Research paper about finish line company Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

About finish line company - Research Paper Example It began in 1976 as a partnership between Cohen and Klapper for a ten-year franchise of Athlete’s Foot, an established sports footwear retailer (The Finish Line Inc.). Learning from the franchise experience, the partners opened their own line of sports footwear retail to compete with Athlete’s Foot by offering a wider variety of stocks displayed in bigger stores, as well as offering value brands and affordable lines well-suited in their store locations at less-expensive strip malls. The positioning proved effective as the next ten-years would see growth of the company by opening up more stores with bigger areas while ending the franchise with Athlete’s Foot. To support the growth, two more partners were brought in with sportswear retail experience: Larry Sablonsky and David Fagin (The Finish Line Inc.). The next 20 years saw the growth of the company by overtaking Athlete’s Foot and other competitors in the sports and active wear retail segment as well as becoming a publicly listed company whose shares continue to perform well within its segment. Finish Line’s mission according to the website is to â€Å"connect to young, fashion conscious individuals through a premium brand environment offering the best selection of authentic, sport inspired products† (1). The company offers premium brands that provide dependable quality and leading styles in active wear. Finish Line categorizes its products into footwear and softgoods. As of 2009 annual report, 81% of net sales of Finish Line Inc. came from the footwear category (Lyon and Schneider 3). They carry brands such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Jordan, Under Armour and New Balance along with sport style brands including Lacoste, Converse, Ed Hardy and Sperry. Softgoods category carries non-footwear products. Recent additions to the company’s line of products are offered through the Paiva store chain offering brands like Tella, McCartney, Brooks, Ellesse, etc., focusing on women

African American vs. Caucasian Americans Essay Example for Free

African American vs. Caucasian Americans Essay At first glance some people might consider this paper to be on the racial side, however it was all written by observations made. There are many differences between African Americans and Caucasians, some people dont see the differences because of ignorance . You must read the paper with an open mind and take none of this to heart. African American and Caucasians function differently in public surroundings. When you see a young African American you usually see them in groups of four of more. However, when one of them gets into a disagreement five to ten more show up in their defense. They are a very close knit group of individuals. I have also noticed that when you see a young African American walking around they are usually singing, talking very loud or running around. Also when they are in groups they are very loud and take over the area that they occupy. On the other hand when you see Caucasians they are rarely in groups of three or more. To top it off when someone in one of their groups gets in trouble the rest of the group is nowhere to be found. Most times when you see young Caucasian people in a group they are for the most part within a normal speaking level. These two groups tend to act differently in the public due to their cultural differences. There are a number of differences between the churches of African Americans and Caucasians. At most typical African American churches there are no true sermons. The African American churches tend to do more entertaining rather than teaching. They also do a great deal of singing and dancing involved in there praising of God. They emphasize fellowship in their churches especially after church when they all gather and close the celebration with a meal together. However at a typical Caucasian church there are a few differences. To start it off when you first walk in you get a program detailing what will be happening through the service. They tend to structure the whole service around a sermon or story. The service every week is very predictable as to what will happen. The Caucasian churches are more there to teach the ways of the lord as they have interpreted it. Although not all the African American and Caucasian churches are along this line a majority of the main stream ones are.

