Marketing Strategy for Competitive Advantage Essay

Executive Summary Three friends – Lyndon Duke Hanson, Scott Seamans, and George Boedecker, founded Crocs Inc. in the year 2002 in Colorado, USA. As the firm grew, it acquired Foam Creations in Canada to own manufacturing operations, under the leadership of Ronal Snyder in 2004, and gained sole rights. Crocs is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of molded, casual footwear for men, women and children. All Crocs footwear feature a proprietary closed-cell resin called ‘Croslite’ that provides the wearer with extreme comfort by taking the shape of the feet of the wearer due to heat. The company boasts the footwear as being ideal for casual use as well as for professional and recreational uses viz. boating, hiking and hospitality. The product is claimed to be lightweight, slip-resistant, and odor-free, and is available in several bright colors. Crocs shoes are sold across 129 countries and come in 250 styles. The company has also diversified into apparel and accessories. One major acquisition has been of that of Jibbitz show charms, for which the company has also acquired  licensing agreements with Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. and DC Comics. The case discusses the phenomenal supply chain management of the company that has been a major reason for the success of the company, besides of course the popularity of the shoes. The achievement of an extremely flexible supply chain was the vision of Ronal Snyder, CEO, to meet customer’s demand based on the exact same principle followed by software giants. This supply chain provided Crocs with a competitive advantage in the footwear industry. Crocs had the highest profit margin in the industry at 56.5% in 2006, considerably higher than that of its competitors. Crocs created a blue ocean by creating differentiation and low costs and breaking out of the red ocean. This resulted in global expansion and quick growth. Profits increased from $10.9million in 2004 to $763.3milion in 2007. Later in the case study, we will see the Industry Analysis to understand the competitive scenario. This reveals that Nike is the market leader, followed by Adidas. A look at Porter’s Model shows that consumer’s bargaining power is a major threat in the industry. We also see the standard manufacturing practices in the industry compared to Crocs’ manufacturing techniques. The SWOT Analysis gives an understanding of the potential threats and rising opportunities. Customer’s changing tastes and threat of substitutes pose immediate threat to the firm, but it can capitalize on its unique product range and supply chain in order to gain a majority market share. Industry Analysis The global footwear market has grown from $153.2 billion in 2004 to $189.3 billion in 2007. Although the footwear industry is in the maturity stage, it is known that the demand for the product will not decline. Hence, global  sales are forecasted to reach $238 billion in 2013. Footwear industry is a highly fragmented market. The industry experiences intensive competition led by major firms such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, and Converse. Nike is the industry leader, followed by Reebok and Adidas; Nike has a market share of 47%, Reebok – 16% and Adidas – 6%. Competitors Nike Nike is the world’s largest designer and marketer of athletic footwear and apparel. The stores are located over 180 countries. Nike is based in Oregon. It runs its manufacturing operations primarily in Asia. Nike’s footwear accounted for 60% of the company’s total net sales in 1999, after which the firm attempted to become more diversified. Nike’s largest share of sales comes from United States. Nike is one company to have crossed the $5 billion mark. Nike’s target consumers were 18-44 aged people, with six-digit income. Adidas Adidas is in the second position in the global market. It is based in Germany and sourced 97% of its footwear from Asian. Its main market is the Europe region. The firm had only a 3% market share in 2005, but after the acquisition of Reebok in 2006, the share jumped up to 9%. Footwear sales accounted for 45.5% of the total sales for Adidas in 2007. Adidas target slightly young aged, 18-44 and was especially popular among Hispanics and African Americans. Other competitors include Puma (Germany), New Balance (USA – largest privately held manufacturer), and C&J Clark (UK-based) nearing the $2.0billion mark. Porter’s Five Forces Model Threat from Existing Competition The industry is characterized by easy entry and exit. The market is competitive, with the industry being described as red ocean, often. The market has reached maturity stage, and the growth is slow-paced. Firms are  always attempting to lower costs and manage supply chain effectively to meet the changing demand. There is always a potential threat of a competitor eating into the market share. Threat from New Entrants The footwear industry is an easy market to enter for new players. Investments required are not huge, and raw materials are easily available. Legal policies are not strict, except in cases of imports in some countries. However, human rights issue is a major cause for concern in the footwear industry. Manufacturing/outsourcing decisions are used for low costs. Threat of Substitutes As entry is easy, substitutes are a major threat. Pricing becomes a key concern. Knock-offs also pose a great threat to companies even though certain designs are proprietary. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Shoes are mostly made from similar raw materials that are easily available. So, most firms manage to get materials at low costs. However, for Crocs, this is not a problem because it owns the manufacturing units and has a proprietary right over croslite. Bargaining Power of Consumers Consumers have the greatest power in the footwear industry due to availability of substitutes. Price and quality are major attributes of the product. Changing consumer taste is a potential threat. Changing fashion and trends and even fads are a problem faced by manufacturers. Competitors have come up with the concept of ‘Shoe Design’ to give the consumer the ability to custom design shoes that are delivered with two weeks. SWOT Analysis Opportunities Market penetration in the footwear industry is still considerably low, especially in Asia-Pacific region. Developing countries like India are emerging markets with huge population for firms to capitalize on.  Purchasing power of people in these countries is increasing, thus showing potential target consumer groups. Threats Substitutes and knock offs pose great threat to major players in the industry. Since pricing and quality are major concerns, low costs are the main objectives. Changing trends and consumer taste are also a serious threat. Strengths Crocs’ unique design that offers great comfort, odor-free, slip-resistant lightweight shoes at comparatively lower prices is a distinctive competency. Supply chain flexibility offers Crocs a competitive advantage over the other firms. Weakness Crocs is required to distinguish its product, especially with the usage of croslite in its footwear. This makes it difficult for Crocs to develop new products in the formal range. Financial Analysis While 92% of company’s revenues came from footwear, the remaining 8% was from the sales of accessories and apparels. Revenue has increased over the years and reached $354.7 million in 2006. There has been a tremendous increase in cost of the goods sold and was reported to be $154.2 million in 2006 from $47.8 million in 2005. Net profit margin has also been increasing and it was found to be 18.2% in 2006. Revenue was found to be $142 million in the year 2007 for Q1. Gross profit was reported to be 84.4% in the first quarter of 2007. In comparison with competitors viz. Nike and Deckers, gross profit margin of Crocs has been considerably higher. Debtor’s turnover ratio is the highest in the industry, indicating that Crocs is efficient at handling debts. Asset  management is also performed well at Crocs. But looking at the inventory turnover ratio, Crocs is one of the lowest in the industry. This shows that Crocs is unable to turn inventory into cash as effectively. It is seen that in 2006, Crocs has inventory worth $86.2million compared to $28.5million in the previous year. This shows that Crocs capital is blocked in its stock. About Crocs Inc. Mission Bring profound comfort, fun and innovation to the world’s feet. Brand Attributes Innovative Crocs shoes are distinguished from others by the following motive of the firm – Radical thinking, health-minded research, and providing solution to the Feet. Fun Colors and designs offered and the emotional experience served are important to Crocs to create its brand image. Comfort Crocs claims to offer profound comfort, ergonomic design, massaging foot bed, and lightweight. Simple Crocs believes in keeping its products simple with a versatile function. Crocs Shoes Clogs with Croslite Target Consumer Segment: Men, women and children of all ages Diabetic patients and other ailments Crocs shoes are lifestyle products that exhibit personalities like trendy, fun, and high fashion, dressy, casual and active. Various models offered include mammoth, clogs, sandals, flats, heels, boots, slip-ons, flip flops, sport, work, Ocean Minded among others. Crocs started off as a company with about 25 models in 2004, and reached a point in 2007 when it offered 250 models. Original design was the clogs that kids could personalize with Jibbitz. Over time, Crocs extended its line by using usual raw materials like leather and suede with croslite soles. Supply Chain Management For consumer, Crocs designed an extensive distribution system so its shoes were available in a variety of retail outlets from specialty stores to department stores and large shoe store chains. Footwear companies have two alternatives to choose from in the manufacturing of their products; they can both own and operate the factories that produce their products, or outsource operations. Factories may be located internationally or locally. Most firm practice outsourcing of operations to enable reduced costs. Crocs believed in meeting customer demands in the current season. Supply Chain was Crocs main focus. Crocs had adopted the global logistics strategy. The firm was vertically integrated and by 2007, had acquired various units all across the world for its operations to cater to different consumers. Hence it was faced with large capital expenditure requirements and the management of the factories themselves. Yet Crocs did a tremendous job at supply management. Where its competitors followed the seasonal order placements, Crocs had a delivery time of two to four weeks for newly placed orders, indicating how Crocs understood the demand for the product. Crocs owned the manufacturing, warehousing and retails units in almost all countries. With its effective management, Crocs was able to maintain low costs. Any other company in the footwear industry did not achieve such a flexible supply chain. The firm maintained good professional relations with the retailers, and deployed its own personnel in stores and provided a store-in-store experience to customers. Core Competencies Unique Product Crocs is the only company that offers shoes made of croslite. This material ensures extreme comfort to the wearer. Crocs owns proprietary rights over  the material, and this becomes the firm’s distinctive competency. Since Crocs is the only firm with the sole right of manufacturing such footwear, it should ensure no knock-offs are sold in the market in its name. Flexible supply chain Crocs understood the dynamic footwear industry and built a revolutionary supply chain to meet the demands of it consumers. Crocs is able to replenish stocks within weeks at short notice. This gives the firm a competitive advantage over the rivals. Other than the core business activities, Crocs has initiated a program called Crocs Cares to provide the inhabitants of disaster affected areas with shoes in over forty countries. Conclusion Crocs has managed to develop an extremely flexible supply chain in order to meet customer and retailer demands, similar to none other in the footwear industry. The firm is extensively vertically integrated and has followed a pattern of a series of acquisitions for growth. Another advantage for the firm is the sole proprietary rights over the croslite material. However, Crocs has learnt the need to extend its product line and incorporating materials like leather and suede in its products. Crocs has also managed to lure its customers by acquiring the charm business, and also by diversifying into accessories and apparels.   Although the firm is showing year-on-year profits, it is seen that by following the model of semi-finished products to achieve quick delivery, it is faced by the problem of low inventory turnover. The important thing to understand is that the industry is dynamic, and the demand is quite unpredictable due to varying trends. Thus, Crocs will continue doing better by focusing on the end-user product. References www.packagedfacts.com Global Footwear Market Report http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com How Crocs Is Outpacing The Pack http://logisticsviewpoints.com Crocs Revolutionary Supply Chain http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com Crocs Review http://ezinearticles.com History of Crocs http://www.hoovers.com Factsheet of Crocs http://company.crocs.com About Crocs – Company Profile

