AG Sredit Essay

1. Propose an organizational structure for the IT department that you feel would support the transformation of AgCredit into a process-centric organization. Recognition of business ownership will be vital to the organizational structure. Having the business sign on and join the conversation about IT and related projects will be instrumental. A steering committee will be need to be part of the approval process of all projects is needed to make sure an enterprise view is taken. The multidivisional committee will need to ensure all projects fit within a SOA framework. The CIO should be involved in the boardroom and have access to senior management, including the CEO. The CIO should hire senior management that can convey departmental and business objects and help guide IT employees. Account managers for each LOB that reside in the business but report to senior IT management should be installed. The entire IT staff will need to be reassessed to ensure the proper people are in the right job roles. The IT function will need to be brought in alignment with the enterprise vision. One option is to try to promote internally for vacant IT positions and insource the roles that cannot be filled. Insourcing will have the distinct advantage of training IT personnel while getting the job done as well. Outsourcing IT functions that are not core competencies can also be employed if desired. AgCredit should appoint a CEO who is responsible for carrying out the strategic plan and will ultimately responsible for managing company operations coupled with a Vice President would oversee operations, carry out the strategic plan set forth by the CEO, and manage the four separate divisions. The CIO would direct the IT department, which would include several IT senior leaders, as well as guide the company’s technological direction. The CFO would be largely involved with both the business and IT departments, helping to give a deeper understanding of cost components and act as an advisor to both IT and business regarding legacy software and future projects. A business analyst would be the link between the IT and business departments, matching technology to business needs, and predicting future business directions. The IT relationship manager would be the connection between the business and IT departments and would ensure the IT governance is translated into business terms. Other staff could include an applications architect who would design applications, implement middleware and infrastructure; and a Network manager who would direct daily IT operations, test, deploy, and integrate network systems. A steering committee will be needed to be implemented as part of the approval process of all projects. 2. Outline a project selection process for AgCredit to ensure alignment with the enterprise business vision. As mentioned in the last question, a steering committee that represents many LOBs will need to be formed and giving decision making capabilities. The process should begin by examining how a project ties to the overall vision of the company. Next the committee members should outline how the project effects their division and could be used to meet departmental needs if possible. Additionally it will need to make sure it fits within the SOA and is not duplicated by other software nodes or current processes. If it is an enhancement or add-on to another project, communication with the end user to see potential benefits should begin. Making sure it can be modularized and standardized for the business will be vital for the organization’s architecture. Additionally making sure all project types are considered and funded through a tax upon all LOBs will be required to support SO A. 3.How should Manley â€Å"make the case† for SOA to ensure that the executive team at AgCredit buys in? Manley will need to present the key strengths of SOA and make sure to focus on how it will support the company’s vision and goals. The transition will simplify the organization and speed up product implementation. Current services and products will be available or modified for usability. It supports web services that align with continuous growth opportunities, expanded customer relationships, and ability to cross-sell between the divisions. It will immediately offer up opportunities for the divisions both in terms of possible financial gains and stretching development dollars. Existing services can be purchased and implemented quickly within the SOA. This increases our capabilities and ensures we stay  caught up with the larger firms. In essence this can level the playing field providing valuable resources and systems. Once the customer information is centralized, which is required for SOA, the savings from reducing database needs will be realized. Having common processes will align the business as a whole and ensure value from increased communication and decreased uncertainty. This kind of technology base may allow the way we work to change, for example working from home or on the road working through a VPN. 4.What new internal IT capabilities will have to be developed in order to create an IT department to support AgCredit’s future business architecture? The capabilities needed to support the SOA from the IT perspective are management tools, information management tools, Information delivery options, development cycles, and a customer service attitude toward the divisions. Role clarification will be important in setting up these capabilities. Management tools include visioning and business alignment processes, funding methods, measurement metrics and focus, and monitoring methods. Information management tools include collection activities, organize process including schemes and taxonomy, process modules to use the information, and maintenance procedures that support business functions. Development cycles must conform to SOA standards and guidelines, using compliant hardware and software to make systems that breakdown the functionality, and complaint with regulatory needs, including system proficiency in creating reports for audit purposes. The customer service attitude will be needed to manage perceptions and keep close ties with the business. 5.What aspects of IT governance do you think would be important in supporting this transformation? Before governance structures are formalized the enterprise and divisional vision and objectives should be outlined. With IT working alongside the business some guiding principles must be drafted up. This may involve setting up account managers within the LOB and forming a multidiscipline steering committee with considerable decision power. This steering committee should work closely with the CIO and have high level approval and corporate sponsorship. The governance system should focus on  guiding the transformation process and keeping key issues in focus, such as sox and regulatory compliance. Stakeholder involvement in the steering committee will help the business and IT structures become partners and work together. It will ensure all voices are heard and considered in the decision making process. They should outline policy decisions that support the organization’s vision earl y on.

