Prop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prop - Essay Example County mental health programs help the individual with no or insufficient health care. Proposition 63 found a way to help boost these programs to help the needy with mental illness. The tax used was only the wealthiest individuals that make millions or even billions of dollars. These tax dollars go for prevention and maintenance through therapy and medication. For example, schizophrenics generally are diagnosed in their late twenties to early thirties. Schizophrenia can be inherited from parents. If a county mental health program is already servicing a parent, the child could receive counseling and information. When the symptoms occurred, the adult child could receive treatment through the county, or their own insurance. The education and preventive counseling could help a schizophrenic become a productive citizen, instead of a violent criminal on no medication. Proposition 63 helps the mentally ill. Instead of taxing the rich for more prisons, this measure helps create more taxpayers. Instead of housing the mentally ill, this measure helps them live productive lives. Proposition 67, or the California Emergency and Medical Services Funding Telephone Surcharge Initiative Constitutional Amendment Statute, is a percentage tax on all phone calls, landlines or cellphone, in the State of California. I believe that Proposition 67 is unfair. It taxes all calls to fund 911, EMS, and Emergency Room costs. This tax is levied on all calls, whether made by the rich or poor. Businesses are not exempt from this tax. It also is not required to have an audit like other tax funded programs. Not all those that are taxed will receive the services from Proposition 67. Tourists, visitors, and anyone in California will pay this tax. Many of the individuals that are taxed will never use 911, EMS, or Emergency Room services. EMS and Emergency Room visits should be paid for by medical insurance or other state programs like Medicaid or Medicare. If this

Teacher as Managers Essay Example for Free

Teacher as Managers Essay There are five behavioral steps in the differentiation of the effective delegator and the ineffective delegator. In this case, the manager of a contracts group, Ricky Lee, who is part of a large regional office supply distributor realized his limitations in terms of capacity when he received a new assignment. Ricky lee knew he needed to delegate this assignment in order to meet his current project deadline and also meet the needs of his boss. The first step Ricky needs to do is assess his employees and determine who has demonstrated a clear understanding of negotiating contracts, and also who has proven excellent results in negotiating with manufacturers. When Ricky identifies an employee who has knowledge, and demonstrated success contract negotiation like his employee, Bill Harmon, Ricky needs to evaluate if Bills workload would allow him to take on a new project. The next step Ricky needs to do is have a private conversation with Bill and clearly outline the parameters and scope of this project. Ricky needs to make sure that Bill understands what is expected by clarifying and asking open-ended questions. Ricky needs to make sure Bill does not have any unanswered questions regarding the development of the department’s new procedures manual for negotiating contracts with office product’s manufacturers. Therefore, Ricky will allow Bill to participate in the decisions since he will be held accountable for this task. Ricky needs to clearly explain that this needs to be completed by the end of the month, and make sure that Bill feels comfortable and accepting of the time commitment. Ricky needs to make sure that Bill has the ability to work this project as he see fit, however his authority is limited to only the parameters of the project. Bills needs to understand this his authority to all other aspects of his job or the job of other works has not changed. Ricky needs to ensure that Bill understands and accepts that his range and discretion are limited to the scope of the project only. In allowing the employee to participate, Ricky must understand that Bill may have his personal self-interests and biases that may cause a potential problem in not committing fully or deterring him from taking on the delegation of the new assignment. Ricky will need to listen to learn and use open-ended questions to redirect the personal biases and self-interests. Some employees find themselves facing challenges because they immediately think about themselves and have a tendency to exhibit impartial judgment, which is not always fair in a workplace environment. Employees have to do what’s right for them, but also remember that this is a business. When presenting open-ended questions, this provides Ricky the opportunity to answer all of Bill’s questions or concerns in a positive manner. Ricky is able to provide Bill with all of the answers and support and even resources that Bill needs. For instance, if Bill says â€Å"I do not have the the first written copy of the resource manual and I am not sure who has it. † Ricky may respond, â€Å"Well Bill, I have it in my office and I will commit to have it to you by 12pm. † This provides Bill with the resource he needs and Ricky may ask some more open-ended questions using who, what, where, when, and why to get Bill to open up about any questions or concerns. Personal biases influence the way another person may think about a particular object, place, or person. The employees who are judgmental may focus on ways to degrade their peers or have difficulty in taking on a new task. This creates a negative culture and does not motivate a team to perform to its fullest. Many employees can see being bias in a workplace both negatively and positively. They are normally personal biases which are formed through a person that may have been predisposed during childhood, environment, through another person’s own biases without researching, and/or experiences. The Assignment that Bill Harmon has agreed to take on will outline the steps followed in negotiating contracts with office products’ manufacturers who supply the organization’s products. It is important to inform everyone involved of the delegation. Anne Zumwalt and any other managers that may be involved with this project or directly affected by the outcome will be informed of Bill’s commitment to take on this new task. It is important that Ricky informs all employees affected by this delegation of Bill taking on this project and to inform employees on how much authority Bill has committed to. This provides a sense of pride and ownership over the project for Bill and he is fully aware that he will be held accountable for the end-product. When setting the parameters of this project with Bill it will be important to determine how Bill and Ricky will establish feedback channels. Bill must know how to communicate with Ricky about the project. It is important to know the stages that Bill may provide feedback to Ricky. Ricky should also inform Bill on how he intends on monitoring the project and how often he will be checking in. Bill should provide commitment and understanding on exact deadlines (end of the month on a specific date) and expectations. It is crucial that Bill knows if any problems should arise then Ricky should be contacted as soon as possible so they are able to work through it in the most proactive and efficient way.

