Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The Beginnings of the Soviet Union Essay examples -- Soviet Union Euro

The Beginnings of the Soviet Union The United States that we live in makes it very hard for us to fathom what a struggling nation is like to live in. In the United States, we are socialized to believe that America is the most superior of all the countries and our prosperity will continue to grow. We are very fortunate to be born into a relatively high standard of living as a society, thus we cannot comprehend what it is like for countries trying to build societies from the bottom up. John Scott portrays this brilliantly in his book "Behind the Urals" as he examines individual people and their struggles as they worked in Magnitogorsk. These citizens worked in the most inhumane conditions, all with the intention to help their country develop under the new system of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had just gone through an entire turn around in their political, social, and economic spheres as they went from one extreme to another. The old Czarist government was always out to serve the rich landowners, while treating th e peasantry as second-class humans rather than equals. However, when the Russian Revolution came to a head, and the Red Communists or Bolsheviks defeated the White Czarists, Russia was left with an entirely new system of thought in its government. This ideology viewed the working class and peasantry as the main citizens in their society, while the rich landowners were not nearly as powerful as they once were. Thus the workers of Magnitogorsk held a very important position as they had the responsibility to help the Soviet Union take flight as a country that could compete with other powerful countries of the world, all while working under the most inhumane conditions. John Scott moved to the Soviet Union leaving the United States and in his eyes, its unsatisfactory capitalistic way of governing. Scott may have been aided in making his decision as he saw the United States slip into the Great Depression, a time when the conditions in America reached an all time low. He left his roots in the United States to begin a new life in a foreign country simply because he was disgruntled with American governing and was appealed to by the Soviet philosophy of governing. It tool Scott a tremendous amount of will and fortitude to leave behind everything he knew so well, to start a new life on the other side of the world. He showed his courage as he began... ...derwent, he served his sentence with dignity and was respected as one of the best workers there. In the beginnings of the Soviet Union, and more specifically Magnitogorsk, a diversified group of people from various ethnic, religions, and national backgrounds all put forth their individual efforts to develop the new Russia. The grueling environment that these people lived in developed them into strong and proud workers. In looking to our home front, I cannot find one example that even borders similarities to life in the Soviet Union under Stalin's Five Year Plans. We can study the times, even look to experts in the field for information on the topic, but we can never fully grasp the extreme environment that the peoples of Magnitogorsk lived in. They jeopardized and sometimes even sacrificed their own lives to build up a country. Lives were not lost in the battlefields, but instead on the job as workers froze from the climate while working the blast furnaces. The Soviet Union's success is usually given to the Communist ideology or even Stalin, but instead it was the hard workers w ho came from all over the eastern hemisphere to take on and complete the task of developing Russia.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Difference of Trademark Protection and Passing off Action Essay

Commerce cannot be denied to be an essential factor in the existence of one nation. This is so because commerce is considered as the backbone of economy. Being an indispensable aspect of economy, serious consideration has been taken to ensure the protection of those forming commerce. In the particular field of commerce, an existence of a business is considerably dependent on its name. A business name is a vital aspect of one business because it carries the reputation that has been built up by the business owner. A business name also has several values. Basically, it is used to distinguish a business from another. It will also ensure security and privacy as others cannot arbitrarily encroach or use it. Hence, businesses are required to be registered. The business name being registered is termed as trademark. In the world of commerce, where millions of business establishments evolve, trademark serves a vital role. With trademark, the goods of another are distinguished from that of another. Primarily, trademark serves as an identification of the origin and ownership of the product. Significantly, trademark will also protect the consumer from confusions as to the sources of the goods or services. Through time, some business owners were also established using the name of others. Some cases were deliberately done while other cases were unintentionally done. Due to acts of copying and using famous names, the other party suffered considerable damages. There were also case where famous trademarks or reputable names have been attached by other business owners in their products, goods or services primarily to attract or to deceive customers as to the origin of the goods or services. These situations have been considered as an impetus for the judicial actions of passing off and trademark infringement. Passing Off and Trademark Protection: Definition and Origin In distinguishing passing off and trademark protection, the two have a slim similarity in a way that both protect the business’ privacy. It has also similarity as both are purposely to prevent other business owners from thefts or unauthorized use of business names of others. In addition, both empower business owners to instigate an action in court in cases others have violated their rights to their business name or trademark. Nonetheless, passing off