OfficeMax Corporate Description

Introduction The purpose of this essay is to describe the background of OfficeMax, Inc., financial statements, organizational structure, industry overview, and overall performance of this company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on OfficeMax Corporate Description specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Company and Industry Description OfficeMax is a diversified company and the pioneer of retail office products industry, which serves the pubic and private sector for the office supplies, paper, print, document services, and technological solution with high integrity, accountability, and corporate social responsibility through 29,000 associates all over the USA; in addition, it establishes several subsidiaries with 1,000 stores in the US and Mexico (OMX, Inc. 1). The performance of the office-supply retail industry is very significant to the manufacturers as they directly linked with the quick unstable demand, while the secto r generated profit of US$ 151.5 million with sales revenue US$ 7.6 billion in 2011, but the industry has been suffering from a declining profit from 2.6% to 2.0% during 2006 to 2011 (IBISWorld 4). History of firm OfficeMax started its journey in 1931 in the name of Boise Cascade Corporation; in 2003, it acquired OfficeMax, Inc. that provided the company to double its office products supply chain in the US market and the company bannered as OfficeMax; at the same time, it registered in NYSE and established headquarter in Naperville, Illinois (OMX, Inc. 1). In 2004, the company diversified its business from manufacturing to independent office products distribution channels for different technology based office supplies; in 2006, it brought remarkable changes at the management and shifted headquarters with strategic plan that rescued the company from the serious impact of global financial crisis and the company introduced five-year growth plan in 2010. Ownership and Stockholders of Company ZACKS (6) pointed out that OfficeMax Inc. has already listed company in the New York Stock Exchange, and it has aligned with 94% Institutional Ownership, 1 % Insider Ownership with US$ 696 million of market capitalization and 87 millions of outstanding shares while its Mexican outlets operated through 51% joint venture. The debt equity scenario of the company is as followsAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 1: Equity and Debt Position of OMX Source: Modified from Morningstar, Inc. (1) The current equity owners of the company is as – Figure 2: Current Equity Owner Source: Modified from Morningstar, Inc. (1)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on OfficeMax Corporate Description specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Morningstar, Inc. (1) reported that the stockholders of the OfficeMax are Franklin Balance Sheet Investment Fund, Thornburg Value, CREF Stock, and Fidelity Value and so on while Countryman (1) pointed out that the share of the company is significantly undervalued and they think to break-up or realize their full investment, such threatening trend of investors have generated huge challenges. Financial Condition: Past, Present, Trends According to the Yahoo Finance (1), share price of OfficeMax experienced extreme growth in the stock market at the initial stage, and the share price of this company decreased in 2008 and it was below $2 at that time though the position developed steadily; however, the following figure shows the historical stock price of OfficeMax for three stock exchanges – Figure 3: Historical stock price performance of OfficeMax from 2008 to 2011 Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Key variables 1997 ($ million) 1998 ($ million) 1999 ($ million) Sales Revenue 3.765.444 4,337.768 4,842.698 Gross profit 870.36 973.23 1,111.543 Net Income 89.6 2 48.62 10.041 EPS 0.72 0.39 0.09 Table 1: Key financial variables of OfficeMax Source: Self generated from O’Malley (14)Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More O’Malley (20) pointed out that the performance of this company deteriorated from the fiscal 2000 and the earning per share declined as well; however, the present performance of the company is satisfactory, but it must have to consider global financial crisis to hold stable position in the future. Analysis of financial statements and performance The operating costs of this company had not increased significantly, but the net income fluctuated dramatically, for instance, net income attributable to OfficeMax was $34.894 million, $71.155 million and $ 0.667 million for 2011, 2010 and 2009 accordingly; the following tables show key financial statistics and operating expenses for OfficeMax – Key variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Sales Revenue 7,121.167 7,150.007 7,212.050 Gross profit 1,809.18 1,849.652 1,737.598 Total Assets 4,069.275 4,078.93 4,069.531 Total Liabilities 3,468.359 3,428.918 3,566.335 Total cash flows from investing activities (69.373) (87.338) 2.822 Table 2: Key Financial Variables of OfficeMax Source: self-generated from OfficeMax (74-78) and Yahoo Finance (1) Variables 2011 ($ million) 2010 ($ million) 2009 ($ million) Cost of sales 5,311.99 5,300.36 5,474.45 Operating, selling, and general and administrative expenses 1,690.97 1,689.13 1,674.71 Asset impairments 11.20 10.98 17.612 Other operating expenses 20.53 3.077 49.30 Table 3: Total operating expenses of OfficeMax Source: Self generated from OfficeMax (78) and OMX, Inc. (1) Performance and Soundness in Comparison to Industry/ Competitors The presence of strong competitors in office-supply retail industry is one of the main threats for OfficeMax while the market position of the competitors is outstanding and it has both direct and indirect competitors those offer similar services, for example, local and international office goods markets are extremely and increasingly competitive (Yahoo Finance and OfficeMax 35). Accor ding to the figure 2, the performance of this company was not enough sound considering the performance of the competitors because it generated about $40 million profits in 2011 while Office Depot earned approximately $80.95 million and Staples, Inc. generated more than $917 million; however, the following figure demonstrates direct competitor comparison among the major competitors – Figure 4: Direct Competitor Comparison among Office Depot, Inc., Staples, Inc. WMT, and industry (Specialty Retail, Other) Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Figure 5: Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Staples, Inc. for