Water Conservation Essay -- Environment, Environmental

One of the items people, animals, and our environment cannot live without is water. Water is extremely vital in the everyday life of everyone in the world from everyday life of drinking, washing clothes, animals, grains, cleaning, and so many other uses that eliminating water would eliminate our species as we all depend on the necessity of water. â€Å"The water footprint refers to the volumes of water consumption and pollution that are ‘behind’ your daily consumption†. (Network, 2010) If an average American uses approximately 80-100 gallons of water per day then an average American needs to change their ways and contribute to a better water footprint. Water is critical for ecological systems and the health of humans. Animals or plants cannot survive long without water. Water not only is most widely used resource by our industry, it both indirectly and directly produces energy, provides basis for outdoor recreation, and important for transportation along wit h so many other uses that it is globally in need. It is amazing as I thought about how I use water in my day. Flushing the toilet, taking a shower, brushing my teeth, drinking a glass of water, using water to make oatmeal, washing my dishes and my clothes, swimming in the lake or the pool, making different recipes that call for water, and watering my plants and garden. It was amazing to me when reading the website www.waterfootprint.org, because I never conceptually put together our food we consume to items we make in realize how much water is used globally. Some items that I did not think about would be beef, chicken meat, eggs, hamburgers, milk, pork, beer, tea, wine, barley, maize, millet, rice, soybeans, coconuts, apples, orange, potato, cheese, bread, cotton, paper,... ...o conserve water, as I enjoy eating meat and do not favor vegetables on a regular basis, so it is extremely important I do what I can in conserving as much water as possible on a daily basis. Works Cited Council, W. W. (2009, May 27). World Water Council/Water Crisis. Retrieved August 24, 2010, from www.worldwatercouncil.org: http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=25 Frederick, K. D. (2004, November 11). Consequences Vol. 1. Retrieved August 24, 2010, from www.gcrio.org: http://www.gcrio.org/CONSEQUENCES/spring95/Water.html Network, W. (2010). Your Water Footprint. Retrieved August 24, 2010, from www.waterfootprint.org: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/YourWaterFootprint Park&Co. (2009). 100 Ways to Conserve. Retrieved August 24, 2010, from www.wateruseitwisely.com: http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php

Herman Miller Inc Essay

From the headquarters of Herman Miller Inc. , Curt Pullen talks amid the unmistakable pounding sounds and commotion associated with a construction work site about his company’s plan to rebound from the recession. Pullen, the firm’s executive vice president and president of North America, says the workers are installing new lower-height Herman Miller workstations designed to accommodate a growing trend in offices toward more open, collaborative environments. The new product, called Canvas, is part of the company’s market-shift strategy after the demand for office furniture fell hard during the economic downturn. The plan also involves diversifying into the health care and academic furniture markets and more emphasis on emerging economies. The plan appears to be paying off. For the first time in nearly four years the company reported two consecutive quarters of double-digit percentage sales growth after releasing its second-quarter earnings statement on Dec 15th. Orders in the second quarter rose 34% to $462 million. CEO Brian Walker noted the company’s expanded market reach as a contributing factor to growth. Significant increases occurred in international markets where sales rose 33%. In 2010 the company acquired UK-based ergonomic workstation manufacturer Colebrook Bosson Saunders and purchased assets from Australian furniture maker Living Edge Group. In 2008, the company announced a partnership with China’s Posh Office Systems Ltd. to expand in the Asia-Pacific region. The company attributed a year-end surge to gains in its international, health care, learning and retail vertical markets. The expanding health care industry has become one of the company’s key growth targets. One of the more recent expansions into the health care field came on Jan. 31 when Herman Miller completed its acquisition of health care furniture manufacturer Nemschoff Chairs LLC based in Sheboygan, Wis. Herman Miller designed the Canvas workstation at a lower height than traditional workstations to facilitate a workplace trend toward more collaborative environments. The design also allows more light into work areas and saves space, the company says. Including sinks and headwalls, to be reconfigured to meet patient needs. 2. Business Strategy: Broad Differentiation Strategies This strategy pursues the buyer’s needs and preference to make them satisfied with the product. And to be different from other rivals, the product must have unique product attributes that a wide range of buyers find appealing and worth paying for. The strategy achieves its aim when an attractively large numbers of buyers find the customer buyer value proposition. Herman miller is pursuing this strategy as we refer to the case study that their products are based on the design which is designed according to the people who use the furniture. Like the president of Herman Miller said: ‘people are important not the furniture. Furniture should be useful’. Besides, this company emphasizes on product design and environmental friendly, these are two basic things that they have been practicing for many decades. Furthermore, they also invest more in research and development for product innovation. Take an example of office design product, Herman Miller’s Insight and Exploration team observed various workplaces to analyze how people collaborate and the ways in which their interactions vary over the course of a day, and throughout the life of a project by differentiating the subtleties of how, when, where, and why people connect independent of content or industry. Senior Researcher Shilpi Kumar notes that, â€Å"outlining these collaborative work behaviors will empower designers and decision makers with a greater understanding for how people really work, and will enable more informed choices in regards to office spaces. Herman Miller takes advantage of the growing desire for green products to create a better world and increase ergonomic furniture, because the consumers are willing to pay a premium for such quality and social responsible product. Since the designer of Herman Miller emphasized quality, excellence, and the continual improvement of their products, obviously one of their product which is designed by Charles and Ray Eames since its launch in 1950 had developed from plastic chair to wood chair in 2000. She also confirmed that this wood chair is 100 times recyclable since Herman Miller is concerned about environmental friendly, and Eames Molded Wood Side Chair earns â€Å"Gold† award at NeoCon 2013 in the Guest Seating category. 3. Functional strategy: Research and Development (R&D) This category focuses on strategy that is concerned with the actions in managing particular functions within a business especially in R&D. In terms of Herman Miller R&D, they invested in research and development (R&D) financially. Although there was downturn in financial, Herman Miller still invested tens of millions of dollars in R&D. The investment in R&D was code named Purple. A result of investment in R&D was an outgrowth of project Purple. The goal of this project was to spread beyond the boundaries of normal business. Herman miller created a special team called the accessories team in which the team-identified a potential growth area. This team is made to recruit people with different disciplines needed to support that goal. In addition, this team focuses on contributing ideas to the success of the team from all resources and also to develop a particular product as it goes through that piece of work. This project is in line with functional strategy of R&D in which a company’s product development represents the plan for keeping the company’s product in accordance with what buyers are looking for (Thompson et al, 2014). In the case of Herman Miller Inc, they began with research in every real design solution in which the exploitation and insights of the best research leads to human-centered design and problem solving. Herman Miller Inc is doing many things for R&D in the case of education, sustainability, performance, healthcare, manufacturing, architectures design and ergonomics. Herman Miller Inc has its major R&D activities and projects, i. e. its way to support and develop a company’s product. According to Herman Miller’s financial statement for fiscal years 2006-2011, there was a decline in design and research in 2009 due to the ongoing economic downturn. Figure 1. 