and trademark protection have various differences as to elements, principles, protection, among others. Basically, passing off has no definite definition. However, it has been commonly defined based on Lord Halsbury’s statement in one of cases he decided which states that, â€Å"nobody has any right to represent his goods as the goods of somebody else. † Contrarily, trade mark has been defined in Trademarks Act 1994 as â€Å"any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. † Furthermore, word, design, letter, numeral, or shape of the goods or packaging may constitute trademark. As to origin, Passing off have been recognized by the common law as early as16th century. Few cases tried under passing off includes, Southern v. How and Dean v. Steel . After a century, another passing off case was tried by virtue of Blanchard v. Hill. Although, it was not at that time recognized as passing off, the principle laid down was severally used in many cases. Meanwhile, in Blanchard v. Hill, the plaintiff applied for an injunction to forbid the defendant from using the Great Mogul as a trade mark in the manufacture of the latter’s playing cards. However, Lord Hardwicke refused to grant injunction and reasoned out that the court has no basis to grant an injunction. Besides the court recognized the right of trader to bear a mark for his products or services but it stressed the absence of any instance that will support an injunction. Nevertheless, after several years, through the decision in Blanchard, it has been established that each proprietor has an exclusive right to the mark used in his goods or services offered for sale. In addition, it was interpreted that when the use of other’s mark was stained with fraud, injunction can be granted. In the following century, the term â€Å"pass off† was used in Perry v. Truefit, and it was further interpreted and applied to mean that, â€Å"A man is not to sell his own goods under the pretence that they are the goods of another man. † In the early days, intent was considered as an essential element for passing off. However, in the 20th century cases, the element of intent was abandoned. On the other hand, trademark protection has its recognition in 1863 through Lord Westbury in Edelsen v. Edelsen. In this particular case, the court stressed that there exist a right to property in trade names which is transmissible and enforceable even against innocent infringement. Formally, trade marks were permitted to be registered under the Trade Marks Registration Act 1875. According to this act, anyone was barred from instituting an infringement proceeding provided that the trade mark was earlier registered. The act was further amended by Trade Marks Act 1995. For a mark to serve as a trademark, it must be distinctive by meeting any of the categories namely; arbitrary or fanciful, suggestive, descriptive, and generic. A mark is said to be arbitrary of fanciful if it has no logical relationship with the product it represent. An example is the trademark â€Å"Nike† which does not have logical relationship with shoes. The mark is suggestive if marks evoke or suggest the characteristic of the product like â€Å"Coppertone† which is suggestive of sun tan lotion. A mark is descriptive if the consumers would associate it to the producer rather than on product or services such as â€Å"Holiday Inn†. Lastly, a mark constitutes to be generic if it describes a general category, like â€Å"computers†. Difference Between Passing Off and Trademark Protection Fundamentally, the differences between the two lies on the protection it affords. In passing off, there is no property in the name or design of the business, while in trademark, the registered name or mark is the property being protected. In passing off, the law protects the ownership over the goodwill or reputation of one person which may be destructed by misrepresentation of other people regardless of intention. However, in trade mark protection, the law particularly protects the mark, name, or get- up which has been registered by a business owner. In other words, the property in passing off is the goodwill or reputation while the property in trademark is the trademark itself. Notably, there are three purposes for requiring marks to be registered. One is to guarantee to the consumers of the origin of the marked products or services to avoid the possibility of confusions and serves as a distinction of the goods of one from another having another origin. Second is to protect the customers from deception by other traders. Last purpose is to notify other traders or rival engaged in the same product or services from using the trademarks of another. Having the mark registered, the owner will draw various benefits. One of which is to put off people from using the trademark without permission. The owner can also initiate an action against unauthorized use. Finally, being a property of the owner, he has the discretion whether to sell or have it licensed by other people for a price. As to the acquisition of right, rights to property or goodwill in passing off are acquired in a gradual way because the business owner only builds his business reputation after a long period of time. This is so because a reputation or goodwill is dependent upon consumers, quality and service which necessitate handwork and persistence. Goodwill can also be established on the nature of the mark, degree of distinctiveness, figures of sales, expenses for promotions, marketing of the products and period of use. On the contrary, property right over the trademark and protection of such mark is acquired immediately upon registration. Moreover, goodwill cannot exist independently from the business which has created it even if such can be transferred or assigned to another. On the other hand, trademarks can be licensed or assigned separately from the business by the proprietor provided that such is not spurious or deceiving to the consumers. Furthermore, the two are distinct as to the remedy available in case of unauthorized use of the name or mark. In passing off, the claimant may institute a passing off action while trademark infringement is available in trademark