Electronic Commerce Introduction As the inter Essays - E-commerce

Electronic Commerce Introduction: As the internet grows in popularity every day, so too does electronic commerce. Electronic commerce, simply put, is the exchange of money for goods and services via electronic means. In other words, electronic commerce is usually when you purchase something off of the internet. Electronic commerce is often referred to as e-commerce, or e-business. In this paper I will be discussing the technical side of e-commerce, security, different points of view regarding e-business, and of course my personal opinion and experiences. Background Information: First I would like to discuss the types of e-business. E-business can be anything from purchasing a toaster from a department store online to checking your bank statement online. All are examples of the many aspects of e-business. There are several aspects of e-business unique to it. When comparing traditional business to e-business, one can see several differences between the two. The most obvio us difference when buying standard goods (such as a toaster, a book, or a new computer) is the store. When dealing with e-business there is no "real" store or merchandise to look at. It is all presented through the merchant's webpage, or by other electronic means. You will not be able to touch, or inspect potential purchases. All you will have to go on is perhaps a picture and a brief description of the item in question. This is obviously a big change from traditional store-based business practices. Why would any self-respecting consumer buy something via e-business if they were unable to touch, or inspect a potential purchase, and there is a real store just done the street? There are several reasons why e-business is appealing to a growing amount of people. For example, e-business is based on the internet. If you are using the internet, you are not bound by geography. You can access any site, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your computer chair. What does this mean to the consumer? Now the consumer has access to several things they didn't before. The consumer now has diversity. With the entire internet at your fingers, in a matter of minutes you can browse several stores in several parts of the world without even leaving your home. This allows you to compare prices and products. With e-business you are not restricted to the prices and products of you local stores. You can easily choose the best price on the best product.

Travel Articles Arent for Travel Magazines Only

Travel Articles Arent for Travel Magazines Only You shouldn’t limit your efforts for a travel-article sale living magazines, regionals, lifestyles, newspapers, seniors magazines, general magazines and even pet magazines (if your pet article is travel related) and more all print travel articles. FAMILY FUN, a family and parenting magazine, has several travel columns.   Two are â€Å"We Tried It† and â€Å"You are There.†Ã‚   These one-page articles detail a family’s experience trying a specific activity or at a participatory attraction.   Christian magazines often combine information about interesting places with missions and/or ministry opportunities.   Business magazines have short articles pertaining to travelbusiness trips, airports that provide things to do between flights, etc.   Regional or lifestyle magazinesMIDWEST LIVING and SOUTHERN LIVING, for examplelook for short pieces on scenic drives, city profiles, road trips, destinations, etc.   EVERYDAY WITH RACHAEL RAY, a food and lifestyle magazine, usually has up to ten pages of travel-related articles.   Even frugal-living newsletters purchase travel pieces.   I sold a short article on how to save money on the purchase of a rental car and another on how to save money when taking a r oad trip to THE DOLLAR STRETCHER.   And, of course, there are the writing magazines.   Once you have a little travel-writing savvy under your belt, tell others how you do it Travel articles embody more than the 2,000-3,000 word feature articles on destinations and the like; they also include 50-150- word quick-hit pieces on the latest travel trendsgear, gadgets, etc.and other short 250-500 word pieces on everything from dining and nightlife to health and transportation as long as it’s travelrelated.   Travel markets other than the traditional travel markets are ubiquitous and virtually endless. Travel articles often straddle one or more market boundaries.   That is why so many different types of magazines are able to use them. For example, a story about people with disabilities or medical conditions using air transportation would be both health and travel related and a story about elite travel status could find a home in a business magazine and a travel magazine.   I am currently working on a short 250-word write-up for ARTHRITIS TODAY on a home-grown strategy my son came up with for a container to carry injection needles on board an airplane, an article prompted You can often glean the travel information for your alternative magazine markets from what you used in a larger more in-depth travel article you wrote for a bona fide travel magazine.   I recently wrote a more-than-2,000-word logistics article on a major city for TRAVEL SMART, for example.   From that one article I was able to cull a 600-word how-to for a writing magazine, a 1,000-word article for another and a 700-word how-to for a frugal living newsletter (all travel-related articles, of course).   And I’m not finished.   I tentatively plan a short distillery profile (travel related) for a bourbon magazine (non-travel publication), an idea that came to me when I included a distillery tour as part of my lengthy logistics article.   As I’d already researched and reported on these spin-offs in my original article, recycling them to other non-travel markets was fairly simple. As freelance writers we need to keep the checks coming in. If you’re a travel writer, cash in (I mean that literally) on every opportunity to â€Å"crossover† into other non-travel magazines with your travel articles.

