Another Medical Breakthrough essays

Another Medical Breakthrough essays The two articles about TomoTherapy are different in many ways. One focuses more on the struggle of making the new technology available, while the other focuses on the benefits of the technology. Although the number of cancer patients are on the rise, TomoTherapy will have a significant role in safely treating these patients. First, the article TomoTherapy Gets Big Boost by Jeff Richgels in The Capital Times informs the readers from a business standpoint. Richgels states the exact amount of backlog orders that TomoTherapy incurred along with how much time and money it would take to fulfill the orders. Richgels also gives credit to several of the investors who contributed to the growth of the company. Essentially, the article presents a problem and then explains how that problem is corrected. On the other hand, the article Treatment Can Target Radiation from the Star- Telegram in Fort Worth, Texas puts emphasis on what TomoTherapy specifically does to help the patient. Jan Jarvis, the author, interviews a doctor who had prevented a man from getting his arm amputated thanks to the TomoTherapy. Jarvis tells how the system calculates the pattern, position, and intensity of the radiation delivery once the doctor determines how much should be provided. Second, the styles of the articles are considerably different. The Capital Times is obviously informing of what is to come by interviewing the TomoTherapy CEO for the facts. The author speaks about the new facility, which will be used to produce the Hi-Art systems (Richgels). Hi-Art being the term that Richgels uses to express the modern technology. The article gives us a description of the company itself, such as the increasing number of employees. Nevertheless, the Star-Telegram article sheds light on how the customers of the ...

How to Get Hired in Your 50s and 60s

How to Get Hired in Your 50s and 60s Job hunting is hard enough without the additional challenges of age discrimination. While unemployment rates may be low for older workers, the outlook is significantly more grim for those looking for gainful employment: a report from the AARP indicates that the average duration of unemployment was a whopping 54.3 weeks for people over the age of 55 - compared with 28.2 weeks for their younger counterparts. So what’s a savvy 50-plus job-seeker to do? Let’s take a closer look at the best job hunting strategies for today’s older workers. Don’t WaitBecause the road to a new job may be longer, it pays to start searching right away as opposed to waiting until your unemployment runs out. While you may feel like you have a lot of time, you have a greater chance of finding a job that’s the right fit if you give yourself longer to look. Plus, it can help you avoid falling victim to a dangerous cycle: the longer the gap is on your resume, the more difficult i t may be to be hired again.Refining Your ResumeOne of the tricks of undertaking a job search as an older worker is in highlighting your strengths in a resume without laying it on too thick or looking overqualified.The days of the one-size-fits-all resume are gone. Take time to craft a targeted resume which highlights your most recent accomplishments, along with any new talents you’ve developed as they pertain to the job for which you’re applying.Many older job seekers have success with functional resumes, as opposed to chronological resumes.Networking, Two WaysSocial media has opened up a whole new world of networking opportunities. The benefits of age gives you a head start: you likely have plenty of professional connections to call on from throughout your career. Today’s employers are increasingly looking for a good â€Å"fit† for the company culture, and nothing speaks to this better than word-of-mouth from a current employee. But this only works if yo u let people know you are looking so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.Face-to-face time is also important, and this is an area where you are likely to shine thanks to a lifetime of experience interacting with a diversity of people and relationship building.Be Tech-SavvyThe 21st century workplace demands workers with 21st century skills. Technological abilities are at the top of the list. If your comfort level with computers is low, consider taking a class. This will not only build your skill set and confidence, but also demonstrates appealing initiative to potential employers.One simple way to make a positive impression? Create a LinkedIn profile and include a link to it on your resume. In an era where collaboration counts, this shows you’re able to communicate in the digital age.Show Your InterestThe last thing you want an employer to think is that you’re applying for a job because you have no other options. Make sure you are enthusiastic about why you are the right candidate for the job. Just be careful not to come off as too qualified: a younger manager may feel like you’re out for his/her job.Also, avoid making reference to your age during the interview, or to the age of the person interviewing you to avoid creating an uncomfortable or awkward situation.While you will face some obstacles as an older job seeker, they are not insurmountable, particularly if you apply these helpful tips and techniques. Perhaps the most important piece of advice for 50 and over job seekers? While age might not be an advantage on the job hunt, it certainly has its benefits. Use your experience to demonstrate a successful history of on-the-job problem-solving, critical thinking, and quantifiable results - many of which can only be achieved over time.Joanna Hughes writes on all things finance, business and human resources.

