Personal Relationship Selling Essay Example for Free

Personal Relationship Selling Essay Successful firms are dismissing the hard-sell, short-term orientation of personal selling in favor of a customer-oriented, long-term selling model referred to as relationship selling. A lot of businesses can establish distinctive positions in the marketplace for themselves, their goods, as well as their services. This capability is a potent strength in marketing. Indeed, an effective marketing stratagem is also known for its excellent positioning strategy. However that in itself is does not guarantee customer following because it is not so much what the company says regarding one’s goods/services/organization as much as it is what the clients declare about them. It is not what businesses say to their customers but rather what they accomplish with their clients that build their position in the industry. Differentiation, from the standpoint of the customer, is not an idea which is goods or services-related in so far as it is connected to how the company carries out its business activities. In this day and age where information is a valuable resource, it is no longer practical to merely produce an image. The distinction among perception and actuality has improved over time. Further, in a society where consumers are offered with a lot of choices, they can be unpredictable. Griffin and Herres (2002) relate that this just only implies that contemporary marketing is a fierce clash for the loyalty of the customer. Contemporary marketing now stress a unique connection with the client and communications of the market place. A Concept Definition A key role of modern marketing is that of a management mindset implemented throughout an organization rather than confined to a particular department. This perspective considers marketing as a guiding management principle or mind attitude which places the customer first, and it is commonly described as a marketing orientation. It is a comparatively more extensive outlook of the function of marketing than has been visualized in the past and it direly affects an extensive array of functions within the organization. This concept grew progressively over the last twenty years that puts forward the fundamental theory that it is more cost-effective for the business to focus its attention on continuance and improvement of present relationships with customer as compared to continually looking to catch the attention of new customers. Relationship selling has progressed since that time to make possible the effort of a business to classify, preserve, and construct a network of individual customers and to constantly reinforce the network by way of interactive, personalized, and value-added connections over an extended period of time. A primary force behind any strategy of relationship selling is that acquiring new clients through snatching them away from a rival business is more often than not costlier as compared to holding on to current clients (Rogers, 2001). Personal relationship selling is a concept that gives weight and credence to building up lasting win-win relationships with potential clients and current ones. It is a marketing (communications) approach that is aimed at establishing profitable relationships with loyal customers. Relationship selling views every customer as a valuable asset of the company to be nurtured and grown. It is intended to convert potential individuals into loyal clients, nothing more than that. But marketing is not all about advertising or promotion; it is more about creating loyal clients. Personal relationship selling has its foundations on the relationship between consumer contentment, consumer allegiance and profitability for the business. Brassington and Pettitt (2003) noted that it has been known in marketing literature that it is more than four times more economical to maintain a present client as compared to acquiring new clients. Others even maintain that considerable augment in revenue will be highly possibly achieved through improving client retention rate by even only a few percent. Therefore, businesses of today should instead center their attention on maintaining their current clients, working towards making them supporters and partners rather than focusing their efforts on acquiring new clients. The essence of proper customer loyalty is not measured by just the client making repeat buys; it is instead grabbing a allocation from the wallet of the consumer (the proportion of a consumer’s expenditure in a goods/service category for a firm’s brand) as near to one hundred percent if that is feasible (Griffin and Herres, 2002). Personal relationship selling is relationship marketing. It means perseverance to work for nil defection. It means considering first the welfare of the present consumers prior to the attempt to catch the attention of new ones. In the same manner, a brand that is flourishing does nothing other than creating a relationship between the consumer and the brand that is out of the ordinary. A review of the related literature on the subject would reveal that a considerable number of academics, consulting firms, and corporate leaders are continuously attempting to develop various tools and techniques to measure the impact of employee contentment, loyalty and maintenance of consumer contentment, loyalty and preservation. In fact, some also try to develop and prove hypotheses that will assist them in gauging the impact of both these measures on their bottom line. For the reason of the repercussions for productivity and expansion, Schmitt (2003) argues that consumer maintenance is possibly one of the most influential strategies that businesses can utilize in their struggle to achieve a strategic advantage and continue to exist nowadays in an ever mounting competitive environment. It is very important that businesses comprehend fully the concerns and the methods behind consumer and worker retention and the function that relationship selling can take part in putting together plans and strategies. Relationship Selling Vs. Transactional Approach Relationship selling is viewed as a paradigm shift from the transactional approach to marketing with a new focus on developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships. Historically, the transactive paradigm came into being as a result of mass production, wholesaling and the utilization of middlemen who were removed from the organization. The drive towards developing relationship selling has been largely fuelled by the proliferation of high-quality competing products and services that are available to customers. Personal relationship selling is the opposite of transaction marketing in which the ambition to retain customers does not exist in the latter. Conventional transaction is temporary and focused only on making a sale and further only aspires for what is known as the one-shot deal. Transaction selling centers on the sales presentation, or ‘pitch’, designed to secure an immediate sale. Little regard is given to the customers true needs, particularly over the long run. By contrast, relationship selling focuses on developing and enhancing a mutually beneficial bond between buyer and seller. The focus has changed from ‘making a sale’ in the short run to ‘getting and keeping the right customers’ over the long term (Brassington and Pettitt, 2003). Whereas market exchanges are casual short-term discrete (transactional) episodic encounters primarily motivated by self-interest, relational exchanges develop when people wish to develop long-term exclusive and supportive relationships on the basis of mutual knowledge that simplifies their trading environment. Whereas traditional marketing, operating through market exchanges, manages the preparation and promotion of an offering in order to consummate an exchange, relationship or interactive marketing also works to maintain the relationship between