The Outsourcing Fundamentals For Dell Computers

The Outsourcing Fundamentals For Dell Computers Dell is one of the leading PC manufacturers in the world. Its business strategy involves outsourcing a number of its operations such as sales order processing, distribution, after sales service. The focus of this report will be to critically evaluate and analyse one such outsourcing project of Dell of its technical support which was considered a failure. There are a number of reasons why Dell chose to outsource its technical support call centre. The main reason for doing so is that Dell saw this part of its operations as non core. It decided to outsource in order to concentrate on its core business processes which were manufacturing and design. The cost savings that an outsourcing deal offered also was a major factor in it doing so. Other factors such as to gain accesses to world class facilities , to share the risk involved, to accelerate redesign engineering process were also critical. After having decided to outsource a deal with Stream Global Services was struck. Stream took its call centre in India to operate the entire tech support of Northern America. After the first term of the contract the deal was called off and Dell decided to back source the tech support from Stream and bring it back in-house. The report analysis the key issues for the failure of this deal. One of the most important issues that resulted in the failure of this outsourcing deal is the drop in quality of service. After initial period the quality of service provided by Stream went down considerably which resulted in unsatisfied customer and complaints. This resulted in fall of sales and loss of market share. Other issues such as loss of control over the operations and loss of tacit knowledge, unable to meet the customer demand due to large increase in customer base, loss of intellectual property, lack of expertise too played a critical factor in its failure. The tip of the iceberg came when n egotiating a contract extension and Stream demanding more, which lead to Dell calling off the whole deal. Critical analysis shows that tech support may be a core competence of Dell, which they had to retain more control over. The possible recommendations are to offshore the call centre to a cost efficient location rather than outsource it. Put in a confidentiality agreement in place in order to protect from loss in intellectual property. Negotiate smaller lengths of contract and to choose quality over price as main criteria while evaluating vendors for outsourcing in the future. Contents 3 Introduction 4 Why Outsource 5 Non core function 5 Gain Access to World-Class Capabilities 6 Cost Saving 6 Accelerate Reengineering Benefits 6 Share Risks 6 Redirect Resources to more Strategic Activities 7 The Stream Story 7 What went wrong 8 Quality of Service 8 Loss of Control 8 Viability of Service Provider 8 Relative Size of Customer 8 The Issue of Trust 9 Lack of Expertise 9 Hidden and Uncertain Costs 9 Tip of the Iceberg 9 Conclusion Recommendation 10 1 . Offshore not out-source : 10 2. Confidentiality Agreements: 11 3. Quality over price: 11 4. Short term contracts : 11 References 12 Appendix 13 Appendix I 14 Sales of Dell from 1999- 2007 14 Appendix II 14 Market Share of PC Manufacturers 14 Introduction Dell is a multinational computer company which has managed to stay in the first place of computer system sales for over a decade. Ranked in the top 50 among the Fortune 500, Dell offers a range of IT products and services, including hardware, software, consulting services, support services, and managed services. Dell employs more than 100,000 employees at services, manufacturing, and design locations around the world. Its strong and revolutionized strategy of direct selling computers to the customers increased its success in the computer companies field providing it with a competitive advantage. Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell a 19-year old teenager and it was named as PCs Limited. Starting with a capital of $1000 and the aim of selling IBM PC-compatible computers he managed to establish Dell as one of the most worldwide successful and profitable companies only after the first years of its function. The first year gross revenues amounted to $6 million. In 1985 Dell introduce d the first computer of its own design- the Turbo PC. In 1988 the company made its initial public offering at $8.50 a share and was renamed to Dell Computer Corporation.    By 1990 it had been expanded in 12 different countries. Six years later(1996), Dell began selling computers via its web site and offered online technical support at the same time and by the 1997 Dell was one of the top five computer makers in the world. As one of the worlds leading direct computer systems companies and a premier supplier of technology for the Internet infrastructure, Dells competitive advantage is its direct customer focus. Constant interaction with its customers online and via the telephone gives Dell the ability to understand unique computing needs that drive individual and enterprise productivity. Even though growth rates for the computer industry are expected to be less than previous years, Dell can still successfully operate, enjoying healthy sustainable profits. With its unique operation strategy and reduced inventory levels gives Dell a competitive edge over its rivals. Dell chooses to outsource a whole bunch of its processes of its operations. Right from most of its production line to sales order processing to distribution to after sales service. Outsourcing allows companies to focus on broader business issues while having operational details assumed by an outside expert. The main focus of this report will be around the outsourcing of its call centre for the technical support. Why Outsource The reasons why Dell chose to outsource its technical support are as follows: Non core function The main reason for its choosing to outsource this aspect of its operations is that Dell saw the technical support operation as not part of its core competence. A core competence provides a competitive advantage through being competitively unique and making a contribution to customer value or cost (Prahalad Hamel, 1990). Long Vickers-Koch (1995) expand the idea of core competences to core capabilities. They distinguish these two by noting that competencies relate to the skills, knowledge, and technological know-how that give a special advantage at specific points of the value chain, which, in combination with the strategic processes that link the chain together, form core capabilities, (p. 12). Dell clearly identified techincal support or the call centre as a non core part of its operations. They saw themselves as clearly being a computer manufacturer who sold customised computers to the users directly and chose to concentrate on this aspect of its business which turned out to be a mistake, we will look at why this was the case in the later part of this report. Gain Access to World-Class Capabilities By the very nature of their specialization, outsourcing providers bring extensive world-class resources to meeting the needs of their customers. Dell wanted to fully utilise this specialization that many of the outsourcing vendors had to offer. Partnering with an organization with world-class capabilities would offer access to new technology, tools and techniques that the Dell may not have possessed more structured methodologies, procedures