The First Era Of Industrialization - 1625 Words

In the 1760s, the United States began its first major period of rapid industrialization. Everyday there was a new factory built, a new machine created, a new industry expanded. The effect of industrialization was so massive that even songs were written about this period. One song depicted a man who could â€Å"hatch eggs by thousands; all by steam†.[1] With more factories and more efficient means of production, more commodities became available to the public for consumption. The first era of the industrial revolution drastically changed the way America functions as a consumer society. The second period of industrialization altered how America functions as a capitalistic society. After the Civil War, the next era of industrialization began in†¦show more content†¦Through offers made in cash or Standard Oil stock, Rockefeller was able to persuade other oil refineries to sell their business to him. Those who refused were specifically targeted by Rockefeller and put out o f business through various means.[3] [4] Andrew Carnegie, a man who made his fortune in the steel industry, used a method similar to Rockefeller’s- vertical integration. Vertical integration is the domination of an industry in which all steps of the process of a product are bought out. Carnegie did this, buying every stage for steel production, from iron mines to rolling mills. By owning every aspect of the steelmaking process, Carnegie â€Å"was able to supply his product at a cost less than that of his competitors†, thus running them out of business. Carnegie’s ability to produce more goods at a cheaper cost is known as the economy of scale.[5] [6] Political corruption was another common and favorable tactic amongst business owners. To prevent business-harming laws from being legalized or to pass beneficial laws, businessmen often bribed politicians â€Å"at the local, state, and national level†.[7] Politicians were given company stock, funds for elections, and free or reduced materials. Today historians most commonly associate the railroad industry with political corruption. To gain their business favor, railroad companies would offer free passage to

Corporate Strategy Analysis of Kraft in relation to Cadbury Acquisition Free Essays

Introduction I have been asked to investigate and evaluate Kraft’s overall corporate strategy in relation to it’s acquisition of Cadbury in 2010. Moreover, this report will also highlight some of the critical success factors that Kraft might apply to Cadbury and it will demonstrate and outline the corporate parenting role Kraft could take up in respect to Cadburys. Kraft Foods is a well known American food conglomerate with its presence in over a hundred countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Corporate Strategy Analysis of Kraft in relation to Cadbury Acquisition or any similar topic only for you Order Now The $19.5 billion (Clearly et al, 2010) takeover of Cadbury has enabled them to become the biggest confectionery and beverage giant in the world. This acquisition has enabled Kraft to expand their portfolio in terms of product offering. They now have over forty well known brands each bringing in over $100 million worth of sales each year. (Nasdaq, 2011). The Cadbury brand is well recognised around the world and they are one of the largest chocolate producers in the world, furthermore they have a well established base in the UK and abroad. Therefore by acquiring such a prestigious company with iconic brands, Kraft will be able to enhance its long term revenues and growth by strengthening their presence in developing markets such as India and Mexico. Cadbury is more of a brand led company whereas Kraft a more of a product orientated company. Cadbury as a result gives them a brand building capability which Kraft needs in order to expand overseas. From this perspective we can see quite clearly why Kraft acquired well known Cadbury. The main intention of Kraft’s takeover was so that they could get hold of Cadbury’s assets, resources and their core competencies which sets them apart from other rivals. Corporate Strategy Corporate strategy is best defined by (Lynch, 2003, p.5) as ‘ an organisations basic direction for the future: its purpose, its ambitions, its resources and how it interacts with the world in which it operates’. Likewise, (Porter, 1996 cited in Thompson, 2001, p. 15 describes it as an ‘overall plan for a diversified business’. Kraft has three corporate strategies which are: To delight global snack consumers To unleash the power of iconic heritage brands To create a performance – driven and value led organisation (Kraft, 2011) By implementing such strategies Kraft are able to manage their activities appropriately and by doing so they are able to identify the skills and competencies which are required to foster organisational growth hence drive profits. Kraft’s growth strategy is to build ‘ a global snacks powerhouse and unrivalled portfolio of brands people love’. It is essential that managers are able to effectively formulate and implement corporate level strategies’ in order to achieve corporate objectives of the firm by means of developing and sustaining competitive advantage. Management must have a clear vision in place as to where it wants to be in the long-term so it is able to identify its strategic purpose as to why the company exists. Kraft’s strategy enables managers’ to look at ways in which it can add value to the different parts of the firm. Moreover, how it can meet shareholder expectations. Kraft should effectively link its internal capabilities together with its external relations if they want their strategy to be successful in this ever changing environment. Furthermore, strategy also seems to shape organisational behaviour therefore it is vital that everyone in the organisation is focused and that they have a shared a vision because they will be more likely to be working towards the same goal. Corporate planning and strategic fit is crucial at Kraft as it enable them to conduct environmental