Online Shoe Company Business Strategy

Online Shoe Company Business Strategy INTRODUCTION The business strategy game is an online, PC-Based game in which you run the world wide athletic footwear market in confronting each other competition against other markets companies run by different group of students into different industry. But this paper only focus on the industry 10 where 12 different companies named Air Nike, Dolce and Banana, IMF vs WTO, Fabulous Foots, Galpha, BAD BOYZ III, Legs supreme, CHU WUB CHU WUB, KVincci, , E-XIE, HA-N Ltd., and Just walk are included. In my industry BAD BOYZ III includes five members (Virayudh Baram, Saif Ur Rehman, Ying Zhao, Maliha Hasin and Imran Shahzad) are responsible for managing all aspects of the companys operation. Every company tried to use their best technique and execute well planned strategies for their company specially considering against the strategies of competitor companies, delivers good bottom-line results (Net Revenue, Earning per share (EPS), the return on equity (ROE), stock price, credit rating and image rating ) and builds shareholder value. This paper is divided in three main sections. First section describe the strategy adopted by BAD BOYZ III Company with the help of Michael Porter â€Å"Five Forces† theory, second section describes the external analysis of company using PESTLE analysis and at end the BAD BOYZ III company analysis from year 11 to year 17 will be discussed with each year progress diagrams shown in Appendix. BUSINESS STRATEGY IMPORTANCE The business strategy game is real time practice business environment. In this game our role is as Manager who responsible to use productive and efficient strategies for company production and profit. In strategic management the role and effect of top managers on company performance and importance of this relationship how may be affected by companys strategy is always recognize as critical issues (Hambrick and Mason (1984), Gupta and Govindarajan (1984), Gunz and Jalland (1996)). Business strategy is influenced by top management team of any firm (Hambrick and Mason, 1984). MICHAEL PORTER (1985) BASIC STRATEGY MODEL Michael Porter (1985) describes market Industry constitution and arrangement within the market is key factor for establishment of competitive strategy. Competitive advantages of any company against other competitors can be described by the â€Å"Five Forces† diagram shows the main idea of Porters theory of competitive advantage. This theory helps companies to know about the rules and regulation of competition in market. Porter argues, The ultimate aim of competitive strategy is to cope with and, ideally, to change those rules in the firms behavior (1985, p. 4).† According to Porter five forces find out company prosperity and profitability. Micheal Porter (1985) five forces are given below: Threat of substitutes Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Competition among existing companies Porters 5 Forces Elements of Industry Structure In strategy implementation, competitive advantages, utilizing new production, new inputs for Foot Wear industry Porters Value Chain and Activity Mapping ideas give us useful information to applying these all activities. The value chain activities help BAD BOYZ III Company for examining all activities related to company performance and interaction such as (e.g. development, marketing, sales, operations, etc.) as a potential source of advantage. In year 12 company situation was little bit down and we were losing market shares in such situation we adopted the value chain activities of Porter. These activities help company existing and potential sources of differentiation e.g. products, associated services. The reason to choose this strategy ‘low cost and value chain system was helpful to underline the competitive advantages that cannot come from production side but anywhere from value chain. It also helps us to fit into value chains like suppliers, buyers and channels. PESTLE ANALYSIS PESTLE analysis is usually used to measure the organizations external factors like position, potential and direction for a business or organization. PESTLE is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. BAD BOYZ III Company PESTLE analysis is measured below: Political Factors Political factors illustrate that how and to what extent government intervenes in the investment. The main politics factors are trade barriers, tax policy, trade policies, labor law, export tariffs and environmental law. As concern to BAD BOYZ III Company not much influenced by these factors as all four regions North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe are associated with WTO. Economical Factors Economic factors show how business operate and what of decision would be make, these factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate. In the success and development of BAD BOYZ III company exchange rate, affect the costs o exporting products and the supply and price o imported product in an economy, plays a major role. From year 11 to year 17 company maintained a steady exchange rate. Even though company made some mistakes but due to healthy exchange rate company never fall badly. Social Factors These factors show cultural effects, health and safety aspects, people their age, population and growth rate, age and careers approaches. BAD BOYZ III Company participated in charity an as well Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and also providing complete health and safety environment. Technology Factors Technology factors are ecological and environment aspects like Research and development (R D), technology usage rate and automation, determine barriers to entry, low productive manufacturing level and impact on outsourcing decisions. BAD BOYZ III knows the importance of technology and benefits in business environment. Company all private label capacity stocks in Latin America and Asia Specific was up to date because these technology shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation. Environment Factors In environment major factors are weather, climate and variation in climate include weather, climate, and change. These factors can be analyzed as company insurance, farming and tourism. Up to date with weather inform company operation according to weather and products they offer to their customers. Legal factors Legal factors determine company legal boundary, discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law. These are average fixed value of any country and companies cannot across these boundaries. ANALYSIS OF BAD BOYZ III COMPANY FROM YEARS 11 TO 17 A complete and in depth analysis of BAD BOYZ III company is given below: Year 11 In the begging of year 11, BAD BOYZ III has total production plant capacity 6,000,000 to complete the requirements of production only for two regions North America and Asia Pacific. BAD BOYZ III Company has also managed to fulfill the production requirements of remaining regions Latin America, Europe-Africa. In the start of year 11 the demand in North America and Asia Pacific is not much high as compared to present production. So our company decided to sell 200,000 production in North America and 800,000 in Asia Pacific. BAD BOYS III adopt strategies free shipping, model offer and attractive price and advertisement in internet segment and in whole sale garment we offer rebate and model with delivery time