Corporate Responsibility Strategy Development For Maruti Suzuki Management Essay

Corporate Responsibility Strategy Development For Maruti Suzuki Management Essay The report is on Corporate Responsibility practice currently in Maruti Suzuki India Limited, review of their performance and recommending a strategy which delivers positive value with a sustainable competitive advantage. Maruti Suzuki India Limited is major concerns are the labour issues caused by the contract, young and restless and the environmental impact. With the awareness of environmental aspect, customers are shifting towards eco-friendly products and valuing product which are doing so. Regulation and global competition on becoming more environmental friendly organisation is pushing companies to do more on reducing consumption and waste. The corporate responsibility issues in value chain across the three category Environmental , Social and Economic is analysed and is tabulated with the prioritised impacts. Then the current performance highlights of the MSIL in the Environmental , Social and Economic from their annual Corporate Responsibility Report. The short comes and areas of improvement are discussed. With the issues and the present performance of corporate responsibility, a better responsible vision is created. A corporate responsibility strategy is developed to gain value. Introduction Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL, formerly known as Maruti Udyog Limited) is a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan. Maruti Suzuki claims to be the leader of the Indian car market for over two and a half decades. The company has two manufacturing facilities located at Gurgaon and Manesar, India. Both the facilities have a combined capability to produce over a 1.5 million vehicles annually. The company plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to 1.75 million by 2013. Maruti Suzuki contributes 45 % of total industry sales in India. Maruti Suzuki is the only Indian Company to have crossed the 10 million sales mark since its inception since 1983. In 2011-12, the company sold over 1.13 million vehicles including 127,379 units of exports. (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). The Company employs over 9000 people (as on 31st March, 2012). Maruti Suzukis sales and service network is one of the largest among car manufacturers in India. The Company has been rated first in customer satisfaction in the JD Power survey for 12 consecutive years (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012). Figure Maruti Vision and Core Values F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksvision-banner-bottom.jpg Source: (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012) Maruti Suzuki has gained several awards for organisation performance and products. Maruti is be the leader in the automobile industry in India and doing their best to improve in their performance. Figure Certifications Source : (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) Maruti has a strong presence of its network and availability across India. With a 1100 sales network in 801 cities and 2958 service station in 1408 cities. Figure Maruti Domestic Presence F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksmap.jpg Source: (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) The Maruti started exporting since 1987, as of 2011 the total units exported was 863,380. Europe has the highest share with 55 % followed by Asia 17 % , Africa 16 % and Latin America 10 % . Recently they have started exporting to Oceania. Maruti has expanded into Insurance , Finance , Used Care Sale and Fleet management keeping closely aligned with the core business. Maruti also has a Joint venture with its 19 suppliers who are considered to be vital among the 290 suppliers. Maruti Insurance Maruti Finance Maruti TrueValue N2N Fleet Management While working to enhance shareholder wealth, Maruti Suzuki will regularly engage with all stakeholders to assess their needs and through its products, services, conduct and management initiatives, promote their sustained growth and well-being (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). There has been issues in the management do to the joint venture agreement between Suzuki and Government of India , until recently Government of India has sold its complete share to Indian financial institution. Due to the management changes and pose of job loses dude to the change there has been lot of unresolved issue with the work force. Since its first operations in 1983 there has been strikes , go slow protest by the labours. There have been many occurrence in the years 1984,1997,2000,2001,2002,2011 and 2012. The recent incident at Manaser shock the whole industry, leaving one dead and 100 injured when more than 500 workers broke the office and set it on fire. The reason of this from the labour side is that the contract works get only half the salary of the permanent employees also claim harsh working conditions. Discriminatory comments to a low-caste worker by the supervisors. The management disagreed to the cast discrimination. Corporate responsibility issues across value chain Clean, lean and safe cars are not only societally desirable but they also have the potential to create a competitive advantage for the industry, insofar as they meet these consumer expectations, are affordable and address needs which are applicable to, and have to be addressed by, the global community as a whole (European Commission, 2006). Environment Issues Environment issue is mainly in the Manufacturing of vehicles, inbound component and part manufacturing and Logistics. Electricity is consumed in both inbound and operations and their back up power supply is powered by fossil fuel both leading to Greenhouse gas. There are