Concretising your discussion with reference to specific examples, Essay

Concretising your discussion with reference to specific examples, identify and discuss the main components of the ideology of the artist - Essay Example The term Gramsci is given to this socialization process of influencing people’s perceptions of society (Lye 1997). The concept of ideology essentially means beliefs, whether true or false, in society that has become institutionalized so they can serve the interests of a ruling class. Ideological beliefs are similar to propaganda but vary in the way that they are much more deeply embedded in the peoples conscious and influences how a person thinks about the society he or she lives in. For example, Americans tend to have certain beliefs about the nature of the democracy but may find democracies elsewhere alien if they do not follow the same pattern. Some beliefs configure our actions, like going to the polls to elect our leaders turns out to be a duty. Critics might mention that these beliefs might actually work against most people for the obscure interests of those leaders who rule America. Assuming the critic is right, then those would be ideological beliefs and represent a "false consciousness" about American democracy. The issue raised with the notion of ideology implies that there are objective truths in the world that do not depend on our idea of them in order for them to be true. The natural sciences were for quite some time in history considered as the only dependable starting place of these objective truths. The first followers of the concept of ideology supposed that by employing scientific methods, the false beliefs of ideology could be uncovered. Early Greeks thinkers contested the idea of objective truth by saying that truth lies in the eye of the beholder and that science reveals no hidden truths about the world but only helps us in reshaping things in a manner that suits the needs of the elite ruling classes. Without a clear idea of objective truth, the whole idea of ideology appears unfeasible. In history the concept of ideology

Lack of Diversity in Prison Staff Research Paper

Lack of Diversity in Prison Staff - Research Paper Example As a result of their study, Nicholas and Mary (1993) were able to find quite a lot of likenesses and differences in the perceptions of work in prison among the staff members which were influenced by their gender. In order to enhance workers’ motivation for work, it is imperative that their gender based requirements are taken into consideration and the policies are designed accordingly. Women bring diversity in work force in terms of gender. Benefits obtained from this variation in the corrections profession can only be maximized by paying heed to the perceptions of women along with men. There are several obstacles in the way of providing jailed students with education that is effective as well as consistent with their individualistic needs. The environment within prison is a result of the strict requirements of security. Prisoners are locked up, and are monitored all time. They are counted and are carefully supervised. These traits of the culture prevalent in jails impose a lo t of difficulties in the way of learning for imprisoned students. Too many restrictions do not leave any supportive element in the environment in a jail for studies. The prison staff places much more stress on punishing the imprisoned children than encouraging them to change their habits for the better. This behavior of the prison staff plays a big role in marginalizing education in jail. This is the fundamental reason why education and learning is seen by many imprisoned students as something beyond the allowable limits. Most of the education provided to imprisoned students is of the most basic level. In a vast majority of cases, these students are provided with little to no higher education at all. Education and learning, in general, is understood by both the staff working in a prison and the imprisoned lot as an â€Å"elite† task (Watts, 2010). In his research, Watts (2010) made an attempt to explore the hindrances commonly experienced by students in the way of gaining hig her education when they are imprisoned in a conventional jail setting. The research was particularly focused on studying the various practical and organization specific limitations encountered by the educators while they tend to provide the imprisoned students with education in a completely non-conventional and dangerously absurd learning environment. Watts (2010) particularly found that one-to-one teaching method greatly enhances a student’s capacity to learn in the sort of environment that is conventionally cultivated in jails. With the changes in the demographics in United States, the programs offered in jails which are directed at the rehabilitation of the imprisoned people have been heavily affected. According to the information recorded by the US Census, the population of minority in jails would transform into a majority till 2010 (Marshal, 2001). Female inmates in prison that used to be a minority in the past are readily increasing on a yearly basis as a result of the reflection of United States in the imprisoned population. Only over the course of one decade ending 2001, the population of

Employee Development Case Study

