Monday, September 30, 2019

Ebay Case Study

Characteristics of digital media that support eBay is storage. Data is one of the most important assets to any business same goes to storage that eBay needs to save their customer data. If they lack of storage they will face the problems such as lost product data, high technology security that help eBay to keep their information save. Due to its absolute volume, how and where eBay store this ever-growing pool of data has become more important than ever. The IT infrastructure must be able to scale with growth and continue to provide consistent levels of performance for the sake of eBay. Storing data is not just about how and where, but also the speed in which it can be accessed, manipulated, and presented where it can ease eBay's customer. Next characteristic of digital media that support eBay is community. Community media can play an important role in helping eBay to use storytelling to communicate and advance eBay's mission. Community media canters provide community members entree to the tools and training they need to produce digital stories. There are three ways community media can help use storytelling to start a meaningful dialogue and create modification. First, use storytelling as a community development strategy. It is through judicious storytelling that community media can help turn a community's shared experiences and concerns into a big picture. This big picture lays the foundation for an effective community development strategy for eBay. Secondly, use storytelling as an instrument for citizen empowerment. Personal stories facilitate deeper connections between people. Storytelling reaches the heart of decision-makers who often forget the predicament of the people; this is where storytelling begins to create power and empowerment. And lastly, use storytelling to build social capital. Social capital refers to personal relationships people have developed over time that enable them to influence human capital, policy-making or community initiatives. Other than that, digital communication also one of the characteristic of digital media that support eBay. Digital conversation is a powerful medium for delivering the data. In virtual global, visible communication is a perfect style of conveying your brand info by means of the use of the image, video, or minimal texts. Digital conversation may be a drawing, a commercial, a poster or any visible fabric you could find on line on social media structures. These days, the net is occupied by way of visible content and everything is revealed with the help of visual media. In addition, the characteristics of digital media that support eBay also include data. The sheer volume of data coupled with the improved analysis skills to be had these days approach that groups now have the potential to get a higher information of the way their customers behave within the beyond and present in addition to probable the future. This veritable wealth of records can be mined and manipulated into actionable information which could help remedy key business issues, promote extra products or services, and the entirety in between. Facts analytics has emerge as a vital aggressive differentiation from which most any enterprise can advantage. Lastly, ratings and reviews also one of the characteristics that include in eBay's. Ratings and reviews are the maximum essential assets of information during the customer buying process. Users are eager to verify their purchase decisions, and strive to do so using social media and real-time feedback from other users as their primary source. Good ratings and reviews will instantly create a sign of trust to others customer. The five characteristic of eBay was the most important to growth their income.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Balochistan

Irony here is that although Balloonists shares the major part of not only the country's name but also the area, It still has been treated like a step child since forever. While asking for a divorce, Bloodstain Is certainly at right. Everyone keeps talking about the Issues of Bloodstain but never actually did anything In practical. Everyone says that we need to have a dialogue and grant Ballot's their deserving ‘rights' but every single government came and aggravated the situation. As a result uncountable unresolved issues have been piled up over all these years.It is true that Balloons have risen in revolt several times in the past but then getting used to it and stop paying heed to he Issue merely on the basis that the insurgency Is not new and Is foreign-led, has even worsen the situation. It might be true that Bloch leaders would have foreign friends but blindly believing that they have been supporting an insurgency for the past 65 years is disingenuous. Distrust of Pakistan , hatred for Punjabi, and the establishment has always been there in the Balloons psyche.They are simply not going to forget the step-motherly treatment being done with them, that they were the last people to get natural gas from their own lands, that the military have done more arm than good to the province and has been killing whoever raises his voice against the operations and throwing the dead bodies on the streets, that barely 25% of their population is literate, around 30% are unemployed and that just 7% have access to tap water. The rule of the FCC (Frontier Corps), they want, must give way to the rule of law. The only thing that Balloons want should go missing from Balloonists is lawlessness, and not its people.In addition to that despite its vast natural wealth, Balloonists Is desperately poor. The dire situation has already made around 100,000 people to leave the province since 2007 and In response to that our leaders has only one thing to say that ‘Bloodstain Issue has been exaggeratedly highlighted'. Balloonists is a decaying wound, which has bled for decades now. Rather than diagnosing the cause, successive governments have been trying different dressings to heal the wound eventually making it more septic. If the situation stays unheeded, there is a possibility that once again we will have to suffer dismemberment ofPakistan Like we did In 1971 losing another Integral part of the country. Balloonists By Mawkishness's immediate control of the natural resources and, ultimately, independence. Going also the area, it still has been treated like a step child since forever. While asking for a divorce, Balloonists is certainly at right. Everyone keeps talking about the issues of Balloonists but never actually did anything in practical. Everyone says that we need to have a dialogue and grant Balloons their deserving ‘rights' but every single issues have been piled up over all these years.It is true that Ballot's have risen in the issue merely o n the basis that the insurgency is not new and is foreign-led, has population is literate, around 30% are unemployed and that Just 7% have access to Balloonists is desperately poor. The dire situation has already made around 100,000 people to leave the province since 2007 and in response to that our leaders has only one thing to say that ‘Balloonists issue has been exaggeratedly highlighted'. Pakistan like we did in 1971 losing another integral part of the country.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Creating value

When it comes to the housing finance sector in India, one name stands out distinctively: HEAD – a market leader and an innovator. We have consistently revised the benchmarks of housing finance products and services. Being a pioneer and leader in a nascent market has not stopped us from aspiring for challenging goals. The World Bank considers us a model private sector housing finance company in developing countries. We provide consultancy services and technical assistance for ewe and existing institutions.Our executives undertake consultancy assignments related to housing finance and urban development directly or on behalf of international agencies worldwide. We also share our expertise through Training Programmer at our own Training Centre in Loan, India or at the client's location. Delegates from several countries have benefited from participating in these programmer. A senior executive of HEAD was the former President of the International Union for Housing Finance (UHF), whi ch is a non-profit trade association, with members from 60 countries worldwide.The objective of JIFF is to make housing credit affordable and more available around the world. On the domestic front, our executives help formulate national housing policies and strategies. In fact, we have been invited by the Government of India to Join a number of committees and task forces related to housing finance, urban development and capital markets – a task that we are proud to be part of. HEAD Centre for Housing Finance Our training facility, Centre for Housing Finance (CHEF), is located 120 SMS from Iambi, in the tranquil environs of Loan, a hill station, 2,000 feet above sea level.Some of the key features of our Centre are: State-of-the-art technology in the training rooms Syndicate rooms for group work Well-equipped library Residential accommodation that provides comfort and relaxation Dining facilities offering a variety of cuisine Indoor and outdoor recreation facilities Technical A ssistance (TA) The objective of the TA is to offer specific deliverables and support the Client in all aspects relating to mortgage finance operations which include loan origination and recoveries, marketing and distribution strategies, accounting and management information systems, resource manipulation and information technology support. Who would review and advise the Client on products, systems and procedures, including developing new products and designing marketing strategies. These experts would visit the Client and work closely with its officials to understand the external environment in which the Client functions and thereafter make recommendations visa-avis strategies, products, policies, systems and procedures. Our experience makes the difference Training Programmer Our training programmer are specially designed to be a blend of learning and practical experience. We offer a variety of training courses for senior and middlemen management executives and line staff.Some key programmer offered are: Housing Finance Management Loan Origination and Credit Risk Management Managing Customer Service in Financial Organizations Building High Performance Teams Resource Manipulation – Issues in Managing and Marketing Training The Trainers – A Multi Dimensional Workshop We also custom- design programmer based on organizational needs. Training specific Current Programmer Housing Finance Management – 2010 (HEM-2010) November 28 – December 5, 2010 at CHEF, Loan, India. The week long residential programmer on Housing Finance Management encompasses all the prime functions of a specialized Housing Finance Institution. Through specialized modules, the programmer will focus on various housing finance systems and best practices, credit evaluation, emphasis on customer needs, product development, marketing, managing competition and distribution channels, effective internal control systems and mechanisms, resource manipulation and risk management systems.In addition, a field visit to an HEAD office will also give participants a practical perspective of the housing finance business. HEM-2010: Programmer OutlineDay 1 : Sunday, November 28, 2010 w Assembling ; BondingDay 2: Monday, November 29, 2010 w Introduction to the programmer w Overview of Housing Finance Systems w Loan Origination and Assessment of RiskDay 3: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 w Product Development, Marketing and Distribution Channels w Legal and Technical Appraisal w Developer/Builder Relationships and ProductsDay 4: Wednesday, December 01 , 2010 w Loan Accounting Practices – Systems and Controls w Credit Risk Management w Process Development for Efficient Credit Risk ManagementDay 5: Thursday, December 02, 2010 w Day visit to an HEAD officeDay 6: Friday, December 03, 2010 w Corporate Functions – Management Information Systems w Business Strategy and Budgeting w Managing Service Delivery ProcessesDay 7: Saturday, December 04, 2010 w Resource Manip ulation w Risk Management Systems and Development of Secondary Mortgage Markets w Open House SessionDay 8: Sunday, December 05, 2010 w Departure from CHEF, Loan v Subject to change Fees: US $ 3,000* for first participant. US $ 2,750* from second participant onwards accommodation, refreshments during breaks, meals, training costs, course material and to and fro airport transfer. Note: Accommodation will be on a double occupancy basis. For single occupancy** an additional amount of IIS$ 750 plus service tax @ 10. 30% will be charged. ** Subject to availability What our participants said†¦ Feedback from Housing Finance Management Programmer The classroom experience was invaluable in opening up all aspects of Housing Finance Management.I have taken with me many insights that I intend to apply to what I hope will be a long career in Housing Finance. The free flow of ideas from participants representing 1 5 countries and 17 organizations also added immensely to he richness of the pro grammer. Cynthia Kanata, Housing Finance, Kenya (WFM 2007) It was a very wonderful experience at the HEAD Training Centre, where there was an optimal combination of knowledge gaining, sharing of experiences and recreational activities all in the perfect environment. The content of the programmer was so fruitful and have surely added value to our products and services, not forgetting the delicious meals and accommodation.Jackson Alfred Aloha Zinnia Bank Ltd, Tanzania (WFM 2008) I have attended similar programmer where the tuition cost is more than he entire programmer at WFM but in many cases those programmer were a mere rehearsal of academic notes of the Presenter. WFM 2008 was different in content and methodology; it was very practical in every respect and my reality on housing finance has since changed positively. Joseph Alphorns Tutor Jacobean, Loom Togo (WFM 2008) It was a great pleasure to visit India for the first time – an experience I'll never forget. The programmer w as successful. We shared our experience, knowledge and ideas with each other. Mar Beheaded Egypt Housing Finance Company Egypt (WFM 2009) My experience exceeded my expectations.I am really touched by the level of knowledge, passion, commitment and insight of the people at HEAD, and the opportunity to share experience with other participants. Islam Nominal PIED of Bangladesh Ltd. Bangladesh (WFM 2009) The course was an eye opener in terms of mortgage lending. It gave me a broader understanding of the various aspects of housing finance. Interacting and learning from various participants showed me that we all had a similar goal/objective that is providing shelter to everyone. Margaret Musher Zambia National Building Society Zambia (WFM 2009) The training was an experience of a life time. I learnt a lot during my interaction with the experts and participants from different countries. Apart from that the network of friends that I made will be cherished for life time.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Mental Models and Perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mental Models and Perception - Essay Example As the report declares several organizations have coaching and mentoring schemes to facilitate employee learning and skill development. This involves having role models within the organization who serve as a reference point for employees. This is most common when nurturing leadership skills in young employees who learn certain skills from the current leaders. Individual organizational members undergo a learning process that contributes to the overall organizational learning. The human mind has proven to have cognitive limitations as well as an infinite capacity in terms of learning. Much of organizational learning depends on individual stimulus-response by continuous interactions with other members. This paper stresses that human beliefs are based on individual perceptions and assumptions and those about the world around us. The accuracy with which employees understand their employers and clients depends on how they perceive their subjects. Understanding how organizations should be led or managed contributes to the development process of employee bias. Employee interaction with managers, mentors, client, and fellow workers determine the type of perception formed in their mind. These features form the mental framework that drives assumptions, beliefs, and the ultimate actions. The quality of the relationship between employers and employees determines the quality of learning in the organization. Successful organizational learning and change depends on the ongoing participation and commitment of employees. This determines the level of interaction and how each member of the team perceives the other person. Team work in every organization facilitates learning and depends mostly on in dividual perception (Waldeck, 2006). Human beings rely on their senses to form mental models about the world surrounding them (Lecture 1-3, 2012; Parker, E. S. 2007). These models create the lens through which human beings view the world. This in turn determines individual attitude, behavior, results, and relationships with others. Mental models can occur in the form of attitudes, beliefs, opinions, perceptions, assumptions, and so forth. They can also occur in the form of generalizations such as certain types of people are untrustworthy or are caring than others. Mental maps of the way things are and how they are supposed to be form frames of reference. These references are consulted every time an individual meets a new person or acquires a new experience. Many individuals in an organization fail to reach their optimum potential due to negative mental models harbored in their minds. Ideas and innovations also fail to be translated meaningfully due to their conflict with the mental models existing in an organization (Morgan, 2002; Hoeft, R. M.2008). Individual reactions to people are determined by the mental models formed through perceptions. They determine the type of details recorded by the mind when an individual meets new people. This explains why some employers or employees love certain people in an organization and others despise the same people. The type of details recorded by an individual’s mind when they meet for the first time determines the relationship that will exist afterwards. Workers in an organization can have ingrained internal images about employers or fellow workers that make them fail to adjust even when they are

