Module 4,5,& 7 Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Module 4,5,& 7 Strategic Management - Essay Example Expanding abroad is one strategy entertainment / gaming major players resort to in order to make up for slowing returns inside and to avoid prolonged licensing procedures. Further, given heavy investments in real estate developments, a typical entertainment industry strategy for growth (Ross, Keeffe, & Middlebrook, 2006), market expansion based on property development is both an opportunity during booms and a threat during recessions and economic down turns (Stein, 2009). Given no public mission statement exists for Mandalay Resort Group, Mandalay's vision should build upon company's founders' conception of fun, play, and entertainment. Future actions by Mandalay should center on insights possibly translated into following set of goals and objectives: 1. Expanding on concept of "entertainment" such as to, on one hand, approach "gaming" players (e.g. Nintendo) whose main target (teens, young adults, and family) borders on Mandalay's (e.g. themed parks, play areas, and "low roller" clients) and to move away from wrong-doing characterization associated with gaming and gambling industry upon entering markets (e.g. Middle East) whose local cultures regard gaming - and enjoyment of it - as sinful, on another. 2. Considering mergers and acquisitions as facts of a changing industry in which survival can by no means be sustained by older ways of tit-a-tat competition in an infinitely expanding market. 3. Investing wise in real estate developments especially in local market (i.e. U.S.) in which gains achieved during booms cannot be guaranteed at sustainable levels during recessions and downturns - let alone negative public image impressions of a luxurious facility / development, working great as fun and entertainment destinations during booms, but questioned as extravagancies and spoils during hard times. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR MANDALAY RESORT GROUP 5 References Ross III, K. J., Keeffe, M., & Middlebrook, B. (2006) . Mandalay Resort Group. In David, R. F. (Ed.), Strategic management: concepts and cases (10th ed.) (pp. 124-133). China: Pearson. Stein, J. (2009, Aug. 31). Less vegas. Time, 174, 26-33. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. 1 Strategic Plan for Harley-Davidson, Inc. [Insert Your First and Last Names] [Insert Name of University] STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. 2 Abstract This paper develops a 3-year strategic plan for Harley-Davidson, Inc. as of 2004. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC. 3 Strategic Plan for Harley-Davidson, Inc. Domestically, "Harley-Davidson" echoes quite favourably not only amongst motorcycles owners and fans but also among brand-aware consumers. Clearly, one major asset of Davidson, Inc. is Harley-Davidson

Pros & Cons Essay Example for Free

Pros Cons Essay Most wireline phone companies charge more than what youd pay for most alternatives, and some are taxed more as well. There are some locations where getting new wired phone service is prohibitively expensive or even impossible. Long Distance and extra features like Call Waiting are normally included with alternative phones. More Features: Cellular and broadband phones normally include Long Distance, Voice Mail, Caller ID, Call Forwarding and more, usually at no additional charge. They also have Text Messaging and various forms of data service which are unavailable with a landline. Portability: If you move your home more than average (or if its on wheels), your phone and your number can stay with you. There are no installation charges. Temporary Usage: You can have phone service for the season in a vacation home or cabin, or on an extended stay at a hotel or home of a friend or relative without installing a separate line. Unlimited Plans: Most alternatives offer a plan that includes Unlimited talk minutes and Long Distance, including cellular. Most cellular carriers have eliminated Unlimited Data plans, although there are some that include Data with some other restrictions. Anonymity: You can easily set up an account (especially prepaid cellular) with either no name or an alternative identity. Fewer Telemarketers: Nuisance calls are reduced because telemarketers want to target customers in certain geographic areas. They wont know where you are. Most telcos provide your landline number to telemarketers. With cellular its illegal for now. With broadband, it depends on the carrier who sets up your number. Internet Access: Your wireless phone can also be your connection to the Internet, either with an internal browser or tethered to your computer, and available wherever there is cellular coverage. Wireless broadband is also available separate from your cellular account. Wi-Fi for Multiple Devices: You can get a cellular modem that provides a wi-fi signal that