Strategic Management Report on Acer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Management Report on Acer - Essay Example The general trends and strategy of the industry and the strategy of Acer will be compared and contrasted briefly. Reasons for Acer's growth and some recommendations for the strategic direction of Acer will be discussed. Towards the end of the paper the success and the factors that accounted for Acer's success will be put in the picture. There are more than a dozen PC manufacturers who lead the computer industry. In such a competitive environment only that manufacturer can survive who has got competitive edge over its competitors. When Acer first entered the PC industry, there was already fierce competition in the industry. Price cutting was the major trend in the 1990s, instead of differentiating their products from others, the players in the industry indulged into price wars. Technology in the PC industry was changing rapidly; observing competitor's moves and strategic responses to those moves were changing the global PC industry. Strategic direction of most of the producers of PC at that time was to design their own PC and sell it through their distribution channels according to the demand forecast. As the existing players in the industry were in the business for several years now, they marketed their product with competitive price and fresh technology. And now after so many years in the market of notebooks and PCs, Acer is able to reduce its costs to levels beyond that of Dell and HP. It was able to do this because it distributes the products through only retailing and e-tailing, while others use direct selling and corporate selling. Acer has also outsourced its manufacturing and assembly to reduce costs. Now Acer has competitive edge of price over its customers and Acer is following price cut strategy to win over Dell and HP. Acer is a Taiwan based company, and as all Asian produces inherited cost advantage over the companies based in Europe and US, Acer also had advantage of lower costs because of availability of labor, no heavy taxes from government and no propriety laws. The first product that Acer started producing was Microprocessor I, then after a few years it established a new company which manufactured and supplied computer parts to other companies in the industry. Acer wanted an independent brand name; to achieve it, Acer established a retail computer chain too. With a retail chain of its own and a parts supplying company under its brand name, Acer eliminated any dependencies on other firms. Acer's success was driven by product innovation; it started producing new technology ahead of IBM. The Acer's OEM business Acer Peripherals Inc. was of a huge advantage to Acer in the global market. Acer could speed up the deliveries of PCs and cut cost of its PCs because it was producing the parts itself. While Acer was self-dependent, other companies in the industry such as IBM and Compaq were getting their supplies from Acer Peripherals. Through its innovation and self-dependency, it created competitive edge in the form of fast deliveries and lower costs, and by 1990 it became 13th largest manufacturer of PCs. In the beginning, Acer was cunning enough to not confront global PC producers such as IBM and Compaq, and it mainly marketed its products in Europe and Asia. But in late 1980s it entered the US market and partnered with two companies to establish the

