Financial strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial strategy - Essay Example It is however, critical to understand that such balancing act often depend upon the firm’s choice of the risk level which it attempts to undertake. (Walsh, 1996), As such the growing firms may be more risk loving and willing to take on higher level of risks and therefore all their decisions to expand and develop their markets will be based upon the higher degree of risk firm is willing to assume. Similarly, if a firm is more mature and risk averse in nature, its overall strategies will be relatively different as compared to a growing firm. (De Wit, & Meyer,1998). This paper will attempt to argue and explore that a firm’s overall risk consciousness governs the underlying strategies of the firm. The concept of Risk and firm The question of whether risk is the major factor behind the strategy formulation or not need to be discussed from the different perspectives. Each organization operates in an environment which is both internal and external to it and therefore develops its strategies in accordance with its environment. Firms, to a large extent, develop their capabilities to deal with the risks arising from their internal environment however; it’s the external competitive landscape of a firm which poses it significant and important risks because of the volatile and uncontrollable nature of the external environment. The overall development of the risk consciousness of the firm therefore largely depends upon the kind of external environment faced by the firm and how firm can actually utilize its strengths to withstands such external risks Risk as a concept therefore outlines that the outcome of any decisions or strategies of a firm may not be exactly according to what is perceived by the firm. As such it becomes critically important for the firms to account for and plan risks and develop strategies which can help them to counter risks arising from their internal as well as external environment. It is this uncertainty of the external environmen t which firms need to account for and prepare themselves through proper planning and strategy formulation process. It is also important to understand that the overall risk factors in an external environment can be diverse however; normally firms perform PESTLE Analysis to analyze their external environment. PESTLE Analysis allows the firms to actually evaluate the impact which political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors could have on the firm. (Ellis, & Williams, 1993) If a firm has relatively high tolerance for the risk, it may choose to work in an environment which can be politically volatile and uncertain. For example, any firm willing to operate in Afghanistan now must have relatively higher tolerance for the risk because of volatile and extremely uncertain political environment. As such its policies and strategies will be driven by the volatility of the external environment within which it is operating or willing to operate. Risk and Return Risk and Return criteria serves as the basic premise under which all the economic decisions are made. Every investor as well as the firm attempts to decide and take actions based on their overall risk and return profile.

Icon Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Icon Analysis - Assignment Example Another important characteristic of myths is that they convey knowledge accumulated over generations. Therefore, the ‘conservativeness’ of myths is justified with regard to protecting such knowledge as well as proscribing behaviors. Myths are of several types. Myths of origin or creation myths are supernatural stories or explanations describing the beginning of humanity, earth, life and universe. The creation is often perceived as a deliberate act of deities (Leeming, 2002). Myths of eschatology emphasize destruction and death. Myths of culture heroes are more or less prominent in all societies and cultures. Myths of celestial gods and deities occur in many mythologies, especially in folk culture where myths are regarded as sacred narratives. The presence of myths can be comprehended in present day context too. For instance, the myth of the American dream is apparently visible in myriad spheres of American lifestyle. The myth of American dream dominates most of the American panorama right from its literature, plays, television shows, to music, games, novels, and most specifically, movies. The idea of American dream is rooted on the attainment of social equality and influence by all individuals irrespective of race, community, class and religion. However, it is a myth advocating that the socio-economic structure of the nation is not in equilibrium as the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. The main components of the myth of American dream are: dishonesty, superficiality and deceit. The myth is considerably dealt in Arthur Miller’s most celebrated play Death of a Salesman. Here, the protagonist is fixated with the superficiality of the comforts of life so much in the false hope that his American dream will be fulfilled without hard work and honesty. Failure to face the harsh reality of the deceitful world of business as well as to realize the true world sans imagination brings the end of his American dream. His

Strategies for Google Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategies for Google - Essay Example Yahoo needs to be more innovative, flexible and fast to capture in order to reatin its position in the market. Google launches products early, well before competitors go to market with the same ideas. This is the Google’s positive and aggressive approach towards market capitalization and also focusing on to explore the needs of the users before the user thinks towards it. Google has made more than 50 acquisitions since 2001 and it is quite evident that the Google knock out all its rivals in order to take the competitive advantage and opts the aggressive business strategy towards boosting its revenue. Google came up with the different idea in online advertising and google suppose to be the pioneer after the introduction of Ad Words and Ad Sense, and thus created a sensation in the field of online advertising (Baril, 2009). The innovation is the key of success.The Google’s smart innovative and smart strategies since its inception wondered Yahoo. From the perspective of searching information and answering queries, Google offers a lot to its valubale users.Recently, Google shaking hands with worlds top most universities like Harvard, Oxford and some others to digitize their libraries (Honey , 2009). The difference exists between Google and Yahoo with respect to the revenue. Yahoo generates its revenue from Yahoo mail, ads, and some other features where as Google gets almost 85% of its revenue from ads.The reason behind is the Google’s technological innovations which is the user-friendly and gains the popularity world over (Honey , 2009). Google launched SDC (Secure Data Connector) in the year 2009 its feature is to access the users to secure corporate data, even working with Google application outside the firewall. In addition, SDC also allows that secure data to be accessed from inside Google Gadgets, Google App Engine, and Google Spreadsheets (Kolakowski, 2009). In the years to come, Google plans to develop its own operating system .It is an

