Online shopping Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Online shopping - Research Paper Example mer premise, a major characteristic of online shopping provides a possibility of the transfer of customers shopping travels to a more effective products transportation that at the end has the possibility of producing constructive results on sustainability, use of land as well as mode of travel choices. The fact that online shopping is more popular in big towns and cities means that it will thus act as an incentive for the required changes in these cities that face the most obstacles for logistics (Cairns, 2005). There is a lot of controversy regarding the effects of online shopping on road use and the overall changes in consumers travel habits and the impacts of the changes. Some studies indicate good or desirable effects on road use while others indicate negative results with a final group indicating net neutral results. However, a good number of this research indicate that with the increasing popularity and expansion of online shopping, coupled with the adoption of the necessary changes required then online shopping is going to be the solution for most of the transport challenges we experience in our towns and cities (Cairns, 2005). In spite of transportation policy and regulations, online shopping continues to expand as more and more people accepts the system. Despite the fact that, business to business section dominates online shopping in terms of money value of all the completed transactions, the business to consumer section remains very vital for the possible effects on travel habits, patterns of land use, logistics in cities as well as the effects on sustainability. The highest level of efficiency in the use of roads and other transportation facilities is achievable through restructuring and reorganizing the transportation activities linked to business transactions (Hu and Saleh, 2005). There is the need to find out how the changes in the manner of conducting online shopping will influence the efficiency and the overall contribution towards a more

Inventory System Essay Example for Free

Inventory System Essay The need for computerized system in our modern time, especially on the field of business is undeniable. The manual process in a business may be the cause of poor services, unorganized data or unreliable security. In this documentation, the big differences of a manual process to a computerized system will be manifest beyond the following chapters. Â  The researcher, propose a computerized system to the company of I.T Mechanics. Even though they have a point of sale they don’t have a computerized system when it comes to their inventory. The proposed system, are efficient in tracking the movement of the inventory, secure all the data from any possibilities to misplace it and providing reliable reports that are easy to generate and understand It will help the company to manage the business in terms of inventory management system. The importance of Information Technology in this project is well known. Information Technology helps the students as well as the teachers in studying the course material easily because of fast access. Studying the subjects with the help of online libraries and dictionaries has made grasping and increasing the knowledge easy for the students. Information technology is also useful in terms of business. There are many businesses, which are in need of the software packages for satisfying their operational as well as functional needs. For fulfilling this requirement, these companies sign deals with the software manufacturing companies. 1.1 Project Overview The project is tending to change the manual system of I.T Mechanics when it comes on their inventory system that results to their poor inventory process and time wasting data storage, for better storage of data. Our system will provide I.T Mechanics a quality in terms of inventory system. Our inventory system is a friendly user program, has a high security system and a good interface with special features like calendar, calculator for the computations and time. Our system will automatically track the numbers of raw material after the transaction with the customer. So that the employees will easily know the current numbers of raw material and it will warn them for any demand or re-ordering of apply. 1.2 Project Scope and Limitation and Features SCOPE * Has a sale reports, daily, weekly and monthly * Has a high security features * Our system will; automatically track the numbers of raw materials after the transaction with the customer. Limitation * Inventory management is not necessarily simple or easy to learn, A company’s management team must dedicate a certain amount of time to learning a new system, Including its software and hardware, In order to put it to use. * Our system exclusively for IT mechanics company only. 1.3 Project Objectives * The proposed system is the inventory System w/ point of sale that can replace, handle and manage easier the manual inventory managing system of IT Mechanics. * To develop a system that can secure all the transaction record of the company * To develop a database for the customer service and products to reduce wasting time of transaction. 1.4 Time to be spent on the project * We’re already to spend a lot of time not only to a minimum total of 162 Hours required of school for report writing and for the preparation of this project, much early time to be done much better, until we meet the submission and deadlines. 1.5 Selecting a project * We choose this system because we are familiar to the processes of this system, And it will not be difficult for use to make a change in our system if it is needed and also we can put some features if our client want. 1.6 Project Adviser * Our project adviser Mr. Billy Tierra, We decided to choose him because he was graduated from PUP as Bachelor Science of Information Technology and work as professor in Bestlink college of the Philippines, he has experience as personal programmer in private company. We think about him, he should be able to handle and can help us to our project proposal.

