Teams - Making Them Work For You Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Cour

Teams Making Them Work For You The organisational organ known as the team is becoming more and more apparent in today's dynamic business world. Increasingly managers are searching for a means to improve production and keep their organisation competitive in the global market. A lot of these managers have turned to the team as a means for achieving this improvement. Quality circles were looked at to fulfil this role. However, this form of team is being phased out and may have posed as incubator for the current trend; self - managed work teams (Klein, 1995). These teams are increasingly being looked at today to solve many an organisation's production problems and inefficiencies, and in the process are both badly failing and greatly succeeding. Therefore, the discussion of teams is a very important contemporary management issue to address. Managers should be aware of such a concept and learn about it so as a means to further their organisation and for when the time comes to implement a team they are armed with enough knowledge to implement the team properly. As with many management trends or processes, they are often labeled, producing a huge list of "buzzwords", like total quality management, just in time management, management by objectives, downsizing, rightsizing, etc. The organisational team also pulls a long chain of "buzzwords"; workgroup, work team, project team, project group, task force, committees and so on and so on. What these terms basically refer to is a "collection of two or more individuals who interact with each other, share common beliefs, and perceive themselves as being in a group." (Vecchio, Hearn, Southey, 1996:846). This is a very basic interpretation of a team and which can be expanded upon. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company defines a team more specifically as "a group of people with specific roles and responsibilities, organised to work together toward common goals or objectives, in which each member depends on others to carry out responsibilities to reach those goals and objectives." (1986, cited in Denton, 1992:87). The implementation and operation of a team can either be a great success or a costly failure, both money wise and time wise. Many companies have benefited from teams, as Dumaine (1994) points out, "when teams work, there's nothing like them for turbocharging productivity." There are many examples of success... ...close to the problem, they also may be more capable of identifying the most viable solutions. And as authors of the solutions, they have a vested interest in their success. Even without a role in developing solutions, staffs are critical to implementation," (Magee, 1997:26). Bibliography: Denton, D.K. (1992). Building a team. Quality Progress, October, 87 - 91. Dewar, D. (1999). 13 keys to successful teamwork. Workforce, 78 (2), W3. Dumaine, B. (1994). The trouble with teams. Fortune, 130 (5), 86 - 90. Kezsbom, D.S. (1995). Making a team work: techniques for building successful cross - functional teams. Industrial Engineering, January, 39 - 41. Klein, S. (1995). Teams under stress: the effects of work pressures and management action. IIE Solutions, May, 34 - 38. Magee, Y.S. (1997). Teams: avoiding the pitfalls. Public Management, 79 (7), 26 - 28. McGarvey, R. (1996). Joining forces: 12 steps to creating winning teams. Entrepreneur, 24 (9), 80 - 82. Taraschi R. (1998). Cutting the ties that bind. Training and Development, 52 (11), 12 - 14. Vecchio, R.P., Hearn, G., & Southey G. (1996). Organisational behaviour. 2nd edition. Marrickville: Harcourt Brace.

Create Dramatic Tension Essay

A view from the bridge, one of Arthur Miller’s first comings when he became interested in the work and lives of large communities of long shore men. Arthur Miller himself worked as a long shore man on New York Brooklyn harbour. This certainly invigorated him into something ‘dangerous and mysterious. ‘ A View from the Bridge originated from a simple story Miller’s friend had told him about. At the time Arthur was active with numerous other projects he hand entitled to do, so he didn’t act upon this piece immediately. His travels along with many potential ideas combined with his clever knowledge and imaginative understanding would give way to something that would later on become controversial. This play was written in 1955, set in Red Hook in a slum area in New York, its exactly as it sounds, dull, dark and full of unwinding drama behind closed doors. Based in 1940s immigration had been illegal at the time when America had banned it due to heavy immigrant incomings, this made coming into America difficult but not impossible. A View from the Bridge at first boasts upon a second generation Italian family, consisting of Eddie, his wife Beatrice and her niece Catherine, these three characters living together pleasantly. These characters play an essential role in dialectical amusement. This Italian family would follow the nature of the stereotypical Italian virtues, valuing loyalty, fixated trust, respect and honour. Respect and loyalty are things an Italian family should contain and retain. A clear feature in this play is immigration, which right from the beginning intertwines through to the end. Starting of with such a young fun loving warm hearted family filled with an easy atmosphere then merged towards difficult and stiff tension between additional characters like Redolfo and Marco who come over to stay from Italy, the family go through hoops of dispute leading to argumentative circles and to a most glum ending. When Beatrice’s cousin’s Marco and Redolfo move into in with the family welcomed by Eddie, things start to submerge. Eddie notices Catherine’s fondness for Redolfo, causing Eddie to become over protective, but not because its his niece but more so because of unmentionable deeper feelings he has for his niece. This family gets torn apart by jealousy, loss of trust and violence. At the end of the play after psychological and verbal threats from Eddie to Redolpho, Marco at the end of Act one/two lifts a chair above Eddie declaring power, urgency and alarms start to go off. At the end of the play the immigration officers come in and arrest Marco and Redolfo. Tempers start to run up high as Marco swears at Eddie which sets him off. Eddie at the end attempted to kill Marco with a knife which goes by all his morals, but Marco turns Eddies weapon into his nemesis and kills him instead. Beatrice and Catherine were deeply upset about Eddies death recollecting what they