Nike Share Price On Monthly Basis Marketing Essay

Nike Share Price On Monthly Basis Marketing Essay INTRODUCTION The Financial market consists of money market and capital market. Money market basically deals with the short -term debt securities, which is safe and have high liquid able investment, while capital market deals with the long-term debt securities and they are traded. For being an efficient market, the information is included quickly into the price so that the price reflects information. The current market price reflects all existing information. Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is defined as the information which is quickly and efficiently included into asset prices at any point in time, so that old information cannot be used to predict future price movements. There are three level of information available as to distinguish the EMH. Strong EMH: Its a private (insider) information that is incorporated quickly into the market price and cannot be used to reap unusual trading profit. In this, the companys management is unable to make gains from the information. Semi-strong EMH: In this the information is publicly available and is reflected in the securities current market price. The public information includes past prices, companys financial statement, announcement, economic factor etc. Weak EMH: It reflects past price and volumes information from the current assets price. It is a weak form because the price is easily accessible information and no one would be able to outperform the market using this information. NYSE COMPANY BACKGROUND The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) also known as Big Board. It is the largest and oldest stock exchange in US. It been originated back in 1792, when a group of brokers rendezvous under a tree in Manhattan and signed an agreement to do a securities trade. The NYSE employs individuals who are called specialists who deal with the selling and buying of stocks. Nike Inc., develops and designs footwear, sportswear, apparels and equipment. They make the availability of goods in Nike stores, franchisee stores and online through the website www.nikestore.com . The company mainly operates in the Europe, Americas, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. It is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon and employs about 38,000 people. They organize, supports and sponsors main sports around the world as they think sports is the main key for being healthy and they also sponsors high profile athletes so that the people can follow their icons. Nike has a trademark logo Just Do It. ANALYSIS The purpose of a stock price analysis is to study the behavior of stock prices and thereby determine whether buying, selling or holding on to a stock would be beneficial for the investor. A stock price is basically the market price that is ascribed to it by public appreciation of the stock. Hence, analyzing stock prices gives one an idea about the price a stock would demand within a future timescale. While thoroughly analyzing the share price of two years, the company faced lots of ups and down in the share price due to several reasons. On Dec 13, 2010, Nike Inc. shares were up by 3 percent at $90.35 due to solid sneakers sale in United States, growing demand for apparels and accelerating sales in china. Analyst Michael Binetti state that China represents about 10 percent of Nikes total revenues today, and we believe Nike is focusing resources to double its China revenues over the next five years. There was a decrease in shares price of Nike by 5 percent on Dec 21, 2010 as the company was not able to satisfy the rising expectations for future orders. The delay was because across the globe there was high demand of Nike footwear and clothing and the company was not able to deliver the item on time. The downward trend of the share price was seen for the next few days because of the reason above. A high magnitude earthquake was felt in Japan on April 07, 2011 causing a downfall in the share on Nike by 3 percent. The effect was seen on the NYSE Exchange. The New York Times reported that the effect of the earthquake was felt over the market and the downfall was seen overall. Nike spokesperson stated that they will re-establish the infrastructure as soon as possible as to fulfill the people demand. The company again faced a downfall of 7 percent on March 18, 2011 as the company planned to raise the prices of the shoes and sports clothing so that they can cope up with the rising cost of cotton, oil and transportation that are hampering its profitability. The news did not have a good impact on the investors and a price overreaction was seen due to the news. Nike shares gained 4.3 percent to $84.14 on June 27, 2011 in after-hours trading when the company announced that its quarterly net income rises by 14 percent due to footwear sales increased by 20 percent, apparel revenue rose by 28 percent as they were driven by earlier shipment, strong category presentations and improved product lines of summer season products The very next day the shares price was up by 10.1 percent when Chief Executive Mark Parker told to its investors that the apparel maker and sports gears, which reported stronger fiscal growth for fourth quarter profits, is ahead of schedule in meeting its targets. The news was announced through a conference call. An overreaction was seen to this price. Shares were up by more than 5 percent on Sep 22, 2011 as sales rose by 35 percent in emerging markets and 15 percent in Greater China. Together both these regions supply about 23 percent of Nikes business. The future demand of the brand measures to be 16 percent to total $8.5 billion. There was high demand for footwear and clothing line in North America which led in rose in revenue by 15 percent to $5.8 billion which led in the rise in the share price of the company by 3 percent on March 22, 2012. On April 10, 2012 Nike did an out-of-court settlement with Reebok as Reebok used Footballer Tebows name in their apparels without having approved from Nike as Nike is authorized and licensed to use Tebows name on football related product. This news did not go good with investors as there was a downfall of share by 4 percent. The company announced to sell its two brands Cole Haan and Umbro on May 31, 2012. The news did not go good with the investors as the downfall in the share price by 2 percent on the very next day. During Olympics 2012, Egypt Olympic team claimed that they got fake Nike kit from the company. They stated that The workout bag had a big Nike logo in the front and the zipper had an Adidas branding on them. This news showed effect on the share price