Lord of the Flies: Comparative Analysis

Lord of the Flies Comparative Analysis Angela Boll Throughout the book â€Å"Lord of the Flies† several different universal themes occurred. Not Just in this book but in movies and TV shows as well. The deferent themes all show morals surrounding situations both good and bad. One main theme that is present is how people abuse power when it is not earned. This happens because people crave power and they want to be in control.In the following paragraphs, different themes will be linked with the book â€Å"Lord of the Flies† and minimal movies and TV shows such as the Walking Dead and the book â€Å"MISS Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children†. Themes throughout the book â€Å"Lord of the Flies† also interpret the same meaning as in the television series â€Å"The Walking Dead†. The first theme is that people abuse power when it is not earned. A quote from Lord of the Flies Is when Jack says, â€Å"l ought to be chief because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp. This shows how Jack takes power even though none of the boys on the island has voted for him. He just assumes that he should be the chief because he has already been dead of choir. The same concept goes for the Walking Dead because when the Governor lost his safe haven town, he had later then craved to be In charge again. Doing so he had found other groups and eliminated their leaders so he could be in charge again. The second theme is when given chances people often single another to degrade, to improve their own security.The second theme is when given chances people often single another to degrade, to Improve their own security. Another quote from Lord of the Flies Is when Ralph and Jack assert authority over Piggy saying, You're no good on a Job like this, and we don't want you. Three's enough. † They bring Piggy down telling him that he is not worthy enough to go and that he is useless. Just as in the Walking Dead when new survivors are found they are not wanted. They are often not trustworthy, unwanted and they also add on to feed more mouths.The new survivors usually get vital tasks so that they can prove that others can trust them. However if they fail they will either be tormented or worse killed. This proves of how when given the chance people bring down others. The last theme is that you can only over up Inner savagery for so long before It breaks out. A different quote from Lord of the Flies is when the Jack's boys are doing their dance and screaming, â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! † They do not know it, but they are murdering Simon because savagery has taken over their civilized ways.Throughout the Walking Dead this theme Is present everywhere. The minute the apocalypse started everyone had to forget their old ways of being civilized people. They had to become more wild and savage to survive of what their world has become. Themes within the book â€Å"Lord of the Files† also coincide with the book â€Å"Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children†. The first theme, which occurred In both books, was that the fear of the unknown could be a powerful force, which can turn to either insight or by sterna.The flirts quote from Lord of the Flies is when the little boy 1 OFF mention of the Beast caused all the boys on the island to become horrified. Just as in the book Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, Jacob finds himself looking at a Beast himself. With no one there to believe him, he starts to shut everyone out causing him to go slightly delusional. The fear of the unknown can turn people into beasts themselves. The second theme is when given chances people often single another to degrade, to improve their own security.The second quote from Lord of the Flies is when Jack said to Piggy muff would, would you? Fatty! † Jack had said this in a vicious and humiliating way because he wanted Piggy to feel left out and very discouraged. The same thing happened in the book Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children because Jacob had been an outcast ever since he had seen that Orrville beast-like thing. His friends had started calling him crazy only to make themselves feel better and to put Jacob down.The last theme that occurred in both books was that society holds everyone together. In Lord of the Flies, the Island had been their society. The quote that shows how society is falling apart is â€Å"The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away. † The same meaning is also present in Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. When Jacob left his home in Florida, he had lost all signs of society. He had shut out all rules and went to a efferent time zone. His world was overrun with monsters.

Fat Tax is the Best Possible Solution to Fight Growing Obesity and Depression Essay

The increase in the consumption of junk food across the globe has been causing serious concern to all who are aware of its negative effects, such as obesity and depression, which are considered as the initiator of many serious diseases like heart disease. While the research findings have clearly linked junk food with the rising rate of heart disease among teenagers (Cohen, 2000) nearly a decade ago, the business of junk food is only increasing and now it has become a craze among teenagers and is getting into their eating habits, which would be hard to break in later years. Another recent study in US has linked childhood obesity to junk food advertising (Sharma, 2008), which too seems to be a matter of serious concern, as a large number of TV viewers are either children or teenagers. There are many other studies too that clinically explain about how obesity and depression caused by eating junk food, and there are organizations too, which are working towards attracting the attention of all regarding the negative effects of junk food. However, in spite of all that, the business of junk food is only increasing in volumes, and consequently, countless children and teenagers, who are the future governors of the society are becoming victims of obesity and depression due to excessive consumption of junk-food. Therefore the gravity of the situation is definitely no less than the danger associated with smoking or drinking, which are officially considered as â€Å"injurious to health† and whose producers have to pay taxes. There is another philosophy works behind it – that high price of cigarette or other tobacco products or liquors would keep them beyond the buying power of the children who generally use their pocket money for fancy spending. However, there is no such price regulation in the business of junk-food, and children can easily afford them with their pocket money. This situation invariably invokes the arguments like why fat tax should not be imposed on junk food to regulate its consumption among all, especially among children, or if cigarette and liquor are considered dangerous to health and are kept under taxation, then why junk-food too should not be treated with same alacrity, as it is proving no less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol? Therefore, the gravity of the situation has influenced this study to examine the impact of junk food on the humans, and especially on the children and teenagers by reviewing the study and observations of the researchers on obesity and depression, before persuading its readers to raise their voices in favor of introducing fat tax on junk food for the sake of saving the future of human civilization. Impact of Obesity Obesity can cause several diseases, which can be fatal, besides being barrier to normal, healthy life. The risk factors associated with it don’t even spare children or teenagers, and that makes obesity as a dangerous carrier of diseases. According to the researchers Visscher and Seidell (2001), the increase in obesity across the globe will have significant contribution in the following diseases:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cardiovascular disease  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Type 2 diabetes mellitus  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cancer  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Osteoarthritis  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Work Disability  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sleep apnea Alongside they issue caution that â€Å"disability due to obesity-related cardiovascular diseases will increase along with an increase in disabling nephropathy, arteriosclerosis, neuropathy, and retinopathy particularly in industrialized countries.† They also observe that prevention programs on obesity would be effective than weight loss program, while adding that there is very few prevention programs have been developed so far and implementation of more such programs should be one of the major scientific and political agendas among both industrialized and industrializing countries. Connection between Junk Food and Obesity It would be even more frustrating if someone reviews the role of junk food in developing obesity amid such observations and recommendations of the researchers. The researchers at the Pacific Health Education Center in Bakersfield, California, and Prevention Concepts, Inc., in Los Angeles, who evaluated the dietary habits and cardiac risk profiles of above 200 high school students in as early as 2000, provided a gloomy picture about the state of health of the then children, where one-third of them showed abnormally high cholesterol levels and one in 10 students were found suffering from systolic hypertension, which is a form of high blood pressure (Cohen, 2000). Not only that, the report issued alarm on the possible rise of heart disease among the teenagers with thickening artery walls. The researchers also identified two causes behind the increase in the trend of forming eating habits with junk food, like teen attitudes and lack of government funding to counter attack the powerful advertising campaign of junk food, which heavily influences the attitudes of children and the teens. The current research on the effect of junk-food advertising on children and teenagers (Sharma, 2008) not only supports the earlier works on this field, but also directly links advertising to childhood obesity. In a study conducted by National Bureau of Economic Research clearly show a link between childhood obesity and fast food advertisements aired on American TV world. This inference is backed by the data found on the television habits of around 13,000 children through two national surveys conducted in 1979 and in 1997. The study also found that the ban on such advertisement would lower the number of obese children (belonging to 3-11 year age group) and teenagers (belonging to 12-18 years group) by 18 percent and 14 percent respectively. They study also reveals the bad news like 22 million children under age of five are estimated to be overweight and more than 9 million children in US are overweight, 25 percent American children below 10 years have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, along with other precursors of heart disease. However, it also presents good news that the countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland and UK have already banned junk-food advertisements in their televisions. This shows, that a general awareness regarding the deadly effects of junk food has been spreading.

