King Lear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ruler Lear - Essay Example Lear acquired and saw awful and great qualities from them two. The narrative of King Lear instructs us that the joining of exorbitant significance to things in the material world causes interests and languishing. Toward the starting the terrible overpowers in Lear’s character. We see Lear-tyrant. From one viewpoint his imperialism sources from the primitive right of a ruler. On the other one, being an extraordinary individual, encompassed by all inclusive adoration, he gets a bogus thought that his imperial nobility settles upon his own prevalence. Like the remainder of the characters, Lear has an exceptionally evolved individualistic cognizance, which is a component of the new brain science. Sadly, this familiarity with individual pride obtains uneven, selfish character, which uncovers itself in too much high estimation of oneself, arriving at the most extreme level of self-veneration. This element was conceived by the social structure itself, where everyone lauded his enormity, where everything appeared to occur as per his will. Accepting that it is his character that made a difference, Lear loses his sound judgment and leaves his seat, sure that individuals won’t stop tremble for him. This insane conviction makes him hand the realm to his girls, become a man without a title and experience all the troubles related with human life. Throughout the play we see, in any case, that Lear keeps grasping at his primitive pride. The view of his being a lord has solid roots in him and the propensity for instructing the others doesn't leave him in any event, when he, dismissed and deserted, meanders in the field. In ridiculousness, he cries: â€Å"No, they can't contact me for authoring; I am the ruler himself†; â€Å"Ay, each inch a lord: When I do gaze, perceive how the subject quakes† (IV, 6). His craziness lies in the reality cap he keeps viewing himself as the lord, the man remaining over the rest, while the enlightment will come as he sees his

Who really wrote shakespeares work Essay Example For Students

Who truly composed shakespeares work Essay Who truly composed Shakespeares works? One of the most notable scholars in history is additionally one of the most dubious authors. William Shakespeare has been credited to thirty-eight plays, yet did he really compose every one of them. The discussion whether he composed the entirety of his plays has been bantered for ages. One of the principle reasons was if his training level was sufficiently high to be a world-popular essayist. Be that as it may, on the off chance that Shakespeare didnt compose his works, at that point who did?One of the most disputable and charged scholars was Sir Francis Bacon. Sir Francis Bacon was an extraordinary researcher and an incredible author. He was a knowledgeable man and his informed level was higher and further developed than William Shakespeare. He had enough training to compose perfect works of art of Shakespeares bore. I think the explanation he didnt compose Shakespeare work was that his writing and composing style was increasingly advanced. Th e manner in which Shakespeare composed was a sort that couldnt be learned in school it was simply ability that is the reason it didnt matter how high your degree of training was. We will compose a custom article on Who truly composed shakespeares work explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now Edward de Vere was another essayist however to have composed crafted by Shakespeare. Since the 1930s de Vere has been unequivocally best in class as the genuine creator of Shakespeares plays. De Vere speaks to the social-elitist layer of the scholars, who accept that a plebeian would never have achieve such virtuoso. De Vere was an aristocrat of Queen Elizabeth Is court. Charlton Ogburn a creator believed that equals of the Earls existence with materials from the plays. Similitudes between Polonius of Hamlet and the Earls Guardian, William Cecil, was believed to be one the greatest bits of confirmations against Shakespeare. The Earl of Oxford quit composing at an early age, however believed still to compose under the name of Shakespeare after. The way that the Earl passed on before some of Shakespeares last plays were delivered truly hurt the contention that de Vere composed Shakespeares works. Different scholars, for example, William Stanley, Earl of derby, Ben Johnson, Thomas Middleton, Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth I and Christopher Marlowe. Christopher Marlowe would have been the ideal professional writer. He was slaughtered in a bar battle in 1953. Legend has it that Christopher Marlowe truly beyond words. He was a government operative of the Queen and ready to counterfeit his demise. As far as anyone knows Marlowe continued composing the works credited to Shakespeare for a long time under the pin name of Shakespeare. The way that there is no truly persuading proof the story is at the rear of the line. Since the time Shakespeare demise many have attempted to dishonor Shakespeare as the essayist, yet none have genuinely compromised the man from Stratford. In 1564, William Shakespeare was conceived in Stratford, a modest community in northwest of London. His dad name was John Shakespeare and his mom was Mary Arden Shakespeare. John Shakespeare was a glove producer and furthermore held a situation in the neighborhood government. When William Shakespeare was seven when he went to the Stratford Grammar School. This school was a severe, dull and requesting school. The instructors werent known for mixing the creative mind of the understudy, they simply contemplated the nuts and bolts. Shakespeare began as an entertainer and got his foot in the entryway. With his acting involvement with theater he started composing. By 1594, he was immense in the London theater business. He expounded on two plays every year when he was with Lord Chamberlains men. In 1599, Shakespeare and six partners became proprietors of the Globe, another open air theater in London. It was perhaps the greatest venue of now is the right time, it held around 3,000 observers. Shakespeare expounded on 37 plays isolated into three classifications, comedies, narratives, and disasters. He was the best essayist of his time and an exceptionally skilled craftsman. .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c , .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .postImageUrl , .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .focused content zone { min-stature: 80px; position: relative; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c , .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:hover , .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:visited , .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:active { border:0!important; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .clearfix:after { content: ; show: table; clear: both; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c { show: square; progress: foundation shading 250ms; webkit-change: foundation shading 250ms; width: 100%; haziness: 1; progress: darkness 250ms; webkit-progress: mistiness 250ms; foundation shading: #95A5A6; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:active , .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:hover { obscurity: 1; progress: murkiness 250ms; webkit-progress: darkness 250ms; foundation shading: #2C3E50; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .focused content territory { width: 100%; position: rel ative; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .ctaText { fringe base: 0 strong #fff; shading: #2980B9; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: intense; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; content embellishment: underline; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .postTitle { shading: #FFFFFF; text dimension: 16px; text style weight: 600; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; width: 100%; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .ctaButton { foundation shading: #7F8C8D!important; shading: #2980B9; outskirt: none; fringe sweep: 3px; box-shadow: none; text dimension: 14px; textual style weight: striking; line-tallness: 26px; moz-fringe span: 3px; content adjust: focus; content improvement: none; content shadow: none; width: 80px; min-stature: 80px; foundation: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/modules/intelly-related-posts/resources/pictures/basic arrow.png)no-rehash; position: supreme; right: 0; top: 0; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:hover .ctaButton { foundation shading: #34495E!important; } .u6686db49c 46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c .focused content { show: table; tallness: 80px; cushioning left: 18px; top: 0; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c-content { show: table-cell; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; cushioning right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-adjust: center; width: 100%; } .u6686db49c46fb83be56a91aa33b7157c:after { content: ; show: square; clear: both; } READ: Sunbeam Corporation and Chainsaw Al EssayWhat harms Shakespeares case for composing the entirety of his works was his training level. He had fundamental tutoring yet no college degree. Some state his works are compositions not learned in school and that his works are simply unadulterated ability. Yet, Robert Greene said that Shakespeare as an entertainer suspected he could compose also or better than knowledgeable scholars. Most extraordinary authors have a decent instructive foundation, yet Shakespeare doesnt with the goal that will consistently have some reason for banter. The discussion of whether Shakespeare composed his works will be bantered for quite a long time. The two sides have solid contentions yet neither have enough proof to refute the other, the thing we know is that whoever thought of them they made a terrific showing. So on the off chance that you cannot choose who the creator is, simply realize that they are magnificent perfect works of art. Words/Pages : 955/24

Understanding Cocaine Addiction

Understanding Cocaine Addiction Addiction Drug Use Cocaine Print Understanding Cocaine Addiction By Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD is a psychologist, professor, and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, Canada. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on September 03, 2019 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD on September 03, 2019 More in Addiction Drug Use Cocaine Heroin Marijuana Meth Ecstasy/MDMA Hallucinogens Opioids Prescription Medications Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery As a Schedule II controlled substance, the recreational use of cocaine is illegal in the United States. It carries this federal classification because it is considered a substance with a high potential for misuse and severe psychological or physical dependence. When defining cocaines addiction potential, the short answer is that cocaine is addictive. But not everyone who uses cocaine gets addicted, so the long and most complete answer is that many factors affect whether someone who uses will develop a cocaine addiction. One of the primary issues with conversations about substance addiction is the focus on the drug rather than the mental health and history of the person taking it. Statistically, the rate of substance use disorders among people who have taken cocaine is low. A 2006 epidemiological study showed that about 80% of people who use cocaine are not chemically dependent two years later.?? However, the remaining 20% are at risk of developing a use disorder. But as with any drug, all who take it are at risk of its negative side effects. 6 Things to Know About Cocaine Addiction The exact time that it takes for cocaines subjective effects to be felt varies depending on the route of administrationâ€"whether it is smoked, injected, taken orally, or snorted.Smoking  crack cocaine  and being younger at the time of first cocaine use are both significant risk factors for addiction.You can reduce, although not eliminate, the risks associated with cocaine use with harm reduction strategies.After the initial crash, cocaine withdrawal symptoms can last for weeks or months.Cocaine addiction, referred to as stimulant use disorder in the DSM-5, is a disorder characterized by a number of criteria, of which the experience of withdrawal symptoms is but one. DSM-5 Criteria for Substance Use Disorders Factors That Influence Addiction Potential Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant. The pharmacological mechanism of cocaine influences how users can develop stimulant use disorder. Cocaine takes effect quickly and wears off quickly, giving people who use it a tendency to want to use more, often over a short period of time. Cocaine has a relatively short  half-life, which means that the subjective effects (also known as the high)  occur quicklyâ€"instantly if smoked, within three to five minutes if snorted, and 15 to 30 minutes if injected.?? Consequently, the  comedown  occurs relatively soon after, typically between one and three hours after taking the drug, and the quick onset of withdrawal effects can encourage a pattern of use known as binge and crash. This pattern of excessive use for a period, followed by exhaustion and much more limited use, followed by a higher rate of consumption, has been observed in animal and human studies to increase the risk of dependence and addiction.?? The purity of the cocaine used also has a large influence on whether a person develops stimulant use disorder. Cocaine purchased in underground markets may be as little as 10% pure, with up to 90% of the substance being made up of other substances that are mixed in. Often, the substances used to cut cocaine are chosen because they look, taste, or feel like cocaine, such as pseudoephedrine, levamisole, benzocaine, or caffeine. Some of the substances used, such as amphetamine and methamphetamine, carry their own addiction potential. Others have cross-tolerance with cocaine. How Set and Setting Affect Cocaine Addiction Research with people who use recreational drugs has shown that  set and setting, or the  psychological and physical contexts of drug use, can influence whether a person develops a substance use disorder.?? Even animals have a tendency to use cocaine in areas they associate with the drug, over and above areas they preferred before cocaine exposure. Using cocaine in situations that feel good may make it more difficult to enjoy the same situation without the drug in the future. Animal and human studies have also shown an increase in cocaine self-administration when food is restricted. This finding has important implications for people who are restricting their food intake to aid weight loss, particularly if they are also using cocaine as an appetite suppressant, to increase their energy level, or to increase their metabolism. Things to Consider About Cocaine Use While it can be a pleasant  high  for some people, cocaine can be unpredictable, causing over-stimulation, erratic social behavior, the risk of mental and physical health problems, and even death from  overdose. A person is more likely to develop stimulant use disorder if they have  low self-esteem, if they have a mental health problem such as anxiety, depression, or psychosis, if anyone in their family has a substance use disorder, or if they have a history of  abuse.?? If any of these issues are affecting you, you should avoid cocaine use, or indeed any substance use, and seek help for the underlying issues, rather than try to overcome or avoid it through cocaine use. Your family doctor can help you with this and refer you to a specialist who can give you appropriate treatment. What to Know About Cocaine Use Treatment for Stimulant Use Disorder If you are already into a pattern of using cocaine, seek help from your doctor or an addiction clinic.?? Your doctor can help you manage your withdrawal symptoms to increase your comfort and reduce the risk of relapse. Effective treatment for stimulant use disorder also requires treatment of any comorbid conditions. Often, excessive cocaine use is a coping mechanism for dealing with other challenges in a persons life. The reality is that those challenges will still be there after a person stops using cocaine. As a result, if you are trying to stop using cocaine its very important that you also seek supportive mental health treatment.?? There are effective treatments, and your doctor can help you determine which is right for you. The 7 Best Mental Health Apps A Word From Verywell Most people who use cocaine dont have long-term problems with addiction, but the risks that come with even occasional use are serious. If you or a loved one has a problem with cocaine use, there is help available. If youre unsure where to turn, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers an anonymous online treatment locator, or you can call their National Helpline for a referral at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). What to Expect From Cocaine Withdrawal

