Business Types of Ownership Essay Example for Free

Business Types of Ownership Essay

Case Study on Avon Products Inc

Case Study on Avon Products Inc Should Top Management at AVON explicitly shape and change the culture of its organisation? Should Kroft, Woodbury, Jung or Gold has hopes of Succeeding Perrin, what should they do to develop their competencies and managerial leadership further so that the AVON board would look at them, and conclude that they have been there, and they have done that? Identify the problems and issues at AVON, and suggest ideas how the company could gain the competitive advantage in the global trade. Answer to Question 1: Yes, the AVON top management should explicitly continue to shape and change the culture within the organization. Based on our study, we found some issues faced by AVON Company as the following: AVON Managers are lack of sensitivity and slow response to the external environment change. In example: AVON managers were slow to realize that the influx of women in to corporate America had important consequences for home-based cosmetic sales. Resulted profitability slumped in 1980s. Poor financial performance at AVON has signalled the company for a need to become more responsive to a changing consumer market. Some unnecessary internal activities such like company session tickets for the Knicks and Yankees in the pass has also factored unnecessary cost to company. Those activities were scrapped later. As stated in the case study. Multiculturalism is the main challenge to the company as vital element in meeting customer demand and gaining competitive advantage. Those issues had badly contributed to AVON corporate culture and created impact for company performance in the pass. Definition of Corporate culture: So what is the definition of Corporate Culture? The definitions for corporate culture are numerous and are being refined and added to every day. The general academic view is that it is the shared, beliefs, assumptions, values, rules and norms the members of a collective such as a corporation or department hold. While this is perfectly acceptable we prefer to take the view expressed by Marvin Bower of McKinsey who said corporate culture is the way we do things around here. There are more sophisticated and certainly convoluted definitions for corporate culture but it is succinct and provides a good starting point for those who are new to corporate culture. Source: Corporate Culture, nd. Dudley Consulting, Inc. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Its difficult to change AVONs culture, the way we do things around here does not practice a positive corporate culture this is due to wrong believes, value and rules applied to the company culture. They dont lead by good examples and good leadership. But AVON has done it and turns those wrong doing to a positive culture started 1990s, as following: AVON start creates leadership campaigns such as sending middle managers for leadership development training. The entire management team participated in awareness training by leading diversity consultants. Management launch multicultural planning research project to evaluated company policies and practices regarding promotion. Indentify potential barriers to the advancement of women and minorities. Set up a task force across corporate head quarters multiple profit centres with more than 100 employees. Company has developed goals. To continue built a positive corporate culture, AVON shall consider below suggestions which is not practice from above example that AVON have done : Stories. A group packages up its culture into stories which are frequently told and re-told, and which typify the values of the group eg the time we all stayed late on Xmas Eve to get the last orders finished and then has an impromptu party at the local. Heroes. Individuals who typify to an extreme the values of the group. Symbols. These may be staff mottoes, the corporate mission statement or anything that symbolises the core values. Rites. These are specific occasions, such as the annual office party, when the core values are publicly displayed. Formal award ceremonies are another example. These are especially important for enculturing new staff. Rituals. This means a standard pattern of behaviour at a specific occasion, such as the office party if things are always done in a particular pattern. Courses. Attending in-house courses is an important way of team-building and communicating the core values. Cultural Networks. This means the informal contacts between employees where they reinforce core values, especially by passing them from older to younger group members. Source: organisation building a positive corporate culture, nd. tutor2u. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] With above ideas to shape the company culture, AVON is likely achieve the following advantages of Strong Corporate Culture A common interpretation of the Instruction, so work is done to a similar standard and in a similar manner. Increase employee loyalty, and avoid expenses of employee turnover. Increase productivity of the company. Increase the Management control. Answer to Question 2: Before we jump to the point for discussing who shall be taking over AVON dealership there are something more vital to discuss first. Definition of Leadership : Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience (Jago, 1982) A simple definition of leadership is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. Source: Leadership, Susan Ward, About.com Guide. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership (Jago, 1982). However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. This is called Trait Leadership (Jago, 1982) Leadership is simply showed by good example, lead people to right things and do things right. A good leadership can groom another good leader. However, AVON does not groom any successful leader by any mentor. It caused AVON suffered many years. Until the company decided to source another leader who is experienced as chief executive in another global company. It had shown that company direction is to hire another guru to be the mentor and lead existing executive which hope to groom them in future. Definition of competencies: A competency is a skill, ability, or knowledge set that can be taught or developed. All competencies have indicators that allow them to be observed and measured. A leadership competency model is a group of competencies linked to leadership excellence in a specific organization. A leadership competency model supports the organizations vision and strategy by providing a framework by which the organization can select, develop, and evaluate leaders. Source: Joaquin Roca, 2009. What Is a Leadership Competency and How Do I Create a Competency Model? [Online] Place: USA/ Human resources and labour relations community. Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] A successful company should have a good leader with good leadership and competencies. In AVON, one of the main issues that that are facing is most of them are not processing comprehensive leadership and appropriate core competencies. A core competency is fundamental knowledge, ability, or expertise in a specific subject area or skill set. Source: Rafael Gutierrez, 2003. Core Competency. [Online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Base on the AVON case study, should Susan Kropf to be the next leader of AVON, she not only needs to process a good operation and global marketing core competency skill which she already has. But also develop the following core competencies: Financial and Administrative skill which Edwina Woodbury has. To able to sustain company financial health growth. Crisis management and cost cutting skill from Christina Gold. Answer to Question 3: The main issue of AVON is due the lack of competitive advantage in global trade. Should AVON, like to gain a better business position, they should focus on building up the Completive Advantage in the globalisation era. Definition of Global Trade: Also refer to Globalisation. As economies become more connected to other economies, they have increased opportunity but also increased competition. Source: globalization, nd. Investorwords. [online] Available at: [Accessed 30 September 2010] Globalisation describes a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a global network of communication, transportation, and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. Source: Bhagwati, Jagdish (2004). In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Definition of Competitive Advantage: The Competitive Advantage is the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980 cited by Chacarbaghi and Lynch 1999, p. 45) In VAON, they do not gain a Cost Advantage simply because their internal cost is high, unnecessary expenses such like New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic session ticket. They also not leverage the advantage of internet technology and still relay on Door-to-Door selling approach. They also do not seem to have differentiation advantage within the company. AVON should consider taking below steps to gain Competitive Advantage in the Global Trade: Cost leadership Is there any way to make cost advantage among all the competitors in this borderless era? They can move the production line move to a country to provide lower cost of production. Or leverage Technology advantage such like internet to cut the advertisement cost or agent cost? Like Dell has been very successful on its direct model to outreach consumers using the internet order system. Differentiation How to make AVON product unique from other product? AVON can consider using product development strategy to improve product packaging to maintain the market awareness. Focus AVON should avoid participate in all product range. And focus on niche product that they are good with. And become the leader of that particular area/product.