Frank Gehry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frank Gehry - Essay Example In 1956, Gehry moved to Massachusetts with his wife in a bid to enroll into Harvard’s School of Design. Sadly, the education life at Harvard was never completed, which saw him drop out and afterwards, divorce his first wife. The reason for his non-completion in Harvard’s Design School was because his ideas for a socially responsible type of architecture were not realized (Isenberg and Gehry 43). He remarried in 1975, and had two more children with Berta Isabel Aguilera. He later went back to California after his attempt at design school failed, and that is where the legend of Frank Gehry was born. Works around the world Shortly after moving back to California, Gehry began making his name a household name through the Easy Edges furniture line. Most of the cardboard furniture products were sold in California between 1969 and 1973 before his marriage to Isabel, and before taking on the task of remodeling his family’s house in Santa Monica. It was this erratic remodeling that saw Gehry capture the architectural world’s attention as his design was deemed unique and out of this world. The famous Walt Disney Concert Hall is among Gehry’s famous works, and this was after he achieved celebrity status after modeling homes in Southern California for a while. The Guggenheim Museum building in Spain and a skyscraper in New York city are also Gehry’s works, and have become tourist attraction sites visited by countless individuals. The Opus Hong Kong tower in China can also be placed among his top achievements (Isenberg and Gehry 48). In some instances, Gehry is said to have been invol ved in the designing of jewelry, liquor bottles, and even trophies. He is said to have designed an ice hockey trophy, which was for the World Cup Hockey tournament. These ‘quick fixes’, according to Gehry, were as a result of the little or lack of realization of exceptional architecture (Lange 53). He, therefore, may have wanted to remain relevant in the field of design even if it meant that he would not be designing buildings and memorials. Style and design and the material used Gehry’s style was a deconstructivist form of architecture, which pushed and challenged the accepted designs of architecture. It is a post-structuralist aesthetic that is most familiar with architects who go against the normally accepted paradigms of architecture, and is most visible and popular in California. This might be because he did most of his works in the area during the 1980’s. It is believed that Gehry calculatedly violates the modernism approach to architecture with his focus on the right angles and cubes (Lange 59). The instability that is the deconstructivist approach is what makes the designs by Frank memorable. Even though the projects may be comprehensive and complete, they tend to bring about the feeling of explosion. In some sense, the nature of the deconstructivist style is to bring about the acceptance of flaws as an inevitable phenomenon in architecture. Cardboard and scotch tape are the materials used to bring the designs in Gehry’s head to life, which later turn into buildings. In many of his works, Gehry has incorporated the use of titanium and stainless steel. Theme in Frank Gehry’s works One thing that makes Gehry a truly gifted architect of his day is his perceptive and immaculate manner of bringing out his designs. He is said to be fond of fish as most of his structural designs are said to have used fish motifs engrained in some

DIAGEO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DIAGEO - Essay Example 8,090. The operating profit of the company was ?2,443 million during FY2009, an increase of 3.1% over FY2008. The net profit was ?1,621 million in FY2009, an increase of 2.1% over FY2008 (Diageo - Annual Report, 2009). Diageo was created in 1997 as a result of the merger of Guinness and GrandMet (Diageo - Our History, 2011). Diageo rapidly expanded in next few years through both organic and acquisition channels. In 2001, Diageo also acquired the spirits and wine business of Seagram. In 2004, the company acquired Ursus Vodka. In 2005, Chalone Wine Group was acquired. Later, the company also acquired Bushmills Irish whiskey which included Bushmills' Distillery, which is amongst the oldest licensed distillery in the world. In 2006, the company made its first acquisition in China. The company bought a 43% stake in Sichuan Chengdu Quanxing, parent of Swellfun (Diageo - Our History, 2011). In January 2007, Diageo Asia Pacific was created to target a new geographic location. January 2007 ma rked the trial of new Guinness Red brand in 142 pubs in Great Britain. In February 2007, Diageo invested ?100million in expansion of its Scotch whisky operations in Scotland, in order to meet its future demand. In April 2007, as a part of brand extension, the company launched Johnnie Walker Blue Label and King George V Edition in duty free channels of Europe, the Americas & the Middle East. As a part of its global innovation strategy, the company made minor investment in Nuvo (brand), a new ultra-premium effervescent blend of fine French vodka, French sparkling wine, and exotic fruit nectar created by LLC (Diageo - Our History, 2011). In May 2007, the North American division of the company launched Smirnoff Source, a new premium malt beverage that combines pure spring water with alcohol. In Oct 2007, Diageo announced strategic alliance between Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Ciroc vodka. Under the terms of the deal, Combs and Sean Combs Enterprises took the lead on all brand management decis ions for Ciroc, while sharing in the future profits of the growth of the brand. In November 2007, Diageo invested ?5 million in J&B brand's package redesign to give it a more contemporary look. The new pack highlighted the brand's role as the ultimate party whisky with a design to party goers (Diageo - Our History, 2011). Diageo acquired Rosenblum Cellars in early 2008. In February 2008, Diageo and the Nolet Family formed a 50/50 company which owns the perpetual exclusive rights to sell market and distribute Ketel One Vodka (Diageo - Our History, 2011). In March 2008, Diageo, Heineken and Namibia Breweries reached agreement to form a new joint venture for their combined beer, cider and ready-to-drink (RTD) businesses in South Africa. In May 2008, Diageo reached an agreement to buy all the Constellation Brands' distillery and bottling facility at Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada. In the same month, Diageo made a capital investment of E650 million in a new brewing centre in Ireland to supp ort the growth and development of its global beer business (Diageo - Our History, 2011). Diageo also underwent a brief period of divestment, like that in 2003, which resulted into the selling of its Czech division, Diageo Ceska Republika, to Global Spirits. It also shut down its marketing subsidiary Nightfly (Diageo - Our History, 2011). SWOT ANALYSIS OF DIAGEO Strengths Weakness Wide range of Products Continuously Declining margins Market Leader    Opportunities Threats Ever growing presence in Asia-Pacific region Litigations

