Conflict with examples from your career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Conflict with examples from your career - Essay Example The analysis, prevention, management or resolution of conflicts does not aim at eliminating the conflict, but aims at looking for the best ways of solving the conflict without resorting to violence. There are a number of reasons underlying conflicts. Conflicts are caused when people are competing for the same natural or artificial resources, which are distributed unfairly, or which are not enough for everybody to get a share. Conflicts also arise when people are not satisfied with the manner in which they are governed. The major cause of conflict in this case is when a particular group wants to be independent from the central government, which is contrary to the laws governing the central government. Conflicts also arise when there is a clash of people’s beliefs with the most sensitive views being religious and political views, since people use them to show their sense of identity and belonging. Ethnic differences can also cause conflicts since people’s ethnicity give them a source of identity and belonging, and a threat to this is likely to result into violence if the conflict is not addressed early enough. Conflict management plays a big role in strengthening the bond between employees or the conflicting parties and solves close to half of the problems facing the parties. In a working environment, employees need to feel motivated and find work exciting. It is thus advisable for a manager, before implementing any idea that is likely to affect the employees in an organization to conduct employee consultations then take the most appropriate step in solving the problem. Moreover, conflict resolution plays a big role in people’s lives since tussles and fights that are likely to spoil relationships and create enmity are ironed out. Addressing problems at the right time helps to prevent further damage brought about by

Hospitality Foundation Essay Example for Free

Hospitality Foundation Essay Introduction The following report looks closely at someone working in the hospitality industry. The aim is to analyse their job. My research will be carried out by undertaking an interview, asking for a job description and visiting the place of work. I will then come to a conclusion in which I will analyse any shortfalls that may occur. Recommendations will then be made to improve the job performance of the individual. Method An interview with an employee of Ramada-Jarvis Hotel and Resort, Maidstone was carried out. His job title is Breakfast attendant, but he is basically a waiter. His Personnel Manager was emailed to ask for a job description and to establish what his responsibilities are. Information from the hotels website was also used. In order to fully analyse his job fully, the following areas were concentrated on: The working environment, the type of operation, opening hours, shift patterns etc the person being interviewed is contracted to work The duties and responsibilities The technical and professional skills needed to be effective The personal and social skills needed to be effective What motivates the individual Their expected career path (if any) Findings The working environment, the type of operation, opening hours, shift patterns etc the person being interviewed is contracted to work Working environment: Ramada-Jarvis Hotel and Resort in Maidstone is set in 20 acres of parkland in the heart of Kent adjacent to Leeds Castle, the reasonably modern hotel offers easy access to Maidstone and Kent, The Garden of England. Ricks Restaurant the section in which he works can get particularly busy between 8 and 10 in the morning, this provides a noisy and busy working environment. Type of operation: Restaurant sub-section of Hotel and Resort Opening hours: Sunday- Saturday: 7:00am 10:00pm Shift pattern: Shift pattern varies due to the fact that he only works part-time during school, but full-time in school holidays. During school when he works part time his shifts tend to be Saturday and Sunday from 7am 12pm. During school holidays he works 5 days a week from 6am 12pm. He has to look on a shift board in case of any changes. The duties and responsibilities His duties and responsibilities change every shift. Sometimes he will be responsible for the clearing and laying of tables and serving of tea, coffee and toast, but sometimes he will be responsible for the restocking during breakfast and clearing after breakfast of the breakfast buffet. He will also be given one designated job at the end of his shift. This can be setting up for lunch, cleaning glasses, plates and glasses, or cleaning floors and the fridge. The technical and professional skills needed to be effective Technical skills needed are very basic in terms of service at Breakfast due to the style of service being a self-service buffet. The clearing of tables and relaying was probably the only skills you could loosely call technical considering that has to have those skills to do the job, although these are trained in after employees start. Professional skills refer to the way in which standards are achieved and the slick performance of duties, clearly one can only become professional at something if you have been doing it consistantly for a period of time without fault. The personal and social skills needed to be effective Personal and social skills are by far the most important in this type of role. Personally he has to approach the job with the correct positive, friendly attitude in order to be accepted by the team and be able to approach the guests. Socially he has to be a good communicator, listener and team player in order to be able to do the job. What motivates the individual The obvious incentive of money would be the main motivation, although his pay is not that high at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.85 per hour. He also finds that working as a part of a team motivates him, as he gets on well with all his colleagues. Expected career path He is expecting to leave this job and do a degree in Hotel Management in order to become a manager in a hotel. However he will be using his job as invaluable experience. Conclusion The individual has all the necessary skills required to carry out all his duties and responsibilities inherent within the job, his performance is therefore satisfactory. As he is only working part-time to aid his personal finances, his motives to be an effective employee in the organisation are not very strong. This is where some shortfalls may lie. Apart from the risk of being sacked from his job, he has no other reason to perform his job to the best of his ability. He may not use other skills exceeding his job requirements that could make him shine above fellow employees. Some of the skills required need training, such as the laying of tables and using the till. If this is carried out then the employee will feel more comfortable in their position and be able to perform their job more effectively, which will in turn lead to more customer satisfaction. The shift patterns of the individual are likely to have an effect on their performance. For example, if they are working unsociable hours or very long shifts, then their standards are likely to drop without a pay rise. Another shortfall that I found was that the hours that were given to the individual did not always suit him. Recommendations Motives of the employee are a key factor in how well they perform their job. As money is the main motive of this individual, rewards could be given to motivate the employees further. For example, bonuses could be given for a consistantly high standard of work. If there was more discussion between the employee and the management, more appropriate hours could be given to the employee. It is important that the hotel make working for them as enjoyable as possible. As if the employees have job satisfaction they will do a better job. The hotel could offer such rewards as discount breaks to other hotels in the chain in order to encourage the employee to acquire a loyalty to the company.