of the company which made a fall of 4 percent on the market on July 26, 2012. The trend was seen for few more days because of the news. (add beta coffiecient) CONCLUSION As we can look, the Efficient Market Hypothesis provides us to what type of information is available in the market and how much the investors can earn from it. Whenever new information is available in the market, the reaction can be seen on the share price. If I look into the news, I can see that the company provides semi-strong news to its investors. During the Olympics 2012, Egypt alleged that they got a fake Nike kit from the company and due to that a shares fall in the market can be seen. If we look into the news, it is semi-strong news and we can see the effect on the market. In few news we can see the overreaction and under reaction, as it helps us to understand what happens when a particular news come to the market and effect can be seen in the next few days of the market. EMH was a theory which was invented long back to know the market but now days there are software which is available in the market which can fetch us high accuracy results of the market. REFERENCES Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) by Alvin Han. 2013. Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) by Alvin Han. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.alvinhan.com/Efficient-Market-Hypothesis.htm. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Introduction to Stock Exchanges and the NYSE. 2013. Introduction to Stock Exchanges and the NYSE. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.investorguide.com/igu-article-422-investing-basics-introduction-to-stock-exchanges-and-the-nyse.htm. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike picks up pace, says UBS; stock hits life-high | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/13/nike-research-ubs-idUSSGE6BC0B620101213. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike future orders disappoint, shares fall | Reuters . 2013. Nike future orders disappoint, shares fall | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/21/us-nike-idUSTRE6BK6DI20101221. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike to raise prices sharply as costs hit gains | Reuters . 2013. Nike to raise prices sharply as costs hit gains | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-nike-idUSTRE72G7YU20110318. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike quarterly net income rises 14 percent | Reuters . 2013. Nike quarterly net income rises 14 percent | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/27/us-nike-idUSTRE75Q64E20110627. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike raises sales forecast; to lift prices | Reuters . 2013. Nike raises sales forecast; to lift prices | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/28/us-nike-outlook-idUSTRE75R5JQ20110628. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Strong demand, price increases help Nike top Street | Reuters . 2013. Strong demand, price increases help Nike top Street | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/22/us-nike-idUSTRE78L67D20110922. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike, Reebok settle Tim Tebow apparel dispute | Reuters . 2013. Nike, Reebok settle Tim Tebow apparel dispute | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/reebok-nike-tebow-idUSL2E8FAD4C20120410. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Nike looking to sell Cole Haan and Umbro brands | Reuters . 2013. Nike looking to sell Cole Haan and Umbro brands | Reuters . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/us-nike-colehaan-idUSBRE84U0Q520120531. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. BBC News London 2012: Egypt Olympic team get fake Nike kit. 2013. BBC News London 2012: Egypt Olympic team get fake Nike kit. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18995905. [Accessed 16 January 2013]. Market line ebsco (company background) http://blog.oregonlive.com/playbooksandprofits/2011/04/nike_report_lowers_expectation.html (april 07, 2011 news)

A Response to Richard Brookheiser’s “All Junk, All the Time”

Richard Brookheiser throws every single indictment that he can think of at the institution of rock music. It is obvious that Brookheiser is writing merely to vent his personal feelings: he has no intention of learning more about the music that he has chosen to criticize so roundly. It is unfortunate for him, since if he had decided to actually listen to some rock music with an open mind, he would have been certain to hear some music that he would have liked. The first criticism that Brookheiser (1996) makes is that rock appeals to the masses, even to megachurches.That, in itself, is not a bad thing to be entirely honest. Music should appeal to the masses. Regardless of whether there is a variety of music that only exists for the highbrow enjoyment of the elite class, the â€Å"average† person also needs to experience the sensation that listening to music can bring to a person. Music needs to â€Å"speak† to the person that listens to it, to have relevance to that listen er, and perhaps even reflect the events in his or her life.If rock appeals to the masses, it’s because most of its listeners understand the artist when the pain of rejected or unrequited love leads the artist to sing about the â€Å"first cut† being â€Å"deepest† or the sense of loss â€Å"counting the steps† of a retreating lover. Opera, after all, has the same theme, only it’s shouted at the top of one’s voice and in another language. Brookheiser (1996) also criticizes rock music for having â€Å"E Z 2 Play musical instruments† (p.1), equaled by the apparent ease of the lyrics. Once again, he misses the point. Clearly, Brookheiser has not listened to enough rock music to appreciate the harpsichord used by the Beatles, the saxophone used by Billy Joel, or the experimental music used by more artists than it is possible to count. Rock music is about pushing the boundaries of acceptable sound. While much of the music can be played on t he guitar, it is never about playing it â€Å"safe.