the last five years Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Figure 6: Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Office Depot, Inc. for the last five years Source: Yahoo Finance (1) Many small companies are offering similar products and many others are trying to produce innovative products using modern technology, which can change the customer behavior and in crease market demand; moreover, the existing large companies are not the only threatening aspect for OfficeMax, but prospective new entrants can also cause of competitive challenges in the free market economy. Industry Type: Manufacturing/ Service In 2010, Sales revenue from manufacturing was US$ 3,634.2 million and from retailing US$ 3,515.8 million while the consolidated sales revenue was US$ 7,150.0, this data illustrated that the contribution of Manufacturing was 51% and the rest 49% earning from retailing; thus, the company has both attributes of manufacturing and service; at the same time, it is labor intensive (OMX, Inc. 6). Organization and Structure The Chief Executive Officer named Ravichandra Saligram is responsible to control all departments; in addition, the vice-president and Chief Diversity Officer are accountable to maintain the OfficeMax Diversity Council to prepare various reports and improve operational performance by implementing strategic plan. Figure 7: Organi zational Structure 2012 of OfficeMax Source: Official Board (1) Diversification The company is extremely diversified company, for instance, it has retail segment, contract section and so on – Figure 8: Sales from different segment Source: OfficeMax (5) Centralization The top management and board members are responsible to exercise decision-making power, which demonstrates that OfficeMax is following centralized organizational structure (Barney Hesterley 135). Compensation Policies According to the annual report 2011 of OfficeMax, Executive Vice-President Steve Parsons is responsible for all aspects related with compensation and benefits; however, compensation committee designs salary structure for the employees, directors and other board members. On the other hand, OfficeMax (1) reported that salary of the directors is competitive, non-employee directors obtain a form of long-term equity reimbursement, but non-employee board members merely receive salary for their boa rd service; however, it fails to ensure high compensation and benefits to attract and retain qualified associates. The following figure shows information related with equity compensation plan – Figure 9: Equity Compensation Plan Information Source: OfficeMax (117) Management Controls The management of OfficeMax is committed to control the company and review the performance of the Company by maintaining ethical codes with integrity, the regulations and conducts for the board member, and legal provisions of national and international markets; however, Ethisphere Institute awarded this company for quality leadership in ethical business practices (OfficeMax 1). Types of Organizational Structure OfficeMax is following hierarchical or formal organizational chart to control the company; in addition, OfficeMax is highly differentiated in its own industry, which influences the company to maintain several common functional departments to operate the business, for instance, legal d epartment, merchandising, supply chain, diversity management and human resource department; however, the subsequent figure shows a simple organizational of OfficeMax- Figure 10: Organizational Chart of OfficeMax Source: OfficeMax (1) Works Cited Barney, Jay. Hesterley, William. Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage. London: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print. Countryman, Andrew. Major shareholder seeks sale or breakup of OfficeMax Inc. 2005. Web. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-03-12/business/0503120309_1_officemax-capital-partners-k-capital. IBISWorld. 2011. Office Stationery Manufacturing in the US. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http://www.texastrade.org/resources/documents/doc_download/507-office-stationery-manufacturing-in-the-us-industry-report. Morningstar, Inc. OfficeMax Inc OMX. 2012. Web. http://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-overview.html?t=OMX. OfficeMax. Annual Report 2011 of OfficeMax. 2011. Web. http://investor.officemax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=851 71p=irol-reportsannual. OfficeMax. Corporate Governance of OfficeMax. 2012. Web. http://investor.officemax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=85171p=irol-govguidelines#2. OfficeMax. Organizational Chart of OfficeMax. 2012. Web. http://about.officemax.com/csr2007/working+organizational+structure.html. Official Board. Organizational Structure 2012 of OfficeMax. 2012. Web. http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/officemax. O’Malley, Judge. 2000. In re OfficeMax, Inc. Securities Litigation. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http://securities.stanford.edu/1015/OMX00/2001427_r01c_0002432.pdf. OMX, Inc. Company Facts. 2012. Web. http://about.officemax.com/html/officemax_company_facts.shtml. OMX, Inc. OfficeMax Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Financial Results. 2012. Web. http://investor.officemax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=85171p=irol-finnewsArticleID=1529468highlight=. OMX, Inc. 2009. OfficeMax’s Living Values 2008, Corporate Social Responsibility Report. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http:// about.officemax.com/csr2009/downloads/OMX_CSR_Report_08.pdf. OMX, Inc. 2011. OfficeMax’s Fact Sheet 11. PDF file. 02 November 2012. https://www.eandi.org/PDF/OfficeMax_Difference_5.11.pdf. Yahoo Finance. Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Office Depot, Inc. for the last 5 years. 2012. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5ys=OMXl=onz=lq=lc=ODPql=1. Yahoo Finance. Comparison of stock price performance between OfficeMax and Staples, Inc. for the last 5 years. 2012. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5ys=OMXl=onz=lq=lc=SPLSql=1. Yahoo Finance. Direct Competitor Comparison. 2012. Web. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=OMX+Competitors. ZACKS. 2012. OfficeMax Incorporated. PDF file. 02 November 2012. http://www.zacks.com/ZER/zer_get_pdf.php?r=Z921561t=OMXid=23723. This essay on OfficeMax Corporate Description was written and submitted by user Natasha M. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on “A Scarlet Ibis“ Literary Essay