Market and business analysis of Cadburys

Market and business analysis of Cadburys Cadbury is a leading global confectionery company with an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands. The company employs around 50,000 people and has direct operations in over 60 countries, selling their products in almost every country around the world. The company creates brands people love, brands like Cadbury, Trident and Halls. The company heritage starts back in 1824 when John Cadbury opened a shop in Birmingham selling cocoa and chocolate. Since then Cadbury have expanded the business throughout the world by a program of organic and acquisition leg growth. On 7 May 2008, the separation of Cadbury confectionery and Americas Beverages business was completed creating Cadbury plc with a vision to be the worlds Biggest and Best confectionery company. Mission Statement Cadbury means quality this is the company promise. The company reputation is built upon quality; the company commitment to continuous improvement will ensure that the company promise is delivered. Cadbury has established itself as a company of fairness and integrity, which always attempts to operate as a socially responsible business. Value Performance Cadbury is passionate about winning. The company competes in a tough but fair way. The company is striving, hardworking and makes the most of the abilities. The company is prepared to take risks and act with speed. Quality Cadbury put quality and safety at the heart of all of the activities such as product, people, partnerships and performance. Respect Cadbury genuinely care for the business and the colleagues which like listen, understand and respond. The company is open, friendly and welcoming. The company embraces new ideas and diverse customs and cultures. Integrity Cadbury always strive to do the right thing. The company does the business with honesty; openness and being straight forward characterize the way. Responsibility Cadbury take accountability for the social, economic and environmental impact. In this way the company aims to make the business, partners and communities better for the future. Cadbury Business Principles are the code of conduct of the company and also take account of global and local cultural and legal standards. They confirm the company commitment to the highest standards of ethics and business conduct. The core purpose of the company is creating brands people love. The core purpose captures the spirit of what the company is trying to achieve as a business. Market Share By participant, the market is relatively fragmented, with the five largest confectionery companies accounting for around 40% of the market. There are a large number of companies which participate in the markets only a regional or local basis. Cadbury compete against multinational, regional and national companies. The graph shows that Cadbury is the second highest of the total confectionery in the market share. Halls is the largest brands in candy of Cadbury. Cadbury have number one and number two confectionery market position in 20 of the worlds 50 largest confectionery markets by retail sales value. Financial statement The graph shows the financial situation of Cadbury from 2006 to 2009. As we can see in the graph, the revenue is reached  ¿Ã‚ ¡5975 million is year 2009 which is slightly increase about 5% from year 2008. In operating income, year 2009 is the highest compare to previous year which is  ¿Ã‚ ¡507 million. Last but not least, year 2009 having 9% of the operating margin which is slightly increase from year 2008. As a conclusion, In year 2009, the performance is pretty well compare to the previous year due to there a keep increase since year 2006 to 2009. PESTLE implication Political The political deals with government influence. The main laws that will affect Cadburys are the consumer protection law. These are the laws and the recent changes in food labeling. The food labeling shouldnt be too influence as Cadburys has label all their goods properly to begin with. Change in manufacturing law will also greatly influence Cadburys as the company may have to change the way to product the cereal. This could lead to the introduction of new mechanical equipment being required or more thorough checks on the current equipment. If new equipment is required if could prove to be very expensive. The Weight and Measures Act, this act should not affect Cadburys since the company have all the equipment and scales used should already be at that of the highest standard. The Trade Description Act, this again should not affect Cadburys due to all the labeling on the products should be correct and thorough giving all the ingredients. The Sale of Good Act, these state that Cadburys should not mislead the consumer. These are currently three conditions. If the government was to introduce a few more it could prove to affect Cadburys. Economic The state of the economy is the main factor. It the country was to go into recession the consumer spending would also drop due to the unemployment. The recession would bring down the sales of a lot of goods mainly the expensive things, which are not necessity. The current economy is well. The interest rates are low and consumer spending is very high. Other economic factor that could affect Cadburys launching a product would be a rise in inflation. This is a rise in price over time. Social If the population size decreased then Cadburys be less people to buy the products therefore less profit.  · If peoples lifestyles changed. For example, nowadays more people wanting to get fit and lose weight, then they will stop eating chocolate and spend their money on gym memberships and others. This means that Cadburys profits will decrease. Technological An increase in capital expenditure will affect Cadburys. For example, more up to date equipment would mean that the goods where produced quicker and cheaper but would also result in job losses. In research and development, keep developing new products to keep up with competition and customer needs. Legal More legislation in place to make sure that the workplace is safe and the worker is better protected. Expensive costs to Cadburys to implement Environment Cadbury launched a corporate social responsibility Web site called DearCadbury.com, which provides consumers information on ethical sourcing, responsible consumption and the environment. The site features Cadburys 2007/08 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability report, which revealed that the company has reduced carbon emissions almost 4 % to date; Cadbury is aiming for a 10 % reduction by 2010. As part of Cadburys Purple Goes Green program, the company committed to a 50 % absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2020. Cadbury also reported that it has met its 2007 goal of reducing water use by 10 % Competitors situation and SWOT analysis Cadburys major competitors are Thorntons, Lindt, Lindor, Nestle, Master food (Mars) and others. They are competing directly with Cadbury. Nestle is one of the Cadburys main competitor in the market. Nestle is one of the worlds largest food manufacturer, Nestlà ©s headquarters in Switzerland and based in 200 countries worldwide. It is renowned as the worlds leading nutrition and health based company. Nestle grows is product line through innovation as well as renovation and maintains a balance on its geo-environmental activities and product lines. They have 253,000 employees around the world. Cadburys SWOT Strengths The largest global confectionery supplier, with 9.9% of global market share. High financial strength Strong manufacturing competence, established brand name and leader in innovation. Advantage that it is totally focused on chocolate, candy, chewing gum, unique understanding of consumer in these segment. Successfully grown through its acquisition strategy. Weakness The company is dependent on the confectionery and beverage market. Other competitors have greater international experience. Opportunities Expand into new markets. Increase share through targeted acquisitions. Key to survival within the FMCG market is increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Innovation Is key driver. Threat Worldwide, there is an increasingly demanding cost environment, particularly for energy, transport, packaging and sugar. Competitive pressure from other branded suppliers. Social changes. Nestlà ©s SWOT Strengths Globally recognized as one of the largest and powerful food producer, covering almost every country. Quality is a vital element regarding nestle products. Strong internal growth and emphasis on innovation internally. Powerful brand positioning in the consumers mind. The decentralized culture in the organization encourages employees. Weakness The immense diversification portfolio of the firm makes it impossible to run every division smoothly. Retailers do not get set high margin to increase more in sales. Transportation as well as storage problem. Opportunities Invest in snacks that would further diversify its product. Provide incentives to the retailers to increase sales volume. Open cafà © that would exclusively provide Nestle products. Middle class share in most of the economies are growing much larger. Threats Pollution of product should be regarded strictly. The company has not so pretty history with the FDA. Tough market with a tougher competitor for gaining market share. Market is quite mature and the competitors specialize in a certain product that can hit hard on Nestle. In comparison of Cadburys SWOT and Nestlà ©s SWOT, Cadbury Strength against Nestle Weakness Cadbury is a brand that is a leader in innovation of products, that focuses on candy, chocolate, that satisfies the various taste of consumers whereas Nestle has a wide range of portfolio of products that exceeded the management skill and man power to manage a smooth and effective management of product. The advantage of Cadbury in the market share has given them the priority in determining the price of their products, whereas the price of Nestle product is depending on the market that they venture and they cannot set price of product that is too high that is not the interest of consumer. Nestle has also problem in locating and distributing the product due to developing countries that has poor communication and network skill between the people. Cadbury Weakness against Nestle Strength Cadburys main weakness is its international inexperience in distributing and expanding its product, whereas Nestle has the most experience in distributing and expanding of their product due to the coverage of its product is over the world. Other Cadburys weakness will be the dependant of the company on too little product line which is beverages and confectionery product unlike Nestle which having lots of the product line like drinks, snack and food that can generate the profit made. Opportunities of Cadbury and Nestle Cadbury can venture into new market to diversify their products into different sector is snack food. Nestle has also look into opening new Nestle cafà © that specialize in selling Nestle products and also promoting new products. Cadbury has to come up with more creative chocolate products to maintain its competitiveness in the market. Nestle should also reduce the portfolio of brands that cost losses to the company and focuses the skilled managers on brands that are generating sales. Threats that is face by Cadbury and Nestle Manufacturing of Nestle product has produce wastage of energy, Nestle has to improve their technology in reducing the pollution to the environment. Cadbury is also widely exposure to competition from other brands of chocolate such as Hersheys because of new product that is more innovative. Chocolate ingredients increase in price will also cost Cadbury in expenditure to purchase the product. Nestle has to improve their brand in the breakfast cereal market because it has been claim to be containing fake health benefits, more cash has to be waste to reposition their product. Market objective Environment objective Specific Aim to reduce carbon emissions Reducing water use Measureable Reduce the carbon emissions by 14% Reducing water use by 12% Achievable Improve the manufacture technology Realistic To invest new technology to save production cost. Chocolate industry have brighten future in UK and Cadbury is leading industry therefore Cadbury is able to invest new technology. Timely In year 2012, the carbon emissions has reduce 18% and reduce water use 14% compare to previous years. In this objective is aim to reduce carbon emissions and reducing water use. Due to the issues of carbon emissions can be reduce their cost of production such as replacing air compressors can be saving electrical cost and reduce the water consumption in their steam used during processing and for cleaning. To reduce water consumption, company must look for new technology of machine to reduce the water consumption. Other than that, reduce the resources of these can be helping company to save cost and protect of natural resources. In the measurement, Cadbury aim to reduce the carbon emissions by 14% and reducing water use by 12%. To achieve this objective, company must be improve the manufacture technology such as membrane technology to reduce the natural resources. Due to the background of the company, Cadbury are able to invest new technology to reduce the resources and it can be save cost when they producing chocolate. By the year of 2012, Cadbury aim in reduce 28% of carbon emissions and reduce 14% of water use compare to previous years. Societal Specific Introduce new product Create new lifestyle for Children Measureable Introduce the diet chocolate Create more children activities Achievable Strong human resources Improve RD department Realistic The improvement of CSR program. Timely In year 2012, increase the brand awareness. As for societal, Cadbury will introduce more new product in market. Children are one the largest market for Cadbury, Cadbury planning to create a new lifestyle for children. By measure, New product such as diet chocolate have potential of getting large market, the main reason is due to local citizen are getting more concern about the health. Diet chocolate is suitable for citizen concern their health. As for lifestyle of children, create