Neurodegenerative Diseases: Systems, Causes and Treatments

Neurodegenerative Diseases: Systems, Causes and Treatments Simon Mendy Compare the symptoms, causes and available or future treatments for Motor Neuron Disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Myasthenia Gravis. Neurodegenerative diseases are hereditary (inherited) and sporadic (acquired during a person’s life) conditions caused by progressive nervous system dysfunction (http://ec.europa.eu/health/major_chronic_diseases/diseases/brain_neurological/index_en.htm). Motor neuron disease and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (shrink) are neurodegenerative conditions that arise due to motor neurons dysfunction and Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune neurodegenerative disorder. Motor neuron disease is caused by damage to motor neurons; Spinal muscular atrophy is due to deterioration of the motor neurons connecting the brain and spinal cord; Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune condition that arises due to the damage or blocking of muscle receptors by antibodies accidently produced by the immune system. All three disorders result in weakness, making there diagnosis very hard, because weakness is a very common symptom of many conditions. However, possibilities are ruled out depending on the age of the pers on affected. If someone exhibiting muscle weakness is 1 year old, it is more likely that the person has SMA than the MG or MND, because SMA generally affects children ranging from less than six months to around the age of three, whereas MND is common in teenagers and young adults, and MG normally affects middle aged adults. Motor neurone disease is a unique condition of unknown aetiology that occurs when motor neurons (specialist nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that relay signals from the brain to the muscles) become damaged and ultimately stop working (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Motor-neurone-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx). This causes the muscles that the damage nerves supply to gradually lose strength, usually with wasting of muscles. It is unclear exactly what causes motor neurons to stop working, but, there is not thought to be a link with factors like lifestyle, race and diet. In a small number of cases (about 5%), there is a family history of either motor neuron disease or a related condition known as frontotemporal dementia. However, there is no single test to diagnose MND and diagnosis is solely based on the opinion of a neurologist, on the basis of the symptoms observed and a physical examination. In some cases a specialised test is needed to rule out other possible conditions. Symptoms of motor neurone disease begin gradually over a period of weeks and months, generally only on one side of the body at the beginning, and gradually get worse with time. Symptoms normally include having clumsy fingers or weaker grip (early signs of weakness). Other symptoms include: wasting of muscles, muscle cramps, hardships with swallowing and communication, excess saliva (difficulties swallowing saliva), and coughing after swallowing. After sometime, a person with motor neuron disease may find themselves unable to move. In a small number of cases (10-15%), motor neuron disease is associated with a type of dementia called frontotemporal dementia that can affect behaviour and personality. The main types of motor neuron disease are: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (accounts for 60-70% of all cases), progressive bulbar palsy (PBP), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) (http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Motor-Neurone-Disease). Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal (a chromosome that is not allosome) recessive genetic disease that causes muscle weakness and progressive loss of movement (http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/). Around 1 out of every 40 people are genetic carriers of the disease (they carry the mutated gene but do not actually have SMA) (http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/). Gene mutation is a permanent alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/mutationsanddisorders/genemutation). Gene mutation occurs in two different ways: they are either inherited from parents (known as hereditary mutation) or they are acquired at some time during a person’s life (known as acquired mutation). Hereditary mutations happen when mutations are present in both the egg and sperm cells. A person that has inherited this type of mutation has it present in virtually every cell in their body, throughout th eir lifetime. Acquired mutations occur in individual cells at some time during a person’s lifetime. These changes can occur due to environmental factors like ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun, chemicals, and radiation, or if a mistake is made whilst DNA copies itself during cell division (mitosis and meiosis). Acquired mutations are only inherited if they occur in sex cells. According to the National Genome Institute, almost all diseases have some kind of genetic factor. These disorders can be cause by multiple gene mutations, a mutation in a single gene, combined gene mutation and environmental factors, or by chromosome damage or mutation. Gene mutation has been identified as the cause of numerous disorders including spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), haemophilia, Tay-Sachs, sickle cell, anaemia, cystic fibrosis and some cancers (http://biology.about.com/od/basicgenetics/ss/gene-mutation.htm). The term SMA is used mainly for the most common form spinal muscular atrophy, which is caused by a genetic problem where one copy of the genetic error (mutation in autosomes) is inherited from each parent. SMA is classified into four different categories, from Type I IV. The classification of SMA depends on the age at which symptoms of the disease arise and the severity of the symptoms. Symptoms of SMA normally include problems with breathing, eating, moving and swallowing; floppy arms and legs (In children with either Type I or II SMA); twitching of the muscles in the arms, legs or tongue. Type I SMA is the most severe, it develops in babies under six months old. Type II is less severe that Type I SMA, it affects babies between the ages 6 to 18 months. Type III and Type IV are the mildest types of SMA. Type III normally affects children around 3 years old. Type IV affects adults. In the most severe cases of SMA (Types I and II), fatal respiratory problems usually develop during chi ldhood. In mild cases such as Types III and IV SMA, life expectancy is normally unaffected (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Spinal-muscular-atrophy/Pages/Introduction.aspx). Spinal muscular atrophy is caused by the deletion of the survival motor neuron gene 1 (SMN1) (http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/). In healthy people SMN1 produces a protein known as