Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Essay about Martha Stewart Ethics - 1436 Words

Martha Stewart: Lemons into Lemonade Before one can make an informed decision as to whether Martha Stewarts handled the incident responsibly or whether or not her actions were moral or immoral, one must first understand the basics of ethics and understand whose rights are involved and how they were affected. Then one must also examine who will be helped and who will be hurt by her actions and then make a decision based on the information and personal values as they relate to the issue. Martha Stewart was charged in 2001 with making false statements, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice during her sale of ImClone the day before the FDA announced its refusal to review a new cancer drug. This sale was scrutinized by authorities†¦show more content†¦Step two asks were basic human rights violated. One must decide whose rights are to be respected. On both sides of the issue one will observe rights correlating to duties. One must clearly understand who has a duty, and to whom. Are the rights positive or negative? One must decide which are most important to them. The last step in making a moral decision is simply making the decision. How one arranges the issues and arrives at this decision depends on ones particular set of values and cultural perspectives, but regardless the values and cultural perspectives of the decision maker, the rights and duties remain the same for any situation. One must learn to look for and identify the appropriate deontological factors. Once these factors are identified, one may use his/her own values in order to determine which factors are the most important. By applying these unique values, one is able to develop the final decision. Now that we have a basic understanding of ethics and the moral decision making process, we can explore whether or not Martha Stewarts actions were immoral or not. Using a utilitarian approach for step one, it is important to look at the how the greater good was effected by her actio ns. Mrs. Stewart statements provided the greatest good to the majority of her customers and shareholders. She made a public statement on her web site that stated, Dear Friends: I am obviously distressed by theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Martha Stewart: Organization Ethics of Insider Trading2451 Words   |  10 Pagesby individuals close to the upper level management of an organization. This type of unethical behavior undermines the stability of the organization. In the ImClone scandal where Martha Stewart was indicted for her involement, the stability of her company suffered and the companies and people associated with Ms. Stewart suffered as a result of her decision. In this essay I will examine the parties that were privileged to knowing ImClone’s stock was going to drop and those who did not know. I willRead MoreMartha Stewart and Martha Billes 1549 Words   |  6 Pagesthroughout their careers that dealt with family issues, public and media criticism as well as negative encounters with the law. With a variety of business approaches and personalities, Martha Stewart, a highly successful businesswoman, turned everyday household activi ties into a multi-million dollar empire and Martha Billes, also a richly successful businesswoman, fought hard to take ownership of Canadian Tire at the age of 61. Both entrepreneurs faced the adversities of being women growing up in theRead MoreEssay Martha Stewarts Insider Trading1085 Words   |  5 PagesMartha Stewarts Insider Trading   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martha Stewart, the countries top icon for homemaking has been in the eye of the public since June 2002, but not for her craftiness or culinary abilities. Stewart instead has the spotlight on her for crimes of insider trading. A tip from her former broker Peter E. Bacanovic, persuaded her into selling her IMClone stock after sharing information about a close friend of Stewart’s getting rid of his shares. Stewart’s companion, Sam Waksal, was also the chiefRead MoreMartha Stewart Ethical Behavior1805 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Martha Stewart is an American Home decorator Icon surrounded by accusations of Inside trading, Obstruction of justice, False statements and Conspiracy. Her trial and investigation lasted for two years ending with her being found guilty of charges and convicted to spend time in jail, home arrest and probation. In this work I will expose Martha Stewart’s behavior and why her actions were considered outlaw, unethical and unprofessional. I will also explain which ethical behavior she usedRead MoreMartha Stewart2966 Words   |  12 PagesCASE STUDY: MARTHA STEWART OF LIVING OMNIMEDIA Sanjay Gokhale Indiana Wesleyan University July 26, 2010 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. MARTHA STEWART AND PETER BACANOVIC MSLO AND TALENTED MARTHA STEWART Martha Stewart is the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, L.L.C. (MSLO). Since Martha is an icon known for her imagination and creativity, no wonder that it is reflected in her products. They are comparable to the top brands in the country, which shows her class. MSLO is comprised of fourRead More Memo to Martha Stewart, CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia Essay1583 Words   |  7 PagesMemo to Martha Stewart, CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia Dear Ms. Stewart, I am writing to address some concerns I have about the future of your company, Martha Stewart Omnimedia (MSO). Perhaps the one issue that you are grappling with at present is about the Imclone scandal. You have been accused of selling $227,000 worth of Imclone stock based on inside information. Because of these charges of insider trading, your critics have summarily associated you with other disgraced company directors:Read MoreEthics and Social Responsibility1313 Words   |  6 PagesEthics and Social Responsibility MGT/498 February 26, 2013 Ethics and