Information Assurance And Security Issues - 1308 Words

Information Security Issues J00496794 Shravya gone Abstract This paper presents the information security risks in daily life. In this paper I will discuss the information assurance risks and discuss each threat by providing asset, threat source, threat cause and provide the countermeasures for each threat. This paper also provides the background of the issues (i.e, literature review) and ends with the conclusion and the future work. Introduction Nowadays information assurance is one of the most challenging field. It has a crucial role in our daily life. Information security is securing the information and its components. We can define the value of information by its categories such as availability, integrity, confidentiality. Management†¦show more content†¦People have many details in the smart phones like credit card, debit card details and all the passwords, when this is lost then that would be the big issue. †¢ Threat Source Category: Unintentional Insider can be the threat category for mobile device attacks. †¢ Information Asset: Cell phones and laptop itself is the information asset †¢ Asset Category: Data/ Information is the asset category. †¢ Threat Cause: Negligence is the cause of the threat. Countermeasures: The basic prevention countermeasure is a strong password for the laptop and the mobile device. Must install the GPS tracker in our laptop and mobile phone so that we can track the device when it is lost or stolen. Should activate the microphones even though if the phone is off. Must install a protection software and also should not enable the automatic login to the applications. The final thing is backup the data frequently. Social Media: The employees accessing their social media sites from the company s network results in risks when they click on the malicious links on social networking sites which let the hijackers attack their system. If the hackers target the employee in the company then he will gather all the information about the employee like Facebook profile, mobile devices, passwords, working hours and also tracks the target. We also face the danger by some applications like games from where the hackers can gain the passwords and personal information. †¢ Threat SourceShow MoreRelatedInformation Security And Assurance Department924 Words   |  4 PagesInformation Security and Assurance Department Because of identity theft, terrorism, and other criminal activities, President Obama has made information security a national priority. Not only is information security and assurance an American priority, it is also a global issue. Information security and assurance includes of data confidentiality, integrity, and availability along with accountability and confidence all is well with the processes (White, G. L., Hewitt, B., Kruck, S. E. 2013). OurRead MoreInformation Security And Assurance Department1685 Words   |  7 PagesInformation Security and Assurance Department Within any organization, Information Security and Assurance has a huge role in protecting the network systems by all means necessary. This is why the Information Security and Assurance Department plays a key role in defeating the threat of today and the future. The first and foremost task we must execute is to conduct an analysis on the current information technology systems. Upon recognizing and discovering several issues within the organization’s existingRead MoreA Complete Risk Mitigation Strategy997 Words   |  4 Pagesfor IA programs and organizations. An incident response and disaster recovery plan in the event of intrusion and disaster how well and organization deals with incidents gives a picture of how well they have implemented their IA plan. Gathering information is an important part of any plan in the military we used a term called rearward or backward planning. I mentioned this to help explain how I intend to develop my incident response plan. Planning before during and after an incident putting on yourRead MoreTaking a Look at Information Warfare1781 Words   |  7 PagesINTRODUCTION Over the last decades, information warfare has become a societal issue. Research shows that information warfare does not exclude to military, and have penetrated into commercial word. This issue, is a threat for organization and their assets. (Knapp,Boulton, 2006) Information is a valuable asset for businesses and organizations. Advances in information technology facilities the storing, transferring, and modifying of data. Organizations use information technologies such as the InternetRead MoreQuestions On Procurement Desktop Defense Operations1643 Words   |  7 PagesOperations Freddy R. Orellana American Military University Information Assurance for Procurement Desktop Defense (PD2) How to protect PD2 operations in a network environment? PD2 is the primary software used by the Department of Defense (DoD) for the acquisition of all commodities, supplies, and services required to accomplish the mission worldwide. Therefore, the proper application of the information assurance (IA) principles is vital in order to create a secure environment. To accomplishRead MoreInformation Assurance Is Important For Our Future Business Essay1248 Words   |  5 PagesAs web technology usage increase for businesses so does the need for security. Our web presence here at Information Assurance is very important to the growth of the business. Our webservers are a crucial element of our web infrastructure and a single vulnerability can lead to a security breach which can affect Information Assurance’s creditability. Which is why we must have webserver security a high priority for our growing business. Our webserver hosts our website over the internet for client interactRead MoreInformation Assurance Policies Developed Within The Title Insurance Industry1729 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction How are information assurance policies developed within the title insurance industry? While each organization can choose to follow its own path, there is an established set of best practices available. These best practices are available from the American Land Title Association, and they address most of the issues that are related to information assurance in the industry, but do these practices completely cover all of the necessary areas of information assurance or are there weaknessesRead MoreThe Types of Feedback Support and Advice That Internal Assessment and Quality Assurance Staff May Need960 Words   |  4 Pages4.1 Critically compare the types of feedback, support and advice that internal assessment and quality assurance staff may need to maintain and improve the quality of assessment Types of feedback, support and advice that internal assessment and quality assurance staff may need to maintain and improve the quality of assessment include verbal, written, directive, developmental, guidance, and signposting. Verbal feedback includes straightforward verbal responses from staff, clients, or stakeholdersRead MoreRole Of Core Technologies On An Effective It System Essay714 Words   |  3 Pagesdifferent function in today’s era. The core roles of these technologies play an important part to keep this world as we know it to operating on a day to day basis. The basis of the technology that makes IT System useful is Computer Networks, Information Assurance, Wed Technologies, Database, Computer Programs and Programming. In order for IT System to become active first Computer Programs and Programming must be put in place. Computer Programs and Programming are simple terms an executable set of commandsRead MoreEssential Operations Of Information Systems1487 Words   |  6 PagesThe essential operations of information systems sustained by of critical infrastructure rely on the explicit functionality of software applications supporting complex, interdependent, information systems. The software application provides the virtual framework for information systems to operate efficiently in a critical infrastructure. Information systems consistently communicate with supplementary information systems positioned throughout the network to support the infrastructure’s essential operations

Manifesto Of The Communist Party - 920 Words

The Communist Manifesto, originally drafted as, â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party†, is a pamphlet written by Karl Marx, that in essence reflects an attempt to explain the goals and objectives of Communism, while also explaining the concrete theories about the nature of society in relation to the political ideology. The Communist Manifesto breaks down the relationship of socio-economic classes and specifically identifies the friction between those classes. Karl Marx essentially presents a well analyzed understanding of class struggles and the issues concerning capitalism, the means and modes of production and how those means affect the classes as a whole. Every society is structured or designed with the intention to form social classes; classes that will determine the social mobility of each individual living within it. Within the social hierarchy, there is inevitably one class that essentially oppresses the others. The Communist Manifesto features The Bourgeoisie and The Proletarians, and explains that the relationship between the two classes is a common frictional relationship that has occurred countless times throughout history. It explains that the modern Bourgeoisie will eventually fall, due to their inability to maintain a lifestyle for the proletarians; which is ultimately caused by the instability of capitalism. The goals of Communism are clearly set forward in the process. Marx informs us that Communism is established to achieve 3 major things: to solidly formShow MoreRelatedThe Manifesto Of The Communist Party Essay1526 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction: The Manifesto of the Communist party is a book written in 1847, by a group of radical workers part the â€Å"Communist League.† Including the radical workers, the group comprised of Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels. They met in London to write a manifesto on their behalf, which would be famously known as the Communist Manifesto. Marx was the principle author, while Engels was mainly focused on editing and assisting. The Communist Manifesto was originally published in London in 1848. TheRead MoreThe Manifesto Of The Communist Party758 Words   |  4 PagesIn The Manifesto of the Communist Party, Marx and Engels elaborate a bold thesis on the trajectory of history. Their argument is an important sociological step in social and economic analysis but it fails to provide a convincing account. Marx and Engels provide a telling account of the historical process of economic and social change. They cogently examine the role that the rise of capitalistic markets has had on the social order, exposing the shift of hierarchical distinctions from lord and serfRead MoreManifesto Of The Communist Party Essay1702 Words   |  7 PagesIn the chapter, â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party† in The Marx-Engels Reader book, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had broken up the topic of the Communist Party up to four parts: 1. â€Å"Bourgeois and Proletarians†, 2. â€Å"Proletarians and Communists†, 3. â€Å"Socialist and Communist Literature†, and 4. â€Å"Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties.† In this essay, I’ll be focusing on the first two parts of the â€Å"Manifesto† since there are so much information to cover withinRead More The Manifesto of the Communist Party Essay1346 Words   |  6 Page sThe Manifesto of the Communist Party Drafted in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, the â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party† outlines the views, tendencies, and aims of the communist party through the so-called philosophy of historical materialism (Distante). These views were expressed throughout four distinct sections of the â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party.† The first section describes the relationship between the bourgeois and the proletarians. The next section depicts theRead MoreChapter Of Manifesto Of The Communist Party Essay1540 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles† (Mark 344). This is the famous sentence with which Karl Marx begins the first chapter of Manifesto of the Communist Party, by using the word class this would imply ordering people into societal groups. Karl Marx was referring to economic class, however, society can be grouped into many different classes, such as, economic standing, gender, or race. Each provides an interesting view on how different values have shapedRead MoreMarx And Engels, The Manifesto Of The Communist Party888 Words   |  4 Pages Marx and Engels , The Manifesto of the Communist Party The Manifesto of the Communist party was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist. Friedrich Engels was also a German philosopher, social scientist, and journalist. Friedrich Engels helped came up with the Marxist theory alongside Karl Marx, they also worked on the Communist manifesto which gave a general insight to theRead MoreMarx s Manifesto Of The Communist Party Essay1933 Words   |  8 Pageswas a humanist, materialist, and a philosopher, not an economist, contrary to popular belief. â€Å"[†¦] a man engaged in endless internecine political and philosophical warfare† (Menand, 2016, pg. 2). He is the author to the popular text, â€Å"Manifesto of the Communist Party† (1848), where Marx defined communism, discussed how industrial capitalism is evil, alienation versus objectification, liberation from alienation, types of class struggles in society, diale ctical materialism, and socialism. Marx haveRead MoreMarx s Manifesto Of The Communist Party Essay2332 Words   |  10 Pagesclass family in Germany. He is one of the most important people in the history mostly due to his ideas that people refer to as Marxism, which includes many essays and theories about politics and economics. His most famous work is called Manifesto of the Communist party. In this manuscript, along with his friend Friedrich Engels, he states that the best way for a society to develop is through a revolution and struggle in which the working class will rise against the bourgeoisie or the ruling class. TheyRead MoreNew Democracy And Manifesto Of Korean Communist Party1273 Words   |  6 PagesDemocracy and Manifesto of Korean Communist Party In January of 1940, Zedong Mao delivered a speech during a liberal conference in Yan’an, the center of communism and socialism in China. In the speech, Mao argued that the fate of Chinese revolution must be held in hands of proletariats, and as a leading result, the revolution must construct China as a socialism country. Two decades ago, in 1921, Shanghai, Korean communists also declared their country’s independence by publishing The Manifesto of KoreanRead MoreMarx And Friedrich Engels s Manifesto Of The Communist Party948 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1848 Karl Marx and his close friend and collaborator Friedrich Engels wrote The Manifesto of the Communist Party as a platform for the Communist League, a society to which they both belonged. This essay will explore the types of societies that this document describes, as well as the effects that Industrial Capitalism had on societal and individual levels. The Communist Manifesto focuses mainly on describing the society that the authors fear or that already exists, rather than the society that

Team Assignment Free Essays

My original community was in Hartland, Wisconsin. This is a predominately caucasian population. Most of the families that I grew up around were extremely wealthy and came from happy families. We will write a custom essay sample on Team Assignment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Community members in this area were most likely to contribute to the community with their monetary donations rather than volunteering. My neighborhood alone was populated with Lawyers, Doctors, Pharmacists, Dentists and the ever famous â€Å"Businessman. † Those were the fathers that no one really knew what their job entailed. Every so often a more modern family would move into the neighborhood, in my case, that was my family. A single mother and a her only child. My mother was a grocery store manager, a difficult task in its self but nothing as important, to other people, as a Doctor. The mothers of the families with fathers who made the â€Å"bread† would often get together for afternoon walks around the town, and baking nights. Community events took place mostly in the summer as Wisconsin is bitter cold in the winter. During the summer months community members would all gather on the streets downtown and sing and dance and drink. There would also be cookouts at the town grocery store in honor of different charities and school programs in the area. I would work the cook outs for my basketball team and track teams. It was a nice time and it allowed everyone to get together in the summer. Everyone in our community was nice, respected and respectful. When something would happen, such as an accident with high school students, it would effect the entire town. We had upstanding members of our community like the Chief of Police, who was a father of a daughter in my grade. He created a memorial for all the students who were lost in high school. It still stands tall in our town square. After we lost young members of our community, firefighters, police officers, emergency medical transponders would volunteer their off time to give speeches to all ages about the dangers of being un-responsible behind the wheel. Men of the community stepped up and pushed for a curfew for anyone under the age of 18. Tragedy made my community stronger and more resilient. As a community I think our town did everything it could to give its residents a beautiful, safe, welcoming town to call home. I am so proud to call Hartland, Wisconsin a part of my life. As a member of the community, I think that being a good student, working at the local stores, and watching community children makes me a good member of the community. As a member of that community in my heart still, I send my monetary donation bi-annually for park maintenance and keeping the community clean. How to cite Team Assignment, Papers