lost forgetting all the trouble he’d brought upon himself. Eddie’s death was appropriate it wasn’t about why he would die more about how he would die. Although Eddie died, in a sense he became successful because he was killed on Catherine’s and Redolfo’s wedding day, so each day they would remember his death and why he died. My first key dramatic moment is when Beatrice says to Eddie ‘you want something else Eddie and you can never have her! ‘ and when she also adds, ‘the truth is not as bad as blood’ indicating that if he doesn’t acknowledge the truth their will be a bloody outcome. When Beatrice says all this its as if she had brought everything that has been hidden for so long out into the wide open. She brings up the hidden agenda that has stayed taboo to her for so long, she’s telling him that she knows that he wants something else and makes it clear she knows its Catherine by concluding ‘and Eddie you can’t have her! ‘ This is a key dramatic moment because this is when Miller lets Beatrice take control and helps the other characters understand why Eddie is doing what he is. Also because it comes as unexpected and to Catherine it would be a shock and would fill her with disgust, she had no idea what Beatrice was saying it hadn’t sunk in to her, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This moment delays what’s happening and it starts to focus on Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine. This horrifies the other characters around and certainly makes the audience reacts with gasp, for the characters had no idea about Eddies feelings but the audience had an idea of it but didn’t expect Beatrice to say what she did and they way she did. This caused dramatic irony because they knew something that the characters didn’t and they were witnessing the build up. This left Eddie in a state uneasiness he swiftly went into denial knowing that inside that Beatrice was speaking the truth. Miller showed us the effects when both Catherine and Eddie both exclaimed ‘B’ and diverted their attention and eyes on her. Miller created this effect cleverly because just as Eddie was going to confront Marco, Beatrice used this as a last attempt to stop Eddie’s frenzy. Miller showed us a wife telling her husband that she knows that her partner wants someone else, the biggest effect this would have is on Eddie. Also the way he showed us they horror in the raised voices. The audience and characters didn’t suspect Beatrice to confront Eddie like this, since she was torn apart by these 2 sides. Miller runs the tension higher than it already was and straight back down to the confrontation of Eddie and Marco.

I woke up with the worst headache ever – Creative Writing

I woke up with the worst headache ever. I could hardly move but I managed to sit up with difficulty. I was in forest. I looked around to see if I could recognise where I was, but I didn't. Then it hit me. Who I was and what I was doing there? How did I get there? Where am I from? What's my name? I didn't know. My heart was thumping and I started screaming but I realised no one could hear me. I saw that a few trees had been burnt, recently burnt. I touched something, something liquid but it was too thick to be water. I went closer to it wondering what it could be I discovered it was blood. There was blood around me but I wasn't bleeding. I didn't get it. As I was trying to get up my leg hit something too heavy to be pushed away. I was on my feet wondering what it was I'd hit. She had dark eyes, black hair, she was beautiful, stunning but had been stabbed in the stomach. It was her blood I had all over my hands, her blood that my clothes had been drenched in. I thought for a while. This couldn't have been what I thought it was. Was I that sort of a person? Well if I was, I knew I had changed. I bent down and closed her eyes but they re-opened and her hand moved. I was so happy, I might not have known her but I was still happy because death is a terrible thing. Then she grabbed my hand in a tight grip, tight enough to get me on my knees. Struggling she put he arms around my neck and whispered, â€Å"Help me please.† Then she fell into my arms. I started to panic. I had some keys in my pocket, and one of them looked like car keys. I kind of guessed I owned a car. I picked her up and started walking. I had no idea where I was going and after twenty minutes I realised I was lost. But I didn't lose hope, I kept on going for I didn't care how tired I was. All that mattered to me was for this girl to stay alive and not to die. About ten minutes later I came to a car park. I was relieved. I took a look at the keys to see what car I had to look for. Within a minute I found the car I as looking for. A jaguar convertible and I was surprised, I expected a ford or a normal non-expensive car. I opened the passenger seat and put her in. I looked at her closely and muttered to myself, † I couldn't have stabbed her.† I sat in the drivers' seat and found a wallet. I opened it and there was a picture of a guy in it. Next to it there was the name Tyler Epps and the address 4208 Link, Connecticut Lane, Maryland, Silverspring. I looked in the mirror and realised that I was the guy in the picture and also had blood on my face. I didn't know whether to drive up or down? East or West? I decided to look for the main road and there might be signs that may help me. When I got to the main road, there were signs and I looked at them and tried to see if I recognised any of the places. I didn't but to my luck I saw † Newn Hospital 1 mile † I was so glad. When I got there a lady at the desk saw me and screamed, † Got a doctor urgently we have a stabbed patient.† I saw nurses rushing. They took her from me and put her on one of those wheely beds. I watched them vanish at the end of the corridor. A lady came to me to go and get my face cleaned up. There was a massive cut around my temple. A very deep one too, so I had been after all. It was really starting to hurt now. I was so shocked and scared before that I couldn't feel the pain. She asked me who she was, but I told her I had no idea. Then all of a sudden there was blankness. I woke up and to no surprise I found myself on a hospital bed. â€Å"Well good morning Mr. Epps,† a lady's voice said to me. I turned to my left and there was a nurse standing beside me. She was injecting me with something. â€Å"This will make you feel better,† she said as she was writing down something on a piece of paper. I didn't bother asking what it was as I could feel it working already. I didn't feel as weak anymore. â€Å"How long have I been here?