Lojack and the Micrologic Alliance free essay sample

Financially, sales are climbing, but year over year growth is declining. The distribution system through auto retailers seems stuck to new car sales. The Lock strategy at the present time consists of several discrete variables. Lock has elected to expand into new geographic areas and markets which is a logical growth strategy for the firm which has established an enviable reputation in terms of asset recovery systems.This company has developed a new tracking unit that permits it to move Into new segments such as trailers while simultaneously reducing costs for such units, therefore, establishing itself as a cost leader in the sector. This combined with a strong differentiation of product through law enforcement networks ivies Lock a strong competitive advantage. These are strengths that cannot be quickly or easily duplicated and because of the proprietary technical aspect of this product.Competitors would have to try and find substitute products to compete directly with Lock. We will write a custom essay sample on Lojack and the Micrologic Alliance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Competitive Environment If we use Michael Porters 5 forces as a measure of the competitive environment, we see the following: New Entrants Telemeter and other competitors were on the market prior to Locks entrance and other competitors are entering the market through GAPS based systems such as Instars. These systems are not a onetime purchases but Incur monthly fees to maintain service and may require the use of a cell phone. Absolutes Just as with GAPS, there is a threat of substitute products coming on-line through new technology, but this threat should be mitigated by Locks network with local law enforcement agencies. Suppliers Suppliers are also a threat as the auto industry is developing its own telemetric OFF accelerate the design cycle. Further, their inability to deliver state-of-the-art entertainment, communication, navigation, and other telemetric (navigation, driver- airing, and communication systems) clearly highlights the manufacturers reluctance at relying on these sta ndards.The good news is that the automakers appear to have realized their errors and limitations and are participating in the development of new network standards for both mission-critical and convenience or entertainment systems. (Wright, 1999) Lock must continue to market its law enforcement advantage to thwart off this threat. Buyers At this stage, buyers have relatively limited buying power due to the lack of alternative technology. However, the threat is the heavy reliance on car dealers to sell he product.If there is no incentive to do so, then the buyer may lack the knowledge that would drive the purchase. Intensity of Rivalry Although the product is in its growing stages, and there is no clear competition, the increased activity in this sector could be conducive of a threat to achieve a large enough market share to make the implementation worthwhile. S. W. O. T. Analysts INTERNAL STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Impeccable consumer franchise ; Brand strength Proven track record Law enforcement network ; Proprietary technology ; Reliance on alliances for distribution ; backbone outsourcedReliance on automotive industry Limited distribution systems New Markets Expanded distribution channels Leverage strong brand Strategic alliances Expand existing technology ; New Entrants Substitute products ; Local bureaucracy (political environment) Shift in alliances Telemetric OPPORTUNITIES THREATS EXTERNAL Perspective on network level strategy Technical Both Lock and Microcosmic embrace the embedded organizational structure. While these technologies. Locks technology would not have been possible without the alliance with local law enforcement agencies, Motorola, and Microcosmic.Microcosms existence, until recently, had been to partner with organizations to leverage its technical creativity to further develop the companies that it works for. It would take an equi ty stand in these companies and take a long term approach. In order for Microcosmic to be successful in this venture, it would need to rely on Locks distribution and marketing systems. Not only to sell its products but also to ensure its own financial stability. And if Lock is to review its long term strategy, it must understand that research and development are not at the core of its operation.Motorola is a key component to both Lock and Microcosmic and has been a strong partner providing vital assistance. However, moving forward, they cannot be relied on to only provide this technology to Lock. They are a much larger company and will look to broaden their reach. In the fall of 1999 Motorola was already working to become a driving force in the telemetric industry and moved to position itself with the major car companies. Who can you count on to bring the promise of telemetric to the world? The same people who have been changing the way we communicate on-the-go since 1928. Motorola is driving innovation with telemetric -? the newest way to take your world with you. Come to think of it -? is Motorola reinventing the car radio for the Internet? (Boroughs, 1999) Motorola is designing the 3rd generation Lock, and it should be available in the fall however a continued alliance with Motorola could combine Locks strong results with another up and coming GAPS