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Public Health Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 86

Public Health Nursing - Assignment Example Common differences between infectious syndromes and child mortality among other development programs may challenge the understanding of the interrelationships of diseases affecting those in poor nations. For example, the movie, Water First, directed by Amy Hart presents water shortage as the leading cause of waterborne diseases such as cholera and bilharzia, in Malawi. Water shortage is also responsible for the increased school dropouts among female teenagers. This is contrary to the situations in developed nations such as the U.S. where child mortality, infectious syndromes, and injuries are majorly caused by poor diets, overconsumption of alcohol, road traffic accidents, and tobacco. In order to assess and understand the challenges facing the implementation of a standardized global health care system, let us consider and compare health statistics of the U.S. and of two other developing countries, which include Nicaragua and Peru. The World Health Organization data repository indicates that the age-standardized mortality rate by all causes (ages 30-70, per 100,000 population), in 2008, was 460, 680 and 478, in the U.S., Nicaragua, and Peru respectively. This data is summarized ion the table below; There are factors that make these figures vary from one nation to another, and these include literacy level, poverty level, availability of food and drinking water, eating habits, and availability of physicians. From the data above, it is evident that the mortality rate is the U.S. (an industrialized nation) is much less than that of Nicaragua and Peru (developing nations). This is probably because they have better health care facilities and highly qualified physicians. Additionally, different state governments, in the U.S. are capable of supplying clean water to almost every household in that state. This is contrary to the situation in Nicaragua and Peru where almost 26 percent of the population cannot access balanced diet and clean water. This is the reason why most deaths in developing nations (Nicaragua and Peru) are because of poor diets, waterborne diseases.

Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Project - Essay Example Currently, it is spoken by not less than 750 million individuals and half of them are native speakers. English has turned to be the planet’s most spoken language. Some critics provoked a huge amount of interest in the unpredictable manners in which young people appropriate and apply linguistic resources consciously in greatly marked identity forms through a process that can be called styling. English, just like any other language has made tremendous steps globally; a fact that is widely supported since English is regarded to be the language that is used in transforming the entire world. Sociolinguistic is a term used in referring to the study of the relationship connecting society and language. It is the duty of sociolinguists to explain why individuals speak dissimilarly in different social contexts. The phrase â€Å"sociolinguist† was arrived at by the social Science Research Council (SSRC) in the year 1963 to distinguish its new advisory committee. The term was a psycholinguistics’ analog, the interdisciplinary major it had magnificently brokered a decade earlier. Whatever sociolinguistics has to avail to studies of English as a language, shall be defined by emerging developments, and not the older ones. The new ones pose a great challenge to the study of English. A lot of changes have contributed to the emergence of some terminologies used in a particular language. Just like any other discipline, sociolinguistic shelters a tremendous variety of approaches. In other parts of sociolinguistics, it seems as very little has taken place for the past couple of decades; however in others, there are new developments witnessed and they are up-coming at a speed flouting that of publishing, resulting to most people downloading working papers ad disbursing PowerPoint presentations instead of finished work. This paper has focused on the kind of languages used by most people; for this case, slang and original English. The scope of this study has also

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Organizational Leadership and Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organizational Leadership and Motivation - Essay Example The first important aspect of developing the correct leadership is based on the environment which is created, specifically because of the goal of having innovation as the leading factor for those managing different teams. There are three factors which are noted in the environment that develops the correct culture for an organization. This includes the stimulus, capacity and performance results. The stimulus within the environment needs to be created to invite in different levels of innovation and to build a culture that is reflective of finding and developing new ideas. The capacity which follows this continues with the understanding of the different human resources and how they are able to respond and approach the different environmental needs that are occurring. This can be combined with the performance, which becomes significant because of the way in which this reflects the organizational environment. As the culture of the organizational environment is stimulated, the performance should increase and more responses from team members should be available. The atmosphere and environment which is created from the organizational culture then has to show and reflect all aspects of how the organization is managed (Prajogo, 2006: 15). The environment that is reflected and the stimulus, capacity and performance are further reflected with characteristics that are in the organizational culture. This is led by creating ways for opportunities to be further defined while the limitations within the work structure are lifted. The concept of building the right opportunities is one which begins with developing a system through technical and non – technical applications which can be used. The approach is to find different resources and tools which are added into the environment and which build and develop an alternative approach to creating the right development within the environment. This combines with understanding types of innovation within the environment and ways i n which this can be reflected through opportunities. The main approach to take with the environment is to allow resources, ideas and expansion to be continuously available to the employees, teams and leaders. As the systems within the environment are able to create the right approaches there is the ability to develop and understand the relationships that are associated with the organization. The environment will need to create a process and understanding of this through the culture to further reflect what is needed for new innovations to be developed (Walker, 2007: 591). The environment which is created with resources and other systems should further develop with expected procedures that invite innovation. The leadership arena is one which has to create an environment that is stimulating and which offers teamwork and development to be created. Furthering this

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Excessive Materialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Excessive Materialism - Essay Example "The foundation of America was built on the idea of being a land with endless opportunity. That opportunity was not only freedom to oneself, but also the opportunity to gain much wealth." (Jackson, n.d., para. 1). Each citizen's prosperity was a reward for their hard work and diligence (Wikipedia, The American Dream, n.d., para. 1). However, the American Dream has been dramatically redefined to reflect the excessive materialism that is representative of the crumbling moral and social core of today's world. The new American Dream, fueled by excessive materialism, has brought new and detrimental values to a society that has already gone astray. In addition, the American Dream as it exists today is more and more difficult to attain, because it is built on unrealistic ideals. As people work harder and harder to consume more and more, their lives are out of balance. In the quest for wealth as measured by purchases and materials items, their quality of life diminishes with the loss of fami ly and personal time. Excessive materialism, in trampling our esteemed and treasured American identity, threatens our individual well being, collective justice and ecological balance today and in the future. is consumed by consumers of expensive coffee, name brand clothing, chic cars, trendy hair cuts, cell phones, laptops, and portable video games. A large portion of people are talking on a cell phone and a larger portion of people look stressed out. The biggest and most obvious difference to me is how the children dress, talk, behave and play compared to even when I was young. In absorbing my surroundings, I realized that excessive materialism has become an accepted value in our society. The concept of materialism can be traced back in biblical history and literature. Mammon is used in the New Testament to describe materials wealth or greed and to personify a false god (Wikipedia, Mammon, n.d.). Webster defines 'Mammon' as 1) the false god of riches and avarice and 2) riches regarded as an object of worship and greedy pursuit; wealth as an evil, more or less personified (Websters, 1977). Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Discuss the factors that can invalidate a contract Essay