scanning so that management can address and identify the key areas which are likely to affect the overall business strategy due to uncertainty within the market. Its purpose is to provide a bigger picture of the environment in which the business is operating in. Strategic analysis helps an organisation to identify what is happening outside of the business so that they can focus on external elements or threats that the business is likely face. This is usually done through PESTEL analysis or even a SWOT analysis so that managers can identify their strengths in comparison to their competitors so that they can improve on their weaknesses. Furthermore, it also helps them to spot opportunities within the market place so that they can expand and take advantage of change. Critical Success Factors (CSF) Also known as key success factors (KSF) best defined by (Lynch, 2003, p.102) as, â€Å"the resources, skills and attributes of an organisation that are essential to deliver success in the market place. The phrase was first introduced by Daniels in 1961 and has now become a widely studied phenomenon within the field of strategic management. Critical success factors are those business activities which must be managed and performed in order to foster organisational success. Understanding and identifying such factors are crucial as it enables managers to make the right strategic decisions. Kraft are now focussing on their top ten power brands such as Cadbury diary milk, trident gum etc to maximise revenue as they have dramatically shifted their focus towards growth in areas which contain higher margins. There are a number of critical success factors that Kraft could apply to Cadbury. Firstly, Kraft is a much stronger company than what it was 2 years ago. It has a hugh market share with an annual revenue exceeding $49.2 billion. Therefore Kraft could use Cadbury to strengthen their global base and use their core competencies to maximise profits. The market share of Kraft enables them to sustain their competitive advantage over others as they become a dominant enterprise within the confectionery market. Likewise, Kraft can use their brand strength along with Cadbury’s product range to enlarge and broaden their brand portfolio. Moreover, this will enable Kraft to distribute Cadbury’s brands in markets such as China, Brazil and Russia were Cadbury has little or no presence. This opportunity will also open up doors for Kraft so that it can grow and penetrate into India and European Union where it lacks behind. This will help it to boost sales and hopefully increase their market share. This ties in with effective supply chain networks that both companies have in place. From this perspective we can see that one of the main purpose or benefit in acquiring Cadbury was to control Cadbury’s distribution network and their infrastructure so that Kraft could use this advantage to get into developing markets where they will be able to widen their footprint by increasing their presence in international markets by offering diverse products. This opportunity has also widened their global supplier base which means that they can concentrate on economies of scale by getting their costs down as much as they can, so that they can make more profit per unit. This will enable them to leverage their costs and resources so that they can focus on operational efficiency through systems such as just in time. Corporate Parenting Role There are a number of ways in which Kraft has and could take up the corporate parenting role in respect to Cadbury. Firstly Kraft has made a hugh leap in restructuring their organisational structure, which means that decision making is no longer highly decentralized. This has enabled Kraft to be in more control over its business activities. In order to succeed in the global environment an organisation such as Kraft needs to make sure that they have the right people in the right place at the right time so that they can operate efficiently and effectively. The role of a corporate parent (headquarters) is to reinforce and implement parenting skills so that it can manage and add value to its business units. The main emphasis is so that the company can perform better compared to if it was working individually. The corporate parent can therefore make certain decisions about the portfolio of the business so it can manage global operations more efficiently. This two way process is vital because if a certain business unit or a corporate parent is not adding value to the business a decision is likely to be made by management to sell or break off a certain business section. Kraft has chosen a synergy manager approach because it enables them to manage synergies across both business platforms so that Kraft is able to manage costs and organisational resources effectively by aligning key targets which must be achieved by certain business units. As this will enable them to create synergy because two companies working together will create more value and therefore Kraft will have the opportunity to market and distribute both brands for the price of one. Kraft has estimated that around $672 million worth of expenses would be saved by working together with Cadbury. Good brand management is also an important aspect in any organisation, therefore if Kraft wants to prosper it must emphasise on knowledge management so that it can grasp and share its knowledge skills and core competencies with Cadbury. Kraft can coach and aid Cadbury in making the right decisions about product expansion in areas in which Kraft have extensive knowledge and experience. Furthermore they can help Cadbury to develop their capabilities by enabling them to improve their skills at the same time as helping them to improve on their weaknesses. Furthermore, they must effectively communicate across borders and be willing to combine research and development activities, sharing of plant and machinery, new innovative ideas market research e.g. consumer insight, talent, experience or skills. On the other hand, Kraft should avoid adding management costs and