† expecting her to say at least three hours. â€Å"Since November the 15th sir.† She paused looking too deep at whatever she was writing. † And today is the 17th of November sir.† She then walked out. I couldn't believe it, I had been unconscious for two days. I wondered what had happened to me to cause this. â€Å"Hey Tyler.† I looked up and it was her. The girl from the forest, she was alive. â€Å"The doctors said I'm going to be out of here soon,† she said with excitement. I was puzzled, she was very confident talking to me. Her face rapidly changed to normal. â€Å"Oh, I forgot,† She said sadly â€Å"Forgot what?† For I had no idea what she was going on about â€Å"Well the doctors told me you had lost your memory in the accident,† she said quietly. â€Å"What accident?† â€Å"I guess I will have to start from the beginning.† â€Å"We were going through the forest on our way to the lakeside, when this guy came to us and asked for the direction to the car park. Then all of a sudden he pulled a knife and stabbed me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She then took a heavy breath. â€Å"You turned and the knife but just as you were about to pull it out he hit you on the head with something, but I didn't quite see what it was.† She had a tear in her eye. â€Å"So, who are you?† She could be my cousin, my best friend, I had to know. â€Å"I'm Kyla, your girlfriend,† she smiled. â€Å"Girlfriend, whoa I can handle that.† I didn't know what else to say, I had a girlfriend and I didn't even remember her. Then again I could see why she's my girlfriend. No doubt she was a beautiful girl and she seemed like a nice person. The nurse came back, † Mr Epps, I've got good news. Your condition seems to have healed rapidly, therefore you can go home in two days, but we will have to run a few tests before that, just to be sure.† â€Å"That's good news, we get to go home together,† she said getting all excited again. â€Å"Home? Together?† I was still confused. † Yeah, we live together.† â€Å"We†¦live together?† â€Å"Tyler I'm your girlfriend you know and the least you can do is sound to surprised.† She was angry. â€Å"Well I am sorry, it's just that I don't even know myself and everything is moving too quick,† I said slowly and calmly. † I am sorry too, it's just that I'm not used to seeing you like this.† † Doesn't it feel good to be home?† â€Å"I don't remember home, but it sure does feel better thin that hospital.† My house as massive, so I kind of figured out that I was rich. I owned a jaguar and a massive house. Living with Kyla was great. She took me to see all my friends and family and helped me with all the things I needed to know and do. I proposed to her and she said yes. After about a year, I was gaining my life back, getting re-adapted to the worlds and living with Kyla. I realised that my life was worth living. I had a great family and a wonderful fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e. I really did love her. How couldn't I? She was just perfect for me. She was beautiful, intelligent and never did anything wrong or anything to hurt me. She was the reason I lived. During that year Kyla let out the secret, our secret that nobody could know. We are different from everybody else. Kyla had the ability to control the mind and objects, which was weird but really cool. But as for me I just love fire I am a pyromaniac. It was real cool how I could make fire by looking at things. She told me what happened that night. The night in the forest, a night I could never forget. She has a brother named Camen. His power was to actually get into the anyone's body including animals. He didn't † Erm excuse me, I'm Aaron.† â€Å"And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  † I'm Kyla's brother†

Case Study-Barclays

BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS I. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, CASE INTRODUCTION AND KEY POINTS Introduction The case covers the introduction of Matt Barrett as CEO of Barclays and the changes he introduced to the organization to maintain its competitive position within the retail financial services industry. In an increasingly competitive environment, Barclays is losing ground due to its lack of data-driven actions and small global presence. The case outlines the actions taken by Barrett to transform some of the key characteristics of Barclays’ corporate structure, and concludes by presenting the challenge he will face in getting management buy-in in order to implement his vision. The key challenges that Barclays faces include: market consolidation, the emergence of the Euro and European Central Bank, increased reliance on IT and web-based platforms, and the rigidity of its own corporate structure. II. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS Summarize the external environment, including conditions in the general, industry, and competitor environments. a. The General Environment Definition: The general environment is focused on the future and can be analyzed by considering the STEEP framework: Social/demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/geographic and Political/legal/governmental factors at play. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Social/Demographic Technological Economic Environmental/Geographic Political/Legal/Governmental Discussion Question 1: Perform a STEEP analysis to understand the general environment facing Barclays. How will Barclays be affected by external factors? In particular, what will the effect of globalization be in terms of threats and opportunities? Social/Demographic Segment ? English is becoming increasingly the world-wide language of business offering Anglophone Barclays opportunities to expand into international markets with reduced language barriers. BARCLAYS |1 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS Technological: ? ? ? Increased world-wide reliance on IT and the emergence of web-based solutions in 2000 will elevate Barclays’ need to diversify portfolio offerings. Barclays’ must update its â€Å"woefully inadequate† Management Information Systems (MIS) and begin to automate labor intensive processes to reduce costs. In order to enter new markets to increase revenues and satisfy institutional investors, Barclays must invest in increased technology capabilities. Economic: ? ? ? Robust economic environment due to tech boom will increase liquidity in the marketplace. As a result, acquisitions will be more costly than in a down economy. However this will also cause capital to be more accessible. Market trends towards consolidation will pressure Barclays to regain its industry