Business operational Essay

To provide learners with an understanding of the role and importance of operations management (OM) in the efficient and effective production of goods and services. Scenario: WH Smith is a major, well-known and publically-quoted book retailer and newsagent in the UK. Recently it was reported how Kate Swann, the former CEO for the last 10 years, has turned the company around from ? 135m losses to ? 106m profit in a decade. (source: www. theguardian. com/business/blog/2013/jan/23/wh-smith-kate-swann-profit, accessed 1 October 2013) (Also see copy attached) This is an example of how the principles of operations management can be used to reactivate a firm. How did she do it? Using the above as a starting point, together with other information sources, which you should research yourself, on WH Smith, you are asked to address the Tasks below regarding operations management. Task 1 (this meets LO 1, ACs 1. 1, 1. 2 and 1. 3) Based on the Scenario, produce a document explaining the nature and importance of Operation Management and its key elements. Your document for this Task must include the following elements (among others as you wish): I. A definition of OM and an explanation of its importance; II. The key elements of OM; III. The need to produce goods or services on time and to cost, with the right quality and within the law; IV. The role of OM in achieving strategic objectives; and V. Produce systems and sub-systems diagrams for any WH Smith operations processes, including a brief explanation of your diagrams. Task 2 (this meets LO 2 ACs 2. 1, 2. 2 and 2. 3) Based on the Scenario, produce a document explaining the relationship between OM and strategic planning. Your document for this Task must include the following elements (among others as you wish): I. II. III. Explain the implementation of the â€Å"3Es† in WH Smith; Critically review the tension between cost minimisation and quality maximisation in the context of WH Smith; and Assess the importance of the five performance objectives that underpin operations management. Task 3 (this meets LOs 3 and 4 in full) Base on the Scenario, produce a document explaining how to organise and apply relevant techniques in a typical production process. Your document for this Task must include the following elements (among others as you wish): I. II. III. IV. Comment briefly on the importance of operational planning and control. Explain what linear programming is, and give an example in relation to any part of the operations of WH Smith; Produce a network plan and indicate the resultant critical path for any operation in WH Smith. (for this task, you should include a set of operational outcomes, which are clearly defined). Explain how quality can be defined and maintained. Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria In order to Pass this unit, the evidence that the learner presents for assessment needs to demonstrate that they can meet all the Learning Outcomes for the unit. The Assessment Criteria determine the standard required to Pass this unit. The Assessment Criteria will act as a guide to help you put into context your answers to fulfill the Learning Outcomes. Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria 1. 1 explain the importance of operational management 1. 2 explain the need to produce safely; on time; to cost; to LO 1Understand the quality and within the law nature and importance 1. 3 explain the link between operations management and of operational strategic planning management 1. 4 produce a systems diagram to illustrate a typical business 2. 1 explain the ‘Three Es’ (economy, efficiency and effectiveness) LO2 Understand the link between operations 2. 2 explain the tension between cost minimisation and management and quality maximisation strategic planning 2. 3 evaluate the significance of the five performance objectives that underpin operations management 3. 1 explain linear programming LO3 Understand how 3. 2 evaluate critical path analysis and network planning to organise a typical 3. 3 explain the need for operational planning and control production process LO4 Be able to apply relevant techniques to the production of an operational plan for a typical business 4. 1 produce a set of clearly defined operational outcomes 4. 2 produce a network plan and indicate the resultant critical path 4. 3 explain how quality could be defined and maintained. INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION FOR LEARNERS This assessment and the Tasks above are designed to assess your achievement of all four of the Learning Outcomes and associated Assessment Criteria for a Pass in the ‘Employability Skills’ unit of the qualification you are undertaking. Your tutor/ deliverer will advise you when you should start work on the assignment, the date when you must hand in your completed work and when you can expect to get your mark and feedback on your work. Guidance on this subject is provided on page 1 of this assignment brief. You should make sure that you plan your work carefully, to ensure that you cover all four learning outcomes of the assignment, and complete it within the time limit specified. There is no official guideline wordcount or percentage marking (other than Pass/ Merit/ Distinction/ Refer). By way of guidance only for this particular assignment, it is recommended that you write a minimum of 2000-2500 words total and match the weighting of your efforts to the wordcount indicated. Your statements in answer to the Learning Outcomes need to be prefixed with the specific Learning Outcome title or at least the Learning Outcome number. This will help you keep on track and should ensure you address the details. You must make sure that you acknowledge any sources you have used to complete this assignment, listing reference