more activities for children, activity such as education will help children learn more knowledge. To achieve the target, Cadbury must have strong human resources, only good employee will provide the better performance. RD department also must improve, to have more sales, product for health are very important such as diet chocolate. In realistic, improvement of CSR program is to gain more believe and loyalty from purchaser. By estimation, year 2012 will achieve the objective of societal. Brand awareness will be increase by the support of this objectiv e. Financial objective Specific Growth of revenue in UK Increase total confectionery share gain Measureable To growth 5% of revenue compare to previous years Growth in global market share and increase share in the UK by 50 bps Achievable Carry out a number of advertisements in the market and online. Realistic The revenue is keep increasing compare to previous years. Timely In year 2012, the revenue has to be 15% increase compare to year 2009. In this objective is aim to growth of revenue in UK and increase total confectionery market share. To increase the revenue and market share, Cadbury must carry out more advertisements such as produce different type of packaging to target public event. For examples, in Christmas Cadbury produce hamper for consumers as a Christmas gifts to exchange gifts with friends. In this measurement, Cadbury aim to increase 5% of revenue and increase market share in global market by 50 bps in UK. To achieve this objective, Cadbury organize more events to promote their new packaging such as Christmas hamper on the period before Christmas. In this event, Cadbury could increase sales. Due to the capital of company, Cadbury is able to produce new packaging to their product. By year of 2012 the revenue could increase 15% compare to previous years. Marketing strategy Product Cadbury dairy milk is made from real chocolate. The ingredients for the chocolate are cocoa butter and there is a glass and half full cream daily milk in every 200 grams of Cadbury daily milk chocolate. Cadbury purchase 65 million liters of fresh milk each year to make Cadbury daily milk chocolate. Price Price is very important in the marketing mix. The price changed for a chocolate bar can be affect whether a consumer will buy it and the level of sales can determine whether or not Cadbury Schweppes will make a profit. Price is also can be affected by factors such as the state of economy, what competitor are doing. The stage reached in product life cycle and above all what price the market will accept. Form the marketing point of view this is what matters. Place Cadbury products are produced at the chocolate factory in Bourneville in Birmingham. After the chocolate is produced, it will go through all quality check and transported to the stockrooms. The following, Cadbury sells the products to shops that deal with beverage and confectionery such as convenient store, super store, petrol station, and others. This kind of distributions can make consumer easy to find the product. Cadbury produces chocolate for more than 200 countries so that they have a chance to enjoy it as well and make profit. Because of this, Cadbury have a wide range of consumer around the world. Promotion The purpose of promotion is to communicate directly with potential or existing customer, in order to encourage them to purchase dairy milk and recommend it to others. There is various ways to promote the product such as TV advertisement, banner on the internet, magazine and newspapers. Forecast and Implication 3-years forecast and budget 2009 2010 2011 2012 Sales 5975 6273.75 6587.44 6916.81 Cost 3210 3370.5 3539.03 3715.98 Profit 509 534.45 561.17 589.23

Life Cycle Analysis of Aviation Products

INTRUDUCTIONIt is very easy to question a nation for its decision to retire seemingly useful aircraft, but there are many economic factors that need to be taken into account.  We often hear about how much it costs to buy any particular model of plane, but people often underestimate just how expensive it is to operate and maintain aircraft. Not only do you have to consider the direct costs of flying the plane (pilot pay, fuel, and other consumables), but also the costs of pilot training, the costs of parts and labor to perform routine maintenance, the costs of training ground crew to perform that maintenance, the costs of obtaining and maintaining support equipment needed to service the planes, and the costs of the facilities needed to perform this service and maintenance. We often lump all these factors together into the â€Å"life-cycle cost† of an airplane.GENERAL DISCUSIONLife Cycle Cost is extremely important when determining whether to retain or replace aircraft, acquir e new or used aircraft, and in evaluating the total economics of competing aircraft whether purchasing, financing, or leasing. With this program you can predict Cash Flows and Net Present Values and compare different forms of ownership.As aircraft have become increasingly complex, the life-cycle costs associated with maintaining sophisticated equipment and training crew to operate and service that equipment have grown substantially. For this reason, we see a trend in militaries around the world to standardize on as few types of aircraft as possible. By operating only a couple types of planes, a military can consolidate its training and servicing activities thereby minimizing the amount of money needed for aircraft operations and maintenance.This motivation is likely a major factor in the business decision to eliminate their old aircraft. The business can instead focus its maintenance and training budgets on a few designs, which tend to share much in common, as opposed to siphoning o ff a large chuck of that money to support a completely different design. Understanding and modeling factors related to learning, economics, marketing, risks, and uncertainty can enable designers to design more cost-effective systems. The importance of developing comprehensive life cycle cost models cannot be over emphasized with reference to affordable systems. Particular areas of concern include production cost, estimating, organizational learning, pricing and marketing, sub-contracting production, and predicting competitors’ cost.In addition to the component of the cost estimation, usually the focal point of most cost models, accurate modeling of all factors related to the production, operations, and support is necessary to generate calibrated life cycle cost profiles. Basic engineering economics can be used for determining price once the cost has been estimated. Interest formulas are available for predicting rates of return and other indicators of profitability. However th e complex models used for life cycle cost prediction must utilize algorithm for stimulating additional factors as organizational learning and manufacturing processes.The three primary component f the system life cycle are non recurring costs, recurring costs, and operations and support costs. According to Apgar, H. (1993) there are two principal objectives for an life cycle cost trade study as the identification of the design and production process