...It Makes Cents Introduction This case is about the 99 Cent Only Store’s supply chain business model and how competitive advantage is executed within the context of its information systems (IS) strategies. Founder David Gold’s model is to create a straight path between a low-priced item and a paying customer. Under the tutelage of Robert Adams, vice president of IS, notes “bleeding edge technology (Oz, 2009 p. 73) is unnecessary, rather integration of information technology (IT) with a high rate of return on investment (ROI), which achieves the goal of efficiency is implemented. The specific action of avoiding progressive technology provides a supply chain advantage system. Instead of relying on new and specifically made software, Adams utilizes ready made products, which can be tailored to 99 Cent’s needs, such as HighJump’s Warehouse Advantage. Adam who is a software developer by trade, supervises an IT team who ensures the ISs are accommodating and inexpensive for the organizations needs, the most prevalent is optimum efficiency. According to authors Effy Oz and J. Rae-Supree, 38 new 99 Cent stores opened in 2003, revenues amounted to over 1.1 billion (Oz, 2009 p. 72), but only $5 million dollars was spent in IT. Research from the companies 10-K form shows, that from 2009 through 2012, significant investment in various “infrastructure, data management, and process improvement projects…enabling the achievement of level one compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards”...
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...IT Makes Cents 99 Cents had an enormous advantage as a pioneer in the one-price field. It was a great risk for David Gold to integrate a new technology to the vision of maintaining massive floor spaces satisfying demand. Now their IS plays a strategic role in identifying, distributing, and inventory control on all of their items. The system is able to alert officers in real time when large discounts are happening. The IS tells the floor workers which bins to fill up while staying away from overstocking. Robert Adams had the right mindset when researching for a system that would support all of 99 Cents activities. This system had to be complete, accurate, and economical which gave them great competitive advantage as the system was constantly generating relevant useful information. This relevant information was the reason why David Gold trusted Robert Adams so much, if the information was not used towards return on investment, the system had to be modified to serve its purpose. It was not clear whether 99 Cent stores were using their own transportation or shipping company, but I am pretty sure they utilized information from their ERPs regarding shipping of items combined with GISs to pinpoint the exact location of shipment. This way 99 Cents managers could tell their customers when and where to expect an item. For example, at the Beverly Hills store management could not afford to make customers dissatisfied at any level and managers would have...
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...Lancaster California located about 45 minles from Los Angeles, was trying to build its local economy but was tripped up by the United States constitution. Costco, a big box retailer, wanted to expand into next door space leased to 99 Cent Only Stores. Costco told the city it would move to Palmdale if it could not expand. Lancaster tried to buy 99 Cents' lease, but the company refused. Lancaster then used its power to emenent domain to condemn the 99 Cents property for the purpose of making city contrasted 99 Cents property for the purpose of making it available to Costco. the city noted that blight might follow if Costco left, and the city contrasted 99Cents' under $40,000 per year in sales taxes generated with costco's more then $400,000. 99 Cents then sued the city seeking an order blocking the effort to take the 99 Cents property Eminent domain allows states the right to take over private property, at fair market value, for public use. Due the declining economy of Lancaster, I would rule in favor of the state to take over 99 Cent Only Stores Property thereby allowing Costco to move in. The additional sales tax generated by allowing Costco to take over the property of 99 Cent Only Store would allow Lancaster to continue independently as a productive county. The present negative of eminent domain, in this case, wieghs far less than the positive outcome of ruling in favor of Costco. B. Would the result be any differnet today after the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in the...
