Management of Financial Resources in Coca Cola

Management of Financial Resources in Coca Cola This assignment is made as part of the course work of the subject of Management of Financial Resources, since any strategic plan for any organization consists of different aspects of the business that ranges from planning, implementation and control. Therefore management of internal and external performance of any organization is a critical part of any strategic plan. Since management of internal and external performance of organization is dependent upon the resource decisions made by top management, the resource strategies are of vital nature. This assignment will explore the various aspects of resource decision by analyzing the performance management strategy of a selected organization. In below line its has been discussed that what are the resource needs of the organization, different methods that are used to allocate, manage and control the resources within the formulation of the strategic plan. Moreover this paper also discusses the various strategies applied to identify and rectify the resource gaps. Introduction to the Organization For the understanding of the subject and for analyzing the practical implications of the theories, I have selected Pakistans leading beverage company Coca Cola Pakistan (Coke), which is a subsidiary of Coca Cola Export Corporation. While operating in highly competitive and predominant market by Pepsi, Coke have been able to give tough competition to Pepsi and gain a good market share in beverage and soft drink markets of Pakistan. Their business model is called COBO, which is an abbreviation of Company Operated Bottler Organizations. Since they are competing with a huge player in Pakistan which had a first movers advantage and they also have a different business model from their main competitor, their strategic planning is highly dependent upon the right resource management throughout the organization. With the increase in their market share and penetration, their resource planning is being more vital and critical for the achievement of their objective. Below we shall see how Coke has been able to manage their resource in relation to the theoretical background from the literature (Brown Gilbert, 2006). Resources Required within a Strategic Plan A general strategic plan for different organizations takes care of different kinds of resources, these resources ranges from financial resources, physical resources, human resources and technological resources. These resources are acquired and allocated according to different business level and organizational level strategies. These resource allocation and identification also has a direct link with overall business strategy of the firm (Grant, 2005). Here we see that overall business strategy of Coke for their Pakistan operations is cost leadership, therefore the entire resource management will revolve around this business philosophy, since every department will be working towards the same goal therefore their resource allocation will be done accordingly (Grant, 2005). Financial Resources financial resources are the backbone for any organization and should be managed carefully, as they are necessary for every kind of business operation, their timely and efficient management is vital. Coke, for its Pakistan operations are managing their financial resource with the consultation of their Asian region offices (David, 2004). These financial resources are acquired from head offices after the completion of their business plans for the year. These financial resources are acquired for marketing, research, production planning and infrastructure. Every department is required to submit their business forecast at the end of the year and then these forecasts are converted into financial forecast for the following year (David, 2004). Physical Resources physical resources include building, production plants, physical infrastructure for offices, and logistics. These resources are also vital for any business and their management has strategic importance. Since Coke is involved in FMCG business, their logistics management has a very important role to play in the overall success of their business. As competition is increasing, they have to manage their logistics to provide timely delivery to the maximum areas of the market to gain market share that is why their logistics management facilities are of the maximum importance in their entire physical resource management plan (Saloner et al., 2000). Human Resources In modern business environments, human resources are the most important resources that an organization can have, in most of the case these are the resource that can make or break the future of any organization. Therefore business companies and Coke as well put the maximum emphasis on allocating the right resources at the right time and at the job (Saloner et al., 2000). In case of Coke they have realized the importance of training and development of their sales team and other human resources, right from the hiring processes, training and development and compensation and benefits, the company does not compromise on quality and manage the resources up to the industry standards, they believe that their competitive advantage is derived from their human resources and they are the deciding factor for this (Barney, 1991). Technological Resources Whether it is high end technological industry or production set up or service industry, the importance of application of technology in unquestionable, technology application throughout the organizational processes can stand alone be a source of competitive advantage, therefore