Historical Research On Popular Culture - 2343 Words

Brandon Schwery Historical Research Paper Popular Culture 22 October 2014 Popular culture defines our country in many aspects. It is how we will be viewed by future generations, and how we view previous generations. There are songs, movies, inventions, artwork, and books that let us momentarily go back into the times in which they were produced and let us experience it for ourselves. These different forms of media can teach us a lot about our ancestors. Popular Culture gives us an accurate windows into the times in which it was produced through many forms of media, events, and styles. There were a lot of positive themes in the 1920’s. The American economy was thriving and the troops just returned home from war, which produced a united and†¦show more content†¦The term flapper referred to women that were â€Å"northern, urban, single, young, middle-class women† (Flappers). Flappers had a new style and look that was not seen on women before; they would wear more revealing clothes such as short skirts, they cute their hair a lot shorter, and they would regularly wear makeup (Flappers). Flappers were a new type of woman that society was not used to. Flappers did not stay at home and rely on a man anymore; they would go out and find jobs to support themselves. At night, Flappers could be seen at â€Å"jazz clubs, vaudeville shows, and speakeasies† (Flappers). Flappers wanted to live by their own rules, and were not afraid of what society thought about them. â€Å"New woman of the twenties adopted the same carefree attitude toward prohibit ion as her male counterpart. Ironically, more young women consumed alcohol in the decade it was illegal than ever before.† (Flappers) Alcohol was made illegal by prohibition, but that did not stop flappers from having fun. They would frequent speakeasies and other underground clubs where they could purchase alcohol and enjoy the entertainment. Flappers not only started drinking alcohol, but they also started smoking. Smoking was â€Å"previously reserved for men† (Flappers), but that did not stop the women of the 1920’s from doing it. They were an entirely new group of women. Jazz is a type of music that was originally from New Orleans that uses a

The Implications Of Big Business - 1304 Words

The Implications of Big Business in America: Positive and Negative Aspects of Large Corporations for Society Big business has a constructive and positive influence on America. Corporations contribute much more to a country’s economic well being. Bigger businesses are more productive, pay higher salaries and hourly wages, generate more jobs, and are more successful in international markets. However, not everyone believes big business has a positive impact in the US. These people believe that big businesses are corrupt, and can damage an economy. It is important to distinguish the difference between big business and small business. Many people believe that big business will not be as effective as small businesses. J. D. Harrison (2013), a†¦show more content†¦However, it can be seen through the history of big business in the US, through its political and economic impact, and through ethical associations that big business has a positive impact on our nation. Business has always been a part of American history, but big business did not come into play until later in the life of our nation. To understand the history of big business in the US, one needs to understand the shift that occurred between the late eighteen hundreds and the early nineteen hundreds. In the late eighteen hundreds, business mostly comprised of farming. To own a business meant owning land that could be cultivated, harvested, and grow produce that could be sold for profit. The small business of farming dominated the culture, and there were very few big businesses in that period of time. However, in the short span of roughly fifty years, the cultural norm of business drastically changed. Large corporations emerged and took over the nation’s sales and profits. In that short amount of time, America’s citizens moved to the cities and went to college so they could participate in the big business culture. Big business became a livelihood for many Americans. From a negative standpoint, some businesses became so powerfu l that they tried to influence the government of the US, making for the argument that big business does not promote democracy. How could people be free with such power hungry industries that take

Awakening And Suicide Essay Example For Students

Awakening And Suicide Essay Indeed, the very person who takes his or her own life may be least aware at the moment of decision of the essence of his or her reasons and emotions for doing so. At the outset, it can be said that a dozen individuals can kill themselves and do or commit 12 psychologically different deeds Encyclopaedia Britannica, 385. Suicide is written about in a variety of novels, short stories, and movies. Suicide moves like an undercurrent in the sea of themes of The Awakening. The possibility of suicide and even the idea of death darkens the story, making Ednas emotional ups and downs dangerous her occasional misery leads her to subconsciously think of suicide. She holds the hopelessness at bay by moving out and getting her own apartment, while trying to find a man who will accept her, but in the end she succumbs. Ednas closest physical brush with death occurs one night at the beach, when the summer residents decide to take a midnight swim. Despite having had a hard time learning to swim, she realizes her ability and swims farther out than she ever had before. She overestimates her power and almost doesnt make it back. She has a quick vision of death. The experience scares her, but she has tested her limits and survived the sea