Innovation, Change and Enterprise in the UK

Innovation, Change and Enterprise in the UK Craig Rhodes 1 (a) Critically evaluate why innovation and enterprise is so important for the UK and global economy and what can be done to encourage it? Developing an innovation strategy requires a clear definition of what is meant by innovation. Innovation is the effective commercial utilisation of new ideas. It refers to the scientific, technological, organisational, financial, and business accomplishments that lead to the introduction of new or substantially improved products, practices, services or entire business models. Innovation can be incremental or extreme. It ranges from small improvements in existing products, processes and services at one end of the spectrum to extreme changes associated with breakthrough products, disruptive change and brand new ideas at the other end. A great deal of innovation takes place in the middle of the scale where organisations develop and produce new products, processes and services for existing markets and consumers. Innovation is not always determined by new technology. An organisation can develop completely new products such as Apples iTunes and iPad platform using recognised technologies. Innovation involves varying degrees of risk and needs different resources and processes for its successful implementation. Incremental innovation encourages less risky enhancements by extending existing processes, products or services. Innovation almost always involves change. The word enterprise describes the actions of someone who shows some initiative by taking a risk by setting up, investing in and running a business. (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/starting-a-business-what-is-enterprise). This person can seem to be willing to take a risk and making things happen. The person will show initiative by seeing a potential business opportunity and tries to make it work. This can be seen as a bold or risky move for example investing in an opportunity with the potential of losing the investment should it all go wrong. Most of the time it will be a decisive person that shows enterprise. There is a need to innovate especially in UK/Global public service organisations due to their importance and size in developed countries. In the past century public service organisation have grown at a great pace. Such organisations as the NHS and American Education for example have grown and to survive its vital that they take the lead in innovation. Drucker (2007) expresses that pubic service institutions face similar situations, the knowledge is there and the need to innovate is clear. They now have to learn how to build the entrepreneurship and innovation into their own system. Otherwise they will find themselves superseded by outsiders who will create competing entrepreneur public service institutions and so render the existing one obsolete Drucker (2007) There is an increasing attention or support to Innovation, that innovation development is key to create/maintain/improve economic/organisation competitive advantage and secure organisation sustainability growth. Innovation is driven by the ability to see connections, to spot opportunities and to take advantage of them Tadd, Bessant (2009, p1). The key link between Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Change is that you cant really do one without involving the other is some form.An Innovation is the main source for an entrepeuneur, and its usally an innovation or entrepenuer that forces change within an organisation. Importance of Innovation and Enterprise Drucker (2007) refers to innovation and enterprise as a venture that can result in the creation of new wealth from making effective use of existing resources. Innovation commences with analysing opportunities, systematically reviewing these and exploiting these to gain maximum economic returns for organisations. Drucker (2007) has identified seven sources of opportunity that can lead to innovation. These include the enterprises own unexpected successes and failures and of its competition, incongruities (particularly in a process, for instance, production, distribution, or incongruities in customer behaviour), process needs, changes in industry and market structures, demographic changes, changes in meaning and perception and new knowledge (Drucker, 2007). Schumpeter (1934, 1939) classified innovation into five types; new products, new manufacturing processes, new sources of supply, exploration of new markets and new methods of organising business activities. Product innovation is the invention and commercialisation of completely new products and services. Process innovation involves bringing considerable improvements in the way products are made. Process innovation takes place by adopting new technologies (Schumpeter (1934, 1939). Inauen and Schenker-Wicki (2012) innovation has become essential for companies as it is resulting in the availability of knowledge, is facilitating technology transfer and fusion and is reducing innovation cycles. It is helping organisations in developing and maintaining their competitiveness and achieving success. It is assisting companies in exploring and exploiting new opportunities for commercialization. Innovation is a critical driver of economic change (Inauen and Schenker-Wicki, 2012). The views of Inauen and Schenker-Wicki (2012) are consistent with Joly et al (2010). According to Joly et al (2010) innovation is essential for organisations as it helps them in the creation of new products that can solve their customers everyday life problems. Innovation creates wealth and is a major driver of economic growth and development. Von Schomberg (2011) research also states that innovation is the key driver for organisational improvement and success. Niu et al (2013) believes that innovation and enterprise helps organisations in effectively exploiting new opportunities and using their resources to transform innovative ideas into successful outcomes (Niu et al, 2013). Whilst there is no doubt that innovation and enterprise is important for the growth of companies, national and international economies, yet it does suffer from some risks. The key risks of innovation and enterprise are that it requires considerable investment in financial and human resources. There is the risk that innovation can be copied by competitors. Innovation can be risky and lead to uncertain commercial returns (Hayes, 2014). Innovation and enterprise