the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. In a person with mutated genes, the supply of this protein is absent or is significantly decreased. This results in the deterioration of the nerve cells (motor neurons) connecting the brain and spinal cord to the body’s muscles, therefore causing muscle weakness and gradual loss of movement, because the SMN protein is critical to the survival and health of motor neurons. Spinal muscular atrophy affects 1 in 6000 to 1 in 10000 people. Myasthenia gravis is a unique long-term autoimmune condition which affects the nerves and muscles, resulting in the muscles becoming weak. An autoimmune condition is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking and destroying healthy body tissue. Ordinarily, the immune systems white blood cells protect the body from harmful substances, known as antigens. For examples: viruses, bacteria, toxins, etc. antibodies are produced as a counter measure by the immune system that destroy the antigens. In people with autoimmune disorder, the immune system has difficulty distinguishing between antigens and healthy body tissue. Due to this an immune system response that kills healthy body tissue is produced. The cause of the immune system no longer being able to distinguish between antigens and healthy body tissue is unknown at present. A theory suggests that drugs or microorganisms (like bacteria or viruses) may trigger some of these changes. In myasthenia gravis, the immune system accidental ly produces antibodies (proteins) that damage or block muscle receptor cells. This stops muscles contracting because the antibodies prevent messages being past from the nerve endings to the muscles. However, it is not understood why the immune system of some people produce antibodies that attack the muscle receptor cells. Symptoms of myasthenia gravis generally include impaired eye movement and weakness of muscles that are voluntarily controlled, therefore affecting functions such as facial expressions, eye and eye lid movement, chewing, talking and swallowing, and weakness of neck and limbs. However since weakness is a common symptom in many different diseases and conditions, diagnosis of myasthenia gravis is normally delayed or missed. Myasthenia gravis is diagnosed through Blood tests, Genetic tests and Electromyogram. In the U.S about 20 in 100,000 people are diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. Presently there is no known cure for MND, SMA, OR MG, however there are treatments that can be initiated with aims to ease symptoms to help the person feel more comfortable and have a better quality of life, and compensate for the gradual loss of bodily functions like mobility, communication, breathing and swallowing. For example, for MND, muscle relaxants can help reduce muscle stiffness; medicines such as phenytoin can treat muscle cramps; a breathing mask can help reduce shortness of breath. Right now, the only available treatment for MND that affects the progression of the disease is Riluzole, however it doesn’t stop the progression of motor neuron disease, but only slows it down by a few months (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Motor-neurone-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx). With SMA, depending on the severity, treatment could involve: exercise, to prevent joint stiffness and improve range of movement and flexibility; assistive equipment such as motorised wheelchairs and walk ing frames if someone with SMA has difficulty moving; nutrition advice and feeding tubes; bracing and surgery to treat scoliosis (curvature of the spine) (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Spinal-muscular-atrophy/Pages/Treatment.aspx). For patients with MG, medication such as pyridostigmine and neostigmine (less common), can prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, an important chemical that assists the muscles in contracting (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Myasthenia-gravis/Pages/Treatment.aspx). If pyridostigmine is ineffective, steroid tablets can be used to lessen the symptoms. Doctors also often prescribe azathioprine, methotrexate or mycophenolate, to suppress the immune system. Muscle strength can be improved by controlling the production of abnormal antibodies through the use immunosuppressants. In some cases of MG, surgery to remove the thymus gland (a thymectomy) may be recommended. The thymus gland is part of the immune system and is found underneath the breast bone, it is someti mes abnormal in people with MG. In numerous cases, treatment of MG substantially improves muscle weakness allowing a person with the condition to lead a comparatively normal life. Some people may experience permanent or temporally periods where symptoms stop and treatment is no longer needed. Permanent remissions occur in about a third of the people who have a thymectomy (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Myasthenia-gravis/Pages/Treatment.aspx). Currently, the hope of many is that stem cells of extraneural or neural origin might be modified in vitro (i.e. transforming skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS)) (http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/motor-neurone-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help) to differentiate into motor neurons that would migrate to sites of motor neuron loss and restore the motor pathways lost in MND by forming functional connections (Boulis, 2011). The most promising cells so far that can be used for stem treatment of MND are spinal cord stem cells, which are able to produce both motor neurons and a cell call glia. Many of the proteins known as growth factors that contribute to motor neurons development are secreted by glia. There is also a possibility that non-neuronal cells such as glia can be used to prevent further damage to motor neurons and encourage repair through the production of the working version of the protein SOD1, which in some types of MND doesn’t function properly (htt p://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/motor-neurone-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help). Stem cell therapy also has to the potential to be used as a possible cure for SMA, MG and other neurological conditions. Gene therapy uses genes to prevent or treat a disease by introducing genetic material in cells to compensate for abnormal genes or to make a beneficial protein (MacKenzie, 2010). Gene therapy was found to be well suited as a future treatment for SMA by the Kaspar group: who described a self-complementary (sc) AAV9 vector that crosses the blood-brain barriers after systemic administration; because of scAAV9’s remarkable efficiency in central nervous system (CNS) gene transfer, after intravenous delivery in mice and other larger animals. Using this as a base, the Kaspar group along with Arthur burgees, detail the most successful rescue reported yet in a mouse model of severe SMA. This was achieved by injecting scAAV9 that is carrying SMN1, into the facial vein of mice pups