Effect of Weather on Construction Labour Productivity

Effect of Weather on Construction Labour Productivity Effect of Hot and Cold Weather on Construction Labour Productivity EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The research deals with the variation of labour productivity in extreme weather conditions in India. As we head more and more into the rural areas for construction the labourers are faced with unprecedented weather conditions as extreme cold and heat stress combined with other geographical factors. We compare the difference in productivity achieved in normal weather conditions with extreme cold locations as Kargil and hot regions as Ahmedabad. Further this is compared by the standards set by IS 7272 for ideal productivity. After studying the results recommendations are done specifically for domestic projects considering the situations prevailing in India and future weather uncertainties. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY An Industry ultimately thrives upon the physical input put in by the labourers and the construction industry is no exception, in fact the construction industry is one of the most labour dependent industries operating in India. It is the groundwork of the labourers, which ultimately runs this industry. Though lot of work has already been done to optimize labour productivity around the world, majority of the projects still stay behind schedule and are completed with cost and time overruns, though this might be due to multiple reasons but labour productivity still dominates the final output. With the increase in population the infrastructure and public wealth construction is being pushed more and more into the rural areas which are untouched in the last century. Thus are the studies, which prevailed in earlier times about the productivity, as these new regions put up new challenges of the working environment. Not much has been done to check the productivity changes in these regions, this often results in variation from the IS values which should be attained ideally. OBJECTIVES Our objective of this research is to study and outline the factors, which are, determinable in altering productivity outputs in adverse weather. To compare the factors stated in IS 7272 with actual ground data for productivity achieved on construction site and suggest methods to counter. This would further transform into meeting project milestones in time. SCOPE OF WORK The research work is based on actual site data collected from different construction sites in India. It aims to study the variations observed if any from the standards in the IS 7272 for labour productivity and the reasons leading to these changes. It covers both extremes of the temperature in its study hot and cold regions, finally suggesting the measures to be taken to optimize labour output in extreme weather conditions. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The methodology adopted to prepare this report ranged from reviewing work previously done in these areas of labour productivity along with site visits and collection of data. We reviewed papers from journals and tried to draw a few conclusions by correlating the studies and common factors in the research papers. Data collection was done by visiting sites of projects under progress across India. For the sake of comparison with other site data to keep maximum parameters same we worked on productivity for the activities which were common to both the sites. Data was collected over different periods of duration with respect to every project and analysed for their productivity calculations. These calculations were further compared with the standards set by the IS 7272. Further we attempt to outline the factors which may be the probable cause for the deviation and suggest remedial measures to counter them. LIMITATION OF STUDY Since the data was collected from sites in India and the observations made were from Indian gang of labourers, the results and study are limited to Indian subcontinent. Also ideally for comparison there should be similar situation of work with less variables such as work type and other conditions other than the weather, but due to the limitation of the projects the sites were not executing similar projects, thus the data cannot be said to be 100% precise. Although we have put in our best efforts to counter this by selecting similar activities of execution. Furthermore due to the limitation of availability of data the results achieved cannot be said to depict the conditions prevailing all through India as more work is awaited on this topic in India. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW To study the work previously done research in this area we studied numerous papers published on Productivity from various journals across the globe. Though it was out observation that the research work was more or less biased to the productivity concerns due to increasing temperature, and less about the colder conditions. India being a tropical country experiences both extremes of the climate through the year, thus we review work done in colder regions too, a few of our findings are as follows. Tord Kjellstrom, PhD; R. Sari Kovats, MSc; Simon J. Lloyd, MSc; Tom Holt, PhD; Richard S. J. Tol, PhD studied the changing pattern of temperatures across the globe, which will ultimately lead to a global climate change and an increase in heat load and will degrade the productivity of workers in the coming future. It was a region-based study where they established a relationship between the rise in temperature and loss of productivity as a percentage drop. The study was localized for a much accurate assumption, overall there was a loss in productivity with the increase in temperature. Meglan, Meglan Company Ltd. outlined in their publication Construction Claim Topics the loss of productivity due to effects of weather the reasons for loss. They subdivided their study into three subcategories Low temperature and Wind chill, high temperature and humidity Wind only effects. They stated that the loss of productivity occurs In all three conditions due to different factors in each conditions. They stated that a drop of