product-based exchange episodes. Rather than pursue a market relationship to bring a product and a consumer/buyer together, relationship marketing attempts to establish and cultivate a marketing relationship that enables cooperative problem-solving. Elements of Relationship Selling The literature is replete with discussions of what key elements are entailed of relationship selling. Relationships are built over time, and time is one of the most important elements of relationship selling. Information isnt only available in greater profusion than ever before, technology has also allowed it to be delivered with unprecedented speed. This is entirely consistent with pressure on the customer, and the amplified pressure on companies supplying them, for speed in development and delivery. Companies will, increasingly, have to anticipate what time performance customers consider attractive, even acceptable. If time is an issue with only segments, or fragments, of customers, companies will have to determine if investing resources in faster development, delivery, or service is economically worthwhile. A perceived scarcity of time can also make customers want shorter interactions with businesses. Consumers value time and are less and less willing to accept or tolerate excess in this area. This can also make customers worry about the differences between what they want and what they actually get in their relationship with the business. Often, speed, or the lack of same, is a strong supplier attrition or defection lever: waiting lines and waiting time, and their impact on service encounters and customer loyalty management, have become an entire area of psychological and business study. If customers feel they are short of time, concise communications is an important relationship proposition. However, this may be culturally dependent. In some cultures, the importance of a decision can be made quickly. It is also possible that customers will want to spend more time on purchases that they perceive as having high involvement or to which they attach great importance. Overall, the time aspect of a relationship is a complex issue, since the time invested in relationship selling (the time spent in relationship-related activities) can be seen as a benefit or a non-monetary cost, depending on the attitude of the customer. Building trust and commitment are also crucial elements of relationship marketing as they are needed for the maintenance of the relationship, encouraging a long-term view as opposed to a short-term one, and also allow for certain risks to be taken because of the belief that other parties in the relationship will not take advantage of the situation. Having a long-term view and nurturing the relationship by providing and showing commitment allows for the development of deeper levels of relationships (Sobel, 2003). The commitment and trust elements are conceptualized as existing when there is reliability, confidence and integrity. This requires delivering on promises (what was stated in the packaging or advertisements, for instance) and building financial, social and structural bonds between the business organization and its customers. Choice is largely driven by a customers relationships with a product or service, and with the companies that offer them. Its about experience, and levels of trust and commitment, through contact with suppliers. Because, in most industries, choices are so readily available, customers are increasingly less hesitant to change suppliers. When replacement is perceived as more positive than negative, theyll move on. Industries such as banking and managed care have seen this occur (Bradley, 2003). The relationship itself becomes the focus of marketing efforts rather than the product. In addition to the marketing mix variables, customer care/customer service initiatives and interactive marketing are central to relationship selling. Credibility is the key to the whole market-positioning process. With so many new products and new technologies on the market, customers are intimidated by the decision-making process. Many customers dont even understand the technologies used in new products. Technology-based products are links in a chain: they are attractive because they are linked to the future. But when people are buying a piece of the future, they need to be reassured that their money goes somewhere that is worth their money. They want to buy from a supplier with credibility. Benefits of Relationship Selling To the extent that relationship selling contributes to goods differentiation and generates obstacles to switching to another brand, it can make available a competitive advantage for the producer or the vendor. Building a long-term relationship with buyers provides more opportunities for the seller to sell new and additional solutions. The vendor in lasting relationships may realize profitability rates that are higher though a reduction of discretionary expense such as selling, general, and administrative costs. Besides financial rewards, the relationship may make available to the vendor admission to new markets and increased competence to enhance innovation (Sobel, 2003). Buyers benefit from being able to tie together the skill and the strength of the vendor to their benefit. Specific advantages to buyers include enhanced quality and process presentation, unremitting cost diminutions, enhanced support relationships, and contract predictability. The benefits of long-term relationships with customers are obvious. As mentioned earlier, it costs more than four times more economical to maintain a present client as compared to acquiring a new one. Repeat business is a hallmark of relationship selling. Another outgrowth of happy customers is referrals. A company can have as much customers as it wants, but it has the responsibility of taking care of tem individually. Most new customers are referred by old customers who are content with the company’s goods or services. Referral sales are a leading indicator of a company’s emotional bank account with customers. Honeycutt, Ford and Simintiras (2003) assert that a small decrease in customer defection leads to a large increase in sales and profits Defected customers can cause other customers to leave, while loyal customers are more profitable and require less handholding. Disappointed customers cause negative word of mouth, while loyal customers are company and brand advocates. Relationships also increase the value of the customer. All of these are reasons to believe that relationship marketing is more effective than transaction marketing. The concept of lifetime customer value is used to describe the estimation of how much a customer contributes to the companys profit over the years he or she buys from the company. The ultimate purpose of relationship marketing should be to maximize this lifetime value for every customer. Process of Managing Relationship Selling The relationship selling management process is the process that captures orders for delivered goods and services and that facilitates strong customer loyalty (Griffin and Herres, 2002). Identifying primary consumers or consumer groups that the business aims at as significant to its company mission is an important step that has to be carried out. Agreements with regards to goods and/or services spelling out the intensity of presentation are instituted together with these primary consumer groups. Performance measurements are carried out to examine the service levels given to consumers in addition to consumer profitability. For a company to be committed to relationship selling, it must become everyones responsibility. Customer loyalty is in job descriptions, training programs, reward and recognition, and action. Relationship selling begins with the contact with a customer and culminates with the receipt of an order. If the relationship selling management is effective, it will result in an ongoing