Contract & Purchase Negotiation Not Just the Beatles Essay

Contract & Purchase Negotiation Not Just the Beatles - Essay Example Thus, because of lack of preparation Brian Epstein lost in these negotiations resulting to lose of millions of revenue. However, he would have prevented this from happening if the following steps of effective planning for negotiations were followed; framing the problem and recognizing it is a common problem between the negotiating parties. Brian Epstein failed to recognize how the problem that was facing him would be beneficial to the media and entertainment industry and hence made it difficult for him to have a strong bargaining power in the negotiations hence resulting to the loss of millions of revenue. In addition, determine your goals, articulate what you want to achieve through them and finally prepare for the negotiations (Roy, et al., 1999). Your goals must define the ultimate agenda and the conflict situation. Brian Epstein failed to formulate a plan, and goals that he wanted to achieve through his negotiations with the media and entertainment industry players like George Martin hence resulting to the loss of millions of revenue. Exchanging the list of issues you want to discuss with the negotiating party is another effective negotiating step that can provide an opportunity for the negotiating parties to synthesize the merits and demerits of the negotiations prior to the negotiations process. If Brian Epstein would have presented his agenda to the media and entertainment industry early and articulated the benefits thereafter, he would have managed a better bargaining power that would have saved the Beatles the millions of lost revenue. Evaluation and prioritization of ones’ goals and trying to identify any possible tradeoffs between them is another key step in the negotiation process (Roy, et al., 1999). As a negotiator, you must be aware of your position and goals to help and guide you identify your concerns and desires that underlie your major objectives of

Academic paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Academic paper - Essay Example The paper will also discuss the metrics of implementing change in the HR operations of the organization. As a recap of the SWOT analysis conducted, it has been observed that the main weakness being faced by PAC is that the management styles used by the HR department are divisive. As a result, the employees are not motivated and the other issue is that in the staffing department, only one person is responsible for performing various tasks related to recruitment along with another recruit. The other weakness is that the employee grievances are not addressed on time. The leaders lack understanding of the needs of the employees and this contributes towards low morale among them. The major threat witnessed from this analysis is that the benefits and compensation structures are significantly high and they strain the financial status of the organization. The company is paying large sums of money to cover the benefits of the employees and this scenario may not be sustainable in the long run. From the findings outlined above, it has been recommended that cost cutting measures particularly in the area of labour force should be implemented. This will go a long way in helping the company to save money while at the same time improving its operations. The human resources department should be tasked with assessing the viable measures that can be taken in order to make necessary changes that would not negatively impact on the operations of the company. The other issue is that in order for the company to operate viably, it is recommended that it should adopt change especially in the structure of human resources management. During the contemporary period, it can be observed that change in the operations of the company is inevitable due to the dynamism of the environment in which the company operates (Jackson and Schuler, 2010). Thus, enlightened leaders should anticipate change and act accordingly and they should also take a

