Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example However, it is evident that a number of challenges have engulfed the company within its marketing and human resource sectors, which are threatening its survival in the dynamic business market. From this point of view, the company has a challenge to re-launch its organizational strategies to ensure that the company survives in the competitive telecommunication market. Organizational marketing is an important business strategy as it defines the mechanics that an organization deploys to attract the customers to buy their products. For brand managers, marketing ensures that company sales remain high and that the customer population increases every time (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 11). In the contemporary business environment, competition is inevitable and companies are always struggling to reach out to as many customers as possible. The changes in market trends have made issues of marketing more complex and demands new approaches of marketing. From a critical point of view, it is evident that new approaches of marketing are slowly pushing away the traditional marketing approaches, putting marketing managers at their toes to adapt to these changes. The telecommunication company has become one of the most dynamic markets due to rapid changes in information technology making it a necessity for service providers to be flexible and agile in responding to ma rket issues. The purpose of this essay is to design an efficient marketing plan for Sprint Corporation. Assuming the role of a brand manager, I will develop a strong marketing strategy that Sprint to ensure that the organization remains profitable by attracting even more customers to buy its products and services. The success of any organizational function depends on the type of leadership that the organization deploys within the business structure. For an organization to survive, it must be able

The Model Building Approach To Value At Risk Finance Essay

The Model Building Approach To Value At Risk Finance Essay The investment of any nature financial or physical assets comes with reward and risk. In order to prosper a company or an individual has to take risk. Generally, investors are risk averse. The risk can be estimated and managed in certain way such that the expected future earnings can be obtained while reducing potential future distress. The key to any investments is pursuing calculated risk path and achieving balance between risk and expected return. The question presented in this assignment also highlights one of the important tools in the risk assessment called Value at Risk. Value at Risk (VaR) is simple but more powerful tool to understand the impact of risk on the portfolio over the period of time. The second part of the assignment explains the stress and back testing covering up some of VaRs shortcomings. (1) Question: Explain and critically evaluate the model building approach to Value at Risk (VaR). To what extent may the weaknesses of this approach be addressed by stress testing and back testing? A variety of approaches to this essay may be adopted. For example, a case-study or quantitative based essay are equally appropriate. Answer: The investors are risk average. They want to minimise the risk and achieve expected profit out of their investment. The risk can be calculated and managed so that financial benefits can be maximised out of the investments. Value at Risk ( VaR) is one of simple and powerful tool to provide a single number summary of the total risk in a portfolios. The tools are being widely used by senior management corporate treasures and fund managers of a financial institution as well as monetary regulators. The VaR declaration is mandatory for the banks as per the Basel Accord ( Hull, 2011). VaR tells the investors, managers or regulators in a summary statement, how bad things might get. VaR enable companies or investors to consistently produce risk measures and risk management across all financial investments (Durham MBA). The VaR enable an analyst to make a statement that he/she is X percent certain that there will not be a loss of more than V dollars in the next N days (Hull, 2011). Here the V is the VaR of the portfolio and it is function of Time (N) and confidence level (X). The key advantage of the VaR statement is, it shows the aggregate risks faced by a financial institution or investor. This simple statement allows senior management to assess the situation and understand how bad things can get (Whitfield, n.d.). There are two approaches in computing VaR namely a) Historical Simulation approach 2) Model-Building approach (Durham MBA) Model-Building approach It is a main alternative approach to historical simulation approach. It is also known as variance-covariance approach (Hull, 2011). An important component in the calculation of VaR is the daily volatility of the asset. Usually the volatility of an asset is in volatility per year. While calculation of VaR using model-building approach, time is expressed in days and volatility of an asset is expressed in volatility per day (Hull, 2011). Therefore, volatility quoted annually can be converted in daily by à Ã†â€™day = à Ã†â€™year/ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ 252. Where, à Ã†â€™day = Daily Volatility à Ã†â€™year = Annual Volatility 252 = Assumption about 252 trading day in year. ( Source Hull, 2011). Single Asset case The single asset case is the simple situation of calculating VaR using model-building approach, where the portfolio of asset contains a single stock. For example, we can consider portfolio