and documentation; and a competitive advantage through expanded skills. Cost Saving Cost implications are critical factor for any company when it chooses to outsource and Dell being no different. The single most important tactical reason for outsourcing is to reduce or control operating costs. Access to an outside providers lower cost structure is one of the most compelling benefits of outsourcing. The overall operating cost of the tech support would be significantly lower if the project was off shored to a more cost efficient location. Although cost benefits would not be realised in the immediate future but over the long run it promised huge cost savings. Accelerate Reengineering Benefits Outsourcing is often a by-product of another powerful management tool; business process reengineering. It allows an organization to immediately realize the anticipated benefits of reengineering by having an outside organization one that is already reengineered to world-class standards process. Dell wanted to utilise the reengineered business process of the vendor to the fullest. Share Risks There are tremendous risks associated with the investments an organization makes in information technology like a call centre. Dell believed that by outsourcing they would become more flexible, more dynamic and adaptable to meet changing opportunities. This would reduce the risk both financially and strategically in the long term. Redirect Resources to more Strategic Activities Every organization has limits on the resources available to it. Outsourcing permits the redirection of resources from non-core activities toward activities that provide a greater return in serving the customer. Dell clearly saw tech support as its non- core activity and hence thought of outsourcing as a way to redirect its resources and attention to its core business activities like manufacturing and direct sales. The Stream Story After having decided to outsource the tech support and after careful vendor evaluation the eventual order for the outsourcing deal was struck with Stream Global Services. Stream was a business process outsource (BPO) provider specializing in customer relationship management services including sales, customer care and technical support services. Tech support for the entire North America was shifted to Stream located in Mumbai, India. The contract signed was relatively short term which needed evaluation in 4 years. Although, the initial few years of the contract was a success and the company started reaping benefits from sales and profit generation. In 2007 the sales growth started to take a downward turn. Dell started to lose its market share and HP had taken over the market as the premier brand. (Refer Appendix). While there were several factors in the downturn of the companys fortunes, the outsourcing deal with Dell was also said to be a reason. After four years into the deal and wh en the time for evaluation and re contracting came along Dell decided not continue its relationship with Stream and the outsourcing deal went bust. There were several reasons for the failure of this particular deal. What went wrong Quality of Service One of the main reasons for unsuccessful deal was that the quality of service that Stream was offering gradually went down. As with any outsourcing deal the vendor tends to provide high quality service to begin with but over a period of time this quality tends to drop due to several reasons. The average time per call went up, there was more waiting time etc. Dell started to receive a lot of complaints from unsatisfied customers, which was bad for the image of the company. Their competitors started offering better after sales services and Dell started to develop this reputation of having bad customer service. This resulted in sales dropping and Dell loosing market share. Loss of Control The main business strategy of Dell was that it sold computers directly to customers. It is paramount for Dell to know the needs of its customers. After having outsourced its tech support they started to lose control over this aspect. The market and customer demands are constantly changing and its critical for Dell to always be in close conjunction with these changes. Customer feedback is a medium through which they can keep track of the changing needs, but because tech support was outsourced they realised they did not have the control over feedback like they wanted. Viability of Service Provider Dell realised that Stream were not offering the services that was agreed upon. But due to flaws in the contract it was very difficult for them to make any headway into this matter. They realised that Stream did not have the technical proficiency that they had claimed to have had, thus resulting in lower service levels. Relative Size of Customer As the sales of the company grew there were greater customers needing technical assistance. This meant that there was a huge influx of customers for Stream which they did not have the capacity to handle at that time. This resulted in service levels dropping and quality going down. The Issue of Trust Intellectual property became a key issue as well. Stream at the same time were providing services to other computer manufacturers and IT companies which were if not direct but in direct competition with Dell. Hence, confidentiality became an issue with this relationship. Lack of Expertise Dell realised that Stream lacked the technical expertise that they expected. This was but natural as Dell was the experts in designing and manufacturing the computers and they had the technical knowhow of the product. Even with extensive training Stream could not fully gain the technical expertise possessed by Dell. Hidden and Uncertain Costs As in any outsourcing deal the uncertain costs and the hidden cost are always the main reason why any deal is called off. The outsourcer in this case Dell realised that there was a lot hidden costs that was involved in the deal and thus the overall cost benefits they had expected would not be realised. Tip of the Iceberg The final nail in the coffin of the deal came when the time for re-contracting had come along. As in many of the outsourcing cases the bargaining power of the vendor increases as the years go by. Stream had the knowledge that it had the upper hand when it came down to the bargaining power and demanded more money. Dell realised this and decided to bail out of the contract extension. It was a bold decision on the part of Dell because in-sourcing or back sourcing always is a tough task for any company as knowledge transfers becomes a critical issue. Never the less the decision to bring back its technical support in-house was made. After a couple of years Dell again outsourced its tech support but after having the experience of a failed deal they were more careful with this deal. Conclusion Recommendation The first and the foremost function of any company when deciding to outsource should be to evaluate its core competence. As mentioned above core competence gives a competitive edge over the competition. Clearly the technical support for Dell computers is a core function. The main reason for this being that as we saw that the sales started to drop and one of the reasons being the poor quality of customer service. After sales service is an order winner for most computer manufacturers as most of the customer choose to buy a certain brand based on the after sales support that they offer. Based on this analysis the following recommendations can be given. All recommendations given analysis its benefits and its limitations. 