† Appreciate it or not, both the original and the remake of â€Å"Funky Town† make a statement with their electronic music–try that on the guitar! Neither are the vocals as simplistic as Brookheiser would make out. For every song with the simplicity of Natasha Bedingfield’s â€Å"Unwritten,† another song exists with the artistry of Celine Dion’s vocal riffs that makes the listener sit up and listen. Even more so, Brookheiser should listen to the sentiments expressed by those apparently simple or mumbled lyrics.Even those without artistry purposefully state the writer’s hopes, fears, or social concerns. If Brookheiser feels that rock music fails as a memory marker because it is â€Å"crude and blank† (p. 1), obviously he has not been listening to the â€Å"right† kind of rock. â€Å"Rock† music is a genre that spans many areas, as he so rightfully points out. Snap some easy listening or oldies into the DVD player and even Brookheiser is likely to find music that he feels appropriate to mark even his most special memories.All he has to do is to listen with an open mind and a whole new world will open up for him. Not every person is going to like every kind of music, or even every subgenre of every kind of music. Many people might know of country music, but not as many even know about its Cajun cousin, zydeco, let alone appreciate it. That lack of appreciation does not make zydeco any less of a valuable resource for the culture that produces it; rather, it speaks even more loudly to those who understand what it is trying to say.Virtually every generation of parent has said, â€Å"in my day, music meant something! † Yet even as we age and listen to the music that we once felt was so radical, it turns into something safe and familiar, associated with our youth. The television series, The Simpsons, did an episode in which the rock song â₠¬Å"In the Garden of Eden†. Richard Brookheiser ends his essay with the statement, â€Å"It's Bottom 40, all junk, all the time. And it's here to stay† (2). Sadly enough for him: he’s right–and thank Heaven for it! Reference Brookheiser, R. (1996). All junk, all the time.   National Review.   Retrieved 23 July 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n22_v48/ai_18914547/pg_1

Organizational Analysis: Apple Inc. Essay

Apple Inc. is an iconic United States technological company based in Cupertino, California. Apple is engaged in the development of World changing consumer electronic products such a mobile phones, music media devices, tablets, and personal computers. The company also sells and creates operating system software, peripherals and delivery of third-party digital content (iTunes) to consumers. Apple sells its products and services via it 250 U.S. and 140 international retail stores worldwide (Europe, Japan and Asia-Pacific), online stores and third-party wholesalers, retailers and resellers. As of September 29, 2012 Apple has 72,800 full-time employees and 3,300 temporary employees and contractors. Apple is one of the largest and most innovative companies in the world with increased net sales from $65 billion in 2010, $108 billion in 2011 and $156 billion in 2012. (Apple 10K) Two young entrepreneurs; Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded the company in 1997. They relied on each other different strengths to propel the business forward. Wozniak was the technical know person and Jobs was the visionary who knew how to conceptualize the product. One of their early computer products was called Apple II. The next big product that brought Apple to the forefront of the computer industry was the introduction of the first Macintosh computer reveled to the world in 1984. Apple spent over 30 million dollars on the advertising of the product, which also launched the famous and iconic television ad that ran during the Super Bowl. Over the years the company has survived management conflicts were Steve Jobs left the company for many years, but was brought back 1997 to help revive Apple from dismal stock prices and competitors. In short, under Steve Jobs leadership the company shifted its focus towards making the best innovative and uniquely designed products Worldwide for consumers. (WPost) Structure: Organizational structure that keeps Apple â€Å"alive† is uniquely different than other multinational companies, but they still follow distinct rules of a well-function organization. To help understand Apple’s structure, we first need to look what is the company’s purpose. Apple wants to be number one at creating some of the best and innovative products for consumers that brings life changing user experience to customers. Formalization – Apple is derived from the create quadrant of the CVF were they pay close attention innovation and envision the future, but at the same they also have a very formal structure that is running in full start-up mode at all times and they can still take part in spontaneous actions without the politics and red tape of normal large companies Centralization – One of the key drives of Apple’s corporation is that they are a highly collaborative company that works really well together in the decision making process, but I would also say they are combination of a highly centralized and decentralized type of business. Hierarchy – Consisted of Steve Jobs being the visionary and visible leader of the company till his recent death. The person now steering the ship is Tim Cook, who is a veteran Apple employee and has been appointed several times as stand-in CEO in the past. Apple has what would be considered a tall organizational structure, but still unique because of how they foster collaboration. Complexity – Like any large multinational company Apple has an array of 10 Top Executives, Board of Directors and a CEO Tim Cook (Apple bios). Integration – Apple is a highly integrated organization, but once again due to how collaborative the company is, different organizational units and sub-units work very well together to meet the core objectives and goals of the company. Leader-Follower Relationships: Apple is probably one of the best in the tech industry, even though Steve Jobs has passed away. â€Å"Entrepreneurial leaders leave a lasting imprint on the structures on the organizations they found,† which is the case with Apple being led by Tim Cook now. The management styles are a little bit different between the two men, but the revenue numbers speak for themself in this situation. Apple’s structure allows the current CEO to carry on with business as it did in the past with the exception of trying figure out what would Steve Jobs do in this scenario of keeping Apple a vibrant company. Steve Jobs watched companies like Walt Disney be non-productive after their CEO passed away and did not want that for Apple, so he explained to Tim Cook â€Å"don’t ever try to figure out what would I have done in a certain situation, just do what is right for the company† (MSNBC). I think this type of leader-follower relationship transcends throughout the Apple organiza tion very well. Stakeholder relationships on the surface seem to be in very good standings. Apple is a leader in so many ways with making superior products; they are number one, who doesn’t want to be a part of the Apple machine? For example, the