Explain some of the reasons for Talent Management failure in MNEs, and Essay

Explain some of the reasons for Talent Management failure in MNEs, and how would you advise organisations to address these issues - Essay Example In a global business environment, the competition is stiff and MNCs need to prepare adequately for the anticipated challenges with regard to their human capital. For instance, most of the MNCs are centrally managed from the headquarters and this creates rigidity in their subsidiaries in terms of giving the middle management the mandate to provide training and promotion of the local personnel as a way of managing the diversity of talent in MNCs (Story et al. 2014). In a knowledge-based industry, the knowledge of the personnel with regard to adapting to the constantly changing business environment is critical. As such, those responsible for the human resource management in these MNCs need to ensure that talent management is enhanced through training of personnel to improve their skills and knowledge management. In essence, where the human resource management of MNCs recognises the importance of knowledge management, innovation and creativity are enhanced. Conversely, the focus on expat riates rather than nurturing the local talent is a major contributor to talent management failure in MNES. This is because they deny HR the opportunity to embrace internal development by attracting, developing and retaining highly performing personnel (Story et al. 2014). This paper examines the reasons for talent management failure in MNEs and how they can be addressed. The human resource management in MNCs has failed to recognise the importance of training their personnel to handle future challenges effectively. Instead, MNEs are focusing on their more experienced personnel to handle the different task in their subsidiaries around the world. This has led to a situation where the local talent is ignored, and managers sent from the headquarters are given the mandate to handle only business functions at MNEs subsidiaries around the world. However, most of the managers sent from the headquarters lack the knowledge and understanding needed to develop a talent pool that can move a

The Five Stages Of Grief Cycle Social Work Essay

The Five Stages Of Grief Cycle Social Work Essay This paper reviews on how the death of child could affect the parents psychological well-beings as well as other factors that could influence their daily lifestyles. It is said that some parents might go through a five-stages of grief cycle during their bereavement period. The five stages of grief cycle include the denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. There are a few short term and long term effects of death of child on child being discussed in this paper. Besides, intervention programmes and their effectiveness were also being mentioned in this paper. Keywords: death, bereavement, parents Every parents love their children. Parents would do anything for the sake of their children. However, sometimes, unexpected loss of children could bring a great effect on parents. For example, the death of children. Some parents might go through the grief period for a few years. Death in human is defined as the permanent loss of a persons life (DeGrazia, 2011). Death is also what people mean by pass away. Death of a child is like losing a part of the parents lives. When the parents lose their child, it does not only mean losing a child, but also losing their identity as parents. Every parent would deal with their bereavement period differently. Bereavement is the word being used to describe the condition of grief when a loved one passed away (Christiane, 2005). Some parents would be well prepared to accept the truth while some might just stay in the stage of denial. According to United States Child Mortality (2007), out of 100000 children in United States, 53287 of the children died in years 2007. A few common causes of death on children are by accidents, cancer, and some developmental disorders that are presented during their birth (Medline Plus, 2007). All these causes are considered as unexpected causes of death. None of the parents would expect their children to pass away at their young age. It is very common for parents to have mental distress when they have experienced the loss of their loved ones such as their children. It could be a tough period of time for the parents to accept the fact that their children have passed away. Some of them would even stay in stage of denial for a long period of time. The process of grief includes five stages which is also known as the grief cycle. Grief cycle model was introduced by Kubler-Ross in year 1969. This model explains how the individuals go through the process of accepting the fact of death and bereavement as well as how they cope with them. The first stage in the grief cycle is named as denial. Denial is the condition when a person either consciously or unconsciously refuses to acknowledge the facts or the reality (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Denial is a natural defense mechanism that exists in every individual. An individual could stay at this stage when he or she experiences some traumatic changes that they can ignore. In death, a person might choose to avoid the fact that someone has passed away or going to pass away. The second stage of grief would be anger. The individuals might get angry once they are informed that someones life is going to end (Kubler-Ross, 1969). They might have the thought that why such an incident would happen on themselves or to the person they love. The individuals could express their anger in different ways. Some individuals might get angry at themselves while some may express their anger on others. They might project their anger on others by blaming others faults on the unlucky incidents. The third stage of grief is known as bargaining. This is the stage when the individuals bargain with God and hope that they could get a negotiation to have a longer life span (Kubler-Ross, 1969). When the individuals know the fact that they have limited time to live, they would start to pray or hope that they could have more time to fulfill their dreams or to work on their unfinished business. For example, if the individuals are told that they only have three months left to live, they might negotiate with God by asking for another three months to live so that they could have more time to find the solutions for their problems as well as to spend more time with their friends and family. The next stage of grief is the state of having depression. It is the stage which the individuals are prepared to have the feeling of grief. At this stage, the individuals are usually emotionally prepared to accept the facts. They might get upset, feel fearful or insecured, and so on. This stage is a sign of the individuals to start accepting the truth (Kubler-Ross, 1969). It is the time for the individuals to adjust their feeling to be emotionally prepared for the worst to come. For example, they could be feeling fearful of losing their loved ones. The last stage would be the acceptance. This stage indicates that individuals are well prepared for their condition (Kubler-Ross, 1969). The individuals could stay at this stage for a long period of time. They might be readily prepared for loss of ones life and calmly deal with all the challenges that have in life. Acceptance is a tough stage as the individuals are expected to accept the reality that they are dying or losing someone whom they love. However, not all individuals would experience all the five stages of