...3258 SE PT E MB E R 26 , 200 8 R I CH A RD S. T E D L O W HEATHER BECKHAM Harrington Collection: Sizing Up the Active-Wear Market On January 22, 2008, financial results for Harrington Collection’s 2007 fiscal year were distributed to all senior executives. Harrington, a large manufacturer and retailer of high-end women’s apparel, had posted lackluster sales for the past three years and margins were now at an all time low. Sara Huey, Vice President of Strategic Planning, gathered her strategy team and key operating managers to review the disappointing 2007 results and brainstorm ideas to reverse the negative trends. During the meeting, Blake Myers, the general manager for the Vigor division, proposed his idea to expand into a new product line. Myers stated, “The word I hear from some of our retailers is that stylish, sporty, casual attire is flying off the shelves. There has been tremendous growth in the activewear segment. Harrington is missing a huge opportunity by not offering this kind of line.” Karen Allen, a director in Strategic Planning, responded, “Expanding our lines downstream is not a sound long-term strategy. And a new product launch would probably put a significant drain on our resources. I doubt we could capture enough sales in the first year to break even.” Huey thought for a moment. Expanding into a product line with more casual, lower-priced fashions was not a novel idea, but it had always been dismissed as too big a departure from Harrington’s...
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...Harrington Collection: Sizing Up the Active-Wear Market 1. What is your evaluation of the women’s apparel industry? The women’s apparel industry was both mature and highly competitive in 2007. Because of the slow economic recovery consumers had become high price sensitivity and they were shifting towards less expensive apparel products which created a pressure to keep the price low. As a result of this many industries began outsourcing production overseas because of the low production cost. In 2007 they showed sales of 133billion and about 4.2% increase compared to previous year. They classified the apparel product in to six category based on the quality and price where, “Haute couture” was a high end clothing and cost could be more than 10,000 dollars and “ budget” was the less expensive product which produced casual clothing which coasted around a price of less than 50 dollars. The rest categories will lie between this price range and this shows the price different in apparel industry between the low and the high product clothing. The challenges faced in this apparel industry were their product life cycle. They had a short product life cycle which was due to consumer taste changes rapidly so they should frequently change their designs accordingly to match their taste. So the manufacturers were struggling to match up with the short product life cycle of the product. How the average price of women’s apparel changed? Even after the economic downturn, the U.S market in...
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...Responsibilities…………………………………..…...………………………….6 Building Influence...……………………………………..…...…………………………...7 Conclusion/ Decision ……………......…………...…………………………………………….....7 References…………………………………………………………………………………………8 Samsung Electronics Company: Global Marketing Operations- Introduction In the 1990’s Samsung started out as a “third-tier commodity brand with very little product differentiation” (Quelch & Harrington, 2008). Due to the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the company experienced tremendous loss, and made the difficult decision to revamp their brand image. Based on this strategic change, Samsung was able to experience increasing brand success, and in August 2003, became number 25 in the world’s most valuable brands, with an estimated valuation of $10.8 billion. Initially, the company’s turnaround strategy was what spearheaded the corporation into such tremendous success. During that time, Samsung’s marketing function was overhauled, so that it could support the new brand proposition. This case study analysis will measure the strength of Samsung’s brand and consider whether Samsung can pass Sony, which was ranked number 20 in the world, with a valuation of $13.2 billion. Finally, the role and responsibilities of the CMO will be discussed, along with how Samsung’s CMO Eric Kim, built influence for the company. Samsung’s Turnaround Strategy Samsung started out in the 1970’s as a low-cost electronics manufacturer. The company started...