1 . Offshore not out-source : Dell should look to offshore the tech support part of its operations rather than outsource. This means that they should retain control of the operation but try and move it offshore for a cheaper alternative. India, Philippines etc are cheaper alternatives that should be considered for future operations. Benefits: They will retain much more control of the operations thus retaining the tacit knowledge and be in close contact with its customers. They will retain their core competence and will not end up losing their competitive edge. Limitations: Initial capital for this is very large. Another limitation is that as in the case with outsourcing the overall cost of operations is not significantly low .This is because with a outsourcing vendor the cost can be reduced by means of economies of scale. Dell will not have this luxury and hence the cost as compared to outsourcing will be relatively high. 2. Confidentiality Agreements: In order to safeguard the intellectual property of the company, some sort of confidentiality agreement needs to be made between Dell and the vendor. Benefits: The core competence of the company will not be shared with its rivals and Dell will not lose its competitive edge. Limitations : It is very difficult to negotiate such kind of contracts with any vendor and such agreement and at times do not hold much value in certain situations and countries. 3. Quality over price: When evaluating a vendor quality and not price should be the foremost criteria. The capacity of the vendor to offer a certain kind of service should be looked upon first. Most outsourcing deals are looked at from a cost point of view and quality gets overlooked. Benefits : Improved quality standards. The vendor will have means to cope with the change in customer quantity and demand. There will be less unsatisfied customers thus enhancing the reputations of the company which is diminishing quickly for its poor customer service. Limitations: Price goes up. Quality always comes at a price and better quality means paying more for such services. These vendors will not be able to meet the price standards of the cheaper vendor which will very often be the case. 4. Short term contracts : Dell should look at signing short term deals with the outsourcing vendors. Ideally the length of the contract should be 2 -3 years after which it should be evaluated. Benefits: Gives Dell more flexibility and opportunity to evaluate the situation of the deal. If Dell feels that the service levels are not up to the mark then it will give them an opportunity to re negotiate. It will put the bargaining power in the hands of Dell. Limitations: The problem with negotiating short term contracts with vendors is that quite often they try and increase their price as they are not guaranteed return on their investment. So they try and increase their profit margins so that they can compensate it for the short length of the contract. References Christensen, Clayton M. (2001), The Past and Future of Competitive Advantage, Sloan Management Review, 42 (Winter), 105-109.   J. Barthelemy, The seven deadly sins of outsourcing,  Academy of Management Executive  17  (2003) (2), pp. 87-97. Magretta J. 1998. The power of virtual integration: an interview with Dell Computers Michael Dell. Har-vard Business Review 76(2): 72-84. Long, C., Vickers-Koch, M. (1995), Using core capabilities to create competitive advantage,  Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 24 No.1, pp.6-20. Prahalad, C. K., G. Hamel. 1990. The core competence of the organization. Harvard Business Review. May-June. Quinn, J. 2000. Outsourcing innovation: The new en-gine of growth. Sloan Management Review, 41(4): 13-29. Quinn, J. Strategic Outsourcing: Leveraging Knowledge Capabilities, Sloan Management Review (40:4), 1999, pp. 9-21.s Willcocks L. Fitzgerald G., Feeny D., (1995). Outsourcing IT: The Strategic Implications, Long Range Planning, 28, 5.

Woodstock 1969 Essay -- essays research papers

The Woodstock of 1969 was a revolution in itself and responsible for redefining the point of view, respect, and attitude of the so-called "counter-cultured" youth of the late sixties. The attendants of the festival were youths from around the United States in ages ranging from 17 to 26. The overall mood of the festival was very relaxed and happy. Although there was a minimal amount of violence at Woodstock, there were financial problems, drugs, nudity, and traffic jams that seemed to go for miles down the old country roads surrounding Max Yasgur's dairy farm. Woodstock was a symbol of the rebellious society of the time. The youths that went were looking to vent out frustrations that their parents had forced upon them. For most youths, the "3 Days of Peace, Love, and Music" seemed to be just the place to balance their thoughts, relax with friends, and meet new people that hated their parents as much as they did. Two-hundred thousand people were expected to show for the Woodstock festival, and instead an overwhelming "400,000 youngsters turned up to hear big- name bands play in a field near the village of Bethel, New York state in what has become the largest rock concert of the decade". The attendents and the mood of the Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York was that of the counter-cultered young society of the late sixties. Max Yasgur's farm was transformed from a beautiful lush, green dairy farm field into a 400,000- person mudpit. Throughout the days of the festival, the attendants were "undaunted by rain, mud, wet clothes and chilly mountain breezes, thousands of youths sat on a rural hillside here for a marathon 19-hour session of folk-rock music". Drugs had also become increasingly more popular in the sixties, and Woodstock was no exception to the latest trend. Drugs were readily available and generously passed around through the crowds of youths all over the hillside. But the drugs weren't the reason that people generally attended the Woodstock festival. Most would agree with a man interviewed five miles away from his vehicle walking towards the festival in saying that " But it's more than that. I'm here for the same reason that Indians used to have tribal gatherings. Just being here with people like me makes it all worthwhile... ...ting with a lot of room, grass, trees, lakes. It was going to be a youth cultural exposition and that is where the culture of this generation expresses itself more naturally". Woodstock '69 has remained the icon of the sixties. After a "mind-blowing rendition of the national anthem, the hillside was cleared for the first time in nearly four days of the hordes of youths who came here for three days of music, companionship, and, in many cases, drugs". "Mr. Yasgur is gone, as is the farm. The meadow is green again, and very peaceful. Someone has built a small monument...commemorating the event, listing performers and dates". Today there are still people who believe in the philosophy of peace, love, and hapiness. They still have the hope that one day the government will "take the backseat" to an overcrowded music festival. A policeman after the music festival said what only can be imagined now-a-days, that those kids "have proven something to the world... that half a million kids can get together for fun and music and have nothing but fun and music."