grief. It depends on how they interpret the problems and how they deal with them (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Some individuals might skip a few stages and go into acceptance while some may stay in a certain stage for some period of time (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Some individuals might even do not reach the stage of acceptance at the moment they are ending their lives or losing someone. It is possible for the parents to experience either all the five stages of grief or some of them when they are about to lose their child or when they have loss their child. It is found that parents could develop the mental distress even though their children have passed away for five years. Some parents could even develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the death of their children. However, there is gender difference in the duration of parents to bereave over the death of children. Study shows that women would bereave for a longer period of time as compared to men (Murphy, Johnson, Lohan, 2002). These mothers are diagnosed to have mental distress such as anxiety and depression. These mothers reported that they have difficulties in making decision and to remember things (Murphy, Johnson, Lohan, 2002). Mothers are said to score higher scores in PTSD as compared to fathers. Mothers are always those who would have more emotional problems as compared to fathers. This could be due to the fact that females tend to be those who would have higher level of anxiety (Craig, 2005). Another study stated that parents who have experienced loss of child were found to have higher level of depression, weaker psychological health, and higher level of physical health problems as well as having marital problems as compared to those who did not experience the loss of child (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, Hong, 2008). The parents might get too upset by the death of their child and some may even blame themselves on the death. They might blame themselves for not giving proper care to the children and cause them to pass away. The parents could keep having this thought in their mind and lead them to develop the symptoms of depression. In terms of physical health, because of the bereavement period that the parents are experiencing, they might just give up on their lives and do not take good care of themselves (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, Hong, 2008). They might not take in healthy food and cause them to have poor health. Besides, some parents might blame their par tners for not taking proper care of their child and eventually cause their child to pass away. The worst situation could lead to the divorce of both the parents. The conditions mentioned in the above are the long-term effects on parents with loss of child. Besides those stated in the above, there are a few short-term effects that could take place as well. For example, death of child could affect the job status of the parents (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, Hong, 2008). When the parents experience the loss of child, they would not be able to focus on the job that theyre doing. Most of the time, they would eventually make mistakes and lose attention in their work. In addition, the social life of the parents would also get affected during the bereavement period (Rogers, Floyd, Seltzer, Greenberg, Hong, 2008). The parents would try to avoid from the public and do not get involved in any of the social activities. They would try to avoid themselves from participating in the events that could lead them to think of their loss child. In order to help parents to pass through the bereavement period, interventions could be provided to them. According to Rowa-Dewar (2002), interventions could help to reduce the level of depression in mothers. Effective interventions should be developed in order to help parents to reduce their psychological distress level due to the death of their children. As the parents are going through the period of bereavement, a chaplain could be introduced to them in order to provide emotional support to the parents. A chaplain plays a role in providing advises and counseling to individuals who need them (World Fellowship Church, 2003). A chaplain is usually being introduced by churches and hospitals. Sometimes, if the families have their own religious leaders, they could be introduced to the parents at this stage as well. A chaplain serves as a person to provide emotional support to the parents. The parents could spend time to express their feeling to the chaplains as well as to discuss on the problems that they have with them. Besides, support groups could be established for parents who are experiencing the bereavement period. The parents could meet up once in a week to share their feelings with each other. The support group acts as a place for the parents to emotionally help each other rather than calling it a therapy group (YMCA Orange Country, 2012). By attending the support group, the parents are able to obtain emotional support from the other parents, to reduce their depression level, to decrease their feeling of loneliness, to make new friends, to share similar experiences, and also to cope better with the grief process (YMCA Orange Country, 2012). It would be easier for the parents to socialize with each other as they could have the similar experience hence can understand each other better. Most of the time parents do not share their feelings with people who do not have the same experience like them. They often have the thought that others could not understand how upset they are. Murray (1996), whom is a researcher and psychologist from University of Queensland, developed an intervention for parents who have undergone the death of child and to examine the effectiveness of her intervention. Murray (1996) aimed to use the intervention to reduce the mental distress of the parents. Parents who participated in the intervention reported to have reduced in level of depression and decreased in the feeling of separation as well as better satisfaction towards their marital status as compared to those who did not receive any interventions. Murray (2006) mentioned that in the intervention, mothers found to look for emotional support from many other relationships while fathers tend to depend on their marital relationship. This study indicates that effective interventions are suitable to help the parents who have loss child to recover better from the bereavement period. In conclusion, there are five stages in the grief cycle, which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Parents who experienced the loss of child could pass through some of these stages. Studies showed that parents could have high level of depression, fearful, and anxiety after the loss of their child. Long-term effects could last for a long period of time. In terms of short term effects, loss of child could affect the parents job performance as well as their social lifestyles. In order to help the parents to overcome the bereavement period, interventions could be provided to them. Counsellors, chaplains, and social support group could help the parents to recover from the grief period. It is important to provide emotional support to the parents as they might be psychologically affected severely due to the incidents experienced by them. Physical health is an issue to be focused on as well. This is because parents could neglect their health after the loss of their child. Hence, parents who experience the loss of child should not feel hesitate to seek help from the professionals.

