Business Policy

Produce a high quality products * Diversity and variety in products offered * Large market share (16% of global footwear market) * Major sponsor for a number of global sporting events * Purchasing of Reebok * Adidas has a Global Presence with over 2400 stores worldwide in a variety of regions. These alone account for nearly â‚ ¬2. 8bil. * Famous sports stars advertising products – Adidas has a series of football superstars who wear and advertise their products, including David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Stephen Gerrard etc. Weaknesses High prices in some products * Online customer service not helpful or easy to find * Not utilizing Reebok * Stiff competition and similar big brands means customers have high brand switching * The products can sometimes be costly due to innovative technology or production method * E-commerce is limited to USA Opportunities * Entering the Asian market, China is the fastest growing economy in the world. * Entering the female market * Social trend and popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, allowing Adidas to interact directly and build relationships with potential and current customers. Sponsorship of global sports events which improves the company’s global brand. These include an 11 year sponsorship on the NBA, the 2012 GB Olympic Games and the continued sponsorship of the FIFA WC. * Tie-up with emerging sports teams/clubs/players internationally * Collaborate with other online retailers to offer Adidas products Threats * Nike competition. Nike has strong reputation in the footwear and apparel industry * Global economic downturn. * Increase in the Price of Raw materials * Competition from designers such as Hugo Boss and Lacoste. * fake imitations affect brand image

The Things They Carried and Raising Victor Vargas Essay

The Things They Carried and Raising Victor Vargas - Essay Example These factors affect how men and women interact with each other both at the start of and throughout romantic relationships. In the modern world, romantic relationships are vastly different from what they once were. Cultural changes have impacted young lovers just as they have impacted so many other facets of life. Cultural changes which began in the 1960s (Williams) have, over the last few decades, significantly altered the way we live and think. Western society has become increasingly sexually permissive; young people are constantly bombarded with sexual imagery in advertising, television, film, and other entertainment media. The traditional romantic relationship which begins with dating, followed by marriage, sex, and children has turned into something very different. In the modern world casual sex is increasingly common and acceptable; having a sexual relationship does not automatically lead to marriage-it is no longer safe to assume that a couple who have sex will marry or even enter into a relationship. Religion is an influential factor in determining whether or not individuals have sex with one or more partners before marrying; interestingly a religious upbringing is more likely to impact upon women than on men in terms of whether or not they are sexually active before marrying. In the film "Raising Victor Vargas" (Sollett), the family has come from a Catholic background. Victor's grandmother is very religious, but this has had little impact on Victor's personal life-his peer relationships are much more influential. Victor and best friend Harold have similar attitudes towards women. They both see sexual activity as a way of increasing their importance in the neighborhood and enhancing their reputations with their peers.In the very first scene, Victor is portrayed as a sexual person, attempting to seduce "Fat Donna"-he is licking his lips and flexing his muscles, using his body as a tool for seduction. Like most teens, however, Victor is less a Romeo than he is a boy taking his fir st unsure steps in the adult world of sexual relationships. He has also made a mistake in choosing his target-"Fat Donna" is considered unattractive, and his seduction attempts only earn him the ridicule of his peers. After this encounter, Victor is determined to repair his reputation by setting his sights on the neighborhood beauty, Judy. Judy appears to come from a religious background just as Victor does-she wears the same type of gold cross worn by Victor's grandmother and brother. Unlike Victor, she does not feel the need to enhance her reputation by becoming sexually active; she has an almost opposite view. She sees boys as "dogs", as something that she does not need, and is only irritated by the neighborhood boys who fall at her feet. Judy has resolved to pretend she already has a boyfriend, so that she will not be bothered by other boys. Victor and Judy clearly have very different perceptions of love, sex, and relationships. To Victor they are tools to increase his standing with his peers, whereas Judy has no use for them. "The Things they Carried" (O'Brien) takes place against the background of the Vietnam War-not only the new age of Woodstock, hippie culture, and sex, drugs, and rock & roll, but also a politically turbulent era. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, a young man of this era, has probably been influenced by these cultural changes. As a young

Business strategy report on Ford Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business strategy report on Ford Company - Essay Example Ford Motor Company is a reliable name in the industry since the year 1903. It has now become a global name and has significant shares in different parts of the world. As per Healey (2012), it has 172000 employees globally and 65 plants across the world. It serves 50 markets and employees 65000 employees in Europe. The firm has two main brands Lincoln and Ford and is divided into two departments namely the auto sector and the financial services sector. Under the former it manufactures service cars, trucks, SUVs and vehicle parts. However, as per Naughton and Webb (2012),over 28% of its sales come from the European market, which is suffering for the past five years due to economic downturns. This in turn has affected the firm and it has broken off from the European industry by announcing the shut down of 3 prominent plants in the European region. According to Ramsey (2012), the firm claims that it will be running an annual loss of $ 1.5 billion in Europe. According to Castonguay (2012) , though the closer of these plants will cause the elimination of 5700 jobs directly, it will save the firm $ 500 million. It will decrease the production capacity by 18% and thus cut costs also (European Commission 2012). As per Ford, the market is predicted to fall even more and it was the only feasible solution that they could come up with to curtail their costs and answer their investors. This is a bold step that the firm is planning to take as no other firm in the industry has done so as yet.... This is a bold step that the firm is planning to take as no other firm in the industry has done so as yet. However, Ford is sure that this will work for the firm as an identical model of reducing cost by cutting labour in an attempt to reduce the production capacities has worked in North America (European Commission 2012). The firm needs to take this step as a large part of its revenue depends on the European market. However, there is fierce opposition by the labour union as the firm had earlier committed to build a facility in Genk but instead is going to build one in Spain. The workers need to be compensated and the firm has to face the union before it can take this measure (Ford, 2012). 1.2.1 Purpose of Ford The mission statement of the firm is: People working together as a lean, global enterprise for automotive leadership, as measured by: Customer, Employee, Dealer, Investor, Supplier, Union/Council, and Community Satisfaction. (Ford Motor Company Mission Statement 2012) The firm also aims to restructure itself in an aggressive disposition with the aim to operate with profitability at the on going demand altering the product mix as per the needs of the market, at the same time, work as a single team with the focus on improving the balance sheet. However, currently the firm is not in line with its mission as it is operating below profit and has not been able to alter its product mix with the changing demand (4-traders, 2012). The firm’s focus is not profitability in Europe and has been pressed down by the socio political environment (Thorpe, Slade and Bender, 2009). 1.3 Pestle analysis 1.3.1 Political / legal environment The political and legal environment governing the auto industry in Europe is quite