alternatives which meet minimum performance requirements; both at the lowest average unit production cost, and   at the lowest operation and support cost per operating hour.A full range of cost models exists today, from detailed part-level models, based on direct engineering and manufacturing standard factors, to conceptual design level life cycle models. While most of the conceptual design level models are parametric and weight/complexity-based, much research is being conducted to develop feature-, activity-, and/or process-based model s. Many of the detailed models use measured data from the shop floor for the regression analysis and algorithm development. At the other end of the spectrum are the top-level, parametric cost estimating models for life cycle estimates. Few models exist between the two ends of the modeling spectrum; no suitable methods have been demonstrated for a model that accepts multifidelity data from multiple levels of product analysis within an integrated design environment.Detailed estimates of direct materials and hours used for fabrication and assembly of the aircraft major structural components (accommodating the many and varied material types; product forms such as sheets, extrusions, fabrics, etc.; and construction types utilized in advanced technology aircraft structures) will replace the weight/complexity-based algorithm for estimating the aircraft cost in the top-level, parametric life cycle cost model. These differentials in the aircraft cost estimates due to fabrication and assembly alternatives will propagate via the system roll up cost through the life cycle for production, operation, and support for the entire system.With such a tool/model, the designer will be able to determine sensitivities in the top-down life cycle cost model to changes or alternatives evaluated in the bottom-up cost model. It will be possible to calculate sensitivities and design for robustness with the life cycle cost model due to perturbations of some factors such as entities external to the manufacturer; functions internal to the manufacturer, but external to manufacturing; and processes internal to the manufacturer.The manufacturer cannot control certain factors external to the enterprise. For instance, the number of aircraft ordered, the times of the orders and the corresponding payment schedule, interest rates, and projected inflation rates are not variables over which the manufacturer has complete control. The monthly or annual production rates; sub-contracting decisions; learni ng curve effects; and manufacturing, and sustaining costs are factors that are internal to the enterprise, but can be categorized in a higher level than the actual material purchasing, processing, fabrication, and assembly. The sequences of activities and processes used for fabrication and assembly are assumed to be internally controlled by the manufacturer.The lowest level of the life cycle cost model consists of the cost estimation for the aircraft, based upon the direct engineering and manufacturing estimates for its major structural components. The highest level includes determination and distribution of the non-recurring and recurring production costs, as well as the operations and support costs over the entire life cycle of the aircraft.According to Febrycky, W.J., and Blanchard, B.S. (1991) that a through understanding of certain economic theories must be achieved before any reasonable life cycle cost analysis can be undertaken. Alternative instruments can be compared against each other or a fair basis only if their respective benefits and costs are converted to an equivalent economic base, with appropriate consideration for the time value of money. Three factors are involved when determining the economic equivalence of sums of money. They are the amounts of the sums, the times of occurrence of the sums, and the interest rate. Interest formulas are functions of all three. These functions are used for calculating the amounts occurring at different periods of time.The life cycle cost analysis of aircraft comprises the following capabilities. The unit production costs are estimated with a series of experimental equations for generating airframe component manufacturing costs for specific classes of aircraft. According to Lee, P. (1994) that a theoretical First Unit Cost is generated by summing the respective component costs of the airframe, propulsion, avionics and instrumentation, and final assembly. Most of the structural component cost equations are weig ht-based. Engine costs are based on the thrust, the quantity produced, and the cruise Mach number.Alternatively, the actual price/cost of the engine can be specified as input parameters. Another series of exponential equations is used to calculate the production costs based upon the total number of vehicles produced. The average unit airplane costs, either including or excluding airframe and engine spares, are also calculated. A comparison of the average aircraft manufacturing costs versus the quantity of aircraft produced is provided. The elements of the total vehicle cost can be reduced with user-specified learning curves for the airframe, avionics, propulsion, assembly, and fixed equipment. For a specified production rate, ship set, and average aircraft selling prices, the manufacturer’s cumulative and annual cash flows are calculated.The annual and cumulative aircraft deliveries are calculated first, based upon an input production rate schedule. The manufacturing cost is the sum of the production costs of all operational vehicles produced each year. The cost to manufacture one vehicle includes airframe cost, propulsion cost, avionics and instrumentation cost, and the cost of final assembly. The manufacturer’s sustaining costs are the total production costs minus the cost of the operational vehicles and the manufacturer’s profit fee. Ten elements constitute the total sustaining costs: airframe and engine spares, facilities, sustaining engineering, sustaining tooling, ground support equipment, training equipment, initial training, and initial equipment. The sustaining costs are distributed equally for each aircraft over the same months in which each aircrafts manufacturing costs are distributed.CONCLUSIONThere is normally a conflict between cost-effective choices and affordable choices for alternative designs. Today, the desire for cost-effectiveness is often sacrificed to the practical considerations of the available funding with the de velopment of more complexes and comprehensive life cycle cost modes that can accept and process multifidelity data within an integrated design environment, it will be possible to better calculate the cost-effectiveness and affordability of future systems. Then it may be possible to have a system that is ultimately cost-effective, yet still affordable.REFERENCEApgar, H. (1993). Design-to-Life-Cycle-Cost in Aerospace, Aerospace Design Conference, Irvine CA.Febrycky, W.J., and Blanchard, B.S. (1991). Life-Cycle Cost and Economic Analysis, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.Lee, P. (1994). A Process Oriented Parametric Cost Model, Aerospace Design Conference, Irvine CA.