for a while. Metaphorically, she has come close to death but resisted it. Falling asleep can be associated with the idea of death as well. Whenever Edna falls asleep, it is noted in the story; across the bay at church and the first night once her husband has left are examples. Each time there is a suggestion of drifting off to sleep and never waking up. When she is across the bay, once she wakes up, she likens her nap to a hundred years sleep. However, each time Edna does awaken; it is only at the very end when she finally drifts away. She could have chosen sleeping pills as her method of death, but she returns to the beach because of its memories of the summer, and the men in her life. Her near-death experience in the summer left an impression on her that influences her choice of escape from life. Throughout the story, Edna struggles to free herself. Leonce Pontellier tries to hold Edna down, wanting her to be a mother and a housewife, when she knows she is not like that. Her husbands oppression forces her to break free. This time, she escapes and begins life on her own, to succeed at first. Then she meets Alece Arobin. He is a disreputable man-about-town who draws Edna out to the horse races. For a moment, he brings her away from the precipice of suicide. His attentiveness attracts her, but in the end she  realizes that he means little to her. Eventually she sees Robert again. Having left her husband, she hopes to start a fresh new life with Robert. Edna reminds him, that it was he who awoke her last summer out of a life-long ,stupid dream; however, Robert only leaves her a note that reads, I love you. Good-by because I love you. Chopin, 695. He does not understand what she needs either. She realizes, during the long sleepless night that follows, that eventually she will forget her love for even Robert. That night she thinks about the forces that have tried to hold her down. She thinks of . . . Leonce and of the children. Chopin, 698; they sought to drag her into the souls slavery for the rest of her days. Finally, she realizes that her only escape is suicide. All her life, she has known people who try to hold her down; she will forget them and meet others. This is her surrender to a tradition and a society that is too powerful. She has flirted with suicide throughout the novel; in the end she . . . looked into the distance . . . heard her fathers voice and her sister Maragrets Chopin, 698, and then she was gone.

John Leguizamo Biography

Introduction John Leguizamo is an actor, stand-up comedian, vocal artist and an entertainment producer who has a varied origin. He was born in the year 1964 to a father of Puerto Rican origin and a mother from Colombia (Zook, 7). Tracing further back, paternal grandfather was from Italy while the maternal counterpart was from Lebanon. His father was at one time studying at Cinecitta aiming to be a film director. Unfortunately, he had to drop since he could not afford to pay for his education.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on John Leguizamo Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At four years old, Leguizamo’s family moved to the United States where they lived in a number of environs of New York. He went to Joseph Pulitzer Middle School and later joined Murry Bergtraum High School. It is here in high school that Leguizamo began writing comic material and practiced it out on his schoolmates (Leguizamo, 8) . In his time at Merry Bergtraum, he got the â€Å"Most Talkative† vote from his classmates. He joined Long Island University C.W. Post Campus after graduating from Merry Bergtraum and took theater studies. Early career Leguizamo began set off his career rolling as a stand-up comedian in the New York nightspot circuit. His first appearance on television was in 1984 as a twenty year old, where he played a small part in the show Miami Vice (Leguizamo, 9). He also undertook other tasks at this early age. He played a part in a video by Madonna in the same year. The video was entitled Borderline. In 1985, he acted as a buddy of Madonna’s boyfriend in Mixed Blood, in 1989 in Casualties of War, in 1990 in Die Hard 2, and in the following year in Hanging with the Homeboys. In 1991, he played the part of a robber in the video Regarding Henry( Zook, 10). Leguizamo had another role to play in the famed video Night Owl that was shot between 1989 and 1991. Film As time went by, Leg uizamo’s career continued rising as he was considered for roles to play in various films. He featured as John Castillo in the film Whispers in the Dark of the year 1992. In the following year, he played a leading role in the film Super Mario Brothers as Luigi. It kicked off his acting job in Hollywood and remains as one of his unforgettable roles (John Leguizamo Biography, Yahoo Movies). However, the film was widely considered a significant and monetary letdown. To an extent, Leguizamo himself disliked it due to the experiences that he underwent while working on it.