Sample Essay - Writing For Student Documentation Style

Sample Essay - Writing For Student Documentation StyleYou must have done some research when you were trying to decide what to write for your student's documentation style essay. It is probably a good idea to ask the students who will be reading your document how they are using their information and what their format was like. At the same time, do not over-write or you may find that you are writing too much and simply end up mucking things up.Your sample essay should tell them what they need to know about a topic in your class and how you are going to do this in small sections. This allows them to go to the internet and find something different for each small section. They will be able to choose the one that they like best, and most importantly, they will be able to keep from getting overwhelmed with too many options.Your sample essay should also make the student's information available to the reader without being heavy handed. You can give your students some examples of information f ound online that you know about but don't want to write a page on. Make sure you do not go on for too long and stay focused.Look around for online programs and online help files. Some resources can be free and some you have to pay for. Many of the online websites will have guidelines to follow so that you do not end up having a typical essay.You do not have to spend a lot of money when you are writing sample essay. What I have found is that it depends on how much time you have and how much time you want to put into it. If you are on a tight budget, there are some good ideas and tips out there to help you make your document work better.Just make sure that you make your information as clear as possible. Make sure that you do not use technical terms or jargon in your document. You may find that you end up making the information really confusing for the student and they may never know what it means.Look for online resources to help you with this. There are some great websites out there that offer you tips and advice for writing effective documents.

Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation The WritePass Journal

Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation Abstract Analysis of McDonald’s Corporation , total revenues reached USD$ 27.5 billion. This is a 2% growth from its 2011 figure. Based on data for the past six years, the company had the highest growth rate in 2010-2011 at 12%. However, the company experienced a steep decline the following year, with growth rate at only 2%. Table 1. McDonald’s 6 Year Summary (Millions) Dollars in millions, except per share data 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Company operated sales 18,603 18,293 16,233 15,459 16,561 16,611 Franchised revenues 8,964 8,713 7,842 7,286 6,961 6,176 Total revenues 27,567 27,006 24,075 22,745 23,522 22,787 Table 2. McDonald’s 6 Year Percentage Growth Year on Year Percentage Growth 2011-2012 2010-2011 2009-2010 2008-2009 2007-2008 Company operated sales 2% 13% 5% -7% 0% Franchised revenues 3% 11% 8% 5% 13% Total revenues 2% 12% 6% -3% 3% 2.Industry Overview and Competitive Environment McDonald’s operates in the fast food industry, which involves selling foods and beverages for immediate consumption either within the retail premises or as â€Å"take away.† The market may be categorized in to the following segments: QSR (Quick Service Restaurants), Leisure Locations, Mobile and Street Vendors, and Takeaways. In 2011, the global fast food market grew by 6.8%, reaching USD $253 billion in total value. The compounded yearly growth rate from 2007 to 2011 was at 5.2%. QSR is the most lucrative segment, generating over $167.8 billion in revenues; which is equivalent to 66.4% of the total market value (Research and Markets, 2013). McDonald’s, together with other players such as Burger King, dominate the burger segment (Reynolds, 2013). The market is comprised of many independent restaurants, as well as large chain outlets. To a reasonable extent, competition is intensified by the low entry costs and the ease with which already established companies can increase volume or grow outlet numbers. Within the restaurant industry, players focus more on fast food where profitability is dependent on high turnover activities. The degree of price competition is usually high within this industry with many companies, including McDonald’s, focusing on the same target market. Competitors range from fast food restaurants, traditional fish and chips outlets, coffee shops, and other fast food businesses (Brotherton, 2012). Key competitors to McDonald’s are other similarly large and well-established global fast food chains such as Burger King, Wendy’s Co, and Yum Brands. Although it is not actually a fast food chain, Starbucks is also considered as a major competitor of McDonald’s due to its immense popularity, especially in the US. McDonald’s McCafe chains are considered as more of a competitor to Starbucks. Table 2. Profile of McDonald’s Top Competitors Competitor Profile Burger King Corporation  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Operates over 12,174 fast food outlets in the US and has others in over 76 countries across the world  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Has 1,387 company restaurants as well as 10,787 independent franchises Domino’s Pizza Inc.