Corporate Risk Management Essay

Risk refers to the uncertainty that surrounds future events and outcomes. It is the expression of the likelihood and impact of an event with the potential to influence the achievement of an organization’s objectives. Risk management is a systematic approach to setting the best course of action under uncertainty by identifying, assessing, understanding, acting on and communicating risk issues. The Corporate Risk Management framework is a systematic, integrated approach with a focus on managing financial risks to enhance shareholder value. The Corporate Risk Management processes are indentification of the risk, measurement , policy, process and execution. Those processes are utilised by corporate enterprises to manage the risk of fortuitous loss. Once corporate risks have been identified and their impact on the firm measured, risk management attempts to control the size and frequency of loss, and to finance those fortuitous losses which do occur. Those are the main definition about the subject, which are to be discussed in this document. Risk Management is an ongoing activity and should be carried out as a part of day-to-day business. The management of risk can only take place within an organisational framework that is inclusive of all parts of the corporate infrastructure. Without this framework, risks cannot be efectivelly discussed, communicated, compared and managed in a coherent way across the whole organisation. Risk should be a feature of any management discussion of any uncertain circumstances including new initiatives of any kind and the implementation of significant projects Risk management deals with insurable and with uninsurable risks and is an approach which involves a formal orderly process for systematically identyfying, analysing and responding to risk events throughout the life of a project to obtain the optimum or acceptable degree of risk elimination or control. Risk management is an essential part of the project and business planning cycle which requires acceptance that uncertainty exists, generates a structured response to risk in terms of alternative plans, solutions and contingencies ,is a thinking process requiring imagination and ingenuity and generates a realistic attitude in an investment for staff by preparing them for risk events rather than being taken by surprise when they arrive. Risk management involves identifying risks, predicting how probable they are and how serious they might become, deciding what to do about them and implementing these decisions. Corporates finance is the specific area dealing the financial decisions corporations make and the tools and techniques used to make the decisions. Categories of corporate financial decision making are : objectives of investment decision, financial decision and financial techniques. Corporates need a more advanced risk management approach in order to benefit from a competitive advantage from strategic risk management. They should manage risks proactively via an integrated approach with a focus on measurable financial risks. Quantitative techniques, such as cash flow-at-risk and earnings-at-risk, are necessary to look at the combined effect of risks on the formulated business objectives. Identification of risks, analysis of implications, response to minimise the risk and allocation of the contigencies are part of the process of managing the corporate risk. The objective to managing the corporate risk is to understand the risk that is known to be associated with the corporate strategy plan. This corporate risk management plan will enable the communication of the risks and risk treatments to be passed down to the strategic business units that may be impacted by the risk and maintenance of the corporate risk register. Altough risks are evaluated at the corporate level, the power they maintain over governments and consumers is phenomenal. Corporate risk startegy often implies planned actions to respond to identified risks. A typical corporate risk strategy includes the following: * accountabilities for managing the corporate risk. * A corporate risk register will be maintained as a record of the known risks to the corporate strategy plan; the types of mitigating action recorded. * Treatment plans are identified that form part of the corporate strategy and will be communicated to the SBUs, so they in turn may manage the risk which may affect them. A first estimate of potential effects can be determined using assumption analysis, decision tree analysis and the range method. These models can then be used to evaluate the effectiveness of potential mitigating actions and hence select the optimum response. Mitigating actions can be grouped into four categories and potential action : * Risk avoidance * Risk reduction * Risk transfer * Risk retention Corporate management, often referred to as corporate strategy, is concerned with ensuring corporate survival and increasing its value not just in financial terms but also by variables such as market share, reputation and brand perceptions. Thus the scope of corporate risk management is wide ranged to support the corporate strategy. A senior corporate manager owns the process and has the staff to resource the analysis and administrative activities. A board member champions the process ensuring access to information and resources. A core group of corporate broad members and strategic business unit executives can draw additional input from stakeholders such as shareholder representatives, representatives from major customers, partners and suppliers and external experts. At the corporate level a corporate strategy plan is often produced. The plan objectives are: * Create and maintain a strategy that achieves the corporate intent, corporate commitments and expectations of the customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. * Incorporate and maintain the commitments and the requirements of business sectors, specifically strategic business units and process owners that support the strategic direction. * Communicate the strategic direction and relevant objectives and target to each strategic business unit. * Manage strategic change to maintain or gain competitive advantage. The risk management process can be viewed as the application of traditional management techniques to a particular problem. Risk management is a continous loop rather than a linear process so that, as an investment or project processes, a cycle of identification, analysis, control and reporting of risks is continuously undertaken. Steps in the risk management process include: * setting risk-return goals, * identification and evaluation of the causes of potential expense or revenue fluctuation, * choice and balance of loss control and loss finance tools, and * implementation, monitoring and review. There are many opinions about those processes. For example Chapman and Ward believe that there are eight phases in the risk management process. Each phases is associated with broadly defined deliverabe, and each deliverable is discussed in terms of its purpose and the tasks required to produce it. Phases and deliverable structures: * Define : the purpose of this phase is to consolidate any relevant existing information