The Word of God Does Not to Turn Evil into Good Essay -- Religious Arg

The Word of God Does Not to Turn Evil into Good Conscience is sometimes spoken of as the voice of God within. To many this seems a rather unsophisticated thing to say. It may seem the sort of thing a non-intellectual theist might casually affirm, perhaps in a well-intentioned effort to encourage conscientiousness in himself and others. But the idea that men have a sort of inner guiding light which is a reflection of the mind of God is far from being simple-minded. True or false, it is a basic concept with wide ramifications. For a theist, it is altogether natural to suppose that in some way the human moral sensitivity derives from God. The Bible starts off with the story of Adam and Eve eating of the fruit of ``the tree of knowledge of good and evil''. Whereupon their ``eyes were opened'' and they became ``as gods'' knowing good from evil (Genesis 3:5,7,22). Paul in Romans (2:14-15) speaks of a natural understanding (``conscience'', ``by nature'', ``written on the heart'') present in all men, which he assumes to be authoritative. Most Christian theologians (Calvinists excepted) have held that human moral awareness reflects in some way and to some degree God's own judgment of good and evil. We are said to be made in the image of God. Sophisticated philosophers such as Whitehead and Peirce have held that men live under the inflowing radiance of God's beauty and goodness, men recognizing these values and being attracted to them. Even Plato and Aristotle have an understanding of these issues remarkabl y compatible with the statement that conscience is the voice of God. Atheists of course cannot accept the phrase in any but the most poetic sense, as Dewey permits use of the word ``God'' in his book, A Common Faith... ...onscience. Under some circumstances I have a duty to stick a needle into my child.) So we see that in the end the only morally compelling reason even to obey God is that, all things considered, we feel a conscientious duty to do so. If God's will were to turn out to be in fundamental conflict with our sense of right and wrong, and we had no reason to suppose that we would ever find his apparent evil to be really good, then for what reason at all could a man justify the violation of his own integrity for the sake of a being with fundamentally different values? Nothing about the word God is magic to turn evil into good. Thus Abraham can only be commended for what he decided to do if we suppose he felt a conscien tious compulsion to do so, a compulsion that was either felt directly or resulted from his belief that God's will would finally be revealed as good.

Lebanese Women’s Rights

LEBANESE WOMEN’S RIGHTS FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, ATTENTION, &DIGNITY BY MAZEN AL KHANSA ENG201 INSTRUCTOR ISSAM HATOUM 7 January 2009 I picked this topic because it excited and stimulated me to believe that we are now accepting Lebanese Women to be equally adversarial with men and to attain their rights for better living. The audiences shown are all Lebanese Women to be spoken for that have given up their social, economical, and political being to degradation, failure, and fugitivity. OUTLINE: Thesis: Lebanese women nowadays enjoy equal civil, social, and economical rights and attend institutions of higher education in large numbers, thanks to Arab societies/Islamic religion that provided for her. I. Rights for Lebanese Women A. Economic Rights and equal opportunity B. Political Rights and Civic Voice C. Social and Cultural Rights II. Recommendations for preserving women’s rights and continuity in Lebanese civilization III. Other Rights for Women Worldwide(Particularly USA) The family in Lebanon, as elsewhere in the region, assigns different roles to family members on the basis of gender. The superior status of men in society and within the narrow confines of the nuclear family transcends the barriers of sect or ethnicity. Lebanese family structure is patriarchal. The centrality of the father figure stems from the role of the family as an economic unit, in which the father is the property owner and producer on whom the rest of the family depend. This notion prevails even in rural regions of Lebanon where women participate in peasant work. Although the inferior status of women is undoubtedly legitimized by various religious texts, the oppression of women in Arab society preceded the advent of Islam. The roles of women have traditionally been restricted to those of mother and homemaker. However, since the 1970s Arab societies have allowed women to play a more active role socially and in the work force, basically as a result of the manpower shortage caused by heavy migration of men to Persian Gulf countries. In Lebanon the percentage of women in the labor force has increased, although the Islamic religious revival that swept Lebanon in the 1980s, reasserted traditional cultural values. As a consequence, veils and abas (cloaks) have become more common among Muslim women. Among Christians, the war enabled women to assume more independent roles because of the absence of male family members involved in the fighting. Notwithstanding the persistence of traditional attitudes regarding the role of women, Lebanese women enjoy equal civil rights and attend institutions of higher education in large numbers (for example, women constituted 41 percent of the student body at the American University of Beirut in 1983). Although women have their own organizations, most exist as subordinate branches of the political parties.