1: Spending on Design and research So far, they have done some research projects regarding education such as; student’s research work behaviors behind innovation spaces. In the fall 2012, there was a project Herman Miller funded as a way of investing in the next generation of workers by giving students the chance to apply what hey learn in a real-world setting. Herman Miller wanted them to look at the business objective of the company. Besides Herman Miller providing the funds, the employees of the company also participated in the project. After the field research, the goal of this project was that the students shared what they had learned from going to the company for a workshop. The company also wanted to discover more about places that encourage creativity and the places of creative people. Besides Herman Miller providing the funds, the employee of the company also participated in the project. In regarding with the research in technology, the research starts by understanding which technological trends are creating new behaviors in the workplace. So from that, they can produce new design solution. Over the last three years, a group of designers, engineers, and researchers, the Insight Herman Miller and Exploration Team (I & E) has focused on emerging technologies and how they alter social behavior in the workplace. Herman Miller’s goal is to identify the technology trends that are relevant to the office and also understanding new behaviors that allow the designers, architects and manufacturers to bring new workplace design. For healthcare, Herman Miller Healthcare saw the opportunity to study and analyze by doing the research from the discussion of Bluewater health in which prior to design development and also the satisfaction and safety of patients and staff members. Herman Miller Healthcare is sponsoring a research project that will explore how changes in the built environment have affected staff in three important areas: Ambulatory Care, Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department. 3 4. Functional Strategies: Marketing Marketing is one of the strategies used under functional strategy. First and foremost, Herman Miller products were sold internationally through wholly owned subsidiaries in countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, China, India, and the Netherlands. Hence, they use the international strategy to compete its products in each country. In other words, they use the foreign subsidiary strategies because it seemed that they prefer to have a direct control over all aspects of operating in a foreign country that is the reason why they established wholly owned subsidiaries. As a result, this strategy was successful as their brand was recognized by customers and increased customer base spreading over 100 countries. Moreover, they used green marketing strategy to sell their products. This is because they mainly focus on environmental friendly such as Mirra chair, one of their products which was made of 45 percent recycled materials, and 96 percent of its material were recyclable. Therefore, the chairs used 100 percent renewable energy. Due to this strategy used, Mirra chair was recorded as one of the Top 10 Green Products by Architectural Record and Environmental Building News. Hence, this can indicate the success of using this strategy. In addition, Herman Miller engaged in cooperating advertising with strategic partners. As the example of Hilton Garden Inns which they equipped the Mirra chair in some room and on the desk in the room, was a card that explain how to adjust the chair while also providing the advertisement of Herman Miller’s website, how to purchase the products. Likewise, this is one of the advertising used to promote their products by using the strategic partner. As a result, they can reduce the advertising cost and gain more brand awareness. . Operating Strategy: Lean Production Initially, at Spring Lake, Herman Miller had invested in a giant robot assembly that welded supports inside file cabinet housings, including a tractor-trailer-length automated welding line with 1,000 sensors to drive labor completely out of the process. Unfortunately, big customers like Hewlett-Packard and AT&T were pulling their orders of 100 instead of 500 and some wanted file cabinets in two weeks instead of six with much higher quality. The Spring Lake plant could not deliver, and certainly not for the lower prices customers demanded. 995, they adapted Toyota’s leading-edge formula for plant-floor management into an approach they called the Herman Miller Performance System (Booz&co. , 2010, para 20). Based on the above quote, it depicted that Herman Miller’s decision to employ Herman Miller Performance System (HMPS); lean production, was to maintain efficiencies and cost savings by minimizing the amount of inventory on hand through a just-in-time process. To ensure a fluid flow on the order – driven production, Herman Miller collaborated with reliable and strategic suppliers. HMPS created competitive advantage through large assembly – manufacturing based. For example, direct materials and components purchased as needed to meet the demand and some suppliers delivered parts to Herman Miller production facilities five or six times per day. This resulted in a standard lead time of 10 to 20 days for majority of the products and low inventories on hand. Interestingly, HMPS managed to increase the variable costs rather than fixed costs while retaining proprietary control over manufacturing process. It was reported that â€Å"the plant managers across Herman Miller have learned that the best-run plants rely on people, not machines. Only people can solve problems to make assembly lines go faster, run cheaper, and deliver higher quality† (Booz&co. , 2010, para 25). Therefore, it can be concluded that labor intensive approach tend to outperform machine intensive approach especially when the products demand further customization with limited time and the majority of industry products are built to each customer’s unique order. Question 2: Culture at HMI: healthy and largely supportive of good strategy execution. Herman Miller had codified its long-practiced organizational values, intended as a basic for uniting all employees, building relationship, and contributing to society. Herman Miller started in 1905 with the Star Furniture Company and created the Herman Miller furniture company with his son in law named Dirk Jan De Pree. From the beginning, De Pree committed himself to treating all workers as individuals with specials talents and potential. This was part of Herman Miller’s corporate culture which continued to generate respect for all employees and take advantage of the diversity of skills possessed by all. This is one of the functional strategies in corporate culture in Herman Miller Inc in which included the company’s approach to people management, procedures and operating practices that provide the guidelines for the behavior of the company. The impact of this culture became one of the competitive advantages that make strong management and employee satisfaction in the company. The business principles and ethical standard of Herman Miller are the management practices as the key of company’s culture. Herman Miller was one of the furniture company named to Fast Company’s â€Å"Most Innovative Companies† in both 2008 and 2010. Herman Miller had pursued a path of reinvention and renewal. Herman Miller has many ways to develop their products and its culture is also unique. Through the growing of the company, Herman Miller maintains the relationship with the employees. Herman Miller’s commitment to innovation included sharing ideas and opinions from the employees. On January 1979, Herman Miller established new organization structures that included all employees were to be given the opportunity to discuss new plan in small group settings. In addition, Herman Miller also established a plan in which all employees became shareholders. Herman Miller Inc. also focuses on more efficient and environmentally friendly by taking a major initiative in 1981. It is in line with a better world value which is pursuing sustainability and environmental policy. They established environmental quality action team whose goal was to coordinate environmental programs worldwide that involves many employees. A Herman Miller’s culture is grounded in and resides to certain core value and some sets for ethical behavior. Herman Miller had long practiced organizational values that were still used in 2012. The values are as basis for uniting all employees, building relationship, adapt the implied attitude, behaviors and work practices. The company adopted inclusiveness which means they include all the expressions of human talent and potential that society offers. As mentioned before, Herman Miller corporate culture continued to create respect to all employees and looking for and utilizing the skills possessed by anyone. The second value is design in which it is important to Herman Miller Inc. in order to make innovative products. It is the way for them for looking at the world and how it can work. The results of this value are Herman Miller established many innovative products and designs. In 1971 and 1984, they introduced products based on ergonomics principles such as the Ergon chair and Equa chair. For another groundbreaking design, it introduced the Aeron chair which was almost added to New York Museum of Modern Art’s permanent design collection in 1990. Other important values are based on Herman Miller’s best performance that focuses on enriching the lives of employees, customers and create value for the shareholders. The result of this value has made Herman Miller share the gains and pains with the employees especially about the compensation. All employees received a base pay and they also participated in a profit sharing program where they received stock in accordance to the company’s financial performance. The company also offered to the employees the employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), retirement income plan, offered annual bonus to all employees based on company’s performance, and in regard to profit sharing both the employees and executives have same calculation of bonus potential. High performance culture In Herman Miller Inc. there is a strong sense of involvement on the part of company personnel and emphasis on individual initiative and creativity. Two of the greatest strengths lie behind our heritage of research-driven design. Respecting and encouraging risks, exploring new ideas and freedom of speech. Owners actively committed to the life of the community called Herman Miller, pride in doing things right, sharing in its