The Effect of Age on Taste Essay -- Senses Aging Essays

The Effect of Age on Taste The sense of taste has to be one of the most important human senses. It gives an individual the ability to recognize consumables that are encountered on a regular basis such as a favorite steak platter or a favorite wine. However, when that individual reaches a particular age the sense of taste deteriorates, which can result in potentially dangerous conditions such as malnourishment or susceptibility to diseases. This problem of taste loss due to aging needs to be studied more because it can effect both the physical and mental health of many elderly people. When elderly individuals try to live life with a weakened ability to recognize certain food flavors or any other consumable item, their dietary needs can be greatly affected. A certain number of foods are not going to taste good enough to satisfy the appetites of the elderly, so they might resort to using unhealthy eating habits. For example, they could lose the motivation to eat certain foods such as vegetables or meats and increase the consumption of foods that are low in nutritional value such as candies or pastries. This shift can result in health problems such as a loss in bone mass, a weakened immune system, weak muscles, and high blood pressure. Elderly citizens need to acquire a specific amount of nutrients in order to maintain a healthy life style. Spence (1989) mentioned that diets which maintain adequate levels of vitamins and minerals and also consist of 50 to 55% carbohydrates, 12 to 15% proteins, and 25 to 35% fats are recommended for persons over the age of 50. In order for the elderly to live up to a healthy diet, they need to consume nutritious foods that will taste good to them. The problem with this situation is how to h... ...ews, 50 (12), 72-75. Miller, J. (1988). Human taste bud density across adult age groups. Journal of Gerontology, 43 (1), 26-30. Schieber, F. (1992). Aging and the senses. In J. E. Birren, R. B. Sloane, & G. D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of mental health and aging. San Diego: Academic Press Inc. Schiffman, S. (1977). Food recognition by the elderly. Journal of Gerontology, 32 (5), 586-592. Schiffman, S. (1994). Changes in taste and smell: Drug interactions and food preferences. Nutrition Reviews, 52 (8), 11-14. Schiffman, S. (1997). Taste and smell loss in normal aging and disease. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278 (16), 1357-1362. Spence, A. P. (1989). Biology of human aging. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Spitzer, M. E. (1986). Taste acuity in institutionalized and non institutionalized elderly men. Psychological Sciences, 43 (3), 71-74.

Delorean Motor Company

DeLorean Motor Company Examining a Business Failure Michael Smith Organizational Leadership 531 September 5, 2011 Examining a Business Failure Stainless Steel. Sleek. Gull-wing doors. Back to the Future. The DMC-12 is one of the most recognizable cars in history. John DeLorean, a former engineer and executive for General Motors, founded the DeLorean Motor Company in October of 1975 (Woron, 1982). DeLorean gained popularity for designing the Pontiac GTO and the Pontiac Firebird.Many thought that John DeLorean was well on his way to being president of General Motors when he left the company in 1973 to start his own automobile company (Woron, 1982). DeLorean needed around $175 million to finance the company, yet only put up around $700,000 of his own money. For the rest, he used over 100 investors to finance his dream, including Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis Jr. (Manning, 2000). He also put over $12 million into a partnership for research and development while the British government pro duced $156 million in grants and loans in return for DeLorean locating the DMC factory in Northern Ireland (Manning, 2000).The DeLorean factory created over 2000 jobs in an area with high unemployment rates. DeLorean had multiple million-dollar homes and paid himself a large salary. When it debuted in 1981, the DMC-12’s sales could not foot the bill. The sports car had a lot of competition and was priced $8,000 higher than the Corvette (Manning, 2000). In February 1982 the British government shut the factory down, John DeLorean began a drug-smuggling scheme to save his company and was busted by the FBI. John DeLorean’s dream was over and left everyone with no return on their investment.Robbins and Judge (2011) define leadership as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals. Trait theories of leadership focus on personal qualities and characteristics (Robbins and Judge, 2011). John DeLorean had every characteristic of an effectiv e leader. He was charismatic, highly successful, courageous, and influential. However, DeLorean had no emotional intelligence and without emotional intelligence a person can have outstanding training, a highly analytical mind, compelling vision, and an endless supply of great ideas, but still not be an effective leader (Robbins and Judge, 2011).DeLorean’s lack of emotional intelligence could have predicted the fall of the DeLorean Motor Company. DeLorean was not self aware, was unable to listen to what followers said, and did not read into the reactions of others. Big executives began leaving the company for a variety of reasons. Many accused DeLorean of being arrogant, disloyal, and distrustful (Woron, 1982). One executive, Robert Dewey, said, â€Å"John would surround himself with fairly intelligent people, but he wanted ‘yes' men. You can get clones to do that. When you challenged him on a point, he felt you were challenging him.You didn't have a dialogue with John. † (Woron, 1982). The fall of the DeLorean Motor Company could have potentially been prevented had John DeLorean listened to his followers. Management theories could have also predicted the failure of the DeLorean Motor Company. The contingency theory suggests that when management makes a decision they take into consideration all aspects of the current situation and act on those aspects that are key to the situation at hand (McNamara, 2011). John DeLorean failed to take all aspects into consideration.DeLorean was starting a new automobile company, yet priced his car higher than the Chevrolet Corvette, Porshe 944, and Mazda RX-7, despite it having less power (Woron, 1982). All of these cars already had a reputation, DeLorean’s DMC-12 did not. He also based the company in Ireland at a time when foreign cars were generally less expensive than those made in the United States. The downfall of the DeLorean Motor Company is largely due to its organizational structure. The comp any’s organizational structure was very centralized, all the power rested at a single point (Mintzberg, Lampel, Quinn, and Ghoshal, 2003).John DeLorean wanted to be that single point of power in his organization, but had over 100 investors. The company also had an innovative strategy, striving to achieve meaningful and unique innovations (Robbins and Judge, 2011). DeLorean chose to build his factory in Northern Ireland to take advantage of low worker wages and for easy access into the European market (Woron, 1982). However, the location of the factory proved to be more an obstacle for DeLorean as he struggled to spend time in Ireland.Delorean’s other innovations included gull-wing doors and stainless steel body panels, but the cars ultimately had to be shipped to U. S. quality control centers to have the door fix the doors and realign body panels. The car ultimately received bad reviews stating the car was heavy, overpriced, and easily showed dirt (Woron, 1982). John D eLorean failed to break-even with the DMC-12 and the factory shut down in 1982. John DeLorean was acquitted of all drug trafficking charges. In 1998 and New York jury ruled that DeLorean’s accounting firm owed investors $46 million, plus $65 million in interest.A man that was once a pioneer had hit rock bottom largely due to excessive spending and his imagination far exceeding his execution. Today, the DeLorean Motor Company is based out Texas with no ties to John DeLorean or his family. The Texas based company acquired all rights to the name and the inventory that was never used (DeLorean Motor Company, 2011). The car is one of the most recognizable in history and has developed a cult following. Had John DeLorean done things differently, his company could have been much more successful. References DeLorean Motor Company. 2011). Retrieved from http://www. delorean. com/q;a. asp Manning, J. (2000). The rise and fall of John DeLorean. Retrieved from http://eightiesclub. tripod. com/id305. htm McNamara, C. (2011). Management help. Retrieved from http://managementhelp. org/management/theories. htm Mintzberg, H. , Lampel, J. , Quinn, J. B. , ; Ghoshal, S. (2003). The strategy process: Concepts, contexts, cases (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Woron, W. (1982). Dreaming the impossible – The DeLorean and its predecessors . Automobile Quarterly, 21(2).