waste such as Hazardous waste from the production, shredded metals and residue from raw materials, Oil and lubrication from operation and service, package materials and water waste. Logistics is a major operation as the manufactured vehicles has to be delivered across the country and also to the harbour for exporting. With the just in time model the is an increases in the inbound logistic (India transport portal, 2010). The Fossil fuel is used for combustion and this leads to Greenhouse gas potential increasing the carbon foot print. Figure shows the important environment issues across the value chain. Figure Environmental issues across the value chain F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcsrSlide1.JPG Social Issues The recent incident in Manesar says more on the social issues which are involved with the workforce management. Even with the industry saying Maruti is best in wage payment they have workforce issue due to the contract workers, young and restless workers (Malini Bureau, 2012). Figure shows the key social impacts across the value chain, in social all the issues are taken as important as failing to respond to it will damage the reputation and decrees the brand value. Figure Social issues across the value chain F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcsrSlide2.JPG Economic Issues Economic issues concerns over the policies and the good practices in doing the business. The regulation which has to be obeyed in doing the action, this issue should not trigger companys image as corrupt and spoiled. Figure show the key economic issues across the value chain. Figure Economic issues across the value chain F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcsrSlide3.JPG Review of Corporate Responsibility Corporate responsibility practices of an organisation relies on the transparency of the practices as presented in corporate reporting and strategy documentation. Maruti Suzuki has well prepared and clear information on corporate responsibility which is published in their website and annual corporate responsibility report which are aligned to Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksbanner-1.jpg Maruti Suzukis focus has been on growing together with its business partners. The Company is aware that in Giving support to its business partners on issues of sustainability, it will Get back in return manifold. This will naturally translate into an opportunity for Maruti Suzuki and all its partners to Grow together sustainably (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). Transparency The corporate responsibility report generally tends to have its good deeds more on it and this is why there may be a lack in transparency. This report should be prepared as per the international Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. Based on environmental and social impact performance, Maruti Suzuki India Limited has received an overall Scientific Rating of 6.3, which is 26% higher than the average for all Company Ratings. Transparency related to environmental performance is 7.6 and Transparency related to social performance is 6.1 the full index is in the Appendix A (GoodGuide, 2012). Corporate responsibility report can be made more reliable when there is a check and reliability check by external authority . Having more indicators to compare and asses the position of the company within the industry. Environment performance Maruti has significantly brought down CO2 emission per vehicle in car manufacturing. At the Gurgaon Plant, CO2 per vehicle in 2010-11 came down by 15% compared to the previous year while in Manesar facility, CO2 emission reduced by 13% during the year. Maruti uses Natural Gas for power generation, which further limits CO2 emission. The use of waste fuel of turbines to generate steam and compressed air also helped bring down CO2 emission per vehicle. Maruti has registered its first Clean Development Project with the UN Framework for Climate Change (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). In a significant initiative, a part of the hazardous waste generated at the plants is supplied to the cement industry where it is utilized for co-processing. The hazardous waste being sent includes paint sludge, phosphate sludge and ETP sludge. In all, 6,447 tons of such waste was sent for recycle/use in the cement industry in 2010-11, the first year of this initiative. The present landfills are also being emptied out, enabling efficient use of land within the facilities (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012). The 42% of the total water requirement was met through recycled and reused water in 2010-11. Figure Environmental performance in 2011 Gurgaon plant Manesar plant F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks15co2.jpg Reduction in CO2 emissions F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks13co2.jpg Reduction in CO2 emissions F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks5wa.jpg Less water used In manufacturing F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworks16wa.jpg Less water used In manufacturing F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkstree.jpg 25,000 Tree Planted F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksled.jpg LED lights for street lighting and meeting rooms F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworksindex.jpg 6,447 tons of waste recycle/re used F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkslo.jpg 76% of suppliers within 100 kms of radius Source : (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012) Environmental performance can be increased by reducing the logistic in supply chain and transporting the finished product. Recycling of the cars after its life cycle, Maruti Suzuki has to do much in their environmental aspect