guaranteed and advertisement to compete in competitive market. With these strategies we got good market share in internet segment but the market share in whole sale was not according to wish. At the end of year 11 our companys progress was good in contrast with other market companies with 7th position out of the 12. BAD BOYZ III company overall progress was good in footwear industry with revenue $266583000, net profit $ 30224000 with credit rating A-. Year 11 complete detail of BAD BOYZ III competitive strengths and weakness and development can be seen from appendix-1. Year 12 In year 12 BAD BOYZ III company co-managers made some changing in their management and business strategy to get maximum profit from footwear industry market. As the result of year 11 and market competitive approach we decided to sell our products with high and standard quality. As the result of new strategy, quality of product, profit was good and also helped to get high position. In internet segment our competitive strength was marketing, celebrity appeal, S/Q rating and model offer but with some weakness like retail price and shipping charges was some kind of not good factor in competitive market. In whole sale market our S/Q rating, rebate offer and retailer supports were our competitive strength points while the competitive weakness were wholesale price and retail outlets. At the end of year 12 because of some weaknesses in whole sale market and internet segment, company overall progress and position of BAD BOYZ II was down 10 out of 12 with revenue 201395000, net profit 8,587,000, EPS 0.86 and credit rating â€Å"c†. The complete description of BAD BOYZ III company year 12 weaknesses, strengths and overall progress is shown on appendix -2. Year 13 Year 12 result forced the BAD BOYZ III management to seriously take the notice of company performance that is going down. After a long discussion among BAD BOYZ III company co-manager we concluded that we should re-evaluate the company strategy and offer high quality products with low price that strategy lead to ‘low cost and increase market shares described by Portal(1985) five forces theory which is focus on high quality with low price. To achieve maximum profit and top position in footwear market we also considered about the private label segments. Year 13 is the year of thinking for us as the result of year 12 that make us to re-think our all strategies and policies that makes impact on our competitive strategies. With adoption of new strategy our competitive strengths retail price, advertising and model significantly increased but still some weaknesses are shipping charges and retail outlet are there. Because of change in strategy and improvement in retail segment, at end of year 13 Company received very good response in private label segment and got satisfaction results in other segments like revenue $ 393,872,000 that is double of last year 12, net profit was $ 31,854,000 with the ratio of earning per share equal to 3.19. These out comes caused companys rank improvement like was 8th out of 12th. In appendix-3 the BAD BOYZ III Companys year 13 overall progress including strength and weaknesses has shown. Year 14 Year 13 results increase our confidence and courage to getting more effective and efficient in the market and also lead us to understand the purchasing behavior of consumers. In year 14 we continued our last used strategy high quality with cheap price to attract more and more customers. It can only be achieved with high production as amount of consumers increased compared last year. To complete this target we need high amount money thats why BAD BOYZ III Company took a long term loan $ 248,000,000 from the bank. That loan enabled us to fulfill the production plant capacity 4600,000 per year in North America. To get high profit and maximize the sale production we seriously focus on private label that enables BAD BOYZ III competitive strengths increased as compare to the year 13 and sufficient reduction in weaknesses like internet segment and wholesale segment. End of the year 14 BAD BOYZ III Company almost received 100% response and overall progress was getting better with revenue $577,496,000 and net profit $41612, 000. In private label segment company done well and sell all pairs in private label segment caused the market share of private label segment increased such as 76.6% in North America, 52.0 % in Asia-pacific and 62.9% in Latin America as contrast to other market shares. This year increase in private label segment and overall progress helped BAD BOYZ III Company to improve its position like 6th out of 12th. For over all progress see Appendix-4. Year 15 Year 15 was little bit thinking year for BAD BOYZ III management team as the competition and consumers increasing unexpectedly. So our management decided to fix with no cost leadership and customer purchasing behaviors strategy by following Porter (1985) five forces and considering more on North Americas private label segment. The main reason to focus on North America was company high expenditure in this region because of more consumers and demands. Company wanted to get 100% feedback from that region as last year our management bought new plant capacity for it. Increased in demand and production caused the increase in BAD BOYZ III competitive strengths as compare to previous year such as ‘celebrity appeal but weakness remained same as ‘model availability. End of the year 15th brought good news in market share as BAD BOYZ III achieved all market share from North America in private label segment as compared to other regions but with some sad news as company lost his market share in rest of regions. The total revenue was $ 530,284,000 and net profit $ 55474,000 which is somewhat increased as contrast to year 14. In BAD BOYZ III company success story another success was stock prize $ 102.49 and company also offered amount 10,135,000 dividend this year. The company rank was getting better and better as was 5 out of 12. In Appendix-5 year 15 overall progress is shown. Year 16 In year 16, BAD BOYZ III Company decided to remain fixed with same strategy as in year 15 company sold almost all products. To achieve this target company decided to increase the production and plants in different segments especially in North America and Asia Pacific to produce more revenue. Company was getting satisfaction feedback from North America, so company decided to build more plant capacity in North America as well in Asia Pacific region. BAD BOYZ III Company purchased 1500 plant capacity and build 500 in North America and also considering Asia Pacific purchased 800 plants capacity in that region. In year 16th the companys competitive strengths were celebrity appeal and advertising same as last year and company also tried to get rid of the weakness related to company production and profit. Company decided to sell quantity of 500 stocks in the price of $ 96.72 as stock price was really high. At the end of the year 16th the BAD Company revenue was $ 537,898,000 that is little bit high as contrast the previous year and net profit was $30,721,000. As company was getting almost 100% market share in private label from North America caused BOYZ III market share strong position in foot wear market. Appendix-6 represents the Year 16 over all progress. Year 17 Year 17 was decision year for BAD BOYZ III management because company management