The reaction of Surviving Maximum Security Essay

The reaction of Surviving Maximum Security - Essay Example The officials don't really give a "hand of steel" to the prisoners; they just let the inmates do their own way-that's the problem with democracy sometimes, even behind bars. They just seem content to oversee and control the situation within the prison cells (disturbances and the like) but they don't really make any effort to prevent further violence nor they don't give any chance to or help the prisoners to rehabilitate themselves, or even just to discipline them consistently (if not utterly harshly) and reasonably. From what I understand on this particular report, particularly about the California State Prison in Sacramento, there seems to be no likelihood of rehabilitation, no chance of giving those prisoners a lease of life anew; instead the inmates not just rot there but also have a sure possibility to commit further and graver crimes throughout their lives inhabiting in those "slammers". And in this regard, I see this as no more different than the in other countries' prison situ ations. But having said this, I find prison conditions in America an interesting one, and

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Philosophy - Essay Example This means that laws of nature work with other events to act as forerunners that necessitate every occurrence. Soft determinism, also known as compatibilism, is the conviction that the ideas of determinism and free will are compatible (Loux 38). Therefore, one can believe in determinism and free will and still be logically consistent. Here, according to American philosopher William James, free will is the liberty to act according to one’s motivation. However, he also points out that an individual can do their will but cannot control what they will to do. On the other hand, hard determinism, also known as metaphysical determinism, agrees that determinism is true but not compatible to free will. Therefore, free will, according to hard determinism, is non-existent. Hard determinism positions itself relative to other determinism forms in which the future is necessitated in its entirety. Question Two Epistemology, also termed as the theory of knowledge, is a subdivision of philosop hy that deals with the scope and nature of knowledge (Nelson 1). Epistemology examines the theory of the limits, nature and origin of knowledge by focusing on its meaning, acquisition and the degree to which an entity can possibly be known. Epistemology discusses three kinds of knowledge, which are â€Å"knowledge by acquaintance†, â€Å"knowledge how† and â€Å"knowledge that†. For example, it is mathematically â€Å"known that† 1+1=2, and people also â€Å"know how† to calculate sums. Then, there is the aspect of knowing an activity, a thing, a place or a person (Boyle 86). The disagreement between empiricism and rationalism is concerned with the extent to which people are dependent on sense experience in their effort to acquire knowledge. While empiricists opine that the definitive source of all knowledge and concepts is sense experience, rationalists hold that significant ways exist in which knowledge and concepts are acquired independently of sense experience (Duncan 611). In rationalism, the most significant knowledge draws from using reason. This, therefore, means that rationalism verifies a priori, or â€Å"prior knowledge† as most significant kind of knowledge. Both Spinoza and Descartes associated using reason with mathematics. They both believed in seeking metaphysical truths whose reliability can be likened to mathematics. There is a metaphysical tendency in rationalists, since they portray notions like essence and substance. Rationalism also agrees with theology, which can be seen in Spinoza’s and Descartes’ thought that the existence of God can rationally be demonstrated (Boyle 114). Empiricism, which is hostile to religion and metaphysics, aligns itself with natural sciences. Empiricism, therefore, believes that knowledge stems from experience, and any notion not based on experience is questionable. Empiricists like Hume, Berkeley and Locke do not believe in innate knowledge. They opine tha t it must be from experience, either from the five senses or reasoning through the brain (Duncan 610). The innate knowledge thesis states that there is knowledge of various truths in certain subject areas, say, S, as part of human rationale nature. However, empiricism about a certain subject does not agree with the analogous version of the innate knowledge thesis. Question Three Ethics is the discipline of moral righteousness of human acts as guided by the

Journal 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Journal 2 - Essay Example The author suggests that the land he travels is simple, natural, fertile, and prolific. Least Heat Moon describes the environment he travels across as being naturally beautiful and fertile. He also describes the environment by bringing out the ideas of procreation and fertility in the natural environment. He says, â€Å"†¦water bubbled with the froth of sperm and ova.† This indicates the natural fertility and procreation of the natural environment. Thirdly, in his essay â€Å"Forgotten People of the Blue Highways† Heat Moon brings out the idea of racism and differences in colour. He goes through lands inhabited by black people and he notices the differences that people of different colours have against each other. At one point, he notices he was being watched by the police because he was a white man. However, he believes in change, and a man named Walker tells him, â€Å"I know things haven’t changed, but things will change† (Heat,

GBN Scenarios Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GBN Scenarios - Essay Example Following a five-year intensive research at Sample Laboratories, scientists have come up with a polymer that could act as a replacement for newsprint paper as the new medium for printing. It is fully recyclable, eliminating the need for the education sector to adopt the use of costly information technology as a medium for printing, teaching and learning. The polymer has been tried in several schools and printing presses and has been found to have similar qualities with paper for the retention of ink. However, this is not what makes the new polymer unique; it is its ability to be reused once the user has had enough of the printed material. According to Sample Laboratories, the ink printed on the polymer can be extracted after a period of up to 30 years, diluted in specified ratios, and reused. Therefore, unlike information technology that requires the education sector to readjust to a new form of teaching and learning, researchers have come up with a new material for doing things the old way, but now more sustainably than ever. Several stakeholders in the education sector have already recommended the discovery; however, they have warned institutions against using the polymer in its exclusivity. Since it is in the early stages of adoption, they recommend its simultaneous use with paper and digital based materials. It is likely that institutions may adopt the new technology even before the governments authorize its use in the education sector, especially since regulators have declared it safe for use. Sample Laboratories have encouraged the use of the paper substitute by giving enticing offers to their customers; including discounts for institutions that buy the new paper in bulk. In addition, the firm is giving ink freely to anyone who purchases their invention, which is accompanied by a 10-year warranty. Sample Laboratories are also offering the polymer cleaning solvent for

Location and Layout of IKEA Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Location and Layout of IKEA - Assignment Example Elements pertaining to prospective customers become crucial considerations in creating the internal environment of retail stores and outlets that embodies its marketing philosophy, and finding the site that best supports its marketing strategy. Ikea is an internationally renowned furniture company with a global presence and strong market following. Its key strategy is to provide quality at affordable cost; its vision is to enable everybody, regardless of economic wealth or status, to be able to acquire beautifully designed and well manufactured furniture at reasonable prices. In order to realize this vision, costs must be kept down and distribution made more efficient, which are the most important objectives in the location and layout of Ikea stores. ... 1.0 Introduction The management decision about where to locate the firm’s productive facilities is always a critical strategic consideration for the firm, because it involves a long term investment, and it impacts on cost efficiency and therefore profitability. Layout is likewise of critical concern because the manner in which facilities are appointed either support or constrain smooth operations. While these aspects of a business are important in all types of operations such as manufacturing, it is in in the retail distribution function (whether in goods or services) that both layout and location play a crucial role, because of the interface it creates between the firm’s productive activities and its intended market. Ikea is a retail company whose stores’ location and layout designs are governed by the company philosophy; as a consequence, these aspects of the business have assumed unique characteristics that have provided the firm both advantages and disadvanta ges. 2.0 Literature Review Layout concerns â€Å"the optimum arrangement of facilities including personnel, operating equipment, storage space, material handling equipment, and all other supporting services along with the design of the best structure to contain all these facilities† (Moore, 1962 as cited in Kumar & Suresh, 2006, p. 14). Traditionally, the basic types of layout are fixed position, process, cell, and product layout schemes (Slack, et al., 2010). There are numerous combinations of these basic types, and in detailing one particular design in a retail centre, important considerations are market strategy and flow of people and materials. Location of facilities is â€Å"a long term capacity decision which involves a long-term commitment about the geographically static factors that affect a

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28

Personal Statement Example Hence, my path to pursue a degree in nursing was not a very smooth one. However if I can have the zeal to pursue this passion, it will motivate others to do the same in a positive manner. One of my greatest achievements is the fact that I have always taken pride in my work ethic. As a second year in adult nursing training, I have been exposed to the medical environment at a very early age. I have seen how the person giving care can make all the difference in a patient’s life. As a result, I started to do voluntary work for charity in an elderly people’s home. I have first handed scarcity of exceptional medical care, but also be deprived of immediate attention at times because of its scarcity, and still leave happy with gratitude regardless to the waiting time. This has led me to understand the value of nursing care that is so essential to provide absolute care for those who need it the most. A part of me believes that the gratitude being a caregiver via my volunteering is what served as a catalyst for this passion. I loved the fact that I was able to provide care for them, which manifested in their gratitude. It wasn’t until I started working in a hospital that I got a clear understanding of how I want to proceed in my journey to become a nurse. One of the most challenging elements I had to endure during my endeavor in nursing is to follow my passion, even if it meant that the field was not lucrative. I worked extremely hard to bring my family from oversees as depicted through working in two nursing homes. It taught me the value of my passion, and that I want to do something that is fulfilling in my life. Most individuals will never understand that because they merely work for money. As depicted through my tenure, I have always been focused on harnessing my academic development and strongly feel that obtaining an admission would be a logical

Team Training Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Training Plan - Essay Example The collaboration of the team members is essential in order to get the job tasks of the team done. In order to enhance the leadership skills of all the team members a position called team leader will be generated. The team leader position serves as a training exercise for the leader in order to make apply critical thinking skills and leadership. The mechanism that will ensure everyone gets a chance to be team leader is a rotating mechanism. Each week our team will have a different team leader. The collaboration between team members will ensure that everyone participates in the team project. Collaboration involves recognition that something is wrong and needs attention immediately through problem solving (Schermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2003). The utilization of collaboration is considered in organizational management as a win-win proposition. Whenever a team player has any concern about the job to be completed he will have the support of the other team members. Another tool that will b e used to enhance the collaboration of the team is creating different position that provide specific task to the completed by the player. Three additional positions that our team will have along with team leader are editor, researcher, and administrative assistant. Creating a structure in our team will enhance the functionality of the work to be performed. A training exercise that will be used by the team to gather ideas simultaneously is brainstorming sessions. Collaboration among the team member is important in order for the brainstorming session to have positive effects and greater results. A second important element of the action plan of the team is communication. Communication is essential in order for people in organization to function in an effective manner. Managers today must have excellent communication skills in order to motivate their employees. As mention earlier a tool that

