Friday, December 27, 2019

Profile of Christine Falling

Christine Falling was a 17-year-old babysitter when she murdered five babies and an elderly man. She was one of the youngest female serial killers in U.S. history. Childhood Years Christine Falling was born on March 12, 1963, in Perry, Florida to Ann, age 16 and Thomas Slaughter, age 65. Christine was Anns second child. Her sister Carol was born a year and a half earlier. From the beginning, life for Christine was challenging. Her mother Ann would often leave for months at a time. When Ann would return home, it seemed to her young daughters that she always came back pregnant. Over the following two years, after Christine was born, Ann had two more children, boys Michael and Earl. Of all the children, Thomas claimed only Earl as his biological child. The Slaughters were very poor, as were many living in Perry at the time. During Anns absence, Thomas cared for the children by bringing them out to the woods where he worked. But when he was in a work-related accident, Ann was forced to rejoin the family. After that the children were often shuffled around to family members until, according to Carol, Ann completely abandoned them, leaving them on a bench at a Perry shopping center. Jesse and Dolly Falling Dolly Falling wanted to be a mother  but was unable to have children. Her husband Jesse was related to the Slaughter children and they decided to adopt Carol and Christine. Life for the two girls at the Fallings home was unstable. Christine was epileptic and suffered from seizures. She also had severe learning and developmental problems. Physically she was unattractive, obese, and had an odd vacant look in her eyes. At an early age, Christine demonstrated personality traits that were worrisome. She would have severe fits of anger and displayed antisocial behavior. For example, she developed a fascination with torturing cats. She would strangle them and then drop them from up high to see if they really had nine lives. She learned immediately that they did not, yet that did not end her experiments. Both Carol and Christine became rebellious and unruly as they got older. However, according to author Madeline Blais in her book The Heart Is an Instrument, the girls were also subjected to physical and sexual abuse by Jesse Falling, something the Fallings both denied. However, life at the Falling home was so dysfunctional that the church pastor interceded and the Fallings agreed to send the girls away. A Refuge The girls were sent to the Great Oaks Village in Orlando. This was a group foster home designed to help neglected and abused children. Christine later commented on how much she enjoyed her time there, although according to social workers, during her stay she was a thief, compulsive liar, and would often get in trouble just for the attention that it brought. It was also noted in the social workers records that Jesse Falling had been arrested twice for sexually abusing Carol. The first arrest ended in a hung jury and the second time Dolly Falling dropped the charges. After a year at the refuge, the girls were returned to the Fallings. This time there was no sexual abuse, but the physical abuse continued. The final episode happened in October 1975 when Jesse allegedly subjected Christine to a severe beating for being 10 minutes late. He also insisted that she wear shorts to school the following day so everyone could see the justice marks. The following day the girls ran away. Munchausen Syndrome After six weeks of living with Carols friend, Christine decided to go to Blountstown and live with Ann, her birth mother. She managed to do that for a while, and in September 1977, at the age of 14, she married a man (reportedly her stepbrother) who was in his twenties. The marriage was riddled with arguments and violence and it ended after just six weeks. After her marriage failed, Christine developed a compulsion for going to the hospital emergency room. Each time she would complain of different ailments that doctors could not diagnose. One time she went complaining of bleeding, which turned out to be her regular menstrual period. Another time she thought a snake bit her. Within two years, she went to the hospital over 50 times. It seemed that Christines need for attention, which the counselors at Great Oaks Village had noted, was transferred to getting attention at the hospital. At that point, she was possibly developing Munchausen syndrome, an infliction in which those affected seek the comfort from medical personnel for exaggerated or self-inflicted symptoms of illnesses. Munchausen syndrome is closely related to Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP/MSP), when they abuse another person, usually a child, to get attention or sympathy for themselves. Christine Finds Her Calling Christine Falling had few options when it came to earning a living. She was uneducated and her maturity level was that of a young child. She managed to make some money by babysitting for neighbors and family. In fact, it seemed to be her calling. Parents trusted her and she enjoyed being with the children, or so it appeared. Her Victims - The Children On February 25, 1980, Christine was babysitting two-year-old Cassidy Muffin Johnson, when according to Falling, the child became ill and fell out of her crib. She was diagnosed with encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and died three days later. According to the autopsy, her death was due to blunt trauma to the skull. One of the doctors did not agree with the