bureaucratic complexity because it is likely to hinder business performance. Conclusion An effective business strategy will always enable an organisation to thrive and prosper. By focussing on such strategic factors Kraft is able to accomplish their goals and objectives. Kraft is fully aware of the critical success factors which apply to them and those which apply to the industry. They use their capabilities and resources so that they can invest in those areas of the business which are critical for its long term success and by doing so they gain competitive advantage over others. They have paid particular attention towards their customers, as they claim to help people to live and eat better. By providing those products which customers actually want for instance on the go snacks. Therefore, one can say that it is essential that Kraft should manage their resources and capabilities if they want to succeed in the global arena. I believe that product innovation is a vital survival tool which Kraft has implemented within its business process as they are always introducing new products into the market. How to cite Corporate Strategy Analysis of Kraft in relation to Cadbury Acquisition, Essay examples

Deterioration of Patients Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Clinical Deterioration of Patients. Answer: Clinical deterioration of patients can occur at any time point during their illness or when they are under the care process. Patients generally become more vulnerable to deteriorating symptoms upon hospital admission, post-surgery or while recovering from a chronic disorder (Escobar et al., 2012). The essay will illustrate how close monitoring of the physiological changes can help in avoiding serious adverse events and reducing mortality. It will further elaborate the different barriers to such clinical monitoring. Early detection of deteriorating signs in a patient is essential to improve patient safety and the response to adverse events. Failure to closely monitor the early signs leads to increased mortality and morbidity. Around 70% patients suffering from cardiac arrest show respiratory trouble 8 hours before the episode. Responding to early detection helps to reduce mortality and associated healthcare costs. An observation chart is most essential in recording the vital signs of the patient and collecting relevant information related to identifying his health status. Vital sign detection assesses the severity of illness in the patient and connects them to timely response (Preece et al., 2012). In case of patients with cardiopulmonary disorders, timely management of beta blockers, emergency resuscitation and angiography have a substantial impact in reducing mortality. There are several barriers to early recognition of deterioration signs. The staff often fails to adequately communicate among themselves regarding the patients condition. This particularly occurs during transfers or handovers. Inexperienced staff fails to understand the information handed over to them. Incomplete compilation of fluid and observation charts lead to missing data and show discrepancies (Purling King, 2012). They fail to identify the trends of vital signs. Shortage of staff during weekends or sick leaves makes it difficult for nurses to observe the deterioration signs. In recent years, many hospitals have employed an Early warning system (EWS) that assists in early detection of critical conditions. These systems employ measurement of vital signs (Ludikhuize et al., 2012). Any deviation of the signs form the normal ranges alerts the staff of the ward or critical care team to outreach the patient and evaluate the deteriorating conditions. These systems utilize a calling criterion and empower clinicians for more effective intervention. During clinical placement, the importance of early warning systems was elucidated. A scoring system was given that helped to measure vital signs. The EWS scores for 6 physiological variables like respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, consciousness level, urine output and systolic blood pressure help to consistently determine the degree of illness and enables medical team to work faster and deliver adequate care (Smith et al., 2013). The utility of EWS across ambulance transportation and primary care was also demonstrated. Thus, it can be concluded that early warning scores play a significant role in reducing the number of patient harm or deterioration in-hospital settings. Thorough monitoring of the vital signs help to lower the hospitalization stays, health costs and mortality. If communication, inexperience and shortage of staff barriers are removed, early warning signs can effectively reduce the figures of avoidable deaths and patient deterioration cases. References Escobar, G. J., LaGuardia, J. C., Turk, B. J., Ragins, A., Kipnis, P., Draper, D. (2012). Early detection of impending physiologic deterioration among patients who are not in intensive care: development of predictive models using data from an automated electronic medical record.Journal of hospital medicine,7(5), 388-395. Ludikhuize, J., Smorenburg, S. M., de Rooij, S. E., de Jonge, E. (2012). Identification of deteriorating patients on general wards; measurement of vital parameters and potential effectiveness of the Modified Early Warning Score.Journal of critical care,27(4), 424-e7. Preece, M. H., Hill, A., Horswill, M. S., Watson, M. O. (2012). Supporting the detection of patient deterioration: observation chart design affects the recognition of abnormal vital signs.Resuscitation,83(9), 1111-1118. Purling, A., King, L. (2012). A literature review: graduate nurses' preparedness for recognising and responding to the deteriorating patient.Journal of clinical nursing,21(23-24), 3451-3465. Smith, G. B., Prytherch, D. R., Meredith, P., Schmidt, P. E., Featherstone, P. I. (2013). The ability of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) to discriminate patients at risk of early cardiac arrest, unanticipated intensive care unit admission, and death.Resuscitation,84(4), 465-470.