Evidence-Based Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evidence-Based Practices - Essay Example The Role of Nurses in Research and EBP: Nurses are the frontline soldiers who meet with patients, conduct assessment reports, and they must research the best health solution applicable to each patient. Nurses, as actual practitioners, are also the best ones to conduct research studies, based on trends they may be seeing in their practices (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt 2011). Deductions can be made through the research involved in determining solutions, taking accurate records of treatment results, using clinical reasoning throughout the process, and providing outcome treatment results for either supporting current practices or providing a case for the need to change a current process. EBP Models Used in Hospitals/Clinics/Organizations: The model diagram below shows the typical process used in hospitals, clinics, and organizations on how medical practices use EBP as part of the common practice process for providing the best healthcare possible.  The Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine (IMREBM) addresses healthcare processes within a clinical setting to achieve best results in providing medical solutions. The group is made up of senior leadership from healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, third-party payers and patients (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt 2011). The emphasis is placed on efficiency in providing EBP in a timely manner, generating more evidence in supporting the most effective and valued healthcare strategies and, finally, developing best processes in disseminating healthcare evidence as part of educating the public (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt 2011; LoBiondo-Wood & Haber 2013).  The United States Preventive Se rvices Task Force (USPSTF) is an independent panel of experts who continuously review and recommend better practices in preventive services such as any type of medical screening, preventive medicines and best practices in counseling for the public.

Evaluation System Essay Example for Free

Evaluation System Essay Introduction As we move into a new era of Quality Assurance, universities and schools are increasingly being called upon to evaluate the students and their respective grades. One common method is via student evaluations. At the University of Batangas, most especially in the College of Engineering Department, a student evaluation is needed especially by the graduating students. Currently, students from different courses find it very difficult in getting their evaluation because they are going to get through a very long line of students and after that they will wait for their turn on the registrars’ office. The results from such evaluations are important to students for them to be able to know what subjects they taken and not yet taken. However, the number of evaluations requested per year continues to increase rapidly and, as a result, the overhead of processing such information manually is a growing burden. This paper describes a pilot project at University of Batangas, as architecture for getting information about the student in the database. Due to the sensitive nature of the data and their critical role within and outside of the University, the system must satisfy several requirements if it is to survive. Some of the requirements are technical, for example providing easy access to students. However, many of the requirements are organizational, and tied to the local context of the University. As is the case with most technological innovations, long-term success is intimately tied to the development of humane technologies that seamlessly fit into the work-flow of institutions. In the remainder of this paper we describe the architecture of our system, and how its design and implementation attempted to address the many technical, administrative, and organizational requirements of a successful evaluation system. Statement of the Problem The proponents seek to determine the feasibility of developing a student evaluation system that will help prevent problems in getting the grades and subjects of a certain students in the College of Engineering. The researchers seek to establish answers to the following questions: 1. What are the benefits of student evaluation system? 2. What are the flaws of the current student evaluation system? 3. What is the capacity of the system to accept and retrieve data? Objectives of the Study The following are the objectives of the study: * To design and develop a student evaluation system. * To design and develop a system that could store and retrieve data or student information. * To design and develop a system that could make the life of students and faculty members more convenient. * To identify the flaws of current student evaluation system. * To identify the capacity of the system to accept and retrieve data. * To identify the benefits of student evaluation system. Scope and Delimitation The proponents focused on the application and portability of student evaluation system that would lead to a new era of comfortness. Scope of the Project * The study will be implemented with the help of Microsoft Access 2010 as the database, * The study covers the ability to receive and retrieve data’s and information about a certain student. * The study is focus on helping students in making their student life more easy and worry free. Limitation of the Study Although the research has reached it aims, there were some unavoidable limitations: * The system is designed only for the students of Computer Engineering Department. Definition of Terms The following terms has been defined to guide the readers in their understanding of this research paper. Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subjects merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization to assess any aim, realizable concept or proposal, or any alternative, to help in decision-making. System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole or a set of elements (often called components ) and relationships which are different from relationships of the set or its elements to other elements or sets. Database is a structured collection of data. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information. Microsoft Access also known as Microsoft Office Access, is a database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. Humane characterized by kindness, mercy, sympathy. Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++, but it has fewer low-level facilities than either of them.

Suffering and Salvation in Dostoevskys The Brothers Karamazov Essays

Suffering and Salvation in Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov  Ã‚   Condemned to be shot by a firing squad for radical ideas, the author of The Brothers Karamazov once found himself seconds away from death, only to be granted a reprieve moments before the firing. Although only a method intended to teach him a lesson, the trick had quite a harrowing effect on Dostoevsky. After his close encounter with death, Dostoevsky underwent a total change, and so all of his new notions became a part of "The Brothers Karamazov", which he wrote at the end of his life. For example, once he reexamined his values he began to reject the blindly accepted Russian beliefs. Spiritually, he altered so much that he emerged with the prophetic belief that the world's salvation relied upon the people of Russia. He believed Russia would dominate the world and thus felt that her children needed to be harbored with this theory. Also, he began to develop theories about the role of suffering as man's sole means of salvation. All of these beliefs, through either characters or events, are reflected in this 19th century classic. Even before this firing squad incident, when his father was slaughtered by serfs, Dostoevsky was haunted by and obsessed with the idea of death, which became the subject of all his novels, including his masterpiece, "The Brothers Karamazov". From the first page of the novel, Fyodor is presented as a vulgar beast, which dissolves any sympathy for him when he is murdered. Although the father of Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha, he is a true father to neither of them; in fact, the only person to whom he is any sort of parental figure is his bastard son Smerdyakov. Dmitri, the fierce sensualist, is an impulsive man who quarrels with Fyodor reg... ...inty, and so the strength of his beliefs is doubled, perhaps even tripled. Like the personalities of "The Brothers Karamazov", the characters of any well-written piece become extremely significant to the reader. In that case, it becomes vital for the reader to know the fates of these characters, who are known almost intimately, and their destinies[1] are highly anticipated. In "The Brothers Karamazov", the reader wants to know, for example, if Ivan will ever answer his questions, how Alyosha will lead his life, and if Dmitri will be convicted for a crime he didn't commit. By having these fates determined through cognitive events, these occurrences become some of the most memorable of Dostoevsky's novel, which itself becomes psychoanalogical. Thus, "The Brothers Karamazov" has become one of the greatest novels ever written and a true psychological masterpiece.

Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Satanic-Promethean Ideals Essay

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Satanic-Promethean Ideals      Ã‚  Ã‚   Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a novel in conscious dialogue with canonical classics and contemporary works. It contains references to Coleridge, Wordsworth, and P. B. Shelley, but also to Cervantes and Milton. It is the latter's Paradise Lost which informs the themes and structure of the novel more than any other source. Like many of her contemporaries, Mary Shelley draws parallels between Milton's Satan and the Titan Prometheus of Greek myth. However, the two are not simply equated (as in Byron's poem, "Prometheus"), but appear in various facets through both Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Furthermore, God, Zeus, and Adam are also evoked through these characters. Though its treatment of these mythical figures identifies it with Romantic Satanism,1[1] Frankenstein reaches a moral conclusion at odds with the ideals of Shelley's contemporaries, and far closer to those of Milton.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The novel's alternative title is "The Modern Prometheus." It can be asked who in the story is supposed to be Promethean. Since this title is the alternative to "Frankenstein," it seems obvious that the doctor is meant, although it will be shown later that the monster also bears significant similarities to the Titan.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Greek myth, Prometheus (whose name means "forethought"), against the will of Zeus, stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. With fire came the beginning of a crafts and civilisation itself. In this respect, Victor Frankenstein's quest for knowledge is Promethean, as is his belief that his researches will benefit humanity.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The other consequence of the theft of fire is that it in... ... knowledge, causing their fall from a happy innocent existence. 4[4]   It must be made clear that this is a Christian myth. In Judaism, Satan is as much a servant of God as any other angel, it being his peculiar role to test humans and record their failures. Without understanding this, the story of Job loses its meaning-God sends Satan to test Job. The Jewish Satan has no relation to the serpent of the Eden story. The equivocation is Christian. Christianity's devil and its stark good vs. evil cosmic war derive from Zoroastrianism, not Judaism, just as its doctrine of the immortal soul derives from Platonism. There is no good vs. evil in Judaism, there is just God, and immortality is the privilege of God and the angels, not humans. 5[5] This phrase is borrowed from Friedrich Nietzsche, vide Genealogy of Morals, Beyond Good and Evil, and The Antichrist.

How does Steinbeck prepare us for the tragic ending in ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Steinbeck prepares us for the tragic ending in ‘of mice and men’ right the way through the book. Lenny is the focus of all bad things to come and is a central character in the novel. First up there was the incident in ‘Weed’ where Lenny ‘stroked a woman’s red dress’ and she accused Lenny of raping her. This shows they make a habit of running away from places and people when Lenny often gets into trouble. ‘an you ain’t gonna do no bad things like you did in weed neither’. ‘they run us outta weed’. Those things show situations for the future and also show the dire situation they are in at the present, they are fugitives with Lenny committing the crimes and George helping him to get away because of their solid companionship in which both are each others only companions. The situation in weed also shows that Lenny likes stroking anything and anyone that is soft and once he has hold of someone or an it he can’t let go. This is also shown with the mice where Lenny ‘pets’ them too hard. ‘uh-uh jus a dead mouse’. He doesn’t seem to fully understand the value of life nor regret his murders. This is not because he is malicious but because he is in fact ‘mentally ill’. His strength is beyond his control and this can create very dangerous situations for him and others around him, maybe even for-seeing murder here. The pup’s yet another example, this animal is also part of Lenny’s worrying fetish, here it is shown that he is too dangerous for even bigger animals in chapter five where he kills a pup. Lenny shows violence here towards the pups which he seems to love and have affection for, he thinks if the pup had not died (through no fault of it’s own) then George would’ve let him tend the rabbits and everything would be smiley again. All Lenny cares about is the rabbits and this predicts that maybe Lenny will do something destructive with the rabbits welfare In mind because he cares about them that much. ‘I’ll break their (anyone) god damn necks if they touch the rabbits he says defensively showing aggression. The bad mood Lenny is in sets him up to be calmed down by someone/something. Unfortunately this somebody/something appears to be Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is another central character in the preparation of an ‘all tears’ ending, she messes things for everybody and everything, ‘I knew she’d do us in the end’ George says resignedly after her death. She doesn’t show any sign of stopping when she on her role of misery-making and it all leads up to a climax of some sort, and ending maybe to all the pain and suffering each and everybody is going through, putting their minds at rest. Curley’s wife flirts as a meaning of talking to normal people, this is because she has not talked to other females and has not obtained any other skill so far in her short life, the men don’t like her and thinks shes a tart because of this but still find her attractive and Lenny is no different in this respect, ‘she’s purty’ (pretty) he says with delight while looking at her body up and down, listening to her tender voice and looking at her silky hair, instantly she becomes an obvious unintentional target for Lenny’s animals like affections and the antics what go with this along with her ‘red dress’ and ‘red mule feathers’ which also attracts Lenny. When Curley’s wife soothes Lenny and calms him down she doesn’t know what she’s letting herself in for, she thinks he’s a harmless ‘dum-dum’. She talks to him in the first place because she is lonely and in return for listening to her Curley’s wife lets Lenny stroke her hair which in turn triggers Lenny’s ‘can’t let go approach’ and he eventually kills her. We almost knew this was going to happen before it did because it resembles the weed incident too closely. Lenny had done a ‘really bad thing’ George says. A mistake of the highest degree. The death of a human being had occurred. After this George doesn’t even consider them going on the run together, here Steinbeck spells out the end of Lenny’s life indefinitely. George knows that Lenny can’t get away with it and says ‘we can’t let him get away with it this time’ showing what’s coming up next. Lenny’s death is now inevitable, George doesn’t want Lenny to get hunted down and ‘lynched’ like a wild animal but wants Lenny to die painlessly and dignified. This calls for Gorge to take control as anyway Lenny’s death is inevitable George decides to kill Lenny himself, humanely. Candy’s dog also showed signs of what happened to people who had no use in the ranch-place of work and it got shot just like Lenny would later be. If anything was learnt by the shooting of Lenny’s dog then it would have to be not to let a stranger kill someone who you care about. George deliberately took Carlson’s Luger as he set out of to kill Lenny himself. Steinbeck also uses the scenery to prepare us for the death of Lenny, the surrounding are beautiful, day turns to dusk and everything is moving along swiftly. The wind picks up in the background and a heron takes off this signifies an event is about to take place. The reader always knew that Lenny would die at the brush because that’s the place where he would go when he got in trouble and that’s how George would find him. George sensed it was going to be needed early on in the novel again preparing us for the ending. In the end the cards mapped out the future in a sad way, while George was playing ‘solitaire’ which again signifies their loneliness playing a one man game, Lenny picks up a card and asks why the card looks the same both ways up. George replies ‘that’s jus the way they make em’. He is saying that you can’t change what is inevitable just like Lenny’s impending doom. It is ironic that Lenny asks this question and George gives the answer because that is exactly what happens in the end.

