Friday, December 27, 2019

Hamlet’s Astounding Success Essay - 1959 Words

Hamlet’s Astounding Success What secret formula did the playwright William Shakespeare use in the recipe for the tragedy Hamlet? Why, this play has been the rage for 400 years! Let’s analyze the reasons for its success. A.C. Bradley tells in his book of criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, the extreme importance of the character of Hamlet to the rating of the play: Naturally then, the tragedy of Hamlet with Hamlet left out has become the symbol of extreme absurdity; while the character itself has probably exerted a great fascination, and certainly has been the subject of more discussion, than any other in the whole literature of the world. (94) In total agreement with Bradley are other critics, one†¦show more content†¦(99) There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay â€Å"Superposed Plays† maintains that no other English tragedy has generated the literary comment which this play has produced: â€Å"Hamlet is one of the great tragedies. It has generated more comment than any other written document in English literature, one would guess, reverent, serious comment on it as a serious play† (91). Robert B. Heilman in â€Å"The Role We Give Shakespeare† relates the high ranking of Shakespeare to the â€Å"innumerableness of the parts†: But the Shakespeare completeness appears graspable and possessable to many men at odds with each other, because of the innumerableness of the parts: these parts we may consider incompletenesses, partial perspectives, and as such they correspond to the imperfect (but not necessarily invalid) modes of seeing and understanding [. . .] . (10) Indeed, the reader finds a wide variety of â€Å"parts† from beginning to end of Hamlet. This is seen in the fact of over 20 characters with speaking roles; and in their variety of occupations from king to grave-digger; and in the 20 different scene changes; and in the differentiationShow MoreRelated Freudian Analysis of Hamlet Essay969 Words   |  4 Pagesmany places in the play to need specific reference, and is generally recognized. The latter is also manifest: Claudius says for instance (79), The Queen his mother lives almost by his looks. Nevertheless Hamlet appears to have with more or less success weaned himself from her and to have fallen in love with Ophelia. The precise nature of his original feeling for Ophelia is a little obscure. We may assume that at least in part it was composed of a normal love for a prospective bride, though the extravaganceRead MoreA Comparison of Hamlet and Mcmurphy in One Flew over the Cuckoos Nes2438 Words   |  10 Pageshis provocati on of the other patients. Its my first day, and what I like to do is make a good impression straight off on the right man if he can prove to me he is the right man, says McMurphy in an equally witty, yet less subtle passage then Hamlets comments about his mothers wedding. It is their behavior in the latter half of each story, that ties these two together. Revenge becomes a common prompt. For Hamlet, this is simply avenging his fathers death after much contemplation andRead MoreBiography of William Shakespeare2130 Words   |  9 Pageshad three children with her. Their daughter Susanna was born in May of 1582, and twins Judith and Hamnet were born in 1585. Shakespeare left Stratford in the 1580s to seek fortune in London, England (Chrisp, 2004). Shakespeare certainly found the success he was searching for when he began to produce plays. He learned to write by watching and performing in plays such as Thomas Kyd’s â€Å"revenge tragedy† The Spanish Tragedy. Although he had not gone to a University, his plays became popular because, as

Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Influence Of Two Contrasting Economic Environments On...

P5: Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organisation. Introduction In this document, I will be describing the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organisation. I will be writing about supply and demand, unemployment, inflation, government policies and GDP. Step 1: Demand and Supply Demand Demand is when customers are willing to pay for a product or service at a reasonable price. It is also the quantity of a good or service that the customers will buy at a certain price. When there is a high demand for a product or service, the price increases. When there is a low demand, the price drops to allow the product to gain more sales. The factors that influence demand are: Affordability: The affordability of a product is dependent on how cheap or expensive it is. When the prices of the goods that Sainsbury’s sell drop, they become more affordable to their customers. For example, if Sainsbury’s were to lower their prices of their goods during the recession, they will most likely increase their sales. Competition: If the products that Sainsbury’s sell are similar to products other supermarkets sell (e.g. Tesco), there will be competition on that particular product. Some examples of what the competition of the product relies are the price, choice (different types/versions of that product), and taste (food related). As Sainsbury’s faces a lot ofShow MoreRelatedDescribe the Influence of Two Contrasting Economic Environments on Business Activities Within a Selected Organisation1721 Words   |  7 PagesP5-Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organisation Within my selected organisation, Tesco, there are 2 important economic environments that have an influence on business activities. Both economic environments will have a different way on affecting Tesco. The economic environments are growth and recession. Economic growth occurs when more goods are being produced and consumed, and incomes are rising. A growth company tends toRead MoreP5- Describe the Influence of Two Contrasting Economic Environments on Business Activities Within a Selected Organisation3270 Words   |  14 PagesP5- Describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments on business activities within a selected organisation In this task I would be talking about the influence of two economic environments on business activities. So this could be how Sainsbury’s in the UK operated during the recession and the boom period. The UK is in the growth economic