protection. More specifically, a passing off action has been defined as a â€Å"remedy for the invasion of a right of property not in the mark, name or get-up improperly used, but in the goodwill likely to be injured by the misrepresentation made in passing off one person’s goods as the goods of another. † The former is a common law remedy while the latter is a statutory one. It is said to be a common law because it has its genesis from an unwritten law or fundamental practice in the olden days. On the other hand, trademark is statutory because the relief has been created by law or legislations by virtue of Trade Marks Registration Acts. Passing off and trademark protection also differ as to the elements that needed to be proven in seeking judicial intervention. Three elements are required to be satisfied in passing off action while trademark infringement only requires one. In passing off action, the claimant must prove the existence of claimant’s goodwill, the misrepresentation by the defendant, and the damage caused to the plaintiff’s goodwill or reputation. To explicate further, goodwill is the whole benefit derived from a reputation and connection of a firm which has been built up operating honestly and lavishly expending money for a considerable year or period. Likewise, reputation is the public’s opinion on the product that may be associated with the symbol or name under which the product is being marketed. It is considered as a private personal property which is being sold to customer. Through goodwill or reputation, the inherent worth of the product is recognized and the loyalty of the customers to the product is developed. The second element which is misrepresentation must be material one and actionable that is capable of creating real or tangible damage to the plaintiff. Moreover, misrepresentation need not be intentional in order to succeed in a passing off action and any defense of innocence, negligence, or recklessness is not acceptable. Even fraud or malice cannot affect the action but will have effect on the penalty to be imposed. Under misrepresentation, it is necessary for the plaintiff to prove that the public is deceived or is made to believe that the defendant’s goods or business have been authorized or licensed by the plaintiff. The plaintiff must further prove that the customers, actual or prospective, are influenced by the misrepresentation. Since passing off safeguards the good will of the plaintiff, it is important that the misrepresentation being alleged is or had caused material damage to such property. Absence of a clear damage may result in the failure of the action. The damages, tangible or intangible, may be in the form of loss of sales due to confusion or dilution of the reputation. It may be observed that proving damages is difficult, but plaintiff may employ surveys and other statistical methods to show reliable evidence of damages. On the contrary, a claimant in a trademark infringement needs only to establish that the mark alleged to be infringing is deceptive as it is identical or similar with that of the plaintiff’s trademark. The issue involved in passing off is â€Å"whether the use concerned is likely to affect adversely the goodwill of the business. † While injury or damage is necessary in passing off action, the defendant need not cause injury or damage in the case of infringement. It is only necessary that trademark is identically deceptive. This is because the trader considers the trademark as a property and is the only means whereby the manufacturer retains or invites the confidence of the public as to the quality and integrity of the product. From the given elements, it can be observed that it passing off protects the business as a whole which encompasses the name, get- up, style, mode, etc. of the business. However, in trademark infringement only protects the name or symbol of the business.

Saturday, December 28, 2019

The War Of The Vietnam War - 1155 Words

The Vietnam War cost many Americans their lives in the 60s and 70s. Many were drafted into the war by choice and others selectively chosen to join to help America. The contributions made had a major impact on the American side of the Vietnam War. Though many contributions were made none stand out any more than others. It is sometimes said there is always a hero in the war who helped the victory. Wars, however, do not have war heroes because a hero is making an undeniable contribution to the war and affects the victory when in reality a war is based on outsmarting the opponent and seeing who has more heart. The war does not have a hero because drafted soldiers do not always want war to occur, disorders that get to soldiers affect them for†¦show more content†¦With the volunteers also came the cowardly and anti-war people who didn’t want to go to war. Many fled to Canada to avoid the draft and became known as â€Å"draft dodgers†, a derogatory term at that time. The men who dodged the draft and did not support their country ultimately could have costed America the war. In this instance there are definitely no war heroes especially not with Americans dodging the opportunity to help the allied side of the war. In exception to medical reasons or family attentive reasoning, no one was allowed to miss their drafting day and was not allowed to stay home from the war when needed. The war had a great impact on everyone involved in the war, whether it is soldiers, bystanders, or surrounding cities, nobody was safe from some type of stress and recoil from the war. Post war diseases such as PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, affected those people in the war and around the war zone. Most people could hide it but the degree of hiding it varied between who the person was and what that person went through and if it was bad or not. Other people let it completely control their lives. PTSD also proved that there were no war heroes because no matter what nobody wins. The returning soldiers were affected and usually hurt physically, mentally, and in some cases, both. In the novel, The Things They Carried,

Friday, December 20, 2019

Edward Snowden There is no Online Privacy in this...