Philosophy paper example Essays

Philosophy paper example Essays Philosophy paper example Essay Philosophy paper example Essay What is Freedom By the literal meaning, freedom refers to having the right to think, speak or act without getting restrained or hindered. Freedom of action on a philosophical perspective means the ability to be free from hindrances (Largen, 234). These restraints are not only external barriers to our actions but also internally from addictions or physical disabilities. Politically, it refers to having the right to speak, assemble, and the government restrictions on associations, organizations, and groups, for example, the media or religion. Such are examples of external freedom. My goal in this paper is to give a further discussion on the different features that relates to freedom which includes: Individuality-The freedom to create, develop and showcase the unique personality of an individuals life story both in public and in private. Protection against manipulation- Captured from the symbolic manipulation where one uses other people as a means of actualizing their needs. It is a standard feature with money matters where one pays others to make their ends meet. Freedom to make and live in the world-The society is an artifact where we are born not only to reside in but also to change it to our desires. It is a collaborative task to limit the abuse that can result from the actions. In his article titled The Two Concepts of Liberty, Isaiah Berlin says that negative freedom, is the lack of any constraints either internal or external. There is also another form of liberty he refers to as ;positive freedom; which raises an earlier question about the free will. One can have the freedom to act; that is being free of constraints even if the free will gets determined by the laws of nature.; What is Determinism Determinism, on the other hand, is a philosophical idea that every occurrence or the state of affairs, which includes every person;s action or decision, is an inevitable and necessary outcome of a previous state of affairs (OGrady, 16). On a stricter note, determinism should be differentiated from pre-determinism which is the notion that the entire history, as well as current and future events, is determined at the origins of the universe. Also, neither should it be confused with determination (OGrady, 17), which dictates that the previous events can determine events including the human activities without getting pre-determined back to the time before the individual;s birth or during the origins of the universe; What is Consciousness Consciousness is the natural state when one is awake, and the mind is aware of the surroundings. It comprises of four aspects namely feeling, intuiting, sensing, and thinking (Semir, 121). The four elements are inextricably co-joined in the mind and body it is almost impossible to separate them.; Consciousness enables living things to respond to situations grasped when whole and not just the features or parts that can relate to rules and regulations of computation. Its evolutionary advantage is that the organism can formulate a response to or determine the factors it is facing. This situation relates to characters that can engage with natural laws or laws of computation but which have particular features of whole combinations.;; To begin with is subjectivity. It is a conscious experience which is suffered by a conscious subject. These experiences get different from worldly objective features which are readily available for observation by anybody in a position to see them. They are felt only by the subject. Therefore, they significantly contribute to how the subject reacts to the world.; The second is qualia whereby conscious experiences do have features that exceed the physical properties that seem to cause them. A good example is the feel of pain or the look of colors. Human beings can sense color blue of the sky but the computer despite displaying blue on the screen, it does not experience what it is.; The last is unity whereby a conscious experience is described as unity by the subject experiencing many of these features all at once. This circumstance is particularly sensible in the case of visual experiences. Free Will Definition Free will can be referred to as common but mistaken in the layman;s sense that the adverb free gets to modify the concept will. Much clearly according to McCall (503), it is an indication of the elements of chance which is a primary requirement for the free will present in the determination of one;s self will itself. An agent is said to have free will if the person has the capacity coupled with the freedom to choose the course of action to take.; To cap it all, a study course in philosophy is necessary because apart from enhancing intellectual growth, it also prepares the graduate thoroughly for other careers based on the personal development acquired. The student gets the adequate skills necessary to add value to the face of their prospective employers. The thinking capacity helps in unveiling more about the world and how it works. References Largen, Kristin Johnston. Freedom From And Freedom For: Luthers Concept Of Freedom For The Twenty-First Century. Dialog, vol 52, no. 3, 2013, pp. 232-243. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/dial.12048.; ; ;; Lee, Richard E. Determinism. 1st ed., Albany, the State University Of New York Press, 2010,; ; ; McCall, S. The Supervenience Of Truth: Freewill And Omniscience. Analysis, vol 71, no. 3, 2011, pp. 501-506. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/analys/anr051 OGrady, William. Processing Determinism. Language Learning, vol 65, no. 1, 2015, pp. 6-32. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/lang.12091. Semir, Zeki. The Visual Brain And Its Many Consciousnesses. Frontiers In Human Neuroscience, vol 2, 2008, Frontiers Media SA, doi:10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.01.008.

Samsung essays

Samsung essays - 1938 founded as a trading company - in the 50s-60s went into anything imaginable - like insurance- paper- aerospace- property- retailing - used this base to lay themselves out for the semiconductor field 1) Entry into semiconductors- 75-83 - bought a smaller semiconductor company in S.K. - wanted to expand out of low end goods - worked with Micron Tech. and other US firms - had American engineers at plants helping them - producing goods but wanted to be at the same level - to do this put lots of $ into the department - accumulated debt- but looked toward the future - by late 80s started seeing sales boom - started to overtake the U.S. and Japan firms it learned from in some categories - U.S. and Japan instead of helping out simply bought in huge quantities - first company with 64 bit DRAM technology - forged equal partnerships to remain at the front of technology So What are We Supposed to get out of this? - these firms show typical strategies of late- comer firms - to do this they had a assembly learning period, then process development, and began to innovate - balanced perfectly the rate of growth - organizational innovation - because their learning achievements are cumulative and built upon solid foundations, South Korean firms are well positioned to create new market opportunities and to respond to the fast-changing pace of electronics technology - Hyundai 19 percent sales- Samsung 13 - Brad has a Samsung microwave- 1/5 of US microwaves 92 - Chaebol- the big business groupings - its hard for Korea to be flexible given its culture ...

Italian Prepositions, Preposizioni in Italiano

Italian Prepositions, Preposizioni in Italiano Prepositions are invariable words that serve to link and connect parts of a sentence or clause: vado a casa di Maria; or to join two or more clauses: vado a casa di Maria per studiare. The example illustrates the funzione subordinante (subordinate function) of prepositions that introduce a complement of the verb, either of the noun or the entire sentence. In particular: the prepositional group a casa depends on the verb vado, of which it is a complement; the prepositional group di Maria depends on the noun casa, of which it is a complement; the prepositional group per studiare is the final implicit clause (corresponding to an ending clause: per studiare), which depends on the primary clause vado a casa di Maria. In the transition from the single clause vado a casa di Maria to the two-clause sentence vado a casa di Maria per studiare, a functional analogy can be defined between the preposizioni and congiunzioni subordinative. The first introduce an implicit subject (that is, with a verb in an indefinite mood): digli di tornare; the latter introduces an explicit subject (that is, with a verb in a definite mood): digli che torni. The statistically most frequent prepositions are: di (can be elided before another vowel, especially before an i: dimpeto, dItalia, dOriente, destate)a (the term ad is used, with la d eufonica, before another vowel, in particular before an a: ad Andrea, ad aspettare, ad esempio) Simple Prepositions The following prepositions are listed by frequency of use: da, , con, su, per, tra (fra). Di, a, da, in, con, su, per, tra (fra) are called simple prepositions (preposizioni semplici); these prepositions (except tra and fra), when combined with a definite article, give rise to the so-called prepositional articles (preposizioni articolate). The high frequency of these prepositions corresponds to the variety of meanings they express, as well as the wide range of connections that can be made between the parts of the phrase. The specific value that a preposition such as di or a takes in diverse contexts is understood only in relation to the words with which the preposition is grouped, and changes according to the nature of them. In other words, the only way for a non-native Italian to understand how Italian prepositions are used is to practice and become familiar with the many different patterns. This multiplicity of functions at the semantic and syntactic level is manifested, in fact, with a particular emphasis in ambiguous contexts. Consider, for example, the preposition di. The prepositional phrase lamore del padre, depending on the context, can be labeled either a complemento di specificazione soggettiva or a complemento di specificazione oggettiva. The term is equivalent to either il padre ama qualcuno (the father loves someone) or qualcuno ama il padre (someone loves his father). Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Study Prepositions A historical example of ambiguity occurs in Dantes famous expression perdere il ben dellintelletto (Inferno, III, 18), which has become proverbial in the sense of lose the good that is the intellect, lose reasoning. Dante was referring instead to the souls of Hell, and intended ben dellintelletto in the sense of the good of their own intellect, that which is good for the intellect, that is, the contemplation of God, excluding the damned. A different interpretation of the prepositional article dell profoundly changes the overall meaning of the phrase.

The cost and benefits of cross boarder merger, merger and acquis Essay

The cost and benefits of cross boarder merger, merger and acquis - Essay Example A history of boom in this trend is shown in these comments, â€Å"They skyrocketed in the1990s reaching a pick in 2000 with the booming stock markets and the larger degree of financial liberalization worldwide, declined sharply in 2001 and 2002 and rebounded again with new developments in the world economy after 2003.† [Coeurdacier, DE Santis & Aviat, 2009] In case of merger two firms are combined and one firm is formed from them and acquirer assumes all the assets and liabilities of the target company. A merger may be friendly, hostile, strategic or financial; some other popular types of mergers are horizontal merger, vertical merger, congeneric merger, conglomerate merger. An acquisition which is also known as â€Å"takeover† or â€Å"buyout† is takeover of any firm by another firm by purchase of its assets or common stock. Like merger an acquisition may also be friendly or hostile. Before deciding any merger or acquisition companies evaluate it completely to check whether it should be pursued or not as it is quoted â€Å"Before going for any merger or acquisition, both the companies calculate the costs of mergers and acquisitions to find out the viability and profitability of the deal.†[mapsofindia] In order to evaluate the mentioned viability and profitability companies use different sort of valuation models and techniques, some of these methods are listed below. One of the major benefits of Cross border mergers and acquisitions is that they allow firms to diversify their country risks as by expanding in foreign country, decreases firms overall performance’s sensitivity to its country risk. Moreover mergers also result in diversification of business risk. Some other benefits resulted from mergers and acquisitions include synergy, economies of scale, fund raising, tax benefits, defense against takeover, ownership liquidity, reducing competition and access to proprietary and new products or services. The factor of

American cuisine overview of the culinary development of the Deep Essay

American cuisine overview of the culinary development of the Deep South - Essay Example Yet it feels very modern, and the chef’s plates — always visually striking — are meticulously composed. Impeccably sourced ingredients, often foraged or custom-grown, speak for themselves and of themselves† (Brenner). John Currence: Since 1992 John Currence’s Restaurant ‘City Grocery Restaurant Group’ has been the talk of the town in Oxford, Mississippi. He is one of those chefs that bring the southern cuisine to front lines. Although Pork is the main ingredient southern cuisine, Currence is one of those chefs whose main focus is not pork but he focuses on vegetables and seafood, he says he is on a mission to redefine southern cuisine not through traditional ways but by venturing in to new territory. In an interview Currence said, â€Å"My greatest desire is to rediscover the flavors I remember as a kid that my grandmother cooked, the sausage my grandfather made. I’m terrified I’m the last generation of guys that have those memories before GMO and GE veg† (Currence). His greatest inspiration comes through travelling and can be seen in his work, he goes against traditional recipes to create not a dish but a piece of art. Hugh Acheson: Hugh Acheson is a Canadian celebrity chef and restaurant owner. He currently owns three restaurants in Georgia. He is also the author of the book, ‘New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen’ published in 2011. He has worked in Ottawa, Mecca, San Francisco and taking these travel experiences he works on blending tastes from different cuisines. Although his cooking style is southern cuisine mainly, he opened a restaurant, 5 & 10 which mixes the flavors of southern food with European tastes; French and Italian cuisine. He defines his work as, â€Å"I like to pay homage to the history of the region and reflect the diverse cultures that exist in the South today through the food I cook† (Achesom).