The Globalization/Consumption of Digital Media

University of Maryland University College-Adelphi University of Maryland University College-Adelphi By: Joshua A. Hood Instructor: Professor Robert T. Zornes Course: CMST 301 Paper Title: Globalization of Digital Media By: Joshua A. Hood Instructor: Professor Robert T. Zornes Course: CMST 301 Paper Title: Globalization of Digital Media Research ProjectProject 3 Research ProjectProject 3 Globalization of Digital Media Outline: 1. Introduction. 2. Think globally. 3. Rapid sharing. 4. Interactivity (changing the game) a. Web 1. 0 (convenience) b. Digital media defined c. Evolution of the Internet . Graph 5. Mobile digital media. e. Graph f. Iphone and Steve Jobs 6. Metaphorical summary relating to the inevitability of the evolution of digital media (and education) g. Recognizing power. 7. Education with digital media h. Comparison of differing educations 8. Globalization i. Globalization does not only include digital media 9. Globalization of digital media = powerhouse 10. Downloading. j. Consumption of digital media k. P2P (Peer to Peer) l. Digital media ethics? 11. Music industry/cinema m. Digital media creates musicians, literally. n. Myspace o. Adam Young (Owl City) i.Singer/songwriter thanks to digital media. 12. Refresh: What exactly has digital media done for us? p. Information availability q. Creates contributing members of society r. Creates scholars s. Creates new disciplines, academics. t. Information on burst! 13. Webisodes u. A young tool in the digital media world. v. Proposed outlet for successful cinema. 14. Social networking=shortened gap between nations. w. Purpose of Facebook/Twitter x. Business/networking y. Mark Schaefer; author of Tao of Twitter ii. Tweeting/retweeting iii. Twitter is unique. Why? z. Dell; the pioneer of social networking v. Cory Edwards v. â€Å"Dell Outlet Feed† via Twitter vi. Advantages/disadvantages through customer reviews {. Colorado shootings via Twitter. ————-Body——â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œGlobalization of Digital Media——————– I would like to base my final project on a very simple article that –if read in depth and understood correctly, –publically announces the influence that digital media has on our modern world. My topic on the other hand –not the article, more like the idea behind the article –focuses on global digital media. It focuses on humanity’s horizons, expanding through digital media.Subtopics discussed include: education, brick and mortar commerce, E-commerce, music, cinema, shared â€Å"common† culture from every corner of the globe (shared in a matter of seconds), education and the effects of the availability of education (in a global aspect) to the common man and the not-so-common man and lastly, social networking with its massive influence on digital media consumption. All of these topics relate to one another. They all contribute to the globalizati on of digital media. A main article I am basing my personal opinion off of can be found here: http://media. ezinemark. om/evolution-of-digital-media-an-incredible-advancement-511ee16da73. html Think globally. Even though Digital media began locally. From the television (and its mass development immediately after its invention) to the common simple radio, communication has only been moving up in the technological world. Here is an interesting fact. â€Å"The television took 13 years to reach 50 million viewers, Facebook added 100 million viewers in 9 months. † (Hopkinson, 2009) Is this a miracle? Or just excellent progress? So, along with the development of the television, also came the development of the ever growing rapid sharing of information.As you can see, Facebook’s growth rate is on a completely different level of expansion compared to the old days, when the Television was the â€Å"next big thing†. What changed the game for digital media? I would have to notice the advantages sprouting from an interactive interface system. Designed to be controlled by the user and their own interest, in the â€Å"Web. 1† days, interactivity was a game changer. It still is today. Back in the early 90’s, choosing what interested you online was a big deal. Users could view what they wanted, and when they wanted. Interactivity created a very personal experience.Today, I see interactivity focusing on convenience. Convenience seems to be the key with todays big sellers like Apple, Microsoft, Sony and more. Applications or â€Å"Apps† are always selling like wildfire. This is just me, but I made a keen observation on price free apps being in more abundance than apps that must be purchased. I wonder why that is? Where did it all start? Well, to answer this question we must ask ourselves another question. What is the purest definition of digital media? There is some debate to its actual meaning. I pulled the exact definition from the on line portal for my CMST 301 class.In the week 1, terms and concepts section, it is stated that: â€Å"The term â€Å"digital media† is often used unilaterally to describe any â€Å"online† content but ultimately includes digital transmittable text, graphics, audio, or video content. † –UMUC Webtycho portal I will provide a similar definition, so that readers without access to UMUC’s Webtycho portal may have a quick reference to the definition. According to Microsoft. com (who hasn’t heard of Microsoft? ), this is the definition of Digital Media: â€Å"Digital media refers to audio, video, and photo content that has been encoded (digitally compressed). †So now that we understand just what exactly digital media is. Lets dig deeper to get a better sense of understanding, regarding the evolution of the Internet (digital media), its global influence and how a globalization of digital media will ultimately enhance an already interconnected world. The Internet was not meant to stay the same. It was meant to grow and evolve. I believe what started the dramatic change in Internet experience from the early days, was the interactivity. Like stated before, interactivity was the game changer. Take this image for example. I included this image just to remind you of where digital media came from. In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. † – Eric Hoffer â€Å"In times of change learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. † – Eric Hoffer Digital media is always changing. I see it as a way of life. If you read the quotation above, you will see what I mean. If you do not adapt to new ways of this innovative and technologically advanced world, then you will be dealing with a world that doesn’t exist.However, of co urse it may exist in your own mind, making you what the young kids these days call â€Å"old school†. And there is nothing wrong with being â€Å"old school†; my parents are a bit old school themselves! And I still love them both regardless of their unwillingness to purchase an I-pad instead of a palm pilot. Yes, palm pilots are still made. Humorous. Get an Ipad, Dad. To clarify how important interactivity is to the digital media world, take a look at the graph below. I pulled this from http://www. threeminds. organic. com.It gives us a visual of just how committed companies have become to the concept of customer interactivity. If you check out the percentages on the right side of the table graphic, you will see CAGR. CAGR is an acronym for Compound Annual Growth Rate. This is the most important aspect of this table. It sums up specifically the amount of increases in financial spending, for different branches of the Internet. Not surprisingly, Social media had the high est percentage increase of 34%. Which is why I chose to near my conclusion with social networking. Source: Forrester’s Interactive Advertising Models, 4/09 and 10/08 (US only)With mobile marketing following behind just 7%, social media continued to have the highest increase in spending from 2009 to present, and predicted to hold the same pattern in the future (2014). However, another graph I pulled from the same website shows the growth of mobile media and browsing audiences. News, information and entertainment are also included when discussing â€Å"Mobile Phone Owners†. â€Å"Clearly, the days when parents admonished their kids to use cell phones only for emergencies are over. † * Ben Rogers Cell phones are a huge part of the globalization of digital media. Really I see Apple as a pioneer for the cell phone.Steve Jobs summed it up when he said â€Å"An iPod, a phone, an Internet mobile communicator†¦ these are NOT three separate devices! And we are calli ng it iPhone! Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. And here it is. † Whatever kind of phone you may have, know that these devices are stealthily taking over our lives. Cellphones, smartphones, mobile phones, and my dad still calls his smart phone a â€Å"Telephone†. For some reason this word â€Å"telephone† is beginning to sound foreign, maybe it’s just me. I only hear that word when talking to older generations. Many households these days don’t even have land line phones.What do you think they use? You guessed it. Smart phones, pre paid cellphones and etc. It’s not even the actual phone calling from phone to phone; it’s the usage of mobile data, applications, email, music and shopping applications that cause smart phones to be more and more popular. We cannot stop the inevitable. We cannot stop the globalization of digital media, no matter what form it may be. We cannot stop the tide. Its basic knowledge to know that any form of progression towards convenience will lead to the popularity of that specific convenience, being smartphones, or whatever form of digital media you happen to be utilizing.There is a story popular in Australia. I believe it directly relates to the subject of fighting what is inevitable. The story goes like this. A King by the name of Canut, attempted to stop an incoming ocean tide. The more educated members of his audience knew that Canute was demonstrating to his followers that neither his royal authority nor his ferocious fighting skills would ever control the power and laws of the great Mother Nature. He demonstrated that you couldn’t stop what is inevitable, what is meant to happen.We cannot fight its growth, its much better to work with it and use it to our advantage, rather than try to remain in a â€Å"traditional† stance and continue to argue over the true meaning of education. So in all the confusion between different types of education, modern, traditional, ivy league, public, military, cultural, life lessons and etc. We must ask ourselves. What is the solid, finite definition of education? Is there one such meaning? I say no. I say this because; education is such a broad term.To help us understand what education is, check out the definition from http://businessdictionary. com: â€Å"The wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something. Education requires instruction of some sort from an individual or composed literature. The most common forms of education result from years of schooling that incorporates studies of a variety of subjects. † –www. businessdictionary. com Now, I recall viewing a national geographic documentary a few years back.It discussed