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The leading pizza delivery firm in the US  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It runs a network of about 8,999 outlets, both franchises and company-owned stores in US’s 50 states and other 60 world countries. Starbucks  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A global coffee company based in the US  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is the largest coffee shop chain in the world with over 20,800 stores in 62 countries Wendy’s Co.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wendys/Arbys Group, arose from a merger between Wendys International and Triarc Companies  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wendys/Arbys group is a popular quick service restaurant operator, franchising the Wendys and Arbys brand names within the US and Canada.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The total number of franchises for this group is over 10,000. Yum Brands Inc.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yum runs several branded restaurant chains including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In total, it has over 39,000 restaurants spread in over 125 countries. Source: Key Note, 2012 Figure 1. Market Share of Fast Food Chains in the US (2006-2011) 3. Market Entry Strategy Historically, McDonald’s has experimented with a variety of market entry strategies (Hendrikse, 2008). Currently, some of the outlets are run by the company, while most of them (more than 26,000 outlets) are franchises. McDonald’s franchise arrangements comprise conventional franchise engagements, developmental license arrangements, and foreign affiliates. Of all franchises, the corporation runs 19,279 conventional franchisees, 3,574 affiliates and 3,485 developmental licenses (McDonald’s, 2013). Currently, McDonald’s is one of the biggest franchisors in the world. The company has implemented a comprehensive framework for engaging, training, and monitoring its franchises to make sure that they abide by McDonald’s’ Values, Quality, Cleanliness and Service plans (Moschandreas, 2000). These franchisees are required to pay a fixed fee plus a certain percentage of the generated revenues. They operate basically as independent entities within a national brand structure where they purchase various inputs from the approved contractors and also determine their own prices. The first international market expansion experiment by McDonald’s was to establish an outlet in the Caribbean with limited supervision by the company. After the failure of this first attempt, the firm experimented with a joint venture strategy in Netherlands. In this experiment, the local stores involved replaced the usual McDonald’s menu offerings with based on local preferences. The company decided to abandon its old strategy where stores would be run by local entrepreneurs and instead engaged a combination of both local and expatriate partners (Marketwatch, 2005). Unfortunately, the result was disastrous; forcing McDonald’s to revise its entry strategy. This made way for the second phase of entry, which was centred on adapting versus changing local culture. Despite some initial failures, McDonald’s continued to experiment with market entry strategies in foreign markets. For example, in India, the company established as a 50-50 joint venture partnership. This arrangement was between McDonald’s USA and two other Indian businessmen, Vikram Bakshi and Amit Jatia, who owns Connaught Plaza Restaurants and Hard Castle Restaurants respectively (Gerhardt et al., 2012). The joint venture partnership was different from McDonald’s usual franchise business model but it was seen as the best way to successfully enter India’s highly diverse and complex restaurant industry. 4. McDonalds Global Marketing Strategy The marketing mix is a framework consisting of the basic, strategic components of a firm’s marketing plan. The components are referred to as the 4P’s denoting product, promotion, place, and price (Chon et al., 2012). Marketers decide the right mix to use where they can alter the final product or service offerings to customers by varying the components of the mix. This section analyses McDonald’s marketing mix to find out what the foodservice retailer has done to position its products in the market. 4.1. Product Product is probably the most important element of McDonald’s’ marketing mix. The company has tightly controlled its products’ quality so as to induce demand from the target market (Verma, 2012). With the support of the other elements, McDonald’s has managed to develop a broad product portfolio to attract a broad market segment. The company’s products are planned carefully, considering aspects such as quality, design, shape, brand name, services, size, services, and packaging. McDonald’s also oversees the operations of all its restaurants to guarantee uniformity of standards in product quality and services offered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An important matter when it comes to international marketing relates to how a firm adapts its products across national boundaries. McDonald’s, like many other internationally recognized brands, uses standardization to ensure that its products appeal to a wide audience. This is a very i mportant marketing aspect because the company must ensure that its global brand is preserved. Therefore, McDonalds restaurants across the word offer a substantially standard menu. However, according to Thomadsen (2007), some variations are necessary to make sure that the different needs of consumers in different regions are addressed. As such, McDonald’s has made effort to adapt some of its products to some markets. This is necessary because consumers in different areas have diverse needs, tastes and preferences, and