on their day of birth (MacKenzie, 2010). The approach of injecting scAAV9 into mice pups, resulted in the transduction of 40% of motor neurons, and an extension of the lifespan of the mice from 2 weeks to more than 250 days, combined with almost normalised neuromuscular electrophysiology and normal motor function (MacKenzie, 2010). This preliminary data obtained in the gene therapy rescue of SMA in the mouse model, reported by the Kaspar group and Arthur Burghes (a pioneer of SMA), suggests that the same approach could be used in primates. The authors investigated systemic injection of scAAV9-GFP in a cynomolgus monkey (1 day of age). After four weeks, the magnitude of GFP in spinal motor neurons recorded was similar to that shown by the mice (MacKenzie, 2010), boding well for possible application to humans. This news, along with recent encouraging reports of AAV gene therapy of retinal disease, supports the further rehabilitation of gene therapy as a credible therapeutic alternative for neurological diseases, including MG, SMA and MND. The stage seems set: with seemingly untreatable disorders of unknown pathogenesis; an unknown presymptomatic way of diagnosis; and, the small possibility of a cure through gene therapy and stem cell therapy, which are by far the best hopes, not only for MND, SMA and MG, but also for other neurological diseases. However, gene therapy and stem cell therapy are subject to a lot of public disagreement. For gene therapy this is due to fact that, gene therapy targeted at germ cells (egg and sperm cells), (known as germline gene therapy) could be pass on to next generations. Whilst it spares a family and their future generations from a specific genetic disorder, there’s a possibility it could affect the development of a fetus in unexpected ways or have yet unknown long-term side effects (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/ethics). Because the people who are going to be affected are not yet born, they are unable to choose whether to have the treatment, resulting in big debates on e whether germline gene therapy should be used. Other ethical concerns involve negative impacts on what society thinks is â€Å"normal†, and discrimination toward those with the â€Å"undesirable traits† that arise from using gene therapy as a form â€Å"modification† for unwanted traits or to make â€Å"genetic improvements†. The idea of stem cell therapy is also controversial. Whilst it can used for the treatment of many diseases including neurological ones, there are ethical problems involving how it is obtained. For example, stem cells obtained from the embryo, because the embryo is viewed as a potential person. Due to this, taking stem cells from an embryo is considered to be murder, however, it’s argued that, an early embryo that hasn’t be implanted into the uterus doesn’t have properties we associate with being a person, and therefore can and should be used for the benefit of patients (who are persons). Bibliography: http://ec.europa.eu/health/major_chronic_diseases/diseases/brain_neurological/index_en.htm (20/07/2014) http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Motor-neurone-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx (20/07/2014) http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Motor-Neurone-Disease (20/07/2014) http://www.fsma.org/FSMACommunity/understandingsma/WhatCausesSMA/ (04/07/2014) http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/mutationsanddisorders/genemutation (20/06/2014) http://biology.about.com/od/basicgenetics/ss/gene-mutation.htm (21/06/2014) http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Spinal-muscular-atrophy/Pages/Introduction.aspx (20/07/2014) http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Spinal-muscular-atrophy/Pages/Treatment.aspx (04/07/2014) http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Myasthenia-gravis/Pages/Treatment.aspx (21/07/2014) http://www.eurostemcell.org/factsheet/motor-neurone-disease-how-could-stem-cells-help (05/07/2014) Nicholas M. Boulis. (2011). Gene Therapy for Motor Neuron Disease.Gene Vector Design and Application to Treat Nervous System Disorders. 33 (3), p41-49 Alex MacKenzie. (2010). A severe inherited neuromuscular disease is corrected in mice by intravenous gene delivery.Gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. 28 (3), 235-237 http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/genetherapy, (27/06/2014) http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/ethics, (28/06/2014) http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/procedures, (27/06/2014)

societhf Rejection of Civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Rejection of Civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck decides to reject civilization. At the end of the story Aunt Sally wants to civilize him, but he refuses. He says "I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally, she's going to adopt me civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before." Huck decides to choose against society because of all the harsh realities that he has seen first hand. Huck's early doubts of the civilized world all started with Pap. During most of his childhood, Huck had been abused both physically and mentally by his redneck guardian Pap. This man had walked into and out of Huck's life on numerous occasions. He was the only father figure in Huck's life and failed miserably at the job. Pap was the first representation of civilization to Huck and it was a sour one. It was also civilization that awarded custody of Huck to Pap. He had been screwed over too many times by the civilized world, and that was the main reason he decided to leave home. Huck ran from his troubles at home down the Mississippi River. The river is where he found his sanctuary. Jim and Huck were always safe, independent, and free out on the raft. It seemed that every time they would go to shore, something negative involving civilization would arise. The dark side of human nature and suffering would meet up with the two of them. They always stumbled upon the under-belly of society. The symbol of human suffering was the Grangerfords family. When Huck found himself in front of their farm after the ship wreck, his first impression was a positive one. He thought that the Grangerfords were a pleasant, normal family. However the dark secrets that existed within the family could make skin crawl. The paintings and writings made by Emmeline Grangerford, who died when she was fourteen, are of rather morbid subjects. She was a messed up child that came from a bizarre, disturbed family. They had a feudal war going with another family where constant deaths and suffering took place. Just before Huck leaves, his age equivalent and societhf Rejection of Civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays Rejection of Civilization in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck decides to reject civilization. At the end of the story Aunt Sally wants to civilize him, but he refuses. He says "I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally, she's going to adopt me civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before." Huck decides to choose against society because of all the harsh realities that he has seen first hand. Huck's early doubts of the civilized world all started with Pap. During most of his childhood, Huck had been abused both physically and mentally by his redneck guardian Pap. This man had walked into and out of Huck's life on numerous occasions. He was the only father figure in Huck's life and failed miserably at the job. Pap was the first representation of civilization to Huck and it was a sour one. It was also civilization that awarded custody of Huck to Pap. He had been screwed over too many times by the civilized world, and that was the main reason he decided to leave home. Huck ran from his troubles at home down the Mississippi River. The river is where he found his sanctuary. Jim and Huck were always safe, independent, and free out on the raft. It seemed that every time they would go to shore, something negative involving civilization would arise. The dark side of human nature and suffering would meet up with the two of them. They always stumbled upon the under-belly of society. The symbol of human suffering was the Grangerfords family. When Huck found himself in front of their farm after the ship wreck, his first impression was a positive one. He thought that the Grangerfords were a pleasant, normal family. However the dark secrets that existed within the family could make skin crawl. The paintings and writings made by Emmeline Grangerford, who died when she was fourteen, are of rather morbid subjects. She was a messed up child that came from a bizarre, disturbed family. They had a feudal war going with another family where constant deaths and suffering took place. Just before Huck leaves, his age equivalent and

Mercedes Benz Brand Evolution and History

Mercedes-Benz is a multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG, and the brand is used for luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany Mercedes-Benz has been making buses since 1895 in Mannheim in Germany. Since 1995, the brand of Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches is under the umbrella of EvoBus GmbH, belonging 100% to the Daimler AG. The German luxury car-manufacturer has been around for more than a century, having elegantly drifted the both smooth and rough curves of automobile history. Responsible for the modern internal combustion engine's genesis, the ‘fathers' of the Mercedes-Benz brand practically invented the automobile. Many years ago when mahogany canes and high-top hats were the ultimate fashion and social prominence statements, two men by the names of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler were busy freeing the world from horse-powered transportation. The 1886 archetype of the modern engine, their device was not a result of team-work but of independent and synchronous research and development. Although both lived in Southern Germany, they never actually met if historical accounts are to be believed. Despite the equal share of the two engineer's contribution to the development of the four-stroke petrol engine, it was Gottlieb Daimler who garnered more attention that would eventually lead to world-spread fame. Following Daimler's successful results in racing, a wealthy Austrian business man by the name of Emil Jellinek became interested in the Unterturkheim-built cars. Daimler and his chief-engineer, Wilhelm Maybach's work had pleased Jellinek to the extent of him approaching the two with a business proposal: a large number of cars would be ordered in exchange to a name change from Daimler to Mercedes – Jellinek daughter's name – and the right to alter the car's designs as well as the right to resell the vehicles in some European countries, including Austria, France and Belgium. Despite having been widely criticized for alleged forced employment and violation of human rights during the Second World War, Mercedes – Benz have been successful at building an automotive empire, strongly supported by some of the company's far-from-average clients, such as state leaders, media moguls and ridiculously rich families. Mercedes – Benz have become known particularly for their limousines, most of which can be seen in most movies ever since the Lumiere brothers became famous for their ‘little' invention called cinematography. As if outstanding product quality and world fame weren't enough, the Mercedes – Benz team has also fathered tons of innovations, many of them targeting the simple four-cylinder engine. After marking a new era in mechanical supercharging technology, Mercedes went on to cross new borders through the release of new engineering concepts and ground breaking designs. The BlueTec system unveiled in 2005 was developed with only one though in mind: cutting CO2 emissions, achievement made possible through the use of SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction). Two other notable events occurred the same year with the release of the A 200 Turbo engine for the A-Klasse and the organic-looking Bionic concept. Market Shares of Mercedes on 07-2013 Betting big on the Indian automobile market, German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz is aiming for a double digit growth this year The company sold 7,138 units last year, Mercedes Benz India Director (Sales and Network development) Boris Fitz said. During the first quarter of this calendar year, the company sold 2,009 units, he said. However, he declined to reveal the number of units that Mercedes Benz has planned to sell in India. Stating that Mercedes Benz was â€Å"bullish† about the Indian market, he said the company was investing Rs 250 crore towards capacity expansion plans at its Pune plant. The company is doubling capacity from 10,000 units per year at present to 20,000 units per year. Mercedes Benz on Thursday introduced the diesel version on its compact hatchback B Class at Rs 22. 60 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai. Having already sold 500 units of B Class petrol since its launch nine months back, Mercedes Benz expects the diesel variant to outsell petrol variants in the coming months and lead the double digit growth in 2013, for the luxury carmaker. Eberhard Kern, MD & CEO, Mercedes Benz India told ET that despite the changing fuel price equation, the customers are still demanding diesel cars. â€Å"In our portfolio where diesel variant is available, it constitutes 80% of our total sales with petrol making up for 20% with the B Class too we are expecting the same. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) announces that Mercedes Benz' bus division will be integrated with it. Previously the bus business was handled by Mercedes Benz India Private Ltd (MBIL) located out of Pune. Daimler sees the Indian market as one with increasing potential. However, the Luxury Coach segment is still very small in comparison to the total market. While MB India has sold more than 300 buses since 2008, Volvo Buses sold 700 units in 2012 alone (Volvo entered the Indian bus market in 2001). DICV will now handle the marketing, sales & after-sales of Mercedes-Benz Buses. Servicing will be taken up by select dealers of BharatBenz. Initially only 7 dealers, along with 2 existing dealers who have been servicing MB buses, will handle the servicing requirements for these buses. Bus manufacture will continue at MB India's Pune factory for some more time. Eventually, manufacturing will shift to DICV’s manufacturing plant at Oragadam, near Chennai. Growth Rate The ingenious luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz reported witnessing a substantial rise in sales volume over the past quarter of 2012. The company was pleased to announce that there had been a massive 5. 3% growth in the sales. Mercedes with its growing reputation over the past few decades has made it one of the most powerful in the automobile industry. Taking into consideration the overall major drop in the Indian LCV automobile industry, this can be reported as huge success. Over the course of a few years, Mercedes has dazzled the imaginations of car lovers and enthusiasts by unveiling ingenious and exciting cars, ideas and concepts and rolled out some of most powerful four-wheeled machinery there is. Mercedes is a brand looked up to for its superiorly performing and luxurious cars. This may the cause of such a massive boost in the company’s sales. Mercedes Benz production plants all over the country have begun ramping up car production numbers for the expected profit from this substantial rise. Mercedes is planning to optimistically envisage double-digit growth numbers over the next six months. The German car manufacturer has enthusiastically developed several exciting designs to be rolled out this year and car enthusiasts are extremely interested in what they’re going to be. This enthusiasm may have been what sparked a healthy growth of over 5% in the past three months. The manufacturer believes it is capable of inducing much more growth in the company’s sales in some time and they would try to enhance the overall quality of products. They should be able to easily capture their expected double-digits growth rates. Mercedes seems to be very optimistic at this topic and expects to beat the industry by its uniqueness and ability to touch the very visions of enthusiasts around the world. The crowd expects even more from the company, and Mercedes has the type of people who won’t give up until they achieve the most of it. They’re building on towards a better future for the company as well as consumers of LCVs in the Indian market. CHAPTER 2 Founder profile Karl Friedrich Benz (help ·info) (November 25, 1844 – April 4, 1929) was a German engine designer and car engineer, generally regarded as the inventor of the petrol-powered automobile, and together with Bertha Benz pioneering founder of the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. Other German contemporaries, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach working as partners, also worked on similar types of inventions, without knowledge of the work of the other, but Benz patented his work first, and, subsequently patented all the processes that made the internal combustion enginefeasible for use in an automobile. In 1879, his first engine patent was granted to him, and in 1886, Benz was granted a patent for his first automobile. In 1871, at the age of twenty-seven, Karl Benz joined August Ritter in launching the Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop in Mannheim, later renamed Factory for Machines for Sheet-metal Working. The enterprise's first year went very badly. Ritter turned out to be unreliable, and the business's tools were impounded. The difficulty was overcome when Benz's fiancee, Bertha Ringer, bought out Ritter's share in the company using her dowry. On July 20, 1872, Karl Benz and Bertha Ringer married. They had five children: Eugen (1873), Richard (1874), Clara (1877), Thilde (1882), and Ellen (1890). Despite the business misfortunes, Karl Benz led in the development of new engines in the early factory he and his wife owned. To get more revenues, in 1878 he began to work on new patents. First, he concentrated all his efforts on creating a reliable petrol two-stroke engine. Benz finished his two-stroke engine on December 31, 1878, New Year's Eve, and was granted a patent for it in 1879. Karl Benz showed his real genius, however, through his successive inventions registered while designing what would become the production standard for his two-stroke engine. Benz soon patented the speed regulation system, the ignition using sparks with battery, the spark plug, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator. Product Profile The world's first motorised bus was built in Germany by Karl Benz in 1895, some years before Gottlieb Daimler also started to build and sell buses in Germany as well. By 1898 both Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, then rivals, were exporting their buses to Wales and England. Soon Daimler products were sold in the British Empire in a partnership with the British company Milnes. Milnes-Daimler developed a double-decker in 1902 and provided a bus for the first motorised bus service in the United Kingdom the following year. Though the company met success in selling buses throughout the British Empire, the partnership between Daimler and Milnes had to be undone due to the First World War Due to economic hardships in the early 1900s, Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. merged into one company in 1926, two years after both companies signed an agreement of mutual interest. Thus, Daimler-Benz AG (also known as Mercedes-Benz) was formed. In the next year, the company presented its first combined bus range. By that time emphasis was given to diesel engines (as opposed to petrol engines) for commercial vehicles. In 1951 Mercedes-Benz unveiled its first bus specifically designed for bus operation (and not derived from a lorry, as was the case of the other buses produced by the company until then) – the O6600 H. This 11-metre-long vehicle was equipped with a six-cylinder, transverse-mounted rear engine delivering 145 hp, a lower frame than its predecessors, and an electric gearshift system. In 1954 Mercedes-Benz unveiled its first semi-integral bus – the O321 H. The semi-integral design meant a reduction in weight, improvements in stability and body resistance. The O321 H also was the first to feature coil springs in the front-axle suspension. This 9. 2-metre-long vehicle (a 10. 9-metre version was later unveiled) also featured a rear-mounted engine. The first version was available with an output of 110 hp, and a later optional 126-hp version was made available. More than 30,000 units of the O321 H complete bus and its platform were sold around the world, a mark which places it as the best-selling bus of its time and, until today, one of the most successful models by Mercedes-Benz.