material and web sites used. The assignment result will be published on BITE’s Moodle online education materials platform, normally within 6 weeks of the submission date. If your assignment is assessed as referred, you will be notified with an indication of the areas to be addressed. You may resubmit an assignment, or submit a new assignment, on a further two occasions during your period of registration as an Institute learner with Edexcel. If there is anything in these instructions or in the assignment itself which you do not understand, please seek guidance from your tutor/ deliverer. Merit grade Descriptors For learners to achieve a Merit they must: Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions Indicative characteristics Learners must demonstrate that: An effective approach to assignment planning, study and research is in evidence Evaluations and judgements, using evidence, have been made Problems with a number of variables have been considered Select/design and apply appropriate methods/techniques A range of relevant theories have been included Relevant theories and techniques have been applied to the case study A range of different sources of information have been used The selection of methods/techniques of analysis and use of source material have been justified Information/ data has been synthesised and processed Present and communicate appropriate findings The written assessment is coherent, shows logical development and a sound understanding of theories, concepts and research evidence The written assessment demonstrates that an appropriate structure and approach has been used The written assignment demonstrates a writing style appropriate for audiences both familiar and unfamiliar with the subject. The written work is clearly written and technical language has been accurately used Distinction grade Distinction descriptors For learners to achieve a Distinction they must: Indicative characteristics Learners must demonstrate that: Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions. Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and evaluation of research evidence and have been justified The validity of results has been evaluated using defined criteria Realistic and informed recommendations have been proposed against defined characteristics for success Take responsibility for managing and organising activities. The written assignment shows excellent planning, is organised coherently and is clearly expressed Independence of thought and gathering of research material has been demonstrated Material used has been clearly understood and well organised The importance of individual and group behaviour in organisations and its management has been recognised and addressed Demonstrate convergent/lateral/creative thinking. There is evidence of self-generated ideas with evaluation Convergent and lateral thinking are evident in the written assignment Creative thinking is evidenced with unfamiliar material. Problem-solving is in evidence Innovation and creative thought are in evidence Receptiveness to new ideas is evident Ideas have been generated, evaluated and informed decisions/ recommendations are made. Case Study: WHSmith †¢ WH Smith: Kate Swann turns ? 135m losses into ? 106m profit in a decade One of the UK’s most highly regarded – and highly paid – retailers achieved success by going against the grain WH Smith chief executive Kate Swann favours the old retail adage: sales are vanity, profits are sanity. Photograph: PA When Kate Swann arrived at WH Smith in 2003, there was a widely held view that the chain’s days were numbered. A decade on, she has turned losses of ? 135m into a profit of probably ? 106m this year, and shares that were languishing at 250p are now changing hands at 650p. Swann is now one of the UK’s most highly regarded – and highly paid – retailers. Yet she has achieved this remarkable feat by breaking many of the â€Å"rules† of running a successful high street retail business. When Swann announced she was pulling out of selling music and DVDs because the profit margins were thin and getting thinner, rivals thought she had taken leave of her senses – she was instantly kissing goodbye to about 30% of Smith’s turnover. On a same-store basis on the high street, WHS now sells roughly ? 65 of goods for every ? 100 of custom seven years ago. The demise of Zavvi and HMV in the face of online competition shows it was a brave – and correct – decision. Swann favours the old retail adage: sales are vanity, profits are sanity. By focusing on profitable sales and cutting costs relentlessly, she has boosted profit margins – according to analyst Nick Bubb by an almost incredible 15 percentage points. While other retailers have been pouring resources into the digital world, Smith’s big online strategy is its Funky Pigeon card site. Instead, Swann plans to open more shops, even though they are, to be frank, deeply unpleasant places to shop, stuffed with stock and screaming promotional banners. While the supermarkets have to tread carefully in the products they offer and have been targeted for displaying sweets at the checkout, Smith’s has sold stationery aimed at teenagers and young women adorned with the Playboy bunny motif and Swann’s checkout assistants attempt to force-feed the nation giant bars of Galaxy and chocolate oranges. Her secret? Maybe it’s the low profile. While many rivals enjoy the limelight, holding forth on the woes of the economy, the lack of women in the boardroom and political issues such as the in-out debate, Swann says nothing. She doesn’t give interviews. On Wednesday, at Smith’s AGM, a shareholder stood to offer thanks for her transformation. Asked to respond, she merely said: â€Å"Thank you, let’s move on. † No doubt she will. There will be a queue for her services.