different consumption and buying habits. A good example of McDonald’s adaptation strategy is the Indian market where the company, on top of trying to market its international brand, has made several modifications to its products to make sure that they are suitable for Indian consumers. The Indian market consists of a large number of vegetarians. Therefore, the company found it necessary to modify its product offerings to cater to this market segment. This led to the introduction of vegetarian foods such as McAloo Tikki and McVeggie Burgers. The company has made sure that the separation of the two food categories (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) is maintained. Also, in India where cows are considered sacred, burgers are either fish or chicken in instead of beef (Armstrong Kotler, 2005). McDonald’s constantly innovates its product offerings based on the changing needs and preferences of its customers (McDonald’s, 2013). Additionally, intense price competition increases McDonald’s motivation to differentiate itself from other industry players. Applying a differentiation strategy can help a company to control price competition to some extent (Thomadsen, 2007). It can be surmised that McDonald’s is not a global retailer of exclusively American food because it offers modified menus to suit different regions. The brand and the format are globally consistent; however, certain customer-oriented components like individual menu offerings and service personnel are tailored to suit local preferences. 4.2.   Price Price is another very important element of a marketing mix. This refers to the amount that consumers are required to pay so as to obtain products and services. McDonald’s has always been dedicated to providing quality food products for reasonable prices (Datamonitor, 2012). Therefore, the company has developed a pricing structure to support this objective. Historically, the company has had several value bundling and pricing tactics such as Combo meals, Happy Meals, Family Meals, and others. The dollar menu is one of the most significant price strategies adopted by this firm. 4.3.  Place Another very important element of McDonald’s marketing strategy is place. In general terms, place refers to the mechanisms (distribution, intermediaries or channels), which enable the firm to supply its products to the final consumers (Thomadsen, 2007). McDonald’s has strategically situated its outlets to make sure that customers have easy and convenient access to its products. The best example is the United States where the walking distance to a McDonald’s outlet averages three minutes. In smaller market regions, McDonald’s locates it outlets close to the market centre; while in large markets, it chooses locations which are on the opposite sides of the market. Compared to its closest competitor, Burger King, McDonald’s locates outlets closer to optimal central locations. In a nutshell, McDonald’s is all about convenience (Datamonitor, 2010). 4.4.  Promotion In a marketing mix perspective, promotion encompasses the various marketing communication modes that McDonald’s uses to communicate information about its products in order to generate positive response from its consumers (Mishra, 2009). McDonald’s devotes a vast amount of money to global advertising, with the aim of promoting its image. It has used several advertising formats such as print publications, billboards, radio, television, and the internet. In order to increase awareness and create a lasting image in the minds of its target market, McDonald’s has creatively employed slogans such as: â€Å"It’s a good time for the Great Taste of McDonald’s† â€Å"Food, Folks, and Fun† â€Å"We love to see you smile† â€Å"I’m Lovin’ it† McDonald’s strives to position itself as a fun family restaurant and has implemented several tactics to achieve this goal. A very effective strategy that has enabled the company to differentiate itself from other companies is invention of the Ronald McDonald character. This character was invented to symbolize the company and has become a recognizable figure. The show â€Å"The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald,† produced under the sponsorship of the company, is an outstanding promotional strategy that leaves every kid craving the McDonald’s experience (McDonald’s, 2013). The company also positions itself as a family fun restaurant by setting up play areas in its outlets. With the use of various strategies, McDonald’s has built a strong image. This has greatly helped the company not only to grow but also to stave off the competition (Chon, Pizam, Mansfeld, 2012). 5. McDonald’s Corporation has always been determined to remain ahead of competition. Its international marketing strategy employs several tactics, which has enabled the company to emerge as one of the market leaders in the fast food restaurant industry. The success of a business greatly depends on the effectiveness of the strategies it adopts. McDonald’s’ strategies have proven to be effective as evidenced by the level of success that the company has achieved to date. The initial strategy for the company involved taking standardized American practices to other parts of the country. The initial resistance and failures that it experienced forced the company to change their strategy and instead adapt itself to the different preferences of its target market. References Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2005. Marketing: an introduction. London: Prentice Hall. Brotherton, B., 2012. International Hospitality Industry. Burlington: Routledge. Chon, K.S., Pizam, A. Mansfeld, Y., 2012. Consumer Behavior in Travel and Tourism. Madison Ave, New York: Routledge. Daley, J., 2013. Do you want truffle fries with that? Entrepreneur, 41(1), pp.124-29. Datamonitor, 2010. Mcdonalds Corporation SWOT Analysis. London: EBSCO Datamonitor. Gerhardt, S., Dudley, D. Hazen, S., 2012. Franchising and the Impact of McDonalds. Journal Of Management Marketing Research, 10, pp.1-10. Hendrikse, G., 2008. Strategy and governance of networks: Cooperatives, franchising, and strategic alliances. