Company †Strengths and weaknesses Analysis Essay Example for Free

Company – Strengths and weaknesses Analysis Essay Application Assignment †¢Application Assignment on Situational Analysis and SWOT common to all themespgs MM-112 to MM-122 PART B and C (to be submitted together) (15+ 5 Marks) Company –Strengths and weaknesses Analysis Remember this assignment is in continuity to the previous marketing assignment. Here we do a strength and weakness analysis for our company vis -a- vis competitors. We need to know: A. What special strength/ competence or assets company has to satisfy the needs of customers? B. Who competes with us in meeting those needs and what is their competence, strength or asset? Can we scale our own firm and the major competitors on those competencies and strengths? This kind of an analysis follows a 3-step process. 1Identification of all our Competitors. Competition does not stem only from products or firms that compete directly for your market share but also from any company that satisfies the same customer need. (Refer to the ‘Market concept of competition’ at the end of the assignment ) 2List the areas in which your organization or the competitor has the competence. Needless to say that these areas should be industry relevant. An indicative list of the areas in which a firm can have strength / competence is listed below. Innovation ?Ability to develop innovative products ?Amount of Rs. spent on RD ?Patents that a company has to its credit ?Technical product or service superiority Manufacturing ?Favorable Cost Structure ?Flexible production operations ?Access to Raw materials ?Quality of work force ?Capacity ?Outsourcing Finance- Access to capital ?Ability to generate funds in the short and long run ?Ability to use debt and equity financing ?Parent firms willingness to finance Management ?Quality of top and middle management ?Knowledge of business ?Culture ?Strategic goals and plans ?Entrepreneurial thrust ?Planning or operation system ?Loyalty ?Quality of strategic decision making. Marketing ?Product quality reputation ?Product differentiation ?Brand name recognition ?Customer orientation ?Breadth of the product line ?Segmentation ?Distribution ?Retailer relationship ?Advertising / Promotional skills ?Sales force ?Service Customer base ?Size and loyalty ?Market share ?Growth of segments served This list is only indicative to serve as a guide to the major areas in which a firm can have strength/ competence. You can add on or delete items to suit to your company and industry. 3Scaling your organization vis a vis the competitors on the parameters listed above-The Competitive strength Grid *(Please refer exhibit at the end of the assignment) Once the strengths / assets relevant to the industry have been identified, one has to scale one’s own firm and the major competitors on those strengths. One such grid has been done for the Luxury car market. The left side of the grid identifies the areas in which a luxury car maker can have strengths/ competencies namely product quality, product differentiation etc. On the right side various brands have been scaled with either less than average, average or above average position with respect to the strength/ competence identified. For ex. Cadillac has above average position in product quality, average when it comes to product differentiation and less than average on dealer satisfaction, all 3 areas being key to success in a car market. Assignment questions 1. Identify all the major competitors to your product. (Already done in part A of the assignment) †¢ICICI bank †¢HDFC †¢SBI †¢Deutsche Bank †¢Citibank †¢Goldman Sachs 2. Identify and list all the major strengths/assets/ competencies relevant to your industry. Core competencies: †¢Customer service †¢Risk management Compliance †¢Strategy Development †¢Strong leadership and management †¢Sales, marketing and Operations †¢Client base and brand 3. Scale your firm and any two other competitors on these strengths in a Competitive Strength Grid as is shown in the example. HSBCICICI bank Deutsche Bank †¢Customer service †¢Reach to the customer is good †¢Good relationship management †¢Premier clients focused cells †¢Reach to the customer is good †¢Premier clients focused cells †¢Reach to the customer is good †¢Good relationship management †¢Premier clients focused cells †¢Risk management Compliance †¢Credit Risk †¢Operational Risk †¢Market Risk †¢Credit Risk †¢Operational Risk †¢Market Risk †¢Credit Risk †¢Operational Risk †¢Market Risk †¢Strategy Development †¢Reach to global markets †¢Presence in emerging economies †¢Specific to one country †¢Reach to global markets Strong leadership and management †¢Business expansions Leadership support †¢Culture of developing and retaining leaders †¢Strong international management and leadership †¢Business expansions regionally †¢Strong management presence †¢Business expansions Leadership support †¢Strong international management and leadership †¢Sales, marketing and Operations †¢Consumer / Transactional Sales †¢Advisory / Relationship Management Sales †¢Consumer / Transactional Sales †¢Advisory / Relationship Management Sales †¢Consumer / Transactional Sales †¢Advisory / Relationship Management Sales Client base and brand †¢History and strong brand †¢Your local banker approach †¢Internationally renowned brand †¢Strong regional brand †¢History and strong brand †¢Internationally renowned brand 4. Do you have a competitive advantage superior to that of the competitor in any or more area? Do you see major areas for improvement in any competitive area? The areas of competitive advantage are: †¢Strategy Development †¢Reach to global markets †¢Presence in emerging economies †¢Strong leadership and management †¢Culture of developing and retaining leaders Strong international management and leadership †¢Client base and brand †¢History and strong brand †¢Your local banker approach †¢Internationally renowned brand Areas for improvement: †¢Larger presence in retail operations in emerging economies †¢Leveraging technology to increase efficiency, access to markets and risk management †¢Innovation by providing weekend banking and banking in non official hours PART C Assignment question 1. Based upon PART A and Part B of the assignment, consolidate the Strengths , Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for your organization into a SWOT Grid.