The issue on privacy is extremely controversial in today’s world. As the United States’ use of the internet, a global web of interconnected computer networks, expands, so does its problem with privacy invasion. With the U.S. pushing for new laws governing internet use, citizens are finding their privacy being pulled right from underneath them. Web users are buying and selling personal information online as well as hacking users for more information. One may argue that there is no such thing as privacy on the internet, but privacy is a right among Americans, and should be treated as such. The National Security Agency is a government run service. It is responsible for the international surveillance, deciphering, collection, analysis, and†¦show more content†¦Some major data brokers include, Intelius, People Lookup, US Search, Epsilon, White Pages, and many more. These companies provide anyone with information on everyone. In the example of a convict sentenced to jail by someone. On release, they can request information on the person who testified against them, and harass them. Some companies sell information to companies who offer specific services. An article titled Privacy Tools: Opting Out from Data Brokers written by Julia Angwin spills the beans on companies using personal data to target groups of people. Angwin speaks on how data brokers sell mailing lists to other companies. â€Å"[P]rivacy expert Pam Dixon testified in Congress that she had found data brokers selling lists with titles such as â€Å"Rape Sufferers† and â€Å"Erectile Dysfunction sufferers.†Ã¢â‚¬  (Angwin). Once businesses and companies that send junk mail receive this information, they bombard people with fliers and unwanted promotions. Citizens are being targeted and are unaware of it. Citizens are also being targeted by hackers. There are various types of hackers. White hat hackers, also known as ethical hackers, break security to test security systems. 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Thursday, December 12, 2019

Wesfarmers Target - Competitive Advantage by Strategic Change

Question: What is the strategy?Describing the strategy and how it was developed to overcome a specific difficulty within the environment. Answer: 1. Strategy of Wesfarmers Target Wesfarmers discount retailer Target has been experiencing steady decline in the profit. The reason for this steady decline is primarily dues to higher stock clearances and an ongoing decline in the sales growth. Targets profits have fallen 32% in the last two years before Mr. Machin has joined the Target to revitalize the company, but after the joining the company the situation of Target has further decorated as the profits are in continuous decline and has dropped 63% since then (Johnson et al., 2013). In order to improve the business situation of the Target the company has implemented several strategies. In order to re-establish in the market, the company has adopted the strategy of differentiating itself from the other players in the market. One of the major strategies adopted by the company is the changes in the physical and service environment at its stores as well as in the business operations. The various changes implemented by the company are Online business mode - In the present context, technology is major factor that influences every aspect of the life and the use of technology in the business cannot be undermined. In order to improve the business situation Target has implemented online business model in its existing business model to attract technologically savvy customers. With the help of online business model Target aims at improving its sales figure and reposition itself in the retail segment. Online business model of Target has enabled the company to attract more customers and also provided an opportunity to improve visibility of the brand. Other benefits include 24/7 business operation and better service delivery to the customers (Verbeke, 2013). Selling more products at first price rather than at discounted price - Target has been selling its product at discounted rates to the customers. This business strategy has resulted in poor performance for the company in terms of sales revenue. Therefore, to improve profit margins and overall performance of the company, Target has changed its pricing strategy by selling products at first price rather than at a discounted price. This would enable the company to avoid high stock clearances and strengthen the companys revenue generation (Cavusgil et al., 2012). With these strategic changes, Target aims at improving the business situation by improving sales of the company products and repositioning or reestablishing companys presence within the Australian retail segment through differentiation (Cheng et al., 2014). Stocking global trends Target is one of the biggest retailer in the Australian market that provides solutions to the customers apparels, home wares and general merchandise. As a part of strategy change, Target is providing customers more assortment of various products or merchandises that are in line with the global trends and demands of the customers. In addition, Target is planning to hire in-house designers that would design apparels exclusively for the customers of Target by considering the preferences of their customers and also the international trends. This would improve the brand loyalty among the customers and also the profits for the company (Hubbard et al., 2014). Additional store services another strategic change that Wesfarmers Target has implemented is broadening the services spectrum that is provided by the company to its customers and improving the quality of service delivery to the customers. The service speed of service delivery provided to the customer at the store is faster and efficient; it has enabled the customers to have favorable impression of business as whole. In addition, the changed structure of the store, ambience and additional facilities at the store such in-house coffee shops has enhanced the image of the brand in the minds of the customers (Booth Coveney, 2015). 