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag. Key Note, 2012. Fast-Food Home-Delivery Outlets Market Report Plus 2012. [Online] Available at: keynote.co.uk/market-intelligence/view/product/10636/fast-food-%26-home-delivery-outlets/chapter/1 [Accessed 9 March 2013]. Marketwatch, 2005. Company Spotlight: McDonalds Corporation. Marketwatch: Global Round-Up 4, no. 12, pp.78-83. McDonald’s, 2013. Company Profile. [Online] Available at: aboutMcDonald’s.com/mcd/investors/company_profile.html   [Accessed 9 March 2013]. McDonalds, 2013. McDonalds USA Ingredients Listing for Popular Menu Items. [Online] Available at:   Ã‚  http://nutrition.McDonald’s.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf   [Accessed 9 March 2013]. Mishra, P., 2009. Sales management: Keys to effective sales.. New Delhi: Global India Publications. Moschandreas, M., 2000. Business Economics. London: Thomson. Research and Markets, 2013. Fast Food: Global Industry Guide. [Online] Available at: researchandmarkets.com/reports/564112/fast_food_global_industry_guide [Accessed 9 March 2013]. Reynolds, J., 2013. McDonalds runs ad to knock rival Burger King. Marketing Magazine, 25 January. Thomadsen, R., 2007. Product Positioning and Competition: The Role of Location in the Fast Food Industry. Marketing Science, 26(6), pp.792-804. Verma, H.V., 2012. Services marketing: Text and cases. New Delhi: Pearson Education. Wendys, 2013. The Wendys Company. [Online] Available at:   aboutwendys.com/Our-Company/   [Accessed 9 March 2013].

Particle Definition and Examples in English Grammar

Particle Definition and Examples in English Grammar The English word particle comes from the Latin, a share, part. In English grammar, a  particle is a word that does not change its form through inflection and does not easily fit into the established system of parts of speech. Many particles are closely linked to verbs to form multi-word verbs, such as go away. Other particles include to used with an infinitive and not a negative particle. In tagmemics, the term particle refers to a linguistic unit seen as a discrete entity, definable in terms of its features. (Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 2008). Examples and Observations Particles are short words...that with just one or two exceptions are all prepositions unaccompanied by any complement of their own. Some of the most common prepositions belonging to the particle category: along, away, back, by, down, forward, in, off, on, out, over, round, under, up.(Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey Pullum. A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2006.) The storm ate up September’s cry of despair, delighted at its mischief, as all storms are.(Valente, Catherynne M. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, 2011.) Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesnt go away.(Dick, Philip K. How to Build a Universe That Doesnt Fall Apart Two Days Later, 1978.) I was determined to know beans.(Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, 1854.) I was determined not to give up. [T]he idea (as all pilots understood) was that a man should have the ability to go up in a hurtling piece of machinery and put his hide on the line...(Wolfe, Tom. The Right Stuff, 1979) The Escape Category Particle is...something of an escape (or cop-out) category for grammarians. If its small and you dont know what to call it, call it a particle seems to be the practice; and a very useful practice it is, too, as it avoids pushing words into categories in which they do not properly belong... Do not confuse particle with the similar-looking participle; the latter has a much more well-defined application. (Hurford, James R. Grammar: A Students Guide. Cambridge University Press, 1994.) Discourse Particles ​Well and now in English... have been referred to as discourse particles, for example by Hansen (1998). Discourse particles are placed with great precision at different places in the discourse and give important clues to how discourse is segmented and processed... Discourse particles are different from ordinary words in the language because of the large number of pragmatic values that they can be associated with. Nevertheless, speakers are not troubled by this multifunctionality but they seem to know what a particle means and be able to use it in different contexts.(Aijmer, Karin. English Discourse Particles: Evidence From a Corpus. John Benjamins, 2002.) Particles in Tagmemics The tagmemics system works on the assumption that any subject can be treated as a particle, as a wave, or as a field. A particle is a simple definition of a static, unchanging, object (e.g., a word, a phrase, or a text as a whole)... A wave is a description of an evolving object... A field is a description of a generic object in a large plane of meaning.(Hain Bonnie A. and Richard Louth, Read, Write, and Learn: Improving Literacy Instruction Across the Disciplines, Teaching in the 21st Century: Adapting Writing Pedagogies to the College Curriculum, ed. by Alice Robertson and Barbara Smith. Falmer Press, 1999.)

