Topics to Write an Essay on For High School

Topics to Write an Essay on For High SchoolMany people think that to write an essay for high school is simple and straightforward. This is a complete misunderstanding as there are a lot of things that you have to be aware of. Here are some topics to write an essay on for high school.In fact, it can be difficult to write your own topic. However, there are lots of resources available out there to help you get the best possible topic. In this article, I am going to give you three of the most popular topics to write an essay on for high school.English composition is a subject that everyone knows about. You will want to write an essay on this topic if you are a student. This is a topic that most people cannot write on but if you do not know how to write an essay, you can always start by taking a writing class. If you do not think you are that good at writing, you may find it helpful to take a workshop. It is better to consult your teacher when you feel like writing an essay on the English composition.Writing is just as important as speaking and writing a thesis is one of the best ways to secure your place in college. To make sure that you are successful with this, you will need to have good English writing skills. You will find a lot of resources out there to help you master this skill.In this article, you will learn a lot about writing an essay for high school. The first thing that you need to understand is that the content and structure of the essay is very important. There are other topics to write an essay on for high school but most of these topics involve the writing style or the idea behind the essay.This does not mean that your essay has to be short and to the point. However, a good essay should have a good structure, main idea, and supporting data.Once you get used to writing well, you will become more comfortable and confident to write an essay. You will not only have an easy time writing an essay but you will also have a lot of confidence to write a thesi s. So, just try and be confident in writing essays for high school.

The Western Approach Of Aging - 1287 Words

In my country, we think highly of our families particularly our elders. Our elderlies benefit and relish their remaining lives with their children and grandchildren providing them their daily essentials such as health, welfare, maintenance, and protection. A Filipino must conform to what is predominantly accepted and expected by the society. This has in some way shed a light on why grandparents customarily live with at least one family member generally the eldest child. This distinguishing quality among Filipinos makes it an orthodox way of life. Because of this significant difference in how we care for our older member of the family, our seniors mostly stay at home to occupy or entertain themselves but with my grandparents cooking and chatting all day either with grandchildren or neighbors, there’s just no time left for other things to do. In contrast to the way the Western approach of aging is totally different – culturally and sociologically. They are provided with c are from external providers or nursing homes. Such care from these type of providers are not enough to combat loneliness and isolation. They need the support from the community to maintain optimal health. AGENCY’S MANDATE/MISSION K-W Seniors Day Program is a community based, non-profit organization committed to support our seniors sustain their quality of life and morale by means of a variety of programs. Participants are transported from their residences to K-W Seniors Day Program facility to participateShow MoreRelatedOur Assignment This Week Asks Us To Write A Paper That1147 Words   |  5 Pageswhat the repercussions might be of applying a Western World theory in a non-Western area. Personally, I find this a hard quest considering there is nowhere in the civilized world that is not extremely influenced by the Western World. Even the Arab nations are influenced by the Western Worlds need for fossil fuels. Granted the western culture has not been completely accepted in all parts of the world since some people are against the approaches of the western culture naming it as oppressive and that itRead MoreThe Geriatric Population Is Surging Across The World1295 Words   |  6 Pagesare resulting in increased longevity in the world’s population† (Hanson, 2014, p. 225). Aging is an undeniable process, and though there are techniques and procedures that may minimize the appearance of aging, the biological process itself, is unpreventable. However, it is ironic that the Western world correlates and glorifies youth and beauty whilst it simultaneously holds prejudiced views against the aging process, even though every individual ages with every second that passes. Stereotypes areRead More Linear Time Structure of the Western World1448 Words   |  6 PagesThanks to the linear time structure of the western world, time is no longer infinite. People of our culture constantly have to stress over rushing to arrive at an appointment on time, turning in an assignment by a particular day, or having a prepared meal on the table at 5 o’clock on the dot. As days are filled with schedules dictated by time, the time itself just seems to slip away. This passing of linear time creates the worry that life is too short and this generates the concern about death,Read MoreAging Is A Biological And Social Process1413 Words   |  6 PagesThe process of aging is a biological process. However, someone being considered ‘young’, ‘middle-aged’ or ‘old’ (the three main age spans) is perceived differently by divergent cultures, therefore it is considered a social construct. This essay will not only examine the three characteristics of age, particularly ‘young’ and ‘old’, but also it will come to a conclusion in relation to the essay question outlined above. The process of aging is a biological/social process. In contrary, varying culturesRead MoreMy Development As A Psychologist1408 Words   |  6 Pagesand the neo-Pavlovians. A considerable amount of his work is devoted to drawing parallels between Eastern and Western conceptualisations of personality, learning and arousal which culminated in an influential book â€Å"The Biology of Human Conduct: East-West Models of Temperament and Personality†. As well as these three areas he published on a broad range of topics including intelligence, aging, learning, conflict, behaviour therapy, personality, attention, music and arousal. The following outline isRead MoreThe Difference Between Eastern and Western Medicine1823 Words   |  7 Pagesrole we play in helping ourselves heal. Eastern and Western medicine are significantly different, with the main approach in the East being the goal of maintaining harmony, yet in the West, medicine is approached by separating the disease from the human. While the Eastern culture medical advancements were catalyzed by the Confucian beliefs, which stress harmony and peace, antibiotics and technology have influenced medical advancements of the Western culture. The focus on maintaining harmony was a drivingRead MoreAnti Aging And The Japanese Diet1273 Words   |  6 PagesAnti-aging and the Japanese diet was a focal point of an article in the May 2011 issue of Life Extension. The Japanese diet is largely comprised of seaweed in which there are specific types that have high content levels of a certain substance referred to as fucoidans. These fucoidan molecules have an important role regarding numerous functions physiologically, and most people on the western part of the globe get very few of them. The Japanese Diet The peop le of Japan have always been known to consumeRead MoreHow Adulthood Can Be Broken Down Further Into Two Sub Stages1172 Words   |  5 Pages(thirty-five to sixty-five). In Early Adulthood, adults are in the â€Å"prime of their lives†, that is, they are in top physical and cognitive health (lime). When a person reaches Middle Adulthood, their cognitive abilities remain stable; and they tend to approach things more practically; the activities and tasks engaged in by midlife are generally not cognitively challenging. Perhaps this is due to experience, or having many years of practice on the task at hand, or they may be employing selective optimization-theyRead MoreLow Back Pain : A Highly Prevalent Socioeconomic Health Issue1510 Words   |  7 Pagesback pain remain ambiguous and difficult to diagnose. Because low back pain is not simply an illness but a cloud of symptoms, the current modern Western biomedical approach to a clear consensus of treatment is quite a difficult ta sk as well. The modern Western biomedical field has shaped and dominated our current perspective of the low back and the approach to diagnosis and treatment of low back issues. This view first came to form between the 1930 s and 1950 s with the publication of two orthopedicRead MoreAgency Report : Kw Senior S Day Program1283 Words   |  6 Pagescare for our older member of the family, our seniors mostly stay at home to occupy or entertain themselves but with my grandparents cooking and chatting all day, there’s just no time left for other things to do. In contrast to the way the Western approach aging is totally different – culturally and sociologically. They are provided with care from external providers or nursing homes. AGENCY’S MANDATE/MISSION K-W Seniors Day Program is a community based, non-profit organization committed to support