Information Sharing Essay

Abstract- Information sharing is a major strategy to counteract the bullwhip effect. Previous research suggested that applying different ISS(information sharing strategy) to the supply chain may improve the supply chain performance under a simplified two-level supply chain model. In this paper, we present a simulation study that investigates the effectiveness of information sharing under different information sharing strategy scenarios within a complex multi-level supply chain model. In our research, a computer model is developed to simulate the complex multi-level supply chain model. The simulation data and results analysis show both distributors and suppliers gain significantly from information sharing no matter under different information sharing strategy except retailers and different information sharing strategy has great influence on supply chain performance. Keywords- information sharing; information sharing strategy; bullwhip effect; multi-level supply chain model; simulation I. INTRODUCTION Supply chain collaboration has a major impact on an organization’s ability to meet customer needs and reduce costs, especially under demand uncertainty. It has become a research focus. While a key step in supply chain collaboration is to share information among the supply chain partners. And information sharing is also viewed as a major strategy to counteract the bullwhip effect [1,2,3,4]. So evaluating the effectiveness or the value of information sharing becomes hot issue[5,6].Previous research indicated the effectiveness of information sharing on supply chain[7]. Other research suggested that applying different ISS to the supply chain under different demand patterns may improve the supply chain performance[8,9,13,14]. But the supply chain model of their research was two-level or simplified. What’s  more their research is independent and did not connect the two factors which are information sharing and information sharing strategy. Till now, very little research has been done about the effectiveness of information sharing and whether different ISS improve the supply chain performance in complex multilevel supply chain. Z.Huang and A.Gangopadhyay[7] put forward that the inventory costs and backorder penalties are measured in evaluating the supply chain performance, but it is limited because the function is not an expression. We improve on it and put forward an approximately simplifying  expression based on it, which helps us to take a computer simulation approach in investigating the impact of information sharing among trading partners on supply chain performance in different information sharing strategies in the complex multi-level supply chain model. Z. Huang and A. Gangopadhyay[7] use a comprehensive supply chain model. In fact, their model is simplified: 1) Only two different parameters, low and high, are used to present different levels of uncertainty demand fluctuation by random number generator. 2) Their research doesn’t take into account the demand forecasting. 3) In their research different levels of inventory buffer instead of a specific inventory model are used, and they only examine three different ranges of inventory buffer levels: 100%-150%, 150%-200%, and 200%250%. In this paper, we put forward an improved multi-level supply chain model based on these unlimited. And we compare the impact of different information sharing strategy by building a new supply chain performance function. Especially we use computer program to simulate the different parameters in random number generator which are used to present different levels of uncertainty demand fluctuation under different information sharing strategy scenarios. II. INFORMATION SHARING STRATEGY IN SCM Supply chain management (SCM) is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, distributors and retailers, so that goods are produced, distributed and delivered at the right quantities, to the right places, and at the right time. In this part, we introduce an important problem in SCM-the bullwhip effect and the suggested solution-information sharing strategy (ISS). A. Bullwhip Effiet andInformation Sharing The Bullwhip effect is one of the most well-known problems of SCM. It refers to the amplification of demand variability resulted from the information distortion in a supply chain where companies upstream do not have information on the actual consumer demand [4]. The effects of the bullwhip effect are: large safety stock, large inventory costs, poor customer service level and inefficient resource use. Its five main causes include: 1) demand forecast update; 2) lead-time;  Authorized licensed use limited to: University Kebangsaan Malaysia. Downloaded on July 23,2010 at 04:55:55 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply. 3) order batching; 4) price fluctuation; and 5) shortage gaming [1, 4]. ISS has long been suggested as a method to reduce the bullwhip