capabilities, and Lock could potentially lose its strong brand if it became a part of a larger offering. Recommendations Short Term Lock should look to form a loose alliance with Microcosmic. This would allow forLock to expand into the new market of construction equipment where need exist and no clear provider exist. An alliance between these two organizations has a proven track record and a proven product that can be marketed. The first step in the alliance would be to tackle the construction equipment market. This is a market that has a strong need for a location and asset management technology there i s no clear market leader. The combination of Lock;s proven solution for tracking and the ability of Microcosmic to develop strong asset management software would allow for strong penetration in his market.As in the past, both organizations should look to work in their core areas of expertise. Lock understands how to market and distribute the products and Microcosmic should immediately assume the RD function. This will allow both companies to continue to drive down cost. Lock currently has enough cash on hand to assist the need for cash with Microcosmic. At this point, the cash infusion should be done as a low or no interest loan to Microcosmic. The partnership work well in the beginning, and over time, Microcosmic can determine if this is their core business. If to, they will be able to sell this product back to Lock Just as it did the first time and move in a different direction or become a subsidiary. Motorola is currently working on the 3rd generation Lock and Microcosmic should work directly with Motorola on Medium Term Once a clear hold on the construction market is secured, then the alliance will have the opportunity to move into the trailer market. A proven track record in auto recovery and construction equipment asset management will allow strong credibility and should allow Lock and Microcosmic to become the market leader.During this take both organizations will need to determine the structure of the company and if they are able to grow construction equipment sales to the same rate as existing auto sales then Lock would be in a position to either absorb Microcosmic into the existing organization (assuming this is agreeable to both parties) or turn Microcosmic into a subsidiary. Long Term Emerging markets will be critical to the l ong term success of Lock. With a strong foothold on the construction market this area would be a logical first step into emerging markets as contraction equipment would usually surpass new car sales.Immersing markets will provide the strongest revenue growths for the company and is possible this may need to be moved into the mid-term focus depending on the success for the technology. Critical Success Factors Industry critical success factors need to include a standard platform for technology on both the asset management device and vehicle retrieval systems. If too many technologies exist, it will become confusion for consumers, and they may abandon products all together. The following list the critical success factors for a Lock Microcosmic alliance in terms on timing each holds the same importance.The two companies must have a willingness and desire to form an alliance 2 Microcosmic must be able to finish the work on asset management software in the short term and it must be fully compatible with the existing Lock technology it must come in-line with existing cost estimates 3 Lock will need to develop a strong marketing and distribution plan to enter the construction market and a strong foothold must be established to keep back competition 4 The technology in the construction market must be compatible with trailer and fleet market needs 5 Current US distributio n systems must be compatible with overseas markets alack just be able to understand and successfully maneuver in immersing markets and it needs first mover advantage to establish itself as the market leader.Financial Financial projections are highly dependent on the critical success factors being met and I will only give a small example to the entrance into the construction market as it exists today. With 170,000 to 200,000 pieces of construction equipment being produced in the US each year, I believe that we could start by collecting 5% of that market in the first year and the 10% the following year and leveling out at 15% for the bequest 3 to 5 years. There are approximately 180,000 pieces of equipment in rate as new sales. Lock is currently running at a 43% profit margin and had an 8 year high of 53%. We will use the high (53%) for a cost as there will be quite a bit more expenses in rolling out a new product. The unit should sell at the $1,000 used price point and a $50 per month management fee.Based on these conservative projections, the yearly revenue in this market would level out at $mill with and a net income of $4. 7 mil per year, assuming all cost stay in line with current financial. This would add 14% in E. P. S. The first year and 200% the following year finally leveling out at 100%. Implementation Because of the history of the two parties and the nature of the work, progress could begin immediately. The matter of a cash infusion for Microcosmic should be resolved quickly as well as the nature of the strategic alignment. Lock should continue to develop the third generation with Motorola and determine their role, with Microcosmic, moving forward.