of $10M in shares of ABC Inc. The other assumption are N =10 and X=99. We want to estimate loss level over 10 days with 99% confidence level. We can assume that the volatility of ABC Inc. is 2% per day with 32% per year (Hull, 2011). Standard deviation of daily changes = à Ã†â€™ = 2% of $10 million = $200,000 We say that value change in portfolio over a one-day period is $200,00 with mean Zero and we can assume that the change is normally distributed. Using cumulative normal distribution table, N(-2.33) = 0.01. We can say that there is 1% chances that a normally distributed variable will decrease in value by more than 2.33 standard deviation (Hull, 2011). It is safely assumed that the expected change in a market variable over the period can be considered to be zero for calculation VaR. Therefore the one-day VaR is = 2.33 x $200,000 = $466,000 We can calculated 10 day VaR at 99% confidence level as = $466,000 x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ 10 = $1,473,621 Therefore, we can say that with 99% confidence, we will not lose more than $1,473,621 off the value of portfolio in next 10 days (Hull, 2011). Two Asset Case The risk reduction can be achieved through diversification of the portfolios. There are two types of risk associated with investment namely systematic and unsystematic. Unsystematic risk is company or industry specific risk. It can be reduced using appropriate diversification. For understanding two Asset case, we can consider price example with one more company. Lets consider we have $5million positions in XYX Inc and the daily volatility is 1%. (Hull, 2011). Change in value of portfolio in one day = 5,000,000 X 0.01 = $50,000 And 1-day 99% VaR is = $50,000 x 2.33 = $116,500 10-day 99 % VaR is = $116,500 x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ 10 = $368,405. Now the combine portfolio with $10 Million Shares of ABC Inc and $5 Million positions in XYZ Inc. will have standard deviation of à Ã†â€™ X+y = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (sq(à Ã†â€™ X) + sq(à Ã†â€™ y) + 2 à Ã‚  à Ã†â€™ X X à Ã†â€™ y ) ( source. Hull, 2011). Where à Ã‚  correlation coefficient on return on two asset we assume it is 0.3. à Ã†â€™ X ( ABC Inc. ) = 200,000 and à Ã†â€™ X ( XYZ Inc. ) = 50,000 Therefore, the standard deviation of total portfolio over one-day period is à Ã†â€™ X+y = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ (sq(200,000) + sq(50,000)+ 2X0.3X 200,000 X 50,000 à Ã†â€™ X+ y = 220,227 Hence, the 1-day VaR at 99% of total portfolio is = $ 220,227 X 2.33 = $ 513,129 Hence, the 10-days VaR at 99% of total portfolio is = $ 220,227 x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡ 10 = $ 1,622,657. We can conclude as 10-days 99% VaR of ABC Inc. only is $1,473,621 10-days 99% VaR of XYZ Inc. only is $ 368,405 10-days 99% VaR of a portfolio combining ABC Inc. and XYZ Inc. is $ 1,622,657 The difference in addition of two individual versus combine value represents the benefit of Diversification. In this case, it is  £219,369 (Hull, 2011). Stress Testing There are several shortcomings in VaR calculation. The main critic is that the tool underestimates the potential losses and the actual loss could be much higher (Whitfield, n.d.). Therefore, financial institutions also carry out other techniques called stress testing along with VaR calculation. The stress testing involves study how a portfolio would have performed in case of extreme market conditions. The extreme condition can be a scenario provided by senior management or from historical situation (Whitfield, n.d.). For example, stress testing can be conducted by setting the percentage change in all market variables equal to those on 19th October, 1987, when SP 500 moved by 22.3 standard deviation. Similarly, many such historical events can be found out by analysing historical data and depending upon risk assessment levels, those scenarios can be applied to portfolio to estimate how it behaves under extreme conditions (Hull, 2011). Depending upon type of portfolio, suitable events from the historical data can be found out and better understanding of portfolio can be derived by applying stress test. For example Dot.com bubble busts scenario, Oil price extreme scenario, change in interest, higher commodity price scenarios and natural calamities. All these scenarios percentage changes in all market variable can be found by analysing historical events and then simulating scenario effect on portfolios (Hull, 2011). Stress testing enables the financial institutions to consider the extreme events that can occur from time to time but the chances of such events are very less. After credit-crisis of 2007, the regulators are insisting of stressed VaR test from all financial institutions considering all market variables present during one of the stress period like year 2008(Hull, 2011). Back testing Back testing is an important reality check on the portfolio. Whatever method used for calculating VaR but the back testing remains important. It analyze the past performance of the portfolio and its calculated VaR. It consists of testing how good the VaR estimates were correct in past. For example, if we calculated a one-day 99 % VaR, back testing would analyze how often the loss in a day exceeded the one-day 99% calculated VaR corresponding to that day. If the exceeded loss is in the range of 1% of that day, it can be reasonably considered that the methodology is working and correctly predicting the loss. However, the loss are above 7% of the day and for many days, there is doubt about methodology and someone has to analysis the methodology to fix it (Hull, 2011).