The motivations of Chinese EFLs Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The motivations of Chinese EFLs - Term Paper Example People who are fluent in English are given almost celebrity-like honor and value in countries where English is not the official language. The wide ranged usage of English throughout the world be it, mass media, education, Internet, business, tourism, technology and such other fields is what gives the language an authoritative appeal and command over the whole world. Acknowledging the importance of the English language, the government of every country needs to be capable of providing facilities for the children to learn this language. Thus, this is the reason why English is being taught in almost all countries. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the parents to get their children enrolled into schools that teach English. It also becomes the responsibility of these children to learn well and excel in their academics to make their parents feel proud and in turn, serve their nation by staying committed to their jobs, which obviously, would require English as the main language. Therefo re, for students to learn languages, other than their mother tongue, they need motivation. The paper at hand focuses on Chinese EFL students. These refer to the students who come from China and settle in America or other such countries where the official language is English, and study English as a foreign language. It also includes EFL students who reside in China itself. Studies show that China accounts for the â€Å"largest number of English language learners in the world† (Influence of Instrumental Motivation on EFL Learners in China and its Implication On TEFL Instructional Design 1). According to JUDY F. CHEN in his article called, Motivators That Do Not Motivate: the Case of Chinese EFL Learners and the Influence of Culture on Motivation, the Language learning theory has widely accepted the saying that language learners with superior levels of motivation will be superior achievers. Finding what composes motivation for those who learn the language in a variety of cultura l settings remains a significant and difficult task. Motivation study frequently centers on cultural circumstances that are not very different from European values and North American. Language learning motivation study outcomes have tended to support the supreme importance of integrative motivation, which was primarily described by Gardner and Lambert (1972) and the newer version by Shaaban and Ghaith. Integrative motivation is successful because language abilities are perceived as essential to participation in various social groups that employ the target language. Noels, Clement, Pelletier, and Vallerand (2000) make out the preeminent significance formerly granted to the orientation of integrative motivation, but also state that this can be the case only in particular socio-cultural circumstances. Integrative motivation is frequently contrasted by way of the more outwardly affected instrumental motivation (JUDY F. CHEN 2005). The students face a lot of problems in their everyday li fe in the educational institutions they attend. This is due to the fact that English is totally foreign to them until they go abroad. Thus, there arises a great need for these students to be motivated. This paper therefore addresses various problems that the Chinese EFL students face in learning English, the

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change Assignment

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change - Assignment Example The paper tells that at the three main levels, strategic leadership is tasked with providing the scope and direction that is needed to assist in the pursuit of success in the organization. A key component of this success is derived from the effective management of continuous change through improving both people and procedures. Therefore, all the executives, as well as the managers, should possess the necessary instruments needed for strategic creation and execution while being ready to use the same instruments rapidly. Managing in an environment that is characterized by change and uncertainty needs leaders who are strategic con steadily maintain a sense of direction while at the same time developing ownership objectives as well as goals within the groups they are supposed to lead. The blend between an analytical perception that is used to develop processes for a winning strategy and a human element that enables the managers to create effectively, inspired and accomplished teams is im portant to the success of strategic leadership. More often than not, strategic leadership fails since the right equilibrium between the two perspectives is not achieved. In the event that there is a high concentration on the execution as well as the outcome while disregarding the human dimension, the leader will be perceived as a taskmaster and the individuals who are demoralized will not have the motivation to perform. If the leaders pay more attention to the human dimension and forget about the process and the work ethic, then the situation at work will be similar to one at a country club which is a good place to work with very little distinction about what people are supposed to do. Therefore, successful strategic leadership should be carefully balanced between analytics and the process development as well as the human dimension.