Concept of Substitute and Complementary †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Concept of Substitute and Complementary. Answer: Introduction In todays world, there is increasing concern for mitigating air pollution. One major factor contributing to the growing air pollution is the smoke emitted from burning of petrol and diesel in vehicles. To counter air pollution, countries around the world are taking steps to reduce carbon emission. France has announced to ban use of diesel and petrol vehicle by 2040. The Policy is initiated to address public health concern. Pollution entails negative externality and thus leads market failure. The concept of market failure is analyzed using microeconomic framework and concept of efficiency. To fulfill the objective of banning petrol and diesel vehicles government of France incentivizes household for using alternative theses vehicles such as electric car or plug in hybrid vehicles. Apart from its direct impact on petrol and diesel car, market the policy likely to affect non-petrol and diesel car market as well. This is evaluated using the concept substitute and complementary good. Market failure signifies a situation where market alone cannot ensure efficient outcome. This is likely to be happened in the presence of any external factor that leads to a discrepancy between social and private benefits and costs. Externality is the event when agents not directly or indirectly included in any activity but still affected from that activity and this is not included in evaluation of the activity (Nicholson and Snyder 2014). There are two types of externalities that are found to be present. One is positive externality and another is negative externality. In times of positive externality, social benefit exceeds that of private benefits. In the presence of negative externality, social cost exceeds private cost. Both leads to an inefficient market outcome and government policy intervention are needed to correct the inefficiency. The essay points to the ban of petrol and diesel vehicle by 2040. The smoke emitted from burning of fossils fuels in petrol and diesel run vehicles comprises harmful gases. This smokes when mixes with atmosphere then pollute the air. People who breathe the air fell ill. This imposes a social cost that its users or producers do not account. Here social cost is greater than private marginal cost. This situation is described in the following figure. The figure above describes the how the presence of a negative externality leads to an inefficient market outcome. Demand curve represents marginal social benefit while the supply curve represents marginal private cost. In presence of pollution, marginal social cost lies above the marginal private cost curve (Baumol and Blinder 2015). Market outcome is obtained at the intersection of marginal social benefit curve and private marginal cost curve. Corresponding market price and quantity are P* and Q* respectively. However, efficient outcome is that which is obtained from intersection of marginal social cost and marginal social benefit. Efficient quantity is Qe and efficient price is Pe. With negative externality and market failure, the market produces more than the optimum quantity. To address the issue of market failure and to correct the negative externality government intervention is required. The environment ministry in France has taken an extreme step and announces for a ban in the use of petrol and diesel by 2040. Obvious impact of this policy is on the car manufacturer and put pressure on them by banning the use of diesel and petrol vehicles. However, current market research points that they the current projects of these manufacturers will help to stand on this promise (Klier and Linn 2015). In order to make the banning project successful, the plan incorporates of providing subsidy premium to poor household so that they can easily replace their pollutant vehicles with clean alternatives. As a part of this plan, France has also decided to restrict the use of coals for producing electricity. This further includes an investment of 4bn to increase energy efficiency. All these are undertaken to maintain leadership of France in the changing climate policy. The policy will affect daily lives of people in France. Prior to France, Norway and Netherland was announced for banning use of Petrol and diesel run vehicles by 2025. Indian and Germany have announced to go for a similar policy by 2030 onwards (theguardian.com 2017). The policy of banning petrol and diesel vehicles followed immediately with the announcement of Volvo to manufacture only electric cars. Banning of these vehicles is likely to have a severe impact on the sales of current car manufacturer in France. Though it would create a tough condition for car manufacturer but the ministry has belief that the industry is well equipped to stand this challenge and can make successful transition. The manufacturers have well designed strategies to survive their business. The main objective of this policy is to address the public health issue arising from public health. Successful implementation of this policy gives France an important place among the worlds leader of climate action (independent.co.uk 2017). Norway that is considered as comprising highest electric cars penetration has announced a target of 100% sales or plug in hybrid cars and electric cars. Some other countries though initiated similar ban strategy but they have not taken any concrete steps yet. Effect of banning policy on Non petrol or diesel car market The immediate effect on ban on diesel and petrol vehicle is on the market of electronic vehicle. As a substitute of petrol and diesel market France is giving attention on developing Electronic car market. As an alternative to petrol and diesel car people will demand electronic cars. This raises the demand for electronic car and helps the market to explore more. With banning of petrol and diesel car, the demand for electronic car will increase (Bernanke, Antonovics, and Frank 2015). As a result the demand curve for electric car shifts rightward from DD to D1D1. This result in an increase in both the price and quantity produced in the electronic car market. This is supported from the evidences found in the automobile industry of France. Over the last few years a significant progress is found to be made in Electric car markets. Number of electric car users has rapidly increased from 10,000 in 2012 to nearly 100,000 in 2016 (cleantechnica.com 2017). Government of France has provided several incentives in the form of environment bonus or tax exemption followed by an ownership of electronic cars. All these increase the demand for registering under electronic or hybrid car models. When market for electronic car expanded then demand for inputs or its complementary goods increases. Related markets of electronic car are research activities in the area of energy use, battery production, charging point, investment of local government, design of different EV models and grid and road infrastructure (ieahev.org 2017). This market is expanding with expansion of electronic vehicle market. Different automotive manufacturers such as Renault, Bollore, PSA are encouraged to launch their electronic car model. The rise in demand and sales of electronic cars expands the demand for battery, charging points and other related components this car market. The demand curve for these goods will shift rightward as in the previous. The effect is same as explained above. Use of electronic cars as an alternative to petrol and diesel cars raise the question that whether the nation can provide sufficient charging points for newly generated and growing number of electronic cars. In order to meet the aim of government to mitigate carbon emission, more wind farms can be needed. Wind is renewable source of energy and no harmful substances are emitted when power generated from the Wind mill. Another alternative source of power generation is the nuclear energy station. Conclusion The paper has evaluated policy of petrol and diesel vehicles ban as announced by environment ministry in France. The policy aims at addressing negative externality generated from the smoke emitted from petrol and diesel vehicles. With negative externality, market output is greater than efficient output. Hence, government intervention is needed to ensure efficient outcome. Polluted air is causing serious health problem. Government gives priority to public health and aims at banning petrol and diesel vehicles. Petrol and diesel carmakers are likely to suffer from this ban. However, given their status France is confident that they can face this challenge. Many car manufacturers are now increasing electric car manufacturing. Volvo has already committed to manufacture only electric and hybrid cars. Renault, Nissan, PSA are some famous manufacturer who now focusing on launching models of electronic vehicles. Numbers of registered users of electric cars have increased ten times in between 2 012 and 2016. Government is providing incentives to household to help them switching from the old vehicles to a newer one. With rising demand and availability of electric cars, demand for components like battery production, charging point and others have also increased. Concern remains whether there are enough charging points for newly available electric cars. Attention should also be given on establishment of more wind farms and nuclear power plants. References Baumol, William J., and Alan S. Blinder.Microeconomics: Principles and policy. Cengage Learning, 2015. Bernanke, Ben, Kate Antonovics, and Robert Frank.Principles of macroeconomics. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2015. Chrisafis, Angelique, and Adam Vaughan. 2017. "France To Ban Sales Of Petrol And Diesel Cars By 2040".The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/06/france-ban-petrol-diesel-cars-2040-emmanuel-macron-volvo. Farand, Chloe. 2017. "France Is Banning All Petrol And Diesel Vehicles".The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/france-petrol-diesel-ban-vehicles-cars-2040-a7826831.html. "France - Industry - France | IA-HEV". 2017.Ieahev.Org. https://www.ieahev.org/by-country/france-industry/. Klier, Thomas, and Joshua Linn. "Using taxes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions rates of new passenger vehicles: evidence from France, Germany, and Sweden."American Economic Journal: Economic Policy7, no. 1 (2015): 212-242. Nicholson, Walter, and Christopher M. Snyder.Intermediate microeconomics and its application. Cengage Learning, 2014. Pressman, Matt, and Matt Pressman. 2017. "Electric Car Incentives In Norway, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium".Cleantechnica. https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/02/electric-car-incentives-norway-uk-france-germany-netherlands-belgium/.