can connect to up to 5 separate wi-fi devices. Its Green: Replace your fax with an Internet-based fax service like eFax or MyFax. com and stop wasting paper and ink. (Give your old fax to charity) Attitude: Some wired phone companies just treat their customers badly. Sometimes it feels better to leave at any price. Take your broadband wherever you go A mobile broadband connection is exactly that, which means that you can access your emails, check the sports results or watch YouTube videos no matter where you are, provided you have 3G reception. Stop paying for line rental Millions of people continue to pay for line rental on a home phone landline that they rarely use, just so that they can get broadband at home. With mobile broadband, theres no need to pay line rental potentially saving you over ? 100 a year. Plug and play technology All the software you need to connect to the internet is automatically installed when you first plug your USB modem into your laptop no need to set it up or call a technical support helpline. Flexible options available Mobile broadband customers can take advantage of some really great pay as you go tariffs from as little as ? 2 a day, or rolling one-month packages, meaning they only ever pay for what they actually need. Cons: Safety: If you need to call 911, public safety authorities wont automatically know where you are, youll have to tell them. Also, calls with alternative phones will not necessarily be routed to the closest agency. Also, you wont receive Reverse 911 calls alerting you to a public emergency in your neighborhood unless your local emergency center allows you to sign up your number and associate it with a local address. Security: Some businesses will not allow you to use their services without a traceable land line. This includes credit card companies, pizza shops and a few others, although this rule is slowly being relaxed. Satellite TV services want a landline-like plug for their equipment to call them each night. It does work with some broadband phone systems. Your satellite service can still work without it, but you will most likely pay an extra charge. Reliability: Wired telephone services have come as close to 100% reliable as is practical. Their network has substantial power backup, redundant circuits and years to get it right. Alternatives are improving but their networks can vary significantly. Cell sites and other communications nodes have a limited amount of backup power. In an extended power outage, such as after a hurricane or snowstorm, the service may not work, leaving you with no service. Corded phones work in power failures. Cable phones also have a lower level of reliability. Sound Quality: Some alternative phones dont sound the same or as good as a landline. While your alternative phone may sound fine to you, it may be difficult for others. Also, some broadband phone services just dump their audio into the Internet resulting in widely varying data travel times giving you significant sound delays. Lack of Service: You may be in a location where there are no wireless broadband alternatives or may have poor cellular coverage. This might be rectified by adding a cell site to your home. Broadband Speeds: While there are some fairly fast wireless broadband connections, it may be some time before they will compare to wired or cable connections. Malfunctions: Cell sites can stop working for various reasons. Repairs often need to be made on site and may take time. Broadband services require one or more pieces of equipment at your house which you will need to fix if it fails. Wireline equipment can normally be repaired at the central office. Murphys Law says breakdowns will happen at the worst possible time. You Have No Backup: Unless you have an extra cellular phone, if something happens to your main phone or its associated equipment, or your account, you cant just plug another phone into the wall. Inconvenience: Some alternative services only offer a single jack for one phone. If you want service throughout the house you either must go wi-fi or cellular. Otherwise, plan on using the phone near your computer or router. With a cell phone you need to keep it close to you if your home is large or on multiple floors. It Might be Difficult to Get a Job: Some employers require a Local number to consider you for a position. While you can change your out-of-town portable number to something local, there goes your Number For Life. Surprise Costs. Since you normally pay for cellular by the minute, you might talk a lot more than you think. Savings may be less than you expected when calculated long term. Broadband carriers are not regulated like wireline services and could make changes that you dont expect. You Wont Be Listed in the Phone Book. Some directories let you to pay for a personal listing, but others use that as a way to keep you as a landline customer. Alarm systems. Most existing