Social Responsibility Companies, such as Enron and WorldCom brought new awareness of the terms ethics and social responsibility. Thus, corporations are including ethics as part of the company’s strategic planning objectives (Cato Institute, 2013). This writing will assess the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a corporate strategic plan. Further, the considerationsRead MoreEssay on The Consequences of Bad Business Decisions1304 Words   |  6 Pagespursue capitalism to its fullest potential. In doing so, business leaders have lost their values and ethics, and make bad business decisions. The downfalls of a company are the consequence of C.E.O.s bad decisions. According to Marjaana Kopperi business ethics, can simply be defined in terms of social and ecological responsibility of business. According to this definition, business ethics requires that business decisions should not be made exclusively from the narrow, economical perspectiveRead MoreManagement Style of Martha Stewart1382 Words   |  6 Pageshelps employees if they have a problem or need to talk to someone. Martha Stewart’s style of hiring employees is very similar to micromanaging; like most job offerings employees must go through various levels before being hired such as; application, interview online or phone, in person interview, and sometimes even a walkthrough or test to gauge what the applicant knows about the position they are applying for. While with Stewarts Company there is a more in depth procedure. The applications are lookedRead MoreTransformational And Authoritarian Leadership Style1691 Words   |  7 Pagesselected for this assignment are Martha Stewart representing an authoritarian leadership style and William Shatner’s television character, James Tiberius Kirk from the starship Enterprise representing a transformational leadership style. Despite some minor similarities, the differences between Martha Stewart’s authoritarian leadership style and William Shatner’s transformational leadership style used in the portrayal of James T. Kirk are strikingly pronounced. Martha Stewart’s Authoritarian Leadership

Monday, December 23, 2019

The E ! Entertainment Channel - 908 Words

In the Fall of 2007 television season, the year Keeping Up with the Kardashians began, reality programming held 77.3 percent of viewership during the primetime block (Nielsen Research, 2011). The E! Entertainment channel is home to Keeping Up with the Kardashians and is purveyor of twenty-two reality television shows, with fourteen centering on women. In its first season the program snagged the number one spot for capturing the viewership of women between the ages of 18 and 34 (Kinon, 2007). The viewership of the Kardashians is causing significant rippling impressions in how women—and by extension all of society—are conceptualizing femininity. Clearly, audiences are investing time in watching the program considering that at the end of last year the program ranked number five on E! Online’s â€Å"Top 10 Reality Series of 2012† list (Mullins, 2012). Thus, the urgency to examine and address the consumption of reality television, particularly Keeping Up with t he Kardashians, has magnified. In Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault (1977) asserts that the â€Å"panopticon† as an architectural composition began as a component to keep prisoners under surveillance that prospered as the modern mechanism of discipline, surveillance and control. This mechanism targeted to manipulate the bodies’ â€Å"elements, its gestures, its behaviour†, terminating an era of public punishment that directly contacted the bodies of the citizens by the sovereign power (Foucault, 1977: 200). Instead, this shift inShow MoreRelatedDigital Marketing : The Utilization Of Electronic Media Essay1423 Words   |  6 PagesDigital Marketing, Promotion, Effectiveness, Customer Reach 1. Introduction Digital marketing is one type of marketing being widely used to promote products or services and to reach consumers using digital channels. Digital marketing extends beyond internet marketing including channels that do not require the use of Internet. It includes mobile phones (both SMS and MMS), social media marketing, display advertising, search engine marketing and many other forms of digital media. Through digitalRead MoreTaking a Look at Viacom1304 Words   |  5 Pagesmembers once a month to advise them and try solve any problems that their teams had. http://www.viacom.com/about/pages/seniormanagement.aspx# http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB50001424053111903698104579473463760113566 COO - Thomas E. Dooley Thomas E. Dooley currently serves as Viacom’s Chief Operating Officer. He has been the COO of the company since May 2010. Prior to becoming COO, he was the CFO for Viacom since January 1, 2007 and joined the Board of Directors on January 1, 2006. DooleyRead MoreWalt Disney s Objectives Of The World s Leading Producers And Providers Of Entertainment Essay1397 Words   |  6 PagesMission â€Å"The purpose of the company Walt Disney is to be one of the world s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer goods. The primary financial objectives of the company are to maximize profits and cash flow, and allocate capital to initiatives the development of long-term shareholder value.