Mark Cuban Essays - Marketing, E-commerce, Direct Marketing

Mark Cuban I. Situation Analysis 1. Background The Faith Mountain Company has experienced a great deal of success since opening in 1977. What Cheri and Martin Woodard began as a local store that sold herbs, related products, and antiques has slowly evolved into a major mail-order catalog company and retail store that develops, manufactures, and markets high-quality gifts, apparel, and home accessories. In 1991, Faith Mountain was still a relatively small company with less than 50 employees. However, sales have been steadily increasing for Faith Mountain, as they went from about $1.2 million in sales in 1987 to just over $5 million in 1991. In 1991 The Faith Mountain Company set for itself the overall goal of $25 million in annual sales by 1995, with $10 million coming from sales from the Faith Mountain catalog, $5 million from the retail division, and $10 million from the acquisition and development of another catalog company. Reaching these goals will have implications in all areas of operation, including expansion, human resour ces, marketing, and finance. 2. Industry Overview The Faith Mountain Company operates in the specialty mail-order industry. According to a study by Arnold Fishman of Marketing Logistics, the total mail-order sales in the United States in 1990 topped $200 billion, with consumer mail order at $98.2 billion. Of the consumer mail order, $40.7 billion was spent on services; $44.5 billion was spent on specialty merchandisers, and $13 billion on products from general merchandisers. Total mail order sales for 1990 reflected 10.1 percent of general merchandise sales, 3.2 percent of retail sales, 2.1 percent of consumer services, and 1.8 percent of gross national product for the year. On a per capita basis, Americans spent an average of $393 on mail-order purchases in 1990. Specialty mail-order vendors, such as The Faith Mountain Company, have a substantially greater share (77 percent) of consumer mail-order product sales than do general merchandising mail-order vendors such as J.C. Penney (23 percent). As credit card companies offer new inducements and incentives to customers who shop by mail, it is anticipated that shopping by mail will become more prevalent. However, third-class postage rate increases and the placement of taxes on mail-order goods in some states may have a negative affect on the mail-order industry. 3. Business Unit Analysis The Faith Mountain Company develops, manufactures, and markets high-quality gifts, apparel, and home accessories, distributing through use of two business units, the mail-order unit, which distributes catalogs four times per year and provided the bulk of the 1991 total sales with about $4.7 million in revenue, and the retail-store unit, which had revenues of nearly $300 thousand. Both units operated under the same premise, that they achieve competitive advantage by providing customers with superiority in merchandise, quality, and service. Faith Mountain gained superiority in merchandise by seeking exclusive marketing rights for products and by moving more towards private labeling. High standards of quality were provided to customers because Faith Mountain manufactured about 20 percent of its merchandise, which means they could customize and personalize products to an individual customers needs. Superior service was being achieved in the mail-order division by implementing a system designed to answer 90 percent of all customer service inquiries within the first two minutes, and service operators were authorized to do whatever it took to keep customers happy. However, pricing was also a priority to Faith Mountain, as customer service policies included guaranteed lowest prices. The retail store featured the same product lines as those in the catalog, but not all items from the catalog were sold in the store, and about 20 percent of the store merchandise was not offered in the catalog. Also, the retail store benefits substantially from the catalog, as the stores sales revenue and traffic increases after the release of a new catalog. Because the Faith Mountain Company is relatively small, the Woodards were able to successfully supervise nearly all facets of both the retail division and the mail-order division without much difficulty. However, with the Woodards intending to open another retail store and increasing their customer bases with the mail order division, they may have to rely on middle management to overtake some of the duties that they had previously handled. 4. Buyer Analysis The Faith Mountain Company had a specific target market in

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome essays

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome essays While viewing an episode of forensic files on Court TV February 2004, I was inspired to do my research paper on Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). As I watched, an eleven-year-old boy was suffering from a severe outbreak of HUS. I watched in disbelief as this childs body shut down one system after another. He had severe vomiting and diarrhea that his mother tried to home remedy with Pepto-Bismol and Imodium. After several days when blood was present in the diarrhea and his fever became dangerously high he was hospitalized. The boy quickly slipped into a coma and his respiratory collapsed causing him to be put on a ventilator. Soon fluid started to build around his heart which threatened his life and he had to undergo emergency surgery. Severe seizures shook his tiny body on several occasions. His kidneys shut down and he had to be put on dialysis, then fluid built up around his heart again and another emergency surgery was needed to remove the fluid. Tests ordered by the doct or were to no avail and the doctor did not know the cause of the problems. Then the boy started to recover, but from what no one knew. As he became coherent and was able to talk he told his parents of some raw hamburger he accidentally ate during his camping trip. The parents brought the boy some fast food and as he sipped from his drink he suffered severe stomach pain and had another seizure and slipped back into the coma. The parents told the doctor of the raw hamburger meat and tests revealed the boy was suffering from HUS. The mothers attempt to home remedy the diarrhea and vomiting had caused the bacteria E-Coli (OH157:h7) to multiple in the intestines severely. Blood transfusions were not helping, and the parents soon sought outside help. They found a doctor that had been working with plasma transfusions and it was working in patients with severe HUS. After getting permission from the hospital the doctor brought his equipment and ...