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...Health Services Research r Health Research and Educational Trust DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01274.x RESEARCH ARTICLE Staffing Ratios and Quality: An Analysis of Minimum Direct Care Staffing Requirements for Nursing Homes John R. Bowblis Objective. To study the impact of minimum direct care staffing (MDCS) requirements on nurse staffing levels, nurse skill mix, and quality. Data Sources. U.S. nursing home facility data from the Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) System merged with MDCS requirements. Study Design. Facility-level outcomes of nurse staffing levels, nurse skill mix, and quality measures are regressed on the level of nurse staffing required by MDCS requirements in the prior year and other controls using fixed effect panel regression. Quality measures are care practices, resident outcomes, and regulatory deficiencies. Data Extraction Method. Analysis used all OSCAR surveys from 1999 to 2004, resulting in 17,552 unique facilities with a total of 94,371 survey observations. Principle Findings. The effect of MDCS requirements varied with reliance of the nursing home on Medicaid. Higher MDCS requirements increase nurse staffing levels, while their effect on nurse skill mix depends on the reliance of the nursing home on Medicaid. MDCS have mixed effects on care practices but are generally associated with improved resident outcomes and meeting regulatory standards. Conclusions. MDCS requirements change staffing levels and skill mix, improve certain aspects of...
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...Case: R & D Electronics Company (Case adapted from: Heitger, L.E. and Heitger, D.L. (2008)., Issues in Accounting Education, 23(2), 261-272.) The Automotive Electronic Industry R & D Electronics Company is an established manufacturer and has been designing, manufacturing, and supplying electrical supplies in various forms to the automotive industry. The worldwide market for semiconductors in the automotive electronics industry exceeds $10 billion. In addition, wireless data delivery – currently is estimated to be a $20 billion industry, and experts predict that soon 50 percent of all new cars and 90 percent of higherend models will possess telematic-capable devices. Further, many experts estimate that 30 to 40 percent of the production value of all automobiles consist of electrical products. R & D Electronics historically has invested heavily in researching and developing auto-motive electronic technology in order to provide customers with state-of-the-art functionality, safety, and performance. R&D Electronics continues its heavy investment in this research and development arena because the resulting product features quickly devolve from being “cutting edge” features that create a competitive advantage to commodities that customers regard as standard features on all automobiles. R&D Electronics has continued to upgrade its research and development and manufacturing abilities to keep pace with changing technologies. For instance, R&D Electronics designs, produces, and installs...
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...Financial Statement Fraud | By “Fraud Master” Team, Introduction of Financial Statement Fraud Financial statement fraud is by definition, the deliberate misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures of financial statements to deceive financial statement users, particularly investors and creditors. In other words, these fraudulent activities take place when a business entity engages in certain practices designed to hide or maneuver its accounts in order to remain attractive to investors. Theoretically, there are three factors that appear to be present in every case of financial statement fraud. These factors are an apparent situational pressure, a perceived opportunity to commit and conceal the dishonest act, and some way to rationalize the act as justifiable. In simple terms, there is something that prompts otherwise honest people to consider dishonest acts (pressure), along with the perception that they can get away with it (opportunity), and an ability to justify why their actions were not dishonest (rationalization). This theory is better known as the fraud triangle which infers that if all three of these factors are present, there is a high likelihood that a fraud will be committed. Major Categories of Financial Schemes There are many different forms in which financial statement fraud can be perpetrated. The most common ones include: * Falsification, alteration, or manipulation of material financial records, supporting documents, or business...
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...into proper perspective the impact of democracy on economic development. In recent years, the discourse about democracy and development has gained prominence. Countries with long history of democratic governance have been noted to be doing well economically. It is the view of this author that so far a comprehensive assessment of the full impact of democracy on economic development is yet to be done.Probably, the reason as to why this has been so is because there is an obvious assumption that democracy will always have a positive impact on economic development. It is worthwhile however, to move away from the sweeping generalization and put this issue into proper perspective. It is proper to establish the full impact of democracy. In this study, the author will seek to establish the impact of democracy on economic development. Since its origins in ancient Greece, when Greeks created city states as communities of citizens in which the administration and the making of policy were the rights of citizens, democracy has been a subject of many speculations and questions that even to date beggar answers. One of the critical questions that have been the center of speculation is what democracy’s impact on economic development is. This question has been propelled to the fore by certain factors such...