series of orders from customers who are delighted to do business with the company. Bradley (2003) relates that the activities involved in managing relationship selling include sales force management, customer data management, cal center management, on-line product catalogs, product configuration, order/proposal configuration and order management. Relationship selling also includes the flow of work, material and information. The flow of information begins with customer contact. The information that must be managed includes order status, production status, process planning, maintenance information and schedules. Firms need to have a clear-cut, well-defined approach to managing their relationship selling. Typically, the process entails selecting the portfolio of customers to serve, developing a corresponding portfolio of relationship selling strategies, monitoring the health of customer relationships over time and linking relationship selling management efforts to economic reward – that is, customer profitability. How well a firm manages the relationship selling activity will determine the degree to which it is able to quantify the costs and benefits associated with relationship selling, which, in turn, will influence its decision about which customers to continue to serve. Rogers (2001) also shares that other key strategy elements in relationship selling include those of personalizing the relationships to each and every sole consumer, supplementing primary services with added advantages, services with respect to pricing in order to persuade customers to be loyal, and treating employees well in order that that they carry out their duties better for the customers as well. Future Directions The growing adoption of a relationship selling system is evidence that businesses are to a greater extent attempting to place the consumers interest at the heart of their trade as part of their overall business strategy. For many organizations, a focus on customer relationship strategies may be premature until sales management practices are properly aligned with the intended strategic orientation (Brassington and Pettitt, 2003). Reliance on sales quotas that focus performance on short-term behaviors may be in direct conflict with long-term relationship objectives. Strategic realignment of the selling effort toward long-term customer relationships calls for a reexamination of common sales management tools such as sales quotas, compensation methods, and evaluation methods and measures to assure they are consistent with relational selling objectives of the firm. But there is little doubt that the manner in which salespeople establish and maintain relationships is a sophisticated part of their job. The salesperson who is honest, accountable, and cares about the customer’s business adds value to the relationship. Salespeople should recognize that the quality of the partnership they create is at least as important as the product they sell, and to this end, they must adapt to the buying needs of customers whenever possible. While sales and marketing functions constantly adapt to modernization, old techniques are not always abandoned (Honeycutt, Ford and Simintiras, 2003). Selling has thrived because it has diversified along with the markets it serves. As technology has created a vast array of products and options, global markets, and niche markets, it has also fragmented and expanded the salespersons role. To continue to exist in lively market places, businesses obviously have to to set up strategies that can endure the unstable changes in the environment of the market. They have to erect well-built fundamentals that won’t be propelled away in the rage of the storm that is competitiveness. And they simply cannot carry that out through centering their attention on promotions and advertising alone. To a certain extent, they have to have a firm grasp of the market structure that they are targeting. After that they should improve and maintain good relationships with key stakeholders in the market that are directly affected by their actions. Said relationships are more vital than inexpensive tag prices, flamboyant advertising, or even superior technology. Customers and others influence changes in products and services through their participation in the relationship selling process. Transformations in the market environment can rapidly and surprisingly adjust the prices and technologies, save for well-built relationships that can stand the tests of time. These developments should challenge the marketing communications manager because it includes knowledge management, marketing automation, customer care, call centers, and sales force automation. This is obviously much more than promotional advertising design.

Human and Aquinas Theories on God

Human and Aquinas Theories on God Can anything of God be known from our knowledge of the world? Answer with reference to Aquinas and/or Hume. Hume concludes in his writings that Gods existence cannot be proved, however he does not explicitly say that God does not exist he merely draws into question the reasons as to why people believe it so. He shows that we can know only discrete facts but not universal necessities. He linked causation to assurance based on the discovery of that relationship between cause and effect but adding that even if two events show a relatively contiguity and succession (Hume, 1739) that is not in itself enough for a causal connection. Therefore by denying that a fundamental feature of reality can be described by the causality principle he rejects a key element purported for the existence of God. Due to the lack of empirical evidence Hume shows his disdain for the cosmological argument. With regard to the creation of the universe he states that there is no direct evidence although in the Bible it states for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made (Rom 1:20, KJV). Hume felt that it was impossible to prove the existence of something that was unknowable. We can look at the vastness of the universe with its billions of stars and galaxies or peer through a microscope into the minute world of atoms and cells and in both cases we see order, yet the fact that order is seen within the universe is also not enough for Hume to prove Gods existence. There are of course many who claim that such order must have a source in line with the order that we ourselves set in place, and therefore conclude that God must possess similar yet far superior properties. Hume counters that order must come directly from design if this argument is true; and even if there is such design, how can we know the designer?  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   In addition Hume feels that design alone does not explain an omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent God due to the evil we see around us in the world. Though theologians would explain that evil is only temporary due to mans fall and the influence of the Devil whose time is limited. The Bible states; for every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God (Hebrews 3:4, KJV) leading many to understandable feel that if a house needs a designer and a builder then surely something as small but vastly more complex such as a human cell also needs a designer and a builder for the alternative would be that a cell came about due to the blind operation of forces bequeathed from some unintelligent, inanimate matter. Yet no scientist has been able to make something from nothing. The laws of physics state that existing materials can only be transformed giving rise to the conclusion of the Bible writer Isaiah; when using an analogy of a potter and his clay he said, for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? (Isaiah 29:16, KJV). We see a beautiful painting hanging in an art gallery and inwardly marvel at the artists skill; we read a book and recognise that it had an author. When we