Boston Matrix - Refresher Essay Example for Free

Boston Matrix Refresher Essay According to those two figures and based on some sales figure from Unilevers marketing department, it is clear that most of its products are in the maturity stage and Cash-Cow products except for some new products which are undergoing the introduction stage or growth stage because there are many similar new products which are developed in China and focusing on Chinese consumer. The annual sales figure appear that, in personal care sector, its products have been kept in a slightly increase or decrease lever and tend to grow to a stable maximum level. However, because of in the huge market, the amount of sales normally is significant. This situation, therefore, could be effective for Unilever China run and maintain its business owing to the enormous cashflow. It also contributed to launching Unilevers sixth Research and Development (R D) Laboratory in China, 2000 in order to meet the everyday needs of the Chinese consumer and develop more products for the Chinese market. Facing the pressure form not only another large firm P G but also a lot of local booming manufactures, Unilever China has adopted a lot of effective measures in order to compete with them. For instance, frequent products promotion with the purpose of offering more profits to the customers and keeping the lower price. In addition, in order to maintain the awareness of brands, Unilever launches a lot of brilliant advertisements by using many famous pop stars in every season. Commentary on the three underlying systems: Technical, People, Economic (including: Organisational use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) A. Technical When I was working in ChinadotCom corporation Shanghai branch, I had had a lot of opportunities of communicating with IT staff of Unilever China. According to the information which I have gained form them, it is clear that if there was no supporting from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), possibly, all of its business and management would be out of control. ICT plays a significant role of management in lots of successful western firms as well as in Unilever. Thus, when Unilever re-entered China in 1990, it also brought some advanced management systems especially Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software which it had already operated in most of its subsidiaries into Unilever China. Throughout six years development, based on original ERP system, Unilever China has been building a brand-new Management Information System (MIS) which is different between the common MIS during current years. This new MIS concentrates in generating and analysing date source which forwards to provide efficient reports rather than the function of information communication. Unilever China has launched a number of separated information systems such as Dealer Management System (DMS), Sales Information System (SIS) and Supplier Management System as well. All of them have integrated with MIS through ERP in order to offer standard data source. Moreover, it has planned to launch a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system owing to maintain high proportion of royalty among its consumers. As we know, most multinational companies adopt single united globe standard for their IT equipments including hardware and software as well as Unilever. It should be easy and effective for the companies to manage and maintain the whole systems for example, once any engineer of Unilever turns on any PC of Unilever, there would be the same operation system and application software in the PC. However, for Unilever China, this situation could lead to some problems when it would like to merge other companies. It also has cost Unilever China much money and labour to integrate all the different systems which the fourteen joint ventures had been used, when it was carrying out the two revolutions. B. People In a world where technologies and markets are speedily changing, as well as in China, both local knowledge and globe proficiency have been required to deeply understand and meet the complex needs of the 150 million customers who choose Unilevers products everyday. It is very important, therefore, for Unilever China to make its employees localising as possible as it could. At its beginning stage, Unilever China had employed more one hundred foreign staffs including managers and professionals. Although they had more working experience and good management approaches, there still had been some disadvantages of this state. Firstly, it had led to the high cost of labour because Unilever should pay nearly six times more than employing local people. Secondly, most of foreign staffs, they had not had enough knowledge of Chinese economy environment. This might provide some wrong decisions in both marketing and manufacture areas. Finally, because they had been so proud of their characters and positions, they tended to be difficult to communicate with local people. All in all, thus, Unilever China has modified its mind to reduce the number of foreign staffs and offer more opportunities to local employees. (Unilever China, 2001) In every recent year, Unilever China has sent numbers