effect and to help match supply with demand [1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 19], especially in today’s world where IT enables the information to be shared among supply chain partners. Fisher [20] discussed the relationship among product nature, demand pattern and ISS. Tan and Wang [10] suggested that applying different ISS to the supply chain under different demand patterns may improve the supply chain performance. But the supply chain model of their research was two-level or simplified. Commonly used ISSs include: order information, demand information, shipment information, inventory information and forecast information sharing [10]. Each assumes different information policy and the information can flow upstream or downstream in the supply chain. HA3: there is positive relationship between the inventory buffer level and the effect of information sharing on the supply chain performance. HA4: there is positive relationship between the demand variability, the inventory buffer level and the effect of information sharing on the supply chain performance. Furthermore, we assume the two following hypotheses involving  the impact of information sharing on supply chain performance in different information sharing strategies: HB 1: information sharing strategy influences the supply chain performance significantly. HB2: HAl, HA2, HA3 and HA4 come into existence under different information sharing strategy including OISS, DISS and SISS. III. THE DESIGN OF MULTI-LEVEL SUPPLY CHAIN MODEL Our aim to design the multi-level supply chain model is to understand the behaviors of the supply chain and to find out the impact on supply chain performance of different ISS according to end consumers’ demand uncertainty. The performance of the system under a number of different scenarios needs to be measured, which falls into the specific field of computer simulation. B. Basic Information Sharing Strategies In this paper, we will consider three information sharing strategies, which are order information sharing strategy (OISS), demand information strategy (DISS) and sales information sharing strategy (SISS)[ll]. l)Order information sharing strategy(OISS): each tier bases its demand forecast only on the order from the lower tier but does not know other tiers’ inventory, shipment, or delivery. Under OISS, each tiers share their forecasting order information in the planning horizon from downstream to upstream besides the real order. 2)Demand information sharing strategy (DISS): each tier is provided with the real end consumer’s demand. The inventory management system used is the echelon inventory system. Under DISS, each tiers share to their forecasting net demand information with their higher tiers in the planning horizon besides the real order. 3)Shipment information sharing strategy(SISS): which means that each tiers share the historical information of real shipment information. Under SISS, upper tiers sharing their shipment information to their downstream customers can help them make their production /inventory decision. Hypotheses of Peiformances of IS andISSs The overall objective of this research is to study the value of information sharing by examining the combined effects of information sharing, demand variability, and inventory level on supply chain performance. Let Y be the supply chain performance, a be the degrees of information sharing, b be the demand variability, and c be the inventory buffer level [7]. C A. Multi-level Supply Chain Model For a traditional supply chain, each entity only interacts with its immediate upstream and downstream entities, Fig.l, and makes decision based on the information which it can attain for its own optimal goal. Our selection of the four-level information strengthened supply chain model is more generic than the two-level chain structure that is prevalent in most of the current researches. At each level, we have multiple trading partners. Each node/tier interacts with other according to the acquaintance relationship stipulated as the information and physical material flows in Fig.l. Under normal supply chain operation, each tier of the chain generates a forecast for the next period based on the demand that it faces from the previous chain tier. Using information sharing, the central warehouse of each tier has access to its customer demand data and generates its forecast according to that, bypass the information distortion caused by the stores node. We expec t that information sharing can help reducing each tier’s warehouse order oscillation and mean cycle inventory. Y = f(a,b,c) ( 1) Then we assume the four following hypotheses involving the degree of information sharing (a): HAl: there is positive relationship between the degrees of information sharing and the supply chain performance. HA2: there is positive relationship between the demand variability and the effect of information sharing on the supply chain performance.