organization manage their technological resources in their strategic plan while keeping the future requirements in mind (Saloner et al., 2000). Coke, having the same vision has applied state of the art technology their business processes through an ERP system in Pakistan, where they can manage their supply chain and value chain efficiently and have an edge on their competitors. In their strategic plan, technological needs forecasting and management is of strategic importance and every short term and long term plan this factor in also kept in mind (Saloner et al., 2000). Methods of Resource Allocation Resource allocation is an important part of any strategic plan; this step is intended towards the alignment of the organizational plan and the operational plan, because without the efficient and effective resource allocation, company cannot be able to execute any strategic plan. Therefore it has been suggested by the management practitioners that organization should align the resource allocation strategy with business unit strategy and resource allocation should reflect and get inspirations from business strategy (Brown Gilbert, 2006). In below line we have discussed how our selected organization allocates the resources and what are the steps that are taken for this section of strategic planning. Planning of Resources The first step in resource management for selection organization is to plan the resources, this step includes the evaluation of current resources, Coke at the time of strategic planning, evaluates the current resources available to the organization. In this step it is checked that whether these resources are in fit with future plan. Forecasting of Resources After the making of the resources evaluation report Coke checks the strategic plan and see if the current resources will be able to achieve the goals and needs for the future requirements derived from the strategic plan of the organization (Brown Gilbert, 2006). Once it has been identified that organization will be requiring more resources for their upcoming strategic plan then the next step is to forecast the resources required to different departments and at different times for the effective implementation of the plan. In this process all the departments are required to forecast their required resources for the time period specified in the strategic plan so that budgeting of the resources can be done. Resource Allocation- The second last step for the resources management would be to budget the resources of Coke, this step involves the careful evaluation of the forecasted resources for each department and then allocating required budgets for each of them (Brown Gilbert, 2006). For example, if strategic plan requires expansion of the market by the company then may be logistics department would required more logistics to cope with the market expansion strategy of Coke. For this purpose they would be looking to have more fleets or human resources for management of logistics in the new or expanded markets. After the allocation of the budgets the resource allocation process moves to the next step that is contingency planning. Contingency Planning As Coke is operating in highly competitive environment and such competitive environments are always rapidly changing, therefore Coke has made this a practice to allocate some financial resources as part of their contingency planning so that if organization has to make some unexpected decisions then they are able to have the required financial resource. Resource Monitoring and Controlling Method As it important for Coke and any other organization to have a close look on monitoring of their resource management strategy, we have discussed below that how Coke make sure that everything is according to plan. Budget Cost Method For the better management of the resources and to eliminate the waste organization has a mechanism that manages the budgets of each of the department. As each of the department have their own budget, organization through their team heads makes sure that every activity and utilization of budget is in line with the strategic direction set in the strategic plan (Grant, 2005). For this purpose they have management committee that reviews and approves every expense and utilization of the resource, this committee makes sure that every department is using their budget in a way that their actions are in line with the strategic plan of the organization. Identification of Resource Gaps Shortage of any resources in any business units of the organization with respect to their business needs is called resources gaps. Coke for their business operations in Pakistan keep on reviewing their business needs, business plans and then indentifying the resources gaps for current and future business needs (Grant, 2005). For this purpose they review their resource management plan twice a year and then they identify any resources which are short for their current business need. Resource gaps are also found at the time of the making of strategic plan for coming years. They also fill the identified resource gaps for future and current need. Conclusion Strategic plans are at the heart of every organization, and resource management is at heart of every strategic plan, therefore for organizations to thrive in business and gain the sustainable competitive advantage it is very important to strategically manage their resource. For strategic management of the resources, organizations have to create a link between their strategic plan and their resource management plan. This way they can gain the required results from their planning and gain the competitive advantage.