Business Decision Making Essay Example

Business Decision Making Essay Example Business Decision Making Essay Business Decision Making Essay Comprehensive Report with visual presentation and notes You are the Operations Manager for Abyil Ltd, a business strategy consultancy company. You are requested to submit a MIS report to the board of directors of your company. Your task is to prepare the necessary information for decision making using details provided below. Objectives: (Outcomes) 1. Use a variety of sources for the collection of data, both primary and secondary 2. Apply a range of techniques to analyse data effectively for business purposes 3. Produce information in appropriate formats for decision making in an organisational context 4. Use software-generated information to make decisions at operational, tactical and strategic levels in an organisation In your assignment you should consider: (assessment criteria) 1. 2. 3. 4. Review and evaluate inventory control systems in an organisation Prepare a spreadsheet to enable material requirements planning and calculate economic order quantities Prepare a project plan for an activity and determine the critical path Using data from a given business scenario, prepare a range of graphs using spreadsheets and draw valid conclusions based on the information derived Use trend lines in spreadsheet graphs to assist in forecasting for specified business information and thus inform decision making Create information for decision making by summarising data using representative values, and use the result s to draw valid and useful conclusions in a business context Analyse data using measures of dispersion, and use to inform a given business scenario Integrated with below Grading Guidance: 1. Brief explanations earns a PASS 2. Answers with relevant examples earns a MERIT 3. Answers with appropriate examples and comparative discussions / recommendations earns a DISTINCTION Oxford College of London Assessment format: This assessment should be in a form of a Management Report on Management Information Production. You should submit a set of print outs with appropriate notes and visuals to support your decision. Student should use appropriate referencing systems: Harvard Referencing Systems. (Details available at www. uwe. ac. uk/bbs/studyskills in core context. ) Level 5 Level 5 qualifications recognise the ability to increase the depth of knowledge and understanding of an area of work or study to enable the formulation of solutions and responses to complex problems and situations. Learning at this level involves the demonstration of high levels of knowledge, a high level of work expertise in job roles and competence in managing and training others. Qualifications at this level are appropriate for people working as higher grade technicians, professionals or managers. Level 5 qualifications are at a level which broadly compares to the level of demand, but not necessarily the volume of study, of intermediate higher education qualifications such as diplomas of higher education, foundation and other degrees that do not typically provide access to postgraduate programmes. Important Plagiarism, collusion and non-compliance with assessment regulations are offences under the awarding body regulations and where suspected will be thoroughly investigated under official procedures. Penalties may be imposed depending on the severity of the offence, as per the awarding body guidance. Appropriate citations of source documents are essential when presenting written/word processed work and it is crucial that you quote the books, journals, websites etc that you used whilst you carried out desk research. For full details on above facts please refer to student handbook and course hand book. Oxford College of London Critical Path Analysis 1 a) Find the Critical Path of the following network using the EST/LSTs Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Preceding Activity 0 1 1 1 2 3 5 2, 6 7, 8 3 4 9, 10, 11 Duration (days) 4 7 5 6 2 3 5 11 7 4 3 4 b) Calculate the float of the network 1 c) The standard deviation of the activities on the critical path in 1a) are: 1, 2, 1. 5, 3, 2. 5, and 3 respectively. Based on these values calculate the probability of achieving a schedule time of 40 days for the project duration. 2. A mail order company is analysing a random sample of its comp uter records of customers. Among the results are the following distributions: Size of Order ? Less than 1 1 and less than 5 5 and less than 10 10 and less than 15 15 and less than 20 20 and less than 30 30 and over total Number of customers April September 8 4 19 18 38 39 40 69 22 41 13 20 4 5 144 196 Required: 1. Using the MS Excel spreadsheet, calculate the Arithmetic mean, and standard deviation order size for the April sample. 2. Re-present the given data in two different graphs appropriate. Oxford College of London 3. a. Using the Ms Excel spreadsheet comment on the correlation coefficient for the information provided – Cost of Adverts and Additional Sales b. Using a RADAR graph, comment on the business performance relationship and advice accordingly for each month’s operation. Operational Month Jan Feb Mar April May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Cost of adverts Additional Sales ? 