Marketing strategy of walkers crisps

Marketing strategy of walkers crisps Walkers is the UKs favorite crisps brand. Founded in 1948, butcher Henry Walker began making crisps in his Leicester Plant to keep his workers busy, as meat was scarce in post-war Britain. Today, Walkers is Britains largest crisp manufacturer, employing thousands of people in seven locations. Walkers have 16 ranges of crisps and snacks including Walkers Sensations, Doritos and Quavers. Still based in Leicester, Walkers joined the PepsiCo family in 1989 and makes around 10 million bags of crisps a day. Walkers is worth around  £436 million, and Walkers snacks are enjoyed by over 10 million people in the UK every day. In 2007, Walkers became the first company in the world to display a carbon reduction logo on a consumer product. The label covers the carbon used from seed to store and through to product disposal. Working with the Carbon Trust, Walkers reduced energy use per kilo by one third, and water use per kilo by 45%. Walkers have also committed to further year on year reductions to continue to qualify for the label. As part of their efforts to reduce our carbon emissions by reducing our road miles, they switched to using 100% British potatoes for Walkers crisps in July 2007. Introduction to Task 1 This task is regarding marketing strategy options for walker, the requirements from task is to identify the type of growth for walkers which is most relevant to the company and provide justification for that. And then provide two marketing strategy options for walkers and explain how these options can be used to achieve the competitive advantages and long term growth. What is a marketing strategy Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable  competitive advantage. A marketing strategy should be centered on the key concept that  customer satisfaction  is the main goal. [1] There are three steps in formulating a marketing strategy Step 1: Identification of growth opportunities Step 2: Consider developing Porters generic strategies Step 3: Draw up marketing options While assessing the growth opportunities some points which needs to be focused are Planning a new business, Downsizing or terminating the old ones which are no longer profitable, and the ratio between the desired sales and projected sales. As per requirement of this task the discussion will be only limited to the step 1, which is the identification of growth opportunities for Walkers. Type of growth for Walkers As looking at the current business, market share and market opportunities it indicates that for walkers the growth type is Intensive Growth. Intensive Growth is related to the growth when an organization want to enhance their current business and try to identify opportunities to achieve further growth within the current business. The above given diagram was produced by Ansoff which is a useful framework for companies management looking for the new opportunities to increase their sales and profits. As it show that it has four marketing strategies Two marketing strategy options for Walkers By looking into the current market position Walkers and the revenue they generate each year throughout the United Kingdom market, I will suggest Walkers the following two marketing strategies. Market Penetration Strategy Market Development Strategy Market Penetration Strategy The first strategy each and every company is looking for is to adopt for increasing their sales and revenue is the market penetration strategy. Market Penetration Strategy is the marketing efforts of the company to offer their existing products and services within the current market. The best way to do this is to attract competitors customers and looking for potential customers in the existing market for existing products. As Walkers have the opportunity to use market penetration strategy for their different brands in UK, and also abroad. Before going for marketing penetration strategy proper analysis of competitors in market is required what are their strengths and in which areas they are lacking in providing good services to customers, what are the core competencies for Walkers against all those who are already in the market, and then develop a plan to address those areas which need to be, and try to capture more and more customers of other competitors and also become an attracting brand symbol for new customers in the market of crisps. Market Development Strategy Developing a new market for the existing company product is called market development strategy. In this activity efforts are put on to find new markets and make new customers to increase company revenue and profit. Walkers has the opportunity to develop markets oh geographical such as cities, counties, and demographical such as on basis of sex, age group and class etc. Walkers have the opportunities to develop new markets for its product throughout the United Kingdom, and also in other potential areas globally. Through market penetration strategy they can give good packages to their customers in order to encourage current customers to buy more, the second and important factor in this strategy is that to attract competitors customer by providing them good packages to buy Walkers product and attract all those customers who are new to this market and increase the number of customers. Justification for Marketing Strategies Choices As Walkers Crisps is a UK brand with a 47% share of the British crisp market. And 12 different types of crisps products, which shows that almost half of the UK crisps market is captured by Walkers, and they have