childs diagnosis and found Fallings tear-stained story questionable. He noted his suspicions that the baby was physically harmed and did not die of natural causes. He suggested that the police should talk to Falling, but investigators took no further action. Soon after the incident, Falling moved to Lakeland, Florida. The next two children to die were cousins, four-year-old Jeffrey Davis and two-year-old Joseph Spring. While caring for Jeffrey, Falling told doctors that he had stopped breathing. The autopsy report listed myocarditis, which is usually a result of a viral infection and causes inflammation of the heart. Three days later Falling was babysitting Joseph while his parents attended Jeffreys funeral. Falling said Joseph failed to wake up from his nap. He was also found with a viral infection and the case was closed. Falling decided to return to Perry  and took a position in July 1981 as a housekeeper for 77-year-old William Swindle. Swindle died on the first day that Falling worked. He was found on his kitchen floor. It was assumed that he suffered a massive heart attack. Not long after Swindles death, Fallings stepsister took her eight-month-old daughter, Jennifer Daniels, for her vaccinations. Falling went along. On the way home, the stepsister ran into the store for diapers and when she returned to the car Falling told her that Jennifer had stopped breathing. The baby was dead. On July 2, 1982, Falling was taking care of 10-week-old Travis Cook who was just home from the hospital after a week prior Christine had noticed he was having a hard time breathing. This time, however, Travis did not make it. Christine said he just suddenly died. The doctors and nurses ignored the usual tears that poured from Falling as she explained what happened. The autopsy showed that the childs death was caused by suffocation. Fallings reign of terror had finally ended. Fallings Confession Falling eventually confessed to five murders. She was afraid of getting the death penalty and agreed to a plea deal. She told detectives that she killed her victims by smotheration and had learned how to do it by watching television. She boasted about putting her own spin on the technique by placing a blanket over the children faces. She also said that she heard voices telling her to kill the baby. In a taped confession, she described the events leading up to the smotheration of each child. According to Falling: Cassidy Johnson was smothered because she had gotten kind of rowdy or something. Jeffrey Davis made me mad or something. I was already mad that morning. I just took it out on him and just started choking him til he was dead. Joe Boy was napping when I dont know. I just got the urge and wanted to kill him. Her niece, Jennifer Daniels died because She was continually crying and crying and crying and it made me mad so I just put my hands around her neck and choked her til she shut up. Travis Coleman was sleeping when for no apparent reason she killed him. Guilty Plea On September 17, 1982, Christine Falling plead guilty to murder two children and received two concurrent life sentences. After a few years in prison, she admitted to strangling William Swindle. In 2006, Falling came up for parole and was denied. Her next parole hearing was set for September 2017.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Essay on Othello - 3188 Words

Books related to Othello Othello - The protagonist and tragic hero of the play. A Moor commanding the armies of Venice, he is a celebrated general and heroic figure whose quot;free and open naturequot; will enable Iago to twist his love for his wife Desdemona into a powerful jealousy. Desdemona - The daughter of a Venetian Senator, and Othellos bride. The most sympathetic character in the play, she is deeply in love with her husband, and her purity contrasts strongly with Iagos wickedness. Iago - Othellos ensign, and Shakespeares greatest villain. His public face of bravery and honesty conceals a Satanic delight in manipulation and destruction. Passed over for a promotion by his commander, he vows to destroy the Moor. Cassio -†¦show more content†¦Othellos defense, meanwhile, is both eloquent and honest--his nobility is never more evident than in these early speeches, which serve to balance Iagos earlier descriptions of the Othello/Desdemona marriage in crudely sexual terms. Othellos account of the courtship and his wifes confirmation testify to the authenticity of their romance--which is an important theme of the play. The tragedy succeeds so well only because the audience is never allowed to doubt that Othello and Desdemona are truly in love with one another. In telling the story of how he was passed over for promotion to lieutenant, Iago says that three influential men apparoached Othello on Iagos behalf, quot;But he, as loving his own pride and purposes, / Evades them, with a bombast circumstance / Horribly stuffd with epithets of warquot; (1.1.12-14). quot;Bombastquot; is cotton stuffing; quot;circumstancequot; is wordy rigmarole; and quot;epithets of warquot; are military terms. In short, Iago accuses Othello of using phony military reasons to give the job to Cassio, who has no military experience. However, later in the scene, after the enraged Brabantio declares that he will hunt Othello down, Iago admits that VeniceShow MoreRelatedOthello And O thello By William Shakespeare Essay1304 Words   |  6 PagesDesdemona?