Stuttering :: Biology Essays Research Papers

"IIIII Can Can Can't Heeeelp It: Stuttering to the Truth" "Stuttering is something the stutterer does, not something he has, because of something he is." --Wendell Johnson Can you imagine not being able to introduce yourself without struggling to pronounce your own name? What would your life be like if you had to battle every time you said "hello"? How would you feel if a mob of security guards surrounded you at Wal-Mart because an employee had mistaken you for being mentally ill ((1))? These are just a few scenarios that 42-year-old Kurt Salierno, a carpenter and minister from Atlanta, encounters everyday. Salierno has a stuttering disorder, which more than 3 million people in the United States and 55 million people around the world struggle with daily. Salierno describes his problem as similar to being trapped in a glass capsule; "I can see out, but there's no way to get out" ((1)). Salierno's feelings and views about what he experiences raises some interesting questions. What is reality like for a person with a stuttering disorder? Is the "I" that is trapped inside the capsule representative of the self that he cannot express due to his disorder? Internally, Salierno is conscious of the words, which he wishes to express. However, Salierno is seldom able to produce these words externally. Does a stutterer create his or her own reality within his or her mind? To the stutterer, does independent experience become reality? With reference to the philosophical thought e xperiment about the tree falling in a forest, does a stutterer make a sound if no one can hear him or her make that sound? Stuttering is a neurological disorder of communication, from which the normal flow of speech is disrupted by repetitions (neu-neu-neuro), prolongations (biiiii-ol-ooogy), or abnormal stoppages (no sound) of sounds and syllables. Rapid eye blinking, tremors of the lips and/or jaw, or other struggle behaviors of the face or upper body may accompany speech disruptions ((3)). Why does stuttering worsen in situations that involve speaking before a group of people or talking on the phone, whereas fluency of speech improves in situations such as whispering, acting, talking to pets, speaking alone, or singing ((1))? In ancient times, physicians believed that the stutterer's tongue was either too long or too short, too wet or too dry. Therefore, practitioners from the mid-1800s tried surgical remedies such as drilling holes into the skull or cutting pieces of the tongue out to eliminate stuttering ((1) ).