2. Competitive advantage achieved by these strategic change The objective of the strategic change adopted by the company is to enable the company to gain competitive advantage over its rivals. Competitive advantage refers to the ability of the company to attract and retain more customers based on various characteristics or attributes that the company provides to its customers that allows a company to outperform its competitors (Vernon, 2012). The company has adopted differential business strategy to regain its market share by providing better assortment of products and merchandise as per the global trends, better service delivery to the customers and integrated online and bricks and mortar business model. Since, many well-established players offer similar products to the customers, it is important to differentiate the business model of Target from the rivals in order to succeed in the market crow the retail segment. As the company has undergone some strategic change to improve its business situation, it has achieved following competitive advantage Differentiation through unique business model Competitive advantage refers to those qualities that cannot be imitated by competitors and provides the company a sustainable competitive advantage in the market. Through the successful collaboration of online and bricks and mortar business model Target has create a unique opportunity in the market. Most of the companies in the retail sector relies either on the physical business units or online business models to market their products. Thus, by creating a unique business model that has advantages of both physical store as well as online presence, Target has created unique opportunity in the market and has provided customers to select their products as per their convenience (Sharma et al., 2015). The benefits of online and bricks and mortar business models has created a competitive advantage for the Target as the company has presence in physical as well as virtual world that the competitors lacks. The 24/7 availability of the business to meet the demands of the customers providing them home delivery is beneficial for the business and crates competitive advantage in the maket. Differentiation through product differentiation - Target has focused on providing customers with products in line with the global trends. This has enabled the company to differentiate itself from the competitors as Target has better understanding of the demands and latest trends in the international market. The product assortment of Target has more products and merchandises that allow the customers to have more options to choose from. In addition, the company has created its own range of apparels and merchandises with the help of well renowned fashion designers that keep track of the global trends, customer preferences and provides value to the customers (Bhatnagar Syam, 2014). The wide range of products that matches international standards as well as satisfies the demands of the customers in the most economical manner creates a competitive advantage for the company as it attracts more customers and generates customer loyalty. Cost advantage Target has reduced its reliance on the discounts and focused more on providing better quality products at a reasonable price. However, it seems like the strategy of the company to reduce merchandise discounts is bound to fail in the market, but the fact is the company has focused on providing customers high quality products. The customers have also responded to this strategic favorably as they demand better value products at a considerable price rather than buying inferior quality products. Therefore, it can be said that by reducing the discounts the company has improved its business situation and attained cost advantage in the market. Value creation Value creation is one of the competitive advantages that Target has achieved by changing its business strategy. Target has achieved competitive advantage in the form of value creation. Value creation refers to providing customers with better products at a affordable price than their competitors. Target has created value for its customers as they provide high-end merchandises that are at line with the global trends (Kellner et al., 2014). The company utilizes the services of designers that design high quality products and merchandises at an affordable price for their customers. In addition, the company provides better service quality to its customers in the store as well as after the post purchase to retain the customer and increase value preposition for the company. The company provides value to the customers by offering personal styling options, in store clothing attentions, t-shirt printing, wider range of specialty products, better store layout, visual merchandisin g and coffee shops to encourage customers to linger (Swoboda et al., 2014). 3. Effectiveness of the strategy From the above discussion and analysis of the strategy implemented by the company, it is important to understand the effectiveness of the strategy adopted by the Target. In this part, it is required to focus on the usefulness of the adopted strategy of the company Wesfarmers Target. Initially it has been seen that the company must rely on adopting new online business model, as the present day scenario helps any of the organizations to drag the attention of the customers. Unlike traditional models of running a business in the bricks and the mortar world, the innovative techniques are generating more revenue in the online process to evolve and be defined (Slack, 2012). It has been seen that most of the customers in the present day scenario relies hugely on the internet and thus revising the existing business policy is highly essential for the management of the company to drag the attention of both the new and the existing customers (Amit Zott, 2012). It can be stated that the online b usiness model of the company would enable the customers to interact with the employees of Wesfarmers regarding any of their grievances and this would help the company to build a positive relationship with their valuable customers. Apart from that, it can be stated that the online business model of Wesfarmers would enable the customers to select from a wide range of products and this would made the buying experience of the customers more lively (Slack, 2012). Therefore, it can be stated that the suggested incorporation of the online business model would help the corporation to revive their existing policies and this modified business policy would enable the corporation to gain more profits than previous and thus the selection of this strategy is justified enough (Anandarajan, Anandarajan Srinivasan, 2012). Besides that, it has been seen that the company has recommended selling more products at a first price rather than at the discounted price. It has been seen that previously the company was selling their products in a discounted price and this business policy resulted in poor performance of the company. Thus, it can be stated that to enhance and increase the price margin, Wesfarmers must