can be encouraged by understanding and applying the principles of change management in organisations. Furthermore, using open innovation, understanding national cultures, customers needs, crowdsourcing, user innovation, recruiting and training people, developing leaders can greatly assist organisations in effectively encouraging innovation. To compete effectively in intensely competitive business environments, organisations need to treat innovation as an essential part of their corporate strategy and not as a one off event. Continuous and consistent innovation is the key to organisational success in the global economy. Change Management Change Management is key to effective innovation and enterprise. It can be used to help employees go through the transition of accepting and implementing change within an organisation. Successful change management enables employees to understand the reasons for change. Part 2 of this essay goes into depths of why Change management is so important. Types of Change Harvard Business School (2003) states that businesses respond to challenges of new technology, new markets new competitors and consumer demand with four programs to overcome these obstacles. These four categories of change are: Structural Change Where the business is treated as a machine style model that are set up of different functions. During this change high level managements usually with the help of external consultants attempt to change these functions so they are able to accomplish a greater overall performance. Examples of previous endeavours for structural change have involved company mergers, acquisitions of other businesses and closure/reduction of operating units. Cost Cutting The main motivation for this type of change is the removal of areas of the business where there are less important activities and functions of a business where the company can squeeze extra cost out of operations. This may involve in department closures, redundancies or cuts in budgets when companies are going through tough times. Process Change The aim of this change is fundamentally a way of making operating processes quicker, more effective, more reliable and less costly, so basically an emphasis on changing how things get done in the business. Cultural Change This change concentrates on the human aspect of the business, where an organisation focuses on the relationship between the management and employees and look at the methods of how they do business. A shift from command and control management to participative management is an example of cultural change. Harvard Business School (2003) Process of Change Kurt Lewin a German-American psychologist introduced a straight forward model of process change which involves three stages that helps to understand the change process. The first stage is unfreezing which includes helping an organisation and its employees accept that change is required. Examining old processes, systems, employees and ways of thinking can show employees how important it is that the organisation changes. Communication in this part of the process is extremely important as it allows the business to inform the employees of the reasons for change, how it will benefit them and when the change will go ahead. The second stage is the Change Step, the transition period, where the implementation of the change takes place. This will be the point in the change process where reality hits the organisation that change is definitely happening, this is where it is key to continue clear communication as people will struggle to adapt to the idea of change, from this there will be resistance, panic and uncertainty. The final stage of Lewins model is Re-Freezing. This is the stage where the organisation looks for reinforcement and stabilisation after the implementation of change. This step was highlighted by Lewin as particularly important after Implementation to ensure that people do not revert back to previous ways of thinking or doing. The organisation has to attempt to guarantee the change is not lost and is reinforced into the Culture of and thinking of the organisation moving forward. Theories of Change The theory of change is a method that can help organisations in successfully achieving their change objectives and outcomes. The theory states that every change proposal needs to be carefully planned, requires the participation of others and needs to be evaluated to ensure that the planned activities are achieved. The theory states the long term goals of change and then maps these backwards to identify required preconditions (Brest, 2010). Organisations can successfully innovate through careful planning, seeking the participation and engagement of their employees and evaluating the degree to which innovation has been effective in improving organisational performance. Recognise and diagnosing the need for change. Recognising and diagnosing the need for change can be done by analysing the types of change, the context of change, using the cultural web model and forcefield analysis (Johnson et al, 2010). Encouraging Innovation and Enterprise Conclusion Innovation and enterprise is very important for the growth, development and survival of organisations in the UK and in the global economy. Innovation and enterprise enhance organisations competitive advantages and improve performance and productivity. However, innovation and enterprise suffers from the risks that it requires considerable financial investment and generate uncertain commercial returns. For businesses, innovation means sustained or improved growth. The innovative company or organisation delivers higher profits for its owners and investors. For employees, innovation means new and more interesting work, better skills and higher wages. Equally, an absence of innovation can lead to business stagnation and a loss of jobs. For the economy as a whole innovation is the key to higher productivity and greater prosperity for all. Innovation and enterprise can be encouraged by understanding and applying the principles of change management in organisations. Furthermore, using open innovation, understanding national cultures, customers needs, crowdsourcing, user innovation, recruiting and training people, developing leaders can greatly assist organisations in effectively encouraging innovation. To compete effectively in intensely competitive business environments, organisations need to treat innovation as an essential part of their corporate strategy and not as a one off event. Continuous and consistent innovation is the key to organisational success in the global economy. 