Critical evaluation organization's Resources and Capabilities of Coursework - 1

Critical evaluation organization's Resources and Capabilities of Starbucks in China. (internal environment) - Coursework Example In the case of Starbucks an effective Resources strategy should focus on the employment of unique resources so that a competitive advantage is acquired towards the firm’s major competitors. The potentials of Starbucks to develop such advantage is analyzed below by referring to the firm’s performance in regard to each of the elements of the Resource-based theory. 1.1 Tangible Resources The tangible resources of organizations are assets that have a physical existence; the buildings in which business operations are developed and the cash available to the business are assets of this kind (Sehgal 2010). In China, as in all countries worldwide, Starbucks is characterized by specific features as of the style/ decoration of its stores and the dinnerware sets/ cups used for serving the customers (Starbucks Coffee International 2013). However, these features are not unique since they can be identified, with differentiations, in other brands operating in the same sector. According to Wang (2012) the interior of Starbuck’s stores across China is unique not only in regard to decoration but also as of the chairs available to customers and the style of music chosen; in this context, it is noted that the stores of Starbucks in China offer to the business a unique competence towards the competitors (Wang 2012). 1.2 Intangible Resources The intangible resources of a business do not have a physical existence; intellectual property rights that the business have in regard to its products and the brands that the business owns are common examples of intangible resources (Sehgal 2010). For achieving a high competitiveness through its intangible resources, a firm needs to periodically update those resources, according to the market trends. The example of Toyota that developed Lexus as a separate brand so that it is able to increase its competitiveness in the luxury cars sector is important for understanding such practice (Sehgal 2010, p.44). In the above case, Toyo ta would not be able to enter this sector without the employment of a unique resource, such as the new brand (Sehgal 2010, p.44). 1.3 Human Resources Human resources can also lead to competitive advantage if they are unique (Rao and Sivaramakrishna 2009). The uniqueness of these resources would be related to a variety of issues, such as the quality of training, the hiring/ selection process or the performance appraisal (Rao and Sivaramakrishna 2009). In Starbucks employees are given the training that it is commonly available to the sector’s employees; also, no unique feature seems to exist in regard to the firm’s selection/ hiring process or the skills/ competencies of employees (Starbucks Coffee International 2013) 2.0 Starbucks’s Capabilities strategy in term of Value chain At the next level, the Capabilities strategy of Starbucks should be also reviewed. Porter’s Value Chain model could be used for evaluating the specific strategy of Starbucks. Accordi ng to Porter (2008) the activities of each organization contribute, more or less, to the development of products/ services that ‘are valuable to their buyers’ (Porter 2008, p.38). These activities can be categorized into ‘

Persuading against gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Persuading against gun control - Essay Example This essay persuades against gun control and its implementation.The immediate damage guns do in assaults, homicides, unintentional shootings, amounting to more than a million deaths since 1965 and about three times that number of injuries, cannot be denied. Indeed, in considering, the potential benefits of sentencing enhancements for gun use in crime, a ban on particularly dangerous types of guns, or more stringent regulation of gun commerce, the first question must be whether that policy will save lives and increase public safety or not, and even if the answer is yes, then there remains a second, more subtle question as to what would be the measures taken in order to make the policy effective in public safety†? Efforts have always been taken to keep guns away from those deemed at high risk for misusing them and has been an important goal of gun policy. â€Å"The most promising new option in design is to ‘personalize’ guns, thereby preventing them from being fired by persons other than the authorized owner and in such way convict not to implement gun control . This technology along with a variety of different technological options holds some promise for saving lives by making guns inoperable to despondent members of society. If we analyze the sequence of events that leads to a shooting, we would come to know many facts like â€Å"the assailant must acquire the gun, bring or carry it to the scene of the encounter, and then deploy it against the victim. Law enforcement and regulatory agencies may intervene in any of these three areas ". (Cook, 2000, p. 31) Here are some examples of where and how such interventions can be focused:

What are the major differences between discount stores and off-price Essay

What are the major differences between discount stores and off-price retailers - Essay Example The retail industry comprises a significant share of the country’s commerce. Yet, there is wide variety in the types of retail stores. There are supermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, hypermarkets, department stores, etc. New types of retail stores are constantly evolving to fit the needs and changing lifestyles of consumers. This essay will focus on the major differences between discount stores and off-price retailers. The way a discount store works is by offering standard merchandise to consumers at low prices. Though margins tend to be quite low, high volume makes up for it and fetch profits. Previously, discount stores used to cut costs by limiting the range of services that they offered and by operating out of cheap storage facilities in heavily travelled districts. But these days, discount stores sport an improved ambience and have widened the range of services and products. But their success still depends on â€Å"keeping prices low through lean, efficient operations†. (Chapter 13, p. 370) Wal-Mart, which is a leader in this domain, follows this business philosophy. Off-price retailers, on the other hand, came in to replace markets left open by discount stores. As big discount store chains started catered to an up-scale customer base, a market for low-price stores once again cropped up.