Drama Short Scene

CHARACTERS JENNA ROBERT GAS STATION ATTENDANT CHAPLIN [JENNA has been driving all night after a fight with her husband. JENNA leaves a truck stop with a cup of coffee and although it is not her nature to pick up hitch hikers, at this point she figures what is the worst that can happen? Death? Then so be it. ] ROBERT: Hey, can I get a ride? JENNA: Why not? Where are you headed? ROBERT: Oklahoma. JENNA: Okay. ROBERT: [Getting in car] Where are you from? Where are you going? JENNA: Jackson, Wyoming and Jackson, Wyoming ROBERT: Are you married? JENNA: Yes ROBERT: How far can you take me? JENNA: Twin Falls, Idaho.ROBERT: You have small breasts. Do you talk to spirits? JENNA: What? What do you mean? ROBERT: My girlfriend was small like you; she spoke to the spirits and became a double D overnight. JENNA: [White knuckled on the steering wheel] Where is your girlfriend? ROBERT: Oklahoma. JENNA: Do you work there? ROBERT: [Looking down at his lap] No, I blew up the oil truck I was driving bec ause I was angry. I got fired. I have no job and no money. I started my house on fire and burnt everything up. My girlfriend got mad at me because all her bras were burned. I am hoping she will forgive me when I get back to Oklahoma.When I get angry, I just snap. JENNA: [Tongue in cheek] Are you angry now? ROBERT: No, I feel better. Are you angry now? JENNA: No, just out for a drive. I love going for drives. ROBERT: Would your husband let me come home with you? You are so pretty. JENNA: Hmmm, sorry but I don’t think so. Oh, my gosh! ROBERT: What? JENNA: My radiator is overheating! ROBERT: Why? JENNA: I don’t know! But I need to stop and let it cool down. [JENNA pulls over and retrieves a book from the glove box. She is very nervous. ] ROBERT: What are you reading? JENNA: Just a story. ROBERT: I see the word kissing. Can I kiss you?JENNA: No, I don’t think that is a good idea. ROBERT: Ok. JENNA: [Starts the car. ] We will stop at the next gas station. ROBERT: Are you sure I can’t kiss you? JENNA: Don’t touch my leg again! ROBERT: Ok. JENNA: Stay in the car and I will go see if someone can help me. Or, maybe someone here can give you a ride directly to Oklahoma. ROBERT: No! I want to go with you! JENNA: Whatever, I will be right back. [JENNA walks into the gas station. Suddenly there is commotion in the parking lot. ] GAS STATION ATTENDANT: [Yelling at Jenna] Son of a bitch! If that antifreeze takes the paint off of the cars it sprayed on, your ass is grass!Your husband opened the radiator cap when it was hot! What in the hell is wrong with him? Stupid people! JENNA: He is not my husband and I am sorry. Can you look at my car and tell me why it is overheating? GAS STATION ATTENDANT: If it will get you the hell out of here! [JENNA waits nervously, hoping Robert will find a new ride and that there is nothing to serious wrong with her car. ] GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You need a new hose clamp, I have one. Twenty bucks. JENNA: Really? For a clamp? A little piece of metal? GAS STATION ATTENDANT: Take it or leave it. JENNA: I won’t have enough gas money to make it home!ROBERT: I can get you money for gas. JENNA: What? How? ROBERT: Trust me. JENNA: Ok, go ahead and fix the car. ROBERT: Trust me. JENNA: But how are you going to get money? ROBERT: Easy we will just ask for the chaplin. JENNA: What? What in the hell are you talking about? ROBERT: Trust me. JENNA: [Getting into the car] We only have about an hour to Twin Falls. ROBERT: Will you kiss me then? JENNA: No! ROBERT: Ok. JENNA: So tell me how your girlfriend received her double d breasts. ROBERT: It is simple. You pray to the body spirit, the breast spirit and the cosmetic spirit and the next day you will have big breasts.You really could use a little more you know. JENNA: Robert, with all due respect, I think your girlfriend got implants and lied to you. ROBERT: [Grabbing Jenna’s arm. ] She did not lie! I prayed with her! She got the gift! Do y ou understand me? JENNA: Please let go of me. I believe you. [Quietness the rest of the way. ] JENNA: We are here. Now what? Where do you want me to go? ROBERT: Find the police department. JENNA: Ok. [They drove around until they found the police department. ] JENNA: Here it is. Now what? ROBERT: Come with me. JENNA: Do I have to?ROBERT: [Waving her on into the police department] Can I speak to the chaplain please? CHAPLAIN: What can I do for you my son? ROBERT: She needs a gas voucher and I need a bus ticket to Oklahoma. We are stranded and are trying to get home. The car broke down a ways back and we have no money. I am hungry. CHAPLAIN: Have a seat please. JENNA: It looks like you have done this before. ROBERT: [Scowling] That is my business. JENNA: Ok. CHAPLAIN: Ok, here is a gas voucher for fifteen dollars that you can use at the Standard station right up the road and here is your bus ticket voucher along with a voucher for a hot dog and a soda.ROBERT: Thank you. Do you pray to the breast spirits? CHAPLAIN: Just be on your way now. Blessings to you. [Jenna drives to the bus station. ] JENNA: Here you go Robert. Have a safe trip. Thank you for helping me get enough gas to get home. Bye. See ya. ROBERT: Will you wait for the bus with me? JENNA: I really need to head home Robert. Thanks again. ROBERT: [Grabs Jenna’s arm and leans into her face] You will wait with me or I will pray to the death spirits to take your breath away. If I have to help them I will. JENNA: [Trembling] Ok Robert, I will wait with you.ROBERT: [At the bus window] A ticket to Oklahoma City please. A hot dog, soda and a cookie for her. JENNA: Oh no, that is alright. ROBERT: Eat it! JENNA: Ok. ROBERT: Here comes the bus. JENNA: Ok, let’s go. ROBERT: [Boarding the bus] But I want to go with you Jenna. Please? JENNA: Robert just board the bus. Your girlfriend is waiting for you. ROBERT: Ok but will you wait until the bus leaves? JENNA: Sure ROBERT: Good bye. [Jenna watches as t he bus pulls away, Robert waving goodbye. She goes back to her car. ] JENNA: [Sitting behind the wheel] Dear spirit of protection†¦ [She drives away. ]