The Theme of Colonialism in Shakespeares Tempest Essay -- colonizatio

The Tempest, by Shakespeare, offers the reader a variety of themes. The one theme that stands out the most is that of colonialism. During the time of Shakespeare, many European countries such as Spain, France, and England, were expanding their borders by taking over less developed countries, referred to as colonies. During this time of exploitation, there was skepticism concerning the possible success of the colonies. While some scholars believe that the play is about the Americas, I argue that the play reflects on colonialism in general and how it is destined for failure which is shown through the character’s relationships throughout the play. During the 1600’s the English decided to have people colonize in the Americas for the potential resources and wealth that they may find. During this time Spain, France, Portugal, and the Dutch have already began trade and exploration in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. England hearing of their riches, didn’t want to miss out of the opportunity. However, during these expeditions, there has been various news beforehand of the strong oceanic storms that would sometimes destroy ships or mislead them from their destinations Such news was not uncommon but due to the storms, many of the people knew the dangers of the journey and would often doubt the success of these explorations. For example, â€Å" In may 1609, nine ships carrying 500 colonists under Sir Thomas Gates and Sir George Summers had set sail to America to reinforce the colony at Jamestown. In an unusual storm, Gates and Summers were driven on the Bermudas, before managing to sail to the mainland† (Honan 371 ). News such as this was widespread throughout England and amongst these would be news of the encounters with natives. For example, â€Å"... ... such as slavery and exploitation of nature, and also gives us insight to the speculations that were common in the time of explorations and discovery. Works Cited Cesaire, Aime, Richard Miller and William Shakespeare. A Tempest: Based on Shakespeare‘s The Tempest, Adaptation for a Black Theatre. New York: TCG Translations, 2002. Print Shakespeare, William, Virginia Mason, Vaughan, and Alden T. Vaughan. The Tempest. Arden Shakespeare, 1997. Print. Third Series Smith, Hallet Darius. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest; A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969. Print. Honan, Park. Shakespeare: A Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print. Marshall, Tristan. â€Å"The Tempest and the British Imperium in 1611.† The Historical Journal 41.2 (2003): 375-400. Print.

Amazon.com †a case study Essay

Amazon’s Mission â€Å"Our vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.† Amazon.com’s quest to become earth’s most customer centric company is largely driven by its use of technology. In fact, its continuous innovations are all driven by huge investments in information systems (Laudon and Laudon 2005). Information systems not only support their mission, but in fact drive their business strategy. In this paper , Amazon’s use of information at each stage of Porter’s value chain will be considered. Their innovative and forward looking use of information systems to generate competitive advantage will be analysed in the context of Porter’s five forces and we will also have a look at how they have formed Amazon have formed strategic alliances to overcome certain competitive forces. Future plans to sustain competitive edge will be examined; Amazon not only continue to use technology to improve their customer centric operations, but are now in fact opening up this technology and providing technical and logistics solutions to other firms. The Value Chain The concept of ‘Value Chain Anaylsis’ is described at length by Michael Porter (1985). He notes that every firm is a collection of activities that  are performed to design, produce, market, deliver and support its products or services. He identifies specific, critical-leverage points where a firm can use information technology most effectively to enhance it’s competitive position (Laudon and Laudon , 2005). In his value chain model, ‘Primary Activities’ such as inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, sales and marketing and service, are seen as basic activities that add a margin of value to a firm’s products and service. Since Amazon’s inception in 1995, they have used information technology to manage each stage of the value chain. Inbound logistics – including receiving, storing, inventory control – are managed by sophisticated technology such Transportation Optimization and Management Systems (TOMS). They, us e a set of applications for accepting and validating customer orders, placing and tracking orders with suppliers and managing and assigning inventory to customer orders. In fact in 2007, Amazon’s systems have become so efficient in managing inventory that they generally collect from customers before their payments to suppliers come due (SEC1 2007). Amazon’s marketing strategy is designed to increase customer traffic to their websites, drive awareness of products and services, promote repeat purchases, develop incremental product and service revenue opportunities, and strengthen and broaden the Amazon.com brand name. (Amazon Annual Report 2007). Technology, again, is the conduit for their marketing strategy. Amazon were the first to deliver personalized Web pages and services. For instance, their technology keeps track of user preferences for books and CD purchases etc, and can recommend titles purchased by other customers. Their advertising consists primarily of online advertising, including through their Associates program –Amazon.com’s affiliate marketing program, where web developers, by linking to Amazon products and services to their sites, can receive up to 10% in referral fees, – sponsored search, portal advertising, e-mail campaigns, and other initiatives. Customer service is another key area where technology adds value to Amazon’s offer. From the outset, in line with their customer-centred mission, Amazon  tried to provide superior customer service through email and telephone customer support, online tracking and shipping information, and the ability to pay for purchases with a single click of the mouse using credit card and personal information provided during a previous purchase. This was called â€Å"1-click† express shopping, and was considered so attractive that Barnes and Noble, Amazon’s direct competitor in the online book retailing markets attempted to ape it with its â€Å"Express Lane† system (McAfee 2005). Amazon later obtained an injunction on Barnes and Noble and sparked a huge