Harvard Case : BMW of North America: Dream it. Build it. Drive it. Essay

Brief Description: Set in 2011, this case describes how BMW, the leading luxury car manufacturer in the U.S., successfully implemented a new marketing initiative based on its online video services and increased sales of customized vehicles. The case addresses the challenges of catering to the North American consumer, where most car buyers want or have become conditioned towards immediate gratification with their purchases. Main Learning Objectives: To underscore the importance of consumer behavior in strategic planning To illustrate the complexity of strategically managing the supply chain for a modern manufacturing company and the implications effects of ‘mass customization’ on supply (value) chain Preparation & Analysis For Wednesday’s class (10/9/13): 1. Go online, research and take down a few notes on a strategic marketing concept called â€Å"mass customization† for in-class discussion. The process of delivering wide-market goods and services that are modified to satisfy a specific customer need. Is a marketing and manufacturing technique that combines the flexibility and personalization of custom-made with the low unit cost associated with mass production Sometimes called made-to-order or built to order.  Enabling a customer to decide the exact specification of a product or service, and have that product or service supplied to them at a price close to that for an ordinary mass produced alternative. 2. Read the case study. 3. Review the following videos which directly pertain to the case Martha Stewart customizes a BMW X3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ddq6O_QAz0 Understanding Robots – Mass Customization http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJzzPXeDdX8 BMW X3 Ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpLutmBkyZ4 BMW X3 Build Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH1gtBYNPOA Individual Assignment: After spending time researching the concept of mass customization,viewing the above videos, and reading the case answerand provide your rationale for each of the following questions in an overall1-2 page brief essay format. 1. Assuming that most modern cars share very similar characteristics, what do customers really buy – a product or an experience? In your opinion, what drives car-buying decisions?  Years after years, the customer’s perceptions towards cars has been changing. People value more on their needs these days than their wants. People started looking for products/vehicles that give more value to them; they want cars for real use not for showing off. I think customers buys products with experience from which they can get value out of it. The car buying decision is not an easy task and would drive various aspects before buying. In my opinion the most important factor is gender. In most cases gender plays a vital role in buying a car. Price can be another important factor that might drive the buying decision. Fuel efficiency, affordable, reliable, effective and efficient are various factors for car buying decisions. 2. Do you think customers really need â€Å"millions of combinations† for their car? Can they be happy with available standard options? What are the upsides and downsides of mass customization from both the consumer and manufacturer’s perspective? It depends on the customer needs that if they really need â€Å"millions of combinations† for their car or not. Most of the customers are happy with the standard options but if we dig little deeper, not all the features available  in the standard versions are important or useful for a particular customer and what they want may not be in the specific model. In my opinion, that is the main reason mass customization is being used by various car companies to carter the specific needs of their customers. Mass customization is the process of delivering products that are modified to satisfy a specific customer needs. This enables a customer to decide the exact specification of a product or services. Mass customization allowed manufacturers to customize products at lower costs, reduced overheads, and produced higher margins. For customers, they get benefited of finding exactly what they wanted without paying a premium price. The downside of mass customization from manufacturer’s perspectives are the major operational challenges faced in supply chain to manage the supply, maintain lead time and maintain various parts and products within a very little timeframe. The downside of mass customization from the customer’s perspectives is they won’t be able to compare and contrast the product with the competitors and sometime the price might be high with certain customizations. With various choices and lack of expertise some customers might chose unwanted and unnecessary par ts for the product. 3. Put yourself in Josef Weirda’s shoes. What would your decision be regarding using video streaming technology for other models such as the X5 or X1? In effect, would you apply a similar â€Å"Dream It. Build It. Drive It.† program for the launch of the X4 in 2014? What is the basis for your decision? â€Å"Dream It. Build It. Drive It.† was a success for X3 models. My decision for streaming technology for other models will be yes. This is because of the success factors the X3 models received, and almost 50% of the customers enrolled in it, accessed and shared the video. I think it is a better value for customers to see how their customized vehicle has been manufactured and be more in touch with it before it actually gets delivered. Based on the success result and the stats available from X3, I will apply a similar â€Å"Dream It. Build It. Drive It.† program for the launch of the X4 and  do aggressive marketing like it was done for X3. But will not only stick with this mass customization, I will also encourage for the standard models at the dealers. Customization can be one of the features for those customers who want to customize their cars. I think with the success of the X3, the customer will try to see some kind of similar features in the new launch and also this will give more value to the vehicle. Based on the numbers and records from the case, for now the mass customization concept should be based on US market only.