a very good and popular brand name, thats why in this assignment the two marketing strategies Market Penetration Strategy and Market Development Strategy for the purpose of marketing are recommended to Walkers. They can launch their product in new markets to attract their competitor customers and all those who are new to the crisps market, because of having good will of Walkers and good market share in the country markets, Walkers will definitely get succeed in attracting new customers and their competitors customers. The second proposed strategy for Walkers (Market Development Strategy) will enable Walkers to introduce their products into new markets with their current products. Although Walkers have about half of the market share captured in UK crisps market but definitely there will be some potential areas where they dont have given the required focus in past, or address those markets where they have low sales as compared to their competitors, so this strategy will help walkers to properly analyze the new market areas and launch their products under the well known brand name of Walkers to achieve maximum benefits for the company. Introduction to Task 2 For every product in market the PESTEL analysis is very important as it is a main part of the marketing strategy development, so the requirement from this task is to carry out PESTEL analysis for Walkers, and then provide enough information and asses how technological change and globalization for the companys market planning in the next 3 years. What is PESTEL Analysis PESTLE stands for P: Political E: Economic S: Sociological T: Technological L: Legal E: Environmental.   PESTLE analysis is in effect an audit of an organizations environmental influences with the purpose of using this information to guide strategic decision-making. The assumption is that if the organization is able to audit its current environment and assess potential changes, it will be better placed than its competitors to respond to changes. Importance of PESTEL Analysis To help make decisions and to plan for future events, organizations need to understand the wider meso-economic and macro-economic environments in which they operate. (The meso-economic environment is the one in which we operate and have limited influence or impact, the macro-environment includes all factors that influence an organization but are out of its direct control). An organization on its own cannot affect these factors, nor can these factors directly affect the profitability of an organization. But by understanding these environments, it is possible to take the advantage to maximize the opportunities and minimize the threats to the organization. Conducting a strategic analysis entails scanning these economic environments to detect and understand the broad, long term trends.   A PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding the big picture of the environment in which an organization is operating. Specifically a PESTLE analysis is a useful tool for understanding risks associated with market (the need for a product or service) growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for an individual business or organization.   A PESTLE analysis is often used as a generic orientation tool, finding out where an organization or product is in the context of what is happening outside that will at some point affect what is happening inside an organization. The six elements form a framework for reviewing a situation, and can also be used to review a strategy or position, direction of a company, a marketing proposition, or idea.   Completing a PESTLE analysis can be a simple or complex process. It all depends how thorough you need to be. It is a good subject for workshop sessions, as undertaking this activity with only one perspective (that is, from just one persons view) can be time consuming and miss many critical factors. We all see things differently and harnessing the knowledge of several people will ensure the process is robust and meaningful. PESTEL Analysis for Walkers Following is the PESTEL analysis of Walkers in UK, keeping in mind the market share, growth and opportunities available in UK crisps market. Political: what is happening politically in the environment in which you operate, including areas such as tax policy, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and reform, tariffs and political stability. As the political system in the UK is one of the most stable democratic systems, so Walker will be having no problems regarding the country political system. The taxations, employment laws and environmental regulations in UK have proper system to introduce so thats not an immediate treat, but the Walkers have to look into current recession which is effecting almost all organizations in the world. Economic: what is happening within the economy, for example; economic growth/ decline, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate, wage rates, minimum wage, working hours, unemployment (local and national), credit availability, cost of living, etc. the current economic conditions have effected most of the organizations throughout the world, so before launching any new marketing campaign it is necessary for Walkers to have proper analysis of the available resources for campaign and what will be the after effects of that. Sociological: what is occurring socially in the markets in which you operate or expect to operate, cultural norms and expectations, health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes, emphasis on safety, global warming. As Walkers is so much focused