Human Resource Policy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Resource Policy - Research Paper Example We have been providing both computer designed knives and the traditional handcrafted knives alike to our valued customers. The cutting edge modern technology has enabled us to produce large volumes of quality products and now we stand at trained workforce strength of 250 managers, engineers and technicians. Over the years, our research and development department has trained our staff into unmatched production capabilities of stainless steel alloys with vanadium, chromium and molybdenum for the best knives. The right tool can make the difference, whether it is a tactical life or death situation or an extremely testing on site industrial line situation, our mission is to provide the right tool for your needs. Our organization hosts over 25 metallurgy and materials engineers and scientists that specialize in blade production with 10 managers in the hierarchy that bring the best out of minimal resources working in a matrix organizational structure that uses the best of both functional an d product oriented divided team structures flexibly working on a large number of projects while keeping a check on our continuous production line as well as research and development. Our organization’s workflow makes sure that we operate smoothly over the tight schedule, keeping up the high quality and the lowest costs. Or matrix organizational structure enables us to implement work specialization without losing the flexibility on our wide ranged knife production. This lowers our quality control costs without compromising our productivity and our employees take pride in the skill they use to make our fine products while the automated processes let them multi task and help in R&D. Although being a comparatively small scale organization, Phantom Blades competes with the world’s top knife makers like Muela, Murphy Knives, Wusthof and Microtech Knives by producing 400, 000 pieces a year. The low rate production costs and standing reputation of knife exports from Pakistan e nable us to manufacture quality knives at very low costs and beat our competition in the US markets making most of the basic multinational advantage. This is a critical factor of our success. The constructive organizational culture since the beginning due to the closely knitted limited workforce since the start blends in the traditional knife making environment where the technicians and engineers work as a single unit handling complex jobs and resolving the oncoming issues head on. The affirmation and self-actualization developed in our workforce has set the internal trend of off duty R&D projects that are credited to the employees’ research careers and enable us to leap ahead in the modern technology. Not limited by the bonds of line manager’s cascaded communication, we go a step ahead in collaboration where information goes both ways and the project communications on personal level are encouraged, while the formal orders are quickly transferred to the right manager o r a person in-charge to minimize delays without losing the track of responsibility and quality control. An organization that offers multiple opportunities of learning and career development where the employees get pure delegation and on job research has been a dream job for blacksmith since thousands of years. Young engineers have the opportunity to develop their careers with a head start while gaining experience in the routine manufacturing processes on the side.

Gender and Sexual Studies - Female Masculinity Research Paper

Gender and Sexual Studies - Female Masculinity - Research Paper Example The issue of masculinity brings out notions of power, privilege and legitimacy. It symbolizes the power of state and unequal distribution of property. It represents the inheritance and social privileges across gender and sexuality. Culture and society tends to ignore and discourage female masculinity and yet is highly attentive on male femininity. â€Å"Issues of gender inequality are perpetuated by the patriarchal nature of our society that permits male domination and female subordination† (Kambarami, 2006). This has largely been influenced throughout the process of socialization. Researchers, community organizers and law enforcers who concern themselves with anti-LGB (-lesbian, -gay and –bisexual) prejudice and discrimination tend to conflate those aspects that target sexual orientation with other issues of gender non nonconformity (Gordon, 2007). Gender nonconformity is defined as â€Å"An outward appearance or gender expression that does not conform to the traditio nal laws of gender† (Gordon, 2007). It is attributed with experiences of sexual minority and behaviors that deviate from the expected gender roles. The gender nonconformity incidences were discovered to occur in the societal set up and were mostly perpetrated in the family, in schools, religious settings like a church and in the corporate world like in a public retail setting (Gordon, 2007). This gives evidence of the roles played by the society through its basic institutions on the issues of gender and sexuality. There are various contexts in which the society shapes women to femininity. It sets boundaries for women that are morally acceptable according to cultural norms and customs. There is interplay between femininity, sexuality and culture (Kambarami, 2006). Culture impacts feminine sexuality negatively by imprisoning women to subordination of patriarchy which consequently renders them powerless to control their sexuality. Feminists define patriarchy as â€Å"A social sy stem in which men tend to over rule all the social responsibilities as women remain in subordination† (Kambarami, 2006). An example of a social setting where feminism is highly displayed and culturally manipulated is in the family. The socialization process differentiates the boy and girl child at a very tender age. The boys are oriented to view themselves as the family heads and breadwinners whereas the girls are trained to be obedient and submissive housekeepers (Kambarami, 2006). This consequently displays women as sexual beings and not human beings, where they are being defined in relation to men therefore dependent to them always. The society instills in women qualities such as gentleness, passivity and submission in order to always please men (Kambarami, 2006). In our culture for example when a girl attains the puberty age, she receives endless teachings on how to please and maintain her future husband by being a submissive wife. She is further exposed to issues of her s exuality and how best to utilize it for male’s benefit. The teachings encourage dependency where a woman ultimately cannot support themselves in absence of the husband. They observe a male figure with great awe for provision and cannot survive alone in the case of the husband’s death but have to remarry. The society values the male child more than the female. The foundation of this is in the family where a boy child rules a girl child by the right of birth. He