Cause and Effect of Bullying Essay

Why are students bulled? Why are they bulled? What makes other want to bully others? If bullies have victimized you you would understand how it feels to be bulled. You wonder why this is happening to you. We all know that bullying is wrong. Bringing someone down has no beneficial purpose. The person being victimized is going through the hardest time of their life; but to the bully it makes them feel good and take that moment to do permanent damage to the victim. There are many causes and effects to bulling and they both lead to each other. There is always a reason why a person is being bullying or why he or she is bulling. One of the effects of bulling is it could bring down the victims self-confidence. It can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts, abnormal fears, and worries. The victims would have fear of speaking publicly or joining any sports or groups. It could create sleep disorders, nervous habits, poor appetite, digestive problems, school problems, and rage. The victim can have nervous brake down and frequently crying. The effect of bulling can lead the victim to wonder if they are doing anything wrong, think twice about the actions being taken. Never show them selves or try to make friends. These are some effects of bulling but, why causes bulling? The causes of bullying would be neglect from parents and parents uninvolved with their children. The bullies want to get noticed because they don’t have any attention at home. The bullies like having power over their peers. They think its cool and funny; bullies have an aggressive personality and lack of adult supervision. They are usually jealousy of other who have it better and torment the victims to bring up their self-confidence. They also take revenge on their victims. They want to take their feelings out on others. They believe that by bulling they get power. They believe that just because they have power they can get away with things. They might also bully because they have low self-confidence issues. These are some causes of bullying. The causes of bullying could lead up to the effects of bullying. Bullies bully because they are neglected and take out their anger on their peers. They want to bring others down so they could bring them selves up. They have lack of supervisions form parents, teachers, and school staff. There are many reasons why people bully but they bully mostly because they want to be noticed.

Importance of International Finance

International Financial Management is unique primarily because the firm must deal in more than its own currency. [2] A multinational is a corporation that has operations in more than one country. [3] It is also called an International Corporation. It ordinarily consists of 1 parent company and about 6 foreign subsidiaries, typically with a high degree of strategic intervention between them. E. G. The Coca Cola Company is a multinational company, selling in more than 200 countries and having net sales of $7169 million in the 1st quarter of 2009. 4] Financial advantages of foreign operations An overseas market provides a larger market and thus, a potential increase in the sales of the firm's products. For some corporations, it might mean a fall in production costs if their opening a subsidiary in a country that offers cheap labor, raw materials or machinery. Also, instead of only exporting goods to other nations, once an NC starts operations in another country, the risk of detrimental laws restricting the sales of their products as well as an increase in the tax on their products, decreases considerably.Exchange rates and their effects An exchange rate is the expression of the value of one currency in terms of another amounts currency. [5] There are two ways of expressing this value: 1. Direct quotation: Domestic Currency / Foreign Currency 2. Indirect quotation: Foreign Currency/ Domestic currency The two methods are different ways of expressing the same thing. Throughout the project, ERE is quoted in direct quotation. Banks in most countries use a system of Foreign Exchange Market and its Fluctuations The volume of international transactions has grown considerably in the past 50-70 years.Trade and investment of this magnitude would be impossible without the ability to buy and sell currencies. The latter must be done for one currency is not the acceptable means of payment in all countries engaged in trade. The foreign exchange market is one of the largest in the world which facilitates the buying and selling of currencies, whose price is determined by the ERE. The market is over-the- counter, I. E. Trade is carried out using computer terminals, telephones, telecoms devices and SWIFT; an international banking communications network that electronically links brokers and traders.It is not confined to any one country but is dispersed throughout the leading financial centers of the world. Participants The major participants are large commercial banks that trade with one another, channeling most currency transactions through the worldwide interbrain market. Their transactions are conducted through foreign exchange brokers, who specialize in matching net supplier and demander banks. The brokers charge a brokerage fee and in return, offer anonymity to both parties and minimize the contact of banks with other traders.Small banks and local offices of major banks have lines of credit with large banks or with the home office. Customers deal with the b ank, which then makes use of the line of credit. Other players are brokers, international money centre banks, central banks of many countries, portfolio managers, foreign exchange brokers, hedgers, traders and speculators. Another actor in the market is the arbitrageur, who seeks to earn risk-free profit by taking advantage of difference in interest rates between countries and make use of forward contracts to eliminate ERE risk.If the value of home currency A decreases relative to the value of currency B, A is a weakening or depreciating currency and B is a strengthening or appreciating currency. ERE quoted indirectly will fall. For the importers of country A, ore of their home currency is required to purchase goods of country B. The vice versa is true for country B. Therefore, the attractiveness of a country's goods and services abroad is Judged by the relative values of the currencies of the importing and exporting countries. Types of Transactions 1 .