Digital Forensic Laboratory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Digital Forensic Laboratory - Assignment Example In this regard, most laboratories without a digital forensic unit are either becoming obsolete or creating space and remodeling existing spaces to create the digital unit. Digital forensics can be defined as the forensic investigation of electronic devices capable of storing data or information in one form or another. The core purpose of performing digital forensic is to extract the digital data from the said devices so as to aid in the investigation and prosecution of a committed crime (Press, 2012). In addition, the collected evidence is also admissible in a court of law. This article will highlight the architectural and engineering design requirements for digital forensic laboratories. In addition to that, it will also explore the history of forensic investigation, and what are the essentials in coming up with a basic reliable site. Laboratory budget In planning a budget for a digital forensic lab the first most crucial part to be considered should be training. The staffs who will be involved in the actual forensic duties need to be adequately familiar with their work and tools of trade (Vacca, 2010). In addition to that, the procedures involved need to be fully understood is shoddy work is to be avoided. In addition to training costs, digital forensics bases its accuracy on advanced equipments that are properly installed and maintained. Considering the fact that technology changes fast it is essential to consider the best, and affordable means of acquiring the equipments especially computers. For operational costs and lab maintenance expenses, it is best to break down the costs down to daily, quarterly, and annual expenses so as to project finance uses, and properly set the budget (Jones et al, 2011). Laboratory expenses include the following: Hardware, these are computers microscopes and all other relevant, and essential equipment required for a successful investigation. Specialized software for an in depth analyses of crime data, facility space and the tr ained personnel who will e operating the equipment’s, and laboratory investigations (Jones et al, 2011). Safety measures and recommendations Based on the sort of sensitivity the data requires safety measures have to be put in place to ensure the integrity and reliability of the evidence that shall be extracted thereafter. In addition, the involvement of high level electrical equipment also means that hazardous situations may arise due to machine-human interaction (Bill. Nelson, 2010). Digital forensic investigation and safety measures requirements can be briefly summarized as follows: Information and data collection: This involves the acquisition, identification, labeling and recording of evidence on site. Data retrieved from all possible sources need be carefully handled and isolated in order to preserve its integrity, and avoid contamination. Examination of data: his involves the use of various methods such as automated examination to evaluate and extract relevant and valid information from collected evidence. Caution has to be exercised so as not to add or miss relevant and useful facts. Data analysis entails the use of legal techniques to derive useful facts that can be presented as evidence against a given individual or party. Finally, reporting the analyzed information in a presentable and simple format. Usually this involves the description of the entire process, tools that were used, and reasons why a particular criteria was used in achieving the results. Furthermore, it is at this stage that recommendations are also given besides the final conclusion. This is normally done so as to improve future investigations (Vacca, 2010).

Technology and International Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Technology and International Development - Essay Example This paper discusses Maasai community’s social, economic, and political challenges in their endeavour to maintain their culture. According to Akubue, Great disparities exists in the level of developments that any suggestion of inflexibility in technology will not be practical (Akubue, 2000). Maasai community are still holding on to their cultures despite the advancement in technology, better and environmentally friendly farming techniques, and changes in the weather patterns. The Maasai community have a small population (approximately 800,000) of the people in Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are indigenous Nilotic ethnic group, who live a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle. For centuries, Maasai community has lived harmoniously with nature, engaging in pastoralism for subsistence. The men in this community are warriors and herders who move with the cattle from place to place in search of pasture. Their movement depend with presence of pasture, which makes them move to the lowlands in high season and to the highlands in dry seasons. The women and the children live in the homesteads as they engage in small-scale farming to supplement the animal products. The Masaai economic activity is based on biological assets, which are vulnerable to weather and other conditions. Therefore, the Maasai community engage in unstable economy. The problems of the Maasai community started way back in colonial era when they lost approximately 75% of their ancestral lands as a result of protection of Mau forest, which is an ecosystem supporting many lives. They lost the pastures they would use in dry seasons and their sacred sites too. Due to lack of proper grazing lands, Maasai community faces great loss of animals in every dry season. The dry seasons depleted their resources greatly leaving them in hard economic times. The threat on Maasai land is still on as private developers are moving in and investing on Maasai’s pastoral lands. Their economic