debate around the question of which software, and even business processes can or cannot, be patented. (http://www.oreilly.com/news/patent_archive.html) The Extended Value Chain in e-Business In their book, Strategic Planning for Information Systems, Ward, J and Peppard, J (2002), discuss how the value chain information flow is now being challenged by e-Business They refer to Rayport, J.F and Sviokla (1995), who have identified two crucial new areas in this information flow, namely ‘promotional’ information flow and ‘intelligence gathering’ information flow. These two areas seems to be paramount in Amazon’s value chain management.. According to Ward and Peppard, the implications of the promotional flow of information which informs customers further down the chain of the products and services available have to be understood. David Chaffey (2007) speaks of Amazon’s automated email measurement and optimization system. As users of Amazon will know, once we’ve bought something on Amazon, we are regularly sent emails with information on books or product recommendations. In order for this promotional system not to descend into what one might call Spam, and for it to remain relevant and customer centred, Amazon have put IS systems into place to control this activity. A new system: automatically optimizes content to improve customer experience; avoids sending an e-mail campaign that has low clickthrough or high unsubscribe rate; includes inbox management (avoid sending multiple emails/week); has growing library of automated email programs covering new  releases and recommendations. In this way, Amazon add value to the promotional flow of information through their value chain, and intelligently use and disseminate the information provided to them by their technology. Ward and Peppard conclude that E-business offers huge potential to gather information and intelligence about consumer and customer preference and attitudes online, rather than through traditional market research. When customers shop on Amazon, their choices are stored in the information systems which can then use this intelligence to forecast future demands. Industry Value Chain – Supply Chain Management The Value Chain of the business unit is only one part of a larger set of value-adding activities in an industry – the â€Å"Industry Value Chain† (Ward & Peppard 2003). A firm’s value chain is linked to the value chains of its suppliers, distributors and customers, and each of these players can add, or indeed take away from advantage which has been earned along the way. (Laudon & Laudon 2006). Amazon has one of the most-sophisticated supply chain systems in the world. Proprietary applications handle nearly every aspect of its supply chain: warehouse management, transportation management, inbound and outbound shipping, demand forecasts, inventory planning, and more. (Information Week) Amazon’s supply chain is so tightly integrated that when an online customer buys a book, for example, the order-management system communicates with inventory- and warehouse-management systems to find the optimal distribution centre or centres for fulfilling the order. The customer knows in less than a minute how long it will take to ship the items and whether they will come in one package or separately. Effective supply chain management, has been identified in a survey by The Economist, as being an essential contribution to gaining competitive advantage. It says that all market leaders have supply chains that are more responsive to customer demand. And effectively managing the informati on flow throughout the supply chain is key to gaining competitive advantage. Porter’s Five Forces As we have seen, competitive advantage can be gained through effective use of information systems at each stage of the internal and the external value chain. The other value creation dimension, as defined by Porter is the â€Å"Market/Industry Attractiveness†. He has identified five forces affecting the latter, namely, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of customers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products and competitive rivalry within an industry. E-commerce and the internet provide customers with the ability to search the whole chain for information directly or via intermediaries (Ward and Peppard 2003). The internet provides consumers with near perfect product and price visibility. Customers are free to use any internet portal they choose to search for goods, and can use price comparison portals such as www.kelkoo.com to compare prices between suppliers. Changing suppliers will cost the buyer nothing – switching costs are l ow – and alternative suppliers are plentiful. Consequently, Amazon are forced to keep their prices down and accept lower margins. In the context of Porter’s five forces, the facility for customers in changing suppliers can be classified as high customer bargaining power. Mr Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, saw this threat coming and prepared for it – in 2000 he invited other retailers to sell their goods on his website (The Economist). No traditional seller had ever done this before – to allow others to sell second-hand books on their own door step, was indeed a revolutionary move by Mr Bezos, and many people, even some within the company, thought this would cannibalise Amazon’s own sales. Yet it eventually helped to lift overall sales. Amazon says sales of third-party items, from which it takes a commission, have increased from 6% of all items sold in 2000 to 28% in 2005. Over that time, the company says its own retail revenues were up three-fold (BusinessWeek). Bezos claims that by keeping custome rs on the Amazon site buying other retailers products, Amazon’s direct revenues also increased. This is because with the help of some sophisticated technology driven marketing techniques, customers having already chosen something from Amazon’s partners, are at the same time tempted by Amazon’s own offerings. Today, hundreds of thousands of retail brands and individual sellers reach new customers by leveraging the power of the Amazon.com e-commerce platform. In 2006 Amazon went further with this concept and launched their â€Å"Fulfilment† program, which allows businesses to  use Amazon’s own order fulfilment and post-order customer service infrastructure, and enables Amazon.com customers to receive the benefit of Amazon.com shipping offers when buying from third-party sellers. In this way Amazon, seem to be effectively combating a number of competitive forces, including the threat of substitute products and the threat of new entrants to the market. Due to the low cost for new-entrants to e-Commerce – it requires relatively little capital investment to