Vanraj Tractors free essay sample

- VANRAJ MINI-TRACTORS - The case depicts the dilemma of a decision-maker Mr Trivedi who has to select an appropriate segment for marketing the 10 horsepower (HP) Vanraj Mini tractor in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The four segments identified for Vanraj tractors: small and marginal farmers, large farmers, industries, and horticulture farmers. Vanraj was economical and could perform almost all the functions of a big tractor at lower costs serving multiple purposes and uses. It provided added and immense advantage over the existing Chinese made mini-tractors and bullocks used by small farmers and the existing market players catered to the larger farmer segment considered lucrative and substantive in nature with a higher level of mechanization. India has emerged as the world’s largest market for tractors and the small and marginal farmers are dominant in terms of numbers but no player currently serving this segment. Mr Trivedi found a huge market potential in the small and large farmer segment as they had a latent demand and believed that this segment was the most appropriate target market for Vanraj but the other board members advised him to consider and study the feasibility and profitability from the other identified segments before deciding to freeze a particular target segment. We will write a custom essay sample on Vanraj Tractors or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Decision Problem 1. Selecting an appropriate target segment for Vanraj among the 4 identified segments. 2. Determining the appropriate price level for Vanraj to be sold in the selected segment. Analysis Vanraj was designed for agricultural and transportation purposes with a robust and versatile technology. The segment demarcation and selection is crucial as the overall marketing strategy will get modified wherein each segment has a completely different industry structure and competitive environment. Vanraj was design to address most of the problems faced by small and marginal farmers which no other big tractor was able to do. This had led Mr Trivedi to believe in its perfect fit to the needs of this particular segment of farmers. STATE| ANNUAL SALES (in units)| Gujarat| 17345| Maharashtra| 28443| Madhya Pradesh| 15288| Uttar Pradesh| 54392| Table 1: Average past sales of tractors in respective states The high fragmentation of agricultural landholdings with 82% held by small and marginal farmers with an increasing role of mechanization to increase foodgrain production provided a boost to tractor sales in India over the last two decades. The size of landholding did not inhibit the use of tractors and with declining size of landholdings per farmer; the big tractors were not economically viable for use in such farm sizes. The issue was that horsepower of tractors was increasing and size of landholding was declining which led to the exclusion of the small and marginal farmer segment from the purview of tractor companies. Demographic segmentation Small and marginal farmers| Large farmers| * Large in number * Small landholding (average 1. 4 to 0. 4 hectares) * Engaged in subsistence farming * Uneconomical for farm mechanization| * Small in number * Large landholdings (average 3 hectares) * Engaged in commercial farming hence earning high income * High levels of farm mechanizations| Geographic segmentation Northern India (UP)| Western and Southern India (Gujarat, Maharashtra MP)| * Soil is alluvial and fertile * Requires lower horsepower tractors * Area under horticulture farming 1066 (‘000 hectares)| * Harder laterite and black soil * Requires higher horsepower tractors * Area under horticulture farming 1550 (‘000 hectares)| Breakeven analysis Actual production of the ‘Vanraj’ varies from 300 to 480 across the seven years. The cost of production also varies from Rs. 471. 84 lakhs to Rs. 758. 76 lakhs. The average cost of production per tractor thus comes around Rs. 1. 58 lakhs. Considering profit after tax, dividend, depreciation and contingent expenses the net cash accrual for first to second year ranges from Rs. 7. 1 lakhs to 9. 5 lakhs. The overall profit comes to 7. 1-9. 5%. The sales realization against 300-480 tractors will range from Rs. 570 lakhs – 912 lakhs from the first to the seventh year. Thus, the price of ‘Vanraj’ mini tractor can be fixed at Rs. 1. 9 lakhs. The breakeven sales at 100% capacity can be Rs. 11. 40 Millions. Segment I: Small and marginal farmers In India, small farmers traditionally relied upon bullocks for all their agricultural needs. Therefore, the main competitor for Vanraj Mini tractor were bullocks rather than other Chinese make mini tractors which were not suitable for Indian trying conditions. | Bullocks (2 no. )| Vanraj| Other small tractors| Initial cost| Rs 0. 027m| Rs 0. 19m| Rs 0. 16m| Life span| 8-9 years| 8-9 years| 6-7 years| Other cost(fuel or fodder costs)| Fodder = Rs 17500*11 yrs = Rs 192500| Fuel = 950 hrs*1. 5l/hr*Rs 3. 3/litre*8 = Rs 376200| Rs 376200| Maintenance costs| Nil| 15% of selling price = Rs 0. 03 m| 40% of selling price = Rs 0. 6 m| Total cost incurred (for 8 year usage)| Rs 2,19,500| Rs 5,96,200| Rs 5,96,200| Challenges Though, using mechanized equipment rather than bullocks would increase efficiency in agricultural methods, total cost incurred on Vanraj mini is 3 times more when compared with total cost incurred on bullocks. The technical factor of maneuvering across a small landholding po ses some problem. The vagaries of monsoons coupled with fluctuating crop production may encourage farmers to hire big tractors whenever the need arises instead of owing a tractor which may end up becoming a liability for the marginal farmer. Hence, it is not economical for small farmers. It is more economical for farmers to hire a big tractor which can supplement the existing bullocks. This way they would be saving time and work  more efficiently. Hiring charges = Rs 250/hr; usage = 950 hrs per year; total yearly cost = Rs 237500 if replaces bullocks fully. Thus if a farmer is totally dependent on hiring, Vanraj may be a profitable option for him but as per Indian context, hiring provides farmer with the flexibility and also one cannot be sure about the number of such farmers. The market segment analysis for the tractors reveals the following facts: TRACTORS MARKET SEGMENT Segment| Sales Distribution (in %)| Price (millions) (subsidy Rs 30k for 30 HP)| Growth rate (overall 30%)| Consumption| 50 HP| 4. 5| | 17. 88| | The cost of tractors is varying from Rs. 0. 10 Million to Rs. 0. 40 million and above. ‘Vanraj’ proves to be the better choice as compared to its Chinese counterparts on account of better reliability and performance. Hence even if it is priced a little higher people would still prefer it if they are made aware of the long term benfits. Its advantage over bigger tractors in terms of better manoeuvrability and easy access to small corners of land makes it quite a handy asset to posses. Thus, the price of ‘Vanraj’ tractor fixed at Rs. 0. 19 million seems justified and appropriate. Table 2: Driving factors for use of mini tractors for farmer segment States| Area under Fruits (ha) (year 2001-02)| Area under vegetables (ha) (year 2001-02)| Marginal farmers (year 2000)| Small farmers (year 2000)| Large farmers (year 2000)| Gujarat, MP, Maharashtra, UP| 1066. (10% increase)| 1548. 9 (10% increase)| 25415| 9681| 10472| If we combine the marginal small farmers we will find that the total number of farmers in this category comes out to be around 35096. Moreover this is the untapped section of the market. Since the installed capacity is only 600 tractors per annum. The company can supply around 4350 tractors. Moreover since the farmers are economically ill equipped they can form a group and buy a tractor for thei r common purpose. With the various problems which crop up now and again in case of the 3 competitors and also Chinese made Mini Tractors (10 HP segment) or along with the newly entering HMT(18-25 HP segment) ‘Vanraj’ can pounce upon this opportunity as it has the many advantages over the other Big Tractors like low cost, fuel efficiency, availability of spares, easy maintainability, high manoeuvrability and compatibility with various farming implements and since the tractor market is always served by the bank loans, impetus can be provided so as to become a frontrunner in this segment. Segment II – Horticulture Department The big tractors are unwieldy in negotiating their way through the small gap between the lanes in horticulture farms. Vanraj’s small turning radius and mini-size would make it easy to maneuver it through the small lanes of horticulture farms. The three-wheel convertibility option available in Vanraj would be of great use in interculture operations in Horticulture farms. * Savings on initial cost:  Vanraj Mini tractor price= Rs 0. 19 million. Least price of a Big Tractor= Rs 0. 4 million Savings= Rs 0. 05 million * Savings on fuel Cost:  Vanraj Mini Tractor consumption= 1. 5 litre/hr  Average consumption of a big tractor= 4 litre/hr  Savings in fuel= 2. 5 litre/hr * Saving in fuel cost = 2. 5*33 = Rs 82. 