on these issues, they have invested millions pound to improve the health related issues in their products. Technological: what is happening technology-wise which can impact what you do, technology is leaping every two years, how will this impact your products or services, things that were not possible five years ago are now mainstream, for example mobile phone technology, web 2.0, blogs, social networking websites. New technologies are continually being developed and the rate of change itself is increasing. There are also changes to barriers to entry in given markets, and changes to financial decisions like outsourcing and in sourcing. So Walkers need to keep updating on their technological side to ensure their parallel walk with the fast driven technological world. Legal: what is happening with changes to legislation. This may impact employment, access to materials, quotas, resources, imports/ exports, taxation etc. As described earlier that to bring changes in legal system in country there is a fair and smooth process, so Walkers dont need to be worried about it. Environmental: what is happening with respect to ecological and environmental aspects. Many of these factors will be economic or social in nature. So Walkers need to develop environment friendly product and use such fuels in the manufacturing plants which produce min environmental pollution and dont harm the health of the workers. Impact of Technological Change In modern world the technology evolve very quickly and each and every day there is some new innovation in the way organizations use the technology in order to enhance their operations and perform the daily activates in good and quick way. The business world has revolutionized almost beyond recognition in the past few decades. Technology and we mean the advances in communication and information technology has changed the face and the pace of business. As communication and information travels faster and faster, the world seems smaller and smaller, and this has large implications for the way we conduct business. Storing important in files on a computer  rather than in drawers, for instance, has made information easily accessible. Using  e-mail  allows businesses to communicate and send these files quickly to remote locations outside of an office. The impacts of technological change for Walkers in next 3 years will the following General changes to technology Communicating Consumers in control Technology has bring a revolutionary changes to the way of marketing, after the evaluation of internet most of the business are now not limited to shop-based shopping, but the concept of virtual business is introduced. The fast communication among the business units and storage of large scale of data easily, and accessibility of data at finger tips are the main advantages of using technology. Technology makes it easy for consumers to find information that they are looking for they are now in control of what they are getting from businesses. With the internet, it is simple for consumers to get online and find a great deal or the same product that you are selling, but one of higher quality for the same price. The internet has created a world of choices for the consumer to use, which means they can make demands on what type of product or service you are offering. What you need to do is to change your product or service and what you are delivering to ensure that your consumers are getting the best deal possible, but that they are also getting the best service and the best value when compared to other companies. Impact of Globalization Globalization has caused dramatic changes to business practices around the world. Companies such as IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Philips have started to outsource specialists from various parts of the world, causing job shifts and changes in companies structures (Engardio, Bernstein, and Kripalani, 2003). Globalization is an interesting phenomenon since it is obvious that the world has been going through this process of change towards increasing economic, financial, social, cultural, political, market, and environmental interdependence among nations. Virtually, everyone is affected by this process. Given these changes, globalization brings about a borderless world (Eden and Lenway, 2001; Ohmae, 1989a). Globalization drives people to change their ways of living. So to complete in the globalized world Walkers management need to think out of the box and develop their marketing strategy in way which fulfills the needs of all the global stakeholders, and all products and information must be available globally. For that they may need to outsource their business operations may be to some firms in countries other than in where Walkers is in operation. Conclusion and Recommendations Walkers have very good market in UK, providing their customers good crispy products having twelve brands of snacks and crisps. They have captured forty three percent of UK market; have very good marketing strategy like having a former England football team captain as Walkers brand ambassador. But they have very potential growth opportunities which will need to be availed by having improved marketing strategy and addressing the hidden markets to penetrate in those areas, and also try to attract new customers into market, also the customers of their competitors. Also they need to keep updating on their system and technologies both for information sharing, marketing and product preparation to have improved quality of products and achieve the organizational goals and objectives.