set up an e-Business- the threat of competing websites is omni-present for Amazon. Amazon’s challengers come from two directions. First, other online retailers are growing rapidly. As people become more accustomed to shopping on the internet, they are ordering a greater variety of goods and services from a wider range of websites. From auctioning people’s second-hand goods, eBay now also hosts fixed-priced virtual shops offering new goods for sale. (The Economist). Google, for one, has replaced retail sites such as Amazon as the place where many people start their shopping. And more personalized and social upstarts such as News Corp.’s, MySpace and YouTube, which Google has bought, have become the prime places for many people to gather online – and eventually shop. Microsoft’s taking of a 5% stake in Facebook, the online networking website, last Friday, which now values the two year old networking website at a whopping 15b$ -, could also be perceived as a potential threat to Amazon. People may choose to start their shopping from their social networking sites, rather than from the mor e traditional retail or portal site. Says consultant Andreas Weigend, Amazon’s chief scientist until 2004: â€Å"The world has shifted from e-business to me-business.† (Businessweek and The Economist). Secondly, traditional retailers are rapidly moving part of their trading online. This pits Amazon against giant retailers with huge purchasing power, like America’s Wal-Mart and Britain’s Tesco. These â€Å"multichannel† retailers make a virtue of their ability to offer both â€Å"bricks and clicks†. Many provide online customers with the option of picking up goods from the shop down the road. This is proving popular with web buyers who want things immediately or are keen to avoid shipping costs and staying in to accept a delivery. Amazon may be attempting to fight off this threat with their AmazonPrime program, which allows customers unlimited shipping for $79 per year. As we have seen, the relatively low costs of setting up business on the Internet, means that the  threat of substitute product/ services and the threat of new entrants also become more apparent. Internet technology is based on universal standards that any company can use, making it easy for rivals to compete on price alone and for new competitors to enter the market (Laudon and Laudon 2006). Clarke (2001) says that consequently, if we are competing in an industry where all our competitors have access to the same technology, it follows that competitive advantage comes from the use of information, as opposed to technology, and sustainability of advantage lies in an organisation always being better at this than its competition. Amazon would appear to be doing a fairly good job in keeping up – for instance with the technology enables personalization of the customer – but as Jeff Bezos reiterated in the reprinting of his 1997 letter to shareholders for the Amazon 2006 Annu al Report, â€Å"It’s all about the long-term†. Sustainability of Competitive Advantage – The Future for Amazon In the long-term, Amazon are aiming to re-invent themselves. An article in the Economist claims the e-commerce giant wants to be more than just a retailer. Having established the internet as somewhere to buy things, Amazon is again spending heavily on development in anticipation of consumers wanting to download music, video and books instead of having them delivered in the post. In September, the company introduced the Amazon MP3 digital music store to sell tracks without the anti-piracy technology known as digital rights management, or DMR. The music companies EMI and Universal are participating in Amazon’s store, making the service a significant competitor to Apple’s iTunes service. Unless the Amazon, the pioneer of online retailing can provide downloadable media it risks being â€Å"disintermediated†2 —just as only a decade ago high-street bookshops, music and video stores were disintermediated by Amazon itself. Amazon, in fact have a history of strateg ic alliances with various firms – Borders and SmugMug, to mention just a few. A strategic alliance is a partnership of two of more corporations or business units to achieve strategically significant objectives that are mutually beneficial, Wheelan and Hunger (2005). These alliances have allowed Amazon to use their established technological lead in the e-Commerce platform to generate revenues as well as their other strategic objectives. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is another example of a  strategic move to maintain advantage. With AWS, Amazon say they are building a new business focused on a new customer set †¦ software developers. They currently offer ten different web services and have built a community of over 240,000 registered developers. In order to cope with the Christmas rush, Amazon has far more computing capacity than it needs for most of the year. As much as 90% of it is idle at times. Renting out pieces of that network to other businesses, such as SmugMug, an online photo site that uses the S33 service, is a way to get extra return on Amazonâ⠂¬â„¢s $2 billion investment in technology (The Economist). Conclusion In this paper, a number of ways in which Amazon add value to their internal and external value chain have been identified. We have looked at how they optimize their utilisation of information in forging closer relations with their customers; operate a lean supply-chain management strategy and fight off numerous threats posed by competing in the e-Business environment with strategies such as offering new services to smaller retailers, digital downloads, and opening up their technologies to developers. However in a fast moving global economy, no future is certain. Amazon are conscious of the threats posed by failed alliances (Border’s will pull out of their agreement to use Amazon’s e-commerce platform in 2008, www.bloomberg.com) and the constant threat posed by Google, even Facebook and other technology driven Web2.0 companies. Jeff Bezos will be hoping to overcome these threats by, as he says, by â€Å"opening up the guts of his organisation† to developers (Busin essWeek). Information systems are at the core of Amazon’s business, and going forward, as Jeff Bezos said in his 2007 SEC filing, their biggest challenge â€Å"will be to continue to build and deploy innovative and efficient software that will best take advantage of continued advances in technology†. Amazon have made massive investments in technology – $186 million in the last quarter alone – (The Economist), and with 2007 3rd quarter sales up 41% and a quadrupling of profit, it looks like these technology investments may finally be paying off! References â€Å"Amazon.com – Click