Prompt: In the story â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† James Hurst uses setting imagery to parallel characterization. The two aspects of characterization that are reflected through the author’s use of setting imagery are [ the hopes and dreams] and [the disappointments] of the main characters. In â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† by James Hurst, setting imagery is used to parallel the characters’ moods. He uses these forms of nature to reflect both [ the hopes and dreams ] and [ the disappointments ] of the main characters. [ The first illustration of setting imagery is when Hurst describes the hopes and dreams, the hopes of Doodle being able to walk, and how it became reality. ] { Doodle had a title of being â€Å"Handicapped† hanging over his head. } { The brother had a problem with having a â€Å"Handicapped† brother, so he set out to teach him [ Doodle] how to walk. } James Hurst, describes when the dream of having Doodle be able to walk becomes a reality here, â€Å"Finally one day, after many weeks of practicing, he [ Doodle ] stood alone for a few seconds. When he fell, I grabbed him in my arms and hugged him, our laughter pealing through the swamp like a ringing bell. Now we knew it could be done. Hope no longer hid in the dark palmetto thicket but perched like a cardinal in the lacy toothbrush tree, brilliantly visible. â€Å"Yes, Yes,† I cried and he cried it too.† This passage shows how the brother’s dream went from hope to reality. The brother and his family thought that Doodle would never be able to stand on his own, let alone walk. Doodle’s walking wasn’t very important, but since the dream had existed in his brother’s head for weeks, Doodle made his brother’s dream become a reality. It is this picture of setting imagery that James Hurst has built his story around that continues the hope and dreams of the main characters’, both as a dream and now a reality for the family to remember. This very moment is a moment that Dood... Free Essays on â€Å"A Scarlet Ibisâ€Å" Literary Essay Free Essays on â€Å"A Scarlet Ibisâ€Å" Literary Essay Prompt: In the story â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† James Hurst uses setting imagery to parallel characterization. The two aspects of characterization that are reflected through the author’s use of setting imagery are [ the hopes and dreams] and [the disappointments] of the main characters. In â€Å"The Scarlet Ibis† by James Hurst, setting imagery is used to parallel the characters’ moods. He uses these forms of nature to reflect both [ the hopes and dreams ] and [ the disappointments ] of the main characters. [ The first illustration of setting imagery is when Hurst describes the hopes and dreams, the hopes of Doodle being able to walk, and how it became reality. ] { Doodle had a title of being â€Å"Handicapped† hanging over his head. } { The brother had a problem with having a â€Å"Handicapped† brother, so he set out to teach him [ Doodle] how to walk. } James Hurst, describes when the dream of having Doodle be able to walk becomes a reality here, â€Å"Finally one day, after many weeks of practicing, he [ Doodle ] stood alone for a few seconds. When he fell, I grabbed him in my arms and hugged him, our laughter pealing through the swamp like a ringing bell. Now we knew it could be done. Hope no longer hid in the dark palmetto thicket but perched like a cardinal in the lacy toothbrush tree, brilliantly visible. â€Å"Yes, Yes,† I cried and he cried it too.† This passage shows how the brother’s dream went from hope to reality. The brother and his family thought that Doodle would never be able to stand on his own, let alone walk. Doodle’s walking wasn’t very important, but since the dream had existed in his brother’s head for weeks, Doodle made his brother’s dream become a reality. It is this picture of setting imagery that James Hurst has built his story around that continues the hope and dreams of the main characters’, both as a dream and now a reality for the family to remember. This very moment is a moment that Dood...