1(b) Using relevant examples consider why innovation and change is often difficult to manage within organisations and how this can be overcome? In todays competitive business world change is the most critical factor in business. With heavy competition, technology and demographical forces pushing towards business change. There are not many businesses that can escape from change. The reasons for a business to adopt change is to maintain employee engagement, increase productivity and improve their performance to new levels. Sometimes change can be implemented due to a change in strategic direction. Change is brought in to make a difference from the past to the present. Change in the organisation can also mean embedding new technologies and creating new work practices into sections of the business. Technological change and new work practices in the organisation shows an impact on the way the business going. If a Business decides on implementing change within the organisation, they will need a team of members to encourage and manage the change. Charles Darwin once said It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones who are most responsive to change The Change process can be a very complex problem and managing it is equally as complex. This is why change is a process that must be carefully planned and executed. So, why is it difficult to manage? Well you can start with the fact that Change can sometimes arrive unexpectedly. A business may not be ready for change. One way of overcoming difficulties when managing change is by having effective Leadership during the change process. The leadership approach has to be focused towards increased and continuous communication. Â   Â  

The Health Benefits of Yoga Essays -- yoga, health benefits, meditation

Yoga is a practice that anyone of any age can complete anywhere at anytime. It originated in ancient India and is estimated to be nearly five thousand years old. Through yoga, one is able to find his or her path to peaceful bliss within him or her self (Finney 25). The mind and the body become balanced with each other, giving one the sense of enlightenment (The Magic of...Meditation). Depending on the styles and poses a person is to choose, yoga benefits a person not only physically, but mentally as well. Any gender at any age or health level has the capability to do yoga because it has various styles, poses, and tempos at which they are performed. Different yoga postures have specific effects on breaking up obstacles in your body, so that a force called prana is able to penetrate more deeply. Prana is a life force that gives the mind more clarity, so that one is able to think more clearly and thoroughly about things. Through yoga, prana is moved, and it makes the body move and feel better. While in different yoga poses, prana is spread through the body because with each intake of breath, it is pushed deep into the body. Breathing acts as a motor, and it helps prana flow through the body (The Magic of...Meditation). There are thousands of different varieties of yoga, which is how it helps a large sum of people in a diverse number of ways. One style is called Ananda. This yoga gains control over delicate energies in the body. It helps spiritual growth while it releases unwanted tension. The Ananda poses are designed to bring energy upwards to the brain, and through these poses, harmony is brought to the body, mind, and emotions (Cook). A unique style of yoga, called Bikram yoga, focuses on breathing and concentrating, and it re... ... and deeds- let there be perfection. What is a perfect act? One that brings some benefit to somebody and no harm to anybody. The reward of service is the joy of having served. When you have that joy, the mind is always calm and serene" (Finney 35). This quote shows the relationship as a whole between yoga and the benefits it brings into one’s life. Yoga is enjoyable, relaxing, and very beneficial. It eases tension in the body and mind, and helps one to have a more positive outlook on life. No matter which style of yoga one is to choose, there will be some sort of benefit. One should keep in mind to pay attention to their breath to monitor their feelings and try to be as relaxed as possible to comfort the relationship between the mind and body. Depending on the styles and poses a person is to choose, yoga benefits a person not only physically, but mentally as well.

Analysis McDonald’s Franchise in Viet Nam Essay

McDonalds’s is a business corporation system of fast food restaurants with approximately 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries to serve 43 million passengers a day under its own brand. The McDonalds’s restaurant concept was introduced in San Bernardino, California by Dick and Mac McDonald’s in May 15, 1940. It was modified and expanded by their business partner, Ray Kroc, of Oak Park, Illinois, who later bought out the business interests of the McDonald’s brothers in the concept and went on to found McDonalds’s Corporation in April, 15, 1955. I.2. Mission and Vision Mission McDonalds’s brand mission is to â€Å"be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat.† Our worldwide operations have been aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win centering on the five basics of an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price. We are committed to improving our operations and enhancing our customers’ experience. Vision â€Å"McDonalds’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.