Focusing on Long term care for the elderly, how have internal markets Essay

Focusing on Long term care for the elderly, how have internal markets changed the organisation and delivery of public services - Essay Example This has in turn led to emergence of new management tactics in the public sector. Public services differ from other services provided by private sector in various ways. Private organizations produce goods and services for sale with an aim of making profit and hence are not available to people who cannot afford them. On the other hand, the aim of the government is to provide the essential services to all citizens especially those who can’t afford. It does not aim at making profit by providing the services (Flynn, 2007). The public services also help the other members of society indirectly due to trickling effect of benefits from those who consume the services such as education. As opposed to private services which are acquired individually depending on affordability, public services are paid collectively through taxes and some can’t be offered in isolation. Some public services though are subject to charges such as leisure facilities, care for the elderly, and some drugs . The people accountable for ensuring the citizens get the services are the politicians who represent the needs of the electorate. The facilities used to provide the services are publicly owned although the government can rent private facilities to be able to provide the services. The government through public sector reforms has been engaging the services of private organizations in order to offer efficient services. There has also been need to provide high quality services and minimise costs therefore, the government employs the management tactics of the private sector to achieve the reforms needed (Hoggett, 1991). The organization and delivery of public services has therefore changed tremendously over time. One of the services affected by these changes is the provision of long term care for the elderly which will be discussed throughout the paper. Public Administration to New Public Management Traditionally, public administration dominated the public sector management. Organizatio n and delivery of services was controlled by the central government through public service employees. The services were funded by revenue collected from taxation, in essence citizens pay for the services indirectly but the provision of the services does not depend on how much individuals contribute as tax; services are offered equally to all. Bureaucratic controls were evident in administration and provision of services. The politicians elected by the people determine what is to be offered to the electorates through the budgetary process. They also determine the bureaux to supply the services as they are selected to lead ministries and make legislations for local authorities on services to carry out (Flynn, 2007). The organization and delivery of care services for the elderly were controlled centrally by the Department of Health through the regional health authorities. The department organized purchasing and provision of care for the elderly and the disabled (Brereton & Vasoodaven, 2010). The public enterprises followed strict procedures regulated by law. The work of the managers of these enterprises was to implement national policies. The management policies were geared towards ensuring trusted workers and development teams who in turn would promote public service values. Customer (citizens) satisfaction would

Haydn's Baryton Trios Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Haydn's Baryton Trios - Essay Example This instrument is related to the bass viol, and besides the six or seven strings over its fingerboard has another set of strings attached underneath. These serve a double function: they sound in sympathetic vibration with the upper strings and may also be played pizzicato by the performer's left thumb, the neck of the baryton being open at the back. A viola, replaced by a violin in three works, and a cello supply the remaining voices. These trios in three movements are carefully elaborated and prove that Haydn knew how to produce works of art, even when forced to something like mass production. Quotations and arrangements from the composer's own symphonies and operas, and even from Gluck, may have amused his august patron (Brandenburg, 1998, p. 27). Contemporary sources vary in their estimates of the merits of the instrument. Whereas Friedrich August Weber, a physician who was one of the most spirited musical writers of the time, praised it saying, "One seems to hear the gamba and harp at the same time," and confesses that he "was moved to tears" by its sounds, Dr. Burney, in discussing the performance of the baryton virtuoso, Andreas Lidl, who had been in the service of Prince Eszterhzy before going to London, writes: "Mr. Lidl played with exquisite taste and expression upon this ungrateful instrument, which has the additional embarrassment of base [sic] strings at the back of the neck and he accompanied himself with these; an admirable expedient in a desert, or even in a house, where there is but one musician, but to have the bother of accompanying yourself in a great concert, surrounded by idle per- formers who could take the trouble off your hands, and leave them more at liberty to execute, express, and embellish the princi ple melody, seemed at best a work of supererogation" (cited in Elson, 1927, p. 43). Modern listeners, for their part, admire the characteristic features in these remarkable works: the occasional derivation of subsidiary subjects from the main ideas, intricate contrapuntal devices, interesting harmonic progressions, and delightful sound effects achieved with the baryton's peculiar pizzicato (prescribed by numbers in the score): the frequent attempts to arrange baryton trios for conventional string trio have unfortunately proved a failure, as the pieces need the baryton's distinctive sound. And what a failure. Historically speaking, the instrument was the favorite of Prince Nikolaus Esterhzy who demanded that his musical servant compose zillions of pieces for it. Curiously, it isn't so much the presence of the baryton that has prevented greater exposure for these delightful octets (the part can be played on any suitable stringed instrument of similar range), but rather the atrocious difficultly of the two horn parts. Haydn demands that his wind players execute insanely acrobatic figurations at both the extreme top and bottom of their range, and this extraordinary wind sonority gives these works much of their sonic allure (Wellesz & Sternfeld, 1973, p. 129). Nevertheless because of restricted usage, the baryton music was usually unpublished originally. Haydn's twenty-one works in SS/- or SA/bass setting, four of which are now lost, stem from his earliest creative periods. Called "divertimento" and "trio" in the source MSS, those that were published appeared chiefly as "Sonates en trio" These "trios" are relatively slight and objective, but as