of its local managers abroad to practise for senior positions in their own countries. Its target of 95 percent local management in China includes five percent of local managers who are also working overseas at any given time. On the other hand, in purpose of reducing the cost of workforce, Unilever China decided to cut down the number of workforce in Shanghai which is in the highest level of working payment in China, and move its manufactures to the lower cost place. C. Economic Inside Unilever China, the significant motive of two revolutions is to decrease their working expenditures and utilise all the business resource efficiently. The production lines of most its products such as shampoo and shower are quite similar including the raw material as well. There had been several same production lines among the fourteen joint ventures, before Unilever China re-structured them. In addition, the waste also happened to the IT departments, administration department and supporting department. Once Unilever China had held a new joint venture, it had had to build an individual business system for it. It seems to be more efficient and having more abilities of competition, when the two revolutions have been accomplished. Furthermore, the changes also facilitate Unilever to concentrate its brands in order to meet the needs of different markets. For instance, in Shanghai which is the huge developed city in China, its key products are in the personal care and wash area including Lux, Dove, Hazeline and Ponds. Due to the changing of Chinese government economy policy, China is going to be more open for the foreign companies. As a result that China has joint World Trade Organisation (WTO), more foeign companies will enter China. Most local manufactures tend to become stronger because they will have more chance to gain the advanced management approaches and learn the business skills by competing with more foreign companies. They also could the big challenge to the Unilever China. Another purpose of its changes, thus, is to maintain its leader position in China. Since these changes, Unilever China becomes more flexibility because it clearly to allocate its business targets to three groups. Every group has its own responsibility of manufacturing and selling particular products. Thus, both of them could be the professional in their own economical environment. Discussion of management activities and approaches (including typical errors) Until this section, it seems that there has been no obvious evidence which could show that Unilever China has made some clear mistakes of management so far. However, there might be no completely perfect result once you have accomplished some changes. In the short-term, we could regard it as more positive than negative but no one could image the future. Also, before the two revolutions happened, there had been some typical management errors which Unilever China had made. Inside most of joint ventures in China, there are two different manager teams: one group of them are assigned straight by foreign companies; another are the people who have already worked in the companies which are going to co-operate with the foreign companies. However, both of them have the responsibilities of managing the new companies which we exactly classify as Chinese-foreign joint ventures in China. Thus, because of different working background in different economics system, these two manager teams provide two different management styles. For the managers who have been worked in Unilever world group for a period of time, because of underlying the western developed management theory, their management approach could be considered as Proactive Positive. The management approaches have been argued and developed by a lot of western researchers for a long time. Those effective management approaches, such as team work, business culture and management information system, have been widely utilised in Unilever. This also could contribute good forecast of marketing and sales, efficient decision making and powerful capability of competition. Those advantages could be clearly embodied in the two revolution of Unilever China. In particular, in order to avoid more waste of resource, Unilever China terminated some business in 2002 in Shanghai and transferred them to the low cost place which was in HeFei. During this process, certainly, it should deal with the loss of re-investment and high risk of changing. Nevertheless, due to some typical management errors which it had made at the beginning of re-entering China, it has had to change its temporal situation. The typical mistakes could be Market Share wars and The big project. The evidences of these errors could be discovered by some investigation in its process of growth. For instance, only in a decade, it had constructed fourteen joint ventures in China to take the leader position of Chinese market and compete with P G. Following its step, P G China also carried out some measures which might beat its challenge. Finally, that lead to both of these two firms had to reduce their products price in order to obtain more market share. Those fourteen joint ventures had caused numerous waste of fix assets, labour and operation cost.