success and risks. The strengths and payoff really comes in when engaging in people’s own problems, solutions and behavior. Performance is required at the highest level possible. Herman Miller enriches employees’ lives, delight its customers, and create value for its shareholders. Herman Miller includes all the express human talent and potential, everyone should have a chance to realize his or her potential regardless of color, gender, age, sexual orientation. It believes that skill; different educational background could bring the company uniqueness. Adaptive Culture Herman Miller always keep innovating its products to serve their customers better. Herman Miller’s corporate culture, which continued to generate respect for all employees, had fueled the quest to tap the diversity of gifts and skill held by all. The company designs products according to what people want the most, and it is a way of looking at the world and how it works or does not. To design a solution, rather than simply devising one, required research, thought sometime starting over, listening and humility. Manager and employees support each other in dealing with working environment. Herman Miller designed the Canvas workstation, at a lower height than traditional workstations to facilitate a workplace trend toward more collaborative environments. The design also allows more light into work areas and saves space, the company says. Additionally, the company also keeps changing its production designs from time to time according to the needs of the people and follow ergonomic system. Herman Miller hired much expertise to design its furniture, and it is costly to spend on R;D but company the company was willing to take risks on new innovation. Financial performance Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 Revenue ($ millions) $ 2,012. 1 $1,630. 0 $1,318. 8 $1,649. 2 R;D to Sales Ratio R;D/Sale 51. 2 / 2,012. 1 = 2. 5 % 45. 7 / 1,630. 0 = 2. 8 % 40. 5 / 1,318. 8 = 3. 1 % 45. 8 / 1,649. 2 = 2. 8 % Table 2. : HMI’s Revenues and R;D to Sales ratio from 2008 to 2011 Figure 2. 1: Research and development (R;D) to Sales ratio from 2008 to 2011 The above graph shows the trend of R;D sales ratio which increases from year 2008 until 2010. However, it decreased slightly in 2011 due to low R;D investment because of recession. However, it is not clear whether measuring the R;D ratio is a good metric to represent its efficiency towards a company. This is because it takes into consideration the R;D expenses rather than R;D investment thus it is easy to manipulate the number by lowering the R;D expenditure. Even, in the balance sheet of Herman Miller, the R;D investment is not disclosed under assets. If R;D is capitalized as asset, then it depicts the efficiency of R;D towards business revenues. In brief, due to that constraint, we assume that at least the R;D sales ratio increases and contributes positively towards Herman Miller’s business structure as Herman Miller invests heavily in R;D to create the furniture. Figure 2. 2: HMI’s Revenues from 2008 to 2011 The above graph illustrates that the trend of sales revenue decreases from year 2008 until 2010. However, it started to increase in year 2011. Thus, in brief, Herman Miller is improving in their sales through investment in Research and Development and produces competitive design. Question 3: HMI’s Financial situation: prior years and its competitors 1. HMI’s financial situation In order to measure the financial performance of Herman Miller Inc, we have used different ratios, such as liquidity, profitability, leverage and activity ratios. Besides, we also compare the financial performance of HMI in relation to its competitors – HNI and Steelcase Inc from 2008 until 2012 based on the above mention ratios. For our case, we have used the current ratio to measure the extent to which the three companies (HMI, HNI and Steelcase) can meet their short term obligations as shown in the figure below. Figure 3. 1: HMI’s current ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the current ratios for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , their current ratio showed some slight increase of about 1 percent from 2008 to 2009. However, a drop of about 21 percent was xperienced in 2010 but they were still able to maintain a current ratio of greater than 1. In the year 2011 and 2012, there had been a tremendous increase in their current ratio to 1. 76 and 1. 81 respectively. This current ratio of greater than 1 provides additional cushion against unforeseeable contingencies that may arise in the short term. In the case of HNI, their current ratio showed a moderate increase of about 7 percen t from 2008 to 2009. However, for the subsequent years, HNI experienced a decrease in their current ratio of approximately 10 percent from 2010 all the way to 2012. Nonetheless, they were able to maintain a current ratio of at least 1 to ensure that the value of their current assets covers at least the amount of their short term obligations. As for Steelcase, their current ratio showed a moderate increase of about 8 percent from 2008 to 2010. On the other hand, the company experienced a decrease of roughly 8 percent in the year 2011 but they were still able to maintain a current ratio of greater than 1. However, Steelcase managed to have an increase in their current ratio from 1. 37 in 2011 to 1. 52 in 2012. Overall, Herman Miller Inc. as shown a significant increasing trend in their current ratio as compared to the other two companies. This may suggest improved liquidity of the company or a more conservative approach to working capital management. ii. Profitability ratios: Profitability ratios measure management’s overall effectiveness as shown by the returns generated on sales and investment. There are a number of ratios under profitability but for our case, we have used the Return on Assets (ROA) to measure the after-tax profits per dollar of assets and Gross Profit Margin which measures the total margin available to cover operating expenses and yield a profit. These two ratios have been used to evaluate the three companies (HMI, HNI and Steelcase). Figure 3. 2. 1: HMI’s return on asset ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the Return on Assets for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , there has been a decreasing trend of ROA in the year 2008 to 2010 from 19 percent to 4 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is deteriorating. Nevertheless, rom the year 2010 to the year 2012, the company has shown some slight increasing trend of ROA from 4 percent to 9 percent respectively. This indicates that the company’s profitability is quite improving over the years. When it comes to HNI, it has also shown a high decreasing trend of ROA in the year 2008 to 2011 from 5 percent to -0. 6 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is extremely deteriorating. However , in the year 2012, there was an increase of about 4 percent as compared to the previous year. The company was able to move from -0. 6 percent to 3. 8 percent. This signifies that the company’s profitability is slightly improving. Lastly for Steelcase, there has also been a high decreasing trend of ROA from the year 2008 to 2010 with about 6 percent and -0. 8 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is extremely deteriorating. However, there was a slight increasing trend of ROA in 2011 and 2012 of 1. 02 percent and 3. 33 percent respectively. This means that the company’s profitability is somewhat improving. Overall, Herman Miller Inc. has shown a considerable increasing trend in their ROA over the years as compared to the other two companies. This may imply effective use of assets and creation of high margins by the company as well as gauging how well the company uses its financing from borrowing and bonds. Figure 3. 2. 2: HMI’s gross profit ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the Gross Profit Margin for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , there has been a slight decrease of the Gross Profit Margin in the year 2008 to 2009 from 34. 72 percent to 32. 37 percent respectively. However, from the year 2010 to the year 2012, the company has shown some slight increase in their Gross Profit Margin from 32. 49 percent to 34. 26 percent respectively. This indicates that the company can make a reasonable profit. For HNI, there has been an increasing trend of the Gross Profit Margin from the year 2008 to 2011 with about 33. 66 percent and 34. 6 percent respectively. However, in the year 2012, there was a slight decrease of about 1. 3 percent as compared to the previous year. The company’s Gross Profit Margin moved from 34. 86 percent to 34. 39 percent. This also signifies that the company can make a reasonable profit. Lastly for Steelcase, it has shown a slight decreasing trend of Gross Profit Margin from the year 2008 to 2010 with 32. 12 percent and 28. 35 percent respectively. However, there was a slight increasing trend of Gross Profit Margin in the subsequent years amounting to 29. 5 percent in 2012. This means that the company can still make a reasonable profit. Overall, HNI has shown a steady increasing trend in their Gross Profit Margin over the years as compared to the other two companies. This may indicate how efficiently the company is using its materials and labor in the production process and gives an indication of the pricing, cost structure, and production efficiency of the company. iii. Leverage ratios This ratio is used to determine the companies’ financing methods, or the ability to meet the obligations. There are many ratios to calculate leverage but the important factors include debt, interest expenses, equity and assets. In this section, we will examine two ratios which are debt to assets and debt to equity ratios. Figure 3. 3. 