Spying and Privacy in American Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spying and Privacy in American Society - Essay Example The lack of privacy in the United States is a direct violation of our freedom and needs to stop in order for the country to regain the ideals that were implement by our forefathers. In â€Å"Take My Privacy, Please!†, Ted Koppel presents the idea that the Patriot Act, while an invasion of privacy, is the least of our worries at this time. He looks at companies like OnStar, which have the power to monitor a subscriber’s every move. That idea can be taken even further, since many cell phones are now equipped with GPS, which can be activated by certain applications and even remotely from a computer. This makes it very difficult to stay away from corporate monitoring. Koppel states that corporate monitoring is even more dangerous than government monitoring because it can be used for marketing purposes. This, however, seems to oversimplify the influence of the Patriot Act. The idea that the government could have access to this essay and could interpret its thesis as being an ti-American and, therefore, terrorist in nature is much scarier than a corporate entity learning my television watching habits and sending spam to my inbox. Both privacy concerns are very real, but the Patriot Act is taking us towards an Orwellian society where we are watched 24/7 by Big Brother, which would eliminate freedom as we think we know it very quickly. Amitai Etzioni's article, "Less Privacy is Good for Us", takes more of a stance on the issue of privacy. Etzioni believes that we need to re-examine the idea of privacy and put it into a context that matches up with the problems in today’s society. Much of his argument focuses on immigrant, disease and crime and his argument would hold value if these were the only reasons for this surveillance. He states that countless illegal immigrants end up in the United States because of the government’s inability to track these people. The same can be said for criminals who end up escaping from prison because they can dis appear into society and never be found. If everyone was tracked 24/7, however, we could see the need for prison decreased or nearly eliminated. After all, the police would know where every criminal is at all times, so no one would have the chance to commit a crime. The problem is that this would apply to everyone else in society. If you want to walk to your neighbor’s house for a drink after work, you would be monitored. For freedom to truly exist, we need the ability to do things without anyone knowing about them. Under this type of society, the government could prevent you from going where you want to go at any time and would have the means to know if you have disobeyed. This does not make the country safer, but would rather force everyone to live in fear of the government. "The Myth of the 'Transparent Society'", by Bruce Schneier, refutes the idea that a completely transparent society could be the answer to the problem of surveillance. While transparency is a good thing i n some situations, it would not work on a wide scale because there are situations where information should be kept secret. Schneier's opinion is reasonable because there has to be a difference in the power between a police officer and a criminal, for example. Taking the privacy away from everyone at every level does not solve the problem because it could lead to a chaotic society. If an ordinary citizen could approach an undercover detective and begin questioning him or her, it could make

Assessing Strategies Toward a Goal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assessing Strategies Toward a Goal - Coursework Example I aimed at helping my uncle to make certain important decisions in general. I found balance-sheet approach very apt in this regard. â€Å"Balance sheets deal with the acceptability and unacceptability of both benefits and costs.† (Egan, 2010: 373) I focused on utilizing â€Å"empathetic thought patterns† (Egan, 2010: 374) and â€Å"active listening skills† (Egan, 374) to examine my uncle through the critical question answer session. The main problem he was facing about budgeting was fund allocation. I suggested the strategy of long term savings and addressing the long term liabilities to be most important. I asked my uncle, â€Å"What are the benefits of choosing such a strategy for you and the other significant ones?† Also, I asked, â€Å"To what degree are these benefits acceptable?† (Egan, 2010: 373) In answering my questions, my uncle expressed his concern about his children’s higher education. Also, by getting rid from the long term liab ilities like mortgage and debts, my uncle could obtain more financial security for his family. Thus I discovered that he was worried about the financial requirements of his children’s higher education. This was a plus for my uncle. However, he did not have a proper investment policy and was prone to neglect the existing liabilities. This was, of course, a minus point. Finally, I helped my uncle to set two most important goals.