Analysis of Three Selected Poems by Robert Frost Research Paper

Analysis of Three Selected Poems by Robert Frost - Research Paper Example After his death, life became tough for the family and they moved to live with their grandfather who used to live in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His mother then supported her children by working as a teacher in a school. In the year 1892, Frost completed his graduation from the Lawrence High School where he developed a liking for poetry. His poems were published in his school magazine. His first official work was ‘My Butterfly: An Elegy’ which appeared in the New York Independent in the year 1894. This was the beginning of his career as a poet. In the following year, Robert Frost got married to Elinor Miriam White. Frost took up different professions which included farming as well as teaching. He was unsuccessful in these and he finally sold the farm for a journey to England. In 1912, he settled in Beaconsfield, a small town outside London. This is where he found the fascination for rural life and nature, which became the chief ingredients for his poetry. After a year of his arrival in England, he started walking towards the path of success as his poems became successful. He published his first book of poetry ‘A boy’s will.’ The book was welcomed by the public and notable poets of the time. He has written many famous poems which include the Oven Bird, The Road Not Taken and The Gift Outright. An analysis of these poems assists in understanding the theme of the poems (Francis 2004; Thompson 1959). The Oven Bird In this poem, Frost uses the sobriquet of the Oven Bird that sings beautifully in the jungle, sending the message of the changing seasons. But a point comes when the bird stops singing. The poem follows two important themes. It presents the theme of modernism and the destruction of nature owing to this. He also uses the different seasons to explain the life of a man and the aspect of ageing. With the assistance of the poem, Frost tries to convey the message that modernism had sucked out all the simple joys of life. Everything is losing its natural gleam and machines are taking over, making life fast and self-centered. For the poet, the lofty purpose of life is lost. For him, the height of life’s purpose existed in the classical era. Like many poets of his time, Frost believed that life’s joys were lost as man moved away from nature. Frost was a true admirer of nature and he believed that nature was not being preserved. The second idea that is presented in the poem is that of ageing and death. The seasonal changes depict the changes in the life of the people. The season of spring is indicative of the youth of an individual which serves as the peak in every human beings life. But despite of all these changes, ageing and death are unavoidable. The word â€Å"diminished† in the last line of the poem clearly reveals the fact of mortality and explains that everything has to end and death is the ultimate end. Robert Frost, thus, shows the different phases of life with the assistance of the seasons. A student of Robert Frost Sydney Cox used to refer to Frost by calling him â€Å"The Oven Bird.† It was implied by him that the poem was indicative of the life of Robert Frost himself. Cox believed that Frost had reflected his personality in the poem and at the same time he had discussed the issue of the damage that was being brought to nature. He indicated that Frost was actually

Post devolution, do separate or dual identities exist in England and Dissertation

Post devolution, do separate or dual identities exist in England and Britain - Dissertation Example Such assumptions were based on the esoteric understandings of the two labels, British and English, and tended to affect the framing of the concept of a so called national identity that were based on territorial differentiation and the respective identities, nature of citizenship, and social inclusion. The nationalistic identity of any state which is dependent on its socio-political characteristics, may go through various transformations (like devolution); and under pressures from the changed local, political, and social conditions, may undergo differentiation. Under changed circumstances the nationalistic identity of ‘Britishness’ may take a back seat, with the regional identity of ‘Englishness,’ eclipsing the former. ... The Existence of Separate or Dual Identities in England and Britain post devolution period 1 Introduction 1.1 Background History â€Å"The history of England [is] not in England but in America and Asia† J.R. Seele Since 1997, United Kingdom has been undergoing devolution as regards to its 4 member states, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. England has been ‘eventually promised’ a new and ‘Greater London Authority,’ with a separate and Assembly and mayor, while separate regionally elected assemblies are also on the annals for England; while the remaining 3 states have been given varying degrees of autonomy in their assemblies. Thus this entire process of devolution spells out into new territorial contours within the realms of United Kingdom. A look at the history shows us that Britain did not quite have a homogenous nature right from the time of its conception, and the then British foreign secretary Robin Cook, ascertained that the concept of this â€Å"homogeneity of British identity that some people assume to be the norm was confined to a relatively brief period. It lasted from the Victorian era of imperial expansion to the aftermath of the Second World War...The diversity of modern Britain expressed through devolution and multiculturalism is more consistent with the historical experience of our islands† (Cook, 2001). The topic or concept of ‘British,’ after being reviewed by various experts has been found to consist of a large and gaping conceptual void (Kumar, 2000, 576). Historical records, in general, are found aplenty, starting with political, constitutional, social, and economic histories of England, yet there has