† Organizational Structure Disney operates using a strategic business organizational structure ofRead MoreThe Pirate Bay1481 Words   |  6 Pagescomparable to other peer-to-peer (P2P) e-commerce sites like Napster and Kazaa. The company faces scrutiny but has avoided closure by modifying business practices and finding legal loopholes regarding copyright protection (Laudon amp; Traver, 2010). The case study Internet Piracy: The Pirate Bay analyzes the company and its place in the history of e-commerce, and reveals startling effects of P2P sites on the music industry. P2P Business Model The Pirate Bay is a P2P e-commerce business model that allowsRead MoreRay Bradbury s Fahrenheit 4511721 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough its fictional world, which shows what would happen should people render literature completely useless through the use of television and radios. In present day, technology has helped in the ways of distributing news, stories, and general entertainment. In the book Fahrenheit 451, technology is still used for these purposes, however, it has a much more drastic role in the status quo of society. With technology such as the television and small ear-piece sized radios calledâ€Å"seashell radios† replacingRead MoreEssay on Utv and Disney: a Strategic Alliance1255 Words   |  6 Pagesabout the United Television and Software Company Limited (UTV) leadership team considering an alliance with the Walt Disney Company (Disney) in 2006. This alliance would include the acquisition by Disney of Hungama TV, India’s leading television channel for kids, created in 2004 and owned by Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV (51%) and UTV (49%). Also, as part of this alliance, Disney would purchase an equity stake of 14.9% of expended capital in UTV. The total investment from Disney was estimated to beRead MoreStrategies For Competing Inter national Markets931 Words   |  4 PagesStrategies for competing in international markets The fast expanding world economy does offer the Walt Disney companies an opportunity and the companies in the entertainment industries have a higher competitive threat domestically as well as globally which drives them to come up with an international strategy to enter into the foreign market to expand their business. Disney like any other companies expanded into foreign markets to achieve an increase in profit, competitiveness and capitalize theRead MoreGlobalization: Local Cultures Essay1013 Words   |  5 Pageswhich are obtained via globalization will enrich local cultures. Secondly, a large variety of product will be brought to other countries, which encourages product diversity. Lastly, people can enjoy many kinds of entertainment from all over the world and get more knowledge via entertainment. New ideas about politics and education that are borrowed from other countries via globalization, will make local culture more diverse. In the Phillipines, such ideas as individual right, freedom of speech, andRead MoreWalt Disney Co Essay891 Words   |  4 PagesWalt Disney is a worldwide entertainment company. Walt Disney Co is currently number one in the entertainment industry beating out competitors like News Corp, Time Warner, and CBS with revenues of $42,278 billion a year and a net income of $5.682 billion. The company is ranked number 66 on the Fortune 500 list and is ranked #17 on the World’s Most Valuable Brands List. Walt Disney’s headquarters are in Burbank, California and has been publicly traded as NYSE:DIS since 1991. Walt Disney began inRead MoreThe History of Digital Technology860 Words   |  3 Pagesinformation and entertainment. E-books, computers, and cellphones are good examples that will help us to understand more about technology and how it works. E-books are the next best thing in the world of books since the printing press was invented more than 500 years ago. An e-book is a device that shows the simple pages of a book, with minimal battery usage and in a very light format. A typical e-book can hold hundreds if not thousands of books, and can even download new books at any moment. The e-book has

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Costa Coffee Strategy Free Essays

string(50) " clearly shows the consumers concern for quality\." MMS assignment: Costa Coffee STRATEGY: 1. Identify, analyse and discuss Strategic issues in Costa Coffee. â€Å"Costa has flourished in a recession which has claimed many victims in the industry,† says Whitebread company. We will write a custom essay sample on Costa Coffee Strategy or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1The reason for this success is its strategy. Using the PESTEL framework will help identify, analyse and discuss Costa’s strategy. Despite the importance of political, environmental, technological and law factors, for the purpose of this essay we will focus on the economic and social factors affecting Costa Coffee. We will first see how economic factors such as the recent raise of coffee beans price influence Costa’s prices. We will then use social factors such as consumer trends to identify the different trends today and explain how Costa is reacting to them. Through this essay we will have then explained how â€Å"Costa has flourished in a recession which has claimed many victims in the industry,†2 The main economic factor affecting the coffee market today is the raise of coffee beans price. Due to heavy rains brought on by Caribbean storms in the coffee producing 1 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished’ During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 2 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished’ During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] countries from Central America, coffee prices have increased3. Coffee futures have gone up 35% since June 2010 to reach the highest price for a pound since December 1997: $1. 848. 4 This is a significant problem because coffee beans are raw materials for coffee shops. Hence if shops do not have coffee beans or not enough, their sales will plummet. As John Wolthers, a trader at coffee exporter Comexim in Santos reports: â€Å"It’s a great time to be a producer, and a difficult time to be a roaster. 