recently opened Apple store in Grand Central Station, all forms of stakeholders are benefiting from that deal; consumers, employees, Grand Central, New York City etc. Multiply that by various locations around the world and we have a majority of happy stakeholders ready to follow with open arms all because of the structure of how Apple operates its company. Productivity and performance due the company’s organizational structure allows Apple to be number one. For example, when netbooks were all the rage and Apple was introducing the first iPad and started coining the phrase we are now entering into â€Å"post-pc era,† some people or industries did not take that statement serious, but look at the numbers now. 95% of all web traffic from tablets are from iPads and it is only increasing every year (AllthingsD). The benefit and cost of the current structure is very evident all over the world, especially when Apple has a new product launch. It’s like a cult following (in a good way). For example, people start lining up all over the world; to get their hands on whatever product is being released; online sales via Apples website will start to have a 3 to 4 weeks backorder on products because they are in such high demand. Basically the current structure allows Apple to achieve high net sales on all products being sold and keeps their position as number one consumer product seller in the world. Culture At Apple, the work culture was driven by a passion for new products with no end to challenges and opportunities. Apple became the pioneer of the â€Å"Work Hard Play Hard† ethic. The corporate culture at Apple was exemplified by its intense work ethics. Al though it’s work environment was relaxed and casual, there was a very strong commitment to company deadlines. Apple was based on an idea that self-motivated individuals will work harder if they do not have a boss micromanaging every action. This unique structure of Apple had allowed it to grow and react more quickly to changes than its competitors like IBM and Microsoft. The reason Apple took action to a quick responsiveness, is that it was much easier to get a project started if there are only a few people to obtain approval from. One view of Apple’s leader follower relationship can be explained by how quickly Apple initially grew. Due to the ability to have employees make decisions at the lowest possible level. Corporate headquarters made policy and oversaw all activities, but the local employees made the day-to-day decisions in countries all over the world. This type of top-down philosophy allowed for quick responsiveness and resolutions to situations without involving the corporate headquarters, thus avoiding corporate red tape. Analysts have been known to summarize the work culture at Apple as fun, yet demanding. â€Å"Culture helps focus individual effort directly on achieving the organization’s objectives.† (Greenwald, P207) The Apple experience as a stakeholder has always been about the user experience not just the technology, even though the majority of the market didn’t care about that Apple wanted to be different. Apple is a company that is in the business of making markets vs. addressing markets. The Apple ego is a belief that it is the best company in the world and it should carry itself that way, all its lenders, employees, software designers and customers understand its ego and for those who don’t like it found out it has become a call to arms for all of the company’s stakeholders. Another way to view Apple is that it doesn’t ask people what they need but gives them products they decide they want. Think about a simple question, does anyone need an iPhone or iPad? Not really, but a lot of people seem to want them. Apple’s culture is based on some basic facts that really drive its productivity performance. It is a vertical integration company where most of technology is developed in house for its key products and it will have key advantages over other less vertically integrated companies and Apple makes â€Å"cool† products. Attention to design and detail, fit and finish really distinguishes Apple’s products from competitors. The iPod was not the first digital music player and the iPhone was not the first smart phone and the iPad is not the first portable computing device. But having differentiated business models where Apple develops and innovates products with key features like the iPod+iTunes and iPhone+App Store provides a strong competitive advantage, where this process makes it difficult for competitors to match what Apple is producing in a timely fashion. Apples culture produces and offers very clear and simple set of products. It’s easy to understand the differences between their products, product families and the various configurations where many other companies complicate things unnecessarily. Apple’s employees had to run their own show and work in a challenging and creative environment. Apple adopted a style that was not too formal or hierarchical and a more results-driven approach, which worked best for them. Apple fostered a culture of secrecy. The demand for absolute secrecy and insistence on control were infused into the company culture right from the beginning. â€Å"My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.†(Steve Jobs, 2010) Human behavior The understanding of the human behavior at the Apple organization has truly shaped its design, structure, function and culture by the following points. * Apple employees understand that a key internal emphasis at the company is that it cares about the design of its products more than any other firm in the market, unlike Microsoft who has done a poor job of creating aesthetically pleasing products. Apple’s focus on design shows it understands what consumers want and how to meet those needs and desires, and it sets out to beat any and all expectations. The pressure falls onto an employee who doesn’t help the company meet those needs they may end up with another company sooner than later. * Apple is known to do everything differently; therefore employees need to forget what they ever knew about the technology world. Whether it’s the design of products, system for developing ideas for new products or the way it handles data everything is different at Apple. Employees who function similar to a past employer is a mistake that could cause trouble within the rank and file. * Apple takes it flaws to heart and listens when it hears people criticize its products. They respond with firm tone and harsh statements in ways that other companies in the industry would not dare to replicate. Apple doesn’t like being told that it’s wrong. * Apple will never admit defeat no matter how