Discuss the factors that can invalidate a contract - Essay Example The requirement for proof of contact elements becomes essential in litigating instances when a party breaches the contract. The legal process following contract breach ultimately results in remedy for damages incurred upon the wronged party. The action of contract breach ultimately results in invalidation of contractual elements. Numerous factors contribute towards the invalidation of contracts agreed upon by different parties, voluntarily (Koffman and MacDonald, 75-9). Factors contributing to invalidation of contracts There are different legal ways through which contracts could be set aside. These include a contract being declared void, and it never coming into existence. A contract could also become voidable when one party declares the contract as ineffective form their own individual determination. The contract could also become unenforceable or ineffective. Unenforceability refers to situations where neither party could get remedy form courts upon breach, and ineffectiveness refe rs to court decision terminating contracts between different parties. These elements could be contributed by the factors discussed below. Misrepresentation This refers to situations where some parties make false statements and presents false information which makes other parties agree into the contract terms. Misrepresentation results in remedies of rescission or damages depending on the occurrence of misrepresentation. Misrepresentation can occur through words or conduct of one party implying falsehood, though not all elements of speech and conduct constitute misrepresentation within the setting of contract law (Gordon v Selico, 5). Misrepresentation can take place under three different conditions which include: Stating a fact falsely Directing the false statement to a party of the contract The statement inducing suing party into agreeing contract terms following the statement. Misrepresentation, therefore, occurs when a party appears to falsely induce another party into a contract by providing false or partial information, resulting in another party agreeing into the contract. The wronged party, therefore, lacks sufficient information and agrees without proof of the involved facts. Opinions held by parties, however, do not constitute misrepresentation as these remain opinions and not factual information regarding contract terms. There are different types of misrepresentation based on their occurrence; Fraudulent misrepresentation: This misrepresentation could be characterised by parties making representation intended to deceive others, and knowing the representation being as false. Fraudulent misrepresentation could constitute litigation under tort law within different legal frameworks. Negligent misrepresentation at common law: This misrepresentation occurs when parties make representations without reasonable information regarding the truth of information. This misrepresentation seeks to provide a remedy for situations where collateral contract or fraud can not be proved. This commonly occurs where individual claim to possess special skills for performing various tasks, but fail to delivery as implied. Negligent misrepresentation under statute law: This commonly refers to misrepresentation stated under various legal statutes and litigation occurs according to the statute provisions. The parties involved must prove the presence of falsehood within the statement provident by the representing

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Boston Beer Company Essay Example for Free