5 Because these prices are due to natural disasters, it is possible that they will not change until at least end of 2010 or 2011. A normal consequence would therefore be to raise prices in order to retain money. However, Whitbread PLC, owner of Costa Coffee, announced November 10th 2010 that â€Å"it has no plans to increase beverage retail prices, even as it remains concerned over escalating wholesale costs. † 6One of the reasons for this action is because Costa had already bought many coffee beans before the storm hence has enough to provide the outlets with enough beans during this period of increased prices. This shows that Costa â€Å"plans† its purchases well because as we 3 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread’s Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 4 Danby, T. and Sellen, T. 2010. No Relief in Sight for the Coffee Market. [online] 2010 Dow Jones Company, Inc. Available at : [Accessed on 23 December 2010] 5 Danby, T. and Sellen, T. 2010. No Relief in Sight for the Coffee Market. [online] 2010 Dow Jones Company, Inc. Available at : [Accessed on 23 December 2010] 6 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread’s Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Available at: ; http://www. tradingmarkets. com/news/stockalert/sbux_wtbrf_-update-whitbread-s-costa-coffee-plans-no-retail-price-rises-1297481. html; [Accessed 23 December 2010] 7 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread’s Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Available at: http://www. tradingmarkets. com/news/stock- can see, thanks to its bulk-buying in coffee beans, it is now unaffected, unlike the other coffee shops, by the coffee bean market. However this could be a risk because one can never know exactly how many beans are consumed per day and Costa does not know for certain how long these prices will remain high. Another reason Costa would not want to raise prices could be because in a period of recession, where consumers are being more and more careful with the way they spend their money8 they will not want to buy a drink at Costa if it is too expensive. Moreover if it is therefore cheaper at Starbucks or Caffe Nero for example why would they want to pay more for the same drink? Hence a third reason for Costa’s decision is due to the competitiveness with the all the other coffee stores. The final reason is â€Å"With total sales growing at 33% year on year, and like for like sales up 9%†9, and with over 1,100 outlets in the UK and 130 new shops to open within this year in the UK10 perhaps Costa is not too affected by the increase of coffee beans price. Hence, with the increase of coffee beans, Costas strategy is not to increase prices for different reasons which demonstrate Costas strength in the coffee industry which therefore explains why it has flourished during the recession: Costa stops at nothing. lert/sbux_wtbrf_-update-whitbread-s-costa-coffee-plans-no-retail-price-rises-1297481. html [Accessed 23 December 2010] 8 Rodenberg, J. , n. d. Costa Coffee vs Starbucks. [online] Templates Wise. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] 9 Hospitability And Catering News. , 2010. Costa Coffee has wins „Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain?. [onli ne] Available at: [Accessed on 23 December 2010] 10 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished’ During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Moreover, social factors such as consumer trends enable us to see how Costas strategy is brilliant. According to CJ Bobrowski, Head of Costa Systems, â€Å"With greater insight into trends we can adapt more quickly to any changes in consumer needs, helping us to stay ahead of competition in a crowded marketplace. â€Å"11 Hence identifying and explaining the trends and how Costa adapts to them explains its success. For this essay, we will focus on three trends. With prices that cannot increase due to competitively another way in which companies can now compete is through quality. As more and more coffee shops open in the UK, demonstrating high quality is an important aspect for consumers today. With each one providing the same type of product, they need to know which one is the best quality-wise. One of Costa’s advertisements promotes its cappuccino by saying: â€Å"Sorry Starbucks, the people have voted. †12 This advert clearly shows the consumers concern for quality. You read "Costa Coffee Strategy" in category "Papers" Through this advert Costa shows it has clearly adapted to consumers new trend. The thirst for an experience is another trend. It has become so important that a word for consumers searching for an experience was invented: â€Å"Transumers†13. Consumers no longer look for simple coffee but for an experience. Costa provides this by training its baristas at official training academies opened by Costa. In fact in 2009they invested in a third Training Academy. Therefore, each of their barista have been professionally trained to provide each 11 Bobrowski, CJ,. [online] Torex Retail Holdings Limited. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] 12 Rodenberg, J. , n. d. Costa Coffee vs Starbucks. [online] Templates Wise. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] 13 Trend watching. , 2006. Transumers. [online] Trendwatching. om. Available at: http://trendwatching. com/trends/transumers. htm [Accessed 23 December 2010] customer with the best coffee. 14 This is important for no other coffee shop has invested in training academies which makes Costas drinks even more of an experience for consumers. The â€Å"Nintendo Wii Fitness† is increasingly bought which shows consumers’ concern for health. They are especially more tro ubled about the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar in their food. 15 Hence health has become a trend. In order to respond to this, Costa has different techniques. The first is to provide consumers with different types of milk: soya or skimmed for no extra cost. 16However, Costa does not advertise enough this aspect hence many customers are not aware of these options. They need to increase the marketing for this aspect in order to be fully responding to this trend. The second technique is working with the Food Standards Agency to reduce salt and saturated fat and indicate their quantities. 17This way, the products stay the same with less fat and consumers know how many calories they absorb. This is very risky for Costa. Many consumers are not aware of how many calories there are in their beverages and could be 14 The Food and Drink Innovation Network,. 