leadership position through acquisition. Globalization and world economy flattening will require Barclays to become a global company expanding its offerings beyond its current UK focus. Environmental/Geographic: ? Geographic borders and distances between countries are shrinking with increased technology and a globalized economy. This will both require and facilitate Barclays’ global presence. Political/Legal/Governmental: ? ? Emergence of the Euro and strengthening of the EU will reduce FX exposure for the European markets and stabilize European economies. European Central Bank will control interest rates in Europe making Barclays more vulnerable to its decisions (versus the decentralized banks prior to the Euro emergence). With an ever increasing number of banks operating across both political and geographic borders, Barclays must expand its reach beyond the UK to remain competitive and avoid a potential takeover. In doing this, Barclays must consider a set of threats and opportunities that are involved with operating outside the UK: Threats 1. Operating a multinational corporation involves managing across multiple cultures, languages, and economic environments – Barclays’ organizational structure must be flexible enough to adapt to these. . Low brand recognition internationally would make competition against local institutions costly. BARCLAYS |2 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS 3. Relocation abroad requires high infrastructure costs. 4. Locating Barclays’ and its customers’ assets across multiple currencies exposes both to fluctuations in exchange rates. 5. Failed expansion into foreign market might damage brand image and alienate n ew customers. Opportunities 1. Increased global reach and brand presence. 2. Diversified risk. 3. Possibility to create new revenue streams through new customer acquisition. 4. Gain first mover advantage in emerging markets. 5. Increases attractiveness of Barclays to multinational corporations. b. The Industry Environment Definition: An industry is a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes. In the course of competition, these firms influence one another. Typically, industries include a rich mixture of competitive strategies that companies use to pursue above-average returns. In part, these strategies are chosen because of the influence of an industry’s characteristics. Compared with the general environment, the industry environment often has a more direct effect on the firm’s strategic competitiveness and above-average returns. The industry environment is the set of factors that directly influences a firm and its competitive actions and competitive responses. Porter’s 5 Forces Model is a powerful tool for understanding the dynamics amongst the five key factors that determine an industry’s level of rivalry and profit potential. [Outlined below, High=H; Medium=M; Low=L] 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Threat of New Entrants (or barriers to entry) Supplier Power Threat of Product Substitutes Buyer Power Intensity of Rivalry Discussion Question 2: Use Porter’s Five Forces Model to analyze the retail financial services industry in the UK. Given this analysis, is the industry attractive or unattractive? The below Porter’s 5 forces analysis shows that the retail financial services industry in the UK is a potentially attractive industry due to low threat of new entrants, supplier power, and substitutes. On the other hand, medium buyer power and high rivalry within the industry could inhibit return possibilities. Threat of New Entrants (or barriers to entry): Low ? ? High infrastructure costs Barclays has high brand recognition within the UK, less so in its other markets BARCLAYS |3 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS ? ? Regulatory and security issues make market entry complicated for smaller players NOTE: Mergers of existing banks, if considered ‘new entrants’, must be addressed given the consolidation trend existing in the market. Smaller regional banks could pull customers away from Barclays if they were to merge and offer more extensive services but retain local roots and connections. Supplier Power: Low ? Switching costs among IT suppliers low in a fragmented industry Threat of Product Substitutes: Low ? Traditional, paper based, systems have become outdated and are no longer feasible. Asset management advice is preferred by customers over DIY Buyer Power: Medium ? ? Price sensitivity of retail consumer (major revenue stream for Barclays) relatively high compared to that of corporate client Switching costs of retail consumer (major revenue stream for Barclays) relatively high compared to those of corporate client Intensity of Rivalry: High ? ? Customer loyalty and brand recognition make switching of banking provider less likely Large number of competitors within the retail banking space NOTE: Competition within the industry is based on both price and services The Competitor Environment c. Definition: The competitor environment is the final subject of analysis required to gain a full understanding of the company's external environment. A competitor analysis focuse s on each company against which a firm directly competes and involves gathering and interpreting information about its competitors. Competitive rivalry is the ongoing set of competitive actions and responses that occur among firms as they maneuver for an advantageous market position. Especially in highly competitive industries, companies constantly jockey for advantage as they launch strategic actions and respond or react to rivals’ moves. It is important to understand competitive rivalry because it influences a firm’s ability to gain and sustain competitive advantages. 3 I’s Framework Leveraging the 3 I’s framework provides a thorough overview by grouping competitors into three buckets: immediate competition, impending competition, invisible competition. BARCLAYS |4 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS 1. Immediate Competition: Immediate competitors to Barclays are considered to be the major financial institutions located in the UK such as Lloyds TSB and RBS. These institutions are gaining increasing presence over Barclays due to their lower cost structures and improved efficiencies. 