The Economics of the Doll and Car Industry in the USA and in China Term Paper

The Economics of the Doll and Car Industry in the USA and in China - Term Paper Example Doll Production Doll production does not involve much heavy equipment to carry out its industrial production according to the movie. Considering the fact that doll making could be very convoluted and intricate at some point, it requires more labor force than machines since most machines do not have the capability to perform extremely complicated tasks with high levels of precision. Also, doll production takes in a lot of workers to work on the quality checking, dressing, molding phase, and assembling. Looking at the conditions, doll manufacturers have lower production as compared to other industries such as the car industry in that doll industry implements labor intensity rather than capital intensity. This is the reason why the doll industry employs several hundreds to thousands of workers to meet its production quota. It’s vivid from the movie that doll production goes through several phases. These phases includes, molding body parts, assembling of the body parts, varying doll colors, doll dressing, quality check and packaging. Most of the China dolls are manufactured by low fired ceramic. The doll heads are labeled easily lost stickers inside the heads. Certainly, each phase calls for a lot of workers to perform each type of operation. Consequently, the current doll production process entails not just lower production but also higher production cost as doll manufacturers have to remunerate a considerable number of workers. Car Production In car production employs capital intensity in the manufacture of the cars. Car manufacturers use a large part of its capital to purchase and install extremely heavy and costly machines and robots rather than workers to carry out its production. (Economy Watch, â€Å"Capital Intensive Industry†). One fine example is the recently constructed Honda assembly plant in Wuhan, Central China. This new Honda facility poses a capability to produce thousands of cars annually. As a matter of fact, as stated on the video, DFAC Honda has produced 164,200 units in 2008 alone; and this is still way short to the facility’s maximum production capacity of 240,000 cars. Honda also underwent a joint venture, which combined Guangzhou Honda and DFAC Honda. This merger has resulted into Honda being one of the top five selling car brands, 470,000 units sold annually, and two independent channels of sales. Also, 95% of this production was sold in China, and 70% of the auto parts were supplied locally. Honda’s high production can be attributed to its implementation of capital intensity. It uses heavy equipment and high-priced machines to work as substitute for the labor force. In general, car manufacturers prefer this strategy in their production because it entails high production but lesser production cost. In the video, Honda installs hundreds of robots and heavy machines to build cars. These robots and machines work simultaneously and coordinately for a faster and more precise assembly of cars. Capital-intensive industries such as Honda do not necessarily discount the importance of labor force. Car manufactures still employ labor force to perform very important functions in the installation of small auto parts and for checking the quality of the car; although, car production requires smaller number of workers. Labor Intensity Labor intensity involves a large number of employees or longer hours of work from its employees in order to meet certain production quota. The production cost can be measured by taking the proportion between the labor cost and the capital cost. In the case of doll production, a lot of human labor is implicated since. This is because it involves a lot of complicated tasks and high levels of precision in the making unlike the car industry whereby human labor is minimal. This makes the doll industry is labor intensive. Capital Intensity Capital intensity entails an investment of the capital to heavy and expensive machines to act as substitute for a

Transcultural Health Care - Cuban Culture Case Study

Transcultural Health Care - Cuban Culture - Case Study Example Below is the analysis of the case based on Cuban culture. Simpatia, personalism, and choteo are the communication patterns in Cuban culture that I should be aware of when dealing with Mrs Hernandes. Simpania, according to Purnell (2012, pp. 200), defines the need for a cordial relationship between parties and focuses on â€Å"courtesy, respect,† and conflict avoidance. Personalismo, however, establishes the supremacy of relationships over rules and positions while choteo defines a light attitude. The patterns are necessary because they define barriers to communication and interactions, and awareness and understanding of the patterns help in eliminating the barriers. I would apply two strategies in helping Mrs Hernandez to develop a plan a plan for diet and exercise. My first strategy would be to convince her of the significance of the plan to her health and I would use data from other patients’ experiences to show her how she would benefit from the plan. My next strategy would be equipping her with skills for developing the plan before demonstrating to her how to make a plan. I would inform her of the necessary components of the plan such as food quantity, amount of calorie per unit of each food, total amount of calorie per food in each meal, and total amounts of calorie for each meal and each day and type of exercise, duration for each type, and frequency of each type of exercise per week. I would not encourage Mrs Hernandez to go to Botanica for some herbs because even though some of the herbs have medicinal value, their contents are not accurate. This makes the herbs less effective and less efficient than are modern drugs, especially because botanica products are not strictly regulated (The World Health Organization, 2014, pp. 1). I would approach her desire to use herbs instead of the prescribed agent by empathizing with her condition and ensuring that she recognizes my experience.  Ã‚  