2009. Costa Opens third training academy in Newburry. [online] Food Drink Innovation Network. Available at: http://www. fdin. org. uk/2009/06/costa-opens-third-training-academy-in-newbury/ [Accessed 17 December 2010] 15 Foods Standard Agency, 2008. Consumer confidence rises around many food issues. [online] Crown copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 16 December 2010] 16 Morgan, J. , 2008. Fast food menu is recipe for obesity. [online] Cambridge Newspaper Ltd. Available at: [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 17 Food Standards Agency, 2010. Healthy catering commitments. [online] Crown Copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] shocked like Rebecca: â€Å"It’s lethal! I don’t want it now [†¦] I know there’s a lot of fat in them too. â€Å"18 By observing the trends and adapting to them despite possible negative consequences, Costa proves that â€Å"[great] insight into trends [helps costa] to stay ahead of competition in a crowded marketplace. 19 Costa has been able to â€Å"make it through† the â€Å"rough patches† despite the increase of coffee beans price and its ability to identify and adapt to consumer’s trends. However will they have to increase their prices soon? With such sales growing 33% year on year20 will this firm be able to be at the top of the coffee shop list? 18 Sky News HD, 2009. Cancer Fear Of Calorie-Laden Iced Coffees. [online] BskyB. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] 19 Bobrowski, CJ,. [online] Torex Retail Holdings Limited. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] 20 Hospitability And Catering News. , 2010. Costa Coffee has wins „Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain?. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 23 December 2010] MARKETING: 2. Analyse Costa’s Marketing; and then reflect on how it compares to the marketing of Starbucks. Deborah Dougherty, professor of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School, and Cynthia Hardy, professor of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, agree that it is difficult for old organisations with a big history to innovate due to the challenges of new technology and global competitors. 1 Costa Coffee being a new organisation hence should not have many problems innovating its products and processes. Being part of the young rising coffee shop industry, Costa Coffee’s number one competitor is Starbucks. Dr. Robert G. Cooper, expert in the field of innovation, published The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation in which he establishes â€Å"Eight Actionable Critical Success Factors† for innovation. 22 In this essay we will only use certain factors to explain how Costa’s service and product innovations are better than Starbucks but how, despite this; Costa is still a little behind for the future. In order to be competitive in today’s UK coffee shop industry, service innovation is vital. Costa and Starbucks have therefore launched a new loyalty card because as Jeffery Young, managing director of Allegra Strategies notices: â€Å"Electronic loyalty cards provide an 21 Dougherty, D and Hardy C,. 1996. Sustained Product Innovation in large, mature Organisations: overcoming innovation-to-organization problems. Academy of Management Journal, 39(9, pp. 1120. 22 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] opportunity to engage in rich dialogue with customers and track their behavior. †23 Hence this card will not only improve the dialogue between customers and firm but also will enable the companies to innovate their manufacturing process or services in order to adapt to the changing behavior. 24 Although the service is the same, are the reasons behind this innovation the same? One of Cooper’s critical innovation success factors is the justification of the project. 25 For Costa, this new card is a positive sign; its use is to replace the successful old card. According to a year-long trial in Scotland, one in three transactions was using the old card26. Hence in order to thank the customer’s loyalty, Costa wanted to add â€Å"rewards† and innovate the card so that one no longer had to top-up money on the card in order to purchase but would simply pay with money and then receive points that would transform into rewards. 27 The justification for Starbucks’s loyalty card is not for the same positive reasons. For them, with â€Å"sales decline and customers brew at home or visit competitors†, this new loyalty card is a 23 Thomas, J,. 2010. Costa Coffee rolls out customer loyalty card. online] Haymarket Business Media. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 24 Thomas, J,. 2010. Costa Coffee rolls out customer loyalty card. [online] Haymarket Business Media. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 25 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] 26 EatOut,. 2010. Costa Launches New Coffee Club. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] 27 EatOut,. 2010. Costa Launches New Coffee Club. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] echnique to hopefully rebound profits by attracting customers back to the store for its benefits with the card. 28 Therefore, this innovation shows that although both companies propose the same service through their loyalty cards, the reasons behind this same service differs which shows that Costa is raising compared to Starbucks who is struggling against its competitors. Another example that shows that Costa’s innovation is better than Starbucks’s is the launch of a new drink: The Flat White. Although Starbucks is the first to have inaugurated this drink, Costa is the one who has the biggest impact in the UK29. Costa Coffe is the only one to have followed Cooper’s fifth critical innovation success factor : â€Å"A well-planned, adequately-resourced and proficiently-executed launch. †30 Indeed, Starbucks only launched the drink in London whereas Costa, several weeks after, launched it nationally. By launching nationally, Costa was able to sell its new product everywhere whereas Starbucks, only in London31. Hence out-of-London people could believe Costa is the â€Å"founder† of the Flat White, which could therefore lead them to a competitive advantage. Starbucks is the perfect example for Cooper’s statement: â€Å"In some businesses, it’s almost as though the launch is an 28 Startz, S,. 