Analyzing Development and Change in the Media Industries

Every good analyst or researcher must grasp the importance of using various analytical tools as well as visual aids to comprehend various dilemmas faced by companies. In the case of BBC we must use various analytic tools to provide an overview of the situation being faced by BBC in 2001. Holistically, we must examine all changes and aspects of BBC in 1999 and 200. The below visual aid, Diagram A, is a representation of some financial highlights. This aid is a creation from data provided in the case study, and uses a pivot table in excel to illustration the percentage changes per financial highlight.The chart below this diagram reflects the actual numerical change and percentage change be they negative or positive. You can see that operating profits have dropped considerably from 1999 to 2000 a full 25%. For a company like BBC this is a huge loss. In addition, turnover has increased both worldwide as well as on a group level. Via this statistical analysis, it can be verified that the company is suffering from employee disgruntlement and decrease in ratings.In terms of using analysis to determine a solution, the company needs also to provide a break-even analysis and sensitivity analysis to determine at which point the company is making an adequate profit margin as well as a range of probabilities that a decision or alternative decision is acceptable. (Case Study, BBC). Initially we shall look at why producing it own programmes might be a source of conflict for BBC. BBC has over time and experience developed into one of the world’s leading broadcasters and programme makers.Renowned for its emphasis on high quality, accuracy of reporting stories, and neutrality BBC must recognize that this must be upheld as it produces its own programmes. In all fairness, BBC has the responsibility of pursuing all stories without regard to who or what is paying it. Revenue that is generated should not be based upon the payer’s expectations but on the equality and jus tification for the story. BBC is faced with these aspects as it produces its own programmes because ‘the hand that feeds it’ might not be supportive of particular stories or reporting.In addition, as BBC is part of the print industry via its own magazine it must retain its revenue why printing stories that interest its clientele. This financial situation guides BBC as it modernizes and uses new technology to present stories in an interesting manner. In its effort to preserve its reputation for accuracy and impartiality, BBC’s management structure had also come under scrutiny. Managers who had been recruited or hired from outside the firm might not have had the company’s philosophy or accepted the company’s historic approach to accuracy.Producing programmes in-house might have the manager’s external influences associated with its handling of stories. Bureaucratic tendencies might stifle creativity and invoke change away from the BBC value syst em. This might in turn lead consumers to believe that impartiality, accuracy, and fairness has been compromised on BBC’s part. (Case Study, BBC). Secondly, we shall examine why competing for ratings with other television channels is obviously a huge area of conflict for BBC. In the modern world, there are many channels ranging from your basic channels to cable to direct tv.These massive amount of channels have a tendency to give much choice to consumers. BBC needs to focus on surveying and determining exactly what the consumer desires to see. Stories need to continue to be accurate but also contain new skills of reporting and a different manner of creative thinking in order to compete for ratings. The case study relates how the 1990 Broadcasting Act required both ITV and BBC companies to have at least 25% of its programmes from the independent sector. As this situation occurred, morale among employees and prices dropped due to redundant stories and broadcastings.Ratings were also adversely affected by the company seeing and recognizing that its news could no â€Å"longer be tailored to fit its overseas listeners and would take on a London bias. This was overcome by retaining the dedicated newsroom already based in Bush House. † In general, this is always a threat to their ratings should they fail to consider oversea listeners’ interests and expectations. (Case Study, BBC). Finally, being a global provider is an area of conflict for BBC because like stated above the company needs to retain ratings from its oversea and global listeners.In order to be successful at this it needs to tailor its stories without losing its listeners in London as well. Because globally there are different manners of communicating, the company also needs to focus on external suppliers to produce TV content which is interactive, online sites which are user-friendly and informative, and strategically position itself to have a well-organized and structured organizatio n. Global expectations also call for having search engines, a website which is efficient to navigate through, video and audio streaming, voting applications, and audience management (website, opta).Question 