Business Case Study - F. X. Pounds Inc Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business - F. X. Pounds Inc - Case Study Example Secondly the initial and fixed cost to setup a distribution business is high. Fuel sector has great government intervention in its running too. Such conditions make it difficult for a new competitor to enter and survive in the market. (Hill & Jones.2010) Rivalry among established companies: FXP’s competitors are usually also old family owned companies with fixed established loyal customers and businesses. The demand in the sector is high and FXP must have been facing high competition in order to capture market share and maintain profits. (Hill & Jones.2010) 1. Power of customers: In FXP, the fuel sector customers usually do not have very high power to influence prices or cut costs as the prices are influenced by government’s intervention and are usually fixed. However in the land fuel products customer can bargain about the prices being offered and FXP might have to cut its cost to retain its customers. (Hill & Jones.2010) 2. Bargaining power of suppliers: The suppliers do hold a significant position in every industry. FXP is mainly involved in distribution business where the suppliers have a significant power to effect company’s cost and ultimately the price. (Hill & Jones.2010) 3. Closeness of substitute for products: The energy consumer sector supplies many products which can be used as each others alternatives. For e.g. wood can be used as a substitute of coal etc. It is extremely important for FXP to sell the best quality at competitive prices in order to stop its customers switch to substitutes. (Hill & Jones.2010) Cost-Leadership: After the industry’s analysis and the competition there in it could be suggested that FXP should adopt a cost leadership strategy out of Porter’s strategies, other being differentiation and focus because of high demand, high customer and supplier power and many replacements for company’s products. There is increasing demand in the market and it is important for FXP to maintain and captu re market share by decreasing costs and offering better prices than those offered by the competitor. As the environment in which FXP operates is extremely dynamic and the prices swing is frequent, it is essential for FXP to lower down its cost and supply at the lowest price even when the prices are high in the market. Differentiation and focus are not suitable strategies as there isn’t much room for an innovative product or a product for which customer will be ready to pay a premium price. (Botten & Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.2009) Fragmented Shareholding: Being a family owned and managed business since its inception FXP continues its shareholding in the family which caused fragmented shareholding. No one except Pam and the new CEO Bruce took part in managing the business. Additionally the death of the two shareholders and their shares being further transferred to their children were the main causes of fragmentation. Agency issues, transfer of shares and ma naging the business are the issues associated. In the current situation, Pam at the board meeting should raise the fragmentation issue for discussion and should inquire how the other shareholders view the problem. A clear and proper policy

Explain the marketing concept and discuss what it means for an Essay

Explain the marketing concept and discuss what it means for an organisation to have a marketing orientation, using examples t - Essay Example Boone (2012) further denotes that coca cola used the social media, the print media, and the electronic media to advertise the products and services that it offers during this period of the world cup. By looking at this strategy of coca cola, we can denote that advertising is an important element of the principles of marketing. The main aim of carrying out an advertisement is to persuade the target market on the need of buying the products under consideration, and promoting the product under consideration. Russell (2012) denotes that for an organization to achieve success and efficiency in their marketing strategies, they must develop an advertisement that has the capability of persuading its target market on the need of buying into the products of the company. For example, an effective advertisement has to contain the name of the product, the usage of the product, and the value in which a customer will get by using the products under consideration (Kozmetsky, 2012). Companies such as Nokia, Samsung and Apples have developed an advertisement strategy that is always very effective in persuading their target markets on the importance of buying their products. This is by aligning the various technological needs of their target markets in their products, and communicating what they have done to their customers (Kozmetsky, 2012). Kotler and Armstrong (2012) believe that marketing concept involves developing policies products aimed at satisfying the various needs of the customer. In the current era, many business organizations in the world aim at achieving efficiency in the manner in which they meet their objectives. Kotler and Armstrong (2012) observe that the main objective of a business organization is to maximize profits, and increase their market share. To achieve this objective in an efficient manner, an organization must integrate all the four concepts of marketing, while developing a marketing strategy. These concepts are, product, price, promotion, and place. Under the principles of marketing concepts, Ramachandra and Chandrashekara (2010) believe that an organization will seek to improve on the quality of their products, and minimize costs for purposes producing products which are of high quality value, and affordable to the majority of its target market. By using these policies and concepts, the organization might manage to increase its market share, and its profitability. On this basis, the marketing principles of product and price come into place. Brenkert (2008) believe that the quality of an organizations product will determine whether it manages to satisfy the various needs of customers. This is because the notion of marketing concept involves developing products whose main aim is to satisfy the various needs of customers (Brenkert, 2008). If a product does not satisfy the various needs of customers, then chances are high that the company might fail to make sales (McDaniel and Gates, 2013). This might result to losses, and the ev entual closure of a business organization (Brenkert, 2008). The pricing of a product is also a very important aspect of marketing. The price of a product determines whether customers might afford the product under consideration, or fail to afford it. Ramachandra and Chandrashekara (2010) denotes that if the products of an organization are very expensive, and of high quality, then they will attract the most affluent