badly its products are getting beaten. The company seems to find ways of turning itself around and out of the hole with an right strategies business action that saves the day. Nowhere is that more evident than in the computing market. With the results that Apple is setting record profits. * Apple understands attention to detail is key strategy that will pay off in the long run. Apple goes that extra mile which has become a staple of the company’s vision and it’s something that it expects from its employees. * Apple’s focus on technology domination worldwide is everything that the late Steve Jobs aspired to be. It was his ultimate goal to not only compete with his competitors in the all the markets his company competes in but rather destroy them. He wanted to make it clear to the world that his company was the best and would beat them all. At apple he established a culture that would help him achieve his legacy. Communication and decision making styles We know that the form of communication within an organization is directly reflective of its structure. Information is transmitted through diverse methods such as speech, writing, symbols, and body language. (Greenwald, Organizations; Management without controls, 2008) At Apple, communication is what they sell and what they welcome. â€Å"Whether or not you as an Apple employee choose to create or participate in a blog, wiki, online social network or any other form of online publishing or discussion is your own choice. In general, what you do on your own time is your business. However, activities that affect your job performance, the performance of other Apple employees, or Apple’s business interests are still covered by company policies and guidelines. This applies whether you engage in these activities in or outside of work, and whether or not you identify yourself as an Apple employee.† (Heath, Alex, 2012) It is clear that Apple knows that it is to protect itself from the very creative minds it cultivates. This policy leaves no room for unnecessary overlap. Business is business and that is what matters. â€Å"Apple runs an extremely tight ship, with tiny product groups; just two engineers were given the task of writing the code to convert the Safari browser to run on the iPad, a task that on its face seems like a huge undertaking that other companies such as Microsoft or Google might have devoted dozens of people to.† (The Dictatorship, 12) Apple, as a formal organization has had a long history of capturing informal leaders. The previous excerpt is from an article, which also describes the gathering of 100 exclusive employees. They were not all at same pay grade and or security clearances but they could be trusted to keep dates and products a secret as well as to give their honest opinions. â€Å"Every executive action, product or project has a â€Å"DRI† – directly responsible individual – who carries the can (or laurels) for its outcome.† (Heath, Alex, 2012) â€Å"The creative process at Apple is one of constantly preparing someone – be it one’s boss, boss’s boss, or oneself – for a presentation to Jobs,† writes Adam Lashinsky, who calls him â€Å"a corporate dictator who makes every critical decision – and oddles of seemingly noncritical calls too†. (Heath, Alex, 2012) While Apple does subscribe to what may be considered a ‘normal’ type of policy and set of norms, we often learn of the overlapping, dictator-ran, bully-driven ship that shines through in their product releases and market bravado. Observations: Our observations of Apple employees are limited to Apple Store ® employees. Although we have included various reports and accounts of encounters between Steve Jobs and other executives, we find it necessary to compare the culture levels on the outer bands of this grand organization. Passing by the Apple Store in any mall, it is apparent how different the selling atmosphere is. The products are all sprawled out for customers to play with and engage in. There is nearly a 1:1 staff/customer ratio. They have a â€Å"genius bar† where any consumer holding a MAC product can bring their device to for assistance. The environment is alive and vibrant. These geniuses are the face of the company to the everyday employee and they are raised and bread by Apple. They are taught communication styles, they are integrated into the norms and values of the Apple brand and they execute a marketing and sales strategy that benefits the customers and the company. This is done through verbal communication, non-verbal communication and symbolic communication. The entire store is a symbol of Apple. The training manual for the Apple Genius explicitly trains the employees on nonverbal queues and communications to control each interaction (Biddle, 2012). Apple Inc. executives could teach a PhD level course in human behavior and how to influence. It. Just as with any other product or organization, saturation levels are pushed if we don’t pay special attention to how we grow our business. In the early stages, Apple was more of a novelty and so could afford to hire ‘like’ minds to mind their storefronts. Having to expand its numbers in an effort to combat other retailers for sales, Apple has had to let in a second tier of mildly interested individuals who would be just as happy working for Geek squad ® at BestBuy ® or any other tech driven retail outlet. The promise of â€Å"first dib’s† and other benefits are now comparable to family discounts received throughout the malls. This is not only acceptable but it is a welcomed change in personnel type for Apple ®. The dictatorship can freely set plans for stores without worrying about everyone trying to become the next ‘Steve Jobs’. Part 2 – Team Analysis Team Formation: The team assignment was posted to the module 3 team assignment, but did not clearly state who the teams were comprised of. In an effort to be proactive and to get started on creating a team, Jim reached out to the entire class to try and obtain volunteers to work as a team to complete the assignment. Team member volunteers emailed Jim expressing their interest. Thirty minutes after his initial email, our team was formed. Initially the team consisted of Jim Fiorino, Amber Winters, Jason Shanks, Khari Clarendon, Kevin Connolly, and Michael Keys. Shortly after we formed this team, Dr. Kymn clarified team assignments and sent out communication to the class helping to bring clarity to the assignment. Dr. Kymn honored our volunteer formed team, minus Kevin who had previously left our class. The team formed is a formal organization, working and communicating with each other according to standardized patterns recognizable by everyone (Greenwald, 2008) as students under