A View of the Political Power of the Weimar Republic during the Golden Age

A View of the Political Power of the Weimar Republic during the Golden Age â€Å"The Weimar Republic enjoyed a golden age of political stability in the years 1924-28† When the armistice was signed by Germany in 1918, Germany was in a complete state of disarray. A naval mutiny broke out in Kiel, and Germany was plunged into a revolution. Several groups scrambled for control of Germany. Eventually, the Weimar Republic was formed, it promised a democratic republic with equal rights to all its citizens. However, to say the republic calmed tensions and provided political stability post-1918 would be far from accurate. Hyper-inflation and the harsh terms of the treaty of Versailles led to increasing resentment towards the newly-found republic from the German public up to the crisis year of 1923. However, historians have argued that between 1924 and 1928, Germany experienced a period of political stability, this is mainly attributed to Stresemann’s addressing of the hyper-inflation crisis by introducing the Rentenmark, as well as American loans and investment from the Dawes plan assisting the German economy in recovering. However critics have argu ed that there is no such thing as the â€Å"golden age† and that the Weimar Republic was still in a state of crisis. Some historians argue that it would be impossible to describe the period in Germany from 1924-1928 as a â€Å"golden age of political stability â€Å"because there was no stable Government during this period. Over this period there were 9 successive governments in the space of 4 years, all of them being coalition governments. The frequent change in leadership meant there was no time for any meaningful impact to take place as the next Government would scrap what the previous Government had been planning. In addition, some of the Governments during the period were minority Governments, leading to cases were Governments were unable to pass legislation due to other parties grouping together to prevent it from passing. The lack of strong government during the period highlighted the weakness of German democracy and led to the German public becoming disenfranchised with the establishment. However, looking at the period pre-1924, and compare it to the years 1924-28, it is clear that following 1924, there was a period of growing stability. Up to 1923, inflation was increasing at an exponential rate with the Government printing more and more money in order to pay of the overwhelming debts they held following the treaty of Versailles. The continual printing of money led to the Deutschmark becoming so worthless many German’s opted for a primitive barter economy instead. Hyper-inflation was only made worse by the French-Belgium invasion of the Ruhr. German workers in the Ruhr went on strike meaning reparations weren’t being paid; this led to a joint force of France and Belgium occupying the Ruhr. The German government at the time opted for a policy of passive resistance; they paid the German workers to stay on strike, but did not actively confront the occupying forces. The effect of passive resistance was that it led to even more money being paid out then the annual reparation payments cost them, which in turn exacerbated the hyper-inflation crises When Stresemann became chancellor in 1923 he set up a new currency, the Rentenmark which helped stabilise the economy and effectively ended the hyper-inflation crisis. Therefore, the crisis period up to 1923 is in great period with the relatively calmer more prosperous years from 1924-28. During this â€Å"golden age† real wages for Industrial workers increased and there was a sense of newfound prosperity, quite the opposite of the years leading up to the golden age. On the other hand, some historians would argue that the so-called economic prosperity of the â€Å"Golden age† wasn’t as prosperous as it is made out to be. Stresemann says in a speech shortly before his death â€Å"the economic position is only flourishing on the surface,† whilst the economy grew from 1924-1927 it shrunk in 1928; unemployment was a continuous issue, by March 1926 unemployment was at 3 million, this and the wall street crash which happened just after the golden age indicate that whilst the economy seemed to have recovered, in reality the foundations it was built on were unsafe to begin with. In conclusion, I would argue that whilst the Weimar Republic appeared to be more politically stable, the reality was that the short-lived prosperity was only due to American investment, and when the wall-street crash occurred, Germany was unable to rely on the USA, leading to an economic disaster. Thus the Weimar Republic enjoyed a false sense of political stability, but no real stability was present.