revise their existing market policy by selling the products at the first price rather than the discounted prices. Barnes and Hunt (2013) have stated that the pricing can be challenging as well complex and offers no shortcuts to the company and thus this part is required to look carefully from the viewpoint of the management. The target of the company must not to accumulate products and initially and after that selling the products in a discounted rate. This revised pricing policy makes sure that the corporation must avoid high stock clearances and at the same time strengthen the revenue generation of the corporation (Slack, 2012). This would help the company to company to reestablish their presence in the existing retail market. It can be stated that at the time of poor market presence, the company must revise their pricing strategies, as this is one of the most significant business decisions that assists the company to revive from the struggling market position (Casadesus Masanell Zhu, 2013). Therefore, it can be stated that at the time of setting the prices, the management of the company must make sure that the price and the sales level allow the business of the company to be advantageous. Thus, selection of this pricing strategy is justified enough and thus the company must rely on this. In order to stay competitive in the market, companies are required to stock the global changes in the retailer industry. It has been recommended that the design of the products must have a different brand look and this would attract the attention of the customers. Keeping this global style trend in mind, it can be stated that the management of the company must hire a designer group, who would be engaged in designing exclusive design of the products for the revised target segment (Anandarajan, Anandarajan Srinivasan, 2012). It is expected that the exclusive designing of the products would increase the brand loyalty among the customers and this might help the company to revive their present marketing position in the existing retail industry (DaSilva Trkman, 2014). The overall business of Target had been less than K-Mart over the past few times and thus they must immediately hire a group of the in-house designers and monitoring the designs keeping in mind the global trends, as this wo uld help the company to attract the attention of both the existing and the new customers (Lambert Davidson, 2013). The numbers of the stores of Wesfarmers are less in the market and to gain the attraction of the customers, it is highly necessary to expand the numbers of the stores in the market. If the customers find that the numbers of the stores are less, they must rely on some other companies that are more available to them. Therefore, raising the numbers of the stores in the market is one of the effective means for the company to get the attention of wide range of target customers. Apart from that, it can be stated that the management and the marketing team of the company must have a close watch to the global trends in the retail market and revise the existing policies based on the market trends (McCoy et al., 2012). Global market trends of the retailers give the customers more payment options and at the time of the incorporating the online business model, the company must widen this section to increase the level of customer satisfaction. More facilities must be added to the click and pay fac ility of the mobile phone initiatives and this part would help the company to get more number of the online customers. Apart from that, it can be stated that the retailers must unify their online and offline data collection and these parts in the online business model are required to focus on immediately to revive the existing market position in the retail industry (Osterwalder Pigneur, 2013). Therefore, going through all these strategies of the company, it can be stated that the selection of these strategies are justified enough and it is expected that the company would rejuvenate with the help of these adopted strategies. References Amit, R., Zott, C. (2012). Creating value through business model innovation.MIT Sloan Management Review,53(3), 41. Anandarajan, M., Anandarajan, A., Srinivasan, C. A. (Eds.). (2012).Business intelligence techniques: a perspective from accounting and finance. Springer Science Business Media. Barnes, S., Hunt, B. (Eds.). (2013).E-commerce and v-business. Routledge. Bhatnagar, A., Syam, S. S. (2014). Allocating a hybrid retailer's assortment across retail stores: Bricks-and-mortar vs online.Journal of Business Research,67(6), 1293-1302. Booth, S., Coveney, J. (2015). Big FoodThe Industrial Food System. InFood Democracy(pp. 3-11). Springer Singapore. Casadesus Masanell, R., Zhu, F. (2013). Business model innovation and competitive imitation: The case of sponsor based business models.Strategic management journal,34(4), 464-482. Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J. (2012).A Framework of International Business. Pearson Higher Ed. Cheng, M. M., Green, W. J., Ko, J. C. W. (2014). The impact of strategic relevance and assurance of sustainability indicators on investors' decisions.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,34(1), 131-162. DaSilva, C. M., Trkman, P. (2014). Business model: what it is and what it is not.Long Range Planning,47(6), 379-389. Hubbard, G., Rice, J., Galvin, P. (2014).Strategic management. Pearson Australia. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., Regnr, P. (2013).Exploring strategy text cases. Pearson Higher Ed. Kellner, J., Wagner, G., Toporowski, W. (2014). Differentiation in Online Retailing from a Consumers PerspectiveA Repertory Grid Approach. InEuropean Retail Research(pp. 43-57). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. Lambert, S. C., Davidson, R. A. (2013). Applications of the business model in studies of enterprise success, innovation and classification: An analysis of empirical research from 1996 to 2010.European Management Journal,31(6), 668-681. McCoy, D., Pitsillidis, A., Grant, J., Weaver, N., Kreibich, C., Krebs, B., ... Levchenko, K. (2012). Pharmaleaks: Understanding the business of online pharmaceutical affiliate programs. InPresented as part of the 21st USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 12)(pp. 1-16). Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y. (2013).Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley Sons. Sharma, D., Chowhan, D., Singh, S., Gupta, D., Srivastava, M. (2015). Consumer perception on online-business: a marketing strategy for new entrepreneur.Sudhinder Singh and Gupta, Dr. Devesh and Srivastava, Mr. Vishal, Consumer Perception on Online-Business: A Marketing Strategy for New Entrepreneur (January 15, 2015). Slack, K. (2012). Mission impossible?: Adopting a CSR-based business model for extractive industries in developing countries.Resources Policy,37(2), 179-184. Swoboda, B., Elsner, S., Morschett, D. (2014). Preferences and performance of international strategies in retail sectors: an empirical study.Long Range Planning,47(6), 319-336. Verbeke, A. (2013).International business strategy. Cambridge University Press. Vernon, P. (2012). Shopping Towns Australia.Fabrications,22(1), 102-121.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