Employee Development Case Study Companies of the 21st century have to engage in Employee Development, in order for the organisation to achieve its goals. It has to develop its main core of the company which is the employees which are the assets that drives the company to its goals. Therefore it is important to place employee development in the context of the business strategies. Employee development includes training and skill development of the employee, an emphasis on the internal advancement of the entry-level or low-skilled workers (Insight 2009). Encouraging employees to acquire new or advanced skills, knowledge and viewpoints by providing learning and training facilities and avenues where new ideas can be applied. Development is a specific state of growth or advancement. Employee development or career development is an on-going refinement of job mastery and professional development coupled with career planning activities. Job mastery is necessary skills to successfully perform one job. (Guide to Human Managing Resources) Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study experience or taught. Information is knowledge and knowledge requires learning. In this era of the century, there is a strong emphasis on human capital despite financial and physical assets. Training means giving new and current employees the skill they need to perform their jobs (Human Resource Management Text Book) Training are able to improve employees efficiency and motivation leading the organization to gain productivity and job satisfaction. Chapter Two Company background Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad (Dutch Lady Malaysia) the leader in branded quality dairy business in Malaysia. Incorporated in 1963, Dutch Lady was the first milk company in Malaysia to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, the local Stock Exchange in 1968. Its holding company is Royal Friesland Campina, a Dutch multinational corporation and one of the largest milk companies in the world. Permodalan Nasional Berhad is the second largest shareholder in the Company. (Figure 1) Dutch Lady Malaysia manufactures and sells a variety dairy products and fruit juices for the home and export market such as Infant Formula, Growing-up Milk, Powdered Milk, Condensed Milk, UHT Milk, Sterilised Milk, Pasteurised Milk, Cultured Milk, Yoghurt and Fruit Juice Drinks. The Companys dairy products have a strong consumer following and are represented by strong brands such as Dutch Lady, Frisolac, Friso, Completa, Omela and Joy. Dutch Lady motto is Great ready for Life as it applies to the products that they carry is also applies to the employees of Dutch as they use employee development to build the employees. At Dutch Lady Office in Malaysia, the 600 employees continue to discover ideal environment for lively, approachable team players who combine initiative with a genuine enthusiasm to learn. In Dutch Lady Human Resource faces challenges from all levels from executives to managers, and these employees are being challenged daily by frustrated employees. Human resource challenges is costing the company time, money, resources, lost opportunities, and reduced productivity, (taken from www.dutchlady.com.my) Chapter Three Literature Review In order for the organization to perform effectively training needs analysis (TNA) needs to assist in identifying the needs of the employee that needs to be trained is it at departmental or organizational level. Training needs analysis need to ensure that training addresses existing problems, and is tailored to organisational objectives, delivered in an effective and cost efficient manner. (Chartered Management Institute 2005) Training is one of the most important strategies for organizations to help employees gain proper knowledge and skills needed to meet the environmental challenges. (European Journal of Social Science 2010) Employee development program and activities can be costly in terms of time and resources that organizations devote to them. Often such programs and activities must be justified by demonstrating their potential for adding value to the organization. (Employee Perceived Cost, 2008) This will help strengthen the organization by increasing motivation and current information about the organization, helps employees makes their career development goals more realistic. Opportunities for promotion and/or lateral moves contribute to the employees career satisfaction and attention to career development helps you attract top staff and retain valued employee (Guide to Human Managing Resources). It can also be looked into another direction whereby the organization will create a condition where employees believe that their organization value their contribution and care about their employment. It creates an obligation by the employees towards the organization and in turn willingness by employees to work hard to increase the organizations effectiveness (International Journal of Human Resource Management). (Arthur 1994; Woods and de Menezes 1998). According to Grawitch, et al. (2006), the practices that contribute to employee development have been linked to employee commitment to the organization, increased productivity and decreased absenteeism and turnover. Skill development contributes to learning opportunities. (Guide to Human Managing Resources) The disadvantage of development is performance pay which is based on individual performance rating, and not the group coordination or organizational productivity (Kerr, 1995; Kohn, 1993) Journal of Human Resources Education Performance Appraisal Reappraised: Its Not All Positive 2007 The challenge that is always encountered is retaining employees. In order to in still commitment the employees, organizations have resorted to promoting long term career path through development programs. (SAM Advanced Management Journal 2001) Previously, it was common to have in-house training or reimbursing employees for the cost of taking classes at the school. But such general skills acquired were not enough for employees to perform specific jobs or future jobs in the future. By General Motors and McDonalds pioneering the university concept allows employees to access their skills and compare them against organization and industry standards. This encourages the employees to cultivate skills in both their current employment and future employment. With this employees appreciate the ability to improve their skill, but for much discipline are difficult to maintain. (SAM Advanced Management Journal 2001) Knowledge is regarded as key asset of employees and ability to acquire and use it as a core competence. (New Zealand applied business journal) (Argyris, 1991; Drucker 1992; Ulrich, 1998) A learning organization works in an environment in which people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. (Journal of Workplace Learning 2008) Peter Senge (1990, p. 3), the learning organization concept in his book, The Fifth Discipline, Those who are learning oriented will find great value in activities that will assist them in developing and improving their skills. (Journal of Management Development 2008) (Dweck and Leggett, 1988 The negative employees