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nevertheless, this film acted as a stepping stone to even greater heights as it gave him chances to make appearances in better comic roles in the following years. This boosted the film hit the cult film position among his aficionados. In the same year, he played a high up part a s Carlito Brigante’s archenemy in the film Carlito’s Way, which gave his career a really significant shot in the arm (John Leguizamo Biography, Yahoo Movies). Leguizamo went on to star in famed films like Romeo + Juliet, Spawn, Land of the Dead, The Pest and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. He played as Tybalt Capulet in Romeo + Juliet, as Violator in Spawn, as Cholo in Land of the Dead, as Pestario Vargas in The Pest (Leguizamo, 11). The role he played in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar was that of Chichi Rodriguez. Leguizamo was on a steady rise as he had a role in Arabian Nights, which won an award in the prestigious Emmy Awards in 2000. In the year 2001, Leguizamo was out to prop up the movie Moulin Rouge and had to show up on the superstar edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He was the first superstar to take the hot seat but did not get the answer right. Come 2002, Leguizamo had a significant part to play for Ice Age, he arti culated Sid the Sloth. He later repeated the same role for the sequels in Ice Age: The Meltdown and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (John Leguizamo Biography, Yahoo Movies). The game adaptations of these films also used his voice. They included PlayStation 2 and Mac. In 2003, he was at his vocal artistry again in Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc where he voice-acted Globox (Leguizamo, 11). In the same year, he also acted as Paul in the suspenseful movie Vanishing on 7th Street. Television Leguizamo has also made appearances in a number of television shows over time. In 1995, he was presented with an only one of its kind occasion to generate, produce, write and star in the show House of Buggin on Fox Telvision. This program brought to the fore Legizamo’s unique talent to play a varied range of characters (Zook, 13). Unfortunately, the show did not complete a whole season as a result of low ratings. In the 2005 to 2006 television periods, leguizamo was among the players in the program ER . He acted as Dr. Victor Clemente, and in this role he emphasized on acquainting the staff with improved ways of treating the sick and advanced know-how.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on John Leguizamo Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Dr. Clement was, on the other hand, afflicted with private problems and was shown the door from the hospital close to the closing stages of the season (Zook, 13). Removal from the show was a blessing to Leguizamo, as he later revealed. He was unhappy playing that role as it required him to do things he was not comfortable doing. These included smoking, eating donuts, all of which made him gain weight. In 2005, he had also starred on the show Dora the Explorer. He played the role of Captain Pirate Piggy. In the following year, he played the role of a detective in the drama show Edison (John Leguizamo Biography, Yahoo Movies). In this role he used impostures and masquerades to resolve crimes. In this particular show, leguizamo also was one of the executive producers. Later on in July 2007, the drama series The Kill Point began showing on Spike TV. It starred Leguizamo alongside two other actors, Donnie Wahlberg and Michael Hyatt. The program was about former war old hands who got involved in a bank robbery that did not go according to plan. It thus ended up in a hostage condition (Leguizamo, 14). The show had high ratings but surprisingly it was not renewed for a second period. Broadway and theater Leguizamo has also had memorable stints in theater. In 1991, he wrote and participated in the act Mambo Mouth. In this he played seven dissimilar roles. The act went ahead to scoop an Obie Award and an Outer Critics Award (Edwardes, 22). Leguizamo also got his name in the list as among the twelve new actors showing potential of 1991. This was in John Willis’s Screen Worlds Volume forty three. In 1993, Leguizamo wrote and played a role in the act Spic -O-Rama. In this act he ridiculed the typecasting of Latin people in America (Edwardes, 22). The piece went ahead to scoop four Cable ACE Awards and one Drama Desk Award in that year. In 1998, he made a first appearance on Broadway in the generation of Freak. The act was later turned into an HBO Film and it won Leguizamo a Drama Desk Award for exceptional one-person-show. In 2000, he participated in writing and acting the show Freak. The act was essentially on his entire life experience. He followed this with Sexaholic†¦.A Love Story in 2002 (Hirsh, 16). This is one of his famed acts and here he brought to the fore his love life and how he started his own family.Advertising Looking for report on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For this year, Leguizamo has written and acted in Klass Klown which is a semi-autobiographical show founded on his chronicle (John Leguizamo Biography, Yahoo Movies). The show is at present in a test run. Personal life Leguizamo got married to Justin Maurer in the year 2003. This was on June 28th and the ceremony was of a Catholic-Jewish setting. They are blessed with a daughter and a son, Allegra Sky and Ryder Lee (Leguizamo, 18). The family currently resides in New York City. John Leguizamo’s famous monologue, Sexaholix †¦ A Love Story In this 70-minute act of 2002, Leguizamo was speaking his thoughts and experiences aloud to the audience. The show began with a flare of loud music as he appeared on stage (Hirsh, 18). He radiated sexual energy and charm as he twisted his torso. With satire, he began looking at the world’s most personal deed and brought his audience to climactic instances of precision. The show laid emphasis on his private memories of making love (Edwardes, 26). It was a narration about a man as he grew up and his intimate affiliations. There was a lot of lovemaking and the act went on to show how wretched it could turn out. In the act he could spring up, crouch, run and bop across the stage. He was bringing out man’s inherent cravings and sensations (Hirsh, 18). These were accompanied by moan, sighs and pants. He articulated the ups, downs and side-to-sides of his first act of sex at a tender age of fourteen. In the second part of the act, Leguizamo got into what he called the love story part. Here he talked about conquest, negative