Predicitve Analytics

A secondary research paper on Predictive analytics; which is a mix of tools and techniques that support organizations to identify probability in data that can be used find out the future outcomes. The scope this study Is to identify the potential of predictive analytics to leverage advertising, marketing campaign and business development Initiatives thereby understanding the customer behavior. Customer preferences, change, attitudes, purchase behaviors and attaining a high degree of inference in their decisions about what to do differently for each segment, as potential moves have been â€Å"pre-tested. † effective Marketing Satellites + Higher Conversions = More Revenue = Growth & Success! In a tough competitive global marketplace, to have desired return on the marketing initiatives bib organizations are looking forward to have new avenues which could help them to make a better understand about their customer preferences, change, attitudes, purchase behaviors.Earlier the rese arch was archeological, looking at past customer choices and behavior. With the advent f a third-generation approach called predictive segmentation; BIB markets are able to resolve the challenges and take a competitive advantage. It Is a mix of tools and find out the future outcomes. It helps to tune insights about exactly which elements of the service or product offer actually drive customer behavior and thereby giving a high degree of confidence in their decisions about what to do differently for each segment, because potential moves have been â€Å"pre-tested. Predictive analytics technology Incorporates data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment capabilities, and drives the entire segmentation process, room gathering customer information at every interaction to analyzing the data and providing specific, real-time recommendations on the best action to take at a particular time, with a particular customer. The result is more effective customer relationship management st rategies, including advertising and marketing campaigns; upsets and cross-sell Annihilates; and long-term customer loyalty, retention and rewards programs.Current market situation Most BIB companies which tries to get deeper customer understanding and move segmentation beyond traditional way using selects from Industry, size, anemographic views of customers Is not reaching up to the standard. In a top business marketers in the United States, themes pressing concern identified by respondents was â€Å"finding a better way to expand understanding's their customer needs, market segments, and the key drivers of customer value. Companies which have traditionally relied on technological innovation to attain competitive advantage have come to realize that new technology or new product features are not good enough to attract more customers or increase revenues from existing customers. Major challenges 1 . Sales cycles are long and complex offerings. 2. Competitor's offerings and strategies shift so quickly that managers cannot reliably compare the impact of changes in a given marketing 3.Customer relationship management systems cannot easily capture the decisions and actions that led to success or failure with any particular account, because such information is largely anecdotal, not quantitative. The following table represents some examples of the types of challenges solved by predictive marketing for different types of digital marketers: Benefits or Strategic objectives Attained through Predictive Analysis The predictive approach not only produces forward-looking segments; it also gives users a high degree of confidence in their decisions about what to do differently for each segment.By scientifically testing how customers might respond to future offerings, channels, and pricing; companies know how to reach the right customer with the right offer at the right time, through the right channel. 1. Compete – Secure the Most Powerful and Unique Competitive Strong hold A predictive model distinguishes the micro segments of customers who choose your company from those who defer or defect to a competitor. In this way, your organization identifies exactly where your competitor falls short, its weakness. 2.Grow – Increase Sales and Retain Customers Competitively Each customer is scored for their behaviors like purchases, responses, churn and clicks. These scores drive the enterprise operations across marketing, sales, and customer and help the organization to have competitive advantage Aberdeen group in August 2011 (Predictive Analytics for Sales and Marketing: Seeing Around Corners) found that companies using predictive analytics enjoyed a 75% higher click through rate and a 73% higher sales lift than companies that did not SE this technology. Figure below shows the details of the research conducted among 160 test audiences. Source from:- Aberdeen group in August 2011 -Predictive Analytics for Sales and Marketing: Seeing Around Corners) r anking transactions with a predictive model dramatically boosts fraud detection. 