the larger group we all belong to, the Empire State MBA program. The team selection process reflected our coursework in our Human Systems and Behavior class, as well as earlier class work specifically Competing Values Framework (CVF). Our team has charged itself with finding the perfect balance to the 4 quadrants of the CVF, COLLABORATE, CREATE, COMPETE and CONTROL. The entire team is a group of independent and busy individuals who are all focused on completing the assignment on time, and making sure that we all contribute equally to the assignment given. Team members agreed to be flexible and focused in this process with the ultimate goal in site, a successful organizational analysis. Organization Selection Process: A list of companies was suggested via course email by Michael Keys and was sent to the team for consideration. The list included The Apple Store, Home Depot, Target, Macy’s, and Gap stores. Through email discussions, it was decided by consensus that the group would analyze Apple stores. Mike in the role of team liaison, texted Dr. Kymn with our result, and our selection was approved. Self managing teams are defined as groups of workers assigned the responsibility for making decisions over the manner in which work will be carried out, setting schedules, assigning individuals to perform specific functions, and evaluating members’ performance (Greenwald, Organizations. Management Without Control, 2008). This is a true example of our team, we all need to manage our own time and make decisions that are going to support the timelines discussed on our conference call and complete the specific assignments (specific functions) described earlier. Team Roles and Tasks Roles naturally defined themselves as our team members learned more about each other. Jim’s initial outreach to the entire class identified him as our team’s natural LEADER and PROJECT MANAGER. He was charged with keeping the team on task, on time and on topic. He also promoted positive and timely communication, key to the success of any organization. Our group by nature, is limited to strictly verbal/written communication in our virtual learning environment. This communication mode is characterized by use of words and numbers. Verbal communication has clear advantages over other modes for the exchange of deliberate messages. Transmission of data is always a verbal process (Greenwald, 2008). Amber took on the role of EDITOR and PROOFREADER. A major challenge of the approach our team took to writing this paper was creating it in five voices. The role of editor is important to put the paper in one voice. She also is responsible for reviewing the paper of grammar and typos. The team members shared a few common roles. We all played the role of TEAM MEMBER, RESEARCHER and WRITER. By assigning sections to each team member, we were individually responsible for researching our portion. Following the compilation of our research, we were each independently responsible for writing our 2 page section. Team Responsibilities: After agreeing on the organization to analyze, Jim reached out to the team and we agreed to have a conference call on Sunday December 9th to discuss next steps and to assign the work. Prior to the call Mike had sent out an email stating that he had already completed sections A & B of part 2, which was a great way to get everyone motivated on getting this assignment completed early. During the conference call, the work was split up among the team. Mike already completed A & B, Jason was assigned C & D, Khari was assigned E & F, and Amber was assigned G. Jim volunteered to take all of part two, the team analysis. During this meeting it was agreed that all team members would try and write two pages on their sections to meet the minimum assignment target of ten pages if the content. We agreed that each of our sections were to be completed by Wednesday night and emailed to Jim all of our work can be consolidate and sent over to Amber to allow her time to complete her part of the assignment. During this conference call we all agreed that we will regroup on Wednesday December 12th, to make sure that we are all complete with our sections and to seek assistance if needed. Team Outcomes: Our successful organization, role structure and communication allowed our team to be productive and successful. There were no disagreements or conflict and we all agreed that we want to complete the assignment early, but be successful in doing so. The entire team worked collaboratively with good discussions through positive verbal communication. . All of us shared in ideas and agreed on a time commitment and schedule. People who are collaborative share the same objectives, mutual and equal contributions, and a sense of collectivity among the group, producing a work environment that is free of conflict and tension (Cameron, Quinn, Degraff, & Thakor, 2006). Our two page sections were all emailed to our TEAM LEADER on time. He combined them and sent them to Amber for review and editing and for the summary to be completed. All team members met their obligations as agreed. Team Assessment: Our team can be defined as a high performance team. A high-performance team can be defined as a group of people with specific roles and complementary talents and skills, aligned with and committed to a common purpose, which consistently show high levels of collaboration and innovation that produce superior results. (Hanlan, 2004). The high-performance team has individuals who are highly skilled and are able to interchange their roles and are flexible. Our team operated in this exact manner and had positive outcomes. By definition, this is a good description of our team. Teams that are successful translate their common purpose into specific, measurable, and realistic performance goals. Specific goals facilitate clear communication and help teams maintain their focus on obtaining results (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Our time lines that we discussed on the conference call set clear goals and challenged the group to make sure that we left enough time for Amber to review the work and complete her section. Difficult goals have been found to raise the performance of team members especially to avoid letting down another member of the team (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Forming teams is almost always more productive than having people work by themselves (Cameron, Quinn, Degraff, & Thakor, 2006). This is very true when you have a team like ours that was very collaborative throughout the entire process. Because we were able to work independently, we are able to bring our own ideas to our assigned sections. Many