Transitional Economy of Azerbaijan Research Paper

Transitional Economy of Azerbaijan - Research Paper Example One of the transitional economic systems can be identified as the currently practiced structure of Azerbaijan which legitimately began with the execution of ‘Law on Basic Economic Development’ since the year 1991 followed by the commencement of ‘Cost of Liberalization’ in the preceding year 1992. This transition escorted to hyperinflation rates in Azerbaijan which was recorded to be approximately 1.66% by the end of the year 1994. Subsequently, since, 1991 to 1994, the national income of the country had to witness a steep decline from USD 35,006 million (in 1991) to USD 1.031 million (in 1994). The radical decline in the growth rates was further learned to have a crucial effect on the agricultural and industrial output of the country which consequently increased the rate of unemployment within the economy (Baranick & Salayeva, 2005).   The economy of Azerbaijan The economy of Azerbaijan was able to retain its growth since the year 1995 after witnessing a s ubstantial decline in terms of its income level as well as its overall industrial output. The reforms in the economic conditions have taken place in the year 1995 when the government attempted to set up a widespread stabilization approach in its economic system with the support of International Monetary Fund (IMF) with respect to its Systematic Transformation Facility (STF). The increasing growth of the economy was immensely supported by the country’s persistence towards the stabilization of policies within the private and governmental institutions. As well as the IMF, The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have been identified as a few of the major prominent financial contributors in the developmental process of the economic conditions in Azerbaijan. With regards to the forecasting view of IMF towards the development of the country, it had been projected that Azerbaijan is quite likely to attain a sus tainable growth rate of around 7.1% by the year-end of 2012. It was also assumed by IMF that the inflation rate, likely to be witnessed by the country in its progress during 2012, would be around 10.3% (Mirzeyev, 2012).

Speaking skill in teaching English as second language Essay

Speaking skill in teaching English as second language - Essay Example ational process focuses more on evaluation framework which is unlike Western process of education, and this instills fear of committing errors in Japanese EFL learners. Therefore, EFL teachers should focus on creating informal ambiance within the classroom and establishing positive relationship among students from different cultural backgrounds so that Japanese learners can shed their language anxiety in front of others. Today, English has become a common language to be taught in schools all over the world. For this purpose, schools are making broad use of technology in combination with second language theories. The idea is to adapt the best available practice that can enhance learning of English as second language. Any process that has been proved by previous research to yield best results is regarded as the best practice. It essentially includes â€Å"commitment of a teacher who is willing to use the knowledge and techniques at his or her disposal to ensure student success† (Li, 2013, p.218). Foreign language anxiety is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon among learners, and it is rapidly gaining attention among researchers for its significant impact on a learner’s ability to learn and retain a new language. This paper focuses on Japanese EFL learners’ fear of speaking English. Recommendations have been provided on how to overcome such fear. Although English has become a compulsory subject in most secondary and tertiary institutions in Japan, it is still an extremely common phenomenon that Japanese people exhibit poor English communication skills. Every year, millions of dollars are spent for making Japanese people proficient in English with the help of native or non-native English speaking teachers. Many Japanese students even travel to Western countries to learn English. There are many accepted theories that tend to explain poor English speaking skills among the Japanese. One such theory blames the geographical location of the country that isolates