Linguistic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Linguistic - Assignment Example Work and family are both important so that does as well. Choong-hoon spoke the most. His co-worker Jun-gil also spoke a lot. This might be because Choong-hoon is the oldest male there. Although everyone made fun of Jun-gil for only speaking to Choong-hoon, he did actually talk a lot as well. This is probably because he is a guest who does not know everybody else, so they wanted to know more about him and also help him to relax. People were all polite to Jun-gil, who was not a member of the group before. So they asked him polite questions about his family and job. Between most of the other people the discussion style was a lot more filled with jokes as people were more familiar with each other. Even when this is the case the polite conversation markers like oh-bba were sometimes used. Interestingly they sometimes seemed to be used to just make the jokes not be taken personally. For instance when I told Choong-hoon to mind his own business. Disagreement or interruption usually goes along with the gender of people. For instance when Hye-jung did not speak clearly, it was another girl who said something about it first. Choong-hoon then did say he thought so too, but he did not say so straight away. Also when Jun-gil is talking about whether he was working during his wifes labor, Jun-ho, another male, is the one who interrupts him. A lot of the special Korean words like oh-bba would have to be explained. More importantly the reasons for these words would probably not make sense to people outside of the Korean language speakers group. Because in Korean there are different ways of speaking to people depending on how well you know them and whether they are older or more worthy of being respected than you, it might be confusing for people who do not speak

Review of Frank McGuinesss adaptation Essay Example for Free

Review of Frank McGuinesss adaptation Essay On the 7th October, my Drama group and I went to see the Greek tragedy â€Å"Electra† at The Old Vic Theatre in London, adapted by Frank McGuiness. It was directed by Ian Rickson and starred Kirstin Scott Thomas who plays the lead role of Electra. This play follows Electra throughout all the different stages of grief she goes through following the murder of her father Agamemnon. Unwilling to forgive and consumed by a desire for revenge, her anger builds; on the return of her brother Orestes, Electra’s wrath then explodes without mercy, leading to a bloody and terrifying conclusion. Within this play there are strong elements of grief, addiction and an intense need for restitution. Electra is filled with loss from the pathological, addictive grieving over her father who was murdered many year before hand, by her mother and step-father, which traumatic aftershock has left Electra withered and motionless as well as in need of revenge as a sort of compensation for the loss of her father, to the fresh grief over her brother. The set of the play is extremely minimalistic, with small feature which make up the arena; a tap, a fire pit, a tree and two pillar with a door in between them are featured on the stage, and I believe these component are symbolic of the four element, fire, earth, water and air. The tree however is barren and the branches are cut off before their time. This is representative of Electra’s father, Agamemnon as he was murdered but also because his family line is no more, he can no longer have any more children to pass on his name. The door is old and decaying which represents Electra’s family as its slowly falling apart, however it also establishes a huge divide between the inside and outside, essentially creating two separate worlds. These two worlds represent places of oppression. The characters behave appropriately within the inside world as well as by the unspoken rule of the place. The outside is an area where the characters reveal their true colours, nevertheless at the end of the play the two worlds collide. The stage itself is in the round, meaning audience members are able to see each other’s reactions, this is effective as it adds a degree of intimacy to the play, but also because the audience is able to see the play but more importantly the characters from every angle creating a sense of vulnerability, as everything is exposed to the viewer’s eyes. Electra abandons the regal clothes bestowed to her by her mother and completely neglects herself. She is first presented in a ragged, grey dress, held together by a leather belts which eventually she takes off, representing the release of the pent up anger, which she has held on to for so long. She is constantly fiddling with her dress and putting it in between her legs, revealing a more immature nature but also that she’s ashamed of what makes her female. During the time that this play was set, women were constantly oppressed and were seen as unable figures, for example Electra wishes both her step father and mother dead. Electra lacks the capacity to do so, as she is restricted by her gender, which is shown at the end, as despite all of Electra’s defiant speeches, ultimately her brother Orestes is the one who kills both their mother and step father. She also appears shoeless which suggest that she has freed herself from the class system, as an individual without shoes is normally associated with the lower class, however she comes from nobility, which previously was one of the elements that oppressed her, also she is presented with wild hair illuminating a feral nature. Opposingly Electra’s mother Clytemnestra is presented in regal clothing, and is always composed, she tends to move in line rather than curves which Electra moves in. When Electra confronts hers mother, although she holds herself in a strong position, she can never look her mother, which suggest a strong hatred towards her mother. She cannot even follow the general etiquette that one gives another when conversing, controversially it could also mean that she is still bound by her daughter status, as although she’s disowned her mother, she cannot face her as an equal. The actress Kirstin Scott Thomas really emphasizes how the situation has trapped Electra in a terrible stilted adolescence. Her defined features shining with hungry, immature naivety, she moves about in her grey shift like the ghost of someone whose life was been allowed to waste away, permanently on hold. She tortures the audience in a manner of a teenager, through her defiant authoritarianism, serving the audience as a reminder of what is lost in middle-aged compromises, for example the naivety of youth. And yet, there is not an ounce of nostalgia in her performance. When she is finally reunited with her brother Orestes she gives way to an unbound joy, as if all her issues are now resolved. Far from their being any hints of incestuous affection in this encounter between these long-lost siblings, Scott Thomass Electra presses her nose to parts of his body and snuffles up his smell like a wild animal trying to get its bearings. This and her rapid U-turn into optimism brings a deliberate comical note to the gathering doom. In conclusion, the overall production was impressive, from Scott Thomas’s indulgently neurotic performance, which give us a first impression of an independent women who sets herself free from the previous ties and status which has oppressed her for so long from speaking up about her father’s death, however Scott Thomas slowly reveals to the audience that Electra has been maddened by grief for so long, it has trapped in an disillusioned adolescence, to the in the round stage which enables the audience to emphasis with Electra, as it adds a degree of vulnerability, as everyone is visible from every angle you look at them, from the play to the surrounding audience.

Uc-Davis Case Essay Example for Free

Uc-Davis Case Essay Personal statement (250 words) Your Personal Statement provides an opportunity for you to share perspectives and experiences that you believe will be most informative as the Admissions Committee evaluates your candidacy and writing ability. Before settling in the city, my family was one of those rural families struggling to make a better life. I witnessed how my uncles were forced to become migrant workers. My cousins, therefore, became left-behind children. Unconsciously, my career vision stems from those memories. Now that I grew-up from a rustic kid to a well-educated girl, I intend to exhaust myself on creating values for rural families through my business specialty. Holding this determination, I studied to the top in my major and got a 3.76 junior GPA. Also, I demonstrated great enthusiasm in leadership experiences. â€Å"Rekindle†, the organization I cofounded and lead, now has 65 members and reached over 10,000 books sales volume. We donated all our profits to the charities. After 3-year professional study, I found the access point of my career path. Small to medium-sized rural business growth is an irresistible trend in China and it increased farmers’ income by establishing the relationship between farmers and outside markets. Actually, after the crisis in 2008, 850,000 Chinese migrant workers chose to return to their hometown and set-up village or township enterprises. But, deficiencies in entrepreneurial knowledge and financial services made those businesses vulnerable and professional helps are required. Thus, setting-up a world-class, China-based cooperation providing sustainable financial services for them has become my career objective. My cooperation will dedicate to create a reproducible pattern that empowers rural families to create values and transform themselves. Post-graduate accounting study is vital to making this a reality. And I believe MPA’s program in UC-davis is a great guide. I believe that with the top-notch academic environment, UC-davis My experiences as the cofounder of â€Å"Rekindle†, the class president and the vice administer of Student Union have fully stretched my communicational skills and leadership abilities. Born to be self-disciplined and having strong self-awareness, I know what I need are a top-notch academic education and a group of people sharing the same goal with me. I believe UC-davis is uniquely equipped to guide me toward my objectives. And a business degree is about more than spreadsheets and cash-flow analysis. I believe earning a MAcc’s degree will facilitated me find a reproducible pattern that empowering the rural families keep on transforming itself. Business is about creating and capturing value, whether its for a stockholder or a stakeholder. Not all value can be monetized, though, and at the Wake Forest Schools of Business, you’ll find students who work to create value for those who have never seen a boardroom. Finding a reproducible pattern that empowering the rural families keep on transforming and creating values themselves is what I desire for.