† they ask. The differences that separate Othello and Desdemona do not perturb them, but are starkly obvious and unnerving to the judgmental citizens of Venice. While it was certainly rare in the 16th century for couples to have such disparities in age, social position and race, none of these differences diminished how Othello and Desdemona felt for each other, yet each spurred external obstacles that threatened their relationship. While Othello and Desdemona are separated by a considerable ageRead MoreOthello: Othello a Tragic Hero1478 Words   |  6 PagesOthello: Othello A Tragic Hero If one reads Shakespeares Othello, they can come to the conclusion that it might be one of the his most tragic plays ever written by Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet, is probably the most famous of his tragic plays, but Othello, has characteristics that, I think make it even more tragic then his other plays, and therefore for that reason, you can say that Othello is the most tragic hero. Othello is a noble man, one who has grace with the ladies but also possessesRead MoreEssay General Othello in Othello1267 Words   |  6 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare gave us a most moving drama in Othello. In this play we witness the demise of a â€Å"paragon† of a wife and a â€Å"valiant Moor†, Othello. Let us consider the Moor in detail, with professional critical input, in this essay. From the text of the play a number of clues can be gleaned which round out the description of the general. In William Shakespeare: The Tragedies, Paul A. Jorgensen describes the general in Othello: Though scarcely the â€Å"barbarian† (1.3.353) he is calledRead MoreOthello s Othello By William Shakespeare848 Words   |  4 Pages Desdemona’s Passivity [In the Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Othello†] Desdemona is a passive character in the Shakespeare play â€Å"Othello†. We can identify this as a fault in Desdemona, in various acts and scenes throughout the play. A critic had stated that â€Å"Desdemona is passive, acted upon rather than acting.† This is a valid statement which is noticeable in Desdemona’s character. When Desdemona argues Cassio’s position that Othello stripped from him. We see from this that she could have actedRead MoreOthello s Othello By William Shakespeare897 Words   |  4 PagesIago’s main reason to denigrate Desdemona’s character is his love for Othello. Consequently, he will do anything to gain Othello’s admiration. When Iago is putting his plan into action and planting in Othello’s mind that Desdemona is not faithful to him, Iago says: Othello kneels .............................................................................................. IAGO: Do not rise yet. Iago kneels Witness, you ever-burning lights above, You elements that clip us round above, Witness thatRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Othello And Othello Essay1282 Words   |  6 PagesOthello speaks to Iago in Act Three of the play saying, â€Å"certain, men should be what they seem† (3.3.131). This excerpt foreshadow events in which Othello will begin to question the actions and morality of Cassio and Desdemona, all orchestrated by Iago’s scheming nature. This is a very important concept to showcase because Othello devoutly loves Desdemona and trusts Cassio until conniving language from Iago causes him to think otherwise. Drawing on Shakespeare’s source story by Cinthio and otherRead MoreMusical Characterization For Othello s Othello997 Words   |  4 Pages Musical Characterization for Othello In Verdi’s Othello, the music is used by Verdi to characterize each character in the opera. It is the music who describes the audience the personality traits of each character. Moreover, music accompanies every scene in the opera. In many cases, we can know what is happening or what the character is feeling through the music the orchestra is playing. This is an innovative way to characterize the characters in an opera used by Verdi that do not fit into theRead MoreOthello By William Shakespeare s Othello1209 Words   |  5 PagesOthello Down Shakespeare s Othello comprises of the subjects betrayal, affection and dishonesty. At the focal point of this play is the lamentable ruin of Othello because of his so-called friend Iago. In this paper I will be examining the explanations behind and against Othello being in charge of his defeat through taking a gander at critical interpretations of his character and activities. Othello was profoundly in charge to his own destruction as Iago demonstrating to him to be gullible andRead MoreOthello By William Shakespeare s Othello Essay1230 Words   |  5 Pages Previously, in Act 3.4, Othello begins to suspect Desdemona’s loyalty, as he continuously asks Desdemona for the handkerchief, yet she keeps on changing the topic. In Act 4.1, Iago continues to convince Othello of Desdemona’s faithfulness. In Act 3.4, Othello defended Desdemona when Iago accused her; but in Act 4.1, their position is switched. Othello becomes more aware of what Iago is saying and the anger that he has towards Iago has significantly reduced, while he begins to doubt Desdemona.Read More Free Othello Essay: The Disintegration of Othello590 Words   |  3 PagesDisintegration of Othello nbsp; nbsp;nbsp; Shakespeares Othello is a play with unique characters. One such character is the one for which Shakespeare names his play. In the play, Othello disintegrates from a confident leader to a homicidal murderer. Linguistic changes throughout the play attest to this theory. nbsp; In the opening scenes, Shakespeare portrays Othello as a noble character. When Brabantio seeks vengeance (for stealing his daughter) on Othello, Othello expresses his actions