3: How should the decision making process be followed in order to make good decisions to respond to the situation faced by the BBC in 2001? In order to adequately address this concern I must first iterate upon the importance and significance of the decision making process. This process itself consists of a variety of step-by-step action plan which should be adhered to. As these steps are laid out I will indicate how BBC needs to or has responded during each of these steps.Furthermore, I will distinguish if these steps have ensured that BBC is making good decisions about responding to the dilemmas facing the company in 2001. Depending on how well the company is handling these steps deems its success or failure level. So, the first step of the decision making process is identifying the problem. By identifying the problem the analyzer can ‘put a name’ or ‘face’ to the situation. This enables the company to achieve an initial understanding of where to focus their attentions and perhaps which actionable plans must be considered to resolve the situation.For BCC, their chief problems lie in deciding how much authority and responsibility it should invest in other companies creating its programmes, how much should BBC compete for its ratings as a public service broadcaster, and to what level should BBC act as a global provider. To identify the problem they need to find the source of the problem. In this case, the source of the problem lies in the license fee and the government’s control of its programmes. Having identified the problem, you can focus on focusing on the problem versus the ‘symptoms’ of it.This focus allows BBC to specify objectives and set decision criteria or requirements which can aid in selecting a solu tion. By selecting decision criteria BBC can decide which methods it might undertake to rectify the situations that they are facing. For instance, BBC’s commercial services found itself forced to produce its own magazine containing its own programme listings. It saw that it could either remain out of the print industry, ignore that other newspapers were refusing to publish details on its programs, or decide to supplement their own earnings by creating the BBC Enterprising LTD (BBC Worldwide).This also gave them a foothold in seeing a strong increase in its revenue and sales. For 2001, the company saw that past performances of inefficiency and losing audiences in the face of rapid increase in cable channels was threatening its prosperity. In the decision making process it began to develop suitable alternatives. Depending on the nature or significance of the problem, selecting an alternative or even listing out alternatives requires must analysis. By listing out alternatives, B BC can see a variety of them as well as produce creative alternatives which can either be simple or complex.One alternative is for BBC is to ignore the problem. By ignoring it, BBC can save money and time on implementations or changes; but it can lose the rest of its consumer loyalty or its ratings. In addition, management would not recognize modernization, new markets, new technologies, and the need for improved consumer interests. Furthermore, cost effectiveness would continue to be a problem as increased competition from digital, cable, and satellite channels continued to prosper. Lastly, by ignoring the situation the current employee disgruntlement would remain and turnover would continue to occur (Stevenson 70-73).This turnover is a true loss of talent and experience. In general, this alternative is not logical nor practical. In fact, BBC should develop alternatives which limit the growth of management, reorganize the structure, seek to overcome restrictions to their licensing fee agreement, focus on surveying what the consumer wishes to listen too, and determine what times to air their shows. Programmes could continue to be contracted out to get new and various coverage points and view points.Another alterative would be to have more in-house services or from the private sector in order to be financially more competitive. By tailoring their programming to what the consumer wanted and scheduling those programmes in the periods that consumers would watch, there would be an increase in ratings and audience figures. This general analysis and comparison of alternatives allows the company to brainstorm which best practice or solution is most effective. Financial number crunching and comparative analysis to other competitive firms would also be wise.At this point, BBC should select its best alternative. In this case, ignoring the situation is not practical. Deciding to continue with government handling is not proactive or financially secure. So, it should select to adhere to focus on increasing ratings and audience figures. External consultants and internal representatives should hash out any such details about complying with the licensing fee agreements while focusing on modern complications and how to overcome them. By adopting a different method of funding to replace and subsidize its income, it can overcome these dilemmas.At this point in its decision making process, BBC would have to