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...Brooks, cut the throat of the fourth sailor, a 17- or 18-year-old boy. They had not eaten since day 12. Water had been available only occasionally. At the time of the death, the men were probably about 1,000 miles from land. Prior to his death, the boy was lying helplessly in the bottom of the boat. The three surviving sailors ate the boy’s remains for four days, at which point they were rescued by a passing boat. They were in a seriously weakened condition. a. Were Dudley and Stevens guilty of murder? Explain. b. Should Brooks have been charged with a crime for eating the boy’s flesh? Explain. See The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens, 14 Queen’s Bench Division 273 (1884). a. “The facts found on the special verdict shew that the prisoners were not guilty of murder, at the time when they killed Parker but killed him under the pressure of necessity. Necessity will excuse an act which would otherwise be a crime.”(justiceharvard) After reading this I believe that they did what they had to do in order to survive. They said the boy was weak and wouldn’t have made it anyway. They will have to live with the decision they made but they got to live because of it. b. No, he used it as a means to survive. If he would have just killed the boy to kill him and not use his flesh to survive then he would be a murderer. By eating the boy’s flesh he showed that he only committed the crime to survive. Question 11 Page 210 11. Lancaster, California, located about 45 miles from Los Angeles...
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...A Case Study of Footwear Industry in India Sandip Sarkar The Context The Indian footwear industry has developed substantial links in the global production network. But, this industry is still dominated by firms that cater largely to the domestic market through the artisanal production system. Specific footwear centres and sections of firms in traditional footwear clusters have established strong relations with the export market. Still, there are only few firms (e.g., Lotus Footwear Ltd., Apache Footwear Ltd. Etc.) that are directly involved in the global production chain of multinational corporation (MNC) in the sports footwear category.. Apart from TATA, no large domestic corporate firm is involved in the footwear production either for export or in the domestic market. The marketing system of export and domestic markets can be aptly compared in the theoretical framework of transaction cost economics (Tesfom et. al, 2003). The key elements of this framework are asset specificity, uncertainty and frequency. In this low technology industry entry barrier is low and asset specificity is largely related to market information. In export market, the market research is largely undertaken by importers (wholesalers, retail chain stores, departmental stores etc.). In the absence of organised market research by wholesalers (along with low development of retail chain stores) direct entry into domestic market requires substantial resources. Second, greater uncertainty exists in the domestic...
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...the price to $1.39 sells 100 copies. $1.29 X 100 = $129 or $1.39 X 100 =$139, ITunes can increase sales by $10.00 for every 100 copies sold based on popularity. Eventually the cost of the song will increase due to popularity and ITunes sales revenue will drop on those more popular songs. With a variable pricing sales revenue can also be generated by selling more copies of less popular songs or artistes. For example, Sam Smith has about 93 songs on ITunes in which a dozen or so range from .69 cents to .99 cents. There is a good chance the consumers that likes the song Stay with Me will purchase more of Sam Smiths songs for the cheaper price. This is working in ITunes favor in two ways, first sales revenues will increase just by volume. According to Schafer (2009) “the real aim of variable pricing, is to increase volume rather than to benefit from higher prices” (Schafer, 2009). Consumers are more likely to buy two songs at .99 cents=$1.98 versus one song at $1.29, this adds additional .69 cents to possible revenues. Additionally, we must assume the cost is less on the least popular songs, therefore the profit margins are great which will add to the total sales revenue. 2. Why do you think Apple moved from one to three price points in 2009? What types of songs do you think Apple tends to sell at the lower prices? Apple moved from one to three price point to maximize...
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...Working Paper No. 201 Determinants of Competitiveness of the Indian Auto Industry Badri Narayanan G. Pankaj Vashisht January 2008 INDIAN COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS Contents Foreword............................................................................................................................. i Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... ii 1. Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Literature Review................................................................................................ 2 1.2.1 Global Comparisons ................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Policy Environment and Evolution of Indian Auto Industry....................... 4 1.2.3 Productivity................................................................................................. 7 1.2.4 Aspects Related to Supply Chain and Industrial Structure......................... 7 1.2.5 Technology and Other Aspects ................................................................. 10 1.3 Contributions of the Study ................................................................................ 13 Supply Side Features of...