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Business Managing Operations and Supply Chain

Question: Discuss about the Business Managing Operations and Supply Chain. Answer: Introduction Xu and Gursoy (2015) stated that an organizational process of controlling, ensuring, and improvingquality in context of both the business approach and its productivity is known as quality management. The organization that is considered in this business report is LUX* Resorts Hotels, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of LUX* Hospitality Ltd. and also is a major hotel operator based in Mauritius and also involves in management services, operations, design, sales and marketing (Luxresorts.com 2017). The major facility that LUX* Resorts Hotels is providing is staying in hotel facility and a combination of hotel and flight facility (Luxresorts.com 2017). The booking of the room is available through their home page of the website. In order to attract more employee, the concerned organization also provide services like discount and combo offers, kids stay free offer and honeymoon offers. Thus, their major customers are especially the tourists and celebrities, who desires to spend a significant amount of money for exotic services of scenic beauty and premium hospitality (Xu and Gursoy 2015). In this business report, two operational process of the considered organization in support with the ITO framework will be describes. Moreover, a literature review of relationship between quality management and customer expectations will be illustrated along with the identification of potential quality problems in the operational delivery and challenges faced by the LUX* Resorts Hotels. Lastly, recommendation to overcome those difficulties and a conclusion of the overall discussion will be illustrated. Two operational processes that are needed to deliver those products and services to the customers The two operations that is taken into consideration for assessing the supply chain management and logistics of the LUX* Resorts Hotels are procurement management and service distribution management. Shi and Liao (2013) depicts that procurement management refers to the situation of planning and directing the activities of purchasing agents, who are liable to buy materials needed for the operations for an organization. On the other hand, a service distribution management is a process that delivers the services of the organization to their customers for better profitability. Procurement management focuses on how purchasing is done, how the product is received from suppliers, building relationships with vendors and managing internal operations (Christopher 2016). LUX resorts and hotel recognizes rewards and celebrate excellence of the supplier of the community, who has flourished over the last 12 months (Luxresorts.com 2017). They also associates with the Mauritiuss travel agents in order to fulfill their services of Hotel + Flights for their customers (Luxresorts.com 2017). Moreover, they also emphasizes on making their procurement strategy transparent by communicating with the suppliers in order to better understand their price structure for getting objects like interiors of the hotel, food supply for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the guests and Product and Service distribution management In the products and service distribution, there are different sectors for maintaining the quality of the organizational process. Stadtler (2015) suggested that in hospitality industry there are food banquets services, travelling servicing, holiday and side tour facility and offers like discount and free stay on some packages. LUX* Resorts Hotels has separate areas for full pallets and showcases for food orders to the guests, flight services for the international tourist and guests and other travel facilities for the tourist to provide them a tour package so that they can face no difficulty in their stay. Moreover, online service distribution in one of the recent initiatives that is taken by every organization (Wisner et al. 2014). In context of the technological advances, LUX* Resorts Hotels also adopted like online booking of the hotel by mentioning criteria like number of rooms, number of days for staying, number of people coming to stay so that estimation can be illustrated in r eal-time (Mangan et al. 2016). LUX* Resorts Hotels utilizes their capital, raw material, equipment, suppliers labour and implementation of new technology to formulates the final products like extraordinary facilities and services. This transformation is occurred by improving the strategic sourcing processes, and aligning the category management, strategic sourcing and supplier relationship management. There suppliers are majorly the travel agents that associates with their organization that provides travel facility to the guests. The transformation process shoes the development in the Information technology so that luxurious experience can be provided to the guests (Crandall et al. 2014). In the year 2012, LUX* Resorts Hotels also got Luxury Travel Supplier of the Year, TTG Travel Awards (Luxresorts.com 2017). Product and Service distribution management The input in this context is the service and the details of the services that are provided to the tourist regarding their hotel expenses and other facilities. The transformation process is used by giving all the availability of the details through their website buy using digital