Business information and their sources Essay Example for Free

Business information and their sources Essay This report aims to show the different forms of information used in HM. It will tell us if we need to improve on any of our methods of communication, or if we need to enhance any methods we use. Internal information is when it can be found from inside the business, such as previous sales records. External information is when the information needs to be found from outside the company, for example in books or customer feedback forms. Primary information is when you have received the information fist hand, either through a report or through surveys. We need internal information for evidence so nothing is mis interpreted within the business. Internal information can be previous records, we need these to write reports and to make sure the business isn’t at a loss. HM need external information to monitor new trends so we can stay ahead of fashion. We do this by getting our internal and external customers to complete questionnaires. It is important that we do this so our customers always stay interested in the clothes that we have on offer so we do not lose any business. Combining internal and external information is very effective because your ideas can be expanded by using existing ideas but with our own unique twist. So we can take an existing idea on a clothing range, but then add something to it based on the feedback and ideas we get from our customers. Internal information can be more important for HM than external information because it includes private details and information of the company that cannot be found anywhere else. This would be needed if we were to start a sale because we’d have to know what products are not selling well to put them in the sale. However, external information can be seen as more important that internal information because it includes new information from customer feedback. This is much needed because it would help our business form fresh ideas and to help us move forward. Internal information cannot help us do this. HM need primary information to help the business run smoother and gain new  ideas. We can do this by getting surveys from the public to get more ideas on things we can sell or do in store. Primary information is very useful because it can be used for a lot of different things, for example customer service or new clothing ranges. Also it is usually very reliable because you have created it. Secondary information can also be used to gain new ideas. We can use secondary information to do this because the information has already been created so we could just expand on the information to make it unique and our own. A combination of primary and secondary information is important because it means that we can monitor our own records and also monitor our competitor’s records so that we can always try to stay on top. Primary can be more important than secondary information because we are actually creating the informatio9n so it is 100% reliable whereas secondary information is not always be reliable because it was created by an unknown source. Verbal information is when it can be spoken, for example a phone call. In our company, we give verbal information to our staff and customers. We verbally give information to our staff because it is quick and easy. Written information is written down to pass information, for example a letter or email. We use written information to communicate because it can be used as confirmation and it is harder to be forgotten if you have it written down. We also give written confirmation to our customers all the time, for example receipts. We do this so there is proof of purchase and there is no mis understanding between the business and the customers. Multimedia can be shown through moving adverts or audio. It is a very effective way to present information because it engages the reader a lot more than a bit of writing on a piece of paper. We use multimedia in different ways, for example, on our website there are videos of our products being modelled and shown on the catwalk. We use multimedia in this way so our customers will stay engaged and will be more interested in our products if they see them on top models. Using a combination of verbal and written information is more effective than just using either one of them. Having a staff meeting is quick, easy and usually there isn’t any miscommunication. To guarantee that there has been no mis communication, you can send an email after the meeting has taken place just too highlight was said in the meeting. Verbal information is  sometimes better than written information because if we needed to pass information on to our team, having a meeting where we could easily speak to them all at once is more appropriate than using written information by sending an e-mail or letter where there could be mis-communication. Written information can be better than verbal information when for example we needed to confirm a purchase with a customer. We would need to give them a type of written confirmation because if the sale was done verbally, information could easily be forgotten or mis-communication could occur. To conclude I am going to summarise this report. The way we use internal and external information is very successful because HM uses original ideas combined with ideas from customer feedback to improve the way the company functions. How primary and secondary information is used in the company is also successful. This is due to us using our own reliable information (primary) and comparing it to our competitor’s information (secondary) to monitor whether we are currently popular or not. Verbal and written information is the most effective way of transferring information within HM. This is because there is a very small chance of mis-communication if verbal and written information is given properly. To fully conclude, HM are transferring information successfully in all different ways.