Terms comparison paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Terms comparison paper - Essay Example The subject of costs in economics is a trivial concern because as simple as it looks, costs assume many forms and applications. As conventionally defined, cost means the amount of money paid for a certain product or service. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (par. 1), cost â€Å"in common usage, (is) the monetary value of goods and services that producers and consumers purchase.† What make the concept of cost challenging in microeconomics is the diverse types or classifications attached to it. Since microeconomics encompass the study of the behavior of individuals, firms, and industries in terms of producing and consuming of economic goods and services, the concept of cost is relevant as it affects microeconomic activities of the units concerned. For consumers and individuals who are not familiar with the concepts of costs, one might have the tendency to discard this as irrelevant and immaterial. However, close examination of these underlying theories would enlighten consum ers on their effects on prices and quantities of goods which are normally offered to the public. This concept is also relevantly applicable to the health care industry. It is interesting to note that in economics, all costs are considered opportunity costs. As rationalized by Petroff (2002, par. 2), resources are usually indented for a particular purpose. When goods are produced using a definite resource, other goods could not be produced using the same raw materials. To use a practical application, for a consumer who decided to buy a television set, the opportunity cost could be the value of a trip to a nearby beach resort which was not taken due to the purchase. In health care, the concept of opportunity cost is best exemplified by the number of years in terms of lives saved and the improvement in the quality of life should monetary resources be spent on an alternative medical intervention suggested or recommended for a diagnosed health care procedure.

Essay --

Abortion is a controversial issue in the today’s society. There are many opinions on the view of abortion, whether it’s positive or negative depending on the individuals’ perspective. First of all what is Abortion? Abortion is a medical process where the foetus is removed or terminated from the womb of the mother before it is born. The reason why I chose the topic abortion is because I was fascinated to hear that an estimated 80,000 - 90,000 surgical abortions are performed in Australia each year (Garratt, 2009). I find this issue important to address because Abortion is probably the world's most common surgical procedure (Arthur, 1999) and that it is increasing over the years, to the extent that people would find it commonly natural to abort the unborn child. By examining sources in relation to the issue, its creditability is its upmost importance so that we are able to understand the issue of abortion with clear understanding and judge for ourselves whether i t’s right or wrong. Journal First Criteria: Peer Review I believe the journal article I have chosen is credible because, peer reviewed journals are considered as the basis of academic research and professional knowledge. They present information that is in a clear and concise fashion, as a result leading to a high level of credibility. Also, the care and effort it takes to develop a publishable manuscript means it can be months between the time research is conducted and the results are even submitted for publication (Solomon, 2007). This indicates that time and effort has been put in the journal article to make the information that is being conveying to the audience authentic and that only the highest quality of research is published. The journal article that I have chose... ...atistics that was established plays on the emotion of the audience as they feel sympathy for the large amount of women that had died because of their first pregnancy. Furthermore statistics also increases the credibility of the article in two ways. Firstly, using statistics establishes that extensive research has been done making the audience believe that the stats provided are factual and reliable. Secondly, using statistics from reliable sources such as World Health Organization rises the credibility of the article. The article that I have chosen is credible because the author John Flynn used statistic from different sources as well as quotes from experts to back up his statement, and also most importantly statistics sticks with the audience even after reading the article. Hence statistics are one important factor that makes an article credible and reliable.

Black Cat Essay

In Poe’s †The Black Cat†, the cat acts as an instrument of justice. The story illustrates that the narrator tortures his pets. Moreover, he kills his wife and the black cat brutally. He tries his best to hide the dead body of his wife. But when the second cat screams and reveals the body to the police officers , it brought about justice to narrator’s wife and all those animals whom narrator had tortured. Thus the cat indirectly punishes the narrator by revealing the dead body of his wife to the corps. To begin with, the narrator is portrayed as an evil-doer in the story and he deserves punishment for his crimes. For example, the he begins to suffer violent mood swings under the influence of alcohol.He takes to mistreating not only other animals but also his wife. During this uncontrollable rage he spares only Pluto(the black cat). One night when Pluto bites his hand, he cuts out one of the cat’s eyes. This shows his vengeful behaviour. He keeps on committing wrong just for the sake of wrong. Then, one night he hangs the cat from a tree , where it dies.Furthermore,one day when narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar , the second cat gets under his feet and nearly trips him down the stairs . In a fury, the man grabs an axe and tries to kill the cat but is stopped by his wife. Enraged, he kills her with the axe instead. These actions of narrator throw light upon his merciless and cruel nature. Moreover , he tries to escape from punishment and hides the dead body. Thus, the action of the cat in the end of the story is completely justified. In conclusion, the second cat ultimately serves as the facilitator of justice when it reveals the corpse’s hiding place at the end of tale. Its initial appearance on the top of a hogstead of rum emphasizes its moral purpose.