stop at a red traffic light we understand that a law has be en set forth. We may not understand why certain laws are there, we may not understand what the artist or author was trying to portray in their works yet we do not use that lack of understanding to doubt that they exist. Hume considers that same Bible text in Hebrews 3:4 when he has Philo tell Cleanthes, If we see a house, Cleanthes, we conclude, with the greatest certainty, that it had an architect or builder (D 2.8), yet for Hume the analogy fails arguing that we would need experience in the creation of a material world to justify an a posteriori claim as to the cause of any particular material world. Lacking such experience we therefore lack the needed justification for claiming that the material universe must have an intelligent cause. His argument fails however as we do not need to see a house being built to know that it was constructed by builders following a blueprint given to them by the architect. He further argues that even if the inference is justified between the similarities of the universe and say, a house, it would not therefore follow that there is a perfect God that created it. It may well have been a number of gods for likewise a house takes a number of people to build (D 5.8), nor would the inference justify the conclusion that this God would need to be perfectly intelligent or good. Hume held that the existence of God and other such metaphysical issues should stand up to the same examination as any investigation involving physical sciences. That one cannot assume the existence of God based only the existence of the universe. In his dialogues Hume uses the character of Cleanthes to posit an illustration of a machine that is divided into lesser and lesser machines to prove the existence of a deity yet Demea believes that rather than attesting to a creator the analogy in fact gives rein to the atheists by departing in the least, from the similarity of the cases is so doing he said you diminish proportionably the evidence (D 2.7). Hume feels that the cases of the universe and a house are too dissimilar to support such an inference citing the example of steps on a staircase and human legs that can climb as a certain and infallible inference. Then why not make the house and universe or to a greater extent the Earth itself more comparable as the similarities go way bey ond the fact that both needed a designer and builder. When puzzling over the purpose of the Earth one need look no further than the purpose of a house; somewhere to live that provides light, heat, protection with a source of food and water. Our houses have a plumbing system the earth has the water cycle. Or look no further than a birds nest; these intricate complex structures we see high in trees do not get there by the random collection of twigs that are blown about by the wind. Yet if the nest didnt come about by chance then what of the bird that built it. Can anything of God be known from our knowledge of the world? If were left with any doubt at all then one need look no further than life itself. The principle of uniformity is in effect the same as the analogy criterion. Therefore the past theories that have been postulated invoke similar causes to those we now have, in line with what Hume called uniform experience. Looking at the origins of life what is our uniform experience? It is that information in all its forms is generated by an intelligent agent. Where in the body is a plethora of information stored? In ones DNA. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that there must have been an intelligent cause for the first, the original DNA code. Whether we are looking at written language as in the example of the book earlier, or at a DNA strand, both exhibit the property and quality of specified complexity. We know of course that there is an intelligent cause for written language subsequently engendering a legitimate reason to posit an intelligent cause as the source of DNA and by extension life itself. David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1896 ed.) [1739]

Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc Overview Film Studies Essay

Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc Overview Film Studies Essay DreamWorks SKG was founded in 1994 by three entertainment enthusiasts, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen (The Cornell Daily Sun). The SKG appended to the title is representative of the first letter of each of their last names. DreamWorks SKG is involved in a variety of entertainment segments such as film, music, and television. At the time of its creation, all three individuals were involved in film production. Jeffrey Katzenberg had been recently fired as a studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, Steven Spielberg had temporarily suspended his lucrative directing career, and David Geffen was involved in film production as well as the record industry. Each of the individuals had something to offer, Spielberg with his experience in making live-action movies, Katzenbergs animation movies, and Geffen with his music background (Reference for Business). Financially, the company began with two billion dollars, supplemented with various high-tech partnerships. A portion of the initial money, $500 million, was contributed by a very interested Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen also contributed roughly $33 million to the initial funds (Reference for Business). During the first few years in business, DreamWorks success was like a roller coaster. Its first film, The Peacemaker, was released in 1997, and only reached $12 million on opening weekend. In the years to follow, DreamWorks released several more successful films such as Mouse Hunt, Deep Impact, and Antz. In an attempt to delve into other entertainment segments, DreamWorks released two television shows High Incident and Champs, which were failures. However, in 1996 DreamWorks released Spin City for ABC, which turned out to be quite successful (Reference for Business). By the late 90s and early 2000s, DreamWorks was pumping out very successful films, many earning multiple awards such as American Beauty, which received Best Picture at the Oscars in 1999. In 2000, DreamWorks created a new division called DreamWorks Animation, which produced animated feature films. With the release of Shrek in 2001, DreamWorks started competing head-to-head with Disneys animated movies. In 2004, DreamWorks Animation became its own publicly traded company (Reference for Business). COMPETITIVE STRATEGY The revenue generated by the film industry is massive, with very few players responsible for the total. In 2008, the U.S. box office generated nearly ten billion dollars (Ars Technica). The eight major film companies responsible for most of the gross revenue include DreamWorks SKG, Fox Entertainment Group, MGM Holdings Inc., NBC Universal, Paramount Motion Pictures Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner, and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (Motion Picture Access). Most of the previously mentioned film companies are involved in a variety of film production methods including live action, digital animation, animation/live action, hand animation, and stop-motion animation. Live action films account for the majority of the gross revenue generated domestically, at $8.6 billion with a little over 87% of the share. Digital animation accounted for $1 billion and held over 10% of the share. The other film production methods accounted for the remaining 2.4% (The Numbers). Many of the eight major film companies have a subsidiary that produces animated movies. The companies include Fox Entertainment Group with Blue Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment with Sony Pictures Animation, Time Warner with Warner Bros. Animation, MGM Holdings Inc. with MGM Animation, and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group