The Boston Beer Company Essay The Boston Beer Company has had amazing success in its transition from a small scale microbrewer to a large scale national brewery. Almost all of the company’s success is due to the Samuel Adams Lager product line, which has hardly changed from the founding of the company in 1984, to the IPO in 1995, to the present day. In fact, much of the appeal of Samuel Adams comes from its microbrew image and the founder, Jim Koch’s, commitment to the brewing process and a premium beer. In recent years, however, the company has implemented a new strategy for growth which has included introducing a light beer that will have more mainstream appeal. While this has increased profits for the company, it has also left the company vulnerable to entry by diluting its brand name. For this reason, the company’s strategy for the immediate future has to make a significant shift, from a strategy of growth to a strategy of protection. It must focus on maintaining its current profits by preventing entry both from small breweries looking to copy the BBC’s strategy and from large breweries looking to use their expansive resources to steal some of BBC’s market share. History of Boston Beer The Boston Beer Company began as a microbrewery in Boston, Massachusetts in 1984. Its first cases of beer were only sold to Boston bars, but the company quickly branched out geographically. Fueled by awards and recognition from prestigious beer festivals, Samuel Adams Boston Lager was available on much of the East Coast by the late 1980’s and nationally by 1992. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1995. The Boston Beer Company’s strategy for growth was one of differentiation. The company created a higher quality beer than the majority of American beers by using more expensive ingredients and less water, and it used its packaging and its commercials to advertise this commitment to uality. In fact, because of its use of only barley, hops, yeast, and water as its ingredients, Samuel Adams won the honor of being the first American beer to be sold in Germany, a distinction that helped its image in America even more. One business strategy that the company employed as it started to grow was using extra brewing space in other company’s breweries to brew their beer. Since the company was growing at a double digit rate, it didn’t have a lot of extra capital to build its own breweries, so this was a good strategy for them during their period of growth. And, since these breweries were distributed throughout the country, this strategy allowed the Boston Beer Company to maximize the freshness of the beer it sold. In fact, the now famous practice of printing a freshness label on bottled beer was started by the Boston Beer Company on its Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The company ensured quality production in these disperse breweries by hiring experienced brewmasters to oversee the contract brewing. The company also brewed some beer on its own property, both in Boston and later in a plant they purchased in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2002, the company took a risk by introducing Sam Adams Light, a light beer version of their Samuel Adams Lager. They had never produced a light beer before, and it was Koch’s stance that the company couldn’t brew a light beer that would be up to their standards of flavor. The expanded customer base that the company would target with the sale of a light beer was too lucrative a market to ignore, however, and the light beer market was almost devoid of any Better Beers, so after three years of development Sam Adams Light was born. The advertising expenditures for 2002 increased by 25. 7% or $20. 6 million over 2001 due to the promotion of Sam Adams Light2, which magnified the financial risk of producing and selling it. The new beer had the short term effect of attracting new consumers to the Samuel Adams brand, although the long term effect has yet to be seen. The growth of the Boston Beer Company was very impressive, and can be attributed to a superior product, good business strategy, and an unsaturated market for high-quality beer. But now there are new challenges facing the company. There are always new fads in the beer industry; current trends are low-carb beers and fruityflavored malt beverages. The Boston Beer Company needs to decide which of these trends to respond to, and how to respond to each. Above all the company needs to continue its strategy of differentiation that allowed it to achieve its current profitability. It is its image for quality above major American beers like Budweiser, Coors, and Miller that allows it to keep its prices, and its profits, high. Current Industry Analysis The Boston Beer Company’s product is a â€Å"better† beer. A better beer is defined as either a craft beer or an import, and is characterized by higher prices and quality. A craft beer is defined as one which is brewed with 100% malted barley as its grain. The major American beer companies typically use a mixture of malted barley along with other grains such as rice or corn, since these are less expensive and have less full-bodied flavors. Rivals in the better beer industry include such foreign companies as Corona, Heineken, and Guinness, as well as domestic companies such as Sierra Nevada, Pete’s, and a number of microbreweries around the country. While the beer industry overall is very rivalrous, the better beer industry is not so, as evidenced by high profit margins (the Boston Beer Company routinely posts profit margins of over 50%). The rivalry that does exist tends to revolve around quality competition rather than price competition. There are numerous substitutes for better beer. All alcoholic beverages are substitutes for the Boston Beer Company’s product, although the two closest substitutes are major American beers and flavored malt beverages; wine and spirits are less relevant substitutes for the purposes of this analysis. Budweiser, Coors, and Miller are all large brand name beers which have low prices and low quality compared to better beers. Price sensitive consumers typically buy these beers. Smirnoff Ice, Skyy Blue, and Bacardi Silver are all similarly priced to the better beers, but they have fruitier flavors and therefore appeal to consumers with a different taste preference. The suppliers for the Boston Beer Company are similar to the suppliers for any brewery. Supplies that must be purchased include the ingredients like water, barley and hops, the equipment for brewing, and the transportation for distributing beer around the country. The ingredients are actually very inexpensive compared to the other two costs, and suppliers of barley and water don’t have a lot of bargaining power since these industries are fragmented. The hops industry, however, is more centralized. In order to ensure adequate hops supplies at prices known in advance the company regularly purchases hops futures. The company also employs an aggressive contract brewing strategy. Under this policy almost 60% of the company’s products are brewed at noncompany owned breweries. By utilizing the excess capacity of geographically distributed reweries, the company can keep equipment and transportation costs low while providing a fresher and thus higher quality product. This brewing approach carries inherent risks by giving potential rivals some control over the company’s production capacity. Indeed the company is currently involved in a lawsuit with Miller after Miller’s attempt to back out of a brewing contract early. To protect itself from these risks the company enters into contracts with a diverse set of brewers for a much larger amount of beer than they actually produce. This redundant capacity is meant to shield the company from any number of contract brewers defaulting on their contracts. Buyer bargaining power doesn’t have significant influence on the Boston Beer Company since their buyers are grocery stores and bars. The grocery industry and the bar industry are both fragmented, so each store or bar that buys from the Boston Beer Company comprises a very small amount of total company sales, and the loss of any one buyer won’t significantly hurt the company. Complements in the better beer industry include the popularity of bars, snack foods like pretzels and nachos, and sporting events like football games. While the Boston Beer Company doesn’t provide any of these complements, they do provide some amount of customer education. Customer education includes advertising awards the company has won, advertising their brewing processes, and calling attention to their premium ingredients. This serves to convince people of the superior quality of Samuel Adams, thereby convincing them to pay a premium price. Customer education is a fairly clever and successful strategy for a number of beer companies, but it benefits better beers more than lower quality beers, so the Boston Beer Company could probably take advantage of this by focusing more on customer education. The BBC also has an advantage over small high-quality breweries because its economy of scale allows more customers to be reached per dollar spent on customer education. Any company in the beverage industry has the potential to enter Samuel Adams’ market, and it is always crucial for a company to be aware of possible entry from all sides. Companies that make wine, spirits, or malt beverages could all enter the market, and we have actually seen in recent years that spirits companies have been expanding into new markets by producing malt beverages under the name of the parent spirits company. However, the most dangerous potential entrants would be other beer companies. Other craft breweries that sell their beer on a small scale might attempt to copy the BBC’s strategy to grow into a national brand and steal some of BBC’s market share. Also, major American breweries could use their expansive resources to brew high quality beers that could compete with Samuel Adams on a national level. A third, and even more threatening possibility, would be the combination of these two forces; a major brewery could buy a high quality microbrewery and use their national advertising and distribution infrastructure to market the microbrew to the public on a large scale. Given the Boston Beer Company’s high profit margins and the relatively low level of rivalry within their market, it is very likely that entry will occur and erode away at BBC’s profits if BBC is unprepared. We believe that responding to this possibility should be at the forefront of the company’s business strategy for the immediate future. The Boston Beer Company’s Strategy: Using Reputation as an Entry Barrier The BBC’s initial strategy was one of growth. This was fitting for it when it was a microbrewery looking to gain national and international sales. During its expansion in the early 1990’s, the company took advantage of the fact that consumer demand for craft beers was increasing, while there were few other companies doing the same. Since the new market was unsaturated, the Boston Beer Company was able to earn an inexpensive reputation for its Samuel Adams brand name by being the first large scale mover into the national craft beer market. By the late 1990’s, the BBC’s growth rate had begun to decline. In an effort to keep up growth, the company switched to a strategy of trying to increase the demand for craft beer. It did this through large scale advertising, and most significantly through the introduction of a light beer that brought light beer drinkers over to the better beer market. The Boston Beer Company’s strategy was an effective one for many years, and enabled it to become the profitable national company that it is today. However, if the BBC wants to maintain its profitability, it will need to find a way to protect its market share from entrants, and this will require a shift in the company’s strategy back to increasing its share of the Better Beer market rather than of the mainstream market. The biggest threats to the BBC are the major American beer companies, which have massive resources that would allow them to compete with the BBC. The BBC’s two advantages over these major companies are experience and reputation, and the major companies could easily gain experience by buying an existing craft beer company and utilizing its brewing procedures. Therefore, the BBC must protect its reputation at all costs, since its reputation is the only formidable entry barrier preventing Budweiser, Coors, and Miller from successfully invading Samuel Adams’ market. The company’s best strategy would be to slow their growth in order to work on strengthening their Samuel Adams Boston Lager brand name. Additionally, if the BBC diminishes its focus on growth, it could very well have the effect of reducing the incentive for these three major companies to enter the craft beer market, since the BBC will not be seen as so significant a threat. While there is a risk that slowing growth will leave the company vulnerable to entry by smaller companies, it is the large companies that have the most resources to compete with the BBC, so reducing the incentive for large companies to enter is worth the possible risk that more small companies will enter. The uniqueness and integrity that allowed the Samuel Adams brand to gain popularity are starting to be overshadowed by the company’s attempts to gather more mainstream consumers, and this is hurting the company’s brand name. The strategy for the future needs to focus on building back customer loyalty for the company’s core product line, i. e. Samuel Adams Boston Lager. First and foremost, the Boston Beer Company needs to continue reducing its expenditures on Sam Adams Light. During the introduction of Sam Adams Light in 2001-02, revenues and gross profit increased, but expenditures on advertising Sam Light were extremely high, and much of the sales of Sam Light were thought to be due to cannibalism of Samuel Adams Boston Lager. In 2003 when advertising of Sam Adams Light was decreased, sales of the light beer dropped significantly. Although Samuel Adams Boston Lager sales increased during the period between the fourth quarters of 2002 and 2003, overall shipments dropped 6% during this period3 because of the lowered demand for Sam Light after the decline of the Sam Light marketing campaign. However, even though sales were lower, net income was higher after the end of the marketing campaign4. The company should therefore continue to keep its advertising levels for Sam Adams Light low. In addition to the high financial cost of advertising Sam Adams Light, it is likely that the large-scale marketing of Sam Adams Light could hurt the company in the long run by diluting the Samuel Adams brand name. The purpose of Sam Light is to appeal to mainstream beer drinkers, but the company’s consumer base is comprised of individuals who pride themselves on drinking a beer that is not mainstream. With potential entrants looming from above and below, the Boston Beer Company can not afford to lose its reputation for uniqueness. Still, Sam Light is a good revenue stream as a supplement to Samuel Adams Boston Lager, but it should cease to be the company’s main focus. The â€Å"Twisted Tea† and â€Å"Hard Core† products are malt beverages that the company produces on a small scale. These brands are unnecessary for the company’s success, and if the company adopts a strategy to focus on Samuel Adams Boston Lager then it would be advantageous to eliminate these products. While the products dilute the company’s brand name in a similar way to Sam Adams Light, they don’t provide nearly the revenue that Sam Light does. By either selling or closing down these brand names, the Boston Beer Company can distance itself further from the malt beverage industry and improve its positioning as a Better Beer company. Dumping these products would help the BBC’s image of integrity in the eyes of their consumers, and this image will be crucial if the company is to protect its market share from entrants. There have been a number of attempted entries into the Sam Adams market which demonstrate the need for quality and reputation. Coors owns Killian’s Irish Red and Anheuser-Busch owns Michelob and has a stake in Red Hook, all brands that have had poor success in the Better Beer Market. Most consumers are well aware of the fact that Michelob is just another domestic beer sold at a high price, and so it’s a brand without much of a quality image. On the other hand, it’s not well known that Coors owns Killian’s since it’s brewed in Canada and has an import label. While this abel might signal some quality in many consumers’ eyes, Killian’s has no reputation and no customer base. Finally, Red Hook was a quality microbrew ale with a good reputation and customer base that was bought by AB. Since this purchase in 1994 the stock price of Red Hook has plummeted from ~30 to 2 and sales have been poor. While the reason for this is not exactly clear, it’s possible that this failure is due to a loss of integrity that occurred when the microbrew became owned by a major domestic brewer, or that AB simply wasn’t able to operate that type of brewery. AB’s failure in this attempt doesn’t indicate that they will give up on entering the craft beer industry, however, especially if craft beers grow to be more of the national market. With such high profit margins and a strong market position, the BBC might be tempted to increase sales by decreasing prices, but this strategy should definitely be avoided. The high prices for Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Sam Adams Light signal to consumers and other companies that these beers are of higher quality, and since demand in the Better Beer market is relatively inelastic, there would likely be no increase in net income if prices were reduced. Reducing prices would cause the BBC to appear more of a threat to the three major American beer companies, and could therefore expedite the entry of one of these companies into the market. Due to the nature of the Better Beer industry, the company needs to strive for quality competition over price competition. With the introduction of Sam Light in 2002 the percentage of BBC’s sales comprised of bottles vs. kegs increased since most Sam Light is sold in bottles, and since Boston Lager sales declined slightly. While revenues are lower per barrel of draft beer, profit margins are higher due to lower costs per barrel. Additionally, beer served on tap is usually able to retain a higher quality than beer served from a bottle. For these reasons and others, it would be a good strategy for the Boston Beer Company to increase its emphasis on selling its beer in kegs to bars. While most grocery stores already carry Samuel Adams Boston Lager, there are still a large number of bars that don’t have Boston Lager on draft, and this deprives many consumers of being able to drink the beer in its highest quality form while also depriving the company of the added revenue that bar sales bring in. Since the company’s new focus needs to be on emphasizing the quality of its beers, increasing the availability of its draft beer is in line with its strategy. An added benefit of increasing prevalence in bars is the opportunity for bartender education and consequent consumer education. The company should seriously consider providing literature about their beer along with the kegs that they sell to bars, since educating bar owners and bartenders about the premium ingredients and freshness standards that the company holds will have a trickle-down effect to the beer drinkers.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Relationship With God And With Your Family Religion Essay