the different types of people with different types of intelligence. The national geographic researchers really focused on the comparison between a NASA rocket sci entist and a Sherpa. You can imagine the amount of graduate/masters programs a NASA rocket scientist would have to achieve, before being employed as a rocket scientist. Could you imagine the amount of experience needed to be a certified Sherpa? A Sherpa is a member of a Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet. They are known worldwide for their skills in mountaineering.Both the individuals were very educated in their respective environments, however if they were to switch places, they would be fall into the category of confused and lost. The ties between education and digital media are intertwined within the threads. Don’t forget that the globalization of digital media does not only include education. I am fascinated by education; this may make me lean towards research regarding education intertwined with digital media, rather than the other numerous aspects of digital media. The Internet really is as diverse as the world itself.With that in mind, let me ask this question. Is it not understood that globally, digital media is the #1 powerhouse. Take entertainment for example. The music and movie industry both benefit (and not so much) from digital media. Of course and up to date person knows that music and movies are easily downloadable through peer to peer (P2P) programs online, such as UTorrent or Bearshare. com. There are so many examples out illegally downloading content out there, this gets more into the ethics of digital media, so lets not get to in depth with this.That is a totally different subject in and of itself. The music industry/cinema industries have gained an innumerable amount of advertising space through digital media. Skilled programmers have created interactive tools online and offline. These programmers have actually given birth to an entirely new genre of music called â€Å"dub step† or modern â€Å"Techno† music. This is just a theory of mine, so please don’t go out of your way to prove me wro ng, unless of course you feel inclined to do so. Constructive criticism is always helpful if taken the right way.Musicians such as Adam Young, more commonly known to the electronica listeners as â€Å"Owl City†. He is a singer and songwriter. In the beginning he did not play the guitar, he was just getting into the keyboard. His instrument of choice during the early stages of his career was his computer and its digital media capabilities. He used programs such as â€Å"Garage Band† on his MacBook, which was incorporated into Apples computer devices in 2006. He used programs online, which were created for interactivity with beats and the incorporation of pieces of musical work from numerous guitarists, pianists and percussionists.His music mainly become known at first through the social networking website known as Myspace. com. Many musicians who become well known in 2007 and after became known through social networking sites. This is just a sample from a musician which most of you probably have not heard of (if you have, I apologize for judging my audience! ) Not only did it influence the creation of an entirely new musical genre, it created a new type of television dubbed â€Å"Webisodes†. This gets more into the cinematic part of digital media, rather than music and education.I remember seeing my first webisode. They were mini episodes composed of small time actors from the show we all know as â€Å"Scrubs†. I believed it originally aired on HBO in 2007. The webisodes were the first of many. Today the more popular show â€Å"The Walking Dead† has its own webisodes. I don’t watch them; research simply showed me they exist. Another discovery here, digital media has created its own vocabulary. I just stumbled upon one right now. The term â€Å"webisode† is not recognized on Microsoft word. It tries to correct the term to â€Å"episode†.Here is an actual definition of the term. â€Å"A Webisode is a single push technology episode. A Webisode can be a preview or promotion of a particular TV show, music video, or other show presented from a Web site using streaming video or other techniques. Some sites are dedicated to presenting Webisodes. † (Rouse, 2005). This is just another minute example of digital media is changing things everywhere. Throughout this class, I have really focused on the social networking aspect of digital media. I did this because I use social networking everyday. I use digital media everyday.With that, I would like to end this research paper with a short focus on social networking, including examples of how social networking has changed the world already, and how it triumphs the consumption of digital media, ultimately resulting in the globalization of digital media. Today, almost everyone, young or old, has some type of social network account. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, serve other purposes than that of keeping in touch with loved ones. I n terms of business and networking, they are being used by countless businesses, ranging from a small business to large companies such as Dell.There has been much praise and of course, criticism for using social media. When starting a small business, Mark Schaefer, author of Tao of Twitter, suggests using Twitter to help jumpstart one’s business if they, themselves think personal networking would be beneficial for it. In his book, he dedicates an entire chapter on searching for people who are pertinent in helping one build a business. He mentioned that one could use features on Twitter, like the â€Å"Retweet† option, to assist in getting some recognition. To â€Å"retweet† something on Twitter means to merely re-share or spread something that someone else posted. Retweeting† someone else’s tweet is somewhat a compliment for them. It’s as if you are telling them that are in agreement with what they say or you’re simply telling them â⠂¬Å"Good job†. Personal note, I see this as an attempt by twitter to distinguish itself as different from Facebook, making it more unique. What Schaefer also mentioned was that one can also manage the people who follow him and what they say by arranging them in lists on Twitter. This is to organize and efficiently manage the groups that are associated with his business.Organizing business-related groups in this fashion makes it much easier to interact with those people and network. Large companies can and have benefited from using Twitter and the like. Dell was actually among the first to use social media. Dell’s social director, Cory Edwards, stated that the key to being successful in using these networks is to be attentive towards what the customers are saying and prove to them that you are listening to their feedback. Dell uses social media to obtain feedback from their customers on the quality of their products and to get any suggestions on how to improve them.They have been so successful in doing so that sales have increased significantly via their DellOutlet feed on Twitter. And mentioned earlier, some criticism comes along with the praises. Dell actually utilizes the criticism and uses it to their advantage. For the past few years, they have invited ten critics and ten enthusiasts to talk about the products and what they disliked and liked, respectively. Finally, after that event, Dell would do a follow-up and would inform those 20 people on how their opinions changed them. In addition to using social networks for business, it has also displayed some otential promise spreading the news in the most immediate manner. Because we live in a world where almost all of us are â€Å"glued† to our smart phones/ Iphones, it is convenient to use these devices when informing the public when tragedy strikes. For example, when the Colorado shootings occurred last summer, a 31-year-old woman logged on her Facebook to check her brother’s page. He was supposed to attend the Batman showing. She saw his status, which stated that he didn’t attend the Batman showing, giving her some relief. Many other stories, similar to this, were posted on Facebook and Twitter, but in somewhat different ways.With Facebook, it’s mainly family and friends who view your profile (unless your profile is public or you accept anyone who sends you a friend request). With Twitter, you obtain news from loved ones and from everywhere else in the world because of â€Å"trending topics† that are displayed. In regards to the Colorado shooting, the American Red Cross also tweeted on Twitter advising people in the theater to let their loved ones know that they are safe. Social media networks are, without a doubt, the fastest and most convenient way to update family and friends in times of tragedy.Digital media has touched so many different aspects of our lives. It shares information. It creates musicians. It creates scholars. It shares information from one side of the globe to the other. It communicates like a machine gun on burst. Much like King Canute, I recognize power when I see it. Digital media is one powerful beast. Embrace it, so we may reach our full potential, and thrive in this world of inevitable evolution thanks to digital media. Sources Cited Mathers, L. (2010, 07). Evolution of digital media- an incredible advancement. Free content article directory.Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://media. ezinemark. com/evolution-of-digital-media-an-incredible-advancement-511ee16da73. html Hopkinson, R. (2009, 10). A brief history of digital media. Three minds. Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://threeminds. organic. com/2009/10/a_brief_history_of_digital. html Alexander, A. (2012, 02). Top 15 cell phone and smartphone quotes of all time. Technology, tutorials, social media and infographics. Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://ansonalex. com/technology/top-15-cellphone-smartphone-and-mobile-quotes-of-all-time/ Ryan, Y. 1998 ). Time and tide: teaching and learning online. Australian universities review, 1(41), n/a, 14-15. Rouse, M. (2005, 04). Time and tide: teaching and learning online. Search soa tech target.. Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://searchsoa. techtarget. com/definition/Webisode Mullaney, T. (2012, 05). Social media is reinventing how business is done. USA TODAY. Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/money/economy/story/2012-05-14/social-media-economy-companies/55029088/1 Mitchell, A. (2011, 05). What facebook and twitter mean for news.The pew research centers project for excellence in journalism the state of the news media 2012 an annual report on american journalism. Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://stateofthemedia. org/2012/mobile-devices-and-news-consumption-some-good-signs-for-journalism/what-facebook-and-twitter-mean-for-news/ Emerson, M. (2013, 02). Learning social media tricks from the big boys. Business day small business. Retrieved 03, 2013, from http://boss. blog s. nytimes. com/2013/02/22/learning-social-media-tricks-from-the-big-boys/ Alcindor, Y. (2012, 07). Social media play growing role on spreading word of tragedy. NEWS. Retrieved 03, 2013, from