Controlling Noise Pollution Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Controlling Noise Pollution - Case Study Example However, the most common means of controlling noise is the nuisance law. Section 58 of CoPA74 as well as the Environmental Protection Act 1990 offer specific requirements, and if a developer creates a nuisance, the local authority is obliged to serve a notice requiring that the noise be abated. If, however, the developer feels the notice was wrongly served, an appeal can be entered. Sections 60 and 61 of CoPA74 give powers to the local authority to control noise and vibration from construction sites. The City of London presents on their website a Department of Environmental Services Code of Practice for Deconstruction and Construction Sites following CoPA74 and EPA 1990 guidelines (Code, 2004). This Code offers information and gives an overall view of what a company must do to follow these regulations in order to prevent a situation prejudicial to health or a nuisance. Normal work hours are 08:00 - 18:00 hours (Monday to Friday; 08:00 - 13:00 hours (Saturday) with certain noise sensitive areas 09:00 - 14:00 hours on Saturdays. No working is permitted on Sundays or Bank Holidays (6.0). Quiet working hours are periods when noisy site operations are not allowed. These hours are generally 10:00 - 12:00 (Monday to Friday) and 14:00 - 16:00 (Monday to Friday) in order to allow neighbours at least four quiet hours a day through duration of construction. Essentially, during these hours, there should be no noise audible at the boundary of the site (6.5, 6.6). Noise limits depend on the individual situation and the facts are: (1) Characteristics of noise and effect on neighbours; (2) baseline ambient noise levels; (3) nature and duration of works (14.13). Health and Noise Pollution Persistent exposure to noise, especially at night, is apt to cause psychological distress. The London Health Organization (LHO) defines "noise" as unwanted sound which is perceived as "noise pollution" (Determinants, 2006). Noise constitutes a problem in more than construction sites. Aircraft, trains and road vehicles might well contribute to unwanted noise, and if measured at high levels can effect whole neighborhoods. Another area that can create problems in noise levels is in the work place. People exposed to noise over a long period might have loss of hearing and even 'tinnitus" (ringing in the ears). Noise levels in decibel units (dB(A) are factors in determining excessive noise. There are three 'action' levels; the first two are values of 'daily personal noise exposure' expressed as L EP,d with the first level at 85 dB(A) and the second 90 dB(A). The third is a peak action level of 200 pascals (where loud impulsive sources such as cartridge operated tools are used). The LHO of fers the following guide to noise levels under the Health and Safety Executive: Normal conversation 50 - 60 dB(A) A loud radio 65 - 75 dB(A) A busy street 78 - 85 dB(A) A heavy lorry about 7 metres away 95 - 100 dB(A) A pighouse at feeding time 110 dB(A) A chain

Buying fashion apparel (fashion merchandising) Essay

Buying fashion apparel (fashion merchandising) - Essay Example , and constrictive clothes and accessories that were characteristic of the fashion that existed in the nineteenth century (Sterlacci and Arbuckle 41). Various fashion models and celebrities from all over the world have personified the products from this fashion house. The House of Chanel is synonymous with the little black dress and the suit along with a perfume that has recorded a lot of success (Willett 86). The company’s utilization of jersey fabrics created comfortable garments which were affordable for the target market. The company transformed the fashion industry including the high fashion and everyday fashion through switching the structured silhouettes that were based on the corset with clothing that was functional while maintaining flattery of the figure of a woman. During the 1920s, the simple designs associated with Chanel popularized the flat chested fashions that were dissimilar from the hour-glass figure which had been popularised in the late nineteenth century (Willett 86). The company utilized manly hues like grey and navy blue to demonstrate fashion boldness of personality. The clothes associated with the company included quilted fabric as well as leather trimmings where this quilted construction is meant to reinforce the fabric, design, finish to create a cloth that maintains its form, and function when it has been worn. A case in point of such a garment is the woollen Chanel suit that entails a skirt and cardigan styled suit which is knee-length, cropped with black embroidery decorations and golden buttons. The accessories that complement this garment were two-tone pump shoes together with jewellery, typically pearl necklaces and a handbag made from leather material. Brand positioning starts with clearly understanding of the customers being targeted and describe them in terms of the prevailing usage patterns, demographic attributes as well as general objectives. Insight in the objectives of the target population is particularly critical as

Bio Medicine Essay Example for Free