environment and this means the country was before in the recession economic environment and now it is growing. This does not mean they are a richRead More2014 15 Assignment4484 Words   |  18 PagesBTEC National Diploma in Business (Marketing) UNIT 1: The Business Environment Assignment title Working at Business Review In this assessment you will have opportunities to provide evidence against the following criteria. Indicate the page numbers where the evidence can be found. Criteria reference To achieve the criteria the evidence must show that the student is able to: Task no. Page numbers P1 Describe the types of business, purpose and ownership of two contrasting businesses A1 / T1 pRead MoreUnit 11983 Words   |  8 Pages1 The Business Environment Contents Task 1 Two Businesses on our door step * Types of businesses, purpose and ownerships of two contrasting businesses * Different stakeholders who influence the purpose of two contrasting businesses * How are two contrasting business are organised? * How the styles of organisation help them to fulfil their purposes? * Points of view of different stakeholders seeking to influence the aims and objective of two contrasting organisations TaskRead MoreBtec Level 3 Diploma Unit 1: the Business Environment2118 Words   |  9 Pages|Assignment title: |Business Environment | | |The purpose of this assignment is to: | |Allow you to demonstrate your understanding of a range of business organisations and the factors which impact the operations of these businesses in| |the contemporary world. Read MoreP5 Describe the Influence of 2 Contrasting Economics Environments on Business Activities Within a Selected Organisation692 Words   |  3 PagesP5 Describe the influence of 2 contrasting economics environments on business activities within a selected organisation Introduction In this task I will be talking about two contrasting economic environments on business activities for Harris Academy Peckham and Peckham. The economic environments will be recession, demand and supply. Supply and demand is perhaps one of the most fundamental concepts of economics and it is the backbone of a market economy. Demand refers to how much of a productRead MoreCritique Of A Research Article1750 Words   |  7 PagesCritique of a research article This paper is a critique of Alison Fuller and Lorna Unwin’s research article ‘Knowledge Workers’ as the New Apprentices: The Influence of Organisational Autonomy, Goals and Values on the Nurturing of Expertise’ Vocations and Learning’. Professor Alison Fuller, formerly of the University of Southampton, has been Chair in Vocational Education and Work at the Institute Of Education (IOE) since September 2013 while Lorna Unwin is Chair in Vocational Education at the IOERead MoreCritically Compare and Contrast the ‘Best Fit’, Best Practice and Rbv Models of Hrm Strategy – Explain How Each Approach Is Argued to Contribute to Improve Organizational Performance2839 Words   |  12 Pagesimprove organizational performance. As the global business environment becomes increasingly competitive, more and more organisations are targeting human resources as a means of strategically gaining competitive advantage. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is a constantly evolving process which is concerned with providing a strategic framework that supports an organisation’s long term business goals. The logic behind this is that organisations are using new innovative technologies to provideRead More Managing Human Relations Essay2551 Words   |  11 Pages Management is a broad subject and time has been spent to analyse it. The study of organisations and their management, therefore, has to proceed on a broad front. No single approach provides all answers. It is the comparative study of the different approaches, which will yield benefits to the manager. A central part of the study of the organisation and management is the development of management thinking and what may be termed management theory. The application of theory brings about change inRead MoreStrategic Management and Leadership25577 Words   |  103 PagesStrategic Management and Leadership Skills Unit 2: Professional Development for Strategic Managers Unit 3: Strategic Change Management Specialist Units Unit 7: Strategic Marketing Management Unit 9: Managing Corporate Responsibility in the Wider Business Environment Unit 10: Strategic Human Resource Management Unit 13: Managing Financial Principles and Techniques Unit 14: Strategic Supply Chain Management and Logistics Unit 16: Research Methods for Strategic Managers Unit 17: Project Development and Implementation

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Strategies adopted by Global Steel-Free-Samples-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Carry out a Critical Analysis and Evaluation of the Strategies adopted by Global Steel Manufacturers. Answer: Introduction The business corporation motives and goals are primarily limited to the home markets but the entity also has some internal or overseas operations to be executed. This has been considered as the main motive of a business organization for the establishment of the global strategies. The multinational, global and international tactics are designed and developed for enabling the business organization in attaining the pre-determined targets and the goals. The major goals which have been given the priority and is required to be essentially and effectively accomplished are the international expansion of the business operations (Lynch 2014). From the business perspective, the entity will be attaining a rapid boost in the sales graph and profits. The global strategy can also be proven beneficial for the business firm if the economic condition of the entity is poor in the home markets and global expansion is the only left opportunity for covering the losses and attainment of profits. The below- executed analysis has been made focusing on the growth and expansion strategies of Tata Group. The business entity is an Indian steel manufacturer which is headquartered in Mumbai Maharashtra, India and is a well-renowned subsidiary of Tata group. The group is diversified its business operations in various sectors such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors etc. and have a great market share all over the