with a low learning-orientation do not value this kind of emphasis on growth and learning, and as a result are not highly committed to the organization. (Journal of Management Development 2008) Challenges that were encountered with learning are that computer based training programs tend to be entirely self-directed. The program results to have low rate of success. Experts believe that the human element needs to be involved. (SAM Advanced Management Journal 2001) In technology-based training several companies, like Honeywell, and QUALCOMM employees tend to resist technology based training as the employees do not understand the method it is conducted and fair returns will not be possible. Example, some employees are hand-on learners and do not adapt to computer-based training, when developing a training program, keep in mind that the workforce has many different types of learners. (SAM Advanced Management Journal 2001) In a relationship between commitment and training a sample of the numerous possible backgrounds that have been explored include perception, and benefits such as career, job related, personnel (Mathieu and Martineau,1997), satisfaction (Tannenbaum et al,1991), self-efficacy (Saks,1995), individual variables, such as age, education level , and gender (Meyer and Allen ,1984; Collarelli et al,1987;Mathieu and Zajac,1990) European Journal of Social Science Vol 14 No 1 2010 Training can also be considered as employee turnover. If the new skills that have been acquired by the employee and the skill are of high value to other organization, the organisation will risk losing their trained employee. (European Journal of Social Science Vol 14 No 1 2010) The ability to manage the cost of training and keep within the budget of the organization proves to be a challenge. Trying to prove to the management that training is part of the organization even when organization is not into training. (European Journal of Social Science Vol 13 2010) In today fast pace technology era, technology is changing the way the organization is operated. Technology devices that employees are trained to use today will be obsolete tomorrow. The organization has to train the staff to keep abreast with the changing technology. (European Journal of Social Science Vol 13 2010) In order for training to be a success in the strategic human resource management literature, training is an important factor for lowering turnover and improving organizational performance (Richard Devinney, Yip, and Johnson, 2009). One way in which this can be achieved in the provision of training and fostering high organizational commitment to enhance the retention of employees and customers. Schlesinger and Heskett (1991) views high employee turnover as a factor of cycle of failure. The result of it is that discourages management from investing in hiring, training, which leads to ineffective performance and it, will also affect service quality and customer loyalty. Chapter Four Proposed Employees Development Plan The reason for conducting a TNA is to ensure the training effectiveness (Blanchard and Thacker, 2003; Goldstein and Ford, 2002; and Noe, 2005), ensure return of investment in the training, minimise errors made in the training programs (Elbadri, 2001)., try to solve performance problems and in the absence of TNA the training program will have little or no contribution to the achievement of the organization objectives. (International Review of Business Research Papers 2007) The systematic method of conducting needs analysis is that the process is based on specific method of information gathering technique whereby it is conducted in stages with one affecting (Directory Journal 2007) another and helping to shape the next stage, there is no short-cut is available to carry out the process because every situation requires observing, probing, analysing and deducting. When completed, needs analysis would be a wise investment for the organization by saving time, finance and resources on solving the right problems. Organizations that do not support needs analysis make costly mistakes training is either used in an effective, non-effective manner or too little or there is no follow up. (Directory Journal 2007) The data collection method can be divided into two categories quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative will be the using of survey questionnaire; where else qualitative will involve interviews. (Wagonhurst 2002). Questionnaire is an interview on paper (Figure 2). Advantages of conducting a questionnaire is that every person input can be included. Employees can complete the questionnaires as and when they choose to. The data that is compiled and analyse is easily done because every employee are asked the same question (Directory Journal 2007) Interviews (Figure 3) are able to ensure that the types of data collected from all sources are consistent and this information can be one persons opinion, or the entire organization. Questions that are selected help the organization to understand what they are trying to learn (Directory Journal 2007). In order to obtain a full understanding of the performance deficiencies it is important to obtain the employees comments. By asking intelligent questions and listening to them will build credibility from your interviewees. Personal involvement and commitment would be able to establish personal relationship with potential trainers that will be important to succeed as an analyst and trainer (Directory Journal 2007). This will be a four step process using Task Analysis (Figure 4) The analysis stage which is the first step involves accessing new employees training needs. The aim is to give new employees the skill and knowledge to do the job. Job description and job specification are important here as it will list the specific duties and skill which will be the reference points in determining the training required. By uncovering the training needs by reviewing the existing performance standards, performing the job and question the current job holders. The instructional Design, second step will consist of the duration which will take 4-12 weeks depending on size of the department. Involvement will be HR executives and manger conducting the ground work together