Government Roles in Healthcare Essay

The government which consists of federal, state and local combined has many important roles in the U.S healthcare system. One of the roles in which the government provides is finance. It is estimated that 48% of healthcare was paid for by public dollars in 2008, which included Medicare, Medicaid, state and local health programs, CHIP, and Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (Yesalis,Holt,& Politzer,2012). Federal and State governments jointly fund Medicaid, long term mental health services, community health centers and public health programs. The next important role that the government plays in the healthcare system is delivering healthcare to patients. Some examples of healthcare delivery would be the Department of Veterans Affairs which is a federal government operated facility which provides healthcare for veterans. There are hospitals and healthcare facilities which are located on military bases which are run by the federal government that are available for our military service members. There are also federal or state run government healthcare facilities which provide healthcare for uninsured or low income families for little or no cost. The Indian Health Service is another program which is run by the federal government that offers healthcare to American Indians as well. The government also has the role of regulating healthcare. One of the things that the federal government regulates is Medicare and Medicaid providers. State governments are usually more involved when it comes to regulation of healthcare. They regulate things such as: establishing health codes, regulating the insurance industry, and license health care personnel and facilities. The state government works alongside with local health departments to perform other functions as well. Some examples of these are vital statistics, mental health services, and environmental health. References: Yesalis, C., Holt, H., & Politzer, R. (2012). Fundamentals of U.S. Healthcare. Retrieved from http://wow.coursesmart.com/9781428317352/firstsection#