How to be a true friend Essay

Life can be a lonely thing without companionship. People always talk about the true value of friendship but people do not know the friendship actually what it stands for and how to be a true friend. True friend is the one, in which the individuals do not have to maintain formalities with each other. A true friend you are talking about is counted as your family member. The relation you share with him/her reaches a stage that even if you do not correspond for sometime, your friendship remains unscathed. But Acquaintances are easy to come by but true friends are a whole other story. So I will talk about how to build friendships and three right ways to be a true friend. â€Å"If you’re absent during my struggle, don’t expect to be present during my success.† Will Smith said. People all have bad days, or weeks, or even months. People all feel overwhelmed at times. A true friend should be present for their highs and lows. It’s easy to be there for our friends when they ask you out for fun things like drinks at the bar, dancing in the club, or laughs at the theater. But are you willing to be there for the hard times that are the opposite of fun? You might not feel comfortable while spending time with an emotionally fragile person on the verge of tears, but true friends are readily available when they’re needed the most. When the other person is in trouble, a true friend comes to know that merely by listening to their â€Å"Hello† over the phone. A true friend does not desert each other when one is facing trouble. They would face it together and support each other, even if it is against the interests of the other person. So to be a true friend is to help your friend whatever you can do. Second, people should be more truthful and vulnerable. Ironing out conflicts with friends is more difficult than with family members. Most pe ople make the mistake of assuming that friends can help easily sort through conflict, but it’s the opposite. People often have different allowances for emotional expression. For example, I have learned that the hard way. Months after  befriending a now former friend, I learned that the person was speaking badly about my privacy to another friends. Because the person knew personal information about me, what he said was more convincing and harder to overcome. In many ways, you have to be much more strategic about choosing friends. When a conflict arises, pick up the phone to discuss with your friend, rather than using email. But even that can be awkward if there’s been a behind-the-back controversy. So if you can’t accept a person as they are, you will never know the feeling of true friendship. All best friends are friends, but not all friends can be best friends. In this world of cynics and back stabbers, there are still some people who are worth being friends with. They have to be recognized and respected for being best friends for the lifetime. Full disclosure will strengthen your friendship and make you both feel at ease in each other’s company. Finally, true friends will adv ice you with the constructive criticisms. A true friend is not scared to tell you what you’re doing wrong. They’re not scared to seriously intervene if they see that something is seriously bad for you or if you’re going down the wrong path. But they always support their criticism with advice that can help you improve. â€Å"The truth is rarely pure and never simple†, Oscar Wilde said. Confronting a person about an inconvenient truth isn’t easy, but sometimes it needs to be done. If you have something to say and can’t find the nerves to do it, ask yourself, â€Å"How would I feel if it was me making a very bad decision and my friend said nothing about it?† While speaking out doesn’t guarantee you’ll change their mind, staying silent does guarantee you’ll regret not speaking up sooner. In my conclusion, a true friend will sacrifice their own comfort or happiness and put you first. A true friend is not a fair-weather friend. They are there for you in good times and in bad times. A true friend is someone who is honesty and can rel y on. Best friends support even each other, even if the whole world opposes them. It is not easy getting true friends for the lifetime. If you have even one true friend, consider yourself blessed.