response, affairs, marriage and the births of Allegra and Lucas, his daughter and son. He revealed that they were both born at home and acted out the births on stage (Hirsh, 19). What the whole act brings out as concerns Leguizamo is his development from a sexually charged boy to a dependable father. In the whole narration, leguizamo filled the stage with scores of Latino personalities wh o played a role(s) in his life. His gay uncle and lesbian aunt married just that they could have children. His wretched grandparents were in poker game most of the time and could only speak out of one side of their mouths (Edwardes, 28). For his case, he portrayed himself as a responsive man. He brought it to the fore that he found it difficult in the course of his life to utter the words ‘I love you’ until he met his wife. The act revealed that his life was not always smooth sailing. He graduated from New York University where he studied with famed people like Lee Strasberg and Wynn Handman. Despite this, his Latino roots most of the times came in the way of acts that did not require wielding knives (Hirsh, 20). He got rejections at various auditions for being ‘too ethnic’. He went through such rough times until the early 1990s when he began to be recognized. Conclusion What the whole act brings out as concerns Leguizamo is his development from a sexually charged boy to a dependable father. His closing remarks in this particular act were also encouraging. He stated that as much as his career path had brought him money, the most valuable things to him are his work, family and friends. Works Cited Edwardes, Jane. â€Å"The Faber Book of Monologues.† Faber and Faber, 2005. Hirsh, James. â€Å"Shakespeare and the History of Soliloquies†. Madison: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2003. John Leguizamo Biography. â€Å"Yahoo Movies†. Web. Leguizamo, John. â€Å"Pimps, Hos, Playa Hatas, And All the Rest of My Hollywood Friends: My Life†. New York: Ecco, 2006. Zook, Brent. â€Å"Comedy That Hits Close to Home; Now a Father, John Leguizamo Looks Back Without Anger†. The Washington Post, July 19, 2001. This report on John Leguizamo Biography was written and submitted by user KingBedlam to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

International operation management The WritePass Journal

International operation management INTRODUCTION International operation management INTRODUCTIONTASK 1APPLICATION OF THEORIES AND STRATEGIESCOST ANALYSIS OF CURRENT OPERATIONSOPERATION MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN PRODUCT DESIGN OPERATIONSMODULE 2QUALITY MANAGEMENTTASK 3CONCLUSIONBIBLIOGRAPHYRelated INTRODUCTION IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in the year 1943. It started as a small town Swedish furniture company that was founded on the principles low prices and good quality. This simple idea was able to transform the organization along with strategic management and excellent decision making. It now has over 250 stores and a presence in 30 countries. IKEA has become an international giant with whom local furniture companies have to struggle against. The fundamentals of the organization did not change drastically with expansion however the organization did adapt to the culture and practices in the host countries. The strategy was simple, give the people lower price compared to the peers, allow them to check the quality, do no compromise on the quality, save on costs from every possible angle and make them feel happy about the purchases they made (10 Keys to IKEA’s Low Prices, 2009). This made their brand strong and helped in vertical and horizontal integration and expansion. IKEA maintained strong ties to its home country. Its colors are a representation of the Swedish flag and its name is the initials of its founders name along with the initials of the town he was born in. The organization has used policies that have baffled researchers and lead to various analyst studying its reasons for success. TASK 1 APPLICATION OF THEORIES AND STRATEGIES When IKEA was first created, its owner had the vision of making it an international giant. He had started international meetings and proceeded for a quick expansion strategy of the organization. No other furniture company has had such an exponential growth in only a few years. First, it expanded from a small town to chains all over Sweden. This was not an easy task. The organization had no means of managing so many stores however through the excellent entrepreneurship of its founder, his strategy and global vision, the organization grew strong. The stores’ main concern would be to find ways in which they could decrease costs. They started with lowering electricity costs during day time by opening windows; they used energy saving lights and did not have a large profit margin in the start. They then expanded to Germany, France and other European nations. Once they expanded to other countries, they maintained the same policies and store strategies in every store. This was done th rough impeccable management practices, which further helped the organization open stores in other continents. IKEA’s business model became famous and the store called for publicity. Their process analysis and operational strategies are unique. All of their decisions have been successful and their management of inventory, staff and stores is one of the best in the world. IKEA used to purchase raw materials from manufacturers but after it expanded internationally, it started its own production company. This resulted in saving costs as well as making new designs reach the stores faster with the least amount of compromise on quality (Ikea: How the Swedish retailer became a global cult brand, 2005). They started economies of scale by starting a production company near its stores. These