History of the U.S. - Iran relations Term Paper

History of the U.S. - Iran relations - Term Paper Example The diplomatic relationship between the two countries were not established till 1857, and by 1930, the two countries had minimal but cordial contact. After the Second World War, since 1953, America was the strongest ally of the Shah of Iran.It is important to understand that Iran was undergoing tremendous internal political and social changes during the late nineteenth and twentieth century. It was hitherto a stable nation resistant to change. During this time, the foreign involvement of Britain and Russia signaled radical changes in the social and political systems of Iran. It was perhaps for this reason that Iran tried to improve diplomatic relations during this period with the US because of its anti-colonizing stance and its attractive foreign policy towards Third World Countries. The establishment of the American Diplomatic Mission in 1833 was a result of the increasing missionary presence in Tehran. It also sought financial expertise from the US in 1911 and 1925. In the early 19 20’s, Reza Khan overthrew the ruling Ahmad Shah and the traditional Iranian system, both. He secularized Iranian politics and attempted to lay down the foundation of modern economy and infrastructure. However, he did not have the tools to bring about this radical transformation in the social as well as political systems organically; therefore: ‘Force became the method to achieve political and economic ends’. (Alikhani, 2000, p.6) In spite of this, Iran prospered under the rule of the new Shah and his son, Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, who ascended the throne in 1941. At that time, western Iran had fallen under the control of Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. The Soviet troops had stationed themselves after the war and refused to leave the country. However, under the pressure of the UN and the US, in 1946, it withdrew its troops. The US continued its support to the Shah under the Kennedy administration that brought about tremendous economic growth, also known as the W hite Revolution, by exporting oil from the vast petroleum reserves of Iran, which at that time were the third largest in the world. However, the Iranian people were not happy and extreme poverty, particularly in the rural areas instigated hatred for the ruler of Iran and its ally, the US. It was believed that the Shah was an American agent and the huge American army deployed in Iran was not to defend the nation from external interventions; rather it was there to protect the Shah from his own people. It paved way for the Islamic Revolution in Iran and Imam Khomeini came into power. By then, people had had developed deep hatred for America for whatever evil had happened to their country during the past 25 years. So, the seeds had been planted long before November 1979, when the Shah of Iran was overthrown and Islamic Revolution in Iran was heralded. When the radical Muslim students of Tehran seized the US embassy and took the staff hostage in 1979; that proved to be the turning point in the US-Iran relationship. While the American diplomats were made hostage for 444 days, Khomeini availed this time in reforming the system of the government, and having done all such tasks like holding the presidential and parliamentary elections in Iran, which have been otherwise impossible. On the other hand, it destroyed whatsoever diplomatic relations the two countries had, and the US imposed economical and other sanctions on Iran. The punishment of Iran by the US continues even today. Since 1981, the Swiss government assumed representation of US interests in Tehran; while the embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC handles Iranian affairs in the Iranian Interests Section. The Islamic Republic of Iran also has a permanent mission to the United Nations in New York. Description of the Current Situation Since 2002, IAEA is striving to convince Iran to abide by the Non Nuclear Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement in order to ensure peace in the region. However, it continues to d isregard the few agreements it has signed with IAEA. The

Communication between killer whales while hunting Research Proposal

Communication between killer whales while hunting - Research Proposal Example Consequently, to achieve the element of coordination among the members of each species, exchange of information among these species and the environment is key. Thus, communication is the glue holding the animal societies together (Panova, Belikov, Agafonov & Belkovich, 2012).To understand this given subject of communication, evaluating the various modes of signal employed among the animals is key. The existent and established signals for communication include the visual, audible, tactile or olfactory and the medium of transmission is contributory to the adaptability of the signal applied by either species. The transient killer whale as a sea animal communicates through water. Sound in water travels at speed of about 0.9miles/sec (Saulitis, Matkin & Fay, 2005). The killer whales thus rely on the sound production for hunting, communicating and navigating. The species communicates extensively and this study seeks to establish the understanding of the various modes in which the killer wh ale communicates while hunting. It is notable that from previous survey reports from the people living along the arctic, they hear a wide range of sounds from the whales. A recent group survey found that the whales produced over 24 different sound patterns, and another species of the same whales produced about 23 different sound patterns (Cranford & Krysl, 2015). This variation of sounds produced is evidence of the need to evaluate the various sound modes that the killer whales use to communicate while hunting or when having prey. The slightest variation in the sound made makes the difference among the whales for a hard earned meal and having an empty stomach. The marine prey for the whales has also adapted accordingly to the given sounds that the whales make to alert themselves of the looming danger of the killer whales. Objective 1: the first approach to the research proposal aims to establish the usage of the