The Walt Disney Company Case Study Essays

The Walt Disney Company Case Study Essays The Walt Disney Company Case Study Paper The Walt Disney Company Case Study Paper BUSMRH 4490 Strategic Management Case 2 The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King Kaitlyn Kisiday Alex Maicks Chelsea Parker Jonathan Russ Ryan Terek 1. ) Why has Disney been successful for so long? Disney has sustained prolonged success for a variety of reasons. One source of success was the way Walt and Roy Disney decided to manage the company internally when the organization was founded in 1923. Disney emphasized teamwork, communication, and cooperation in the workplace to make employees feel valued and strengthen their commitment to the company. These values remain at the core of Disney’s corporate culture, and have been formally incorporated into their new-hire training program at the company’s corporate university. With the use of animation, Disney can control an entire entertainment experience, unlike actors, because cartoon characters and their environment can be created and controlled by imagination. Disney’s most distinct corporate skill, according to former CEO Michael Eisner, is the ability to manage that creativity. Eisner encouraged innovative ideas and was protective of the company’s creative efforts even at their earliest development. Emphasis on this development allowed Disney to take advantage of opportunities in the market and often become the first mover. Disney has proved successful at determining which advantages would be sustainable and which should only be temporary. The main contributors to prolonged success have been the results of the key strategic decisions made by the organization regarding diversification. Disney has used diversification to create additional sources of revenue beyond cartoon shorts and feature films by expanding vertically into television, theatre, retail, and the internet. Creating divisions outside production, such as Disney Music Company, Disneyland, Disney Cruises, and DisneyQuest, created cross-promotional opportunities among Disney’s products, services, and strengthened the brand itself. Disney’s ability to effectively manage both vertical and horizontal integration into a wide array of business activities and projects continues to drive the company’s progress and profit. 2. ) What did Michael Eisner do to rejuvenate Disney? Specifically, how did he increase net income in his first four years? Michael Eisner entered Disney as CEO in 1984, and committed his efforts to producing annual revenue growth and return on stockholder equity in excess of 20%. He also pledged to strengthen the Disney brand and protect corporate values of quality, creativity, entrepreneurship, and teamwork. Believing that â€Å"managing creativity† was Disney’s most unique corporate capability, Eisner was to able harness Disney’s creative and innovative capabilities to maximize profits from new and existing operations. Rebuilding the strength of their television programming and films was an important part of this strategy. Disney increased its presence on network television to re-establish Disney as a producer of quality programs, and increase demand for Disney’s other entertainment ventures. The Disney Sunday Movie, debuted on ABC in 1986, and was followed by the popular Golden Girls on NBC, and production of syndicated non-network shows. Disney also increased their screen presence and generated revenue by selling older programs to other networks through a newly created syndication operation. A struggling movie division produced two films, held only 4% of box office share, and generated a profit of only a $1 million 1984 [Exhibit A, page 6]. To increase film output, Eisner used the Touchstone label to compete in new segments of the film industry, predominantly comedies, without diminishing Disney’s core audience. These films were produced on moderate and closely managed budgets with intent to be profitable rather than to become the next box-office juggernaut. Disney also increased the output of their animated films though investment in new technology and human capital and the decision to release these films every 12 to 18 months, versus every 4 to 5 years. After four years, the Disney film division reached an averaged output of 15 to 18 films per year, produced the highest earning film in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and became the market leader with 19% box office share. Most impressively, income from the movie division grew from $1 million in 1984, to $34 million, $54 million, $131 million, and $186 million in each corresponding year. Income from Disney theme parks increased more than 200% during Michael Eisner’s first years, from $186 million in 1984 to $565 million in 1988 [Exhibit A, page 6]. New national advertising, increased park capacity, expanded hours of operation, and increased ticket prices contributed to the short term increase, while investments in new attractions, event spaces, and hotel development would help sustain steady profits into the future. In 1984, income from consumer products totaled $54 million [Exhibit A, page 6]. The new leadership and direction of the company under Michael Eisner from that time renewed the strength of Disney’s brand equity. A stronger brand supported development in the consumer products division of the â€Å"retail as entertainment† concept. The Disney Store, launched in 1987, achieved twice the average rate of sales per square foot in the retail industry. By 1988, income from consumer products totaled $134 million, increasing by more than 140% during Eisner’s first years as CEO. Successful leadership by Michael Eisner at Disney’s top resulted in financial success at Disney’s bottom line. Disney’s net income increased from $242 million in 1984 to $885 million by 1988. Over the same period of time, income growth averaged 40% each year, and Return on Equity reached 24% and 25% in 1987 and 1989, respectively. 