decided to buy new plant in North America with capacity of 1,900,000 pairs per year. This decision is made on behalf of the year 16 results as consumers increase unexpectedly. Company also reduced the 50% prices of pairs to sell more and more products in all regions to accomplish this strategy and apply these prices we need more and more stocks. Company decided to purchase new 3135 stocks with the price of 57.73 per share. These share prices were higher than the average market shares and company still focusing on North America private label segment with 90.5% share. As mentioned above year 17 was decision year for BAD BOYZ III to make another major decision in market. For this purpose we make a commission to discuss all aspects of Footwear Company including stocks and competitive environment. In this commission we included that we should offer 4000 pair at price of $ 40, was doubled as compare to last year, in North America private label region. That decision is made on two reasons: From the last few years company was getting required feedback from North America. There were no strong competitors in North America. At the end of year 17th the decisions made and strategies applied resulted in excellent outcomes. In North America private label company sold 3546 pairs out of 4,000 at double price $40. BAD BOYZ III company revenue was 690,317,000 and net profit was 107,491,000 increased highly up to 300%. These successful factors boost company rank to top three positions like was 3rd out of 12. The other big achievement was in region of Earning per Share (EPS) that was $14.33 helped to come in 76th position from all over the world in footwear industry. APPENDIXES Appendix-1 Year 11th BAD BOYZ III Annual Summary Report Appendix-2 Year 12th BAD BOYZ III Annual Summary Report Year 12th BAD BOYZ III Annual Summary Report Revenue Net Profit Earnings Per Share Stock Price Return On Equity Image Rating Credit Rating $201,395,000 $8,587,000 $0.86 $21.07 4.60% 61 C North America Internet Segment: Wholesale Segment: Private Label Segment Actual Industry Average Actual Industry Average Actual Market Demand Price $75.30 $68.57 $62.66 $52.47 MAX $47.47 Model Offered 200 168 200 192 Advertising $15,000,000 $6,959,000 $15,000,000 $6,879,000 Celebrity Appeal 100 23 100 21 S/Q Rating 6 5 6 5 4 Market Share 10.0% 9.1% 6.6% 8.3% 0.0% 100.0% Europe Africa Internet Segment: Wholesale Segment: Private Label Segment Actual Industry Average Actual Industry Average Actual Market Demand Price $75.30 $69.52 $62.80 $53.32 MAX $48.32 Model Offered 200 166 200 192 Advertising $15,000,000 $6,771,000 $15,000,000 $6,771,000 Celebrity Appeal 70 18 70 18 S/Q Rating 6 5 6 5 4 Market Share 9.4% 8.3% 7.2% 8.3% 0.0% 100.0% Asia Pacific Internet Segment: Wholesale Segment: Private Label Segment Actual Industry Average Actual Industry Average Actual Market Demand Price $75.30 $68.57 $95.53 $51.88 MAX $46.88 Model Offered 2 Online Shoe Company Business Strategy Online Shoe Company Business Strategy INTRODUCTION The business strategy game is an online, PC-Based game in which you run the world wide athletic footwear market in confronting each other competition against other markets companies run by different group of students into different industry. But this paper only focus on the industry 10 where 12 different companies named Air Nike, Dolce and Banana, IMF vs WTO, Fabulous Foots, Galpha, BAD BOYZ III, Legs supreme, CHU WUB CHU WUB, KVincci, , E-XIE, HA-N Ltd., and Just walk are included. In my industry BAD BOYZ III includes five members (Virayudh Baram, Saif Ur Rehman, Ying Zhao, Maliha Hasin and Imran Shahzad) are responsible for managing all aspects of the companys operation. Every company tried to use their best technique and execute well planned strategies for their company specially considering against the strategies of competitor companies, delivers good bottom-line results (Net Revenue, Earning per share (EPS), the return on equity (ROE), stock price, credit rating and image rating ) and builds shareholder value. This paper is divided in three main sections. First section describe the strategy adopted by BAD BOYZ III Company with the help of Michael Porter â€Å"Five Forces† theory, second section describes the external analysis of company using PESTLE analysis and at end the BAD BOYZ III company analysis from year 11 to year 17 will be discussed with each year progress diagrams shown in Appendix. BUSINESS STRATEGY IMPORTANCE The business strategy game is real time practice business environment. In this game our role is as Manager who responsible to use productive and efficient strategies for company production and profit. In strategic management the role and effect of top managers on company performance and importance of this relationship how may be affected by companys strategy is always recognize as critical issues (Hambrick and Mason (1984), Gupta and Govindarajan (1984), Gunz and Jalland (1996)). Business strategy is influenced by top management team of any firm (Hambrick and Mason, 1984). MICHAEL PORTER (1985) BASIC STRATEGY MODEL Michael Porter (1985) describes market Industry constitution and arrangement within the market is key factor for establishment of competitive strategy. Competitive advantages of any company against other competitors can be described by the â€Å"Five Forces† diagram shows the main idea of Porters theory of competitive advantage. This theory helps companies to know about the rules and regulation of competition in market. Porter argues, The ultimate aim of competitive strategy is to cope with and, ideally, to change those rules in the firms behavior (1985, p. 4).† According to Porter five forces find out company prosperity and profitability. Micheal Porter (1985) five forces are given below: Threat of substitutes Threat of new entrants Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Competition among existing companies Porters 5 Forces Elements of Industry Structure In strategy implementation, competitive advantages, utilizing new production, new inputs for Foot Wear industry Porters Value Chain and Activity Mapping ideas give us useful information to applying these all activities. The value chain activities help BAD BOYZ III Company for examining all activities related to company performance and interaction such as (e.g. development, marketing, sales, operations, etc.) as a potential source of advantage. In year 12 company situation was little bit down and we were losing market shares in such situation we adopted the value chain activities of Porter. These activities help company existing and potential sources of differentiation e.g. products, associated services. The reason to choose this strategy ‘low cost and value chain system was helpful to underline the competitive advantages that cannot come from production side but anywhere from value chain. It also helps us to fit into value chains like suppliers, buyers and channels. PESTLE ANALYSIS PESTLE analysis is usually used to measure the organizations external factors like position, potential and direction for a business or organization. PESTLE is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. BAD BOYZ III Company PESTLE analysis is measured below: Political Factors Political factors illustrate that how and to what extent government intervenes in the investment. The main politics factors are trade barriers, tax policy, trade policies, labor law, export