...business, their size, financials, global presence, use of e-business (marketing, sales, etc.). A diversified company is one that has multiple, unrelated businesses. Unrelated businesses are those, which (1) require unique management expertise, (2) have different end customers and (3) produce different products or provide different services. One of the benefits of being a diversified company is that it buffers a company from dramatic fluctuations in any one-industry sector. However, this model is also less likely to enable stockholders to realize significant gains or losses because it is not singularly focused on one business. Investopedia (2011) states that companies may become diversified by entering into new businesses on its own, by merging with another company or by acquiring a company operating in another field or service sector. One of the challenges facing diversified companies is the need to maintain a strong strategic focus to produce solid financial returns for shareholders instead of diluting corporate value through ill-conceived acquisitions or expansions. Wal-Mart and Kmart; along with Target are the three primary retail giants in the United States. This paper will compare and contrast Wal-Mart and Kmart Corporations. According to Wal-Mart’s website: “Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per...
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...Human Resources Management GB520-01N Wal-Mart Case Study Contents Introduction 3 Background 3 Summary 3 Exploring Answers 4 The Secret Formula 4 The Issues 5 Recommendations 7 Conclusion 7 Introduction The purpose of this analysis is to examine domestic Human Resource strategies in contrast to International Human Resource strategies. One goal of globalization is to be able to do business across borders without stress. Similarly, as companies grow customer bases, it is important to have strategic business units in areas local to the customer base. It is what is required to successfully build a successful global presence. This analysis will attempt to highlight potential issues faced by Walmart when they opened up for business in China in 1996. This analysis will also provide a set of recommendations that may have helped to avert the issues that Wal-Mart faced. Background Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. started when Sam Walton set out on an ambitious mission to have a store with the lowest prices anytime, anywhere. In 1962 Sam Walton opened the very first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. By 1967, they owned 24 stores and continued to rapid expanding. In 1983, they added to their portfolio by starting a wholesale/bulk retailer called “Sam’s Club” and by 1988, they started a hybrid of general merchandise stores and supermarkets and aptly called them “Super Centers.” In 1990 Wal-Mart became USA’s number-one retailer. In 1991, Wal-Mart opened its first global store in...
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...Walmart’s Strategy Walmart’s Current strategy In Walmart's thinking, there are three types of shopping trips (Depillis, 2013): The stock-up mission- this kind of shopping trip brings families to Walmart's 3,200 nationwide Supercenters. The basic grocery run- where shopping trip shoppers want to go someplace nearby, such as one of Walmart's 300 neighborhood markets. The "immediate access" stops - where shoppers head for the traditional convenience store. As of today, Walmart hasn't really touched the third segment, except for a handful of "express" stores in Arkansas. Bill Simon, Walmart’s chief executive, vision to put all three segments together on what he called “ecosystem”. Walmart believes that “tethering” is the key to make this system work. From tether hiring and back- office functions, to tether inventory distribution systems, and even online orders, for greater efficiency and quick response to demand. In other words, instead of having one huge store with endless goods, Walmart will offer three kinds of stores with most of those goods, at the time and place customers need them. Walmart’s current strategy includes more emphasis on smaller-format stores and more e-commerce. (Cheng, 2012). Competitive Advantage Walmart enjoys several of competitive advantages that are the source of the company’s market dominance. However, Walmart’s primary competitive advantage is low costs. Low cost culture and leadership initiated by the company’s founder, Sam Walton...
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...Abstract Brands rushed into social media, viewing social networks, video sharing, online communities, and microblogging sites as the panacea to diminishing returns for traditional brand building routes. But as more branding activity moves to the Web, marketers are confronted with the stark realization that social media was made for people, not for brands. In this article, we explore the emergent cultural landscape of open source branding, and identify marketing strategies directed at the hunt for consumer engagement on the People’s Web. These strategies present a paradox, for to gain coveted resonance, the brand must relinquish control. We discuss how Webbased power struggles between marketers and consumer brand authors challenge accepted branding truths and paradigms: where short-term brands can trump longterm icons; where marketing looks more like public relations; where brand building gives way to brand protection; and brand value is driven by risk, not returns. # 2011 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved. 1. The party crashers: Marketers and the Social Web Brands today claim hundreds of thousands of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, online community members, and YouTube fans; yet, it is a lonely, scary time to be a brand manager. Despite marketers’ desires to leverage Web 2.0 technologies to their advantage, a stark truth presents itself: the Web was created not to sell branded products, but to link people together in collective conversational...