A Study On Structural Formworks In High Rise Building Construction

ABSTRACTIn the most recent couple of years extensive requirement for tall structures has been building up. Specific accentuation has been given to decrease the time duration in finishing of these undertakings. Therefore, formworks have been acquainted in order to diminish time and also work cost of such industries.Structural Form works utilized as a part of the Construction has gigantic favorable circumstances due to the speed of finishing of the building. But as this Auto Climbing System is likewise utilized at great heights these variables could prompt significant dangers. These are for the most part utilized as a part of constructing main wall/ divider which fills in as the foundation of the whole structure of the building.Few of such hazards can consist of workers working on platforms posing a threat of tumbling from tallness, damage from equipment tumbling from stature to the individual working underneath the platform. More preference should be given amid the Jumping/Lifting of such platforms. At the point when the platforms are hoisted from a lower level to a larger , more amount of dangers are presented. The objective for this study is to understand different dangers and risks associated with the utilization of such basic form works in the construction business and give legitimate and suitable methods for control measures.INTRODUCTIONIndia is a fast growing country with its cities growing even faster and expanding to newer limits. Such exceptional growth stories have pulled in people from different parts of India to settle and work in its cities. This has led to growing demand of living space required for city families as well as office spaces for companies and other services .For such development plan, limited city area is one of the key reasons for concern. Specifically the expansion of city spaces through horizontal construction is possible only up to a certain extent and will further lead to shrinking of available area for other projects. Therefore high rise buildings in cities are the need of the hour and an efficient way of land management and utilization.In many developed cities around the world their skylines are as famous as the cities themselves. High rise buildings are not just architectural and infrastructural marvels but become a part of city identity and icon. Tall buildings are a marker of city life as well as a standard of better quality of life. Its main benefit is the ability to accommodate a large amount of people with each vertical ascent and thereby saving up a lot of land. Other benefits include lesser exposure to air and noise pollution but better access to natural light and ventilation while offering a high vantage point view of the city itself.Tall structures offer a refuge from floods but it needs design fortification to protect it from other natural calamities like high intensity wind force and lightning. Therefore safety rules and regulation need to be strictly laid out and followed during construction of high rise buildings. Structural stability and security are key aspects of such building safety as they have to be earthquake and fire resistant .In case of high rise buildings it is their height that determines whether safety compliance needs to be fulfilled or not and as such builders have to overlook and furnish fire and earthquake safety plans and exit routes, rescue spaces, electricity supply, service ducts, elevators among others.The construction of high rise buildings requires advanced technology and machinery to aid in the process. One of such new advancement is the Auto Climbing System which is a hydraulically operated self-climbing formwork system. It is useful because it significantly reduces the completion time of construction projects and safer compared to the traditional method of crane lifted formwork often referred to as jump forms.There is a need to evaluate the saf ety of the platforms installed for a secure working environment as there have been reports of industry accidents occuring when the platform is lifted from one level to another. This technique requires more crane time and is too sluggish, dangerous and inefficient for tall structures where the concrete walls dividers are consistently on the analytical way. Despite the fact that Auto or Self climbing framework is a tremendous advancement in diminishing the time required for completing the project, we cant disregard the small deficiency in these frameworks.The importance of this thesis is to give a secure workplace to the work persons and all the staff performing work on or underneath the platform. Huge importance should be given for the establishment of these platforms. It has been generally seen that ,while lifting or jumping of the platform has been carried out , very less investigation has been done as far as the well being of this specific action is concerned. However, a number of accidents have been accounted for while lifting the platform starting with one level then onto the next.. LITERATURE REVIEWAutomated Climbing System can be generally used for the outer part of the main concrete wall, because of the exterior look of building that is concrete or a tower that supports the cables. One of the main benefits of Automated Climbing system format includes the lack of over wall that acts like an obstruction which in return allows the steel to be put in a proper manner on the ground ; can be carried to places via mats. ACS arrangement is particularly used for the insides of the main wall as well as used for lifting both inside ; outside part of formwork for building.The first step starts with removing the casing, by using carriages, of the previous casting and then by screwing the climbing shoes to the anchor. These climbing shoes are bolted on every platform which is locked automatically. After that the mechanism is swapped which now climbs the unit than the rail, which is generally done at 50cm/min. when the unit reaches the climbing shoe, before disabling the hyd raulics, it is locked using bars and then with the help of carriage, rebar is fixed by positioning the framework which is ready to be finned with concrete, finally completing the construction cycle. While selecting a proper ACS format for a concerned project, factors that need to be decided are: building form, sequence in which construction will take place, the number and time of cycles need to me mentioned properly, work that needs to be reinforced, and specification needed during placement of boom while climbing. Formworks are divided into wide number of types based on different sizes, location where it will be used, equipments needed for construction, operation nature.Major hazards identified in structural formworks†¢ Extreme weather conditions like heavy rain and strong winds can cause problems in hanging type platform. So proper assessment of weather conditions is of utmost importance.†¢ Unauthorized and untrained personnel should not be allowed to operate the platform as improper handling can cause major hazards.†¢ Fall of material from the platform on the ground below can be hazardous to person standing down.†¢ Ladders and scaffolds erected on temporar y basis should be removed otherwise they can fall while lifting is performed. †¢ Strength of concrete should be high enough before fixing the platform.†¢ Length of cord must be long enough for performing lifting of platform otherwise they could get stretched and break causing spillage of hydraulic oil.†¢ Incompetent and untrained members could cause miscommunication while jumping on platform.†¢ Sufficient clearance must be provided between wall and platform so that it doesnt scrape against the wall causing uneven lift.†¢ If protectors are not provided on platform it could cause slipping of profiles and lead to falling of platform.†¢ Proper access of the platform must be maintained to protect worker from getting stuck.Safety norms and procedures to be followed during the operation of the climbing system. a) On site safety for personnelClimbing rescue walls at the edge of the slab and platform with protectors provide effective safety against falling and also provide protection against extreme weather conditions in case of work at height.b) Safety from extreme weather conditions like high wind loadClimbing operations are of two types crane-dependent climbing procedure and self-climbing procedure. 72km/h is the max wind speed for self climbing procedures. According to German standards such structures are designed to withstand high wind loads. For high wind speeds of over 200km/h statistical proof can be provided.c) Manufacturers service for providing safety to the personnelCompetent assembly personnel, engineers and supervisors should be available at all time for providing help beyond initial phase. Regular assembly and training must be conducted. d) Improvement in quality for safetyEN ISO 9001 Quality System is followed for conducting internal procedures of the company. It provides the basis for best quality of the PERI equipment as well as high quality of development standards. Official approval is provided to PERI climbing anchors and quality of its components is maintained.Control measures and recommendations:It is absolutely imperative that the person operating the lifting of the auto climbing Systems of all hazards and risks associated with the working and the functioning of the auto climbing system. Hence we make it mandatory that the person operating has beengivenproper training an all thesafety aspects have been properly explain to him. Only a certifiedoperator from the manufacture should operate the lifting or jumping of the Auto climbing System.Ensure that we observe all the weather conditions while lifting and operating the Auto climbing System. Extreme weather condition such as high wind speed and torrential rain, it is advisablew should not operate it in harsh climate conditions.The next major hazard to look at is if any looseitem is present on the platform being lifted. During lifting, the material could roll onto the ground which could cause serious injuries to the person below. So, all loose materials should be removed from the platform.CONCLUSIONOur main objective is to highlight the various circumstances ; constraints while managing the utilization of the formwork under various conventional conditions. As most of the major undertakings have to be completed under stipulated time period, so, there is no easy or effortless quick fix while using formwork for typical buildings.We should not avoid the hazards associated with the utilization of formwork at work site. In order to just increase the rate of work to decrease the completion period of construction, it will be wrong to simply not notice the safety in construction because it may endanger the lives of each and every people associated with the work.Therefore, it is very important to focus on the various safety features that have been highlighted in this study. The most important question that we all need to ask ourselves is that – should we follow all the safety rules to have a risk free work place in order to complete the project in right time or should we just try to complete the given work by hook or by crook neglecting the rules thereby endangering all our lives as well as others?

Right is left and left is right Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Right is left and left is right - Research Paper Example Schools, in particular private schools, have practiced uniforms or conformation to dress codes for their students for many years to help maintain order. In the wake of increasing school-based violence and gang activity in recent years, a rethinking on the implementation of school uniform policies and more stringent dress codes has been found necessary by public schools as well. However, until now no state legislation mandates the use of student uniforms or specific dress codes. Many large public school systems have schools with either voluntary or mandatory uniform policies, mostly in elementary and middle schools (ECS, Education Commission of the States, 2009). According to Morris and Wells (2000), the argument of school officials, parents and researchers favoring the use of school uniforms is that â€Å"they enhance the ability of the school to achieve its basic academic purpose, diminish the differences among socio-economic levels, promote self-confidence and school spirit, and improve student behavior.† The Manual on School Uniforms published by the U.S. Department of Education (1996) identified several potential benefits for school uniforms including decreasing violence and theft, preventing gang members from wearing gang clothing at school, instilling discipline among students, helping resist peer pressure, helping students concentrate on academics, and aiding school officials recognize intruders. In Long Beach, California, education officials believe the pilot school uniform program implemented in 11 schools serving 8,000 students caused school-related crime to decline by 76 percent while significantly increasing attendance. H owever, the correlation between uniforms and positive results is yet to be proved (Morris and Wells, 2000). Parents and students have consistently opposed uniforms on several counts such as: they infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students; they

Information Technology and Explosive Change Essay

Information Technology and Explosive Change - Essay Example Over the years, the level of innovation that technology has brought in the running of companies is unprecedented. Unlike before when the use of technology was confined to some few business set ups, today, information technology is in use in almost every company to bring about swift changes in the way companies go about their everyday activities – thus innovation. With technological innovations, information technology tools are today at the hem of affairs instead of manual application of human strength and knowledge. Such innovations have brought about speed in the delivery of work, thereby making companies have higher outputs. This means that efficiency generally go up with innovations because â€Å"many people have the tools to design new and innovative software to solve common problems and improve efficiency† (Global Guru, 2009). As information technology enhances and increases rate of production with innovative ways of getting production implemented, information technology again plays an important role of ensuring that products and services reach as many customers as possible. In times past, people living in one country barely had an idea about the kind of business that went on in other countries. Today, companies with just one branch in one country can boast of global customer base because of the power of information technology. Via the internet, companies of all kind – including individual freelancers make thousands of dollars a month because of the expanded reach of customer base that information technology offers them. To conclude, all companies who have not fully come to embrace the miracle of technology are advised to do so. Research among companies on how best they can utilize technology should not stop so that they will not lug behind in the new global trend. National Institute of Health (2011). Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology. Retrieved October 31, 2011 from