with Walt Disney Pictures (Motion Picture Access). DreamWorks Animation, on the other hand, is its own publicly traded company, strictly dedicated to animated film production (DreamWorks Animation SKG). With this advantage, DreamWorks Animation is attempting to outperform some of the broadly-oriented rivals in that segment. DreamWorks Animation has accomplished this by partnering with various high-tech companies such as Pacific Data Images (PDI) (Reference for Business). These partnerships allowed DreamWorks Animation access to advanced imaging technology without the costs of recreating the technology in-house. In addition, DreamWorks Animation uses a unique system to create its animations that allows for lower costs (Linux.com). Lastly, DreamWorks Animation can better serve the animation market because of its primary focus on animation. Therefore, DreamWorks Animation is using a Focus Differentiation strategy to penetrate the film production market. STRATEGY EXECUTION In order to be successful in the animated film segment, DreamWorks Animation has made several strategic actions. To begin with, in 1995, DreamWorks SKG purchased a portion of Pacific Data Images, and collectively the two companies created the movie Antz, which was released in 1998. With the success of the movie, in 2000, DreamWorks SKG acquired most of PDI. The partnership with PDI created competitive advantage for DreamWorks; because of the cutting-edge technology they had available for use. DreamWorks has continued to make use of this partnership, and the conglomerate is often referred to as PDI/DreamWorks (Reference for Business). Several years later DreamWorks Animation was spun-off from DreamWorks SKG to become a separate company with the sole purpose of creating animated movies (Reference for Business). This action was to focus on a segment in which the other, larger, film companies only had subsidiaries. By creating a entirely separate publicly traded company, DreamWorks Animation has a unique advantage in that it can focus on what it does best, animated movies. In the film industry, the target market for animated films varies greatly from that of live-action. This creates an environment where DreamWorks Animation can avoid being trampled by larger companies and focus on a smaller market. DreamWorks Animation has exploited this niche to become a leading player in film animation. DreamWorks Animation has cut costs by creating a unique system for generating its animations. After analyzing requirements, the company decided that it needed a system that was easily upgradeable, reliable, and had advanced capabilities. To accomplish this, it selected to use a Linux based platform, which is an alternative Microsoft Windows or Mac OSX operating systems. Because computer generated animation is such a demanding process, it can be quite time consuming to develop. This, in turn, creates huge costs for producers because of the time necessary to make minor changes. With DreamWorks advancements, it was able to reduce the time necessary to create one scene, from three hours to real-time. Therefore, when changes to the animation were required, they could be made nearly instantaneously (Linux.com). In recent years, an increasing number of film production companies are releasing 3D movies because of their popularity. In addition, many companies are beginning to realize that 3D movies are cash cows as a result of their high ticket prices. With this in mind, Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, stated that every film DreamWorks makes from now on will be made in 3D (CG Society). Katzenberg is betting that 3D films are here to stay this time around, unlike the 3D craze in the 1950s. One of the largest contributing factors to this renewed interest is the fact that 3D movies can now be produced in a more cost effective manner. This is largely due to the advancements in technology, which allows companies such as DreamWorks to use the latest stereoscopic 3D technology to build its movies from the ground up (CG Society). Katzenberg explains that 3D film production will be quite rewarding for DreamWorks Animation: I believe CG animation is in the best position to take advantage of the latest advancement in 3D technology, said Katzenberg. Since our films are made digitally, it presents numerous opportunities for our filmmakers. And by moving into this area now, DreamWorks Animation is developing expertise that will differentiate our films and provide a lasting competitive advantage (CG Society). FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE In spite of a tough economic climate the past few years, DreamWorks Animation has performed above and beyond expectations. In 2009, DreamWorks reported double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue and earnings per share (Market Watch). Revenue increased by 12% from 2008-2009, and earnings per share increased 10% (Market Watch). The following table demonstrates the performance of DreamWorks Animation for the past few years: Figure1. Adapted from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Morningstar Equity Research, p. 2. Copyright 2010 by Morningstar. In comparison to other film production companies, DreamWorks Animation is quite small in size. The following table compares DreamWorks Animation with the more broadly-oriented Walt Disney Company: Figure 2. Adapted from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Morningstar Equity Research, p. 2. Copyright 2010 by Morningstar. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE / VRIO FRAMEWORK When DreamWorks SKG spun off DreamWorks Animation, this did not create a true first-mover advantage, because it was not the first occupant in the segment. However, it can be thought of as a first-mover strategy in the sense that DreamWorks Animations was an entirely separate company dedicated to animation, unlike the other broadly-oriented film companies. DreamWorks did this to become a significant occupant in the animation segment of the film industry, which created a competitive advantage. DreamWorks Animation partnered with high-tech companies such as PDI, which allowed access to important technology. As a result, this created a competitive advantage for the company. The capabilities that DreamWorks Animation has at its disposal are costly to implement in-house, and may be costly and/or difficult to acquire. In addition, because it has majority interest in PDI, DreamWorks Animation can readily employ the capabilities. With the necessary technology in its grasp, DreamWorks Animation is able to grow within its segment. Another capability advantageous to DreamWorks Animation is its custom system used to generate the animated films. Because the system environment has been modified to better suit the specific needs of the company, this capability is difficult to match. By using this capability DreamWorks Animation can reduce time-related costs that other industry companies are faced with. This allows the producer to focus on animations, without having to worry about the time needed to edit a scene. STRATEGIC FIT / FUTURE PERFORMANCE As a focus differentiator, DreamWorks Animation has penetrated the animation segment of the film industry and has become a pivotal player in that market. With the many supportive capabilities available to the company, it has successfully expanded within its niche, and continues to grow. Strategically, DreamWorks Animation fits seamlessly within the film industry, because of its focus on a single, smaller segment. The arrival of more advanced 3D technologies, and the associated cost savings definitely provides a promising outlook for the company. Because of its advanced capabilities, DreamWorks Animation will be able to fully take advantage of this opportunity. Therefore, in the next few years, the performance of the company should meet and possibly exceed expectations.