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...Rios, Victor M. (2009). The Consequences of the Criminal Justice Pipeline on Black and Latino Masculinity. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 623: 150. DOI: 10.1177/0002716208330489 Masculinity, Crime, and Crime Control Individuals shape their behavior according to gendered expectations and are subject to a system of accountability that is gendered, raced, and classed (Fenstemaker and West 2002; West and Fenstemaker 1995). Youth of color are inculcated into a set of hypermasculine expectations that often lead them to behaviors that conflict with the structures of dominant institutions. For example, Ferguson (2000) demonstrated that schools participate in the making of black masculinity in children as young as ten years old. Masculinity-making is heavily responsible for the deviance and punishment that takes place in the classroom and later in the criminal justice system. To be assigned “real man” status by relevant others and institutions, young men must pass multiple litmus tests among peers, family, and other institutions. These masculinity tests, or codes, were identified by sociologists as early as the 1920s. In 1924, Edwin Sutherland discussed how boys are taught to be rough and tough, rendering them more likely than girls to become delinquent (cited in Sutherland and Cressey 1955). In 1947, Parsons noted that at the very core of American adolescence an aggressive masculinity is at play: Western men are peculiarly...
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...1)Introduction; Crime today is at an extreme high. However, forensic science has been there to help solve every crime committed Forensic science is the scientific method of gathering and examining information about the past. The word forensic comes from the Latin forēnsis, meaning "of or before the forum. The word forensic basically means the key to solve a crime.This is the technology used to help forensic teams to analyze and solve crimes.- This is especially important in law enforcement where forensics is done in relation to criminal or civil law,[1] but forensics are also carried out in other fields, such as astronomy, archaeology, biology and geology to investigate ancient times. Forensic Science is used to Identify Criminals Rape, murder, theft, and other crimes almost always leave a devastating mark on the victim. . In modern forensic science, the crime laboratories include photography section, Evidence storage section, identification section, chemistry section, General examination section, Fire arms section, instrument section and crime scene search section. 2)Origins of forensic science: In 16th-century Europe, medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on the cause and manner of death. Ambroise Paré, a French army surgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs.[9][10] Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation...
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...The Fashion Channel - Preparation for Class Discussion As preparation for discussing this case in class, students should be ready to respond to the following: 1. How would you interpret the consumer and market data if you were Dana Wheeler? 2. What is the expected outcome of each of the targeting scenarios? (Complete both the Ad Revenue and Financial calculators to fully understand the financial impact of the scenarios.) 3. Develop a factual analysis of the segmentation options, and evaluate the pros and cons of each. 4. If you were Dana Wheeler, what would you recommend and why? 5. Dana is filling the role of change agent in this organization. How should she manage the discussion and meeting to be most effective in leading the group to make the right decision? Atlantic Computer: A Bundle of Pricing Options – Preparation for Class Discussion As preparation for discussing this case in class, students should be ready to respond to the following: Student Study Question 1 What price should Jowers charge DayTraderJournal.com for the Atlantic Bundle (i.e., Tronn servers+PESA software tool)? Student Study Question 2 Think broadly about the top-line revenue implications from each of the four alternative pricing strategies. Approximately how much money over the next three years will be “left on the table” if the firm were to give away the software tool away for free (i.e., status quo pricing) versus utilizing one of the...
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...Papers Cannabis use in adolescence and risk for adult psychosis: longitudinal prospective study Louise Arseneault, Mary Cannon, Richie Poulton, Robin Murray, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E Moffitt Editorial by Rey and Tennant Papers pp 1195, 1199 SGDP Research Centre, King’s College, London SE5 8AF Louise Arseneault lecturer Avshalom Caspi professor Terrie E Moffitt professor Division of Psychological Medicine, King’s College Mary Cannon Wellcome Trust advanced fellow Robin Murray professor Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Richie Poulton director, Dunedin multidisciplinary health and development study The strongest evidence that cannabis use may be a risk factor for later psychosis comes from a Swedish cohort study which found that heavy cannabis use at age 18 increased the risk of later schizophrenia sixfold.1 2 This study could not establish whether adolescent cannabis use was a consequence of pre-existing psychotic symptoms rather than a cause. We present the first prospective longitudinal study of adolescent cannabis use as a risk factor for adult schizophreniform disorder, taking into account childhood psychotic symptoms3 antedating cannabis use. Methods and results The Dunedin multidisciplinary health and development study (a study of a general population birth cohort of 1037 individuals born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972-3)4 has a 96% follow...