Personal Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Development - Essay Example I believe that you can be great provided you work hard and diligently plan your life. I believe in miracles, that faith can move mountains. I believe that no situation is permanent, and that the future for me and the generation to come is bright. I believe we can do greater things through the conviction that we all can lend a hand in shaping the future of our society. I believe that you, as a teacher, have a role to play in shaping my future. I believe my stay in this institution will completely shape my future. I believe my mom and dad have done the best to give me the best in life. I believe that family remains a central figure in any young individual’s life. I believe that my family is the best in the world. Â  I believe that San Antonio will benefit from my leadership skills when I run for the mayor. I believe UTSA is a great institution that has offered me a platform to acquire knowledge and skills in an environment few only dream of. I believe the economy is stable and opportunities for businesses to grow are high. I believe the world is constantly changing, and the advent of social media and technological advancement is providing students and young individuals platforms to be creative and innovative. I believe my major will project me to the world as a person with the knowledge and skills. I believe my friends are the best, they are like family and I thank God for them. I believe my job will enable me to travel the world, changing lives and making it a better place.

A reflective paper of 1000 words discussing design work and research Essay

A reflective paper of 1000 words discussing design work and research methods - Essay Example 2. With regards to the supply side, how did the changes in tourist behavior and preference affected the travel industry in terms of profitability and viability? Were there any large scale closures/ bankruptcy of tourism related service providers because of the change in customer behavior? According to a 2006 survey of corporate executives travel behavior and preferences conducted by Wainhouse Research, a market research firm based in the United States, out of 480 middle- and upper-management respondents, 63 percent affirmed that their propensity to take trips have lowered due to several factors such as war, terrorism, security inspections, new budgetary restraints and the like. This was in line with the results of their 2002 survey where 44 percent indicated restricting their trips abroad and at home. The results of the 2006 survey are significant since the 2002 results were obtained in the immediate wake of the 9/11 attacks where people do tend to prefer not traveling. It just goes to show that even after 4 years marked by strict security measures, people still do not want to expose themselves to the risks. (ISES, 2006) According to Market Research, an online company selling its business research, the USA and the United Kingdom has seen an increase in security consciousness with heavy monitoring in areas with people traffic very much high. The development came about after the wake of the 9/11 attack. (Market Research, 2005) It is expected that the 9/11 event would certainly negatively affect the global travel industry. For such a nation boasting itself as the leader in ensuring security with high-tech devices and well-planned systems, the United States saw the twin icons of its economic supremacy fall down right before their eyes. Pentagon, the country’s icon of military supremacy was also targeted. Passenger airplanes rushed and crashed on the structures. The message was clear- no one is safe

Role of Theory in Human Resource Management Strategy Analysis Essay

Role of Theory in Human Resource Management Strategy Analysis - Essay Example The researcher states that the dynamic world is changing quickly. Thus, human resource management (as a part of organisation) needs to be prepared to deal with the impacts of the dynamic world. To formulate HR strategy, there is need to understand the consequence of globalisation, employee diversity, changing talent necessities, corporate rationalizing, total quality management, reengineering, the dependent personnel, regionalized work places, and employee participation. Developing and applying a comprehensive strategy is needed to remain competitive in this dynamic environment. A human resource strategy can help to strengthen the employee base of any organisation. Theory is a methodical combination of interdependent thoughts and philosophies which provides an outline about an important base of knowledge. Only scattered data is not helpful for analysing the human resource strategy, the observer must have knowledge regarding theory that can explain the relationship between variables. In the deepest form, theory can be regarded as a set of rules, a particle cabinet in which truths with respect to human resource strategy can be gathered. Management theory had evolved through the World War II and had been studied comprehensively later on. The industrial revolution had generated high demand of mass production, product specialisation and thus organisations started to look towards the employees as critical resources. There is need for strategic planning for managing the human resources for high productivity. ... There is need for strategic planning for managing the human resources for high productivity (Olum, 2004). The role of theory is vital for analysing the human resources. Theories are essential facts, and it elucidates the correlation among variables, usually independent and dependent variables. Theory has the capability to anticipate future difficulties which may occur in the organisation. In contrast to theory, techniques are the method of performing jobs. The techniques replicate the theories and these are the means of assisting managers to commence activities most efficiently. In the area of human resource management strategy, the role of theory is to deliver an understanding of organising significant and relevant management knowledge. For example, in devising strategy for effective culture in organisation, there are several theories which are interconnected and have an analytical worth for managers. The importance of theory in analysis of human resource management strategy can be gauged from the following: Theory can provide criteria about what is appropriate for employees in any organisation In human resource strategy, theory can enable to communicate effectively and therefore change into more difficult association Theory can help to learn about the fundamental concept of developing strategy and thus make easy to analyze them (Olum, 2004) Theories assist in understanding the dynamic nature of contemporary organizational environments. The HR strategy is made on the basis of theories. Human resource strategy is all about how an organisation can manage their human capital. This provides a basis for formulating strategy and developing packages for analysis. The human resource strategy is the

A reflective paper of 1000 words discussing design work and research Essay

A reflective paper of 1000 words discussing design work and research methods - Essay Example 2. With regards to the supply side, how did the changes in tourist behavior and preference affected the travel industry in terms of profitability and viability? Were there any large scale closures/ bankruptcy of tourism related service providers because of the change in customer behavior? According to a 2006 survey of corporate executives travel behavior and preferences conducted by Wainhouse Research, a market research firm based in the United States, out of 480 middle- and upper-management respondents, 63 percent affirmed that their propensity to take trips have lowered due to several factors such as war, terrorism, security inspections, new budgetary restraints and the like. This was in line with the results of their 2002 survey where 44 percent indicated restricting their trips abroad and at home. The results of the 2006 survey are significant since the 2002 results were obtained in the immediate wake of the 9/11 attacks where people do tend to prefer not traveling. It just goes to show that even after 4 years marked by strict security measures, people still do not want to expose themselves to the risks. (ISES, 2006) According to Market Research, an online company selling its business research, the USA and the United Kingdom has seen an increase in security consciousness with heavy monitoring in areas with people traffic very much high. The development came about after the wake of the 9/11 attack. (Market Research, 2005) It is expected that the 9/11 event would certainly negatively affect the global travel industry. For such a nation boasting itself as the leader in ensuring security with high-tech devices and well-planned systems, the United States saw the twin icons of its economic supremacy fall down right before their eyes. Pentagon, the country’s icon of military supremacy was also targeted. Passenger airplanes rushed and crashed on the structures. The message was clear- no one is safe

The Wireless Networks and Installations in Municipals Essay

The Wireless Networks and Installations in Municipals - Essay Example In addition, Wi-Fi networks provide a platform for the municipals to  offer  connectivity for the city workforce, attract companies and businesses to  situate  in their downtowns,  develop  their  conference  centres to be sought-after and  provide  all citizens access to broadband internet. Municipal Wi-Fi networks are crucial in increasing the effectiveness of the  state  delivery services. They support the provision of government services, for example, utility monitoring, police or fire protection, meter reading and code enforcement. Furthermore, these networks  enhance  the existing city networks  thus, reinforcing the tasks undertaken by the workforces, as well as communications in the inter-governmental departments and organizations. Therefore, the Wi-Fi technology usage  provides  inexpensive and improved  network  coverage in the urban areas (Bing, 2008). This, in turn, enhances the performance of the government and reduces the  provisi on  costs of the services of the government. ... The city of Philadelphia plans to  construct  a Wi-Fi system, which will  cover  the whole 135-square-mile city area. The main objective of this project is to make Philadelphia to  stay  as a competitive city for businesses and an  appeal  to visitors. According to Kallen (2006), the municipal governments may not have the appropriate technological expertise and are highly  probable  to be  incompetent  in choosing the technological, business models, approaches and applications. In addition, Bing (2008) argues that the government involvement, supporting one technology, produces  alteration  by foreclosing  antagonism  among options in the marketplace. Private companies have appropriate technology that is up to date with the changes in the Wi-Fi networks and their installations. The collaboration between the government and the private sector will lead to the selection of the  suitable  Wi-Fi technology for the city. The local government thus can  f orm  agreements with the private companies. Bing (2008) argues that cities may  opt  to  promote  the  building  of Wi-Fi systems by several players. This can include retail businesses, local Wi-Fi co-operatives, or community businesses, in addition to commercial system providers. Consequently, this makes up an  extension  of the existing installation  format  for Wi-Fi, where a variety of  autonomous  public  and private efforts has steered to the  installation  of uncoordinated Wi-Fi  coverage  locations. As municipal governments  deliberate  their alternatives to  promote  more reliable services and  coverage, one of their preferences will  be  to exercise their  power  to  support  greater harmonization

Operations Management Zellers Essay Example for Free

Operations Management Zellers Essay What competitive priority is important for a discount store, such as Zellers? Cost is the most important competitive priority for a discount store, such as Zellers. In order to perform competitively as a discount store, the organization must emphasize low operating costs. With this priority, Zellers can produce at low costs in comparison to competitors and offer products at low prices in order to meet consumer needs and become an order winner. 2. Three generic strategies are low cost, niche market, and product differentiation. What one of these strategies was Zellers using before 1998? After 1998? Prior to 1998, Zellers was using a low cost strategy. The company targeted budget-minded consumers with the slogan Where the Lowest Price is the Law. In the face of fierce rivalry from WalMart entering the competitive landscape and various operational shortcomings, Zellers made several strategic decisions and changes. After 1998, Zellers was using a niche market strategy, by adjusting its mission to become a moms store. Zellers focused on offering fair value to consumers, as opposed to the lowest price. The company moved away from the low cost dynamic of its self-service policy by investing in labour, having several customer service assistants on the floor. It also focused on investing in more famous brands and private label products. To the companys detriment, it appears that Zellers made these strategic changes in order to compete more directly with WalMart, as they moved away from discounts towards offering everyday low prices on 95% of its merchandise.

Hobbes Locke And Rousseau And The Social Contract Philosophy Essay

Hobbes Locke And Rousseau And The Social Contract Philosophy Essay All the above three quotes are from three of the most influential and glorified philosophers. All three of them, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau are famous for their works in the field of political philosophy. These three philosophers dominated the political thoughts of the 17th and 18th century. Thomas Hobbes Born on 5 April 1588 in Malmesbury , Wiltshire , England , formed the base for western political thought through his various books, one of which was highly influential in the field of political philosophy was the book Leviathan .Apart from political philosophy he also contributed in the field of history , geometry , ethics and political science. John Locke Born on 29 august 1632 in Wrington , Somerset, England, mostly known as the father of Liberalism. His   work had a large impact upon the establishment of the concept of   epistemology and political philosophy.one of his most famous writings is the Two treaties of government . Jean Jacques Rousseau Born on 28 June 1712 in Geneva, Republic of Geneva.his work influenced the French and the American revolution. His major works were in the field of political philosophy , literature ,education and his famous books are Emile and the social contract and discourses. To begin with I would like to inform that the social contract from the eyes of these three philosophers is based on one fundamental philosophy that is the state of nature, which is different for each one of them as all three have different dimensions and dynamics to it Hobbes considers the state of nature an horrific one .he simply calls the state of nature a s a state of war that is constant war. This state of war or state of nature is derived from human nature , human beings tendency to desire and to fulfill these desires in order to remain happy and satisfied in life . Hobbes expresses that the state of nature provides full freedom , everyone has the freedom to do what they want . thus there is complete equality too as each one is capable of desiring what they want and to do anything to achieve the desires always trying to gain more than the other person resulting in conflict and hence a state of war. No person can be inferior to another by the virtue of nature. Hobbes wrote that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man .due to the constant dispute and battle between human beings there is constant fear. According to Hobbes people in the state of nature are free to do anything they feel like doing in order to protect their interests hence there is no injustice as there no law . According to Locke state of nature is a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions , and persons as they think fit, within the bounds of law of nature.it is a state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another. He defines the state of nature as that state that is present before the the society develops. Its a state of complete freedom and equality and everyone is equally free. there is this concept of law of nature which both Hobbes and Locke follow . the law of nature governs the state of nature , it is the law derived from human reasoning. But according to Locke the law of reason suggests to avoid harm to self and others well being , property and liberty. This is where Locke opposes Hobbes as he say if the law of nature is followed then there will be complete peace and harmony which prevents the state of nature from entering a state of war .Locke mainly speaks of political equality , he says that one person can not be a victim of authority and oppression of another. Rousseau too disagreed with Hobbes with regard to the state of nature .he too felt that the state of nature was not a state of war. He presents the state of nature as a primitive one . Where human beings live like savages, whose desires are very basic and simple. There interaction with others is done for no social cause but to fulfill their own basic desires like sex , food and sleep. He said that in a state of nature human beings have only a few natural sentiments of self-love and pity. Humans live on basic instincts and can make use of nature hence giving them way more choices than other animals even though they seem like brute animals but they are not. This state is a very peaceful one as there is no vice, and no sentiments like greed, jealousy, envy as there is no civilized society. How and why should the state exit the State of Nature and enter into a social contract? Hobbes says; In a state of War, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.no commodious Building; no Knowledge of the face of the earth; no Account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short Hobbes says that the only way that the state of war in the state of nature can end is with the entering of the social contract. It can prevent chaos which is prevailing in the state of war. Hobbes says that there are laws present in the state of nature but no one to implement them, hence to have an authority or a body which can enforce these laws we need to enter into a contract. Hobbesian social contract demands the human beings in the state of nature to give up all their rights to the supreme authority apart from their right to life, which in the case of Hobbes is the sovereign, according to Hobbes the sovereign is absolute authority. The contract is void one the aim of the contract is not fulfilled that is the citizens of the state are not secure. According to Locke the reason behind leaving the state of nature are three inconveniences in the law of nature that there wants an established known law, there wants a known and impartial judge, and there wants the power to back and support the sentence when right and to give it due execution he says that humans have to transfer from the state of nature to the social contract in order to create a political society. According to Locke the social contract is entered only once there is consent of the people. This social contract forms a civil society with a government; the purpose of this was the protection of life, property and liberty. Rousseau claims moving out from the state of nature because as the population increased the resources were strained as a result of which humans started living in groups,there were personal comparisons, which led to pride and vanity, with time passing there there were innovations resulting in leisure hence causing greed, all this created division between the rich and the poor.the social unrest caused by all this showed a need of a government hence Rousseau explains the need for exit from the state of nature. He states that the government should be formed on the basis of a general will. For the general will to be truly general, it must be general in its origin, in its form and when there is economic equality he says that there must be a say of each and every person of the society, that a group should not represent the mass but each person should have the ability to vote and chose their sovereign. From the above text we realize that all three of them agreed to having a contract for the greater good of society. Hobbes and Rousseau want a absolute sovereign whereas Locke places various limitations to the sovereign. I feel all even though the three theorists differ in a few fundamental points their aims and purposes are mostly similar. -SHIVEN VARMA