4. Improve – Advance Your Core Business Capacity Competitively Whether offering a service or a product, enterprise's central function is to produce and deliver with increasing effectiveness and efficiency. By way of greater efficiency would be able to overproduces/services at cheaper prices. . Satisfy – Meet Today's Escalating Consumer Expectations By offering very targeted offers that have more probability of acceptance.Companies are able to accomplish their marketing objectives and set the customer expectation without increasing their marketing staff or budget. Business application of predictive analytics Most of the organization applies predictive analytics to automate operational decisions, across marketing, sales areas and beyond. Choosing the business application of predictive analytics depends on strategic question or type of decision companies choose to automate. Companies run vari ety of campaigns to accomplish specific goals, such as acquisition, cross-selling, and retention.Predictive analytics creates a range of models, parallel to their business application; table below shows some of the business application and the predictions that companies look forward. Business application: Predictions Customer retention customer defection/churn/attrition Direct marketing customer response Product recommendations what each customer wants/likes Behavior-based advertising which ad customer will click on Email targeting which message customer will respond to Credit scoring debtor risk Insurance pricing and selection applicant response, insured risk Supply chain optimization 1 .Supply chain visibility and cost to serve 2. Demand forecasting Optimization 3. Network optimization: is about analyzing total cost of ownership of a company's supply chain network. 4. Predictive asset maintenance: improving up times, performance and availability of manufacturing assets by predicti ng when maintenance or when a new part is required in order to avoid unplanned down time. 5. Spend analytics: understanding how much a company is spending on different recruitment categories, with which suppliers, and how a company can optimize their spending across all those categories. Invitational campaign approach In traditional campaign approach markets typically use a few basic selections to identify customer behavior while creating a campaign. It was mainly based on internal company processes, rather than focusing on the needs and preferences of its customers. Response to these types of conventional campaigns is generally low often less than one or two percent. Optimizing campaigns with Predetermination In order to optimize marketing campaigns, companies need to be able to answer the four crucial questions like Who should I contact?What should I offer? When should I make the offer? How should I make the offer? Predictive Marketing enables marketers to find the answers quickly , and to create and execute campaigns around this simple but effective process. First, marketing analysts create predictive models; as we have discussed earlier creating models depends on the business application or strategic question in hand companies. These models helps to efficiently find appropriate customers and discover the best timing,channel, and message for each customer.Then, arresters add business information such as contact restrictions, budget guidelines, and campaign objectives. Before sending the campaigns, they verify the projected size and cost of each campaign, as well as the expected response and revenue on each campaign. Finally, the marketers execute the approved campaigns. Select the right audience Using the model campaigner decides the right customer segments to send out the campaign; deciding the target segment using the model typically reduces campaign costs by 25 to 40 percent, while maintaining or even increasing response rate. Select the right channelAt t his stage of the campaign process, marketers determine how best to contact each customer. By using each customer's preferred channel, (based on channel preferences and predicted response) companies increase response rates. Select the right time Consumers today have many choices for meeting their needs. That's why it's critical to reach customers in a timely manner when their behavior indicates an unmet need or a risk of defection or attrition. Predictive Marketing continually scans customer databases for Just such events, and triggers specific campaigns when a need or risk is detected.Some companies increase the frequency of campaigns to improve the chances of reaching customers at an ideal time. These campaigns target fewer customers, but the customers they do target have a high likelihood of response. When the campaigns are finished, they use Predictive Marketing to compare actual results to the projections, and incorporate information that can improve the effectiveness of future campaigns. This process is accomplished in Predictive Marketing two main modules, the Analytic Center and the Interaction Center anticipate the needs and preferences of individual customers.The Interaction Center s used to create, optimize, and execute campaigns based on the customer needs predicted by models created in the Analytic Center. Together, the Analytic Center and the Interaction center enable companies to answer the â€Å"who, what, when, and how' of successful campaign marketing. Marketing analysts create predictive models of customer behaviors and preferences in the Analytic Center. The models are then used by marketers to create and optimize campaigns in the Interaction Center. New interaction data is sent back to the Analytic Center to refine and enhance the predictive models. Select the right offerWhen companies increase the number of campaigns they run, they risk alienating their customers by overloading them with offers. Conventional campaign management tools are not designed to address the potential overlap. Predictive Marketing, however, reduces this risk through a comprehensive campaign optimization process. Predictive Marketing evaluates all of the available campaigns and selects the one that best balances the customer's likelihood to respond with the profit potential of the campaigns. It also takes into account suppressions and contact restrictions, such as â€Å"do not call† or â€Å"do not contact more Han once every two