MEANING OF A WORD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MEANING OF A WORD - Essay Example properly considered the fundamental ideology, perhaps as deep a separation from the natural world as self-existent time.   And if timelessness resolves the split between spontaneity and consciousness, languagelessness may be equally necessary.† (John Zerzan: Language: Origin and Meanings, quoted in Primitivism). Although language is the most popular way of exchanging views among the individuals, yet such words and slang terms are used in different societies, against some typical community or group, which are not only condemnable, sorrowful and insulting, but also humiliating and pinching for the community that is the special target of such specific word full of hatred. These hateful and annoying remarks are abhorred and avoided by all the cultured people and civilized nations all over the globe. And also they try to remove and eliminate them from the daily usage. Same is the case with the word â€Å"nigger†. Nigger is the most offensive word in respect of racial discrimination and is often referred by the white community in a sense of hatred against the African ancestry. Nigger is derived from the word â€Å"Negro†, used by the white European conqueror states to define and describe the black African people. The Africans regard it the word of great shame and are irritated by it. Malcolm-X, the renowned leader for the cause of the African ancestry, and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity had also pointed out and alluded to the same word, in his book, as one of the most offensive comment faced by the community in its every day life. The famous American novelist and scholar Gloria Naylor has also viewed in her famous essay, â€Å"The Meanings of A Word† that how she was puzzled by hearing the word â€Å"nigger† from the mouth of her class fellow when she was a small child and the student of Grade III. In her words: â€Å"I remember the first time I heard the word nigger. In my third grade class, our math tests were being passed down the rows, and as I

Media and gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Media and gender - Essay Example This essay "Media and gender" outlines the gender stereotypes shown in various media resources and advertisement and also the impact of it on the society. Media is conveying such messages through such magazines, which are directing women to construct their identities and also adopt as per the lifestyle of role models, which are presented through online boards in the form of images and different celebrities. These are exhibited in such a manner, which project women to be known more as a form of sexuality. Sadly, women are seen on coverage in any sports event or field, which does not show women constituting sensuality. Hence, these are seen as exploitation of women as viewed by feminists who are basically the advocates to protect rights of women through a mass media. Most of the feminism revolves around the notion that women should have equal opportunities while establishing social roles. They also address and examine the construction of sex and gender issues and protect them against violent behavior in the society. A woman can be focused as a subject of feminism when a discussion is made which analyzes all the constraints which are causing its representation of its functions. The irony of the situation is that women themselves do not provide or symbolize themselves as an identity of feminist traits this identity is necessary which should have a representation specially in politics. While one is talking about identity it can either based on two things, sex or gender. Hence in order to have study of feminism both things are necessary in its construction. There is a need to preserve the identities and play an important role in politics and other visionary aspects of feminism. In the society in

Leading a team through a period of change Essay

Leading a team through a period of change - Essay Example Leadership, essentially a synthesis of arts, reflects individual experience, understanding, values and capabilities, interacting with situations where, realistically, there is rarely an 'ideal' solution. Success as a leader, so often results from the unique originality of individual responses, rather than by following established precepts, without sufficient thought to context and circumstances. This does not mean that today's leaders cannot learn from their predecessors or, for that matter, blithely ignore what is currently reckoned to be 'best practice' (Adair. 2002). Clearly, the distilled wisdom and experience of generations of leaders - successful and otherwise - and the lessons to be drawn from those presently operating in conditions akin to our own, are invaluable sources of learning for anyone in a leadership role, in the dramatically changing and many-sided world of business. Effective leadership must include the intellect, temperament, core values, energy and courage of the individual leader. More recently, the conveniently distorted, or logic of political correctness has also sought to exclude 'nature', by concentrating inappropriately upon 'nurture', as the predominant, if not sole, determinant of leader effectiveness (Belbin, 2004). Traditionally, future trends and events have been projected as extrapolations of past events and data. Based on the premise that the future is the product of the past, planners have developed such forecasting techniques as trend extrapolation and econometric modeling. Elegant as these methods are, their performance in the last several decades has been far from satisfactory (Bridges, 1995). The primary role of the leader, within the organization's executive structure, his or her degree of formal, positional authority, as well as the nature and dynamics of the management hierarchy itself, are all major potential influences in creating the boundaries that must be coped with. The speedy, essentially 'organic' nature of the burgeoning inter-departmental relationships, quickly lead to a series of major restructures, and the emergence of a typical flatter organization, where the informal processes become not only legitimized, but are actively stimulated and encouraged as the previous forma l boundaries progressively disappeared (Chemers, 1997). Before the adoption of a certain leadership strategy or style, the company's executive or manager should analyze and evaluate the nature of change and transition stages (Chase, and Podlesni 2006). Changes are defined as allowing the emerging of a new state of being. The transition strategy is embedded in perspectives on change such as strategic choice, developmental stages, and organizational life cycle. It is also based on the traditional approach to planned change. From these perspectives, organizations eventually proceed through distinct stages, and the task of managers is to effectively manage the transition from one stable state to another. Transition seems to start where transformation ends (Chemers, 1997). The main purpose of transformation is to help organizations to accept the need for change and to generate a new vision, the main purpose of transition is to turn these into reality. Although transition may be seen as

Conference&event management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Conference&event management - Assignment Example Moreover, expertise in the field of event management and adequate understanding of the purpose for the event to be conducted is also quite necessary for its successful completion (Tassiopoulos & Damster, 2005). Based on these notions of event management, this paper will intend to provide an overview of the event organised for the students who have completed their first year in the college. The discussion will further intend to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the event and the strategic process adopted for its completion which in turn would assist to develop a few recommendations for the betterment of such initiatives. The event which has been titled as the â€Å"Big Day Out† emphasises on a full day recreational program for the first year students in the college. As the foremost concern of the event is to provide the students with recreational tour, the event will be organised in a renowned park located in UK, the Thorpe Park. Notably, the program will continue for the entire day with the view to entertain the students and also to give them an opportunity to socialise with the other students as well as with the tourists and the employees in the park. This will not only facilitate the confidence level of the students but also assist them to enhance their communication skills by a large extent. Concerning the four W’s of the event, i.e. ‘Why’, ‘Who’, ‘When’ and ‘Where’, it must be noted that the event has been organised to provide the students with an opportunity to refresh their minds and to enjoy with friends and socialise with other community members. The event will be hosted by a group of five people, namely, Kyaw Sein, Katherine Delgado, Matab Ahmed and Katherine Bur Bur Burrachi with their leader as Moiz Khan making use of their innovative ideas and creativity along with their inspiration thought. With the mission to ensure exceptional results and the vision of creating a long-lasting memory amid the

Nutrition project 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nutrition project 3 - Essay Example Likewise, it is assessed that the cost incurred by my family members to feed me is around 49 BHD. It has been estimated that a newly independent individual can earn around 240 BHD on a monthly basis. This means that weekly I can earn 60 BHD out of which 37 BHD might be allocated for food expenses. Therefore, the total cost estimated to be incurred by me on food items is 37 BHD. However, the current weekly food cost is based on different range of products, which is assessed to be around 32.84 BHD signifying that 4.16 BHD can be actually saved after purchasing weekly food items. The saved amount i.e. 4.16 BHD might be used for other different purposes that include purchasing apparels or other products. The weekly income earned by me is estimated to be around 60 BHD, while the total cost incurred on my week’s food menu is 32.84 BHD as estimated. Henceforth, the percentage of weekly income used by my weekly food menu is 54.73%. I was able to learn that maintaining a healthy diet is quite important for an individual to produce required energy for better growth as well as development. The planning and implementing of the diet plan might assist me in allocating maximum budget towards food items, so that appropriate foods with better notorious value are consumed to live a healthy and happy life. It was quite difficult for me to meet the Super Tracker’s requirement of vegetables to maintain a healthy diet, as the vegetables are not easily available in the food market based on the preferences (SuperTracker, â€Å"SuperTracker & Other Tools†). As per my anticipation, the biggest challenge to meet my nutritional requirements as an adult will be to balance my weekly budget on food items and maintain a healthy

Medieval Universities Essay Example for Free

Medieval Universities Essay The English universities were one of the most significant creations of Medieval England. The scholars who attended eitherOxford or Cambridge Universities set an intellectual standard that contrasted markedly with the norm of Medieval England. Oxford University came into being some 20 years before Cambridge University. The church had a major impact at Oxford. The town came within the diocese of Lincoln, yet Oxford had its own archdeaconry. It was the input of the church that led to the first recorded student/university authority clash at Oxford. The universities led to major growth in both Oxford and Cambridge as towns and both became important centres. No-one is quite sure why Oxford was chosen as the town for England’s first university – however, the town had a number of distinct advantages. Oxford was the centre of communications within its region and both royalty and foreign scholars frequently visited the town. There were also many religious houses/centres around the town and the agricultural land was rich and farming did well at this time. Oxford was considered to be in a civilised part of England – it was near to London and getting to Europe was not necessarily a major journey. Oxford also held strategic importance, which led to the building of a castle there. In 1167, a quarrel between Henry II and Thomas Becket led to a temporary ban on English scholars going to study in France. For whatever reason, scholars and academics gathered in Oxford to continue with their work – fifty of them. As journeying to the university in Paris was not allowed, more scholars and academics arrived in Oxford. Sometime after 1167 Giraldus Cambrensis visited Oxford and started teaching there. He taught three times a day. He took poor students for lectures; he then taught academics from different faculties, and lastly he taught knights and the likes. His clientele became larger than the ‘normal’ monastic or cathedral school. In 1180, Prior Philip of St. Frieswade, Oxford, recorded that a scholar had left his family in York to study at Oxford. Within twelve years, the importance of a good education was clearly having an impact. In 1192, Richard of Devizes wrote â€Å"Oxonia vix suos clericos, non dico satiat, sed sustenat.†| Richard was basically stating that there were so many scholars in Oxford that the town could barely feed them. By 1209, it was estimated that there were 3,000 students in Oxford. It was also in 1209 that students in Oxford started to migrate to Cambridge. This occurred after some students killed a woman in Oxford. At this time, King John and Pope Innocent III were quarrelling over a new Archbishop of Canterbury. Innocent put England under an interdict. With such worries, John had few thoughts for students in Oxford. He gave his permission for the execution of three students in Oxford involved in the woman’s death. However, in the delay that took pace, the students fled to Reading, Cambridge of Paris. Others followed to Cambridge and by 1284, Peterhouse College was founded. Unlike the great university of its time – the university in Paris – Oxford was not connected to either a cathedral or a religious house. The Sorbonne was supervised by ecclesiastical men while Oxford was supervised by masters, though these were usually in holy orders. Regardless of this, Oxford developed with a degree of practical independence. By the end of what is considered to be Medieval England, the following colleges had been created at Oxford – University College, Balliol, Merton and Exeter. In Cambridge, Peterhouse College was created. Student life in both towns was to transform Oxford and Cambridge. The lifestyle of the students was to frequently bring both universities into conflict with the church.