tariffs and environmental law. As concern to BAD BOYZ III Company not much influenced by these factors as all four regions North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe are associated with WTO. Economical Factors Economic factors show how business operate and what of decision would be make, these factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation rate. In the success and development of BAD BOYZ III company exchange rate, affect the costs o exporting products and the supply and price o imported product in an economy, plays a major role. From year 11 to year 17 company maintained a steady exchange rate. Even though company made some mistakes but due to healthy exchange rate company never fall badly. Social Factors These factors show cultural effects, health and safety aspects, people their age, population and growth rate, age and careers approaches. BAD BOYZ III Company participated in charity an as well Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and also providing complete health and safety environment. Technology Factors Technology factors are ecological and environment aspects like Research and development (R D), technology usage rate and automation, determine barriers to entry, low productive manufacturing level and impact on outsourcing decisions. BAD BOYZ III knows the importance of technology and benefits in business environment. Company all private label capacity stocks in Latin America and Asia Specific was up to date because these technology shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation. Environment Factors In environment major factors are weather, climate and variation in climate include weather, climate, and change. These factors can be analyzed as company insurance, farming and tourism. Up to date with weather inform company operation according to weather and products they offer to their customers. Legal factors Legal factors determine company legal boundary, discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law. These are average fixed value of any country and companies cannot across these boundaries. ANALYSIS OF BAD BOYZ III COMPANY FROM YEARS 11 TO 17 A complete and in depth analysis of BAD BOYZ III company is given below: Year 11 In the begging of year 11, BAD BOYZ III has total production plant capacity 6,000,000 to complete the requirements of production only for two regions North America and Asia Pacific. BAD BOYZ III Company has also managed to fulfill the production requirements of remaining regions Latin America, Europe-Africa. In the start of year 11 the demand in North America and Asia Pacific is not much high as compared to present production. So our company decided to sell 200,000 production in North America and 800,000 in Asia Pacific. BAD BOYS III adopt strategies free shipping, model offer and attractive price and advertisement in internet segment and in whole sale garment we offer rebate and model with delivery time guaranteed and advertisement to compete in competitive market. With these strategies we got good market share in internet segment but the market share in whole sale was not according to wish. At the end of year 11 our companys progress was good in contrast with other market companies with 7th position out of the 12. BAD BOYZ III company overall progress was good in footwear industry with revenue $266583000, net profit $ 30224000 with credit rating A-. Year 11 complete detail of BAD BOYZ III competitive strengths and weakness and development can be seen from appendix-1. Year 12 In year 12 BAD BOYZ III company co-managers made some changing in their management and business strategy to get maximum profit from footwear industry market. As the result of year 11 and market competitive approach we decided to sell our products with high and standard quality. As the result of new strategy, quality of product, profit was good and also helped to get high position. In internet segment our competitive strength was marketing, celebrity appeal, S/Q rating and model offer but with some weakness like retail price and shipping charges was some kind of not good factor in competitive market. In whole sale market our S/Q rating, rebate offer and retailer supports were our competitive strength points while the competitive weakness were wholesale price and retail outlets. At the end of year 12 because of some weaknesses in whole sale market and internet segment, company overall progress and position of BAD BOYZ II was down 10 out of 12 with revenue 201395000, net profit 8,587,000, EPS 0.86 and credit rating â€Å"c†. The complete description of BAD BOYZ III company year 12 weaknesses, strengths and overall progress is shown on appendix -2. Year 13 Year 12 result forced the BAD BOYZ III management to seriously take the notice of company performance that is going down. After a long discussion among BAD BOYZ III company co-manager we concluded that we should re-evaluate the company strategy and offer high quality products with low price that strategy lead to ‘low cost and increase market shares described by Portal(1985) five forces theory which is focus on high quality with low price. To achieve maximum profit and top position in footwear market we also considered about the private label segments. Year 13 is the year of thinking for us as the result of year 12 that make us to re-think our all strategies and policies that makes impact on our competitive strategies. With adoption of new strategy our competitive strengths retail price, advertising and model significantly increased but still some weaknesses are shipping charges and retail outlet are there. Because of change in strategy and improvement in retail segment, at end of year 13 Company received very good response in private label segment and got satisfaction results in other segments like revenue $ 393,872,000 that is double of last year 12, net profit was $ 31,854,000 with the ratio of earning per share equal to 3.19. These out comes caused companys rank improvement like was 8th out of 12th. In appendix-3 the BAD BOYZ III Companys year 13 overall progress including strength and weaknesses has shown. Year 14 Year 13 results increase our confidence and courage to getting more effective and efficient in the market and also lead us to understand the purchasing behavior of consumers. In year 14 we continued our last used strategy high quality with cheap price to attract more and more customers. It can only be achieved with high production as amount of consumers increased compared last year. To complete this target we need high amount money thats why BAD BOYZ III Company took a long term loan $ 248,000,000 from the bank. That loan enabled us to fulfill the production plant capacity 4600,000 per year in North America. To get high profit and maximize the sale production we seriously focus on private label that enables BAD BOYZ III competitive strengths increased as compare to the year 13 and sufficient reduction in weaknesses like internet segment and wholesale segment. End of the year 14 BAD BOYZ III Company almost received 100% response and overall progress was getting better with revenue $577,496,000 and net profit $41612, 000. In private label segment company done well and sell all pairs in private label segment caused the market share of private label segment increased such as 76.6% in North America, 52.0 % in Asia-pacific and 62.9% in Latin America as contrast to other