as much as 50 % can be observed in extreme situations. They established a fact that humidity also played a detrimental role in the loss as at the same temperatures the change in productivity was evident with the change in humidity levels at the site. Adham Shahin, Simaan AbouRizk, Yasser Mohamed and Siri Fernando developed a simulation based framework for quantifying the cold weather region impacts on construction scedules, the framework composed of components that help in understanding and simulating construction projects. The basic aim of this framework is to enable the researcher to quantify the impact of weather alterations on project schedule. The process involves the creation of a basic discreet simulation model to simulate the activities on site. An article published in THE Monitor | Climate stated the economic impact of the increasing temperature uncertainty across the globe, they forecasted the future developments for the year 2030 where the prediction is of 450 hotspots from the 55 existent today. In 2030 the expected loss is 413 billion USD. In their country level impact analysis they have plotted a country wise loss index in which India comes under the Acute category forecasting a loss of 450,000 million US $ additional economic cost in 2030 only due to increase in temperature of working environments of labourers. They suggest adaptation to the new environment is the most cost effective measure, which can be taken against this. Yildirim, Kemal.à ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ª Koyuncu, Cuneyt. Koyuncu, Julide. In their paper does temperature affect labor productivity: cross- country evidence published in the journal Applied Econometrics and International Development. They established a relation between temperature and labour productivity and plotted a graph to depict it. The study done over 111 over a period of several years’ states that increase in temperature has a negative effect on labour productivity. Pieter Diedericksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ Senior Project Director, Oil Sands Projects, Petro-Canada, Canada in his study OPTIMIZING WINTER CONSTRUCTION studied the effects of cold weather on construction industry. He used temperatures below 200 F as the basis of cold temperature. He stated that an average loss of labour productivity due to cold temperature is almost 50%. Thomas suggested the use of annual cycles to schedule activities most affected by weather. He suggested remedial measures as use of wind protective armour and setup of machinery when the conditions are adverse instead of physical labour-intensive work. Karin Lundgren1*, Kalev Kuklane1, Chuansi Gao1 and Ingvar Holmà ©r1 presented a paper on Effects of Heat Stress on Working Populations when Facing Climate Change, Their study relates o heat stress on workers and how it negatively impacts the productivity overall. They suggested the ideal temperature for physical work as 370C, any more beyond these results in physiological effects in the human body reducing its capacity to perform productively. CHAPTER 3: LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY THEORY WHAT IS LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY Labour productivity as defined as the amount of output received by the number of man hours or man days input by the worker. Labour productivity optimization is needed to get the optimum output from a projects workforce, thus is also termed as workforce productivity. In the construction industry which is predominantly labour intensive this factor plays a determinable role in deciding the fate of the project itself. And in a country like India where there is cheap and efficient labour available, if used properly the production costs can be brought down drastically, be it of any industry in this scenario. Labour productivity can be measured in number of ways depending on each industry but the thumb rule for calculation of labour productivity is Labour productivity = volume measure of output / measure of input use WHY MEASURE LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY? In the construction industry most of the contractors take careful note of variation in local and regional weather patterns, the norms andtrends, and based on these they schedule their construction projects. Well planned construction schedules are prepared to take advantage of favorableseasonal, local, or regional weather patterns and avoid the unfavorable ones. Thus, when a Project doesn’t start on time, or it gets delayed during the time of execution weather may become an all important factor in the overall delay, reducing planned productivity and efficiency. Most of the construction contracts allow excusable delay and time extensions at the time of abnormal or unusual weather conditions. When this kind of delay is encountered it incursenormous losses in the number of extra man hours spent, and further delays of the project and work. Hot weather and cold weather create efficiency and productivity losses which can be explained separately as follows: Cold Weather Workers productivity drops with the fall in temperature. The productivity of the manual labours drops gradually during extreme temperature conditions. This productivity losses can be best quantified by comparing productivity from cold weather effected work periodsto that measured during normal work periods, thereby determining the difference. It only requires man-hours data and weather data (can be obtained from internet), sorted by date. The man-hours and temperature data are entered into a spreadsheetprogram by date any their productivity is calculated. Hot Weather Just as the productivity decreases in cold weather, same losses also occurs when the temperature rises above twenty nine degree centigrade to thirty four degree centigrade and beyond. The inefficiencies can only be quantified by actual measurement of productivity in hot weather and then comparing with normal weather productivity. TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION LABOUR A construction project is dependent on different levels of work done by the workers. Thus generally the division is among the levels of