Drama coursework - Response Essay Example for Free

Drama coursework Response Essay Introduction In our group we came up with lots of similarities in our thought showers. A lot of us described the Witches the same as in the green faces, long noses warts spots, and there broom sticks. Some differences that our group came up with is that a few of us thought of modern witches, as in a normal human being look but with witch features, instead of black cats a lot of our group wrote different pet names. Our mind has been influenced about the topic by many things e. g. the media’s outlook on a stereotypical witch, children’s stories also portray witches with the green faces big hats etc. which means movies portray it like this. Also from the image created by our ancestors where the apparent witches were being burnt at the stake. Macbeth extract: focusing on the ‘outsider’ This role-play brought about issues such as how society today fears outsiders. How society today is divided into different groups, such as Goths / punks / gangster and take different paths in life. We fear the outsiders of society because we fail to understand the logic behind their culture / background. This also brings about racism / religion clashes. In the olden days most of the fear was based around witches because they were conveyed as the biggest outsiders. The storyline of our role-play was about a gothic boy who was feared isolated from family school because of being a Goth. We started the role play with Steven (the gothic boy) being in a school photo where is he is isolated from the rest of the school and then we went into his home life where his parents siblings make jokes about his appearance and his way of life. We ended the play with a twist, where Steven was with all his gothic friends and his little brother (Aaron Tovee) walks past Steven and his group of gothic friends and is mocked for being what society would call â€Å"normal† and he is then conveyed as the outsider. We showed isolation in this play from the very first scene. In the first scene we had school photos were Steven (the outsider) was separated a foot away from the rest of the school that were huddled together for the photo. We portrayed an even bigger sense of frustration isolation by this when the photographer asks Steven to step in the photo and the group moves away from him. The photographer blames Steven and again snaps at Steven to move into the photo. We did this to show how normal society blames the outsider, as if it was just easier to do so. We also showed isolation at the dinner table of Stevens’s family-home. We showed this by having all his siblings laugh and snigger at him and make comments like â€Å"drink blood† because of his gothic background. We ended that scene with Stevens father shouting at Steven telling him he’s not welcome in the home for kicking his sibling under the table (for making the comments) and telling him to get out and hang around with ‘his own kind.’ This made the whole idea of isolation seem a lot more effective because even his father, he whom he should be very close with, kicks him out of the house belting abuse at the top of his voice just because he is a Goth. We also ended our role-play with a twist on the sense of isolation where Steven is with a group of his Goth friends when his little brother walks past and his little brother feels isolated and afraid because he is the outsider there. The crucible Some similarities of ideas that we had on the idea of witchcraft from this stimuli went along the lines of how accusations were so quickly thrown around in the courtroom, and how everyone believed someone who was called a witch. Most people also thought that it was a fairly racist time and that’s why if you was black like the maid in the stimuli the blame was easily put on you. Some differences on the stimuli were about how the accused always showed a sense of fear. How society was so gullible and why the lies were started. In our role play we showed the accusation by the same sort of scene as the stimuli. We had it set in a court-room in the olden times whereas the judge’s verdict was the final, and punishment was death / something incorporating pain. We built hysteria in our role-play by levelling up the amount of volume in the courtroom until it was mayhem and chaos with everyone throwing accusations of being a witch to the accused. We marked the moment where the defence is getting shouted at and abused really badly and she gets up and accuses a man from the courtroom audience. We did this by building up the hysteria with everyone standing up shocked, and built up amount of noise slowly to a really loud volume and then when she got up and said â€Å"It’s him!† we silenced the courtroom immediately so it was just a big awkward silence. Studying this stimulus helped us understand the context at the time because it showed how gullible society was at that time period. An example of this is the fact that everyone believed that a person was a witch just by someone else’s word. The stimulus also shows that there was a big thing about racism in that time. An example of this is where the black woman was blamed for being the witch and beat brutally, the accusation was easily accepted by society because of the colour of her skin. Forum Theatre. Our class used forum theatre through studying a news article about a woman sacrificing her two babies to Satan. We then used this as a stimulus and did a whole-class courtroom drama, where we would switch places (defence, prosecution, judge, witnesses etc) This was useful to use because it made you think on the spot about the subject and it also improved your improvisation skills. Using the court-room drama attached with forum theatre was very useful because reading about just the sacrifice gave you a biased opinion about what really happened. But when we used the courtroom drama we had to act as defence as well so you started thinking about both sides of the story, and maybe reasons for why they did it. When playing the witnesses it also opened up that it might not just affect the family it could also affect other people around too. Conclusion My understanding of the topic has developed through studying the different stimuli a lot because you start to realise that witchcraft isn’t all fairytales and children’s books. It can be portrayed through children’s theatre, but also relate to serious events such as when the babies were sacrificed by the mother to Satan and such. Studying the different stimuli in different times and cultures developed our Understanding a lot too because you can see that not along ago was it that people actually were killed for being accused of witches, and everything was done through religion, and people believed in God strongly. You can see that science has developed through the ages and changed the thoughts of people today drastically through things such as the theory of evolution, which puts people in 2 minds about the creation of mankind, and even questions religion. Therefore people aren’t willing to believe things like witchcraft anymore as it has become abnormal for us to comprehend supernatural things.