5/hr Estimation of market potential in horticulture segment Percentage change in area from 1991-92 to 2001-02 (approx. ) | Area under fruits(%)| Area under vegetables(%)| Maharashtra| 128| 67| Gujarat| 76| 103| Uttar Pradesh| -5| 35| Madhya Pradesh| -28| -23| The above table signifies a very significant growth in area under horticulture in the period from 1991-92 to 2001-02. In fact the total land under Horticulture in the yaer 2001-02 was around 2615. 6 hectares. As horticulture and plantations are practiced by relatively well off persons and also in comparatively bigger areas they can go for â€Å"Vanraj† tractors wherever feasible rather than spending on the bigger tractors. Thus there is immense potential in the horticulture segment. Recommendations Although Mini Tractors had just 1% share of the tractor segment, it was estimated that the small farmers still using bullocks formed a larger part of untapped market. * The small farmer segment offers a huge potential and can be marketed by highlighting and communicating the intrinsic benefits of Vanraj in economic and technical terms. * Horticulture sector presents a niche market for Vanraj. It is concentrated only in few pockets of  states. Hence, Vanraj marketing should focus o n such areas to fully tap the market potential. * Area under Horticulture saw a decrease in states like Madhya Pradesh. Hence, Vanraj should interact with farmers in this region, find out the reasons and give them proper advice and hence should try to create a market for them. Conclusion The horticulture segment and small and marginal farmer segments could be easily tapped as both segments required value for money which was offered by the Vanraj tractor as compared to other mini or big tractors. [ 1 ]. More than 30 HP tractors are referred to as big tractors and less than 20 HP tractors are referred to as mini-tractors in our case analysis.

Strategic Planning Theories Essays

Strategic Planning Theories Essays Strategic Planning Theories Paper Strategic Planning Theories Paper Essay Topic: Citizen Kane DBA 822 Seminars in Strategy and International Business Strategic Planning Theories A Literature Review By; Benjamin J. Shuford III 8/24/10 Introduction: Strategic planning is a broad concept that has been introduced into the main stream practices of today’s corporations. Strategic planning can be defined as an organization’s process of defining goals, direction, and decision making processes that effect the allocation of resources that include capital and people. The term â€Å"strategy† is derived from the Greek word of â€Å"strategos,† which means literally, â€Å"general of the army. (Hart, 1965). The Greek tribes of ancient civilizations would elect a strategos to head their regiments during battles. These political rulers would follow the strategic advice from the council members about managing troops to win battles. From its early military roots on winning battles to becoming a pattern of purposes and policies that define a company and its busines s, strategic planning has become the primary focus of today’s diverse organizations. There are many theories that are used to describe how organizations view the strategic planning process. These processes are framed as models that are consistently being revised to fit the needs of an organization. This literature review will focus on some of these models and the theorists who developed them. This literature review will review theories from Igor Ansoff, Henry Mintzberg, Michael Porter, and Kenichi Ohmae. The purpose will be to gain a better understanding of how these theories shape organizational performance. An analysis will be conducted to evaluate the practice of and the future direction of these theories. The choice to review these four theorists over all of the others is because of their legacy and robust contributions to the field of strategic management. Ansoff was one of the earliest writers on strategy as a management discipline, and laid strong foundations for several later writers to build upon, including Michael Porter, Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad. He invented the modern approach to strategy and his work pulled together various ideas and disparate strands of thought, giving a new coherence and discipline to the concept he described as strategic planning. A debate between Ansoff and Henry Mintzberg over their differing views of strategy was reflected in print over many years, particularly in the Harvard Business Review. Ansoff has often been criticized by Mintzberg, who disliked the idea of strategy being built from planning which is supported by analytical techniques. This criticism was based on the belief that Ansoffs reliance on planning suffered from three fallacies: that events can be predicted, that strategic thinking can be separated from operational management, and that hard data, analysis and techniques can produce novel strategies. The strategic planning/management theories of Porter and Ohmae were derived from both Ansoff and Mentzberg. Ansoff was the originator of the strategic management concept, and was responsible for establishing strategic planning as a management activity. The Strategic Planning Process: Because of high competitive business environments, organizations must engage in strategic planning processes that clearly define and state the objectives of the organization. They must assess both external and internal factors to develop and implement a strategy to stay competitive. They need to evaluate the process and make needed adjustments to stay on track. In their search for sources of sustainable competitive advantage, researchers have come to realize that business performance depends not only on the formulation and successful implementation of a given strategy but also on the process by which competitive positions are created or maintained. Mintzberg was one of the first to point out that the realized strategy of an organization can strongly differ from the intended strategy and that the extent to which an intended strategy can be realized is closely related to the strategic process that exist within the organization (Mintzberg, 1987). In his early work, he identified three main types of strategy processes: planning, entrepreneurial and learning-by-experience. He described planning as a philosophical approach when he classifies strategic business thinking in ten schools of thought, which he describes in their historical and ideological context. Early theorist, such as Igor Ansoff, focused on the analytical aspects of strategy formation. The first three schools in Mintzberg’s taxonomy are therefore prescriptive and focus on how strategy ought to be formulated. One of the major premises of the prescriptive schools if the performance claim, which states that the more an organization engages in systematic strategic planning, the more likely it will result in above average returns. The prescriptive schools have been influential in the discourse of strategy formulation, but have failed to explain the process of strategy execution (Mintzberg, 1990). Mintzbergs School of Strategic Thought (Mintzberg and Lampel, 1990). | | | | | | | | School| Category| Foundation| | | | Design| Prescriptive| Engineering| | | | Planning| Prescriptive| Systems Theory| | | | Positioning| Prescriptive| Economics| | | | Entrepreneurial| Descriptive| Economics| | | | Cognitive| Descriptive| Psychology| | | | Learning| Descriptive| Psychology| | | | Power| Descriptive| Political Science| | | | Cultural| Descriptive| Anthropology| | | | Environmental| Descriptive| Biology| | | | Configuration| Both| History| | | | | | | | | | The Design school defines strategy formation as a process of conception. It began during the late 1950s and mid-1960s. This school puts emphasis on an appraisal of external environment and the internal situation using the classic SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Also shaping strategy formulation are the values of the organization’s management and an assessment of the organization’s social responsibilities (Selznick, 1957). The Planning school identified strategy formation as a formal process. It emerged in the mid 1960. It has resulted in a plethora of strategic planning models. The underlying foundation of all of these models is straightforward: divide the SWOT model into neatly delineated steps. Step1 – Set objectives – Establish and qualify goals or objective of the organization. Step 2- External Audits – Assess the external environment, using the SWOT analysis, and create a set of forecasts about the future. Step 3 – Internal audits – Typically this process is assisted by checklists and tables of topic to consider. Step 4 – Strategy evaluation – Organizations can use a variety of techniques ranging from return on nvestment (ROI), to risk analysis, to calculating shareholder value. Step 5 – Strategy implementation – This step creates a very detailed and formalized action plan. Objectives, strategies, budgets, and programs are all brought together into a master plan. The Positioning School defines strategy formation as an analytical process. This school began in the 1980s and was popular due to the notion of competitive strategy frameworks that were identified as five forces on an organization’s environment by Michael Porter. The significance of this school is that