Synergies of Product Diversification Strategy

Synergies of Product Diversification Strategy Introduction Nowadays large firms have to survive in the face of economic competition. They have to keep an eye on the competitors performance. Managers try to progress and run their businesses well in order to grow and be competitive. When a large firm has reached a mature life-cycle stage it often has to explore the possibility of how to still grow. Ansoff (cited by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 1998) presents four basic growth alternatives: a) increased market penetration, b) market development, c) product development and d) diversification. Choosing the right path is major decision for managers. Finding out if there are reasons which may lead a large firm to prefer diversification, more specific, product diversification as the growth alternative strategy instead of other strategies is a main question. Firms who spread their activities and businesses across different product markets that are more or less related between each other are said to follow a product diversification strategy. (Pils, 2009, p.10) Product diversification strategy definition has evolved during the last decades. Some definitions are evolutional and complementary but some others contradict each other (Goold and Luchs, 1993). Therefore, it is important for managers to have a clear definition. The benefits of product diversification have been divided into two categories depending on the type of diversification: related or unrelated. Related product diversification refers to entries into new products or service businesses that have a connection to the firms existing markets (Peng, 2008). Researches (Hoskisson, 2007) and business experiences (such as Mondi AG, Procter Gamble, CHR plc., etc.) have proven that some of the benefits of this type of diversification are: Operational synergy: economies of scale Utilizing excess productive capacity Reinvesting earnings Unrelated product diversification refers to the development of products or services beyond the current capabilities and value network (Johnson et al. 2008). Some of the benefits and reasons for this type of diversification are: Financial synergy: economies of scope Increasing market power Spreading risk across a range of businesses The challenge for any large firm, once product diversification is chosen as the growth path, is to decide which type of diversification is most appropriate and what strategic plan to follow. Product diversification gives also other challenges to managers such as the need of new skills to manage a wider group of businesses, new techniques, sometimes new facilities, large capital to test the viability of the new product, produce it and market the product, hire and train new employees, etc. Therefore, diversification has some inconveniences as it involves taking a step into a territory where the parameters are unknown to the firm (Peng, 2008). Product diversification can be achieved by acquiring an existing firm in the business it wants to enter, starting up a new business subsidiary or entering into joint ventures. For large firms knowing the different growth strategies including its benefits and inconveniences is fundamental to giving managers practical recommendations. For a better understanding of these fundamental issues this research will analyze whether related or unrelated product diversification strategy leads large firms to exploit more synergies and creates more value for the firm. Based on this research question, the following sub-questions are going to be addressed in this research: Should large firms, such as Mondi AG, aim to focus on related or unrelated businesses to exploit operational synergies? How is Mondis life cycle related to the right time of diversifying? Which recommendations on product diversification strategy can be given to large firms regarding financial synergy? To answer the above questions, I will present a detailed and methodical literature review on product diversification strategy concept, categories, synergies, its relation with large firms life cycle and explore the effects of a financial crisis on large firms who have chosen this type of diversification to identify the appropriate strategy for the research goal. This research is based on the hypothesis that related product diversification is the right strategy to be chosen if operational synergies are to be achieved while for financial synergies, unrelated product diversification strategies are more appropriate. The strength of this hypothesis is tested through a case study of a large firm: The Mondi Group. The Mondi Group has been chosen as the large firm to be explored in this research because it is an international firm with one of its largest teams and headquarters in Austria. Trend, an Austrian financial magazine, ranked Mondi as the 13th top Austrian large firm out of 500 firms in 2008 having 5.159,00 Mio. Euro net sales and 26.425 employees worldwide. Product Diversification In the 20th century many researchers have written about product diversification strategy (PDS). This research will analyse how PDS is seen by managers because of the larger experience there is nowadays. Diversification has been specially growing after the whole post-war period. Whereas in 1950 only around one third of large firms in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were diversified, by the 1990s it increased to two thirds or more (Whittington and Mayer 2003). Size and Product diversification strategy This research is focused on how large firms have reacted to the different paths of growth. The firm size: small, medium or large is an important parameter while analysing a firm strategy. In the financial and economical studies and researches the relation between size and firm variables remains a controversial subject. Some argue that size is the primary factor that determines structure whether others say that size is irrelevant (Jackson and Morgan, 1978). In my opinion, it is true that product diversification can be applied both by small and large firms, but I believe that a small firm has more limitations and can not fully develop this strategy in its organization due to limited resources: human, financial and technological. I also believe that as a consequence a firm applying product diversification strategy will increase its size. With larger number of products, the complexity of processes and production is greater. Therefore the craft needed is greater. As mentioned before, some researchers agree with this point of view like the study realized by Dewar and Hage (n.d., cited by Jackson and Morgan, 1978) which suggests that large firms facilitate changes in structure in a way that small firms can not afford. On the other hand, Woodward, Zwerman and Harvey (n.d., cited by Jackson and Morgan, 1978) concluded that instead of size, the production systems used by the firms are more connected and explain better the firm structure and feature. In other words, an efficient production system can explain the success of one large or small firm and therefore the relationship between size and differentiation is not linear. Diversification and Product Diversification Strategy Terminology Diversification The root of the word is, obviously, diverse. Pitts and Hopkins (1982) define it as literally meaning different, unlike, distinct, and separate (p.620). Therefore, if this definition is applied to the context of product diversification, we can say that it means firms having their products in various and different lines. Pils (2009) also confirms this definition as he points out that product diversified firms are understood to be active in multiple, distinct product-markets (p.10). The various definitions, forms and ways of managing diversification are the main topics of this research. Product diversification strategy There is a common denominator in the way product diversification is defined in the literature. For instance, Pils (2009) defines it as firms spreading their activities and products across different product-markets that are more or less related between each other. He also affirms that product diversification strategy determines which businesses a corporation should be in, defining the scope of the firms activities and being of high relevance for creating value for the firm. Berry (1971, p.380) defines product diversification as an increase in the number of industries in which firms are active. However, he does not point out that it can be also increasing the number of products in the current industry. Pitts and Hopkins (1982, p.620) consider firms product diversification if operating multiple different businesses at the same time. Hoskisson (2007), on the other hand, says that the firms level of diversification is a function of decisions about the number and type of businesses in whic h it will compete as well as how it will manage the business. These definitions have surely been influenced by the work of Ansoff (1957) in which he presented diversification as a possible growth strategy as mentioned in the introduction. Ansoff presented two ways of diversification: market diversification and product diversification. Although this research only focuses on the product diversification side, few lines are dedicated to explain the difference and characteristics of these two strategies. Market diversification is a strategy that takes the firm from its existing market to new ones. It exploits the current products and capabilities in new markets looking for geographical spread. This strategy is more and more used in the current times where globalization is facilitating the firms internationalisation. It also presents some challenges like cultural barriers, adding management costs and government restrictions among others. Product diversification is about adding new product to the firms portfolio whereas market diversification is about entering in new markets offering the firms current products. Reasons and Challenges Reasons and Motivations for Diversification: Any firm has a start. Normally starting as a small business it focuses on a single product. This is known as a single business strategy. The natural reasons are commonly due to a lack of cash, experience and know-how. Over time, the resources, capabilities and core competences are rooted and stabilized. At that point, firms may choose product diversified strategy, with two broad categories (related or unrelated). Large firms use product diversification strategy for a variety of reasons. Pearce and Robinson, (2005) and Hoskisson ( 2007) mention among others, the following reasons: To increase the growth rate of the firm For a better use of the companies funds than investing them into internal growth To balance the product line Diversifying the product line when the firm has reached its mature life cycle To increase efficiency and profitability, especially, if there is operational or financial synergy To increase the firms value by improving its overall performance To increase revenues or reduce costs To match and neutralize competitors market power To reduce managerial risk To increase the firms size and thus managerial compensation Product diversification challenges The above mentioned reasons and motivations for PDS can also bring along challenges and costs. One could say that PDS needs new facilities, technologies, skills, know-how, employee and managerial training, etc. It is important to know that it can have a great negative impact on the firms current products if a new product is launched with the firms brand name and the product is not well accepted in the market. The reasons for the market rejection can be e.g. lower quality than expected from the firm, high price, poor distribution, etc. At that point, the whole company will be negatively affected by a bad move. This argument is also supported by various authors such as Hoskisson, (2007); Grant, Jammine, and Thomas (1998); Goold and Luchs (1993), (cited by Pils, 2009). They state that some of the challenges are information processing, coordination, and control problems due to increase of information asymmetries difficult for a single business to deal with. In case of applying a PDS a fi rm has to change its structure and adopt new systems. Moreover Hoskisson (2007) elaborates that the data and information a firm using PDS requires is substantially greater. Furthermore increasing portfolio diversity may involve inefficiencies due to growing conflict on top management and a lack of adaptability to environmental change. Product Diversification Strategy Categories: Related Unrelated Product Diversification Strategy As mentioned before, there are two broad categories of PDS: Related and Unrelated. Some authors such as Richard Rumel (cited by Lovallo and Mendoca, 2007), Peng (2008) also categorize PDS as: focused, moderately and highly diversified. These three categories are not deeply explored in this research. But to dedicate some words, it should be mentioned that Richard Rumelt, in 1972, was the first person to statistically prove the linkage between corporate strategy and profitability. He concluded that moderately diversified firms outperform more diversified ones. Lovallo and Mendoca (2007) sustain that this finding has been valid more than 30 years of research. Moreover, a contemporary author, Peng (2008), also points out that some moderate level of diversification is the most optimal. The main focus of this research is whether a related or unrelated strategy is more suitable for large firms while diversifying. Therefore, in the following lines a definition and a detailed explanation of both is presented. Related product diversification can be defined as a strategy that firms can choose as a growing path. As the word related signals, this diversification strategy is focused on products that have a correlation between each other and are related in some way, especially in their core competences. Normally, firms that choose related product diversification as a strategy are sharing a common factor such as the raw material, the technology or the know-how needed to produce different products. Moreover, the products offered by the firm do not necessarily need to be similar. For instance, a firm running a cinema complex and also offering soft-drinks to be sold at the movie theatres is using a related PDS. Even if their products may not be related, they must share some common ground on their value or supply chain. In this case, the customers targeted are the same. Pearce and Robinson,(2005) confirm this by defining related businesses as those relying on same or similar capabilities in order to have success and achieve competitive advantage in their product markets. Major advantages of related PDS are: concentration of strength, exploitation of a market niche, and the development of synergies. A good example, of a firm applying this strategy is CRH, an Irish company who operates in 35 countries with more than 93.500 employees. The CRH Corporate Social Responsibility Report (2007) states that the firm is a diversified building materials group which manufactures and distributes building material products from the fundamentals of heavy materials and elements to construct the frame, through value added products that complete the building envelope, to distribution channels which service construction fit-out and renewal. CRH has three closely related core businesses: primary materials (aggregates, cement, asphalt and ready mixed concrete); value-added building products (pre-cast, architectural, construction accessories, clay, gas, insulation, building envelope products); and specialist building materials (CRH, 2009). CRH initially decided to diversify