The Concept and Types of Planned Change-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Significance of Planned Change for the Organizations. Answer: Change is the only constant thing that is essential for improvement for the organizations. With time, it is necessary for the organizations to identify and incorporate the changes for improvement. If the organizations fail to incorporate the changes according to the market requirement, it will be difficult for them to sustain in the competitive market. It is essential for the organizations to identify the changes on a regular basis and judge the need for the change. Upon identification, the organization needs to plan the change, planning mitigates the risk of failure. This essay highlights the concept and types of planned change along with the challenges and significance of planned change for the organizations. The essay also discusses the implementation of theories and models of planned change. The responsibility of the managers is to bring and incorporate change with a vision of improvement for the organization (Mitchell, 2013). Planned change is important for the organizations to cope up with the continuous changes in different business sectors due to politics, demand of customers and the economy of the country. The concept of planned change is allowing the entire organization to be accustomed with the significant changes for the benefit of the organizational goals. As mentioned by Cummings Worley (2014), planned change is defined as the application of a structural innovation and deliberate design along with a new goal or policy or changing the existing operating philosophy, climate and style. The aforementioned changes are brought within the working principles of the organization to conduct business according to the present market scenario and demand. The planned change includes all the aspects of the organizations that are closely related such as technology, structure, people, and responsibility. Implementation of organizational planned change is a difficult and complex process. Therefore, considerable planning is required for implementing major organizational change. As mentioned by Lozano (2013), the success of the planned change depends upon the sequential way the process proceeds. The process of planned change includes recognizing the change requirement, features that requires change, planning the change, accessing the forces of change and action for implementing the change. Identifying the need for change is essential, as bringing in change without any reason will hinder the usefulness and necessity of the change (McGarry, Cashin Fowler, 2012). As identifying the requirement of change provides a clue, this step helps in analyzing further by identifying the issues due to which change is required. Planning the change allows the managers to plan how to execute the planned change (Blomme, 2012). The managers consider features such as who will bring the change, when to bring the change and how to bring the change. Assessing the change forces allow the managers to identify the driving and restraining forces and plan accordingly. After successful completion of the steps, actions need to be undertaken to implement the change. As mentioned by Waddell et al., (2013), unfreezing, changing and refreezing are the steps that need to be considered during planning the actions for change. According to Boohene Williams (2012), planned change within organizations can be brought in the field such as technology, task, structure, and people. Previously, the use of technologies was not highly used and implemented by the organizations. The majority of the tasks were performed and maintained manually. Due to this, the organizations encountered drawbacks such as mistakes and delay in proceeding with work due to manual labor. With time, the organizations have understood the benefits and requirements of technology for their business. Therefore, recently, all the organizations use technology along with manual labor for conducting their business. Technology related changes include designing, distributing and producing. For example, the technology related change allowed the organizations to introduce automated data processing devices. Based on the requirement, the organizations implement changes in terms of task that emphasize internal work motivation and high quality work perform ance. This allows the managers to motivate the employees by considering their needs and requirements that eventually enhance their performance and productivity. Structural changes are brought within the organizations to redefine the nature of relationships and positions. This includes changes in the hierarchical levels, in line staffs and functional authorities. Kurt Lewins Change model is an important theory used as a guide by the organizations to plan and implement change. As mentioned by Shirey (2013), the model consists of three stages namely, unfreezing, change and refreezing. According to the first step, an individual or an organizational issue need to cast away the old behavior that might be inappropriate, irrelevant and inadequate according to the present scenario. For example, the use of only manual labor by the industries needed to be changed, as it made the entire process time consuming and less productive. The next step, changing is the process in which the individual or the procedure used the organizations is changed. In order to do so, the individuals or the organizations need to learn the new behavior methods such as working, new thinking and perception of new roles. The final stage is refreezing that allows the individuals or the organizations to internalize the new beliefs, feelings and behavior learned during the changing p hase. At the end of the final stage, the aforementioned elements are adopted permanently. ADKAR change model can also be used by the organizations to implement