Nike Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nike Corporation - Case Study Example Founded in the year 1972 by a man named Philip Knight who is the co-founder and the Chairman today and by Bill Bowerman both set out with a dream and that has gradually taken the shape of reality. Nike has its head quarters situated in the United States of America and to be more specific it is situated in Beaverton, Oregon. The word Nike has been adapted and taken from the word Nike which was the name of a Greek Goddess of Victory. Nike today has many product lines each of which cater to different sports and sport areas, names such as Nike golf, Nike pro, and Air Jordan are just a few of the lot. And these names are also vastly known as trusted when it comes to the various products that are manufactured and marketed under them. Nike is one company that produces a very widespread range of sports equipment. The first ever products that Nike produced were shoes that could be used as track running shoes and shoes that could be used to play basket ball. Once that started going well they began manufacturing different kinds of sports wear such as jackets and trousers for tennis, football, and cricket etc. Nike belongs to the sportswear and sports equipment manufacturing industry and when it comes to athletic shoes, apparel and other sports equipment it is known to one of the major American suppliers. Nike currently has factories in many countries come of which are China, Taiwan, India, Turkey and Pakistan etc, and to date has about 500 factories working at manufacturing their products. The biggest rivals of Nike currently in the market of sportswear and sports equipment are quite a lot as Nike is seen as a threat to many sports and even some fashion brands but the leading rivals are Reebok which came along in the year 1980. After that the advent of Adidas brought its own level of threat and the rivalry increased for Nike. The board of directors for Nike contains people such as Mark Parker, Timothy D. Cook and Jill Ker Conway. CURRENT SUCCESS STATEGY: The story behind or the reason behind Nike being such a successful company is embedded in its marketing strategies. Besides the advertisement and promotions of its many products there has always been deep focus by the heads of this company on the following details which has lead to it being the leading brand name today. Pricing is one of those details the price of Nike products has always been higher than that pf competitors, its products have always been kept to go with the changing trends and are always upgraded to fit new profiles and the new generation. Placement of sales outlets has been another key detail that has helped. And last but not least the advertisement of its products being shown and made in different times and languages to accommodate their consumers with full understanding and satisfaction guaranteed. That all combined with its catchy brand slogan "just do it" gives the consumer a reliable, trendy and durable product

Coca-Cola Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example Indeed, Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes add to the company’s firmly embedded financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment. Introduction Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management plans catapults the entity as one of the world’s popular non-alcoholic beverages. The research centers on the history of Coca Cola. The research includes producing a financial statement analysis of Coca Cola America. The study incorporates the similarities and differences between the production processes of both Coca Cola America and Coca Cola Mexico. Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes precipitates to the company’s current financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment. History of Coca-Cola. Lonnie Bell (2004) emphasized Coca – Cola, the world’s soft drink, was accidentally invented by Dr. John Pemberton. Dr. Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, formulat ed the Coca-Cola syrup using a three legged brass pot. Dr. Pemberton used two chief ingredients for his invention in 1886. The two ingredients are coca plant and the Kola nut. The Coca plant is a good source of Cocaine. However, Dr. Pemberton insisted that Coca Cola contains only 1 % Cocaine percentage. Paul Gootenberg (1999) theorized â€Å"Cocaine made its first appearance in the United States during the 1880s, when physicians first interested themselves in the drug's therapeutic potential. Limited at first to a relatively narrow range of therapeutic use, cocaine's popularity grew far beyond the boundaries of medical practice. By the late 1890s, many observers came to believe that the popular... This paper stresses that Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management plans catapults the entity as one of the world’s popular non-alcoholic beverages. The research centers on the history of Coca Cola. The research includes producing a financial statement analysis of Coca Cola America. The study incorporates the similarities and differences between the production processes of both Coca Cola America and Coca Cola Mexico. Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes precipitates to the company’s current financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment. This report makes a conclusion that based on the above discussion, Coca Cola’s strategic marketing as well as management plan contributes to company’s retaining its century old popularity in the non-alcoholic beverages market segment. The constant innovative changes in the company’s packaging and ingredients translate to the current pinnacle of Coca Cola’s financial success. The financial statement analysis indicates Coca Cola’s innovative and creative production and marketing strategies significantly contribute to Coca Cola’s current favorable financial picture. There are some similarities and differences between the production processes of both Coca Cola America and Coca Cola Mexico. Indeed, Coca Cola’s strategic marketing and management processes metamorphose to the company’s firmly entrenched financial leadership in the non-alcoholic beverage market segment.