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...Boston, MA 02115, U.S.A. KEYWORDS Branding; Brand management; Social media; Web 2.0; Co-creation Abstract Brands rushed into social media, viewing social networks, video sharing, online communities, and microblogging sites as the panacea to diminishing returns for traditional brand building routes. But as more branding activity moves to the Web, marketers are confronted with the stark realization that social media was made for people, not for brands. In this article, we explore the emergent cultural landscape of open source branding, and identify marketing strategies directed at the hunt for consumer engagement on the People’s Web. These strategies present a paradox, for to gain coveted resonance, the brand must relinquish control. We discuss how Webbased power struggles between marketers and consumer brand authors challenge accepted branding truths and paradigms: where short-term brands can trump longterm icons; where marketing looks more like public relations; where brand building gives way to brand protection; and brand value is driven by risk, not returns. # 2011 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved. 1. The party crashers: Marketers and the Social Web Brands today claim hundreds of thousands of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, online community members, and YouTube fans; yet, it is a lonely, scary time to be a brand manager. Despite marketers’ desires to leverage Web 2.0 technologies to their advantage, a stark truth presents itself:...
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...P A R T I Discovering Momentum 1 1 The Power of Momentum Where’s the Impetus? Momentum. Most businesses get it at some point: the impression that everything they undertake succeeds effortlessly, as if they’re being carried along by a tailwind that increases their efficiency and propels them on to exceptional growth.1 Some hold on to it. Most don’t. Slowly, imperceptibly, the tailwind turns around and the momentum disappears, without anyone quite realizing what has happened. The company is still growing, but not as strongly as before, not as efficiently. Everyone’s maxing out, but it seems like there’s molasses in the works. Sound familiar? Sooner or later, it hits you in the face. Imagine you are meeting up with a senior analyst whose opinion counts with some of your company’s biggest investors. You think you’re on safe ground—after all, your company is doing better than the competition. But the analyst is in full gimlet-eyed, illusion-killing mode. “That’s nothing to crow about,” she says. “Yeah, you’ve got reasonable growth, but it’s nothing exceptional. You’re a safe bet, nothing more. Okay, I might tell my mom to buy, but 3 The Momentum Effect then she’s happy with inflation plus one. The way we see it, you’re really grinding it out. We reckon the strain’s getting harder, too. There’s no impetus—no momentum.” Words like that can really take the gloss off a day. The next time you gather your team, you don’t congratulate them on beating their targets—you...
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...enrolled in a principles of marketing course. This publication is intended to supplement your lecture materials. As you read through the text, note that it is keyed to illustrations used in class. The course is divided into three sections. Section one covers introduction to marketing, consumer behavior, industrial buyer behavior, the marketing environment, where marketing fits into the organization, market segmentation, and product differentiation. Section two covers product and pricing. Section three covers promotion (sales) and distribution. As you read the book, consider that it is organized as follows: marketing and its environment (consumer behavior, industrial buyer behavior, marketing environment), product, pricing, promotion, and distribution. So, coverage begins with introductory concepts and proceeds into the marketing mix elements (product, price, promotion and place). You may wonder whether this book covers all aspects of marketing. No, it does not cover all aspects of marketing. You will find only basic concepts herein. If you seek specific, contemporary examples of marketing concepts, check out a traditional textbook from the library or purchase a recent edition from a used book store. Try the Perreault and McCarthy textbook (14th edition) or the Kotler and Armstrong textbook. Section I: Concepts of Marketing A. Who is a Marketer? Consider first that marketing is driven by people and their needs. It is people driven. Contrast marketing, a people driven discipline...
