Economic environment Essay Example for Free

Economic environment Essay The country has been experiencing rapid economic growth due to the increasing oil prices. Oil and Gas account for more than 50% of its GDP, which is 70% of government revenues and 85% of its export earnings. Qatar’s GDP is $ 85. 35 billion, GDP growth rate is 11. 2% with and inflation rate of 15. 2%. Realizing this unhealthy dependency toward oil and gas, most of the economic policies of Qatar are now focused on dealing with Qatar’s non-associated natural gas reserves and developing foreign and private investments in non-energy sectors. The Qatari Government has been actively encouraging foreign investments in non-oil sectors like power, telecommunication and real estate. The country is significantly influenced by the Free Trade Agreement which has made investments in non-oil sectors more attractive, including the tourism sector, real estate and trade sector. It is predicted that the flow of international investment in Qatar will increase due to this development program by the Qatari government. Nevertheless, the amount of international investment in Qatar will remain on its oil and gas sector. Businesses from within the country also invest considerably on EU businesses. Furthermore, the government is highly committed to privatization of most of its state-owned businesses, like telecommunications, power and water sector. A more detailed look on its trade activities revealed that the country’s largest slice of exports are large machineries like aircraft, power generator plant, mechanical appliances, medical equipment, electrical machineries, etc. Furthermore, the country’s investment and monetary environment is reported to be a source of concerns. This is true because high oil prices and strong economic growth has been accelerating the inflation level into a rate which is hard to tolerate. This has significant effect toward the real-estate and stock markets. The stock market has experienced a correction in 2006, but reports revealed that Qatar has much recovered from it. On the other hand, the real-estate prices have been rising to an alarming rate. These increases are partly fueled by high real estate financings. It should be noted however, that the Qatari government has been limiting the overall exposure to this sector, and thus, a real estate sector shock is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Only prolonged low oil prices will dampen the development of the banking sector as well as other developing sectors in Qatar, and such occurrences are considered very difficult to become a reality. 1. 1. 1. Cultural Environment The people of Qatar are highly educated people with an overall high sense of business. 90% of the population is literate and school life expectancy is 13 years, which is a high number in any region of the world. People speak Arabic, but English are commonly used as a second language. The people of Qatar consist of quite diverse origins. 40% are Arabic, 18% are Indians, another 18% are Pakistani, 10% are Iranian, etc. Life expectancy is high and infant mortality rate a very low with beneficial age structure for business activities. 1. 2. Competitive Assessment Considering the highly developed economy and the abundant economic resources, Qatar should be considered as a highly competitive environment. This is true considering the economic appeal that the country has toward western countries, including the European Union. Qatar has maintained a strong and positive relationship to the EU countries, which would naturally bring more attention of EU businesses, to enter the Qatar markets. On the other hand, the Qataris themselves should be accounted as a possible source of competition for retail and electronic products, especially the latter. As mentioned, Qatar’s most active sector recently is the electronic and machinery sector. Even though the machinery sector is not within the realm of competition with retail products, but the electronic sector in Qatar means significant competition from local players, especially when the sector is highly developed already. The positive aspect of expanding to Qatar is being one of the first foreign presences within the particular sector. Despite the competitive nature of the business environment, being one of the first players within the industry would significantly help the image of Brookstone. 1. 3. Potential Target Market Assessment Almost 80% of the country’s population consist of people aged 15-64, which is an active consumer. Nevertheless, research indicated that the most likely consumers of Brookstone are business society, followed by the average retail consumers. This is true considering Brookstone’s specialty in delivering customers with complete set retail choices, even the ones that are generally hard to find in the general market. I believe that taking account of the rapidly expanding economy in Qatar, such offerings from Brookstone will be welcomed warmly by the society. 2. Market Entry Strategy In theory, it is safer for companies to follow the general steps of entering a foreign market. Those steps are: direct exporting first, followed by joint ventures, establishing a sales representative and then establishing a full-fledged subsidiary within the region. Nevertheless, considering the retail nature of the business, it is highly crucial for Brookstone to have the first appearance in the market as trustworthy provider of people’s needs. Therefore, a more direct approach by establishing stores within Qatar markets is a more suitable method for Brookstone. Nevertheless, several adjustments would be necessary considering that the company is entering a country with significantly different cultures and sensitive political views. It is important for Brookstone marketing managers to enter the lives of its customers and understand their perspectives in relation to retail matters. That understanding could be used to create a more effective and market-reaching in-store marketing programs or out-of-store promotional programs.