globe. Critical evaluation of Portfolio and integrated organization perspective The successful business organizations make strategic choices for the operations and the activities which are essentially required to be implemented or delivering the vision (De Wit and Meyer, 2014). These choices aid the business entity in developing the strategic portfolio decisions and which are liable and empirical in impacting the success of the organization. Moreover, these activities also include the functions such as enhancing the customers services, bringing growth or entering a region or market. The below presented is the critical evaluation of the portfolio organization perspective and integrated organization perspective: Moreover, top-down perception from a strategic bottoms-up viewpoint, both the approaches forms a key part of this concept (De Wit and Meyer, 2010). Enhancement in the efficiencies and competitiveness are the result of the seamless process integration which follows the chain formed respectively mine-to-manufacture-to-customer. The products and the services provided by the business entity were capable of managing and coping with the competitors. Installation of blast furnace at Jamshedpur Works was considered as a novel technique and which was developed for cooling down the blast furnace (Grinblatt and Titman, 2016). An addition of its 100th product to its portfolio was done by Tata Steel during the establishment of this crucial hollow section which was named as Celsius 420. An enhancement in the efficiency in the structure creation was observed due to the installation of this section and also a reduction in the expenses incurred and material usage. Innovation and development of produc ts, introduction of new brands, diversification in the products line and also an increase in the customer base and also cost reduction initiatives were made by the business corporation due to the intensification in the competitive environment from China and other multinational corporations (Peng, 2013). Additionally the business company likewise quickened the business and operational change activities and further the emphasis was given on the justification lastly it swung to occupy the attention on the improving the item blend and expanding fares to new districts and markets. The below mentioned are the merits and demerits of making use of Portfolio organization perspective: Merits This approach will also be aiding the business entity in minimizing and reducing the exposure to risks if any (Johnson, 2017). The portfolio perspective approach will also be allowing ta minimization in and reduction in the expenses incurred for operating the project and which will also be bringing a decline or elimination of duplicate efforts. Demerits There are very limited de-merits of this approach such as this approach will make the business corporation to lose the ability of the firm of impacting and stimulating the business in a positive way (Cummings and Worley, 2014). The presented are the benefits which will be attained by the business entity by utilization of the below mentioned approaches: By adoption of integrated organization perspective, the business corporation will be experiencing an enhancement in the transparency of information for allowing agility in decision and will also enable robust and future proofed systems (Peteraf, Gamble, and Thompson, 2014). From a recent survey, it was observed that approximately Rs 33 Crore within few months was found due on the process of implementation of the integrated perspective, the expenses incurred for maintaining workforce was also minimized from $200 to $140 per ton in the year 2000 and the inventory carrying cost also got a deflation from RS190 to Rs155. And hence it has been concluded that both the perspectives can be adopted in the business organization and gain maximum utilization of the systems (Lynch 2014). Technological and business model innovation through strategic alliances, MAs In the wake of obtaining the UK-based steel manufacturer Corus which is headquartered in London, the business company noticed that there is a requirement for joint effort of the business stage. This necessity was because of the workforce who is situated in assorted areas, in order to make them cooperate proficiently and viably. Microsoft SharePoint was the mechanism which was considered by the business corporation as very much relevant and used as a strategic way of developing knowledge, management of the workforce and also of the assets for the different organizations on the global level (Dashwood, 2012). This mechanism aided the workforce on a large scale, adoption of this platform helped approx. number of 80,000 workforce by sharing schedules, and store files in its MYSQL database. Moreover, this instrument also helped the association, in a manner of speaking, and besides, the best test went with the need of fortification in view of a generous number of workers and data set in the information system. Regardless, the conflict was taken care of when the organization attained DocAve support and restore. On the basis of the research executed by tata, (2016), it has been noted that a Global University Collaboration Program was launched by the Tata Group which led to the strategic partnerships between group corporations and leading universities all over the globe. For instance, the first alliance was formed in June 2016, which generated of about 5.6 million in funds which was offered for the prestigious University Fellowship scheme of Royal society, UK. In August 2016, financial support of $25 million was promised to top universities which included Harvard University, Yale University and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The following are the some of the technological innovations which has been introduced by the organization such as, the doors are termite proof, light in weight and are also designed in different sizes and shapes as per the requirements, colors and embossed designs or plain wood finish which has made them look natural wooden appearance (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Steel and aesthetic value of wood is the two main components which have been providing the doors with an ultimate strength. And due to this, the doors do not require maintenance free and also will