new ideas come from individuals being given the time and resources and allowed to work apart from the normal activities of the organization (Cameron, Quinn, Degraff, & Thakor, 2006) Team Grade: As a team, we have agreed that our work qualifies for a minimum of an A-. We completed the project as assigned. It is our belief we met the challenge of this project by applying the tools of this class successfully. Through organization, structure, communication, role defining and proactivity, we were able to avoid conflict and complete this project on time and in good quality. Our established set of norms that exist within the graduate structure of this class set a good base for the team members to start from. Our team led the class in team creation before the professor was able to clarify the approach. We consider ourselves leaders. We are sure the paper isn’t perfect, no product from any working team is. But what it IS, is a successful compilation of teamwork. SUMMARY: Apple Inc. is a perfect company to analyze through the human behavior lens because their founders understood and structured their company with human behavior in mind. They considered their people and the behaviors that were desired, but they also pay close attention to the consumers and their behaviors. Jobs maintained a company by building a structure, culture, set of norms and values that fostered creativity. He was a genius of people and technology. Jobs did this at apple under 7 rules of success (his norms/values). Rule one is passion, because most people fail because they don’t love what they do. Rule number two is build a team of great people, success hinges on the ability to identify talent and the know how of building successful teams. Rule number three is vision. One must never lose sight of the big picture. Rule number four is creativity; you have to think outside of the box in business and in practice. Rule number five is to learn to say no more often. It’s all about the power of focus. Rule number six is help customers reach their dreams. If you don’t solve a problem, if you don’t accomplish a dream, you don’t have a business. Finally, work on your marketing message (communication externally). Trumpet your success and deliver it in a way people want to hear about it. Don’t be the norm or fill the status quo. (Gallo, 14 O) Steve Jobs says â€Å"Apple is an incredible collaborative company.† Did you know that? Do you by chance know how many committees they have at Apple? ZERO! Teamwork is key to Apple. Teamwork, in terms of trusting that people that will deliver what they committed to without watching them all the time. Jobs set up a training environment that taught his people about people and how to interact with them and get them to achieve the desired result (sales). There is a cult like following not only because of the quality of product, but because of the great care the leaders at Apple took to create and maintain their company in a way that considers (and possibly manipulates) human behavior. Recommendations for Apple Inc. are a bit more complex. With Jobs passing, Tim Cook is just starting to get his feet wet in running and driving the company. Consumers and employees have a high expectation for apple. In terms of structure and communication, roles and culture, it seems Apple is a leader. It will continue to be important for Apple to define that fine line between taking advantage of their knowledge of human behavior and manipulating it for strictly gain. Their technology has also been a leader in the industry. However they have many competitors who are catching up and arguably, surpassing them. The question will be how so they stay ahead and keep their creative people happy. It may require a new out of the box thinking. With new leadership in Cook, it is likely that there will be changes. He will have to establish himself with his people and his consumers who so loved his predecessor. References Cameron, K. S., Quinn, R. E., Degraff, J., & Thakor, A. V. (2006). Competing Values Leadership. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. Greenwald, H. P. (2008). Organizations. Management Without Control. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Hanlan, M. (2004). High Performance Teams. Westport: Praeger Publishers. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. All Things D. (2012, May 25). Mobile devices now make up about 20 percent of U.S. web traffice. Retrieved from AllthingsD.com: http://allthingsd.com/20120525/mobile-devices-now-make-up-about-20-percent-of-u-s-web-traffic/ Apple. (2012, December 9). Apple Press Info. Retrieved from Apple.com: http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/ Apple Inc. (2012, December 9). Investors Relaitons. Retrieved from Apple.com: http://investor.apple.com/financials.cfm MSNBC. (2012, December 7). Rock Center – Apple CEO on challenge of keeping company cutting edge. Retrieved from Video.msnbc: http://video.msnbc.ms n.com/rock-center/50112247#50112247 Washington Post. (2012, December 9). Apple: A history of one of the world’s most valuable companies. Retrieved from Washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/apple-a-history-of-one-of-the-worlds-most-valuable-companies/2012/02/29/gIQA1VFVmR_gallery.html#photo=1 Don Reisinger (2010) Apple’s Corporate Culture: 10 Lessons for Staying in Steve Good Graces, Enterprise IT Technology News, retrieved from: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/Apples-Corporate-Culture-10-Lessons-for-Staying-in-Steve-Jobs-Good-Graces-825505/

The Epic Of Beowulf, Grendel s Mother, And The Fire Dragon

Throughout the epic of Beowulf there are three main battles; the battle with Grendel, Grendel s Mother, and the Fire Dragon. While there are notable differences be- tween the battles, common motivations and themes exist. The epic s protagonist King of Geats Beowulf, is a great warrior who fights with courage and honor to fulfill his role as a hero. The sense of duty associated with being a hero inspires him to fight, but ultimately leads him to his demise. Beowulfs battle with Grendel is the first major battle in the book, and we learn a lot about Beowulf from it. Grendel, a man-eating monster who lived at the bottom of mere had been devouring men from the King Hrothgar s mead hall every day for many years. This was problematic for†¦show more content†¦After the battle, the Danes celebrate by displaying Grendel s arm as a trophy in the mead hall. Then King Hrothgar showers Beowulf with gifts and respect to honor his end of comitatus. Shortly after Beowulfs battle with Grend el, Grendel s mother begins to terrorize Herot for killing her son. Beowulf is agitated by this, and agrees to