of absenteeism, it is a temporary, short-lived event, and in this case, was clearly unintentional and out of the employee’s control. Under the outlined circumstances, the grievant’s being 10 minutes late simply does not equate to his being absent. 2. Regardless of the arbitrator’s decision, no â€Å"effect† would be given to the bargain. The Case Study states, â€Å"there had been previous grievances on the same issue, but those arbitration awards were inconsistent† (p. 445). Therefore, a case-by-case analysis seems to be the rule. I do believe that denying the over-time would be dangerous to the long-term relations between the Company and the Union as it is obvious that the two sides clearly disagree on the meaning of this particular issue. Given the Union’s (i. e. the employee’s) position is that â€Å"reasonable tardiness† would be overlooked, a denial could result in walk-outs and/or strikes (p. 445). 3. Although the contract language is clear, an arbitrator should be involved because neither party agrees about the interpretation, the intent, or the common practice applied to the involved provision of the collective bargaining agreement. The Case Study states that â€Å"a meeting of the minds† was out of the question as the Union and the Company disagreed about what was contained in the collective bargaining agreement (p. 445). The difficulty seems to stem, in part, from â€Å"the parties [having] a different understanding during the negotiation process from the company’s current interpretation of the double-time section of the contract† (p. 445). The Union stated, â€Å"the company’s negotiator had agreed not to count reasonable tardiness against the double-time provision but had refused to change the language used in the contract† however, â€Å"the company’s negotiator [. . . ] stated that the very purpose of the double-time section was to allow for double-time pay only if there was no absenteeism in the previous week† (p. 445). The negotiator did recall a statement regarding â€Å"reasonable application,† but stated that it â€Å"was in response to a maintenance worker on the negotiating committee† and the negotiator recalled â€Å"in that situation, he would agree to apply a reasonable standard to maintenance workers for Sunday double-time following a tardiness on Saturday† due to the difference in weekend scheduling for the â€Å"25 maintenance workers† (p. 445). Neither version rings completely true: it seems unlikely that the Union would allow the Company to concede a point and then agree that no change be made to the language—a union simply has no reason to settle for a verbal agreement when a contract negotiation is underway. On the other hand, the negotiator recalls something along the lines of what the Union recalled being said, but the negotiator applies that statement to a special situation involving only the maintenance workers. Looking solely at this case, it is obvious that the employee neither intended nor could control the event that caused his tardiness. It might further be argued that arriving only 10 minutes late under the circumstances (i. e. being a passenger in a vehicle that sustained a flat tire), indicates a likelihood that had the flat not occurred, the grievant actually would have arrived to work early. Looking at this employee’s past record of tardiness (or lack thereof) might reveal the truth of his intentions that day. Given the facts presented and the difficulties raised, it is apparent that the contract language is ambiguous, and to avoid further/future confusion, frustration, and arbitration, an amendment and/or clarification to the contract language should be added during the next bargaining session, if not sooner. Reference Carrell, M. , & Heavrin, C. J. D. (2006). Case Study 9-1: Contract Interpretation. Labor relations an collective bargaining: Cases, practice, and law (8th ed. ). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. 445.

Comparing and Contrasting Keynesian & Classical Economics Essay

Economics studies the monetary policy of a government and other information using mathematical or statistical calculations. Fiscal information is analyzed in order to make judgments and inferences from the information provided. There are two economic schools of thought which take different approaches to the economic study of monetary policy, consumer behavior and government spending. Basic Theory (Paragraph 2): This paragraph outlines major some of the differences between Classical and Keynesian economic theories. Classical theorist were rooted in the concept of Laissez faire market which requires little to no government intervention and allows individuals to make decisions, unlike Keynesian economics, where the public and government is heavily involvement in the decision making process in regards to economics. Classical economists also used the value of objects to determine prices in the market unlike Keynesians who believed that the demand was what influenced the market. Keynesians also relies heavily on the theory that the nation’s monetary policy can affect a company’s economy. Government Spending (Paragraph 3): Classical economists do not believe that government spending has a major impact on the nation’s economic growth, yet that consumer spending and business investments had more of an impact. Classical economists believed that government spending would stunt the economy’s growth by increasing the public sector and decreasing the private sector. In contrast, Keynesian economist did in fact believe that consumer spending and business investments helped the economy, but also believed that government spending played an important role in boosting and could possibly even take the place of the former and still continue to result in economic growth. Short vs. Long-term Affects (Paragraph 4): Classical economists focused on creating long term solution for economic problems. They take into account the effects of inflation, government regulation, taxes. They also consider how current policies and new economic theory will distort the free market environment. Keynesian economics focus more on immediate results in economic theories. Keynesians focus on short-term needs as well as policies, and consider how the result can affect the economy immediately.

Socrates Vs Machiavelli - 2003 Words

Socrates VS Machiavelli The debate on how people should rule has been going on since the dawn of time. Many agree and many disagree but they all agree that we should have a ruling force of some kind but what and how much has been very controversial. Niccolo Machiavelli and Socrates were two very important and revolutionary political philosophers for their time. Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince and the Discourses† outlines Machiavelli’s ideal prince and what a prince should do in power. Plato writes about the trial and death of Socrates and what he says about how people are supposed to act as well as how society should be changed. Socrates if he read Machiavelli’s concept of an†¦show more content†¦He talks about the importance of war in part because he is writing this in a time of political fragmentation. He says many things about war including that you should rely on your own army not hire mercenaries or militia because they will not have the devot ion to your cause like your own people do. Also, that war is important and being a strong military power is paramount to keep power, although he also says its important so seem faithful merciful and sincere he says you do not have to be whatsoever even that it is necessary and okay to act against these things even if it is cruel and violent. He talks about the fact that when you rule you should start out from a position of mistrust because people take advantage of that. He also believes that you sometimes must do evil in order to get what you desire this includes violence which he advocates for but he does think there is such thing as too much violence which is not ideal. One of the most notable points he also makes about a Prince is that he says that it is better to be feared by your people than loved â€Å"one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved,† (Prince, 60) he goes onto say that he must avoid hatred at all costs even if feared. Machiavelli’s prince must separate statecraft from soul craft which means that your personal feelings may not get in the way of your leadership. His argument though sharply, contrasts Socrates’Show MoreRelatedSocrates Vs Machiavelli Essay875 Words   |  4 PagesSocrates, in his early works, maintained a steadfast distance from involvement in politics, making a comparison or evaluation of a political system in his persona technically impossible. 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