to download†, The Economist, Aug 17th 2006 Amzn Investor Relations http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-irhome&c=97664 Accessed 28th October 2007 â€Å"Borders to Introduce New Internet Site in Early 2008 (Update3)† www.bloomberg.com Accessed on 28th October 2007 Clarke, Stephen (2001) Information Systems Strategic Management –an integrated approach, Routledge, London David Chaffey: â€Å"Amazon Case Study 9.1 Learning From Amazon’s Culture of Metrics† www.davidchaffey.com Accessed on 13th October 2007. â€Å"Friend Accepted†, The Economist, Friday 26th October 2007 â€Å"From scratch: Amazon keeps supply chain close to home†, Beth Bacheldor, InformationWeek, March 5, 2004 â€Å"Jeff Bezos’ Risky Bet† Business Week, Cover story, November 13, 2006 www.businessweek.com â€Å"Jeff Bezos’ Risky Bet† www.businessweek.com November 13, 2006. Accessed 27th October 2007 â€Å"Lifting the bonnet† The Economist Oct 5th 2006 Porter, Michael E. (1985) Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance pg 33 The Free Press Laudon, J and Laudon K (2006), Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (10th Edition) Prentice Hall R. Preston McAfee (2005) Competitive Solutions: The Strategist’s Toolkit, Princeton University Press Rayport, J.F and Sviokla (1995) ‘Exploiting the virtual value chain’, Harvard Business Review, November – December, 1995 SEC (2007) United States Securities And Exchange Commission submission Form 10-K from Amazon. For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007 Ward, J and Peppard, J (2002) Strategic Planning for Information Systems, 3rd Edition John Wiley & Sons, Bedfordshire. Wheelen, T and Hunger J, (2004) Strategic Management and Business Policy, 9th Edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Jessica and Shylock Essay

1) What forms the foundation of the relationship between the two characters your group has been assigned? (Think about the ties they have with one another, how are they drawn to one another etc.) There is familial love between Jessica and Shylock but Jessica is unfilial. The quote ‘To be ashamed to be my father’s child’ (2.3.16) shows that Jessica detests her father to the extent of being ashamed to be related to him. However, Solanio heard Shylock shout in the streets ‘ My daughter’(2.8.15) after he found out that Jessica left him with a Christian. This shows that Shylock cared about his daughter and loved his daughter so much that he was so overwhelmed with grief when she left that he shouted out loud in the public regardless of his image and reputation in the town. Thus, there is a one-sided love from Shylock to Jessica, Jessica does not appreciate Shylock’s love by being ashamed of him as well as running away from him which also shows that she is unfilial towards her father. 2) Does Shylock love his daughter? Explore how he appears to transform from a mere grumbling man to a malicious Jew. Is it purely out of spite towards Antonio? Jessica’s selfishness caused Shylock to be a malicious Jew. Jessica disregards her father’s feelings towards her elopement. She only thought about escaping her controlling father and her ‘house is hell’ with Lorenzo, gaining the freedom that she wanted. This implies that Jessica is selfish, she ignored the possible outcomes and consequences of her actions and carried on with her selfish plan to elope with Lorenzo, a Christian, when she could think about alternative methods to change her father and his hate for Christians. Moreover, Jessica shows complete disregard for her father by saying ‘ I have a father, you a daughter lost’(2.5.16) as she did not spare a thought about the disappointment her father will feel and the loneliness he would have to face without his wife and daughter by his side. Therefore, Jessica’s selfishness caused Shylock to be a malicious Jew by escaping with a Christian and arousing Shylock’s anger and hate to wards the Christians resulting him to want to get revenge against the Christians for causing him to lose his only daughter. 3) How has this relationship changed/progressed/deteriorated throughout the play. Jessica and Shylock shared a rocky father daughter relationship. Before Jessica eloped with Lorenzo, Shylock showed Jessica care by being a controlling father who applied rigid rules from the Jewish religion in their family, this is shown by the way Shylock treats Jessica. From the quote ‘Do as I bid you. Shut doors after you’(2.5.51) it shows how controlling Shylock is to his daughter, Shylock not only wants to lock up his daughter to the world he also doesn’t want Jessica to experience Venetian society, and Jessica shows her resentment towards her father when she said ‘ I am daughter to his blood but not to his manners’ (2.3.17). Furthermore, after Jessica left, Shylock had began to hate her daughter for leaving him with a Christian and stealing his money, ‘Justice,find the girl’(2.8.21) and ‘I would my daughter were dead at my foot’(3.1.75) shows that he wants his daughter to be caught and to be reported to the police or b etter yet dead so that his riches that were stolen could be returned to him , but, regardless of what happened he still acknowledge Jessica as his daughter and cared for her marriage when he said ‘I have a daughter’(4.1.292) and ‘ any of the stock Barabbas had been her husband rather than a Christian’ this implies that he wanted his daughter to marry a man whom he thinks is good not someone like a Christian who looks down on Jews which shows that he cared for her. Therefore, the relationship between Shylock and Jessica was a rocky one, Shylock’s feelings towards Jessica changes throughout the play, when he was feeling lonely or thinking about his daughter he showed his concern for her but when he was thinking about his ducats and his wealth that was stolen by his daughter he shows disappointment as well as his resentment towards his daughter and Christians. 4) Timeline 2.3: Jessica passes the letter which she wrote to Launcelot asking him to pass it to Lorenzo. 2.5: Shylock tells Jessica that he would be going to supper with some of the Christians and ordered her to lock up the doors as he does not want her to go out. Shylock nearly found out Jessica’s plans to elope when Launcelot gave her the instructions from Lorenzo. 2.6: Jessica elopes with Lorenzo, stealing her father’s money and jewels. 3.1: Shylock hears about Jessica wasting his money and also about her selling his precious ring that his wife gave him before they were married. 4.1: Shylock was upset as he felt that his daughter was stolen from him by a Christian and that she could have married a better Jewish husband. 4.1: Shylock converted to Christianity and agreed to leave his wealth to his daughter and her husband.