3. Does Disney pursue vertical integration? Apply transaction cost economics to understand Disney’s vertical expansion decisions. Disney pursued vertical integration in a variety of ways. Aside from cartoon shorts and animation films, Disney expanded to enter the television, internet, and theme park markets with creations such as Disneyland, DisneyQuest, and the Disney Channel. Disney saw the internet as a possible distribution channel for its film library and its sports and news programming. Disney believed that the internet would soon be where entertainment in the home consolidates. Disney also pursued forward vertical integration. Disney ended their relationship with distribution partner RKO in 1953 and created Buena Vista to save distribution costs for their animated films. Disney was able to save ? of their gross revenues due to this decision to distribution their movies themselves. Disney also further improved the bottom line by avoiding exorbitant salaries by developing the studios own pool of talent. Disney also employed forward integration through the initiation of Disney Stores. This provided Disney with a wholly owned retail outlet to distribute product through that generated sales per square foot at twice the average rate of traditional retail. Disney Stores allowed Disney total control of customer experience and brand management in that space. The EuroDisney project is an example of Disney’s use of vertical disintegration. Although responsible for the design, development, and operation of the park, Disney did not have a majority ownership. Investment from outside parties limited their initial investment and share of risk. Disney chose to give up sole claim to the profits of EuroDisney in exchange for a fixed percentage of ticket sales and revenues. In many its operations, Disney employs a vertical integration strategy because it eliminates much of the transaction costs that come from working with the market, such as the possibility that the markets may fail. Creating contracts is another cost, as contracts take time and are difficult to form in a way that satisfies both parties involved, in an attempt to cover all possible contingencies. In addition, companies have their own, unique motives. When working in the market, there is always risk these other companies will work in their own favor as they come across opportunities that only benefit them. Also, Disney is very committed to holding to their values. This may create another cost in the form of conflict because they may come across differing views and cultures with other companies that do not run their business the same way. 4. ) What corporate strategy does Walt Disney employ? Identify and explain all types of diversification/integration within Disney’s overall corporate strategy. Disney employs both vertical and horizontal integration as part of their corporate strategy. The Walt Disney Company pursues a highly differentiated strategy, operating primarily in five distinct segments: Theme Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products, Media Networks, Studio Entertainment, and Internet and Direct Marketing. Theme Parks and Resorts is Disney’s second highest grossing segment. Included under this segment are all Disney Theme Parks, with the exclusion of EuroDisney, and all other resorts and resort activities. Sports teams, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the Anaheim Angels, as well as regional entertainment facilities like ESPNZone and DisneyQuest, are within this business line. Media networks, Disney’s highest grossing business line, can be broken down into two subcategories: Broadcasting and Cable Networks ; International. Broadcasting consists of ABC Television and Radio Network along with associated TV and Radio stations. Cable Networks and International includes ESPN, Disney Channel, Toon Disney, and SoapNet. Various newspapers and periodicals acquired through the ABC merger also fall into this business line. Studio Entertainment is a very diverse segment including: Television, Film, Home Video, theatrical, and music production, as well as, distribution and syndicated TV. Disney has created or acquired multiple movie production companies including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, and Miramax, each company producing a very distinct product with a separate target audience. A similar pattern is identifiable with Disney’s various music production companies; each produces a distinct product with a distinct target market. Television production includes program development in the form of live-action, animation, and pay television services. Consumer Products consists primarily of licensing arrangements with various retailers, promoters, and publishers, where Disney allows third parties to use â€Å"Walt Disney†, Disney characters, and other intangible properties for specific purposes. Consumer Products also includes Disney Stores, Disney’s direct retail outlet. Finally, Disney also produces books, magazines, and audio and computer software for entertainment and educational purposes. Internet and Direct Marketing includes all of Disney’s’ online activities as well as the Disney catalogue. This includes entities such as the Disney catalogue, ESPN. om, Disney. com, GO. com, Etc. Aside from all the aforementioned business activities, Disney is or has been involved in many more projects and lines of business. Disney started an in-house travel company to work with travel agents and airlines to draw customers to Disney Parks and Resorts. Disney created the Disney Development Company to find the best way to utilize Disney’s unused acreage. Disney also has been involved in timeshares, night clubs, theatre operations, Disney On-Ice, and the Disney Parade. 5. ) Evaluate the benefits and costs of each type of diversification. From this analysis state and justify (through quantitative analysis) whether Disney is creating or destroying value via diversification? After analysis, Disney has an obvious benefit of diversification, mainly because it allows them to expand their initial business idea into several different markets. Disney was able to take a relatable set of characters and ideas in the film industry, and not only maximize the profits from those characters in the form of amusement parks, resorts, and other entertainment facilities, but also expand their business into other markets which may seem nrelated. While the initial start-up cost and recurring operating costs of theme parks, studios, and media networks are high, they have proven to be one of Disney’s highest grossing business ventures. For example, in 2000 theme parks generated $6. 803 billion in revenue and operating income of $1. 62 billion [Exhibit A, page 6]. These theme parks help create and support much of the Disney brand that p eople think of today, which is one of their strongest sources of value. In the media networks, Disney earned $9. 615 billion revenue in 2000 and produced an operating income of $2. 98 billion. The benefit of this venture is that Disney is able to spread their brand across the country by reaching cable audiences with the Disney Channel and ESPN stations, as well as local viewers, after their purchase of ABC. Once again, the costs and risk of creating a channel and buying a major television channel comes with high cost, yet Disney is still able to make a profit from this segment of their business. While the film industry had revenues of $5. 