Relationship With God And With Your Family Religion Essay As we begin our worship pilgrimage together, perhaps it will be best to try to get at the core meaning of worship. The word worship itself is fascinating. It is a shortened English version of the old Anglo-Saxon word weorthscipe, which is transliterated Worth-ship. It simply means worthiness. Thus to worship someone means to recognize and to declare that persons worth (Basen 1999:17). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16:2193, LASB). There have been a great many definitions of worship, some of quite recent origin, yet, it is my main purpose to analyse the different forms of worship. To worship, finally implies to do or to work, so let us reflect on each worship experience and give ideas on how our churches should facilitate worship. ASSIGNMENT 1 1. Experience of a liturgical worship service. a. Briefly describe the service event by event. On Sunday 15 August 2010 I went to the Lutheran Church with one of my colleagues. He is the Reverend of that specific Lutheran Church. The service began with opening sentences from Psalm 124: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say. The Reverend then followed by saying The Lord be with you. This was followed by a prayer of confession and then by a biblical word of comfort and an absolution. The absolution is confession that you are a sinner, humbling yourself before God. Thereafter followed the singing of the Ten Commandments, sometimes done in two segments with a prayer in between. Up to this point, the service had been led from the Communion table. Now, either during the singing of the second hymn, the Reverend took his place in the pulpit. First he would offer a prayer for illumination, read the lesson for the day and preached the sermon. Then the collection of Alms takes place. Following the sermon, the R everend offered a lengthy prayer of intercession, which concluded with the Lords Prayer. The Apostles Creed was said or sung at the conclusion of the prayer. Psalm 138 was sung and there followed a prayer of thanksgiving. The people were dismissed with the benediction. b. Discuss how it facilitated worship as revelation and response. Revelation and response for the Lutheran Church entails the following: Although the liturgical worship is structured very formal, the people are called to worship with sentences taken from Scripture. They use the Scripture of Isaiah 6:1-9, where Isaiah sees a vision of the Holy God, and confesses his sin and finds forgiveness when an angel burns his lips with a burning coal from the altar. The aim for the Lutheran Church is that the people may bow before the transcendent glory of God, that is, to praise Gods greatness and power. When you have experienced Contemporary worship, by comparison, the closeness of God receives much less emphasis. In this worship, they see it appropriate to feel Gods greatness more than His nearness. They observe God from a distance, not up close. In Liturgical worship the service moves from adoration to confession to absolution to commission. They do everything in a fitting and orderly way. H ymns of praise and adoration are used to highlight the greatness and glory of God, not the worshipers thoughts or feelings about God. They do the corporate confession of sin by reading Scripture passages, the call to worship and the benediction also do the same. In the Lutheran Church, the congregation performs the Lords Prayer or repeats the Apostels Creed as a confession of faith. 2. Experience of a traditional worship service. a. Briefly describe the service event by event. On Sunday 22 August 2010 I went to the Reformed Church with my Mother in Mokopane (Potgietersrus). First it is interesting to note that in the Reformed Church the organ plays the most important part before the service commences. The organ is the only instrument used to create worship and praise. Also very interesting is the pulpit in the middle front of the church with the elderly and the deacons sitting on each side of the pulpit. The deacons come in first, then the elderly together with the Reverend. Before he gets onto the pulpit, he first prays at the foot of the pulpit. The service begins with one of the elderly blessing the Reverend. The Reverend then follows by giving the Opening Prayer. This was followed by a song from their hymn books, consisting of Psalms and Songs. Then everybody says out loud the Apostles Creed and the Ten Commandments. Then the collection of Alms takes place. Before the Reverend starts his sermon, he gives a lesson on the Scripture that he is going to us e for the day. The Reformed Church uses the Old Testament more than the New Testament. Again he then prays before he commences with the sermon and then a prayer. After the sermon they sing a song again from the Psalms and Songs hymn book and then everybody stands to receive the blessing or grace from God. b. Discuss how it facilitated worship as revelation and response. Although less formal than the Liturgical style, traditional worship still follows a planned and structured order. Gratitude and preaching dominate traditional worship. The overall purpose is to lead the congregation to thank God for His goodness and to hear God speak through His Word. The Reformed Church demands that Psalms, not hymns, were to be sung and the organ were to be played in the service. Their preaching includes exegetical preaching for the week to insure that every worshiper was confronted every week with the promises and demands of God. In this way heartfelt worship can occur. 3. Experience of a contemporary worship service. a. Briefly describe the service event by event. On Sunday 29 August 2010 I attended my own Church (Living Word Church) in Brummeria. Our Church starts with the Pastor welcoming everybody in the building. Then the praise and worship starts with a band and a lead worshipper. Our music is gospel and contemporary Christian songs that stirs the emotions and prepares the heart for the sermon. We sing first the praise songs and then the worship songs. Usually the praise songs speaks about revival and renewal, stressing the need for God to visit His people in power, such as Lord, Send a Revival or Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. There is singing, clapping, and shouting praises to God. Then we go over to the worship songs that prepare us for a connection with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. During the worship people might lie on their faces or bow down seeking the face of God. Others will dance before God seeking to have a personal relationship with God, getting into the Holy of Holiest. We all kn ow that praise and worship is very important, but the sermon is actually the main event for the day. The congregation then hears an evangelistic message calling everyone present to get saved or sin and redemption. After the sermon the Pastor will pray and then start with the call for unbelievers in the worship service to make a personal decision to follow Jesus Christ. The invitation is sometimes lengthy in order to allow unbelievers to recognize their need of Jesus Christ. b. Discuss how it facilitated worship as revelation and response. Our Church uses informal methods that speak about exuberance, zeal and sometimes aggressive preaching, but it is still generally planned and structured. This style of worship seeks to turn lost sinners towards a merciful God. The informal mood of the service directly impacts the emotions, so that we will feel Gods presence during worship. Our worship also motivates us as believers to live godly lives in an ungodly world and to share our witness with unbelievers. Worship in our Church incorporates both revelation and response. As God reveals His power, we respond in wonder. As God reveals His grace, we respond in humility and prayer. 4. Personal reflection on the three experiences. a. Discuss how Parretts teachings and the three experiences have impacted your own understanding of worship. Let us first look at the style of worship: Parrett (Parrett 2008:22) says the following: There is no such thing as the correct style, whether traditional, contemporary, mystical, or liturgical. All our styles of worship must be submitted to the test of substance is God plainly revealed through the elements of worship, and are the worshippers assisted in response to Him? Our worship must be God-focused and Christ-centred! It must include elements of revelation and response that are Biblically informed and Biblically faithful (Parrett 2008:23). The liturgical worship service for me has got many strong points. The formal structure takes the congregation to God because He is worthy to be praised in majesty and honour. Magnifying Gods transcendence brings to mind in the worshiper a sense of amazement. Their Scripture reading enfolds the liturgical service more than it does any other worship style. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that the God who is worshipped in the liturgical service seems unapproachable. Although I grew up in The Reformed Church, the traditional worship service for me is somewhat predictable and boring, but it will always hold a special place in my heart. Why do I say that it is predictable and boring? The service is formal and for that reason you sometimes struggle to warm your heart for whats to come. But yes, they worship God who is Great and Good, Holy and Helpful. The problem with traditional worship service is the fact that the young believers think this style is boring. Contemporary worship service makes it almost impossible to sit still. The music excites you and you just want to worship God. Everything is excellent, the only problem that I experience is that Christians begin to think that the only way to please God is to be saved and baptized, even if they have already done so before. So often people also feel guilty of not serving God every minute of the day. It impacted my understanding of worship in the following way: Diverse cultural backgrounds and personality types make it highly unlikely that one worship style will fit all people. What seems genuine and meaningful to some strikes others as false and blasphemous. Worship styles isnt really the primary issue, it is absolute essential that the Church keep God as the subject of worship since to be Christian means to believe that God revealed in Jesus Christ is everything to us, Creator, Provider and Sustainer. We must always remember that God has called us to be His people and that our ability to respond to that call in worship is totally the gift of Gods grace. I think the only aim is to please God, whether by adoration and praise, prayer and proclamation, confessions and offerings, thanksgivings and commitment, or all these actions combined. b. Indicate how you believe your church could broaden its understanding and practice of worship. Dawn (1995:124) gives the following on what people want and need: My point is that people want worship to be more meaningful, but they often need careful instruction to make it so. Children, teenagers, young adults, senior citizens all will gladly receive more depth, especially because so much is our world is superficial and trival or else deep in a way that is painful and tragic. Here are a few ideas on how the Church should broaden its understanding and practice of worship: First of all, there can be no worship if we dont deal with our inner self. All Christians are supposed to be faithful, however, some do have a continuous struggle with doubt. The Churches must remember, good worship heals a sinful, selfish congregation and enables it to assume the burden of discipleship. Worship fosters the attitudes and convictions that enable people to worship. The churchs calling is to bring people to an awareness of the true nature of the things that steals our spiritual energy and to provide them with appropriate nourishment (food for the soul). Worship leaders facilitate worship by guiding people in the use of their senses and thoughts, they must also clear away the obstacles and distractions that hinder focused prayer and meditation. We should remember that services of worship are constructed by human beings, and like all things, they deteriorate and need renewal from time to time. Before Christians set about renewing their Churches and reforming their worship , they need to over think the implications of the fact that they have no power to save themselves, only God has that power. A congregation that fails to insist on the very highest standards in its worship is demonstrating not charity, but blasphemy. No Christian community should ever even think of offering God anything but the best of which it is capable (Frankforter 2001:146). CONCLUSION I have reflected on three worship services, discussed how it facilitated worship as revelation and response and tried to broaden my understanding and practice of worship. We should always remember, the success of worship is not measured by its entertainment values, nor is its success the sole responsibility of the leaders. We the Church should never sit passively waiting for worship to happen, we must practice the discipline of prayer and meditation. There should always be the willingness to make personal sacrifices to serve God.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Telecommunications and Networking Report :: Telecommunications Technology Essays

Telecommunications and Networking Report 1.â€Å"Free Web Services Challenge AOL’s Dominance† - Internet business analysts generally are not yet convinced of the viability of the free web service business model for bring profitable. None-the-less, most agree that the free access will probably take a significant chunk of AOL’s market share before running out of investor’s money. 2.â€Å"Visitalk.com Builds White Pages for Web Phone Calls† - Visitalk.com has unveiled plans to simplify the routing of phone calls over the Internet. They will provide a directory service which will provide subscribers with a unique 12 digit Internet phone number. The directory will capture user’s current IP address and update their database, serving as a switchboard for Internet phone calls which are routed over IP. This solves a major problem with the fact that IP addresses change for users as they move from computer to computer. 3.â€Å"Cisco to But Software Maker for $325 Million† – Cisco Systems agreed to acquire WebLine Communications, a software maker producing e-mail routing and collaborating software. WebLine is to be assimilated into Cisco’s Applications Technology Group. This was Cisco’s 12th acquisition this year. 4.â€Å"Firm Agrees to Purchase Cable-Modem Technology† – Intel agreed to purchase the cable modem technology of Stanford Telecommunications, Inc. The deal puts Intel face to face in the marketplace with Broadcom Corp., which currently holds the majority market share for cable modem chips. 5.â€Å"Qualcomm Pact Targets Wireless Network Products† – Lucent Technologies signed a development agreement with Qualcomm to product wireless networking equipment. Qualcomm will give its CDMA technology, including chips and software to Lucent. Lucent plans to have trial systems utilizing the technology in place next year. 6.â€Å"MCI Worldcom, Sprint Ponder Merger† – The world’s second and third largest long-distance carriers are in talks are in talks over a possible merger. The deal would give MCI it’s only nationwide wireless network. An obvious stumbling block over such a large telcom merger would be close scrutiny by regulators. It is also expected that regional Bell companies may soon have permission to compete in the long distance market as well. 7.â€Å"Earthlink and MindSpring to Merge, Forming No. 2 Internet Access Firm† – This deal makes the new Internet Provider second only to AOL. The combined company will have 3 million subscribers, still a far cry from AOL’s 18 million, but none-the-less a viable competitor. 8. â€Å"Teledesic ‘Sky Internet’ May Start Sooner† – Teledesic chief Craig McCaw is attempting to raise funds for his planned ‘Sky Internet.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice - Prophecies in Oedipus, Antig