not be requiring any kind of protection or treatment for pesticides. The doors are also fire resistant which ensures safety and security. Moreover, the quick and easy installation process is one more advantage of this product and this also adds to the popularity of Pravesh Doors (Grant, 2016). These doors are also recyclable since they rarely wear out, environment-friendly and offer complete comfort to users in terms of price, qualit y, durability, and security. On the basis of the survey made by the Indiatoday (2017), it has been observed that the Tata group has added another protruding entity to its growing roster of international acquisitions. And this all will be done by the takeover of the two automobiles marquees Jaguar and Land Rover, the Tata group of $28.8 billion with 98 companies in its fold. Moreover, the corporation paid $12 billion for acquiring Anglo- Dutch Steel maker Corus. The business group has made three major mergers worth $13 billion in the last years. The business entity has also been facing number of cyclical swings due to number of reasons such as abundance limit development, fluctuations in the expenses incurred on security and which also accelerated the global economic crisis 2009 and this prompted a minimization in the request of steel all through the globe and all the more so in the development and automation (Lynch, 2006). Tata steel industry turned its regard for the inclination for cost skilled operations and resources with the motivation behind keeping its market organized recuperation. In the year 2009 nations like China and India encountered a progression in general economies which expanded the energy for steel among the attempts that requested were mining and transporting wanders, this made the costs of foul materials, for example, iron, coal, and scrap among others to produce quickly and Tata amass was besides immensely affected and to modify up to the issue. It has additionally been noticed that Tata group has extended the general security confine for unrefined materials by levels of 25% to 65% inside the accompanying couple of years, the social event made sense of how to stake 35% on Mozambique's Benga coal broaden Riversdale of which the organization has recognized on the agreement (Hatch and Cunliffe, 2012). This will make the prerequisite for coal as an unrefined material for the entity and which has been considered as critical; together with this the social affair has gone fur ther and got itself organize conveyance one envision from the New Millennium capital Corp. in Canada. These methods have given esteem sureness and moreover an objective purpose behind recovering the expenses from the customers (Avepoint 2017). On the preface of the cash related report 2014-2015, the operational execution was ominously influenced by the managerial occasions in the mining section. In light of the mine coal charge that was passed in the Rajya-Sabha on nineteenth march 2015, fragments of the mines stayed close causing a great deal of stress and agitating impacts in the consistent operations of the relationship regardless in spite of each and every one of those vulnerabilities the affiliation reacted unequivocally and is liaising with the diverse state governments on finishing documentation for the augmentation of the mining lease and guaranteed that the grungy materials were open and the time stretched out by 3% from the past financial years (Bender, 2013). In spite of the trial of surrendered people, the affiliation went up against a noteworthy measure of conflict from the South East Asia because of the Chinese expanded rate of section from the prior years of which the affiliation concentrates on cost sharing activities and downstream market strategy what's more the NatSteel a portfolio relationship of Tata steel in Asia controls the resistance from the Chinese by sourcing billets at focused costs starting great market can predict clients (Tata 2017). According to T.V. Narendran, managing director of Tata Steel India and South East Asia a number of initiatives were taken by Tata Steel which comprised of the green field expansion project in which the business entity invested more than Rs.25, 000 Crore, the Greenfield steel project in Kalinganagar in Odisha which has plans for further growth and development. The business entity has been facing financial issues at its European operations but then also the branches which are operated in India have got all the funds which are essentially required for operating the business activities that it requires from the Tata Steel board (trade.gov 2016), According to the author the business entity conceived a plant in 2005-2006 and there were issues of land acquiring and due to that there was a delay and could start only in 2010. The main reason for the delay was the increase in the cost which was approx. Rs.25, 000 crores in the first phase. The principal period of the venture of 3 million tons (mt) was charged in 2016. On completion of this venture, Tata Steel's current limit will increment from 10 mt to 16 mt. Tata as additionally think of another Iron making with a test hung on the HIsarna pilot plant at its IJmuiden works in the Netherlands that will enhance asset proficiency and increment the rate of iron creation. The business entity has made innovation in the product line and introduced new steel doors and whose Launch of Pravesh Doors was held on 16th July '14 at Contai. The doors were introduced with new technology in making the doors with several modifications and upgrades, for instance, a beauty of wood and the strength of steel. Corporate governance, CSR, sustainability, and leadership On the basis of the report which has been executed from the Tata steel corporate governance 2014-2015, the management has adopted the Guidelines referred by Tata Group on Board Effectiveness. For fulfilling corporate governance responsibilities towards stakeholders this approach has been adopted. The concept of corporate governance within the Tata Group has been segmented in two major divisions. Vision and purpose of the Business Corporation and Tata code of conduct. The business corporation is committed towards bringing improvements and advancements in the quality of the life of the society and this is done by striving for leadership and global competitiveness