† I.3. Business objective The business objective of McDonald’s, which is a fast food restaurant, is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. They also aim at being the best establishment by providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness and value. II. SWOT Analysis II.1. Strengths Strong brand name, image and reputation: McDonalds’s is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 34,000 local restaurants serving nearly 69 million people in 118 countries each day. The McDonalds’s image is easy recognized everywhere. This brand is in top ten of the most powerful brand name in the world. Large market share: McDonald’ss is considered as the largest player in size and global reach. When Wendy’s or Burgers King are losing market share in 2006, McDonald’ss still increases its market share. Market share of McDonald’ss in the recent time is about 19% while Yum! Brands is 9% and both Wendy’s and Burger King is 2% Specialized training for managers: McDonald’ss is very serious on training managers. This company has its own program to train managers the most professionally, which is called Hamburger University. As a result, McDonald’ss has many good managers who can help company development well. Locally adapted food menus: The fast food chain is operating in many diverse cultures where tastes in food are extremely different than those of US or European consumers. Thus ability to adapt to local tastes is one of McDonald’s’s strengths. Partnership with  best brands: McDonalds’s offers only most popular brands in its restaurants, such as: Coca Cola, Dannon Yogurt, Heinz ketchup and others. Technology Innovative: McDonald’s’s is keeping at the forefront of technology around the globe II.2. Weaknesses Unhealthy food: As we know, there are foods in menu of McDonald’s largely formed of unhealthy meals and drinks. Nowadays, people have trend to be take care them health, they tend to be use healthy food. High employee turnover: Although McDonald’s has many good managers as well as skillful employees, the turnover rate is still high. Every year many of their employees are fired out of the restaurants. Moreover, many others quit their jobs, especially part time employees because of low salary as well as too high working pressure. Problem related to health issue: McDonald’s use Trans – fat and beef oil in their food. Although it is not illegal, it affects badly on customer’s health because Trans – fat is causes of some kind of cancer. Consequently, a number of customers who care about their health stop eating at McDonald’s restaurants. It makes revenue of company decrease. Price quiet high: Compare with other traditional fast food in Viet Nam, the McDonald’s product’s price quiet high, it’s not suitable with almost personal’s income in Viet Nam. II.3. Opportunity Growth of the fast food industry: Fast food market in Viet Nam is a potential market. Demand of people is in big cities are increase. In recent years, growth rate of fast food market continue to increase. Diverse tastes and needs of customers: Customer’s tastes now become more diverse. As a result, they require new format of service in order to satisfy them. Changing customer habits and new customer groups: Nowadays, Vietnamese are more adapt with tastes of West. Almost people are trending use fast food by conveniently, especially majority young people in Viet Nam. II.4. Threats High competitive with other brand: McDonald’s will be high competitive with other big brand stay in Viet Nam in long time such as; KFC, Lotteria, Jollibee, Pizza Hurt, Buger King, etc. Differences culture: Differences culture also a threat with McDonald’s when come to Viet Nam. Trend towards healthy eating: Due to government and various organizations attempts to fight obesity, people are becoming more conscious of eating healthy food rather than what McDonalds’s has to offer in its menu. III. Advantage and disadvantage of MacDonald franchise III.1. Advantage First of all, fast food has become part of daily life of young people, because of the speed of urbanization increase rapidly, consumer demand enhances, qualities of life are also stability, and it ensures that piece of fast food market constantly enlarged. Surveyed fast-food industry made ​​by Nielsen Vietnam in 2010 shows that 86% of consumer this product under the ages of 20-35. So as a latecomer, McDonalds’s will also benefit from the achievement that KFC has efforts to build fast food habits for the Vietnamese. McDonalds’s will not meet too many difficulties to complete a supply chain standards system for their restaurant in Vietnam, because the domestic producers now have plenty of experience coordinating with system fast food before. In additions, Food Culture of McDonalds’s has existed in 118 countries around the world so convincing taste of Vietnam is probably not too difficult problem for this giant. About Place, the latecomer these positions favorable are occupied, but beautiful place to McDonalds’s developing restaurant will not too scare if they active spending. Besides that, infrastructure in Viet Nam are developing, system buildings, supermarkets and modern commercial centers are rising steadily, and trend urbanization has created more beautiful space for fast food chain in Vietnam. GDP per capita is currently at 1,500 USD / year is low compared with the other area, but look at GDP per capita in two biggest cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City higher than the national average pretty much (2012, Ha Noi at around $2,200 /person is Ho Chi Minh City is $3,600 / person). This income is sufficient to will sufficient to consumer willing spend from 4 – 6 dollars for a meal. Certainly two locations will be first place McDonalds’s open restaurant. Although McDonald’s is a latecomer but not likely other fast food brand, McDonald’s has special advantage of their own. That is the advantage of who hold the number one position fast food in the world. III.2. Disadvantage Besides there are advantages, McDonald’s have disadvantage when come to Viet Nam, they will fail if they do not understand Vietnam. First off all, the difference culture, culture of Vietnamese cuisine is rich and varied, taste of East difference taste of West. Thus, McDonald’s should consider this problem when offer food on menu. In addition, strengths of McDonald’s in the U.S. market are breakfast (accounting for one quarter of total revenue) is not applicable in Vietnam. Because the habit of Vietnamese considered breakfast is snacks. McDonald’s will be face fierce competition with other brand such as KFC, Lotteria, Jollibee, and these competitors has existent more than 15 years and has significant market share of the fast food market. One thing important franchisee of McDonald’s in Viet Nam will face that is place rental costs are very expensive. One the other hand, there are conveniently local are occupied by other brand. Thus, franchisee in Viet Nam will effort find out local put McDonald’s restaurant. The problem about price also an obstacle with McDonald’s, compare with other country Viet Nam’s GDP per capita is still low. Thus, fats food brands are still being compete on price. Thus McDonald’s should consider this problem if they want to competitive with other brands. IV. Investment decision Consider all aspects of McDonald’s franchise in Viet Nam, I