The Damning Prophecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnon Oracles, seers, and prophets are used in Greek tragedy to provide foreshadowing for the audience and characters. The seers' wisdom is conveyed through the pronouncement of oracles or prophecies. They confer forecasts to principal characters that affect the characters' future. Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affect the lives of prominent characters. Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the Oracle at Delphi in Sophocles' Oedipus, and Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone pronounce damning prophecies that, despite ignorance, evasion, or disregard, are inevitably fulfilled to the downfall and destruction of the characters. The seer Cassandra in The Agamemnon foretells the downfall and destruction of Agamemnon. Cassandra delivers several predictions of Agamemnon's impending death. "Agamemnon's dead is what you'll see."[p77] "The room- it reeks! Drips red with murder." p80 She also sees her murder that is unavoidable. "So, then I go / To sing the dirge of my own demise / And Agamemnon's too within the palace." p81 Cassandra's visions are heard by the chorus who are skeptical of her claims. Her visions are not believed by Agamemnon because of a curse set on her by the Greek god Apollo. Agamemnon is oblivious to her forecasts and believes he will live on and remain king. "So, overborne by you, I shall proceed / To tread the purple to my palace halls." Agamemnon infers that he will be able to safely return to power in his kingdom and is unaware of the treasonous plot calculated by his wife Clytemnestra and ... ...t suicide in anger at Kreon. Lives are lost and Kreon is disgraced as a king. In spite of his avoidance the prophecy is realized. Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affect the lives of prominent characters. Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the Oracle at Delphi in Sophocles' Oedipus, and Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone pronounce damning prophecies that, despite ignorance, evasion, or disregard, are inevitably fulfilled to the downfall and destruction of the characters. Oracles, seers, and prophets from Greek tragedy correctly predict the destruction of important characters. Despite the characters' arrogance or avoidance, the prophecies are fulfilled. The characters' blatant contempt for prophecy contributes to the irony of their situations.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Ideals Of Instrumental Music Essay -- essays research papers

At one point in the study of the Romantic period of music, we come upon the first of several apparently opposing conditions that plague all attempts to grasp the meaning of Romantic as applied to the music of the 19th century. This opposition involved the relation between music and words. If instrumental music is the perfect Romantic art, why is it acknowledged that the great masters of the symphony, the highest form of instrumental music, were not Romantic composers, but were the Classical composers, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven? Moreover, one of the most characteristic 19th century genres was the Lied, a vocal piece in which Shubert, Schumann, Brahams, and Wolf attained a new union between music and poetry. Furthermore, a large number of leading composers in the 19th century were extremely interested and articulate in literary expression, and leading Romantic novelists and poets wrote about music with deep love and insight. The conflict between the ideal of pure instrumental music (absolute music) as the ultimate Romantic mode of expression, and the strong literary orientation of the 19th century, was resolved in the conception of program music. Program music, as Liszt and others in the 19th century used the term, is music associated with poetic, descriptive, and even narrative subject matter. This is done not by means of musical figures imitating natural sounds and movements, but by imaginative suggestion. Program music aimed ...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