One Laptop Per Child Essay

1.Why are Microsoft, Intel, and other leading for profit companies interested in low-cost computers for the developing world? In 2005, Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of MIT’s Media Labs, announced the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program at the World Economic Forum. The concept was simple and appealing. Innovate a $100 laptop and distribute it to children in the developing world. No one can argue the power of getting kids access to computers/internet, and hence, access to a virtually limitless store of information, connectivity to the world and educational software. And for a technology optimist like Negroponte, the payoffs were obvious. But as the OLPC program has found out over the years, there is more to the success of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Education, than just handing out computers to kids, and expect it to works its magic on its own. To begin with, the premises and approach of OLPC program as articulated by Negroponte are fundamentally flawed. OLPC stipulates that laptops be owned by children over the age of six rather than by schools. Efforts to reform curricula and assessment are viewed by the program as too slow or expensive, and teacher training as of limited value due to teacher absenteeism and incompetence, so laptop implementation must proceed without them. The program also believes that in the end, â€Å"the students will teach themselves on how to use the laptop. They’ll teach one another, and we have confidence in the kids’ ability to learn†. The other flaw in this program is that the poorest countries targeted by OLPC cannot afford laptop computers for all their children and would be better off building schools, training teachers, developing curricula, providing books and subsidizing attendance. No one ever understood Nicholas Negroponte’s position when it comes to the $100 Laptop/OLPC/XO. While the idea behind creating a super cheap, super durable useful computer for children in developing nations is good, Negroponte has always approached the idea as one where only he should be allowed to see that vision through. When other companies decided it might be a good idea and wanted to target that market themselves, Negroponte flipped out and started attacking them for trying to undermine his project. In order to explore One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and its mission to improve education in developing countries, it is necessary to first understand the nature of living in these countries. The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes health, food, and education as basic human rights, but people living in developing countries are deprived of these seemingly simple and obvious necessities. Founder of OLPC and MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte firmly believes that education is the solution and that children are the world’s most precious natural resource. Combining these thoughts, he founded OLPC in 2005 as a response to the educational needs of children in developing countries. At the 2005 World Economic Forum, he presented that a $100 laptop in the hands of every child would empower them to learn from and to teach each other. As CTO of OLPC Mary Lou Jepsen said, the â€Å"laptop is a vehicle to transform education around the world.† In order to bring this idea to reality, OLPC set out to design a laptop that would fit in the context of the developing world. 2.Do you agree with Negroponte’s decision to partner with Microsoft? Yes, I think it is a good initiative because now that the XO laptop will be available in both Linux and Windows varieties and we can view it as an opportunity for OLPC to expand in a couple of ways. Moreover, now it will have a broader acceptance in the community and the other is to have more software and software developers available. The OLPC’s philosophy of openness is behind its decision to allow Microsoft software on the machines, but it would be hard for OLPC to say it was ‘open’ and then be closed to Microsoft. According to Negroponte, the XP announcement is the latest development in a long-running collaboration between the project and Microsoft. Microsoft was also interested in this project and was working to see if it could get Windows XP up and running on the OLPC devices. To make it work, Microsoft needed to get the operating system to boot from an SD card and to create drivers to work with OLPC’s unique features, such as its touchpad and e-book reader mode. Negroponte said the ability to run Windows is a must-have in some countries. For example, he said, Uruguay made it a requirement in its recent solicitation. Even in other countries where Windows is not required, Negroponte said compatibility with the Microsoft operating system still helps give the laptop credibility. Meanwhile, Negroponte stressed that he is not giving up on Linux and ultimately aims to deliver machines that can boot into either operating system. There’s no premeditated plan that one is going to dominate over the other because both is a very powerful option. Though, there is obviously cost issues, which is necessarily higher for Windows, because it requires more hardware than Linux. Language support is possible for any community in Linux, but in Windows it depends on the good will of Microsoft, or rather the bottom line market analysis results that Microsoft works from. But according to Negroponte, he was mainly concerned with putting as many laptops as possible in children’s hands. 3.Assess the thinking behind the â€Å"give one, get one† promotion. Do you think this is a good marketing tactic? Yes, it is a good marketing tactics but it also brought about some drawbacks with it which is inevitable. Since, OLPC initially stated that no consumer version of the XO laptop was planned. The project, however, later established a website to accept direct donations and ran a â€Å"Give 1 Get 1† (G1G1) offer starting on November 12, 2007. The offer was initially scheduled to run for only two weeks, but was extended until December 31, 2007 to meet demand. With a donation of $399 to the OLPC â€Å"Give 1 Get 1† program, donors received an XO-1 laptop of their own and OLPC sent another on their behalf to a child in a developing country. Shipments of â€Å"Get 1† laptops sent to donors were restricted to addresses within the United States, its territories, and Canada. Some 83,500 people participated in the program. Delivery of all of the G1G1 laptops was completed by April 19, 2008. Delays were blamed on order fulfillment and shipment issues both within OLPC and with the outside contractors hired to manage those aspects of the G1G1 program. According to Negroponte, the Give One, Get One project was both successful and not. It was a great success because there are 162,000 XO laptops gaining support for the project in the U.S. However, he still would like to see more sold. In order to make the project viable, Negroponte says they will need to sell about three million devices. The program also aims to lower the production cost of the laptop to the original target of $100. The OLPC program has the correct intentions, but a flawed philosophy and approach. Just deploying technology and expecting to work its magic is not the way to go. For the diffusion of the technology, it is crucial that we adopt to the local practices and constraints.