The Middle East During The Cold War

The Middle East During The Cold War The impact of the rivalry between Soviet Union and United States in the Cold War distorted internal politics and exacerbated or complicated regional conflicts. Indeed, the grafting of the USA/USSR competition over pre-existing Middle Eastern rivalries in several cases intensified them. At the same time, though, and in some cases, the Middle Eastern political à ©lites themselves made use of the Cold War to pursue their own interests of hegemony, security or colonial emancipation. Following Khalidi (2009) in assuming that during the Cold War the level of penetration of the Soviet and American influence was proportional to the degree of the strategic importance of the region, I will first discuss the strategic and geopolitical features of the Middle East. Secondly, I will describe some significant historical events, in order to show how the Cold War logic affected the area and how it shaped the regions political reality, both from a regional and a domestic point of view. The cold War and the Middle East The Cold War dominated world politics from the end of the WW2 to the collapse of Soviet Union. On 5 March 1946, when Churchill pronounced its famous speech at Westminster University, in Fulton, Missouri, describing Europe as divided by an iron curtain, with eastern Europe subjected to the Soviet sphere and the West under American influence, the Cold War was already on going. For more than forty years, superpowers competed ideologically, militarily, technologically and diplomatically. The effects of the rivalry extended all over the World, generating high degree of polarization and aggravating pre-existing conflicts. Although there were no wars fought directly by the two superpowers, proxy confrontations occurred in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. The Middle East was a primary area of contention (Khalidi, 2009). Since WWII, superpowers were aware of its importance, in terms of its strategic geographic location and its vast oilfields and gas deposits. In fact, from a geopolitical point of view, the region lays at the junction of three continents, immediately south to the border of Russia and the Caucasus and it is surrounded by four major seas, namely the Mediterranean, the Black and the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Before the end of the war, both United States and Soviet Union were already strategically interested in the Middle Easts oil reserve. In fact, not only at the time were the great powers the Worlds major oil producers (Khalidi, 2009), but also the war made them increasingly aware of the strategic role oil had acquired in warfare. Their motorised forces, in fact, were crucially dependent on oil for their propulsion, as were their navies and air forces (Khalidi, 2009). Consequentially, they become intensely concer ned about the risk of their supplies being denied by their enemies and about preserving them. Nonetheless, the regions importance in terms of military strategy and oil supply further established throughout the Cold War. In the late 1950s and until the Cuban missiles crisis of 1962, American missiles launching submarines were based in Turkey; in the 1960s and for about a decade, when a longer range missiles technology became available, American submarines were in Spain, with Soviet antisubmarine naval forces and air units based in Egypt and Turkey. During the 1970s, the military and strategic territorial concern of both powers moved to the Arab Peninsula and the region bordering the Indian Ocean, where the new generation American missiles launching submarines were positioned (Khalid, 2009). Anyway, in the aftermath of the WWII, United States and Soviet Union were already militarily and diplomatically engaged in the region, respectively in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Iranian Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. The Middle East, thus, became a major theatre of bitter rivalries between the great powers, the effects of which would deeply influence and shape its politics and historical dynamics. Conflicts, alliances, nuclear threats and the complex events which occurred in the Middle East during the Cold War were determined by the following underlying forces: fear of the superpowers of being excluded from the control over the region; their attempt to replace Britains power in the Middle East; anti-colonialism and the struggle of Middle Eastern states for the emancipation, which led to their alliances with the superpowers; the emergence of Arab nationalism and the diffusion of the communist ideology. Ideology, indeed, played a fundamental role. It was adopted both in terms of appeal made to potential allies and in terms of economic, political and social models they offered to them (Halliday in Sayigh and Shlaim, 1997). One of the events which reveal the pervasive effects of the international competition in the Region is The Arab cold war of 1958-1970, as Malcolm H. Kerr (1965) has called it. In the aftermath of the Suez crisis, in which both superpowers have supported Egypt and the Arab states against Israel, French and Britain, the pre-war Saudi-American relationship was cemented by the Eisenhower Doctrine and Saudi adherence to it. In his famous speech of January 1957, Eisenhower admitted the strategic importance of the area and denounced the Communist threat in the Middle East and Soviet Unions interest in power politics, which have become clearer with its involvement in the Suez crisis. Soviet political, economic and military aids were depicted by President Eisenhower as International Communisms instruments of domination (Eisenhower, 1957), apparently harmless means to manipulate local