Political Language Essay Example for Free

Political Language Essay Language is the life blood of politics. Political power struggles, and the legitimisation of political policies and authorities occurs primarily through discourse and verbal representations. Power can either be exercised through coercion or what US commentator Walter Lippman termed in the 1930s the manufacture of consent. Largely unable, and hopefully unwilling, to coerce; political authorities in so called democratic polities often need to manufacture consent in order to undertake their agendas. While this most obviously concerns relations between a government and its wider public, this process has profound effects on the workings inside governments and is an important aspect of socialisation into governmental work cultures. Put simply the manufacture of consent is a language based process of ideological indoctrination. While being astonishingly comprehensive, it is a remarkably subtle process. Discourse carries the very assumptions under which the things it alludes to are known and ordered in the context in which it is used. In concrete terms this means that the content of political language contains the very rationale by which it is to be framed, defined, understood and acted upon. Commonly this produces the manufacture of consent. Political language, as Michael Geis points out in The Language of Politics, conveys both the linguistic meaning of what is said and the corpus, or a part of it, of the political beliefs underpinning any given statement (p7). Whether circulating inside or outside governments this means that political discourse transmits and unconsciously reinforces the ideological foundations and the ways of knowing of the dominant political authorities. Applied to government agencies this means that the language of its official texts contains the means by which things are known and understood within these agencies. This means that official documents are shaped according to the way in which things are known and understood in the context in which they are primarily employed. What is included, excluded and how the document is structured is largely determined by these methods of knowing, understanding, and what these are ideologically deemed to encompass. None of this is to necessarily say that the contents of a document are untrue. In the case of Randolf Pauls report nothing alleged in it has been refuted. However its structure reflects the prizing of particular modes of linear rational thought, empiricism, and ideas of objectivity characteristic of the US bureaucracy. What he represented may well have been far less straightforward than how he presented it. The events Paul portrayed may well have included other significant happenings that were not included because they were either not recognised as such within the knowledge structures of the US bureaucracy, or because they may have contentiously reflected unfavourably on the ideological principles underlying the US government. On the flip side official documents can be used to identify the ideological principles of a government agency and the political authorities it represents. Where there is conflict in political discourse, there is conflict about the ideological and philosophical assumptions underlying political authority. Official texts, and their structures should be analysed to uncover the assumptions of knowledge and ideology at the foundations of the authority producing the text. According to Foucault, the most useful question in such an analysis is something along the lines of how is it that one particular statement appeared instead of another statement . Further reading : Burton, F., Carlen, P. , Official Discourse : On Discourse Analysis, Government Publications, Ideology, and the State, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1979. Fairclough, N. , Language and Power, Longman, London, 1989. Foucault, M. The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language, trans. A. M. Sheridan Smith, Pantheon Books, New York, 1972. Geis, M. , The Language of Politics, Spring Verlag, New York, 1987. HOME DOCUMENT http://teaching. arts. usyd. edu. au/history/hsty3080/3rdYr3080/Callous%20Bystanders/language. html v.