with HR director at the final stage before feed back to the management on the result of each department. Cost will be minimal as the process of the data collection will conducted by the Human Resources department. The third step, program Implementation method that I would recommend for the different types of training methods is On the job training is the most popular or widely used method in todays organizations, it is the most familiar method whereby the experienced worker or trainee supervisor trains the employee. Job Instruction training Informal training, covers 80% of what employees learn on the job is not through formal training but informal means on a daily means while in collaboration with their colleagues Lecturers, lectures can be boring but it is a quick and simple way to present knowledge to a large group of trainees or when the sales force is being introduced to a new product. Computer based training, trainers use interactive computer systems to increase the knowledge or skills. By using an interactive multimedia training which uses text, video, graphics, photos, animation and sound to allow the employee to interact. Evaluation is the final or fourth step. This process will involve determining the participant reaction to training program, how much participants have learned and transfer of the training back to the job. This information gathered is then used in the next cycle of training needs assessment. Ranking, the approach is relatively simple and if there are few jobs involved it tends to work. Identify the key jobs and interpolate where each is in ranking order. Job ranking will be difficult in large organizations because of unfamiliarity of the job. Grading is another form of ranking. Defined as a predetermined classification system in rising order of importance. It is widely used, simple to understand and simple to administer and implement. Point assessment developed to evaluate managerial and technical jobs. Popular and wide used because of its points factor, whereby enables inter-company job and pay comparison. Job analysis also identifies the expertise and experience required, accountabilities, freedom to decide and act, number of staff supervised and position within the organization (Managing People Manual) Chapter Five Critical Success Factors As Dutch Lady continue to create awareness as a collective responsibility, that its employees will continue to practice prevention of injuries and occupational health hazard as an assurance to the public when carrying out business activities. Talent Assessment Programme continues to identify and develop future leaders, therefore results obtained from TNA will assist to identify and develop young employees into Dutch Lady Graduate Trainee Programme that will have excellent leadership and managerial qualities. Long term service appreciation will continue to be practised at Dutch Lady for employees that served for 10 to 25 years. Moreover special retirement awards are also handed out to retiring employees. As an organization with diversity in its employees Dutch Lady believes in strengthening bonds of friendship and relationship creating a sense of belonging among the employees. Annual Dinner, Family Day and Sports Club are some of the many ways of bringing families of all hierarchy in the organization to commune together as a family are some of the objectives that are achieved. Conclusion Employee development will always be an on-going process for the organization. In order to continue to retain employees, the organization has to make employee development part of its core objectives and also to keep ahead of the business environment. A learning organization is always a fruitful and ever evolving in its industry and worldwide.

The Alice Williamson Diary :: Diaries Journals Literature Civil War Essays

The Alice Williamson Diary To read the Civil War diary of Alice Williamson, a 16 year old girl, is to meander through the personal, cultural and political experience of both the author and one's self. Her writing feels like a bullet ricocheted through war, time, death, literary form, femininity, youth, state, freedom and obligation. This investigation attempts to do the same; to touch on the many issues that arise in the mind of the reader when becoming part of the text through the act of reading. This paper will lay no definitive claims to the absolute meaning of the diary, for it has many possible interpretations, for the journey is the ultimate answer. I seek to acknowledge the fluidity of thought when reading, a fluidity which incorporates personal experience with the content of Williamson's journal. I read the journal personally- as a woman, a peer in age to Alice Williamson, a surrogate experiencialist, a writer, an academic and most of all, a modern reader unaccustomed to the personal experience of war. I read the text within a context- as a researcher versed on the period, genre, aesthetics, and to some degree the writer herself. The molding of the personal and contextual create a rich personalized textual meaning . I keep my journal hidden; the script, the drawings, the color, the weight of the paper, contents I hope never to be experienced by another. My journal is intensely personal, temporal and exposed. When opening the leather bound formality of Alice Williamson's journal a framework of meaning is presupposed by the reader's own feelings concerning the medium. Reading someone else's diary can be, and is for myself, an voyeuristic invasion of space. The act of reading makes the private and personal into public. Yet, for Alice Williamson and many other female journalists of the Civil War period, the journal was creating a public memory of the hardship that would be sustained when read by others. The knowledge of the outside reader reading of your life was as important as the exercise of recording for one's self; creating a sense of sentimentality connecting people through emotions. (Arnold) The activity of understanding Alice Williamson's diary begins prior to reading the first word. The reader begins to identify part of the reading experience based upon their feelings on diaries themselves in the moments of suspension between knowledge of type of text and the reading of the first entry.