about the project, and to fill in any gaps uncovered in the consolidation process. * Focus : the purpose of this phase is to look for and develop a strategic plan for the risk management process, and to plan the risk management process at an operational level. * Identify : the purpose of this phase is to identify where risk may arise, to identify what might be done about the risk in proactive and reactive terms, and to identify what might go wrong with the responses. Here, all the risks and responses should be identified, with threats and opportunitiess classified, characterised, documented, veified and reported. * Structure : the purpose of this phase is to test the simplified assumptions, and to provide a more complex structure when appropriate. Benefits here include a clear understanding of the implications of any important simplifying assumptions about relationships between risks, responses and base plan activities. * Ownership : at this phase client/contractor allocation of ownership and management of risk and responses occur, such as the allocation of client risks to named individuals, and the approval of contractor allocations. Here, clear ownership and allocations arise; the allocations are effectively and efficiently defined and legally enforceable in practice where appropriate. * Estimate : this phase identifies areas of clear significant uncertainty and areas of possible significant uncertainty. This acts as a basis for understanding which risks and responses are important. * Evaluate : at this stage synthesis and evaluation of the results of the estimation phase occurs. Diagnosis of all important difficulties and comparative analysis of the implication of responses to these difficulties should take place, together with specific deliverables like a prioritised list of risks or a comparison of the base plan and contingency plans with possible difficulties and revised plans. * Plan : at this pase the project plan is ready for implementation. The main processes involved in project risk management are: * risk identification, risk quantification and analysis, * risk response, selection of risk response options, * outputs from the risk response process, * outputs from the risk response process, * risk management within the project life cycle, * the tasks and benefits of risk management, * the beneficiares of risk management. Risk identification consists of determining which risks are likely to affect the project and documenting the characteristics of each one. Risk identification should adress both the internal and the external risks. The primary sources of risk which have the potential to cause a major effect on the project should also be determined and classified according to their impact on project cost, time schedules and project objectives. Inputs and outputs of the Risk Identification Process . Inputs to risk identification are given as product or service description; other planning outputs (work breakdown structure, cost and time estimates, specification requirements) historical information. Outputs to risk identification are sources of risk; potential risk events; risk symptoms; imputs to other processes. After identification risks should be ’validated’, for instance, the information on which they are based and the accuracy of the description of their characteristics should be checked. The purpose of risk identification is to identify and the project or service components, the inherent risks in the project or service, to capture the most significant participants in risk management and to provide the basis for subsequent management, to stabilise the groundwork by providing all the necessary information to conduct risk analysis. Risk quantification and analysis involves evaluating risks and risk interactions to assess the range of possible outcomes. It is primarily concerned with determing which risk events warrant a response. A number of tools and techniques are available for the use of risk analysis and quantification and the analysis process. Risk response involves defining enhancement steps for opportunities and responses to threats. Â  Risk avoidance involves the removal of a particular threat. This may be either by eliminating the source of the risk within a project or by avoiding projects or business entities which have exposure to the risk. Since the significance of a risk is related to both its probability of occurence and its effect on the project outcome if it does occur, risk reduction may involve either lowering its probability or lessening its impact ( or both ). Projects may be seen as investment packages with associated risks and returns. Since a typical project or business involves numerous stakeholders, it follows that each should ’own’ a proportion of the risk available in order to elicit a return. Basically, risk transfer is the process of transferring risk to another participant in the project. Transferring risk does not eliminate or reduce the criticality of the risk, but merely leaves it for others to bear the risk. Risk Retention .Risks may be retained intentionally or unintentionally. The latter occurs as a result of failure of either or both of the first two phases of the risk management process, these being risk identification and risk analysis. If a risk is not identified or if its potential consequences are underestimated, then the organisation is unlikely to avoid or reduce it consciously or transfer it adequately. Corporate risk refers to the liabilities and dangers that a corporation faces. Risk management is a set of procedures that minimizes risks and costs for businesses. The job of a corporate risk management department is to identify potential sources of trouble, analyze them, and take the necessary steps to prevent losses There are several steps in any risk management process. The department must identify and measure the exposure to loss, select alternatives to that loss, implement a solution, and monitor the results of their solution. The goal of a risk management team is to protect and ultimately enhance the value of a company. With corporations, financial risks are the biggest concern. Just as with standard insurance policies for physical damage, some financial risks can be transferred to other parties. Derivatives are the primary way that corporate risk is transferred. A derivative is a financial contract that has a value based on, or derived from, something else. These other things can be stocks and commodities, interest and exchange rates or even the weather when applicable. The three main types of derivatives that corporate riskmanagers use are futures, options, and swaps. Corporate risk is especially prominent during difficult times in the economy. Risk management teams will take less chances when the economy is less forgiving. They will do everything necessary to avoid additional risks, which in some cases can contribute to a decrease in credit availability and less overall spending. * Corporate Risk Management ,second edition, Tony Merna & Faisal Thani 2008 * Analysis & Evaluation,second edition, Neil Cowan 2005 * http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/DecsRiskManagementFramewo.pdf * http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-corporate-risk.htm