MACROECONOMIC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MACROECONOMIC - Essay Example 2). The objectives of economic growth, stability in prices and the desired level of employment can be attained through fiscal policies. Instruments of fiscal policy and the effectiveness of the different measures in stimulating aggregate demand There are three main instruments of fiscal policy as discussed below. They are public debts, taxation and public spending. The instruments can be sued by the concerned authorities to achieve the desired level of production, national income as well as consumption. The term aggregate demand refers to the total expenditure made by the households, government and businesses on the goods and services that are produced domestically. It describes the behaviour of the buyers in response to changes in the policy implementations. If the level on inflation rises, the purchasing power of the consumers fall and therefore the aggregate demand curve is downward sloping (Auerbach, 2005, p. 3). This is described in the diagram below. Increase in government spen ding: The increase in the expenditure from the part of the government is likely to shift the aggregate demand curve to the right. The diagram below will provide the realistic picture. The increase in government spending means more money or disposable income on the hands of the consumers. The level of employment will take the upward rising curve and therefore it is natural that the aggregate demand curve will budge to the right as the overall level of demand within the economy will rise. Increase in tax cuts: The increase in tax cuts is expected to have the same effect as the cut will stimulate investment spending and the level of demand exiting in the economy will rise. Therefore the aggregate demand curve will budge to the right in this case as well. Fiscal policy stance 2012 (Australia) The fiscal deficit of Australia reached at the level of 44.7 billion dollars during the year 2012. The fiscal stance that the government adopted during the federal budget during that year was mostl y emphasized upon reducing the government expenditure. There were announcements of several new taxes namely minerals resource rent tax and the carbon price. There were some additional to fund reconstruction after natural disasters. The following diagram will show the government spending for the 2012 for Australia. The following table shows the personal tax rates for the country in 2012. Appropriateness of the fiscal policy stance Variation in outcomes can be witnessed among the different industries. The high commodity prices boosted the national income while the terms of trade reached at the record level in that year. On the other hand the conditions remained subdued in the fields of investments as well as in the arena of household spending (WACE Revision Centre, 2013, p. 12). The rate of unemployment has remained at the level of 5.25% although there was slight improvement in the unemployment conditions in the middle periods of 2011. The expenditures made by the consumers have remai ned at the moderate level with no surprising trends. The ratio of net wealth to disposable income has fallen in the recent years. The business investment rose sharply till the second half which drove in capital imports into the country and the impact of the capital imports had significant effects on the current account balance of the country. The demand stimulus of the country contracted

Hannah Hoch and the Dada Art Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hannah Hoch and the Dada Art Movement - Essay Example The creation of collages was not long in following and became a mainstay of the Dadaist movement, particularly as it evolved into the concept of photomontage.   Artists during this period struggled against the concept that art created spiritual values and frequently used the products of their creative spirit to protest against the First World War. Beginning in France in about 1916, the movement’s progress and development can be seen in context with the Great War, which started in 1914 and was waged for four years. While this artistic movement didn’t start until two years after the war began, about when the populace, artists among them, was beginning to feel the pressure of constant warlike states, it also persisted for a few years after it ended as the populace, again with artists among them, became reconciled to the new world order thus established. The development of this movement is most frequently associated with artists such as Raoul Hausmann, Kurt Schwitters and Marcel Duchamp, among other male artists, but less well known is the equally contributive Hannah Hoch. This investigation into the Dada Movement will, therefore, focus upon Hoch’s contributions to the movement and her artwork as representative of it. The foundation of the Dada Movement is actually attributed to artists in Zurich, Switzerland and in New York, America. It is described in the Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature as a â€Å"nihilistic movement in the arts †¦ that was based on the principles of deliberate irrationality, anarchy, and cynicism and the rejection of laws of beauty and social organization† (cited in Buell, 1998). The name of the movement was arrived at with the same lack of reverence as the movement itself, reportedly arrived at by chance and retained because of its childlike associations. One of its chief goals was to undermine the â€Å"rational and civilized standards† then in place in the art world by exploring the icons of the old world, placing them in new contexts so as to expose a lack of inherent meaning in the work.  