Morocco Country Risk Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Morocco Country Risk Assessment - Essay Example Having been inhabited back in the Paleolithic times, most of the citizens are either Arabs or Berbers with the latter ethnic group forming the bulk of the population. Other ethnic groups that form part of the population include Haratin and Gnaoua. Additionally, the country is inhibited by more that 100,000 foreigners including Spanish and French who have invested in various sectors thus improving the country economic performance. Culturally, Morocco is known for being an ethnically diverse nation based on its hosting various foreigners who come from the East, South and other regions. Some of the key visitors who have contributed to the cultural growth of the country include Carthaginians, Arabs, Phoenicians, Romans, Andalusians, Jews and Vandals among others. Due to the interaction of the various groups in the country, Moroccan literature has continued to experience an expansive growth. For example, western and Middle East literary models have enhanced the growth of poetry and tradit ional Moroccan genres (Yahya 49). Similarly, the country rich cultural values have attracted expatriates academic and social writers such as Paul Bowles and Pierre Loti among others. Infrastructure One of the major factors that make Morocco a good country for investors is the highly developed infrastructure system as compared to other African countries. For instance, the country is served by more that 35, 946 miles and 18,800 miles of primary roads and secondary roads respectively. As a result, the cost of transporting raw materials and finished products within the country is low thus resulting to high profits by the local and foreign investors. Additionally, the government has continued to issues large number of licenses to... This paper stresses that a vital factor that makes Morocco a viable country for investors is the electrical power development. National Office of Electricity is the main government-owned firm that is responsible for providing electricity power in the country. Even though the country has significant oil reserves, most of the power was earlier generated from imported fuels from Saudi Arabia. This report makes a conclusion that Morocco is ruled under the constitutional monarchy with the prime minister holding major powers while the king hold few executive powers including dissolving the parliament. Two major chambers in Morocco parliament are the assembly of councilors and the assembly of representatives. To ensure justice in the country judicial system, the country constitution provides for an independent judiciary. In this way, politicians do not have much impact on the country court system thus reducing the level of corruption in the country. One of the remarkable political initiatives that occurred in 2011 was the drafting of new constitution that brought about major reforms in the country political system. For example, the king was given power to appoint a prime minister from the party with the majority seats in parliament. Similarly, the prime minister was given power to appoint high level diplomats and chief executive officers of the government owned organizations. It is worth noting that the constitutional also gave power to all citizens by ensuring freedom of creation, ideas, thought among others.

Why has the conflict between India and Pakistan been so intractable Essay

Why has the conflict between India and Pakistan been so intractable - Essay Example However since independence the relations between the two nations have been very sour with India and Pakistan having fought three battles against each other. The situation has reached an alarming intensity as both these nations are nuclear armed and another conflict between the nuclear armed nations can lead to a global catastrophe. The conflict between the two nations has continued since 1947 and has even starched longer than the cold war. There have been a number of contentious issues between the two nuclear powered nations however the conflict becomes intractable because of the fact that there is a territorial dispute between the nations. According to a research a conflict between two nations can be termed as intractable when specific tangible stakes involving land territory or other tangibly divisible aspects become symbolic in the sense that they are converted into intangible aspects in terms of zero sums that make it difficult to break and divide (Khan, 2009, p.61-62). The confl ict between India and Pakistan can be termed as intractable considering the fact that the bone of contentious issues lies in the disputed territory of Kashmir in which both the nations stake their claim. India refuses to Pakistan’s claim that Kashmir is their part as the area has a majority of population that follows the Muslim religion. India on the other hand being secular nation rubbishes the latter’s claim as it believes in the accession treaty signed by Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of Kashmir in which he agreed to accede Kashmir into India (Ganguly, Diamond & Plattner, 2007, p.52). The following section would try to deeply analyse the aspects that have led to the conflict assuming such an intractable nature that still continues to capture global attention. Analysis In order to better understand the reasons behind the intractable nature of the conflict it is very necessary to look back to the history that led to the creation of these two states. The conflict between the two nations can be traced to the days of British colonialism in which both the nations were under the British rule commonly referred to as the ‘Raj Era’. In order to consolidate their rule in the nation, the English applied the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy taking advantage of the large number of diverse religious communities in the nation by turning one community against the other. In 1947 when the British decided to grant independence, it divided the unified India into 547 princely states. In addition to this the last viceroy of British India, Lord Mountbatten also encouraged the Muslim league leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah in keeping up his demand to either accept him as the ruler of independent India or carve out a separate state of Pakistan comprising the north western states of Punjab, Baluchistan and Sind. Mahatma Gandhi, the main architect of the independence movement in India had to accept the partition plan of India following which the unified India was divided into India and Pakistan (East and West). Post partition India chose to remain secular while Pakistan declared itself as an Islamic nation bound to ‘Sharia’ laws. The partition resulted in widespread riots claiming thousands of lives across both the borders and also left thousands homeless and orphaned. Meanwhile, the focus of the issue shifted to Kashmir that was a Muslim dominated area and on the basis of this Pakistan launched an armed assault on the state that was not a part of India or Pakistan and was under the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu province. Unable to stand the attacks by Pakistan, Maharaja Hari Sing