2009. Starbucks Boosts â€Å"Rewards† With Revamped Loyalty Program. [online] 2001-2010 brandchannel. Available at : [Accessed 14 December 2010] 29 Westfield London. n. d. Costa Coffee. [online] 2008 Westfield Group. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 30 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] 31 Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? ationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] after-thought – something to worry about after the product is fully developed. †32Moreover, Costa says to have invested â€Å"more than twelve months’ research, involving the training of 6,000 baristas, at a cost of ov er one million pounds. †33This also shows they followed Cooper’s fifth factor. However, Starbucks says that their baristas had trained themselves due to customers’ requests and that the â€Å"education in the making of the drink was anyway already readily available from a number of barista trainers†. 4 Perhaps Starbucks is right, but according to an independent survey by Tangible Branding Limited consumers prefer Costa’s Flat White to Starbucks’s. 35 This could be explained by the twelve months research and training of 6,000 baristas with a cost of one million pounds. Furthermore, both companies follow Cooper’s second innovation success factor: â€Å"the voice of the customer†. According to Costa’s core skills trainer Tim Douglas the Flat White â€Å"will attract some of our latte drinkers who are looking for a milky drink with a broad strength of flavour, and cappuccino drinkers who want a milkier drink with a much rich er coffee 2 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] 33 Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? nationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 34 Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? nationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 35 Westfield London. n. d. Costa Coffee. [online] 2008 Westfield Group. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] flavor. 36 Hence this drink will be able to satisfy the gap between lattes and cappuccinos. Costa is purely reacting to the customers’ need for this â€Å"gap-filling-space†. On the other hand, Starbucks is innovating this drink due to their very negative â€Å"customer’s voice†. Their consumers find their coffees â€Å"too bland and milkyâ₠¬ 37 which is why, the Flat White is the perfect drink to launch because it is â€Å"Stronger, smaller and less milky† than most of their drinks. 38 Therefore, although Costa and Starbucks are using the same product innovation, they have different reasons which show that Costa is becoming more competitive than Starbucks. Although this essay has proved that presently, Costa is innovating for more positive reasons than Starbucks, this state might change in the near future. During a period of recession it is important that firms react to this economical problem. Starbucks, as opposed to Costa, has seemed to understand this and has innovated in â€Å"at-home† machines. The Starbucks Barista Espresso Machine39 or the Barsita Aroma Grande coffee machine enable consumers who do not necessarily want to go out to have a Starbucks coffee to stay at home 36 Williams, A,. 2010. Great White Hope. online] William Reed Business Media Ltd 2010. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 37 Wallop, H,. 2009. Starbucks to sell ‘flat white’ for those fed up with milky coffee. [online] Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010. Available at : [Accessed 17 December 2010] 38 Wallop, H,. 2009. Starbucks to sell ‘flat white’ for those fed up with milky coffee. [online] Copyright of Tele graph Media Group Limited 2010. Available at : [Accessed 17 December 2010] 39 Justin,. n. d. Starbucks Barista Espresso Marchine. [online] Coffee-Mker-Review. net. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] and make one. Costa should look into this innovation for the future, especially with this economic crisis that continues to worsen. However, Costa may not want to produce these machines because consumers drink their coffees not only for the beverage itself but also for the environment Costa provides, for the â€Å"experience† and unique touch each Barista has when they make one. Hence, perhaps selling these machines would not be of great utility for them. Starbucks is a great competitor for new and rising coffee shops such as Costa. But through this essay we have seen that Costa Coffee is becoming the â€Å"number one† competitor with Starbucks due to its respect to Cooper’s â€Å"Eight Actionable critical success factors†. However, Costa must not forget that Starbucks may be a little weak in the UK but is very strong internationally and that Costa’s next step to compete with Starbucks could perhaps be to have a bigger and stronger position internationally. Referencing List: Bobrowski, CJ,. [online] Torex Retail Holdings Limited. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] Bottonwood,. 2010. Productivity and Coffee Shops. [online] The Economist Newspaper Limited 2010. Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? nationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Bowers, S. , 2008. John Derkach: Singular vision fuelled by double macchiato. [online] Guardian News and Media Limited 2010. Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] Danby, T. and Sellen, T. 2010. No Relief in Sight for the Coffee Market. [online] 2010 Dow Jones Company, Inc. Available at : [Accessed on 23 December 2010] Dougherty, D and Hardy C,. 1996. Sustained Product Innovation in large, mature Organisations: overcoming innovation-to-organization problems. Academy of Management Journal, 39(9, pp. 1120. EatOut,. 2010. Costa Launches New Coffee Club. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] Foods Standard Agency, 2008. Consumer confidence rises around many food issues. online] Crown copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 16 December 2010] Food Standards Agency, 2010. Healthy catering commitments. [online] Crown Copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] Hospitability And Catering News. , 2010. Costa Coffee has wins „Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain?. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 23 December 2010] Justin,. n. d. Starbucks Barista Espresso Marchine. [online] Coffee-Mke r-Review. net. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] Morgan, J. , 2008. Fast food menu is recipe for obesity. [online] Cambridge Newspaper Ltd. Available at: [Accessed on 15 December 2010] Ndzamela, P. , 2008. Credit crunch putting the bite on cafe culture. [online] Thomson Reuters. Available at: http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE4AC7YE20081113 [Accessed 15 December 2010] Prynn, J. , 2008. Coffee shop boom time as chains defy crunch. [online] Evening Standard. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] Rodenberg, J. , n. d. Costa Coffee vs Starbucks. [online] Templates Wise. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] Sky News HD, 2009. Cancer Fear Of Calorie-Laden Iced Coffees. [online] BskyB. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] Smith, A. , 2009. Coffee Price Too Steep? Blame the Weather. [online] Time Inc. Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] Startz, S,. 2009. Starbucks Boosts â€Å"Rewards† With Revamped Loyalty Program. [online] 2001-2010 brandchannel. Available at : [Accessed 14 December 2010] The Food and Drink Innovation Network,. 2009. Costa Opens third training academy in Newburry. [online] Food Drink Innovation Network. Available at: http://www. fdin. org. uk/2009/06/costa-opens-third-training-academy-in-newbury/ [Accessed 17 December 2010] Thomas, J,. 2010. Costa Coffee rolls out customer loyalty card. [online] Haymarket Business Media. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] Trend watching. , 2006. Transumers. [online] Trendwatching. com. Available at: http://trendwatching. com/trends/transumers. htm [Accessed 23 December 2010] Wallop, H,. 2009. Starbucks to sell ‘flat white’ for those fed up with milky coffee. [online] Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010. Available at : [Accessed 17 December 2010] Westfield London. n. d. Costa Coffee. [online] 2008 Westfield Group. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] Williams, A,. 010. Great White Hope. [online] William Reed Business Media Ltd 2010. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished’ During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread’s Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Conn ors Group, Inc. Available at: ; http://www. tradingmarkets. com/news/stockalert/sbux_wtbrf_-update-whitbread-s-costa-coffee-plans-no-retail-price-rises-1297481. html [Accessed 23 December 2010] How to cite Costa Coffee Strategy, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Calgary Oil Shale Technologies Inc

Question: Write a report about the "Calgary Oil Shale Technologies Inc". Answer: Introduction This is a report which is based on some of the skills that are necessary to run a business smoothly. The smooth functioning of a firm not only requires a robust and stable workforce but also it requires something more. A firm should have a strong management team who can guide the workers and can generate a smooth workflow in the business. The report highlights some of the most important management qualities that Mr. Carlos Debrito has that helps to resolve some of the issues among the employees. Calgary Oil Shale Technologies Inc (COST) is an oil refinery firm. Martin Bouchard was appointed as the president and CEO of the company. The firm was facing issues with the productivity. There were issues of dispute among the employees of the company. As the president and CEO of the company, Martin wished to resolve all these disputes and to increase the productivity of the firm. The company faced problems in its operation site at Alberta. The firm COST specializes in data management activities, and it supplies technologies to be used for refining and optimizing oil from the oil shales in Alberta. The technologies that the firm COST uses are capable of distinguishing rocks that bear oil. In this way, the firm helps companies working with energy sources to gain high productivity and profit from the production of oil shale. The company COST has a workforce that is blessed with high-skilled professionals such as engineers, geophysicist, and geologists who are capable of handling sophis ticated technology. The company uses semiskilled and skilled laborers to run the operations on the field. These two groups of workers, the technical group and the field operators, regularly opposed each other on some issue or the other (Northouse 2015). Debritos leadership techniques To resolve the conflicts between the two groups of workers of the firm, COST hired Ms. Algoma Howard, who was supposed to develop a program to foster teamwork and hence increase productivity. In the Alberta location, an experienced employee named Carlos Debrito was present to assist Howard to accomplish her task. Having worked in different departments in COST for over a span of twenty-six years, Debrito had a clear knowledge of the problems and conflicts that the workers at different levels were facing. Hence, Debrito agreed to guide Howard to accomplish her task. The three groups of workers that worked in the Alberta oil field included the workers who maintained and operated the logging operations, the group consisting of geophysicists, geologists and engineers and a group of workers who maintained the drilling equipment. To bring these groups of workers together Howard and Debrito planned to arrange a meeting of the workers on the fireside. The main