market shares. This year increase in private label segment and overall progress helped BAD BOYZ III Company to improve its position like 6th out of 12th. For over all progress see Appendix-4. Year 15 Year 15 was little bit thinking year for BAD BOYZ III management team as the competition and consumers increasing unexpectedly. So our management decided to fix with no cost leadership and customer purchasing behaviors strategy by following Porter (1985) five forces and considering more on North Americas private label segment. The main reason to focus on North America was company high expenditure in this region because of more consumers and demands. Company wanted to get 100% feedback from that region as last year our management bought new plant capacity for it. Increased in demand and production caused the increase in BAD BOYZ III competitive strengths as compare to previous year such as ‘celebrity appeal but weakness remained same as ‘model availability. End of the year 15th brought good news in market share as BAD BOYZ III achieved all market share from North America in private label segment as compared to other regions but with some sad news as company lost his market share in rest of regions. The total revenue was $ 530,284,000 and net profit $ 55474,000 which is somewhat increased as contrast to year 14. In BAD BOYZ III company success story another success was stock prize $ 102.49 and company also offered amount 10,135,000 dividend this year. The company rank was getting better and better as was 5 out of 12. In Appendix-5 year 15 overall progress is shown. Year 16 In year 16, BAD BOYZ III Company decided to remain fixed with same strategy as in year 15 company sold almost all products. To achieve this target company decided to increase the production and plants in different segments especially in North America and Asia Pacific to produce more revenue. Company was getting satisfaction feedback from North America, so company decided to build more plant capacity in North America as well in Asia Pacific region. BAD BOYZ III Company purchased 1500 plant capacity and build 500 in North America and also considering Asia Pacific purchased 800 plants capacity in that region. In year 16th the companys competitive strengths were celebrity appeal and advertising same as last year and company also tried to get rid of the weakness related to company production and profit. Company decided to sell quantity of 500 stocks in the price of $ 96.72 as stock price was really high. At the end of the year 16th the BAD Company revenue was $ 537,898,000 that is little bit high as contrast the previous year and net profit was $30,721,000. As company was getting almost 100% market share in private label from North America caused BOYZ III market share strong position in foot wear market. Appendix-6 represents the Year 16 over all progress. Year 17 Year 17 was decision year for BAD BOYZ III management because company management decided to buy new plant in North America with capacity of 1,900,000 pairs per year. This decision is made on behalf of the year 16 results as consumers increase unexpectedly. Company also reduced the 50% prices of pairs to sell more and more products in all regions to accomplish this strategy and apply these prices we need more and more stocks. Company decided to purchase new 3135 stocks with the price of 57.73 per share. These share prices were higher than the average market shares and company still focusing on North America private label segment with 90.5% share. As mentioned above year 17 was decision year for BAD BOYZ III to make another major decision in market. For this purpose we make a commission to discuss all aspects of Footwear Company including stocks and competitive environment. In this commission we included that we should offer 4000 pair at price of $ 40, was doubled as compare to last year, in North America private label region. That decision is made on two reasons: From the last few years company was getting required feedback from North America. There were no strong competitors in North America. At the end of year 17th the decisions made and strategies applied resulted in excellent outcomes. In North America private label company sold 3546 pairs out of 4,000 at double price $40. BAD BOYZ III company revenue was 690,317,000 and net profit was 107,491,000 increased highly up to 300%. These successful factors boost company rank to top three positions like was 3rd out of 12. The other big achievement was in region of Earning per Share (EPS) that was $14.33 helped to come in 76th position from all over the world in footwear industry. APPENDIXES Appendix-1 Year 11th BAD BOYZ III Annual Summary Report Appendix-2 Year 12th BAD BOYZ III Annual Summary Report Year 12th BAD BOYZ III Annual Summary Report Revenue Net Profit Earnings Per Share Stock Price Return On Equity Image Rating Credit Rating $201,395,000 $8,587,000 $0.86 $21.07 4.60% 61 C North America Internet Segment: Wholesale Segment: Private Label Segment Actual Industry Average Actual Industry Average Actual Market Demand Price $75.30 $68.57 $62.66 $52.47 MAX $47.47 Model Offered 200 168 200 192 Advertising $15,000,000 $6,959,000 $15,000,000 $6,879,000 Celebrity Appeal 100 23 100 21 S/Q Rating 6 5 6 5 4 Market Share 10.0% 9.1% 6.6% 8.3% 0.0% 100.0% Europe Africa Internet Segment: Wholesale Segment: Private Label Segment Actual Industry Average Actual Industry Average Actual Market Demand Price $75.30 $69.52 $62.80 $53.32 MAX $48.32 Model Offered 200 166 200 192 Advertising $15,000,000 $6,771,000 $15,000,000 $6,771,000 Celebrity Appeal 70 18 70 18 S/Q Rating 6 5 6 5 4 Market Share 9.4% 8.3% 7.2% 8.3% 0.0% 100.0% Asia Pacific Internet Segment: Wholesale Segment: Private Label Segment Actual Industry Average Actual Industry Average Actual Market Demand Price $75.30 $68.57 $95.53 $51.88 MAX $46.88 Model Offered 2

Test Bias Essay -- Bias in Mental Testing

In the helping professions such as psychology, counseling, social work and education, it is imperative that we as professionals understand tests and be able to administer them properly to our clients or students. Tests should be carefully selected, as each has a purpose and as we are aware, there are biases within various tests. A biased test is one in which there are methodical distinctions in the meaning of test scores correlated to different groups. Most tests are well-formulated; however none are absolute. Tests are often administered to make substantial conclusions that will affect the lives of the test-taker. The test-taker is unaware of these biases that are in favor of or in opposition of specific groups of people and the results could have a major effect on the test-taker. Testing has become a major aspect of the American society. In academic settings, tests scores are used in determining if a student will graduate high school, selecting students for admission to college, placing students into special education, and various other reasons. Within the corporate arena, businesses may use testing to select individuals for job placement. In the United States, testing is inescapable, and test results could have an extensive influence on individuals. Despite the commonality of testing there is a large discrepancy of results between individuals of certain races, social class, and geographical locations. It was previously suggested that the generous gap in test scores were due to differing educational systems, however researchers now seek other justifications. Is it possible that these tests are erroneous? Did they measure what they were intended to measure? Individuals in the field of education, who agree that individua... ...ork: Free Press. Hilliard, A.G., III (1995), ed. Testing African American students: special reissue of the Negro Educational Review. Chicago: Third World Press. Jencks, C. and Phillips, M. (1998), eds. The black-white test score gap. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Jenson, A.R. (1980). Bias in mental testing. New York: Free Press. Matarazzo, J. (1972) Wechsler’s measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins. Reynolds, C.R. and Brown, Robert T. (1984), eds. Perspectives on bias in mental testing. New York: Plenum Press. Thorndike, R. (1971). Concepts of cultural-fairness.Journal of Educational Measurement,  8(2), 63-70. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/1433959 Whiston, S. (2009).  Principles and applications of assessment in counseling. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder In Veterans :: Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD

As with many other diseases, early detection and treatment of mental disorders are key components to rehabilitation and a cure. The prognosis for a better quality of life for veterans suffering with PTSD is increased through early intervention. The VA has developed the Seamless Transition program for the target group of soldiers that served in Iraq and Afghanistan (Currey, 2007). The focus of the program is to deliver the highest level of care in a timely manner, according to Dr. Roswell, M.D. (Currey, 2007). A holistic approach is taken by social workers to treat the whole person and not just the symptoms. Social work practice often requires advocating and navigating for clients within bureaucratic systems. New soldiers entering the war are at risk of being exposed to trauma, which increases the chance of being diagnosed with PTSD. Other target groups at heightened risk for PTSD are those required to serve multiple deployments and female service members. According to the NADCP (2007) 1 in 5 veterans report symptoms of a mental disorder. These figures can be utilized to predict and implement future treatment needs and funding requirements. Streamlining the application process, by allowing timely access to benefits, can result in reduced benefit necessities. A policy which improves access to benefits for veterans is supported by veteran’s organizations everywhere. A recent change in the policy removes the requirement for veterans to submit written documentation of a stressful event during military service. The most critical support for this change is that of U.S. politicians who make policy decisions. President Obama, in his speech on July 10, 2011, expressed his support for veterans, specifically those suffering with PTSD. He understands the plight of soldiers of war, whether in combat or non-combat, being affected by the war’s trauma. President Obama understood the necessity for new policy as the old policy prevented many of those with PTSD from receiving the care they needed. As stated by the President â€Å"I don’t think our troops on the battlefield should have to take notes to keep for claims applications† (The White House, 2010). The Texas Veteran Commission, realizing the growing number of vete rans with PTSD, is optimistic in its view that the new policies will allow this vulnerable group easier access to benefits (Cervantes, 2010). B. Christopher Frueh, a professor of psychology and director of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaii, is not a supporter of the rule change.

Pricing strategy in video game industry Essay

Video Gaming industry has gone dramatic changes when more and more digital platforms emerge and improved technology in portable devices, mainly in social games(Facebook, Myspace) and mobile games. 27% of US online population play at least one game on social network, and Facebook gaming revenue hit $1. 32 billion in U. S market in 20111. Also, as more than more people have smart phone especially apple’s iOS devices, gaming application becomes more and more popular in mobile market(72% game applications on iTune)2. There are traditional console game players such as EA, Activision, Nintendo and Ubisoft in this industry, also there are leading company in the social game area such as Zynga in the market. Traditionally, console games are sold in retail stores with $39. 99 to $59. 99 retail price for the whole disc content. Hard-core games such as Call of Duty(Activision), Assassin’s Creed(Ubisoft) and etc. usually price at $59. 99 while casual titles such as Nintendo wii games price around 30$. Usually the pricing approach for these console game companies is the industry standard – means every player in this market follows the same rule as the same price. It can be considered as based on cost structure because of the long time of development (18 to 36 months), money-consuming game development cost and all kinds of add-on cost (packaging, marketing and third-party licensing etc. )3 They also only have two months’ shelf time as the game lunch. Because of the high entry barrier in the console game industry and high brand perception among customers, several main competitors dominate the market. The console game price does not differentiate too much among these players. However, as facebook’s extreme success leads to people’s behavior change to be more â€Å"social† associated, a plenty of small companies start to enter into social gaming market and undergo blast growth speed such as Zynga. Zynga’s pricing strategy is â€Å"Free-to-Play† and charging in-game micro-transaction items such as virtual gift or buildings. The free-to-play concept is not new in this industry because plenty of Korean online game companies such as Nexon, NcSoft already using this business model while traditional online games use subscription model ($15. 99 per month) such as World of WarCraft(Blizzard) and EVE Online(CCP Games). As the internet bandwidth improvement and more internet users in US(250 million)4, online games and social games represent strong growth trend comparing to traditional console games. And as users have more options in â€Å"free† games rather than premium games, more and more companies enter into this industry by offering products for free with micro-transaction options. Zynga’s most popular title â€Å"CityVille† has over 70 million monthly active users while best selling single console game Call of Duty(Activision) has 14 million copies sold in US market. Facing the competition of Facebook games with free to play concept and high growth potential of online game market, some of the traditional package-good game companies start to offer cross-platform Facebook game titles to increase their competency in the market such as EA, Sony and Ubisoft. Their main strategy is to develop Facebook companion games(Free to Play) to featured console game title. Those companions games not only offer free-to-play game content but also allow users to unlock items in the main console game such as Dragon Age Legend(EA). They intend to leverage their brand awareness in the gaming industry, acquire more users to play main games and increase monetization channel to increase revenue. EA responded very quickly in this digital trend by doing aggressive