An Analysis of the Epic Poem, Beowulf - Fame, Kingship, Fate and God in Beowulf :: Epic Beowulf essays

Fame, Kingship, Fate and God in Beowulf The Anglo-Saxons were a people who lived in and ruled England from the fifth century AD until the Norman Conquest. They were a people who valued courage and leadership. They lived under kings who were "keepers of gold" and were guarded by their loyal thanes (knights). They were a Pagan culture until the Normandy conquistadors came. They believed in fate and believed the only way to live forever was if you had fame. In the Anglo-Saxon book, Beowulf, there was a combination of many different people. The characters in Beowulf are defined by their status. Their status was in form of their fame and accomplishments. Beowulf was a very famous warrior, who sails to the Danes to kill a monster who is murdering their people. Beowulf kills Grendal, Grendal's mother and a dragon throughout the entirety of the story. Every time he receives more fame and more glory. Beowulf became a king. He was a great king who received honor and loyalty from his men. Although, during the fight with t he dragon Beowulf's men run away and as a result Beowulf dies. The book claims that Beowulf had fate against him in his last battle against the dragon, but also says that Beowulf had Christian morals. By having two conflicting religions (paganism and Christianity) it makes the story more interesting. This book is composed of four main characteristics: fame, kingship, fate, and God, which play very important roles throughout the book. In Beowulf the Anglo-Saxons longed for fame. To them fame meant immortality. For example, the narrator says, "But Beowulf longing only for fame, leaped into battle" (Raffel 1529). To Beowulf the only reason to risk his life is a battle, is so he can have his moments of fame, hence immortality. Even if a character gains fame, they will always be fighting to receive more. After Beowulf becomes king one of his servants says, "Beloved Beowulf, remember how you boasted, once, that nothing in the world would ever destroy your fame: you fight to keep in now, be strong and brave, my noble king, protecting life and fame together" (2586). So even though Beowulf had fame, he had to keep fighting and being successful in order to protect and keep his fame.