it emphasized the importance of strategies to any given industry. The Entrepreneurial school looks at strategy formation as a visionary process. This school of thought developed in the 1990s and using vision as a central starting point. Vision establishes the broad sense of direction while preserving flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. One of the advocates of the entrepreneurial school is Peter Drucker, who identifies entrepreneurship with management itself: â€Å"Central to business enterprise is†¦ the entrepreneurial act, an act of economic risk taking. And business enterprise is an entrepreneurial institution† (Drucker, 1970). The Cognitive school defined strategy formation as a mental process and started in the early 1990s. This school focuses on the mind of the strategist, drawing from the field of cognitive psychology. There is a large body of research that suggests that individuals encounter a variety of problems in making decisions that influence many situations in the management process because they are difficult to change and form once implemented. Individuals who practice this school find that they each have different cognitive styles that can distort decision making processes. The Learning school defines strategy formation as an emergent process. It started in the mid 1990s and follows the perspective that people within an organization learn how to use the organization’s abilities to change and adapt in a positive manner in order to respond to a changing environment (Quinn, 1980). This school is less concerned with the actual strategy that was formulated than with what it took to get a strategy implemented. The Power school, which began in the late 1980s, defines strategy formation as a process of negotiation and is based on the notion that the influence of power from the external environment will affect any organization, and in many cases politics will infuse an organization. This school views strategy as a political process that focuses on alliance building, empire building, budgeting, expertise, insurgency, counterinsurgency, lording, rival camps, whistle-blowing, and line versus staff. The importance of this school is that it has identified the political process as a reality that must be acknowledged and managed but that is not the sole means for making strategies within an organization. The Cultural school defines strategy formation as a collective process. The cultural school began in the early 1990s and can be thought of as a system of shared values, beliefs, and meanings held by staff members that distinguish the organization from other organizations. The dimensions making up this school include teamwork, honesty, control, decision making processes, rewards, and conflict. The Environmental school started in the mid-1990s and defines strategy formation as a reactive process. It views the forces operating outside the organization as active, while the organization itself merely reacts to these outside forces. The primary contribution of this school is that it attempts to bring the overall view of strategy formation into balance. This school emphasizes that the outside environment, the leadership, and the organization itself are actually responsible for strategy making. The Configuration school defines strategy formation as a process of transformation. This school began in the mid-1990s and attempts to integrate strategy by showing how different dimensions of an organization band together under particular conditions to define states, models, or ideas types. The premise of this school is that periods of stability and transformation can best be understood as life cycles of an organization. The key to strategic management is to recognize the need for transformation and manage the process of change without having a negative impact on the organization. Later developments in strategic management literature moved away from the prescriptive approach modeled on quantitative exact sciences and their inherent presumptions of a controlled world. The descriptive schools of thought are inspired on the qualitative social and cultural sciences and study what businesses actually did to be successful for other organizations to learn from their approaches. The descriptive schools move from a focus on a-priori strategic planning to a-posteriori dynamic strategy formulation and execution. For practitioners, the prescriptive schools of thought are very attractive. However, the descriptive schools are somewhat problematic to practitioners of strategic management because they do not provide straightforward recipes for success. The question raised by Mintzberg’s taxonomy of strategic thought and other similar taxonomies is how average practitioners can determine what strategy they should employ (Sokol, 1992). Fuller (1996) suggests that traditional strategic planning is under fire. Strategic planning in the classical model was developed in an era when the external environment was relatively simple, stable, and predictable, and when the behavior of a firm was viewed as being cybernetic. Strategic plans were primarily used as a control mechanism to reduce uncertainty and risk and to allocate power. They were internally focused because many of the company’s transactions were internal. As a result of slow or negligible environmental change, managers were able to consider their strategic options once a year through a process that is detached from the ordinary workings of the company. Consequently, the plans that are produced are used in litigation between a corporation and its business units, or among business units, for control of the decision-making processes. Hamel and Prahalad (1995) ask why it is that in so many companies strategic planning departments are being disbanded or dramatically downsized. This change in emphasis was driven by thinkers such as Hammer and Champy (1993) with their concept â€Å"business process re-engineering†. Hamel and Prahalad (1995) continue to make the claim that the problem is not with strategy but with the particular notion of strategy that predominates in most companies. What is being rejected is not strategy itself, but strategy setting as a pedantic planning ritual on one hand or as a speculative and open-ended investment commitment on the other. The academic scholars of the Planning School had determined a formal process for strategic planning and, in 1985; a study by Ginter (1985) was undertaken in the UK to determine whether this academic model had practical applicability. The 4,000 members of the Planning Executive Institute were asked a range of questions to provide a forum for assessing the perceptions of planning and strategic managers in practice. In excess of 1,000 members responded, and the researchers concluded that the model was a good framework for the way strategic planning takes place in the corporate environment. The Ginter (1985) paper described the strategic process as containing eight elements: (1) Vision and mission; (2) Objective setting; (3) External environmental scanning; (4) Internal environmental scanning; (5) Strategic alternatives (crafting strategy); (6) Strategy selection; (7) Implementation; and (8) Control. These elements are found consistently in the literature and taught in university business schools and undergraduate programs Thompson and Strickland (1998), Hill and Jones (1998), Stahl and Grigsby (1992). Viljoen (1994), and Hubbard (1996), all propound similar models in their educational texts. The central message of the Planning School is â€Å"formal procedure, formal training, formal analysis, lots of numbers† (Mintzberg, 1998). Many corporations adopted formal strategic planning as the fundamental driving concept for their business. Differentiation strategy When using a differentiation strategy, a company focuses effort on providing a unique Product or service, setting their offerings apart from competitors. Product differentiation fulfills a customer need and involves uniquely tailoring the product or service to the customer. This strategy allows organizations to charge a premium price to capture market share. The differentiation strategy is effectively implemented when the business provides unique or superior value to the customer through product quality, features, or after-sale support and service. Firms following a differentiation strategy can charge a higher price for their products based on the product characteristics, the delivery system, the quality of service, or the distribution channels. The quality may be real or perceived, based on fashion, brand name, or image. The differentiation strategy appeals to a sophisticated or knowledgeable consumer interested in a unique quality product or service and willing to pay a higher price for these non-standardized products. Customers value the differentiated products more than they value low costs. Our research identified three tactics which were significantly related to organizational performance in the companies we surveyed following the differentiation strategy. These critical practices included: 1. Innovation in marketing technology and methods. 2. Fostering innovation and creativity. 