Stragtegic Business Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stragtegic Business Plan - Term Paper Example Focus has been given to thinking about the process of developing e-commerce, as well as the benefits and challenges of e-business. From these, some insights into appropriate strategizing for the business are offered. Furthermore, there is a comparison of the online store in this context with other similar stores in the United States. The identified online stores are considered the top competitors of the online store in the market. Nonetheless, in order to overcome some of the challenges and ensure growth, a SWOT analysis of the store is explored in order to understand important aspects in the internal and external environment of the online store. In the conclusion, focus is given to the attribute of a leader. These are discussed as part of the strategy to ensure the growth and survival of the online store. Nonetheless, this paper bases on different e-business issues to develop a strategic business plan for the online store. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Background 5 Current Thinki ng Relating to the Topic 6 Relationship to current/other organizations 10 Conclusion 11 Appendices 13 References 14 Introduction One of the fastest growing business fields in the world today is e-business. Internet usage has experienced an overwhelming growth. It is estimated that the number of internet users in the world has grown by 400% between the years 2000 and 2010. For this reason, different companies have looked for ways through which they can interact with customers online. One of the ways is through setting up websites. Here, companies offer different services to their online customers, who might not be able to reach the physical stores. In addition, some businesses have become internet-based, with no physical stores. Nonetheless, the number of businesses that are online-based continues to grow today (Torabi, 2011). In order for any business to be successful, it must have a strategic plan. This maps the strategy that the business will adopt in order to attain its goals (Ba si, 2000). I have special interest in entrepreneurship, and this study program has made me knowledgeable in matters of entrepreneurship. Therefore, using the knowledge acquired in this program, this strategic business plan is meant for an online store, which deals with cell phones, iPads, and other electronic devices. Since this is a new online store, this strategic business plan should help the store to establish itself in the online market. According to Basi (2000), when developing a new business, an entrepreneur is faced with various business-related issues. This paper will therefore, focus on some of those issues. Furthermore, this paper will explore the current thinking relating to e-business. This is important, as it will offer insights in major areas the strategic business plan should base. In addition, the paper will include a comparison of the store in the context, with similar online stores. Since this paper also discusses with marketing in e-business, there will be a SWOT analysis of the online store. This will help to identify major factors in its internal and external environment, which is important in the development of strategy. Background The online business store was developed mainly to sell cell phones, iPads, and other electronic devices directly to customers. The prices of the electronics in the store are made affordable in order to attract more customers (May, 2010). The products sold in the store are ordered directly from manufacturers and importers. The