1: HMI’s debt to asset ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The debt to asset ratio gives us a quick measure of the amount of debt that the company has on its balance sheets compared to its assets. In general, the debt to asset ratio for Herman Miller fluctuated over the years as compared to its competitors – HNI and Steel case. In 2008, the debt to equity ratio for Herman Miller was above 80 percent and rose approximately to 100 percent in 2009, whereas this ratio was just about 61 percent and 57 percent for HNI and Steel case respectively in 2008; and about 58 percent in 2009 for both competitors. This indicated that almost 100 percent of Herman Miller’s assets were financed by debt or creditors which implied that the Company has high level of leverage and risk, while its competitors had roughly 50 percent of their assets financed by the owners. However, Herman Miller’s ratio significantly dropped in 2010 to about 40 percent which was below its competitors who almost maintained their position over the years. In 2012, 70 percent of Herman Miller’s assets were financed by debt. In general, although the company debt to assets ratio is still high in relation to its competitors, the financial performance of the company is improving after the financial crisis. However, the Company needs to further reduce the amount of debt resulting to the reduction of risk; this is because it may affect the company’s survival in the long-run. Figure 3. 3. 2: HMI’s debt to equity ratio versus its competitors’ ratio A debt-to-equity ratio measures the amount of debt a company uses to fund its business for every dollar of equity it has. In other words, it is a measure of a company’s ability to repay its obligations. Generally companies with less debt equity ratio are less risky than the companies with high ratios. As we can see from the graphs, Herman Miller Inc. has the highest ratio over the year in relation to the other companies. For instance, its ratio fluctuated significantly over the years which were at 32. 7 and 94. 91 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. This might be due to the effect of the financial crisis, which caused the company to increase its debt financing heavily. Also, this indicates that the company had substantial high amount of debt as compared to equity which can endanger the long term survival of the firm since the company may not be able to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obl igations. Meanwhile, debt to equity ratio for HNI and Steel case was roughly lower than 2, which was acceptable for large public companies. For Herman Miller, however, this ratio sharply dropped over the next years to just about 8. 62 in 2010 and 2. 37 in 2012. In contrast, its competitors still can maintain their ratio below two over the next years. In order to improve this ratio, Herman Miller had sold its common stock and tried to lower the mount debt financing, this can be seen by the amount of long-term debt decreasing. This implies that the company’s financial performance has been improving after the financial crisis. In terms of leverage, overall, it can be said that the performance of the company has been improving over the years and regaining its position in the furniture market after the economic downturn. Although it may not do well as compared to its competitors in terms of financing the debt and equity, there is a sign of improvement and effort in positioning its self in the market industry in U. S. iv. Activity Ratios Figure 3. 4. 1: HMI’s Inventory turnover ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The inventory turnover is commonly used to measure the operational efficiency in managing its assets. Based on the figure 4. 1 illustrated above, in 2009, Herman Miller Inc. has the highest ratio compared to other years. This high ratio could indicate two conditions, such as; whether the company has strong sales during the year or it has an ineffective buying activity. However, it is perceived that the company did have strong sales proven from the lowest level of inventory and high sales revenue which are seen in the annual report during the year. While in 2010, Herman Miller Inc. ’s turnover ratio drops significantly compared to the other years. Its cost of sales for the year has the lowest and showed a decrement of 24% from previous year which simultaneously contribute to low ratio as well as indicating the lack of effectiveness particularly in turning its inventory into sales. One of the reasons is that it could be due to the recession which highly affected the company, and hence making them to reduce the cost of sales. However, Herman Miller Inc is getting better in turning its inventory into sales proven from the increment of its ratio by year. Additionally, compared to competitors, the position of the ratio shown for Herman Miller Inc. is located somewhat in the middle. Steelcase is somewhat faster in turning their inventory into sales compared to others. In contrast, HNI has the lowest rate. This proves that Steelcase is more effective in managing its operational assets. Figure 3. 4. 2: HMI’s Average collection period versus its competitors’ ratio Average collection period is the number of days it takes a company to collect its account receivables. As illustrated from the figure 4. 2 above, Herman Miller is getting better in obtaining its receivables shown by the average days taken which was from 58 days in 2008 and 34 days in 2012. This demonstrates that Herman miller Inc. onstantly improve its credit policy effectiveness confirmed by a dramatic slump by years. Comparing to other competitors, originally HNI was the most effective company in managing its credit term policy, as the company only took 38 days in collecting its account receivables compared to Steelcase or Herman Miller. However, the company ended up to be the highest rate at 2012 showing that it is not effective in evaluating company’s credit policy. As a result, when a company possesses a lower average collection period, it is seen as optimal as it indicates that the company does not take very long to turn its receivables into cash. . HMI’s current strategies: an issues of need to change its strategies during poor economic conditions The current Herman Miller strategy which focuses on growth strategy, through innovative products and related diversification made the company to survive the Great Depression early in its history, multiple recessions in 20th century and in early 21st century the company recovered from the dot-com bust and was able to continue expanding overseas. The furniture industry is an economically volatile industry. The office furniture segment of the industry was hit hard by the recession. Industry sales decreased 26. 5 percent during the 2009 economic downturn. However, because of the innovative and diversification, Herman Miller was able to outperform its competitors in terms of sales and profitability, during that time Herman Mill’s sales dropped by 19% which is relatively low in comparison with its competitors HNI Corporation and Steelcase which had dropped by 33 percent and 28% respectively. The furniture industry is at its maturity stage, thus Innovation is crucial to the company’s survival. If Herman Miller continues to successfully innovate, it will enable them to compete in the market strongly. The industry had been negatively impacted telecommunication which had reduced the need office furniture. Yet, more employees were spending more hours in front of the computer screens than ever before. Because of Herman Miller’s effective innovation, they were able to respond to the need of ergonomically correct office furniture that had helped to decrease fatigue and injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. In summary, the company does not need to radically alter its main strategy which focuses more on innovation and diversification as it’s the reason they were not dramatically hit by recessions and competitions among the rivals. 3. Recommendation: i. Reduced current benefit and incentive schemes There are several incentives that had been eliminated by Herman Miller’s management due to the economic downturn in 2009. The suspend of 401(k) contribution plans (saving contribution plan), cut-off 15 percent of current workforce and 10 percent reduction in salary for remaining workforce had been implemented during the crisis. However the pay cuts was discontinued because of Herman Miller’s quick turnaround. The company was stable starting the year 2011, but the selling, general, and administrative were the highest contribution of the operating expenses. Specifically, â€Å"†¦$3. million and $16. 