Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Pestel Framework
The PESTEL framework is designed to provide managers with an analytical tool to identify different macro-environmental factors that may affect business strategies, and to assess how different environmental factors may influence business performance now and in the future. The PESTEL Framework includes six types of important environmental influences: political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal. These factors should not be seen as independent factors. Factors such as technological advances may probably affect the social and economic conditions in different markets.Below, some characteristics in each environmental factor are listed, which may give business managers guidance to, which factors may be of importance to a company's strategy. The list is however far from complete, and it only gives managers some preliminary inspiration to, which factors may be of relevance for handling business strategies. Many factors, that are not included below, may have an effect on business success, and each company must evaluate for themselves, which key drivers of change will potentially have strategic and competitive consequences.Political factors †¢Ã‚         Stability of government †¢Ã‚         Social policies: (e. g. social welfare etc. ) †¢Ã‚         Trade regulations: (e. g. the EU ; NAFTA) †¢Ã‚         Tax policies †¢Ã‚         Entry mode regulations Economic factors †¢Ã‚         Disposable income of buyers †¢Ã‚         Credit accessibility †¢Ã‚         Unemployment rates †¢Ã‚         Interest rates †¢Ã‚         Inflation Social Factors †¢Ã‚         Population demographics: (e. g. aging population) †¢Ã‚         Distribution of Wealth †¢Ã‚         Changes in lifestyles and trends          Educational levels Technological factors †¢Ã‚         New innovations and discoveries †¢Ã‚         Pace of technological innovations and advances †¢Ã‚         Pace of technological obsolescence †¢Ã‚         New technological platforms (e. g. VHS and DVD) Environmental factors †¢Ã‚         Environmental protection laws †¢Ã‚         Waste disposal laws †¢Ã‚         Energy consumption regulation †¢Ã‚         Popular attitude towards the environment Legal factors †¢Ã‚         Employment regulations †¢Ã‚         Competitiv e regulations          Health and safety regulations †¢Ã‚         Product regulations The key for business managers is therefore to discover the main drivers of change that may affect business strategies, and to discover the factors most likely to influence the performance of the business. In conducting a PESTEL analysis, business managers may create strategies that take several macro-environmental factors into consideration, so that the strategy formulation process will be as sensitive to current and future environmental factors as possible.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
The Enlightened Machine Brain Science essays
The Enlightened Machine Brain Science essays Brain Science, also known as nerve science, has been classified as an adventure. It mostly deals with our behavior, as well as speech, movement, coordination, and basically any part of our life in general is associated with it. As we study the brain more and more over the last twenty years, we begin to discover more and more about it and its hundreds of thousands of complex and involved tasks. Let us start with the basics, the brain from the out side is about 3 pounds of tissue. It contains two main hemispheres, and is filled with a liquid known as cerebral spinal fluid, or CSF. Our brain has been compared to many different inventions over the past few centuries. As far back as the seventeenth century, our brain was compared to a water pump, thus being called the main "pump" of our body. Then, during the industrial revolution, it was contrasted to the Great Telegraph. And later on to the circuit board of a telephone that was invented by Alexander Bell. And now, it is being as sociated with the motherboard of a computer. Over all, our brain can be compared to a racing team; every member of it has a small job, but it is a very important one. Our brain does not function as only one part, every part is constantly being active with all the other parts. Now the inside of our brain is completely different. There are different sections for different areas of sensory activities, and different areas for motor tasks. Our memories and our intense emotions are generally considered to be part of the brain right above the brain stem. The back of our brain, or the occipital region, mostly interprets our vision, or in other words it processes what our eyes have seen into impulses. The frontal lobe part of our brain deals with most of our thinking, but a lot of our strategies and complex thoughts occur there. There are two ribbon like parts of our brain, both of which go down vertically from superior and inferior portions. The more p...