acquisitions for popular facebook or mobile game studios. However, a lot of other traditional console game companies react very slow (Ubisoft, Sony) or refuse to change (Nintendo). Most of console game companies conduct a conservative strategy and will develop several social games(much shorter develop time) to make trial because overall the console retail sales revenue is much higher than that in social and mobile market. Others are not capable of following this fast-paced digital step and suffered loss (THQ laid off 200 employees in 2011 because of decreasing sales in retail products). Most customers that play hard-core video console games generally are not satisfied with the â€Å"free-to-play† social companion games because of lower quality of overall game content and totally different game play with main games. A low quality companion product of Facebook platform will damage the company’s reputation in this industry for new users. However, since the users profile between hardcore players (average 29 years old male) and social players (average 35 years old female) are so different with very few overlap, it makes these console game companies indifferent to the failure of Facebook product. Online game market, on the other hand, the free to play options have a big impact to customers’ options. For example, World of Warcraft ( Most popular Massive Multiplayer Role Playing game, 12million users with $15. 99 monthly subscription fee) lost 600,000 users since 2008 while RuneScape(Jagex) (free-to-play game with subscription options at $5) has 150 million registered users and over 10 million active users. Blizzard responded to the competition since 2011 on â€Å"free to Play† options until level 20 in the game. Another game Lord of the Rings switched from subscription model to free to play model and saw double revenue and 400% user growth immediately. I would suggest the pricing decision maker in video game industry to look at customer, company capability, product feature, customer and competitors’ issues. Company – Analyze company’s positioning in terms of digital trend in the industry and focus on the products with higher profit margins – Analyze company’s cost structure and allocate reasonable resources on other platform product development based on financial forecast Product. – Since console game products have fixed price in the retail stores, figure out other possible channels for monetization such as digital add-on contents, special side-product package etc. – Decide possible virtual buying items based on the game mechanics and gamers motivation (self-expression, social status and social network) Distributor – Corporate and form good relationship with retail distributors for more resources on shelf presence and brand promotion Customer. – Deliver social companion games with high-quality contents to enhance main game – Deliver social games that directly target Facebook users – Promote company brand and establish community to highly engage with users Competitor – Learn from competitors on the digital content development – Expand to other country that competitors did not focus. Resources: 1. www. bizreport. com/2011/07/2011-social-gaming-revenues-to-exceed-1billion. html 2. http://mashable. com/2011/07/13/mobile-gaming-trends/ http://www. businessinsider. com/getting-into-the-mobile-gaming-game-2011-7.

First Cars PLC Plan

It is clearly showing that for the p rapports it is going in the correct direction. With the market expected to grow in terms of market volume, mutinously year on year reaching its final point 1 increase above the baa SE year in 2014 and showing the same trend however with a greater increase for the market v alee, expecting to grow by around 300% over the period shown.This data clearly backs up the e idea of the proposal as it is suggesting that they are entering a market that is showing the at it should be thriving in the forthcoming years and therefore suggesting that they should g o into the new market earlier rather than later because as the car club market increases like the data suggested so will the competition that is in the market, therefore making it ha deer for them to enter the market the later they wait.Secondly if they do decide to go ahead with the proposal, the data suggests the at the company is likely to become more professional in the way it operates as they move i nto a prestigious office in London this will come with a more decentralized organizational struck true. What this means for the company is the fact that the decision making process is spread out to include the more junior managers in the hierarchy, making the decisions made close r to the customer and therefore should hopefully mean that the end service is going to be close to what those who are going to consume it want.It is also a good way of training junior man eager into how the decision making process works and allows them to be making decisions in the company from very early on, therefore increasing the responsibility they have in the such cues, this will also improve the motivation that they have for their job and decrease the decide Soon making time.Further to this it will have a massive positive effect on the staff turnover of the business as shown in Appendix C from Human Resources, this table shows that labor turnover is restarted to fall to 5% from 30%, this could be due to the new structure Of the e business, allowing everyone a part in the fundamental decision making process that face sees them every day or the fact that with better working conditions such as a large office in Lo Indo and a higher salary they are bound to be happier in their work. Further to this the 10 w labor turnover will hopefully reduce the training costs that they are pumping into the e new strategy.As they have a huge budget for training you assume that this will mean that e employees should feel more motivated as they see the effort the company is putting in to et them highly trained in their job, this should mean that the high cost of training will very m such be a one off cost to the business as this alongside the low labor turnover means that the y should be in a position where they aren't training new recruits regularly, only if the case arise sees that they have to expand or when they decide they are doing well enough in the market to d o so.Further to the arguments above the AIR of the investment into the car club p rapports is forecasted to be 15. 