6 million of additional operating expenses during fiscal 2011 due to the reinstatement of all of our employee benefits and employee incentive expenses† (Herman Miller’s Annual Report, 2011). The company believed that the large benefit and incentives had created motivated and skilful employees which are the key of its competitive advantage. Even though the company has increased in sales as compared to the year 2010, it is important to cut the costs by eliminating some of the less important incentives schemes and benefits such as $100 rebate on a bike purchase, concierge services and one-site services to name a few. Previously, the company had eliminated the 401(k) contribution plan so that they could stop providing some percentage on the employees’ contribution. It is crucial since it could allow the company to save a significant amount of money in the long run (Richardson, 2009). It can be done by communicating the problems and issues which need to be addressed to the staff before they get out of hand. Address the problems proportionately and regular communication could make the staff be aware on their role to support the company throughout the economy downturn. By having it, the staff might accept the decision positively and provide effort to help the company to fully recover after the recession (‘Recession Business Cost Cutting†, 2013). ii. Reduction in company’s cost of sales According to Herman Miller’s Annual Report (2011), the increase in cost of sales for the year 2011 was due to the increase in sales volume that was driven primarily by cost leverage on higher production, which was partially offset by deeper discounting, higher employee benefit and incentive costs, and higher costs of key direct materials, most notably steel and steel components. Besides that, the cost of direct material increased as compared to previous years which there was increase in the cost of commodities and the increase in discounting, which has the effect of reducing net sales The costs of certain manufacturing materials used in producing finished products are sensitive to the volatility of commodity market price. The cost of direct labor and overhead were increased due to increase in product volume while the cost of freight expenses had increased during the year because of increase in product volume as well as increase in fuel costs in 2011. First recommendation to cut the cost of sales in terms of direct material is substituting lower cost material where possible to replace the expensive one and each angle should be considered for better decision. For example, the substitution of carbon steel to replace expensive stainless steel could reduce the cost but the corrosion protection might not last longer. This method should be applied if only the benefit from the substitution is higher than the cost of reduction in quality (Lewis, n. d. ). Second recommendation is by eliminating unnecessary product features to reduce cost. The company should produce a product that really suits customers’ preferences in buying their products. For example, the company should identify whether customers are purchasing its products because of their unique looks, lower price or high quality. If customers buy the products because of their lower price, unique features may not be needed (Lewis, n. d. ). Third recommendation which is the most effective one is by hedging the price of the steel through futures contract. According to Herman Miller’s Annual Report (2011): The company believes market prices for commodities in the near term may move higher and acknowledges that over time increases on its key direct materials and assembly components are likely. Consequently, it views the prospect of such increases as an outlook risk to the business† (p. 34). By locking the price in the contract, it could eliminate any risk of price volatility (â€Å"Hedging in Practice†, 2013). For example, if there is a huge possibility that the price of steel will increase in a certain period of time. Due to that, the company will engage in future contract and lock-in the price for a specific period in the future. Regardless of increase in steel price, the company is eligible to buy the commodity at a lower lock-in price as stated in the agreed future contract. Conclusion Herman Miller Inc. has implemented different strategies in order to improve its performance and expand its self in furniture market, such as diversified strategy, broad differentiation strategy, green marketing, product development and innovation. In addition, besides focusing on those strategies to achieve the business goals, the company also concerns about how it communicates and treat its employees. â€Å"All workers as individuals ith special talents and potential† can be considered as one of the healthy culture at Herman Miller since 1927 and the Company continued to generate respect for all employees and fueled the quest to tap diversity of gifts and skills held by all. According to one of the verse in chapter 42 of the Qur’an: â€Å"Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (cond uct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance† (Quran 42:38) The verse above explains the importance of mutual consent in making a decision. Islam encourages Muslims to decide their affairs by consulting with those who will be affected by the decision. Thus, in the case of Herman Miller, it empowers its employees and nurture participative decision making so that the employees feel as part of the company. Surviving in matured furniture industry and the economic volatility such as recession, demand full cooperation from the whole organization. It is not easy to integrate the diverse nature of employees with different backgrounds and behaviors to achieve goal congruence. Thus, Herman Miller’s healthy culture leads to its employee’s readiness to accept any relevant decision by Herman Miller such as cutting their salaries as the employees work with Herman Miller and not just work for it. Furthermore, in term of design value, the designer team of Herman Miller always emphasized on quality, excellence, and the continual improvement of their products. â€Å"At Herman Miller the products we made decade ago are still sold after today, and products we make today we will do for a decade to come. † All in all, Herman Miller should pursue its current strategies and continue to expand those strategies such as product innovation, diversification and so on. We believe that these strategies have made and will make Herman Miller one of an outstanding and award winning Company. They will continue to provide the Company with the ability to renew and reinvent itself in the furniture market and outperform its rivals in the future. From the explanation above, it gives us a broad view of how the company’s long-term strategy and objective affects all their business: from product design to decision-making process to the culture of the Company.

Analysis Of Breast Cancer Screening Procedures Using Health Belief Model - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1647 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/02/05 Category Medicine Essay Level High school Tags: Breast Cancer Essay Did you like this example? Breast cancer and associated risk factors: Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall. More than 2 million cases were diagnosed in 2018 worldwide. (â€Å"Breast cancer statistics,† 2018) Genetic factors constitute about 80% of the major risk factor leading to cancer. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Analysis Of Breast Cancer Screening Procedures Using Health Belief Model" essay for you Create order Specifically, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations are responsible for malignancy (Feng et al., 2018) Breast cancer occurs very rarely in men due to incomplete development of breast without mammary glands and extremely low levels of estrogen, the hormone responsible for stimulation of breast cells. (â€Å"Breast Cancer Risk Factors,† n.d.) Other risk factors are aging, having dense breasts, radioactive therapy, use of drugs containing Diethylstilbestrol (DES), previous history of breast cancer, positive family history, long reproductive period. These set of risk factors cannot be changed. Those that can be changed are physical inactivity, improper intake of hormones, improper reproductive history like avoiding breastfeeding, consumption of alcohol and obesity control. (â€Å"CDC What Are the Risk Factors for Breast Cancer?† 2018). The signs of breast cancer are new lump on breast or arm pits, discharge from nipples except for milk, pain, reddish or flaky skin on nipples or breast, pulling in of nipples, Thickening or swelling in any part of the breast and change in size and shape of the breasts. However, sometimes the signs may occur due to any other disease. (â€Å"CDC What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?† 2018) Procedures treating breast cancer results in severe psychological suffering, anxiety, financial hardships depression and disfigurement. Sometimes life threatening too (Guilford, McKinley, Turner, 2017). Hence, it is better to diagnose the disease in first place through readily available screening procedures to save lives rather than going through all the pain and suffering after having the disease. According to ACS guidelines, women from the age 40- 45 years should undergo mammography annually till 50 years and the following years biennially. In 2018,266120 cases of invasive cancer are diagnosed and 40920 deaths are reported in USA. Age- adjusted mortality decreased from 1989-2015 with 322600 deaths averted through screening procedures. The favorable statistics are not evenly distributed. Through 2010-2015 death rates are 42% more in African Americans than whites. (Smith et al., 2018). But the new incidence rates are low in African Americans than Whites (â€Å"Comparing Breast Cancer Screening Rates Among Different Groups | Susan G. Komen ®,† n.d.) There are several barriers associated with withdrawal of participation from the screening, the first one being health insurance, 68% of those with insurance has undergone screening procedures compared to 31% with no health insurance. There are other barriers as well like lack of closest screening centers, lack of availability of health care provider, difficulty to get sick leaves, lack of child care, lack of awareness, lack of income and fear of bad news, cultural and language differences (â€Å"Comparing Breast Cancer Screening Rates Among Different Groups | Susan G. Komen ®,† n.d.) According to the fact sheet 2015 by ACS there are differences in prevalence of mammography in women from 40years older in a way that NHW stands 50%, NHB 55% , Asian Americans stands 47%, Alaskan native 46% and Hispanic women 46%.