Walt Disney Company The Quest For Competitive Advantage

The Walt Disney Company, a company that every person from ages four to ninety-four know. Some people believe Disney is just a company that creates new characters and movies for their children to grow up with, however; they are expanded their horizons throughout the years. Today, Walt Disney is diversified in the media and entertainment industry. These include theme parks and resorts, motion picture production, and a various number of television networks. As Walt Disney continued to dominate other industries, it is no surprise that their revenues have increased. From the beginning of 2007 with revenues of $35.5 billion the company increased profits to $45 billion in 2013. Not only this, but the share price had consistently outperformed in†¦show more content†¦This image has been developed and built throughout decades. While they have been developing this brand they have also been given the title of being ethical and having outstanding values. Disney has created a family-orien ted atmosphere that parents have come to appreciate since the company was established. Becoming a diversified company throughout the years would be Walt Disney’s second strength. Since the beginning, Disney was the largest media and entertainment company in the world. Some of the most popular products and services Disney owns is Star Wars, Marvel, and even ESPN. When a company is capable to spread its line of work like Walt Disney has, there is an unlimited space for success. However, with these strengths comes weaknesses as well. For instance, even though Disney has took over the ESPN network there have been nearly eight million people unsubscribe. This has nothing to do with the fact that Disney owns it, but because people are turning to internet for streaming sport functions. Unfortunately, under this circumstance Disney is still affected dramatically. A second weakness would be how unpredictable customers are. Since Disney solely exists because of their customers they mus t adapt to changes in tastes and preferences. Not only this, but being in the entertainment industry Disney customers expect to see new movies and attractions. To be in this industry it is difficult to constantly beShow MoreRelatedWalt Disney s Corporate Strategy988 Words   |  4 Pages1. What is the Walt Disney Company s corporate strategy? (20 pts) †¢ â€Å"The Happiest Place on Earth†! Walt Disney’s corporate strategy focuses a lot on the family. They want to achieve family focuses content with the uses of technology to create an experience that will be the most memorable. Another key point of their strategy is to widen their reach of families on a more international scale. Being better than the competition has placed Walt Disney in the forefront. 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Music during the Romantic Era Essay Example

Essays on Music during the Romantic Era Essay The paper "Music during the Romantic Era" is a great example of an essay on music. Music during the Romantic Era was characterized by extending the rules which were restricted or formally structured during the Classical Era. Composers during the Romantic Era extended the boundaries in terms of exploring diverse possibilities in movement, harmonies, rhythm, melody, and tones, among other musical elements. There were schools of thought during the era that were delineated in terms of extending the rules conservatively or defying any boundaries and restrictions.Composers such as Schubert and Brahms manifested a more conservative approach in extending the boundaries of their musical compositions. Franz Schubert’s creative invention of the art song or a form of Lied actually exemplified an extension of boundaries in terms of blending poems and music. Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, on the other hand, exemplifies the composer’s innovative exploration of culture from a foreign land. Composers who pushed the boundaries were Berlioz and Wagner known to have challenged musical rules of that era. Richard Wagner was notoriously known to have gained controversy during the era due to his extending the boundaries excessively. He was chosen as the favorite composer of the Nazis. Berlioz was famous for challenging musical boundaries through his famous composition, Symphonie fantastique,  a unique and innovative structure of musical score which attempted to relay a story with the use of musical instruments alone.In terms of being coined as entering the â€Å"dark side† due to pushing the boundaries of defying rules in dynamics and expressions, one’s personal contention is that these composers were just exploring the extent or limits to the expressions they could manifest from their compositions. Richard Strauss was viewed to have entered the dark side when he chose to remain in Germany during WWII to assume the post of a Jewish conductor th at was reportedly removed by the Nazis. However, their analogies to entering the dark side could be interpreted as the era coincided with the Nazi regime whose members also favored composers of those times – but not necessarily meaning that their goals and commitments mirror those identified in notoriety.