Genetically Modified Crops and Framing Research Paper

Genetically Modified Crops and Framing - Research Paper Example Having knowledge of the structure of the DNA gave biologists insight into the processes of DNA translation and transcription. Scientists were able to understand how genes interacted with the environment and how they could be isolated from the DNA strand. This allowed scientists to manipulate genes and change the characteristics of organisms. Recent breakthroughs in science and the process of how genes code for proteins have enabled scientists to even create organisms. Genetically modified crops are a creation of genetic engineering and the processes of gene manipulation. Crops were selected that had the desired features and their genes were manipulated and isolated to make crops with the desired qualities. These crops were called genetically modified, transgenic or genetically engineered crops; hence the phase genetically modified (GM) refers to that breed of crops that has been altered through genetic engineering (Forman 8). Genetically modified crops are aimed to provide commercial and social advantages (Silberglitt 22). The golden rice contains high levels of beta-carotene that is not present in rice and so allows animals to make vitamin A. In countries like Bangladesh, rice is the staple diet, and so many people and children face severe deficiency of vitamin A, suffering from blindness and high mortality. Genetic engineers predict that the growth and consumption of golden rice in Asian countries can counter the stark conditions of malnutrition, mortality and blindness that is common in these areas. Although the traits of crops are changed to make them more resistant, concerns over the safety of the crops have risen dramatically over time and has fueled heated debates in the Europe, and to a lesser extent, in the US. In a nutshell, the basis for such debates is that transgenic organisms are a new breed, and can be likened to tampering with nature. They can impact both the environment and humans negati vely and may

Standardization of Knowledge Management Annotated Bibliography

Standardization of Knowledge Management - Annotated Bibliography Example The main purpose of this research is to identify and provide critically relevant examples of the role of biomedical ontologies in the data integration, decision support, and knowledge management. The author has primarily explained the importance of standardization of biomedical ontologies and their role in knowledge management with the support of a number of published pieces of literature. The methodology used in this research article is the survey and review of published kinds of literature and operational systems. The strength of the research is that it has followed a functional perspective in the methodology. This statement is confirmed by the fact that the cases of usage of ontologies in operational systems have been included in the research. Some examples of these are the inclusion of ontologies like SNOMED CT, LOINC, FMA, the Gene Ontology, RxNorm, UMLS etc. On the other side, adding to the strength of the research, recent research articles are referred to as well. This provides relevant scientific support to the survey findings. The finding of the research confirms the importance of ontologies in biomedical research. The use of ontologies as a key input towards knowledge management is reiterated in the survey. This indicates the local application of the survey findings with relevance to knowledge management. The conclusions have provided scope for further research on the application of standardized ontologies in knowledge management. However, one weakness that pertains to the research is that the inclusion criteria for the literature included in the survey have not been mentioned. However, the wide range of references included justifies this.

One Dark Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

One Dark Night - Essay Example ught about this many a time, but he always gently explained to be that he was only this way because he cared so much about me, and wanted to make everything perfect for me. Somehow, he always managed to convince me, either by sweet-talking me or by some sort of romantic gesture. And I always fell for it. Back at the time, I believe I knew in the back of my mind I was unhappy, but I wasnt willing to admit it even to myself. My appearance and behaviour did not give me away- I was always perceived as the perfect wife who mastered everything from cooking to doing the house chores and everything else (my husband also told me I was "not too shabby" between the sheets). I was constantly being flattered about the house, the food I prepared for our friends and often to my husbands business partners, and it was not uncommon for other men to stare at me and compliment me on my looks, sometimes in inappropriate ways I sort of enjoyed. Of course, my husbands reaction would always come shortly thereafter. He would always make sure that everyone knew that Im his wife, and always did it aggressively, telling the man who flattered me to back off because I am his. This was sometimes followed by a push or a shove. This seemed very bizarre to me, since my husband was anything but violence. I dismissed it by saying to myself that he loves me so much, that he would do anything to protect me, even if Im not in danger. And I also rationalized it by saying that his manly ego wont stand it if another man came on to his wife. In that way, I thought to myself, men arent any different than they were when mankind began. The male is always the dominant one, and doesnt let other men get to close to his wife. Thats why he "marks" her as his territory and guards her well. If only I knew beforehand how right I was†¦ But my husbands behaviour did not stop there. As a part of his wanting to make everything perfect (or in other words- exactly as he wants it), he would always criticize me about