implement the decided upon alternative after having a report listing out the pros, cons, financial rewards, and financial pitfalls should it not do so. In addition, a SWOT analysis should be completed of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of proceeding with the alternative (Stevenson 70-73). The decision-making process for BBC does not end at implementing the final and chosen alternative. Instead, the company must monitor, critique, and evaluate the alternative as it is carried out to ensure that the results are being obtained.A little adjustments here and there can be made to guarantee the company is going in the right direction. Consumers can be surveyed, employee constructive feedback can be requested, financial reports should be comparing the quarters at all times, and management should be fully aware of all aspects. All in all, this is a very time consuming process which requires much awareness and preparedness for BBC. Question 4: Does Government policy constrain the ability of the BBC to respond to its situation in 2001? If so, explain how.It is obvious through the case study, that government policy is indeed constraining the ability of BBC to respond to its situation in 2001. This is occurring because there is a system of the licensing fee. BBC is dependent on the government of each period to determine if and how it is to continue its programming as well as how much funding is to be made available to it. As the political climate was favoring deregulation and a free market place, BBC found itself in a posit ion where its license fee revenue was decreasing (Case Study, BBC).The company was being encouraged to consider venturing into commercial avenues in order to supplement its income while continuing to pay an extraordinary amount to continue to hold onto its license. These fees were continuing to increase each year, as multi-channel competition between providers increased. Works Cited: Case Study: The BBC. BA in Business Studies Website: Opta Creating New Businesses: Case-Studies-Media. Retrieved March 29, 2007. http://www. opta. com/who_we_serve_casestudies_media_print. htm Stevenson, William J. Production and Operations Management. Fourth Edition. Von Hoffman Press. 1993

Recommendation Letters for Midlife Graduate Students

Thinking about changing careers? Graduate school is the ticket to a career change; its not just for recent graduates. Many adults consider returning to school to earn a masters or doctoral degree and begin the career of their dreams. Think graduate school is only for the young? Think again. The average graduate student (collapsing over masters and doctoral programs in all fields) is well over 30 years of age. Midlife applicants to graduate school have special concerns. For example, what do you do about letters of recommendation when youve been out of college for a decade? Thats a tough one. Before you resign yourself to completing another bachelors degree or, worse yet, give up on applying to graduate school altogether, try the following: Contact your professors from college Professors keep records on students for years. Its a long shot, though, because professors are known to move on to other schools or retire, but try anyway. More importantly, professors probably wont recall enough about you to write a competent letter. While its helpful to obtain at least one letter from a professor, it might not be possible to contact your old professors. What then? Enroll in a class Before applying to graduate school, try taking a few classes, either at the undergraduate level if youre entering a new field or at the graduate level. Excel in those classes and let your professors get to know you. If theyre doing research in your area of interest, volunteer to help. Letters from faculty who know you now will help your application immensely. Ask a supervisor or employer to write on your behalf Given that most graduate applications require three letters of recommendation, you may need to look beyond faculty for your letters. A supervisor can write about your work ethic, enthusiasm, maturity, and life experience. The trick is ensuring that your referee understands what graduate admissions committees are looking for in applicants. Provide your referee with all the information he or she needs to write an excellent letter. Include a description of your work-related experiences, why you wish to attend graduate school, your skills, and abilities -- as well as examples of how your current work demonstrates those skills and abilities. In other words, consider exactly what youd like the letter to say, then provide your supervisor with everything he or she needs to write that letter. Provide phrases and paragraphs that contain important material and examples illustrating your capacities; this can help your supervisor frame the task and his or her evaluation. It can also subtly guide your letter writer; however, do not expect your supervisor to simply copy your work. By helping - providing detailed information and guidance - you can influence your letter by making it easy for your supervisor. Most people like easy and your letter is likely to reflect that.