The Significance of the Open-Source Act and Linux Essay -- Exploratory

The Significance of the Open-Source Act and Linux In the 1980's hardly anyone knew what a DOS attack was, most people hadn't ever seen a computer. There was one great OS for companies back then, UNIX. Unix was commercially made, very expensive, but was a very strong Operating System. Because of the price of equipment, many people wouldn't get into computers, but there was no reason to. Nothing of great significance was stored on computers. By 1985, computers hit the mainstream, providing many universities with links to each other and their libraries. This all came along with the invention of the Internet. Suddenly there was a great amount of information available to those who had access. There were many people who wanted to have the information these universities had, and they tried to get it any way possible. Within almost no time an underground culture started to spawn on the net. This underground consisted of many different type of people: Hackers, someone who exploits security for their benefits; Crackers, someone who breaks software to get it for free; Phreakers, someone who hacks the phone system; and other various, less significant others. These people alone were useless, but once the Internet had connected them, they are allowed to do what they want, when they want. Most of them were stuck with early versions of Microsoft Windows, or Unix. In 1986, another big boom caused the internet-underground to increase in size. Congress passed what is known as the "Open-Source Act." It allowed any code that was made open source to be edited by anyone, as long as the copyrights remained intact in the source-code. Suddenly there were thousands of the underground types getting into programming more than ever. With every... ...s are sure to surface. And with many companies producing versions of Linux, more and more people switch to it over Windows. Any software you use on your Mac, PC, or Unix can be ran on Linux, which causes more people to switch there. Everyone who opens up X Windows, the GUI in Linux, will almost unsurably notice the Source-Code compilers and examples in the startup menu. If just one out of a hundred of those tries to run it, and one out of a hundred of them keeps at it, there will be many more open-source programs out, most of them not made to better the world. Works Cited: Raymond, Eric. The New Hacker's Dictionary. Online: http://info.astrian.net/jargon/Local/, Perodically Updated Raymond, Eric S. The Cathedral And The Bazaar. 2001 Verton, Dan. The Hacker Diaries. Osborne McGraw-Hill 2002 Thomas, Douglas. Hacker Culture. Univ of Minnesota Pr. 2002 The Significance of the Open-Source Act and Linux Essay -- Exploratory The Significance of the Open-Source Act and Linux In the 1980's hardly anyone knew what a DOS attack was, most people hadn't ever seen a computer. There was one great OS for companies back then, UNIX. Unix was commercially made, very expensive, but was a very strong Operating System. Because of the price of equipment, many people wouldn't get into computers, but there was no reason to. Nothing of great significance was stored on computers. By 1985, computers hit the mainstream, providing many universities with links to each other and their libraries. This all came along with the invention of the Internet. Suddenly there was a great amount of information available to those who had access. There were many people who wanted to have the information these universities had, and they tried to get it any way possible. Within almost no time an underground culture started to spawn on the net. This underground consisted of many different type of people: Hackers, someone who exploits security for their benefits; Crackers, someone who breaks software to get it for free; Phreakers, someone who hacks the phone system; and other various, less significant others. These people alone were useless, but once the Internet had connected them, they are allowed to do what they want, when they want. Most of them were stuck with early versions of Microsoft Windows, or Unix. In 1986, another big boom caused the internet-underground to increase in size. Congress passed what is known as the "Open-Source Act." It allowed any code that was made open source to be edited by anyone, as long as the copyrights remained intact in the source-code. Suddenly there were thousands of the underground types getting into programming more than ever. With every... ...s are sure to surface. And with many companies producing versions of Linux, more and more people switch to it over Windows. Any software you use on your Mac, PC, or Unix can be ran on Linux, which causes more people to switch there. Everyone who opens up X Windows, the GUI in Linux, will almost unsurably notice the Source-Code compilers and examples in the startup menu. If just one out of a hundred of those tries to run it, and one out of a hundred of them keeps at it, there will be many more open-source programs out, most of them not made to better the world. Works Cited: Raymond, Eric. The New Hacker's Dictionary. Online: http://info.astrian.net/jargon/Local/, Perodically Updated Raymond, Eric S. The Cathedral And The Bazaar. 2001 Verton, Dan. The Hacker Diaries. Osborne McGraw-Hill 2002 Thomas, Douglas. Hacker Culture. Univ of Minnesota Pr. 2002

Essay --

Kashif Basaria Ms. Weaver English 2 Honors 7 January, 2014 Preventing Medical Malpractice It is unfortunate to say that medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Medical malpractice is defined as negligence committed by a medical professional. Malpractice lawsuits have existed in the United States for more than 150 years, most of which were never pursued in court. Medical malpractice is interfering with patients’ rights as well as demanding high costs. However, medical malpractice can be overcome by managing the costs involved, and by regulating, enforcing and advocating patient rights. The most common medical malpractice claims are mainly from missed diagnoses. Their common result was, unfortunately, death, found in fifteen percent and forty eight percent of the cases filed. Most common cases involving missed diagnoses for adults were cancer and heart attacks (Jaslow). Other cases that were common were ectopic pregnancies, appendicitis, and fractures of the bone. Most missed diagnoses involving children were cancers, and meningitis (Jaslow). On account to this, Doctor Richard E. Anderson, chairman and CEO of the physician-operated medical malpractice insurer, The Doctors Company, says, â€Å"nobody benefits but lawyers†¦But the second message is [that] medical care is too expensive, we’re ordering too many tests† (Jaslow). Stated from the quote above, â€Å"too many tests† appear to be unnecessary and unwanted tests. Apart from this, some cases regarded the patient’s lack of attention to their disease or disorder. Not only is it the doctor’s responsibility to look after the patient, but it is also the patient’s responsibility to be attentive and persistent about their health and the health care provide... ... a health problem, incorrect supervision of medication to a patient, faulty or sub-standard performance of a diagnosis, surgery, or any other type of procedure, inadequate use of medical tools and instruments and devices and their lack of maintenance, and negligence towards patient records, test results, or any other kind of documentation (Goguen). Although, the list of problems and causes of medical malpractice seems rather endless and long, it can be cut short. Some ways to prevent and avoid malpractice or medical error is to be aware and involved. A doctor can take note of their patient and their medical history. A patient can be aware of their surroundings and the treatment that they are receiving. A patient’s safety should be a doctor’s primary concern, because it is their responsibility to tend to patients needs and to assist them to a proper nourished life.

Managing Stress and a Balance Lifestyle within the Profession of Nursing

The power to make a difference was the strategy campaign utilized by a recruitment organization to promote awareness and spark of interest in nursing careers among youth. Research demonstrates today’s youth enter nursing for the same reason nurses in the past have chosen nursing: which is to help people or make a difference in people’s lives (Bevill). Presently, nursing practice is considerably the largest healthcare profession globally. Private homes, schools, long term care facility, hospitals, community facilities, industry, physician's offices, military and civil service arenas is the range of   work settings that the said medical profession   may be administered. Nurses act in alliance with social workers, physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and other health professionals in providing care delivery. In functioning as front line members of the health care delivery team, patient advocacy is one of most significant responsibility bestowed upon nurses. Acting as care provider is the profession's chief duty along with other challenging roles which comprises of being patient educator, researcher and counselor. This profession includes providing emotional and physical care, comfort, health monitoring of patients, health education and crisis intervention, tasks directed by physicians, discharge planning, and empowering patients toward healthy behavior. Though highly honored and considered prized associates of the medical team, crises among nurses are tremendously increasing. Health problems, physical and emotional stress, sexual harassment and staffing shortages are the major reasons that concern nurse retention. The profession’s work conditions contribute mainly to shortage. â€Å"Nurses eat their young† is the famous lines in a 1976 movie classic and the vilest statement coming from new nurses. It is called horizontal hostility, which is aggressive behavior such as bullying, verbal abuse, and violence directed at co-workers who are on the same power level. And it is born out of a sense of powerlessness (Bartholomew). It is the most frequent issue among newly graduates given that many have observed that older or senior nurses tend to become unhelpful, unaccommodating, and fault-finding in terms of their dealings with new nurses. They are seemingly called the â€Å"workplace bullies†, they take pleasure in looking at new nurses muddle up with performing their assigned tasks instead of helping their work buddies and acting as caring and supportive mentor. According to a Peter D. Hart Research Associates study (April 2001), the top reason why nurses leave patient care, besides retirement, is to see a job that is less stressful and less physically demanding (56%).When asked what the biggest problem with nursing is, respondents who were in active nursing practice cited understaffing (39%) and the stress and physical demands of the job (Aiken 12). Restructuring programs done by most hospitals only brought further burden to nurses since it affected workload, roles and authority. These programs include cutting back of auxiliary staffs which suggested that nurses do the lifting and turning of patients and getting more patients to care for means increase in mistakes and stress.   These are the working conditions that cause anxiety and stress to nurses. Exposure to risks such as physical stress and health problems like back pain and chronic fatigue due to obese patients that were lifted by the nurses which supposedly be the duty of auxiliary staffs. Nurses work overtime, research shows high divorce rate among health care professionals. They work more than 16 hours sometimes double shift instead of 8-12 hours normal work schedule. This includes going to work on holidays when their entire family is at home while they look after patients. Another example of occupational hazard among nurses is sexual harassment. Nurses are the targets of sexual assaults may it be offensive jokes, unwanted winks, and touching. Tension among nurses happens since they have to maintain a wall between self-protection and professional responsibility. Nurses came to feel that they would meet a wall of physician resistance to their own care goals unless they subtly manipulated the physicians, whose fragile egos seemed to require that significant care be all their idea. Gordon argues that nurses even developed their own obfuscatory language to ensure that they were not perceived as â€Å"diagnosing,† â€Å"treating† or â€Å"curing† patients, which could mean encroaching on â€Å"medical† turf. Poor communication between the professions is common, and bad relations with physicians are a major factor in nurse burnout (Gordon). This kind of incidence in the workplace brings dilemma and stress to nurses. Most nurses try to behave professionally by still remaining courteous to physicians and reluctant to speak up. In relation to nurse behavior, according to American Nurses Association survey found that 55 percent of nurses disheartened by their experience in the profession would not recommend a nursing career to their children and friends. And one study has shown that if a hospital's nurses are unhappy, chances are that their patients are unhappy as well (Aiken 20). According to researchers, nurses who are the target of bullying are prone to developing psychological side effects including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression or insomnia, all of which can lead to poor work performance. In the report, Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Addressing the Evolving Nursing Crisis, the Joint Commission suggests facilities that find bullying and intimidation to be a problem should adopt a zero-tolerance policy to enforce proper behavior in the workplace. The report also calls for the hospital to be held accountable for educational initiatives so all staff members understand what is considered inappropriate behavior (Sounart). Works Cited Aiken, Linda. â€Å"Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Addressing the Evolving Nursing Crisis.† JointCommission. 23 February 2007. Joint Commission on Accreditation of   Healthcare Organizations. 2 May 2008. ; http://www.jointcommission.org/NR/rdonlyres/5C138711-ED76-4D6F-909F-B06E0309F36D/0/health_care_at_the_crossroads.pdf;. Bartholomew, Kathleen. â€Å"Why Nurses Eat Their Young†¦ A look at nurse-to-nurse hostility and why it occurs.† RealityRN. 4 March 2008. New Nurses Real Conversation. 2 May 2008. http://www.realityrn.com/more-articles/power-authority/why-nurses-eat-their-young%E2%80%A6/542/. Bevill, Billy. â€Å"Nursing: The Power to Make a Difference Campaign.† NC.   1 March 2001. NC Center for Nursing. 2 May 2008. ; http://www.ga.unc.edu/NCCN/recruitmentandretention/youth/resourcescampaign.htm;. Gordon, Suzanne. â€Å"Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost-Cutting, Media Stereotypes, and Medical Hubris Undermine Nursing and Patient Care.† Nursing Advocacy. 19 July 2005. Cornell University Press. 2 May 2008. ;http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/media/books/nursing_against_odds.html;. Sounart, Amanda. â€Å"Many Nurses Report Abusive Treatment at Work.† Travel Nursing. 2008. AMN Healthcare, Inc. 2 May 2008. ;http://www.travelnursing.com/News.aspx?ArticleID=17746;. ; ;