A Dangerous Method Essay

David Cronenberg’s latest film, â€Å"A Dangerous Method,† recounts the relationship between two psychiatry pioneers, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, in the early part of the 20th century. Michael Fassbender as Jung, Viggo Mortensen as Freud, and Keira Knightley as Jung’s patient and future psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein. It’s Jung around whom the story revolves, as a rising young intellect attempting to build on Freud’s fledgling theories of psychoanalysis. In Cronenberg’s version, we watch as their professional relationship evolves from student-teacher to one more like father-son, before eventually fracturing. Jung has a wife (Sarah Gadon) who spends most of the film either pregnant or lamenting that she’s popped out yet another girl. It’s a stable, normal relationship, exactly the type of thing to send a driven man like Jung into the arms of another woman. He can’t help himself, and he has a willing and ready partner in Spielrein. Knightley’s Spielrein is a patient of Jung’s during this time. See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay With Spielrein’s committal and therapy sessions with Jung, she states, â€Å"I’m vile, filthy, corrupt! †, after admitting she found her father’s sexual and physical abuse arousing. The complexity of the situation is demonstrated by her academic and personal development. After an unusual on-off affair with Jung, whose disagreements with Freud are presented simultaneously, But it’s her romantic relationship with her mentor, in addition to varied professional differences, that Cronenberg tells us is at the center of Jung’s falling-out with Freud. There are reasons that doctors shouldn’t sleep with their patients, many of which surface during the course of Jung and Spielrein’s romance. As the relationship breaks down, things are further complicated by the fact that Spielrein is a psychiatric student herself, allowing her to analyze her doctor/lover right back. Spielrein eventually seeks out Freud to be her new analyst, which further poisons the Jung-Freud relationship. Sexuality issues portrayed in this film were the arousal from the beatings from her father and the affair that Spielrein was having with Jung. The beatings she first remembered started when she was four years old. Her father told her to go to this little room, then told her to take off her clothes, he then beat her. After the beating she then wet herself, and her father then beat her again for wetting. This excited her very much. After that every time she got sent to that room she got excited, then even more excited after her father beat her. She would instantly have to go masturbate after the beatings. After a little time it wasn’t just the beating that got her aroused, it was any kind of embarrassment. The more embarrassing the more excited she would become. One instance in the movie Spielrein dropped her coat on the ground, Jung picked it up and started hitting it with his cane to get the dirt off of it and she instantly needed to go back to her room because she was so excited that she needed to masturbate. The affair with Jung was of course inappropriate in many ways, but for Jung I saw it as a way to keep his life exciting. His wife always seemed to be pregnant and very low key and having the extra woman on the side kept him going. Not that it makes it okay, especially since it was clients that he was sleeping with. Even after Jung put a stop to the relationship with Spielrein, later when she came back to talk about her dissertation they then had another intimate encounter. The more Jung spoke with her, the more they explored her past with her father, and this gave Jung a better understanding of what things made her more aroused then others. At one point in the movie Spielrein is asked about her troubles sleeping at night. She explains that she feels like something is in bed with her and it felt slimy on her back. Jung then asked if she was naked, and her response was yes. He then asked if she was masturbating, and her response again was yes. This told him it wasn’t all her imagination it was also parts of her arousal while masturbating. I loved this film, I have now watched it three times. It shows how sometimes peoples pasts can really affect their daily life with something such as embarrassment, or being beaten as a child. It was very eye opening to me to see how easily Jung started sleeping with his clients, and how his wife just didn’t say much at all about the affairs. Almost like if she didn’t say anything then it didn’t make it real. The first time watching this movie I found myself on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what was going to happen next, and how they were going to deal with her outbursts and situations. I think this movie would be great for awareness, because it seemed so easy for them to go into a relationship, but really it is very wrong to become emotionally attached to a client, let alone sleep with them. I know this movie probably isn’t quite for everyone, but going into a human services field I think it would be a great movie to show in one of the many classes that regards to client and helper relationships. I found it intriguing and informational and I love building my knowledge when it comes to situations with helpers and clients.