Impact and Issues of Information Technology †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Impact and Issues of Information Technology. Answer: This essay highlights the ICT impact on business, culture and society. The impact of ICT on the business, retail stores, in schools has been detailed in this essay. The adverse effect has also been focussed in this essay as well. ICT impacts on business have been depicted in this essay. Information Technology has greater impact on the business activities of an organisation. With the help of computers one can store files, can send and receive files as well. This makes the whole thing agile and efficient[1]. The individuals can use Excel to store the payables, inventory sales and receivables, the employees in the organisation can even use the accounting software to store the tax records and the data for conducting the business smoothly. Now with the advent of internet, the employees in the organisations can use the cloud services to store the files and also can share the file online[2]. This facilitates to use the files and modify the files online. With the advent of internet, the business organisations now can carry out their marketing ventures online, can take orders, they also have the option to purchase merchandise. The marketing options carried out online via the marketing tools, one can use ones business management capabilities to communicate with the employees and the contractors to enhance the marketing. The business organisations employees must keep themselves updated all the time to know more about the business, to keep an eye on the competitors, to know the latest trends, the information accumulated can help them in comparing the proposals related to insurance; handle the employees of the organisations[3]. Even with the help of electronic mail one can send important files and can communicate with each other, in this way ICT can embellish the business activities, this ICT can enrich any industry, it can create huge impact on the automobiles, tourism, retail and textiles. ICT impacts on society have been highlighted in this essay.ICT has also greater impact on the society; with the help of ICT now people are working as freelancers, they are working from home. The representatives of the small businesses or the telecommuter companies generally work from home, the managers always stay in touch with the employees in this way[4]. The companies provide online services to their customers all throughout day and night 24x7 via ICT technology. ICT can help the individuals who are not capable to work outside. ICT also facilitates online shopping; the customers can purchase books dresses at will from the online shopping sites. The use of ICT and introduction of work from home concept can reduce the number of working offices; it too can reduce the traffic pollution. The physically disabled people can be largely benefitted from the ICT technology. ICT is also beneficial for students, teachers and thus ICT create an impact on the society. The ICT can help in acquiring information or knowledge that is fruitful, ICT is used in schools to store vital information of the students as well as the staffs. The schools and the colleges use ICT to manage the administration system[5]. The students of the college with the help of ICT can search for the study materials online; can search for blogs, e-learning portals and also the wiki. The ICT can save a lot of money as well, with the help of ICT they do not have to write on paper and also need not have to submit the paper the students can write answer, submit all in the form of e-paper. Therefore, these are the benefits provided by the ICT to the society. ICT impacts on culture have been showcased too in this essay. ICT has greater impact on the culture; technology has made the travelling from place to place from city to village and vice versa more convenient. Previously people ride on horses or bullocks, now they ride on vehicles like boats, buses and bikes[6]. Now all the school premises use the computer that makes the things easier. Now the teachers as well as the students can use the computer for the better learning outcomes. The technology has affected the farmers a lot, they now plant crops or harvest their crops with the help of machine, so they do not take the effort like earlier to plough by themselves, for importing and exporting goods, different kinds of vehicles are used to import and export the goods[7]. The technology has a greater impact on communication as well. Now with the advent of smart phone the communication has become easier. With the help of video chat and messaging helps to stay connected all the time. ICT has adverse effect as well so ICT should be used ethically to mitigate the risks associated with it. The over usage of internet makes one lazy, now the users do not take the initiative to write in full words. The light emitting from the laptops and the computers is also harmful; the users can lose their eyesight due to the emission of the light[8]. The rays can cause cancer due to this light. The food nowadays is prepared as well prepared on the basis of technology and is really harmful, the users are facing severe illness and diseases due to the bad quality of food consumption. Nowadays users do not feel comfortable or feel hesitant to speak to the persons rather they just concentrate on chatting with each other, this effect the communication skills a lot. Even the use of smart phone has adverse effects, artificial light emitting out from the phone can affects users sleep[9]. As the users spend time communicating with others via phone messages, no physical contact occurs and tha t result in misunderstanding among others, different words has different meanings, different attitudes, this can cause a negative impact on the individuals. ICT also encourages the intruders in this scenario, they hack the computer system over the insecure network and exploit the personal files of the individuals, they injected virus and malware into the system which makes the software unusable, also it makes the whole operating system unbootable, they too sabotage the whole computer system and ask for money to release the system[10]. At the time of online money transaction, experienced intruders can hack or attack the system and steal the money, during shopping the customers book something while they receive the item they find that they get another product which does not look like the same, some organisations take away all the necessary personal information of the customers for their own benefits, sometimes that data can be hacked and then the privacy of the customer gets compromis ed[11]. The use of computers and internet results in breakups and the loneliness is increasing day by day. The users also search for illegal explicit things on the Internet and that is an adverse effect of ICT as well[12]. Due to the dependence of the information technology the students become less active. The money laundering also happens due to the improper usage of the Internet. It can be concluded from the above discourse the impact of information and communication technology on culture, society, and business as well as the retailing industry. The adverse effect of the ICT has been showcased too in this essay. Therefore, ICT should be handled and use properly. References Andrade, Antonio Diaz, and Bill Doolin. "Information and communication technology and the social inclusion of refugees."Mis Quarterly40, no. 2 (2016): 405-416. Bascand, Geoff. "Household use of information and communication technology: 2012."Retrieved from Statistics New Zealand: https://www. stats. govt. nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/information_technology_and_communications/HouseholdUseofICT_HOTP2012. aspx(2013). Bilbao-Osorio, Beat, Soumitra Dutta, and Bruno Lanvin. "The global information technology report 2013." InWorld Economic Forum, pp. 1-383. 2013. Bloom, Nicholas, Luis Garicano, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "The distinct effects of information technology and communication technology on firm organization."Management Science60, no. 12 (2014): 2859-2885. Chesley, Noelle. "Information and communication technology use, work intensification and employee strain and distress."Work, employment and society28, no. 4 (2014): 589-610. Hashim, Junaidah. "Information communication technology (ICT) adoption among SME owners in Malaysia."International Journal of Business and Information2, no. 2 (2015). Keller, Jonas, and A. Heiko. "The influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on future foresight processesResults from a Delphi survey."Technological Forecasting and Social Change85 (2014): 81-92. Lee, Younghwa, Jintae Lee, and Yujong Hwang. "Relating motivation to information and communication technology acceptance: Self-determination theory perspective."Computers in Human Behavior51 (2015): 418-428. Limbu, Yam B., C. Jayachandran, and Barry J. Babin. "Does information and communication technology improve job satisfaction? The moderating role of sales technology orientation."Industrial Marketing Management43, no. 7 (2014): 1236-1245. Luo, Yadong, and Juan Bu. "How valuable is information and communication technology? A study of emerging economy enterprises."Journal of World Business51, no. 2 (2016): 200-211. Ritzhaupt, Albert D., Feng Liu, Kara Dawson, and Ann E. Barron. "Differences in student information and communication technology literacy based on socio-economic status, ethnicity, and gender: Evidence of a digital divide in Florida schools."Journal of Research on Technology in Education45, no. 4 (2013): 291-307. Vaishnavi, Vijay K., and William Kuechler.Design science research methods and patterns: innovating information and communication technology. Crc Press, 2015.

The Material Used To Make The Bible Essays - Textual Scholarship

The Material Used To Make The Bible Introduction The bible is most read book in the world today, as we know it. It is also the longest lasting book or should I say oldest, still available in our bookshelves across the world. The Lord has blessed us with the technology that we have today. We have computers, laptops, typewriters, and even pocket size machines that are capable of writing things down, or even voice recordings. But think back to the days when the words that fill the pages of the bible were being lived and mapped out. What was the time like in those days? Think, back of the tools that were used just to give us the book we know today as our guide to know the real God. I know that even now we still struggle with this process, but think how much harder it must have been for those people of that times period to write pages beyond pages of stories and accounts. The endless hours it must have taken to write just one book of the bible. The process of gathering information and the fact that all these books could have survived th e times and be brought all together to form just one single book that would last over a thousand years later. In this paper I will tell you al little about the various tools used by the writers of the bible. Papyrus Papyrus is a water plant whose fibers were used by the people of Egypt to make a writing material. It also was used as material for mats, sandals, and sailcloth. The brownish flowers were made into garlands for the shrines of the Egyptian gods. Many people think the mother of Moses hid her son in an ark made of Papyrus. The papyrus plant still grows in the Nile valley of Egypt. It is also found in Ethiopia, Syria, southern Italy, and Sicily. The plants reedlike stems grow 3 to 20 feet high. As many as 100 flowers stalks spring from the top of each stem. These stalks may be more than 12 inches long. The Egyptians made a writing material also called papyrus, by laying strips of the plants stems in layers, and then placing them under pressure. The crushed Strips matted into a loose-textured, porous, white paper. Time has been known to turn surviving papyrus manuscripts brown and brittle. The paper was sold as long rectangular sheets of different sizes. The sheets were at first rolled an d tied with string, Later there were bound together into books. Until the 100s BC, Egypt guarded its monopoly on the preparation of the paper. Then the more durable parchment gradually replaced papyrus. This is also known as the most popular writing material of the time. Parchment Parchment is animal skin that has been prepared as a surface for writing. The word parchment usually means a writing material, made from the skins of sheep, goats, or calves, thus meaning them to be very long lasting. Parchment scrolls have survived from about 1500 BC. In making parchment, the skins are first washed and then placed in lime to remove the hair and fat. Next, the skins are stretched on a frame and thinned with knives and scrapers. Finally, the skins are rubbed with chalk and pumice in order to create a smooth, white writing surface. A form of fine, high-quality parchment called vellum is made from the skins of calves or lambs. Vellum has been used for important writings such as charters, university diplomas, and wills. Heavy parchment is made from the skins of calves, donkeys, goats, and wolves. It is used for drumheads. Dipping pure, unsized paper into a cooled mixture of sulfuric acid and water, and then washing and drying it under pressure make parchment paper, also called vegetable parchment. This process makes the paper partly transparent and much stronger than ordinary paper. Parchment paper is used for legal documents and maps. Parchment was especially popular in the ancient cities of Asia Minor. The Jews, Persians, and other ancient people used it for sacred and literary writings. Beginning about 200 BC, parchment gradually replaced papyrus as the most commonly used writing material. Parchment remained the leading writing material in the

Emily Dickinsons Mother, Emily Norcross

Emily Dickinsons Mother, Emily Norcross Emily Dickinson is one of the most mysterious writers in literary history. Although she was a literary genius, only eight of her poems were published in her life, and she lived a secluded existence. But, this quiet life at home can be compared to the isolated life her mother lived. About Emilys Mother: Emily Norcross Emily Norcross was born on July 3, 1804, and she married Edward Dickinson on May 6, 1828. The couples first child, William Austin Dickinson, was born just 11 months later. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson  was born on December 10, 1830, and her sister, Lavinia Norcross Dickinson (Vinnie) was born several years later on February 28, 1833. From what we know of Emily Norcross, she seldom left home, only making brief visits to relatives. Later, Dickinson would rarely leave home, spending most of her days in the same house. She isolated herself more and more as she grew older, and she seemed to become more selective in whom she saw from her circle of family and friends. Of course, one marked difference between Dickinson and her mother is that she never married. There has been a great deal of speculation about why Emily Dickinson never married. In one of her poems, she writes, Im wife; Ive finished that... and She rose to his requirement... / To take the honorable work / Of woman and of wife. Perhaps she had a long-lost lover. Perhaps, she chose to live a different sort of life, without leaving home and without marrying. Whether it was a choice, or simply a matter of circumstance, her dreams came to fruition in her work. She could imagine herself in and out of love and marriage. And, she was always free to spend her flood of words, with passionate intensity. For whatever reason, Dickinson did not marry. But even her relationship with her mother was troubled. The Strain of Having an Unsupportive  Mother Dickinson once wrote to her mentor, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, My Mother does not care for thought-- , which was foreign to the way Dickinson lived. Later she wrote to Higginson: Could you tell me what home is. I never had a mother. I suppose a mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled. Dickinsons relationship with her mother may have been strained, especially during her earliest years. She could not look to her mother for support in her literary efforts, but none of the members of her family or friends saw her as a literary genius. Her father saw Austin as the genius and never looked beyond. Higginson, while supportive, described her as partially cracked. She had friends, but none of them really understood the true extent of her genius. They found her witty, and they enjoyed corresponding with her through letters. In many ways, though, she was completely alone. On June 15, 1875, Emily Norcross Dickinson suffered a paralytic stroke and suffered from a long period of illness thereafter. This period of time may have had more influence on her seclusion from society than any other, but it was also a way for the mother and daughter to become closer than ever before. For Dickinson, it was also just another small step away into her upper roominto her writing. Vinnie said that one of the daughters must be constantly at home. She explains her sisters seclusion by saying that Emily chose this part. Then, Vinnie said that Emily, finding the life with her books and nature so congenial, continued to live it... A Caretaker Till the End Dickinson cared for her mother for the final seven years of her life, until her mother died on November 14, 1882. In a letter to Mrs. J.C. Holland, she wrote: The dear Mother that could not walk, has flown. It never occurred to us that she had not Limbs, she had Wingsand she soared from us unexpectedly as a summoned Bird Dickinson could not understand what it meant: the death of her mother. She had experienced so much death in her life, not only with the deaths of friends and acquaintances, but the death of her father, and now her mother. She had wrestled with the idea of death; she had feared it, and she wrote many poems about it. In Tis so appalling, she wrote, Looking at death is dying. So, her mothers final end was hard for her, especially after such a long illness. Dickinson wrote to Maria Whitney: All is faint indeed without our vanished mother, who achieved in sweetness what she lost in strength, though grief of wonder at her fate made the winter short, and each night I reach finds my lungs more breathless, seeking what it means. Emilys mother might not have been the genius that her daughter was, but she influenced Dickinsons life in ways she probably didnt even realize. In total, Dickinson wrote 1,775 poems in her life. Would Emily have written so many, or would she have written any at all, if she had not lived that solitary existence at home? She lived for so many years alonein the room of her own. Sources: Emily Dickinson Biography Emily Dickinson Poems