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Buddhism is one of biggest and influential religions. Buddhism has own teachings and ethics which are different from other religions. It also has traditional holidays which are still continued. Buddhism's source and Buddha’s story are interesting so it has many believers. The numbers of Buddhists are still increasing, and Buddhism grows bigger today. 2. What is Buddhism? There are 350 million Buddhists on the world. Many people study spirit of Buddhism, and Buddhism requires deep study. 2.1 Basic information of Buddhism Buddhism's basic emphasis is to practice meditation and to develop spirit. Buddhism teaches practical methods and gives a lot of example of answer that helps to solve human's problems in society. It emphasizes to find true purpose of human life and happiness and researches to understand deeply and psychologically about human mind. Buddhists also do not worship and study about any other God or divinities. They even do not worship Buddha who is creator of Buddhism. They sometimes go to a temple and bow down to a statue which has smiling. It is just an expression of thanks for the teaching of Buddha. Buddhists think Buddha is ideal person so try to resemble him. They always practice to get highest quality of personality and spirit like Buddha. 2.2 Meditation There are many different types of Buddhism, but all of that are based on practice of meditation. Meditation is major activity of Buddhists. It is a time to develop spirit and mind. When Buddhists meditate in a house or a temple, they believe that meditation helps to find peace in mind and gives positive energy and happiness. They have meditation time like a habit. The other goal of Buddhists is to understand reality of nature and the finish of suffering. ... ...sm today Buddhism is one of suitable religion for modern people’s life. People want to be relaxed and have peaceful life in competition of society. It increases numbers of people who practice meditation and study Buddhism. Buddhists say that meditation gives happiness in suffering life. It makes many people try to practice meditation. There are also many Buddhist centers and meditation festivals. It is easy to find and experience Buddhism culture. Especially, South Korea has long history of Buddhism so there are many Buddhist architectures and arts which are highly acclaimed. Buddhism is effective religion, also it is artistic culture. 8. Conclusion Buddhism has a lot of study and teaching. Its teaching and culture are very unique. It also has different own views and ethics, so it is still continued. Buddha’s Buddhism is a history and deep-rooted religion.

The main idea that runs through Christianity is that everybody should be treated equally