How Does Paid Employment Affect Your Identity Essay - 1

How Does Paid Employment Affect Your Identity - Essay Example 19). It is conceptualized based on numerous elements such as ethnic group, social class, sex, religious beliefs and practices, age, status in the social order, profession, race, level of education attained,area of residence, political views and affiliations, hobbies, membership to a group or movement or an organization, sports, society, and social relationships with others. Identity is important in helping a person to determine their rank, in relation to other society members, within a community and, in distinguishing an individual’s reference point. Employment and occupation are one of the primary determinants of an individual’s identity. Paid employment is a central element in defining an individual. In the modern times, it is at the center of most people’s lives and a key means of attaining financial security, individual identity, and away of making a significant impact to welfare of the society. It is largely applied in classifying individuals into social cla sses and determining their social status. Nevertheless, values of an individual ought to be considered when determining one’s identity. ... ixed and constant but rather fragmented and dynamic, makeable and re-makeable depending on the manner a person acts within the social system or in our interactions with others (Brown, Kirpal & Rauner 2007, p. 45). Paid employment shapes an individual’s sense of self and identity through several mechanisms. It helps build a person’s image, confidence, self-esteem, competency, values and beliefs. Paid employment creates chances for the advancement of different abilities, the recognition and achievement of a person’s potential and the growth of interests. In addition, it helps in achievement of personal goals and roles, boosts output and achievements, as well as builds opportunities for personal assignation, challenges, self-actualization and fulfillment (Akerlof & Kranton 2000, p. 727). Paid employment influences affects and feelings, such as feelings of independence, builds optimism and vision, leads to achievement of personal values and preferences, creates a cul ture of responsibility and brings pleasure and satisfaction (Brown, Kirpal & Rauner 2007, p. 87). Individuals in paid employment usually develop work-based identities. Work based identities are largely unstable especially in the current inconstant work environments; when an individual changes occupations, the society also changes the way they view him/her (Constant, Gataullina & Zimmerman 2006, p. 96). For instance, research indicates that an increasing number of university graduates are shifting from their areas of study/specialization and turning to other jobs such as plumbers and builders. A classic example is Karl Gensberg, a molecular biologist, who compared his earnings with his plumber's and resolved to quit his work as a professional molecular biologist earning ?23,000 yearly (Ibarra 2003, p. 59).

Whether Red Bull should invest in the Formula 1 Racing Championship Thesis

Whether Red Bull should invest in the Formula 1 Racing Championship next year or not - Thesis Example The categorisation of the drink as an energizer holds back in the Thailand culture where the same is known as â€Å"Red Water Buffalo†. Further the brand gains a larger market space owing to the use of strategic marketing activities incorporating the creation of â€Å"buzz words and also through the sponsorship activities for extreme sporting events. The target segments for the brand consist of groups like students and athletes and also bars focusing on energy drinks. The sponsorship activity carried out by Red Bull for extreme sporting events helps the company in building a separate image of itself in the global drinks and beverage market. An estimate made during 2004 reveals that around $600 million have been spent by the company on sponsorship events involving Formula One racing events, sponsoring athletes or other musical and cultural functions. A comparison made with Coca Cola shows that where Coca Cola expended around 9 percent of its marketing revenues on sponsorship e vents, Red Bull happened to expend around 30 percent. (Roll, 2006, p.199). Another estimate obtained during the 2001 period shows that this sponsorship activity of Red Bull in extreme sporting events helped the same to conduct a sale of around 1.6 billion cans worldwide. This figure when compared to the 2000 period reflects a rise in around 80 percent in the company’s sale paradigm (Gelder, 2005, p.248). ... This figure when compared to the 2000 period reflects a rise in around 80 percent in the company’s sale paradigm (Gelder, 2005, p.248). The paper in this connection aims to conduct a research on whether Red Bull should continue investing in the Formula One events by reflecting on the probable advantages or opportunities that it can gain through such activities. Aims and Objectives Aims The main aim of the project is to evaluate the future of investing activities of Red Bull in the large scale sponsorship activities pertaining to extreme sporting events. In that it focuses to understand the potential of previous investment made by the company in this area and the advantages and opportunities gained on that behalf. The project also aims to compare the sponsorship activities of Red Bull to the activities of other companies also investing in sponsorship activities. Further the project also aims to understand the factors and situations evaluated by Red Bull before rendering potenti al investments in such directions. Objectives To understand the different marketing strategies of Red Bull To understand the reasons as to why Red Bull invests in Formula One championship events To evaluate the expenses or the cost the company incurs behind making such potential investments and the revenues that the firm tends to gain on that behalf To evaluate the future considerations as to whether Red Bull should continue investing in the sponsorship activities for Formula One championship for the 2011 period keeping in view the expenditure and the opportunity scenario for the 2010 period To compare the investment activities of the company in the extreme sporting events by drawing in examples