Bio Medicine Essay Two Cathy Ann Wilson-Bates Western Governors University EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE APPLIED NURSING RESEARCH EBP 1 Brenda Luther, PhD, RN January 25, 2012 Task Two Introduction: What I have learned about working with children in a chronic healthcare setting like dialysis is that they are resilient beings with the propensity for rapid changes in their medical condition. Children almost always surprise me in their unique description of symptoms and pain. Depending on their age, they may not be able to describe the symptoms they feel or tell me â€Å"where it hurts†. A simple ear ache may be described as a â€Å"drum in my ear† or may be observed with non verbal cues like tugging on the ear. Acute Otitis Media is seen quite often during the cold and flu season. Recent clinical guidelines suggest waiting twenty four to seventy two hours before beginning antibiotic therapy. Parents of children with symptoms of otitis media are accustomed to receiving a prescription for antibiotics before they leave the medical office. Adults as well are preconditioned for the little white slip of paper from their physician. Waiting twenty four to seventy two hours to evaluate the need for antibiotics will definitely reduce the over-prescription of antibiotics as well as their efficacy. The waiting and watching of several days may seem like an eternity to a parent caring for a sick and crying child. Educating parents during routine visits to the physician office about the risks of over-prescribing antibiotics will help when the physician needs to discuss the possibility of waiting and evaluating before prescribing antibiotics. Providing a list of comfort measures parents can follow may help relieve the anxiety they have in caring for a sick child. Any comfort measure taken to reduce crying is helpful to the parent of a sick child, but mostly to the child. The following table and paragraphs will share the results of how one group of nurses at an outpatient clinic used clinical evidence to manage this situation. Source |Type of Resource |Source appropriate or |Type of Research | | |general information, |inappropriate |primary research evidence, | | |filtered, or unfiltered | |evidence summary, evidence-based | | | | |guideline, or none of these | |American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of|Filtered |Appropriate |Evidence-based guideline | |Family Physicians. Clinical practice guideline: | | | | |Diagnosis and management of acute otitis media. | | | |Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance and |Unfiltered |Appropriate |Evidence-based guideline | |therapeutic considerations in acute otitis media . | | | | |Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. | | | | |Ear, nose, and Throat, Current pediatric diagnosis and|General |Inappropriate |None of these | |treatment. | | | | |Treatment of acute otitis media in an era of |Filtered |Appropriate |Evidence –based guideline | |increasing microbial resistance. Pediatric Infectious| | | | |Disease Journal | | | | |Results from interviews with parents who have brought |Unfiltered |Appropriate |Primary research evidence | |their children into the clinic for acute otitis media. | | | | | | | | | Subcommittee on Management of Acute Otitis Media. (2004). American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians. Clinical Practice Guidelines: Diagnosis and Manegment of Acute Otitis Media. American Academy of Pediatrics , Vol. 13 No 5 1451-1465. This article is an evidence-based clinical guideline. It is a systematic review making it a filtered resource which is very appropriate for this situation. The article describes the current, (as of 2004) recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Acute Otitis Media (Subcommittee on Management of Acute Otitis Media, 2004). These guidelines show several different ways to treat acute otitis media depending on the symptoms of the child. It states that sometimes waiting to give antibioti cs is good and sometimes waiting to give antibiotics is not good. This article is appropriate and provides clarity on the topic. Block, S. L. (1997). Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance and therapeutic considerations in acute otitis media. The Pediatric Infectious disease Journal , Volume 16 (4) pp 449-456. This article discusses antibiotic resistance and describes the bacterial pathogens which are responsible for infections causing acute otitis media. This article is appropriate. It contains a comparison of studies performed based on the different types of bacteria which cause acute otitis media. It stresses the importance of identifying the bacteria causing the infection before giving antibiotics so that number one the bacteria can be eradicated and other bacteria will not become resistant (Block, 1997). PE Kelley, N. F. (2006). Ear, Nose and. In M. L. W. W. Hay, Current Pediatric Diagnoisis and Treatment (pp. 459-492). Lang. This textbook source contains general information on the ear, nose and throat. There is much more information here regarding basic anatomy and physiology as well as characteristics of the ear nose and throat. The information regarding otitis media is basic and not an appropriate source of research in this situation for three reasons. Number one, the information is very basic, number two, it does not give any up to date information on how to treat this type of infection, and number three there is too much non-relevant information. McCracken, G. H. (1998). Treatment of acute otitis media in an era of increasing microbial resistance. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal , Volume 17(6) pp576-579. This article is a review of the known etiologies that may cause acute otitis media. The article gives up to date information on therapeutic approaches when selecting an appropriate antibiotic therapy. We don’t practice â€Å"cookie cutter† medicine. The same prescription is not always right for all patients or all communities where some bacteria’s may be more prevalent than others (McCracken, 1998). This is appropriate information for this group of people or community. media, P. o. (n. d. ). Interviews. (C. nurses, Interviewer) This set of interviews is simply raw data. General information can however provide great insight as to what is happening out in the community. For example, this information might shed light on the fact that if the parents are willing to hold off on antibiotics for example, would they be more likely to follow up and come back into the clinic when asked? The reaction of parents is dependent upon other several basic factors like finances, a belief system and possibly the ability to obtain transportation. Knowing how the community is going to respond to their choice may have a great effect on the decisions