dial-up alarm systems dont work with broadband phone connections. There are other alarm alternatives, including wireless. You May Not Be Able to Send or Receive Faxes. In some cases, faxing is not an issue. In others, you cant just plug in your fax machine. A better choice is to to use a paperless, web-based service like eFax or MyFax. com. Low download limits Even the most generous of mobile broadband tariffs only offer a download allowance of 15GB per month, and that could set you back ? AÂ  month on a two-year contract, while typical value packages offer less than 5GB a month. High costs for exceeding your limit Most mobile broadband providers charge a fee when you exceed your download limit. This is normally several pence per MB and costs can very quickly add up if youre not careful. Always keep an eye on your usage. Slower connections Although suppliers might advertise speeds of up to 10 or 12Mb, mobile broadband speeds rarely exceed the average of around 1Mb. This, combined with the tight usage limits, makes mobile broadband unsuitable for large downloads. Coverage Most of the UK is covered by the 3G mobile network, but coverage can be patchy in some rural areas, with speeds significantly slower in some parts of the country, so you should always check coverage in your area before signing up. PROS OF FIXED LINE NETWORK Reliability Land line/fix line phones can be more reliable than their cellular counterparts. Disconnected cables can disable land lines, but these problems are easily remedied. On the other hand, cellular phones are plagued by several different issues because they rely on a network of radio waves, cellular towers and satellites. In some areas, cellular service is plagued by dropped calls and fuzzy reception. Emergencies The reliability of land line phones makes them advantageous when it comes to emergencies. For example, if someone is hurt and needs immediate medical care, you do not have to worry about contending with poor reception. Land lines also provide a fixed location that emergency responders can rush to. On a cell phone, you must state your address or describe your location, which wastes precious time during a crisis. Sponsored Links

Political Cartoons and Republicans :: essays research papers fc

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Republican Party was founded by a coalition in 1854 and was comprised of former members of the Whig, Free-Soil, and Know-Nothing parties. The slavery issue shattered America’s established political landscape and catapulted the Republicans from what seemed like nowhere straight into the White House in 1860. After Fremont’s attempt at winning the presidency in 1856, Lincoln won the election four years later, cementing the Republican Party’s desire for executive power. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the United States found itself politically gridlocked. Neither the newly formed Republicans nor the Democrats were able to gain much traction. The decades after the Civil War saw some of the closest and most controversial races in American history. The Rutherford B. Hayes commissioned election victory is a great example as he had fewer popular votes than Sam Tilden, but won the election under the guise of the Electoral College. The 1888 electi on was also very close, as less than 100,000 votes separated the leading candidates; Benjamin Harrison again won by the rules of the electoral process but lost the popular vote. During the Gilded Age of American history, the mainstream political scene was superficial and intensely partisan, but the regular Joe loved it. â€Å"Despite the lack of issues,† writes Morton Keller, â€Å"balloting – and straight ticket voting – in the 1870’s and 1880’s was at or near the highest level in American history.† He also contends that policy had become subordinate to â€Å"the sumptuous display† of parades, bonfires, and pep rallies. Accompanying this era of political advertisement and propaganda, the political system itself depended upon a spoils and patronage allowance, which gave rise to political corruption.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Political cartoons and mass media grew up with the end of the Civil War as well. As Harper’s weekly, Judge, Puck, and the New York World all competed for popular acceptance, they helped reform the political corruption of the time. After the critical election of 1896, the nature of party conflict changed. The close competition between the parties in the post Civil War period was replaced by Republican dominance. Mckinley’s defeat of William Jennings Bryan in 1896 and 1900 was followed by Republican victories in every presidential election until 1932, except for Woodrow Wilson’s victories in 1912 and 1916. This will be explored later. As the Republicans also controlled Congress from 1896 to 1930, except for during Wilson’s tenure, they were dominant everywhere but the South.