The Main Purpose of Accounting Essay Example for Free

The Main Purpose of Accounting Essay Keeping track of transactions and recording revenue and expenses are an important process, often assigned to an accounting department or a financial manager. Accounting allows companies to provide reports and insights needed to make sound financial decisions. The main purpose of accounting is to identify and record all activities of the income and the outcome that will affect the organisation financially. All activities, including purchases, sales, the capital and interest earned from investments are recorded in ledgers or journals. Entrepreneurs have to understand and complete a variety of business functions. An important business function when starting a business is accounting. Although many entrepreneurs may have to deal with stacks of financial documents but accounting often provides entrepreneurs with the clearest picture of their businesses success. Entrepreneurs must also keep records regarding the business start-up for tax and legal purposes. Filing records like these with great organisation will help run the business more efficiently and responsibly. Why is it important to keep accurate financial records, and how will this help the entrepreneur? Financial records will become very important when the tax season comes but they are also important in the day to day business. Preparing financial statements such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements are important because they show how successful the business is, an income statement list revenues and expenses for the business. Accounting how much income is coming in from all channels, it can include accounts receivable, sales, etc. These items are the business revenues. Expenses should be clear because they are everything that is paid out of the business including the operating expenses, the difference between these will be the net income. To help the entrepreneur in the business, financial records should always be up to date so that it can display an accurate snapshot of the business at any time, this way the entrepreneur won’t have to back track, always keeping the business accounting affairs in order. What is meant by revenue and expenditure?  Revenue is for the business. This is the total amount of money received by the business for goods sold or services provided during a certain time period. In terms of reporting revenue in a businesses financial statement, different businesses may consider revenue to be received in different ways. For example, revenue could be received when a deal is signed, when the money is received or when the services are provided. Expenditure is spending money in order to create future benefits, which means that the money is being spent on a fixed asset, or on making sure that an existing asset has its useful life extended beyond the life of the current tax year. This could be equipment, property or industrial buildings. The difference between capital and revenue expenditure is that capital expenditure results in an addition to an asset to the business, however revenue expenditure results in an addition to the expense account. Capital expenditures are payments for asset additions and replacements. Revenue expenditures benefit a current period and are made for maintaining assets with routine repairs or replacement of a small part. A capital expenditure will benefit two or more accounting periods and expenses for future accounting periods. Revenue expenditure will cause an understatement of net income in that year. When expensing an item, it goes into the expense side of the income records where as capitalising an item will be processed on the total balance sheet. Revenue income and Capital income Capital income is money coming in from the owner of the business or outside investors for the business. It is used to buy things that will stay in the business for a long time, for example the business building, vehicles or equipment which is initially referred to assets. Revenue income is money coming in from selling goods and providing a day to day service. The main sources are; sales, rent received or commission received. The types of Capital income to expect to incur are such things as: Loans- The amount of money lent to the business from the bank. The lump sum the bank offer to give you has to be paid back in lump sums, at certain amounts, per month over the time period given. The bank will add a monthly interest onto the loan which is usually a percent of the amount borrowed. These monthly  payments need to be paid back, even if the business does not succeed. Mortgages- Mortgages are similar to loans, but tend to give out longer time periods to pay the lump sum back. To secure the mortgages you will need to put assets on line. This is usually the property you used the mortgage to pay for. The types of Revenue income to expect to incur are such things as: Sales- Or sales revenue is money coming into the business from the sales of or services. The sales can be paid for cash, which is the more comment payment, be paid by debit card or credit of the store, being paid for later on. Rent received- A business that owns property and chargers others to use all of or part of the property. The business will receive rent from this inhibitor. Commission received- A business that may sell products or services as a part of another business. For each sale they will make a percentage of what the customer pays for that sale. This percent is called commissions.