6%, this figure passes the expectation of the Directors' who o said they anted it to be at 12%, this means that they are going to achieve the original investment of E Million quicker that what is expected however there could always be the chant CE for error in the forecasted figures. Other arguments for the proposal would be the fact the at the cost of traveling is predicted to increase by 20% over the next 4 years as price of peter 01, car tax and insurance is growing more and more over time.Also as said in the date an Inc erase in the emphasis of reducing our carbon footprint has led to people questioning thee r decision to own a car, and this will be further contemplated as car clubs become ever more pop alular, therefore paving the way for car clubs to come into the market. Finally the car club Indus story has a proven track record and therefore instead Of it being a risky option for the co many what it in fact is doing is differentiating testifiers a market that they are beginning to I SSE market share in.Arguments against: My first argument against would be the fact that they are already running a s successful car rental business and as with any business why would you change something if it is still bringing in a decent revenue, their USPS Of being a no thrills business that is always undo recruiting its imitators is always going to appeal to the tourist that is looking for a simple e car hire for their time in the country.However the case study does then go onto say that they a re losing market share in a competitive market, therefore they need to change something. Ho waver maybe the idea of moving into a market that is not as widely well known could be devastate dating especially as First Cars PL has no previous experience of the car club market, this could lead to a large amount of unwanted start up costs as they haven't really got someone d riving the project that IS likely to know exactly what is happening.Further to this the car club market is already occupied by a lone large company owning 60% of the market share m meaning that it is a monopoly as a result of this they are going to have to do something dramatic calla different to have any affect on the market they are moving into as without a strong USPS t here is no way they will fare well against an already well established successful company that dominates the market market share.Secondly the previous question tells us that the website is likely to take 1 0 we seeks longer than what the critical path analysis says in Appendix B, because they don't think the t they can design and test the website in under 15 weeks this means that Amy has made a massive mistake and misjudged by 1 0 weeks, this will have a detrimental effect on the whole process and will put it back to last 27 weeks as opposed to the 23 weeks previously sees admitted, this also changes the critical path from BEG to CHI].As a result of this First Cars P LLC could experience a number of serious cash flow problems as instead of the comma nines website getting up and running and the first orders coming in, will still be in the pro diction process causing a further cost to the business creating no revenue.

Good teacher Essay

If I were to describe one of my teachers that I have had throughout these years, the one who I considered a good teacher is my present English teacher. The reasons why I would like to characterize my English teacher are various. Firstly, she’s well to take responsibility. She came to teach punctually. Especially, she always keeps in touch with us to try hard to study by her homework for every day. She speaks English fluently, and her voice is so loud that can make students in the class easy to listen. Actually, when we tired, she always tells jokes that always keep us smiling. Secondly, she’s been teaching for long time, so she’s got many experiences. I like the way she pronounce clearly. Moreover, I could say she is a good explainer but she also gives her best in order to help students to improve their knowledge in English. She likes to correct us each time we make mistakes both in pronunciation and grammar. Thirdly, she’s a work hard teacher. She always do a research more new documents for  the students to easy to get understand. And she also got some music lyrics, puzzle, or any other to relax at the weekend or after exam. Sometimes, she looks strong-mined to make us to try hard to study but I know that inside she’s very kind, polite and honest. In conclusion, I can say that, her lectures are well organized, interesting and her methods of teaching us demonstrate the desirable teaching method for our use. I thought that I’m very lucky that I’ve met a very good teacher like her.

Mobile phone: a blessing or a curse

Men check your pocket, Ladies check your purse, something is ringing and vibrating. Yes, the mobile phone, it is a portable gadget, which is made by the people and for the people. A tiny thing which was a status symbol but today, it is the necessity of everyone. Our unique ten-digit numbers allows us to receive or dial calls. It is the identity of the person nowadays and without this people stare at you as if you are not from the 21st centaury. Because for being social you do not have to meet your friend or relatives every weekend, you can call, SMS, email, write on the Facebook wall or merely tweet them. All this is possible with this protean mobile. People are really blessed as this mobile technology has changed our life completely because we have the whole universe in our pocket. A friend in need is a friend indeed, but without a mobile phone you cannot contact your friend and he will not be able to help in emergency. Mobile phone is a true friend and also a live saver, for example, your car broke down in a lonely road where there is no one to help, you can call for help with the help of a mobile phone. On the other hand you can also send SMS or email to contact someone. With the help of the thumb exercise you can send text in the wink of an eye. The other two giant social networking websites, Facebook and Twitter, are also accessible with the phone. So being in contact with friends and relatives is really easy. Other than this there are some basic handy features like Alarm, Stopwatch, Calculator, World Clock, Calendar and Tasks. Don’t you need this features everyday? But if you do not have a mobile phone you will need an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a world clock, a calendar and notebook to write the tasks. Mobile phone is an artist and can do everything you need in your daily life. Along with this if you like to be a spy these features will be very much in need like the camera, video camera and voice recording are some ingredients which will spice up your life. Not only this, a mobile also has a huge capacity to store data. So you can feed the memory with music, videos, photos, games and many more things that you like. So when you are in the airport waiting for hours, surely this will be an entertaining friend and you will never be bored. You can also watch live television so that you never miss your show or match on the go. Nevertheless you can access the whole Internet. That means you can do your work without sitting on the computer because almost everything can be done on the mobile phone. It is like a hand-computer and will never disappoint you because it works for days. To add to the total we have the GPS (Global Positioning System), NFC (Near Field Communication), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, inbuilt compass and last but not the least the mobile application store like the android market place and the iOS app store where you will find millions of reasonable application which suits your need and style. On top of it, mobile phone makers are making slimmer mobiles with good battery backup also with a faster and better processing gadget so that it makes are life much more faster and simpler. In some countries like Australia, if you have done online booking for your flight you just have to scan a unique code, which is in the form of a barcode. While boarding the barcode displayed on the phone is scanned. This eliminates the need of a paper-boarding pass. In the future with the help of Near Field Communication we can do transactions and pay money with our mobile phone. This way we can see that the mobile phone is the greatest invention of modern time