technology. The output is that the information can be delivered to the tourist in real-time with accurate information. Moreover, LUX* Resorts Hotels also have vendors and suppliers in Mauritius, Maldives, Reunion, China, Turkey, U.A.E Vietnam that also provides in-house products like customized towels, shampoo and soaps for every room is shipped directly to in-house property warehouses (Luxresorts.com 2017). Improvisation in the technology also helps in help reducing touches in the warehouse, as well as its picking operations that results in fast services. In food banquets services also, customer can place orders from their room and they an avail the service fast by the staffs of the hotel (Luxresorts.com 2 017). LUX* Resorts and Hotel also organizes painting events, yoga events, fitness classes, aqua therapy and wild-out outings in order to maintain quality of their hospitality services by selecting premium suppliers who can organize these vents with premium quality equipment (Luxresorts.com 2017). Literature review- Quality Management as a reflection of customer expectations Mitra (2016) depicts that quality management can be assesses by evaluating four factors- quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Thus, an organization must have to work for the betterment of the company and adopt new technologies that can provide them a competitive advantage with respect to other companies. Trkman et al. (2015) on the other hand argues that an organization develops its organizational policies and procedures in order to fulfil the customer expectation. However, Raake and Egger (2014) portrays that managing authorities of an organization have to considers customer requirements for fulfilling their expectation and these requirements is comprised of- reliability of the products and services, responsiveness of the customers, quality assurance, empathy and tangibles. Stadtler (2015) defines that the values in management is based on two factors- stakeholder value and customer value. It is evident that in context of the stakeholder value, an organization has to emphasis on the demands and needs of their stakeholders that are- customers, employees, and society. Wisner et al. (2014) also depicts that the prime reason for considering their demands is that they are these stakeholders provide the opportunities to determine the future direction of a company by suggesting their concern. LUX* Resorts and Hotels also provide training to their staffs and suppliers so that they can satisfy the customer demands by serving them with quality services. Additionally, in terms of customers value, managing authorities of the company evaluates the eight types of customer values- efficiency, aesthetics, esteem, excellence, spirituality, status, play and ethics. Whereas Dhar (2015) argues that in contemporary organization, they have to focus majorly on four types of customer value- functional (instrumental) value, symbolic (expressive) value, experiential (hedonic) value and cost (sacrifice) value. Fawcett et al. (2014) also highlight the dimension of customer value for hospitality industry. He stated in his work that resorts managers focuses majorly on intrinsic dimension that is the enjoyment of an experience like providing exotic scenic beauty with resort. Beske and Seuring (2014) also depicts that the fulfillment of the intrinsic dimension ensures the attainment of the extrinsic dimension of the customer value. Extrinsic dimension of customer value is the accomplishment of the business objectives that is to provide facility that can meet up to the customer expectation. Additionally, dimension of self-oriented value should also consider by the managing authorities of the organization (Beske et al. 2014). In terms of the hospitality industry this self-oriented value can be created by providing customised facility to the guests like offering room of their choice or premium services within their budget. Travel agents also offer packages for the places a customer desire to visit from all the option a travelling agent shows to them. All these factors fulfill the customer expectation and enhance the quality of the service the organization is providing to their customers. Quality management Schonsleben (2016) explains that quality management is a people-focused management system that comprise of methods and tools along with the intention to adopt new technology aiming for continual increase in customer satisfaction. Krajewski et al. (2013) on the other hand, portrays that there are eight principles for quality management that an organization have to adhere. The first principle emphasizes on customer focus that is to cover both customer needs and customer service. Kuei and Lu (2013) furthermore stated another principle that plays a crucial role in the quality management is the people involvement. Every organization should focus on employee motivation, providing additional benefits and makes the employees responsible and accountable for their actions (Griffin 2016). Systematic approach to management is another important principle for quality management that ensures the alignment of complementary processes with the organizational procedure for better efficiency that result in other principle of continual improvement of the services and the organization (Goetsch and Davis 2014). Quality Management and Supply Chain Management Integration It is evident that customer always prefer to opt for the services that provides premium services in affordable cost. Surez-Barraza and Ablanedo-Rosas (2014) illustrates that customer prefers value for money. In addition to that, Gorny (2015) highlights that improving quality of the supply chain processes is equivalent to improved resource utilization and cost reductions and improved process efficiency. Bassi (2015) on the other hand argue that lower in cost investment in quality of the results in less customer satisfaction as the quality is depreciated. However, in recent times, from many researches it has been found that people prefers to get premium quality products and services irrespective of their prices. Oakland (2014) on the other hand depict that supply chin quality management refers to the study of integration between quality management and supply chain management. Thus, if great services can be available in greater price, customer will opt for the quality products. Thus, co nsidering principle of quality management that are management and strategic planning, personnel involvement, information accuracy, good supplier relations, leadership and continuous innovation, the procedure of supply chain can be enhanced that results in high satisfied customers (Goetsch and Davis 2014). Identification of potential quality problems One of the major problems is the risks management in the supply chain. Griffin (2016) depicted that an organization spend an average 50-80% of the total product cost on developing products for their organization. LUX* Resorts and Hotels also spend a portion of their annual revenue on their travel agents and local suppliers for interior decorative items. Risk like country of origin (for the organization to be operated in many nations) and shipment accuracy along with the internal process can be a challenge for an organization. Risk for visibility and mutual communication gap between the suppliers and the organization is another that should be taken into consideration. Schonsleben (2016) highlighted that only 30% of the companies have limitedvisibility to tier-1 partners while there are no company in the market havinglimited visibilitytotier-2andtier-3 partners. This leads to the risk of low quality management processes. Another problem that is faced by the organization is the assessment of the effective suppliers among the many that can align their working procedure with the culture and business approach of the organization (Dhar 2015). Thus, managing supplier related corrective actions and non-conformances is a key challenge for manufacturer. Recommendation for implementation of suggested improvements Selecting efficient supply chain partner- It is crucial for an organization to not only select the right supply chain partner but more importantly monitor and proactively manage quality in the supply chain in order to minimize the risk. Utilization of modern communication tools- Communication tools like e-mail, messages, document exchange and digital interface can ensure the mutual communication between the supplier and the organization. The mismatch in alignment issue can be resolved by using leveraging technology to connect and integrate suppliers into quality management processes. Broaden supplier assessments- Organization should assess the suppliers that have largest portion of the resources spend by the organization, their competencies and the strategic relationship with regard to a key product and client companies. This assessment allows the organization to find the most effective supplier for their organization. Establishing Clear Measurement Programs- An organization is liable for measuring supply chain partner performance in specific areas of their service quality, pricing for services, their contractor compliances and responsiveness. Conclusion Thus, it can be concluded that effective quality management ensures the reduction of waste and inventory along with the enhancement in the business activities for achieving the business objectives for every organization. The organization that is considered for this assignment is LUX* Resorts Hotels, whose major business is provide hospitality services, travel services along with facility like wild-out option, aqua therapy, fitness classes for guests. However, there hotels are placed at Mauritius, Maldives, Reunion, China, Turkey, U.A.E Vietnam and in order to maintain a same organizational culture, supply chain process have to be managed with quality. However, some of the problem that is identified in this assessment is the risks management in the supply chain; maintain cultures in all country of origin, shipment accuracy along with visibility and mutual communication gap. Though these risks can be overcome by implementing assessment of the effective suppliers, selecting efficient supply chain partner, utilizing modern communication tools, broaden supplier assessments and establishment of clear measurement programs. These outputs can be achieved by using ITO framework that is illustrated in this assessment for maintaining quality in the supply chain that results in fulfilling of customer expectation. Implementation of the modern technology and taking regular surveys from stakeholders for knowing competencies of the organization is accomplished through the transformation process for better output. Reference List Bassi, A., 2015. General Management Principles in the Project Management Context. In Managing Intellectual Capital and Innovation for Sustainable and Inclusive Society: Managing Intellectual Capital and Innovation; Proceedings of the MakeLearn and TIIM Joint International Conference 2015. ToKnowPress. Beske, P. and Seuring, S., 2014. Putting sustainability into supply chain management. Supply Chain Management: an international journal, 19(3), pp.322-331. Beske, P., Land, A. and Seuring, S., 2014. Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature. International Journal of Production Economics, 152, pp.131-143. Christopher, M., 2016. Logistics supply chain management. Pearson UK. Crandall, R.E., Crandall, W.R. and Chen, C.C., 2014. Principles of supply chain management. CRC Press. Dhar, R.L., 2015. Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Tourism Management, 46, pp.419-430. Fawcett, S.E., Ellram, L.M. and Ogden, J.A., 2014. Supply chain management: from vision to implementation. London: Pearson. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Grny, A., 2015, August. Use of Quality Management Principles in the Shaping of Work Environment. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 136-142). Springer International Publishing. Griffin, R.D., 2016. Principles of air quality management. CRC Press. Krajewski, L.J., Ritzman, L.P. and Malhotra, M.K., 2013. Operations management: Processes and supply chains (Vol. 1). New York: Pearson. Kuei, C.H. and Lu, M.H., 2013. Integrating quality management principles into sustainability management. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 24(1-2), pp.62-78. Luxresorts.com., (2017). Resorts and Hotels. [online] Available at: https://www.luxresorts.com) [Accessed 11 Feb. 2017]. Mangan, J., Lalwani, C. and Lalwani, C.L., 2016. Global logistics and supply chain management. John Wiley Sons. Mitra, A., 2016. Fundamentals of quality control and improvement. John Wiley Sons. Oakland, J.S., 2014. Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases. Routledge. Raake, A. and Egger, S., 2014. Quality and quality of experience. In Quality of experience (pp. 11-33). Springer International Publishing. Schonsleben, P., 2016. Integral logistics management: operations and supply chain management within and across companies. CRC Press. Shi, X. and Liao, Z., 2013. Managing supply chain relationships in the hospitality services: An empirical study of hotels and restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35, pp.112-121. Stadtler, H., 2015. Supply chain management: An overview. In Supply chain management and advanced planning (pp. 3-28). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Surez-Barraza, M.F. and Ablanedo-Rosas, J.H., 2014. Total quality management principles: implementation experience from Mexican organisations. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 25(5-6), pp.546-560. Trkman, P., Mertens, W., Viaene, S. and Gemmel, P., 2015. From business process management to customer process management. Business process management journal, 21(2), pp.250-266. Wisner, J.D., Tan, K.C. and Leong, G.K., 2014. Principles of supply chain management: A balanced approach. Cengage Learning. Xu, X. and Gursoy, D., 2015. A conceptual framework of sustainable hospitality supply chain management. Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management, 24(3), pp.229-259. Xu, X. and Gursoy, D., 2015. Influence of sustainable hospitality supply chain management on customers attitudes and behaviors. International journal of hospitality management, 49, pp.105-116.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Nintendos Disruptive Strategy

Nintendo is a major player in the video game industry. The company has successfully used a disruptive strategy to conquer the market. Sony’s Play Station (PS) and Microsoft’s Xbox have successfully gained their place in the market niche using improvements in technology. Nintendo has employed a disruptive strategy that involved the design of a gaming console that targeted non-gamers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nintendo’s Disruptive Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This enabled the company to improve its competitiveness. Within 3 years of launching the console, the company became the second most valuable company in Japan (Farhoomand, 2009). This is a clear indication of the success of Nintendo’s disruptive strategy. The 1970s marked the birth of the video game industry. During this period, teenagers played video games in malls and game arcades. Later, the introduction of ho me consoles enabled people to play video games at home. The video game industry is a technology intensive industry. The development of the personal computer enabled people to play computer games instead of using proprietary consoles. However, video game consoles retained their popularity. The last decade of the 20th century saw the introduction of Sony’s Play Station (PS) console. Sony’s advertising strategy enabled the product to become a hype entertainment. It allowed the company to attract the youth. The lucrativeness of the industry prompted Microsoft to join the market through the launch of the Xbox. High-definition (HD) video technologies made it possible for the companies to improve the quality of their games. In addition, increased speed of broadband connectivity ensured the companies could offer services more efficiently. Since its onset, video game companies focused on gamers. Nintendo developed a strategy that focused non-gamers through the launch of the Wii . The Wii enabled the simulation real life games (Farhoomand, 2009). Nintendo has utilized a disruptive strategy to gain a competitive advantage over the other players in the industry. Disruptive strategy attempts to discard old business clichà ©s. It strives to remodel the landscape of the market. Companies that use a disruptive strategy usually target certain situations where the complacency of their competitors has made them overlook or underserve certain customers. Therefore, a disruptive strategy leads to radical changes in the industry. It leads to a permanent change in the industry (Yami, Castaldo Dagnino, 2010).