Strategic growth plan for Simply Coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Strategic growth plan for Simply Coffee - Essay Example There are several components which factor into a strategic growth plan, all which provide different alternatives for continuous growth and development of a business. Within this are several special alternatives that are associated with small businesses, specifically because the growth incorporates not only changes within the external environment, but are also inclusive of ways in which the internal environment needs to change. Incorporating specific alterations can provide further development within an organization while promoting healthy growth within a company. 2.0 Strategic Growth Plan 2.1 Executive Summary The small business which will be evaluated for a strategic growth plan is â€Å"Simply Coffee.† The focus of this particular business is to provide coffee machines to other businesses that are interested in extra compensation with the on the go concept. The machine is placed into a specific business with available coffee which the individuals can pay for while they are g oing through for other needs. The coffee machines are combined with special coffee beans that are provided regularly to clients for a specific taste, including beans of espresso, latte, cappuccino or regular black coffee. The company has provided a commitment to sustainable economics, specifically with a guarantee that rainforest won’t be harmed and that the farmers that provide the coffee receive fair compensation. Each of these products are also inclusive of on – site training to connect the machine and make sure that all of the components are ready for servicing so individuals can get their own coffee while moving through a line or while on the go. Retailers are also provided with marketing materials, including graphics, floor graphics, wobblers, interior and exterior graphics and external banners (Simply Coffee, 2011). The main concept of Simply Coffee began several years ago because of the noticed trend of individuals who needed items faster. The main ideology was to create a coffee machine which could provide a variety of coffees quickly and without waiting for the specialized mixes which are often included in coffee houses. The main ideal began with noticing that coffee and tea are one of the fastest growing sectors in the coffee industry and is inclusive of 22% of sales and growth each year and a profit of 120 million per year. The industry is combined with the ideology of on the go becoming even more popular, specifically which the majority of the population is interested in because of the need to move quickly while getting the daily enjoyment of tea or coffee. The machine is designed to not only offer quick coffee but also adds into retail value without taking up retail space. It is through the noticed trends in the market and changes which are associated with this that has built the main demand of the business (Simply Coffee, 2011). 2.2 Vision and Mission The vision of the Simply Coffee will be based on growth for the coffee machines a s well as popularity that will be provided to those who are interested in the coffee. The vision will include retailers implementing the machines in the stores with continuous demand for the coffee beans. The vision will also be inclusive of consumers recognizing the coffee as high quality, specifically in relation to coffee from home or from cafes. The mission will be based on growth of the demand of the coffee machines and finding the perfect cup for consumers while they are on the go. 2.3 Critical Success Factors The main concept which will need to be used with Simply Coffee is one which is based on changing the success of the company by altering the growth of the company. For the company to succeed, a stronger plan needs to be implemented with marketing. This will need to be based on recognizing the

Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Russia - Essay Example The Prime Minister heads the government, which the president appoints but at the parliaments approval. The crafty use of democratization agenda in the post-Cold War world has evoked a backlash against the whole notion of the expected transition to democracy. Democratization is also in question here as the ground reality has prompted rethinking because much of the post-Soviet region appears trapped between authoritarian past and a murky future. The experts use the term of managed democracy for the Russian system of government. The rise of political authoritarianism or managed democracy is an object of fascination for the West. The geopolitical realities such as Russian oil and gas reserves make sure that these Western interests remain engaged in evolution of the Russian democracy. It is hard to conclude whether Russia is still a democracy or not. But one thing is certain that it represents a unique version of democracy which is considerably

Legal and regulatory environment that influenced the Internet Essay Example for Free

Legal and regulatory environment that influenced the Internet Essay The internet is a dynamic field which is a product of several influences, which at times are contradictory. The constitutions of several countries were created before the advent of the internet, the need to create and amend laws and regulations governing the internet have influenced the internet. However, two major issues that have been of legal and regulatory contention are privacy and security; this is because privacy seems to be conversely related with security. The internet has made it possible for detailed personal information to be easily availed and shared, this has however infringed on the personal rights of privacy, according to Frackman, et al. (2002), several acts such as Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act have influenced immensely the internet since firms have to comply with the provisions of the Acts on all the personal information they collect ,and the personal information availed as content in the internet, since availing much information infringes of personal rights . However the issues of electronic commerce, cyber crime, network and state security, intellectual property rights, consumer rights and exchange of credit information have called for sharing of more information on the internet. Laws and regulations, such as Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, have called for extensive sharing of personal information on the internet, due to security concerns which in essence contradicts the objective of privacy. The privacy and security legal and regulatory environment have therefore greatly influenced the Internet. Explain how Dell initially used software and the Internet to increase sales and yield cost savings Dell is an international company offering computing services and products. Facing increasing costs in product distribution, the company founded the Integrated Dell Desktop (IDD); this offers simple desktop functionality to sales representatives, who are connected together via the internet. The system offers the clients the possibility of ordering bespoke systems directly from hence eliminating the middle men, therefore saving costs; this has been made possible by the company’s website dell. com and call centres. Dell was able to increase sales due to increased customer satisfaction, as a result of customers having the product of their selection. IDD also saved costs for dell, and improved profit for the company as well as offering competitive strategic advantage since the sales personnel were empowered to get any relevant information , since all the back end systems were integrated. In addition, the company was also to save on personnel costs, costs on offering training to the sales representatives were reduced as well as customers being able to get all the relevant information concerning the products from the website. Moreover, storage costs were reduced since the machines were produced depending on the customers’ customization and shipped to customer. IDD and the internet have therefore contributed to reducing costs and increasing sales at Dell.