The main idea that runs through Christianity is that everybody should be treated equally. This is shown when Jesus said â€Å"Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another,† (John 13). This means that you should like everybody as Jesus did and so coloured people should not be hated. To any Christian this shows that everyone should get on with one another as Jesus did, nobody is different in any physical form whether they are black or any other different race in the eyes of god they should still be loved. In Genesis 1:27 it says that â€Å"God created human beings, making them to be like himself.† So as we are like God we should treat one another as god would. Therefore again showing that we should treat everyone equally including different races etc as God would. A key point towards the Christian views to racism is written in James 2:8-9 where it states one should love people for what they are not what they look like. So a Coloured person may have a good personality, which you should like that person for, but you should not hate that person because of that persons appearance. Another point which comes across in Matthew 5:38-40 is one which would be very difficult to practise in a modern day society, as it is natural when somebody hits you for you to hit them back. Jesus in this passage is trying to say ignore those who harm you â€Å"if anyone slaps you on your left cheek let him slap you on your right cheek.† This is a statement for the oppressed i.e. like coloured people were. It is an ideal ethic and Christians believe we should aim for it, but in this modern day world it is extremely difficult to achieve. Gandhi used this greatly to his advantage in India, which was occupied by the British, and it worked. Throughout these passages in the bible it is proven what Christian views should be towards coloured people: Love them like you love yourself Judge them upon there character not what they look like And even if they are your enemy you should still treat them well. Where Martin Luther king was born was born slavery had been abolished in 1865 but segregation continued. Negroes were rated as inferior and insecure by the whites, they were discriminated against, intimidated, people were prejudice towards them, much of the white population were racist and the Blacks tried to fight for equal rights. Martin Luther king was Christian and when dealing with the problems the blacks faced this was a key factor. When King went to university a person of the name Gandhi impressed him. This was due to the fact of his un-violent protests, which turned out to be a very strong political weapon, and in its whole the use of un-violent protest led to the independence of India. This also related to King's Christian beliefs, if someone hits you on the right cheek let him or her hit you on the left. In 1954 he became a Baptist minister. He first went to Montgomery, Alabama. On December 5, 1955, five days after Montgomery civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to obey the city's rules mandating segregation on buses, black residents launched a bus boycott and elected King as president of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association. King was very much for this as it was a non-violent protest and the authorities could do nothing about it immediately as the coloured community were doing nothing aggressive and wrong, in essence they were following the way of the bible and Christian views. As the boycott continued during 1956, King gained national importance as a result of his exceptional â€Å"oratorical skills and personal courage.† His house was bombed and he was convicted along with other boycott leaders on charges of conspiring to interfere with the bus company's operations. But because of his Christian believes he refrained form turning to violence and he followed the bible degrading people who were aggressive and he refrained from fight ing back. The boycott ended in 1956 with a mandate from the Supreme Court outlawing all segregated public transport in the city. During the spring of 1963, he and his staff guided mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, where local white police officials were known from their â€Å"anti-black attitudes†. The protesters acted peacefully under Martin Luther kings guidance. Clashes between black demonstrators and police using police dogs and fire hoses generated newspaper headlines through the world. But whenever they came under attack they would kneel and prey. In June, President Kennedy reacted to the Birmingham protests and the â€Å"obstinacy of segregationist†. King and other civil rights leaders then organised a massive march in Washington, D.C. On Aug. 28, 1963, over 200,000 Americans, including many whites, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in the capital. The high point of the rally was King's stirring â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech, which â€Å"eloquently defined the moral basis of the civil rights movement.† The moral basis of this was based greatly on Christian views. That of which states everyone is equal and also no black is inferior to a white person as so in the bible. As Luther said in his speech â€Å"all men are created equal†. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited racial discrimination in public places and called for equal opportunity in employment and education. King later received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. During the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, King and his lieutenants were able to keep intra-movement conflicts sufficiently under control to bring about passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while seeking to assist a garbage workers' strike in Memphis. After his death, King remained a controversial symbol of the African-American civil rights struggle. Throughout Kings life of protesting he always tried to use non-violent methods. In 1955 he said these following words â€Å"†¦we have no choice but to protest. There will be no threats from bullying. Love will be our ideal. Love your enemies, bless them, and pray for them. Let no man pull you so low as to make you hate him†. Again King always followed his Christian routes making sure he always carried out non-violent protests, loved his enemies and taking whatever the enemy through at him, making him a true Christian. First of all I would like to address the fact of why people may find it in their hearts to be racist. Around a hundred years ago Coloured people were treated like they were insignificant and less important than whites due to their skin colour in many areas of the world, for instance England. One of the factors in the hatred of coloured people was that everyone else was doing it so you would be the odd one out if you didn't do it. This is better known as â€Å"peer pressure†, where the mass go the rest will follow. Just this fact was one of the key influences. Also some people felt that if the whites stopped mall treating the blacks the blacks would turn back on the whites and ruin them. So they just kept on treating the blacks like they had always done and how they had been brought up to do. But then you should also ask the question why people didn't do it. It was generally because of their religions, which they followed strictly, stating that all men are equal and that you should treat your neighbour how you would wish to be treated. Also some people felt sorry for the Blacks and wanted to help. So after all those years of hatred for the blacks many people would ask what was gained. Somebody from the Ku Kluck Klan may say that it terrorised the blacks and put them in their rightful place. Where as the majority now a days would say it was a pointless waste of lives and terribly unjust, people should be treated by means of their character, not by their appearance whatever that may be. I think that nobody on earth has the right to be racist in any shape or form. But there is a certain place where I draw the line. Jokes for instance can often be directed at another person's nationality or colour and the person who is the â€Å"victim† of the joke may often find it funny. But to be racist I think it can be a deeply offensive joke or much worse than a joke, hatred for one. Surely people shouldn't be racist it says in the bible to love one another, to judge people on their characters and not on their appearance and to even love your enemies. On top of this racism is terrible, it can ruins peoples lives, lead to death and leave whole countries in uproar. What is the point in it? I find it totally pointless and also morally unacceptable in the modern world were we should treat everyone equally no matter of their appearance.

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1798 Words

When looking at a person for the first time clothing is often a large part of a first impression, giving information about that person that may or may not be true. Clothing also plays a large role in first impressions of characters in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who uses clothing to give information about each character and who they are or wish they were. Fitzgerald carefully describes the clothing of each character, using color, material, and quality to expose each character s insecurities.The clothing that he has the character’s wear gives information about their status, emotions, and personality. He chose clothing because it is an extension of a person and is self-expression, unlike race or eye color, it is not permanent†¦show more content†¦Fitzgerald chooses to have Daisy in another color to show the unattainability of the â€Å"American Dream†. The color lavender taints the immaculate image that it the dream had before, and the white that Dai sy had worn. Gatsby spends his entire life chasing Daisy or the â€Å"American Dream†, but is only able to change his socioeconomic status, which the â€Å"American Dream†promises, through criminal activity. Like the â€Å"American Dream† Daisy is also unattainable to Gatsby because she is married. Gatsby is only able to have Daisy by her having an affair, which many people would view as a sin or illegal. Daisy wears lavender instead of white shows that the â€Å"American Dream† is unachievable, unless some illegal actions are involved. Fitzgerald also chooses to make Daisy’s hat lavender to symbolize femininity, grace and elegance, words that are often used to describe Daisy. The last time that Fitzgerald mentions the color of Daisy’s clothing is the day of â€Å"The Accident†, and he chooses to dress Daisy one final time in white. His reasoning for dressing her in white is because in Gatsby’s eyes the purity of the â€Å" American Dream† was restored. The day of the â€Å"The Accident†, Gatsby and Daisy intend to tell Tom that they are in love. Daisy telling Tom