3. Focus on building high market share. Cost leadership strategy Porter’s generic strategy of cost leadership focuses on gaining competitive advantage by having the lowest costs and cost structure in the industry. In order to achieve a low-cost advantage, an organization must have a low-cost leadership mindset, low-cost manufacturing with rapid distribution and replenishment, and a workforce committed to the low-cost strategy. The organization must be willing to discontinue any activities in which they do not have a cost advantage and may outsource activities to other organizations that have a cost advantage. There are many ways to achieve cost leadership such as mass production, mass distribution, economies of scale, technology, product design, input cost, capacity utilization of resources, and access to raw materials. Cost leaders work to have the lowest product or service unit costs and can withstand competition with their lower cost structure. Cost leaders may take a number of cost saving actions, including building efficient scale facilities, tightly controlling overhead and production costs, and monitoring costs to build their relatively standardized products that offer features acceptable to many customers at the lowest competitive price. But the tactic that proved to be most critical to this strategy is the minimization of distribution costs. Focus strategy In a focus generic strategy, a firm targets a specific, often narrow, segment of the market. The firm can choose to concentrate on a select customer group (youths or senior citizens, for example), product range, segment of a market (professional craft persons versus do-it-yourselfers), geographical areas (East coast versus West coast), or service line. For example, many European firms focus solely on the European market. Focus also is based on adopting a narrow competitive scope within an industry that large firms may have overlooked. The focus strategy aims at growing market share through operating in a narrow market or niche segment more effectively than larger competitors. A successful focus strategy depends upon an industry segment large enough to have good growth potential but small enough not to be important to other major competitors. Focusing allows the firm to direct its resources to certain value chain activities to build its advantage. An organization may also choose a combination strategy by mixing one of the generic strategies of low-cost or differentiation with the focus strategy. For example, a firm may choose to have a focus differentiation strategy or a focus/cost leadership strategy. Based on our research, four tactics appear to be critical for organizations attempting a focus/low cost strategy: 1. Providing outstanding customer service. 2. Improving operational efficiency. 3. Controlling the quality of products or services. 4. Extensive training of front-line personnel. Focus/differentiation Another combination focus strategy is a focus/differentiation strategy where the organization has a unique quality product offered to a targeted market segment or niche. The significantly important tactics include: * Producing specialty products and services. * Producing products or services for high price market segments. In addition to generic strategies, Porter (1985) developed several other modular concepts. The five forces model is shown in Figure 2. Porter (1980) suggested that the task facing managers is to analyze competitive forces in an industry’s environment. He claimed that only five forces needed consideration. Porter (1980) argued that the stronger the manifestation of each of the forces, the more limited the ability of established companies to raise prices and to earn greater profits. This is pure Modernist, Neo-economic thinking. The simplifying and â€Å"blinding† role of externalities in economics, blinds Porter (1980) who is unable to postulate the role of government, or de-regulation, in his five factor, positioning model at the very time he was proselytizing the case of the US Airline industry under severe conditions of Reaganite, ideological deregulation of that industry (Kouzmin, 2007). Porter (1997) preaches that many of these intangible forces are measurable and that, in addition, there is a â€Å"chain of causality that runs from competitive environment to position to activities to employee skills and organization†. This causal argument is further pursued with Porter’s (1985) concepts of the value chain (see Figure 3). The value chain analysis is based on the simple linear idea that every activity performed in an organization will add some value to the final products or services produced. The final product is simply the aggregate of values contributed. The 3Cs model of Kenichi Ohmae Ohmae (1982) has much to discuss about competitive position, particularly the competitive positioning of successful Japanese companies. It is his view that the theories abounding in economic and economic policy circles concerning the importance of position have not been the drivers of Japanese success. He believes that strategy is not about beating the competition but about satisfying customer needs. Still further, Deming (1986) expounds a fundamental concept when exhorting his audience to consider the concept of competition. It is his argument that people must learn to cooperate with others and to compete with themselves. In the context of strategy, the ideas of Ohmae and Deming, regarding the importance of customers is most important. Concepts of competition and market share are of little use to the business principal and as a consequence there is very little that the philosophies of the Positioning School can add to their strategy knowledge base. As with Ohmae’s Japanese corporations, competitive advantage is driven by the ability to serve the needs of customers better. The 3Cs Model is a strategic look at the factors needed for success. The 3C’s model points out that a strategist should focus on three key factors for success. In the construction of a business strategy, three main players must be taken into account: 1. The Corporation 2. The Customer 3. The Competitors Only by integrating these three C’s (Corporation, Customer, Competitors) in a strategic triangle, a sustained competitive advantage can exist. Ohmae refers to these key factors as the three C’s or strategic triangle. Hito-Kane-Mono A favorite phrase of Japanese business planners is hito-kane-mono, standing for people, money and things. They believe that streamlined corporate management is achieved when these three critical resources are in balance without surplus or waste. For example: Cash over and beyond what competent people can intelligently expend is wasted. Of the three critical resources, funds should be allocated last. The corporation should firstly allocate management talent, based on the available mono (things): plant, machinery, technology, process know-how and functional strength. Once these hito (people) have developed creative and imaginative ideas to capture the business’s upward potential, the kane (money) should be given to the specific ideas and programs generated by the individual managers. The Ansoff Growth Matrix Strategy Tool Igor Ansoff (1965) was the originator of the strategic management concept, and was responsible for establishing strategic planning as a management activity in its own right. His landmark book, Corporate Strategy (1965), was the first text to concentrate entirely on strategy, and although the ideas outlined are complex, it remains one of the classics of management literature. Ansoff was one of the earliest writers on strategy as a management discipline, and laid strong foundations for several later writers to build upon, including Michael Porter, Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad. He invented the modern approach to strategy and his work pulled together various ideas and disparate strands of thought, giving a new coherence and discipline to the concept he described as strategic planning. During the 1970s and 1980s, this concept shaped more ideas about management as other writers took up Ansoffs ideas, such as core competence or sticking to the knitting. A debate between Ansoff and Henry Mintzberg over their differing views of strategy was reflected in print over many years, particularly in the Harvard Business Review. Ansoff has often been criticized by Mintzberg, who disliked the idea of strategy being built from planning which is supported by analytical techniques. This criticism was based on the belief that Ansoffs reliance on planning suffered from three fallacies: that events can be predicted, that strategic thinking can be separated from operational management, and that hard data, analysis and techniques can produce novel strategies. Ansoff argued that within a companys activities there should be an element of core capability, an idea later adopted and expanded by Hamel and Prahalad. To establish a link between past and future corporate activities (the first time such an approach was undertaken) The Ansoff Growth matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy. This Ansoff Matrix considers the existing and new markets as well as the existing and new products and services as a potential for business growth and development. Ansoff identified four key strategy components that interact with each other causing various effects on both new and existing products and markets. Figure four below is followed with a brief description of each component of the matrix. The Ansoff Growth Matrix Grid Source: (Proctor, 1997, p. 146). Market penetration Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where the business focuses on selling existing products into existing markets. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: Maintain or increase the market share of current products – this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors Increase usage by existing customers – for example by introducing loyalty schemes a market penetration marketing strategy is very much about â€Å"business as usual†. The business is focusing on markets and products it knows well. It is likely to have good information on competitors and on customer needs. It is unlikely, therefore, that this strategy will require much investment in new market research. Market development Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where the business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including: New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a new country New product dimensions or packaging: for example New distribution channels Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments Product development Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. This strategy may require the development of new competencies and requires the business to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of the risks. Future Direction of Strategic Planning Strategic planning has come a long since its humble earlier works that were defined in the early 1960s. Many of these earlier concepts are still valid today or are reflected in the basic assumptions being used by leaders in our ever diverse organizations. Today, the goal of the organization is to achieve a competitive advantage by positioning itself in such a way that it has the ability to succeed all competition by enhancing performance. Competitive advantage is a concept that business organizations will continue to strive for. Michael Porter has been credited with introducing the five forces concept into business strategies. His theory has served as a back board for IO Theory (industrial Organization) theory. The traditional Bain/Mason paradigm of industrial organization offered strategic management a systematic model for assessing competition within an industry and was never really inducted into business policy by top decision makers. Many economists today have learned that introducing business policies into strategic planning and managing the economic impact of this union offers a positive influence on how organizations match up against each other on a microeconomic scale (Porter, 1981). From an IO economic perspective, mobility barriers or market positions are critical sources of competitive advantages that lead to superior performance. Organizational economics is more concerned with devising appropriate governance mechanisms or contracts to help reduce transaction or agency costs. The RBV (Resource Based View) of the firm has refocused the field of strategic management on all internal characteristics and views firms these characteristics as the source of competitive advantage. These characteristics have been identified as operational efficiencies, mergers, acquisitions, level of diversification, types of diversification, organizational structures, team management style, human resources management, and the manipulation of the political and social influences intruding upon the market that impacts organizations (Teece, 1982). The resource based view of the firm will be continue to be of significant importance to any organization because it provides leaders with specific tools needed to sustain a competitive position in a market place by providing management needed insights into examining the resource attributes and the their relationships towards other related variables in the market place as a means to gain the edge in the dynamic market (Barney, 2001). Conclusion Strategic planning has developed into a vital practice that must be approached with careful consideration to allow for through investigation into how an organization is structured. From both an internal and external perspective, managers need to recognize the need to evaluate value, mission, core competencies, history, and past, current, and future situations in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage in a market place. The need to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, has been addressed as a main basic goal that must be used by leaders to empower the organization. Various models and theorists have been identified and explained as a means to gain a better understanding on how to define strategic planning. Since the 1960s, there have been many different points of view concerning the strategic planning concept. Various schools of thought have been developed by infamous theorists who have engraved a foot print into the development of modern corporate practices. Many of these concepts have paved the way for common approaches utilized by corporations as building blocks for surviving in such dynamic and competitive environments. Many of the strategies that are in use today are variations from the past and will continue to be adopted and manipulated to fit the needs of leaders seeking to find solutions to new and emerging issues that are relevant and applicable to the real business needs of organizations. Leaders today will need to continue finding new ways to plan for the future and adjust to the pace of environmental change with confidence, knowledge, skill, and ability. References Ansoff, H. I. (1965). An Analytic Approach to Business Policy for Growth and Expansion. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Barney, J. B. (1991). â€Å"Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage†, Journal of Management, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 99-120. Deming, W. E. (1986). Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Drucker, P. (1970), Technology Management and Society, Harper Collins Books, NY. Fuller, M. (1996), â€Å"Strategic planning in an era of total competition†, Planning Review, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 22-7. Ginter, M. (1985). Planners’ Perceptions of the Strategic Management Process Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 581-96. Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993). Re-engineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for a Business Revolution, Harper, New York, NY. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, K. (1995), â€Å"Thinking differently†, Business Quarterly, Vol. 59 No. 4, pp. 22-35. Hart, L. (1965). The Memoirs of Captain Hill. Volume 1 and II. Gassell, London, 1965. Hill, L. and Jones, R. (1998), Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA. Hubbard, G. and Taylor, G. (1996), Practical Australian Strategy, Prentice-Hall, Sydney. Kouzmin, A. (2007). â€Å"Economic rationalism, risk and institutional vulnerability†, Risk Decision and Policy, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 229-57. Mintzberg, H. (1987). The Strategy Concept 1: Five Ps for strategy. California Management Review, Vol. 30, pp. 11-24. Mintzberg, H. (1990). Strategy Formation: Schools of Thought. Perspectives on Strategic Management, J. W. Fredrickson. Frand Rapids, Philadelphia, Harper Business: 105-236. Mintzberg, H. and Lampel, J. 1998), Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management, Prentice-Hall, New York, NY. Mintzberg, H. (1998). Five Ps For Strategy: The Strategy Process. Revised European Ed. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Ohmae, K. (1982). The Mind of the Strategist: The Art of Japanese Business, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Porter, M. E. (1979), â€Å"How competitive forces shape strategy†, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 137-45. Porter, M. E. (1980), Competitive Strategy, Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Free Press, New York, NY. Porter, M. E. (1985), Competitive Advantage, Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, New York, NY. Porter, M. E. (1991), â€Å"Toward a dynamic theory of strategy†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, Winter, pp. 95-117. Porter, M. E. (1997), â€Å"Response to letters to the editor†, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 162-3. Proctor, T. (1997). A Conceptual Synergy Model of Strategy Formulation for Manufactoring. Quarterly Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 24, ISS: 9. pp. 140-149. Quinn, B. (1980). Strategies for Change: Logical Incrementalism, Home, IL: Irwin. Sokol, R. (1992). Simplifying Strategic Planning. Management Decision. Vol. 30 No7. Pp. 11- 17. Teece, J. (1982). Towards an Economic Theory of the Multi-Product Firm. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 3, pp. 39-63. Viljoen, J. (1994), Strategic Management – Planning and Implementing Successful Corporate Strategies, Longman, Melbourne. Viljoen, J. and Dann, S. (2000), Strategic Management – Planning and Implementing Successful Corporate Strategies, Longman, Melbourne.