they make. When evaluating the findings of these sources cumulatively, one must first determine the causative pathogens infecting patients in this given community with acute otitis media. After pathogen determination we can determine which antibiotics may be most useful in eradicating the given bacteria. Careful selection of antibiotic therapy will reduce the propensity for antibiotic resistance. Watchful waiting may be a good thing from the perspective of increasing microbial resistance however we must always evaluate patients on their individual needs or on a patient by patient case. One size doesn’t always fit all. Patient education is the key to keeping the public informed of current practice. Physicians and Nurses need to be consistent in the lesson plan shared with patients and remain true to our scope of practice. Communication is essential between the physician, nurse and other multidisciplinary team members in order to provide the best care. There are many considerations in assessing if patients are able to withstand the waiting and evaluation period. Low income families are one example of how the waiting and watching method might not work. Parents may have to take time off work to come to clinic with a sick child. They might struggle finding money for the additional return trip to the clinic and may risk losing their job if they take more time off work. Many low income families may have already waited before seeking help thus creating their own watchful waiting period. They also may not be able to afford antibiotics and as a result may not give the full dose if symptoms have subsided. The perception is that they will save the medication for the next time symptoms arise. Confidentiality might be an issue in smaller communities. People tend to be concerned about neighbors and co-workers and some may not care to share their experience with others. This may be an issue for parents who don’t share custody as in the case of divorce. It is a greater issue when parents or partners don’t share the same fundamental values, especially those related to healthcare. Conclusion: Watchful waiting like the nurses in this clinic are looking at may be useful for some of the patients, but not all. Again, a one size fits all philosophy is not always appropriate in healthcare. Tools like algorithms may be helpful in determining the appropriateness for watching and waiting versus immediate action as determined by physical findings and social circumstances like parental adherence for follow up and ability to afford treatment. Whatever course you choose, watchful waiting or immediate antibiotics the best practice remains a plan of care based on the individual needs of our patients. References Block, S. L. (1997). Causative pathogens, antibiotic resistance and therapeutic considerations in acute otitis media. The Pediatric Infectious disease Journal , Volume 16 (4) pp 449-456. McCracken, G. H. (1998). Treatment of acute otitis media in an era of increasing microbial resistance. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal , Volume 17(6) pp576-579. media, P. o. (n. d. ). Interviews. (C. nurses, Interviewer) PE Kelley, N. F. (2006). Ear, Nose and. In M. L. W. W. Hay, Current Pediatric Diagnoisis and Treatment (pp. 459-492). Lang. Subcommittee on Management of Acute Otitis Media. (2004). American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians. Clinical Practice Guidelines: Diagnosis and Manegment of Acute Otitis Media. American Academy of Pediatrics , Vol. 113 No 5 1451-1465.

A Critical Analysis on Wal-Marts Failure in Germany Essay Example for Free

A Critical Analysis on Wal-Marts Failure in Germany Essay After eight unprofitable years, Wal-Mart backed out of Germany in July 2006 and sold the entire retails outlets to Metro AG. After dominating the US market for quite a long time, Wal-Mart expanded its market to Germany in 1997. In 1997 Wal-Mart continued its strategy of globalization, and acquired two German retail chains for $1. 6 billion. After eight unprofitable years, Wal-Mart backed out of Germany in July 2006 and sold the entire retails outlets to Metro AG. The Essay examines why Wall-mart was a big failure in its international operations in Germany on a Cross-culture perspective. Inadaptability and ignorance f local culture can become a big problem in global business, even for a Corporate giant like Wal-Mart with proven success formulas. Being number one in the United States does not always guarantee for being number one elsewhere in the world. It is very important to understand the pulse of the local market and culture of the clients exactly and should make strategies accordingly and exactly that is where Wal-Mart went wrong in Germany. COMPANY PROFILE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. s the largest retailer in the world, the worlds second-largest operates retail stores in various retailing formats in all 50 states in the United States. The Companys mass merchandising operations serve its customers primarily through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes its discount stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. The Sams club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Companys subsidiar y, McLane Company, Inc. rovides products and distribution services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2. 1 million associates worldwide. Nearly 75% of its stores are in the United States (Wal-Mart International Operations, 2004), but Wal-Mart is expanding internationally. The Group is engaged in the operations of retail stores located in all 50 states of the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom, Central America, Chile, Mexico,lndia and China Wal-Marts entry and operation in Germany Wal-Marts initial entry into German market was through the acquisitions of renowned 21 store Wertkauf chain for an estimated $1. 4 billion in December 1997. 1t was followed one year later by the acquisition of In-terspars 74 hypermarkets from Spar Handels AG, the German unit of the French Intermarch © Group , for ‚ ¬560 million. Thus Wal-Mart immediately became the countrys fourth biggest operator of hypermarkets. However, with a turnover of around ‚ ¬2. 