Hegel, Communisme en Nazisme essays

Hegel, Communisme en Nazisme essays 2. Hegels Phnomenologie des Geistes 2 3. Hegels invloed op het communisme en nazisme 5 4. Het gevaar van een naieve benadering 8 Het is vreemd dat in de meeste gevallen Nietzsche wordt aangewezen als de grote beweger van totalitaire politieke stromingen. Deze filosoof is in zijn werk duidelijk beinvloed door Hegel en heeft veel van zijn ideen overgenomen. Geen enkele filosoof kan om het werk van Hegel heen. Zijn werk speelt een belangrijke rol in de ontwikkeling van de politiek in de 19e eeuw. Het lijkt erop dat veel totalitaire politieke stromingen delen van zijn gedachtegoed hebben overgenomen. Het communisme en nazisme lijken bijvoorbeeld gefundeerd op Hegels concept van het Absolute en de Weltgeist. Ik zal in dit werkstuk ingaan de vraag beantwoorden waarom het volgens Hegel noodzakelijk is dat wij niet op een naieve manier een beroep doen op het concept van het Absolute. Ik zal het antwoord op deze vraag geven door Hegels ideen te vergelijken met totalitaire politieke stromingen. Om deze vraag zo goed mogelijk te beantwoorden is het noodzakelijk om Hegels werk ten dele te beschrijven. In de tweede paragraaf zal daarom zijn Phnomenologie des Geistes worden beschreven. Hierna zal ik in de derde paragraaf Hegels invloed op het communisme en nazisme schetsen aan de hand van de in paragraaf twee naar voren gekomen ideen. In de vierde en laatste paragraaf zal ik duidelijk maken wat deze totalitaire regimes missen in hun benadering van het Absolute en in de conclusie zal ik tot een antwoord komen op de hiervoor gestelde vraag. 2. Hegels Phnomenologie des Geistes Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel leefde van 1770 tot 1831. Zijn belangrijkste werk is de Phnomenologie des Geistes (1807) en het is ook het eerste van slechts vier werken. De fenomenologie is de filosofische stroming die uitgaat van de verschijningsvormen van de objecten, dit boek gaat dan ook over de verschijningsvormen van de Ge...