Is Global Peace an Illusion

Q. 6 Over several centuries, the collaborative goal of the world has been to attain the harmony, understanding and interdependent relationships between nations that brings peace, security and stability to the world. However, although global peace is attainable, much collaborative effort is needed to turn global peace into a reality, instead of living in a world of deception where global peace is merely a false belief. Therefore, the world aims to attain global peace via international efforts and individual contributions, to counter the problems that prevents global peace of being attained, such as due to the lack of understanding and collaboration between nations, as well as due to selfish demands and the lack of initiative from individuals to make it work. Some people may think that global peace is simply too good to be true due to the lack of collaboration and understanding between nations. As the people of different nations have their own set of ideologies and beliefs, this leads to conflicting ideologies between nations which could spark an international dispute such as in the case of the cold war which occurred between the United States of America which practiced capitalism, as well as the Soviet Union which practiced communism. This vast difference in belief thus led to conflicts between the nations, which sparked feelings of hatred and resentment between the people of the two nations. This prevented the success of efforts to call for further global peace. Additionally, differing interests of the nation could lead to violence, as well as terrorism, such as in the case of the Bali Bombings in 2005 which involved a terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) of Al Qaeda. They bombed specific tourist sites in Bali to display their displeasure towards people of another nation, as well as to rebel against the newly adopted democratic practice. This led to great instability within the country, as well as many people from around the world to feel dubious about the Indonesians in general. This led to an even greater segregation as well as isolation of the Malay race and Muslim religion as they were thought to be terrorists, deterring the progress of the world to achieve global peace and harmony. Secondly, the lack of individual initiative to push for greater global peace leads to the inefficiency of the world to achieve global peace. As individuals make up the largest percentage of the country, they have arguably the most influence to ensure that efforts to achieve global peace are successful. Hence, individuals are the key driving force for the achievement of global peace, and not relying solely on governmental efforts. However, as many individuals are simply pushing the responsibility to the government, global peace cannot be achieved However, commendable efforts have been made by international organizations (IGOs) and governments to make global peace a reality, which includes international governmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Such organizations aim to promote regional and international peace and stability, and to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance between countries which would foster stronger bonds, thus promoting harmony between nations. An example is when the UN started the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to alleviate income inequality between nations to prevent conflict between nations due to growing income disparity between the rich and the poor. On 1 December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly also adopted a resolution on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict, breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict, as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts. The ASEAN-Korea Summit in 2009 also contributed to greater understanding between the countries involved, and thus helped to bridge differences. Hence, international efforts by IGOs, along with the cooperation from respective governments, are able to pave the way towards attaining global peace and harmony by promoting mutual understanding between nations which would promote the forging of strong bonds between the nations, instead of conflicts due to differences in beliefs. In conclusion, although global peace is able to be attained, it is not able to be sustained for a long period of time. Global peace is also not able to be achieved universally as efforts to call for peace are inadequate as lack sufficient support from the people in the world. Thus, the ephemeral nature of peace inevitably causes global peace to be nothing but a false belief, seemingly attainable yet out of reach.

Compare the short story “Flowers for Algernon” Essay

The differences between â€Å"Flowers for Algernon† as a short story and as a movie represent the differences between the two media. In my essay I am going to show, from the differences between the short story and the movie, the differences between the two media, coming up with the conclusion that the short story is the better medium by which to tell this story. One of the most significant differences between the short story and the movie is the developing of Charlie’s character in the story. In the book for example, is nothing said about his family, whereas in the movie is told a lot about his childhood and in the end he also sees his mother. When we see Charlie in the movie identifying himself as lonely, he becomes a more described character than he is in the book. This shows the difference that in a short story we have to develop a character ourselves, but in a movie only throughout one picture of a person we already get a description of this character we would never have got in a short story. In the movie we have seen the information about Charlie we immediately get it supported by information about his family. There are also different kinds of pathos in short story and movie. With the identification of Charlie Ms Kinnian and indirectly Algernon with the loneliness in the movie, they identify themselves as sad. This makes the movie much more pathetic than the short story, because in the short story only the identifying between Charlie and Algernon takes place, which is much less pathetic. What also support the pathos in the movie is the whole emotion around the relationship between Charlie and Ms Kinnian. This could represent the fact that a movie has to be more emotional than a short story, so that the people want to see it. But it could also show that someone who is making a movie has to bring in more pathos in his story, because he shows the story omniscient. That means he has not the chance to tell the story in diary-form and so directly out of the brain of the main character which is much more personal. With short story as diary-form you can see everything through the eyes of the diary writer. To compare the roles of the doctors, doing the operation, also brings up a big difference. In the movie there is no Dr. Nemur, who plays a big role in  the short story. In the short story Dr. Nemur represents the scientific world, which is not always human. Dr. Strauss plays the good, personal and human guy, which also cares about Charlie’s feelings and his psychology. Now in the movie there is only Dr. Strauss, who then has to represent the scientific world but also has to be the good guy. So two flat characters from the short story can be put into one character in the movie. Because Dr. Strauss is representing two characters, he becomes a grotesque person. This happens, because he has to represent a scientific society, which does not have ethics as basis but also has to represent a world of humanity and ethics, which in the short story represent Dr. Nemur. In my opinion the short story is the more successful medium by which to tell the story, because the movie creates you through a lot of emotions one specific opinion about what happens to Charlie. Whereas in the short story you have more chance to create your own opinion about the story, which is a very important thing in stories but also in your life.