labourers. Namely Skilled Labor Semi Skilled Labor Unskilled Labor SKILLED LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY Skilled Labours constitute operators, foremen, and machine operator’s i.e the labourers with give a higher output of work per hour of input. The skilled labourers usually are head labourers for a gang, operators for special equipment and are highest paid in the lot. SEMI SKILLED LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY Semiskilled labours are mediocre paid workers with somewhat lesser skills as compared to skilled ones, their productivity outputs are higher per hour though compared to unskilled labourers. Carpenters, Masons, Fixers constitute this list of semi-skilled labours UNSKILLED LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY This is the largest clan of labourers who are good for maximum physical exertion, and it’s their tireless efforts which ultimately proves detrimental in the project being on schedule. Their productivity depends on how efficiently they are managed by their foremen. It is this clan of people we need to optimize for the drastic change in overall timing schedules. DIFFERENT MODELS OF PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT To serve different purposes there are different measures of productivity, one can choose the method which serves their purpose. Thomas et al. defined different models of measures to measure productivity which are as follows: Economic models The department of Commerce, and other governmental agencies use a productivity definition in the following form: Equation (a) Total factor productivity (TFP) =Total output / Labor + Materials + Equipment + Energy + Capital Project-specific models A more accurate definition that can be used by governmental agencies for specific program planning and by the private sector for conceptual estimates on individual projects is: Equation (a) Productivity=Output/ Labour+ Equipment + Materials Equation (b) Productivity = Square feet / rupees Design professionals use productivity data in this form. Activity-oriented models A contractor is more likely to define productivity using a narrowly defined version of(a)and(b), where the units of output are specific for generic kinds of work. Typical units are cubic yards, tons, and square feet. Various related activities, such as formwork, steel reinforcement, and concrete placement, can be combined using the earned-value concept (Thomas and Kramer, 1987, cited in Thomas et al., 1990, p. 706). Productivity is expressed as units of output per Rupee or work-hour. At the project site, contractors are often interested in labor productivity. It can be defined in one of the following ways (Thomas and Mathews, 1985 cited in Thomas et al., 1990, p. 707)[5]: Equation (4) Labour productivity=Output/Labour cost or Equation (5) Labour productivity=Output/Work-hour There is no standard definition of productivity and some contractors use the inverse of Eq.(5): Equation (6) Labour productivity=Labour costs or work-hours / Output Eq.(6)is often called the unit rate. Still other contractors rely on the performance factor as a measure of productivity Equation (7) Performance factor=Estimated unit rate / Actual unit rate FACTORS AFFECTING LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY Identification and evaluation of factors that impact labour productivity has become important to determine the key elements that can be changed to bring about optimization of the entire process of work. Due to the complexity of work involved one factor alone cannot be held responsible for the change rather it is a combination of multiple factors which results in the desired/undesired change in the productivity of an individual or the project as a whole. Some of the key factors are listed as follows. Work Schedule Labour Pool Native Place of the gang Temperature Type of project Project Location Time Allocated for activities Design factors Execution plan factors Material factors Equipment factors Labour factors Health and safety factors Supervision factors Working time factors Project factors Quality factors Financial factors Leadership and coordination factors Organization factors Owner/consultant factors External factors

Employee Benefit Programs in the Information Technology Industry Essay

Individual Case Study Develop a case study that analyzes the competitive position of a business organization in a technologically-oriented industry. This case study should demonstrate an understanding of competitive forces and principles applicable to competitive environments, including Sun Tzu’s â€Å"Art of War† axioms. The case study should be 5-7 pages in length. â€Å"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. Sun Tzu â€Å"Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?† Sun Tzu I work for Electronic Data Systems (EDS). "EDS is a global business and technology services company headquartered in Plano, Texas." Hewlett-Packard Co. reached a deal with EDS to acquire the company for $13.9 billion . On August 26, 2008, the deal was sealed and EDS was renamed EDS, an HP Company. After the normal paranoid questions were raised (possible layoffs, transfers, loss of pensions, etc.), everyone had questions about HP and Compaq computers. The first questions were, â€Å"What are we going to do with all of the Dell servers and computers? Are we going to get new HP workstations? And how can we get free computers, or at least reduced? These questions got me to research Employee Computer Purchase Plans with several other companies. Siemens AG is Europe's largest engineering conglomerate; it is one of the world’s largest communications, electronics and electrical engineering companies. Siemens' headquarters are located in Berlin and Munich, Germany. Siemens employs over 480,000 people in nearly 190 countries; their revenues were over 72.448 billion Euros in fiscal year 2007. The company has three main business sectors. These... ... It’s perfect. BIBLIOGRAPHY â€Å"Sun Tzu Qotes (2008). Retrieved September 10, 2008 from the BrainyQuote website: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/sun_tzu.html â€Å"Electronic Data Systems† (2008). Retrieved September 11, 2008 from the Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Data_Systems. Margaret E. Dobbin. (2008). â€Å"Open Text: The Content Experts†. Retrieved September 11, 2008, from Open Text Web siste: http://www.opentext.com/news/pr.html?id=123. Paul, Franklin (2008). "HP to buy EDS for $12.6 bln in challenge to IBM", Reuters, pp. 4. Retrieved on September 11, 2008, from the Reuter UK website: http://uk.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUKN1230539620080514. (2008). â€Å"Fujitsu: The Possibilities are Infinite†. Retrived September 11, 2008, from the Fujitsu website: http://www.fujitsu.com/uk/