000 generated ? 000 15 25 24 65 25 50 30 35 35 15 40 42 45 28 88 20 70 22 75 15 4. You are to determine the stock policy for Expo Plc and have the following data: a. Cost of placing the orders and receiving delivery ? 50 b. Holding cost per unit of stock for one year ? 2. 40 c. Annual demand, certain and regular 48,000 units d. Estimated purchase cost per unit ? 1. 00 e. Delivery time after placing orders 2 weeks You are required to: a. Calculate the total cost of placing orders and holding stock if 25 or 100 orders are placed during the year. b. Determine the minimum cost using a simple EOQ model of Q=v2cd/h c. Calculate and comment upon the effect of a discount of 2. 5% for orders of 5000 units. Oxford College of London 5. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Route 1 Route 2 Route 3 Route 4 Route 5 Route 6 Route 7 Route 8 Route 9 1286 1419 1509 1322 1128 1384 1505 1401 1362 1329 1103 1292 1457 1339 1485 1572 1292 1305 1410 1383 1227 1184 1429 1498 1517 1255 1262 1340 1401 1288 1359 1540 1322 1417 1132 1396 1277 1343 1596 1461 1235 1520 1485 1336 1426 The above data has been collected by a researcher who performed a primary research using observation method on the customers boarding buses over 5 days at bus station. a. Calculate the MEAN, MEDIAN, MODE using MS Excel spreadsheet for the week. b. Produce a radar chart using the MS Excel spreadsheet to identify the congested routes. c. Using an appropriate graph, identify a best trend line and comment the significant use of this for a business decision.

Race and My Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Race and My Community - Essay Example Although I don't look different, the fact that I am not a pure Chinese makes some people stop and think, and depending on their personal experience, they adjust their behavior towards us. My community is a pretty mixed up place, but I don't mean we are confused. No, there may be few of mixed Japanese-Chinese ancestry as I am, but the neighborhood is crawling with people from different parts of the country who have come to the capital, where I live, in order to study, find work, or stay with their families. This is how race becomes an issue, something that one would not expect from an island nation such as ours, but it does. Contrary to popular belief, not all the Chinese are of the same race. Neither are all the Asians of the same race. The label "Asian American" in countries like the United States says a lot about the confusion of the racialized Western mind that thinks that we are all the same race. We can be as white as the Japanese and the Koreans or as dark as Indians or Pakistanis or Arabs. My being half-Japanese just makes the classification more exciting. I enjoy the care and attention I get from people who think I am not the same as they are, but I also suffer when others think that I don't belong, since I am neither pure Chinese nor pure Japanese, but this is something I have learned to adapt to since I was small, and when my friends learn more about me, they adapt. That is why they are my friends: we have many things in common, but also many things that are different. Our community leaders are open to us. They are helpful and are doing a good job with everyone regardless of color or ethnic origin, because most of them are also immigrants from other parts of the country. I think this is what education and moving out of your place of birth does to people. You learn quickly that even a small country like mine is really a big place where all of us can live happily together. I wish I could say the same thing of leaders in other communities. A friend from another part of town was just telling me that their leader, who happened to have migrated from the south of the country many decades ago, was discriminating against immigrants from other regions and favoring those from his town. I don't think that is right. I think a leader should treat people the same way a parent would treat their children. Help the kids grow up and learn, because life in this world is not easy. After thinking about it, I think racialization - the construction of racially unequal social hierarchies characterized by dominant and subordinate social relations between groups (Marable, 2004)- works both ways. Others find it useful to support their own hidden intentions, which can be good or bad. This is why it is good because people become more educated and sensitive on this issue so that there is less racialization in society. But it is also bad, because we might reach a point when we become paralyzed by racialization that life stops becoming fun. One example I can cite, which is related to information by or about people like me that can be found in texts or work manuals, is the impression people get when they see a strange name as the author of something, a speech, article, or a book.