when it is compared with the Global terms. Social performance Maruti Suzuki spends Rs 15.2 crore on social responsibility projects in 2010-11, an increase of 34.5 per cent over the previous year. Employee volunteers remained the driving force behind the Companys social programs. They contributed about 2792 volunteer hours, at 24 volunteering centres. Road Safety is Maruti Suzukis (Q,N,C,F)* flagship national program for the society. The Company and its partners promote Road Safety by imparting driving training, awareness and advocacy (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). The number of Maruti Driving Schools, set up and managed by its dealer partners, doubled to 166 during 2010-11. The Company also imparts driving training through Institutes of Driving Training and Research (IDTR), set up in partnership with state governments. These IDTRs trained 70,000 people during 2010-11. While working to enhance shareholder wealth, Maruti Suzuki will regularly engage with all stakeholders to assess their needs and through its products, services, conduct and management initiatives, promote their sustained growth and well-being (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). The Company works closely with communities in four villages at Manesar. It runs education support centres, a computer literacy centres and vocational training programs including driving training, besides upgrading school infrastructure in these villages. Figure Social initiatives Maruti Suzuki is one of the best paid companies, with the economic and drops in sales figure it has been put in tough times. There have been rising issue with the management and labour in the past and in July 2011 the works broke the office in Manesar plant and set it on fire with took a life of a senior executive and left hundreds injured. This issue are due to the lack of management attention , having contact workers , young and restless workers. The loss in lockout of Manesar plant was more than 1 billion rupees (India CSR, 2012). Economic Performance Maruti Suzuki strongly believes in sustained business growth and works towards the well being of its direct stakeholders. It makes far-reaching investment decisions taking into consideration unmet customer needs, market growth potential, upcoming regulations and long term sustainability of the Maruti and its various stakeholders (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012). Maruti Suzuki is investing over Rs. 60,000 million in new manufacturing facilities, expansion of RD infrastructure and vehicle stockyards. Maruti registered its highest ever sales of 1,271,005 vehicles in domestic and export markets in 2010-11.Companys sales in the domestic market crossed the one million vehicle milestone for the first time in with the sale of 1,132,739 units, a growth of 30.1% over the previous year. Figure Economic performance ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS ACHIEVEMENTS 2009-10 ACHIEVEMENTS 2010-11 CHANGE Domestic Sales (nos.) 870,790 1,132,739 30.1% Export Sales (nos.) 147,575 138,266 -6.3% Total Sales (nos.) 1,018,365 1,271,005 24.8% Net Sales (Rs. mn) 289,585 361,282 24.75% Profit After Tax (Rs. mn) 24,976 22,886 -8.3% Reserves and Surplus (Rs. mn) 116,906 137,230 17.3% Market share (A+B+C)* 44.6% 44.9% 0.3 % Contribution to national exchequer (Rs. mn) 51,442 71,343 38.6% Expenditure on RD (Rs. mn) 1,733 4,163 140.2% Expenditure on CSR (Rs. mn) 113 152 34.5% Source : (Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012) Developing Better Vision With rapid economic growth and investment in new capacities, skill development is critical for the country and the manufacturing sector. While this requires a concerted effort at the national level, Maruti Suzuki is doing its bit in this area as part of its CSR program. With learning from the past Maruti has an issue which impact social dimension which in turn affects the economic dimension. With the growing awareness of environment, failing to act will bring in issues in long term. Stage 1 Maruti has its value since its launch and is said to be Indias Pride , on environmental impact the have to improve their indicators. Environmental and social performance can be only improved if the people who are involved are willing to bring in the process. They have ISO 14001:2004 Environment Management System Certificate for Gurgaon and Manesar Plants, Figure bring in the Human resource factor in the ISO 14001 in the stages will help in effective engagement of people. Figure Sustainability through human resource factors F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCoursework14001.jpg Source : (Bonnie Su-chun, 2001) Stage 2 Redesigning process, product and business to gain value, one of the causes for manesar Plants incident was the lack of ownership and executive decision. With the past experience the should be new process in place to avoid such fatal risk. Creating new ways for improving efficiency, adding more value for the customers will be achieved only with the interest of the stakeholders. Innovation in more energy efficient cars , Stage 3 and 4 are with the innovation and expansions of business aligning to its core business. This can be new venture dealing with the cars after their life cycle, this could bring in more value and reduce the waste. To have an effective execution of the vision there should be an integrated and systematic in the five critical areas. Figure Vision Vision Developing Corporate Responsibility Strategy The Corporate responsibility strategy could be implemented in 3 years addition along the way. Corporate Responsibility Drivers Stakeholders including consumers, investors, and employees pay increasing attention to the social and environmental footprints of business and corporate-responsibility (Bhattacharya, et