Business Model For Ebay Marketing Essay

Business Model For Ebay Marketing Essay Innovation is not a single but a total process of interrelated sub processes. It is not just the conception of a new idea, nor the invention of a new device, nor the development of a new market but all of these things acting in an integrated fashion (Myers and Marquis, 1969). Innovation can as well be explained with the following equation: Innovation = theoretical conception + technical invention + commercial exploitation. EBay is the online trading community between person-to-person and is one of the few profitable internet companies. EBay effectively created a new business model never before possible with efficient one-to-one trading in an auction format. Individuals use 4,300 categories in eBay to buy and sell items of wide range, from collectibles and antiques to electronics and toys. Sellers pay a nominal fee for placing an item up for sale, and eBay receives a transaction fee ranging from 1.25% to 5% of the final sale price on any item sold. The buyer and the seller work out the logistics of the transport (e.g. shipping, payment) between themselves, and eBay never takes possession of the item being sold, or the payment for the item removing the need for inventory, transportation and other overhead costs. Business Model Business model defines how a firm will define and promote its brand (plans to operate), produce and distribute its product (generate revenue) and build or attract its market (compete). The success of business depends on selecting the appropriate business model. Business models convert new technologies to economic value. For some start-ups, familiar business models are not always applicable so a new model must be devised. In some cases, the importance of business model far exceeds the innovation of the product or service itself. Role of the Business Model Technical Inputs Business Model Economic Outputs A business model bases on a multitude of business subjects including economics, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, operations, and strategy. The business model itself is an important determinant of profits to be made from an innovation. A mediocre innovation with a great business model may be more profitable than a great innovation with a mediocre business model. EBays business model was based on creating and maintaining a person-to-person trading community, providing millions of auctions, and hundreds of thousands of new items every day from which bidders may choose. After implementing their model, EBay has been able to build strategic partnerships, continue making innovative changes and progressions, and supervise its internal and external environments for possible future opportunities which have made them the worlds largest online auction company. Since the site provides plenty of reasons to stay for longer period of time and revisit on a regular basis, eBay has become hugely successful. The longer they stay on eBay, there is more chance to complete a transaction and generate revenue for eBay. The other reason for eBays success is their highest bidder wins style auction mechanism as a means of earning profit from charging a premium for mediating between buyers and sellers as a third party. In using this mechanism, a history of prices exist s (price points), creating increased inter-play between competitors in the marketplace. EBays business model recognizes these specific elements as a key to its success. They are (as given in the case study): It is the largest online trading forum with a huge mass of buyers and sellers, and varied range of items listed for sale Its compelling and entertaining environment with strong values and established rules hence facilitating communication between buyers and sellers. It has programs such as Safe harbor to aid in disputes and to punish users who violate eBay Cost effective and convenient trading Strong community affinity An intuitive user interface that was easy to understand, arranged by topics, and fully automated The founder of eBays vision was to create the environment and provide users ways to interact. Rather than finding various ways of making money, eBay has focused on creating a community of users by which they ended up making lots of money. According to a survey, the average eBay user spends an average of one hour, 26 minutes and eight seconds on eBay (http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/ebay-aol-benefit-from-increased-us-web-usage-12765/). In contrast, visitors to catalogue stores and other commercial websites might spend only ten or twenty minutes there. EBay is maintaining their position since they are continuously improving to become better. When compared to amazon.com and other sites, eBay turned out to be far better since their expenses are low and doesnt hold any stocks like the others do. Creating New Markets Through Service Innovation For decades, since the evolution of internet, the importance of services has grown steadily to the global economy whereas the importance of goods has declined. Naturally, companies are constantly seeking to provide better services, regardless of whether they are in a pure service business or in a manufacturing industry that must increasingly rely on its service operations for continued profitability. However, most improvements to service activities are incremental. Stores stay open longer; producers establish websites with e-commerce functions; airlines, casinos and supermarket chains introduce loyalty card programs. These improvements are useful and indeed necessary, but their returns are somewhat limited. Only rarely does a company develop a service that creates an entirely new market reshaping the market providing company with unforeseen profits for a longer period of time. EBay is one of these rare companies. It has created new markets through its unique model of innovation. For example, in the online auction concept, eBay was not the first but it gradually became the dominant player. In the early 1980s, CompuServe (nee MicroNET) and The Source were sponsoring auctions. Specifically, Comp-U-Card Online/Comp-U-Store held weekly auctions for consumer goods like the brand-new Sony Walkman in 1983, and CompuServes first eBay-style automated online auctions were held in 1982. Due to limited use of the internet technologies and lack of awareness, these companies were not much success. Later when the trend changed, new technologies developed, and online business grew, eBay introduced its business totally focussed on service which led them to create successful new markets domestically and globally. Ansoffs growth matrix identifying opportunities