Read-Aloud Project Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Read-Aloud Project - Coursework Example I know this because I have observed how they read when we read in dyads before. I chose to read Peggy Parish’s (1971) Come Back, Amelia Bedelia. I selected to read only one book because it is long enough for the reading session to last for fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the questions and comments of the kids on it. From this read-aloud experience, I learned that selecting stories is not easy because of their different interests, communication styles, and literacy skills, but some generalizations can be made through using age-appropriate criteria. I also understood that children like humorous characters and plots; they want a reader who knows how to change voices, facial expressions, and gestures; they respond openly to the reader and their peers when encouraged; and they also want characters with gender and races/ethnicities that they can relate to. In choosing the text, I used common criteria to text selection that include reader and audience characteristics. This approach considers the interests and needs of both readers and the audience in the book. The criteria are the following: (1) I chose a book that I enjoy reading; (2) The book is something that the children have not read yet to increase their interest in it; (3) The book has a large text font that children can read even when they are a foot or two from me; (4) The book has pictures where characters have perceptible facial expressions and do a wide range of actions, and the settings have details and things that can be sources of discussions too; (5) The language is simple enough for kids to understand, while there are some challenging words that will help them learn new ones; (6) The plot can be something that these children can relate to; and (7) The story has lessons on work ethics, family bonding, and differences between idioms and literal

Mapping Your Conflicts Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mapping Your Conflicts Project - Essay Example In â€Å"Eye to Eye† the conflict is a pretty typical and unavoidable part of living together. The dynamics are that of jumping to conclusions, indirect communication, a lack of listening skills, and partial avoidance. Past fears, future implications, and present attitudes are part of the problem, and â€Å"holes† in the couple's communication styles back end the conversation. Their mutually restrictive behavior patterns will eventually cause the conflict to escalate. Keywords: conflict resolution, Hocker-Wilmot, conflict assessment, arguments and misunderstandings, conflict management Conflict Resolution – Seeing Eye to Eye Nature of Conflict The triggering incident of â€Å"Eye to Eye† has a history. On a particular morning, a newly married couple is deciding how to spend their day. She exhibits excitement about spending the day with her husband, but he seems preoccupied. The first dynamic happens when she relinquishes power by giving in when he says â⠂¬Å"let's see how the day goes first.† Her attention turns to the immediate need—household chores. She mentions it, awaits a response, but does not get it. In her mind, the lack of response means that their marriage is headed in the same direction as her parents, whom she says had plenty of 'loud discussions' over house work.

Risk Due To The Availability Of Resources Construction Essay

Risk Due To The Availability Of Resources Construction Essay Risks are involved in all stage of the construction project. The construction risks will arise within the contract period and it may cause the Contractors failure to keep within the cost budget, failure to complete the work within the completion date and failure to achieve the quality requirement of work (Flanagan and Norman, 1993, p.8) ². The Contractors have the responsibilities to bear for the risks that arise during the construction period (Flanagan and Norman, 1993, p.183) ². Once the contract has been signed, the contractors have the responsibility to perform the project either the project is continue for better or for worse until the project is completed (Sayers, 1997, p.1) ³. Consequently, the Contractors cannot simply tender for a project without consider those risk that involved in the project. As a result of not recognized the risks, it may cause the Contractors to lose money or become bankrupt. The risk has the capacity of eroding profit and moving the project from a profit making into a loss-making venture. A Contractor can make a profit or loss at the end of the project is depending in how accurately the risks have been assessed. Thus, the Contractors have to consider the risk factors that involved in the project in order to make a decision on whether or not to tender the project. The tender price will be influence by the risk factors. The construction risks will cause the estimated tender sum difference with the actual cost of project. Therefore, during tendering for a project, a Contractor has to consider the risks factors that may occur during the construction stage in order to ensure they have the capability to carry out the work and making a profit margin at the end of the project. 1.2 Aim and Objectives This study aim is to understand the importance of managing the risks during tender stage. In order to achieve the aim, the following objectives are conducted to support the aim:- To determine the construction risk that may occur within the contract period that faced by the Contractors. To illustrate the consequence of the risk where the risks does not be managed at the tender stage. To identify the approach of managing the risk that faced by the Contractor. 1.3 Background Risk are involved in the all stage of a construction project due to the construction process period are long, the process are complicated, and costly. A risk can be managed, reduced, transferred, shared, and accepted, but it cannot be ignored (Dallas, 2008, p. 5) ¹. Moreover, the risk has an impact over the construction objectives which in term of cost, time, quality, safety and health and environmental (Flanagan and Norman, 1993, p.8) ². Thus, before the Contractors are going to tender for a project, they have to identified all the risk that face by him to measure the impact that against by him. In order to dealing with the risks, a risk management processes are recognized as a systems process which assists the Contractors to manage the construction risks. Risk management is one of the systematic ways to manage the risk or unwanted event which influence the outcome of the project. According to Smith et al. (2006, p.2)à ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ´, undertaken a risk management process in tender s tage can assist the Contractors to minimize the impact of the risk and making a better decision over the risk. By conducted the risk management process, it can assist the Contractors have the better understanding over the risks or problem. The risks will involve in each of the tender stage. During the estimating process, the risks factors will influence the tender price. The estimators have to ensure the risks are well pricing into the tender price. Consequently, the risk management process has to be conducted in the tender stage due to the risk management process can assist to make right decision over project. 1.4 Scope of study This study is focus on how the Malaysian private Contractor managing the risk before signed the contract for a project. The area of research is focus on Malaysian private Contractor. The scopes of this study including finding out the different type of the construction risk which may occur within the contract period and the consequence of those risk against the Contractor. A suitable approach of managing the construction must be provided in order to identify, analyze and response those risks. The questionnaire survey will conducted in order to enhance this study. This study will only focus on the group of the Malaysian private Contractor. 1.5 Research Methodology In this research, the main research methods used to complete this research are the literature review and data collection through the questionnaire survey which among the Malaysian private Contractors. The literature reviews in this research are conducted to support the objectives of this study. The resources of the literature review are from the books, journal articles, and internet sources. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the literature review has focusing on the potential construction risk that encountered by the private Contractor, the effect to the construction against the Contractor and the approach of managing the construction risk that are required to carry out by the Contractor. Furthermore, the questionnaire survey will conducted among Malaysian private Contractor to enhance this study and achieve the objectives of this study. The questionnaire survey sent to the Contractor through either by hand, email and post. The main purpose of conduct the questionnaire survey is to obtain the information from the focusing groups of Malaysian private Contractors in order to investigate the construction risk that faced by them, the effect of construction risk among them and how the Contractor manage the construction risk. After the collected data from the questionnaire survey has been collected, then the collected data will be summarizing, arranging and analyzing by using the SPSS software. Moreover, a clear interpretation of the result will be conducted to support this study. 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation This study contains of 5 chapters and each of the chapter had summarizing as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter highlights the main reason that the Contractors have to carry out risk management during the tender stage. The aim and objectives and background of this study has determined in this chapter. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter discussed on the potential risk that encountered by the Contractor, the consequence of construction risk against the Contractor, importance of managed risk in tender stage, and the approach of manage the risk in tender stage and construction stage. Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Questionnaire Structuring This chapter identified the method and material that used in this study. The research method of this study will be well interpreted in this chapter. Chapter 4: Data Analysis This chapter summarized, arranged and analyzed the collected data and conduct a clearly interpretation on the result of the collected data. Chapter 5: Conclusion This chapter summarized the outline and the finding of this study, and recommend on this study for future research. ` 1.7 Reference Dallas, M. F. 2006. Value and risk management: A guide to best practice. UK: Blackwell. p.5. Flanagan, R and Norman, G. 1993. Risk management and construction. London: Blackwell. p.8, 183. Sayers, P. 1997. Competitive tendering, management and reality: Achieving value for money. London: E Fn Spon. p.1. Smith, N.J., Merna, T. and Joling, P. 1999. Managing risk in construction project. Oxford: Blackwell Science. p.2. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of various type of risks in construction project that faced by Contractors This chapter discussed on the potential risk that may occur during the contract period. The definition of risk and the various types of the risks and its consequence over the project will be discussed on this chapter. 2.1.1 Definition of risks Risks that involved in the construction project can be described as the probability of occur something or occur some unwanted or unfavorable event which that will has an impact over the project (Mostata Ghadak Zadeh, 2010, p.9). Flanagan and Norman (1993, p.8) emphasized that, risk is an uncertain event the may cause a construction project failure to keep within the objective of project which in term of cost, time, quality, safety and environmental sustainability. Moreover, Begum Ongel (2009) stated that, risks can be described as the unforeseen event that might be occur in the future and may have negative consequences over the project objectives. The construction risk can be described as an uncertainty or probability of occurrence of something that has an impact over the project outcome as shown as Figure 2.1. Figure 2.1: The Concept of the risk (Source: Merna and A-Thani, 2008, p.8) Merna and A-Thani (2008, p.13) suggested that, the risk can be described into 3 categorized:- Known risk- The known risk can be described as the risks that happen every day on construction industry. Basically, the known risk will be the variation work and the inflation in construction resource costs. Those known risk will cause the additional work needed to be carry out and delay for the work. If the known risk has happen in the construction stage, then those work will usually covered by the contingency sum of the contract. Known unknowns- The known unknowns are the risk event that can be predicted or foreseen. The effect of the known unknowns and their probability of occurrence will be easily to be known. Unknown unknowns- The unknown unknowns are the risk that cannot easily be predicted. Generally, those events that cannot be easily foreseen are the force majeure event. 2.1.2 Type of risk in tender stage According to Odeyinka et al (2006), the risk sources in the construction industry that are occur during the tender stage are including the estimating risks, design risks, tender evaluation risks and the competitive tendering risks. Moreover, Cooke and Williams (2009, p.123) mentioned that, the risk factors that require to consider by the Contractors during the tender stage are including the tender risks, quantity risks, subcontractors risks, design risks, programme schedule risks, method risks, health and safety risks, and documentation risks. 2.1.2.1 Design risks Poor design can cause the Contractors bid be influenced and affecting the ability to win the project. The Contractors have the responsibility for the quality of work. 2.1.2.2 Estimating error risks During the preparation of the tender price, the estimators may estimate wrongly or make some mistake on quantities of the work. Thus, this will influence the accuracy of the tender price. According to Cooke and Williams (2009, p.123), the Contractors are require to assess the accuracy of the quantities in the bills of quantities. In case of the quantity error is done in the bills, the Contractors have to accept the error and bear for the losses after the contract award to the Contractors. 2.1.2.3 Competitive tendering risks In traditional tender process, the tender will awarded by the lowest bidder. Many of the Contractors will try to lower down the tender price in order to winning the bid. In this case, the Contractors may not have sufficient resource to complete or carry out the work. Consequently, lose the profit margin. 2.1.2.4 Documentation risks According to Cooke and Williams (2009, p.125), clarity of tender documentation is important. The Contractors requires referring the tender documentation such as the drawing and specification carefully in order to price accurately. Cooke and Williams (2009, p.125) stated that, the Contractors require to refer to the tender documentation very carefully in order to assess implication of onerous contract term, clauses deleted from standard contracts, high levels of liquidated damages, unrealistic contract period, possible innovation of the design and contract bonds and guarantees required. 2.1.2.5 Method risks The Contractors choice of construction method is one of the important decisions during the tender stage. Cooke and Williams (2009, p.125) mentioned that, the Contractors choice of construction method can win the contract but it may cause risks over the project. One of the example is that the type of the earthwork support required may be require more expensive earthwork support to support the foundation in case of week site condition. 2.1.2.6 Subcontractors risks 2.1.2.7 Health and safety risks 2.1.3 Type of risks in construction stage The construction risks are the risks that occur during the construction stage. According to Nafisah Binti Abdul Rahiman (2006, p.24), the construction risks are the unforeseen or unwanted events that occur within the construction period. Flanagan and Norman (1993, p.) stated that, the risk are involved in the construction project due to the construction activities process are taken long duration, complicated, influenced by environment factor and costly. According to Boussabaine and Richard (2004, p.180), the construction risks has an affect the over the cost, time and work quality of the project. During the construction stage, the Contractors have the responsibility to bear for the risk. Thus, the Contractors are requiring focusing on the construction risk that may face by them in order to reduce the effect against them. Boussabaine and Richard (2004, pp.181-184) mentioned that, the construction risks that face by the Contractors during the construction period are including the avail ability of resources risks, industrial disruption risks, productivity of labour and plant and machinery risks, safety and health risks, performance of subcontractor risks, poor workmanship risks, schedule programme accuracy risks, capability of the contractors risks, materials or components risks, site condition risks, unfavorable weather conditions risks, quantities of work risks, price inflation risks and etc. 2.1.3.1 Risk due to the availability of resources The availability of material, labour and plant and machinery will influence the construction cost be increased. The price of the material, labour and plant and machinery are expensive in the condition of those resources are not readily available in the area of the construction site. It may require the extra transportation fees to deliver the material and plant and machinery to the construction site. Moreover, when the certain labour is not readily available in the area of the construction site, it may require employing them from an area where such labour is available. 