al., 2011). The drivers for the corporate responsibility are Growing concern of the environment. Social wellbeing of the workers. Customers preference of products which are efficient and environmental friendly To improve the brand value Key Issues Objectives Improving workforce management by collaborating with the associations and satisfy the genuine needs of labours. Improving executive task ownership and responsibility through having a structure. Improving community through local hiring, working with NGOs to run education and health camps. Educating good driving habits through Road Safety Initiatives and Maruti Driving Schools. Compiling with governing body and organization for environmental impact assessments, social impact assessments and internal management systems. Research and development on bring out more efficient vehicles. Targets and Key Performance Indicators Training 3,00,000 people on Safe driving. Opening 50 more Maruti Driving Schools. Reducing CO2, electricity and water consumption by 3 % per vehicle in both the manufacturing plants. Improve workforce welfare, avoid strikes. To have 75% of suppliers with ISO 14001 certification. Reducing packaging material by 5 % and using bio degradable packaging material. Reducing employee injury rate by 10 %. Governance Stakeholder Engagement Maruti has a well-structured organization with good communication channel to perform. Figure Corporate governance structure F:MBAModulesSem 2NBS-M019 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITYCourseworkcorprategor.jpg Source : (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) To have an effective Corporate Responsibility there should be good engagement across all levels with the understanding about it. The Board of directors who look into the whole CR function and discuss with the committees for prioritising the issues and key activities. These committees are different for economic, social and environment they are responsible for the distributing the roles and responsibility to the staffs , achieving targets and reporting to the Board of directors. Control and audit looks into the performance of staffs, changes in the global stage and benchmarking. Figure Governance, Accountability and Reporting Structure Remuneration of executive and employees for achieving their targets will motivate them to carry on the good work. The Stakeholder engagement can be improved by does the activities in Figure Stakeholder engagement activities Figure Stakeholder engagement activities Stakeholder Activity Shareholders and Investors Annual General Meeting Investor Meets Suppliers Product Meeting Joint Venture HR Meeting Dealers Balanced Score Card Dealer conference Zone Meeting Social Meetings with Community NGOs meeting Environment Regulatory Authorities Community Feedback Management Systems The process of managing the sustainability should be headed by the Board of directors having the knowledge of the prioritise issues and key activities. Management communities get in the views and concerns from various elements, they then asses the importance and benefit of performing the action on it. The also look in for possible risk which will affect them. These are taken into account in the planning stage itself. Environmental , social and economic impacts should be open to scrutiny by government agency , independent regulatory bodies and other firm in order to have a transparency and increasing the confidence of the reliability in the performance figures. The risk management activity is reviewed by the Audit Committee through a management subcommittee, namely the Executive Risk Management Committee. It reviews risk management activities on a regular basis, in addition to scanning for emerging risks. Economic Social Executive Risk Management Committee Board Of Directors Assessment by Authorities and outside firms Environmental Stakeholder Concerns, Business Impacts, Risks And Opportunities Management Committee Adapted : (Maruthi Suzuki, 2012) Risk Risk is caused both from internally driven and externally driven. Figure Maruti Risk Economic Risks Environmental Risks Systematic financial failure Labour Strike Competitor Economy slowdown Carbon Positioning Flood and Land Slides Plastic waste Earthquake Land and water use management Geopolitical Risks Societal Risks Government Changes New policies and regulations Water supply crises Power supply crises Fire and Safety Reputation Technological Risks Failure of IT system Cyber attack and Data privacy Conclusion Maruti corporate responsibility is performing good at the moment when compared to its competitor in the domestic region. The major issue in the social are the labour unrest. With the improved vision the company will bring in more value. The process is improved with implying human resources factors and managing the at all levels. Transparency is gained by allowing the external firms and authorities to scrutiny. The new corporate responsibility strategy is aligned to the existing activities and issue. Stretching the environmental performance figures will gain brand value and compete with the international industry level . Bibliography Bhattacharya, C., Danie, l. K. Sankar, S., 2011. What really drives value in corporate responsibility?. [Online] Available at: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/What_really_drives_value_in_corporate_responsibility_2895 [Accessed 11 12 2012]. Bonnie, F. D. Su-chun, H., 2001. Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource. International Journal of Operations Production Management, 22(12), pp. 1539 1552. European Commission, 2006. A Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century, Belgium: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. GoodGuide, 2012. Maruti Suzuki India Limited GoodGuide Ratings. [Online] Available at: http://companies.goodguide.com/l/121398/Maruti-Suzuki-India-Limited [Accessed 11 12 2012]. India CSR, 2012. Lockout in Marutis Manesar Unit Costing Rs 90 crore Per Day: Assocham. [Online] Available at: http://www.indiacsr.in/en/?p=7334 [Accessed 10 12 2012]. India transport portal, 2010. A peek into Marutis supply chain management. [Online] Available at: http://indiatransportportal.com/2010/12/a-peek-into-maruti%E2%80%99s-supply-chain-management/ [Accessed 09 12 2012]. Malini, G. Bureau, E., 2012. Four reasons behind Maruti Suzukis Manesar problems. [Online] Available at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-22/news/32777541_1_maruti-suzuki-s-manesar-maruti-s-manesar-shinzo-nakanishi [Accessed 09 12 2012]. Maruthi Suzuki, 2012. Awards. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/sustainabilityreport/certifications.html [Accessed 10 12 2012]. Maruthi Suzuki, 2012. Maruthi Suzuki Sustainability Report 10-11, Gurgaon : Maruti Suzuki India Limited . Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. About Us. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/about-us.aspx [Accessed 11 12 2012]. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. Annual Report 2011-12, New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Limited. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. Environmental Performance. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/sustainabilityreport/environmental.html [Accessed 10 12 2012]. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 2012. Sustainability approach. [Online] Available at: http://www.marutisuzuki.com/sustainabilityreport/sustainability-approach.html [Accessed 10 12 2012].

Membership in the field of counseling

The discipline of mental health has had a long history of challenges and controversies. In the past decade we have seen an active progress in the way mental health professionals have been recognized and clearly identified as a separate discipline from psychiatry or clinical counseling. Moreover, legislations to promote the welfare of mental health counselors have been lobbied for as well as setting up standards for education, training, certification and practice of the profession. One of the most active proponent for the professionalizing of the mental health discipline is the American Mental Health Counselors Association, the organization have enabled the setting up of a professional organization exclusively for mental health counselors, the setting up of a national certification program for mental health counselors, the accreditation of educational institutions that provide training in mental health education and the setting up of a national system of state licensure (Messina, 1999). The AMHCA have become the primary voice of all mental health professionals in the country and it continues to work for the betterment of the profession and to protect those who are engaged in the counseling profession. As a mental health student, I realized that it is important to join professional organizations not just for certification or to meet licensing requirements. I believe that professional organizations are like the federal government that oversees the conduct of the profession and sets ethical guidelines and standards of practice much in the same way that the government upholds the constitution. Becoming a member of a professional organization would give me a clear direction of what my professional responsibilities are and what limitations I need to be aware of, it would also help me delineate the services that I can offer to my clients given the kind of training and education that I have. It also would keep me abreast of the recent developments in the mental health discipline; it provides trainings and workshops, research funding and a stable support group for the mental health counselor. One of the objectives of the AMHCA (2004) is to work with educational institutions that provide mental health counselor training and to make sure that the curriculum is aligned with the core competencies and skills that a mental health counselor should have even before seeking professional recognition. This is important because it would ensure the standardization of the counselor education and thus makes it possible that all mental health counselors are equipped with the necessary skills to give quality services to their clients. According to Messina (1999), only a small proportion of educational institutions have been accredited by the organization, in the long run this would mean that few mental health graduates would be qualified to become mental health counselors as required by AMHCA. If fewer counselors seek to be accredited or certified, then the professional integrity of the practitioners will deteriorate. This is an important issue to look into since the kind of services and the quality of the client-counselor relationship is dependent on how well-trained and equipped the counselors are to meet the needs of the client. We all know that the efficacy of the counselor in helping the client resolve his/her issues is dependent on the counseling plan that counselor draws up for the client. It takes a certain degree of skill and theoretical knowledge to be able to deal with different clients and it is the responsibility of the counselor to always uphold what is best for the client. It is therefore important to come up with a legislation that would require all educational institutions to seek accreditation from the AMHCA (2004) to further the mental health profession. References American Mental Health Counselors Association found at http://www.amhca.org/ Messina, J. (1999). What’s next for the profession of mental health counseling? Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 21; 3, 285. Retrieved on October 17, 2007 from Academic Premier Search database. Â  