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...Statements on Management Accounting BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TITLE Implementing Integrated Supply Chain Management for Competitive Advantage CREDITS This statement was approved for issuance as a Statement on Management Accounting by the Management Accounting Committee (MAC) of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA® IMA ). appreciates the collaborative efforts of the Finance Business Solutions Group at Arthur Andersen LLP and the work of Dr. C.J. McNair, CMA, of Babson College, who drafted the manuscript. Published by Institute of Management Accountants 10 Paragon Drive Montvale, NJ 07645 www.imanet.org All rights reserved IMA Publication Number 00352 ISBN 0-86641-282-4 Special thanks go to Randolf Holst, CMA (Canadian), Manager of Knowledge Creation at Arthur Andersen, for his continuing oversight during the development of the Statement. IMA thanks the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International (CAM-I) for their support in the development of this SMA. IMA is also grateful to the members of the Management Accounting Committee for their contributions to this effort. Copyright © 1999 in the United States of America by Institute of Management Accountants and Arthur Andersen LLP Statements on Management Accounting BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Implementing Integrated Supply Chain Management for Competitive Advantage TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ...
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...Statements on Management Accounting BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TITLE Implementing Integrated Supply Chain Management for Competitive Advantage CREDITS This statement was approved for issuance as a Statement on Management Accounting by the Management Accounting Committee (MAC) of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA® IMA ). appreciates the collaborative efforts of the Finance Business Solutions Group at Arthur Andersen LLP and the work of Dr. C.J. McNair, CMA, of Babson College, who drafted the manuscript. Special thanks go to Randolf Holst, CMA (Canadian), Manager of Knowledge Creation at Arthur Andersen, for his continuing oversight during the development of the Statement. IMA thanks the Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International (CAM-I) for their support in the development of this SMA. IMA is also grateful to the members of the Management Accounting Committee for their contributions to this effort. Published by Institute of Management Accountants 10 Paragon Drive Montvale, NJ 07645 www.imanet.org IMA Publication Number 00352 Copyright © 1999 in the United States of America by Institute of Management Accountants and Arthur Andersen LLP All rights reserved ISBN 0-86641-282-4 Statements on Management Accounting BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Implementing Integrated Supply Chain Management for Competitive Advantage TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
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...Contents IntroductionDay 1MarketingDay 2Ethics Day 3AccountingDay 4Organizational BehaviorDay 5Quantitative AnalysisDay 6 FinanceDay 7OperationsDay 8Economics Day 9StrategyDay 10MBA Mini-Courses ResearchPublic SpeakingNegotiating International BusinessBusiness LawTenDay MBA DiplomaAppendix: Quantitative Analysis TablesBibliographyMBA Abbreviation LexiconIndex AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorPraise for the Ten-Day MBACopyrightAbout the Publisher Introduction After I earned my MBA, I had a chance to reflect on the two most exhausting and fulfilling years of my life. As I reviewed my course notes, I realized that the basics of an MBA education were quite simple and could easily be understood by a wider audience. Thousands of Ten-Day MBA readers have proven it! Readers are applying their MBA knowledge every day to their own business situations. Not only useful in the United States, The Ten-Day MBA has been translated into many languages around the world. So many people are curious about business education, including doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and aspiring MBAs. This book answers their questions. The Ten-Day MBA really delivers useful information quickly and easily. Current MBA students have written me that they even use the book to review for exams. Ten-Day MBAs are “walking the walk and talking the talk” of MBAs every business day. It’s proven that this book can work for you. Written for the impatient student, The Ten-Day MBA allows readers to really grasp the fundamentals...