2.1.3.2 Risk due to industrial disruption The industrial disruption risk may occur due to the strike action among the labour. The strike event may occur when the labour is unwilling to follow any matter that instruct by the Contractor. In this case, the construction work will be delayed and cannot be completed within the completed date. Consequently, the Contractors suffer the losses of paying for the cost to settle down the strike event and pay the liquidated damage over the delayed work. 2.1.3.3 Risk due to the productivity of labour and plant and machinery The productivity of labour and plant and machinery is important due to it may caused the work be delayed. The Contractors can provide the training for the labour to increase labours productivity and provide adequate maintenance for the plant and machinery to ensure the plant and machinery operate efficiently. 2.1.3.4 Risk due to safety and health The safety and health risk will occur due to the impact of hazards which involved in construction site. Risk of accidents is occurring during the construction period and that cause the personal injury. The Contractors are required to compensate for the labour in case of the labour are injured during carry out the construction work. The Contractor has the responsibility to ensure the construction site is safety. Consequently, the Contractors have to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act in order to reduce the accident risk during the construction stage. 2.1.3.5 Risk due to the subcontractors coordination In case of the subcontractors are fail to coordinate the work plan correctly, it can lead to work be delayed and cost be overrun. Moreover, the specialist subcontractors work can account a high percentage of the overall capital cost. Thereby, the effect of the specialist subcontractors are fail to coordinate the work on the overall project is of a greater magnitude. 2.1.3.6 Risk due to poor workmanship The poor workmanship can cause the quality of construction work is not meet with the standard requirement. A Contractor has the responsibilities to ensure the construction work is meet and according to the contract requirement. In case of the quality of work are not meet with the standard requirement, the Contractors may require to reconstruct the work and to rectify the work by his own cost. 2.1.3.7 Risk due to project programme accuracy Sometime the process of the actual work will not keep within project schedule and plan. Failure on scheduling the time, unforeseen delay in material delivery, plant and labour availability will lead to cost overruns and work be delayed. 2.1.3.8 Risk due to capability of the contractors The Contractors have to ensure he has sufficient capital and resource in order to carry out the work. The Contractors must consider the size of the project in order to ensure that he has sufficient resource to carry out the work of the project. Besides, the Contractor must ensure that the type of project is the work that he has the experience and he has performed the similar type of work in the past. This is to ensure the Contractors can carry out the project successfully. 2.1.3.9 Risk due to the materials or components The Contractors have the responsibilities to ensure the works meet with the quality requirement. Failure in maintain the components of the work can lead to expensive maintenance cost. Thus, the Contractors have to ensure the quality of the material and be careful on selecting the material. 2.1.3.10 Risk due to differing site condition Sometime the actual site condition may different with the expectation condition. The type of the earthwork support may require support by an expensive foundation as the ground condition of site is weak. An investigation of the site condition should be conducted in order to reduce the differing site condition risks. 2.1.3.11 Risk due to unfavorable weather conditions Weather is an unforeseen risk during the construction period and it will cause delay of work. Moreover, the adverse weather will damage the components and element in the construction site. Thus, the Contractors should provide regular updates of weather in order to ensure the work plan can be altered due to the adverse weather condition can interrupt the work programme. 2.1.3.12 Risk due to quantities of work The Contractors has to bear for the loss due to the quantity in the bill of quantities is not accuracy. It will cause the construction cost and time overrun if the quantity work is subsequently reduce (Cooke and Williams, 2009, p.123). Moreover, the differences between the actual and planned work will lead to cost and time be overrun. 2.1.3.13 Price inflation risks The price inflation is means a persistent rise in the price of the construction resources such as the cost of material, transportation fees, cost of labour and cost of plant or machineries. The inflation on the price of construction resources is difficult to forecasting. During the recession, the price of resources may be increased and this may cause that the Contractors to losses a lot of money. 2.1.3.14 Design risks The design risks are the risks that involved in a concept design or a detailed. According to Jackson (2010, p. 313), the Contractors are responsible for the design and in those cases it is critically important that design risks are given serious review and consideration in the overall risk mitigation plan. The design risks may influence the Contractors ability to construct the project on time, within budget, and within the quality requirement. To continue with Jackson (2010, p. 314), the design risks that may faced by the Contractors are including the followings:- Poor quality and inadequate of the design drawing or specifications The information and detail of drawing and specification that needed to construct the construction works are not completed, inaccurate, or unavailable. The Contractors are require to obtain the drawing or information from the Architect, thus, delay on work be occurred. Noncompliance with the design standard The design of the project does not meet with the standard requirement, building code or the other regulations. In case of the Contractors are build according to the design the not meet with the standard requirement, building code or the other regulations, it may cause the Contractors fail to keep within the quality of the works. Changes in design standard or regulation requirement The regulatory requirement in place at the commencing of the project may change during construction stage. Variation on design The Client changes the design during the construction stage. The contractors are require extra time carry out the variation work, thus, delay on time. Inaccuracies associated with supplemental design information. The information of the soil report, environmental report and etc that provide by the Architect to the Contractors is not accurate. Latent design defects affecting Contractors warranty Defective design details that result in flawed construction after occupancy of the facility such as a roof flashing leaks because of poor design. Jackson (2010, p.314) stated that, The Contractors are require to do some background investigation about the Architect and Engineer before tender the project which in case of the Contractors not familiar with the Architect or the Engineer who designed the project. This is to ensure that the quality of works that the Architect or Engineer produces in order to reduce the design risks. 2.1.3.15 Political risks According to Jackson (2010, p.317), the political risks can be described as third-party risks which the Contractors are usually have least amount of control over it. Although the Contractors are aware that the political risks are exist, but there is no ways to accurately predict how various jurisdictions and agencies will act. Contractors are required try to anticipate the political risks that may affect the ability to fulfill the expected contract requirement before submit a bid. According to Jackson (2010, p.317), the political that involved in the construction project are including the followings:- Changes in law Change in sales tax or other tax structures that increase in sales or use taxes will impact material costs Constraints on the accessibility and employment of expatriate staff 2.1.3.16 Environmental risks Environmental risk is an important issue that the Contractors are requires to concerns due to it may influence the cost and time of the construction project. The material and chemicals that used at the construction project may cause the pollution over the surrounding area. Moreover, the environmental risks are the risks that the Contractors have less control over it. According to Jackson (2010, p. 319), the environmental issues that can influence Contractors budget and schedule planning which are including the followings:- Environmental permits and approvals The environmental permits and approval are cannot be getting on the planned time due to the environmental permits and approvals are delayed or require more time to negotiate than expected. Hazardous materials or site contamination The unknown hazardous materials or site contaminates be found after the construction work has commenced. Archeological findings The unknown artifacts are founded or an unknown burial site or cemetery is unearthed during the construction period, that may requiring the construction work to stop. Endangered species The project has known or unknown endangered species sightings that will require protection and special care during construction. Wetlands, coastal protection or flood plain issues Wetlands, coastlines or flood plain are require the special protection, thus can influence the construction approach. According to Osborn and Schreyer (1988, p.1), before the construction project commencing, the Contractors are require to appreciate the potential for additional costs due to the existence of hazardous substances and other environment concerns. 2.1.3.17 Financial risks According to Jackson (2010, p.317), the financial risks can be described as the risks that associated with the Contractors own financial position. The Contractors are required to maintain sufficient working during project execution, thus the financial standing of the Contractors are require be good. The financing risks that faced by the Contractors are including the followings:- Contractors cash flow In case of the Contractors have insufficient of the credit can cause delays in supplying the material, late payment to subcontractor. It may cause the construction work be delayed and the subcontractor not willing to carry out the work. Interest rate increases In case of the borrowing money from bank by the Contractors to fund the project, once the interest rate is increased it would have an adverse effect on the project. Insufficient Client funds If the Clients is unable to make payment on time to the Contractors, then it will causing the Contractors do not have sufficient cash flow to fund the project. Subcontractor or supplier bankruptcy In case of the bankruptcy of the subcontractors or suppliers, the Contractors are requiring to hire another subcontractors or suppliers to take over the job. Thus, it may cause delays, cost overruns for the project. 2.2 The importance of managing risk in tender stage This chapter discussed the various reasons for the Contractor to managing the risk in the early stage of the project which at the tender stage and the consequences of the risks that against the Contractors. 2.2.1 Why should the risk be managed at the tender stage According to Boyce (2003, p.6), during the tender stage, a risk management should be undertaken in order to look at the potential problem on preparing an attractive bid on time, to winning the project, and to consider whether or not the project can be completed successfully. By providing the risk management process during the tender stage, the potential risk and problem can be identified and forecasted. Thus, a mitigation risk plan can be conducted to avoid and reduce arise during the construction stage. A risk management process has to provide at the tender stage which when there is still has a possibility for fundamental changes of any decision (Anna Klemetti, 2006, p.24). To tender for a contract will costs a lot of money and therefore the Contractors cannot simply accept to bid a contract without consider of any risk factors and profit potential in the project (Cooke and Williams, 2004). Boussabaine and Richard (2004, p. 181) emphasized that, the Contractors has to bears and take on the risk that occur during the construction stage. Thus, this is important for the Contractors to aware of all the construction risks that faced by him before the contract is being signed. The main objectives of the construction project will likely to be influence by the construction risk (Smith et al., 2006, p.2). The risks will cause the Contractors failure to keep within the cost budget, failure to complete the work within the completion date and failure to achieve the quality requirement of work (Flanagan and Norman, 1993, p.8).As a result of this, the Contractors need to recognize the risk involved in the project and manage the risks at tender stage in order to ensure the objectives of the project are achieved over the contract period. Moreover, the Contractors have to make the right decision on whether or not to tender the project. Once the contract was signed, the Contractors have to bear for all risk that involved the project until the project is completed (Sayers, 1997, p.1). The Contractors will face two risks during they tender for the project which are the risk of losing the project and the risk of winning the project (Boyce, 2003, p.9). Once the Contractors have winning the project, the Contractors have started to perform the contract. In case of awarded a project that is difficult to be completed or managed, it may cause the Contractors suffer for losing their financial or reputation (Boyce, 2003, p.9). According to Smith et al. (2006, p.94), the risk management process can help the Contractors to concern on the decision of to or not to bid for the project. Consequently, the decision that make by the Contractors are very important due to the risks may cause the Contractors to lose money or become bankrupt. During preparation of the tender price, the risk will influence the accuracy of the tender sum. The estimating risk can cause the Contractors to lose money or become bankrupt in case of the tender price was pricing wrong. The risk has the capacity of eroding profit and moving the project from a profit making into a loss-making venture. A Contractor can make a profit or loss at the end of the project is depending in how accurately the risks have been assessed. Smith et al. (2006, p.2) mentioned that, the risk management provides a better reviewing, understood, consideration over the project issues. To continues with Smith et al. (2006, p.94), a lack of understanding the risk may cause the Contractors pricing the tender price wrongly and as a result of this the additional cost will required to pay by the Contractors. Smith et al. (2006, p.193) suggested that, the risk management is used in the project due to it provide the following benefits:- To assist Contractors to aware of the risk that involved in the project and impact of the risks. Thus, the Contractors can focus on minimizing the risk or try to allocate risks to the other parties. To assist the Contractors to provide better decision over the potential risks or problem. To provides a better understanding of the risks or problem. To provide a better understanding over the project detail. This may assists Contractors to provide the realistic plan in term of programme schedule and cost estimate. To gives knowledge of the risk in projects. This may allow assessment of contingencies that actually reflect the risks and also tend to discourage the acceptance of financially unsound project. To provide the better management over the major risks that involved in the project. According to Burtonshaw-Gunn (2009, p.21), the risk management can assist the Contractor on the following:- To plan and taken necessary action to reduce the risk before the risk has been occur and assist the Co