Strategy and its importance for competitive advantage

Strategy and its importance for competitive advantage A companys strategy is organization action plan which is running the business and conducting operations. Especially this can mention as managerial commitment to achieve their goals. Companies target on gaining sales and market share at the expense of competitors and companies which are in strong industry position are more reflect on the strategy what they use (Helfat, 2004). Through the action Plan Company can enter its competitors and can make the goals and strategies to meet their market place. A company should formulate a business strategy which incorporates cost leadership or differentiation to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Michael Porter introduced two basic types of competitive advantages which are cost advantage and differentiation advantage. Cost advantage exits when company can give same benefits as competitor with lower cost. And differentiation advantage exits when the company can make different benefits or the value to the customer from their products. As an Example BP is using combination of Crude oil and natural energy such as solar power to give differentiation to their customers and it is a well successful strategy. Source: http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do?categoryId=2contentId=7065607 (Access on 20th May 2011) There are several technical tools which are used to analysis situations in strategic Management. STEEPLE is one of it shortening the external environment in a business operates and concerned with the political, economic, social factors influential industry change and helps to gain a better understanding for external conditions for growth in a market. Companies or the decision makers can develop effective strategies by using GE Matrix as well (Thomas, ONeal, and Ghertman, 1997). The porters five forces investigation helps to diversity a competitive environment. For example, BP analyzes the market for Quality oil production. Five forces analysis describe five key areas exclusively the threat of entry, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry (Bettis, 2004) Figure1. Porters Generic Strategies (source:http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Porter+five+forces+analysishl=enclient=opera) Competitors for BP Shell, Sharp, Kyocera, Solar, and BP are the current major players in this industry. Price differences are not big among these companies, solar energy is already expensive technology to produce, so its cost of production is very high, but it is environmental friendly. BP has mass production, so it can face to price rivalry happen. Business strategy in BP BP enter of solar market in 1973 and produced BP solar in 2000, it was one of main strategy to face current oil crisis and environment issues. BP solar becomes profitable but it is not prominently spread among the public, so government involvement is important to become popular of solar power. Evaluating BP External Environment BP is one from the world leading Multinational Corporation which produces Consumer energy, and it is UK based organization. BPs SWOT analysis can be mentioned as follows. Strengths World third largest energy company Operation spreads worldwide Strong Brand loyalty Good brand image Financial strength of the company. It has vertical integration operation system. Weaknesses Increase the petrol price in UK Has to paid criminal charges due to spread huge amount of oil in the Alaska Sea in 2006. Reduce in natural gas and crude oil production. Criticism and Controversies Opportunities Has high investment capacity Research to investigate alternative fuel such as Hydrogen, Solar, Wind and natural gas Extension of acquisition of North sea area Increase demand for natural gas in USA and Europe countries. Implement more flexible price polices to face their competitors. Gas and Oil exploration Treats Unsound policies related to Environment after oil and toxic spill in 2006. Explosion of refinery tunnels in occasionally Has big rivals such as Shell and Chevron Sold corporate owned stations. Pipeline corrosion Instability in some oil and gas producing countries and regions Table.1. SWOT analysis of BP By implementing proper marketing policies and practices company will make its market position. BP culture so distinctive because they focus on customer, and believe BP is better than all other Energy produce companies. Source: (http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968contentId=7059787) Effectiveness of Current Business Plans BP business plan has advantage in the Research and investigation area. The crude oil plus the solar power combinations was very successful strategy implemented in recently. Products segmentation, explorations and productions, significantly company restructuring, improve cost efficiency, centralized company departments are their current strategies to compete with rivalry and increase company profits. Task Two Strategic Options Strategic Options is an important facet and it helps to craft companys alternatives and provide safe and keep up the competitive situation. After situation analysis company can create strategic options to devise organizations external atmosphere and can scrutinize the potential. BP has a comprehensible strategy to invest to raise investigation and manufacture advantageously through a mixture of leadership positions in the worlds most productive hydrocarbon basins. BP creates value through the appliance of technology and potential to force performance and operating efficiency. The procedure and technology offers extensive chance for further expansion and