for growth for eBay Current Products/ servicesNewProducts/ servicesCurrentMarketsNewMarkets 1. Market penetration strategy Attempt to get existing users to spend more 3. Product development strategy Wireless Develop sectors such as introduce car sales, boat, sales etc. Fixed-price shops Paypal: payment system Providing commission on sales 2. Market development strategy Attract new vendors such as large corporations Develop international sites in significant markets such as Germany, Japan 4. Diversification strategy Skype: VOIP Enabling communication among community EBay is one of the most successful e-commerce website in the World Wide Web. The strategic direction of the company is market penetration. The main aim of a market penetration strategy is to increase the market share by using the current products within the existing markets. This involved the actions and programs to be done in order to enhance the current core competencies or build a new one. In the case of e-Bay, the company focuses on improving the quality of their service in order to improve the reputation of the company compared to its direct and indirect competitors. EBay is focusing on the improvement of its service by using updated and high-tech Information System, which will help to improve the visitor log, improve the quality of service and the security and safety of its online users. Beside that EBay has continued to innovate and connect people. The most important points in their innovation are acquisitions of PayPal in 2002 an online financial service, and Skype in 2005 an internet communication company. With these acquisitions, EBay provides customers with the most convenient methods so that buyers can make low cost contact with sellers easily and make all transaction swiftly. Although there are several disputes that EBay is doing a real value chain, its characterization proofs that EBay performs a virtual value chain. It provides platform for trading on the internet in virtual market where it operates and the value of goods sold in this site is determined by auctioning of buyers. It performs as a self-regulating global economy. Lesson to a new internet business from eBay Figure from www.ebay.com On a normal e-commerce site, customer does some shopping, picks out one or more items, and heads to the checkout area as quickly as possible. But in eBay, members can do other thing than just buy or sell. They can Post feedback: In business, feedbacks are crucial and help the company to improve their mistakes. Here, both consumers and sellers can post their feedbacks in the forum describing their deal of the product. Communicate with others in message boards: Consumers such as Antique hunters, collectors, and bargain hunters like talking about their common interests. This leads them to meet and greet each other in the same spots on eBay, either in a weekly or prearranged chat, just to say hello and share opinions. Post secondary information: eBay sellers and buyers can create About Me pages to inform people about themselves. Sellers can open eBay Stores. This gets them personally involved with the sales they open this site not only for business but it has become part of their daily lives. In other words, loyalty, the desire of finding a bargain, and the love of making some extra money are what keep eBay users returning on a regular basis, which makes eBay a lovely and a successful venue. Its the human touch that means so much on the auction site. By implementing their business model, eBay employed three main tactics. First, they looked to build strategic partnerships. Second, they looked for customer feedback to constantly make changes and improvements. Finally, they monitored its internal and external environments for possible opportunities. By doing all of these sorts of things, eBay is being able to adapt to the changing ways and keeping their customers satisfied. To be successful eBay continue to mould and change their business model to satisfy its customers and keep the level of quality they employ to the highest degree as possible. eBay has created a one-stop-shopping experience that is appealing to large corporations, independent entrepreneurs, and individual buyers and sellers. They have created value through many facets of their business that appeal to their customers and differentiate them from the competition. The main ways that eBay differentiates themselves is through: Variety of products offered When customers visit eBay they can search for virtually any product. EBay boasts a category variety not matched by any competitor with over 27,000. The eBay Community EBay wants their customers to feel like they are a part of a community. This community feel gives customers the sense that they are branch of something and cared about. By showing the customers that their feedback, opinions, and feelings are important eBay has gained tremendous ground with their customers. The eBay Website EBay has created an auction and retail website that is unique and interesting. This creative site sets them apart from their competitors. The site is set up with many facets that reach a broad span of visiting buyers and sellers. The site is also entertaining and easy to use making it very appealing for online shopping and trading. The eBay Brand Name EBay was the creator of the online auction industry. When customers think of online buying the immediately think of eBay. This has given them a competitive advantage that sets them apart from other online auctions. eBays Global Reach The global reach of eBay is not achieved by any other online auction site. For large corporations international selling and buying is done everyday. Even for an individual buyer or seller, having the option of searching throughout 150 countries with a span of 94.9 million users is very appealing. Conclusion eBays compelling value proposition, their ability to create a new market using Internet technology, and their first-mover advantage, have been key factors that have contributed to the success of the brand, however, their ability to cultivate a distinct sense of community has been the defining characteristic which differentiates them from other online auctions. As a result, eBay attracts a broader selection of buyers, which in turn attracts more sellers the ultimate network effect contributing to its strong lead and competitive advantage. Their focus on heavy users and targeted promotions, have been instrumental in building a quality customer base, which has established eBay above other online auction communities. eBay has also faced difficult challenges in scaling the organisation fast enough, as they could not opt for a go slow strategy.