companies were generally located in areas where labor was cheap and it would be cheaper to ship the goods. They also used a very different style of marketing technique which concentrated on making people happy and reaching out on their base emotions. Most of the stores which sold products at lower prices were considered to have cheap quality like Wal-Mart; therefore IKEA had to use a lot of advertising to put the simple message across that the quality was not compromised in the deal. They did so by hosting customer parties, sending free samples, giving huge discounts and maintaining a happy customer care service. This increased their goodwill. They also took active participation in local events and helped the community, increasing their goodwill and sales. IKEA believed in constant innovation which is one of the reasons for its strong presence. It comes up with furniture pieces that are classic and as well as new. This adds to its brand presence along with rotation of furniture so that the customers are never viewing the same thing each time they visit. Another strategy that IKEA came out with was to keep huge inventories in its stores. This would mean more space and more wastage as well as high inventory management costs however compared to the costs of maintaining the stores, the predicted sales were higher. This made them even more famous because they were the only store which was capable of holding huge inventories allowing customers to buy any product by jus t entering the store. They managed to do so by holding flat line products. These products would them have to be assembled by the customer hence they were made in an easy to assemble manner. By holding flat ling products, the organization could store millions of product. These strategies enabled them to increase their market share (Ikea Components is Setting practical Business Targets, 2011). COST ANALYSIS OF CURRENT OPERATIONS IKEA is a privately held organization. It has seen an increase in costs over the last couple of years and is struggling to survive given the recent global recession and low sales turnover. Although its new and innovative strategies have increased sales and helped them earn profits, the margin of profits and the sales turnover has decreased along with increase in the cost of raw materials and operations. An increase in sales from Euro 21534 million in 2008 to a Euro 21846 million in 2009 is considered slow however considering the marking conditions, it is above its peers. IKEA needs to find more ways to cut costs in order to generate healthier results. It has started doing so by creating solar powered lamps etc and using solar power and saving on electricity. Its costs increased from Euro 7078 million in 2008 to Euro 7198 million in 2009. Reducing its costs will also be another challenging for the organization (Process Analysis Model, n.d.) OPERATION MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN PRODUCT DESIGN OPERATIONS IKEA is strongly linked to its product and organization design. The process from which production starts until it reaches the stores and makes sales is very commendable for an international giant like IKEA. Although the operation process has been commendable there are still a few loopholes in the process. The main problem concerning IKEA is its inventory storage. Warehousing costs are on the high. The organization cannot afford to store thousands of products for each different store. This would not only mean high cost of storage but also wastages in products. Once the product gets old, it needs to be replaced by other more innovative products. This makes the lifecycle of the furniture short and increases the wastages that the organization will have to incur. Currently IKEA ships the unwanted goods to other stores where it might have a high demand however this not only adds to the risks of no sale but also increases the cost of shipping. Since it produces flat line furniture, the place taken up is not a lot but the store has expanded into all departments of housing and office furniture hence has to bear a high cost of storage. A good option available to the organization is to display goods in the store and ship the goods later to the customers through mail. This would help in preventing storage costs, cost to keep inventory management and save on any kind of wastages. The organization can also concentrate on re using the unsold furniture into other products. Since the organization owns its own production company, it can re use the unsold pieces of furniture and make other innovative products. Currently it does not pay too much attention into re using and re cycling however if it wants to keep costs low it needs to consider this alternativ e (SWOT Analysis and Sustainable Business Planning, 2011). Another Operation management issue with IKEA is that the organization is extremely large. It not only needs to concentrate on maintaining the current stores but also on expansion into other countries. IKEAs expansion into India and other developing countries is on the hold. It has been extremely conservative in its approach to expansion and trying to be overly cautious. A good example is its indecision over opening stores in China. Once the company decided that China would be a good market, its management was scared to take the risk of entering a market where consumers were traditional and other furniture retails offered cheaper products. However, the expansion went very well and China has been a very good turnover for the organization. The government too was pleased with IKEA. Hence IKEAs management needs to take more risks and consider global expansion while maintaining the quality of products and service given and lowering costs. By using process model analysis on the organizations approach to its day to day operations, the