see that although a latecomer they have some difficult and challenge but fast food market is still potential. McDonald’s has competitive advantages compare with other brands, especially with the position of World No. 1, McDonald’s already challenge with any competitors on fast food market in Viet Nam. If I have a chance I will investment franchise McDonald’s brand in Viet Nam. V. Summary Viet Nam is the next destination when McDonald’s has officially announced they will open their first store in Viet Nam at beginning 2014 year. This is good news because when fast food tycoon comes to Viet Nam, fast food market will compete more fierce and meanwhile the biggest beneficiaries none other than will be the consumer. Because of the presence of McDonald’s will make all other fast food chain must work harder if they do not want to be ‘swallowed’ market share. VI. References list Jerome Katz / Richard Green, Entrepreneurial Small Business – 4th Edition,Graw-Hill International Edition. Essentials of Services Marketing – 2nd Edition, Vochen Wirtz, Patricia Chew, Christopher Lovelock. Principle of marketing – fourteenth edition- Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history.html http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/mcdonalds-swot-analysis.html http://www.dna.com.vn/vi/tinh-huong-thuong-hieu/s/mcdonalds-se-that-bai-neu-khong-hieu-viet-nam/

Managerial Economics Essay

1) The elasticity of one variable with respect to another between two given points. It is used when there is no general function to define the relationship of the two variables. Arc elasticity is also defined as the elasticity between two points on a curve. The P arc elasticity of Q is calculated as The percentage is calculated differently from the normal manner of percent change. This percent change uses the average (or midpoint) of the points, in lieu of the original point as the base. 2) Definition of ‘Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns’ A law of economics stating that, as the number of new employees increases, the marginal product of an additional employee will at some point be less than the marginal product of the previous employee. The law of diminishing marginal returns means that the productivity of a  variable input declines as more is used in short-run production, holding one or more inputs fixed. This law has a direct bearing on market supply, the supply price, and the law of supply. If the productivity of a variable input declines, then more is needed to produce a given quantity of output, which means the cost of production increases, and a higher supply price is needed. The direct relation between price and quantity produced is the essence of the law of supply. An economic theory that states as additional inputs are put into production, the additional return will be in successively smaller increments. This can be due to crowding, adding less appropriate resources or increasing inputs of lower quality. In More Laymen Terms As the saying goes, â€Å"Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth,† in any production there is a point of diminishing returns where just adding more inputs will not give the same income as it once did. Although many industrial firms strive to reach ‘scale,’ where their size gives them a cost advantage at higher production levels, no matter what industry a firm finds itself there will always be a point where the additional gain from added input is reduced. 3) The prisoner’s dilemma is a canonical example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so. It was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher working at RAND in 1950. Albert W. Tucker formalized the game with prison sentence payoffs and gave it the â€Å"prisoner’s dilemma† name (Poundstone, 1992). A classic example of the prisoner’s dilemma (PD) is presented as follows: Two men are arrested, but the police do not possess enough information for a conviction. Following the separation of the two men, the police offer both a similar deal—if one testifies against his partner (defects/betrays), and the other remains silent (cooperates/assists), the betrayer goes free and the cooperator receives the full one-year sentence. If both remain silent, both are sentenced to only one month in jail for a minor charge. If  each ‘rats out’ the other, each receives a three-month sentence. Each prisoner must choose either to betray or remain silent; the decision of each is kept quiet. What should they do? If it is supposed here that each player is only concerned with lessening his time in jail, the game becomes a non-zero sum game where the two players may either assist or betray the other. In the game, the sole worry of the prisoners seems to be increasing his own reward. The interesting symmetry of this problem is that the logical decision leads both to betray the other, even though their individual ‘prize’ would be greater if they cooperated. In the regular version of this game, collaboration is dominated by betraying, and as a result, the only possible outcome of the game is for both prisoners to betray the other. Regardless of what the other prisoner chooses, one will always gain a greater payoff by betraying the other. Because betraying is always more beneficial than cooperating, all objective prisoners would seemingly betray the other. In the extended form game, the game is played over and over, and consequently, both prisoners continuously have an opportunity to penalize the other for the previous decision. If the number of times the game will be played is known, the finite aspect of the game means that by backward induction, the two prisoners will betray each other repeatedly. 