African American Sentiments :: essays research papers

For those people who did not study the Civil War or doesn?ft know anything about the Civil War, there were many African Americans fighting too. Before the Civil War, the African Americans that were not freed by their landowners were treated poorly. Some left their family in the south and escaped to the north in hope to get more freedom and also to help bring an end to slavery. After the battle at Antietam, many African Americans were allowed to enroll in the war. Many of them wanted to fight for one single purpose and that was to bring an end to slavery. In the movie ?gGlory,?h the director focused on the African American in the north that fought in the 54th regiment led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. During the time of the Civil War, the African Americans that fought in the 54th regiment were often treated unfairly but there were always nice people that backed them up. In this essay, I?fm going to discuss the different sentiments towards the African American solders that dedicated th eir life to preserve the union and abandon slavery. During the Civil War, there were people who were extremely prejudiced against the 54th regiment because the soldiers were all different colored skin and the people where used to the idea that different color skinned people worked as slaves. In ?gGlory,?h Colonel Montgomery, Sargent Mocati (the Sargent that trained and prepared them for war) and the colonel that was in charge of distributing necessities, served as the people who discriminated the African American soldiers. When in training, Sargent remained strict towards the training of the African American soldiers even after his short talk with Robert about being too harsh on the soldiers and stuff. I think he was racist against the soldiers because if the solders were white, he probably wouldn?ft treat them the same way. When he was teaching the soldiers how to march, some of them couldn?ft tell the difference between left and right. He acted as if all African Americans were uneducated and they were hopeless to teach. Shoes were a n essential part of training. Many of the African American soldiers didn?ft even have decent shoes when they enrolled for the war. Naturally, after all the training, their shoes worn down. If the 54th regiment were composed of white soldiers, the department that pass out shoes would already prepare extra shoes for them.

Computer Intelligence :: essays research papers fc

Can computers think independently and do they have â€Å"minds†? This question has been the topic of countless, bad movies since the 1950s as well as a number of science fiction novels. We all believe that we have minds. It is something that is taken for granted but what exactly is a mind and are humans the only to possess them? Ever since the invention of the computer, they have been a mystery, even to the smartest of scientists. With the ongoing development of artificial intelligence and high population of computer literate people, the possibility of computers with minds must be re-evaluated. The initial question that must be answered before tackling the mind/computer problem is how do you define a mind? This is something that philosophers have been trying to answer for hundreds of years, long before the invention of the computer. Renee Descartes supported the concept of ‘dualism’ which is the belief that the mind is a separate non-physical entity associated with the body during its life. On the other hand, behaviorism holds the notion that the mind does not exist but rather patterns of behavior and our pre-dispositions to such behavior. Functionalism is another school of thought that has come to light recently and draws its theory from computer technology. Functionalism believes that the mind is simply a program and the body, its hardware. With all the different theories, none of them have been able to answer the question on whether computers are similar enough to the human brain to have intelligence. The think the simplest definition for intelligence is the ability to adapt. You can tell a computer to go to a specific IP address but if IBM’s address is no longer www.ibm.com, the computer does not know how to find the new one. More specifically, it can be said that intelligence is the to take into consideration the circumstances of completing a certain task. Alan Turing, a mathematician, sought to answer the question on whether or not computers possess intelligence. The Turing Test asked people to communicate with something or someone that they could not see. The people engaged in the communication were then asked identify whether they were talking to a machine or a human. If the test subjects thought themselves to be conversing with a human when they were really engaged with a machine, then the computer was thought to have intelligence. This test is inherently flawed.