Main HRM procedures that have contributed to the success of a company Essay

Google has implemented HRM procedures that have contributed to the success of the company. Google is a website company that allows visitors to search for whatever information they need at the click of a mouse. Google was able to attract the best talents. Most of its employees were Intelligent people The founders, Larry Page an Sergei Brin were both computer science graduates. They bought large terabyte memory disk to hide their data. The following paragraphs explain in detail how Google’s HRM policies were instrumental in having a zero percent employee turnover for. Also, the next part explains the nuances of change to the organization and its employees. Both Larry and Sergei established a company where employees would have a fun place to work in. The offices were decorated with lava lamps and painted with bright colors of the Google Logo, In fact, the employees were allowed to bring their pets to their workplace. The employees were given free snacks, lunch an dinner made by chef Charlie Ayers. In addition, they Google office snack rooms included a variety of cereals, gumi bears, cashew nuts. These were complemented with a variety of fruit juices, soda and cappuccino. Likewise, there were sports facilities like table tennis, a pool table and a roller skating hockey. The company had regular roller skater hockeys with its employees. Further, there were other physical activity facilities like the work -out gym, a variety of video games. Both Larry and Sergei implemented the open communication method within the organization. All its employees could freely talk directly with their managers or top level officers anytime. The employees were encouraged to eat at the company cafeteria so that they could mingle and make friends with other employees of the company. Larry and Sergei believes that allowing the employees around 20% of their time doing projects that they chose make the employees feel important and independent –minded. In addition, the employees would discuss any and all topics whether relating to their work in Google or just simply trivial things during their lunch breaks in the Google cafeteria. The serious topics discussed in the Google canteen during their lunch breaks included topics on how to topple the competitors, the employees were grouped into teams where the leadership rotates among its members. The employees had every right to fix things if anything goes wrong without having to pass through the red tape that other companies’ The motto that Larry and Sergei instituted to the employees is that you are the boss, Don’t wait to take the hill. Don’t wait to be managed. Both Larry and Sergei offered big mouth –watering incentives for people who want to work in Google that included Hot award winning technology, intelligent, fun, high energy teammates, Great culture and amazing perks that include massage therapy and free all you can eat snacks. Employees were also backed by two VCs and they had free gourmet lunches served daily, start up environment with excellent benefits, stock options where the employees could buy stocks and become one of the many owners of Google. The employees were also given ample work above average work stations. The company is strategically located in Silicon Valley in the United States. One enticing message that google says when it invites smart students from top universities to work for them is that their ideas will help make a difference in this world. Google hires employees with diverse skills and qualities. The company sought employees that had broad knowledge and expertise in computer science and mathematics. Also, employees that were hired had to be world class programmers. In addition, its employees had to be excellent in terms of communication as well as organizational skills. The employees had to be passionate with their work and are great colleagues. Also, the employees chosen to work in Google had to be at ease working in a high –energy, unstructured environment on a very small project team to create amazing products for people using Google every day. Also, the employees had to have diverse interests and skills. In addition, hiring an estimated thirty percent of the entire Google work force on a contractual basis thereby is saving the company in terms of fringe benefits expenses. Google placed their wanted employees ads in theatres only. In addition, Google asks their employees to recommend their relatives and friends to work in Google. Fifty percent of the new employees were recommended by Google employees. For, each employee will be given $2,000 for each employee admitted into the company that were recommended by them. In addition, the Human Resource Department contacted the University Professors to give them the names of their best and brightest students for possible hiring in Google. Likewise, Google organized programming contests with prizes that reach $15,000 in order to tap the best minds in the programming industry. This included the Code Jam programming contests. The above are only some of the reasons why there is a zero turnover of employees in Google. Need theories. The human resource department must place emphasis on developing a learning culture in its employees. It means that the employees would attend human resource department sponsored seminars on learning how best to accomplish one’s job tasks. For, there is an increasing need for employees to learn new process of doing their jobs. In short, there is an increasing need for good mental functioning that includes both intellect achievement and emotional stability in terms of job performance. For, as members of the workforce become more educated and more mature, there is a need for more information to be used in decision making in terms of passing the company benchmarks. For Human resource theory here shows that the learning culture of the employees will promote the concept that the employees can expect to work in a small problem –solving team that will produce high quality products in less time possible. Meaning, the company that rewards its employees for their innovations and creativity is the organization that will stand whereas all their competitors have dissolved( Gayle, 1990) . Many Human Resource specialists today will value the well –trained middle –aged worker but will view the employee’s ability to perform more. For, terminations are costly alternatives because the human resource department has to spend time and money training the neophyte employees that have will replace the terminated old employees. Companies spend lots of money on the training of new employees or the retraining of old employees on new company processes. For, human resource specialists are facing personal demands that could impede the employee’s work performance or impair the organization’s progress. Thus, human resource specialists will need skills to provide rehabilitation of employees who need them. This can be accomplished through the teamwork of all departments in the entire organization. For, as the world’s economy evolves, the organization must keep up with the competition. This can be done by continuously changing how products are produced in the company. Basically, the company must feed what the customer wants. Meaning, as the customer’s wants changes, the company must change its products to fill the new needs of the customers. In this regard, the middle aged employee is continually bombarded with new ways of producing finished goods. The old employees must either keep in step or be retrenched. For the current economy is world based and borderless. The human resource department must train the old employees how to be cope with the information overload that affects his work. For efficient productivity and sound decision will be needed to compete in the international economy. Thus, the Human resource department must address such issues as training, rewarding, economic security, task design, job responsibility, employee benefits, retirements and others. This is brought about by the new automation and new technology of the twenty –first century (Waskel 1991, 16) The human resource department must be more serious today in their recruitment and retaining of key employees. Mortorola used the production data of each employee as a basis for the retaining or retrenchment of employees. For, Motorola’s theory is to spend as little as possible on its employees ( Henkoff 1991, 76). In hiring a new employee, an applicant could be given an on the job simulation and asks what he or she could do to improve the current workplace situation. Also, many managers select a prospective employee based on predetermined by Work descriptions. Further, the companies must recruit the best from many applicants for a job. This is the process used by Merck and Hewlett –Packard (Denton 1992, 14) Job design theories. Many Human Resource people despite the definitions of the functions to represent the ordinality, the ordinality of this scale does not work well as the things and the data scales. For there are two qualitatively different types of interpersonal relationships represented in the scale of subjective and objective. There are self –serving helping, coaching, treating and mentoring functions that express an emphatic, caring dimension in an informal and formal work environment (Fine, and Cronshaw 1999, 48). Goal setting, The employees are currently graded based on a benchmark commonly termed as goal setting. And, all employees work towards a common goal which is the reaching of the organization benchmark. This benchmark boils down to generating profits. In this regard, employees may be enticed to buy shares of stocks in the company so that they will feel that they are employees as well as owners. Also, many employees work better at achieving goals if they are educated or trained on how best to accomplish their jobs. Also, better goal setting will result to goal achievement if communication and feedback freely flows from subordinate to human resource department as well as the employee’s head (Thomas, and Maxwell 2001, 47). Leadership theories Employees who are loyal to their company usually lead the other employees to be more loyal to the company through example (hard work, overtime, achieving of production benchmarks) These leaders believe in the philosophy and benchmark of the organization. These leaders believe that they see performance as an obligation in order for the entire organization to succeed. Employee attachment to such leaders will translate to commitment to the organization. (Grant 1990, 57). Organizational change comes in terms of cultural, structural, redesign of jobs, introduction of new working practices, changes to grading and remuneration systems and changes to the modes of control. Also, different organizations have different intensities and time lines for these changes (Preece, Steven, and Steven 1999, 67) . Change occurs when the way things are done have been replaced by a new company process. Change should be done if the change will give added advantage to the company. A very strong reason to change to a new process is when the new machine bought produces more goods than the current machines used. Likewise, change should immediately be implemented if the company feels that the new machine or process produces better quality goods than the current machine used. Change can be done by first making a feasibility study as to whether the new process or machine will be more advantageous to the company than the current machines or processes are doing. Normally, many of the old employees would fight any changes to be implemented by the company. For change brings with it the learning of new ways of doing things. On the other hand, the younger employees would love the new process or machine because it brings with it a new working environment. The young employees can easily learn new tricks and processes. Naturally, the new machine will cause lost of jobs because the people used to working to the replaced machines will have the same job. To deal with this, the company could retrench these old employees and pay them a separation pay. However, a better way would be to transfer these ‘jobless’ employees to another department in the company to do another job type. This is good if the employee can easily learn the new job. In addition change can be smoothly implemented with the use of Total Quality Management and re –engineering introduction (Olson, and Eoyang 2001, 19). The conclusion is very positive. Google’s, founders Larry and Sergei were very instrumental in creating a zero percent employee turnover. Some of the reasons for this remarkable feat is the company’s free gourmet lunches and snacks, a free time for recreation activities and other fringe benefits. Also, The HRM must guide the old employees as they choose between retrenchment or reassignment to another job. For, nothing is constant but change. For, a company must innovate in order to keep up with the competition.