improvement. The international requirements for energy for the next 20 years are such that hydrocarbons are still going to have a leading part in meeting that energy demand. BP supports emissions trading mechanisms as a means of putting a value on carbon in order to make appropriate investment decisions. BP spends on growing technology budget on potentially most competitively profitable innovations both in open and new power spaces. It is both a strategic option and an opportunity for BP when comparing with the rivals as BP is strategically positioned themselves in a highly innovative RD processes which is unmatchable by the rivals easily. While facing major challenges of dilapidated supplies and defense of supply in oil and gas, global warming and insist for pure energy in major markets, BPs percentage of expend on novel technologies is growing. BP has a decentralized en route for RD units. It also drives the strategic positioning of BP in competition among rivals. Operational excellence in acquiring right technologies from within and outer the organization and strategically as a winner of chosen new technologies, BP is keeping its innovation leadership in the industry. With an aim of being twice as good as next best competitor BPs innovation schema is far above the ground outline. Hence a low cost strategy is an ideal positioning for BP while serving to a large market segment that prefers a standard product. Corporate Mission of the BP BP mentioned that there goal for next few years to realize the latent impending of their advantage base by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of everything they do. They will dynamically drive cost and capital efficiency whilst at the same time maintaining the first main concern of safe and reliable operations. Objectives of the BP BP has some objectives for their growth in 2015. And all employees are working as a team to achieve company goals. Average 1-2% p.a. volume growth to 2015 Underpinned by upward resource base and quality through preference Key sources of growth beyond 2015 will come from: Increasing deepwater Leveraging expertise in gas Managing worlds enormous oilfields Enabled by application of technology Source-: http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do?categoryId=2contentId=7065607 Values and ethics of the BP BP is a compilation of resources and there people working together. To attain business objects they focus on sustaining and encouraging their leaders and staff. And they maintain recruitment stands and developing people skills at every level. BP is a well distinguish organization and wants to do some different in the world. BP is a performance driven company which is competitively booming. Through all this they prefer high ethical stand. Directions and methods of Strategic Options BPs direction is clear and it is the unrelenting pursuit of competitive leadership in respect of cash costs, capital efficiency and margin quality. The Strategy Clock is another suitable way to analyze a companys destructive position in comparison to the contributions of competitors. The Ansoff Growth matrix tool which is helps businesses to decide their product and market growth strategy. Figure 02.Ansoff Market mix (Source-: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm) Steps to develop Strategic Options at BP To develop strategic options company can use following steps. Access the external context Priorities and gather Develop strategic options Rate the options Follow up Evaluating strategies at BP SOP Matrix is a tool which can use to identify the company relevant strategies through external environmental factors. As an example BP Opportunities and treats as below and by indentifying the external environmental factors can recognize the relevant strategies options. Opportunities Opportunities Strategic Option A Has high investment capacity Invest in HR development and through that develop the skills of the staff members. An same time invest in market opportunities. B RD to investigate alternative fuel such as Hydrogen, Solar, Wind and natural gas By research can find the best alternative and company can give attention to that. C Extension of acquisition of North sea area Can develop deep sea oil well. D Increasing demand for natural gas in USA and European countries. Efficient and effective resource allocation to maximize profit. Implement more flexible price polices to face their competitors. By price reducing can get more customers on their products Gas and Oil searching Will help to increase their market values and can demand them among the competitors Treats Treats Strategic Option Unsound policies related to Environment after oil and toxic spill in 2006. Understand the policies and work with less effect to environment Explosion of factory tunnels in occasionally By keeping the brand image without harm can face the problem Has big rivals such as Shell and Chevron To make company as No1. And more promotional works Sold corporate owned stations. Buy the stations Pipeline decomposition Should check the pipeline back and do the needful changers Insecurity in some oil and gas producing countries and regions Should find some more producers in case to use. BPs existing company strategies are, 1) Safe, obedient and consistent operations 2) Operational and financial force high dividends and cost diminution program Task Three SMART Objectives of BP BP Objectives are prepared according to SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed).That means it should be particular about what we are going to achieve and should calculate about the objectives. There are a several types of objectives like process objectives, outcome objectives, personal objective that all can be done in the SMART format. BPs five year plan objectives are, Increase profitability by 20% Increase production Financial gain by serving to