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...or markets. As in the past, many organizations continue to address risk in “silos,” with the management of insurance, foreign exchange risk, operational risk, credit risk, and commodity risks each conducted as narrowly focused and fragmented activities. Under the new enterprise risk management (ERM) approach, all would function as parts of an integrated, strategic, and enterprise-wide system.1 And while risk management is coordinated with senior-level oversight, employees at all levels of the organization are encouraged to view risk management as an integral and ongoing part of their jobs. While there are theoretical arguments for corporate risk management,2 the main drivers for the implementation of ERM systems have been studies such as the Joint Australian/ New Zealand Standard for Risk Management, Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in the U.S. (in response to the control problems in the S&L industry), the Group of Thirty Report in the U.S. (following derivatives disasters in the early 1990s), CoCo (the Criteria of Control...
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...“Marketing…is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customer’s point of view. Concern and responsibility for marketing must, therefore, permeate all areas of the enterprise.” - Peter F. Drucker, People and Performance, 1977 Required Textbook • Managing Marketing in the 21st Century: Developing and Implementing the Market Strategy, 3rd ed., by Noel Capon (www.axcesscapon.com, 2012). Available through www.axcesscapon.com (as a PDF file or in paperback), as well as Amazon.com or BN.com in either paperback or electronic format and in paperback through the University Bookstore. Required Cases • Harvard Business School Cases: listed in course outline. Cases are available for purchase online through Harvard Business School Press (Coursepack Link for purchasing cases listed below with list of cases). Introduction and Overview In their never-ending search for the ultimate secret to business success, many businesses continue to overlook the most fundamental premise of all business. While their search for the ultimate “secret to success” has provided some interesting and useful concepts and theories, the ultimate secret to business success is not as secret or complex as some would have us believe. Success in business comes from creating satisfied customers. This is, or should be, the essence of all marketing activities. Yet each day, we personally encounter—or the press brings news of—CEOs...
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...approach treats strategy implementation as a series of concerted (but often parallel) actions and examines these actions from a behavior perspective. Some authors combine the process perspective and behavior or action perspective and form a third approach, which we label as a hybrid perspective. Under the process perspective, implementation is the process that turns plans into action assignments and ensures that such assignments are executed in a manner that accomplishes the plan’s stated objectives (Kotler, 1984). Strategy implementation is an iterative process of implementing strategies, policies, programs and action plans that allows a firm to utilize its resources to take advantage of opportunities in the competitive environment (Harrington, 2006). Under the behaviour perspective, implementation is the actions initiated within the organization and its relationships with external constituencies to realize the strategy (Varadarajan, 1999). Implementation is operationally defined as those senior-level leadership behaviors and activities that will transform a working plan into a concrete reality (Schaap, 2006). In the hybrid perspective, implementation is defined as ‘the sum total of the activities and choices required for the execution of a strategic plan…the process by which strategies and policies are put into action’ (Wheelen & Hunger 1992). Strategy execution is defined as the step-by-step implementation of the various...
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...Summary In view of Cox (2003), coming up with a decision on the holiday destination has been a common challenge among many people. This is so as a result of the number of options that an individual might be faced with. The individual might as well find it challenging to decide on the specific activity that they want to carry out during the holiday, which in cases presents itself with multiple activities which a single destination might not meet. However, the decision matrix gas in great way helped people in the process of decision making. This paper looks at the process of designing a decision matrix and how to evaluate the most likely decision an individual is likely to make, the weaknesses of the matrix and the possible causes of the lack of accurateness of the decision matrix. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 2 Creation of decision matrix 3 Application of compensatory decision rule 8 Analysis of choices 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Most people definitely would love to take some time during their holidays season, just to get away from their routine lifestyle; could be work or studies, in order to have fun and enough rest, get to learn new things, partake their favourite hobbies and sports, and take exotic dishes (New Zealand, 2007). All this is a bid to break the monotony that comes with a regular daily course of life that one spends. It therefore implies that if one is to go on vacation, they need to consider a number of determining factors...
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