The History Of The Device Drivers Information Technology Essay

The History Of The Device Drivers Information Technology Essay In the Windows operating system, device drivers are fairly easy to understand and operate. The feature of Windows update makes installing device drivers simple and very user friendly. By default, Windows has a wide range of drivers already stored in the kernel that holds the foundation for device drivers. This list of drivers gets updated with every operating system release (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows ) and with every service pack Windows puts out along with them (Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 2). Device drivers can work in two different modes in the Windows platform, kernel-mode and user-mode. Both have their advantages and disadvantages between the different modes. The biggest difference between the modes is the stability and performance speed. In kernel mode, there are no restrictions in access to the hardware and run faster than in user mode. This is because the driver communicates with the hardware directly in kernel mode rather than accessing the hardware using its corresponding API (Application Programming Interface) like in user mode. The downfall to kernel mode is when the device driver crashes; the computer will immediately crash as well. In user mode, the drivers do not have direct access to the hardware; instead, they rely on the devices API to delegate hardware access. While user mode device drivers operate at slower speeds than kernel mode drivers, a major advantage to user mode device drivers is that it is very crash tolerant. When the device driver crashes in u ser mode, it is always recoverable. Most modern device drivers operate in user mode except for video card drivers (most of the code needs to be kernel mode for top performance). The top two video card manufacturers in the industry right now are Nvidia and ATI. Both require separate drivers from their corresponding manufacturers. In a typical installation of an Nvidia video card driver, the driver come with mostly kernel mode code and a small amount of user mode code as well. The Nvidia Control Panel (after an Nvidia driver installation) is an example of the user mode code that Nvidia incorporates into their drivers. These drivers from the manufacturer are called, official drivers. There are other drivers out there for these manufacturers called, unofficial drivers. The most commonly known unofficial driver creator is known as Omega Drivers which, as described by their site, add more options to the drivers such as added resolutions. These drivers are marked as unofficial because they have not been approved by the manufacturers and it is recommended to use them at the users own risk. Sound drivers are required to provide the output of sound from your computer. Like video cards, there are two locations that a sound card can be. One place is called onboard sound, which is provided by the motherboard. This is most common location of sounds cards for laptops. The other location may be found on a PCI card slot, which is typically found on the back of a desktop computer. Popular onboard sound drivers and manufacturers are Realtek and SigmaTel. Popular PCI slot sound drivers and manufacturers are Creative Sound Blaster, Turtle Beach and ASUS. Unofficial drivers are also available online for these audio drivers. Network drivers are required for any kind of wireless or wired (Ethernet connected) device. For laptops, a wireless card typically comes standard. For desktops, a wireless PCI slot card or a wireless USB is required to get wireless connectivity. Most modern motherboards for laptops and desktops provide wired connectivity by manufacturers standards. Both the wireless and wired cards use completely separate drivers. In most cases, the wireless and wired cards are made by completely different manufacturers. For example, my Dell laptop wireless card is made by Dell and my wired card is made by Marvell Yukon. One of the biggest advantages to Windows 7 is the wide range of bare bone network drivers implemented into the kernel to enable the wireless or wired card to function. In previous Windows versions, such as Windows XP, you could not connect to the internet and get wireless/wired drivers unless you installed them via CD, USB or floppy disk. This problem was a constant annoyance for users upon which Windows 7 fixed. An important aspect of the motherboard that is important to have updated drivers for is the motherboards BIOS as it controls every single piece of hardware on a computer. Having the most recently updated BIOS for your motherboard is very beneficial because it fixes a lot of compatibility issues between the computers hardware devices. While the basic Windows update drivers may be good enough for basic level computer users, the more advanced users like to update to the latest drivers by the manufacturer to provide maximum compatibility and performance out of their devices. Sometimes when installing/updating these device drivers there are problems that can happen. One of the biggest common problems with updating drivers is that most users do not implement a full driver installation. There can be some compatibility problems when updating versions of drivers without properly uninstalling the driver fully and then installing the most updated driver. The reason full driver installation is important is because its less error prone than just to update a driver without uninstalling first. Another common problem is users installing device drivers from the wrong operating system architecture (x86, x64). If a user installs the drivers with the wrong architecture, typically, the installation screen will tell you that it is not compatible. If the installation screen doesnt inform a user, the user will definitely know because their device will no longer work. Therefore it is important to identify what kind of computer architecture your computer is because device drivers run differently on different architectures. Like hot fixes and patches, device drivers also secure your computers privacy by fixing security holes upon with hackers can take control and even disable various devices on a computer system. The security of device drivers and the security of the operating system come hand-in-hand meaning both play an equal role in the security of a computer system. The most security involved device that most computer users are worried about is the network device. Users should recognize that updating network device drivers is just as important as updating a routers firmware.