Role of Managers in Company Management

STUDY GUIDE FOR THE Management Role of Managers in Company Management for BMCF TM study – course M_RMCM Role of Managers in Company Management Karel Havlicek Ing. Karel Havlicek, PhD. , MBA Management – Role of Managers in Company Management  © Karel Havlicek, 2011 Management – Role of Managers in Company Management Contents : 1. Role of management in hypercompetitive environment 1. 1 Owners and managerial strategy 1. 2 Managerial strategies and managerial planning 1. 3 Involved persons – Stakeholders 1. 4 Key terms 1. 5 Test questions 1. 6 Recommended literature 2.Role of management within marketing management 2. 1 Marketing management 2. 2 Marketing policy 2. 3 Marketing researches 2. 4 Marketing planning 2. 5 Key terms 2. 6 Test questions 2. 7 Recommended literature 3. Role of management within sales management 3. 1 Sales management 3. 2 Sales planning 3. 3 Management of forecasts 3. 4 Trade receivables management 3. 5. Customers communication managem ent 3. 6 Key terms 3. 7 Test questions 3. 8 Recommended literature 4. Role of management within financial management 1. Financial management 2. Financial planning 3. Controlling 4.Management of relations with banks 5. Costing 4. 6 Key terms 4. 7 Test questions 4. 8 Recommended literature 5. Role of management within quality and innovation management 5. 1 Quality management 5. 2 QMS models 5. 3 TQM models 5. 4. Balanced Score Card 5. 5 Innovation management 5. 6 Key terms 5. 7 Test questions 5. 8 Recommended literature 6. Role of management within team building 6. 1 Managerial team building 6. 2 Recruitment of managers 6. 3 Implementation of managers in teams 6. 4 Motivation and education 6. 5 Establishment of organizational designs 6. 6 Key terms 6. 7 Test questions . 8 Recommended literature 1. Role of management in hypercompetitive environment 1. 1 Owners and managerial strategy 1. 2 Managerial strategy and planning 1. 3 Stakeholders 1. 4 Key terms 1. 5 Test questions 1. 6 Recomme nded literature 1. 1 Owners and managerial strategy The term strategy has been frequently used in various contexts, which often leads to many misunderstandings and confusions. It originates from Greek – we can translate it as the art of a leader, general. Within business terminology it used to mean the ability to make decisions on the basis of high expertise and professionalism.However, there is another term with the same root used in English – â€Å"stratagem†. The term is generally translated as an act performed by company management within its top managerial activities. By the term strategy we mean certain scheme (process) that outlines how to achieve the set objectives under given conditions. It is a summary of steps and activities to be adopted â€Å"being aware† of partial lack of knowledge of all the future circumstance, conditions and connections, where not every possible alternative is identified, and individual advantages and disadvantages can't be determined for the purpose of future decision making.The objective is to establish adequate coordination of all the company's activities, and create unified complex of its perspectives. The strategy in small or medium enterprise should be defined in a short or mid-term horizon, not for more than 5 years ahead. Such horizon should be sufficient for medium sized enterprises. An enterprise of this size should anticipate a flexible change required by general trends. Flexibility is one of the major competitive advantages of small and medium enterprises compared to multinationals and large corporations. Thus it is not necessary to set up long term strategies, as their continuous changes are likely.The maturity of mid- and long term investment loans can be used for orientation with regards to the period of compiled strategy. In normal practice we discern owners' and managerial strategic aspects. Owners strategy is basically outlined by owners (shareholders, partners), and has a global character. The owners determine what is their mid- and long term objective. These can be for example: – financial requirements (ROE, EVA, profit, dividend, available CF etc. ), – marketing and sales aspects (market position and share, turnover etc. ), – strategic objectives (market value of the company, synergic effects etc. . Managerial strategy is based on the owners strategy, developing concrete strategic plans in order to achieve the owners' objectives. This strategy is prepared by the company management at the level of sales, marketing, financial, production, human resources or other directors. strategic objectives and strategies are identified on the basis of analyses, frequently in cooperation between the top management and owners. As mentioned before, the company management is responsible for achievement of strategic objectives, represented by the executive or general director.Controlling body can be an advisory or supervisory board of the company, or bo ard of directors, provided the board is not the management at the same time. This always depends on particular model and organizational design (structure) of the company. 1. 2 Managerial strategies and managerial planning The following steps are usually understood under the term â€Å"company strategy†: a) Description of current status by SWOT analysis. b) Determination of target status in a mid-term horizon. c) Outline of strategic objectives. d) Strategy of achievement of these objectives. ) Establishment of control mechanisms of the achievement. Strategies and strategic objectives are above all the activities and departments of the company. They are the starting point of plans and concepts of individual departments, divisions etc. The objectives of financial, sales, marketing, human resources and production have to be based on global strategy, when formulating partial plans and goals, and the short term objectives of these departments have to be modified in accordance with overall strategic objectives, which is an essential precondition of their achievement.This process is illustrated in the Figure 1-1. Figure 1-1 Illustration of the company strategy and its links to the plans of individual departments Individual strategic issues are not definitive, heir implementation in the company depends on its orientation, size, organizational design etc. It is obvious there will be no production strategy implemented in a trading company etc. Another strategies and consequent plans we may come across are innovation, quality, logistic and others. It is possible to combine certain strategies as well.Typical example for the small and medium enterprises is the amalgamation of marketing and sales strategy into one sales and marketing plan. Human resources plan in SMEs is sometimes substituted with a simpler motivation plan. Marketing strategy Marketing strategy is the basis for articulation of all the company's objectives. We may claim a successfully implemented sale s and marketing strategy is decisive for the enterprise's efficiency. Basis is the marketing mix, from which we derive the following marketing strategies: -product (product mix, life cycles, brand strategies†¦) -price (costing, pricing strategies) distribution (distribution channels mix, approach to the management of distribution conflicts) -communication (strategy of setting up internal and external communication mixes) The strategy consists of analytical and implementation parts. The analytical part describes current status, or history in all the strategic issues defined above, and together with the marketing research they are the basis for identification of strength and weaknesses, opportunities and threats – so-called SWOT analysis. The principles of marketing management of the company are defined in the marketing strategy and its implementation part.Fundamental is the marketing plan, as it includes marketing objectives, strategy of achievement and control mechanisms . Sales strategy The sales strategy is built on the marketing plan, and SWOT analysis. History of sales is described in the analytical part in the following breakdown: – product groups or individual products – customer segments, or individual customers – foreign or local territories The implementation part describes principles of sales management, and with regards to the above mentioned breakdown it includes the sales objectives to be developed further into detailed sales plans.Financial strategy It is created in the context of sales plan, with regards to the marketing research, SWOT analysis, and marketing and sales objectives. The analytical part includes history and updated summary f financial results and indicators in the structure relevant to the size and orientation of the company, and financial requirements of the owners. The implementation part consists of an overview of the required financial objectives in the horizon of several years. The achievement o f objectives is defined in the financial management policy, which is the basis for development of financial plans and budgets.The financial plan consists of balance sheet, profit and loss account, and cashflow statement. Annual budget is the basis of company's operating management. The financial strategy is a result of marketing and sales strategy. The marketing and sales plan has to come before the financial plan. This means the marketing and sales information – to who, for what price, where, in what form and with what marketing cost – has to precede the budget. Sometimes wrongly used reverse process tends to unrealistic forecasts, and may cause existential problems to the enterprise. Financial director is responsible for the financial strategy.In order to be able to prepare it credibly, the director needs timely and correct information from the marketing and sales department, at minimum in the form of sales plan. Production strategy Similarly to the previous cases th e production strategy includes analytical and implementation parts. The analytical part describes history of production, namely with regards to capacities, technologies, processes and individual sections, productivity and relation to the fulfillment of sales results. The implementation part describes how many products, in what quality ad structure, time and efficiency will be produced in the strategy's horizon.The production strategy defines overall management of the production, sometimes also the management of procurement and technologies. Its results are local production plans – basis for dispatch plans (can be included logistic or warehousing plans). The production strategy in smaller companies is usually complemented with procurement policy and investment strategy related to new technologies. The marketing and sales, and financial plans have to come before the production plan. The director of production is responsible for the production plan and strategy.This procedure ha s to be emphasized once again! In many enterprises so-called manufacturing approach survives: â€Å"The production has produced and now it's up to you – the salesman – to sell it! † Production directors and managers as the driving forces in companies are a mistake. It is not possible for the production departments to decide on the product range, price and quality. It is the customer who decides, and his decision is mediated in the company through marketing and sales department. As an example we can take the transformation of so-called Eastern bloc.High demand in former East-European countries in early nineties that often exceeded the supply of both traders and manufacturers, was a unique phenomenon, result of the transition towards market environment. Such situation is really unlikely in future. Logical consequence of company management was tremendous pressure of production and financial departments on sales – priority was HOW to produce and HOW to secure funds, WHERE to place the product or service was a secondary concern. The sales (actual sales, not the trading) were often simpler than the very manufacturing concept.Incoming multinationals and consequent growth of competition in general, stricter legislation, more cautious banks, higher pressure on quality and saturation of the market – these are the basic attributes that change the view of still frequent process: manufacture – finance – sales – marketing. The supply today exceeds the demand in most cases. Overproduction and surplus products come as a result. The enterprise capable of assessing market development and placing its products in variants, products that are sold, is more competitive and successful.The priority now is WHERE to place the product, WHAT price is the customer and the consumer willing to accept, WHAT quality is expected by the customer and the consumer, WHAT distribution channel is optimal for customers, WHAT means of communicatio n will be used to offer the product, and only then: HOW and FOR HOW MUCH to produce the required product (to ensure profit at the end of the day). The Figure 1-2 illustrates trends of supply – demand relations in eastern Europe. It means in most cases it is the customer who decides on quality, design, parameters, price and placing of the product, not the manufacturer.The manufacturing approach is thus replaced with customer-oriented, sales/marketing approach. There is gradual transfer from production-oriented marketing towards the modern marketing philosophy of customer relationship management. This process was typical for the whole period of nineteen nineties, and due to the dynamic development of market environment, relations and competition it was very intensive. Figure 1-2 The trends of supply – demand relations in Eastern Europe in 90s Human resources strategy Human resources strategy has an analytical-historic part, and implementation part, too.It consists of hum an resources policy, followed by the plan of human resources management, so-called human resources plan. The plan describes in detail recruitment system, inclusion of employees in teams, creation of organizational designs, training and motivation of the staff. Personnel (in larger companies human resources) director is responsible for its preparation. In smaller companies, where there is no post of personnel director created, the human resources strategy falls within the executive director's responsibility.In some medium marketing-oriented companies the bearer of personnel policy can be the marketing and sales director, who includes in his marketing plan the area of so-called internal marketing. Internal marketing in this case is a philosophy that treats the employees as customers – the main point being communication with the staff. They are informed of what is going on, why it is going on and what is required from them in order to ensure efficiency. In smaller companies the human resources plan is often substituted with motivation plan. The importance and sequence of managerial strategiesThere is a change of priorities and sequences of managerial going on presently. The effects of overproduction and surplus products lead to the necessity of considering the market information first – where to sell the product, under what conditions and quality. This means the marketing and sales plan is a cornerstone of further strategic planning, i. e. human resources, financial, production, quality, logistics, innovations, procurement etc. It is important to understand the planning in relation with the annual budget, as illustrated in the Figure 1-3 Figure 1-3 Strategic planning in small and medium enterprises related to annual budget . 3 Stakeholders One of the definitions of modern relations marketing talks about the tool of marketing philosophy of creation and distribution of values for targeted and identified markets – customers. Therefore correct id entification of the customer, understanding the desires, values expected from us (the enterprise), for which he is willing to pay, are the basis of any marketing approach, and the starting point for the treatment of any marketing case. Basically we recognize two types of users of our products: – customers who buy or pay for the products and services we provide, but they do not necessarily use them (e. . purchase of gift for somebody, pet food, toys for children), – consumers who use the products ad services, but they do not necessarily buy them (husband uses aftershave from his wife, children play with toys from their parents). Another possible interpretation of the term customer is provided by P. Kotler and G. Armstrong (Marketing. Grada Publishing, Praha 2004), working with the following division: – organization whose purchasing behavior includes goods and services for the manufacture of another products to be sold, rented or provided further. These are also w holesale and retail companies.They operate in so-called industrial markets, – consumers (individuals and households) that buy goods and services for their own needs, the transactions take place in so-called consumer markets. Thus every enterprise has several different groups of customers and consumers, each of which expects different values from the relationship. We may even develop this idea further, and include another parties that neither buy nor directly use the services, still influencing the enterprise's behavior. Those interested in particular company, because they can influence or be influenced by its activities (production, sponsoring, communication etc. are called involved persons, or stakeholders. In the relation marketing theory you may come across one statement – survival of an organization depends on its effective management, and wide range of involved persons. The satisfaction of the may and often conflicting interests of involved persons is a task for e very manager within an organization. Involved persons – stakeholders, and their expectations are identified in the model shown in the Table 1-1 As seen in the table, the involved persons include several groups not to be called customers in our sense; however, on the other hand we would call the customers stakeholders.The term â€Å"stakeholders† is thus considerably wider than the term â€Å"customers†. The success and managerial skill does not mean maximum satisfaction of just a part of the stakeholders, but adequate satisfaction of everybody, if possible. The word â€Å"adequate† is used on purpose, as it is almost impossible for the reason of often conflicting interests to satisfy everybody to maximum extent. Involved persons |Expectations | |Employees |Financial remuneration, satisfaction from work, sureness | |Shareholders |Growing capital, dividends | |Suppliers |Regular and paid deliveries |Customers, consumers |Quality, value | |Government |Employ ment, legislative environment, payment of taxes | |Managers |Prestige, acknowledgment, career opportunities | |Minorities |Employment without discrimination, equal approach to values | |Creditors |Payments in time, safety of investments | |Municipality |Employment, taxes | Table 1-1 Involved persons and their expectations 1. 4 Key terms Owners strategy Managerial strategy Marketing strategy Sales strategy Human resources strategy Production strategy Sales plan Marketing plan Financial plan Production plan Human resources plan Industrial market Consumer market Stakeholders Shareholders Customers Consumers SME / Small and medium enterprise 1. 5 Test questions 1. What objectives definitely belong to the owners strategy? ) achievement of the defined turnover b) achievement of higher market share c) achievement of the objectives defined in quality policy d) achievement of the defined ROE 2. What has to precede the financial plan unconditionally? a) quality management plan b) marketing r esearch c) human resources management plan d) logistic management plan 3. Who pursues the market requirements within an organization? a) production director b) sales and marketing director c) financial director d) technical director 4. B2B means to trade in: a) industrial markets b) commercial – consumer markets c) the area of employees' purchases d) the field of state contracts 1. 