to gain economies of scope and also to stretch the corporate parenting capabilities. While CRH diversified its market its power i ncreased and consequently it could afford to cross-subsidise one business from the surpluses earned by another, in a way that competitors could not. As an effect, it could drive out competitors. Before going into further details regarding related PDS, a definition of Unrelated Product Diversification is given. In this case, as the word unrelated points out this diversification strategy focuses on firms offering products that have no relation, are not complementary between each other and do not have necessarily the same raw material as their prime and main composition. Moreover, they do not need to share any part of their supply chain (customers, distributor, manufacturer, logistics, etc). For instance, the Easy Group Company is present in several industries and services that have actually no relation. Some of them are: travel companies, car rentals, internet-cafes, cinemas, cosmetics, etc. Stelio Haji-Ionannou, the founder of the company has developed a cost strategy that pretends to apply in all its businesses. It seems that he believes that his formula is valid for any business. Normally the reason why firms choose this path is known to reduce their financial risks. Peng (2008) refers to unrelated PDS as firms entering into industries new lines that have no evident connections to the present firm line of businesses. Furthermore, Hoskisson (2007) says that unrelated PDS occurs when there are no overlapping capabilities other than financial resources. This strategy is also known in the financial literature as conglomerates (Hoskisson, 2007; Peng, 2008; Pearce and Robinson, 2005) It has been widely discussed whether related is more successful or unrelated. To be able to answer this fundamental question the following pros and cons are explored: Human resources: Related product diversification is characterized by the ease of human resources relocation because the skills and capabilities needed for the introduction of the new products are very similar. On the other hand, unrelated PDS requires recruiting new personnel or training current employees in the new fields. (Tallman, 2003) Technologies Obviously, if a firm chooses unrelated PDS, it will probably not be able to share technologies. Therefore, the investment needed to apply this kind of diversification is greater than by applying a related one. Related PDS is characterised by sharing technologies needed to produce the new products. For example, a firm which produces shampoo and introduces hair conditioner may use the same technology. In that way it reduces the investment costs for the new production and gain economies of scope (also see 2.5). Tallman (2003) confirms that related products can increase the use of existing fixed investments and existing capacity for more purposes and more intensively, gaining efficiencies that reduce costs. Additionally, he says that it can improve the efficiency of its existing resource infrastructure by increasing the flow of product to a wider range of customers. Management For managers it is easier to introduce related products than unrelated ones because they are familiar to the industry and can apply the same or similar strategies. For unrelated ones, managers have to learn about the new products and often the strategy used for the current products is not applicable for the new ones. Therefore, managers should experience new strategies which at the beginning may fail. Prahalad and Hamel (1990), said that it is likely that firm managers of unrelated products may be ineffective because the routines and capabilities they have already developed are not applicable one to one to the entire range of businesses. On the other hand it could be argued that it can be effective as top management can concentrate on financial management and costs controls while leaving operational control with each business unit. Competitors It is easier for competitors to imitate the financial economies of a firm than the operational synergies derived from a related PDS. This is due to the fact that operational synergies derived from the use of current know-how, facilities, capabilities and experiences are more difficult to imitate than realizing that a firm is diversifying into new unrelated products based on the percentage of the revenue it can gain. Therefore, it is less likely that competitors will imitate a firm which introduces new related products. Peng and Delios, (2006), and Khanna and Palepu, (2005), (cited by Hoskisson, 2007) sustain that competitors find it easier to imitate financial economies than replicating the value gained by related PDS from the economies of scope developed through operational relatedness. Control Mechanism The principle control mechanism for related diversification is strategic control with rich communication between corporate and business units managers. Financial results are obviously not a fair means to measure the functioning of each business unit. One business unit may have low revenues but its main function is to support the others. For unrelated products, the best way to control is exactly the opposite. The emphasis has to be on financial control (return and investment) to evaluate the units performance. (Peng, 2008) Market saturation When the product a firm is offering is close to a market saturation or obsolescence, the best thing a firm can do is to enter into another market offering unrelated products. In that way the company has an opportunity to grow. It would be a great mistake in a saturated market to introduce related products because the competition is already very high and to get a profitable market share is unlikely. Stabilize Earnings Another reason would be to stabilize the earnings and dividends of a firm in a cyclical industry. In that case, the firm should diversify into an industry with complementary cycles independent of the relation with the current products. Independency Firms that are uncomfortable to be dependent on one product line should diversify into other businesses or industries. In that way the risk is spread and all the weight is not in one product line. All in all the benefits of both categories of diversification do not appear as the result of a magic formula that just happens but as Tallman (2003) and Peng (2008) also sustain it is the result of an active management of resources and capabilities with potential for broader application. Product diversification synergies need to be explored in more detail. Therefore the following section is dedicated. Product Diversification Synergies Pils (2009) explains that the word synergy is derived from the Greek word synergos and literally means working together. In business terminology, synergy is used to describe the ability of two or more business units or firms to make greater value working together than they would do independently (Goold and Campbell, 1998, p.133). Diversifying a large firm is considered economically positive only if synergetic effects between the different businesses units are achieved. As a consequence, the idea of maximizing synergies as the main objective of diversification strategy is presented below. Operational Synergies The emphasis of product related diversification is on operational synergies because in this strategy production resources are shared to have a cost competitive advantage. In the financial literature, the term operational synergy has been used as a synonym for economies of scope (Tanriverdi and Vendkatraman, 2005). Economies of scope and/or operational synergies are the result of two or more business units that share and transfer factors of production, its resources and capabilities. As a consequence the shared production costs will be lower than production costs of each one separately. Peng (2008) defines it as competitiveness increase beyond what can be achieved by engaging in two product markets separately. In other words, firms benefit from lowering unit costs by gaining advantage from product relatedness, i.e. 2+2=5. Some sources of operational synergy are (Peng, 2008): Technologies, such as common platforms Marketing, such as common brands, and Manufacturing, such as common logistics Conscious of these possible synergies, Zodiac a French large firm who in 1930 was focused on inflatable boats and had strong ties to the French army started to introduce new related products to its portfolio. Zodiac created 5 different divisions having inflatable materials as a common denominator. These divisions have been: marine division (recreation, military, professional, safety of life at sea, environmental solutions); pool division (pool sector and pool care and water cleaning, heating, pumps, filters); airline equipment division (passenger seats and on-board toilets and sanitation systems); aerosafety systems division (aircraft escape slides, parachute systems, helicopter floats, and flexible fuel tanks); technology division and aircraft system division. (Zodiac Aerospace, 2009) Zodiac has benefited from the operational synergies through the use of inflatable products technology and has also used market synergies because it has supplied the same customers with different produc ts. Conversely, unrelated diversification does not need to have advanced levels of operational relatedness. Rather, each business unit has its own strategic and operational responsibility and the management can focus on the financial synergies. (Tallman, 2003) Investment synergies are very much related to the operational synergies. It can be argued that one is the consequence of the other or that they are developed hand in hand. Investment synergies are the result of products sharing the same plant, resource and development (RD) and machinery. This is more probable to happen with a related product diversification because of the previous explanations. For unrelated products, the machinery is improbable the same and each product need its own RD. Financial Synergies The means obtaining financial synergy is different from obtaining operational synergies. The key role of firms is to identify and find profitable investment opportunities. The parameter to measure if financial synergies are to be achieved is whether managers can exceed the job of identifying and taking advantage of profitable opportunities compared to external capital markets (Peng, 2008). Hoskisson (2007) defines financial synergies as cost savings realized through a better use of financial assets based on investments inside or outside the firm. Competent internal capital distribution can lead to financial synergies and reduces risk between the firms businesses (Higgings and Schall, 1975). A firm using unrelated PDS may grow, but only internally in each business unit and will not reach operational efficiencies but financial ones. That means, the revenue of each business unit will be greater when functioning as a conglomerate rather than functioning independently. This idea is supported by Peng (2008) who states that competitiveness increases for each unit financially further than what can be achieved by each unit competing independently as an individual firm. Many different products that are not necessarily related offer opportunities of high returns. If a firm is only interested in the returns, unrelated product diversification may be a right path of growth. Sales synergies: These occur from sharing salespeople, warehouses, distribution channels, and advertising. Salespeople have more chances to be able to sell to the same customer a wide range of related products than unrelated ones. Salespeople will try to sell a complete pack of product to the same customer and in that way take advantage of the sales synergies that related product diversification presents. Imagine a company selling sport shoes and refrigerators, in a selling process it is more unlikely to be able to sell both products to the same customer than if he would offer sport shoes and sport clothes. On the other hand, if a firm has developed a well-known brand, the use of the brand-name in other products, related or unrelated, can increase and facilitate sales because it can have build before customer loyalty to the brand. For example, Mars chocolate confectionery successful launched ice-creams. Much of it success could be related to the brand name. So, sales synergies do not occur only withi n related products but also within unrelated ones if the brand name is positively perceived and recognized by the customers. Management synergies It arises from managers accumulating experiences from handling problems in one business unit that can be applied and used to solve problems in a related business unit. Even more, the accumulated experience and know-how allows answering faster to the industry trends and challenges. Managers are able to transfer their skills, experiences and strategies (Enz, 2009, p.222). Contrarily, unrelated product managers can not apply the experience gained from solving the problems of one unit to the other in most cases because the problems are specific for each product. All these synergies can be undermine due to additional layers of management, delays due to organization and information complexity, communication costs for coordination, imaginary synergies that in fact do not exist, incompatible production processes, etc. Therefore while choosing between related and unrelated PDS the mentioned synergy risks have to be taken into account. Research Methodology In this section an explanation of how the data for the case study was collected and how it was analyzed is presented. It is important to know how the data was collected because the method chosen affects the final findings. The information and content of The Mondi Group Case Study was obtained through an expert interview with Mr. Wolfgang Kropiunik, Mondis Marketing Manager of Uncoated Fine Paper. A questionnaire was sent as a guide and overview of the face-to-face interview questions. A meeting for a 40 minutes exploratory semi-structured interview was organized on the 24th of November 2009 at Mondi Headquarter, Vienna. Mondi Group was chosen as the large firm to be analyzed as it is a large firm with more than 33.000 employees worldwide and has its headquarter in Vienna (Mondi, 2009). Therefore the results presented in this research are very much related to Mondis functioning and successful method. It might be possible that if the studied firm had been another one, the results of the research question could have been different. The interview was recorded and the data obtained was transcribed (see appendix). The transcription of the interview allowed a deeper comprehension of Mondis product diversification strategy, synergies and challenges. Moreover, the recommendations presented to the company (see 4.7) are inspired from the challenges Mr. Kropiunik mentioned during the interview. The interview gave a number of information about Mondis life cycle, PDS and challenges especially during the current financial crisis The Mondi Group Case Study Mondi is a large and international packaging and paper firm represented in around 35 countries. In 2008, it had revenues of 6.3 billion EUR and about 33.400 employees (Mondi, 2009). It has a strong presence in Western Europe, Russia and South Africa. Mondis Europe and International Division has its headquarter in Vienna while the corporate headquarter is located in Johannesburg. In Vienna, there are three businesses: Uncoated Fine Paper, Corrugated and Bags Specialties. Mondi has reached to be fully integrated having the control of its supply chain. It grows trees, manufactures pulp and paper and converts packaging paper into corrugated packaging an