994 billion, expenses for the segment are high as they only saw an operating income of $110 million. This is one of Disney’s original lines of business, but it appears Disney has peaked in this segment. Even though profits aren’t as high as other segments of their business, the benefits of this segment still outweigh their costs. Additionally, due to the relatively cheap cost of consumer products line, in 2000 Disney was able to record an operating income of $455 million and with revenues of $2. 622 billion. Disney benefits by selling products related to their highly desired brand, and for a relatively low cost. Unfortunately for Disney, their internet and direct marketing line saw an operating loss of ($402) during 2000, the fourth consecutive loss for this segment. Disney once again tried to carry success over from their well established brand into a new segment. However, the costs and demands of owning and running an internet and direct marketing line appear to be outside of Disney’s core competencies. Even though they may have foresight to predict the importance of e-commerce in retail, Disney has yet to make a profit of this segment. Further supporting the benefits of Disney’s diversification is Disney’s Index on the S;P 500, having reached over 1,000 for the last three years of data provided (1998-2000. ) These marks were the highest Disney has ever reached in this Index, according to the data provided, and achieved at the height of Disney’s diversification. This upholds the position that Disney does produce value through its diversification into many different business ventures. 6. ) Which expansion modes have Disney utilized to implement its corporate strategy? Use facts from the case to identify the benefits and costs of each expansion mode. Disney has pursued three primary forms of expansion: Vertical expansion, Horizontal expansion, and Geographic expansion. Vertical and Horizontal expansion refer to Disney’s various product and business lines, and geographic expansion refers to Disney’s physical presence. Disney owns or has licensed parks on three different continents. By expanding geographically, Disney has become one of the most recognized brands in the world, in large part due to their physical presence. By having operations in multiple counties in several parts of the world, Disney is able to gain expertise and knowledge that can help it more closely connect it to its target market. Creating new parks, resorts, or other entertainment facilities carries huge initial start-up costs and recurring fixed costs. It also adds numerous employees and operations that can become difficult to manage efficiently. Expanding horizontally allows firms to take advantage of economies of scale by lowering the average cost per unit by spreading fixed costs over greater production. Another key advantage is the potential to gain new distribution channels. Following the ABC merger, Disney gained over 20 radio stations and many print media outlets. Seemingly, the primary motivation for Disney to integrate horizontally appears to be for economies of scope. Economies of scope is the utilization of a wider array of available resources to new create synergies. After Disney merged with ABC, they were able to utilize economies of scope through cross-promotion. They could advertise and tie-in Disney products on the acquired ABC media outlets and vice versa. Another advantage of vertical integration, made obvious through the merger with ABC, is the gain in market share. Though not stated explicitly, it’s not difficult to image that Disney may have gained substantial power in negotiations with cable and satellite television providers after merging with ABC. A major cost of horizontal integration comes from a new, bloated company. Departments become redundant across the organization, and the company becomes inefficient. Acquisitions like this also are accompanied by months and months of paperwork that ultimately distracts from the company’s primary operations. Disney and ABC were forced to mesh together two distinct corporate cultures. This can irritate and de-motivate employees, ultimately causing further inefficiency. Vertical expansion can create better coordination within the supply chain. When Disney created its own distribution company, Buena Vista, they were able to directly control all operations involved in the distribution of their media, eliminating the potential costs of negotiations and hold-ups. Another benefit captured by creating Buena Vista was the ability to capture downstream profit margin. Vertical expansion could eventually lead to Disney gaining more core competencies. Achieving lower unit cost, better coordination, and increase in core competencies create higher entry barriers for potential competitors. Vertical integration can also cause a firm to become too large and complex to efficiently manage. Owning and operating completely different business’ under the same corporation requires expertise in many different areas be successful, which can be a substantial cost. Exhibit AThe Walt Disney Company Financial Data, 1983 – 2000 ($ millions)

Biography of Heinrich Hertz

Biography of Heinrich Hertz Physics students around the world are familiar with the work of Heinrich Hertz, the German physicist who proved that electromagnetic waves definitely exist. His work in electrodynamics paved the way for many  modern uses of light (also known as electromagnetic waves). The frequency unit that physicists use is named the Hertz in his honor. Fast Facts Heinrich Hertz Full Name: Heinrich Rudolf HertzBest Known For: Proof of the existence of electromagnetic waves, Hertzs principle of least curvature, and the photoelectric effect.Born: February 22, 1857 in Hamburg, GermanyDied: January 1, 1894 in  Bonn, Germany, at age 36Parents: Gustav Ferdinand Hertz and Anna Elisabeth PfefferkornSpouse: Elisabeth Doll, married 1886Children: Johanna and MathildeEducation: Physics and mechanical engineering, was a professor of physics in various institutes.Significant Contributions: Proved that electromagnetic waves propagated various distances through the air, and summarized how objects of different materials affect each other on contact. Early Life and Education Heinrich Hertz was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1857. His parents were Gustav Ferdinand Hertz (a lawyer) and Anna Elisabeth Pfefferkorn. Although his father was born Jewish, he converted to Christianity and the children were raised as Christians. This did not stop the Nazis from dishonoring Hertz after his death, due to