instability for Soviet power-purpose. Thus, he authorized the employment of the armed forces of the United Sta tes to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid, against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by International Communism (Eisenhower, 1957). The Saudi-American relation exacerbated Saudi relations with Nassers Egypt, a former non-aligned state which was moving closer to the Soviet Union. At the same time a heterogeneous agglomerate of political forces supported by the Soviet Union was formed, including not only communist and radical parties, but also nationalist, pan-Arab, anti-colonialist and bourgeois-democratic groups. In order to balance the secular and radical wave of Arab regimes, as Khalidi (2009) pointed out, Saudi Arabia and its ally United States adopted Islam and religious propaganda as ideological counter-weapon. In this way, Islam became a crucial tool of the American intelligence during the Cold War. The result was a high degree of polarization in the Region, with the Soviet Union aligned with authoritarian nationalist regimes and USA supporting absolute monarchies in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Arab Gulf States and authoritative regimes in Pakistan, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco. Another instance of the superpowers influence over regional politics in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the origin of the conflict has little to do with superpowers rivalry (Halliday, the Cold War competition generated polarization around the issue, fuelling arms race and leading several times to the risk of a nuclear strike. In the first phase of Israel life, namely from its birth in 1948 to the Suez Crisis of 1956, superpowers competed in supporting Israel. Polarization occurred after 1956, with USA supporting Israel and Soviet Union supporting Arab States. The competition took place in terms of armaments supply and economic aids, with the stakes escalating and culminating with the 1968-1970 and the 1973 wars, when Washington declared nuclear alert for the last time in the history of the Cold War. Internally, cold war rivalries distorted economic decisions, domestic policies, social, military and political balances, with the superpowers being responsible of or supporting coups and internal rebellions (Khalidi, 2009). Religion and ideology have been instrumentalised in order to pursuit the Cold War logic of balance of power, with some impacts also on the growth of democracy. Indeed, there was no stress by the United States to promote democracy or Human rights in the area. USA itself covered or supported actions to subvert Middle Eastern democracies such as the American-Britishs coup in Iran, which brought down the elected Mossadeq government and reinstalled the autocratic Mohammad Reza Shah in 1953. This behaviour was coherent with the American security tasks to preserve the Middle East from Communism and export the capitalist logic of free market; tasks which could be effectively pursued by aligning with the wealthy and conservative local elites. Soviet Union, instead, work ed attentively to encourage the development of socialism and distributive logic in the area, trying to appeal to the working classes and local communist parties (Khalidi, 2009). An instance of the pervasive effect of rivalry at the domestic level is the case of Iran. Due to geographical contiguity, Iran felt continuously menaced by the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the war, though, communism was not perceived by the à ©lites as good option for the development of the country. Thus, at the beginning of the Cold War, United States security interests, coincided with the Iranian ones (). US supported Shah, whose conservative government led to absolutism, corruption and to political stagnation, which, combined with fast modernization and social disruption, contributed to the rise of the Islamic Revolution. USSR also played a role in undermining the power of the Shah. As Rubinstein tells us, although Soviet Union did not directly interfere in the fall of the Shah, communist agents played an important role in spreading discontent in the Iranian oilfields, contributing to the economic paralysis, which undermined the pro-American government. However, concerning the case of Iran, two considerations must be done, which, to different extents, could be applied to several other cases in the region. First, the Cold War did not represent the first case of influence and penetration by a hegemonic power in Persia. In fact, for example, both Russia and Britain had great security and economic interest in the Persian Gulf and intervened several times in the country, both militarily and not. In 1907, in order to balance their influence, the two states agreed to divide Iran; 1942, unsatisfied of its neutrality, they agreed to invade it. Secondly, not only the rivalry logic diverted Iranian domestic policy, but also Iranian (and not only) à ©lites made use of the Cold War and of USA support in order to pursue their security goals and keep itself independent from the Soviet threat, which, as previous events show, had worried them long before the beginning of the USA/USSR competition. Finally, as Halliday (1997) pointed out, the Cold War competition had also another role in the region. It worked as a distraction, diverting attention from domestic problems, which could otherwise be earlier observed and solved. What emerged from the end of the competition and the victory of the West, thus, is just a not distorted and more grasping picture of the region and its pre-existent complexities. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1957eisenhowerdoctrine.html (Eisenhower doctrine)