the increasing demand Build brand value that was affected by the oil spills Five year development plan for BP Business plan is a statement about companys future goals and plans to achieve those goals. This can be externally focus or internally focus. BPs Strategies in development can position as, Upstream growth Downstream turnaround Alternative Energy: alert disciplined Corporate overview In the upstream will hub on cost and capital efficiency to distribute profitable growth. In the downstream will drive additional efficiencies and a focus on quality and incorporation. They will maintain their disciplined approach to substitute energy and will carry on unlock corporate efficiency through a culture of uninterrupted enhancement. Five year development plan for BP # Objective Strategy Actions Performance Indicators Time Period 1 Increase profitability by 20% Research and development Hire most qualified researchers Innovative ways of doing things One year 2 Increase production Acquisition of north sea area. Negotiations with governments and agreeing for a joint profit sharing. Coming into an agreement with relevant governments Two years 3 Financial gain by serving to the increasing demand Sales and Marketing approaches to increase market share Recruiting experienced sales and marketing people and objective training Acquiring new market opportunities, increase the market share One year 4 Build brand value that was affected by the oil spills Communication and promotion strategy Using new media opportunities of social media to build brand name again, invest in CSR activities in Go Green. Reduce the black mark 3 years Evaluating and implementing the plan In business strategy, Johnson, Scholes and Whittington shows a model in strategic options are evaluated next to three key success criteria such as Suitability, Feasibility, and Acceptability. Source-: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_management # Objectives Time Line 1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year 1 Increase profitability by 20% X 2 Increase production X X 3 Financial gain by serving to the increasing demand X 4 Build brand value that was affected by the oil spills X X X Table.03. Five year BP strategic plan Conclusion When it is mention about the strategic management and the leadership strategic planning is a major part of it. Strategic planning can divide in to three stages as strategic Analysis, Strategic Options and Evaluation and Implementation. The British petroleum Corporation is a well established organization in petroleum industry and here it is mentioned about the strategy and competitive advantages of the BP and the technical tools which could they can use to analysis situations. The porters five forces investigation helps identify the competitive environment BP analysis their market for Quality production. There are so many competitors like Solar, sharp in the market and BP establish with mass production. By doing the SWOT analysis its helping company to identify the internal and external environment of the company. BP is focused on customers and they believe in their productions. They used the oil plus solar power combination and they used product segmentation, improve cost efficiency and some more strategies to increase their profits. They have created value through technology and this is a barrier for their competitors. Company can use strategy clock, Ansoff growth matrix tools to analysis their position in the market. To develop strategic options first it should identify the external context and priorities and clusters. Then it should develop the strategic options. SOP matrix is best tool to identify the strategies of the company.

The Poor Grass In The New Place :: essays research papers

I am strangely idealistic early in the morning. I almost feel like singing sometimes. There is something about Times Square at 7:30 AM. You notice a lot. The desolateness. The workers in their blue jumpsuits, loading and unloading. And the calm in a place not usually known for calm. This is where I wake myself up most mornings with a walk from 42nd to 56th St when I opt to get off the train a little early. The few I run into with some regularity smile at me with an unspoken friendship. I find pleasure in the view of skyscrapers reaching up to the blurry skies. So different from the reality that is the near-ghetto landscape of Bushwick, the place where I had been only an hour before. The place where I live. I can almost feel everyday on the L, the second I leave Bushwick, like I’m leaving to another world. That second brings back the memory of another world I left. The small island where I was born, the place I can barely even remember anymore. I think sometimes with a smile and sometimes with self-pity of those first months in an alien place. I was six that year. My parents never explained anything to me. Mi mami dressed me up one day in a little flowery dress and it was really hot and we all went in a long taxi drive to this huge place with lots of people and we had all these bags and then everyone was crying and then we went in this thing and we were flying and I got scared and I was crying and we got here and that’s it. That was all I understood. And we had to start our lives in an incredibly alien place. I was very unhappy. I hated the other girls at school before I could even understand them. I envied their smiles and their new shoes and their Mickey Mouse book bags. How I lived my days with envy. It was my companion on the way to school and on my lonely way back. That big, red brick, building loomed intimidating in the distance that first day as I neared the corner of Wilson Av. But it really never stopped looking that way. School was a blur of pointing fingers, impatient faces and bored, droning voices who mispronounced my name. I was always so silent, staring at the ground.