3pl Providers and Users

A STUDY OF THIRD PARTY LOGISTICS PROVIDERS AND USERS Dr. S. Samar Ali, Associate Professor : Operations & Logistics Management * JK Business School, Damdama Lake Road,Bhondsi, Gurgaon 122102, India Telephone: +91-9971876017, Email address: [email  protected] com ABSTRACT Third party logistics (3PL) has been gaining importance in most places in the world. The implementation of 3PL practices is just beginning and emerging effectively. This paper examines the Indian 3 PL Supply Chain Management and practices with respect to the key success factors and growth strategies .After identifying the critical success factors SERVQUAL is applied to reveal the gap between their achievement and expectation. Respondents to the survey are categorized based on their rating of the key growth strategies on the basis of AHP. Key Words: 3PL; Third Party Logistics Providers; India; Factor Analysis; SERVQUAL; AHP 1. Introduction As conditions for doing business in a global setting have changed significant ly during the last two decades the importance of logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) has been recognized universally.As companies realized the need to adapt to the ever changing conditions in an environment of globalization, technological innovation, and more sophisticated consumer demand to survive and flourish they began to incorporate into their systems of operations and focus on a strong LSCM component (Rushton & Walker, 2007). Superior logistics and supply chain performance is now a well-recognized strategic dimension for companies to gain competitive advantage.The growth of logistics outsourcing in the USA is attributable to better transportation solutions; greater focus on core businesses; impact on cost reduction; improvements in services; development of necessary technological expertise; availability of computerized systems; and the need for more professional and better prepared logistics services (Sheffi, 1990). The growth of business dynamics has caused outsourci ng of the logistics activities to gain increasingly greater importance.Companies have been considering various options to manage their logistics activities including, creating in house dedicated logistics function, setting up logistics subsidiaries or acquiring a logistics firm. (Sahay & Mohan, 2006). A 3PL provider is a company which supplies and/or co-ordinates logistics functions across multiple links in the supply chain. The company acts as a 1 â€Å"third party† facilitator between seller/manufacturer (the â€Å"first party†) and buyer/user (the ‘second party’), Figure 1. Figure 1. Main components of 3PL.Source: Research on India – Third Party Logistics – India, November – 2009. www. researchonindia. com Various authors have provided their version of 3PL definition, which are listed in Table 1. Table 1 – Definitions of 3PL in the logistics literature. Authors Lieb (1992) Definition The use of external companies to perform l ogistics functions that have traditionally been performed within an organization. The function performed by the third party can encompass the entire logistics process or selected activities within that process. Andersson (1997) Murphy and Poist (1998)The procurement of an integrated set of logistics services in a longterm relationship between a shipper and a service provider. A relationship between a shipper and third party which, compared with basic services, has more customized offerings, encompasses a broader number of service functions and is characterized by a longer term, more mutually beneficial relationship. 2 Vab Laarhoven et al. (1999) Berglund (2000) Bask (2001) Activities carried out by a logistics service provider on behalf of a shipper and consisting of at least management and execution of transportation and warehousing.In addition, other activities can be included, for example inventory management, information related activities, such as tracking and tracing, value ad ded activities, such as secondary assembly and installation of products, or even supply chain management. Also, the contract is required to contain some management, analytical or design activities, and the length of the co-operation between shipper and provider to be at least one year, to distinguish 3PL form traditional â€Å"arm’s length† sourcing of transportation and/or warehousing.Organizations use of external providers, in intended continuous relationships bound by formal or informal agreements considered mutually beneficial, which render all or a considerable number of the activities required for the focal logistical need without taking title. Relationships between interfaces in the supply chains and third party logistics providers, where logistics services are offered, from basic to customized ones, in a shorter or longer-term relationship, with the aim of effectiveness and efficiency.Source: Marasco, A. , A Survey of Third Party Logistics Literature: Prelimina ry Findings. RIRL 2006 – Sixth International Congress of Logistics Research. Since the 1980s, along with the trend to outsource non-core activates (Sink and Langley, 1997), companies have increasingly turned to third-party logistics providers (3PL) both in the USA (Lieb and Randall, 1996; Rabinovich et al. , 1999; Knemayer and Murphy, 2004) and in Europe (Van Laarhoven et al. , 2000). PL services help to achieve the strategic objectives by concentrating more on core competency of the main business. The study by Sahay and Mohan, 2006, has cited substantial growth in various financial indicators using services of 3PL, for instance, various improvements in sales revenue by 13. 5%, working capital by 12. 3%, returns on assets by 10%, capital assets reduction by 10%, production cost reduction by 10. 5%, labor cost reduction by 10. 0%, and logistics cost reduction by 15%. PL users depend on 3PL service providers to secure capacity and gain agility (Hannon, 2005) who not only provid e core services like supplying right quality product, Figure 2. Outsourcing Development of Logistics Services and Network Source: Hapanen and Vepsalainen, 1999. 3 in the right amount, at the right price and place, and at the right time but also provide value added services such as tracking and tracing, sending information prior to the arrival of products, flexibility in delivery, which are valued by customers.The role 3PL service providers play in enhancing services and thereby satisfying customers has been universally recognized. The growth in 3PL service providers is seen across the world. As the logistics service demand increases, the challenges and opportunities will continue to increase. With the wide availability of modern decision making tools and information technology a paradigm shift in logistics is witnessed. Figure 2 depicts the evaluation and the state of the art witnessed in ogistics outsourcing. Companies across industries and around the world regard logistics and sup ply chain management as key components of their overall business success. Many users feel that their relationships with 3PLs have helped them achieve critical goals related to service, cost, and customer satisfaction. Third Party Logistics in India: Ever since the liberalization of its economy India has been on a path to become one of the top economic powers in the world.New avenues for progress and development have opened up; manufacturing and retail sectors gained popularity because of the changes in China’s export policy of not exporting manufactured items, from which Indian manufacturing firms have benefitted. Hence this sector will contribute to GDP significantly in the long run. The growth and competitiveness in these two sectors largely depend on the efficiency of the logistics operations that facilitate the companies’ ability to reach out to their customers quickly and at the desired location.Realizing this many manufacturers and retailers are now restructuring their supply chain processes in a manner to incorporate partnerships with expert supply chain service providers and outsourcing such activities as domestic transportation, international transportation, customs brokerage, warehousing, forwarding, cross-docking, product labeling, packing, assembly, kitting, reverse logistics, freight bill auditing and payment, IT services, fleet management, supply chain consultancy services provided by 3PLs, order entry, processing and fulfillment and limited liability partnership (LLP)/4PL Service.Currently 3PL services are in their nascent stage in India. Third party logistics will gain considerable share of the logistics sector because of the following compelling facts. †¢ 1 Globally, the logistics industry is valued at US$3. 5 trillion and the Indian logistics industry is currently estimated at US$90 billion (CII)1. Colliers International – Logic of Logistics – http://www. colliers. com/Content/Attachments/India/2009_Logic_Of_L ogistics. pdf 4 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢The industry has generated employment for 45 million people in the country in comparison with the IT and ITES sector, which employs approximately 4. 3 million people1. As per the World Bank Survey, India ranks 39th in terms of the logistics performance index and indicators, with Singapore on top, the UK, USA and China in 9th, 14th and 30th positions, respectively. India spends US$1,148 in handling costs to import one cargo container and US$820 to export it. In comparison, Singapore spends US$367 per imported container and China US$390, according to a World Bank study1.India spends 13% of its GDP on logistics compared to an average of 10% in developed countries, while the U. S. spends just 8%. Better supply chain management has reduced logistics costs by nearly 1% in 10 years1. The Indian government plans to spend US$24 billion over the next eight years on supply chain infrastructure1. 3PL solutions are on course to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 16% from 2007-2010. Consequently, 3PL service providers are expected to corner an increased share of the Indian logistics pie, from 6% in FY2006 to 13% in FY2011, at a CAGR of 25% (CII)1.According to the ASSOCHAM2, outsourcing of 3PL businesses in India should reach the value range above US$ 90 million by 2012 as the concept first introduced in US and Europe is being adopted at a pace that will lead to increases in the efficiency of domestic operations through better managed logistics functions. Companies in textile, automotive, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, retail and FMCG sectors are increasingly opting to outsource their logistics requirements to specialized service providers. According to a recent survey of 3PL service providers engineering, automotive and retail sectors were top revenue earners. PL Market Structure in India The 3PL market in India is comprised of two segments: the first one is asset based in which assets like trucks, distribution centers and warehouses are utilized in supply chain management, and the second one is non-asset based. There is a significant difference between the nature of Indian 3PL and its counterpart elsewhere, especially in the U. S. , Table 2. Table 2: Comparative Analysis of 3PL in India and the U. S. Parameter Usage of 3PL Common activities outsourced 2 USA 71% Warehousing (73. 7%) Outbound Transportation (68. 4%) India 55% Outbound Transportation (55%) Inbound Transportation (52%) http://www. ommodityonline. com/printnews. php? news_id=23489 5 Reasons for not outsourcing Necessity of ecommerce Collaborative relationship Gain sharing is important for relationship Freight bill payment (61. 4%) Inbound warehousing (56. 1%) Control would diminish (63%) Costs would not be reduced (63%) Service commitment would not be met (48%) Logistics is a core competency (44%) 72% Custom clearing and forwarding (51%) 82% 14% 80% 6. 6% Source: 3PL Practices in India, Sahay. B. S. , Poor infrastructure of provider (81%) Inability to respond to changing needs (81%) Unreliable promised from providers (80%) Concerns about capability of providers (77%) 7% www. cscmpindia. com/Events/20112003/3. PDF Considerable amount of research on the topic of the implementation of 3PL in different countries has been published in academic and trade journals. Viewpoints of both users and service providers have been considered to identify the major issues, industry dynamics, current status and future prospects of the 3PL industry. However most of the research is descriptive in nature and does not go into in-depth statistical analysis of survey data. In the present study Indian 3PL providers’ service dimensions are analyzed in terms of the key success factors and growth strategies using various tatistical tools. 2. Literature Review In this section a review of the literature is presented, which examines the perspectives of the 3PL users and service providers to under stand the variation in the services offered and services expected. Table 3 provides a list of recent contributions that address the reasons for outsourcing logistics activities. Table 3. Reasons for outsourcing logistics activities. Author, (Year) Objective Conclusion Sheffi, (1990) Understand the motives for the growth of logistics outsourcing in USA The main motives are to focus on †¢ Core businesses †¢ Better transportation solutions †¢ Cost savings and improved ervices †¢ Development of necessary technological expertise and computerized systems; and need for more professional and better- 6 Maltz, (1994) Establish relative impact of cost and services on the decision to outsource warehousing The study determined that organizations are reluctant to use third party warehousing due to customer service considerations. Author, (Year) Objective Conclusion Rao & Young, (1994) Identify the factors influencing outsourcing of logistics functions Daugherty et al. , (1996) Study the perception of the third party logistics service users van Damme et al. , (1996) Examine outsourcing ogistics management activities Sink & Langley, (1997) Develop a managerial framework for the acquisition of third party logistics services The study identified factors such as †¢ Centrality of the logistics function †¢ Risk and control †¢ Cost/service trade-offs †¢ Information technologies and relationships with logistics service providers †¢ Product-related (e. g. special handling needs), process-related (e. g. cycle times) and networkrelated (e. g. countries served) drivers are believed to have an indirect influence in the outsourcing decision The service users believe that they are getting benefits like reduction in nventory levels, order cycle times, lead times and improvement in customer service. The â€Å"do or buy† decision is also affected by evaluation of cost/service trade-offs. One important determinant of the decision is cost comp arison between alternative options. Costs associated with performing logistics activities inhouse and investment in capital assets are traded-off against service provider fees. The lowest cost solution should Concentration towards the core competencies was the most important factor for the acquisition of third party logistics services. Bhatnagar et al. , (1999) Find out factors for decision-making process or choosing contract logistics service providers. Ascertain benefits of alliance between manufacturing and global logistics service providers. Study benefits of outsourcing the logistics activities. The major reasons to outsourcing of logistics activities were cost saving (86. 8%), customer satisfaction (76. 3%) and flexibility (75%). Study growth strategies for logistics service providers Forming relationships with 3PL providers is an efficient and effective means of achieving the required services without investing heavily in assets and new capabilities. Bhatnagar and Viswanathan , (2000) Bask, (2001)Persson and Virum, (2001) The manufacturing firms got the advantage of reduction in inventory levels, order cycle times, lead times and improvement in customer service. The customer satisfaction increases significantly and provides access to international distribution networks. 