Opre 6371 Case 5-2 Free Essays

6Case 5-2: Rondot Automotive Name: Lovee Sachdeva, Bin Wen, Matthew Miles, Ryan Buxbaum ,Yuguang Wang, Shaoying Lu. Group: 3 Date: 2/22/2013 ————————————————- Situation: * Glenn Northcott is the purchasing planner at Rondot Automobile in Jackson, Mississippi. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rondot Worldwide, a leading global designer and manufacturer of electrical and electronic components. We will write a custom essay sample on Opre 6371 Case 5-2 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Note: You are Glenn) * Responsible for evaluation the outsourcing opportunity * Meet with Terry Gibson and purchasing manager to decide whether or not to take actions on outsourcing * Glenn had been approached by Greven E-Coating willing to provide electro coating services to Rondot Automobile * Goals of decision making: Reducing the total costs while maintaining and minimizing the risks from any changes made * Considerable global competition under severe cost pressure * Customer’s price reduction pressure expectancies from global competition * Total Sales and employment at the Jackson plant had steadily declined * Company is under significant pressure on cost reduction. The company’s current priority is to reduce operation costs * Rondot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rondot Worldwide, a leading global designer and manufacturer of electrical and electronic components. Rondot Automotive operated 85 plants in 25 countries. The purchasing organization at Rondot automoti ve had a hybrid structure and the Jackson plant’s purchasing department consisted of four people, including two buyers, a planner (Glen) and Terry Gibson. * Schedule with the purchasing manager, Terry Gibson, and the plant manager, Dick Taylor in one week, and both of them are under significant pressure to reduce costs at Jackson plant. * Greven E-Coating outsourcing opportunity * Greven E-Coating Company uses a system whereby a DC electrical charge is applied to a metal part immersed in a bath of oppositely charged paint particles. * Considered more cost efficient compared to traditional wet paint systems * Samples provided from Greven E-Coating Company Tests results: 5/6 of families of housings could be converted to e-coaring using Greven at a cost of 15 cents each * Parts for five of the six represents 60% of the Jackson Plant’s volume * Failure because of different methods of adhesion of a magnet to the housing. Hot –bond adhesion process fits e-coating whil e cold-bond adhesion process does not fit e-coating system Current situation: * Total sales and employment at the Jackson plant had steadily declined over the past five years. * The number of employees at the plant had dropped from 1450 to 600 and plant management was under pressure to lower costs and regain market share. * Glenn has the option to do outsourcing on cleaning and painting work to Greven E-Coating. Glenn needs to come up with an ideal recommendation on how to reduce the cost and propose that to Terry Gibson and Dick Taylor. * The cleaning and wet painting had been installed 17 years prior and undergone a number of upgrades, and the current painting method costs 25 cents for each housing. (There are six parts in a housing family) BASIC ISSUES 1. Company to take decision on insourcing or outsourcing 2. Higher costs related to painting cleaning 3. Lack of advanced technology to compete in cost reduction for a lower price 4. A decision to make, once made, is often difficu lt to reserve. If Rondot Automobile decides to make agreements on e-coating system, The plant needs to convert 100% hot-bond adhesion system 5. Total cost of converting 40% of cold-bond adhesion system to the total cost savings: Long-Term estimation, not short term 6. Whether the use of e-coating will lead to sole source dependency: Is the e-coating system a common painting method in market? 7. The durability of e-coating VS. of traditional coating system 8. Cost benefits analysis on the process 9. Inexperienced decision making on outsourcing opportunity Tasks: * What does Richard Kaplan do? Richard needs to clarify and calculate the total cost savings and the cost of converting from cold-bond adhesion to hot-bond adhesion * 25 Cents * 6 = $1. 50 * 15 Cents * 6 = $0. 90 * Does the difference $0. 60 can cover the conversion from traditional wet coating system to e-coating system? The durability and re-paint rate is also needed to consider: If the wet-coating system has durability of 10 years while e-coating repaint rate is 8 years, The total cost of conversion from traditional wet-coating system to e-coating system will incre ase significantly * What are alternatives? * Negotiate with Greven E-Coating for a lower costs * Conduct a careful research on both advantages and disadvantages of E-coating system * Search for more options in potential sources and substitute items other than traditional wet-painting and e-coating * The challenge of maintaining long-term technological and economic viability for the possible 100% hot-bond adhesion system * The revision of policy of supplier selection Criteria of standardization and policies regarding the choosing of suppliers * An understanding of the market conditions in order to set appropriate expectations for the price provided from Greven E- Coating * Analyze data collected for cost and technical information * Identify the root causes of sales decline. If the sales revenue can be improved, the company can maintain the current painting process to avoid future external risks * * Determine that is the cold-bond adhesion system a necessary facility for the particula r family to manufacture any specified electrical and electronic components * Dose this outsourcing