9 billion, and a stagnating market share of Just 1. 1 per cent, the US giant still was a negligible one in the German retail market. Even worse, with estimated accumulated losses of more than ‚ ¬ 1 billion, it is literally drowning in red ink although, according to Wal-Mart Germanys CEO, Kay Hafner, its non food assortment, which accounts for around 50 per cent of its revenues, is profitable.. Instead of expanding its network of stores by 50 units by early 2001 , as originally planned, the company has been forced to close two big outlets, while at the same time it was only able to fully remodel three locations into its flagship Super center format. Due to its problems the company also had to lay off around 1. 000 staff. On July 2006,Wal-Mart announced its official defeat in Germany and would sell its 85 German stores to the rival supermarket chain Metro and would ook a pre-tax loss of about $1 billion (E536million) on the failed venture. A Critical Analysis of Reasons for Wal-Marts failure in Germany: There were several factors that contributed to Germanys unsuccessful business ride. Amazing management blunders have plagued Wal-Marts German operation from the very start.. Wal-Marts major mistakes on the German market may be summarized as follows. Cultural Insensitivity was the major reason of failure Entry to German market by acquisition strategy, Failure to deliver on its legendary every-day low prices and excellent service alue proposition. ? Bad Publicity about the company due to breaking of some prevailing German law In January 1997, Wal-Mart had first entry in Europe market with the acquisition of Wertkauf hypermarkets in Germany. Later in that year, Wal-Mart also acquired Interspar, another German hypermarket chain.. While its first move the 1997 takeover of the 21 Wertkaufstores was indeed a shrewd one, given that companys excellent earnings, its competitive locations, and its very capable management. Wal- Marts 1998 follow-updeal with Spar for 74 hypermarkets was widely Judged an ill- nformed, ill-advised act, for several reasons: Spar is considered to be the weakest player on the German market due to its mostly run-down stores, very heterogeneous in size and format, with the majority of them located in less well-off inner-city residential areas. Wal-Marts cultural insensitivity led to its failure in Germany. This Study focuses only on the flaws made by the Wal-Mart in its International operations in Germany from a Cross-cultural Managements perspective. Wal-Marts failure in Germany- A Case of cultural insensitivity: Most of the Global mergers and acquisitions failed to produce any benefit for the shareholders or educed value, which was mainly due to the lack of intercultural competence. Lack of sensitivity and understanding of language barriers, local traditions, consumer behavior, merchandising, and employment practices irreversibly damaged Wal-Marts image in Germany. One of the main reasons that failed Wal-Mart in Germany is when it attempted to transport the companys unique culture and retailing concept to the new country. The top management refused to even acknowledge the differences in customer behavior and culture in Germany when compared to its US customers, and the top management failed to listen to the feedback from its employees. Not every new cross- border retailer can be a retail giant outer its home. The mistake of exporting its culture wholesale, rather than adapting to local market, leads Wal-Mart failed in Germany market. Wal-Marts ambitions to position itself profitably in European markets through Germany have been hit badly by their inability to fully understand and to adapt to the specific conditions of doing business in other countries. This exposed their obvious lack of intercultural competence and management skills. The main challenge of post-merger integration is further complicated significantly if it is in a Cross- order Merger or acquisition, with all issues frequently being compounded by a lack of language and culture bridging skills. Failure to accomplish this task satisfactorily, results in mutual distrust, de-motivation and negatively impacts the merged companies competitiveness, profits and shareholder value. This is exactly what happened to Wal-Mart Germany. Following are the main two factors that Contributed to the Wal-Marts unsuccessful efforts in Germany: 1)Specific Difference in German Consumer behavior and Culture in comparison with US consumers: and impose an American boss on its German operations. Wal-Mart stores are esigned for customers who are willing to spend lot of time shopping. But in Germany, the shopping hours are shorter: Shops close by 5 PM on weekdays, and no shopping on Sundays. This meant that customers dont have the habit of spending lots of time in a store wandering around for the things they need. Coupled with this problem, German customers do not like to be assisted by Wal-Marts friendly store assistants. Germans prefer to do their own search for bargains. Instead of understanding and adjusting to the culture of its clients, Wal-Mart tried to impose their Culture on to the Customers, which never worked out. Germans like to see the advertised discount products upfront without having to ask the store assistant. This implies that the discount products must be placed at the eye level. Instead Wal-Mart chose to use its US style merchandise display strategy where premium priced products are kept at eye level and discount products are kept at higher shelf or in the bottom racks. This irritated the German shoppers. Wal-Mart also got its store inventory wrong, Wal-Mart stocked its store with clothes, hardware, electronics and other non-food products were given much bigger floor space than ood products, as a result more than 50% of the revenue was from non-food products. But other German retailers stock more of food products. For example for Metro, food products