Synergies of Product Diversification Strategy Synergies of Product Diversification Strategy Introduction Nowadays large firms have to survive in the face of economic competition. They have to keep an eye on the competitors performance. Managers try to progress and run their businesses well in order to grow and be competitive. When a large firm has reached a mature life-cycle stage it often has to explore the possibility of how to still grow. Ansoff (cited by Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 1998) presents four basic growth alternatives: a) increased market penetration, b) market development, c) product development and d) diversification. Choosing the right path is major decision for managers. Finding out if there are reasons which may lead a large firm to prefer diversification, more specific, product diversification as the growth alternative strategy instead of other strategies is a main question. Firms who spread their activities and businesses across different product markets that are more or less related between each other are said to follow a product diversification strategy. (Pils, 2009, p.10) Product diversification strategy definition has evolved during the last decades. Some definitions are evolutional and complementary but some others contradict each other (Goold and Luchs, 1993). Therefore, it is important for managers to have a clear definition. The benefits of product diversification have been divided into two categories depending on the type of diversification: related or unrelated. Related product diversification refers to entries into new products or service businesses that have a connection to the firms existing markets (Peng, 2008). Researches (Hoskisson, 2007) and business experiences (such as Mondi AG, Procter Gamble, CHR plc., etc.) have proven that some of the benefits of this type of diversification are: Operational synergy: economies of scale Utilizing excess productive capacity Reinvesting earnings Unrelated product diversification refers to the development of products or services beyond the current capabilities and value network (Johnson et al. 2008). Some of the benefits and reasons for this type of diversification are: Financial synergy: economies of scope Increasing market power Spreading risk across a range of businesses The challenge for any large firm, once product diversification is chosen as the growth path, is to decide which type of diversification is most appropriate and what strategic plan to follow. Product diversification gives also other challenges to managers such as the need of new skills to manage a wider group of businesses, new techniques, sometimes new facilities, large capital to test the viability of the new product, produce it and market the product, hire and train new employees, etc. Therefore, diversification has some inconveniences as it involves taking a step into a territory where the parameters are unknown to the firm (Peng, 2008). Product diversification can be achieved by acquiring an existing firm in the business it wants to enter, starting up a new business subsidiary or entering into joint ventures. For large firms knowing the different growth strategies including its benefits and inconveniences is fundamental to giving managers practical recommendations. For a better understanding of these fundamental issues this research will analyze whether related or unrelated product diversification strategy leads large firms to exploit more synergies and creates more value for the firm. Based on this research question, the following sub-questions are going to be addressed in this research: Should large firms, such as Mondi AG, aim to focus on related or unrelated businesses to exploit operational synergies? How is Mondis life cycle related to the right time of diversifying? Which recommendations on product diversification strategy can be given to large firms regarding financial synergy? To answer the above questions, I will present a detailed and methodical literature review on product diversification strategy concept, categories, synergies, its relation with large firms life cycle and explore the effects of a financial crisis on large firms who have chosen this type of diversification to identify the appropriate strategy for the research goal. This research is based on the hypothesis that related product diversification is the right strategy to be chosen if operational synergies are to be achieved while for financial synergies, unrelated product diversification strategies are more appropriate. The strength of this hypothesis is tested through a case study of a large firm: The Mondi Group. The Mondi Group has been chosen as the large firm to be explored in this research because it is an international firm with one of its largest teams and headquarters in Austria. Trend, an Austrian financial magazine, ranked Mondi as the 13th top Austrian large firm out of 500 firms in 2008 having 5.159,00 Mio. Euro net sales and 26.425 employees worldwide. Product Diversification In the 20th century many researchers have written about product diversification strategy (PDS). This research will analyse how PDS is seen by managers because of the larger experience there is nowadays. Diversification has been specially growing after the whole post-war period. Whereas in 1950 only around one third of large firms in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were diversified, by the 1990s it increased to two thirds or more (Whittington and Mayer 2003). Size and Product diversification strategy This research is focused on how large firms have reacted to the different paths of growth. The firm size: small, medium or large is an important parameter while analysing a firm strategy. In the financial and economical studies and researches the relation between size and firm variables remains a controversial subject. Some argue that size is the primary factor that determines structure whether others say that size is irrelevant (Jackson and Morgan, 1978). In my opinion, it is true that product diversification can be applied both by small and large firms, but I believe that a small firm has more limitations and can not fully develop this strategy in its organization due to limited resources: human, financial and technological. I also believe that as a consequence a firm applying product diversification strategy will increase its size. With larger number of products, the complexity of processes and production is greater. Therefore the craft needed is greater. As mentioned before, some researchers agree with this point of view like the study realized by Dewar and Hage (n.d., cited by Jackson and Morgan, 1978) which suggests that large firms facilitate changes in structure in a way that small firms can not afford. On the other hand, Woodward, Zwerman and Harvey (n.d., cited by Jackson and Morgan, 1978) concluded that instead of size, the production systems used by the firms are more connected and explain better the firm structure and feature. In other words, an efficient production system can explain the success of one large or small firm and therefore the relationship between size and differentiation is not linear. Diversification and Product Diversification Strategy Terminology Diversification The root of the word is, obviously, diverse. Pitts and Hopkins (1982) define it as literally meaning different, unlike, distinct, and separate (p.620). Therefore, if this definition is applied to the context of product diversification, we can say that it means firms having their products in various and different lines. Pils (2009) also confirms this definition as he points out that product diversified firms are understood to be active in multiple, distinct product-markets (p.10). The various definitions, forms and ways of managing diversification are the main topics of this research. Product diversification strategy There is a common denominator in the way product diversification is defined in the literature. For instance, Pils (2009) defines it as firms spreading their activities and products across different product-markets that are more or less related between each other. He also affirms that product diversification strategy determines which businesses a corporation should be in, defining the scope of the firms activities and being of high relevance for creating value for the firm. Berry (1971, p.380) defines product diversification as an increase in the number of industries in which firms are active. However, he does not point out that it can be also increasing the number of products in the current industry. Pitts and Hopkins (1982, p.620) consider firms product diversification if operating multiple different businesses at the same time. Hoskisson (2007), on the other hand, says that the firms level of diversification is a function of decisions about the number and type of businesses in whic h it will compete as well as how it will manage the business. These definitions have surely been influenced by the work of Ansoff (1957) in which he presented diversification as a possible growth strategy as mentioned in the introduction. Ansoff presented two ways of diversification: market diversification and product diversification. Although this research only focuses on the product diversification side, few lines are dedicated to explain the difference and characteristics of these two strategies. Market diversification is a strategy that takes the firm from its existing market to new ones. It exploits the current products and capabilities in new markets looking for geographical spread. This strategy is more and more used in the current times where globalization is facilitating the firms internationalisation. It also presents some challenges like cultural barriers, adding management costs and government restrictions among others. Product diversification is about adding new product to the firms portfolio whereas market diversification is about entering in new markets offering the firms current products. Reasons and Challenges Reasons and Motivations for Diversification: Any firm has a start. Normally starting as a small business it focuses on a single product. This is known as a single business strategy. The natural reasons are commonly due to a lack of cash, experience and know-how. Over time, the resources, capabilities and core competences are rooted and stabilized. At that point, firms may choose product diversified strategy, with two broad categories (related or unrelated). Large firms use product diversification strategy for a variety of reasons. Pearce and Robinson, (2005) and Hoskisson ( 2007) mention among others, the following reasons: To increase the growth rate of the firm For a better use of the companies funds than investing them into internal growth To balance the product line Diversifying the product line when the firm has reached its mature life cycle To increase efficiency and profitability, especially, if there is operational or financial synergy To increase the firms value by improving its overall performance To increase revenues or reduce costs To match and neutralize competitors market power To reduce managerial risk To increase the firms size and thus managerial compensation Product diversification challenges The above mentioned reasons and motivations for PDS can also bring along challenges and costs. One could say that PDS needs new facilities, technologies, skills, know-how, employee and managerial training, etc. It is important to know that it can have a great negative impact on the firms current products if a new product is launched with the firms brand name and the product is not well accepted in the market. The reasons for the market rejection can be e.g. lower quality than expected from the firm, high price, poor distribution, etc. At that point, the whole company will be negatively affected by a bad move. This argument is also supported by various authors such as Hoskisson, (2007); Grant, Jammine, and Thomas (1998); Goold and Luchs (1993), (cited by Pils, 2009). They state that some of the challenges are information processing, coordination, and control problems due to increase of information asymmetries difficult for a single business to deal with. In case of applying a PDS a fi rm has to change its structure and adopt new systems. Moreover Hoskisson (2007) elaborates that the data and information a firm using PDS requires is substantially greater. Furthermore increasing portfolio diversity may involve inefficiencies due to growing conflict on top management and a lack of adaptability to environmental change. Product Diversification Strategy Categories: Related Unrelated Product Diversification Strategy As mentioned before, there are two broad categories of PDS: Related and Unrelated. Some authors such as Richard Rumel (cited by Lovallo and Mendoca, 2007), Peng (2008) also categorize PDS as: focused, moderately and highly diversified. These three categories are not deeply explored in this research. But to dedicate some words, it should be mentioned that Richard Rumelt, in 1972, was the first person to statistically prove the linkage between corporate strategy and profitability. He concluded that moderately diversified firms outperform more diversified ones. Lovallo and Mendoca (2007) sustain that this finding has been valid more than 30 years of research. Moreover, a contemporary author, Peng (2008), also points out that some moderate level of diversification is the most optimal. The main focus of this research is whether a related or unrelated strategy is more suitable for large firms while diversifying. Therefore, in the following lines a definition and a detailed explanation of both is presented. Related product diversification can be defined as a strategy that firms can choose as a growing path. As the word related signals, this diversification strategy is focused on products that have a correlation between each other and are related in some way, especially in their core competences. Normally, firms that choose related product diversification as a strategy are sharing a common factor such as the raw material, the technology or the know-how needed to produce different products. Moreover, the products offered by the firm do not necessarily need to be similar. For instance, a firm running a cinema complex and also offering soft-drinks to be sold at the movie theatres is using a related PDS. Even if their products may not be related, they must share some common ground on their value or supply chain. In this case, the customers targeted are the same. Pearce and Robinson,(2005) confirm this by defining related businesses as those relying on same or similar capabilities in order to have success and achieve competitive advantage in their product markets. Major advantages of related PDS are: concentration of strength, exploitation of a market niche, and the development of synergies. A good example, of a firm applying this strategy is CRH, an Irish company who operates in 35 countries with more than 93.500 employees. The CRH Corporate Social Responsibility Report (2007) states that the firm is a diversified building materials group which manufactures and distributes building material products from the fundamentals of heavy materials and elements to construct the frame, through value added products that complete the building envelope, to distribution channels which service construction fit-out and renewal. CRH has three closely related core businesses: primary materials (aggregates, cement, asphalt and ready mixed concrete); value-added building products (pre-cast, architectural, construction accessories, clay, gas, insulation, building envelope products); and specialist building materials (CRH, 2009). CRH initially decided to diversify to