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...and their dependents covered herein to the Health and Welfare Trust Fund of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 99-99A. |Coverage |Effective 10/01/2004 | |Family |$575.00 per month | |Single |$300.00 per month | In the event the contribution by the Employer is less than the required contribution rate, as determined from time to time by the Trustees if the Local 99 Plan, the Employer shall have the right to, and will, deduct from the wages of each employee an amount equal to the difference between the Employer contribution and the plan cost as determined by the Plan Trustees. The contribution by the Employer together with the amount withheld from the employees pay shall be paid to the Plan Administrator no later than the twentieth (20th) of the month following the month in which the deductions were made. In the event that there is a decrease in the premium of the Health and Welfare Plan during the term of this Agreement, the Employer agrees to contribute the difference in savings to the Central Pension Fund. a) Part-Time Employee Benefits: Effective October 1, 1997, part-time employees shall be paid two dollars and eighty-nine cents ($2.89) per hour worked in lieu of health benefits provided to full-timers. The above amount will be paid on all hours worked to a...
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...ANALYZING MANAGERIAL DECISIONS: iTunes Music Pricing MBA 540 LaTroy Middlebrook May 22, 2016 Dr. M. Pate 1) Apple’s ingenious policy strategy in variable pricing permits Apple to increase iTunes sales profits by appraising highly regarded artists’ or songs at an elevated amount, than underappreciated artist or songs with fewer fans. For example, 2016 Grammy winner for Album of the Year, Taylor Swift, ‘1989’ sells for $7.99 and features 13 songs on iTunes. However, say that iTunes increases the price of the album to $8.99 and distributes sales of over 1000 copies. $7.99 x 1000 = $7,990 or $8.99 x 1000 =$8,990. iTunes can raise sales prices by $1.00 for every album sold over 1000 copies based on the admiration fans have placed on ‘1989’. Consequently, the price of the album will surge due to popularity, radio airplay, and iTunes sales profits will decrease on the most favored songs on the album. Despite the influx of popularity for the album, what variable pricing sales does is create substantiated revenue by generating copies of the less popular songs on the album by selling them as singles. Not to mention, Taylor Swift is a world renowned artist. Her music resonates with the old, young, and the middle-aged listener. The producers of the‘1989’ album took into account what was missing on her fifth album, ‘Red’. While the album did well in the market, it was overshadowed by other media outlets looking to profit from the internet’s popular downloading and iPhone’s contract with...
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...may live up to its early revolutionary projections. It is now estimated that 23 per cent of US and Canadian residents over the age of 16 use the Internet, and as of March 1997, 17 per cent of this population had used the World Wide Web (WWW) in the previous month. (CommerceNet, 1997) Nearly three quarters of these Web users have searched the Internet for information about products and services, and 15 per cent have made an online purchase. Thousands of firms marketing food and beverages worldwide are among those trying to attract the attention, and buying power, of these Internet shoppers. It is now possible to purchase specialty Italian cheeses direct from a cybershop in Italy or New York. Consumers interested in smoked fish can pay a virtual visit to companies in Alaska or Iceland from their home computers. Internet users are an attractive target group for specialty food and drink producers. Like the overall Internet population, people who visit food and drink sites online are relatively young (median age of 37), wealthier than most (median income of $58,000), and well educated (91 per cent have attended some college and 75 per cent have at least a four-year degree) (White and Cheng, 1996). They also mirror those consumers who purchase specialty food and drink products through traditional markets (Dietrich, 1992). The Internet population is also international, although more than 80 per cent of Internet users are estimated to reside in the USA (Pitkow and Kehoe, 1996a). This...
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...investments in India relative to other major forms and to study the relationship between foreign portfolio investments and trends in the Indian stock market during the past four years. Introduction The character of global capital flows to developing countries underwent significant changes on many counts during the 'nineties. By the time the East Asian financial crisis surfaced, the overall size of the flows more than tripled. It stood at US$ 100.8 bn. in 1990 and rose to US$ 308.1 bn. by 1996. The increase was entirely due to the sharp rise in the flows under private account that rose from US$ 43.9 bn. to 275.9 billion during the same period. In relative terms the percentage of private account capital flows increased from 43.55 to 89.55 per cent (Table 1). Simultaneously, the Official Development Assistance (ODA), declined both in relative and absolute terms. All the main components of the private account capital transfers, namely, (a) commercial loans, (b) foreign direct investments (FDI), and (c) foreign portfolio investments (equity and bonds) (FPI) recorded significant increases. Portfolio...