Freedom of Choice in Shakespeares King Lear :: Essays on King Lear

         Humans, like all creatures on the earth, have the privilege of the freedom of choice.   There are two broad ranges of factors that affect the decisions a person makes.   The first factor that affects decision making is internal and includes a person's character and intellect.   The second factor is external such as environment and interaction with other people. Naturally, each decision a person makes results in a repercussion of some degree, usually either helpful or hindering, and rarely inconsequential. The concept of justice is based on the fact that decisions are always followed by consequences.   It strictly adheres to the rewarding of good deeds and the punishment of evil.   King Lear, a play by William Shakespeare, is a grave tragedy that is a prime example of the Elizabethan conception of justice.   Lear's kingdom turns to chaos because of a break in the "Great Chain of Being" and restores to order when justice prevails. Its tragic labelling stems from t he prevalence of death the just punishment for many of its characters.   The deaths of Lear, Goneril, and Edmund are prime examples of justice prevailing for evil, and in Lear's case unnatural, acts.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Lear's ultimate fate is death.   His early demise is a direct result of breaching the "Great Chain of Being" which states that no mortal will abandon his position in the hierarchy of ranking set by God.   Lear's intention of abdicating his throne is apparent from the outset and is seen in the following speech spoken during the opening scene of the play:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   . . . 'tis our fast intent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To shake all cares and business from our age,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conferring them on younger strengths while we   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unburdened crawl toward death. . .1      Ã‚  Ã‚   Evidently the splitting of Lear's kingdom and abdication of his throne is not an act of necessity, but an act toward easing the remainder of his life.   Lear's disruption of the "Great Chain of Being" is in an unnatural fashion because the abdication of his kingship is without dire or mortal cause.   The method of passing down his land to his heirs is also unnatural, as seen in the following excerpts:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   . . . Know that we have divided   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In three our kingdom. . .   Ã‚  Ã‚   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Defining the Humanities Essay

After reading this week’s lecture and my understanding of what humanities are is the study of what people have experienced and how they express this experience. Humanities are how people have interacted throughout their existence and how people interact today. Humanities are the study of the philosophical beliefs of a culture. The philosophical approach to understanding a culture is what separates humanities from science and history. Science and history are exact and rarely are open for debate once it is proven to be fact. Science will set out to prove its point, whatever it may be, through precise calculations. Science also studies theory and probability. Science lacks imagination in their calculations whereas humanities use imagination to understand past culture. Science wants to prove how people came to exist whereas humanities seek to understand why people exist. History is different from humanities because history studies documentation as facts and undisputable regarding what happened. Humanities seek to answer why it happened and to understand it. History was recorded in books in libraries, Humanities are written on walls in caves or in the design contained in buildings. Today cultures express their interests, their experiences, and their values through many forms such as art, music, and movies. Sharing experiences is perhaps the most basic form of explaining who people are. By sharing these experiences in the forms of art, music, and movies, it allows us to share information about us through our creativity. In today’s culture these three forms of expression allow people to show their individuality and to connect with many on different levels. Art takes many forms and is interpreted by an individual differently. Colors and design reflect our feelings. Black and white expresses loneliness and pain whereas bright colors express happine ss. A painting for example, allows an artist to express themselves in a way he or she feels. It is their visualization of their thoughts (Kitchin, 2004). Society looks at the painting and is free to interpret it their way. One person may see happiness whereas another sees sadness. A picture of time square could mean chaos and seem overwhelming to one from a rural area where someone from a city sees everything he or she needs. People continue to express themselves with music. The meanings behind the words of the songs often come from the feelings and the experiences of the author. It is the responsibility of the musician to express those feelings and experiences through sound. Music with soul (Hakes, 2011). Music has been very important to our culture. Think of how important the Beatles were to world or even the Grateful Dead. My personal favorite band is Linkin Park. They are my favorite because I can relate my life to the words of their song. Their music attracts those who appear to be weak or who do not appear to be societies strongest. Their song â€Å"The Little Things Give You Away† was written about Hurricane Katrina. The devastation from Hurricane Katrina was widespread devastation. Their song attempts to reflect through music the pain and suffering affected by it. Movies are much like music however instead of only simply able to hear words and visualize it; the movies create the visualization for the person. Movies use categorization such as romance, action, and drama. Movies based on real life events attempt to capture those events and explain them. Movies can show the romance side of a situation or even the heroics. The recent movie Argo is about the falling of the United States Embassy in Iran, which was overrun. This movie reflects the horror that six members went through while showing the heroics of a CIA member to return the members of the Embassy to the United States. These three forms of expression will continue to exist as time continues. They are acceptable means of expressions and are a very important part of today’s society. All three bring joy to people and if capable a person can express him or herself like none before. References Kitchin, M. (2004). Art and expression. Retrieved from http://www.students.sbc.edu/kitchin04/artandexpression/artandexpression.html Hakes, T. (2011, March 11). Music as expression vs. music as entertainment. Retrieved from