in the concerning business sectors (Tata 2017). The operations of returning to the society and earned by the entity have been developing trust among the consumers, shareholders, employees and the society. The business corporation has always been value driven which aids in the continuation of the growth and success of the Tata group. And the mission of the entity is to bring advancements and improvements in the life oof the societies in which the business is operated on an international level and by developing long-term stakeholder value creation which is based on leadership and trust. Moreover, the report is concerned about the ultimate authorities provided to the Board and processes kept in place for monitoring and evaluating the firms operations (Rothaermel, 2015). Aiding the board and assisting in the same is also one of the major features of the guidelines. Selection of board is done by The Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the principal capacity of this affiliation is observing on qualities, abilities, and experience of the Board all in all and its individuals with the goal of having a Board with various foundations and involvement in business, government, instruction and open. All together for the organization to adapt up to the general public a few boards have been set down, which function s for incorporating corporate social obligation panel and whose restrictions incorporate. For providing detail and prescribe to the Board, a Corporate Social Responsibility Policy shall: Indication of the functions to be executed by the business corporation as mentioned specifically in Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013; The expenses incurred on the CSR operations should be recommended (Lasserre, 2012); The CSR Policy of the business corporation should be monitored on regular basis. The group has a belief that corporate social responsibility is a critical mission that is at the heart of everything that it does. The business entity follows a commitment of integration of environmental, social and ethical principles into core business and which enables the group in enhancing the long term values of stakeholders and also enhancing the lives of over a quarter of the worlds population. The aim of the of the CSR programs is to be relevant in the terms of local, domestics and international which also keeps disadvantaged societies and groups in focus. This is based on the globally agreed sustainable development principles. Another board of trustees is the Risk Management Committee which plays out a few obligations i.e. key dangers in administering, including money related, participation and consistency chances that help the Board in surrounding, executing and observing the hazard administration get ready for the Company and assessing and directing the hazard strategy, creating hazard administration arrangement and also the system and structure for the business entity (Haynes, Nunnington and Eccles, 2017). The association moreover has procedures that help the agents in adjusting up to their regular daily existence instance of these courses of action fuses the retirement outline, re game plans this guarantees the laborers who have data, capacities and are capable on their work can be re-assigned to their positions (Thompson, 2012). The tradition of entrepreneurship and good governance has propelled Tata companies to gain leadership positions in several industries (Tata 2017). For instance, Tata Steel has been ranked in the top ten steel makers all over the globe, and the entity is also the second most geographically diversified steel producers in the world. Personal reflection Global manufacturing is the sector that has been serving in various regions all over the globe and the main variables of the concept are compatibility, configuration, coordination, and control. For being marketable the business entity has been making use of subsidiaries or agents or the organization. The business organization has been confronting a number of difficulties and are handled expertly so as not to demolish the notoriety of the organization. At the point when organizations join and frame collisions they both advantage and even the general public advantage from the partnerships in various courses relying upon the sort of association and they can advertise each other, test items and administrations. For development and growth, the strategic alliances can be in the form of merger and acquisitions. For building and setting up strategic plans, monitoring corporate performance, risk management plan and also for maintaining good governance with good and effective management the bo ard is held responsible and due to this, the firm will be able to attain its goals. Conclusion In the limelight of the above-executed analysis, it has been concluded that global corporate strategy and also the determination of the key strategic issues in the global steel manufacturing industry has been done. Moreover, the analyzed report comprises of the portfolio and integrated organization perspective approach and also the best utilization of the both the models for the business entity have been done. Further, the analysis also includes the explanation of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance is also done. References Avepoint, 2017, Case study, Tata steel satisfies share point backup and restore slas within Docave, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.avepoint.com/assets/pdf/case_study/Case-Study-Tata-Steel.pdf. Bender, R., 2013.Corporate financial strategy. Routledge. Capaldi, N. ed., 2013.Encyclopedia of corporate social responsibility(Vol. 21). New York: Springer. Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014.Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Dashwood, H.S., 2012.The rise of global corporate social responsibility: Mining and the spread of global norms. Cambridge University Press. De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. 2010 Strategy Process, Content, and Context International Perspective, 4th Edition, Cengage Learning. De Wit, B. and Meyer, R. 2014 Strategy, an International Perspective, 5th Edition, Cengage Learning. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Grant, R.M., 2016.Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley Sons. Grinblatt, M. and Titman, S., 2016.Financial markets corporate strategy. Hatch, M.J. and Cunliffe, A.L., 2012.Organization theory: modern, symbolic and postmodern perspectives. Oxford university press. Haynes, B., Nunnington, N. and Eccles, T., 2017.Corporate real estate asset management: Strategy and Implementation. Taylor Francis. Johnson, G., 2017.Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson. Lasserre, P., 2012.Global strategic management. Palgrave Macmillan. Lynch, R, 2014, What is global strategy? And why is it important?, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.global-strategy.net/what-is-global-strategy/. Lynch, R. 2006, Corporate Strategy, Fourth Edition, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Peng, M.W., 2013.Global strategy. Cengage learning. Peteraf, M., Gamble, J. and Thompson Jr, A., 2014.Essentials of strategic management: The quest for competitive advantage. McGraw-Hill Education. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015.Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education. Tata, 2017, Tata, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.tata.com/0_our_commitment/community_initiatives/tcci.html,. Thompson, G., 2012.The constitutionalization of the global corporate sphere?. Oxford University Press on Demand. trade.gov, 2016, Global steel trade monitor, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.trade.gov/steel/pdfs/07192016global-monitor-report.pdf. tata, 2016, The strategic alliances are built around a shared research vision, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.tata.com/article/inside/tata-group-universities-partnership. Indiatoday, 2017, Major overseas acquisitions by Tata group, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Major+overseas+acquisitions+by+Tata+Group/1/6221.html. Tata, 2017, Values and purpose, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.tata.com/aboutus/articlesinside/Values-and-purpose. Tata, 2017, Leadership, Assessed on 8th August 2017, https://www.tata.com/aboutus/articlesinside/Leadership.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Silvio Napoli Schindler Case free essay sample

Schindler is a Switzerland based elevator manufacturing company founded by Robert Schindler in 1874. Since its inception, the company has generated billion dollar revenues and is regarded as the technology leader in elevator manufacturing. Alfred N. Schindler, who is the 4th generation of the family to lead the company, has seen growth potential for the company in India and is attracted by the growing demands for elevators in that particular part of the world. After negotiations for a joint venture with a local Indian firm BBL has failed, Schindler decides to establish its wholly owned subsidiary in India. To lead the implementation of this plan Schindler has appointed Silvio Napoli, a Harvard MBA graduate as the head of the Indian subsidiary project. With the appointment of Silvio Napoli as the Head, several issues come up as the reality of starting up a new subsidiary in a country that is culturally different proves to be more challenging than what was initially anticipated. We will write a custom essay sample on Silvio Napoli Schindler Case or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From having to deal with the newly formed management team taking orders for customized elevators, which is not part of the business plan written out by Napoli emphasizing the sale of standardized elevators only, to not getting full support from the European plants in regards to the request for parts and design specifications for the elevators, implementation of Napoli’s business plan is proving to be more perplexing than initially planned. Such issues raise the questions of whether appointing Silvio Napoli as the Head of the project is the right decision and how Luc Bonnard, who is the vice chairman of Schindler, would evaluate Napoli’s performance on the project thus far. Was Silvio Napoli the right choice for general manager of Schindler’s India operations? Assessing whether Silvio Napoli was the right choice for general manager position will require looking at his strengths and weaknesses, accomplishments, as well as his compatibility with the new management team and the host country. In terms of professional qualifications, Napoli is no doubt the right choice. A Harvard MBA graduate with various accomplishments up his sleeve, Napoli has the necessary knowledge and experience to lead a new subsidiary. He reports directly to the CEO of Schindler and is the only â€Å"non-member to attend VRA meetings† (Fagan, Yoshino, Bartlett, 2006, p. 3), which are reserved exclusively for the corporate executive committee consisting of Alfred Schindler, Luc Bonnard, and Alfred Spoerri. In addition to this, Napoli has a proven success record with regards to the Swatch Project, which is the first major assignment that he took, in which he redesigned Schindler’s entire supply chain to bring costs down and increase profits as mentioned by Fagan et al. (2006, p. 3). In addition to this, since Napoli is the person who came up with this business plan, it may be best that he is the one who leads the realization of such plan. Moreover, although Napoli’s strict and demanding leadership style is often seen criticized for not being adaptive to the culturally different management styles of his newly formed team, it is effective in helping Napoli achieve the task at hand. As Fagan et al. (2006, p. 6) describes â€Å"Napoli expected things to be done yesterday, but in India things do not get done yesterday†. From this, Napoli’s bureaucratic leadership style is evident. According to Grayson (n. d. , Bureaucratic Leadership Style section) bureaucratic leadership style is most effective when you want things to be done precisely the way it is planned in an organized and timely manner. This means that such style of leadership is best suited for the task in hand at that time, as such tight control style of leadership has the ability to ensure efficiency in getting things done which in this case is to cut costs and increase productivity in the manufacturing of the elevators. Considering the partisan perspectives however, it also becomes clear that Napoli’s cultural and organizational background do not quite fit in with that of India’s which