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...Contents IntroductionDay 1MarketingDay 2Ethics Day 3AccountingDay 4Organizational BehaviorDay 5Quantitative AnalysisDay 6 FinanceDay 7OperationsDay 8Economics Day 9StrategyDay 10MBA Mini-Courses ResearchPublic SpeakingNegotiating International BusinessBusiness LawTenDay MBA DiplomaAppendix: Quantitative Analysis TablesBibliographyMBA Abbreviation LexiconIndex AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorPraise for the Ten-Day MBACopyrightAbout the Publisher Introduction After I earned my MBA, I had a chance to reflect on the two most exhausting and fulfilling years of my life. As I reviewed my course notes, I realized that the basics of an MBA education were quite simple and could easily be understood by a wider audience. Thousands of Ten-Day MBA readers have proven it! Readers are applying their MBA knowledge every day to their own business situations. Not only useful in the United States, The Ten-Day MBA has been translated into many languages around the world. So many people are curious about business education, including doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and aspiring MBAs. This book answers their questions. The Ten-Day MBA really delivers useful information quickly and easily. Current MBA students have written me that they even use the book to review for exams. Ten-Day MBAs are “walking the walk and talking the talk” of MBAs every business day. It’s proven that this book can work for you. Written for the impatient student, The Ten-Day MBA allows readers to really grasp the fundamentals...
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...Strategic Management Strategic Management Philip Sadler First published in 1993, authors James C Craig and Robert M Grant Second edition published in Great Britain and the United States in 2003 by Kogan Page Limited, author Philip Sadler Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses: 120 Pentonville Road London N1 9JN UK www.kogan-page.co.uk 22883 Quicksilver Drive Sterling VA 20166–2012 USA © James C Craig and Robert M Grant, 1993 © Philip Sadler, 2003 The right of Philip Sadler to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ISBN 0 7494 3938 6 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sadler, Philip, 1930Strategic management / Philip Sadler. – 2nd ed. p. cm. – (MBA masterclass series) Rev. ed. of: Strategic management / James C. Craig. 1st ed. 1993. Includes bibliographical references...
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...Breakout Strategy Meeting the Challenge of Double-Digit Growth Sydney Finkelstein Charles E. Harvey Thomas C. Lawton (McGraw-Hill, New York, 2006) Table of Contents Dedication Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of figures Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Breakout Strategy Getting on the Fast Track Staying out Front Breakout Dynamics Putting Vision to Work Being a Magnet Company Delivering the Promise Executing Breakout Breakout Leadership Appendix: case study companies Index List of Figures Figure 1.1 Figure 2.1 Figure 3.1 Figure 4.1 Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3 Figure 5.4 Figure 5.5 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4 Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2 Figure 7.3 Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2 Figure 8.3 Figure 9.1 The Breakout Strategy Cycle Companies Getting on the Fast Track Companies Staying Out Front Types of Capital and the Capital Accumulation Process The Vision Wheel State Transition for Harley-Davidson: Organization State Transition for Harley-Davidson: Culture State Transition for Harley-Davidson: Relationships State Transition for Harley-Davidson: Markets The Six Pillars of a Value Proposition Leveraging up the Apple Value Proposition Reconciling Different Value Propositions Leveraging up Samsung Electronics’ Value Proposition Components of a Business Model Aligning the Business Model and Value Proposition Business Model Needs Analysis Delivering Strategy System Balance and Strategy Delivery at...
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...www.it-ebooks.info www.it-ebooks.info Praise “A must-read resource for anyone who is serious about embracing the opportunity of big data.” — Craig Vaughan Global Vice President at SAP “This timely book says out loud what has finally become apparent: in the modern world, Data is Business, and you can no longer think business without thinking data. Read this book and you will understand the Science behind thinking data.” — Ron Bekkerman Chief Data Officer at Carmel Ventures “A great book for business managers who lead or interact with data scientists, who wish to better understand the principals and algorithms available without the technical details of single-disciplinary books.” — Ronny Kohavi Partner Architect at Microsoft Online Services Division “Provost and Fawcett have distilled their mastery of both the art and science of real-world data analysis into an unrivalled introduction to the field.” —Geoff Webb Editor-in-Chief of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Journal “I would love it if everyone I had to work with had read this book.” — Claudia Perlich Chief Scientist of M6D (Media6Degrees) and Advertising Research Foundation Innovation Award Grand Winner (2013) www.it-ebooks.info “A foundational piece in the fast developing world of Data Science. A must read for anyone interested in the Big Data revolution." —Justin Gapper Business Unit Analytics Manager at Teledyne Scientific and Imaging “The authors, both renowned experts in data science before it had a name, have...
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