months. This customer focus, combined with the ability to optimize campaigns around restrictions and preferences, has enabled companies to report a profit increase of between 25 and 50 percent. As companies transition from large, unfocused marketing campaigns to highly targeted, event- based campaigns across multiple channels, their marketing departments go through several stages Predictive Marketing enables companies to run more effective campaigns at each stage of the transition. Stage 1: Right customer 2: R ight channel 3: Right time 4: Right offer 1 . ObjectiveSelect the targeted customers For each campaign Select the best channel for each customer Contact each customer at right time Select the best offers for each customer 2. Enabling technology Predictive analytics Channel optimization Event marketing Campaign optimization 3. Strategy Predict who is likely to respond to a campaign and balance that information with against expected revenue Balance each customers channel preference against triggers to select customers Balance the customers likelihood to respond against the profit potential of each campaign 4.Benefit 25 – 40% reduction in direct marketing cost Decreased cost of Interaction Up to double the response to marketing campaigns 25 – 50% profit increase Assessing the impact of campaign decisions After marketers create campaigns, Predictive Marketing eliminates the guesswork of determining which ones to run. This helps marketers know in advance which campaigns are likely to be the most successful at reaching a specific goal, such as retaining at-risk customers or selling a particular product. It also shows which campaigns are not likely to be profitable.By running only the campaigns that have the greatest potential for success, companies achieve positive financial results. Monitoring and improving campaigns Feedback from campaigns enables the marketing department to measure the actual results of campaigns, as well as adjust in-progress campaigns when the initial results are not as positive as expected. Predictive Marketing stores all campaign interaction information, such as the offer made, the campaign used to make the offer, and the models used in the campaign.This enables users to monitor: Campaign-level performance, such as actual response versus expected response, so users can see which segments and groups performed well Customer performance, such as customer profitability, cross-sell ratios, and attrition risk Channel performance, such as expected load on a channel versus planned load, and channel effectiveness for each campaign Predictive model performance, assess which models to continue to use and which to revise or refine.Predictive Marketing uses data from recent campaigns to further refine its models. By tracking the performance of models and campaigns, companies create a â€Å"feedback loop† of information and refinement that enables them to create even more effective campaigns and achieve progressively better results. Integrating with social media Companies are making a transition from a method of listing to engaging in order to capture more value from social media.Among the wide network of customers, predictive analysis helps business to plan it strategically to maximize the value of their social media interaction. Using techniques from data mining and text mining, predictive analytics lets you analyses at historical patterns and make predictions about future behavior for specific individuals. By taking customer data that you hold internally and adding what people have said and done, you can map out what people are likely to do and engage them accordingly.Enhance social media efforts with predictive analytics If you've got a social media game plan for monitoring feedback and engaging customers, consider adding predictive analytics to help you respond to customers in more proactive, targeted ways. As an example, by classifying sentiment (customer's opinion, comments, suggestions or thoughts about the product) in social media data and tying that to customer data, you can predict people who are likely to be favorable prospects with special messages or offers.Here's one way you can get started: 1 . Capture 1,000 comments in the social media sites you monitor. You'll need to determine who to respond to, and how. 2. As its not feasible to respond to all comments, you can use text mining to classify sentiment, and based on the results; follow a 3-pronged response strategy: Send tha nk yoga's to positive comments – reinforce the relationship. Ignore comments with negative sentiment below a certain threshold – in some cases; it's more effective to focus on more receptive customers.For those in between, send an invitation to engage via one-on-one social interaction with a support or sales representative. You can engage customers â€Å"in social† through outworks such as Twitter, Linked or direct them to your online email portal or phone bank. 3. Next, you'll want to measure the effectiveness of your response strategy. After planning your responses, test different messages (A/B testing) for each response type to gauge effectiveness, analyze and understand response rates, and refine your messaging. This testing will inform the engagement strategy you deploy going forward.Adding predictive analytics to your social media efforts lets you capture more value sand ultimately, it can help you gain a deeper understanding of your customers o more effec tively engage them, increasing retention and loyalty A Microscopic and Telescopic View of Your Data Predictive analytics employs both a microscopic and telescopic view of data allowing organizations to see and analyze the minute details of a business, and to peer into the future. Traditional Bal was limited only to create assumptions and find statistical patterns to those assumptions.Predictive