I Was Born a White, Middle Class American :: Culture and Identity Essays

Culture and identity are two very strange ideas. They are received at a very young age, yet they are very hard to give to someone else. They will affect you for the rest or your life, yet for the most part you are born into them. However, they soon become very important to us and we cannot, no matter what we do, live without them. They are a part of us, and a vital aspect of society. However, it took me a very long time to recognize that I had an identity and a little while after that before I knew what it was. My entire life I have been a middle class white male. I was born into this identity and most likely will die in this identity. My entire family fits into the same class of society. I could probably wear a sign that read, â€Å"Average American† and no one would ever tell me that I was not. The neighborhood that I grew up in is middle class, and a majority of the neighbors that I have are also white and of the same class. When I was younger, me and my friends would play video games at my house until my mom would tell us to go outside. It seemed like the summers lasted longer then. This is probably because we spent everyday looking for something to do, whereas these days I spend my summers looking for ways to get out of doing what I am supposed to do. We would go to the local elementary and middle schools where there was a small creek and pond. We would catch crayfish, bugs, and frogs only to let them go after we celebrated our great achievement. We would play tag, football, soccer, hockey and baseball at someone’s house or at the athletic fields of the schools. And all of us were of the same culture and class. It was always three to fifteen young white males doing what young white males usually do. A few of the other kids were Italian, which apparently is not Caucasian, but we did not know that.

American Freedom - No Greater Gift Essay -- Exploratory Essays Researc

American Freedom - No Greater Gift Silently they stand, tall, strong pillars of memory in a seemingly long since forgotten world. Rows upon rows of white marble glisten in the first rays of the rising sun. The shimmer of morning frost still graces their elegant arches as the brisk air begins to take on a slightly warmer tone. In this quiet hour, not quite night, yet still not day, one lone man stands respectfully next to a small, almost insignificant grave stone. His head hangs slightly bowed, and except for the small hunch in his back, he stands at perfect attention. Unnoticed by the swirling city around him, he slowly removes his cap and looks out across the hill before him. His gaze sweeps over the expansive garden of marble and granite. Millions of white headstones grace the green hillsides, most of them appearing small and humble. Every so often, however, the man sees a taller, more significant looking headstone. He knows these stones were meant to be impressive and eye catching; but to him, there is nothing more touching than the stone which stands before him. Only the rank of a private, a name and two dates grace the stone's face. Some might say this is rather insignificant compared to the graves containing generals or captains. Others might take the time to note how young the man was when he died at the age of twenty-one, and think he still had his whole life left to live. This lone man, though, views the grave stone entirely differently. To him, Private Michaels was more than just a name carved into a head stone, more than a private, more than just a twenty-one year old boy. Private Michaels had been his best friend. In Arlington Cemetery, there are hundreds upon hundreds of heroic men lying silently, their sto... ...rice of our freedom. Many have stepped back and taken a good look at the struggles our founding fathers went through to plant our country on a firm foundation based on freedom. As the old man stood silently surrounded by the stillness of the morning, he thought back to the days of his youth. Private Michaels and he had grown up together, and were thought to be closer than any two brothers. Where one went, the other was sure to follow, even to the extent of entering the Second World War. Together, they fought side by side, defending their country as well as the lives of many innocent people. Michaels gave his own life over to enemy fire, shortly before the end of the war, so his best friend could live. Standing there with rays of warmth caressing his back, the old man realized there truly was no greater love than the gift his friend had given him, and his country.