J&K Outfitters Ltd. Essay

The organization I am going to talk about is J&K Outfitters Ltd. I will be explaining the advantages and the disadvantages of using ratio analyse within the business, by the help of using the ratio analyse it will show the financial performance of the business as it can help the investors to gain the inside health of the company. Each ratio within the business plays a different prospective e.g. The stock turnover ratio shows you how quickly a company sells and replaces the stocks which are the goods and materials that a business holds for the purpose of resale. The advantage of using this stock turnover ratio will help the investors to make a decision on rather to invest in this business or no because it will show the health of the company. The other type of ratio I am going to talk about is the current ratio which provides the business amount of assets compared to its liabilities which shows the business ability to pay its debts. With the help of this ratio the investors get the idea of will they get their money back if they will invest in that business. On the other side ratio fails to address the potential of the company as they only offer inside to the business present situation as it won’t give the future prediction of the business. For example, if the company is about to merge and acquire large amount of capital the ratio will not reveal these new changes therefore ratios cannot be the only measurements investors use to assess companies value, because this numbers do not reveal other key information such as industry changes and economy forces. Another disadvantage I am going to talk about of using ratio is that some ratio might indicate the company is performing well while other indicates financial issues therefore investors need to assess multiple ratios to get the picture of the business stability which can help them to come to a conclusion rather to invest or not within that business. Ratios are beneficial to some parties however not to the other, such as a bank might not consider giving a help or interest to the companies’ book to market ratio however, the financial investors will evaluate its level of depth ratio to see if the company is worth of a loan.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Since it's first introduction in the year 1983, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has very rapidly become a fundamental tool for improving the health and human life. PCR was developed by Dr. Kary Mullis, who was at the time working for Cetus Corporation as a chemist. PCR is the quick and efficient method for making unlimited copies of each and every inch of DNA. It can also be adapted to allow amplification of RNA samples as well as DNA samples from any type of organism. PCR is simplified into a 3-step process, which is repeated for 30-40 cycles. The procedure begins with the first step called denaturation. In the phase of denaturation, the structure of the DNA is altered. The double-stranded DNA melts and exposes into two pieces of single-stranded DNA at approximately 94 degrees Celsius. Transitioning into the second step called annealing or in other words, pairing up together. At a temperature of 54 degrees Celsius, the primers cool down and join to the single-stranded DNA or â€Å"template†. The double-stranded DNA then attaches to the polymerase and starts to shoot out copies. Finally during the last stage of the PCR process known as elongation or extension, the polymerase works it's magic. At 72 degrees Celsius the DNA building blocks are paired up with the DNA primers, to create a double-stranded DNA molecule. After all the processes are completed in one cycle round, a single portion of double-stranded DNA is finally enlarged into two separate pieces of double-stranded DNA. However, as the cycles repeat themselves, more and more clones are generated and the number of DNA copies are intensified exponentially. The procedure of doing a PCR is more vital than we may fathom. It has been found to cure and diagnose genetic diseases, locate bacteria and viruses, DNA fingerprinting, study paternity, biological relationships, and human evolution. All in all, PCR has become widely known to biologists, DNA labs, and many other forensics laboratories. PCR is also one of the quickest testing methods to many diseases, for example The Human Immunodeficiency Virus, commonly known as HIV. HIV is a very difficult disease to find and eradicate. The earlier tests depended on the presence of antibodies in the human bloodstream. When performing the antibody test, there may be no results until weeks after exposure to the virus. Nevertheless, when performing a PCR test results appear much faster, and as little as one genome among 50,000 host cells can be easily detected. PCR can efficiently detect the forensics of HIV, rather than the antibodies contained in the blood. The same goes for Tuberculosis, which are also complicated in sampling from patients, PCR tests speed up the results so that precautions may be taken as soon as possible. PCR testing is one of the many ways that can assist in detecting several diseases, and yet PCR is very vital to the human life.