analytics go beyond those assumptions to discover previously unknown data; it then looks for patterns and associations anywhere and everywhere between seemingly disparate information. Predictive Analytics-The Future Business Intelligence The market is witnessing an unprecedented shift in business intelligence (81), largely because of technological innovation and increasing business needs. The latest shift in the Bal market is the move from traditional analytics to predictive analytics. Although predictive analytics belongs to the Bal family, it is emerging as a distinct new software sector.An alytical tools enable greater transparency, and can find and analyze past and present trends, as well as the hidden nature of data. However, past and present insight and trend information are not enough to be nominative in business. Business organizations need to know more about the future, and in particular, about future trends, patterns, and customer behavior in order to predictive analytics to forecast future trends in customer behavior, buying patterns, and who is coming into and leaving the market and why.Traditional analytical tools claim to have a real 3600 view of the enterprise or business, but they analyze only historical data, data about what has already happened. Traditional analytics help gain insight for what was right and what went wrong in decision-making. Today's tools merely provide rear view analysis. However, one cannot change the past, but one can prepare better for the future and decision makers want to see the predictable future, control it, and take actions t oday to attain tomorrow's goals.Case study Let's use the example of a credit card company operating a customer loyalty program to describe the application of predictive analytics. Credit card companies try to retain their existing customers through loyalty programs. The challenge is predicting the loss of customer. In an ideal world, a company can look into the future and take appropriate action before customers switch to competitor companies. In this case, one can build a predictive model employing three predictors: frequency of use, personal financial situations, and lower annual percentage rate (PAR) offered by competitors.The combination of these predictors creates a predictive model, which works to find patterns and associations. This predictive model can be applied to customers who are would be using their cards less frequently. Predictive analytics would classify these less frequent users differently than the regular users. It would then find the pattern of card usage for thi s group and predict a probable outcome. The predictive model could identify patterns between card usage; changes in one's personal financial situation; and the lower PAR offered by competitors.In this situation, the predictive analytics model can help the company to identify who are those unsatisfied customers. As a result, companies can respond in a timely manner to keep those clients loyal by offering them attractive promotional services to sway them away from switching to a competitor. Predictive analytics could also help organizations, such as government agencies, banks, immigration departments, video clubs etc. Achieve their business aims by using internal and external data.Conclusion It was found that with the help of predictive analysis, organization were able to resolve one of greatest challenge faced in business organization (to find out the customer expectation, needs, key drivers of customer value and market segments) by way of analyzing transactional and other data to pr edict the likelihood that customer segments will respond to marketing messages. Predictive analytics enables marketers to understand the key factors that drive customer value and loyalty, and attract more customers.

Introversion and Extraversion as Personalities Essay

Introversion and Extraversion as Personalities - Essay Example In our modern day, the human race is eager to know their personality traits all of which tend to explain that human beings tend to associate themselves with. For instance Sigmund Freud's idea of ego, superego, and id and also Erick Erickson stages of personality development all of which can explain personality traits in different angles. However, this paper seeks to establish if there are differences between two personality types the extroverts and the introverts. This paper, therefore, begins with the assumption that extroverts and introverts are similar. In order for me to investigate this assumption and set the record straight, I read several articles and journals concerning personality which will inform my discussion (Cain, 24) This paper will outline the origin of the two personality traits, try to look at their difference, advantages, and disadvantages, and cite relevant examples and how these two types of personality can peacefully coexist with each other. Carl Jung describes introverts who as individuals who prefer their internal world of thoughts and feelings, dreams, fantasies and so forth. Jung states that† introvert is the state or tendency of being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one’s own mental life.† Extroverts according to CarlJung are described as those who have the placed more emphasis on objectivity and surrounding influence. He claims that extroverts are more aggressive and social individuals. (Cain, 56) Carl Jung in detailing his model of human personality explains that introversion and extroversion are the ways in which humans respond to the world around them. Other adherent philosopher’s personality claims that one can have two personalities but one will outweigh the other. Carl disagrees completely he says that characters of introverts vary significantly with characters of extroverts. Hence need to find out if they are really different (Cain, 176).