The Manifesto of the Communist Party Essay -- Politics Political

The Manifesto of the Communist Party Drafted in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, the â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party† outlines the views, tendencies, and aims of the communist party through the so-called philosophy of historical materialism (Distante). These views were expressed throughout four distinct sections of the â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party.† The first section describes the relationship between the bourgeois and the proletarians. The next section depicts the relationship between the proletarians and the communists. The third section of the document presents socialist and communist literature. The â€Å"Manifesto†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is ended with a section stating the position of the communists in relation to opposition parties. The first section begins with a brief history of the bourgeois in various societies. Marx shows that like earlier civilizations, the bourgeois, or modern capitalists and employers, has oppressed the proletarian class, or the working class of the society. Comparisons are made regarding ancient Rome as well as the middle ages with the modern bourgeois. Marx claims that the â€Å"modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society [†¦.] It has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression (Marx).† During the feudal period, the feudal lords monopolized industry. As time progressed, this system was insufficient for the growing needs of the nation. A new manufacturing system took the place of the monopoly system and soon provided for the natural evolution of the capitalist class. Due to increased work and efficiency, the markets continued to grow to the point that even the manufacturing system was not sufficient. Industrial revol... ...tionary movement against the existing social and political order of things. In all these movements they bring to the front, as the leading question in each, the property question†¦Working men of all countries unite! (Marx)† Works Cited 1. Brians, Paul. Communist Manifesto Study Questions. http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/manifesto.html (19 Oct. 2001). 2. Distante, Patrick. Evolutionary Philosophy---the Late 19th Century. http://home.earthlink.net/~pdistan/howp_9.html (19 Oct. 2001) 3. Kuhn, Rick. The Communist Manifesto. http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html (19 Oct. 2001). 4. Marx, Karl and Engels, Freidrich. The Manifesto of the Communist Party. (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1964) 5. Marxism Made Simple. http://www.marxism-made-simple.fsnet.co.uk/mainpage.htm (19 Oct 2001).

How far are woman and goddesses responsible for the problems that Odysseus faces on his journey? Essay

In Homer’s Odyssey women are responsible for many of the problems that Odysseus faced during his journey back to Ithaca. This essay will analyse how far women were responsible and also compare it to far other things caused problems for Odysseus. The first woman that I think caused Odysseus problems on his journey is Calypso. Calypso, her name meaning â€Å"the concealer† in Greek, using her beauty kept Odysseus captive on her island for seven years. â€Å"He is left to languish in misery in the island home of Calypso, who keeps him captured there.† (Page 63) Odysseus is upset because firstly on the island of Ogygia, Odysseus is powerless: he is no longer warrior and king but Calypso’s lover. The fact that she kept him captive is bad because had he remained on Ogygia, he would have no chance of ever getting any fame and glory. â€Å"His eyes were wet with weeping, as they always were† (Page 66). This quote also refers to this point because Odysseus w ants more than anything to return home, but he can’t and there is nothing Odysseus can do about it. The second reason that Calypso caused problems was the fact that she offered eternal life to Odysseus. â€Å"Yet had you any inkling of the full measure if misery you are bound to endure before you reach your native land, you would stay and share this home with me, and take on immortality.† (Page 68) This ironically, she is just offering him a form of death as he would be isolated from the rest of the world. It would also prevent him continuing on his journey. On the other hand though, firstly, if it hadn’t been for the Charybdis and the Gods, Odysseus wouldn’t be on Ogygia. â€Å"Nine days of drifting followed; but in the night of the tenth the gods washed me up on the island of Ogygia† (Page 168), conveys that the Gods caused Odysseus to be on Ogygia. Also the person who alerts the Gods of Odysseus current location and situation is Athene, who of course is also a woman. Not only that but while Odysseus was being held on Ogygia he was very well treated by Calypso, she fed him, bathed him and clothed him and she shows great signs of Xenia not just to Odysseus but to Hermes as well. The second woman who was responsible for problems that Odysseus faced was Circe. Firstly she turned all but one of Odysseus’ men into pigs and delayed Odysseus’ progress. â€Å"Now they had pig’s heads and bristles and they grunted  like pigs; but their minds were as human as they had been before,† (Page 131) this quote depicts Circe’s cruelness towards Odysseus’ men. Secondly Circe again stalls Odysseus from completing his journey back to Ithaca. â€Å"You are worn out and dispirited, always brooding on the hardships of your travels. Your sufferings have been so continuous that you have lost all pleasure in living.† (Page 136) This quote shows how Circe convinced Odysseus and his men to spend more time on the island. Thirdly Circe made Odysseus and his men take a different route, via the prophet Teiresias, rather than going straight back to Ithaca. â€Å"But Circe has marked out a very different route- to the Halls of Hades and the dreaded Persephone.† (Page 139) This makes the rest of Odysseus’ crew very upset. â€Å"When I told them they were heart-broken. They sat down where they were and tore their hair out.† (Page 139) Circe was very useful on the other hand. Had they not resumed their journey via the prophet Teiresias in the Underworld they would be completely ignorant to the dangers of Scylla, Charybdis and the Sirens ahead. She was also useful to Odysseus as she bore his child. The last women who were responsible for problems on Odysseus’ journey were the Sirens. â€Å"For with their high clear song the Sirens bewitch him, as they sit there in a meadow piled high with the mouldering skeletons of men, whose withered skin still hangs upon their bones.† (Page 158) This quote conveys how savage the Sirens are and that if Odysseus and his men did cross the Sirens without knowing they would have had a nasty death. â€Å"There is no homecoming for the man who draws near them unawares and hears the Sirens’ voices; no welcome from his wife, no little children brightening at their father’s return.† (Page 158) This quote depicts the fact that if Circe hadn’t told Odysseus and his men to go and seek Teiresias then they would never have found out about the Sirens and therefore suffered as a result. So to conclude I think that women were only responsible for some of the problems on Odysseus’ journey as although most of the women hold him up on his journey, (one of them for seven years) they not only show him xenia but they also give him good and sometimes life saving advice.