The SDLC

Several different projects may be required during the life of a system, first to develop the original system and then upgrade it later. The primary concern is with getting the system developed and deployed the very first time. One of the key, fundamental concepts in information system development is the Systems Development Life Cycle. The Systems Development Life Cycle is an entire process of building, deploying, using, and updating an information system Satzinger, J. W. , Jackson, R. B. , & Burd, S. D. (2009).Systems development includes four project managers, six system analysts, 10 programmer analysts, and a couple of clerical support employees. This paper has two objectives. The first is to explain the components of a formal SDLC process. The second is to identify types of employees involved in the SDLC process and their roles Although it is difficult to find a single, comprehensive classification system that encompasses all of the approaches, one useful technique is to categoriz e SDLC approaches according to whether they are more predictive or adaptive.In predictive the requirements are well understood and well defined. There is low technical risk. On the other hand in adaptive, the requirements and needs are uncertain. There is high technical risk. The SDLC consist of four groups of activities: planning, analysis, design, and implementation. These activities are sometimes referred to as phases, and they are the elements that provide the framework for managing the project. Throughout the SDLC, the analyst’s role as a project manager is being responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down the systems development project Satzinger, J.  W. , Jackson, R. B. , & Burd, S. D. (2009).Project management is arguably the most important aspect of an information systems development project. Effective project management helps ensure that systems development projects meet customer expectations and are delivered within budget and time constrain ts. A project manager will periodically review the status of all ongoing project task activities to assess whether the activities will be completed early, on time, or late.Moreover, project scheduling and management require that time, costs, and resources be controlled. The roles and responsibilities of developers are large in number. The primary responsibilities are: to write code or documentation patches or contribute positively to the project in other ways. A developer’s contribution is always recognized. The software developer has to evaluate, assess and recommend software and hardware solutions. Develop software, architecture, specifications and technical interfaces.Design, initiate and handle technical designs and complex application features. Initiate and drive major changes in programs, procedures and methodology. And Coordinate with other developers and software professionals. Once system developers have accumulated the user requirements for the new system, analysts proceed to the system design stage. A system analyst researches problem, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, at least at the functional level, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements Hughes, A.  (2013).A system analyst may identify, understand and plan for organizational and human impacts of planned systems, and ensure that new technical requirements are properly integrated with existing processes and skill sets. The analyst should also plan a system flow form the ground up, perform system testing, deploy the completed system, document requirements or contribute to user manuals, and help programmers during system development. Whenever programmers need help the system analyst provides use cases, flowcharts or even database design.The most difficult task in system analysis is to identify the specific requirements that the system must satisfy. System development projects are organized around the systems development life cycle (SDLC), and phase s the SDLC include activities that must be completed for any system development project. These phases are project planning, analysis, design, implementation, and support. Any organization can develop an information system in lots of ways. . System development includes four project managers, six system analysts, 10 programmer analysts, and a couple of clerical support employees.The role of a project manager is organizing and directing other people to achieve a planned result within a predetermined schedule and budget. The project manager can be defined as the processes used to plan the project and then monitor and control it. The other systems analysts assigned to the team are experienced developers with strong analytical skills, as well as experience in managing and controlling projects Hughes, A. (2013). Some developers think of a model as documentation produced after the analysis and design work is done.

Models of Organization Diagnosis

Introduction The primary purpose of this essay is to understand various models of organization diagnosis and their differences also well as their similarities, and also evaluate their strength and weakness. In order to understand these OD models we will need to know what is organizational diagnosis. What is Organizational Diagnosis? This is a strategy implemented by organizations to increase its effectiveness. This involves assessing an organization’s existing levels of performance, to design a suitable change that will achieve the expected performance. In organizational diagnosis, diagnostic activities should centre its focus on 2 main areas: – Subsystem areas (management, group, individual unit) – Organization processes (decision-making process, communication model, relationships between groups and the setting of goals. Organizational diagnostician carries out this process of diagnosis considering the whole organization as a total system. They use data form internal and external sources for this purpose. The organizational diagnosticians direct their focus on the activities they think are the vital for the existence of the organization. When performing the diagnosis whole organization is put into focus when drastic changes are needed (French & Bell, 1995). Lastly in the organizational diagnosis process, all the data collected are communicated back to the organization’s management in order to begin the organizational change phase (Harrison 1987). Uses of Organizational Diagnosis Models Organizational diagnosis models help to clearly understand inefficiencies and diversions from organizational goals and targets. Organizational diagnosis models also provide a systematic way together, categorize and understand data. Models identify crucial organizational variables which are theorized to exist according to previous research. Models also reflect the nature of relationship between important variable. Without such models it would be hard to collect and interpret data. Here I will analyse three such organizational diagnosis model, – Weisbord’s Six Box Model – Sharp-image Diagnosis model – The Congruence Model Weisbord’s Six Box Model This model of organizational diagnosis consist six elements which are purpose, structure, relationship, rewards, leadership and helpful mechanism. The model focuses on the areas of dissatisfaction as a starting point. The areas of dissatisfactions considered are from the customer point (external), internal point of view (management and employees). The main advantages of this organizational diagnosis model have been its easy to understand and adopt. The model draws from a number of management theory schools -organisation design, behavioural, psychology and organisational learning. Due to its very simplistic approach it has a lack of theoretically basis to determine the actual gaps, degree of change and inefficiencies in an organization. Weisbord’s model also fails to provide the actions needed