2. Impending Competition: Impending competitors to Barclays include international financial services firms such as Credit Suisse First Boston, and smaller firms operating in one of Barclays’ business categories such as investment advisory firms (Zoete Bevan, Wells Fargo Nikko). . Invisible Competition: Barclays’ invisible competitors include smaller UK based businesses that focus solely on a product offered by one of Barclays’ divisions, such as smaller mortgage lending businesses (Woolwich). III. INTERNAL COMPANY ANALYSIS Summarize internal company factors including: capabilities and weaknesses, value chain activities, strategy, and financial situation. a. Outline the company's internal capabilities and weaknesses. Definition: Capabilities exist when resources have been integrated to achieve a specific set of tasks and are frequently developed within a specific functional area. In addition to identifying the company's opportunities and threats from the external environment, another important objective of the situation analysis is to evaluate strengths and weaknesses as input for developing the company's strategies. Discussion Question 3: What are the main capabilities of Barclays? Does Barclays have a core competence? Barclays’ main capabilities include retail financial services and corporate banking within the UK. The company’s core competencies (i. e. trengths relative to competitors that give it a competitive edge) include: a strong brand presence within the UK, a strong domestic franchise, new innovative leadership under Matt Barrett, and outstanding (276%) market cap growth from 1995-2000. BARCLAYS |5 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS Discussion Question 4: Create a SWOT analysis to understand Barclays’ strengths and weaknesses. Does Barclays have a sustainable competitive advantage in the re tail financial services industry? If so, what is the source? Strengths 1. Strong brand presence within UK 2. 76% growth in market cap from 19952000 3. Strong domestic franchise 4. Strong new leadership with strategic vision (Matt Barrett) Opportunities 1. Opportunity to expand into global markets (Barclays Global Investors only 2% of business) 2. Ability to strengthen existing brand presence within Europe (10% of sales and profits) 3. Streamline cost sharing among business units (HR, IT, Finance, etc. ) Weaknesses 1. Cost to income ratio significantly higher than competition (business units operate as silos) 2. Narrow focus (61% of revenue from RFS, capital division focused on debt products) 3. Limited global presence (80% of profits from UK) Threats 1. Management reluctance to embrace new strategies, demoralized staff 2. Competitors have lower cost advantage 3. Stronger global presence of international competitors 4. Dissatisfied institutional investors 5. Inadequate IT systems can inhibit growth Barclays’ competitive advantage includes its: strong presence within the UK market both in terms of locations and brand recognition, strong innovative leadership, and international presence. Barclays’ business strategy has focused on growth within the UK and has not invested enough capital into international expansion. In a globalizing economy with rising multinational financial corporations, the lack of a strong international presence is something that could significantly hurt Barclays in the long-term, and even turn it into a takeover target as institutional investors continue to lose faith in the company. b. Conduct a Value Chain analysis to identify value-creating activities. Definition: By exploiting its core competencies, a competitive firm creates value for its customers. Value is measured by a product’s performance characteristics and by its attributes for which customers are willing to pay. Companies with a competitive advantage offer value to BARCLAYS |6 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS customers that is superior to the value competitors can provide. Value is created by innovatively bundling and leveraging resources and capabilities. A value chain analysis provides information relative to primary (inbound/outbound logistics, operations, marketing & sales, and service) and secondary (firm infrastructure, human resources mgmt, technological developments and procurement) activities. A value chain representation of Barclays’ primary and support activities is presented in the diagram below. This information can be used to establish a business strategy which targets select activities to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Primary Activities ? ? ? ? Inbound/Outbound Logistics: N/A Operations: o Strong focus on Retail Financial Services (RFS), account for 61% of revenue o Sold cash, equities, and corporate finance businesses to focus on debt products Service: N/A Marketing and Sales: o Strong focus on UK market and low global presence o Reliance on UK brand recognition Support Activities ? ? ? HR Management: o Executive committee not performing as decision making team o Higher than average staff expenses put heavy strain on cost structure Technology Development: o Management Information Services (MIS) system is outdated and inadequate Firm Infrastructure: BARCLAYS |7 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS o Divisions operating as silos (each has own HR, IT, etc. ) o Lack of data driven decision making processes o Introduction of the Euro and the European Central Bank affect Barclays’ exposure to foreign exchange as well as interest rate changes both for the company itself and its clients Procurement: N/A Discussion Question 5: Which components of Barclays’ value chain have made the company successful thus far? What changes to Barclays’ organizational structure and focus are necessary for Barclays to remain competitive? Barclays has become a major player in the banking industry through strong brand presence within the UK, earning it one out of every five personal customers, and a clear focus on Retail Financial Services (RFS). However, both its UK presence and RFS focus have failed to provide a sustainable competitive advantage for the company. In order to remain competitive within the banking industry, Barclays must examine and redesign various components of its value chain including: 1. Focus on Retail Financial Services: a. Barclays must expand its focus beyond RFS by creating new product offerings for corporate customers and further expanding internationally to give newly acquired corporate customers global access. 2. Outdated and inadequate MIS system: a. In order to manage its internal functions efficiently, Barclays must adopt technological innovations and update its MIS system. 3. Lack of data driven decision making: a. In order to compete in an industry driven by statistics and analytics, Barclays must emphasize data driven decisions throughout its corporate structure. 