Monday, October 21, 2019
By the way vs. As a matter of fact
By the way vs. As a matter of fact By the way vs. As a matter of fact By the way vs. As a matter of fact By Maeve Maddox A reader from Brazil asks for clarification on the expressions â€Å"by the way†and â€Å"as a matter of fact,†having heard that they are interchangeable expressions to be used when a person wants to change the subject of a conversation. by the way As one of its earliest meanings, the expression â€Å"by the way†had the literal meaning of â€Å"along the way†in the sense of something happening in passing on a journey. For example, â€Å"I lost my money by the way.†The use of â€Å"by the way†in conversation is figurative. A person thinks of something else while in the process of talking: We went to the Crystal Theater over the weekend to see Titanic. By the way, while we were there, we bumped into Leroy and his new girlfriend. The expression does introduce a new subject, but not as a deliberate ploy to change the subject. The new subject has been suggested by something already being talked about. as a matter of fact This expression means, â€Å"in fact, really, actually.†Its strongest use is to correct a falsehood or misunderstanding, as in this example: Most people probably believe that the actress Judy Holliday, who acted the part of a dumb blonde in Born Yesterday, was really of low intelligence. As a matter of fact, she had an IQ of 172. In its weakened use, â€Å"as a matter of fact†still means, â€Å"in fact†or â€Å"actually,†but not in the sense of correcting a falsehood. It seems to be used as one might say indeed for emphasis or contrast. Here are some examples from the Web: I asked my sister if she drank diet soda. She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment. At 12 years old, I wasn’t a fat kid. As a matter of fact, I was pretty skinny. The weight isnt going to instantly fly off in the first week. As a matter of fact, I gained weight before I started losing. I am doing so well in my health. As a matter of fact I have dodged several colds that my husband has come down with. Yes, you have to deal with co-workers. As a matter of fact, you have to interact with them daily. It is possible that someone uncomfortable with the turn a conversation has taken might use one of these expressions to introduce an entirely new topic, but that is not their general function. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:How to Pronounce Mobile48 Writing Prompts for Middle School Kids
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Bringing a Story of Business and Ayahuasca to Life Reedsy
Bringing a Story of Business and Ayahuasca to Life Reedsy Making "Ayahuasca, An Executive's Enlightenment" Come To Life We love a good adventure story here at Reedsy, so we were delighted to help Michael Sanders bring his book, Ayahuasca: An Executive’s Enlightenment, to life. Becoming worn down as the vice president of an advertising agency and the co-founder of a startup company, Michael made a life-changing decision to venture out into the Amazon jungle to discover his path to self-transcendence. Michael drinks the psychedelic plant medicine Ayahuasca in three shamanistic ceremonies and connects with the Mother of the Rainforest and creator of the universe. This remarkable story examines the very essence of human nature and how this experience gave Michael absolute clarity as to his purpose and path in life.Michael needed an editor and designer to help take his book to the next level. So he came to Reedsy and now decided to share his experience with us. Enjoy the interview!Hi Michael thanks for chatting to us, just to start with, tell us a little about your book and what brought you to wr ite it.Ayahuasca: An Executive’s Enlightenment is about my journey into the Amazon jungle to drink the sacred and psychedelic plant medicine known as Ayahuasca.At the start of 2013, I was experiencing extreme fatigue. I was working as the vice president of an advertising agency and as the co-founder of a startup in the gaming industry, and I was training athletically and intensely 10 to 14 times each week.I decided to consult with a naturopath who helped me develop a daily meditation and play practice. After a few months working with him, my friend Sid suggested we venture to the Amazon to drink Ayahuasca- something that had been on my radar for about 18 months.Sid, another friend Carl, and I ventured down to the Peruvian jungle on Boxing Day of 2013. We trekked through the Amazon for a week- encountering all sorts of incredible wildlife and adventure, and developing a bond with nature that transcended my previous notions of connecting with the Earth.On New Year’s Eve, we arrived at the ceremonial grounds of Nihue Rao where we had our first Ayahuasca ceremony. Drinking Ayahuasca shattered the paradigm of reality in which I formerly operated and showed me something beyond my wildest imagination. In a nutshell, all of my life’s existential contemplations were resolved during three Ayahuasca ceremonies over the course of four nights.One of my intentions for my ceremonies was to determine a clearer career path, and it was revealed to me that I need to hone my gift for storytelling and write a book. How did you hear about Reedsy and why did you think it was the right place to develop your book to the next stage?I heard about Reedsy while working with Publishizer. Publishizer is a crowdfunding platform for authors, and the company’s CEO Guy Vincent encouraged me to check out Reedsy for all of my editing and design needs.I checked out Reedsy’s website and loved the intuitive design. It was so easy for me to find skilled editors and designers, to communicate with them, and to receive quotes on how much their work would cost.Tell us how you came about choosing Maria D’Marco as your editorI was scrolling through editors and Maria's headline jumped out at me: â€Å"Empathetic, bespoke editor - collaborative partnerships - developmental specialist, copy editor, book marketing, front-to-back support.