7 Sohail & Sohal, (2003) Examine the reasons for outsourcing logistics activities in Malaysia The major reasons reported are †¢ Cost savings †¢ Improved services †¢ Better transportation solutions †¢ Better professionalism Author, (Year) Objective Conclusion Wilding & Juriado, (2004) Determine customer perceptions on logistics outsourcing in theEuropean consumer goods industry The main reasons for outsourcing the logistics activities are †¢ Competencies of 3PLs †¢ Operating flexibility †¢ Cost reduction †¢ Focus on core businesses Aktas & Ulengin, (2005) Review the reasons for outsourcing logistics activities in Turkey Turkish firms basically outsou rce the transportation activities to reduce the operating costs. Simchi-Levi et al. , (2008) Determine the effect of outsourcing of logistics on the management of the supply chain. The most important reason for outsourcing is that it allows a company to focus on its core competencies and hence on customer requirements.Studies based on user firms appear to indicate that outsourcing logistics activities is appropriate if it has an impact on one or more factors depicted in Table 4. Table 4. Impact of outsourcing logistics activities. Factor Impact on customer satisfaction Indentified by Gooley (1992); and Lieb et al. (1993) Impact on logistics system performance Lieb et al. (1993) and Dapiran et al. (1996) and Bhatnagar et al. (1999) Reduction in capital investment in facilities Reduction in capital investment in equipment Foster and Muller (1990) and Richardson (1992, 1995) Fantasia (1993), Foster and Muller (1990) and Richardson (1992)Reduction in investment in information technology Impact on employee morale Goldberg (1990), Sheffi (1990), Trunick (1990) and Fantasia (1993) Bowersox (1990) and Dapiran et al. (1996) Reduction in manpower cost Foster and Muller (1990) and Richardson (1992, 1995) Minaham (1997) and McMullan (1996) Improvement on specific logistics function parameters Improvement in inventory turnover rates Improvement in on-time delivery Increasing productivity Richardson (1990, 1995) Richardson (1995) Bradley (1995) 8 A list of references that address the issue of selection criteria for 3PL providers is given in Table 5. Table 5.Selection criteria for 3PL providers. Reference Objective Conclusion Bagchi and Virum, (1996) Develop a management model for selecting the logistic service provider Selection criteria typically include: †¢ Cost †¢ Service quality and reliability †¢ Flexibility †¢ Responsiveness to requests †¢ Financial stability Sink & Langley, (1997) Develop a managerial framework for the acquisition of 3PL serv ices Menon et al. , (1998) To study the selection criteria for 3PL providers. Meade and Sarkis, (2002) To develop conceptual model for selecting and evaluating third-party reverse logistics providers. Managers of a firm assign greater mportance to qualitative factors such as supplier reputation, references from clients, and response to information requests, which are used for the initial screening of candidate service The firm’s competitiveness strategy and its external environment affect the selection criteria. The important criteria for the selection of a 3PL provider are: †¢ On time shipment and deliveries †¢ Superior error rates †¢ Financial stability †¢ Creative management †¢ Ability to deliver as promised †¢ Availability of top management †¢ Responsiveness to unforeseen occurrences †¢ Meet performance and quality The most important factors for 3PL election are: †¢ Time †¢ Quality †¢ Cost †¢ Flexibility Aghazade h, (2003) To select the effective 3PL provider. The criteria for selecting 3PL provider are: †¢ Similar value †¢ Information technology systems †¢ Key management 9 Colson and Dorigo, (2004) H. S. Hwang et al. , (2005) Efendigil et al. , (2008) To develop public warehouse selection support system. The software tool select the public warehouse on the basis of factors like †¢ Storage surface and volume †¢ Dangerous items †¢ Geographical distance to highway connection †¢ Certification †¢ Assistance with customs †¢ Use of technology such as RFID/bar-coding, modemTo develop the supplier The major supplier selection selection and planning indicators are: model. †¢ Serviceability – Meet the lead time †¢ Inventory rotation rate †¢ Lead time †¢ Customer satisfaction †¢ Market share †¢ Production flexibility †¢ Multi-item production capability †¢ New item development/production capability †¢ Qualit y – Quality assurance Selection of a thirdThe third party reverse logistics party reverse logistics providers selection can be done by provider in the using performance indicators like: presence of vagueness. †¢ On time delivery ratio †¢ Confirmed fill rate †¢ Service quality level Unit operation cost †¢ Capacity usage ratio †¢ Total order cycle time †¢ System flexibility index †¢ Integration level index †¢ Increment in market share †¢ Research and development ratio †¢ Environmental expenditures †¢ Customer satisfaction index Table 6 gives Jharkharia and Shankar’s (2006) list of the selection criteria for 3PL providers as identified by some authors. Table 6. Selection criteria. N o Selection Criteria Relevance in 3PL Selection Reference 10 1 Compatibility with the Users The ability of the user, provider and their support systems to work together in co-ordination. Anderson and Norman 2002), Lynch (2000), Mohanty and Deshmukh (1993). 2 Cost of Service Total cost of logistics outsourcing. Lynch (2000), Stock et al. (1998), Tam and Tummala (2001). 3 Quality of Service It includes many aspects like transportation time, on-time delivery, frequency and cost of damages etc. Razzaque and Sheng (1999), Thompson (1996), Langley et al. (2002). 4 Reputation of Vendor 5 Performance Measurement Opinion of concerned people about 3PL firm. Provision for periodic evaluation of the performance. Lynch (2000), Thompson (1996). Bhatanagar et al. (1999), Lynch (2000), Langely et al. (2002). 6 Willingness to UseLogistics Manpower Razzaque and Sheng (1998), Ackerman (1996). 7 Flexibility in Billing Willingness of 3PL provider to retain users’ logistics employee, who would otherwise become unemployed after outsourcing contract. Flexibility in billing and payment conditions which increases goodwill between user and supplier. 8 Long-Term Relationship Includes shared risk and rewards. Lynch (2000), Boyson et al. ( 1999). 9 Quality of Management Anderson and Norman (2002), Lynch (2000), Boyson et al. (1999). 10 Information Sharing and Mutual Trust Able management not only provides good services but also fosters a long-term elationship. For continuance of agreement and continuous improvement of services. 11 Operational Performance 12 Information Technology Capacity 13 Fixed Asset Langely et al. (2002), Tam and Tummala (2001). Anderson and Norman (2002), Lynch (2000), Langely et al. (2002), Babbar and Prasad (1998). Hum (2000), Boyson et al. (1999). 14 Experience in Similar Product 15 Delivery Performance Can be measured by delivery performance, performance monitoring capacity etc. The advanced IT capacity helps in reducing uncertainties and inventory level. Tracking of goods becomes an easy process. Size and Quality of fixed sset helps in good operational performance. Prior experience in product line of shipper is added advantage. Speed and reliability. Bradley (1994). Lynch (2000). Razzaque an d Sheng (1998), Ackerman (1996). Stock et al. (1998), Gattorna and Walters (1996). 11 16 Employee Satisfaction Level Improves operational performance. 17 Financial Performance Ensures continuity in services, regular updation of equipments. 18 Market Share It reflects its financial performance, customer satisfaction and reputation. Thompson (1996). 19 Geographical Spread and Range of Services Provided Flexibility in Operation and DeliveryCreate enhanced access to the user. Maltz(1995), Boyson et al. (1999), Bradlley (1994). Stank and Daugherty (1997). 20 It may enable the user to give customized service to the shipper, particularly in special or non-routine request. Lynch (2000), Boyson et al. (1999), Langely et al. (2002). Anderson and Norman (2002), Boyson et al. (1999). Table 7. Growth Strategies Reference Objective Conclusion Sum and Teo, (1999) To find out Strategic posture of logistics service providers in Singapore 3PL performance and profits can be improved by: †¢ Cost r eduction, †¢ Market segmentation †¢ Service differentiationEnvironmental changes and the introduction of new technologies have an impact on LSP strategic planning Both vertical (shipper-LSP) and horizontal (among LSPs) alliances are set up mainly with the aim of getting access to complementary resources and capabilities. In particular, horizontal alliances among LSPs are deemed necessary for the development of cross-border logistics solutions Hum, (2000) van Hoek, (2000) To find out the factors that affect the LSP strategic planning To find out the reasons for doing alliances. 12 Stone, (2001 & 2002) To find out the growth strategies used by UK’s 3PL providers.Carbone and Stone, (2005) To identify the growth strategies used by European logistics service provider and its out come C. John Langley, Jr. , Ph. D. , and Capgemini U. S. LLC. 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 To identify the growth strategies used by the logistics provider in the world. LSPs employ a variety of growth strategies. Important means of expansion include: †¢ Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) †¢ Joint ventures †¢ Strategic alliances †¢ Piggybacking (i. e. following the client's expansion and establishing new operations in foreign markets) †¢ Organic growth European logistics service providers use M for gaining dvantage in factors like: †¢ Economies of scope †¢ Expanded geographical coverage †¢ Acquisition of specialized capabilities †¢ Requirements for investment in IT and equipment Third party logistics providers use following strategies for growth of the company. †¢ M †¢ Service Portfolio †¢ 3PL User/Provider Relationships. †¢ RFID and IT †¢ Future Growth of the 4PL Provider Concept †¢ 3PL Creation of Supply Chain Value †¢ Integration & Collaboration †¢ Green Supply Chain 3. Research Methodology The research objectives of this paper are as threefold: 1. To identify the success factors of Indian 3PL firms and their relative importance. . To analyze the gap between achievement and expectation as defined by the success factors identified. 3. To prioritize the growth strategies and their relative importance. 13 3. 1 Type of Research Employed In this paper we used an exploratory research to help formulate relevant questions and hypotheses that can be the basis of subsequent inquiries into the issues faced by 3PL providers and users. This type of research is particularly useful when the researcher is uncertain of the theories that are relevant, and would like to seek insights and ask questions to assess the phenomena he has observed in a new light.The tools one may employ to conduct exploratory research include review of the literature, and surveys of the opinions of experts and focus groups. 3. 2 Sampling Procedure We employed a non-probability sampling technique, Quota Sampling. Quota sampling is used to ensure that a set of specific characteristics that are of interest to the investigator is present in the sample. 3. 3 Sample Size To collect data we sent out a structured questionnaire to 220 third party logistics providers’ employees. 124 of the replies could be used for the analysis. Industry Review factor analysis, the research . 5 Tools of Analysis Literature Review Research Issue In our study we used SERVQUAL and AHP. The stages of process are shown in Figure 3. Research Questions First Version Development of Questionnaire Final Version Revised Version Data Collection Data Analysis 14 Conclusion Figure 3 Research Process 5 . Data Analysis 5. 1 To identify the success factors of Indian 3PL firms and its relative importance. The data collected through questionnaire was analyzed through SPSS 15. 0 to find out the success factors and their relative importance. The KMO and Bartlett’s test results shown in Table. indicate the suitability of the data for factor analysis. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy is 0. 769 which is great er than 0. 5. This indicates that a factor analysis will be useful with the data. The value of significance level is 0. 000, which is less than 0. 05. So there is a significant relationship among the variables. The initial extraction shows that the communalities are very high, which indicate that the extracted components represent the variables well. Table 9. Table 8. KMO and Bartlett's Test Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. 0. 769 Bartlett's Test ofSphericity 3167. 333 Approx. Chi-Square Df Sig. 325 .000 Table. 9 Communalities Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Initial 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 Extraction .477 .611 .638 .667 .595 .670 .653 .536 .766 15 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q21 Q22 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q26 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 1. 000 .661 .588 .624 .604 .664 .753 .748 .774 .589 .690 .695 .734 .671 .653 .582 .607 .641 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. 16 Table 10. Total Variance ExplainedInitial Eigen values % of Cumulative Variance % 23. 065 23. 065 12. 909 35. 974 Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings % of Cumulative Total Variance % 5. 997 23. 065 23. 065 3. 356 12. 909 35. 974 Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings % of Total Cumulative % Variance 3. 064 11. 786 11. 786 2. 964 11. 398 23. 184 42. 224 1. 625 6. 250 42. 224 2. 602 10. 007 33. 191 47. 529 1. 379 5. 305 47. 529 2. 118 8. 147 41. 339 4. 802 52. 331 1. 249 4. 802 52. 331 1. 829 7. 034 48. 372 4. 467 56. 798 1. 161 4. 467 56. 798 1. 599 6. 151 54. 523 1. 098 4. 225 61. 023 1. 098 4. 225 61. 023 1. 434 5. 515 60. 038 1. 023 . 935 64. 958 1. 023 3. 935 64. 958 1. 279 4. 920 64. 958 Component Total 1 2 5. 997 3. 356 3 1. 625 6. 250 4 1. 379 5. 305 5 1. 249 6 1. 161 7 8 9 .936 3. 598 68. 557 10 .869 3. 344 71. 901 11 .788 3. 031 74. 931 12 .704 2. 707 77. 638 13 .671 2. 580 80. 218 14 .608 2. 338 82. 556 15 .594 2. 284 84. 839 16 .552 2. 123 86. 9 63 17 .542 2. 083 89. 046 18 .503 1. 933 90. 979 19 .389 1. 497 92. 476 20 .380 1. 462 93. 938 21 .343 1. 318 95. 256 22 .317 1. 220 96. 476 23 .297 1. 144 97. 620 24 .242 .931 98. 550 25 .196 .753 99. 304 26 .181 .696 100. 000 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. 7 Table 11. Rotated Component Matrix (a) Component 1 2 Q1 Q2 3 4 5 6 7 8 .504 .431 Q3 .760 Q4 .417 Q5 .639 Q6 .502 .488 Q7 -. 407 .646 Q8 .505 Q9 Q10 .813 .739 Q11 .555 Q12 .419 .699 Q13 .647 Q14 .639 Q15 .823 Q16 .815 Q17 .772 Q18 .457 Q19 .514 .491 Q20 .658 Q21 .731 Q22 .643 Q23 .742 Q24 .676 Q25 Q26 .688 .635 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a Rotation converged in 24 iterations. We note that about 65% (. 64958) of the total variation in the 26 variables is attributable to the first eight components, Table 10.We also observe that Component 1 explains a variance of 3. 064, which is 11. 786% of total variance of 26; Component 2 explains a vari ance of 2. 964, which is 11. 398% of total variance and so on. The rotated component matrix contains the same information as the component matrix, except that it is calculated after rotation, Table 11. From this table we construct the following factor matrix, Table 12, where the key elements of importance in relation to the eight factors are shown. 18 Table 12. Factor Matrix Eigen Value Factor No. Factor Name Total