4. Fragmented core divisions: a. Operating fragmented core divisions such as HR and Finance creates additional costs as well as bureaucracy and inefficiencies. Barclays must consolidate these shared services. BARCLAYS |8 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS c. Financial Analysis Definition: Financial analysis is used to assess the viability, stability and profitability of a company or operating division. The analysis is done using quantitative historical performance found in the financial reporting documents (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows). The goal of the analysis is to understand a company’s financial health through its profitability, solvency, liquidity, and stability. Given the financial information provided in the case, it is clear that Barclays is lagging behind its competitors in cost control measures, and has allowed both PP&E and Staff Expenses to rise above its competitors’ average. Operating expenses as % of income In addition, an analysis of the company’s divisions and their respective earnings contribution reveals that Barclays heavily relies on its Retail Financial Services division for a large portion of its earnings; this suggests that diversification might be needed. NOTE: Further analysis into the average contribution of each revenue stream for other players in the industry is needed before diversification can be e ntirely justified. BARCLAYS |9 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS IV. STRATEGY FORMULATIO N Summarize Barclays’ strategic position as it relates to its current strategy and the components thereof. a. Summarize Barclays’ current strategy. Barclays’ current strategic objective is to drive profits by consolidating internal functions and expanding its international presence. The company is a major player in the UK financial services and retail banking industry but has lost ground internationally despite rapidly rising market capitalization. Fragmented internal divisions and a lack of aggressive expansion have brought up the need for extensive managerial and structural changes to the firm. This prompted the hiring of a new CEO, Matt Barrett, who established a series of restructuring goals for Barclays to remain competitive. b. Strategic Analysis Definition: Conduct an analysis of Barclays’ business strategy by using the 4 P’s Framework. The 4 P’s Framework is used to understand a company’s strategy based on its Position (Mission, Values, and Vision), Priorities, Payments (what it will spend its money on to reach those priorities), and Performance (how it will measure success). By completing the framework, we can analyze a company’s current, future, or recommended priorities as well as set forth a path in order to achieve goals and measure accomplishments. Use the 4 P’s Framework to analyze the firm’s past/current/future strategy. 1. Position a. Mission: To provide innovative products, excellent careers, positive community contributions B A R C L A Y S | 10 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS b. Values: Fact based decisions, customer service, and value maximizing strategy c. Vision: To be one of the most admired financial service organizations in the world 2. Priorities: 1. Develop cross-group synergies to lower costs and improve efficiency 2. Expand reach of Barclays brand abroad through strategic alliances/acquisitions 3. Continue to diversify existing business portfolio 3. Payments: 1. Invest in adequate IT systems 2. Invest in human capital initiatives to align incentives and boost morale 3. Invest in marketing and strategic alliances/acquisitions in underserved regions/segments 4. Performance: 1. Shareholder returns vs. peer institutions 2. Customer and revenue growth (double profits in four years) 3. Increased profit due to lower costs and increased efficiency (reduce costs by ? 1bn) Discuss possible recommendations that Barclays could follow going forward to improve the performance of the company. Determine the decision criteria and also analyze the pros and cons of each recommendation. In order to remain competitive within the marketplace, Barclays must: 1. i. ii. iii. 2. i. ii. 3. i. ii. iii. Develop cross-group synergies to lower costs and improve efficiency by: Rebuilding core infrastructure to consolidate HR, IT, and Finance groups across individual divisions Reducing costs by 18% (? bn) Realigning incentives to reward value-add decisions; Expand Barclays brand abroad though: Increased brand presence in Europe to enter top 5 ranking Strengthening of the brand in US and Africa; Continue diversifying the existing business portfolio by: Expanding Barclays product and service portfolio to strengthen weak or underrepresented areas to serve affluent/high net worth segments Decrea sing reliance on Retail Financial Services by strengthening Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors divisions Entering new markets by acquiring major players (e. g. Woolwich). B A R C L A Y S | 11 BARCLAYS: MATT BARRETT’S JOURNEY – WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS Question Reduce staff expenses Option / Hypothesis Reduce labor costs by increasing automation Decision Criteria ? Cost/Benefit analysis ? Effect on employee morale ? Technology capabilities ? Revenue growth ? Barriers to entry ? Effect on current resources ? Revenue Pros †¢ Long term cost reduction †¢ Streamlining of processes †¢ More control over information flow and analysis †¢ Does not cannibalize existing revenue streams †¢ Increase global reach and brand presence †¢ Diversifies risk †¢ Existing customer loyalty and brand presence †¢ No need for customer acquisition Cons †¢ High up-front cost †¢ Lengthy implementation period †¢ Technology risk †¢ Negative effect on employee morale †¢ High cost †¢ High risk and FX exposure †¢ No trial period †¢ Culture clashes, integration logistics †¢ Might stretch resources too thin †¢ Requires investment in infrastructure and human capital †¢ Requires new expertise Diversify target markets Increase revenue through new market entry with current product suite Diversify product offerings Increase equity and investment banking focus of Barclay Capital division growth ? Barriers to entry ? Effect on current resources B A R C L A Y S | 12

Is the war on terrorsim just Essay