†Empathy is exactly what I was looking for in an editor, and I also saw that she had worked on a number of fantastic books. When Maria and I chatted, she really resonated with my story, so I knew she was the perfect editor for me.What did she bring that elevated the story the book in some way?Maria brought an objective perspective and a set of fresh eyes. I had worked with seven editors along the way- all of whom are friends of mine- and for the final edit, I wanted someone who hadn’t seen the work before.Maria’s goal wasn’t to infuse her own thinking into my story, but to instead allow me to best tell the story that I wanted to tell. She wasn’t afraid to challenge me: she was very direct and blunt with what needed to be done. My story was pretty polished by the time Maria had her first read, so I didn’t need to make a ton of changes, but the changes she did suggest elevated the narrative substantially.Specifically, Maria had me include more physical descriptions of the characters in my book, which was a really interesting process. Because the people I had traveled with were so familiar to my mind, I had f orgotten that the reader wouldn’t know what the characters looked like. So, adding the physical descriptions really brought the other characters to life.Additionally, Maria suggested I completely change my introduction. Maria explained that the introduction I first presented to her wouldn’t grip anyone who wasn’t familiar with Ayahuasca. I understood her point, and after some contemplation, we arrived at a much better introduction. I’m thrilled that I took Maria’s advice: So many people have told me that they were hooked right from the first page.Now let's talk about Peter, how did you choose him and how did you finalize on the design of the book cover with him?I already had a minimal cover concept in mind, and I was looking for someone to execute it. Searching through designers, Peter’s portfolio of work grabbed me- minimal and evocative. After chatting with Peter, he seemed like the right person for the job.Peter was a joy to communicate w ith, he worked quickly, and he was very responsive and accommodating. He did a fantastic job on the design- both the interior and exterior- and was very knowledgeable on formatting for both the print and electronic versions.Finally, is there any advice you would like to give people who are thinking of self-publishing?Do it.In terms of execution, I recommend writing the book first. Once you have had some friends and editors give you feedback and you have a solid manuscript, you might consider crowdfunding the publication. Crowdfunding only works if you think you can connect with a wide audience and you can offer your backers awesome incentives: it’s important to remember that other people don’t care as much about your dream as you do, so you really have to incentivize them to pay for a book before it’s published. If you’re willing to put in the work to connect with a wide audience and provide awesome incentives, then crowdfunding is an amazing way to gener ate momentum prior to the book’s release.In terms of editing and design, I fully recommend Reedsy. It’s a wonderful and intuitive platform.Lastly, enjoy the journey 🙂You can buy "Ayahuasca: An Executive’s Enlightenment" on Amazon here.How did you go about publishing your book? Have you considered crowdfunding before? Tell us about your experiences, or ask Michael any question you want, in the comments below!
Saturday, October 19, 2019
European Imperialism in Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
European Imperialism in Africa - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to show that while economic factors may have been an underlying motive for European incursion into the continent they do not fully explain the unprecedented rate of expansion. Europe had been colonizing and investing in various parts of the world since the fifteenth century. Most notably during the 1700s trade between nations grew at an accelerated pace and European investment in railroads, ports, mines, factories and a wealth of other opportunities was notable. In some instances this signified European powers taking over the political reigns of power and imposing direct rule on the nations they were trading with, although Africa, other than for purposes of trade, had largely been untouched in this sense. Johnson (1985) claims of imperialism that "economic activity was increased by colonial rule, but the terms were different: now the African produced and worked for the European company, railroad, or office."2 It wasn't until the onslaught of the period of European Imperialism that Africa would see more direct involvement and would become a pawn in European states drive to create vast political empires. The reasons for the sudden race by Europeans for control of this continent are numerous. Competition for trade, military strategies, nationalist politics and beliefs in 'the white man's burden' are all factors contributing to the sudden onslaught of Western Imperialism. To further complicate matters European nations were not entirely homogenous in the factors that drove them into Africa. While France may have had the expansion of trade and nationalistic politics in mind when it took control of a large part of Africa, Britain, it can be argued, was largely motivated by military strategies and its concern over the protection of other shipping routes when it moved into Egypt.3 Yet, of all the reason leading to the partitioning of Africa by European powers, the two that have received the most debate are economic factors, which encompass the demand for natural resources and need for new markets and, secondly, competition brought on by European Imperial rivalries. Was Europe largely driven to carve up Africa amongst them as the result of the search for natural resources and new markets There is no doubt that economics was a leading cause. The two most well known preponderates of this theory are Hobson and Lenin. Vladimir Lenin (1916), in his pamphlet 'Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism', was one of the first theorists to make such a strong connection between economics and Imperialism. He claimed that Imperialism was "a direct continuation of the fundamental properties of capitalism in general."4 Hobson (1948) claims that the true impulse behind Imperialism was one of capitalistic greed, despite the higher moral excuses put forth by imperial powers. The need for cheap natural resources and new markets was at the heart of Imperialism, according to Hobson. More specifically he claims that the need for new markets for a surplus of manufactured goods was behind British Imperialism. He states,These new markets had to lie in hitherto undeve loped countries, chiefly in the tropics, where vast populations lived capable of growing economic needs which ourmanufacturers and