Biography and Work of Guy de Maupassant Essay -- Guy de Maupassant bio

Biography and Work of Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant is acknowledged through the world as one of the masters of the short story; Guy de Maupassant was also the author of a collection of poetry, a volume of plays, three travel journals, six novels, and many chronicles. He produced some three hundred short stories in the single decade from 1880 to 1890; a period during which he produced most of his other works. Five of his six novels were published during the second half of the decade. â€Å"His short fiction has been compared to that of Ivan Turgenev, Anton Chekhov, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry James.† (Encyclopedia Britanica 1012) Maupassant took as his primary goal the realistic portrayal of everyday life. He wrote about what he knew best, and that is as a peasant of his native home of Normandy, the war of 1870, the lives of government employees and Parisian high society, and his own fears and hallucinations. â€Å"His short stories were seen as masterpieces of economy, clarity, and classical in their formal simplicity, uncommonly varied in their theme was and keenly evocative in their descriptions.† (Marx 303) Guy de Maupassant is otherwise known as Henri Rene Albert, Joseph Prunier, Guy de Valmont, or even Maufrigneuese. He was born on August 5, 1850, in Chateau de Miromesnil, near tourville-sur Argues, Normandy, France. Maupassant, the first child of Laure Le Poittevin and Gustave de Maupassant. Records show a discrepancy as to his birthplace, some scholars maintain it was Decamp, but the official view, supported by his birth certificate, is that he first saw the light of day at the Chateau de Miromesnil. Maupassant died on July 6, 1893, of complications resulting from syphilis, in a sanitarium in Paris. He attend... ... 2000. . 8. Maupassant, Guy de. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Detroit, Washington, D.C.: Vol.42, Gale Research Inc. 9. Maupassant, Guy de. Short Story Criticism. Detroit, Michigan. Vol. 1, Book Tower. 10. Maupassant, Guy de. The Best Short Stories. Cumberland House, Crib Street, Ware, Hertford shire Wordsworth Editions Limited 1997. 11. "Guy de Maupassant." The Gale Group. Vol. 5, 2 February 1992. 31 OCT. 2000. . 12. Maupassant, Guy de. The Necklace and other Short Stories. Minela, N.Y.: Dover Publications, Inc. 1992. 13. Steegmuller, Francis. "An Overview of the Necklace" The Gale Group. Vol. 1, 1949. 31 OCT. 2000. . 14. Smith, Christopher. "The Necklace: Overview." The Gale Group. Vol. 1, 1994. 31 OCT. 2000. 15. Wallace, Albert H. "Guy de Maupassant: Overview." The Gale Group. Vol.2,1995. 31 OCT. 2000. ,

And Then There Were None Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And Then There Were None, written by Agatha Christie is a thrilling tale of ten people invited to a remote island by an unseen figure who never appears throughout the story. All those who were invited have pasts that they are hiding and many things to fear. The guests are cast upon Indian Island, an island off the coast of England around the 1930s. Strangers to each other, slowly they reveal their shameful pasts. Coincidently, the name which they were invited by, Mr. U. N. Owen sounds similar to that of the word â€Å"unknown.† Among the characters is a Mr. Wargrave, a recently retired judge, who is intelligent, cold, and commanding. He takes leadership on the island after the killings begin. Wargrave is the first to insist publicly that they are dealing with a homicidal maniac, and the first to acknowledge that the killer must be part of their group. Vera Claythorne is witty and believes she was hired as a secretary to Mrs. Owen. Philip Lombard, a mysteri ous man, served as a soldier in Africa and often carries a gun with him. Among the other characters are William Blore, an ex-detective, and Dr. Armstrong who thinks he has been hired to look after the wife of the island’s owner. Emily Brent, General Macarthur, Tony Marston think they have been invited for a visit with old friends. And Then There Were None examines justice, but it bends the manifestation by making the victims of murder, people who committed murder themselves. It expresses the theme of what the burden of one’s own guilty conscience can lead that person to perform.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon arriving on the island, they are greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers who were hired as the butler and housekeeper. That evening after dinner they hear a recorded voice accusing each of them of a specific murder committed in the past and never uncovered. Talking about the accusations, they realize none of them actually have ever met or know â€Å"Mr. U.N. Owen.† As they ponder this mysterious matter, Tony Marston chokes on poisoned whiskey and dies. Vera Claythorne observes similarities between the death of Marston and the first verse of a nursery rhyme, â€Å"Ten Little Indians,† that hangs in each bedroom. The next morning the guests find that Mrs. Rogers apparently died in her sleep. The guests hope to leave that morning, but the boat that regularly delivers supplies to the island do... ...gives the book a wonderful plot and ending. The book addresses the idea that only the dead are above suspicion. A baffling mystery, And Then There Were None can be enjoyed by even the most immature [of people]. â€Å"Ten Little Indians† Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little Indian boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were seven. Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six Six little Indian boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little Indian boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little Indian boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little Indian boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one of them and then there were two. Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little Indian boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself... And then there were none