In this paper I argue that war against terrorism is no just but some war can be just as long as it follows the theory of a just war. As old as early civilizations, war played a significant role in the political stability and security of the society. It has been a central feature of civilisation throughout recorded time. (Evans, 1). Although war is seen as violent and morally destructive, still it was considered as an effective way of defending and even promoting civilization. It was also used by the major religions of this world such as Islam and Christianity to spread their faith. In every war, we can’t deny the fact that there is a political motive behind the heroic reason of its leaders. Being evil by nature, there are a lot of arguments regarding the moral aspect of war. According to La Vitta Cattolica, the debate is whether the nature of traditional war is still applicable with the modern one. Their stand is it is still the same when it comes to the extent of its fatality. They described it as a lethal contest, fed by hatred, physical violence is unleashed in all its brutality. (Elshtain, 108). Is war really for the benefit of people or is just another way of exploiting humanity? There is also a question regarding the extent of its necessity. Nowadays, there are standards to fulfil if a country wants to engage in war. Although a term such as just war was derived from this war controversy, still justice is still a question. It is because the provisions of this just war theory is not fulfilled. Until now, we can say that there is no such war in our history that fulfilled those provisions. Meanwhile, war is also in the history of Christian church. When we look at the teachings of Christianity, we can say that it is against the ideas of Jesus Christ. As we read the gospel, it was clearly imposed by Christ that each of us should love one another even our enemy. As a matter of fact, Nicolas I said that was is always satanic to its origin. (Elshtain, 113). Even Christ himself set an example of being a promoter of peace. But later on, the said faith needs to adapt to the changing world and the result is the use of war to defend the faith. During the 4th and 5th century, Christians were obliged to do military service. This policy was change during the middle ages but later on, the Church became involved with crusades. (Elshtain, 113). Here we can see that war is really inevitable. Although war is inevitable, still a nation or state should do alterative ways to defend themselves. Even if the motive of engaging in war is good the casualties that it will cause to humanity is great. In previous wars, a lot of innocent lives were brutality killed. It will be reasonable if those people were oppressors or enemy of the states but those people were ordinary citizens that needs to be protected. As said by Thucydides, â€Å"The strong do as they can while the weak suffer for what they must† (Chomsky, 1). It is the strong forces church as political and military forces who initiated the war but sadly, the civilians who have nothing to do with their decisions suffer from its consequences. As a state it is the responsibility of the government to promote the welfare of its people by letting them experience political security. One way of ensuring political security is through defending a state from foreign invaders. But it doesn’t mean that war is the only option to defend one state. For me, war should be the last option of the state and apart from selfish political reason; the welfare of the people should be the main motive. When it comes to war against terrorism, I believe that it is not just because it doesn’t apply to just war theory. What is a just war? In a traditional sense, it denotes a specific body of moral doctrine found in Christianity. (Evans, 2). It means that the faith that promotes peace love for enemies also adopted the use of war to secure the faith. In modern times, a just war means following certain ethical consideration before engaging in a war. In other words, actions are evaluated in terms of range of the likely consequence. (Chomsky, 7). It means that a just war should create a lesser physical and moral damage. It also means that engaging in a just war is like choosing the lesser evil. â€Å" †¦though within war there may be many acts of heroism, just war theory cannot then, be said to glorify war or be blind of its moral horrors. † (Evans, 10). Aside from that, just like other kinds of war, it involves torture and interrogation of innocent civilians. One way of justifying the war against terrorism is the idea that it protects the people from fatal terrorist attacks. Nowadays, terrorist attacks which is most commonly in a form of bombing kills a lot of innocent civilians. Other than that terrorist attacks can affect a nation’s economy that is why there are still doubts whether war against terrorism is really for people. Because the political stability of a states is also threatens by terrorist attacks, there is the possibility that the security of civilians is not the primary concern. Let us look at the condition of war theory and see whether the war against terrorism is a just war. First, the cause must be just and the justice of the cause is sufficiently great. Next, one must be confident that it will not yield long term consequences longer than the status quo. Obviously, it should be the last resort and moral standards should not be compromised. We can say that the first two conditions apply to the war against terrorism but the applications of the latter conditions were questionable. Surely this kind of war will cause long term psychological effects to the civilians involve. It can cause major trauma to the victims that can affect their daily lives even if the war is over. It is also obvious that moral standards were compromised because of the use of torture to gain information. There is also a debate regarding the moral aspect of torture. Indeed, information during war is a necessity for it can serve as a solution to win and end the war immediately. But the question is whether it is needed right here and now to win a particular battle. (May, 196). Form me, whether their information is helpful or necessary in winning the battle, torture is still a form of human rights violation. Indeed, war is not a good way of defending a state. Even if there are just wars, still it is very fatal and those innocent civilians were the common victims. But if there is no other option except war, it is reasonable as long as it promotes the welfare of the states and civilians. References: Elshtain, J. (1992) Modern War and Christian Conscience. But was it Just?. La Civilitta Cattolica. New York. Evans, M. (2005). Just War theory: A reappraisal. New York: Palgraw Macmillan. May, L. (2007). War Crimes and Just War. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chomsky, N. (2006). A Just War? Hardly. Retrieved: January 9, 2007 from ZNPT Commentaries. Website: http://www. zmag. org/sustiners/content/2006-05/zochomsky. cfm.