gain economies of scope and also to stretch the corporate parenting capabilities. While CRH diversified its market its power i ncreased and consequently it could afford to cross-subsidise one business from the surpluses earned by another, in a way that competitors could not. As an effect, it could drive out competitors. Before going into further details regarding related PDS, a definition of Unrelated Product Diversification is given. In this case, as the word unrelated points out this diversification strategy focuses on firms offering products that have no relation, are not complementary between each other and do not have necessarily the same raw material as their prime and main composition. Moreover, they do not need to share any part of their supply chain (customers, distributor, manufacturer, logistics, etc). For instance, the Easy Group Company is present in several industries and services that have actually no relation. Some of them are: travel companies, car rentals, internet-cafes, cinemas, cosmetics, etc. Stelio Haji-Ionannou, the founder of the company has developed a cost strategy that pretends to apply in all its businesses. It seems that he believes that his formula is valid for any business. Normally the reason why firms choose this path is known to reduce their financial risks. Peng (2008) refers to unrelated PDS as firms entering into industries new lines that have no evident connections to the present firm line of businesses. Furthermore, Hoskisson (2007) says that unrelated PDS occurs when there are no overlapping capabilities other than financial resources. This strategy is also known in the financial literature as conglomerates (Hoskisson, 2007; Peng, 2008; Pearce and Robinson, 2005) It has been widely discussed whether related is more successful or unrelated. To be able to answer this fundamental question the following pros and cons are explored: Human resources: Related product diversification is characterized by the ease of human resources relocation because the skills and capabilities needed for the introduction of the new products are very similar. On the other hand, unrelated PDS requires recruiting new personnel or training current employees in the new fields. (Tallman, 2003) Technologies Obviously, if a firm chooses unrelated PDS, it will probably not be able to share technologies. Therefore, the investment needed to apply this kind of diversification is greater than by applying a related one. Related PDS is characterised by sharing technologies needed to produce the new products. For example, a firm which produces shampoo and introduces hair conditioner may use the same technology. In that way it reduces the investment costs for the new production and gain economies of scope (also see 2.5). Tallman (2003) confirms that related products can increase the use of existing fixed investments and existing capacity for more purposes and more intensively, gaining efficiencies that reduce costs. Additionally, he says that it can improve the efficiency of its existing resource infrastructure by increasing the flow of product to a wider range of customers. Management For managers it is easier to introduce related products than unrelated ones because they are familiar to the industry and can apply the same or similar strategies. For unrelated ones, managers have to learn about the new products and often the strategy used for the current products is not applicable for the new ones. Therefore, managers should experience new strategies which at the beginning may fail. Prahalad and Hamel (1990), said that it is likely that firm managers of unrelated products may be ineffective because the routines and capabilities they have already developed are not applicable one to one to the entire range of businesses. On the other hand it could be argued that it can be effective as top management can concentrate on financial management and costs controls while leaving operational control with each business unit. Competitors It is easier for competitors to imitate the financial economies of a firm than the operational synergies derived from a related PDS. This is due to the fact that operational synergies derived from the use of current know-how, facilities, capabilities and experiences are more difficult to imitate than realizing that a firm is diversifying into new unrelated products based on the percentage of the revenue it can gain. Therefore, it is less likely that competitors will imitate a firm which introduces new related products. Peng and Delios, (2006), and Khanna and Palepu, (2005), (cited by Hoskisson, 2007) sustain that competitors find it easier to imitate financial economies than replicating the value gained by related PDS from the economies of scope developed through operational relatedness. Control Mechanism The principle control mechanism for related diversification is strategic control with rich communication between corporate and business units managers. Financial results are obviously not a fair means to measure the functioning of each business unit. One business unit may have low revenues but its main function is to support the others. For unrelated products, the best way to control is exactly the opposite. The emphasis has to be on financial control (return and investment) to evaluate the units performance. (Peng, 2008) Market saturation When the product a firm is offering is close to a market saturation or obsolescence, the best thing a firm can do is to enter into another market offering unrelated products. In that way the company has an opportunity to grow. It would be a great mistake in a saturated market to introduce related products because the competition is already very high and to get a profitable market share is unlikely. Stabilize Earnings Another reason would be to stabilize the earnings and dividends of a firm in a cyclical industry. In that case, the firm should diversify into an industry with complementary cycles independent of the relation with the current products. Independency Firms that are uncomfortable to be dependent on one product line should diversify into other businesses or industries. In that way the risk is spread and all the weight is not in one product line. All in all the benefits of both categories of diversification do not appear as the result of a magic formula that just happens but as Tallman (2003) and Peng (2008) also sustain it is the result of an active management of resources and capabilities with potential for broader application. Product diversification synergies need to be explored in more detail. Therefore the following section is dedicated. Product Diversification Synergies Pils (2009) explains that the word synergy is derived from the Greek word synergos and literally means working together. In business terminology, synergy is used to describe the ability of two or more business units or firms to make greater value working together than they would do independently (Goold and Campbell, 1998, p.133). Diversifying a large firm is considered economically positive only if synergetic effects between the different businesses units are achieved. As a consequence, the idea of maximizing synergies as the main objective of diversification strategy is presented below. Operational Synergies The emphasis of product related diversification is on operational synergies because in this strategy production resources are shared to have a cost competitive advantage. In the financial literature, the term operational synergy has been used as a synonym for economies of scope (Tanriverdi and Vendkatraman, 2005). Economies of scope and/or operational synergies are the result of two or more business units that share and transfer factors of production, its resources and capabilities. As a consequence the shared production costs will be lower than production costs of each one separately. Peng (2008) defines it as competitiveness increase beyond what can be achieved by engaging in two product markets separately. In other words, firms benefit from lowering unit costs by gaining advantage from product relatedness, i.e. 2+2=5. Some sources of operational synergy are (Peng, 2008): Technologies, such as common platforms Marketing, such as common brands, and Manufacturing, such as common logistics Conscious of these possible synergies, Zodiac a French large firm who in 1930 was focused on inflatable boats and had strong ties to the French army started to introduce new related products to its portfolio. Zodiac created 5 different divisions having inflatable materials as a common denominator. These divisions have been: marine division (recreation, military, professional, safety of life at sea, environmental solutions); pool division (pool sector and pool care and water cleaning, heating, pumps, filters); airline equipment division (passenger seats and on-board toilets and sanitation systems); aerosafety systems division (aircraft escape slides, parachute systems, helicopter floats, and flexible fuel tanks); technology division and aircraft system division. (Zodiac Aerospace, 2009) Zodiac has benefited from the operational synergies through the use of inflatable products technology and has also used market synergies because it has supplied the same customers with different produc ts. Conversely, unrelated diversification does not need to have advanced levels of operational relatedness. Rather, each business unit has its own strategic and operational responsibility and the management can focus on the financial synergies. (Tallman, 2003) Investment synergies are very much related to the operational synergies. It can be argued that one is the consequence of the other or that they are developed hand in hand. Investment synergies are the result of products sharing the same plant, resource and development (RD) and machinery. This is more probable to happen with a related product diversification because of the previous explanations. For unrelated products, the machinery is improbable the same and each product need its own RD. Financial Synergies The means obtaining financial synergy is different from obtaining operational synergies. The key role of firms is to identify and find profitable investment opportunities. The parameter to measure if financial synergies are to be achieved is whether managers can exceed the job of identifying and taking advantage of profitable opportunities compared to external capital markets (Peng, 2008). Hoskisson (2007) defines financial synergies as cost savings realized through a better use of financial assets based on investments inside or outside the firm. Competent internal capital distribution can lead to financial synergies and reduces risk between the firms businesses (Higgings and Schall, 1975). A firm using unrelated PDS may grow, but only internally in each business unit and will not reach operational efficiencies but financial ones. That means, the revenue of each business unit will be greater when functioning as a conglomerate rather than functioning independently. This idea is supported by Peng (2008) who states that competitiveness increases for each unit financially further than what can be achieved by each unit competing independently as an individual firm. Many different products that are not necessarily related offer opportunities of high returns. If a firm is only interested in the returns, unrelated product diversification may be a right path of growth. Sales synergies: These occur from sharing salespeople, warehouses, distribution channels, and advertising. Salespeople have more chances to be able to sell to the same customer a wide range of related products than unrelated ones. Salespeople will try to sell a complete pack of product to the same customer and in that way take advantage of the sales synergies that related product diversification presents. Imagine a company selling sport shoes and refrigerators, in a selling process it is more unlikely to be able to sell both products to the same customer than if he would offer sport shoes and sport clothes. On the other hand, if a firm has developed a well-known brand, the use of the brand-name in other products, related or unrelated, can increase and facilitate sales because it can have build before customer loyalty to the brand. For example, Mars chocolate confectionery successful launched ice-creams. Much of it success could be related to the brand name. So, sales synergies do not occur only withi n related products but also within unrelated ones if the brand name is positively perceived and recognized by the customers. Management synergies It arises from managers accumulating experiences from handling problems in one business unit that can be applied and used to solve problems in a related business unit. Even more, the accumulated experience and know-how allows answering faster to the industry trends and challenges. Managers are able to transfer their skills, experiences and strategies (Enz, 2009, p.222). Contrarily, unrelated product managers can not apply the experience gained from solving the problems of one unit to the other in most cases because the problems are specific for each product. All these synergies can be undermine due to additional layers of management, delays due to organization and information complexity, communication costs for coordination, imaginary synergies that in fact do not exist, incompatible production processes, etc. Therefore while choosing between related and unrelated PDS the mentioned synergy risks have to be taken into account. Research Methodology In this section an explanation of how the data for the case study was collected and how it was analyzed is presented. It is important to know how the data was collected because the method chosen affects the final findings. The information and content of The Mondi Group Case Study was obtained through an expert interview with Mr. Wolfgang Kropiunik, Mondis Marketing Manager of Uncoated Fine Paper. A questionnaire was sent as a guide and overview of the face-to-face interview questions. A meeting for a 40 minutes exploratory semi-structured interview was organized on the 24th of November 2009 at Mondi Headquarter, Vienna. Mondi Group was chosen as the large firm to be analyzed as it is a large firm with more than 33.000 employees worldwide and has its headquarter in Vienna (Mondi, 2009). Therefore the results presented in this research are very much related to Mondis functioning and successful method. It might be possible that if the studied firm had been another one, the results of the research question could have been different. The interview was recorded and the data obtained was transcribed (see appendix). The transcription of the interview allowed a deeper comprehension of Mondis product diversification strategy, synergies and challenges. Moreover, the recommendations presented to the company (see 4.7) are inspired from the challenges Mr. Kropiunik mentioned during the interview. The interview gave a number of information about Mondis life cycle, PDS and challenges especially during the current financial crisis The Mondi Group Case Study Mondi is a large and international packaging and paper firm represented in around 35 countries. In 2008, it had revenues of 6.3 billion EUR and about 33.400 employees (Mondi, 2009). It has a strong presence in Western Europe, Russia and South Africa. Mondis Europe and International Division has its headquarter in Vienna while the corporate headquarter is located in Johannesburg. In Vienna, there are three businesses: Uncoated Fine Paper, Corrugated and Bags Specialties. Mondi has reached to be fully integrated having the control of its supply chain. It grows trees, manufactures pulp and paper and converts packaging paper into corrugated packaging an