Social Media - important of branding Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social Media - important of branding - Assignment Example Stride gum believed that by sponsoring Matt through his world trip, the company would strengthen its brand image and earn sufficient returns (â€Å"Where the Hell is Matt?† 2012). The reason for doing so was two-fold. Firstly, Stride gum argued from the point of view that a significant part of internet users was the millennial generation; the target group. By sponsoring Matt Harding on his world trip, the brand image would reach the target group just by watching the video. In addition, Stride gum acknowledged that marketing information ought to be appealing to prospective consumers. By sponsoring Matt, the information about Stride gum proved to be in line with the environment that the video depicted. Stride gum created a business environment through the jovial feelings that were established by the video. Sponsoring Matt on his world trip was a significant investment for the company that ought to bring sufficient returns to the company. Among the main things that Stride expected to achieve was a large customer base. In the business world, a large customer base reflects high profits. In addition, the company expected its productivity to increase, hence increasing business performance. Stride gum’s case is a sufficient proof that the social media is a valid platform for strengthening the brand

South African Breweries Essay Example for Free

South African Breweries Essay SAB has the leading position to produce and distribute both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. it’s been registered in 1895 in London and since then with momentous profit and prevailing market position it has develop its business in home sectors as well. SAB was fully incorporated in 1970 after the shifting of its head office from London to Johannesburg. Government put high restriction on the expansion and international business of SAB. From 1955 to the following seven years beer production was the highest taxed beverage and SAB had to respond to competitors’ acquisition and production and distribution rationalisation. In 1960 it took over Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery and obtained brewing license locally for Amstel and Carling, Black Label and Guinnes which played major turn of its expansion. Within 1979 SAB could capture about 99 percent South African market alongside major control over Lesotho, Swaziland and Rhodesia. SAB was the first organisation in the country which published a non-discriminatory employment code in 1978. The Lion Match Company merged with SAB in 1987. SAB concentrated on developing three mega breweries in the country in 1990 and the invention of joint venture in Zambia, Mozambique and Angola followed in the following years. The company got dominance over 98 percent of market and faced a little left expansion in local business and tried to expand globally in 2000. It made its way to central Europe in 1993 with the acquisition of the largest brewery of Hungary Dreher. In the following year it established operation in Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia. SAB had spread small business with Rolling Black Beer one of the breweries in United States of America as well. Then 2001 it expanded its business into Central America. In 2001 SAB had production of 77m hectolitres of alcoholic and non- alcoholic beverages and dominated as the fifth largest brewer in the world covering 21 countries. In 1990 the head quarter moved back to London. In this report i would like to narrow down my focus on SABs expansion globally by acquiring the second largest brewery of America; the Miller Brewing Company and having new name as SABMiller in 2002 and it became the second largest volume in the world. Though it is facing some profit margin difficulties in North America because its competitors are lowering down the price of beer. To keep up with the market over there SABMiller has to compromise with the margin of profit. Challenge for the Company No arguments come when SAB admits that South African market is fully dominated by them. Though it had made some tactically poor judgment while expanding in Hungary and US market. Among the challenges SAB faced were: In 2001 it acquires 58 percent interest in breweries in Hunduras and El Salvador which cost them US$ 500million. Further it spent a sum of US$5. 6 bn when it acquired Miller from Altria. To expand its business in Western Europe SAB acquired a major company in Italy named Peroni and spent US$ 270 million. In Africa SAB had to encounter problems when for low income in Malawi the industry does not appear to be set up. Again in Ghana SAB has made its entrance where there is already good competition between Guinness and Heineken. In Nigeria governments has imposed restriction on importing brewing materials as barley. So quality and consumption dropped sharply there. After the acquisition of Miller in US; SABMiller faced problem within six months. SAB had to go on with the existing CEO as head of SABMiller and later on the sacked him. Altria holds 23 percent shares of SABMiller. According to some experts debates SAB has spent too much for acquiring Miller. Again SABMiller is also facing difficulties to keep up in the competition with the competitors in US market. In addition to this in America the Beer market is in downward trend as the Americans are continuously and increasingly turning to wine than beer. This has adverse impact on SABMiller’s profit margin. Another market dominant competitor Anheuser-Busch (AH) upgraded its profit margin to 17. 3% by raising its production where Millers and Coors has (9. 3%) and (8. 9%) respectively. Then to compete with AH SABMiller and Coors went as a joint venture which has very positive impact on their business. Policy/ Strategy The long term direction and scope of a company which are aimed to achieve advantage for the organisation using its configuration or resources in a challenging surrounding is described strategy. In other sense strategy is – -The place where the business aimed to reach in time span. -The market where the business will compete and activities of the competitive market -The process of doing better in this competition -Required ability or resources How to get up with the external and internal environmental factors -The values and expectation of the stakeholders According to Henry Mintzberg strategy comprises five Ps: Plan, Position, Pattern, Perspective and Poly. Andrew (1998) states the term strategy in form of decision in a company which helps identifying and disclosing the target, underlying objectives and company goals. Strategy helps to create m ajor policy and plan to achieve company objectives. The range of the business to follow for the company is also described by strategy. Micheal Porter narrates strategy is about being different or unique. According to him within strategy an organisation purposely sets up a unique package of activities to deliver a mix of value. Paradoxes and debates around strategy The theory of strategy is an academic field which is diversified by many experts as they expressed on the base of different understanding. Thus theories derived from different experts have contradiction as well. Some of the renowned experts as Whittington (2002), Mintzberg (1990, 1998), Schendel (1994) and Kuhn (1996, 1970) have described strategy with the help of several schools. In this study i will try to focus on Mintzberg and Whittington theories.