Drainflow Repairing Jobs That Fail to Satisfy Essay

William Assemiah, 12021643 Irene Aidoo, 12021610 Sroda Adzo Apam, 12021626 Asare Ohenedwira Thomas, 12021639 Dorothy Dede Aklerh Asamoah, 12021634 Sampson Abbey Armah, 12021630 Arthur Sherifa, 12021631 Amadu Waliu, 12021617 Report Summary 1. Executive Summary DrainFlow, a plumbing maintenance firm in the USA, has been losing its customers to competitors due to poor services. Job motivation and satisfaction among employees is declining across various job categories within the firm. This dissatisfaction has been attributed to the overspecialization of some job functions in the company. The report attempts to assist DrainFlow improve in three key areas: job structure and design, incentive policies, and recruitment practices. It will go further to analyze the causes of the woes being faced by DrainFlow and provide a constructive recommendation on how to overcome them The main contents include an introduction to the problems DrainFlow is encountering, analyses of the current business, and recommendations on how DrainFlow can overcome these issues to foster a long-term competitive advantage. 2. Introduction Research shows that a happy worker is a productive employee. Satisfied employees tend to be better at their workplaces. Many of the individual behaviors at the workplace are affected by job satisfaction The main contents include an introduction to the problems DrainFlow is encountering, analyses of the current business, and recommendations on how DrainFlow can overcome these issues to foster a long-term competitive advantage. The goal of this proposal is to provide recommendations for a new job structure, a new incentive structure, and new hiring practices. The job structure recommendations will allow for more cross training between office workers and service providers. This will enrich all jobs at DrainFlow by adding different tasks, autonomy, and feedback. The new incentive structure will allow for flexible benefits and recognition. This is designed to motivate  employees and improve customer service. Lastly, the new hiring practices will provide a repeatable solution for finding a cohesive set of new employees. The report consists of five (5) parts: Executive Summary, Introduction, Motivation and Job Structure Analysis, Recommendations and Implementation. 3. Motivation and Job Structure Analysis 3.1. Job Design Research shows that there is a moderate relationship between job satisfaction and job performance as well as customer satisfaction. Satisfied employees perform better at their jobs and provide better customer service. Employees of DrainFlow are dissatisfied and that is the root cause of their present situation. Generally, specialization results in cost effectiveness and delivering of core competencies among employees when jobs are complex and require years of experience and learning for mastery. It becomes an albatross when jobs have few tasks and require little skill. The bottom line is, jobs have different effects on efficiency and motivation. The current job structure of DrainFlow due to its specialization has contributed to job dissatisfaction among employees and in 25% cases, turning employees away from the company. Work groups are dissatisfied with each other’s output. The current job structure only assigned tasks without considering the interdependency of those tasks. Due to this, problems such as assigning a plumber assistant on a job meant for a plumber, and vice versa, and poor customer service have plagued DrainFlow. DrainFlow should adopt Hackman’s Job Characteristic Model to describe current jobs in the firm. The JCM has five core dimensions which include skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. Skill variety is the use of different skills and talents to complete a variety of work activities. The current job- tasks in DrainFlow are very narrow and do not allow employees that skill variety. Task identity is the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole or identifiable piece. This will help communicate the interdependence of work from one group and the other through the order to bill process. Task significance is the degree to which the job affects the organization and society. There no feedback channels in the firm at present and as such it’s difficult to measure customer satisfaction. Autonomy will provide the freedom, independence and discretion in scheduling  work and determining the procedure to be used in accomplishing it. DrainFlow has a preplanned and stringent procedure to follow. Feedback will provide employees with direct and clear information about their own performance. DrainFlow’s employees haven’t that information to assess their performance. 3.2 Incentive Scheme DrainFlow has no incentive scheme in place that will motivate employees to put any extra effort on the job. The present reward system is based on skill and qualification. Plumbers are rewarded the most as compared to the others because of their level of skill and not on performance. Generally, reward systems tend to motivate employees better when they are:   linked to performance; the rewards are important, when team rewards are used for interdependent jobs and those rewards are valuable. Lee’s attempt to salvage DrainFlow by introducing the reward system is laudable but it will need a few modifications. 3.3. Recruitment Practices The current recruitment processes by DrainFlow are based on unstructured interviews by different managers thereby creating a higher level of inconsistencies in the choices of selection of employees. The use of shortcuts for judgment such as selective perception (tendency to selectively interpret what one sees based on one’s interests, background, experience and attitudes), or stereotyping (judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs) are prevalent. Although the shortcuts may aide accurate perceptions and hence predictions, they are not full proof and may result in perception inaccuracies. Research indicates that impressions are formed within a tenth of a second, based on a first glance. Wrong perceptions may result in employees that are unqualified for the position and/or dissatisfied with work. The current situation at DrainFlow was aggravated by these perceptional recruitment inefficiencies. Most employees lack training in customer service, organizational behavior and are anxious about speaking with customers. Order processors do not have  sufficient knowledge or skill to explain the customer’s situation to DrainFlow Plumbers or Plumber Assistants. Billing representatives must deal with the negative reactions of dissatisfied customers; however, Bill processors are only involved at the end of the job process and unaware of any job details. DrainFlow plumbers are sometimes reluctant to deliver bad news of an unexpectedly high bill to customers. Furthermore, it is clear that a majority of order processors do not know any more about plumbing than customers calling in. These deficiencies have resulted in a direct negative impact on the revenue and cost savings, which were to be achieved by dividing assignments and specializing job responsibilities. 4.0 Recommendations A. Job Redesign DrainFlow work units have been overspecialized and there is little or no coordination among employees of different functional units. Therefore, we recommend a radical redesign of the job structure and business processes to achieve dramatic performance improvements and motivation. Order and Bill Processing be merged into one work unit under a job title. This will enable employees to have a first-time touch with customers. Cross training programs should be organized to enhance their knowledge of plumbing and plumbing-related activities. Feedbacks on customer satisfaction can easily be tracked. Plumbing assistants, besides performing less technical plumbing works, should be given the opportunity to do rotational job activities in Order and Bill Processing unit. This will foster a better relationship among employees, enhance skill variety, cross training; reduce boredom and increase motivation and job satisfaction. Plumbers should organize training sessions on plumbing for worker in Order and Bill Processing Unit and continue to do complex plumbing works. The training should be interactive and focus on providing skill on how to respond to plumbing problems. This is to add a variety to plumbers’ activities. B. Incentive Scheme There is no current incentive scheme in place that is capable of providing employee satisfaction and motivation. DrainFlow should introduce an incentive scheme geared towards increasing employee satisfaction. This scheme should be both intrinsic and extrinsic; it should be both skill-oriented and performancebased.   Skills in customer service, plumbing and work attitude should be considered in the scheme. Performance-based will reward employees who create and maintain high customer retention rates. At the end of any job, a customer satisfaction survey should be conducted to assess level of customer satisfaction. Results from the survey should be the bases for implementing Lee’s reward scheme. Rewarding performance should be an ongoing managerial and not just periodic. Therefore, extrinsic rewards such as performance pay should be consistent with overall management objectives, used to reinforce a motivational in which nonmonetary rewards exist such as employee recognition. C. Recruitment Practices Based on the problem analysis concerning recruitment practices in DrainFlow, we recommend that management should design a consistent recruitment procedure that is capable of finding and hiring individuals who have the skill and experience to function well on the job. The recruitment policy procedure should emphasize on: ï‚ · A brief summary judgment about the applicant’s strength and weaknesses ï‚ · Interpreting facts as they appear on resume and make judgments; highlight and comment on experience and skills only as they apply to the needs of DrainFlow ï‚ · Identifying personality  traits (such as Agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, and emotional stability) that will improve customer service and emotional labor 4. Implementation This is probably the hardest part of it all. DrainFlow’s challenges of improving employee and customer satisfaction whiles increasing profit levels through cost containment and job performance is contingent on implementing our recommendations. However, any successful implementation of these recommendations will require support from toplevel management. The objectives of the changes should be clearly communicated to employees. DrainFlow should not do any radical changes; they should introduce the changes gradually in order of importance. Redesigning the job structure is essentially the first change management should introduce. The focus is on combining order and billing work responsibilities into a single work unit. This should be followed by cross training and weekly job rotational activities. Workers of the newly created Order and Billing Unit should be given the opportunity to clone a plumber or plumber assistant to learn the basic concepts of plumbing. This will equip them with the necessary competencies in executing order and bill processing. DrainFlow needs to implement a new incentive scheme that is capable of boosting employee satisfaction to put in more effort in their work. The proposed incentive scheme should include a financial reward system, as proposed by Lee, and an intrinsic, employee recognition program. Research has shown that financial rewards are mostly effective and deliver good results  only in the short-run. Employee loyalty and long-term motivational needs are triggered by non-financial rewards such as recognition. 5. Conclusion This report summarized recommendations on how DrainFlow will gain a competitive advantage by improving three key knobs: job structure and design, incentive scheme and recruitment practices. The recommendations are clear and understandable and should be technically easy and financially cost effective to implement. The report proposes combining some job units,  encouraging a weekly job rotational activities, cross training by utilizing the current talents available within the organization, etc. A new incentive scheme will create job satisfaction through job motivation; this will boost productivity, performance and customer retention. The new recruitment policy entails finding and training employees that fit and share the dreams and aspirations of DrainFlow. Consequently, DrainFlow will see positive changes in employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and retention, motivation, loyalty, performance, productivity and profitability.