Adidas Internal Analysis Essay

1. Introduction Competition and competitive markets are common in every industry. Especially since Globalization is influencing our economy, companies need to stay competitive in order to survive against new rising competitors, which are basically rooted in the Middle East Asia. Analyzing own strengths and weaknesses and capturing new opportunities or avoiding threats, are one of the most important factors for reaching this goal. This paper is dealing with the German apparel â€Å"Adidas†, which is one of the world’s largest manufacturers for sportswear and sport utilities. But why are they one of the leading global players in this certain industry? There are some key factors, which influenced their worldwide success. A part of different departments, e.g. : research and development, human resources and in-and outbound logistics, which are working together in a fluent way, elements like customer relationship management and brand recognition are the main drivers for capturing new custome rs and the retention of regular customers. The intention of this dissertation will be, to explain Adidas’ internal strategies and the construction of their individual competitive advantage. One important basis for this competitive advantage is the â€Å"resource based view modelâ€Å".The resource-based view as a basis for a competitive advantage of a firm lies primarily in the application of the bundle of valuable intangible and tangible resources at the firm’s disposal. (Crook, T. R., et. al., 2008). In this scientific paper, I will conduct an internal organizational analysis of the firm. I will figure out how and why Adidas is one of the most important companies in its industry and will identify their success. 2. General Information and Organizational Structure The Adidas AG (Adidas Group) is a German multinational corporation, which designs and produces sportswear, accessories and sport utilities. The company is based in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. The corporation basically consists of three companies, â€Å"Adidas†, the brand itself, â€Å"Reebok  sportswear† and â€Å"Tailor-made-Adidas Golf Company†. Reebok is a subsidiary of Adidas since 2005 and also a manufacturer of athletic shoes, clothing and accessories. â€Å"Tailor-made-Adidas Golf Company† designs and markets all products which are related to Golf. The Adidas group is the largest sportswear producer in Germany and Europe and the second manufacturer in the world, right behind â€Å"Nike†. The company was founded in 1924 as the â€Å"Gebrà ¼der Dassler Schuhfabrik†, but was officially registered in 1949 by Adolf Dassler, after the split of â€Å"Gebrà ¼der Dassler Schuhfabrik† between him and his older brother Rudolf. On e of the most important competitors of Adidas was and still is, â€Å"Puma†, which was established by his brother Rudolf Dassler in 1949. The structure of the organization is very well defined. There are different functional departments such as marketing, production, R&D, customer services, operations, distribution, and human resource with clearly defined jobs at all levels. The vision of the Adidas Group is to be the leader in the sportswear industry, with sub-brands built upon a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. In order to achieve the goal a profound understanding of the consumer and customer is essential. To satisfy the needs of the customers it is essential to build a strong customer relationship in order to understand their buying behavior (AdidasGroup, 2013). Adidas ´revenue in 2012 was listed at 14.488 billion euros and profit was listed at 1185 million euros. In 2010, Adidas worked with 1,236 independent factories, in 69 countries. 69% of these factories where located in Asia and the rest in Europe and the U.S. 27% of the Asian factories are based in China. In 2006 the sales of Adidas ´ in the A sian regions and in the emerging countries (South Korea, Romania, Russia, Croatia, and Brazil etc.) increased up to 147,8%. (Annual Report 2012, 2013) 3. Resource Based View 3.1. Tangible/Intangible Criteria In every business are many types of resources and assets. Some resources are clearly visible and tangible and others may not. The Resource Based View is a device to assess the amount of tangible and intangible resources, in order to capture possible capabilities with the goal, to build a sustain competitive advantage. The device is differentiating between intangible and tangible resources. Intangible resources are skills, services, corporate  reputation or knowledge a firm can provide. The collective knowledge of a firm’s workforce represents a tremendous resource. Intangible assets are difficult to quantify in financial terms and often impossible to sell. Education and experience are the main drivers for the knowledge of a corporate workforce, and grows within the structure of a particular industry. Tangible resources are known as raw materials, products or workforce. Corporations that are committed in primary resource extraction have holdings of very tangible goods or reso urces and often own the land outright on which their resources are located or manufactured (Freiling, J., 2001). Furthermore, but less a tangible resource, the corporation owns the rights to the coal, oil or any other raw material, that is located on public land. In both cases, the resource is a physical reality, more or less tangible and the value of which can be financially determined by observing the going market value of a certain good. Regarding â€Å"Adidas†, as one of the most important global players in their industry, it is also possible to distinguish their resources. Adidas is holding more than 50.000 employees, all over the world into their workforce. CNC machines are used in the assembly line for the mass production of shoes, which is more or less their cash cow and keeps them successful. The Research and Development departments are equipped with CAM. Software’s for creating cutting edge designs. The main manufactories are located in Vietnam and China and the bases for the organization are based in Portland, Oregon (U.S) and in Herzogenrauch, Bavaria (Germany) (Adidas Group, 2013). Patents, partnerships, sponsorships and cooperation’s with universities are intangible assets, which Adidas owns. 3.2. Capabilities Especially in times where raw materials and resources are gaining more and more value, companies need to use their assets and resources in the most efficient way, in order to stay competitive. These opportunities are called â€Å"capabilities†. Capabilities can be described as organizationally