the change. Managing change on the organizational and personal level requires thinking for implementing the change. As mentioned by Worley Mohrman (2014), ADKAR change model can be used to understand the significance of change at an individual level. Therefore, in order to influence change at an organizational level, the individual effect needs to be considered. The steps of ADKAR change model include awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. Awareness signifies the reasons of change for the business. Desire signifies engaging the various stakeholders of the organization to be a part of the change. The various stakeholders need have adequate knowledge of making the change happen and with the ability to realize and implementing the change. Reinforcement ensures that the planned change lasts long. The process and transition of the existing operational function of an organization are complex and time-consuming. Therefore, an organization encounters several challenges to implement planned change. As mentioned by Davoudi et al., (2012), lack of detailed and visionary planning results in failure of planned change. It is often seen that the management emphasize so much in implementing the change that they fail to conduct a detailed plan. As a result, while progressing to implement the planned, they encounter several new challenges that were not considered initially. As a result, the planned change fails miserably. According to Cameron Green (2015), lack of communication also results in failure of a planned change. For example, not all the individuals might support the change planned in the operational procedure of an organization. They might have different preferences to make the change happen. Therefore, excessive decisions and lack of communication results in the failure of the planned change. At certain instances, the employees might resist the change. This is because they become comfortable with the way the business works. As a result, it I difficult for them to adapt the change though it is beneficial for the business. Therefore, the management needs to discuss in detail with the employees and convince them for the planned change. A planned change is essential for the business and the organizations to sustain in the competitive market and conduct business according to the present scenario. It might be the not essential factor for business might be completely unimportant according to todays business scenario. As mentioned by Alvesson Sveningsson (2015), planned change helps in increasing the productivity of the employees and the organization. This is because the change is required by the organization according to the present business scenario. Moreover, planned change also helps in enhancing the quality of service provided within and by the organization. For example, use of technology in the supply chain management has increased productivity and quality for the business. This has made the entire process of supply chain management less time consuming and more efficient. Incorporating planned change on a timely basis increases the customer satisfaction of the business. This is because the demands and needs of th e customers keep on changing. Therefore, if the organizations fail to change according to the ever-changing demand of the customers, they might lose customers and business. In this essay, it can be concluded that planned change is essential for the organization to sustain in the competitive market. It is defined as the systematic process of planning the change in various aspects of the organizations such as technology, task, people, and structure. In order to implement the change successfully, it is important to identify the change, elements that need to be changed, planning the change, assessing the change forces and actions undertaken to implement the change. Kurt Lewin's theory of planned change can be used as a guide for the organizations to implement the change. The steps include unfreeze, change and refreeze. Lack of communication and detailed planning of the change is the common reason of the failure of planned change. However, increasing customer satisfaction, productivity and enhancing the quality of service are the significance of considering and implementing planned change. References Alvesson, M., Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge. Blomme, R. J. (2012). How managers can conduct planned change in self-organising systems: Actor Network Theory as a perspective to managers actions. International Journal of Business Administration, 3(5), 9. Boohene, R., Williams, A. A. (2012). Resistance to organisational change: A case study of Oti Yeboah Complex Limited. International Business and Management, 4(1), 135-145. Cameron, E., Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. Cummings, T. G., Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Davoudi, S., Shaw, K., Haider, L. J., Quinlan, A. E., Peterson, G. D., Wilkinson, C., ... Davoudi, S. (2012). Resilience: a bridging concept or a dead end?Reframing resilience: challenges for planning theory and practice interacting traps: resilience assessment of a pasture management system in Northern Afghanistan urban resilience: what does it mean in planning practice? Resilience as a useful concept for climate change adaptation? The politics of resilience for planning: a cautionary note: edited by Simin Davoudi and Libby Porter. Planning theory practice, 13(2), 299-333. Lozano, R. (2013). Are companies planning their organisational changes for corporate sustainability? An analysis of three case studies on resistance to change and their strategies to overcome it. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 20(5), 275-295. McGarry, D., Cashin, A., Fowler, C. (2012). Child and adolescent psychiatric nursing and the plastic man: Reflections on the implementation of change drawing insights from Lewins theory of planned change. Contemporary nurse, 41(2), 263-270. Mitchell, G. (2013). Selecting the best theory to implement planned change: Improving the workplace requires staff to be involved and innovations to be maintained. Gary Mitchell discusses the theories that can help achieve this. Nursing Management, 20(1), 32-37. Shirey, M. R. (2013). Lewins theory of planned change as a strategic resource. Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(2), 69-72. Waddell, D., Creed, A., Cummings, T. G., Worley, C. (2013). Organisational change: Development and transformation. Cengage Learning. Worley, C. G., Mohrman, S. A. (2014). Is change management obsolete?. Organizational Dynamics, 43(3), 214-224