Atlantic Computer Case Study Essay

Atlantic Computer developed a product, the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle†, to meet an emerging basic server market. The Atlantic Bundle is a Tronn server coupled with the Performance Enhancing Server Accelerator software tool â€Å"PESA†. Atlantic Computer must decide on the pricing strategy. Situational Analysis The external analysis is as follows: †¢Customers: The first customer identified has a primary need to host websites, â€Å"Web Server† customer. The second customer identified has a primary need for file servers that help layout designers share graphic, text, and layouts, â€Å"File Sharing† customer. Customers in these segments appear to be the ones that will benefit the most from the PESA tool. †¢Competition: The primary competition in the market is Ontario who claims 50% of revenue market share with the remainder of market comprised of many smaller venders (external threat, Appendix A). Ontario’s business model focuses on driving out non-value added costs and competing largely on price (value pricing). Its products are sold primarily through the internet. †¢Collaborators: The server division relies upon a high-touch direct sales channel at a higher cost than that of online sales. Sales reps receive 70% salary and 30% commission. †¢Context: The largest segment of the server industry is the high performance server segment. The segment is expected to demand approximately 200,000 units next year and is expected to grow at approximately 3% annually over the following two years. The basic server segment is a newer segment with strong forecasted growth of 36% (external opportunity, Appendix A). The segment will comprise approximately 20% of total units sold next year at 50,000 units. By the third year of the forecast, the basic server market will make up approximately 30% of total units sold. The internal analysis is as follows: †¢Company situation: Atlantic is a well-established company with over 30 years of experience in the server market. The company is known for providing top-notch, highly reliable products and high quality, responsive post-sales assistance (internal strength, Appendix A). Atlantic has focused on selling high-end performance servers to large enterprise customers. The â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† was developed to assist the company in emerging into the basic server segment. The product was created to produce a basic server without creating a substitute product to the high performance servers. However, the logic seems flawed as customers would not have viewed the basic server as a substitute to the high-performance servers (internal weakness, Appendix A). In the past, Atlantic’s sales force gave away software tools. †¢Relative market/competitive position: Ontario’s Zink server performs at approximately the same level as Atlantic’s Tronn. Even without the built-in PESA R&D costs the Tronn was priced higher relative to the Zink. Hence, the target market was narrowed to include customers that require more than one server. PESA allows the Tronn to perform up to four times faster than its standard speed. The â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† will allow companies to reduce the number of basic servers they must purchase and reduce operating expenses such as electricity charges and software license fees. Mr. Matzer indicated the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† is the sale they want. †¢Results: The gains to customers from the PESA software tool were examined and it was found that the Web Server and File Sharing application segments will benefit the most from the tool. The conclusion was based on the benefit to customers of being able to purchase fewer servers and the resulting savings (internal strength, Appendix A). †¢Challenges: The primary challenge will be to address whether Atlantic will be successful utilizing its commissioned sales force rather than online sales. Another problem arises in how to motivate the sales force and the training required to sell the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle†. Finally, software has historically been given away which appears to be the industry norm. Charging for software may alienate customers (internal weakness, Appendix A). Alternative Courses of Action Free PESA Software with Purchase. Rather than regarding the PESA R&D as a sunk cost, I chose to distribute the costs to every server. The price under this route was determined to be $2,122 (see Appendix B). The primary drawback is that a customer who would have normally purchased the Tronn without the software would be charged a higher price ($2,122 vs. $2,000). Continuing with the tradition and norm of free software, staff would not have to be retrained and customers will not feel alienated. Furthermore, the one-bundle price could easily be transitioned to on-line sales, and the low price will increase market share. The â€Å"free† software could create an illusion of low perceived value. Finally, the lower price will result in lower profit margins, and it does not take into consideration the value advantage received by the customer. Competition Based Pricing. The price under this route was determined to be $3,400 (see Appendix C). Under this route, the company will earn more profit per bundle sold. Additionally, minimal effort is required to determine the price. However, the competition based pricing creates indifference between the â€Å"Atlantic Bundle† and its competition. The higher price will also reduce market share and could stir a pricing war. Cost-Plus. The price under this route was determined to be $2,245 (see Appendix D). Atlantic would gain market share under this route as the price is low relative to the benefits the customer receives. Additionally, the pricing will remain the same for the next three years. This approach does not take into consideration the value advantage received by the customer. Also, it results in lower profit margins per bundle sold. Value-In-Use. The price under this route was determined to be $3,200 (see Appendix E). The primary benefit is that the approach is customer focused. The price is justified and the customer will perceive higher value for the price. Higher margins will also be earned. However, Atlantic will lose market share under this route at the higher price. Additionally, staff would have to be extensively re-trained and motivated. Customers who primarily purchase online may be reluctant to sit through â€Å"We can save you money!