constitute more than 75% of the revenue. Germans prefer to bag groceries themselves into reusable carriers, or at least to pay a small fee for the avoidable sin of needing a plastic bag. Germans are introvert in nature and doesnt like display of emotion in public, as they always care for their private personal space. Employees, like the reserved customers, didnt care for Wal-Marts public displays of corporate moral such as the morning heer. The German Customers even didnt liked to be accompanied by the Cheerful employees either, as they would like to make choices by themselves. These are cultural misunderstandings as well, but one could say the cultural philosophy of Wal- Mart could not survive in the context of a German culture with a Happy Planet Index significantly higher than Americas 2)lnefficient Top Management which ignored the relevance of local Culture: It was clear that the cultural insensitivity of Wal-Mart started right at the top management. To begin with, it appointed four CEOs during its first four years of peration. The first head of German operations was Rob Tiarks ,an expat from the USA who did not understand Germany or its culture. He had previously supervised around 200 Supercenters in America. Not only did he not speak any German. Due to his unwillingness to learn the language ,English was soon decreed as the official company language at the management level. He also ignores the complexities and the legal framework of the German retail market, ignoring any strategic advice presented to him by former Wertkauf executives . This has resulted in the resignation nsuccessful in integrating German Outlets with the Wal-Marts Business model and culture. Suggestions and Recommendations: Cross-border, Cross-cultural business is a challenge even for the biggest companies. Companies have to be sensitive to the local cultures and tailor their offerings to local market. To localize their offerings, Wal-Mart and other Companies that are going global companies must carry out cultural assessment of the Citizens of the Country before acquisitions. All their Corporate Business and Communication strategies should be based on this cultural assessment. This will help companies measure the ffectiveness of its localization efforts and make adequate changes in local strategy ; tactics as and when required. Considering the following steps would help Wal-Mart or any other Company while they are on lookout of Global alliance or business. 1)Political, Social, Economic and Cultural Analysis of the Country Before expanding its business operations to a new country, the Company should understand the Political, Social, Economic and cultural aspects of the Country in depth. Wal-Marts case, Germany was selected primarily because of a central European location and economic attractiveness of the Wertkauf acquisition. But a serious research would have shown that Germany had strong national values resistant to change; possibly the most deeply rooted retail traditions in Western Europe. This could have avoided either Wal-Marts selection of the Country or the strategies it has adopted in Germany. 2)Go global and think they are local After conducting an in depth research about the prevailing trends in the customers Country, the Company should be ready to modify its own identity to suit itself to the cultural differences without compromising much on its Corporate Mission. This step will also force organizations to clearly define globalization goals. Wal-Mart put the company name on many German stores before being fully established. Immediately, the run down stores left an impression on consumers who formed a negative image of the Wal-Mart name. 3)Employment of Cross-cultural Management approaches like Hampden-Turner and Trompanaars Analysis: Employement of Hofsteds Culture Dimensions or HT;T Analysis will help Companies in understanding the minute cultural differences between the countries. For example, Communitarianism over Individualism Germans degree of communitarianism is on the higher side mainly because Germans prefer participating on a team. Most Germans see business as a group of related persons working together. But, most of Americans see their company as a set of difference in Cultural dimensions between the 2 countries has resulted in inside management conflict among the employees, which also resulted in resignation of efficient German executives from Wal-Mart post integration. Understanding the cultural dimensions of a Country through proven Cross-culture models will always help a company to formulate a specific approach that will encourage team spirit and joy among the Global Team. 4)Continuous Updation of Strategies to successfully ithstand the local competition It is very important for a Global firm to continuously analyse the impact of their various strategies on the local market. Understand the shortfalls, and modify it in such a way as to cater the local market in a much better way than the competitors. It is always better to scrutinize the strategies adopted by them with a panel of Local experts, as they will be having a better picture about the local consuming behavior and culture. Perceptions do matter a lot, So a surveys to find the customers perception about the company will also help them to change their trategies accordingly. Conclusion: Even though Wall-Mart was the Biggest of the companies, while going Global understanding the culture of customers, employees of the new Country is very critical for the success. The achievement in the U. S. market cannot always guarantee that Wal-Mart will also success in anywhere else. Companies need to understand the local culture in order to capitalize on the local market. The lessons learned from Wal- Marts experience in Germany, can be applied by other retailers who are planning to go global for expanding its market.. If the worlds largest retailer had taken the time o analyze the German mindset, it could have avoided a very painful lesson when Germans rejected Wal-Marts American-style which was highly successful in home country.