plan fit the business goals and objectives? * What does the company’s top management think about the Jackson plant’s outsourcing plan? * Which level of management makes a final decision on outsourcing? Talk to manufacturing manager and clarify more information about cold-bond adhesion * Talk to the manager in the family that uses cold-bond adhesion system. Clarify the reason why the family of housing choose to use cold-bond adhesion * Identify and estimate total cost to uninstall and setup the new bond system if the method of adhering a magnet to the housing is not mandatory SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION; 1. How to make analysis of the cost of switching current painting process versus the cost of setting up a painting process? What kinds of training should be provided due to the new standards of temperature, air and etc? 2. If the result of outsourcing is rejected, i s the subcontracting an alternative for the company? What are the benefits and risks of using reverse auctions for specialized OEM parts? 3. What risk management and contractual steps are necessary before moving company owned tooling to a new supplier? 4. What are the benefits and risks of outsourcing? Actions: * Determination of detailed function mandatory of Cold-Bond Adhesion system * Meet with both Manufacturing manager and the family manager in Jackson Plant. * Determine the total costs of uninstallation the current cold-bond adhesion system and the installation of hot-bond adhesion system * Total Cost Savings calculation * Identify the cost savings potential after the modification. With the newly modified standards, communicate with Greven E-Coating and analyze the decision based on the feedbacks from the supplier. * Determine whether the total cost savings can cover the conversion cost from cold-bond adhesion system to hot-bond system * Estimate the future necessity and future technological tendency of replacing traditional wet paint to E-Coating. If the company is going to replace the traditional wet painting in the future anyway, the cost of conversion can be ignored. * Talk with Betty McKinley again and determine the detailed cost of holding two more weeks of inventory * Make agreements on price and quantity, meanwhile negotiate the term of warranty and quality assurance with Greven E-Coating Results: If accept outsourcing opportunity * Cost savings:25-15-3=7 cents on each housing * Add another two weeks worth of inventory * Lower labor and material costs * Product price reductions i. e. ability to offer reduced price to customers. * Become more competitive and there will be a gradual increase in the profit and market share. * If not accepting outsourcing opportunity (i. e.. using the earlier system ) * No savings- no price reductions * Reduce risk for investment * Extra cost in upgrading the system * Spending on more labor in this operation which results in additional costs * May result in lower opera ting time * Extra time for testing upgraded system. If total cost savings is greater than the costs of uninstallation of Cold-bond adhesion + Installation of hot-bond adhesion + extra inventory carrying costs: * Prepare the agreements and contract documentation on outsourcing decision with Greven E-Coating * The contract content with Greven E-Coating tends to be short-term to avoid sole-source dependency situation. Reach out lower priced suppliers while maintain the quality assurance * If total cost savings is equal to or less than the costs of uninstallation of Cold-bond adhesion + Installation of hot-bond adhesion + extra inventory carrying costs: * Determine the importance of common tendency of using E-coating for other manufacturing companies. If the E-coating is not mandatory in the future market, reject the outsourcing plan to avoid extra possible risks * Find out other alternative ways to reduce total costs, such as reduction of labor costs, manufacturing overhead or the replacement of cost-efficient equipment or facilities Priorities: * Maintain cost reduction at the Jackson plant. * Increase sales volume and high market share. * Ensure a successful outsourcing decision. * Maintain company’s reputation-image for reliability. Conclusion: The painting process should be outsourced in order to achieve significant cost savings. Ensure supplier selection process is properly done, forecast and mitigate against outsourcing inherent risks and ensure quality standard is met at all times. These will help in achieving a successful outsourcing agreement. How to cite Opre 6371 Case 5-2, Papers

Expenditure Approach For Australia and China

Question: Discuss about theExpenditure Approach For Australia and China. Answer: Introduction The expenditure approach is also referred to as the Gross Domestic Product method which is used in determining the economic status of a country, its total productivity of the goods and services and its growth and development. The GDP is used to calculate the Gross Domestic Product of a country by using three components: the domestic consumption of the people living there, investments by both the government and the private sectors or organizations, government consumption or expenditure of the government on its citizens and net exports which refers to the difference between the imports and the exports of the country (Landefeld et al, 2008). Apparently, this is one of the most widely used approaches that are being used by countries in their estimation of economic growth. This means that these factors are also able to affect the rate of economic growth and development of a country. This report is going to give an explanation of these components and show how they influenced the economy of Australia and China in the year 2014, 2015 and 