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...of means and resources, the country has built up during the last 50 years, a very large system of education and has created a vast body of men and women equipped with a high order of scientific and technological capabilities, robust humanist and philosophical thought and creativity. It would be worthwhile to observe the trends in the different sectors of education from post Independence period to the present scenario. Sectors of Education Elementary Education Graph I: Comparative Statement of Number of Institutions in 1950-51 and 1998-99 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 6.27 2.1 1.9 0.13 1950-51 1998-99 Primary Schools (Classes I-V) Upper Primary Schools (Classes VI-VIII) Comparative Statement of Numbers of Students (Upper Primary Stage) in 1950-51 and 1998-99 403.53 400 300 200 100 0 1950-51 1998-99 31.19 57.58 12.7 At the time of Independence, only fourteen percent of the population was literate and only one child out of three had been enrolled in primary school. The need for universal education for all children in the age group of 6-14 years recognized as a crucial input for nation building, was given due consideration in successive Five Year Plans and has resulted in a manifold increase of spatial spread, infrastructure facilities, increased coverage of various social groups; but the goal of providing basic education to all...
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...International section International business development – what are the considerations? Robert G. Watters Introduction There are now many companies in various business sectors which can be classed as global operators. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Avis, IBM, Sony and Ford are ideal examples of worldwide brands. There are also many other companies which have decided to expand their marketing operations by going into new markets abroad because they are confident they can compete, although they could not be truly classed as global operators. Marks & Spencer with their move into France and Aldi’s move into the UK are examples. Global operators The financial services sector has no worldwide brands and has even lacked this extensive expansion across borders because, while some of the considerations, such as management control and language, are the same as other business sectors, others, such as legislation and regulation, are unique to this sector. Perhaps the relative importance of these factors has limited expansion and contributed to why there are no truly global financial services brands, although there are some noticeable success stories in companies like General Electric USA, through their financial subsidiary, GE Capital Services, which has successfully expanded by using, or creating, local brand names in niche markets. This expansion consists currently of 13 businesses in Europe providing financing, leasing and loan servicing for capital equipment and speciality insurance...
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...CHAPTER 7 FUTURES AND OPTIONS ON FOREIGN EXCHANGE SUGGESTED ANSWERS AND SOLUTIONS TO END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS QUESTIONS 1. Explain the basic differences between the operation of a currency forward market and a futures market. Answer: The forward market is an OTC market where the forward contract for purchase or sale of foreign currency is tailor-made between the client and its international bank. No money changes hands until the maturity date of the contract when delivery and receipt are typically made. A futures contract is an exchange-traded instrument with standardized features specifying contract size and delivery date. Futures contracts are marked-to-market daily to reflect changes in the settlement price. Delivery is seldom made in a futures market. Rather a reversing trade is made to close out a long or short position. 2. In order for a derivatives market to function most efficiently, two types of economic agents are needed: hedgers and speculators. Explain. Answer: Two types of market participants are necessary for the efficient operation of a derivatives market: speculators and hedgers. A speculator attempts to profit from a change in the futures price. To do this, the speculator will take a long or short position in a futures contract depending upon his expectations of future price movement. A hedger, on-the-other-hand, desires to avoid price variation by locking in a purchase price of the underlying asset through a long position...
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...kpbhs"No one wants to die," Steve Jobs said in his now-famous 2005 commencement address at Stanford. "Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. "And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." These wise words came out of Jobs just a year after he got up close and personal with the notion of death, upon learning in 2004 he had a rare form of pancreatic cancer. On Wednesday, seven years later, he finally arrived at that "destination we all share." Above all, the loss of Steve Jobs is incredibly sad. But amid the raw, jumbled feelings in these early moments after hearing of his death, the other emotion that keeps surfacing is this sense of utter unfairness. More up his sleeve At 56, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, had given the world so much more than most people could ever dream - and he surely had so much more up his sleeve. And that is incredibly disappointing to consider. The secret to his success, the key to why his death is being mourned more like a pop star than a CEO and the biggest reason his untimely passing is profoundly unfair, are all the same: His products were polished reflections of an obsession with the customer experience. The consistent imprint across the products he touched over four decades - from the Macintosh, to the string of...
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