The Coach and Horses Guest House Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Coach and Horses Guest House - Case Study Example The long-term objective of The Coach and Horses Guest House (Coach and Horses), is to become the finest preference on Paradise Bay, Sydney, for temporary lodging, through the creation of a differentiated experience that capitalizes on personal service, the historical British nature of the Coach House's construction, and its unique location in one of Australia's most cosmopolitan cities. We plan to create something more than just a guesthouse. We are determined to establish an environment that is dedicated to pampered luxury, and which vastly surpasses the standard fare for Paradise Bay. The Coach and Horses Guest House is an established guesthouse, which has been operating throughout the past five years as The Ploughman's Bed and Breakfast. After its possession, and after a short period of establishment, the Coach and Horses will diverse into a variety of other business ventures that will guarantee a steady flow of patrons, both locals and tourists, through its doors. Originally built in the 1860s, and believed to have been one of the first coach stations to carry the Royal Mail, the Coach and Horses has a deep historical history that is clearly evident within the construction of the building and the magnificent gardens that surround it. The structure has benefited from a major restoration program, which has effectively re-established the building's original composition, thus creating the potential of six large rental units, and four smaller units, with owner-occupancy in a separate unused building. The creation of a "home away from home," which is often far more palatial and beautiful than a

A rose for Emily research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A rose for Emily research paper - Essay Example The readers were told that Emily bought arsenic and that a strange odor appeared around the house for a few weeks and then disappeared. During the years Miss Emily isolated herself from the society in town and only after she dead did they discovered in a locked room the decomposed body of her alleged fiancà ©. The grey hair they found signified that Miss Emily had been laying near the dead body of her partner for years. Barnet et al. (1997) consider that we live in a world filled with symbolism. Symbols do not have a clear meaning and possesÃ'  a deep spiritual structure embedded in society and culture. Meanings intermingle with expressions and create ambiguities. Symbols are fragmented and present different pictures, evoke different senses and stand for different situations (Barnet et al). Every moment is written or spoken sign and in order to grasp its meaning we have to decode its symbols. The same is with stories and literature. They stand for past, present and future experiences which we have to carefully decipher. Many different interpretations can be represented in analyzing the social, economic and historical contexts of Faulkner’s short story. Fetterly (1999) justifies Faulkner’s use of the grotesque to describe his story. She proposes that one looks at the story from a feminist perspective. Then â€Å"one notices that the grotesque aspects of the story are a result of its violation of the expectations generated by the conventions of sexual politics (Fetterly 50).† Fetterly (1999) continues that the end shocks not only by the suggestion of necrophilia, but also by the fact that a woman is capable of committing a murder of a men. This story is not about the conflict between the old and the new, the change of social order, or the competition between the South and the North. This is a story of the sexual conflict below the surface (Fetterly). The locked rook found after Emily’s death is a mirror image of the world that