Company Analysis of Nike 2014 Essay

INTRODUCTION/ COMPANY BACKGROUND This report examines NIKE Inc. one of the leading sports brand in the world. It uses business analysis techniques such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s five forces, and Ratio analysis to analyse the business environment and performance of this company. NIKE Inc. is one of the world’s biggest sporting brand based in Oregon USA. Founded in 1968, NIKE is the world’s biggest designer marketer and seller of athletic footwear, sports equipment, apparel, accessories and services, by sales revenue of $21.5 billion in 2012 (NIKE, 2013). With 48000 employees, NIKE’s operation cuts across different regions in the world including Canada, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. They posted revenue of $25313 million in the 2013 financial year ending May 2013, the company has enjoy growth in its revenue since 2010, and this trend is expected to continue as they leverage on top sporting events to boost their brand image (Tefris 2013). PESTEL ANALYSIS PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological Environment, and Legal) analysis is a business analysis technique that is used to analyse the growth potential of a company. It helps firms identify the environment in which they operate, and can firms predict future circumstances and situations by using information and data it provides (Yà ¼ksel, 2012). This report provides a PESTEL analysis of NIKE in the following paragraphs. Political Political environment have a huge implication on the micro and macro environment of a business, and they can significantly influence a range of business decisions (Leslie and Phillip, 2012). Political environment includes political system, government policies and other trade related regulations. Some of the political factors that can affect NIKE includes the relationship between USA (Nike’s country of origin) and other host countries where NIKE operates (for example China). For example increased tension between US and China can lead to certain aggressive policies that can affect the company’s operations in China. Furthermore recent pressure on US firms to keep jobs in the US can affect plans for future factory locations of NIKE. Economical The economic environment of the countries NIKE operate in is very vital to the overall strategy and decisions of the company. These factors include the state of the global economy, economic incentives from the countries where NIKE factories are cited, the general economic condition of these countries, inflation rates and changing oil prices. All of these factors can affect the revenue of the company, increased economic growth in emerging markets such as Brazil and China presented a huge revenue opportunity for the company, however recent decline in the growth of the Chinese economy will also have some negative impact of revenue projections of NIKE. Social Social factors can influence the business decisions of NIKE one way or the other. These factors includes tradition, customs, beliefs, level of education, corruption, customer’s consciousness, changing lifestyle, and income distribution (Singla, 2007). For example increased consciousness to maintain healthy living will lead to more demand for fitness centres and gyms that in turn could lead to more sales revenues for NIKE. Furthermore clamour for increased better welfare for workers in clothing factories in countries like China, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, and pressure from the civil society groups like Worker’s Right Consortium on companies like NIKE to ensure their suppliers follow health and safety standards are among some of the social situations and issues the company have to contend with. Technological The commercial success of NIKE’s product is based on technical innovation and quality control in the design and manufacturing process of footwear, athletic equipment, and apparel (Nike, 2014). For this reason changes in technological factors can have serious impact on the overall operations of the company. For example new technology can lead to new products, improve the manufacturing process, and improve the distribution network. This implies that the revenue of NIKE can increased, or there could be reduction in the cost of manufacturing due to better technology. To maintain competitive advantage the company need to constantly understand the technological factors that affect them. Environmental Business operations of firms such as NIKE can have huge impact on the environment. Factors such as climate change, waste management, water management, and use of hazardous chemicals are all environmental impact areas the company has identified. NIKE highlights its commitment to reducing the impact of the company’s operations through understanding how related these factors are, and how a coordinated approach in the design of its product and processes can mitigate the impact on the environment, and on their business. Legal The judicial system, consumer rights, trade treaties, and ethical codes are all legal factors that affect NIKE. Constant understanding of laws and regulations is imperative to avoid serious legal implication for the company. Gotham (2013) highlights that one serious legal related issue NIKE needs to constantly deal with is the issue of counterfeit product. Ensuring that fake NIKE products are not wide spread is necessary to keep the NIKE reputation, and avoid lawsuits that can increase the legal cost of the company. Furthermore, keeping ethical standards is very vital in protecting the NIKE brand. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT is a management tool that is used to build strategic business plans (Amin et al, 2011). It is widely used in business due to its simplicity of its four factors (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) and its flexibility (Al-Araki, 2013). The SWOT analysis of NIKE is presented in the next few paragraphs below. Strength One main strength of NIKE is its dominant position in the market, and the strong brand portfolio of the company. According to Forbes (2014a) NIKE’s market share in the global footwear market reached 18.6% in 2012, and it is expected to rise to 27% in the long run. The main source of value for NIKE are footwear and apparel that are sold under the NIKE brand, together they make approximately 70% of the overall value of NIKE (Trefis, 2014). This competitive brand portfolio of NIKE and the dominant position of the company  are key strengths that enables the company outperform the industry. Weakness Watts (2009) asserts that one of NIKE’s weakness is their inability to address problems linked to their labour and factory conditions. The company has been consistently criticised for its lack of control, and dependence on contractors and manufacturers that do not meet labour standard, safe factory conditions in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and China. This has caused to bad publicity for the company, and increased calls for product boycott in recent years. Furthermore the company’s focus on quality could be a potential weakness as it explore emerging market like Brazil, because its price points will be higher and some customers in these markets could lack the level of income to purchase their products. Opportunities Increased growth in emerging economies presents a huge expansion opportunity for NIKE. The company’s management believes there is high potential for their products in markets such as China, Brazil, and other emerging countries (Trefis, 2011). The growth these economies enjoy expands the global footwear market, and NIKE is in a strong position to tap into this growth opportunity. Furthermore the increasing use of multi-channel platforms such as online and mobile for shopping is an opportunity for NIKE to reach out to more customers worldwide. Threat The company’s main threat is its increasing competition, the intense competition and unpredicted changes in in technology and consumer preference in the industry NIKE operates presents a huge risk that can threaten the operations of the company (NIKE, 2013). Some of the main competitors that remain a threat to the company includes Adidas, Puma, and Under Amour. Furthermore, the strong brand value of NIKE products increases the risk of counterfeiting of their products. This is a constant threat the company needs to tackle to ensure it doesn’t lose brand value and revenues. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Porter’s five forces analysis helps firms to understand the competition and profitability in an industry, the framework includes potential entrants, industrial competitors, suppliers, buyers and substitutes. According to  Porter (2008) understanding the competitive forces, and their fundamental causes enables companies see the root of current profitability of an industry, while it provides framework that helps anticipate and influence competition over a period of time. The following paragraphs give analysis of the how these five forces influence the competition of NIKE. Potential Entrants Potential new entrants into the market can cause NIKE to lose market share, however in the current situation the risk of potential new entrant to NIKE is minimal because of the high entry barrier because of the established nature of the global sportswear industry. While the risk of new entrants is low, it should be noted that there is a risk of new entrant into NIKE’s existing product line, this can lead to loss of sales and revenue. The company needs to channel its energy into continuously expanding its market share through improving on existing products, and introducing innovative products that will enable them maintain their competitive advantage. Level of competition The level of competition in the global sport footwear and clothing industry is very high. NIKE faces stiff competition from other brands like Adidas and Puma. According to Forbes (2014b) the company faces tough competition in emerging markets and Western Europe, as rival brands like adidas increases their competitive campaign through lunch of products and other related activities aimed at gaining back lost market share. Furthermore, NIKE also faces competition from local brands like Li Ning as they expand to emerging markets like China. The company need to work very hard to continue to protect and expand its brand, for them to be able to maintain the dominant level they are presently. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers often determine the success of companies selling a product (Bode et al, 2011). However, the availability of commodity items like rubber, and cotton NIKE uses for the production of its goods, and the high amount of suppliers in the industry gives the company absolute advantage over its suppliers. NIKE can choose to switch to any supplier at any time with less cost implication, and low risk of disruption to it supplies due of its brand reputation. Furthermore, every supplier will want to do business with NIKE because of the huge manufacturing ability of the firm. This gives NIKE power over its suppliers, and guarantee of steady supplies. Bargaining Power of customers The loyalty of customers to NIKE brand gives the company bargaining power over its customers. NIKE can decide to set its prices at high levels because it knows customers are willing to pay to be identified with its brand. As long as the company continues offer products that are innovative and appealing to its customers, the company will continue to maintain it strong position, and attract more customer loyalty (Lussier and Kimball, 2014). The bargaining power the company has over its customers gives them a great deal of flexibility