fight Grendel s moth- er. Before the battle Beowulf swims down into the lake with his sword. He meets Grendel s mother in her lair, and they fight. Grendel s mother manages to trap Beowulf, but he is saved by his chainmail. Beowulf then kills Grendel s mother with an ancient sword hurunting which never loses. This battle shows a progression of Beowulfs character, because he fought with weapons this time instead of fighting unarmed. It s also important to note that he almost lost this battle, which is foreshadowing his demise in the battle with the Fire Dragon, as battles are won by narrower margins After the battle with Grendel s Mother, Beowulf says his farewells to King Hroth gar, who ends up breaking down into sudden tears, because he knows that he will never see Beowulf again. When Beowulf returns home, he presents his treasure to Hygelac. Unfortunately, Hygelac and his son die in battle, which leaves Beowulf as the king. For 50 years, Beowulf rules his kingdom undisturbed. After 50 years, the fire breathing dragon which guards the treasure becomes very angry when his goblet is stolen. TheShow MoreRelatedBeowulf, The Epic Hero1373 Words   |  6 Pages12, 2015 Beowulf, The Epic Hero In Anglo Saxon times, Beowulf is considered a well known epic hero. â€Å"Epic heroes are literary characters from ancient mythology and other stories, which were written down in the form of long, narrative epic poems. The hero is the main character, or protagonist of the poem†(Epic Hero: Definition, Characteristics Examples.). The epic hero usually battles for accomplishments to a set of tasks to complete important goals. Beowulf is described as an epic hero becauseRead MoreGood vs. Evil in Beowulf1456 Words   |  6 PagesGood vs. Evil in Beowulf Beowulf is longest and greatest early Anglo-Saxon poem which was composed in England sometime in the eighth century AD by a literate scop. This poem was created in the oral poetic tradition. This poem is considered as an epic because it is a long narrative poem which composed in an elevated style, dealing with the glories of hero (Tolkien 24). The setting of this epic is the six century in Denmark and southern Sweden. The protagonist, Beowulf is a noble warrior representsRead MoreThe Epic Of Epic Poems1106 Words   |  5 Pages Epic poems played a significant role in maintaining historical events during the Middle Ages. With very little written records, epic poems were memorized and passed down as an oral communication for generations. Beowulf was an example of this type of story that may have existed for a century before it was documented. Unfortunately, due to this type of record keeping, there is no accurate account of the time frame that Beowulf was created or even by what author. It could be deduced that thisRead MoreBeowulf s Last Battle Of The Epic Hero954 Words   |  4 Pagesevil Grendel and his mother, the epic hero, Beowulf, faces his third and final monster, a dragon that has been attacking Geatland. But this last battle will be completely different than the ones before, and spells the end for our epic hero. !!!Beowulf s Last Battle Starting around line 2200 of the great epic poem __ Beowulf __, we have the entrance of the last of the monsters that Beowulf must overcome as part of the epic hero cycle. But this battle is unlike the earlier battles Beowulf facedRead MoreBeowulf Heroism : A Brave Man1238 Words   |  5 Pages Beowulf Heroism A brave man is a person who can make the right choice, and if they have made a pitiable choice they can acknowledge the consequences. They’re brave and unselfish, and always willing to provide a helping hand to those who want it. A hero is someone who is thoughtful and never gives up no matter how tough it is. Every hero has certain heroic uniqueness. Beowulf illustrates for the most part a brave man of the Anglo-Saxon times. Beowulf is the male protagonistRead MoreGood vs. Evil1659 Words   |  7 PagesGood Vs. Evil In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the poem s main and most important aspect. The poet makes it clear that good and evil doesn’t exist as only opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Beowulf represents the ability to do good or to perform acts selflessly and in help of others. Goodness is also showed throughout this epic as having the ability to cleanse evil. Even though evil is presented by Grendel, Grendel s mother, and the dragon, who are filledRead MoreThe Epic Of Beowulf By William Shakespeare1176 Words   |  5 Pagesbeen nearly fifteen movies that were made after â€Å"Beowulf†. It may be due to the fact that â€Å"Beowulf† is one of the most famous epic poems in the English Literature history. It is also the oldest surviving epic poem to date. â€Å"Beowulf† was written in 10000 AD in Old English by an author who remains unknown. In â€Å"Beowulf†, there are many important literary elements that help empa thize the main motif of the poem. The motif of this poem is courage. Beowulf is about courage and it is shown through the charactersRead MoreEssay about Pagan Aspects in Beowulf1573 Words   |  7 Pages Scholars have argued about the religious stance of the epic poem Beowulf for centuries. Although the man who put the poem down on paper, known as the Beowulf poet, was a devout Christian, the actual poem itself is pagan. There are many clues in the epic that lead us to this conclusion such as the numerous references to pagan symbols, namely the symbol of fate. Also, the central idea of revenge in the poem opposes the ideas of Christianity. The poem also contains many breaches of the TenRead MoreBeowulf, The Epic Hero1239 Words   |  5 PagesBeowulf, The Epic Hero An epic is a long poem, usually derived from ancient oral stories, describing the adventures and deeds of a legendary hero. Typically, most epics follow a pattern or hold certain characteristics. These characteristics are; a hero, a quest, valorous deeds, divine intervention, and great events. The hero is usually the protagonist that in which is sent on a quest. As the heroes proceed on their quest, they will exhibit valorous deeds or actions that show their character. EpicsRead MoreChristian Allegory in Beowulf1027 Words   |  4 PagesThe Anglo-Saxon poem â€Å"Beowulf† takes the reader back into a time long past; one of family, fate, and fealty. Beowulf offers a glimpse of a society struggling between two different paths, one path being the assimilation into the new Christian traditions and the other is the fast fading past of glorified warriors and family ties. In the poem, the reader can see the attempts of the poet to convey the values and stories of Judeo-Christiani ty in a society of Anglo-Saxon paganism. The poet illustrates