Debate on the causes of global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Debate on the causes of global warming - Essay Example While a dialectic method is used, it is used poorly, and there are almost no attempts at synthesis. The main topoi used by all sides are scientific data, but they are used poorly. There are three separate arguments made in the debate. One group of scientists claims that global warming is not occurring, another group claims that global warming is occurring because of natural changes in the earth's climate such as an increase in the level of solar radiation reaching the earth or changes in the patterns of winds, ocean currents, or volcanic activity, and another group claims that global warming is occurring because of an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to the large scale combustion of fossil fuels by humans that started during the time of the first industrial revolution and continues up to the present day. There are several different types of arguments used by scientists that deny the existence of global warming. The three main scientific arguments used by that side of the debate are claims that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have fallen in the last few decades, an argument that meteorological data from the last century is inaccurate because of the heat island effect, and a claim that differences in the way that average temperature is measured today cause average temperatures today to appear higher than they were in earlier decades. The claim that the temperatures in the upper atmosphere have fallen in the last few decades is the weakest of the three because there is no scientific proof that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have any correlation with ground temperatures. The temperature data was also slightly modified for scientific reasons in the survey, and scientists who claim that global warming is happening say that it was modified incorrectly. The argument that the heat island effect; or the effect of thermometers in weather stations being in highly developed areas where there are many heat-retaining ground coverings, such as buildings, concrete, and asphalt; is the cause of the observed rise in temperatures is a better argument, but there have been no attempts to analyze the effects of increasing urbanization quantitatively or show the exact levels of new development around each weather station. The claim that average temperatures appear higher because temperatures are now taken four times each day instead of twice is an even better argument, because the temperatures taken at the two other times are usually closer to the daily high than the daily low, and that causes the average daily temperature for each day to appear higher. However, it has been claimed that average highs and average lows have both risen in the past few decades, making this argument seem less convincing. Nonscientific arguments made by scientists and others that claim that glob al warming is not occurring include an argument that there is a global conspiracy against capitalism or the United States by socialists or internationalists using environmental junk science and the argument that most environmentalist scientists thought that there was a pattern of global cooling and the risk of a new ice age in the 1970s. Both arguments are ad hominem attacks. While many of the scientists that support the theory of human-caused Global Warming are extreme environmentalists, there is

PH 91 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PH 91 - Assignment Example To treat this STI one of the best methods is to apply topical steroid ointments. A third STI that an individual can experience is the sexually transferred gastrointestinal disease especially in the genetalian and the symptom of this infection may include irritation of the region called colonic mucosa and the treatment of this STI is similar to the treatment of genital herpes. A fourth STI is Kaposi sarcoma and the symptom of this disease is the development of cuts on the skin that do not pose a threat to life. They are treated with radiation method of treatment. Developing any STI will make me feel depressed and I will feel that my life is under the danger of death. In order to secure oneself from STIs I would take precautionary measures such as contraceptives including condoms. There are various causes that can result in male experiencing sexual issues. These causes include both physical issues as well as psychological issues. The physical caused that may result in dysfunction includes diabetes as well as drug abuse and the psychological causes may include stressful life due to work and personal life issues. In order to treat male sexual issues can be treated through drugs and these drugs are used to treat the physical issues that are causing sexual problems. The physical causes of sexual issues experienced by the female includes diabetes, discrepancies of the hormones, substance abuse such as excessive and addictive alcohol drinking behavior and women may even experience these issues as a result of stress in the work and personal lives. To treat these issues those physical issues should be treated with the help of medicine that are causing these issues. Furthermore, providing females with education regarding their anatomy can help them overcome stress. The work of the sex therapist includes the identification as well as the analysis of the sexual issues

Week 5 Discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 5 Discussion questions - Essay Example Sometimes management is naà ¯ve and they think that the same rules apply to a company in a large scale. With growth come a lot of hidden costs to monitor a larger operation. Enron was the largest energy producer in the world. The company got so big that a lot of lower level managers and accountants could not see that a huge scam was occurring right beneath their feet. I think that companies are more vulnerable to this phenomenon when they are in their early stages of development due to a lack of economic resources to implement proper internal control mechanisms. I think that employee growth is often not managed well as company start growth. For instances when a company has thousands of employees it become harder to implement control mechanisms to maintain a drug free environment because it is too costly to test all the employees. Firms can only implement random testing of a small population of the employees due to cost constraints. Sometimes firm underestimate the importance of experience and they hire too many college recruits at once. Bad management of human resources complicates human resource issues. I believe that one of the biggest changes in the accounting profession is that accountants have become bigger assets of the managerial staff due to their ability to analyze business information. The utilization of accounting information systems provides companies with precise up to date information that can be used to make informed business decisions. Technology has helped managers and accountants a lot. The accounting profession is changing in the United States due to the influence of new regulations that arrived in the 21st century such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002. A branch of accounting that will grow a lot in the near future is auditing and forensic accounting. Sometimes when companies begin to growth they don’t pay adequate attention to their inventory numbers. This