Domino Theory :: essays papers

Domino Theory The Domino Theory Here is my report on the Domino Theory The ?Domino Theory? is a complex and interesting theory. It is based on a simple rule of physics. That rule is inertia. Inertia is defined in the dictionary as, ?the tendency of matter to remain at rest or to continue in a fixed direction unless affected by some outside force.?1 This can be seen by making a line of dominoes, one right after the other and pushing the first domino over. The rest of the dominoes will fall over until the last one is down. They gain speed and power as the process is carried out. This analogy can be used to show what could happen to the political make-up of a specific geographical area in the world. The analogy, though, uses domino?s instead of countries. That is to say that if one country in a region practiced one particular type of government this might influence neighboring or bordering to adopt this type of government, for example the underlying principle behind the domino theory. Although the domino theory has physically been occurring since the beginning of time, it was only given a specific name and meaning 44 years ago by president Dwight D. Eisenhower. He used this theory to refer to the potential spread of communism in Southeast-Asia. He specifically said that,?You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profoun d influences.?2 The influences that he was talking about were the influences of communism. He believed as many others did that if one country in Southeast-Asia fell to communism then all of the surrounding countries would also. President Eisenhower had led the allied coalition against Hitler in Europe during WWII. He was deeply disturbed by the way that Communism had taken hold of Eastern Europe after the war. He was also concerned by the way that Asia had been taken over by Japan so easily in WWII. This build-up can be shown in the maps below. As you can see the size of Japan?s power at the end of its rule is about twice as large as its power at the beginning. The countries which bordered Japan fell over to Japan very quickly as the war went on and giving Japan more power while doing so.

Education and Understanding Will Reduce the Threat of Terrorism Essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract: Globalization has had both negative and positive effects.   While some cultures accept globalization as a wonderful gesture, others reject it with violent force.   Since the main country involved in the notion of globalization is the United States, many countries, most of those who are adamantly opposed to globalization, call globalization "Americanization."   For the Muslims who supported the terrorists in the 9-11 attack, they label America's treatment of them as reason for their hatred of the United States.   They claim that the United States has forced them into a situation they want no part of, and hence, their actions were a statement of rebellion.   Other countries and other cultures feel that globalization is the answer; hence, they side with the United States and disagree with the Extreme Islamic concepts.   In my opinion, I feel that neither side is ultimately right or wrong.   Instead, I feel that some sort of compromise m ust be made through education and understanding.   While I do feel that the Islamic world will eventually have to globalize in order to compete with the Western world, perhaps the changes must be made with a greater understanding of their culture so that they would be more willing to accept it.   Both sides come from very different traditions and cultures; hence, if the Western world understood the Islamic world a little better and vice versa, I feel a compromise could be reached.   Education, like it is in so many debates, is certainly the answer here.    Paper Begins Below    In a multicultural world, there are many opposing views on globalization.   Some cultures and individuals accept it, while others do not.   Have the United States' attempts to globalize ... ...001/trade.center/tenants1.html>.    Porter Keith.   "America Discovers the Value of Friends. Globalization requires   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   cooperation. "<http//:www.globalization.about.com> 7 July 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://globalization.about.com/library/weekly/aa091701a.htm?terms=   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nato+article+5>.    Reich, Robert B.   "Will Terrorism Stall Globalization? " The American Prospect   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Online 2 Nov. 2001.   2 July 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2001/11/reich-r-11-02.html>.    Smith, Adam.   "The Wealth of Nations."   Vol 4. New York: Random. 1985.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 vols.    Bin Laden, Osama.   "To Terror's Source:   Interview with Osama bin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Laden." ABC News on the Web 28 May 1998. 1 July 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/miller_binladen_   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   980609.html#4>.   