soon ends up leading to various cultural management issues within the newly formed subsidiary. To begin with, his Swiss-Italian background differs greatly from India from a cultural perspective. It goes without saying that the country of Switzerland, which is where the headquarter of Schindler company is located, lies on the opposite spectrum of cultural dimensions as identified by the GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness) Study when compared to India. This study was conducted with the intent of finding out the relationship between culture and leadership. And according to a review of this study by Hoppe (2007), the major premise is that â€Å"leader effectiveness is contextual, that is, it is embedded in the societal and organizational norms, values, and beliefs of the people being led. † This means for Napoli, whose leadership and cultural background being different from that of the management team he is assigned to lead, creates conflicts and undermines Napoli’s potential ability to lead effectively. This factor is reinforced when we look at the country clusters resulting from the findings of the GLOBE study (refer to Appendix A). It can be clearly seen that India belongs to the ‘Southern Asia’ cluster whereas Switzerland belongs to the ‘Latin Europe’ cluster. And these two clusters are on polar opposite ends of the ‘Humane Orientation’ dimension (Appendix A). What this means is that for someone like Napoli, who comes from an individualist society where individual achievements are regarded as high priority, it may be hard to realize the power and importance of interpersonal relationships. But for a manager in India, the role of human interactions is regarded as very important, and hence the high value on humane orientation and in-group collectivism for India. This mismatch in cultural management can hurt the team’s potential to achieve their intended objectives. This discrepancy in management style can be seen when Fagan et al. (2006, p. 6) mentions that â€Å"Napoli’s Indian staff and colleagues described him as driving very hard, impulsive, impatient, and at times over-communicative†, which contrasted sharply for his colleague and co-leader M. K. Singh, whom â€Å"one manager saw as friendly and easygoing. † In addition to this mismatch in cultural management, there is also incongruity in the kind of organizational environment that Napoli has to work in within the Indian subsidiary. As stated in the case by Fagan et al. (2006, p. 7), the employees describe the new Indian subsidiary’s company culture as â€Å"informal, open, responsive, and proactive†. And for Napoli this is not something that he is used to as back in the Swiss headquarters, the company hierarchy â€Å"was clear, politeness important, and first names rarely used† (Fagan et al. , 2006, p. 3). Lastly, the strategy to reuse the Swatch Project formula of having standardized products does not seem feasible given that the Indian market is completely different and customers demand different needs. With the intentions of segmenting the market into low-rise and mid-rise elevators and targeting to hit low-rise segment with the standardized products (refer to Appendix B for detailed Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning strategy for Indian subsidiary) Napoli has taken the approach to apply the existing values and strategies of the company into a predetermined business plan. This does not work as for the culturally different Indian managers as they prefer to incorporate the needs and demands of the general customers with focus on relationships before applying any practices All things considered, it can be said that Silvio Napoli was the right person for the job. But what the Schindler headquarters back in Switzerland should have done is before deploying Napoli to India to implement the start-up plan, he should have received some kind of cultural management training or support from the European parent company. Initial research into the workings of Indian culture should have been carried out in addition to the research on the Indian elevator market. Such training and research could have prepared him better and teach him to prioritize relationship orientation over task-orientation in a culture such that of India’s. How should Silvio Napoli have approached the nonstandard glass wall elevator situation? One of the major challenges that Napoli faces during the implementation of his business plan is the management team accepting an order for a customized nonstandard glass wall elevator. As stated by Fagan et al. (2006, p. 10) Napoli â€Å"was at first just surprised, and then pretty angry† about the situation. To Napoli, this is a violation of what is written in the business plan which all of them have agreed to commit. However, Napoli should not have reacted the way he did. The business model that he has built upon is based on the previous success and learnings of the Swatch project. The plan is to ensure short-term success for Schindler in India so that this can motivate continued operations further down the line. What Napoli fails to realize is that this approach does not fit in well with the Indian counterparts who hold more of a long-term orientation. To them meeting the needs of the domestic customers is regarded as higher than ensuring short-term success through the standardized product strategy. Therefore, instead of stubbornly continuing the standardized product approach Napoli should adopt the customization strategy as this will align with Indian culture’s orientation towards relationships which involve listening to the demands of the general public. Napoli should take note of what the customers want rather than strictly following his business plan, as the focus on standardized products does not give any flexibility, and it has been made evident through the first four orders that customers would not accept the products without customization (Fagan et al. , 2006, p. 10). It is not like Napoli does not know the need to adapt and adjust to the demands of the domestic market. He himself mentions that â€Å"to survive in India you have to be half monk and half warrior† (Fagan et al. , 2006, p. 6). What he means by that is one should learn how to embrace the monk part and learn to accept things that cannot be changed (Silvio Napoli