New Balance: A Case Study

New Balance: A Case Study Abstract A case study of New Balance Corporation are discussed in 3 different perspectives such as observations on strategic marketing plan, evaluation on manufacturing processes and the company financial profitability. A complete analysis of these three perspectives and suggestion on how to stay competitive is explained further in this report. The marketing perspective will focus on the evaluation of its current marketing methods and proposal on effective marketing strategy. The manufacturing perspectives study the operation and provide recommendation quality planning. The financial perspectives will review the cost, profitability and loss in investment of New Balance Corporation. Introduction In 2004, New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. Became on of the biggest athletic shoe manufacturer in the United State of America. by New Balance became more famous with its unique and creative philosophies that included an endorsed by no one stand, withholding of 25% manufacturing in the US, and it target middle-aged customer as its target and the company grew and gained market share in the highly competitive athletic shoe industry. In marketing perspective, the research is done on strategic marketing approaches to meet customers satisfaction. In manufacturing perspective, the research is concentrates on manufacturing process of New Balance shoes and importance of Quality planning and control together. In financial perspective, the research is about financial management while maintaining quality. This report summarizes the difficulties faced by New Balance Corporation and the solutions to the problems encountered. 1. Marketing Perspective New Balance Corporation is manufactures basketball, running, hiking, tennis and cross training shoes with offering its shoes in a range of sizes. Because of not undertake celebrity or superstar to endorse its products, New Balance Corporation lose out to gaining awareness on a global marketing. Its make their lacks endorsements in major sporting events and also make them at a disadvantages when it comes to brand building and the company also faces is its limited output. For reach their product line in marketing, the company make a few changes in management; it was well trained employees for working by team, makes them different jobs, switching tasks and also operates computerised sewing equipment and automated stitches. New Balance Corporation has been faced manufacturing cost, with its competitors outsourcing most of their manufacturing to others countries such as China 1.1 Job design Job design or work arrangement is important parts to make the companys raise productivity levels by offering non financial rewards such as greater satisfaction from a sense of personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of ones work. Few techniques can be use in job design and it was job enlargement, job improvement, job rotation and job simplification.[2] New Balance Corporation employed just a smaller quantity than a dozen in 1970. At that time the employees made each shoe by hand, one at the time and third pairs for daily production. [1] As the company has grown and changed, their manufacturing also changed by the improvement in the companys marketing and manufacturing. New Balance was introduced a new technologies to make the shoe and also trained the employees with working in small teams with 5 or 6 employees and technical skills.[1] When the employees work by team, there can know each other and became friendlier. This will make the companies envir onment in good situation. The company manufacturing was improved by switching task every few minutes and helping each other to make the products in quality. [1] By switching task, the employees can be more experience in kind of works. Other than that, the employees also trained to operate computerised sewing equipment and automated stitches. Its make the workers to do the work of 20. This cause the company safe the time with delivered highest quantity of products. But to reach their product in local or global marketing, New Balance didnt undertake celebrity to endorse its products and because of this New Balance face their output in limited than other competitor. 1.2 Method of work organisation To make the product reach in marketing New Balance Corporation use few method in their work organisation. The company is known for innovative products designs, excellent relation with buyers and a strong commitment to social responsibility. New Balance became famous in global after manufactured special designed orthopaedic shoe for baseball players and track and field athletes, in 1930. They also concentrate on customers target. They made running shoe with the target customers mileage, size, strength, the prices of the shoe and the running environment.[1] The company also control and adjust the new products design depends on customers interest and competitor challenges. This process at New Balance is working well. Other method used by New Balance Corporation was advertisement campaign. Bill Bruce, chief creative officer at New Balance agency, was the lead to the campaign. Example of advertisement by New Balance is Running is hard. People aspire to it because its not easy and The shor test distance between two points is not the point. [1] With develop in designs, improve quality and innovate their processes a capability is not enough for the company to reach their manufacturing process and New Balance Corporation known it, so the company share 10% market of athletic shoes in china. It would be the equivalent of 100 million customers. 1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of going global. 1.3.1 Advantages International markets able to expand if New Balance Corporation distributes their products in global marketing. The company can sales shoes with new design and comfortable price for the customers. Other than that, New Balance able to build reliable sources of supply and keep abreast of the latest trends and technologies. Payment for the workers at America is $23 to $21 an hour. But at the China the coast is very low depending on America; its just $2.63 and $0.67 an hour. The American workers receive roughly the equivalent amount of money for working 1 hour as a Chinese worker earns in a 40 hour week. This made New Balance Corporation safe the coast of the workers. [3] 1.3.2 Disadvantages Nike and Adidas were strongest global branded names. So that, New Balance has to invest the highest coast in product manufacturing such like new design, quality of product for keep strongest from their competitor.[4] Director Emeritus John Larsen Figure 1: Organisation chart of New Balance Chairman of the Board James Davis Executive Vice President, Apparel Kerry Kligerman Executive Vice President, Commercial Herb Spivak Chief Executive Officer, President Robert DeMatini Executive Vice President, Global Footwear, Product Marketing Joe Preston Executive Vice President, International Alan Hed Executive Vice President, Manufacturing John Wilson Executive Vice President, North American Sales Chris Quinn Vice President, Consumer Experience Paul Heffernan Executive Vice President, value chain Dave Crosier Vice Chairman of the Board Executive Vice President, Administration Anne Davis Vice President, Advanced Concepts Edith Harmon Vice President, Finance Bill Hayden Vice President, Global Design Development Jim Connors Vice President, Global Logistics Kevin Holin Vice President, Human Resources Carol ODonnell Vice President, Intellectual Property Edward Haddad Vice President, Responsible Leadership Christine Madigan Vice President, Retail Stephanie Smith Vice President, Sourcing Procurement Jim Scaibarrasi Vice President, St. Louis Joe Clendenny Corporate communication Manager Amy Dow Vice President Treasurer Alan Rosen Vice President Key Account Sales Peter Zappala 2. Observe the strategy formulation and processes to continuously improve to meet the customer needs, and quality at lower cost. New Balance Corporation has been carried out a lot of processes to improve their customer needs, and quality at lower cost. They have carried out many of processes continuously for a couple of years. 2.1 Strategy formulation The first step they took for begin this process is, they have started to produced close to their customers. This step allows quick turnarounds on new designs and order execution able to remain competitive at home by creatively adapt new technologies to shoemaking constantly training their employees in teamwork and technical skills work in teams, sharing responsibilities and helping one another to make sure everything gets done. Previously they faced a problem about staying in a particular country only, but now they also managed to solve that issue. Today their capable to managed several numbers of Asian suppliers and monitor them more closely. On the other hand, it is possible that current management and production methods can produce high ability with fewer workers and equalize cheaper pay in Asia[5]. They also come out with another new plan that is they have decided to give 22 hours of training in teamwork and production techniques to train the new employees. New Balance is leaving its tradition of communicating through its consumers with low-key, convincing sincerity, and approval instead a colourful commercial campaign which is known as Love/Hate[8]. Little articles that importance to capture the spirit of the experiences and relationships public have with their running shoes. The most powerful quality they have is their confident level towards their business. This fact is proven by the never ending confident level they showed in those years when the other competitors companies recorded lacklustre growth on their business, finally they succeeded [5]. 2.2 Process Quality Improvement Staying involved with the developed process helps New Balance develop better designs, improve quality, and innovate their processes capabilities. The corporation is doubling its marketing budget to make sure as many people as possible experience this special communication. In order to remain competitive, New Balance highly focuses on quality and productivity improvement. 2.2.1 Total Quality Management (TQM) New Balance introduced a new activity known as Total Quality Management (TQM) into their organization. TQM is a system for creating competitive advantage by focusing the organization on what is important to the customer[5]. Principles of TQM are Do it right the first time and an approach for zero defects[6]. According to TQM, good quality reduces time of rework and able to spent more time in manufacturing. TQM recommends management to find new ways to meet or exceeds customers needs. Awareness and skill training of top-level manager to non-manager, full employee empowerment and effective communication both vertically and horizontally of all levels must be in practice to improve the quality goals[5]. 2.2.2 Continuous Improvement (CI) Another activity carried by New Balance is continuous improvement (CI) or Kaizen. They decided to continue with this to remain competitive. CI focused in unlimited improvement of material, machine, labor use and production method and waste elimination to attract their customers [5]. New Balance started to apply some of the CI approaches such as Statistical process control (SPC), PDCA cycle, Pareto analysis, Fishbone diagram, Benchmarking and Just-in-Time (JIT) method. SPC is a tool to identify problems in production process in order to prevent poor quality by using Statistical Control Chart [5]. PDCA or Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle provides guidance on problem solving process. They carried out the process with the new improvement for continual improvement according to the customer needs. Pareto principle describes that 80% of the problem come from 20% of the cause[5]. They also stated that the solution to 20% will solve 80% of the problem. Fishbone diagram was developed to identify potent ial causes to a problem[5]. Benchmarking is an approach for setting goals and efficiency measures based on best-industry practices[6]. Benchmarking involves recognition of a process that needs progress and identification of world-lead organization that performing this process. And, analyzing data obtained by contacting the organization [5]. By implementing JIT method in Bedford plant, New Balance will deal with fewer raw materials, less WIP inventory and low finished goods inventory. Less inventories save more space, which can be rented for subcontract to other corporation. JIT is about delivery of necessary parts in the right amount at the right time and place with minimum conveniences usage[7]. 2.2.3 Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) To full fill the consumers satisfactions New Balance begins to apply Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), to update the old and outdated equipments of Bedford plant. By the help of TPM system they started to concentrates on precautionary maintenance, where inspection and maintenance should be conducted occasionally to prevent downtime. TPM also requires employees to be trained and retrained, so they are updated on machine operations. Another changes made by PTM is purchasing of new equipments to maximize productivity and designation of protective maintenance plan. Application of TPM gives out tremendous success for the New Balance Corporation. 2.2.4 Cost reduction New Balance decided to strengthen their position by producing low- cost quality products. There are two ways of cost reduction method has been used by them which is known as alternative raw material and process improvement. New Balance Company replaced their actual alternative raw material, with another raw material which has the same quality but lower in cost. For the process improvement New Balance has practiced Business Process Reengineering (BPR), where BPR brings gradual improvements in the processes. The principle of BPR is to analyze the firms plan, elimination of non- value added steps and making the remaining ones simple and flexible to accomplish desired outcome[5]. 3. Manufacturing Perspective Manufacturing perspective focuses in shoe manufacturing process and key factors in the designs of the products and services while discussing the importance of quality planning and quality control process for the company in order to achieve high performance products and services. 