following flow chart was developed. A process flow chart is required in order to recreate the design of the organization and understand the process in a simplified manner. The flow chart contains these symbols and meaning: Flowchart The above flowchart shows that there is a lot of time that is wasted in the transportation of the goods as well as in inspection of the products. Waste recovery has not been given a lot of attention as required and time spent on planning needs to be increased in order to develop products that lead the furniture market. Analysis models using classifier analysis, location analysis, cost and duration analysis and resource analysis have shown that the organization has been using all possible forms of increasing business however there is more scope and a lot it can do to improve its current standards. It does not utilize its resources like space for storage, marketing for customers and training employees for better customer satisfaction and higher sales. It is very conservative in its approach to location and store openings and production company locations. It needs to get more aggressive in order to build a stronger more stable and more profitable brand. The overall design of the organization is excellent with importance given on lowering costs; the only problems are inventory management and cautious expansion. MODULE 2 QUALITY MANAGEMENT IKEAs simple business strategy of low prices has created a lot of trouble for the organization. By lowering prices, the quality of products offered lowered and although the organization has been thriving to maintain its quality it has sometimes been unable to meet international standards. The products are also a little below quality but their quest for lowering prices has also affected their quality of service offered. Customer care does not get proper attention and the workers do not have the time or resources for proper international training (Levine, 2010). The organization is barely scrapping through with the quality required which has adversely affected the business. The sales have gone down and prospective sales from elite consumers have seen a sharp decline. Another noticing factor on quality management is the advertising campaigns that the organization holds. They are unable to research well on the market because of being very cost conscious and have therefore missed out on their target customers in their marketing plan. Because IKEA is an international brand, it not only has to consider international policies but in order to do well in the host country, the organization also needs to pay special attention to the customs and traditions of the host country. It has been failing to do so correctly resulting in profits dwindling below expectations in certain regions and countries like the United States (Levine, 2010). IKEA is a privately held organization, hence information on IKEA is difficult to attain. IKEA follows a very difficult return service with delays and sometimes refusal to take back the goods purchased by consumers. This reflects back on their credibility and goodwill. For any organization that works directly with customers, service needs to be impeccable especially for an international organization like IKEA however IKEA has not been very good with its quality management approach. The organization has however taken a lot of steps to maintain its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and taken many steps to make a difference in the host country. IKEA can take many steps to improve quality. The organization can adopt TQM (Total Quality Management) in its operations in order to ensure quality. It needs to spend money on its processes however the returns it could possibly earn are potentially higher than the costs. The organization needs to adopt a six sigma approach to management and strategically increase the quality of products and service provided. This should increase collectively in all the stores. It has been seen that most of the sales come from EU nations which makes up of about 50% of its sales with only 5% coming from North America. This is a potentially untapped market and IKEA needs to improve quality and assure the consumers of its products and quality so as to increase its potential in not only the markets it already has a presence in but also the markets in which it plans to open stores. IKEA can use the theories for quality improvement in order to manage the quality. Management stresses on the following important principles and theories for quality improvement that IKEA can use to its advantage. 1. Develop customer focus in each step of the process and train employees to provide the best customer satisfaction. IKEA depends on its consumers and it needs to prove to the consumers that they can depend on IKEA as well. Customer focus is very important internally as well as externally in the workings of the organization. 2. Leadership. The international size of the organization makes it difficult for them to manage and lead the process. Leadership is required for each different store and all the leaders need to have a similar set of rules, aims and objectives. This can be done by training each leader of the store together. With the values that needs to be used in the organization. 3. Process based quality management. One theory of quality management states that if each process in the organization deals with the optimum use of resources and time, the overall outlook of the organization will be much different. 4. Decision making approach of the organization needs to change. The management needs to realize that they can no longer be over cautious in their approach if they want to gather all the market share and potential sales if they continue being conservative. They need information that is correct and they need to work slowly because of their mere size but they also need to take an aggressive role in this slow recession filled economy in order to survive and compete. 