in their pricing. Threat of Substitutes There is a high tendency for customers to substitute NIKE products for other brands when they face squeeze in their income during economic downturn. This is due to the fact that NIKE product are considered pricey can could be considered luxury product among certain middle class families if there is a squeeze on their disposable income. Competitors can capitalise on this to release cheaper products that will be appealing to these customer during economic slowdown, therefore NIKE need to constantly monitor the overall economic wellbeing of its customers before introducing any product. ANALYSIS OF NIKE FINANCAL RATIO *Extracted data Ratios Formula 2013 2012 2011 Asset Turnover Ratio Revenue/Total Assets 1.44 1.51 1.39 Return on Assets(ROA) Net Income/Total Assets 14.13% 14.37% 14.22% Return on Equity(ROE) Net Income/Equity 22.28% 21.41% 21.67% Gross Profit Margin (Revenue-COGS)/Revenue 43.59% 43.50% 45.58% Quick Ratio (CA – Inv.) / CL 2.60 2.22 2.19 Current Ratio CA/CL 3.47 3.05 2.85 Debt Ratio Total Debt/Total Asset 7.89% 2.49% 4.42% Debt to Equity Total Debt/Total Equity 12.44% 3.71% 6.74% Inventory Turnover COGS/ Inventory 4.16 4.09 4.35 Receivables Turnover Revenue/Receivables 8.12 7.45 6.65 *P/E Ratio 22.90 22.40 18.90 *EPS 2.71 2.37 2.20 Nike’s revenue increase by approximately 8% in 2013 from 2012 figures, looking at the profitability ratios in the table above, it can be observed that the company’s profit margin reduced from 45.89% to 43.50% in 2012 and slightly increased later in 2013 to 43.59%. The gross profit margin is a reflection what is left after the cost of production is deducted, other profitability ratios such as ROE also shows upward trend from 2011 to 2013 indicating a favourable year for the company compared to its 2012 figures. This according Forbes (2014a), and NIKE was as a result of pricing actions, and reduce cost of material such as cotton, and lower investment activities by the company in 2013. The asset turnover of the company reduced in 2013 compared to 2012, this could be attributed to the fall in sales in China one of the biggest market for the company. Furthermore, looking at the liquidity ratio of the company, it can be observed that its current and quick ratio  have been i ncreasing within the period under review. For 2013 quick ratio was 2.60times an increase from 2.22times in 2011, this is well above the industry average which is currently at 0.77times. The current ratio of the company has also been increasing in the years under review, this reflects a strong financial position for the firm because it indicates that the company will be able to meet up future debt obligations. Other solvency ratios such as debt ratio and debt to equity ratio saw a high increase from 2.49% and 3.71% in 2012 to 7.89% and 12.44% respectively. This is an indication that the company relies on debt to fund its assets, this can be due to the strong liquidity position of the company which is reflected in its quick and current ratios. The company has the ability to meets its debt obligations so the risk of using debt of using debt is low. Finally from the efficiency ratios it can be observed that the inventory turnover for the company reduced from 4.35times to 4.09times in 2012, and later rose slightly to 4.16times in 2013. This indicates that the company is still slow in the number of times its inventories is sold and replaced compared to the 2011 figure. This could be as a result of the slow recovery of most countries coming out of recession, and slow growth in key markets for NIKE. However this is not a problem peculiar to NIKE, and the company is still above the industry average of 3.6times. The receivable turnover of the company has been increasing within 2011 and 2013, it is possible that this also adds to the increasing liquidity position of the company. The EPS of the company has observed an upward trend from $2.20 in 2011 to $2.71 in 2013, also its P/E ratio also increased 18.90% to 22.90% this is an indication of NIKE’s profitability within these years and it reflects NIKE’s strong position among the investing community. The increasing P/E ratio of NIKE also indicates investors’ confidence in NIKE’s future earnings and the growth prospect of the company. In conclusion, from the analysis of NIKE financials it is evident that the company maintains a strong position in the industry, because of its inc reasing revenue despite slight drop in certain emerging market, its liquidity position is strong compared to industry average and their growth prospect is also high as reflected in their growth ratios. ANALYSIS OF SHARE PERFORMANCE Figure : Movement of Nike share price in the past 6 months. The figure above presents the share performance of NIKE for the past 6 months, from the figure it could be observed that in the third quarter of NIKE’s financial 2013 year ending May 2014, the share price of the company observed a sharp drop to $70.51, then rose to $79.64 reaching its peak in the period under review. The share price dropped to $73.2 and since then have been fluctuating within 70 and $71. According to NIKE (2013) fluctuations in NIKE share prices can be attributed to various factors that affects performance in these quarter, they include the seasonality of its products, general economic condition, weather condition, and changes in consumer preference. However, dividend pay-out announcements, expectations of quarterly results and other industry related factors could also lead to the fluctuations of NIKE share price. Overall NIKE’s share performance has been fairly stable at $70-$80 as no highly significant drop have been observed in the period under revie w. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the analysis of NIKE indicates that it remains one of the biggest sports manufacturing brands in the world. The company’s focus on manufacturing innovative products has kept them in a very strong position in the sportswear and clothing industry. Though the global economic growth has slowed down slightly, and this has also affected key emerging markets such as China, growth projections for NIKE remain strong as investors believe the company has the ability to fight off intense competition and continue to expand its dominance in the market. It is very imperative for the company to continue to maintain its level of innovation to ensure continued customer loyalty and increasing revenues. References Al-Araki, M 2013, ‘SWOT analysis revisited through PEAK-framework’, Journal Of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 25, 3, pp. 615-625, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed on 19th June 2014]. Amin, S. H., Razmi, J., & Zhang, G. (2011). Supplier selection and order allocation based on fuzzy SWOT analysis and fuzzy linear programming. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(1), 334-342. [Online] available from Science Direct Platform on: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2010.06.071 [Accessed on 19th June 2014]. BanJo , S. (2014) Inside Nike’s Struggle to Balance Cost and Worker Safety in Bangladesh. Wall Street Journal. [Online] available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/frontiers/2014/04/22/inside-nikes-struggle-to-balance-cost-and-worker-safety-in-bangladesh/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Bode, c, Wagner, s, Petersen, k, & Ellram, l (2011), ‘understanding responses to supply chain disruptions: insights from information processing and resource dependence perspectives’. Academy Of Management Journal, 54, 4, pp. 833-856, Available on Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed on 17th June 2014] Forbes (2013) Nike Shares Can Find Some Zip on Emerging Market Sales [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/11/nike-shares-can-find-some-zip-on-emerging-market-sales/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Forbes (2014b) Nike Faces Tough Competition In Europe and China. [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/04/nik e-faces-tough-competition-in-europe-and-china/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014] Forbes. (2014a) Nike Brand Apparel Division in Focus. [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/20/nike-brand-apparel-division-in-focus/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Gotham, S. (2013) Nike’s Changing External Environment. Nike.Blogpost [Online] available from: http://philnike.blogspot.com/2013/02/nikes-external-environment.html [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. Hamilton, Leslie & Webster, Philip, (2012) The International Business Environment, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition. Lussier, R, Kimball, D, (2014), ‘Applied Sport Management Skills’, Elms College, 2nd Edition. NIKE Inc. (2013) Annual Report and Notice of Annual Meeting. [Online] available from: http://investors.nikeinc.com/files/nike2013form10K.pdf [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. ‘NIKE, Inc. (2014) NIKE Inc. SWOT Analysis, pp. 1-8, [Online] Available from Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost , database [Accessed 18 June 2014]. Porter, M. E. (2008) The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40. Singla, R. K. (2007) Business Studies. Prince Print Process, New Delhi. Tefris. (2013) Here’s What Matters For Nike’s $56 Valuation. [Online] available from: http://www.trefis.com/stock/nke/articles/167536/heres-what-matters-for-nikes-56-valuation/2013-02-12 [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. Trefis (2011) Nike’s

Calorimeter Definition in Chemistry

Calorimeter Definition in Chemistry A calorimeter is a device used to measure the heat flow of a chemical reaction or physical change. The process of measuring this heat is called calorimetry. A basic calorimeter consists of a metal container of water above a combustion chamber, in which a thermometer is used to measure the change in water temperature. However, there are many types of more complex calorimeters. The basic principle is that heat released by the combustion chamber increases the temperature of the water in a measurable way. The temperature change may then be used to calculate the enthalpy change per mole of substance A when substances A and B are reacted. The equation used is: q Cv(Tf - Ti ) where: q is the amount of heat in joulesCv  is the calorimeters heat capacity in joules per Kelvin (J/K)Tf and Ti are the final and initial temperatures Calorimeter History The first ice calorimeters were built based on Joseph Blacks concept of latent heat, introduced in 1761. Antoine Lavoisier coined the term calorimeter in 1780 to describe the apparatus he used to measure heat from guinea pig respiration used to melt snow. In 1782, Lavoisier and Pierre-Simon Laplace experimented with ice calorimeters, in which heat needed to melt ice could be used to measure heat from chemical reactions. Types of Calorimeters Calorimeters have expanded beyond the original ice calorimeters. Adiabatic calorimeter: Some heat is always lost to the container in an adiabatic calorimeter, but a correction factor is applied to the calculation to compensate for heat loss. This type of calorimeter is used to study runaway reactions.Reaction calorimeter: In this type of calorimeter, the chemical reaction occurs within an insulated closed container. Heatflow versus time is measured to arrive at the reaction heat. This is used for reactions intended to run at a constant temperature or to find the maximum heat released by a reaction.Bomb calorimeter: A bomb calorimeter is a constant-volume calorimeter, constructed to withstand the pressure produced by the reaction as it heats the air within the container. The temperature change of water is used to calculate the heat of combustion.Calvet-type calorimeter: This type of calorimeter relies on a three-dimensional fluxmeter sensor made of rings of thermocouples in series. This type of calorimeter allows for a larger sample size and reacti on vessel size, without sacrificing the accuracy of the measurement. An example of a Calvet-type calorimeter is the C80 calorimeter. Constant-pressure calorimeter: This instrument measure the enthalpy change of a reaction in solution under conditions of constant atmospheric pressure. A common example of this type of device is the coffee-cup calorimeter.