Marketing Strategy of Nokia Essay

INTRODUCTION The company I have chosen to analyze in my project is the Finnish mobile phone giant NOKIA. This project tells us briefly what Nokia actually is, it’s company structure and overall view on the size and sales of the company & also the Various Marketing Strategies followed by them. Nokia is a telecommunication company with headquarters in Espoo (Finland). It is best known as the world’s most famous mobile phone manufacturer, and it is, furthermore, the provider of consumer products such as set-top boxes, equipment for broadband Internet and IP and mobile networks. Nokia is also a supplier of the automotive industry and offers things like speakers for various car brands. 1.1 Purpose of the study Understanding the company as a whole. To know the facilities provided by the Company to its Customers. To know the Strategies adopted by NOKIA to re-establish itself in the cell-phones market after simultaneous decline of the company’s market share over the past few years due to competition from companies like APPLE and SAMSUNG. 1.2 Research Objectives of the Study:- To gather information about the company and its products. To study the threat, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths of the company. To make comparative analysis between top 5 phone vendors. To get the better view of Various Marketing Strategies adopted by NOKIA to reposition itself in the Smartphones’ market. 1.3 Research Methodology It is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that our generally adopted by a researcher in studying his problem along with the logic behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research methods or techniques but also the methodology. 1.3.1 Data Source The data can be collected from two sources i.e. Primary and Secondary .I have collected most of the data for this project on NOKIA from the secondary sources like websites, search engines, books and magazines. 1.3.2 Limitations of Study The data of the research was secondary in nature and access to primary data was limited. There was also a time constraint as much more time was required in order to research more deeply about the topic. The project restricted to only telecommunication sector of the company. ABOUT NOKIA HISTORY 1865 to 1967 The predecessors of the modern Nokia were the Nokia Company (Nokia Aktiebolag), Finnish Rubber Works Ltd (Suomen Gummitehdas Oy) and Finnish Cable Works Ltd (Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy). Nokia’s history started in 1865 when mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established aground wood pulp mill on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids in the town of Tampere, in southwestern Finland in the Russian Empire and started manufacturing paper. In 1868, Idestam built a second mill near the town of Nokia, fifteen kilometers (nine miles) west of Tampere by the Nokianvirta river, which had better resources for hydropower production. In 1871, Idestam, with the help of his close friend statesman Leo Mechelin, renamed and transformed his firm into a share company, thereby founding the Nokia Company, the name it is still known by today. Toward the end of the 19th century, Mechelin’s wishes to expand into the electricity business were at first thwarted by Idestam’s opposition. However, Idestam’s retirement from the management of the company in 1896 allowed Mechelin to become the company’s chairman (from 1898 until 1914) and sell most shareholders on his plans, thus realizing his vision. In 1902, Nokia added electricity generation to its business activities. Industrial conglomerate In 1898, Eduard Polà ³n founded Finnish Rubber Works, manufacturer of galoshes and other rubber products, which later became Nokia’s rubber business. At the beginning of the 20th century, Finnish Rubber Works established its factories near the town of Nokia and they began using Nokia as its product brand. In 1912, Arvid Wickstrà ¶m founded Finnish Cable Works, producer of telephone, telegraph and electrical cables and the foundation of Nokia’s cable and electronics businesses. At the end of the 1910s, shortly after World War I, the Nokia Company was nearing bankruptcy. To ensure the continuation of electricity supply from Nokia’s generators, Finnish Rubber Works acquired the business of the insolvent company. In 1922, Finnish Rubber Works acquired Finnish Cable Works. In 1937, Verner Weckman, a sport wrestler and Finland’s first Olympic Gold medalist, became president of Finnish Cable Works, after 16 years as its technical director. After World War II, F innish Cable Works supplied cables to the Soviet Union as part of Finland’s war reparations. This gave the company a good foothold for later trade. The three companies, which had been jointly owned since 1922, were merged to form a new industrial conglomerate, Nokia Corporation in 1967 and paved the way for Nokia’s future as a global corporation. The new company was involved in many industries, producing at one time or another paper products, car and bicycle tires, footwear (including rubber boots), communications cables, televisions and other consumer electronics, personal  computers, electricity generation machinery, robotics, capacitors, military communications and equipment (such as the SANLA M/90 device and the M61 gas mask for the Finnish Army), plastics, aluminium and chemicals. Each business unit had its own director who reported to the first Nokia Corporation President, Bjà ¶rn Westerlund. As the president of the Finnish Cable Works, he had been responsible for setting up the company’s first electronics department in 1960, sowing the seeds of Nokia’s future in telecommunications. Eventually, the company decided to leave consumer electronics behind in the 1990s and focused solely on the fastest growing segments in telecommunications. Nokian Tyres, manufacturer of tires, split from Nokia Corporation to form its own company in 1988 and two years later Nokian Footwear, manufacturer of rubber boots, was founded. During the rest of the 1990s, Nokia divested itself of all of its non-telecommunications businesses. 1967 to 2000 The seeds of the current incarnation of Nokia were planted with the founding of the electronics section of the cable division in 1960 and the production of its first electronic device in 1962: a pulse analyzer designed for use in nuclear power plants. In the 1967 fusion, that section was separated into its own division, and began manufacturing telecommunications equipment. A key CEO and subsequent Chairman of the Board was vuorineuvos Bjà ¶rn â€Å"Nalle† Westerlund (1912–2009), who founded the electronics department and let it run at a loss for 15 years. First mobile phones The Mobira Cityman 150, Nokia’s NMT-900 mobile phone from 1989 (left), compared to the Nokia 1100 from 2003. The Mobira Cityman line was launched in 1987. The technologies that preceded modern cellular mobile telephony systems were the various â€Å"0G† pre-cellular mobile radio telephony standards. Nokia had been producing commercial and some military mobile radio communications technology since the 1960s, although this part of the company was sold some time before the later company rationalization. Since 1964, Nokia had developed VHF radio simultaneously with SaloraOy. In 1966, Nokia  and Salora started developing the ARP standard (which stands for Autoradiopuhelin, or car radio phone in English), a car-based mobile radio telephony system and the first commercially operated public mobile phone network in Finland. It went online in 1971 and offered 100% coverage in 1978. In 1979, the merger of Nokia and Salora resulted in the establishment of Mobira Oy. Mobira began developing mobile phones for the NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony) network standard, the first-generation, first fully automatic cellular phone system that went online in 1981. In 1982, Mobira introduced its first car phone, the Mobira Senator for NMT-450 networks. Nokia bought Salora Oy in 1984 and now owning 100% of the company, changed the company’s telecommunications branch name to Nokia-MobiraOy. The Mobira Talkman, launched in 1984, was one of the world’s first transportable phones. In 1987, Nokia introduced one of the world’s first handheld phones, the Mobira Cityman 900 for NMT-900 networks (which, compared to NMT-450, offered a better signal, yet a shorter roam). While the Mobira Senator of 1982 had weighed 9.8 kg (22 lb) and the Talkman just under 5 kg (11 lb), the Mobira Cityman weighed only 800 g (28 oz) with the battery and had a price tag of 24,000 Finnish marks (approximately â‚ ¬4,560). Despite the high price, the first phones were almost snatched from the sales assistants’ hands. Initially, the mobile phone was a â€Å"yuppie† product and a status symbol. Nokia’s mobile phones got a big publicity boost in 1987, when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was pictured using a Mobira Cityman to make a call from Helsinki to his communications minister in Moscow. This led to the phone’s nickname of the â€Å"Gorba†. In 1988, Jorma Nieminen, resigning from the post of CEO of the mobile phone unit, along with two other employees from the unit, started a notable mobile phone company of their own, Benefon Oy (since renamed to GeoSentric). One year later, Nokia-Mobira Oy became Nokia Mobile Phones. Involvement in GSM Nokia was one of the key developers of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), the second-generation mobile technology which could carry data as well as voice traffic. NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony), the world’s first mobile telephony standard that enabled international roaming, provided valuable experience for Nokia for its close participation in developing GSM,  which was adopted in 1987 as the new European standard for digital mobile technology. Nokia delivered its first GSM network to the Finnish operator Radiolinja in 1989. The world’s first commercial GSM call was made on 1 July 1991 in Helsinki, Finland over a Nokia-supplied network, by then Prime Minister of Finland HarriHolkeri, using a prototype Nokia GSM phone. In 1992, the first GSM phone, the Nokia 1011, was launched. The model number refers to its launch date, 10 November. The Nokia 1011 did not yet employ Nokia’s characteristic ringtone, the Nokia tune. It was introduced as a ringtone in 19 94 with the Nokia 2100 series. GSM’s high-quality voice calls, easy international roaming and support for new services like text messaging (SMS) laid the foundations for a worldwide boom in mobile phone use. GSM came to dominate the world of mobile telephony in the 1990s, in mid-2008 accounting for about three billion mobile telephone subscribers in the world, with more than 700 mobile operators across 218 countries and territories. New connections are added at the rate of 15 per second, or 1.3 million per day. Challenges of growth The Nokia House, Nokia’s head office located by the Gulf of Finland in Keilaniemi,Espoo, was constructed between 1995 and 1997. It is the workplace of more than 1,000 Nokia employees. In the 1980s, during the era of its CEO Kari Kairamo, Nokia expanded into new fields, mostly by acquisitions. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the corporation ran into serious financial problems, a major reason being its heavy losses by the television manufacturing division and businesses that were just too diverse. These problems, and a suspected totalburnout, probably contributed to Kairamo taking his own life in 1988. After Kairamo’s death, SimoVuorilehto became Nokia’s Chairman and CEO. In 1990–1993, Finland underwent severe economic depression, which also struck Nokia. Under Vuorilehto’s management, Nokia was severely overhauled. The company responded by streamlining its telecommunications divisions, and by divesting itself of the television and PC divisions. Pr obably the most important strategic change in Nokia’s history was made in 1992, however, when the new CEO JormaOllila made a crucial strategic decision to concentrate solely on  telecommunications. Thus, during the rest of the 1990s, the rubber, cable and consumer electronics divisions were gradually sold as Nokia continued to divest itself of all of its non-telecommunications businesses. As late as 1991, more than a quarter of Nokia’s turnover still came from sales in Finland. However, after the strategic change of 1992, Nokia saw a huge increase in sales to North America, South America and Asia. The exploding worldwide popularity of mobile telephones, beyond even Nokia’s most optimistic predictions, caused a logistics crisis in the mid-1990s. This prompted Nokia to overhaul its entire logistics operation. By 1998, Nokia’s focus on telecommunications and its early investment in GSM technologies had made the company the world’s largest mobile pho ne manufacturer, a position it would hold for the next 14 consecutive years until 2012. Between 1996 and 2001, Nokia’s turnover increased almost fivefold from 6.5 billion euros to 31 billion euros. Logistics continues to be one of Nokia’s major advantages over its rivals, along with greater economies of scale. 2000 to 2012 (October) Product releases Reduction in size of Nokia mobile phones Evolution of the Nokia Communicator. Models 9000, 9110, 9210, 9300 and 9500 shown. Nokia launched its Nokia 1100 handset in 2003, with over 200 million units shipped, was the best-selling mobile phone of all time and the world’s top-sellingconsumer electronics product.Nokia was one of the first players in the mobile space to recognize that there was a market opportunity in combining a game console and a mobile phone (both of which many gamers were carrying in 2003) into the N-Gage. The N-Gage was a mobile phone and game console meant to lure gamers away from the Game Boy Advance, though it cost twice as much. In May 2007, Nokia released its first touch screen phone, the Nokia 7710, which was also a huge success. In November 2007, Nokia announced and released the Nokia N82, its first Nseries phone withXenon flash. At the Nokia World conference in December 2007, Nokia announced their â€Å"Comes With Music† program: Nokia device buyers are to receive a year of complimenta ry access to music downloads. The service became commercially available in the  second half of 2008. Nokia Productions was the first ever mobile filmmaking project directed by Spike Lee. Work began in April 2008, and the film premiered in October 2008. In 2008, Nokia released the Nokia E71 which was marketed to directly compete with the other BlackBerry-type devices offering a full â€Å"qwerty† keyboard and cheaper prices. Nokia announced in August 2009 that they will be selling a high-end Windows-based mini laptop called the Nokia Booklet 3G. On 2 September 2009, Nokia launched two new music and social networking phones, the X6 and X3. The Nokia X6 features 32GB of on-board memory with a 3.2†³ finger touch interface and comes with a music playback time of 35 hours. The Nokia X3 is a first series 40 Ovi Store-enabled device. The X3 is a music device that comes with stereo speakers, built-in FM radio, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. On 10 September 2009, Nokia unveiled the 7705 Twist, a phone sporting a square shape that swivels open to reveal a full QWERTY keypad, featuring a 3 megapixel camera, web browsing, voice commands and weighting around 3.44 ounces (98 g). On 9 August 2012, Nokia launched for the Indian market two new Asha range of handsets equipped with cloud accelerated Nokia browser, helping users browse the Internet faster and lower their spend on data charges. Symbian The Nokia N8 smartphone is the worlds first Symbian^3device, and the first Nokia smartphone to feature a 12megapixel autofocus lens. Originally Nokia phones had a custom Nokia OS operating system developed specifically for Nokia mobile phones. The first Nseries device, the N90, utilised the older Symbian OS8.1 mobile operating system, as did the N70. Subsequently Nokia switched to using SymbianOS 9 for all later Nseries devices (except the N72, which was based on the N70). Newer Nseries devices incorporate newer revisions of Symbian OS 9 that include Feature Packs. The N800, N810, N900, N9 and N950 are as of April 2012 the only Nseries devices (therefore excluding Lumia devices) to not use Symbian OS. They use the Linux-based Maemo. Nokia stated that Maemo would be developed alongside Symbian. Maemo had since (Maemo â€Å"6† and beyond) merged with Intel’s Moblin, and became MeeGo. MeeGo was later canceled and a development is now continued under nameTizen. The Nokia N8 is the first device to function on the Symbian^3mobile operating system. Nokia revealed that the N8 will be the last device in its flagship N-series devices to ship with Symbian OS.  