5. Continual improvement in quality. Quality management is not a onetime approach, the organization has to imbibe it into its day to day workings, control the quality and give feedback on the improvements done. The constant feedbacks would be supplied along with the advantages that the organization achieved due to the process of quality management. IKEA can also use the Crosby theory of quality management which stresses on zero errors, prevention of errors, quality being an adherence to requirement and quality as being a price paid for non conformity. It sets goals for lower period of days so that the results would show, it requires total commitment from the upper management, encouragement to the employees, training given accordingly, creating incentives for high sales, determining the costs for quality etc. TASK 3 IKEA being the world’s leading furniture retailer does not utilize its capacity or use capacity management to its advantage. It uses Data Core Virtual Storage Solutions globally considering its size. The new version uses auto provisioning which is allocation of products to its demand, auto failover which is mirroring and using high availability in its products and snapshot functions which means creating backup for all the information that is feed from all its stores worldwide. The software is the latest and expected to improve the management of inventory. Before the implantation of the software, IKEA struggled with its supply chain management. It sometimes had over supplied products and sometimes there was a lag in products which diminished demand. Since it is not an internet based supplier, it needs to keep a good amount of product as reserves. It needs to create a balance between oversupply and under supply so as to reduce wastages. IKEA has tried to take advantage of the te chnological improvements to sort out its supply chain management. The organization had earlier used JDA system in 2006 to solve its problems in supply chain management (IKEA Services, 2011). For an organization like IKEA the primary concern in capacity management are as follows: 1. It needs a technology that can forecast with a great level of accuracy based on past results and future market environment the market demand and supply movements. This forecasting accuracy will help the organization improve its functions and save millions of dollars in shipping, storage and recycling. 2. It needs an approach that improves the sales forecasts and predicts consumer behavior. The predictions need to be translated into sales figures so that the organization can plan on expansion and innovation. All the departments in the organization are interrelated and using capacity management to its highest level could help create more potential from the other departments as well. 3. Another area where IKEA needs to focus on is the anticipation of problems before they occur. A large organization is prone to have problems in its supply chain management and capacity management however if it is in a position to predict the changes and challenges well ahead of time, it can be better prepared for the threat or even to a certain extent help prevent it. This is an integral part of management function through which the organization can gain further market share and capital. 4. Transportation and logistics methods need to be simplified with each consignment being traceable so that the management can better predict the product whereabouts and avoid loss in transportation. With the rise in fuel costs the management needs to carefully lay out its supply chain management as well as logistics problems. With over 12000 products and 250 stores in 30 countries the organization needs better capacity management solutions (Supply Chain Management, 2006). IKEA store layout is in the form of a maze. The consumers need to walk through different custom rooms build to give them an idea of the product they might like. The stores are therefore multi layered with additional space given for storage. This has proven to be a good thing because this marketing strategy makes the customers view all the products and increases sales. It does however have the following disadvantages: It wastes a lot of its store space It confuses the customers who find it difficult to return to the product they liked before It irritates consumers who are looking for a particular product and have to go through the entire store for it and it wastes a lot of time which consumers do not prefer. However, this marketing strategy is important but it can be improved upon to avoid the above hindrance.   There are many other store formats that the organization can select from instead of its free flow layout. An image of the store layouts is mentioned below. Therefore IKEA can select a grid layout or a spine layout to avoid confusion. Having different layout on each store can also be helpful and avoid any wastage of space. Since the organization has 20000 products they need to be displayed in an arranged format with utmost importance given to layout so that they appear attractive for the customers to buy. The lighting also should be set up in a way that enhances the qualities of the products. The benefits of having a store layout are that it helps the customers organize their wants. It has been proven in countless studies that a good display of the products makes the customers more inclined to buy the products. This means that a layout can make or break a sale hence needs attention from the upper management (Waters, 2011). CONCLUSION IKEA has a great future ahead. It needs to take an aggressive role in this market because its sales are now stagnant and costs are on a