The Performance Of Leonardo Dicaprio And Jonah Hill

If you haven’t seen The Wolf Of Wall street, a movie that hit fame in 2013, you should. The performance of Leonardo Dicaprio and Jonah Hill was incredible and original. Not only was it a great movie for all people (of a responsible age). It was a great movie for marketers. As I watched it I learned so much about marketing and getting your name out there. I also noticed during the entire duration of the film, they stated benefits of anything and everything it offers. The infamous â€Å"Sell me this Pen†, scene said it all. So that is what I am going to do today, I am going to sell you a pen. Well, I am not actually going to sell you a pen. I am going to sell you, me. First lets look at marketing in general. Marketing and advertising is the†¦show more content†¦Like the â€Å"Sell this pen† question has been around way before The Wolf of Wallstreet was around. No one wants to here the features of a product of service, those are the things that you can mention but not promote. We don’t care how shiny or great the pen is, or if it is the top of the line pen. Those things do not provoke an emotion. The features provoke nothing. As marketers we need to gather information, respond to information well, deliver it and how you close it. In order to sell something as simple as a pen you have to show those skills I listed above. Gather information about the last time they used a pen, or if they use a pen and what kind. Make sure they understand the importance of how they needed that pen in their life. Sell something bigger than a pen. Sell them a life without a pen. How would they sign important memorable documents without a pen? Close them; ask for them to buy it. Once you create urgency in a product or service, they will buy it. Just like in The Wolf of Wall street, Leo says, â€Å"sell me this pen†. The other man says,† Hand me the pen† â€Å"Do me a favor, write your name down on the napkin.† Leo says, I can’t I don’t have a pen.† The man says, â€Å" Supply and demand.† Leo needed the pen, the man had it. Hook, line and sinker. It is a simple process to understand. It is also simple to utilize. I am not going to sit here and talk about Leo and The Wolf of Wallstreet the entire time. Everyone has probably tried to