Strategic Project Management

Strategic Project Management Free Online Research Papers Strategic Program Management Worksheet The purpose of this assignment is to begin the process of Problem Based Learning. In this step, you will be looking at one or more realistic situations and using them, in the context of this course, to identify the key concepts involved that you will need to understand in order to solve whatever problems you might encounter in those situations. Complete the table below by identifying at least five concepts that you will study from the text on the rEsource page in order to resolve the situations presented; list and briefly describe them in column A. You have on the resource page a scenario that provides an examples of realistic situation in which these concepts apply. Examine this scenario and in Column B identify specific examples from it which illustrate an application of the concept. The example could be an issue in the scenario which illustrates a concept. Cite in Column C where in the reading you found the concept that the example illustrated. Table for Assignment One A: Concept B: Application of Concept in Scenario C: Citation of Concept in Reading Example from Global Communications Scenario in MBA/500: Building Organizational Commitment, which is developed through the activities of: Justice support Job security Organizational comprehension Trusting employees Example from Global Communications Scenario in MBA/500: Sy states that Global Communication’s competitive edge is drawn from loyal employees, but what will be the effect of laying off employees in the Small Business Group? This contradicts job security as a component of Building Organizational Commitment. Nancy recommends that they tell the truth to the affected employees will accept the explanation, but Nancy is trying to build organizational comprehension (identifying with the organization by keeping employees informed) and re-establish trusting employees, two activities to Build Organizational Commitment. Example from Global Communications Scenario in MBA/500 McShane (2005, ref. pg #?) Project Management Strategy: Expansion Currently, the schools serve about 1000 students, and enrollment increases by roughly 5 percent per year. The Board of Directors believes that number could be higher, that the school could serve even more communities across the United States. Our top priority will be evaluating the first year of our three-year plan. To that end, I’ve asked Nancy to put together a summary of our year-end financial and operating results report, as well as a forecast for the coming year. Although costs are up a few percent, we have negotiated the addition of all of the vacant space in our three buildings at no additional costs. If we are going to expand this school into other states, we will need significantly more funding to acquire additional locations and fund the marketing. We will need to generate at least three to four million in cash for the next two years to give us the funding we need. Our projects have to yield their committed improvements. â€Å"†¦it is time to expand the traditional role of the project manager from an operational to a more strategic perspective. In the modern evolving organization, project managers will be focused on business aspects, and their role will expand from getting the job done to achieving the business results and winning in the market place.† (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 22) â€Å"By watching your overhead you can spend more on business expansion,† (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 95) Four Activities of the Strategic Management Process The typical sequence of activities of the strategic management process is outlined here; a description of each activity then follows: 1. Review and define the organizational mission. 2. Set long-range goals and objectives. 3. Analyze and formulate strategies to reach objectives. 4. Implement strategies through projects. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 24) Technology to increase efficiency I’ll start with the new â€Å"Life Skills† software. My understanding is that this software would increase the ratio of students to teachers from 3 to 1 to 4 to 1. I see no ratio improvement for next year. Nancy: We are only showing the ratio increase for new teachers and assistants. Most of the older faculty prefers using one-on-one live instruction, and they get excellent results with that. The newer teachers we’re hiring are more open to the computer assisted learning, which increases the ratio. A high level of expertise and technology can be brought to bear on the project (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 68) look at computer technology as the vehicle for work and entertainment. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 25) Opportunities and threats usually represent external forces for change such as technology, industry structure, and competition. Competitive benchmarking tools are sometimes used here to assess current and future directions. Opportunities and threats are the flip sides of each other. That is, a threat can be perceived as an opportunity, or vice versa. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 26) Factors such as researching new technology, public image, ethical position, protection of the environment, core competencies, and strategic fit might be important criteria for selecting projects. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 37) Business development Along with the school’s executive director, the Board has adopted a new strategy that uses business development as the model to increase funding sources and revenues. The three-year strategic program plan includes a number of new projects to help realize this new vision. a new-product development project will likely involve the combined efforts of people from design, marketing, manufacturing, and finance. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 56) One of the advantages of creating dedicated project teams is that project participants from different functional areas can develop into a highly cohesive work team that is strongly committed to completing the project. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 62) Project managers have to be able to read and speak the culture they are working in to develop strategies, plans, and responses that are likely to be understood and accepted. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 77) With the long-term position identified, objectives are set, and strategies are developed to achieve objectives and then translated into actions by implementing projects. Strategy can decide the survival of an organization. Most organizations are successful in formulating strategies for what course(s) they should pursue. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 24) Profit increase/Stategic placement John (Thomas, Chairperson, Board of Directors) has grown Foundation Schools revenues by nearly 10 percent per year, bringing financials out of the red. As CEO of a large tech company, John has a strong business background, excellent leadership skills, and is well-respected by school faculty and the community. John’s favorite saying is â€Å"Not for profit does not mean ‘for a loss,‘ Nancy and I just returned from a meeting with the Jacobs City School Board and they have agreed to send all of their special needs students to the Foundation Schools starting in September. They have identified 45 students who will be joining us, and they have also agreed to our new rates, which reflect an eight percent increase over the next two years. Nancy: In terms of the financials and operating results, you can see our net income increased because we enrolled more students this year. And as a result of marketing and business development, we expect a major jump in total revenues for next year, a net income increase of nearly two million dollars. Companies have to be disciplined in saying no to potentially profitable projects that are outside the realm of their core mission. This requires other criteria be considered beyond direct financial return. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 34) Payback formula is Payback period (yrs) _ Estimated Project Cost_Annual savings (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 32) For example, a firm may support projects that do not have high profit margins for other strategic reasons including: To capture larger market share To make it difficult for competitors to enter the market To develop an enabler product, which by its introduction will increase sales in more profitable products To develop core technology that will be used in next generation products To reduce dependency on unreliable suppliers To prevent government intervention and regulation (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 34) Salary initiatives Jennifer: I have increased my ratio to 4 to 1 and find the software is really a great help. But I agree with Nancy, most of the faculty resist it. And there are no real reasons for using it since it does not impact their compensation in any way. Andy: Sounds like we could use a new incentive plan for faculty. I assumed their salary was tied to performance. Jeff: I made the same assumption, when I came on board earlier this year. But the faculty pay system is based on years of service and numbers of degrees, not performance. †¦consider recommending a new performance-driven compensation plan for teachers†¦ However, once a partner, they were virtually guaranteed the position for life and enjoyed significant increases in salary, benefits, and prestige. (Gray Larson, 2005, p.85) Reward criteria- the degree to which rewards such as promotion and salary increases are allocated according to employee performance rather than seniority, favoritism, or other nonperformance factors. (Gray Larson, 2005, p. 73) References Gray Larson. (2005). Project Management: The Managerial Process. Chapter 1. Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Gray Larson. (2005). Project Management: The Managerial Process. Chapter 2. Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Gray Larson. (2005). Project Management: The Managerial Process. Chapter 3. Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Research Papers on Strategic Project ManagementIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalThe Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaResearch Process Part OneBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfLifes What IfsMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductTwilight of the UAWStandardized TestingOpen Architechture a white paper