Interview Video shown in class). Now if he embraces what he has said, and accepts the customization strategy there may be potential for increase in sales and positive turnaround past this particular obstacle. How would Luc Bonnard evaluate Silvio Napoli’s first seven month as the general manager of the India operations? What advice/feedback should he offer? Silvio Napoli’s first seven months have seen ups and downs. And in order for Luc Bonnard to evaluate and advise on the progress that Napoli has made several factors will need to be considered. Bonnard will need to assess the progress as per the business plan, the challenges that Napoli is facing and how he has planned to deal with them, as well as the performance and effectiveness of the new management team that Napoli has put in place. To begin with, Napoli has done a good job of putting together a cohesive and experienced pool of individuals for his management team. It is wise of Napoli to pick a group of experienced individuals who have the local knowledge and the know-how in their respective fields. On top of that, all of the 4 recruits for the management team are under the age of 55 (Fagan et al. , 2006, Exhibit 3), which is one of the favorable factors mentioned by Bonnard in his explanation for choosing Napoli to be the head of the India project. As mentioned by Bonnard, he needs individuals who are â€Å"young and flexible† (Fagan et al. , 2006, p. 4), and because the entire management team including Napoli is under 55 years old it is easier for them to be cohesive and work together on the same page. Hence Napoli has done a job well done on selection of his key managers for the India subsidiary as they are all compatible to one another. Furthermore, the fact that Napoli organizes meetings between his management team members help him run the company better as such meetings strengthen the communication within the team and make the new managers feel inclusive. However, these positive achievements are not without the accompanying negatives. For instance, as far as the progress as per the business plan is concerned, Napoli has not been able to achieve his targeted sales nor meet the initially targeted level of cost allocations. Now although some of the contributing factors are out of his hands, such as the price of elevator parts going up, Napoli could have had some kind of contingency plan set up in the business plan. His original business plan is also seen flawed as he fails to prioritize the need to meet the demands of the domestic market, and instead models his plan to aggressively pursue success through the low cost strategy. Rather than relying on engineering-based manufacturing Napoli should adopt a more customer oriented approach in dealing with the obstacle of customers wanting to have customized elevators as opposed to the standardized units that Napoli has proposed in his business plan. Moreover, it hasn’t been wise for Napoli to have to deal with both family and business matters. Napoli should have taken the initiative to establish the company first in India before bringing his family to relocate in Mumbai. The decision to bring the family during the early stages of company development is not an ideal one and is a mistake on Napoli’s part. In terms of advice, it should be suggested that Napoli review his original business plan and make necessary amendments to better fit the needs of the local market. He should stop relying on the practices adopted in the Swatch Project and instead do a thorough background research into India’s culture and amend his business plan. His new business plan should try to meet more realistic goals and adopt a customization strategy as this will satisfy the demands for customized products and have more flexibility on sales (refer to Appendix C for how Customers influence Schindler through Porter’s 5 forces analysis). According to a research paper on â€Å"A competitive model of customization with lead-time effects† by Xia N and Rajogopalan S custom firms are more likely to survive and succeed in markets with large potential, such as India. It is stated that â€Å"profit margin and price of the custom product are likely to be higher than that of standard products in equilibrium under certain conditions† (Xia, N. Rajogopalan, S. , 2009). Hence by learning how to adjust his behavior according to the customization needs instead of continuing his aggressive pursuit of success through low-cost strategy, Napoli will be able to generate more sales and establish a more relationship oriented supply of products. It is prominent that Napoli aims to meet customer expectations as this is the key to success. Instead of relying solely on standardized products to achieve break-even at the committed time, maybe Napoli should consider other methods to cut costs such as reducing the day to day operation costs. Last but not least it should also be advised that Napoli communicate the inefficiency in support from the European plants to the headquarters back in Switzerland as it is one of the influential factors (suppliers) affecting the success of Schindler’s operations in India (refer to Appendix C for 5 Forces analysis). As described by Fagan et al. (2006, p. 10) in the case Napoli feels the burden of being the middle manager as he faces the multiple demands form the Switzerland headquarters as well as from the newly formed Indian subsidiary. It is essential that Napoli gets the necessary support and cooperation he needs from his European counterparts to be able to effectively lead and run the India subsidiary. Conclusion In conclusion, although Silvio Napoli is the right person for this job certain cultural preparations should have taken place prior to his deployment in India by Schindler to avoid unnecessary difficulties. In addition to this, although the initially proposed business plan is partly successful Napoli will need to amend his plan including changes in the approach towards dealing with the customer demands, inclusion of contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances that are out of his control and flexibility in the sales approach. If these measures are to be taken it is no doubt that Silvio Napoli will be able to overcome any challenges, cultural or organizational, and institute a successful subsidiary for Schindler in India.