rise. It has used the best method for inventory management along with supply chain management it can further expand its dominance over the other furniture retailers by becoming a public company instead of staying private and add additional funds to its disposal. The has been orthodox and conservative in its approach to management so far but it needs to change its policies into being more innovative not only in the products it makes but also in the strategies it follows. The company has great potential and a business plan that matches no other organization in the world. It size and its success by far have been commendable. It company also needs to change into being more web based which would reduce the cost of transportation and logistics. It has a lot of potential and a goodwill that precedes every country it decides to open a store in, however marketing is also an important feature IKEA needs to look into. Its current marketing strategies were effective in an expanding economy where people where ready to spend however in this current recession the only way IKEA can make more sales is through advertising its fundamental business objective; low cost. It needs to cash into the recession and increase sales by lowering prices and making its products quality checked. IKEA also has a lot of improvement to do in the customer care area where it is lacking behind due to its policy to lower costs. The organization needs to train its employee so that they are more efficient and better equipped to make a sale. To conclude I would like to add that IKEA has great potential not only in its existing countries but other countries where it does not have any stores. It needs to tap into the sales before some other organization does. BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 Keys to IKEA’s Low Prices. (2009). Personalizing the IKEA experience. [Online] ikeafans.com/ikea/ikea-why-ikea/10-keys-to-ikeas-low-prices.html [last accessed April 02, 2011] Ikea Components is Setting practical Business Targets. (2011). Business Management. [Online] bme.eu.com/article/Ikea-Components-is-setting-practical-business-targets/ [last accessed April 02, 2011] IKEA Services. (2011). IKEA. [Online] prnewswire.com/news-releases/ikeathe-worlds-leading-home-furnishings-retailerdeploys-datacore-virtual-storage-solutions-globally-55257702.html [last accessed April 02, 2011] Ikea: How the Swedish retailer became a global cult brand. (2005). BusinessWeek. [Online] businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_46/b3959001.htm [last accessed April 02, 2011] Levine, R.R. (2010). Theories in total quality management. [Online] brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/72443.aspx [last accessed April 02, 2011] Process Analysis Model. (n.d.). IBM. [Online] http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dmndhelp/v6rxmx/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.btools.help.modeler.doc/doc/concepts/analysis/processmodelanalysis.html   [last accessed April 02, 2011] Supply Chain Management. (2006). Ikea revamps supply chain strategy with JDA. [Online] logisticsit.com/absolutenm/templates/article-supplychain.aspx?articleid=2544zoneid=5   [last accessed April 02, 2011] SWOT Analysis and Sustainable Business Planning. (2011). The Times 100. [Online] thetimes100.co.uk/case-studyswot-analysis-and-sustainable-business-planning110-368-5.php [last accessed April 02, 2011] Waters, S. (2011). Types of store layouts. [Online] http://retail.about.com/od/storedesign/ss/store_layouts.htm [last accessed April 02, 2011]

Russian and American Systems of Socialization A Cautious Cultural Comparison of so-called National Characters essays

Russian and American Systems of Socialization A Cautious Cultural Comparison of so-called National Characters essays Speaking of a nation's national character' can be a rather dicey prospect, from the point of view of political correctness as in light of a responsible academic's fear of making hasty or uniformed sociological generalizations about a people or a country. However, the marked and noted differences between Russian and American methods of raising children and socializing individuals into Russian and American society have created different, observable developmental patterns for those individuals reared in these societies. A sociologist cannot ignore these patterns in the name of open-mindedness. To acknowledge them is not to say that one methodology of upbringing is better or worse, but simply to state that there are manifest and observable differences. In his observations of the then-Soviet Union, the reporter Robert Kaiser noted in the 1970's that "the theme of Russian parenthood" is "don't let go." Although in "public" a Russian child's behavior was sternly regulated, Russian parents and grandparents indulged their children, as best they could, in material terms. (29) Children were not expected to perform many household chores. Rather, they were to focus on their studies, with the hopes of getting into a top university. In exchange for this freedom from onerous household tasks, however, children were also supposed to recompense their parents with hard work and obedience. Kaiser was struck how even older children constantly informed their parents of their various doings, sometimes well past mature adolescence, a phenomenon perhaps underscored by the fact that poverty and housing shortages forced individuals to live with their parents for a long time. The rigidity of behavior in the school system, generally de-emphasizing creativity and emphasizing rote learning, only reinforced the idea that there was a correct mode of public behavior and an incorrect mode of public ...

Money & Banking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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