6 Recommended literatureHavlicek, K: Management, Role of Managers in Company Management, chapter 1 Hellriegel, D. – Jackson, E. S. – Slocum,J. W. (2005) : Management , A Comepetency-Based Approach. Thomson South-Western, Mason, chapters 1, 5, 6, 7. 2. Role of management within marketing management 2. 1 Marketing management 2. 2 Marketing policy 2. 3 Marketing researches 2. 4 Marketing planning 2. 5 Key terms 2. 6 Test questions 2. 7 Recommended literature 2. 1 Marketing management Marketing management is an essential business activity, without which no company can do, even more so if it has an ambition to export its own products, and to conquer new territories.Marketing management in CRM mode is defined as continuous process of analysis, planning, implementation and control of all the company's activities. (Source: Kotler, P. , Armstrong, G. : Marketing. Grada Publishing, Praha 2004). The goal of marketing management in a company is to satisfy business objectives of the entity or entrepreneur by satisfying the customers' requirements. K. Havlicek and M. Kasik in their publication Marketing management in small and medium enterprises (Management Press, Praha, 2005 ) created practical model of marketing management (Figure 2-1) when applying the philosophy of managed relations with customers: 2. 2. Marketing policy Each enterprise should have its marketing policy defined by the marketing director.This is a simple document that describes basic philosophy of the department, including product portfolio, customer segments, proposal of corresponding distribution, communi cation, and human resources. It should be linked to the overall strategy. The purpose of marketing policy is to provide simplified map of the main line of work of the department, what are the current customer segments, what marketing and sales activities are being prepared in the horizon of one year, who implements the current activities, how is the evaluation organized. The policy is prepared once a year, it should be in the form of a document given to every employee of the marketing and sales department, and to the company director. Marketing policy document usually includes: Organizational design of the marketing and sales department.Simple graphic chart of the organizational design is enough, where marketing director is on the top (in smaller companies marketing and sales director), followed by other team members, managers, sales representatives for domestic or foreign markets (so-called front office), sales assistants, background personnel (so-called back office), etc. Everythi ng depends on the orientation, size, and organizational design of the enterprise. It is important to highlight the relations between possible subdivisions and hierarchy, i. e. who report to whom, who is responsible for whom. It is quite easy in smaller enterprise, but tens of staff members in the marketing and sales department are not an exception, of which some are field sales people, others work in branch offices or abroad. In such a case the organizational design is very important – from both control and transparency point of view.Main product groups and territorial division of the customers This means the overall product and territorial division, and major customer segments. The product division does not have to be detailed (individual products), but it should correspond to the group structure according to sales plan, maximum ten basic product groups (depending on the scope and orientation of the products). Territorial design means the division to individual countries, or regions. Customer segments should also be divided to maximum ten categories. It should be clear who is the customer, and what product mix will we offer. It is important to include concrete personal responsibility for all the above mentioned categories in the marketing and trade policy document.Human resources status and activities Complete list of all the department's employees, their job assignments, classification within the organizational design of the team or projects of marketing and sales character, or projects of another departments and sections. It is useful to include e-mail addresses, mobile and fixed phones in the list. The fact that such document can be a major communication tool for some staff of the marketing and sales department should be taken into account. Motivation system The motivation system represents team motivation, system of evaluation aimed at departments, groups, or projects, concrete motivation instruments leading to the best performance of the staff, an d consequently to prosperity. In other words – the system of remuneration should be clear from this document, i. e. nder what conditions, when and for what, in what way and by whom the remuneration will be approved and provided. Summary of individual evaluations, or even individual incomes should definitely not make part of this public document. Communication within the department When and where regular meetings take place, in what intervals, who takes part, what source materials are required, where the minutes are archived etc. The dates of â€Å"brainstorming† meetings, workshops, project sessions, innovation committees etc. can be provided as well. Marketing department directives In case there are directives of any kind used in the department, they should be included to the marketing policy as well.These can be for example directives related to quality policy, or internal directives of the department, such as a directive on the management and administration of trade receivables. 2. 3 Marketing researches For both large companies and small and medium enterprises the continuous market research is a cornerstone of their activities. It should not relate only to a particular goal or immediate plan; its ongoing implementation and monitoring are advisable. Product life cycle gets naturally shorter in the era of growing competition. Endless flow of information on new trends, competition, groups of customers and suppliers are key of further company development.The objective of marketing research is systematic planning, collection, analysis and evaluation of the information needed for an effective solution of marketing problems. This applies to all types of organizations in general. In small and medium enterprises the research is adequate to their possibilities, but even here it is necessary to understand that sound research is a basis for other activities. This implies the necessity of system approach, i. e. to apply the research of external environmen t aimed at the following aspects (so-called STEEP analysis): – sociological, – technological, – economic, – environmental, – political. This research is crucial, namely in the case of more remote territories, market environment of which is not well known.When researching the internal competitive environment it is convenient to use factor environment analysis (so-called Porter's model of competitive environment): – number and strength of competitors, – customers, – suppliers, – substitute products, – potential competition. It depends on the purpose, type of business, size of the competitive environment, market share, power of the organization etc. The research includes collection, processing and analysis of the information, and a report has to be prepared, and maybe its results presented. To cover the information needs plan of the research can require collection of secondary data, primary data or both. The secondar y data includes information that has been already collected for a different purpose. On the contrary the primary data is collected for a specific purpose.In the first case the enterprise makes use of its databases, and open external sources (public electronic databases, associations, chambers, media etc. ). In the second case ordinary accounting and economic data from the database of deals and customers will be the source, including minutes from meetings. However, it is good to realize that the market research does not mean just some spreadsheet and statistic methods, tens of pages of various papers, and expensive agencies providing professional surveys. The very research can be simplified in the small and medium enterprises under the slogan: â€Å"Collect and use the information from the market and its surroundings†, and it is up to the managers' abilities to get the information on continuous basis.It means to keep communicating with the customer, to listen, to ask for feedb ack. It should be a precondition for the managers conducting marketing research to improve their education in this field further, to travel and learn new methods, to extend their general overview. To clinch a good deal is often not a matter of high expertise, but of general overview of politics, culture, sports, history, religion etc. Marketing department personnel should be able to absorb various kinds of information, and use and implement it further. General overview and fast work with information, as well as the ability to recognize their importance, are key criteria of recruitment of people for marketing and sales posts.Apart from the marketing research being performed on continuous basis, and the important data being archived, we obviously organize targeted research, depending on the upcoming events, which can be in the small and medium enterprises for example: – business or investment goal, – opening foreign market, – launching new product groups in the ma rket, – establishing communication with a new customer segment, – expansion of resent production – increase of production capacity. It is also recommendable to update the marketing research on regular basis, when preparing annual sales and marketing plan. As a comprehensive document it should include an opening page and provide reasons why it has been conducted, information on the date and person, or contact to cooperating agency. Sales and marketing directors should be in charge of all the researches, not just relying on heir subordinates to do the work.The activities relate to significant, often sensitive data, which may be possibly carried away to a new employment. Successors usually start working on these data, which often represents the only document that provides characteristics of the product, customer segment and particular customers. At the level of small and medium enterprises it is useful when such research is performed by individual experts supervise d by their manager, or directly by the marketing and sales director. This means the sales people who will be directly responsible for the researched segment or territory. Sales and marketing departments in SMEs usually do not dispose of a team of market research specialists, which is rather advantage.The research can be very well evaluated by the commercial success or failure of the responsible sales person, in comparably short time. However, this required good skills of the sales people. Apart from usual business skills and sales psychology training these people (often sales representatives) should be regularly trained in the basis of marketing in order to understand mutual connections of marketing, trade and communication. Marketing research is a necessary source document for the marketing and sales plan. 2. 4 Marketing planning Marketing plan belongs to basic pillars and documents needed for a successful management of the whole enterprise.Within SMEs, where we discern sales and m arketing management, the sales plan is often part of the marketing plan, called marketing and sales plan. The sales and marketing parts of the plan are still independent, mutually connected documents, use of which can be: – (A) Annual, as a fundamental document for the management of marketing and sales department. – (B) Individual, as one of the basic documents for various activities and fields, for example: – business or investment goals, – opening of new foreign markets, – launching activities in new regional territories, – launching of new products in the market, – restructuring of enterprises.Marketing plan comes before financial plan, production plan, and human resources plan. Marketing plan is developed by the whole sales and marketing team, finalized by the marketing and sales director, who submits it to the enterprise's director and bears responsibility. Marketing plan has to comply with the selected sales and marketing policy , and to be based on the whole company's strategy. Within the time sequence of individual plans it is always on the first place, i. e. being developed in September – October of previous year. It is linked to marketing research, good quality of which is fundamental for the success or failure of the marketing and sales plan. The marketing plan (Figure 2-2) includes: SWOT analysis of the enterprise, – department (whole company) objectives, – strategy of achievement, – control mechanism of (assessment) achievement. Figure 2-2 Process of creation of marketing plan SWOT analysis To evaluate the result of enterprise's or its department's activities the frequently used and well-known analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – SWOT is used. The strengths are compared with opportunities (creative thinking), and the weaknesses with threats and potential risk (basis for risk analysis). SWOT analysis in general is considered to be a very imp ortant strategic tool, which exceeds the framework of marketing.It provides information from the viewpoint of customer relationship management on what works (and what doesn't work), and on the changes in the interface between us and our customers. It is obvious we usually prepare SWOT analysis on the basis of previous research of external and competitive environment. The basis for SWOT analysis has to be thorough prior marketing research, otherwise we will not be able to compare our strengths and weaknesses, neither to define the opportunities and threats. Another danger of SWOT analysis is frequently a long list of wishes and limitations that remain the same for years. That is why it is important to focus on areas we can manage and influence.We use SWOT analysis not only as a necessary part of marketing plans, but also when evaluating personnel, annual reports and the like. Every salesperson and marketing staff member shall know the SWOT analysis and be able to make use of it withi n trading negotiations. The point s not to make too detailed analyses, 3 – 6 apt facts are enough for each area, expressed in the form of easily remembered slogans. The purpose of marketing plan should be considered. In case it is a regular document (see A) annually prepared for the company management, it is a description of status, opportunities and threats of the marketing and sales department, or the whole enterprise (in smaller companies).In case of plans prepared for certain event (see B) the SWOT analysis relates to one activity only, it is a partial or professional SWOT analysis, which is used for the decision on how and whether to perform the activity. SWOT analysis should be brief (three to five points to every issue), communicated to the whole sales team, which should possibly participate in its preparation. It is not just a basis for next decisions in the sense of feasibility of the set objectives and consequent method of their achievement, but also a good basis fo r negotiations of sales people with partners. Knowledge of the weaknesses and strengths, opportunities and threats of the enterprise due to its environment should be a matter of course for the whole company management.Strengths generate opportunities, some of which may even become objectives, on the contrary the weaknesses can lead to threats come true, and represent a basis for risk analysis. As well as the whole marketing plan the SWOT analysis should be created by team, while the final version and expressions are task for marketing and sales director. The very form of SWOT analysis within marketing plan can be one page, graphically clear matrix. Following the SWOT analysis we define the export department's or company's objectives. To systemize these factors a simple form is used (Table 2-1). SWOT analysis of a food processing company is provided as an example. | | |COMPANY STRENGTHS: |OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MARKET: | |– team of specialists in the company's |– new cus tomers recruited among chain | |management |stores | |excellent safe input material |– new product range – finished | |– well established network of supplied |food for the existing customers | |entities |– CR in EU – new customers | |– modern technological background | | |– wide assortment of products | | | | | | | | |COMPANY WEAKNESSES: |THREATS FROM THE MARKET: | |– language barriers |– strong competition in the market of | |– communication within the company, and |foodstuff suppliers | |towards external customers |– foreign competition | |– no product certified as â€Å"TOP product† |due to Czech Republic in EU | |– efficient approach to sales promotion |– orientation of multinational chains to | |missing |the products of their home countries | Table 2-1 Example of SWOT analysis of a food processing company Marketing objectives When defining the objectives we again di fferentiate between the plan as a managerial document (see A), or a plan of implementation of particular project (see B). In both cases the objectives should comply with several parameters, initials of which gave the method of their setting its name – SMART. They should be: – Specific (repeatability), – Measurable (turnover, margin, customers numbers), Achievable (in accordance with the enterprise's objectives), – Realistic (possibilities of the enterprise, market capacity), – Time (realistic delivery terms, possible to control). The objectives are based on SWOT analysis, i. e. on actual possibilities and opportunities of the enterprise. It should not be difficult to set objectives using SMART method, provided the marketing research was performed well, or carefully updated. It is definitely not correct to go deliberately for high targets with the idea they do not have to be really achieved, but still we will have some good results. The proverb â₠¬Å"if you want to go high, you have to aim even higher† does not apply here.It is recommendable to â€Å"stand on the ground† and create safe buffer, while keeping necessary and expected efficiency. It is because motivation plan is linked to the objectives, which would otherwise not make sense – unreal objectives would be rather de-motivating. It is not exceptional that the motivation plan is not related to the achievement, but exceeding the target, which once again confirms the need to set the objectives in a realistic manner. In the first case (A) we set the objectives for one year ahead, maximum of ten easy to remember and measurable objectives are recommended. Considering joint sales / marketing plan, its first objective should be to fulfill the sales (commercial) plan.Other objectives can come from a wide range of marketing activities, depending on the company's focus, financial possibilities and realistic ambitions in the upcoming year. In the second case ( B) fewer objectives are recommended (maximum five). Here the objectives logically relate to a project to be implemented. As one of the first objectives it is advised to set the fulfillment of sales plan for specific project or territory, to which the whole plan refers. Other objectives can be for example aimed at winning certain number of customers, penetrating specific territories, organization of foreign trade fairs, implementation of particular reference deal, launch of a new product etc.It is not the most convenient in small and medium enterprises to set objectives related to achieved percentage of market share, for example to increase the share by x%, because the market share of small entities is hard to measure, and there is not necessarily a possibility of credible verification of its achievement, and the motivation for these objectives is not easy either, as it is not an exception to obtain quite different data on