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams :: English Literature Essays

A Streetcar Named Desire In Tennesse Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire" the readers are introduced to a character named Blanche DuBois. In the plot, Blanche is Stella's younger sister who has come to visit Stella and her husband Stanley in New Orleans. After their first meeting Stanley develops a strong dislike for Blanche and everything associated with her. Among the things Stanley dislikes about Blanche are her "spoiled-girl" manners and her indirect and quizzical way of conversing. Stanley also believes that Blanche has conned him and his wife out of the family mansion. In his opinion, she is a good-for-nothing "leech" that has attached itself to his household, and is just living off him. Blanche's lifelong habit of avoiding unpleasant realities leads to her breakdown as seen in her irrational response to death, her dependency, and her inability to defend herself from Stanley's attacks. Blanche’s situation with her husband is the key to her later behavior. She married rather early at the age of sixteen to whom a boy she believed was a perfect gentleman. He was sensitive, understanding, and civilized much like herself coming from an aristocratic background. She was truly in love with Allen whom she considered perfect in every way. Unfortunately for her he was a homosexual. As she caught him one evening in their house with an older man, she said nothing, permitting her disbelief to build up inside her. Sometime later that evening, while the two of them were dancing, she told him what she had seen and how he disgusted her. Immediately, he ran off the dance floor and shot himself, with the gunshot forever staying in Blanche’s mind. After that day, Blanche believed that she was really at fault for his suicide. She became promiscuous, seeking a substitute men (especially young boys), for her dead husband, thinking that she failed him sexually. Gradually her reputation as a whore built up and everyone in her home town knew about her. Even for military personnel at the near-by army base, Blanche's house became out-of-bounds. Promiscuity though wasn't the only problem she had. Many of the aged family members died and the funeral costs had to be covered by Blanche's modest salary. The deaths were long, disparagi ng and horrible on someone like Blanche. She was forced to mortgage the mansion, and soon the bank repossessed it. At school, where Blanche taught English, she was dismissed because of an incident she had with a seventeen-year-old student that reminded her of her late husband.