3.1 Shoe Manufacturing Process Creating a group of components at a workstation is the manufacturing technique as called batch production. This will be the next step before moving the group in production. This production is common in the manufacture of sports shoes. Pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), inks, paints, adhesives and bakeries are also including. [12] Batch production is manufactured at Boston. Blend of gel inserts, heel counters, and a greater selection of sizes are manufactured by them with variants technical innovations. In order to fulfil customers need, New Balance required to produce modified and number of different product. Near location to their customers is an advantage for New Balance. [11] They able to fulfil and turnaround on new design according to their customers order. New Balance running shoes have as many as 30 templates in batch production. The basic components are the shoe has two main parts where the upper, which covers the top and sides of the foot. However, the bottom part makes cont act with the surface. There are three main parts at the bottom which are outsole, midsole, and wedge. The first step in running shoe manufacture involves die cutting the shoe parts in cookie cutter fashion. Next, the pieces that will form the upper part of the shoe are stitched or cemented together. At this point, the upper looks not like a shoe but like a round hat; the extra material is called the lasting margin. After the upper is heated and fitted around a plastic mold called a last, the insole, midsole, and outsole are cemented to the upper. Figure 2: Process of shoe stitches Die cutting the shoe parts is the initial step in running shoe manufacture where they use cookie cutter fashion. Together the upper part of the shoe are stitched or cemented. These will looks more like a round hat. The extra material is called the lasting margin. The insole, midsole, and outsole are cemented to the upper after the upper is fitted around a plastic mold. The mold is called a last. The midsole are designed for shock absorption specifically. The heel is supported by the wedge. The arch support also has been containing inside the sole. The importance of skilled man power is been realize because of the cost of producing the many components of running shoes. This proves that shoemaking is a labor-intensive process. Precision and expertise are required in each steps of production. Low-graded shoe will be a result of taking shortcuts for cost saving. To ensure better quality and to avoid human errors, computerized sewing equipment and automated stitches are provided. This all ows one person to do the work of 20. 3.2 Key Factors in designs of products and services New Balance remains competitive by adapting new technologies to shoemaking. They had also borrowed technology from clothes manufacturers by using see and sew machines aid to their products. Sewed show gives more adhesion between the templates and it also last long compared to glued type. They also keep updated with new trend by production different and latest design of shoes. Having production operations close to home where they believed they could exert greater control over manufacturing quality. This also enables them to fulfill customers order and allows quick turnarounds on new designs. They also able to ship orders on time and faster. 4. Importance of Quality Planning and Quality Control 4.1 Quality Planning The definition of quality planning is, its a systematic process that translates quality policy into measurable objectives and requirements. Its in a sequence of steps for realizing them in a specific timeframe. In order to maintain the quality of products, proper planning must be done. This is also to avoid overdue deadlines and perform shipments on time with output of good product. Total Quality Management (TQM) should be introduce into New Balance Corporations organization for creating competitive advantage by focusing the organization on what is important to the customer. Does it right the first time and an approach for zero defects are the principles of TQM. Spending more time in manufacturing will reduce time of rework. This is according TQM. Moreover, finding new ways to meet or exceeds customers needs and to provide support and direction is stress by TQM. This is to ensure the quality improvement concepts into their management and process planning is been implement. Effective communication between top-level managers to non-manager must be in practice to improve the quality goals. So, awareness and skill training must be done. They also can use guideline process like Six Sigma. This will help them for developing and delivering virtually perfect products and services. DMAIC_roadmap_75.gif Figure 3: Six sigma Initially the problem need to be defined followed by the voice of the customer, and the project goals, specifically. Then key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data need to be measured. Once measured, the data need to be analyzed to investigate and bear out cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered. Seek out root cause of the defect under investigation. Current process need to be improved upon data analysis using techniques such as design of experiments work to create a new, future state process. Set up pilot runs to establish process capability. Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects. Implement control systems such as statistical process control, production boards, and visual workplaces, and continuously monitor the process.New Balance should apply some Quality tools such as Process Flow Chart, Cause-and-Effect Diagram, Check Sheet,Pareto Analysis,Scatter Diagram ,Statistical Process Control Chart and Histogram to do proper planning and to control quality related issues. Process Flow Chart is a diagram of step in a process which helps focus on where in a process a quality problem might exist. They also can use Cause -and- Effect Diagram to categories the causes of the problem. Check Sheets also can be used as a toll for tallying the number of defects for a list of previously identified problem causes.Pareto analysis can be used to identify few causes that lead to the quality problems. Pareto principle describes that 80% of the problem come from 2 0% of the cause.[9] Pareto analysis concentrated only on the 20% of cause and the solution to 20% will solve 80% of the problem. Then the Scatter graph can be plot to show the identify the pattern that may cause quality problems. Finally Control Chart can be used view the upper and lower limit of the process which will enable New Balance to control and reduce the possibilities of occurrence of quality issues. 4.2 Quality Control Quality can be defined as a measure of excellence or state of being free from defects and significant variations. Consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards would be important to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific customers. Organizations must place great emphasis on managing quality controls. It is vital to ensure that the products and services offered to customers are reliable and truly meet the customers needs. New Balance Corporations financial will be affected and have direct impact by poor quality products. Both the companys revenues and its profits will be influence by this effect. Ever more demanding customer expectations, complex guideline, innovative products will be the reason of essential quality products. This is also to accomplish competitive edge over the challenges of rising competition and emerging markets. The effective growth strategies will be enhance by quality products where all operating processes and functional boundaries is been watched. Sensible and insightful quality commitment on customers evolving approach and preferences is required in financial growth. If New Balance develops and delivers poor quality products, there will be a number of consequences as it been state below. 4.2.1 A Poor Quality Company is a result from poor quality products. The companys financial performance, its stock price, product innovation, delivery on commitments is the base of a companys reputation. The major determination of a companys reputation will be the quality of a product. So, the reputation of New Balance products can be destroying by poor product quality. Customers perception when New Balance produce poor quality products as coming from poor quality company will bring even more serious impact. This inconsistencies and inability to produce defect-free products by New Balance Corporation will lead the existing customers to decline orders. 4.2.2 Lost of opportunity The opportunity to improve the bottom line will deprive by the poor quality. Improving scrap, rework, and warranty cost will bring good values. Looking for the root cause of these will be even greater because of the greater return. Quality deficiency that cause losses can be prevent if products standards are used by practicing good quality. Commitment, knowledge and effort can be discovered by losses due to quality. Moreover, this can be the source of huge opportunity and a clear competitive advantage once discovered. 4.2.3 Revenue lost Lots of time and money on unnecessary tasks and wasted materials is poor quality that leads to opportunity lost. Estimating the cost of all efforts undertaken in an organization can measure the cost of poor quality. Processes used in assembling the products that does not provide value to customers and material been use are include. These are the non value-added activities in the context of lean manufacturing. Sum of all non value-added costs divided by the total revenue thats generated will be the cost of poor quality at New Balance. The percentage from resulting measurement is revenue thats lost due to waste. Excess inventories, unnecessary motion, and supplier nonconformance are the waste that builds up from losses. More obscure wastes, such as unnecessary paperwork, large lot sizes, and excessive auditing will also see that losses can be occur. Additional losses will lead by these wastes. 4.2.4 New Balances core value is the quality. The important aspect of quality management is to determine customer needs accurately. This is because to avoid rectifying mistakes in defining customer requirements before the product been produce. This is to save cost compare to rectify mistake after the production. So, well spending the time and effort to figure out the requirement is batter. Identifying what the customer wants should be the goal of New Balance Corporation. Moreover, to ensure the customers need, New Balance should fine-tune the process. Reduced quality product will put New Balance Corporations financial endanger. 5. Financial perspective Financial perspective represents stability, viability, and profitability of the Boston based new balance corporation meanwhile explains effects of reduced quality products to their financial status. A product free from defects maintains high uniformity of output and ensures customer satisfaction and profit. Management should enhance the reliability of the product and customer service to achieve high quality standards. [13] 5.1 Reduced quality impacts on financial growth New Balance Corporation should realize that to achieve good sales, they need to achieve highest quality products. Form the article, new balance encourage multi-tasking employee in small group of five to accomplish daily target but this indirectly affects the quality of the output. New balance will experience less sales when fails to meet the customer satisfaction by releasing high percentage of defects products into the markets. Moreover new balance faced with counterfeiting issues in china, unauthorized shoe makers with new balance mark sell their products and this directly reduce the new balance markets. Quality is the bridge for pricing and customer requirements therefore below listed factors contributed low competitiveness of new balance. [14] 5.1.1 Reduced Quality diminished companys reputation In order excel in shoe marketing business, new balance must aware of its financial performance, product innovation, stock price, delivery and commitments. To achieve all these criteria, new balance must supply high quality product so they able to sustain good sales in shoe markets. When customers realize a defect in new balance shoes, they will reject orders due to inconsistency in supplying defect-free products. 5.1.2 Cost of poor quality This cost is a result of producing defective material and lead to lose of valuable resources including money, time, materials, processes and operation cost. Figure 4: Shoe manufacturing cost involved in percentage Above pie chart illustrate involved processed to manufacture a pair shoe in percentage referencing $100 per pair of shoes. Note only 2% of profit gained by the manufacture itself, when customer rejects non-value added products. New balance will lost the 2% of profit and have to bear all the wasted 48% expenditure per shoe. Thus new balance will experience distortion in their profit margin. This happen when they try to decrease the flush between desired and actual product, service quality. Cost of poor quality is sum of overall non-value added costs divided by the total revenue generated. Loses generated from supplier nonconformance, unnecessary motion and excessive inventories. 5.1.3 Cost of lost opportunity This term best to describe when fixing a rejection using resources including the rework process, labour, material, and disposition cost. Fixing a rejection means losing gained profit. However a good quality standards practice will help new balance to remain competitive in the market and eliminate all the unnecessary waste of resources. This usually happened due to the production process are not aligned with acceptable quality standards. 5.1.4 New balance quality objective New balance should reinforce high quality level standards in their daily operation. Research must be done on the shoe manufacturing process, operation cost structure, and the technology involved to guide new balance run on right defects-free tracks. In the other hand, they should investigate industry revenue growth, imports, and export and employee wages to avoid conflicts with the output quality. 5.2 Financial analysis on shoe manufacturing technology Nowadays technology growing very fast and there is high expectation on the output quality. Technological improvement in the shoe manufacturing process will be helpful to reduce the error done by human. Shoe manufacturing process involved three main step of stamping, stitching, making. New equipment will optimize the shoe fabrication time with defect-free output. Conventional operation full depending on man power clearly state that a lot of problem will arise in terms of wages and operation hours. Employee need to be trained periodically and still unable to achieve zero defects output. [14] 5.2.1 Technology application benefits High-tech equipment has the capability to run the manufacturing process smoothly. Starts with stamping process, machines able to continuously produce programmed output without and error. Its also able to produce prototypes and small test run on shoes in a short period. Equipments such as NC controlled machines can be programmed to perform a task for various size manufacturing. Robots can perform high level task like moulding, injection moulding, and trimming. These process actually designed for cost saving and design method is easy to manufacture. Through the use of the technology, the company can manufacture high output per day with reduced error or defects compared to conventional human involvement.[15] 5.2.3 Hard dollar saving idea Hard dollar saving idea originally derived from Lean and Six Sigma benefits which designed for organization to run the manufacturing business with less man power replaced by machine and equipment. The idea developed to: Minimize Defect rate by terminating the rework processes Minimize the claim due to defected product Fast delivery in order to be competitive in market. 5.2.4 Initiate continues improvement Use of technology in shoe manufacturing process surely will upgrade the new balance financial status. Delivering products with zero-defects will obtain customers satisfaction and new