2016. Household Consumption This is simply the total consumption of all the citizens living in the country. It consists of the total private expenditures i.e. the household expenditures. Apparently, it is the largest components of all the other three which means that it covers the largest percentage of the total GDP of a country (Jacobs et al, 2011). These expenses may include the payment of rent, costs incurred in purchasing jewelry, food, machines, among other things. In the year 2014, the household consumption was 3%, 2015 it decreased to 2.9% and in 2016 it increased to 3% which contributed to 1.6% increase of the total GDP. All these percentages are out of the total GDP of Australia. Between the year 2014 and 2015 the consumption in China accounted for 64.6% and in 2014-2015 it accounted for 66.4% of total GDP. This caused an increase of the GDP in general for the country (Morrison, 2014). Government Expenditure This is the spending the government spends or incurs during the provision of goods and services to its citizens. It includes the costs that it incurs in security and finalizing of the goods and services provision (Clements et al, 2013). These expenses may include things like purchases of the military weapons and other materials needed for security purposes, the payment of salaries and wages to the public servants, infrastructure development in the country, provision of health services by building hospitals and dispensaries, pension payments to the retired public servants, education system support to name just but a few. In the year 2014, the Australian government consumption was 0.5%, 2015 and 2016 it increased to 3.8% of the total GDP contributing to 0.7% points of the total GDP growth and development change ((Rees et al, 2014). This increases the total GDP of Australia in general and especially for specific years. The government expenditure for China increased by 18.7% between the year 2015 and 2016 and by 10.9% between the year 2014 and 2015. Investments This is the investments that the country and as well as the private sectors invest in any asset or project for future returns or profits. The investment can be termed as investment only when it is able to earn the returns. However, if it does not earn or bring about any returns at the end of the period, it is not to be considered as an investment (Kishor et al, 2012). The investments can be things like, buying of bonds or treasury bills by and organization of an individual, buying of shares by an organization or individual among others. The private investments for Australia decreased by 2.4% in 2014-2015 and 5.2% in 2015-2016 which gives a total decrease of 1.1%. This means that the decrease will certainly affect the total GDP of Australia for the specific years. The investments for China decreased by 3.1% between the year 2015 and 2016 and by 10.1 between the year 2014 and 2015. Net Exports This refers to the difference between the imports of a country and the exports. If net exports is positive, then it means that the country exported more than the imports ad if it is negative, the imports were more than the exports and therefore causing a change in balance of payment. When the exports are more, the country is in a better position economically and therefore can grow and develop itself at a faster rate than when the imports are more which means that the country is producing less than it can consume and so it has to import (Clements et al, 2010). Between the years 2015 and 2016 the net exports of Australia increased by 1.2% which meant that the total GDP would increase as well. The net exports for China decreased by 0.9% between the year 2015 and 2016 and by 7% between 2014 and 2015. Conclusion In conclusion, the GDP of a country is contributed by the four main components of the Expenditure approach method. From the information give, it is clear that the GDP for Australia is less compared to that of China. This is generally when we consider the four components of the approach and sum all of them up. In general the GDP for Australia in the year 2014 was $1454.68billion and 2015 was $1339.54billion and $1410billion in 2016. The total GDP of the country was fluctuating with years but still it targeted higher value for the coming years like 2017. On the other hand, the GDP for China was $10482.37 billion in the year 2014, $11007.72 billion in 2015 and remained the same even in 2016. Its GDP was increasing gradually as the years pass and still having high targets for the years to come. This is actually shown by the graphs below for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 total gross domestic products for both countries. Refernces Morrison, W. M. (2014). China's economic rise: history, trends, challenges, and implications for the United States.Current Politics and Economics of Northern and Western Asia,23(4), 493. Rees, D., Lancaster, D., Finlay, R. (2014).A state-space approach to Australian GDP measurement. Reserve Bank of Australia. Landefeld, S. J., Seskin, E. P., Fraumeni, B. M. (2008). Taking the pulse of the economy: Measuring GDP.The Journal of Economic Perspectives,22(2), 193-193. Jacobs, J. P., Van Norden, S. (2011). Modeling data revisions: Measurement error and dynamics of true values.Journal of Econometrics,161(2), 101-109. Clements, M. P., Galvo, A. B. (2013). Forecasting with vector autoregressive models of data vintages: US output growth and inflation.International Journal of Forecasting,29(4), 698-714. Kishor, N. K., Koenig, E. F. (2012). VAR estimation and forecasting when data are subject to revision.Journal of Business Economic Statistics,30(2), 181-190. Clements, M. P., Galvo, A. B. (2010). First announcements and real economic activity.European Economic Review,54(6), 803-817.