Labor Market Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Labor Market - Research Paper Example This entry by Wal-Mart also causes a drop in retail income in the areas of operation (Weinswig & Tang, 2010). The entry of Wal-Mart into these new areas also means a drop in prices; hence, increasing the purchasing power of the customer because prices are reduced not only at Wal-Mart, but also in other stores. Therefore, the customer benefits the most. Low income families tend to benefit the most despite the fact that labor market cost may be also unfavorable. This paper will discuss the labor market from which Wal-Mart Stores obtain candidates for vacant positions in the company. It will also examine the levels of education required to prepare new workers obtained from this pool of positions in the company. The training needed for these new workers will also be looked at. When Wal-Mart opens any new store, it employs hundreds of workers. More frequently than not, the amount of people applying for jobs is usually over 20 times higher than the number of positions to be filled. I reali zed that the entry of Wal-Mart in most of these areas is not well received by the local people. Many have attempted to block Wal-Mart’s entry into their communities with a multitude of excuses. The main reason is that they cause low wages in the retail market something the management has refuted (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001). They contend that, in most of the areas where Wal-Mart operates, they have created several job opportunities for other business apart from their own. What these people forget is that if one is considering the retail section of each region, employees cannot move from one region to another and customers can only shop in their own region. This is enough justification for the entry of Wal-Mart into the local market in the retail division (Neumark, Zhang & Ciccarella, 2005). The labor demand in a certain retail sector is a derived demand, and; therefore, affected by a variety of factors in the market for retail services. With this in mind, Wal-Mart affects labor demand in the retail sector by sufficiently supplying retail services and adopting technology, which will change labor intensity in the retail sector. Training at Wal-Mart is an ongoing thing and it is an essential part of the company. Each employee starts with an in-depth personal orientation (Weinswig & Tang, 2010). They are initiated to the history and traditions of the company while highlighting the roles and responsibilities the employee will be taking on upon joining the company. After orientation is over, each department has its own specific and detailed training and development program that gives to the employee the knowledge skills and tools needed to succeed in the company. Each employee has to chart out their own career path and endeavor to accomplish their most ambitious goals. Wal-Mart also offers several training prospects to assist managers develop their leadership skills and progress through the company to ensure their teams are motivated and passionate in fulfillin g the company’s mission running. They offer a management training program referred to as Assistant Management Training (AMT), which is open to all employees of the firm based in the United States. A person needs to apply in order to be chosen so as to benefit from this course. Also, there is the Walton Institute, which provides an educational environment for Wal-Mart leaders from all over the world to stretch themselves and explore the

The Impacts Employee Motivation has on Organisationalperformance Dissertation

The Impacts Employee Motivation has on Organisationalperformance - Dissertation Example A highly motivated employee is hugely productive in the context of the company. However on the other hand employees who are less motivated works less effectively (Management help, n.d.). The purpose of the study is to underpin the fact that how employee motivation helps an organization to get success in the market place. In other words the primary intention behind the study is to uncover the impacts employee motivation has on organizational performance. The topic was chosen on assessing the factors that are significant for an organization. Nevertheless the study revealed motivation as one of the crucial factor for an organization. ... A primary research will be also carried out to get better insights of the topic. The report will be divided into five sections. The first section will be about the introduction to the vital concepts of the study, in the second section a literature review of the topic will be carried out. Once the literature review ends, the report will clearly depict the methodology to be followed for doing the research. The next section will be about data collection and analysis. In this section mainly primary data will be collected, analyzed and meaningful information will be portrayed. Finally the report will conclude, by answering the research questions and addressing the research objectives. 1.1 Defining Motivation Motivation is imperative for an organization as it offers large number of benefits. Some of the evident benefits of having a motivated workforce within the organization are increased productivity and improved efficiency, helps in achieving the organizational goals, creates a friendly relationship within the organization, makes the workforce stable, and it also assists in utilizing the resources properly. Furthermore it also offers other benefits in the context of an organization. It leads to high performance, reduces the employee turnover rate, decreases the rate of absenteeism, portrays a better organizational image, industrial relations become superior and it also helps the organization to get adapted with the changing business environment (Singla, 2011, p.389). Different employees join an organization with diversified needs and demands. The background of the employees such as education, culture, attitude, perception, values, beliefs and location and the way of their upbringing are different. The objective of every