The more we learn about culture, the greater our understanding of Essay - 2

The more we learn about culture, the greater our understanding of global consumerism,Discuss - Essay Example They go on to claim that people are â€Å"free and rational,† (Sheth & Malhotra, n.d, n.p) to make whatever choices they want about what to purchase, and that they have the desire to be different from others; this is what has resulted in the â€Å"rapid turn†over in goods and services,† (Sheth & Malhotra, n.d, n.p). Globalization has influenced this consumer culture in the way that ideas about what is fashionable spread from many parts of the world through the media and internet, creating what is a â€Å"global style,† (Globalization, 2010). Now we can sense that the consumer culture is becoming a global consumer culture; globalization has â€Å"homogenized images of the good life,† and created â€Å"sense of global identify and memory without which any cultural identity is incomplete,† (Sheth & Malhotra, n.d, n.p). Next, it should be helpful to explore what effect this globalization has on retailers and manufacturers in the fashion industry. Doherty notices how in UK there is a multitude of fashion retailers, both national and international, and how global brands have â€Å"come to characterize our major high streets and consumption patterns, and undoubtedly have an increasingly important influence on our lives and spending habits,† (Doherty, 2009, n.p). Globalization however means that the products provided by these international shops go through an extensive â€Å"network of contractors and subcontractors,† in different countries (Globalization, n.d, n.p). For example, a dress from a Gucci shop in Italy will be stitched and assembled in another country like Guatemala. It is rare that these international retailers like Nike, Gucci or Target produce their goods themselves; rather, they â€Å"source and market goods produced on contract in low-wage environments,† (Globaliza tion, n.d, n.p). Since these international retailers usually make huge profits,

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Coursework Example In this entire period, the Canadian Aluminum company shifted its strategies from immediate to deliberate strategies. However, its external factors were very influential on the decisions made. As the company continued centralizing its structures, it relied on deliberate strategies. The authors have a high credibility in that, they are attempting to evaluate whether the growth of a company depends on either deliberate or emergent strategy. Their credibility is evident since they try to apply what Henry Mintzberg had already introduced. Other scholars have reviewed the source of their information. In their findings, they disclose that emergent and deliberate strategies vary in their continuum. The authors research and findings support the research topic, that their exist similarities and differences between the emergent and the deliberate strategies. I endorse their conclusion on the ground that, the two strategies cannot be equally exclusive since either occurs because of varied factor s. Mintzberg, H., Waters, A. J, 1985, Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent: John Wiley & Sons, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. ... The article is relevant to the research topic since it supports that there is a sharp dichotomy between the deliberate and emergent strategies. Some of the features that I consider useful in supporting the research topic is when the authors confirms that the two strategies are like two end points of a scale upon which the organizations base their strategies. In presenting their credibility, the authors come up with a notion that and some other fundamental issues linked to strategic decisions. In their conclusion, they disclose the various types of strategies that concealed in research. In extent, these may compromise the validity and reliability of their research since most of the strategies unearthed are not peer reviewed. The strategies uncovered in research include; planned, entrepreneurial, ideological, umbrella, process, unconnected, consensus and imposed strategies. Even though, I support their research that there is a great comparison between the emergent and deliberate strate gies, I am not quite certain about the other strategies they introduce and consider that they also vary. Mintzberg, H, 1990, Design School: Reconsidering the Basic Premises of Strategic Management, John Wiley & Sons, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Mar. - Apr., 1990), pp. 171-195. Accessed: 30/07/2010 04:57. Web: Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2486485 Among the opinions held by particular groups on the formation of strategy, there is one that lies beneath the descriptions in the area of study, and that is the design school. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest on a simple model, which evaluates the process, as a design to accomplish a fundamental anchor between