† sales pitches. Recommendation The company should proceed with the free PESA software route. The primary benefit is that the company will be able to initiate online sales which will reduce training costs, salaries, and commissions and will make up for the lower profit margins earned. One primary drawback is a customer will be charged a higher price even if they do not require the PESA tool. However, the target market has been narrowed to include customers that require more than one server, because it is unlikely that a customer who requires only one server will purchase the Tronn over the Zink. The most likely response from Ontario is to lower the price of the Zink to remain competitive. At the low price of $2,122, Ontario would have to lower Zink’s price to less than half of the price of the Tronn to fight for market share from the target market. Finally, the lower price feeds into the market-penetration strategy to maximize market share. The issue of perceived low quality can be disregarded as customers h ave proven the low-cost strategy utilized by Ontario has not affected their opinions on quality. Conclusion The free PESA software will allow the company to compete on the same level as Ontario through price and online sales without having to retrain employees, stray from the general rule of providing free software, or introducing sales pitches to customers who will likely be reluctant to take part. The low, competitive price will support market penetration and favor Atlantic should Ontario reduce its prices.

The Use of Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown Essay - 742 Words

â€Å"The Use of Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown† â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1835, is a short story about a man named young Goodman Brown who leaves his wife, Faith, to go on an errand into the woods with the devil. Faith begs Goodman Brown to not leave her alone, but he chooses to go anyways. This short story shows many signs of symbolism, such as the forest, the devil, the staff, the pink ribbons, Faith, sin, and guilt. These symbols help in understanding the story of young Goodman Brown and his unconscious struggle with his religion. The trip not only takes Brown onto a journey of sadness, but also into the deepest parts of his soul. Goodman Brown wishes to enter the dark forest of sin, to satisfy his†¦show more content†¦Young Goodman Brown then finds himself alone in the forest, wondering whether he has awakened from a dream or if he really did attend the witches’ sabbath. Brown chooses to believe that his dream is true, and that everyone around him is involved in witchc raft. â€Å"The next morning, young Goodman Brown came slowly into the street of Salem village staring around him like a bewildered man.† (Paragraph 70) Because of this, Brown spends the remainder of his life being, A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man† (Paragraph 75). Goodman Brown now looks for the devil behind every bush and in the hearts of all those around him, never recognizing that his own soul is now hopelessly corrupt and blind to the light and goodness of God. The forest, the devil and his staff, and Faith and her pink ribbons are the main points to prove young Goodman Brown of a story full of symbolism. There is no doubt that the traveler meeting Brown is the devil and the devils staff is clearly the symbol of a serpent. Faith is both Brown’s wife and religion. The pink ribbons discussed are symbolized as innocence because his faith in God is the right thing to do. Unlike following the devil, which led Brown to sin and guilt. â€Å"Ha! ha! ha!† roared Goodman Brown, when the wind laughed at him. â€Å"Let us hear which will laugh loudest! Think not to frighten meShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown 946 Words   |  4 Pages In Hawthorne’s ‘Young Goodman Brown’ the main character, Goodman Brown leaves his wife alone for a night to go to a secret meeting in the forest. As it turns out the religious Goodman Brown is actually sneaking off to meet with the Devil. While in the forest with the devil he sees many influential people from town there as well, including his wife. They seem to be about to be taken into the cult when Goodman Brown looks at his wife and begs her to remain with her Faith. 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This story presents us with the protaganist, a young and innocent man named Goodman Brown, whichRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1422 Words   |  6 Pageswas born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He was most famous for his writings The Scarlet Letter, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and an abundant array of other books and short stories. The stories that are mentioned contain a copious amount of symbolism throughout the entirety of each book. All the stories that he ever wrote have an underlying meaning and the symbolism was hidden within in the names, characters, places, and actions that happened in the books and helped the