to close gaps, degree of change and inefficiencies of organization structure. Harrison and Shirom (1999) says that Weisbord’s model, on identification of gaps, â€Å"for each of these elements, consultants has to diagnosis the gaps and degree of changes. – Gap between what exists now and ought to be – Gaps between what are actually done and what the mangers say is done. The Congruence Model The Congruence model considers data from internal and external of the organization, strategies employed, product and services (output) and how the people of the organization are organised to convert the inputs into outputs. In order to understand the organization system and also how these factors influence in achieving intended results. The Congruence model’s most important element is the concept of fit. Organization success depends on the alignment of each factor (people, work, structure and culture) to one another. The tighter they fit the greater congruence and higher performance is achieved. Sharp-image Diagnosis model This model is a combination of open system and political frame, which aims at a border view of the organization initially but later focus on core problems and challenges (Harrison and Shirom 1999). Sharp-image diagnosis model uses 3 steps to evaluate: 1. Gather data to identify problems 2. Uses theoretical models targeted to specific problems 3. Development of a diagnostic model to identify the root causes of problems Weakness of this model has been The lack of predetermined tools to carry out the organizational diagnosis – Need for highly experienced practitioners to develop customised diagnosis models The strengths of this model has been – The customised diagnosis models targeted at specific problems – Deals with high levels of feedback to managers to understand the diagnostic results. Main Similarities All three, the six box model, sharp-image diagnosis and the congruence model are based on action research models. Action research involves data collection, feedback of data to management and planing for change based of data. These models focus on inefficiencies to bring about change in those areas, will bring benefits the organization. Apply Weisbord’s Six Box Model to â€Å"Lentil as Anything† Marvin Weisbord identified a process with six steps to assist business to diagnosis its business operations. These steps identified by him are purpose, leadership, reward, structure, relationships and helpful mechanisms. These steps were introduced to assist organizations to improve their internal processes. â€Å"Lentil as Anything† and ordinary business with an extraordinary mission, which as has been giving a new meaning to pricing of meals. The concept that Lentils as Anything functions under is â€Å"No Pricing†, here customers can decide what they think their meals valve or how much they can afford to pay. â€Å"Lentil as Anything† first started with two employees and in one location but now after 8 years it has over 100 staff and operates in 4 locations in Melbourne. Its purpose being to serve its customers with food wether they can afford or not as become a reality. The next step in the model is structure. Structure is where an organization splits workloads between staff members, as every member cannot do all types of work. Everyone in the organization has to know and understand what there are required to do and what they are suppose to do. If staff does not know what is expected form them, there would chose and no work would be done efficiently. â€Å"Lentil as Anything† has mainly 3 departments, which administration dept, front of house and back of house. All of them have specific jobs at Lentils. Admin dept coordinates the purchases, supervision and other admin duties. While the back of house is responsible for preparing quality meals and the front of house is responsible for delivering quality customer service and maintaining the restaurant floor. Another step in this model is rewards. Rewards systems include bonuses, vacation time, awards, promotions and recognition. According to Michael le Boeuf, â€Å"you get more of the Behaviour you reward’. If business wants to achieve success and have satisfied employees there should be a reward system in place. In â€Å"Lentils and Anything† the reward system as been in the way of promotions to employees. Which as kept most of the staff happy and content with the recognition give to their hard work? The next step in the model is leadership. According to Weisbord, Leadership’s tasks are to set goals, scan the environments for opportunities and keep performance to defined objectives. Lentil as Anything has a laid back leadership style. This fits this environment as there are no rule and special guide line that staff as to follow at Lentils. Shanaka Fernando has being able to get his staff to carry out his vision successfully. The former Secretary of State, Colin Powell once said, â€Å"†¦the essence of leadership is the willingness to make the tough, unambiguous choices that will have an impact of the fate of the organization. Another step of the model is relationships. This one of the important factor in an organization, this allows management to solve conflicts between top management and staff. At Lentil, even though the relationship between the managers and other staff is good there are some thinks that need to improve. That is from the side of the founder Shanaka, who does not like to take others opinion and advice when making decisions. This has lead to managers leaving the organization. The last element of this model is helpful mechanisms. Helpful mechanisms refer to the policies, programs, meetings, systems, and committees. Those facilitate concerted efforts to meet goals. They include budget systems and planning and control mechanisms. At Lentil as Anything management meeting are rare and there has not been any staff meeting held to discuss any sought of issues. And also there are no mechanisms for employee feedback but there is strong informal grapevine is used to communicate issues. Lentils do not provide any training for its employees, it basically fits in the staff where work need to be done. Conclusion While six box model uses a simple and straightforward method and predefined models look at the organizational strategy, structure, rewards, leadership, relationships and helpful mechanisms. The sharp-image diagnosis model uses customised model to depending on the problem. While the congruence model considers data from internal and external of the organization, strategies employed product and services (output) and how the people of the organization are organised to convert the inputs into outputs. Despite their differences these models derive from action research. When applying the organizational diagnosis model to Lentil as Anything, the best and easy model was Weisbord’s Six Box theory. This model allowed to see the inefficiencies that were at every level of the organization. Now it’s up to the Lentil as Anything management to implement the necessary changes where the inefficiencies were highlighted. References: Kotelnikov,V. (2001), â€Å"Effective Reward Systems. † E-coach. 19 December 2010 Powell, C. (2001) â€Å"18 Lessons for Leaders. † 1000 advices. 19 December 2010 Weisbord, M. (2005-2008) â€Å"Six Boxes. Proven Models. 19 December 2010. Harrison, M. I. (1987). Diagnosing organizations: Methods, models, and processes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Nadler, D. A. & Tushman, M. L. (1980). A model for diagnosing organizational behavior. Organizational Dynamics, French, W. , & Bell, C. (1999). Organization development: Behavioural science interventions for organization improvement. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Ha ll. Harrison, M. I. & Shirom, A. (1998) Organizational Diagnosis and Assessment: Bridging Theory and Practice, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.