embedded non-transferable firm-specific resources. (Crook, T. R., et. al., 2008). Capabilities can be divided into distinctive and threshold capabilities. On the one hand, Threshold capabilities or resources are fulfilling the general criteria a firm has to provide, in order to survive on the market. Regarding our example of Adidas, the threshold criteria for their certain industry are  buildings, land, workforce, several departments and outsourced manufactories. But on the other hand, there are distinctive capabilities, which should not just keep the company alive, but deliver a competitive advantage. (Porter, M.E.1980). Also known as core capabilities, distinctive capabilities are the talents and unique elements that are embedded within the organization. These essential characteristics are considered highly preferred, since they provide the business with what it needs to be competitive in the marketplace and also provides the firm a competitive advantage. Therefore distinctive capabilities are generating the core competencies of an organization and are the key driving forces for a company to achieve its competitive advantages. Adidas utilizes its key resources and capabilities to create value and performance excellence. Distinctive capabilities that Adidas holds are e.g., Special R & D departments and correlations (universities), sponsorship agreements (FIFA/ NBA) , diversified operations, network and portfolio, good reputation as mid-priced brand in the industry, distribution network and strategic innovation. (AdidasGroup, 2013). 3.3. Value Chain Analysis Understanding what a particular business or firm is all about, it is necessary to analyze the specific activities the company is going through in their daily work process. The competitive advantage is build up on added values the enterprise is giving their products. Michael Porter ´s â€Å"Value Chain† is modeling a chain of different activities, companies are performing in order to deliver and provide valuable products or services. Porter is differentiating between primary activities and supporting activities. Primary activities are more or less focusing on generating profit margin and to exceed the cost structure of particular products. These activities are mainly enabled by supporting activities, which are industry-specific (Daft, L.R., 1983). By sourcing the activities, process flows can be mapped and can be used to isolate specific activities, in order to decrease the cost structure. Focusing back on Adidas, the company is separating their activities as following; in-/ and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales and services as primary activities. Supporting activities in their  key industry are; procurement, research and development and human resource management. Value chain analysis examines business’ units and examines how products pass through the chain, in order from inbound logistics to service, market & sales and other sections. The information provided shows where in the chain products are slowed or altered from the intended design or its usage. 4. Competitive Advantage One of the most important goals of Adidas has been, to develop a strong competitive advantage, in order to stay successful and survive against the large number heavyweight competitors. The industry, in which Adidas interacts, is characterized by a set of many specific features. The extreme rivalry between Adidas and its competitors, Nike, Puma or New Balance is higher than ever before. Nevertheless, most of these brands outsourced their production and re-defined themselves as brands or marketing organizations. Despite the fact that Adidas currently ranks right behind Nike in the segment of sports shoes and sportswear market, Adidas still has been a successful business enterprise right from the beginning of their establishment by Dassler in 1945. The encouragement and application of a spirit of constant and updated technological innovation and excellence has resulted in generating such a powerful competitive advantage for Adidas that its market opponents find it hard to beat. The high performance, market orientation, technological development and brand promise, created the expected value for customers. Especially the company’s policy and corporate culture, that includes providing their customers with the necessary technological applications, in order to meet and satisfy the full needs of their end-consumer. (Kumar, V. & Reinartz W. 2012). Ultimately, this translates to tailor-made performance products for individual customers. Tailor-made is concentrating on especial product line and a particular market segment. Therefore technological superiority of its products is the primary factor of market penetration for Adidas. Nevertheless, an intense and targeted marketing mix and strategy is the second most important key driver of success. An important fact and promotional tool for products has been, to integrate celebrities and professional sport idols into their  marketing mix. This strategy seemed to be very successful and generated a steady source of profit and sales. Consumers appreciated and enjoyed the emotional experience, to share the same daily products with their idols or people, who are influencing them. Furthermore, Adidas is following the main rules of Customer relationship management. Feedback from regular customers and surveys about particular products or advertisements created a high level of customer invo lvement and loyalty, what turned out to be the most effective strategy. These methods and tools helped Adidas to develop and build a long-term profitable customer relationship. 