Timkens Case Study Market Entry at Romania Essay Example

Timkens Case Study Market Entry at Romania Essay Example Timkens Case Study Market Entry at Romania Essay Timkens Case Study Market Entry at Romania Essay TIMKEN CASE STUDY1Doan Thi Thu Ha Timken was known as a leading manufacturer of highly engineered bearings and alloy steels and famous for its tapered roller bearings with over 200 types in more than 30,000 sizes. It was also the market leader in mechanical seamless steel tubing and shipped more than one million tons of premium alloy steels annually. Timken was located in Canton, Ohio. However, its operation was not limited in Ohio but in twenty-five countries and employed over 20,000 people worldwide. In the early 1990s, Timken intended to take the U. S model to Europe with some customization for the local market and focused on case-carburized tapered roller bearings. In early 1997, Timken reviewed its strategy with specific aim for the European market: to gain market share, to lower its cost structure and to increase production capacity. It also addressed three segments: small bearings for automotive and light industrial markets, medium bearings for construction equipment and large bearings for process and other heavy industries. As Timken Polska fulfilled the small bearings plant requirement and Gnutti Carlo S. p. A. in Italy provided a medium-sized bearings plant, Timken had to search for a large bearings plant in Central Europe that would provide the company with low-cost manufacturing capacity. Rulmenti Grei in Romania could be the potential choice for Timken ¶s large bearings plant. Rulmenti Grei offered valuable assets from market share, equipments to skill engineers to help Timken to crack the European industrial bearings market. This acquisition would be consistent with Timken ¶s strategy of gaining market share, improving cost structure and increasing production capacity. However, Timken might face the difficulties of Romania ¶s political instability and the numerous operational challenges of integrating the plant into Timken ¶s global organization. Furthermore, as Rulmenti Grei produced a variety of bearing types, this investment could lead to the change in its century-corporate culture of focusing on tapered roller bearings. Timken also had to consider the acquisition cost and the additional investment they would undertake for plant upgrades and expansion. The merits of an acquisition of Rulmenti Grei and the risks for Timken According to the ranking system of Timken, Rulmenti Grei seemed to have a good assessment First, Rulmenti Grei had been a big manufacturer producing over 1,200 types and sizes of bearings including tapered, cylindrical, spherical, and ball bearings. Although tapered roller bearings currently represented only 18 percent of production, this proportion could be increased by retooling its equipment. Second, Timken was familiar with much of Grei’s equipment as It was made by an American machine builder. Third, the employees of Rulmenti Grei seemed to have high education and many of them had technical degrees. Furthermore, many professors spoke English fluently. Therefore, Timken could easily bring it up to US standards. Skilled talent is hard to find and difficult to retain. Local companies usually take advantages of this as they understand the culture, the behaviors and the expectation of local people to build up a strategy to attract talents (Bhattacharya, 2008). Thus, acquisition a company with impressive workforce could strengthen Timken’s competitive ability. Rulmenti Grei was considered as the good candidate for the company’s three-plant plan. It could offer Timken an opportunity to establish a stronger competitive position in the European industrial bearings market and to lower manufacturing costs across its heavy bearings business. It is said that local companies often win in the price war while the organizational processes and cost structures of many global companies make it difficult for them to sell products and services at optimal price points to satisfy both global, glocal, local and bottom customers (Khanna, 2006). Therefore, having effective cost structure would be the great advantage for Timken to become more competitive not only in Europe but also globally. Although Timken had several plants in Europe, their operation was less effective than those of competitors. With this acquisition, Timken could break into and dominate the European market and use it as the leverage to be the leader in bearing industry. However, the investment was not without risks. There are four types of risks in international business called cross-culture risk, country risk, currency risk and commercial risk. Cross-cultural risk refers to a situation or event where a cultural miscommunication puts some human value at stake. Country risk describes the potentially adverse effects on company operations and rofitability holes by developments in the political, legal, and economic environment in a foreign country. Currency risk is the risk of adverse unexpected fluctuations in exchange rates. Commercial risk refers to potential loss or failure from poorly developed or executed business strategies, tactics, or procedures (Boter Wincent, 2010). Investment in Rulmenti Grei , Timken might face the salient risks of political and economic instability. Romania’s economic growth was slower, inflation was higher, and the labor force was more volatile. Furthermore, there might be a risk of re-nationalization. It is said that economic risk analysis tells corporate leaders the ability of a particular country to pay its debt while political risk analysis tells them whether that country will pay its debt. Political risk measures the stability of individual countries through the combination of four factors: government, society, security, and the economy (Bremmer, 2005). However, the most important risks Timken faced were operations. Besides, the plant was struggling and lack a broad sales base outside Central Europe. Moreover, it sold most of its bearings to Romanian and Russian steel mills, whose business was in decline. An inability to make change rapidly could result in the need for Timken corporate to subsidize the Romanian operations for some time. Operating and organizational issues In order to gain broad acceptance of its product outside Central Europe, Timken need both technical and marketing expertise. First, Timken needed to improve the product to Western European standards. It would be difficult as steel quality was low, and the equipment was in disrepair. Even FLT where the technology and processes were relatively simple as it manufactured only tapered roller bearings, it had taken eighteen months to bring product quality up to Timken standards. Therefore, it would be impossible for Rulmenti Grei which had over 1,000 part numbers for four different bearing types to achieve Timken-level quality in six month. Further more, if Timken wanted to increase the proportion of tapered roller bearings production, new heat treatment equipment and workforce education in tapered roller manufacturing skills would be required. Besides, Timken needed to improve not only technology, technology but also raw materials to produce case-carburized bearings for industrial market with total additional investment of at least $8 million which was not a small figure. To bring Rulmenti Grei up to Timken’s quality was difficult but to convince potential customers that the product was of high quality and met their standards was also a big concern due to the fact that Western companies generally matched Central European manufactured bearings with poor quality. Applying Timken brand on these bearings producing to Western standards could help to gain the customers’ confidence. However, if the quality was not well controlled, it could damage Timken’s image and lead to a huge loss. Another issue was about what Timken would decide with other bearings that Rulmenti Grei was producing. If Timken decided to continue to produce these types of bearing, it might need to consider how to sell them and how to change its century-old corporate culture of producing tapered roller bearings. If Timken continued to focus only on tapered roller bearings, investment in equipment, technology and human resource must be high and the investment project would take a long time. Conditions to secure in framing the proposal and what the Romanian Government looked for in a winning proposal The Romanian government assessed the proposals based on the scoring worksheet including the acquisition price, future investment, and environmental remediation. Bidders were asked to nominate their acquisition price for 50. 