(Street, n.d.)A study conducted among the Asian Americans to assess the influence of ethnicity on perceptions of susceptibly and seriousness related to breast cancer came out with the results that the Filipino and Chinese women had significantly higher levels of perceived susceptibility and seriousness than Asian Indian women. Also, the common barriers across the three groups are: being examined by male practitioner, having the breast touched by a stranger and being exposed to unnecessary radiation. African American women face knowledge-based barriers and pain. (Wu, West, Chen, Hergert, 2006) Poor knowledge on risks related to breast cancer and screening procedures, cultural and language barriers are responsible for the lower screening participation among th e Hispanic women. (Ramirez et al., 2000) Health belief model: The health belief model was developed in 1950s, the period in which main attention of US public health service is entirely on disease prevention and very little on treatment of disease. The originators of this model were Godfrey Hochbaum, Stephen Kegels, Irwin Rosenstock. This model deals with the relationship between health behavior, practices and utilization of health care services, influenced by theory of Kurt Lewin which states that the world of the perceiver determines what an individual will do or will not do. According to this theory a person’s motivation to perform a health behavior depends on three main factors: individual perceptions like susceptibility, severity and importance of health to the individual, modifying behaviors like demographic variables, cues to action, perceived threat and the probability of likelihood of action. When the individual perceives threat and simultaneously cued to action and if the perceived benefits outweigh the perceived barriers then t he individual engages in the preventive health behavior. Hochbaum, G., Rosenstock, I., Kegels, S. (1952). Health belief model. United States Public Health Service. The main constructs are perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, modifying factors, cues to action and self-efficacy. The significant constructs in health belief model is perceived barriers followed by perceived susceptibility, perceived severity being the least significant Perceived susceptibility refers to one’s perception of risk of a health condition and perceived severity refers to seriousness of contracting an illness, both of which are together called as perceived threat. Perceived benefits are responsible for outcome of action since it makes the individual feel that a certain behavior is efficacious even though susceptibility and severity are initial driving factors. Perceptions such as the negative outcomes of the behavior, time factor, cost, feasibility are compared with the efficacy of the action fall under the perceived barriers which when outweighed leads to the action of the recommended behavior. Other modifying factor s like socioeconomic factors, ethnicity etc. indirectly effects all other constructs. Cues to action helps to result in a positive outcome in case of diseases with higher perceived threat. Self-efficacy concept was introduced by Bandura in 1977 which refers to the conviction of an individual to perform a behavior for an expected outcome. (Janz Becker, 1984) Application of HBM: The purpose of application of health belief model to breast screening procedures would be to plan an intervention to make more individuals take part in the screening procedures. For the model to yield effective results all the constructs must be included in questionnaire as follows: Perceived susceptibility: Belief that chances of getting breast cancer are high? Perceived severity: Is my life endangered if I have a breast cancer? Perceived benefits: Getting a mammogram saves my life, mammogram is beneficial as it diagnoses disease before it gets even worse. Perceived barriers: getting a mammogram is too costly Modifying variables: are there any other socioeconomic factors that hinders the likelihood of action? Cues to action: looking at the flyers make me think about mammogram Self-efficacy: How sure are you that you know how to make an appointment to get a mammogram? From the literature review it is evident that there are financial and accessibility barriers that prevent people from participating in the screening programs. These barriers may be due to lack of knowledge about the free health care services, ignorant about the available health care clinic. These can be intervened by scheduling programs during holidays at accessible locations and providing facilities for the child care and implementing more economical, cost-effective programs Another significant factor to be considered from literature is differences in perception towards the disease among different groups. Low perception to seriousness and susceptibility, poor knowledge related to breast cancer can be increased through awareness programs that provide the information, detailed course of the disease and health consequences followed by the occurrence of disease. The cultural and language barriers are reviewed, and it is to be noted that these barriers influence the behavior of people to participate in screening programs. Language and cultural barriers could be eliminated by designing the screening programs in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural approach with female practitioners to make the patients comfortable as some women feel embarrassed to get checkup done by male practitioner and benefits of the screening programs being clearly explained. Further, cues to action could be used to make people with high perception of threat to take one more step to change their behavior. References Guilford, K., McKinley, E., Turner, L. (2017). Breast cancer knowledge, beliefs, and screening behaviours of college women: Application of the Health Belief Model. American Journal of Health Education, 48(4), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2017.1316694 Smith, R. A., Andrews, K. S., Brooks, D., Fedewa, S. A., Manassaram?Baptiste, D., Saslow, D., †¦ Wender, R. C. (2018). Cancer screening in the United States, 2018: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68(4), 297–316. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21446 Street, W. (n.d.). Breast Cancer Facts Figures 2017-2018, 44. Breast Cancer Risk Factors: Being a Woman. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.breastcancer.org/risk/factors/woman Feng, Y., Spezia, M., Huang, S., Yuan, C., Zeng, Z., Zhang, L., †¦ Ren, G. (2018). Breast cancer development and progression: Risk factors, cance r stem cells, signaling pathways, genomics, and molecular pathogenesis. Genes Diseases, 5(2), 77–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2018.05.001 Guilford, K., McKinley, E., Turner, L. (2017). Breast Cancer Knowledge, Beliefs, and Screening Behaviours of College Women: Application of the Health Belief Model. American Journal of Health Education, 48(4), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2017.1316694 Breast cancer statistics. (2018, August 22). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/breast-cancer-statistics CDC What Are the Risk Factors for Breast Cancer? (2018, September 11). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/risk_factors.htm Wu, T.-Y., West, B., Chen, Y.-W., Hergert, C. (2006). Health beliefs and practices related to breast cancer screening in Filipino, Chinese and Asian-Indian women. Cancer Detection and Prevention, 30(1), 58–66. https://doi.org/1 0.1016/j.cdp.2005.06.013 Ramirez, A. G., Talavera, G. A., Villarreal, R., Suarez, L., McAlister, A., Trapido, E., †¦ Marti, J. (2000). Breast cancer screening in regional Hispanic populations. Health Education Research, 15(5), 559–568. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/15.5.559 Janz, N. K., Becker, M. H. (1984). The Health Belief Model: a decade later. Health Education Quarterly, 11(1), 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019818401100101

How Hailey Became Literate As Pi Beta Phi - 1447 Words

How Hailey Became Literate in Pi Beta Phi Literacy is a wide known understanding, used in all aspects of society. Anywhere you go, the stage of your literacy in given situations is tested. Literacy ranges in places like the home, at work, teams, and so much more. When asked to interview someone, and dive into the aspect of their literacy of a given community, I instantly knew what I wanted to do. I recently joined the sisterhood of Pi Beta Phi, and even more recently was given a â€Å"Big Sister†, that I will now have as a part of my life, forever. Her name is Hailey Thomsen, and she is a junior at the University of Central Florida, and was the perfect person to interview for this project. Hailey is a tall, blonde, quirky, and amazingly†¦show more content†¦When we got their, and were officially given the title of â€Å"twins†, I have never ran so fast in my life, as we did into Hailey’s arm. From that day, we have been the most inseparable family, and I cannot picture what my life was like before I had them. Swales defines a discourse community as â€Å"the increasingly common assumption that discourse operates within conventions defined as communities, by academic or social goals.† (page 217) Swales himself defined discourse community with six specific characteristics, but within the community of Pi Beta Phi, your literacy is based off of our 6 core values. Integrity, lifelong commitment, leadership, Personal and intellectual growth, Philanthropic Service to others, and Sincere friendship. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and hold strong morals and principles. As a Pi Phi woman, Hailey shows integrity with everything she does. Whenever a sister is faced with a tough situation, they know they can go to Hailey without judgment, and with a positive perspective. With every obstacle a sister may approach, the value of integrity holds the sisters of Pi Phi true to each other. Before joining Pi Phi Hailey sad s he hoped to gain a support system. She stated, â€Å"I came to college a recluse and gained my confidence to push myself and go outside my comfort zone to better myself.† Quickly through her time in Pi Phi, up to this point, she realized she gained much more than a

The And Toxic Marijuan Feminists Always Dominate The World...