objective to organize such meetings was to improve the interpersonal relationships among the workers. In these meetings the organizers probed the workers to open up to each other in a tension free environment. The organizers arranged for free food for the people who turned up in the meeting (Dubrin 2015). The next step which Howard and Debrito adopted was forming the "problem busting teams". These teams were temporary, and it consists of members from different hierarchical levels and of the different operations team. The managers wanted the leaders of these teams to address the issues which the workers were facing that were discussed in the fireplace meeting. They wanted the problem busting team to resolve these issues raised in the meeting. The fireside team evolved at the initial stage of team development, whereas the problem busting team evolved at the final team development stage. Techniques to be followed by Howard in Colorado The author would like to advice Howard to closely follow the steps of Carlos Debrito. Debrito played a very important role as a team leader to resolve conflicts among the workers of the company and to increase the productivity of the firm. His role would inspire Howard to work in a similar manner in the oilfields of Colorado to solve the issues. The formation of the teams that gathered in the fireside chat and also the problem busting teams helped to improve the interpersonal relationships among the workers in the Alberta site. Hence, the workers openly talked to each other about their problems, and this helped to increase the productivity of the company. Following a similar method would prove to be useful in the Colorado site.In his leadership, Debrito adopted the conflict resolving approach. Debrito has a better understanding of the problems of the workers following this approach. Secondly, the cohesion between the groups of the workers increased under the leadership of Debrito. Th e role of Debrito reflected the contingency quality of his leadership. Howard is of the view that if she got the guidance of Debrito in the Colorado project, the project would have succeeded. The author also feels the same as Howard. The leadership qualities which Debrito has in his character prove to be very fruitful in drawing the laborers to work. Though Howard implemented the same techniques as developed in the sites of Alberta, it did not work well in the sites of Colorado. Debrito had a better understanding of the psychology of the workers. Hence, he had a better knowledge of the techniques that would generate the result from the workers (Avolio and Yammarino 2013). The author would like to advise Algoma Howard that she should closely follow the steps shown by Debrito to manage the whole process. The Colorado site also faced similar problems as that faced in the Alberta site. Hence, employing the similar techniques with a better understanding of the situation would generate fruitful results. Howard can improve the involvement of her workers among each other by talking to them in a friendly manner and gathering them in some meeting in an informal environment. The management can reduce the cost of production if there exist a smooth workflow in the process. The management can only achieve this by improving the environment of work in the site. If the workers do their job in a peaceful manner maintaining a steady pace of workflow the company can easily meet the goals which are set regarding production (Mendenhall and Osland 2012). Conclusion The article depicts the work environment of the Calgary Oil Shale Technologies Inc. It describes the efficiency of Debrito in handling the issues which the workers at different levels of the company are facing. The efficient leadership and team management qualities of Debrito had lead to the resolve of all the conflicts among the workers and fostered a smooth flow of work in the company. This resulted in increased productivity and lowered the cost of production of oils by the firm. Research work The title of the journal that describes the leadership qualities required to maintain peace is "Embedding the peace process: the role of leadership, change and government in implementing key reforms in policing and local government in Northern Ireland". The Journal says that ethical leadership can give rise to many outcomes in the society that brings positive results (Rozand Joanne 2016) . Another journal that describes the leadership traits required in business is titled as leadership theory and research in the new millennium: current theoretical trends and changing perspective. The article talks about the rise in the research done by scientists regarding new theories of leadership in business. The article says that there are a vast number of theories on leadership that are evolving in the new millennium which needs to be taken care of, as leadership quality is one of the most important traits in making a mark in the world of business (Jessica et al. 2016). Another journal talking about leadership qualities is "advances in leader and leadership development: a review of 25 years of research and theory". The Journal says that almost all business organizations focus on the development of efficient leaders and effective leadership behaviour (David 2016). Another article on educational leadership titled Educational leadership and leadership development in Africa: Building the knowledge base talks about early childhood leadership qualities. It says that a person should have sound problem solving skills since childhood to become a good leader when the person grows up (Tony 2016). Reference: Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013.Transformational and charismatic leadership: The road ahead. Dubrin, A., 2015.Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Nelson Education. Jessica E. Dinha, Robert G. Lordb. William L. Mendenhall, M.E. and Osland, J., 2012.Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Routledge. Northouse, P.G., 2015.Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.