Organizations and behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Organizations and behavior - Essay Example For this purpose they focused on the hierarchical structure of the organization. The hierarchical structure followed by the company exhibits a Tall structure. The number of personnel reporting to each manager tends to be lesser in case of Tall structures. This results in better opportunities for the superiors to monitor and supervise the activities of the subordinates (courses.jonesinternational.edu, n.d., p.185). The employees of the organization played no role in designing and running the production lines. Also the organization followed the Taylorist style of production which refers to the mass production system. The Taylorist production approach was established by F.W.Taylor, who gave birth to Scientific Management. His school of thoughts is termed as Taylorism. Taylorism believed that any job can be learnt and taught. This theory treats the humans like machines and proposed that for the achieving higher production the management must eliminate inefficiency from its functioning. H owever, this theory completely neglects the usual complications that happen within a normal human being (Boyd, n.d). Taylorist production style supports the assembly line system where each worker performs the same task repetitively. Here the concept of division of labor was given significance and people started getting experienced in a certain domain while the rest of the production system remained unknown to them. A strict supervision policy was maintained within the organization which created distance between the management and the employees. The repetition of same task created frustration among the workers. The quality of work started to decline which affected the management adversely. In turn the employees were threatened and scolded which ultimately resulted in more and more employee turnover. The theories which were employed to channelize the changes within the organization made the Hawk Car Company to eliminate the tall hierarchical structure and instead of that, they introdu ced Adhocracy. The adhocracy structure is characterized by dynamic and organic units which have limited standardization and formalization, and is inclined toward decentralized decision making. These units are associated with least routine task and lower vertical differentiation which encourage greater responsiveness and flexibility among the employees (Robbins and Mathew, 2009, pp 199- 200). The management also took vital steps towards training the employees in such a manner so that they can gain knowledge about the entire production system. The workers were provided with the opportunity to grow in their position by better performance. The new management style took great care of the employee’s personal lives too and helped them in solving those to the possible extent. The aim of this remodeling decision was making the workforce competent and motivated about studying the process of manufacturing of the whole car and not just learning some specialized functions. These changes m ade the jobs entirely interesting and the employees felt free to approach their seniors in any case of complexity. The managers also took care of the issues arising regarding the work and paid full attention toward its solution. Team work and motivation played an important role in rectifying the conventional organizational structure that the company had been following for the past years. Question 2 McGregor suggested two management styles according to which managers regarded the work potential of their employees.

The French revolution collapse of the feudal systems and monarchies of Essay

The French revolution collapse of the feudal systems and monarchies of 18th century Europe - Essay Example The French Revolution which took place between 1789 to 1794, â€Å"marked the advent of modern society†1, both bourgeois and capitalist, in the history of France. The revolution brought about the national unity of the country through destruction of the privileged feudal orders considered as remnants of the Middle Ages. It is historically significant because the revolution successfully established a liberal democracy. Due to these double outcomes, in the perspective of world history, it can be considered as a classical model of a bourgeois revolution. However, the history of the French revolution is an integral part of European history. Earlier revolutions in other European countries such as Holland in the 16th century, and two revolutions in England in the 17th century, as well as the 18th century revolution in America paved the way for the French revolution. In all the European countries, the evolution ultimately resulted in the formation of modern society. With the different revolutions opposing the old economic and social system with its feudalism, the bourgeoise could benefit to varying degrees. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons for the French Revolution and the collapse of the ancient monarchies and feudal systems of eighteenth century Europe. The Revolution began an era of change from the nineteenth century onwards, with the evolution of a democratic and equitable modern society. The Bourgeoisie Uprising: Cause of the French Revolution Lefebvre2 was a lifelong socialist, under the increasing influence of Marxism which assigns the bourgeoisie with the key role of representatives and beneficiaries of capitalism. According to this scholar, the rise of the bourgeoisie was the main cause of the French Revolution. After several centuries of increasing in numbers and wealth, the bourgeoisie class took control of power in France in 1789. Medieval society had been ruled over by a landed aristocracy, because the only f orm of wealth was land. However, by the eighteenth century, â€Å"economic power, personal abilities and confidence in the future had passed largely to the bourgeoisie†3 who were supported by a new form of wealth and a new ideology that was clearly defined. In 1789, the bourgeoisie overthrew the remaining aristocratic, feudal lords who had retained their dominance despite their economic decline. It was possible for the bourgeoisie to overthrow the aristocracy because the monarchy’s political authority had collapsed due to the lack of adequate funds. The reason for their inability to pay was that the aristocracy or privileged classes of nobility and clergy clung to their age-old privileges and immunity from paying. Moreover, they used their political power to prevent the king fom undertaking necessary reforms4. Following their ousting, the bourgeoisie established a regime based on the new distribution of economic power. Significantly, Lefebvre5 refers to four revolution ary movements in France between 1787 to 1789. First came the revolt of the aristocracy, which destroyed the monarchy. It was the culmination of an aristocratic resurgence which took place for over a century, in which the nobility had struggled to regain their pre-eminence in the social order, which Louis XIV had removed. In order to carrry out their revolution, the nobility had sought the support of the bourgeoisie; however the successful implementation of the movement provided the bourgeoisie with ideas to resolve their own problems. In the September of 1788, the parliament of Paris which formed the driving force behind the aristocratic reaction, required that the Estates-General promised by the government for 1789 should be constituted as they had been in 1614 at their last meeting. For the bourgeoisie this was not acceptable, since the forms of 1614 underscored aristocratic predominance. Under these circumstances the revolution of the bourgeoisie