the taint of Jewishness, but his reputation was restored after World War II. The young Hertz was educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg, where he showed a deep interest in scientific subjects. He went on to study engineering in Frankfurt under such scientists as Gustav Kirchhoff and Hermann Helmholtz. Kirchhoff specialized in studies of radiation, spectroscopy, and electrical circuit theories. Helmholtz was a physicist who developed theories about vision, the perception of sound and light, and the fields of electrodynamics and thermodynamics. It is small wonder then, that the young Hertz became interested in some of the same theories and eventually did his lifes work in the fields of contact mechanics and electromagnetism. Life's Work and Discoveries After earning a Ph.D. in 1880, Hertz took up a series of professorships where he taught physics and theoretical mechanics. He married Elisabeth Doll in 1886 and they had two daughters. Hertzs doctoral dissertation focused on James Clerk Maxwells theories of electromagnetism. Maxwell worked in mathematical physics until his death in 1879 and formulated what is now known as Maxwells Equations. They describe, through mathematics, the functions of electricity and magnetism. He also predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves. Hertzs work focused on that proof, which took him several years to achieve. He constructed a simple dipole antenna with a spark gap between the elements, and he managed to produce radio waves with it. Between 1879 and 1889, he did a series of experiments that used electrical and magnetic fields to produce waves that could be measured. He established that the velocity of the waves was the same as the speed of light, and studied the characteristics of the fields he generated, measuring their magnitude, polarization, and reflections. Ultimately, his work showed that light and other waves he measured were all a form of electromagnetic radiation that could be defined by Maxwells equations. He proved through his work that electromagnetic waves can and do move through the air.   In addition, Hertz focused on a concept called the photoelectric effect, which occurs when an object with electrical charge loses that charge very quickly when it is exposed to light, in his case, ultraviolet radiation. He observed and described the effect, but never explained why it happened. That was left to Albert Einstein, who published his own work on the effect. He suggested that light (electromagnetic radiation) consists of energy carried by electromagnetic waves in little packets called quanta. Hertzs studies and Einsteins later work eventually became the basis for an important branch of physics called quantum mechanics.  Hertz and his student Phillip Lenard also worked with cathode rays, which are produced inside vacuum tubes by electrodes.   Heinrich Hertzs portrait and drawings of electrical fields that he studied appeared on a German postage stamp in 1994. Deutsche Bundespost. What Hertz Missed Interestingly, Heinrich Hertz did not think his experiments with electromagnetic radiation, particularly radio waves, had any practical value. His attention was focused solely on theoretical experiments. So, he proved that electromagnetic waves propagated through the air (and space). His work led others to experiment even further with other aspects of radio waves and electromagnetic propagation. Eventually, they stumbled across the concept of using radio waves to send signals and messages, and other inventors used them to create telegraphy, radio broadcasting, and eventually television. Without Hertzs work, however, todays use of radio, TV, satellite broadcasts, and cellular technology wouldnt exist. Nor would the science of radio astronomy, which relies heavily on his work.   Other Scientific Interests Hertzs scientific accomplishments werent limited to electromagnetism. He also did a great deal of research on the topic of contact mechanics, which is the study of solid matter objects that touch each other. The big questions in this area of study have to do with the stresses the objects produce on each other, and what role friction plays in interactions between their surfaces. This is an important field of study in mechanical engineering. Contact mechanics affect design and construction in such objects as combustion engines, gaskets, metalworks, and also objects that have electrical contact with each other.   Hertzs work in contact mechanics began in 1882 when he published a paper titled On the Contact of Elastic Solids, where he was actually working with the properties of stacked lenses. He wanted to understand how their optical properties would be affected. The concept of Hertzian stress is named for him and describes the pinpoint stresses that objects undergo as they contact each other, particularly in curved objects.   Later Life Heinrich Hertz worked on his research and lecturing until his death on January 1, 1894. His health began failing several years prior to his death, and there was some evidence he had cancer.  His final years were taken up with teaching, further research, and several operations for his condition. His final publication, a book titled  Die Prinzipien der Mechanik (The Principles of Mechanics), was sent to the printer a few weeks before his death.   Honors Hertz was honored not only by the use of his name for the fundamental period of a wavelength, but his name appears on a memorial medal and a crater on the Moon. An institute called the Heinrich-Hertz Institute for Oscillation Research was founded in 1928, known today as the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute, HHI. The scientific tradition continued with various members of his family, including his daughter Mathilde, who became a famous biologist. A nephew, Gustav Ludwig Hertz, won a Nobel prize, and other family members made significant scientific contributions in medicine and physics.   Bibliography â€Å"Heinrich Hertz and Electromagnetic Radiation.† AAAS - The Worlds Largest General Scientific Society, www.aaas.org/heinrich-hertz-and-electromagnetic-radiation. www.aaas.org/heinrich-hertz-and-electromagnetic-radiation.Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer: Specialized Microscopy Techniques - Fluorescence Digital Image Gallery - Normal African Green Monkey Kidney Epithelial Cells (Vero), micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/hertz.html.http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Hertz_Heinrich.htmlâ€Å"Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.† Cardan Biography, www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Hertz_Heinrich.html.