New Trends for Application Interoperability in Romania

New Trends for Application Interoperability in Romania HEALTH VERTICAL MARKET Silviu Cojocaru PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, [emailprotected] Camelia Cojocaru PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, [emailprotected]   1. Introduction The Internet’s development has fundamentally affected the architecture of informatics management systems, causing substantial changes in the way that this category of solutions is distributed and reached. This considering, one could say that gaining access to economical applications through a simple Web browser came as a necessity in a world that is characterized by dynamism and by the globalization of economical phenomena [Aamodt, 1996]. So, in the 90s, the main trend in application development was offering support and accessibility – for computers that had an internet connection – to a wide range of informational resources (databases and more) and applications. The testimony for this is the multitude of languages and technologies that allow the easy development of database exploitation applications through a simple Web browser. This is why scripting languages that run on servers (ASP and its follower ASP.Net; PHP; JSP etc.), are now mature technologies, that of fer the possibility of developing complex Web technologies. This technologies’ existence has caused changes in informational necessities and in the equipments users need. Nowadays internet connections are available not only to computers, but also to a multitude of equipment such as mobile phones and other hand-held devices. Considering these necessities, creating a universal language became a dire need [McAfee,2005]. XML is the answer to these requests, and is a new stage in the informational age, easing the data exchange between different equipments. Beside the possibility of transferring data onto these heterogeneous platforms there was also the need of creating a way of communication between them. The answer to these priorities is the Web Services technology, which is now the most efficient way of cross-application Internet communication. 2. Literature review Web services are a standardized way of distributing Internet applications and fundamental technologies that are at the basis of this network. Also, web services offer the possibility of interconnecting a wide range of applications, which are available on different platforms and in several worldwide locations. One could say that Web technologies became an Esperanto of application communication, as the new technology opens the gate towards a new age dominated by intelligent applications that make smart decisions and Internet searches, as a basis for well-balanced decisions [Agosta,2000]. Therefore, supposing that we wish to build an expert system that manages a share portfolio, we need to keep in mind that such a system cannot function without constant market quotation updates. Plus, making an optimal decision for selling or buying is a matter of minutes, and this highly influences the efficiency of the system. If a decade ago this system was very complicated due to the lack of efficient means of cross application communication, after the development of Web applications, it became much easier. One would have to develop the classic portfolio management expert and then the link to the outside world would be this paper’s technology. The data containing the quotations will be transmitted via Internet through a web service developed by the stock market. By using the functions and procedures exposed by this Web services, the right parameters can be transmitted, and the stock market informational system will return the requested information. Plus, all of the exposed functions of the stock market system will become a part of the developed applications, and will be called for as similarly developed procedures. You will be able to schedule the automatic checking of stock market quotations and the permanent update of the local database. Things could move even further, with the possibility of inclosing a Web service for the brokerage society that would allow the expert system to not only makes the optimal choice but to implement the decision taken. This example shows how optimal communication automation actually works and how human intervention becomes unnecessary. This has a decisive role in eliminating intentional and non-intentional human errors from the entire process (Jacobides,2000). 3. Service Oriented Architecture XML or eXtended Markup Language is the basis for all of the elements behind the Web Services technologies. Considering the independence from the platform, XML is the engine behind internet data transfers, and the fundament of Web services. XML is in fact â€Å"the brother† of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), as the two have a series of resemblances. But there are some distinctions that cannot be overseen. First of all, they have a common origin SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), a general language that, through mechanisms similar to those of classic grammar, offers users the possibility of electronically structuring their data [Airinei,1995]. So, practically, HTML uses a set of tags which fine the way that the information will be displayed in the browser. The set of HTML tags is limited and not Customizable, and is generated through SGML technologies. Under these conditions, there is no way for you to customize you set of tags, and this lack of flexibility is an important restraint in some cases. So, with applications that use databases, using HTML is improper for transmitting data. Unlike HTML, XML offers users the possibility of building their own set of tags which can be used for formatting the document. This offers a high level of flexibility, as this element is necessary in defining specialized electronic documents. Normally, you may wonder: if a general language existed SGML, why was there a need for XML? The answer is simple – by its nature, SGML is a highly complex language, and is very hard to use on a large scale, so a simplifies system was created in the form of XML (Alter 2000,2002). Figure 1 – Interoperability for Application Web services are built on fundamental Internet technologies. So, for transmitting Internet technologies, these solutions use standard HTTP protocol (HyperText Transfer Protocol) and the transferred data is cased in XML files. Considering that both technologies are basic Internet elements, they will ensure the accessibility of the applications on any available platform. Unlike Web services, its predecessors had the main disadvantage of not offering such a wide portability range. Therefore, DCOM and CORBA were not accepted by all ITC solution providers, and this would determine