Team Case Critique

Electronic Arts is an American based company it mainly markets and produces computer and video games. It’s widely recognized for developing brilliant sports games along with this it also produces a wide variety of different games for the consumers. Moreover it manufactures the games fulfilling the requirements of all the platforms that is it does not restrict its games for the usage of one platform only.It is a profitable and prosperous company, however in the present days it is suffering as there are some great concerns regarding its business. For this purpose the board would advice the CEO that the company should bring a change in its strategies in order to thrive in such a competitive and demanding environment the company should firstly look towards the creation of downloadable games of this will not only increase the sales of its games but also reduce the costs of physically making the game, the handling and inventory of the games.More to add Electronic Art should work on establishing an online platform where games are available for being downloaded, although this will cost the company some amount but the increase in revenue that will be generated by the sale of the games online will be completely worth the efforts. Additionally making small versions of the game will also be favorable for the company as converting the larger versions into mini versions does not require much additional resources.This way the games can easily be downloaded to wireless devices such as the mobile phones and I pods, which will be an added source of income for the company without incurring a great deal of added costs. There is a price ceiling that exists in the game market of $59. 99 the platform manufactures do not wish to increase the price beyond that, these console manufactures have great power to influence the prices. The only way Electronic Art can shatter this price limit is by producing innovative and distinguished games.By offering product differentiation only wil l the manufactures be able to set their own prices for their product instead of being under pressure by the console manufacturers. For this purpose the company should look to towards attracting fresh and young talent and merge them with the experienced teams that have made the name of the â€Å"popular games† a huge success in the market. The company’s statistics show that the top 100 games are responsible for 50 % of the sales for the company this means that the rest of the games for which money is spent on is simply wasted as it does not prove to be fruitful for the company.The company should adopt a strategy of producing limited games but doing a lot of research and development for the making of these games this as this will lead to a greater possibility that these games will be a winner in the market. This will provide opportunities for the company to cut down its costs and use its resources more competently. We also agree with valuing the employees and develop str ategies to retain the talented and experienced personnel of the organization. As a result we should provide the employees with enhanced monetary and non monetary benefits.Profit sharing with the employees is a great idea as that will make the employees feel a part of the company and encourage them to use resources more wisely. Try to coordinate employees to work cooperatively and come up with out of the box ideas and strategies. In our opinion the company should not discontinue usage of celebrity endorsement to promote the games but to limit it as far as possible in order to keep costs within a limit. Unnecessary and excessive celebrity endorsements should be avoided as this leads to increasing the burden of costs for the company.To resolve the issue of the high royalty fees charged by the console manufacturers EA should look forward with having negotiations with those companies. The companies should be told that Electronic Art is willing to pay for the royalty fees when a game is l ucrative in the market but in those cases where the games are not doing well in the market the console manufacturers should not take royalty fees from those games as the dealing for those games would be mainly to recover the costs and settle at breakeven.Special incentives such as supplementary royalty fees should be provided to the console manufacturers if the games are unbeaten and are doing a flourishing business. This incentive will help to motivate the console manufacturers to agree to Electronic Art’s offer. Starting off with small console manufacturer is a good idea as that enables to convince those manufacturers easily as they rely on Electronic Art’s games.They should motivate the console manufacturers that by following our company’s proposed recommendation regarding the royalty fees both of our companies will grow together this way. The future strategies have to be based on lowering costs but increasing revenue, but at the same time not compromising on the entertainment factor the games provide. The including of inbuilt advertisements within the game is a great source of revenue and also doesn’t distract the attention of the gamer.Advertisers are ready to market their products and services in such a manner as it is a fabulous way to subconsciously advertise a company’s product and services. Furthermore the suggestion of providing opportunities for the improvement the characters online with a small amount of fee is quite impressive. As many gamers will be willing to enhance the style and functionalities of their characters and with a small amount of fee numerous customers will be wanting to avail this facility which will lead to increased revenue for the company.After the company attains substantial success and generates enough funds it should focus its attention on developing multiplayer games, as these games require a great deal of capital to be developed. Hence firstly the company should expand by all those means that do not call for a significant amount of excess funding then move on to those projects that need a great deal of investments. Moreover the company should think of implementing other major projects which include virtual simulation when they have enough financing as these types of games also require ample of resources.Additionally