Environmental Studies Of The States Climate Essay

Environmental Studies Of The States Climate - Essay Example The monthly temperature ranges from 91.5Â °F to 30.0Â °F. Snow fall is a rare phenomenon and the highest record is only 13 inches on March 12-13, 1993 at Birmingham. Tornados and hurricanes are very common around Birmingham and Mobile due to turbulent wind patterns. Hurricanes of wind speeds 145mph caused the worst tornado disaster the Dixie Tornado outbreak in April 27, 2011 in which 50 tornados claimed more than 238 lives. Alaska The state Alaska is known for its high snow falls but is also hot in the summer. The highest mean annual temperature is 51.4Â °F recorded at Annette, AP and the lowest average annual temperature is 0.9Â °F recorded at Umiat. The mean annual rainfall is the highest at Whitter at 185.2 inches and the most snowfall occurs in the month of January at Valdez WSO as much as 65.1 inches with a snow depth of 31 inches. The extreme northern part of Alaska is Arctic with long and very cold winters and there is snow almost year around here. The wind speeds at the costal parts of the Gulf of Alaska are as high as 40 to 45 kmph and major natural disasters in Alaska are due to storms. Arizona The climatic conditions in this state are dry with little rainfall. The highest temperature recorded was 128Â °F at Lake Havasu City, 1994 and the lowest temperature recorded was -40Â °F at Hawley Lake, 1971. The average annual maximum temperature is 76.3Â °F recorded at Lake Havasu City and the lowest is 38.3Â °F at Sunrise Mountain. The highest average annual precipitation is at Hawley Lake 38.2 inches, and the lowest is 2.67 inches. The highest average annual snowfall is at Sunrise Mountain recorded as 243 inches. The state is more prone to storms and there are large temperature swings between the day and the night temperatures due to the dry climatic conditions relevant in the state. Arkansas Due to the location close to the Gulf of Mexico, Arkansas has a humid subtropical climate. The lowest temperature was recorded at Pond in 1905 as –29Â °F and a record high of 120Â °F was recorded on 1936 at Ozark. Average yearly precipitation is approximately 45 inches in the mountainous areas and greater in the lowlands; for example Little Rock received an annual average of 50.9 inches. Snowfall in the capital averages 5.2 inches a year and the northern part of the state gets more snowfall during the winter. The state is prone to natural disasters like thunderstorms, hails, snow storms and ice storms. A tornado with wind speeds as high as 180 to 200 mph damaged Atkins where 12 people were killed. California Most of the areas in the state of California have a Mediterranean climate, while some have a subarctic climate that is colder winters and hotter summers. The maximum average yearly temperature was recorded as 91Â °F at Death Valley. The lowest average annual temperature was recorded at Squaw Valley Lodge as 27.3Â °F. The mean rainfall was recorded the highest at 104.2 inches at Honey Dew and the lowest was recorded at 2.7 inches at Brawley. Snowfall is nil at most areas and the highest snowfall of 287.7 inches was recorded at Big Ben Ranger Station. The wind speeds range from 4.5 mph to 13.3 mph. Flood due to heavy rain, tornados, thunder storms and firestorms are common in this state.

Provide a compelling conclusion to my thesis which answers beyond Essay

Provide a compelling conclusion to my thesis which answers beyond doubt the question, - Essay Example ce the early 1980s may have made it more likely that financial factors in general, and the booms and busts in credit and asset prices in particular, act as drivers of economic fluctuations; as a result, the current environment may be more vulnerable to the occasional build-up of financial imbalances†. Because of the above turbulences, the strategies followed by the companies regarding the security of their assets have to be formulated accordingly. The impact of globalization in this case is extensive. As Stiglitz (2004, 57) states â€Å"one of the most controversial aspects of globalization is capital-market liberalization—not so much the liberalization of rules governing foreign direct investment, but those affecting short-term capital flows, speculative hot capital that can come into and out of a country†. However, despite the existence of common rules in the regulation of financial markets internationally, each country follows its own regulations in all issues related with commercial activities. International rules can have just a ‘supplementary’ role and only in cases where there is no appropriate national framework of rules regulating the commercial activities in all their aspects. Regarding this issue it has been supported by Pagano et al. (2001, 502) that â€Å"the regulations that shape the design and operations of corporations and credit and securities markets differ vastly from country to country while even similar regulations are often unequally enforced in different countries; economists still have an imperfect understanding of why these international differences exist and of whether they tend to persist over time†. On the other hand, the existence of these differentiations could be limited because of the existence of Internet which impose specific rules and principles on the transactions made. The structure of business operations can be also influenced in case that a particular business operates online. Indeed, the study of Ellam et al. (2002,