Lexus challenges Mercedes Essay

A. Introduction. Toyota offers luxury and quality setting the trend through its new model, Lexus, giving the same almost privileges to the buyer as the ones that a Mercedes owner enjoys at a half price. B.The problem. Extremely high competition on behalf of Toyota towards a multinational car industry like Mercedes whose name is synonym to luxury and status that offers if somebody owns one. Unknown expectations and responds from the part of the candidate buyers. C.Internal issues. (strengths) Toyota was offering a car that had the same performance with Mercedes at a reasonable price. Toyota made the public believe that he or she is a smart buyer since they could have a luxurious car, which in order to have it, they wouldn’t throw their money just to gain more status. Toyota was planning to market the new model with a multiple warhead attack. Lexus had a luxurious interior, and a sculptured look with fine fit and finish. Also the engine was smooth as well as the ride. Lexus cost 50% less than a Mercedes model with the same engine and standard equipment. Toyota paid much attention to the designing of the showrooms and to the professional salespeople that was planning to hire. Cheaper spare parts than Mercedes. Toyota was offering a 12-minute videotape to the buyers with which outweighed the advantages over Mercedes. Lower taxes. According to the magazine Car and Driver issued on April 1997, the annual token for Toyota Lexus GS 300 is 16.250.000 drachmas, where the annual token for Mercedes SEL 300 is approximately 20 million. C. Internal issues.(weaknesses) Not the same status that Mercedes has set up decades ago. Cheaper spare parts might also be problematic ones. Inexperienced personnel in case something could go wrong with the launched cars. Many Toyota agents might not be able to represent Lexus because of financial reasons since this model would be the flagship of the car industry. On the other hand, most Mercedes agents are able to represent a luxury models like the SEL500. Mercedes produces cars whose engines are above 2000cc. and doesn’t produce any models with an engine less than the above. Lexus is the only Toyota’s model that exceeded the limit of 2000cc. That’s why Mercedes has the kind of status nowadays and is difficult to be taken down.  · Toyota is a Japanese car industry and many Europeans might prefer to buy a European car since Mercedes is a German industry. C. External issues. (threats) Mercedes might maintain or raise its prices and add generous guarantees and services like for example free repairs for six years. Other car industries like Toyota might follow the same strategy of producing luxurious cars and so Mercedes would not be the unique competitor in this category. C. External issues. (opportunities) People who bought Lexus were delighted and the buyers raved to their friends and became the best salespeople for the new Lexus. The Mercedes power system in wealth offered, and other car industries like Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, and BMW was beginning to collapse. D. Alternatives. Toyota could keep on advertising Lexus as much as possible and should try to develop the specific model more, in parts of technology, safety, engine, and look. Also, Toyota could spend more money in order to make its showrooms and service provided the same and even better than those that Mercedes has. E. Recommendations. For many years Mercedes-Benz is producing cars with big engines and endless hulls adjusting its equipment to the world standards of safety and technology. If Toyota is powerful enough to pass through all the stages that Mercedes went in order to become one of the best industries of luxury cars worldwide, then maybe sometime in the future Toyota will be able to compete Mercedes with the only difference that the last would be one step ahead. According to my opinion, in Mercedes reigns one dictum: Only the best is good enough†¦