Instead, Nokia will use Microsoft Windows Phone for its high-end flagship Lumia devices, and revealed the Nokia N9 will function on the MeeGo mobile operating system. Alliance with Microsoft Market share of Symbian, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 among US smartphone owners from Q1 2011 to Q2 2012 according to Nielsen Company. On 11 February 2011, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop, a former head of Microsoft business division, unveiled a new strategic alliance with Microsoft, and announced it would replace Symbian and MeeGo with Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system except for mid-to-low-end devices, which would continue to run under Symbian. Nokia was also to invest into the Series 40 platform and release a single MeeGo product in 2011. As part of the restructuring plan, Nokia planned to reduce spending on research and development, instead customising and enhancing the software line for Windows Phone 7. Nokia’s â€Å"applications and content store† (Ovi) becomes integrated into the Windows Phone Store, and Nokia Maps is at the heart of Microsoft’s Bing and AdCenter. Microsoft provides developer tools to Nokia to replace the Qtframework, which is not supported by Windows Phone 7 devices. Symbian became described by Elop as a â€Å"franchise platform† with Nokia planning to sell 150 million Symbian devices after the alliance was set up. MeeGo emphasis was on longer-term exploration, with plans to ship â€Å"a MeeGo-related product† later in 2012. Microsoft’s search engine, Bing was to become the search engine for all Nokia phones. Nokia also intended to get some level of customization on WP7. After this announcement, Nokia’s share price fell about 14%, its biggest drop since July 2009. As Nokia was the largest mobile phone and smartphone manufacturer worldwide at the time, it was suggested the alliance would make Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 a stronger contender against Android and iOS. Because previously increasing sales of Symbian smartphones began to fall rapidly in the beginning of 2011, Nokia was overtaken by Apple as the world’s biggest smartphone maker by volume in Jun e 2011. In August 2011 Chris Weber, head of Nokia’s subsidiary in the U.S., stated â€Å"The reality is if we are not successful with Windows Phone, it doesn’t matter what we do (elsewhere).† He further added â€Å"North America is a  priority for Nokia (†¦) because it is a key market for Microsoft.† Nokia reported â€Å"well above 1 million† sales for its Lumia line up to 26 January 2012, 2 million sales for the first quarter of 2012, and 4 million for the second quarter of 2012. In this quarter, Nokia only sold 600000 smartphones (Symbian and Windows Phone 7) in North America. For comparison, Nokia sold more than 30 million Symbian devices world-wide still in Q4 2010 and the Nokia N8 alone sold almost 4 million in its first quarter of sale. In Q2 2012, 26 million iPhonesand 105 million Android phones have been shipped, but only 6.8 million devices with Symbian and 5.4 million with Windows Phone. While announcing an alliance with Groupon, E lop declared â€Å"The competition†¦ is not with other device manufacturers, it’s with Google.† European carriers have stated that Nokia Windows phones are not good enough to compete with Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phones, that â€Å"they are overpriced for what is not an innovative product† and that â€Å"No one comes into the store and asks for a Windows phone†. In June 2012, Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa told journalists that Nokia had a back-up plan in the eventuality that Windows Phone failed to be sufficiently successful in the market. On October 29, 2012, Nokia said its high-end Lumia 820 and 920 phones, which will run on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 software, will reach first operators and retail outlets in some European markets including France and Britain and later in Russia and Germany as well as other select markets. Reorganizations Nokia opened its Komà ¡rom, Hungary mobile phone factory on 5 May 2000. In March 2007, Nokia signed a memorandum with Cluj County Council, Romania to open a new plant near the city in Jucu commune. Moving the production from the Bochum, Germany factory to a low wage country created an uproar in Germany. Nokia recently moved its North American Headquarters to Sunnyvale. In April 2003, the troubles of the networks equipment division caused the corporation to resort to similar streamlining practices on that side, including layoffs and organizational restructuring. This diminished Nokia’s public image in Finland, and produced a number of court cases and an episode of a documentary television show critical of Nokia. On February 2006, Nokia and Sanyo announced a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture  addressing the CDMA handset business. But in June, they announced ending negotiations without agreement. Nokia also stated its decision to pull out of CDMA research a nd development, to continue CDMA business in selected markets. In June 2006, Jorma Ollila left his position as CEO to become the chairman of Royal Dutch Shell and to give way for Olli-PekkaKallasvuo. In May 2008, Nokia announced on their annual stockholder meeting that they want to shift to the Internet business as a whole. Nokia no longer wants to be seen as the telephone company. Google, Apple and Microsoft are not seen as natural competition for their new image but they are considered as major important players to deal with. In November 2008, Nokia announced it was ceasing mobile phone distribution in Japan. Following early December, distribution of Nokia E71 is cancelled, both from NTT docomo and Soft Bank Mobile. Nokia Japan retains global research & development programs, sourcing business, and an MVNO venture of Vertu luxury phones, using docomo’s telecommunications network. In February 2012, Nokia announced it was laying off 4000 employees to move manufacturing from Eu rope and Mexico to Asia. In March 2012, Nokia announced it was laying off 1000 employs from its Salo, Finland factory to focus on software. Acquisitions The Nokia E55 from the business segment of the Eseries range On 22 September 2003, Nokia acquired Sega.com, a branch of Sega which became the major basis to develop the Nokia N-Gage device. On 8 August 2006, Nokia and Loudeye Corp. announced that they had signed an agreement for Nokia to acquire online music distributor Loudeye Corporation for approximately US $60 million. The company has been developing this into an online music service in the hope of using it to generate handset sales. The service, launched on 29 August 2007, is aimed to rival iTunes. Nokia completed the acquisition on 16 October 2006. In July 2007, Nokia acquired all assets of Twango, the comprehensive media sharing solution for organizing and sharing photos, videos and other personal media. In September 2007, Nokia announced its intention to acquire Enpocket, a supplier of mobile advertising technology and services. In October 2007, pending shareholder and regulatory approval, Nokia bought Navteq, a U.S.-based su pplier of digital mapping data, for a  price of $8.1 billion. Nokia finalized the acquisition on 10 July 2008. In September 2008, Nokia acquired OZ Communications, a privately held company with approximately 220 employees headquartered in Montreal, Canada. On 24 July 2009, Nokia announced that it will acquire certain assets of cellity, a privately owned mobile software company which employs 14 people in Hamburg, Germany. The acquisition of cellity was completed on 5 August 2009. On 11 September 2009, Nokia announced the acquisition of â€Å"certain assets of Plum Ventures, Inc, a privately held company which employed approximately 10 people with main offices in Boston, Massachusetts. Plum will complement Nokia’s Social Location services†. On 28 March 2010, Nokia announced the acquisition of Novarra, the mobile web browser firm from Chicago. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Novarra is a privately held company based in Chicago, IL and provider of a mobile browser and service platform and has more than 100 employees. On 10 April 2010, Nokia announced its acquisition of MetaCarta, whose technology was planned to be used in the area of local search, particularly involving location and other services. Financial details of acquisition were not disclosed. Nokia has acquired Smarterphone in 2012. Also Nokia acquired Scalado in 2012. Financial difficulties and restructuring LAmid falling sales, Nokia posted a loss of 368 million euros for Q2 2011, while in Q2 2010 had still a profit of 227 million euros. On September 2011, Nokia has announced it will lose another 3,500 jobs worldwide, including the closure of its Cluj factory in Romania. On 8 February 2012 Nokia Corp. said to cut around 4,000 jobs at smartphone manufacturing plants in Europe by the end of 2012 to move assembly closer to component supplier in Asia. It plans to cut 2,300 of the 4,400 jobs in Hungary, 700 out of 1,000 jobs in Mexico, and 1,000 out of 1,700 factory jobs in Finland. On 14 June 2012, Nokia announced to cut 10,000 jobs globally by the end of 2013 and shut production and research sites in Finland, Germany and Canada inline with continues loss and the stock fell to the lowest since 1996. Today, Nokia’s market value is below $10 billion. In total, according to actualized and planned laid-offs Nokia will have laid off 24,500 employees by the end of 2013. Nokia has already l aid off 7,000 employees in the first stage: 4,000 staff and transferred also 3,000 to services firm Accenture. Nokia also closed its  factory in Cluj, Romania that decreased the workforce by 2,000 employees, and restructured the Location & Commerce business unit that decreased the workforce by 1,200 employees. In February 2012, Nokia unveiled a plan to cut 4,000 more jobs at its plants in Finland, Hungary and Mexico as it moves smartphone assembly work to Asia. The most recent plan is to cut further 10,000 jobs globally by the end of 2013. Nokia had 66,267 personnel in its Devices & Services, NAVTEQ and Corporate Common Functions units combined, this has been calculated by subtracting the personnel of Nokia Siemens Networks from the total personnel of Nokia Group based on the full year report of 2010. Therefore, the personnel would decrease by approximately 36 percent by the end of 2013 when compared to the end of 2010 that best depicts the lay-offs that have resulted from the str ategy change in February 2011 and competition in the central mobile phone business units recently. On 18 June 2012 Moody’s downgraded Nokia rating to junk. Nokia CEO admitted on 28 June 2012 that company’s inability to foresee rapid changes in mobile phone industry was one of the major reasons for the problems company was facing. On 4 May 2012, a group of Nokia investors filled a class action against the company as a result of disappointing sales of Nokia phones running on the Windows Phone platform. On 22 August 2012, it was reported that a group of Finnish Nokia investors were considering gathering signatures for the removal of Elop as CEO. Operations Nokia House, Nokia’s headquarters in Keilaniemi, Espoo, Finland In 2011 Nokia had 130,000 employees in 120 countries, sales in more than 150 countries, global annual revenue of over â‚ ¬38 billion, and operating loss of â‚ ¬1 billion.