Strategic Information System †Current Issues The WritePass Journal

Strategic Information System – Current Issues WRITEPASS CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING PUBLIC HEALTH DISSERTATION TOPICS Strategic Information System – Current Issues ) lists the main opportunities of strategic information systems’ application in healthcare as follows: Biomedical research Developing prevention and treatment standards Care delivery Linking national and regional registries Decision-support Challenges Blumenthal (2009) states that the resistance in the profession is the main barrier of SIS integration. Further challenges listed by Ngafeeson (2014) are: Lack of integration among systems Confusing standards Lack of well-developed exchange systems Cost restraints Potential Benefits The main potential benefits of SIS on the health care system to successfully deal with demographic challenges are: Accessibility (rural residents’ access to care) Cost savings Improved quality of care Education opportunities remotely Collaboration among departments (Rudowski 2008). Emerging Themes Clinical decision support systems can support primary care providers (Berner 2009) Rural access improvement through â€Å"internet doctor† services (Wood 2004) Data mining capability building to develop knowledge about trends (Ngafeeson 2014) Instant collaboration methods development Current Initiatives Chronic Disease Management Program in New Zealand helped deliver adequate diabetes control (Rudowski 2008) transmission of ECG signal directly from the ambulance to invasive cardiology centre (Rudowski 2008) Teleradiology Application of SIS in Health Care Berner (2009) lists possible areas of adaptation as: Preventive care (identifying risk populations) Diagnosis (database updates) Treatment plans (guidelines, templates) Cost reduction (duplicate test alert, for example) Follow-up management (alerts) (Berner 2009). Future Outlook and Research Hoque, Hossin, and Khan (2016) states that Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) will benefit developing countries more. The authors also define different stages of SISP: Strategic awareness Situation analysis Strategy conception Strategy formulation Strategy implementation SIS Challenges Difficulty to secure commitment Need for training and development Lack of IT support Underdeveloped technological environment IT leader selection and recruitment Issues with implementation and project management (Hoque, Hossin, and Khan 2016) Conclusion Several opportunities exist in improving health care access, diagnosis accuracy, and information flow in the health care system, related to the development of SIS. The main barriers of implementation were found to be lack of training opportunity, personnel resistance, and lack of IT leadership. References Berner, E.S., 2009. Clinical decision support systems: state of the art.  AHRQ publication,  90069. Hoque, M.R., Hossin, M.E. and Khan, W., 2016. Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) Practices In Health Care Sectors Of Bangladesh.  European Scientific Journal,  12(6). Ngafeeson, M.N., 2015. Healthcare Information Systems Opportunities and Challenges. In  Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition  (pp. 3387-3395). IGI Global. Rudowski, R., 2008. Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Health Care.  Department of Medical Informatics and Telemedicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland. WHO. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011.  A System of Health Accounts 2011. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Wood, J., 2004.  Rural health and healthcare: A north west perspective. Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University.

Analyze the risk of Merger and Acquisition on enterprise Dissertation

Analyze the risk of Merger and Acquisition on enterprise - Dissertation Example The paper describes why the organizations purse mergers and acquisitions. There are different reasons for this including growth strategies and when seeking to enter into a new market which has been identified as the main reason behind acquisitions. In the commercial sector, larger corporations are considered to be better because such corporations are considered to have larger pool of resources to enhance their operations and to reach out to a great number of customers. In light of this, mergers and acquisitions have become the order of the day in the corporate world. Some acquisitions and mergers are so successful that it is possible to remember when the companies involved were separate and distinct entities. However, other mergers fail to accomplish their intended purposes and companies engaged either runs bankrupt, executives are sacked or they go into a corporate separation. Mergers and acquisitions get together varying people, processes, and technologies with the aim of creating a large unified organization. The organization generally seeks to gain from the synergies of the acquisition and merger by consolidating, integrating and rationalizing the people, technologies and procedures of the two organizations. Not all companies have the ability to provide the desired technology to compete effectively with other players in the market and therefore they choose to team up with other enterprises that have the desire technology or with which they can combine resources to get the needed technology. Mergers and acquisitions may also be adopted by enterprises as an attempt to mitigate their financial risks and share costs involved in research and development of a new product (Elmuti and Kathawala, 2001, p. 205). They assert that financial resources required to purse a new product may be too high for one company and therefore they may result to merger. According to Elmuti and Kathawala (2001, p. 206), when airplane manufacturers realized that construction of a large j et plane involved high cost; they formed an alliance between Boeing, Aerospatiale of France, British Aerospace, Deutsche Aerospace of Germany and Construcciones Aeronauticas of Spain. This alliance was geared towards spreading the financial risks involved in the venture among many players. The other reason for mergers and acquisitions is to help enterprises achieve competitive advantage. Elmuti and Kathawala (2001, p. 206) describe that alliances are attractive to small organizations as they provide the required tools required to give them a competitive edge. The risks and problems involved in merger and acquisition range from financial risks, relational risks, incompatible cultures, lack of trust, inadequate coordination between the management teams and differences in

Chronic heart disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chronic heart disease - Essay Example This is a slowly progressing condition that ultimately acts to restrict blood flow to the heart, thus the supply of oxygen to the brain and body. More formally known coronary artery disease, the build-up of plaque in the arteries, atherosclerosis, narrows and hardens the arterial passages. Fats and cholesterol are the main substances found in plaque (â€Å"Heart Disease FAQs†, 2007). Heart diseases can also be congenital (born with the disease), caused by an abnormality of the heart valves, arrhythmia (an electrical malfunction within the heart) or a deteriorating of the heart’s ability to pump effectively because of toxins or infection (â€Å"Heart Disease†, 2005). Heart disease causes the deaths of nearly one million people in the U.S. every year, accounting for more than 40 percent of total fatalities. It is the primary cause of death worldwide among both women and men. The American Heart Association reports that â€Å"cardiovascular disease accounts for more deaths per year in the United States than the next six causes of death combined† (â€Å"Heart Disease Overview†, 2007). Nine controllable factors are the basis for almost all instances of heart disease. Diet and exercise are two and will be discussed more at length following a brief discussion of the other seven. Obesity, particularly of the abdomen, more than doubles the risk for heart disease. A large ‘tummy’ causes hormonal issues which produces high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, all of which puts the individual at greater risk. Having diabetes or abnormally high cholesterol quadruples the risk for heart disease. High blood pressure triples the risk. The moderate use of alcohol (one drink per day) actually reduces the risk for heart disease, by 12 percent for men and an amazing 60 percent for women. Drinking too much promotes heart disease. The inability to successfully manage the stresses of everyday life which