Hansberrys Hope for America Through A Raisin in the Sun - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 920 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/04/02 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: A Raisin in the Sun Essay Did you like this example? Racism is not a new issue by any means. It has been plaguing humanity since its beginnings. Societies of all cultures and from all corners of the world have experienced racism. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Hansberrys Hope for America Through A Raisin in the Sun" essay for you Create order America, a country that claims to be one of the most civilized, has dealt with discrimination on a huge scale. Minority groups in America have struggled for equal opportunities and the rights and treatment of first-class citizens. African Americans, more than any other ethnicity, have suffered under the power of white Americans. It all started when their ancestors were forcedly sailed to America as enslaved workers and were treated violently and unfairly. They were perceived to be uncivilized and non-human, so the superior whites can force them to serve them (Nowrouzi, Faghfori, Zohdi, 2269). In response to this discrimination, many African American public figures, artists, and writers used their influence to help fight against their oppressors. One of these people was a young woman named Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry was an African-American playwright and writer. She wrote her most well-known piece, A Raisin in the Sun, about the unfortunate lifestyles of black American in the ghett os of Chicago. This play, however, does not just wallow in the depressing state of American society. In Loraine Hansberrys play A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry depicts a future of hope regarding racism in America. Hansberry used her play to urge her fellow black Americans to fight against societys oppression. Lorraine Hansberry was born on May 19th, 1930 in Chicago Illinois. Her father, Carl Hansberry, founded the Lake Street Bank, which was one of the first banks for blacks in Chicago. He also owned a successful real estate business. Despite being comfortable members of the middle class, the Hansberry family still faced a lot of discrimination. In the summer of 1937, the Hansberrys moved into a house in a white neighborhood. Their new neighbors responded by forming a mob to convince them to leave their new house. The family got the mob to break up, with the help of a shotgun. The community then took another approach. They said the Hansberry family legally could not occupy any residence in any neighborhood covered by a race restrictive covenant. Lorraines father took the case to the supreme court. Lorraine Hansberry later recalled her desperate and courageous mother, patrolling the house all night with a loaded German luger, doggedly guarding her four children, while her father fought the respectable part of the battle in the Washington court (Gordon, 121). The case, Hansberry vs. Lee, was ruled in favor of the Hansberry family and they were able to keep their house. It wasnt until ten years later that the Supreme Court declared the race restrictive covenant to be unconstitutional. Hansberrys play, A Raisin in the Sun, is greatly based off of her own experiences as a child and a young adult. Hansberry noted similarities between her mother and Mama Younger and between her father and Big Walter. The characters Ruth and Walter Lee are based off of Hansberrys two brothers and her sister. In an interview, Hansberry laughingly said Beneatha is me, eight years ago (Liberman, 206). By using the experiences of racism she faced, Hansberrys writing persuaded people to fight against three specific kinds of discrimination: housing discrimination, unfair work opportunities, and unequal education opportunities. Hansberry had hope that if people worked together to face these obstacles, then they could be overcome. In the early 1900s, thousands of African Americans migrated north to try and escape the prejudicial treatment of the south. Mama describes this to Walter Lee saying, in my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too (Hansberry, 76). When they got to the north, however, finding a decent place to live was a struggle. Most renters preferred to rent to white families. Black families would be threatened with violence when they tried to escape the ghettos. The ghettos where they were forced to live were overpriced, overcrowded and dirty. The Younger apartment was described as having furniture that has clearly had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years and is tired. The carpet was worn down and falling apart, showing its weariness, with depressing uniformity (Hansberry, 26). The Younger family was also forced to spray down the walls with insecticides weekly, and at one point, Travis even kills a rat that was as big as a cat (Hansberry, 61). These descriptions show the reality of black live in the ghettos. There were rarely any visits from the landlords, and extremely minimal funding from the government. Despite the horrendous conditions that these families were forced to live in, they were still forced to pay extremely high prices. Landlords knew they could get away with charging black families outrageous prices as they really did not have another place to go. While a white family could rent a five-room apartment for $60 a month in Cicero, for example, a black South Side family of four could pay $56 per month to live in one half of a two-room flat, infested with rats and roaches, and even well into the 1960s, without electricity or hot water (Nowrouzi, Faghfori, Zohdi, 2273). To escape these issues, Mama finds a house for the Younger family in Clybourne Park. The problem was, this was a white community. The Youngers knew they would not be welcome. Hansberry did not write the story so that the characters just gave up. This was a situation that she herself had experienced.