Annual reports of Boots Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Annual reports of Boots - Essay Example Return on capital employed has dropped from 18.15% in 2004 to 13.95% in 2005. Gross profit margin shows how much profit was made out of every dollar of sales before covering operating expenses. The gross profit margin has only improved very slightly from 45.67% in 2004 to 46.05% in 2005. Net profit margin shows how much profit was made out of every dollar of sales after covering all costs and expenses. The net profit margin has decreased from 7.73% in 2004 to 5.53% in 2005. Return on assets shows how much profit was earned out of every dollar of total assets. Return on assets has declined from 11.75% in 2004 to 8.76% in 2005. Return on owners' equity shows profit available to equity owners out of every dollar of their investment. Return on owners' equity has also decreased from 22.76% in 2004 to 18.78% in 2005. The downward trend of the profitability ratios indicates weakness. Liquidity ratios are indicators of short-term financial stability. They show whether the business is able to meet its current debt obligation. The liquidity ratios include current ratio and acid test ratio. The current ratio shows the company's ability to meet its current debt obligations (due within 12 months) with assets that can be converted into cash within a short period. Though the current ratio has decreased from 1.5170 in 2004 to 1.4671 in 2005, it is still considered satisfactory being more than 1. This means that the current assets can cover current liabilities with a margin of safety. If the ratio is too big, it may mean that the firm has too much liquidity and is not optimising its investment opportunities. The acid test ratio shows whether the firm has sufficient liquid resources (assets that can be converted into cash very quickly) to meet its current liabilities. The acid test ratio indicates weakness as it has decreased from 0.9086 in 2004 to 0.8027 in 2005. The rati os in both years are less than 1, which means that the company may have difficulty in meeting its short-term financial claims with its liquid assets. Use-of-assets ratios indicate operating efficiency and how well the assets

Sciencefiction and reality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sciencefiction and reality - Research Paper Example After the pleasure from NBC to withdraw the show during the second season series, many changes took place. The campaigning began, and fans of the series demanded the series to be aired; thus the renewal of the film began in 1969 when the Paramount Television produced the film in the animated series. Roddenberry, the creator of the film used futuristic situations (social movement) as an analogy for addressing ethical and social issues such as warfare, slavery and prejudice. The Star Trek series narrates the tale of the starship enterprise crew and the mission of travelling to a place where no one has ever gone. The film featured the character known as Shatner William, as the captain and other characters including Scott, Nicholas and many others. The film attempts to reveal the effects of the upcoming technologies in the contemporary society. Star Trek series is a film that attempts to reveal the effect of forthcoming technology advancement on the earth. It reveals the way the telepres ence as one of the technologies creates impacts in the society. The telepresence is a technology which allows an individual to control a ship from any remote area. The Star Trek film reveals the way some technological devices works. However, the film is dangerous when exposed to children because it might contribute to violence in society. The movie reveals scientific issues that are most hilarious. It reveals the interconnections between the science fiction and real life impact of the telepresence technology advancement that this technology has created since history. Moreover, many films during the Second World War including the Star Trek used scientific fiction genre in order to reveal the impact technology has created in the upcoming technologies (Leaver 56). Technology has inspired many teenagers to engage with science through viewing this film because it is associated with scientific issues. For instance, the Blade Runner, which uses digital photography and the zoom button, is a n indication of the way technology is flourishing in the society. The tailored branding and film revealed in the televisions seem far-fetched, but they are nowadays everywhere in the society. The scientific facts revealed in the film are informative about science, but there are some compromises that have been made on being accurate and able to recount persuasive narratives. The Star Trek is one of the culturally prominent TV show and influential science novel in the TV series. The Star Trek franchise industry, which is CBS TV studio, is currently a multibillion industry that has contributed to the circulation of the film. Television is one the entertainment technology that has contributed to cultural influences in the contemporary society. Thus, the Star Trek contributed to the establishment of the market for science fiction revealed in the televisions. However, the animated Star Trek series became more common in the market; thus it opened new market for science fiction series such as the Family Guy and many others. Roddenberry in the Star Trek film has created a multi-ethnic group for the venture; thus revealing the way technology has contributed to cultural change in the society. The technology revealed in the article of Cranny-Francis, Anne "from extension to engagement: mapping the imaginary of wearable technology," Visual Communication is the use of personal computers (PC). The author gave PC imagery of wearable tec