limits in their usage. Considering the heterogeneity of the Internet, a technology needs to be supported by the widest possible range of users for it to be considered a universal Internet technology [5]. Plus, DCOM and CORBA technologies use binary files for transferring data and communicating between applications, and this contributes to a lower portability. Unlike these, Web services use XML for data transfer, which consist in simple text files, ensuring a maximum range of portability. Web services use port 80 which is the standard assignation for the HTTP protocol. In comparison, the 2 alternative technologies use their own protocols for transmitting data, and this determines the necessity for additional ports on the application server. In a world that is dominated by the n eed for a higher security level, this disadvantage of the CORBA and DCOM technologies could have a negative impact over the entire In conclusion, one could consider that the widespread of Web technologies in the past years comes from their compatibility with the two generally accepted technologies HTTP and XML. Considering there advantages, the specialists from IDC (a company for surveying and analyzing the ITC environment) consider that Web services will become the fundamental way of application distribution, surpassing all other alternative ways of application distribution (Damsgaard, 2000). Web services are a great part of the most important application development instruments. Microsoft, Oracle or IBM –not necessarily in this order – are the main promoters of this way of application distribution, integrating advanced development instruments for serving these purposes (Forrester Research,2009). This paper has chosen Microsoft’s development environment Visual Studio.Net. I have made this choice considering its advantages as well as its wide spread among developers in our country and abroad. The .Net version of Visual Studio, that was launched in the beginning of the year, offers an efficient way of development and of integrating Web services into one’s own applications. Considering that XML stands at the basis of these technologies, most available instruments are now using this language. We must add that the ADO.NET (ActiveX Data Object) object collection, used in developing database applications, is based exclusively on this language (Iyer,2003). Also, the new version proposes a common software framework (.Net Framework) that offers the possibility of accessing the libraries similarly by any application that has been written in a language that is compatible with this platform. Therefore, the environment shows a common application development framework, and the common element is CLR (Common Language Runtime). CLR translates any application that has been written in a language that is compatible with the technology into an intermediate language – Microsoft I ntermediate Language (IL). The applications that are available in this intermediate method can be transferred and executed onto the desired platform. This platform currently offers 21 application development languages, starting with the classic Cobol and ending with the modern C#. Our example used Visual Basic.Net. (Là ¶wer,1995) Web services will be provided using ASP.Net technology (Active Server Page). ASP is one of the main Web technologies, offering the development of dynamic web pages with database support. The latest version (ASP.Net), offers as a main novelty the possibility of creating and distributing web services. Plus, another set of facilities is included, and here are the most important ones: The possibility of separating the main code of the application from the static representation code of the pages that has been written in HTML; ASP.Net applications can be created in one of the 21 available languages; ASP.Net offers a complete set of server run controls, and this contributes to a better application interface. Figure 2 .NET Framework Architecture 4. Research The research was realised for 38 companies that are between the first 200 from Romania considering the 2010 turnover and its main purpose was to identify how the interoperability technologies were implemented. The enterprises come from different fields, such as financial-banking, telecommunications, retail and industry. The study was developed during December 2011-February 2012 and included a set of questions, from which we mention the most important. Did you implement / Do you plan to implement a technological solution dedicated to integrated informatics system interoperability within the enterprise? 65% of the companies implement solutions for the interoperability of informatics systems, and the rest of 35% plan to implement these solutions within one year. Did the interoperability technologies contribute to the improvements of processes within the enterprise? Those companies that use the interoperability systems have come to the conclusion that interoperability technologies lead a major role for the improvements of processes. 95% of the companies have registered increased efficiency. More than 60% of the companies have registered an increased performance within the company, as well as a faster adherence to certain imposed standards. Do you use integrated informatic systems with business partners? Although most of the companies apply informatic systems destined to the interoperability of internal informatic systems, the integration with the business partners is extremely reduced. Only 6% of the companies use components that allow the interoperability of their systems with their business partners’. The main reason for this low integration is determined by the lack of national or industry standards. Are the systems within the company integrated with those of public institutes? Only 1% of the participants have informatic systems in integration with those of the public institutions (such as city halls, fiscal administration, etc.). The main reason for this situation is the lack of national standards for the systems integration with different public authorities. The lack of these standards and also the frequent changes are also the reason for the low level of implementation. Which are the integrated systems categories? The most frequent system integrations are related to web-based systems and different e-business categories (business-to-business or business-to-customer) with ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning) implemented by enterprises. In the financial-banking department, the integration is between the Internet Banking and core-banking systems. 5. Conclusions and implications We are living in a world that is dominated by the need for interoperability between different informational systems running on different platforms. 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