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Traditionally, the video game industry focused on gamers. Therefore, it developed interactive games that attracted gamers. Technological advancements have increased the sophistication of games. This made it difficult for the gamers to understand some games. Nintendo strived to formulate a strategy that would reduce the complexity of games. In addition, it aimed to reach non-gamers as video game companies usually ignored the non-gamers. Targeting non-gamers would enable the company to increase the number of its customers significantly. This strategy led to the development of the DS. The DS was a handheld device that increased interaction with gamers. Gamers could tap or write on a touch-screen with a stylus. This reduced the complexity of games. Gamers did not have to use complicated sets of buttons. The success of the DS paved the way for the development of the Wii. The Wii had a controller that looked like a remote control panel. It had motion detectors that enabled gamers to play games by simply moving the controller. The motion detectors translated the movement of the controller to a screen. This made it possible to simulate real life games. The ease of use of the Wii was one of the major factors tha t fueled its popularity. The Wii enabled Nintendo to capture non-gamers. Users could engage in push-ups, yoga, and other exercises. This enabled the product to have a significant impact on the health industry. In fact, various therapists recommend the use of the Wii in performing various activities that improve an individual’s health (Farhoomand, 2009). Nintendo’s disruptive strategy presented company a chance to improve its revenues. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was Wii’s major competitor. Microsoft launched the product in November 2005. This was approximately one year before the launch of the Wii. Microsoft’s head start of one year enabled the company to capture a sizeable percentage of the market. In addition, it provided the company with an opportunity to develop a huge archive of games prior to the launch of the Wii. The variety of games is one of the major factors that affects gamers’ decision to purchase a certain video game console. Therefor e, a huge archive of games improved the competitiveness of Xbox 360. Various parties believed that early entry into a market enabled Sony’s Play Station to capture the market. Therefore, Xbox 360’s early entry may have given it a competitive edge over other companies in the industry. Sony Play Station 3 (PS3) could not compete effectively with Wii since it was very expensive. In addition, it was not profitable. Sony made a loss upon the sale of each PS3 (Farhoomand, 2009). Competitors should develop a new business model alongside their existing business models to enable them to counter the challenge posed by Nintendo. This strategy will enable the competitors to counter the threat posed by Nintendo while retaining various important aspects of their existing business models.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Nintendo’s Disruptive Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The competitors should ensure that the business models are in separate entities. This would prevent the entities from competing with each. This would avoid a situation where managers of the parent company may feel that the new business model is growing rapidly at the expense of the parent company. Therefore, they may try to constrain it. Having a new business model prevents the parent company’s existing culture and practices from being an impediment to the success of the new business model. It is a fact that the current business models of Microsoft and Sony are the major barriers that inhibit the ability of the companies to compete effectively with Nintendo. The business models make it difficult to produce products at a low cost. This reduces the profit margin of the companies. In addition, it necessitates the companies to sell their products at very high prices. This reduces the competitiveness of their products. The companies should develop a new business model that focuses on the cost effectiven ess of their products. This may necessitate the development of new low-priced video game consoles. These consoles may have a lower quality than the initial consoles of the companies. This may require the companies to launch a new line of low-priced products. This would enable the companies to retain their existing customers and create a new market segment in the industry. The new products would compete with Nintendo’s Wii on price. On the other hand, the old video game consoles would compete with the Wii on quality. Therefore, this strategy will enable the companies to tackle Nintendo from two fronts. This would increase the likelihood of the companies wresting control of the industry from Nintendo. References Farhoomand, A. (2009). Nintendo’s disruptive strategy: Implications for the video game industry. Hong Kong: Asia Case Research Center. Yami, S., Castaldo, S. Dagnino, B. (2010). Coopetition: Winning strategies for the 21st century. London: Edward Elgar Publishin g. 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