[1] It was the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones in 2011, with global device market share of 23% in the second quarter. The Nokia Research Center, founded in 1986, is Nokia’s industrial research unit consisting of about 500 researchers, engineers and scientists; it has sites in seven countries: Finland, China, India, Kenya,Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Besides its research centers, in 2001 Nokia founded (and owns) INdT – Nokia Institute of Technology, a R&D institute located in Brazil. Nokia operates a total of 9 manufacturing  facilities located at Salo, Finland; Manaus, Brazil; Cluj, Romania; Beijing and Dongguan, China;Komà ¡rom, Hungary; Chennai, India; Reynosa, Mexico; and Cha ngwon, South Korea. Nokia’s industrial design department is headquartered in Soho in London, UK with significant satellite offices in Helsinki, Finland and Calabasas, California in the US. Nokia is a public limited-liability company listed on the Helsinki, Frankfurt, and New York stock exchanges. Nokia plays a very large role in the economy of Finland. It is an important employer in Finland and several small companies have grown into large ones as its partners and subcontractors. In 2009 Nokia contributed 1.6% to Finland’s GDP, and accounted for about 16% of Finland’s exports in 2006. Divisions Since 1 July 2010, Nokia comprises three business groups: Mobile Solutions, Mobile Phones and Markets. The three units receive operational support from the Corporate Development Office, led by Kai Ãâ€"istà ¤mà ¶, which is also responsible for exploring corporate strategic and future growth opportunities. On 1 April 2007, Nokia’s Networks business group was combined with Siemens’s carrier-related operations for fixed and mobile networks to form Nokia Siemens Networks, jointly owned by Nokia and Siemens and consolidated by Nokia. Mobile Solutions The Nokia N900, a Maemo 5 Linux based mobile Internet device and touchscreen smartphone from Nokia’s Nseries portfolio. Mobile Solutions is responsible for Nokia’s portfolio ofsmartphones and mobile computers, including the more expensive multimedia and enterprise-class devices. The team is also responsible for a suite of internet services under the Ovi brand, with a strong focus on maps and navigation, music, messaging andmedia. This unit is led by AnssiVanjoki, along with TeroOjanperà ¤ (for Services) and Alberto Torres (forMeeGo Computers). Mobile Phones Mobile Phones is responsible for Nokia’s portfolio of affordable mobile phones, as well as a range of services that people can access with them, headed by Mary T. McDowell. This unit provides the general public with  mobile voice and data products across a range of devices, including high-volume, consumer oriented mobile phones. The devices are based on GSM/EDGE, 3G/W-CDMA andCDMA cellular technologies. At the end of the year 2007, Nokia managed to sell almost 440 million mobile phones which accounted for 40% of all global mobile phones sales. In 2011, Nokia’s market share in the mobile phone market had dropped to 27% (417 million phones). Anssi Vanjoki resigned a few days before Nokia World 2010 and under new leadership team Jo Harlow will look into the affairs of Smartphones portfolio. On 27 April 2011, The Register reported that Nokia was secretly developing a new operating system called Meltemi aiming at the low-end market. It was believed it would be replacing th e S30 and S40 operating systems. Due to low-end market customers’ demand of having smartphone features in their feature phone, the OS would have included some features exclusive to high-end smartphones. On 26 July 2012, it was announced that Nokia had abandoned the Meltemi project as a cost-cutting measure. Markets The flagship Nokia store in Sao Paulo, Brazil Markets is responsible for Nokia’s supply chains, sales channels, brand and marketing functions of the company, and is responsible for delivering mobile solutions and mobile phones to the market. The unit is headed by NiklasSavander. Subsidiaries Nokia has numerous subsidiaries. The largest in terms of revenues is Navteq, a Chicago, Illinois-based provider of digital map data and location-based content and services for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. Navteq was acquired by Nokia on 1 October 2007. Navteq’s map data is part of the Nokia Maps online service where users can download maps, use voice-guided navigation and other context-aware web services. Nokia Maps is part of the Ovi brand of Nokia’s Internet based online services. Other notable subsidiaries include, but are not limited to Vertu, a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury mobile phones; Qt Software, a Norwegian-based software company, and OZ Communications, a consumer e-mail and instant messaging provider. Until 2008 Nokia was the major shareholder  in Symbian Limited, a software development and licensing company that produced Symbian OS, a smartphone operating system used by Nokia and other manufacturers. In 2008 Nokia acquired Symbian Ltd and, along with a number of other companies, created the Symbian Foundation to distribute the Symbian platform royalty free and asopen source. Nokia Siemens Networks B.V. is a multinational data networking and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Espoo, Finland and a joint venture between Nokia (50.1%) and Siemens (49.9%). It is the world’s fourth-largest telecoms equipment manufacturer measured by 2011 revenues (after Ericsson, Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent). Nokia Siemens Networks has operations in around 150 countries. The creation of Nokia Siemens Networks was announced on 19 June 2006, when Nokia and Siemens announced that they would merge their mobile and fixed-line phone network equipment businesses. The Nokia Siemens Networks brand identity was subsequently launched at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February 2007. Nokia Siemens Networks provid es wireless and fixed network infrastructure, communications and networks service platforms, as well as professional services to operators and service providers. Nokia Siemens Networks focuses in GSM, EDGE, 3G/W-CDMA and WiMAX radio access networks; core networks with increasing IP and multiaccess capabilities; and services. Corporate affairs Corporate governance The control and management of Nokia is divided among the shareholders at a general meeting and the Nokia Leadership Team, under the direction of the Board of Directors. The Chairman and the rest of the Nokia Leadership Team members are appointed by the Board of Directors. Only the Chairman of the Nokia Leadership Team can belong to both, the Board of Directors and the Nokia Leadership Team. The Board of Directors’ committees consist of the Audit Committee, the Personnel Committee and the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee. The operations of the company are managed within the framework set by the Finnish Companies Act, Nokia’s Articles of Association and Corporate Governance Guidelines, and related Board of Directors adopted charters. Stock Nokia is a public limited liability company and is the oldest company listed under the same name on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, having been listed since 1915. Nokia has had a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange since 1994. Nokia shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2003, the Paris Stock Exchange in 2004, the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 2007 and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2012. In 2007, Nokia had a market capitalisation of â‚ ¬110 billion; by May 2012 this had fallen to â‚ ¬14.8 billion. Financial results For fiscal Q2 2011 ending in June 2011, Nokia reported a net loss of â‚ ¬492 million, despite a â‚ ¬430 million payment from Apple. Nokia cited decline in its mobile phone business as the primary cause of the loss. In Q1 2012 results were bleak. Nokia lost â‚ ¬1.34 billion. Revenue is down almost a third from a year ago. By May 2012, Nokia share price had fallen 37.5 percent since the beginning of the year, and was down 61 percent in the last year. Corporate culture Nokia’s official corporate culture manifesto, The Nokia Way, emphasises the speed and flexibility of decision-making in a flat, networked organization, although the corporation’s size necessarily imposes a certain amount of bureaucracy. The official business language of Nokia is English. All documentation is written in English, and is used in official intra-company spoken communication and e-mail. Until May 2007, the Nokia Values were Customer Satisfaction, Respect, Achievement, and Renewal. In May 2007, Nokia redefined its values after initiating a series of discussions worldwide as to what the new values of the company should be. Based on the employee suggestions, the new values were defined as: Engaging You, Achieving Together, Passion for Innovation and Very Human. Online services 1) .mobi and the Mobile Web Nokia was the first proponent of a Top Level Domain (TLD) specifically for the Mobile Web and, as a result, was instrumental in the launch of the .mobi domain name extension in September 2006 as an official  backer. Since then, Nokia has launched the largest mobile portal, Nokia.mobi, which receives over 100 million visits a month. It followed that with the launch of a mobile Ad Service to cater to the growing demand for mobile advertisement. 2) Ovi Nokia Ovi logo. Ovi, announced on 29 August 2007, is the name for Nokia’s â€Å"umbrella concept† Internet services. Centered on Ovi.com, it is marketed as a â€Å"personal dashboard† where users can share photos with friends, download music, maps and games directly to their phones and access third-party services like Yahoo’sFlickr photo site. It has some significance in that Nokia is moving deeper into the world of Internet services, where head-on competition with Microsoft, Google andApple is inevitable. The services offered through Ovi include the Ovi Store (Nokia’s application store), the Nokia Music Store, Nokia Maps, Ovi Mail, the N-Gage mobile gaming platform available for several S60smartphones, Ovi Share, Ovi Files, and Contacts and Calendar. The Ovi Store, the Ovi application store was launched in May 2009. Prior to opening the Ovi Store, Nokia integrated its software Download! store, the stripped-down MOSH repository and the widget service WidSets into i t. On 23 March 2010, Nokia announced launch of its online magazine called the Nokia Ovi. The 44-page magazine contains articles on products by Nokia, what Ovi stands for, tips and tricks on the usage of Nokia mini laptop Booklet 3G, latest reviews of mobile applications, news about the mobile maker’s services and apps such as Ovi maps, files and mail. Users can download the magazine as a PDF or view it online from the Nokia website. 3) My Nokia Nokia offers a free personalized service to Nokia owners called My Nokia (located at my.nokia.com). Registered My Nokia users can get free services as follows: Tips & tricks alerts through web, e-mail and also mobile text message. My Nokia Backup: A free online backup service for mobile contacts, calendar logs and also various other files. This service needs GPRS connection. Ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, games and other things can be downloaded free of cost. 4) Comes With Music In 2007 Nokia set up their â€Å"Nokia Comes With Music† service, in partnership with Universal Music Group International, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, and hundreds of independent labels and music aggregators, to allow 12, 18, or 24 months of unlimited free-of-charge music downloads with the purchase of a Nokia Comes With Music edition phone. Files could be downloaded on mobile devices or personal computers, and kept permanently. In January 2011 Nokia withdrew this program in 27 countries, due to its failure to gain traction with customers or mobile network operators; existing subscribers could continue to download until their contracts ended. The service continued to be offered in China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa where take-up had been better. 5) Nokia Messaging On 13 August 2008 Nokia launched a beta release of â€Å"Nokia Email service†, a push e-mail service, since incorporated into Nokia Messaging. Nokia Messaging operates as a centralised, hosted service that acts as a proxy between the Nokia Messaging client and the user’s e-mail server. The phone does not connect directly to the e-mail server, but instead sends e-mail credentials to Nokia’s servers. IMAP is used as the protocol to transfer emails between the client and the server. Logos Nokia Company logo. Founded in Tampere in 1865, incorporated in Nokia in 1871. The brand logo of Finnish Rubber Works, founded in Helsinki in 1898. Logo from 1965 to 1966. The Nokia Corporation â€Å"arrows† logo, used before the â€Å"Connecting People†logo. Used since 1967 until 1991. Nokia introduced its â€Å"Connecting People† advertising slogan, coined by Ove Strandberg and used since 1992. This earlier version of the slogan used Times Roman SC (Small Caps) font. Nokia’s current logo used since 2006, with the redesigned â€Å"Connecting People† slogan. This slogan originally used Nokia’s proprietary ‘Nokia Sans’  font, designed by Erik Spiekermann. This was replaced in 2011 with the ‘Nokia Pure’ font designed by Dalton Maag. Environmental record Electronic products such as cell phones impact the environment both during production and after their useful life when they are discarded and turned into electronic waste. Nokia is listed in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics that scores leading electronics manufacturers according to their policies on sustainability, climate and energy and how green their products are. In November 2011 Nokia ranked 3rd out of 15 listed electronics companies, falling two places due to its weaker performance on the Energy criteria and scoring 4.9/10. All of Nokia’s mobile phones are free of toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) since the end of 2005 and all new models of mobile phones and accessories launched in 2010 are on track to be free of brominated compounds, chlorinated flame retardants and antimony trioxide. Nokia’s voluntary take-back programme to recycle old mobile phones spans 84 countries with almost 5,000 collection points. However, the recycling rate of Nokia phones w as only 3–5% in 2008, according to a global consumer survey released by Nokia. The majority of old mobile phones are simply lying in drawers at home and very few old devices, about 4%, are being thrown into landfill and not recycled. All of Nokia’s new models of chargers meet or exceed the Energy Star requirements. Nokia aims to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 18 percent in 2010 from a baseline year of 2006 and cover 50 percent of its energy needs through renewable energy sources. Greenpeace is challenging the company to use its influence at the political level as number 85 on the Fortune 500 to advocate for climate legislation and call for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak by 2015. Nokia is researching the use of recycled plastics in its products, which are currently used only in packaging but not yet in mobile phones. Since 2001, Nokia has provided eco declarations of all its products and since May 2010 provides Eco profiles for all its new prod ucts. In an effort to further reduce their environmental impact in the future, Nokia released a new phone concept, Remade, in February 2008. The phone has been constructed of solely recyclable materials. The outer part of the phone is made from recycled materials such as aluminium cans, plastic bottles, and used car tires. The  screen is constructed of recycled glass, and the hinges have been created from rubber tires. The interior of the phone is entirely constructed with refurbished phone parts, and there is a feature that encourages energy saving habits by reducing the backlight to the ideal level, which then allows the battery to last longer without frequent charges. Controversies NSN’s provision of intercept capability to Iran In 2008, Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Nokia and Siemens AG, reportedly provided Iran’s monopoly telecom company with technology that allowed it to intercept the Internet communications of its citizens to an unprecedented degree. The technology reportedly allowed it to use deep packet inspection to read and even change the content of everything from â€Å"e-mails and Internet phone calls to images and messages on social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter†. The technology â€Å"enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes,† expert insiders told The Wall Street Journal. During the post-election protests in Iran in June 2009, Iran’s Internet access was reported to have slowed to less than a tenth of its normal speeds, and experts suspected this was due to the use of the interception technology. The joint venture compan y, Nokia Siemens Networks, asserted in a press release that it provided Iran only with a ‘lawful intercept capability’ â€Å"solely for monitoring of local voice calls†. â€Å"Nokia Siemens Networks has not provided any deep packet inspection, web censorship or Internet filtering capability to Iran,† it said. In July 2009, Nokia began to experience a boycott of their products and services in Iran. The boycott was led by consumers sympathetic to the post-election protest movement and targeted at those companies deemed to be collaborating with the Islamic regime. Demand for handsets fell and users began shunning SMS messaging. Lex Nokia In 2009, Nokia heavily supported the passing of a law in Finland that allows companies to monitor their employees’ electronic communications in cases of suspected information leaking. Contrary to rumors, Nokia denied that the  company would have considered moving its head office out of Finland if laws on electronic surveillance were not changed. The law was enacted, but with strict requirements for implementation of its provisions. As of 2010, the law has become a dead letter; no corporation has implemented it. The Finnish media dubbed the name Lex Nokia for this law, named after the Finnish copyright law (the so-called Lex Karpela) a few years back. Nokia–Apple patent dispute In October 2009, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. in the U.S. District Court of Delaware citing Apple infringed on 10 of its patents related to wireless communication including data transfer. Apple was quick to respond with a countersuit filed in December 2009 accusing Nokia of 11 patent infringements. Apple’s General Counsel, Bruce Sewell went a step further by stating, â€Å"Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours.† This resulted in an ugly spat between the two telecom majors with Nokia filing another suit, this time with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging Apple of infringing its patents in â€Å"virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers.† Nokia went on to ask the court to bar all U.S. imports of the Apple products including the iPhone, Mac and the iPod. Apple countersued by filing a complaint with the ITC in January 2010, the details of whic h are yet to be confirmed. In June 2011, Apple settled with Nokia and agreed to an estimated one time payment of $600 million and royalties to Nokia. The two companies also agreed on a cross-licensing patents for some of their patented technologies. Research cooperation with universities Nokia is actively exploring and engaging in open innovation through selective research collaborations with major universities and institutions by sharing resources and leveraging ideas. Major research collaboration is with Tampere University of Technology based in Finland. Current collaborations include: Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Finland ÉcolePolytechniqueFà ©dà ©rale de Lausanne, Switzerland ETH Zurich, Switzerland Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States Stanford University, United States Tampere University of Technology, Finland Tsinghua University, China University of California, Berkeley, United States University of Cambridge, United Kingdom University of Southern California, United States Awards and recognition The Brand Trust Report published by Trust Research Advisory has ranked Nokia in the 1st position among the brands in India. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis, is a Strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, and threats involved in a project or in a Business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. SWOT analysis conducts an external and internal scan of nokia’s business environment; it is an important part of the strategic planning process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths (S), or weaknesses (W), and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). Such ananalysis of the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm’s resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. As such, it is instrumental in strategy formulation and sele ction. Strengths of Nokia: Great phone designing capability (Shining example N9 and lumia series) and great product quality reputation. Great price point coverage (Very low to Very High) Supply chain and distribution experience. Two very competitive in-house software platforms in Belle and Meego along with an alliance with Microsoft. Weaknesses of Nokia: Poor marketing skills (excluding few markets like India) Could not use its global presence to create a viable ecosystem. Not able to leverage production and software knowledge to create other product families (Camera and Tablets could have a natural choice) Windows operating system has marginally less number of applications as compared to that of Apple’s IOS and Google’s Android. Threats: Android ecosystem covers all the bases from low to high-end price points and has a booming ecosystem. Apple’s iphone is still a big threat in high-end market Very bad press coverage and poor image projection by tech media. Huge portion of market share already captured by Google’s Android (72.4 percent) and Apple’s IOS (13.9 percent). Opportunities: Nokia has a great market disruption with N9; Lumia and Asha series and it has a great chance of creating a unique winning product category. (Example is iphone’s own small but disruptive start). Symbian belle and upcoming versions of the OS. If nokia keeps the new product introduction fast paced, chances are that Symbian can make a turnaround. QT can help to create a unique app ecosystem for Nokia for Meego, Symbian, Meltemi (upcoming). Windows phone platform has already got all the ingredients for a powerful ecosystem. Major competitors The following cell phone companies holding major market share give tight competition to Nokia: 1. APPLE Inc. 2. Samsung 3. Sony 4. HTC 5. Research in Motion Black Berry 6. ZTE 7. LG According to IDC, July 26, 2012 – The worldwide mobile phone market grew 1%  year over year in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q12), as Samsung and Apple shipped almost half of the world’s smartphones. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped 406.0 million units in 2Q12 compared to 401.8 million units in the second quarter of 2011. Samsung and Apple have more than doubled their combined market share over the past two years, which has created more distance between the companies and the competition. â€Å"Samsung and Apple have quickly become the global smartphone heavyweights though both employ somewhat different approaches to the market,† said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. â€Å"Samsung employs a ‘shotgun’ strategy wherein many models are created that cover a wide range of market segments. Apple, in contrast, off ers a small number of high-profile models. While both companies have expanded their geographic presence in pursuit of market share, the two companies will inevitably come into greater conflict as both try to generate additional gains.† Market share gains will be harder to generate, however, if the worldwide smartphone market grows at rates similar to the 42.1% year-over-year rate at which the market increased in 2Q12. This was the lowest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2009. Vendors shipped 153.9 million smartphones in 2Q12 compared to 108.3 million units in 2Q11. The 42.1% year-over-year growth was one percentage point lower than IDC’s forecast of 43.1% for the quarter. The spectre of further economic woes puts growth prospects for the mobile phone market at risk. â€Å"With half of 2012 behind us, vendors are looking ahead to 2013 and how key markets – particularly Europe and emerging markets – will play out,† said Ramon Llamas, senior res earch analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. â€Å"Despite recent maneuvers to shore up several countries within the Eurozone, the effectiveness of these efforts remains to be seen. Meanwhile, emerging markets will continue to be strong contributors due to their sheer size and growth trajectory, but how much they can offset potential declines in other countries is unclear.† Nonetheless, IDC expects long-term mobile phone and smartphone shipment demand to grow steadily in 2012 and through the years ahead due to the central role mobile phones play in people’s lives. â€Å"For many users, the mobile phone has become the essential communications link to others and to the world,† noted Llamas. Smartphone Vendor Highlights Samsung extended its lead over Apple during the second quarter, taking advantage of Apple’s release schedule and launching its flagship Galaxy S III. In addition, Samsung experienced continued success of its smartphone/tablet hybrid device, the Galaxy Note. As a result, Samsung topped the 50 million unit mark and reached a new quarterly smartphone shipment record in a single quarter. What remains to be seen is how the company’s smartphones will fare against Apple’s next-generation iPhone expected later this year. Apple posted an expected sequential decline last quarter, similar to years past. The quarter-over-quarter shipment decline came six months after it unveiled its latest iPhone. The decline is not unusual as iPhone shipment volume is highest in the first two quarters after its release. The company’s once-a-year release cycle usually results in two quarters of lower volumes leading up to the next-generation model introduction. Nonetheless, Apple made significant inroads into new markets and segments, including smaller regional carriers and prepaid service providers. Nokia smartphone business underwent another quarter of transition. Demand for Symbian and MeeGo units declined, reaching levels not seen since 2005 though the company almost doubled its Windows Phone shipments from the previous quarter. Nokia’s Lumia sales were not terribly affected by Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 announcement, which will prevent current Lumia owners from upgrading to the new mobile operating system. However, Lumia sales have remained steady and key enhancements available on the new platform will eventually become available to current Lumia owners. Nokia, however, has a long path to travel before it can reclaim previous volume levels and challenge Apple and Samsung for smartphone supremacy. HTC rebounded from its struggles in the two previous quarters to reclaim the number 4 spot in the smartphone vendor rankings. Its relatively strong performance in the Asia/Pacific region allowed it to climb back up the rank order as did the correction of its channel inventory issues. The company’s streamlined portfolio means future share gains will be predicated upon the success of its One products. ZTE climbed into the smartphone Top 5 for the first time thanks primarily to shipments of its lower-cost entry-level smartphones in China, where it’s based. However, the vendor has also grown  its international smartphone sales, particularly in the U.S. where its smartphones can be found under other brands. Latin America is another source of significant smartphone growth for the vendor. Despite impressive gains last quarter, brand equity may prove to be an issue for ZTE in future. Strong brand recognition is a necessity if high-growth smartphone sales abroad are a priority for the company. Top Five Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q2 2012 (Units in Millions) Vendor 2Q12 Unit Shipments 2Q12 Market Share 2Q11 Unit Shipments 2Q11 Market Share Year-over-year Change Samsung 50.2 32.6% 18.4 17.0% 172.8% Apple 26.0 16.9% 20.4 18.8% 27.5% Nokia 10.2 6.6% 16.7 15.4% -38.9% HTC 8.8 5.7% 11.6 10.7% -24.1% ZTE 8.0 5.2% 2.0 1.8% 300.0% Others 50.7 32.9% 39.2 36.2% 29.3% Total 153.9 100.0% 108.3 100.0% 42.1% Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, July 26, 2012 Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors. Top Five Total Mobile Phone Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q2 2012 (Units in Millions) Vendor 2Q12 Unit Shipments 2Q12 Market Share 2Q11 Unit Shipments 2Q11 Market Share Year-over-year Change Samsung 97.8 24.1% 75.4 18.8% 29.7% Nokia 83.7 20.6% 88.5 22.0% -5.4% Apple 26.0 6.4% 20.4 5.1% 27.5% ZTE 17.7 4.4% 16.3 4.1% 8.6% LG Electronics 13.1 3.2% 24.8 6.2% -47.2% Others 167.7 41.3% 176.4 43.9% -4.9% Total 406.0 100.0% 401.8 100.0% 1.0% Source: IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, July 26, 2012 Note: Vendor shipments are branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors. Marketing strategy An organization’s strategy that combines all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan is known as marketing strategy. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS In order to diversify its business in to mobile network market, Nokia needs to make use of its leading mobile phones manufacturer image. As Nokia has build loyalty among its mobile phone users, it can use this for attracting customers towards its SIM cards and thereby gain market share. Also with its world class R & D department, it can offer many services to its customers which will help them to differentiate in their service offering from its competitors. For instance, video calling, free roaming, outgoing call restriction, etc. By focusing more on rural market which is untap to a certain extent, Nokia can satisfy its customers in rural areas which most of the existing players are not successful. Also by offering customize service plans to its customers such as offering SmS package, unlimited internet package, Free Hello tune, and so on with minimum price. Nokia can also make tie-ups with existing players such as Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel in order to gain larger market share. It can also offer better deals to customers who are buying Nokia handsets on its SIM cards which will increase its sales as well as customer base. This will help them to develop loyalty among its  customers. In order to diversify in to SIM cards segment, Nokia needs to use mass marketing by implementing various promotion strategies such as Advertisements, Hoardings, Sponsoring events, canopies outside colleges and so on. Nokia also needs to plan its distribution strategy in order to reach to maximum people. They can also use their ‘Connecting People’ tagline in its SIM card, thereby giving additional meaning to it. Thus, to diversify in to SIM card market is a better option for Nokia to increase its market share and revenue. Also this will help them to build larger customer base which will ultimately result in one of the leading brands in the telecommunications industry. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing-strategy.html http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=120850 http://mktg-plan.blogspot.in/ http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/11/technology/nokia_microsoft/index.htm http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/nokias-comeback-strategy-in-smartphones/ http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/brands/nokia/ http://iimtmarketing.blogspot.in/2012/03/marketing-mix-nokia.html