99% of Rulmenti Grei which was for sale from a minimum of 183. 72 billion lei. In addition, bidders were required to indicate how much additional investment they would undertake for plant upgrades and expansion, and also what they would spend on environmental remediation. Romanian Government also expected bidders to put forward other more qualitative dimensions which could be influential in the final decision. Understanding the expectation of Romanian Government to satisfy them was the key element to win the acquisition. When a government was calling for an investment, of course they wanted an outstanding investor which had ability to drive the company successfully with a long-term investment not only for that company but also for society. Therefore, Timken would mention clearly in the proposal about its competitive strength and future development ability. In addition, Timken would focus on what Timken could do for the Rulmenti Grei as well as Romanian society such as a detail plan to make Grei become the biggest manufacturer in Europe which could bring thousands jobs for Romanian people by applying new technologies and processes. This investment would contribute much to Romania ¶s economic and technology as well as shorten the distance between Romania and other developed countries in Europe. Furthermore, Timken would show its investment in environmental protection and other activities to improve the Romanian environment, education, and living standards. Last but not least, Timken should also consider to nominate the appropriate acquisition price as it would be very difficult to win if its nominated price is much lower than that of other competitors. Furthermore, Timken could even ask for some commitment from Rumanian Government for a stable law in bearing industry or even a favorable treatment for Timken to ensure the sustainable growth especially in the first stage of investment. Proceed with a proposal or not? Globalization is said to be a double-edged sword (Bhattacharya, 2008). For all the pros and cons of this acquisition, the trade-off between benefits, costs and risks should be taken into consideration. However, one of the reason why Timken had not cracked the European market was its lack of competitive production capacity and a strong local presence on the continent, which was the home field of its two largest competitors, SKF and FAG. Although Timken had several manufacturing plants in Europe, the plants were low scale and less efficient compared to those of its major European competitors. Therefore, if Timken chose not to proceed this acquisition, the company would still need to secure low-cost manufacturing capacity some wherein Europe to build a platform to win European market. With its advantages as mentioned above, Rulmenti Grei was the best choice to support Timken ¶s mission, so taking this chance would open a new world of success for Timken. Moreover, SKF was keen on acquire Rulmenti Grei soif Timken did not take this chance, the distance between SKF and Timken might be lengthened and Timken might lose its competitive ability in Europe. Then, increasing European market share would be a big problem of Timken. Proceeding the proposal would be the lucid decision, however, the problem was how to analyze the risks accurately and mitigate them effectively. For example, as politics never stops moving, risk analysts must be able to follow a nations story as it develops with information gathered from journalists in the local and foreign press, current and former midlevel officials, and think-tank specialists (Bremmer, 2005). To mitigate the political risks, companies can maintain the good relationship with the government or become part of the country ¶s infrastructure or use local R, etc (Boter Wincent, 2010). In addition, companies can buy insurance for political risks such as the expropriation of property, political violence, currency inconvertibility, and breach of contract (Bremmer, 2005). However, it is worth remembering that though instability translates into greater risk, risk is not always a bad thing. Political risk in underdeveloped countries nearly always carries an upside because such nations are so unstable that negative shocks can do little further damage. (Bremmer, 2005). For the operational risk of not achieving Timken ¶s quality, Timken could mitigate it by controlling the materials, applying the qualified technologies, equipments, processes and management. The most importance is to prepare an accurate plan and try to apply these things as soon as possible. Expand its product line in response to European customer demand or not? In contrast to U. S where customers sought out specialty manufacturers for each bearing type, European customers preferred to buy all their bearings from a full-line producers. Thus, remaining a specialty manufacturer limited Timken’s potential market. Besides, Timken’s competitive position was also impacted by the lack of a full metric line for its bearings. In order to satisfy local demand, it would be necessary to expand its product line to compete with both local companies as well as international rivals. Each market often turns out to be unique because customers ¶ needs and tastes are idiosyncratic. Local companies are often the first to realize that and to build businesses. They are not constrained by existing products or by preconceived notions about customer needs. They customize products and services to meet different consumer requirements, and they initially go after economies of scope while many global companies find it costly and cumbersome to modify their products, services, and communications to suit local tastes. Global companies often end up occupying small, super premium niches (Khanna, 2006). When a business begins, it usually has only one product to satisfy a small group of customers. However, when it becomes famous, it is the time for it to develop something new to offer the customers. A broad product line and wide customer base may be the keys to success in tough times (Levine, 2001). The first advantage of product diversification is the increase of market share. By offering different products, company can satisfy a wide range of customers and enlarge its market share. Consequently, its revenue will increase and its brand will be known more wider and will be mentioned more frequently which leads to the higher brand value. Furthermore, this strategy also helps reduce overall business risk by offering products in a variety of customer categories to avoid having all eggs in one basket (Acevedo, 2009) and provide quick movement away from declining activities. LIST OF REFERENCE Acevedo, L. 2009. Product Diversification Strategy, Ehow website, retrieved [2010-11-17]. Bhattacharya, A. K. and Michael, D. C. 2008. How Local Companies Keep Multinationals at Bay. Harvard Business Review, 86(3): 84-95. Boter, H. and Wincent, J. 2010. Managing Networks and Internationalization  ± Lecture 2, UmeaSchool of Business. Bremmer, I. 2005. Managing Risk in an Unstable World. Harvard Business Review, 83(6): 51-60 Khanna, T. and Palepu, K. G. 2006. Emerging Giants. Building World-Class Companies inDeveloping Economies. Harvard Business Review, 84(10): 60-69. Levine, B. 2001, Diversify And Prosper, Electronic News (10616624), Vol. 47 Issue 25, p2. Mackenzie, S. 2003. The Timken Company: Market Entry Into Romania (A) Case Study,Stanford Graduate School of Business.