our market share. Specific marketing objectives in individual markets can be expressed as: – given desirable volume of sales, – financial indicators – achieved profit, return on investment, – customers relationship – increase of spontaneous awareness of the brand within the target group, increase of customers' loyalty.The objectives should fulfill the above mentioned SMART criteria, they have to comply with main company goals, and geographically outlined. Organization of active marketing is quite costly even in domestic markets, and definitely more in foreign markets. Therefore it is necessary to set the amount of anticipated income and revenue for the planned period. The work on formulation of department's or company's objectives should be a task for the whole sales and marketing team. Every participant should be able to complete and substantiate own sales plan, depending on the knowledge, market research, last years' results, skills and experience, and factual data, and provide adequate reasons.This is ano ther reason why a specialist shall perform the marketing research, which consequently addresses the specified segment, or implements the selected product in the territory. The form of objectives: – it is sufficient to describe the chosen objectives in pregnant terms (one page document), – it is necessary to mention who is responsible for the achievement (name, position), – deadline has to be provided with each objective (specific date). Strategy of achievement of objectives The strategy of achievement of the set objectives describes how we shall implement them. In a sense it is a small business plan, â€Å"timetable† of HOW we want to achieve the set objectives.It is the most important part of marketing activity in the company, where creative, analytical and theoretical skills have to be combined, as the method of execution of the set task has its own system and order. When planning the strategy of achievement of objectives it is necessary to select the p rocedure that not only complies with the character of our business, but also covers the whole marketing area. It is convenient to use 4P or 4C marketing mix. Every step we are going to implement has to be compared back to the company's possibilities in financial, marketing, personnel, and production sense; sometimes the compliance with quality policy is verified.That is why the team work with financial manager (or quality manager)is good for development of the strategy, it is proper to involve production managers who should create feedback to production and capacity conditions, and give the sales and marketing strategy adequate direction. This process is not in conflict with the previous principle of pressure on production and preferential position of marketing in the sense of product decision making. In case of a dispute the production shall not have veto right, as this should be the power of company's director to decide on further procedure, based on the views from marketing and s ales, finance and production.However, this does not mean that the salespeople will not consult the strategy with financial and production managers. It is considered ideal situation, when there are variants emerging during discussions, acceptable for all parties. One should always be aware of the human resources opportunities of the department, which does not relate strictly to financial matters. Even if we have sufficient resources in budget to pay new salespeople, we do not necessarily find them in the market, and we may thus sacrifice the objectives. Following the above-mentioned, the qualification of sales and marketing staff should not be limited to expertise and general knowledge, they should be able to provide sound arguments and negotiate within internal discussions as well.For this purpose they have to know the company's environment, capacities and possibilities. Major advantage is their basic knowledge of financial terms, which means at least the ability to read the budget, and defend their sales and marketing procedures properly. Figure 2-3 illustrates possible process of defining the strategies of achievement of objectives. This can obviously vary depending on the focus, size and goals of the enterprise. Figure 2-3 Possible process of defining the strategies of achievement of objectives 2. 5 Key terms Marketing management Marketing policy Marketing director Qualitative marketing research Quantitative marketing research Marketing planning Far environment Near environmentInternal environment Product group Product range Pricing policy Pricing strategy Distribution strategy Marketing targets Communication mix Customer segment 2. 6 Test questions 1. SWOT analysis is a basis for: a) marketing research b) managerial plans (sales, marketing, financial) c) establishment of company information system d) company's annual report 2. Enterprise can't control in any significant way the factors defined in: a) STEEP analysis b) SWOT analysis c) Porter's analysis d) customers analysis 3. Questionnaire survey is a part of: a) quantitative marketing research b) qualitative marketing research c) risk analysis d) analysis of strengths 4. CRM is: ) the highest level of marketing management b) database file c) information system d) credit customer system 2. 7 Recommended literature : Havlicek, K : Management, Role of Managers in Company Management, chapter 2. Hellriegel, D. – Jackson, E. S. – Slocum,J. W. (2005) : Management , A Comepetency-Based Approach. Thomson South-Western, Mason, chapters 3, 5, 16 3. Role of management within sales management 3. 1 Sales management 3. 2 Management and development of sales plans 3. 3 Management of forecasts 3. 4 Trade receivables management 3. 5. Customers communication management 3. 6 Key terms 3. 7 Test questions 3. 8 Recommended literature 3. 1 Sales managementSales management is linked to the marketing strategy, in many respects complementing the marketing management. It is often quite difficult in SMEs to tell the boundary between marketing and sales management. In any case, it is not possible to simplify the very sales activities only to the purchase – sales level. For example the management of forecasts and receivables belongs to major managerial activities that exceed the borders of sales significantly, being of crucial importance for the company. Karel Havlicek in his publication Marketing management of foreign trade (Eupress, 2006) summed up the basic aspects of sales management to the following four areas ( Figure 3-1 ) : 3. Management and development of sales plans The sales plan is an essential document for the sales department; in smaller companies, where there are mostly joint sales / marketing departments, it is also a part of marketing plan. That is why it is convenient to incorporate the objectives of sales plan in the objectives of marketing department. This fact of rather technical character does not change a word said about the sales plan being cruc ial for the budget, strategic document that has to comply with certain requirements. Some enterprises, mainly the smaller ones, often ignore the marketing plan, and use only sales plan for commercial management.From short-term viewpoint this is possible, but it can't be effective in a long run, as the enterprise is going to lose contact with market reality sooner or later. Such plan is then more or less routinely re-written every year, some per cent added or subtracted here and there according to the current view of sales people. Innovation impulses are missing, as well as new trends and feedback, the control over competition is lost, communication with customers chaotic, distribution without concept, and prices frequently at random, i. e. according to what the customer asks, regardless of the overall market and company situation, not to speak about the prolongation of development trends.In these circumstances the staff can be hardly motivated, and the discussions concerning sales p lan figures are difficult. Sales people are not continuously forced to collect new information (which they may like at times), and they lose so important arguments for business negotiations, they have problems describing major competitive advantage of the company, and they face difficulties when defending it against competing offers. It is up to the personality of marketing and sales director and general director to be consistent when requiring the preparation of marketing and sales plans, be it very simple documents of few pages. Absence of such policy is mostly due to the fact that company directors don't know how to apply it.This â€Å"lack of knowledge† is being argued: â€Å"we have never needed that, we have read the market for a long time, everything has worked fine so far, you are making up useless things†¦Ã¢â‚¬  etc. It is one of serious mistakes and managerial faults to be rigorously eliminated. In case the sales plan makes part of annual budget it should be developed for one year ahead (submitted in October the previous year), divided in months and quarters. In case of export activities it is correct for every conquered territory to have its own sales plan, even very simple one. This brings the possibility of easy monitoring of every market by assigning overhead and personnel cost to each territory, and working actively with the price map. Complete sales plan is then total of all the territories, or other monitored groups.Overall sales plan for foreign markets is usually divided by: – product groups (sometimes we talk about commodities, or product lines), – customer segments or specific major customers (in mix by the product groups and territories), – territories (every foreign territory separately, individual regions can be sub-groups), Detailed sales plan can include other sub-categories, as well as some plans can ignore certain above mentioned points of interest. It is definitely useful to divide the plan at lea st in two categories, and cross-compare the results and forecasts (see below). This is good for the management of forecasts, and this way we compel the sales people to think about the plan and the prognoses. Sometimes the plan is complemented with â€Å"by sales people† or other category. is logical that the end and total monthly figures have to be equal in the individual categories. From these data we can tell immediately where a major difference occurs, and what should be our focus. For example – if we plan smoothly by product groups, but there are problems with planning and formulation of expectations by customer groups, it means we have a good overall picture of the market, but the work with individual groups of customers and relevant prognosis is difficult. In other words the communication between us and the customer is not exactly perfect one, which can lead to losing them over time. This means we need to respond and look for a remedial measure.Another important aspect of the division is the immediate overview of individual market segments, as we can measure their trends and performance in these segments, and following the data we can develop further marketing activities. These obviously vary depending on the groups and segments, often in all the marketing mix aspects. Sales plan indicators Major indicators of sales plan are turnover, sales, or own output. This indicator is always provided in one measurable currency – CZK, EUR or other. The data regarding measuring units can be also included in the sales plan; they are significant, but not crucial. It can be a major mistake, when some companies use as their main sales plan indicator such measuring units as number of pieces sold, square meters, tons etc.The control gets more complicated, as measuring unit can change its price in a short time, but most importantly – we can't measure immediate efficiency. The fact that more tons are sold does not mean increasing turnover or outpu t. Sometimes other indicators are measured, such as margin, but once again – it should be measured as a sub-category, and evaluated on continuous basis. This indicator is important namely for trading companies, where the turnover may grow and plan be achieved, but at the expense of lower margin, which can influence the whole company's economy at certain stage. It is necessary to adopt strategic measures in time. How to develop a sales plan? When compiling a sales plan, we most often utilize mixture of the following primary and secondary methods:Data from previous periods This is the most simple and available method, by which we track our sales results in given product groups, territories and customer segments in previous periods. In case we have been in the market for a longer time, we follow trends in specific categories, overall turnover figures, the margin and seasonal trends. Such information is definitely important for the development of plans, but not crucial. The preco ndition here is we've already made business in the territory. Market research from the viewpoint of competitive and external environment The basis is continuous or specific research of a foreign market, which is described in previous chapters.Apart from other data we are interested in the sales of our competition, trends and purchasing behavior of our customers, price policy of our suppliers, the threat of substitute products, capacity of foreign markets etc. In more remote territories we would track sociological, technological, economic, environmental, or political factors. The market information collected during marketing research of external and competitive environment is usually the most important basis for correct estimation of revenues. Professional intuition, experience and market estimates This is rather complementary method of estimation of revenues, which is nevertheless very valuable. Only the experienced sales staff can afford this, capable to foresee the behavior of con sumers in selected markets.Foreign traders who operate in foreign territories on our behalf, and know the purchasing behavior of local population very well, can serve as an example. These experienced managers are priceless, but even here we need to think of their estimates and intuition, prognoses and forecasts as a complementary factor for plan development. Form, reporting and approval of the sales plan The sales plan has to be well arranged with regards to given period – usually prepared for individual months. The best would be to fit it within one page for the sake of good orientation. Budget, forecast (see below) and reality columns should be included. Differences have to be regularly monitored and evaluated. The sales plans of individual sales persons should be regularly (usually once a week) reported (e. g. lectronically via the company's information system) to the marketing and sales director, and made part of regular meetings of the marketing and sales department, or export department. Total annual sales plan is a work f the whole export team, marketing and sales director is responsible for its completion on the basis of individual plans. Individual sales persons are responsible for their partial sales plans. It is the task for marketing and sales director to evaluate each individual plan objectively, to provide a healthy opponency and cooperate on the final figure, which can be either the revenue, turnover, or margin. The sales persons bear absolute responsibility, and their motivation aspects are derived from the plan.It is recommended to set motivation bonuses for exceeding the plan, as the financial budget should be built on basic salary and fulfillment of the sales plan, or achievement of economic result. This means bonus shall be paid on the basis of exceeding the plan in certain ratio determined by the company's management, with a reserve for marketing and sales directors (following the logic: exceeding the sales plan = exceeding the tota l economic result). 3. 3. Management of forecasts The importance of management of forecasts is bigger than generally perceived, and it goes far beyond the framework of marketing and sales department. The term â€Å"forecast† is used in foreign companies in the meaning of â€Å"estimate†. Other used terms are â€Å"sales prognosis†, or â€Å"expectancy†.Foreign companies have learned to use the forecasts as an essential managerial act – basis for the whole company's strategy . There is some lack of willingness of sales persons and managers regarding forecasts in our country. It is a strategic mistake, which should be avoided by marketing and sales directors. This insufficient willingness is more or less due to the fact that the sales people don't know how to prepare the forecasts, or how to estimate the purchasing behavior of their customers, and sales of their products in the horizon of few upcoming months. But first let's have a look at the sequen ce and importance of the management of forecasts.Sales person submits and substantiates the following data within the sales plan development: a) sales plan – usually one year ahead, by months (territories, segments or product groups), b) continuous forecasts – always several months ahead, prepared every month (tracking the differences between the plan and forecasts), c) reality – i. e. actual result by months (tracking how the reality differs from budget and continuous forecasts). Importance of the management of forecasts We prepare the forecasts usually every month, always for 3-6 months ahead, i. e. in January for Jan-Jun period (six-month prognosis), in April for Apr-Sep period, in November for Nov-Apr period (in this case we overlap in two sales plans – of the current and following year), etc.We see the importance of management of forecasts in the following aspects: 1. We monitor the differences from budget sales plan By continuous monitoring of the t rends and preparing prognoses (e. g. sic months ahead) we track the differences between actual and budget figures, i. e. the effects on budget economic result. There are basically three options: – Continuous forecasts do not vary from the budget – it means we have prepared the budget very precisely, there will be likely no effects on the economic result. – Forecasts are higher than the budget – it means our revenues will be probably higher than the budget expects, which may leads to many positive effects, but possible negatives should be considered.These can include higher receivables due to larger volume of sales, and consequently possible need to supply external resources to cover operating capital, which is not necessarily a matter of short time (guarantees). Moreover, the overdue receivables may grow, which is another complication when supplying external bank resources. However, there can be a reverse effect, i. e. cash surplus, which is obviously a p ositive. Even in such a case it s good to know in advance, as we can cancel loans, change funding or develop another investment project, where the resources can be used. This is a matter of several months, therefore continuous information on higher forecasts in the horizon of months is very important for us. Continuous forecasts are lower than the budget – undoubtedly negative message, in such situation the economic result is at stake, sometimes even general company's existence. Here the timely indication in the form of six-month advance is twice as important, as it is necessary to adopt immediate measures. These may include an application for external resources, which is a matter of several weeks, or even months in banks. These may also be considerable cost cuts, such as layoffs, which is once again a matter of months (considering the compensations and notice periods). 2. We force the sales people to collect market information and communicate with customersThis is another ve ry significant aspect of both marketing and psychological importance. It requires prognoses in six-month advance (there are companies, namely multinationals, which require even annual forecasts with monthly breakdown). This means the sales people have to collect new, updated information on regular basis, i. e. to work with the market. On