in the long run the company could also work on coming up with its own platform, however this decision has to be taken quite carefully and vigilantly as there is a risk of losing out the customers if this strategy proves to be unsuccessful. At present the company’s strategy should be to capitalize on the sports section of the games in which the company is fine and move forward with the innovative and creative ideas that develop in the company that do not require a high level budget, later on it should move on to extensive projects when Electronic Arts has loads of funds to commence them.Summary Electronic Arts is a company that manufacture a wide v ariety of games for many console manufactures, online use and mobile phone devices. It specializes in the development of sports games . The company has its headquarters in America and it has been a giant in the game business and has come up with several of â€Å"super hit â€Å"games for the industry. It is recognized for a company that comes up with creative ideas and innovative games by altering the graphics, animation, programming, etc.The company is facing certain issues at present ant the only way to get back again is to develop certain strategies and act on them as soon as possible. Due to increased restrictions from the console manufacturers the company should also focus its attention to provide games online and on mobile phones as these steps will enhance the prosperity of the company. Additionally Electronic Arts should come up with original and new games, those games will be differentiated and then Electronic Arts will have the opportunity to charge more on those games.T his will help to diminish the price ceiling that exists in the market as Electronic Arts will be able to influence the price of the games. The company should try to negotiate with the other console manufacturers to remove the royalty charges incase the game does not do well in the market. Furthermore, the company should look for further ways to increase the revenue and cut down costs for the company.Inbuilt advertisements within the games and providing gamers the opportunity to upgrade the characteristics of the characters with a small amount of charge, these tactics will enable the company to generate added revenue. In the future when Electronic Arts has sufficient funds it should look towards emphasizing on multiplayer games and games with simulation effects. At present its strategy should be focused on increasing revenue while keeping costs within boundaries. Reference: 1) Website: www. ea. com Date accessed 1 July 2008

Brain Development Essay

The first eight years of a child’s life are not only the most important years of a child’s life, but also the most rapid period of human development throughout a human life. These years are critical to the emotional and physical growth of a child. By the age of four, half of a person’s intelligence potential has already been developed and early childhood experiences can have a lasting effect on personality, behavior, and learning. (Early, 2001) These first eight years of life are broken down into the first two years, early childhood, and middle childhood. Throughout these three stages of life, the brain does most of its developing and determines the life that person will lead. The developing of a child’s brain falls upon the interactions and experiences a child has with its parents and any other primary caregivers in the beginning of life. During the first two years of a child’s life, a lot occurs in their brain which is essential to their life. Whe n a child is born, about seventy percent of their neurons are located in their cortex. (Berger, 2010) In an infant, the cortex is made up of thin layers of tissues that cover the brain and make the thought process possible. The layers related to the basic senses tend to mature pretty early in an infant’s life, but the prefrontal cortex is one that matures late. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for anticipation, planning, and impulse control and is practically inoperative during the first few months of life. It doesn’t start to mature until childhood and continues to through adolescence and adulthood. (Boyd, 2010) Areas of the brain are very important for basic needs to live such as breathing and heartbeat deep in the skull. Emotions and impulses are controlled somewhere in the middle of the brain and perception and cognition are in the cortex. Even though at birth the brain contains more neurons than it needs, it contains fewer dendrites and synapses than it will obtain throughout life. In the cortex, the growth of synapses, axons, and dendrites takes place quickly in the first months and years of an infant’s life. This causes the brain weight to triple by the age of two. In addition, five times as many dendrites and one hundred trillion synapses are present by the age of two. This large growth of dendrites is followed by pruning. Pruning is the process by which unused connections in the brain atrophy and die, so that new ones can grow. (Berger, 2010) Pruning is very important in the development of a healthy  brain. If there is too much or too little pruning going on, problems can oc cur. When there is too little pruning, children make have intellectual disabilities that makes thinking difficult, such as autism. When there is too much pruning, it can lead to a reduction of brain activity. (Berger, 2010) Infant brains to not develop correctly if they lack certain experiences that all humans need, such as stimulation. Babies need to be played with and talked to during their first years in order to encourage movement and allow sensations. If babies are not talked to or played with, it can stunt the brain. Infants are satisfied with even the most simple objects and facial expressions. Human brains are designed to grow and adapt with whatever object they have available and whoever provides them with every day attention. Every baby will go through a stressful experience here and there, but it is patterns of mistreatment that harm their brain, not moments. (Berger, 2010) The most important parts of the brain develop during early childhood. Between the ages of two and six, planning, thinking, social awareness, and language occur in the cortex. It is