Teaching Social Skills in Special Education

Social skills are critical for long-term success. Sometimes referred to as Emotional Intelligence, it is a combination of the ability to understand and manage ones own emotional state (Intra-personal Intelligence in Howard Gardners Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences) and the ability to understand and respond to other people. Although social skills include understanding and using social conventions, it also includes the ability to understand the Hidden Curriculum, the ways in which peers communicate and interact reciprocity, and the ability to build interpersonal relationships. Social Conventions Difficulty with social skills and deficits in social skills are found to different degrees across abilities as well as disabilities. Both children with disabilities and children from low socio-economic groups may not have an extensive understanding of social conventions and may need instruction in conventions such as: Appropriate greetings depending on relationships: i.e. peer to peer or child to adultAppropriate and polite ways to make requests (please) and express gratitude (thank you)Addressing adultsShaking handsTaking turnsSharingGiving positive feedback (praise) to peers, no put-downsCooperation Intra-Personal Social Skills, or Managing Ones Self Difficulty managing ones own emotional state, especially tantrums or aggression in response to frustration, is common in children with disabilities. Children for whom this is the primary disabling condition are often diagnosed with an emotional or behavioral disorder,  which may be designated as emotional support, severely emotionally challenged, or conduct disorder. Many children with disabilities may be less mature than their typical peers and may reflect less understanding of how to manage their own emotions. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders commonly have difficulty with emotional self-regulation and understanding emotion. Difficulty  with social situations is a component of the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders, which reflects deficits in understanding and expression of their own emotional states. Emotional Literacy needs to be explicitly taught to students, especially students with emotional and behavioral disorders and children with autism spectrum disorders. This requires teaching the ability to identify emotions by looking at faces, the ability to identify cause and effect for emotions and scenarios, and learning appropriate ways to deal with personal emotional states. Behavioral contracts are often useful tools for students with poor self-regulation skills, both to teach and self-monitor difficulty with self-regulation as well as teach and reward appropriate or replacement behavior. Inter-Personal Social Skills The ability to understand others emotional states, wants, and needs are critical not only for success in school but also success in life. It is also a quality of life issue, which will help students with and without disabilities to build relationships, find happiness, and succeed economically. It can also contribute to a positive classroom environment. Appropriate interactions: Children with disabilities, especially Autism Spectrum Disorders, often need to be taught appropriate social interactions, such as making requests, initiating interactions, sharing, exercising reciprocity (give and take), and turn taking. Teaching appropriate interactions can involve modeling, role-playing, scripting, and social narratives. Successfully learning and generalizing of appropriate interactions requires lots of practice.Understanding and building relationships: Children with disabilities often do not have the skills to initiate and sustain mutual relationships. In cases with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, they need to be explicitly taught the components of friendship or relationships. Building and Generalizing Skills Students with disabilities have problems both with acquiring and applying social skills. They need lots of practice. Successful ways to learn and generalize social skills include: Modeling: The teacher and an aide or another teacher enact the social interactions you want students to learn.Video self-modeling: You videotape the student performing the social skill with lots of prompting, and edit out the prompting to create a more seamless digital recording. This video, paired with rehearsal, will support the students effort to generalize the social skill.Cartoon strip social interactions: Introduced by Carol Gray as Comic Strip Conversations, these cartoons let your students fill in the thought and speech bubbles before they role-play a conversation. Research has shown that these are effective ways to help students build social interaction skills.Role-playing: Practice is essential for maintaining social skills. Role-playing is a great way to give students an opportunity not only to practice the skills they are learning but also to teach students to evaluate each others or their own performance of skills.