Charming and Toxic Marijuana: Feminists Always Dominate the World â€Å"As soon as a woman gets to an age where she has opinions and she is vital and strong. She is systematically shamed into hiding under a rock†. (Brain Quotes). Speaking of genders, men are considered more advantageous than women. Dating back to ancient times, men traditionally were determined more valuable over women based on the physical strengths and the capacity of resistance of outside pressure. However, not reconciled to the situation, women were making great efforts to enhance their positions and fortify their status in the society, which were beneficial for their own developments. For instance, the first female monarch of ancient China, empress Wu, ascended the throne in AD 630. Being admired and debated sharply, her ruling of the empire for over fifty years has laid the foundation of feminism. Meanwhile, her appearance encouraged more women to challenge the public prejudices instead of being the sweet sacrifices of the patriarchal society. Not only in ancient China , also in other various cultures, women were fighting for their rights but buried throughout human history. Defined as complex and sophisticated, women now are performing indispensable roles in the family and society. Under the enormous effects of several outstanding women, the opinion of that â€Å"the greatest responsibility for women is to give birth and center the housework† vanished and gradually alternated to a brand new modern point of

Strategic Environment Of Volkswagen Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Environment Of Volkswagen. Answer: History Volkswagen was founded in 1937 in Berlin Germany by the German Labour Front, due to increased demand by the average German to own a car. The early 1930s, the automobile industry was dominated by luxury models which the average person could not afford. It was headquartered in Wolfsburg in Eastern Germany. Herbert Diess is the chairman of the board of management and in 2016 financial year led to manufacture of 6.073 million units of VW cars a significant increase from past years. However, due to challenging economic conditions and increased competition from major automobile manufactures like Toyota, Mercedes, Nissan and others the revenue shrinked to 105.651 Billion Euros for FY 2016. Net income consequently dipped to 1.869 Billion Euros in the same financial year. Although not a most memorable event, Adolf Hitler ordered that VW manufacture more vehicle to carry to adults and three children at 100km/hr as he wanted more access of cars by ordinary citizens (Polachek and Tatsiramos, n.d .). VW manufactured this vehicles and more people bought cars for their families. Although the automobile industry has been competitive in the past 50 years, strategies to be the business leader globally has led to VW repositioning itself both externally and internally for the goal. The reason for taking VW as the study corporation is because in recent times it has had several issues in technology and economic environments that has led to the so called VW Scandal which led to resignation of senior executives. Technological environment With an increase in competition, VW has been one of the companies in the automobile industry that has really benefited from an upgrade of their technology. The VW workshop or manufacturing assembly in Wolfsburg has seen tremendous change in technological upgrade to help in manufacture or more units at a lesser time. Technological processes that run in the Poznan plant of VW was designed to ensure that there is maximum care for the external environment while maximizing greater efficiency of car production. The company acquired the latest technology, utility and management system s that ensure that the environment is greatly taken care of (Samii and Karush, 2004). The technological advancement ensures that there is chemical management of substances that are applied in production of VW parts. Technology is centered on these parts namely; in reduction of carbon dioxide emission which are harmful to the biodiversity. Protection against air pollution in a bid to be environmentally friendly Waste and water management Sewage management where VW has introduced 23 measuring points that conduct constant measuring of water in the Monitoring and measurement of volatile organic substances . Economic environment This forms major part of the analysis as the environment determines the amount of profits and losses VW operates in comparative to the other companies. Increase in economic environment identifies how to understand and take advantage of some economic and social indicators. For this environment the economy reviews the issue at the macroeconomic level and then analyzes the automotive sector, which is the most important in the manufacturing industry, in terms of opportunities and threats. In relation to the global economic environment, we review what happened after the world recession . International trade and the capital market were seriously affected, the export volumes of primary products were reduced and the growth strategy was changed based on in the export of primary products by another model known as Inward Growth Policy (Schwartz, 2017). There was economic growth, however, inflation i8 was 7.35%, there was a trade deficit and devaluation i of 44.5%. In 1970 it was observed that technology and productivity was vital and that it would be the engine of growth. The economic environment affects the progress and evolution of companies. A country that has a flexible exchange rate that has it fixed or that has a tendency to high inflation that is low is different. A country that has low or high interest rates or that has a public sector of 30% of GDP or 48% of GDP is different. A country that usually shows a surplus in a current account balance is different to one that shows a deficit or has a qualified workforce that does not and, also, a country that increases its productivity significantly or does not do it is different (Worthington and Britton, 2015) For any VW manager it is important to know the economic situation that VW is going through. There must be a minimum knowledge of the economy and of the decisions that governments are expected to adopt according to a country that is in a situation of overheating of the economy or of deceleration, high growth or recession. The companies will have a better evolution in a country with a certain economic stability and a self-sustained growth, than a country with important lags in economic cycles. The economic environment of a company can be affected by internal and external factors. An internal factor that affects the business environment is the cost of labor, materials, processes and procedures. Internal factors can be improved through projects. On the other hand, external factors can also affect these environments, with the company having less control over these. The main factors that influence a company are: political, economic, social and technological (Latin America and the Caribbean in the world economy 2014, 2014) Competitive Environment Competition is something that has always existed in the business world, is something positive and that helps self-regulate the market and generate improvements. Years ago, the competition focused on getting a better or superior product for the same price. Today that competition has changed, the product is less important, now compete for the intangible of each product or service. Notice that in the current advertising, the characteristics and properties of the products are hardly praised. The announcements of car, before everything was to extol its characteristics, ABS, TDI, BSM, EPS , Until a mark was invented the ziritione. Nowadays the advertisements simply show the car, its appearance, they try to appeal to your emotions and experiences when driving it (Seth, 2015). This means nothing more than if you want to be on the crest of the wave, you have to be very competitive and be continuously improving and making proposals to the market. Some of the strategies you can carry out are: Be aware of the market. Observe trends and be able to respond to the changes you require. It is one of the pillars of the lean startup methodology. This technique implies having very short service times in the supply chain. Here forget that big companies eat girls. Today, this phrase is: "Agile companies eat slow companies." Monitor competitors regularly. This strategy will give you light in the difficult moments that you do not know where to direct your continuous improvement. With a bit of luck, if your competitors make a mistake, with this strategy you will save time and money. You already know where not to fail and what decisions do not take. Undoubtedly it will not help you to be number 1 in your sector, at most you aspire to be the second (Seth, 2015). Labor Environment The work environment must be taken care of and always monitored in order to be a successful company since it is said that "happy employees make successful companies". In reality, this factor not only makes companies successful, but also lasts for many years. How many examples can we have of companies that were born, were developed and by a bad decision that affected some work condition, they quickly collapsed and in a short time disappeared? Normally, this happens with the micro and small companies, in other cases if the companies are large, probably because of their economic power they do not disappear-, but the cost of getting back up is enormous. Sometimes as leaders we do not realize how impressive the decisions we make are towards our collaborators. What for me or my leaders may be a great idea, perhaps for associates or collaborators it is not. I do not say that everything has to be consulted with them or should be postponed if it is not an action that is going to be accepted immediately (Trevin?o and Weaver, 2003). What I mean is that you should always know the ways in which you should send all the communications to your associates. Carry out a survey about your company's work environment Motivate your collaborators; Remember, not everything should be based on money Resource Environment Another strategy to improve VWs resources within a market in many ways is to create a second brand. Creating a brand of your product is an idea not as farfetched as it seems. Especially if there is still no one working in that brand. VW label in your same market will make your main brand stand naturally as a first brand, acquiring a perception of higher quality and confidence in front of consumers. It helps not to have to fight for price, although it is a variable that should not be neglected (Hisrich and Kralik, 2016). On the other hand, if with the main brand you make a product that really has quality and extras, you are securing that superior status. With the white label you can place it just below and penetrate a segment of customers that organically would not be within reach your main brand. These are some of the tactics to be more competitive within a market. There are many more, there are even people who are only responsible for thinking and studying new innovative strategies to become more competitive (Block and MacMillan, 2003) Legal and regulatory environment For VW as an automaker, the legal and regulatory framework must be adhered to. This is in regards to safety standards, environment, taxation, social corporate responsibility and many more. Regulatory authorities have set guidelines to be followed under the motor maker act. The regulations that are followed at most are environmental so that in the course of production, the automaker does not pollute the environment. Faulty systems in