5. Conclusion 5.1. SWOT / TOWS During the economic crisis in year 2009, many companies and enterprises suffered turnover, profit and had to restructure their business. Many different factors were key drivers for this crisis, but not successfully adapted strategies regarding supply and demand. Consultants, who are analyzing and advising enterprises, implement different methods and tools, in order to improve the client’s business. One of these powerful tools is the SWOT- Analysis. But what is SWOT? How should companies or consultants use this tool, in order to succeed? And the most important question is, is Adidas using or ever used this methods, if yes how did they? SWOT is expecting from its users to examine, internal strengths and weaknesses of their business and to summarize external opportunities and threats, in order to develop new strategies for improvement. (Bà ¶hm, A., 2008). After developing these ideas, the proper implementation of them is important as well as the examination itself. The TOWS-matr ix ore the TOWS-analysis involves the same basic process of listing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats like the SWOT analysis is claiming from its users. But furthermore the TOWS analysis is a tool that enables managers to take advantage of opportunities and minimize threats by exploiting strengths and overcoming weaknesses. In case of Adidas the strengths are mainly, their strong brand value as one of the most successful brand, a strong and proven marketing strategy, networks and strong franchising, their leading position in the industry as one of the largest player in the industry, diversified  operations in different parts of the world and the most important strength is their competitive pricing. But the enterprise has also some weaknesses. Some of the weaknesses Adidas might has to struggle with are the bad performance of Reebok in non US markets, stiff competition and similar big brands which means customers have high brand switching, high cost structure and the dependency on sport industry/athletes/sponsorships (Borowski, A. 2011). External factors are including the threats and opportunities. Increasing prices for raw materials, forged product-imitation and the tough competition in the sector with Puma and Nike are the key threats, which could menace Adidas (AdidasGroup, 2013). It is possible to use strengths to avoid threats and to capture opportunities, with the help of the TOWS-matrix. Therefore strategies, which Adidas could use in order to capture opportunities and avoid threats could be, to use diversified operations in different parts of the world and strong brand recognition for sponsorships in growing markets and the well-considered usage of celebrities (not just for advertisement, also for opening private sport academies). To minimize internal weaknesses by capturing opportunities, the enterprise should keep their focus on their strong and proven marketing strategy, networking and their strong franchising, in order to stay competitve and build close long-term customer relationships (Borowski, A. 2011). A part of that, the acquisition of competitors could decrease cost structure and rivalry within the industry and safe their status quo for the future. 6. Bibliography â€Å"Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Infineon: German Equity Preview†. Bloomberg L.P. 16 January 2008. Retrieved on 15th of March from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ah3ZhaeNWMdM&refer=germany AdidasGroup, (2013) Retrieved on 18th of March from http://www.adidas-group.com â€Å"Annual Report 2012†. Adidas. Retrieved on 10th March 2013 from http://www.adidas-group.com/en/investorrelations/financial_data/default.aspx Barney, J.B., (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management. Texas: A&M University. Borowski, A. (2011). Adidas Marketing Strategy – An Overview. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag Bà ¶hm, A., (2008).The SWOT Analysis. Mà ¼nchen: GRIN Verlag. Crook, T. R., et. al., (2008). Strategic resources and performance: A meta-analysis. Strategic Management Journal. UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Daft, L.R., (1983). Organizational Theory and Designs, St. Paul: West Pub. Co. Freiling, J., (2001). Resource-based View und à ¶konomische Theorie: Grundlagen und Positionierung des Resourcenansatzes. Heidelberg: Deutscher Università ¤ts-Verlag. Kumar, V. & Reinartz W. (2012). Customer Relationship Management – Concept, Strategy, and Tools. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., and McHugh, S. M. (2012). Understanding Business (10th edition). UK: McGraw-Hill Education. Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press. Satya Sekhar, G.V., (2009). Business Policy and Strategic Management. New Delhi: I K International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd

Ad Agency Report Essay

Abstract The focus of this paper is to select and research an advertising agency, which will then be evaluated. The paper will discuss the evaluation in two stages. Thus, the first section of the evaluation will include a description of the unique aspects of the agency, its strengths, services, specialties, and approach to marketing communication, and others, while the second section is going to be a personal opinion of the agency as a marketing communication firm. The selected advertising agency is TBWA. TBWA – Overview TBWA is an independent and international, privately-owned advertising agency which headquarters are located in Mmidtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was started in Europe and made a mark in the United Sated by promoting European products, such as Absolut vodka and Evian water. The agency was founded in 1970, surprisingly in France by William Tragos, Claude Bonnange, Uli Wiesendanger and Paolo Airoldi. The agency’s name was derived from the initials of the four founders’ last names. The founders hoped to tap ‘the richness of different cultures, the healthy frictions and the thrust that comes from diversity,’ as chairperson Tragos later stated in a company publication. In 1977 Tragos opened TBWA’s first U.S. office in New York City. The New York City branch of TBWA started out with $7.5 million worth of billings in the first year. The branch worked for several small accounts that would later become large money-earners, including the European bottled water company Evian and Fromageries Bel, producers of Laughing Cow cheese. In 1993 Omnicom acquired TBWA and the agency expanded rapidly to become a worthy partner to BBDO and DDB. Two key developments in the growth of TBWA were its merger with US agency Chiat Day in 1995 and with Anglo-French network GGT BDDP three years later. The agency operates through various brands all over the world, such as: TBWA ChiataDay in New York, TBWA Hunt Lascarisa in South Africa, TBWA Concept Unit in West Africa, and TBWARaad in North Africa. This company is ranked in the first ten 10 advertising agencies of the world and it has more than 274 offices in over a hundred countries and it counts more than 11,000 employees worldwide. TBWA develops and manages brand behavior in the world of today by using Disruptive Ideas. They concentrate not only on being the best in advertising but to be among the most creative companies from the world. The specialty disciplines/marketing services of this ad agency are: disruption, service development, media advertising, employee branding, digital, theatre, design, sports sponsorship, retail activation, corporate social responsibility (CSR), customer relationship management (CRM), cause related marketing, mobile utility, custom publishing, brand amplification, event marketing, and others. TBWA strategies services include: Disruptive Strategy, Brand Positioning, Brand Development, Brand Behavior and Media Arts Planning. Their analytical tools help recognize market growth opportunities. Some of these analytical tools are: Web analytics, Definition and measurement of targeted digital channels, Marketing effectiveness metrics, Customer relationship strategies, and Customer scorecards. Through service analytics and ongoing media monitoring TBWA help optimize services and activate desired behavior to leverage success fast. According to McMains (2009), TBWA is a combination of tactical rigor mid strong creative ideas. See more: Unemployment – problems and solutions essay TBWA states that their starting point for any brand is disruption, even though the brand may be local or global. Disruption drives a tactical development of the solution of their clients by challenging conventions from any industry and it provides a common language across the network for the brands this company leads. By being fluent in Ddisruption and Mmedia Aarts, each agency in the TBWA network is continuously analyzing and documenting the shifts in the media context and their influence on the behavior of the audience. Thus, this commitment makes it possible to let TBWA to serve global brands distinctively than the competitors. Some of the global clients of TBWA are: ABSOLUT, Accenture, Adidas, Apple, Energized, Four Seasons, GSK, Henkel, Infiniti, McDonald’s, Michelin, Nissan, Pfizzer, Roche, Singapore Airlines, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa, and many others. TBWA was recognized as the Best International Network of the Decade by Advertising Age in 2010, while TBWA was placed the 24th of the world’s 50 most innovative companies in 2009 by Fast Company Magazine. As stated early earlier, TBWA is a unit of Omnicom Group which is a world leader in marketing and also in corporate communications office. Omnicom’s branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Datamonitor (2010) states that Omnicom’s strengths are: client relationships, important operations with a powerful portfolio of brands, wide range of services that can be offered, and a strongerstrong market recognition. Its weaknesses rely in: constantly changing financial performances and also geographic concentration. Visible opportunities are positive outlook for interactive media market, the reviving industry of advertisements, the increase in mobile marketing, and also an increase in the advertising market of Asia Pacific. Lastly, threats that this company faces comes from an intense competition, global business risks, and also regulation. All of the mentioned above make up the SWOT analysis for the Omnicom Group which is the owner of TBWA. TBWA dominated Campaign Asia Pacific’s 2012 Agency of the Year Awards in four categories: ‘Japan Creative Agency of the Year’, ‘Australia/New Zealand PR Agency of the Year’, and ‘Singapore Digital Network of the Year’. The most important people of this company are: Tom Carroll who is the president and CEO of TBAWorldwide, Jean-Marie Dru, who is the Chairman, Lee Clow, the global director of Media Arts, and Denis Streiff, who is the Chief Financial Officer of the TBWAWorldwide. TBWA – Opinion As a personal consideration, I think that TBWA is an advertising agency that deserves its current place because it is not easy to work with companies like Apple, Addidas, McDonald’s or Pfizzer. These big players have chosen TBWA probably because they have trust in the operations conducted by this company. I would say that it is well worth to spend time and resources to create something that would be best in the following years to come because TBWA with its current customers can draw other important companies into working with it. TheyTBWA aims to be not only the best marketing network but also one of the most creative companies in the world. And The company embraces any marketing challenges on all levels: from any area of business, to any positioning, customer experience and communications. TBWA create solutions that set any business on a new growth path, using their Ddisruption toolkit proven in hundreds of client cases around the Wworld. The deployment of disruption helps galvanize diverse stakeholders in a focused and collaborative conversation in an effort to develop the biggest, sharpest, most fertile brand idea that will, in turn, inform what the brand believes, and how the brand behaves and communicates. This is an important differentiation in the TBWA approach. Disruption helps the agency network develop a creative strategy that will drive the brand’s overarching global success, without sacrificing local relevance. Conclusion The This global company does an excellent job into understanding the dynamics of the consumer in every market and also into delivering work that was test in every of the mentioned markets. In today’s world of media proliferation, fragmentation and convergence, clients benefit from TBWA’s leadership at a brand strategy level, as well as its stewardship of all marketing communication activities. And cClients stay at TBWA because of how the agency serves their soft needs. The global evidence is digital advertising which is more effective in engaging the consumer. Digital can have a lot of impact if you do it right. However, TBWA will still have to follow the objectives, moral conduit, ethical and legal activities to maintain itself as a leading voice into this industry. References Datamonitor (2010). Omnicom Group, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 1-11 McMains, A. (2009). TBWA. Brandweek, 50(1), 12-14. Press Release: TBWA Worldwide (2012). TBWA dominates four competitions at Campaign Asia-Pacific’s 2012 Agency of the Year Awards. Retrieved from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tbwa-dominates-four-competitions-campaign-215500701.html TBWA ADVERTISING, INC. History. Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/tbwa-advertising-inc-history/ Select and research an advertising agency. You can choose a national or local agency. Write a 3-5 page overview and evaluation of the agency. Your evaluation should be written in two sections. The first section should describe the agency’s unique aspects, strengths, services, approach to marketing communications, specialties, client list, and so forth. The second section should be your opinion of the organization as a marketing communication firm. Include your perception of the organization.