4) Third degree discrimination involves charging different prices to different segments of customers. This method of price discrimination is really an imperfect variation of the perfect type represented by first degree price discrimination. In this method different segments of customers are identified and each segment is charged price base on what price is most profitable for the company in each segment. The most common way of segmentation for this type of price discrimination is by geographic location. A very prominent example of this type price discrimination is charges for operations by surgeons. For the same type of operations surgeons and hospitals charge different fees depending on the type of hospital room and other facilities that the patient chooses during hospitalization for  operation. Other common forms of such price discrimination include discounts such as those for students or senior citizens. SECTION B: CASE LET 1 1) Demand theory indicates that the determinants of consumption are income (I), the price of the good in question ( pi ), the prices of other goods ( po ) and other variables such as tastes: i i q ï€ ½Ã¯â‚¬  q ( i o I, p , p , other variables). Consider the case of an illicit commodity such as marijuana. The consumption of marijuana involves risks of fines, in some cases imprisonment and, possibly, other costs associated with the shame of being caught. Consequently, the price of marijuana in its demand function ( p ) m should be interpreted as being made up of the conventional money cost ( p ) mï‚ ¢Ã¯â‚¬  plus the expected â€Å"other costs† per unit: 2) Legalization of marijuana would eliminate the criminal sanctions and penalties associated with its consumption. As this would decrease the â€Å"full† price, consumption would be expected to rise. Marijuana consumption is significantly higher amongst males than females – 60 percent of all males have consumed it, compared to 46 percent of all females. Consumption of marijuana is estimated to increase by about 4 percent if it were legalised; and by about 11 percent following both legalisation and a 50-percentfall in its price. Price is a significant determinant of marijuana consumption. Whilst marijuana consumption is estimated to be price inelastic, estimates of most of the price elasticities are significantly different from zero. Two types of price elasticities of demand for marijuana were estimated, gross and net. The gross price elasticity includes the effects of both legalisation and a price change, while the net version excludes the legalisation effect. The price elasticity of demand for marijuana differs significantly with the type of consumer. For more frequent users (daily, weekly and monthly), gross and net price elasticities are estimated to be  -.6 and -.4, respectively. Occasional smokers having a gross price elasticity of about -.3 and net elasticity of about -.1. Regarding those who are no longer users, they have gross and net price elasticities close to zero. For a given type of consumer, males and females share the same elasticity value. CASE LET 2: 1) In my opinion Yes, the Indian companies are running a major risk by not paying attention to cost cutting. To illustrate Comparing major Indian companies in key industries with their global competitors shows that Indian companies are running a major risk. They suffer from a profound bias for growth. The problem is most look more like Essar than Reliance. While they love the sweet of growth, they are unwilling to face the sour of productivity improvement. Nowhere is this more amply borne out than in the consumer goods industry where the Indian giant Hindustan Lever has consolidated to grow at over 50 per cent while its labour productivity declined by around 6 per cent per annum in the same period. Its strongest competitor, Nirma, also grew at over 25 per cent per annum in revenues but maintained its labour productivity relatively stable. Unfortunately, however, its return on capital employed (ROCE) suffered by over 17 per cent. In contrast, Coca Cola, worldwide, grew at around 7 per cent, improved its labour productivity by 20 per cent and its return on capital employed by 6.7 per cent. The story is very similar in the information technology sector where Infosys, NIIT and HCL achieve rates of growth of over 50 per cent which compares favorably with the world’s best companies that grew at around 30 per cent between 1994-95. NIIT, for example, strongly believes that growth is an impetus in itself. Its focus on growth has helped it double revenues every two years. Sustaining profitability in the face of such expansion is an extremely challenging task What makes this even worse is the Indian companies barely manage to cover their cost of capital, while their competitors worldwide such as Glaxo and Pfizer earn an average ROCE of 65 per cent. In the Indian textile industry, Arvind Mills was once the shining star. Like Reliance, it had learnt to cook sweet and sour. Between 1994 and 1996, it grew at an average of 30 per cent per annum to become the world’s  largest denim producer. At the same time, it also operated a tight ship, improving labour productivity by 20 per cent. Despite the excellent performance in the past, there are warning signals for Arvind’s future. The excess over the WACC is only 1.5 per cent, implying it barely manages to satisfy its investor’s expectations of return and does not really have a surplus to re-invest in the business. Apparently, investors also think so, for Arvind’s stock price has been falling since Q4 1994 despite such excellent results and, at the end of the first quarter of 1998, is less than Rs 70 compared to Rs 170 at the end of 1994. Unfortunately, Arvind’s deteriorating financial returns over the last few years is also typical of the Indian textile industry. The top three Indian companies actually showed a decline in their return ratios in contrast to the international majors. 2 ) Fast moving consumer goods will become a Rs 400,000-crore industry by 2020. A Booz & Company study finds out the trends that will shape its future Consider this. The anti-ageing skincare category grew five times between 2007 and 2008. It’s today the fastest-growing segment in the skincare market. Olay, Procter & Gamble’s premium anti-ageing skincare brand, captured 20 per cent of the market within a year of its launch in 2007 and today dominates it with 37 per cent share. Who could have thought of ready acceptance for anti-ageing creams and lotions some ten years ago? For that matter, who could have thought Indian consumers would take oral hygiene so seriously? Mouth-rinsing seems to be picking up as a habit — mouthwash penetration is growing at 35 per cent a year. More so, who could have thought rural consumers would fall for shampoos? Rural penetration of shampoos increased to 46 per cent last year, way up from 16 per cent in 2001. Consumption patterns have evolved rapidly in the last five to ten years. The consumer is trading up to experience the new or what he hasn’t. He’s looking for products with better functionality, quality, value, and so on. What he ‘needs’ is fast getting replaced with what he ‘wants’ Categories are evolving at a brisk pace in the market for the middle and lower-income segments. With their rising economic status, these consumers are shifting from need- to want-based products. For instance, consumers have  moved from toothpowders to toothpastes and are now also demanding mouthwash within the same category. The trend towards mass-customization of products will intensify with FMCG players profiling the buyer by age, region, personal attributes, ethnic background and professional choices. Micro-segmentation will amplify the need for highly customized market research so as to capture the specific needs of the consumer segment targeted, before the actual product design phase gets underway. 