during early childhood when the prefrontal cortex starts to mature. This allows young children to begin to plan ahead and even think about the past. (Berger, 2010) The biggest increase in brain weight after the first two years is because of myelination. Myelination continues for years and it is a life-long process, but is most apparent in early childhood. It speeds the transmission of nerve impulses between neurons and becomes pivotal when multiple thoughts and actions have to take place all at once. (Boyd, 2010) By time m ost children turn six, they can see object and name them, catch a ball and throw it, and write and say their ABC’s in order. It is important that when children are doing these things, that the adults in their lives are patient. The only way children are going to learn how to tie their shoes, write their name, or get dressed, is if they do it on their own with a little help from a parent. If a parent is constantly yelling at a child to hurry or take over, their child will always think that they can’t do it by themselves. (Berger, 2010) In early childhood, children have the tendency to stick to a thought for a long time instead of switching to another. This is why children at this stage have difficulty sorting objects. Once a child is told to sort something by color and do it correctly, if they are told to next sort by shape, they try to sort by color again. However, something in  the brain matures between ages three and five that allows children to grow out of perseveration. (Berger, 2010) The corpus callosum grows rapidly during early childhood. This long, thick band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right sides of the brain ,make communication between the hemispheres better and allows children to coordinate both sides of the brain and the body. (Boyd, 2010) If the corpus callosum does not mature, it could result in serious disorders such as autism. It is important that children can coordinate both sides of the brain because both sides are normally involved in every skill, even though both sides do diff erent things. (Berger, 2010) The amygdala, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus are crucial to emotional expression and regulation during early childhood. The amygdala registers positive and negative emotion, including fear. Increased activity in the amygdala can cause young children to have nightmares or phobias. (Berger, 2010) Located next to the amygdala, the hippocampus is in control of memory. Children are able to remember memories they had at certain locations that will follow them through adulthood. The hypothalamus responds to symbols from both of these parts of the brain. The hypothalamus produces a hormone called cortisol to activate parts of the brain and body. As all three of these parts of the brain develop, children pay close attention to their parents’ emotions. If they sense that their parent is scared or worried, they will also develop fear. (Berger, 2010) Brain maturation in young children is advanced, but like in infants, experience and parental relationships has an impact too. Brain maturation only increases more throughout middle childhood. Since the brain has no areas specific for reading like it does for talking, gestures, and expressions, humans have to learn to read on their own. This is possible because of massive interconnections between the parts of the brain that deal with sounds, vision, and comprehending. (Berger, 2010) These â€Å"massive interconnections† are not only needed for reading but for many other social skills as well. Several parts of the brain connect to enable for many activities, reading, writing, logic, and social decisions. Children require more connections than adults because they often use more parts of their brain for activities than adults do. (Boyd, 2010) The older that children get, the quicker their reaction time gets. In middle childhood, children are more efficient learners because of their more speedy reactions. In addition  to thinking quickly, children are able to pay more attention in middle childhood. As children get older, they get better at concentrating on one stimuli and ignoring others. They are more able to focus on one thing and not get distracted by others. This usually happens by the age of seven. (Berger, 2010) In middle childhood children also learn how to do math. They adopt newer, better strategies to solve math problems. Although they aren’t always perfect, they can usually find the right answer. In children during middle adulthood they may know the answer one day, but it isn’t permanently in their brain and they may not know they answer the next day. (Berger, 2010) Another way children advance in middle childhood is through memory. They are better at connecting their past knowledge to what they are doing in that moment. Children realize that some things should be remembered and they begin to strategies like repeating themselves in order to remember them. Th ey also use strategies like visual clues such as remember how a word looks or auditory clues like remembering how a word sounds. In middle childhood children’s memory becomes more adaptive and they are able to learn from their parents, teachers, and friends. (Berger, 2010) From the time children are born until they reach adolescence they are developing rapidly in their brain and bodies. Although most of the development of the brain during childhood is genetic, it is so important for parents to interact with their children, be patient with them, teach them new things, and set the best example they can for their children so they can become healthy adults. Brain development doesn’t stop after childhood, but continues to develop throughout adulthood. Almost all of the brain development takes place during childhood and the first several years of a person’s life are the most important to their personality and their future. â€Å"References† Early Childhood Development: The Key to a Full and Productive Life. New York: UNICEF, 2001. PDF. (Early, 2001) Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. Second ed. New York: Worth, 2010. Print. (Berger, 2010) Boyd, Denise Roberts., and Helen L. Bee. The Growing Child. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2010. Print. (Boyd, 2010)