the recent past have seen many of VW units being taken back as a result of lack of safety procedures. Heavy losses are uncured by the company due to civil suits instituted as class suits that are heavy on the company. If a company like VW is taken to court on numerous infringement of rights it stands to lose its reputation (Brinkman, 2014). Global Environment This is intertwined with both the economic environment and the competitive environment. If a company like VW which is a global brand depends on the global environmental outlook , it will have to work on iots global brand. The economy of the world is affected by the geo-political and social environment. Companies like Toyota which is now the leading motor maker in the world affect the units that VW will sell if the competition is right. Other like how people are fairing on economically and the taste vis a vis the competitors brand will also affect in global environment (Cherunilam, 2010). Interpretation and Analysis When defining and developing a business strategy in our company we could establish three stages. The first would consist of a strategic analysis and diagnosis, that is, an external analysis of the environment of the company in general or macro-environment, in terms of economy, technology, social structure, natural environment and an analysis of the specific environment of the company. company or sector of the geographical area in which the company operates (based on the Porter model) in which we analyze who the potential competitors are, the clients and their negotiating power, the negotiating power of our suppliers, who are the current competitors and / or the threat of substitute products.The analysis of the environment will provide us with current and future information of the external environment that surrounds the company, which allows us to make the most appropriate decisions to maintain and improve the company's competitive advantage. The internal analysis of the company will allow us to identify its strengths and weaknesses, that is, strengths and weaknesses. The strengths to take care of them and support their decisions in these strengths and weaknesses to identify the weak points in order to improve them, in relation to the competition or companies in the sector. Second, Formulation of Strategies. Based on the analysis carried out, it is about deciding how the company will achieve the set objectives, either establishing corporate-type strategies, ie, where will we compete? In what business ?, or competitive type, how are we going to compete? In this phase, we could propose scenarios and think which strategies are the most appropriate to be successful in each one of them (Brinkman, 2014) Opportunities In a highly competitive and variable environment like the current one, it is important to make strategic decisions. A strategy is the tool that makes the difference between professional companies and those with growth ambitions of those that are not. The main objective of this is "to help the company to succeed. We formulate strategies according to the possible scenario that may occur. Thus, in the event that any of the foreseen scenarios occur, the response capacity to adapt to the environment would increase. Third, Implementation of the strategy. It is about putting the designed strategy into action. It includes the decision-making and activities necessary to put it into operation. There are several tools to put it into practice, such as the creation of an Integral Scorecard, which consists of disaggregating the strategy formulated, in objectives that affect all the departments of the company (Campbell and Craig, 2016). The key for a strategy to start up correctly is that the people who are part of the organization understand it since they are the ones who have to put it into practice. Threats Managers and middle managers who establish business strategies, increase the likelihood of success of their companies and the ability to react to changes in an environment increasingly complex and constant change to which company must adapt quickly and dynamically. Being prepared and making sound decisions at the right time can help your company generate the necessary profitability. Is it really useful to prepare future plans in companies? The demographic, technological, social and regulatory changes that the world has undergone in recent years are so far-reaching that they have rendered the elaborated plans obsolete, after having dedicated important economic and human resources to them (Polachek and Tatsiramos, n.d.). This situation prompted many managers to take only tactical decisions that would allow them to survive in a difficult environment without taking strategic reflections and above all avoiding the effort to structure, define and quantify them. Maintaining this policy implies leaving the organization at the mercy of changes in the environment, without priorities or specific objectives and therefore more vulnerable to changes and new competitors. The medium term result is the progressive loss of value of the company, as well as the creation of a corporate culture exempt from accountability, where the environment has a greater responsibility over the results than the employees' own actions. Conclusion Finally, defining an adequate strategy requires having a methodology, functional experts, and incorporating in-depth knowledge of the particularities of each industry, its products, its customers and its regulation. 'A good strategy allows, in short, to guide the entire organization towards a future objective that guarantees its competitive advantage and, ultimately, the creation of value in a changing and uncertain environment (Campbell and Craig, 2016). References Block, Z. and MacMillan, I. (2003).Corporate venturing. Washington D.C.: BeardBooks. Brinkman, J. (2014).Unlocking the business environment. London: Routledge. Campbell, D. and Craig, T. (2016).Organisations and the Business Environment. New York: Routledge. Cherunilam, F. (2010).Elements of Business Environment. New Delhi: Himalaya Pub. House. Deardorff, A. and Stern, R. (2011).Comparative advantage, growth, and the gains from trade and globalization. New Jersey: World Scientific. Hisrich, R. and Kralik, D. (2016).Advanced introduction to corporate venturing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Kantola, J., Barath, T., Nazir, S. and Andre, T. (n.d.).Advances in Human Factors, Business Management, Training and Education. Latin America and the Caribbean in the world economy 2014. (2014). Santiago, Chile: United Nations, ECLAC. Meredith, L., Isaac, R., Rebmann, D., Mann, J. and Hughes, M. (2011).Original VW Bus. Bideford, Devon: Bay View Books. Samii, M. and Karush, G. (2004).International business and IT. London: Routledge. Schwartz, M. (2017).Business Ethics. Somerset: John Wiley Sons, Incorporated. Seth, C. (2015).Swot analysis. Namur: 50minutes. Trevin?o, L. and Weaver, G. (2003).Managing ethics in business organizations. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Business Books. Worthington, I. and Britton, C. (2015).The business environment. Harlow [u.a]: Pearson.

Is Google Missing Your Site How to Tell if Youre Being Indexed Properly

by Sienna Luard A common problem faced by businesses and marketers when trying to rank in Google’s search engine is not being indexed correctly. Basically, this happens when Google’s spiders can’t crawl a site properly, which means the website content can’t be found in search results pages. Fortunately, most problems can be resolved fairly quickly, if you know what you’re looking for. Checking Your Site for Errors: The Basics The first thing to do is simply type â€Å"site:† followed by your domain URL into the Google search bar. This will give you the approximate number of pages that are being indexed by Google. If there’s a big difference between this number and the actual number of pages on your site, you know there are probably some indexing issues. Next, log into Google Webmaster Tools and check the â€Å"Google Index† tab. You’ll then see the total number of indexed pages for your site. Obviously, if this number is not consistent with your website, or it falls at some point, something is happening which will affect your visibility in search engines, which will impact traffic to your site. Crawler Errors In the Google Webmaster Tools dashboard, take a look at your Crawler Error messages. If there are any issues, they’ll show up here. The most common error message you’ll see is a 404 HTTP Status Code warning, which simply means that whatever page the link is pointing to cannot be found. You can’t prevent every 404 error, but you can fix them. Sometimes, it’s simply a URL that has been mistyped. Here are the other most common crawler errors: Robots/txt file. A text file such as â€Å"User-agent: Disallow:/† instructs search engine crawlers to ignore parts of your website Metatags. Those that say â€Å"noindex† or â€Å"nofollow† also tell crawlers to stay away .htaccess file. An invisible file that can cause multiple website issues if incorrectly configured Sitemap. A sitemap crawler error means your sitemap isn’t updating correctly. You may need to resubmit a new one Connectivity Issues. These errors will show if your website host is down for any length of time Duplicate content, unnatural links, slow page load times, and Flash-based content can also cause Google to have problems indexing your site correctly. Syntax and Structural Errors In some cases, syntax errors within the HTML markup can prevent correct indexing, although Google is fairly lenient with these kind of mistakes. You can check these errors with W3C’s HTML Validator. When it comes to site structure, you need to make sure every link leads to the correct URL. To view your site in text mode — much like a search engine crawler sees it — try using a text browser such as Lynx, Elinks, or SEO-browser. Inbound Links A lot of new websites have difficulties when it comes to being indexed. A common mistake is having no inbound links to your website. To make sure you have a few inbound links, make sure your social media profiles include a link to your website URL, or if you own another website that has related content, you could include a link back to your website on there. There are also opportunities on other platforms to get a link to your site, including guest-posting on blogs. Just make sure these sites have a decent ranking with Google, and are relevant to your website content in some way. Google Penalties Any website can find themselves receiving a Google penalty, and it’s not always clear why. While this can harm your rankings if you don’t resolve the issue, there are steps you can take to deal with penalties to get your website back on track. For detailed information about recovering from penalties, visit the Google Webmaster Tools Help section. The best way to avoid Google penalties is to steer clear of dubious SEO techniques that don’t really add any real value to your site. These include: Automatically generated content Link schemes Hidden links or text Unrelated affiliate programs Keyword stuffing Unnatural anchor text Too many ads above the fold Duplicate content Article spinning In Summary Making sure your website is seen correctly by Google and other search engines is a vital part of any business’s marketing strategy. The good news is that even if you find out you aren’t being indexed correctly, there are simple and quick methods to identify and resolve many of these indexing issues. It’s an ongoing process, but by avoiding Google penalties and ensuring your site is seen correctly by search engines will make sure your website and content gets the attention it deserves.