3) Industies impressive growth in value added as observed in the previous sub section is not accompanied by a commensurate rise in the level of relative productivity in terms of the cross–country analysis. The fragmented nature of Indian pharmaceutical sector characterized by the operation of a very large number of players, estimated to be about 10,000 units of which just 300 units are medium and large sized7, may be a reason for low level of productivity. The other important factor for low productivity can be due to the nature of technological activities in the sector, which tends to rely more on process than product development. Further, it may be that Indian companies are focusing at the low end of value†chains in the pharmaceuticals like producing generics than opting for branded products or supply bulk drugs to global players than market formulations of their own. 4) The Indian textile industry has been one of the foremost contributors to the country’s employment, exports, and GDP. The industry has been rated as one of the key drivers of the Indian economy and a bold target of exports of $50 billion (currently it’s $22 billion) had been targeted by the year 2012 by the government after the dismantling of the quota regime in 2005. However we are still far away from that target. Though now it can be blamed on the worldwide recession, I think we need to do some soul searching as to was it anyways possible. Globally, the Indian industry is recognized for its competitive advantages, especially in the cotton segment. The government has set huge targets for the industry and expects to attract investments of about Rs 1.5 lakh crore during the eleventh Plan period. This would meet the export and domestic targets, while taking various initiatives like setting up textile parks, training centers, and ‘made in India label promotion’ to global markets. The Indian textile industry is facing tough competition in the US, as exporters from smaller countries like Bangladesh are cornering the lucrative market at a faster pace, a FICCI study said. â€Å"In addition to China, countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh have managed to perform better than India in the US market in 2009,† the study said. Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam managed to increase their share in the US textiles and apparel import in 2009 year on year at a faster rate than India. The Indian textile industry will no doubt survive and move along by the strengths of its traditional position and domestic market. However, the growth envisaged and it being re-classified as sunshine industry over the last three years from a sunset industry may turn out to be a myth Section C: 1) A vision of the impact of free trade can also be gleaned from Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Samuelson (1970) who confidently asserted that: Free trade promotes a mutually profitable division of labour, greatly enhances the potential real national product of all nations, and makes possible higher standards of living all over the globe. It promotes a regional division of labor — this means that some regions of the world (or countries) will specialize in certain things. They will specialize in areas where they have a comparative advantage. It enhances national production — this means that countries will be able to produce more things if there is trade. That is because they focus on producing things they are good at and do not waste resources on things that they are not good at. It allows higher standards of living because there is more production. If there is more production, there are more things available to be consumed. Another belief in the importance of free trade can be ascribed to its  perceived indirect effect on peace, security and the prevention of war. One of the first articulations of this is by Baron de Montesquieu, who writing in 1748, stated: Peace is the natural effect of trade. Two nations who traffic with each other become reciprocally dependent; for if one has an interest in buying, the other has an interest in selling, and thus their union is founded on their mutual necessities. This theory of mutual interdependence has been explored in some detail by authors such as Keohane and Nye67 and is echoed in attempts to build and protect the mandates of global institutions seeking such co-operation. However few attempts are made to track the results of policy activities on whole population of States, and as a result the overtly negative impact on some groups, usually minorities and indigenous 2) The Decision Trees, used to help with decision making in business ( and many other areas), are a form of diagrammatic analysis. They are used as a tool for helping managers to choose between several courses of action. They provide an effective and clear structure for presenting options and within decision trees the probabilities and financial outcomes of these options can be measured. They also help to form a balanced picture of the risks and potential financial rewards associated with each possible course of action. In many business decision making situations chance (or probability) plays an important role, and the use of decision trees helps build probability into the decision making process. Pictorial representation of a decision situation, normally found in discussions of decision-making under uncertainty or risk. It shows decision alternatives, states of nature, probabilities attached to the state of nature, and conditional benefits and losses. The tree approach is most useful in a sequential decision situation. For example, assume XYZ Corporation wishes to introduce one of two products to the market this year. The probabilities and present values (PV) of projected cash inflows follow: A decision tree analyzing the two products follows: Based on the expected net present value, the company should choose product A over product B.