Friday, October 18, 2019
(Oral Presentation script) Ethical problems in international marketing Essay
(Oral Presentation script) Ethical problems in international marketing - Essay Example uch as, racial discrimination, corporate social responsibility, public awareness of risks associated with product use, keeping high prices for citizens of developing countries, and respecting the political and cultural environments of other countries. After describing the problems and their effects on a company’s image, the researcher provides some effective mechanisms to deal with those international marketing issues. Through discussing these problems, this research highlights the importance of considering ethics while doing international marketing. In the present world, ethical marketing is the key to success for a company in the international world. Those days have gone when companies needed to consider the business laws, customers’ needs, and culture of only their host nations. Today, companies need to consider the cultural, political, and economic environment of all those countries where they plan to expand their businesses. Failing to consider any of the ethical marketing issues can result in destroying the image of the company among international customers. Marketing managers are responsible to draw their focus properly on each of the ethical marketing issues in order to achieve the desired set of goals. Therefore, in this paper, the researcher will focus the international marketing ethical issues and the ways to overcome those issues. If a company discriminates against any particular race while marketing the products in the international world, it can put an adverse impact on the image of the company. For example, if a company markets a color fairness cream in an African country by saying that White is the best, it would be against the ethics of marketing. Companies also need to make public aware of the risks associated with the products being marketed. For example, if a pharmaceutical company is marketing a new drug in other countries, it should make people aware of the side effects of the product, if any, in order to make them decide whether they
SABMiller Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
SABMiller - Essay Example While the company itself is in those who consume its products do not know many instances, its brands are quite popular among the consumers. In many of the African nations, in which it has businesses, the brands under SABMiller are often the most popular. SABMiller is a company that has throughout its history, displayed a high capacity for being able to manage and develop its brands to a high quality level that many of its rivals have rarely been able to match. This skilful management of its brands in different countries has enabled the company to become highly successful, as those who work for it receive a high level of training to ensure that the quality of its products is retained. The wide range of products that this company produces means that it has to hire and maintain a large workforce in order to be able to function effectively. Unlike other companies, SABMiller has since its founding, been extremely careful with the management of its staff, not only because of the need to ma ke profit continuously, but also to further the good reputation that the company has always had. Because of the skill that SABMiller has been able to display in the production of its products in diverse countries, it has been able to achieve success on the international scene where other companies take years to achieve the same. One would claim that SABMiller’s success is based not only on the quality of the company’s products, but also on the strategies that it has been able to implement to make its operations successful. This company was founded as South African Breweries towards the end of the 19th century in South Africa, and for many years afterwards, the functions of this company were restricted to Southern Africa. This is because of the fact that this company had established an overriding position in the southern African market. However, in 1990 this company decided to venture into the European market, and in 1999, it managed to get listed in the London Stock Ex change, with the intention of raising enough capital to make acquisitions. It is in 2002 that the company was able to acquire Miller Brewing Company in North America, and with this acquisition, the company chose to change its name to SABMiller (Hobday, 2002). A series of hostile takeovers in Latin America and Europe saw the swift growth of the company, and this eventually brought it to its status as the second largest brewer in the world (Bruss 2002, p.10). The company’s innovation has ensured that it has remained at the top of the world’s brewing industry and an example that can be given of this innovation, is the recent introduction of Impala Cervejas, the first cassava beer that has been produced for commercial purposes in Africa (Appropriate Technology 2012, p.23). This company has about 70000 employees all over the world and its operations have, according to its 2012 records, it managed to bring in revenue of just over 21 billion dollars (Buck 2012, p.49). In Afri ca, the activities of SABMiller are conducted in 15 countries, all of which are in the Sub-Saharan region. This company has been dominant in the region for many years and because of this, its brands are well known by the people. The large customer base of SABMiller’s products has ensured that the company has been successful in the region and has creates a loyal market for its products (Peaple, 2012). A further 21 countries in Africa are enclosed all the way through a strategic alliance with the Castel group which has ensured that SABMiller has become the largest brewer in Africa, by market share, a feat that has not been achieved by any other brewing company on the continent. In addition to the brewing activities of SABMiller in Africa, it is under license from Coca-Cola to bottle soft drinks on behalf of the latter
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