Gene Therapy Essay -- Biology Science Genetics Technology Essays

Gene Therapy Imagine yourself being a parent of a young child suffering from a horrible disease in which you now know to be genetically inherited. This disease is caused from the genes that you and your partner passed on to your child. Now lets say, you can treat this disease or may even be able to cure your child of this disease by altering, modifying, or replacing the genes that cause this disease through a process called gene therapy. Would you do it? I think most of us would answer yes. The option of being able to help our child several years ago may not have seemed possible. Genetic research has made giant leaps over the past decade and now the idea of gene therapy is reality. Through gene therapy it is possible to treat and elevate genetic diseases and mutations. We now have the knowledge and the technology to treat ourselves , our children, and the future generations. In order to make an educated decision, one must be aware of gene therapy itself. When making such a decision of whether to use gene therapy or not it would be beneficial to understand the technical aspects of gene therapy. It is also important to understand how gene therapy treats an individual, what it can be used to treat, and the previous trials and successes of the use of gene therapy. Or a person may find it worthwhile to know how the public perceives gene therapy and the overall consensus on its usage. After obtaining all of this knowledge, the decision of whether or not to use gene therapy should be able to be made confidently. Gene Therapy and the Technical Aspects Gene therapy is a means of treating diseases based on modifying the expression of a person's genes towards the therapeutic goal. Gene therapy could be used in treating letha... ... and thus will make the difference in life and death of our loved ones and ourselves. References Biotech Applied. Gene Therapy- An Overview. Biotechnology Industry Organization, 1990. Obtained from the WWW 9/3/98: http://www.gene. com/AE/AB/IWT/Gene_Therapy_Overview.html Bruce, Donald M.. Moral and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy. Society, Religion and Technology Project(Church of Scotland), 1996. Obtained from the WWW 9/18/98: http://webzone1.co.uk/w ww/srtproject/genthpy1.htm Grace, Eric S.. Better Health Through Gene Therapy. The Futurist Jan- Feb 1998, v32, n1, p39(4). Obtained through Pals. Rifkin, Jeremy. The Ultimate Therapy. Tikkun May-June 1998, v1, n3, p33(7) Obtained from WebPals on 10/6/98. Wilson, Jim. Institute for Human Gene Therapy. Last modified: 10/20/97.Obtained form the WWW 9/3/98:http://www.med.upenn.edu /ihgt/info/whatisgt.html

Legal Process on BC Essay

COMM 393 PRACTICE QUESTION Mike, owner of Amazing Mike’s Marketing Services Company, has come to see you. He has been sued in the Small Claims Court of British Columbia by an employee he terminated when he decided to â€Å"modernize† his company by eliminating any employees who were not under age 25, blond, and Christian. He thought doing this would improve his own business image. Grace, the terminated employee, has brought a claim, asking for wages and damages in the amount of $75,000, bringing her claim under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Review with Mike any legal issues he may use to defend the claim brought by Grace. ISSUE 1: (what is the LEGAL issue the judge will have to decide?) LAW: (use your textbook, cases we have studied in class, statutes, and class notes as sources of law) APPLICATION: (apply the law to the facts. Make arguments for the plaintiff AND defendant) CONCLUSION: (this is the answer to the Issue) ISSUE 2: LAW: APPLICATION: CONCLUSION: Review with Mike any legal issues he may use to defend the claim brought by Grace. 1.Can Grace bring her action against Mike in Small Claims Court? The law is that an action can only be commence in Small Claims Court in B.C. where there is a civil action and the remedy sought is damages of less than or equal to $25,000. Although Grace has commenced her action in Small Claims for $75,000, Mike would argue that since Grace is suing for $75,000 she must  commence the action against him in the Supreme Court of B.C. and not in Small Claims Court. Grace will not be able to bring this case in Small Claims Court. 2.Can Grace base her claim on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Section 15 of the Charter states that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. Grace will argue that she is being discriminated against under this section. However, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies only to Government and Government action or decision making. It prevents the government from creating laws or taking action that would be contrary to the rights guaranteed in the Charter. The Charter does not apply in interpersonal relationships. In this case because the action by Grace involves an interpersonal relationship between an employer and an employee, the Charter would not apply. She would have to base her arguments on the appropriate section(s) of the Human Rights Code. It seems that Mike’s defences under these two grounds would be successful. He may be able to stall the action brought by Grace but perhaps not eliminate it. She will have to begin her action in B.C. Supreme Court for breach of the Human Rights Code (not the Charter of Rights and Freedoms)