Xerox :: essays research papers

COUNTRY ISSUES Culture, Social, and Demographics:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When examining any company and their possible expansion into new markets you must first examine the culture, social, and demographic issues impacting foreign businesses. The Colombian culture has begun to show a bias towards American products as recently as 1998. As written in Carol Casper's New York Times article, 'There is a lot of interest in U.S. concepts and products...'; in not only Colombia but also all of Latin America. The interest has caused more American firms to begin to see these developing attitudes and expand their businesses into Latin America. For Xerox to also take part in this expansion they would be able to take advantage of the new interest.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Colombians, although, are not welcoming these companies with open arms. There is an interest in the U.S. businesses but as Dianna Jean Schemo reports; it is not uncommon to be threatened by the cartels of Colombia. These cartels want in on the inflow of money and will get involved in kidnappings and murderer if they see it necessary. In 1996, the last year these figures are available, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 19,645 homicides while in Colombia there were 26,627. For the fear of being on the wrong end of such instances American businesses need to be extra careful when trying to penetrate the Colombian marketplace. Xerox would not be as impacted by the threat of cartel interference. The cartels become more involved with restaurants and oil companies that have developed in Colombia. They have not developed any interest in the technology industry as of yet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Colombia has a population of 37 million Spanish-speaking people. The annual growth rate is 1.7% and 95% of the population is Roman Catholic. In the urban areas a 93% literacy rate was found, as opposed to a 67% literacy rate in rural areas. This is due to the fact that only five years of primary school are offered in rural areas. This information regarding the population is encouraging. Although the rural population's literacy rate is low, the urban rate is quite high for a Latin American country. This rate leads me to believe that for Xerox to expand in this market with its technology/communication equipment would not be a problem. The majority of the targeted population where Xerox would be selling their products could understand the benefits of their product and would want to purchase Xerox products. Political/Governmental Concerns:

Hazel Case Essay

1.Hazel’s customers will most likely judge her quality based on how well their lawns are doing and by looking at the state of her other customers’ gardens as well. The customers will also weight the services she provides with the price she’s asking for. And the most important is her knowledge about gardening and how committed she is. Lawns should be taken care of regularly so she should manage her time precisely not to miss an appointment or neglect a certain garden. 2.a. Like any other business forecasting is a vital part of the operations. Forecasting is needed to manage inventory, time and cash expenditures. With forecasting Hazel will be able to predict demand thus will be able to book her two part timers for certain dates. With forecasts she will also be able to get enough quantities of the fertilizers and tools she needs for the job. A forecast will also tell her when there will be available time required for her machine’s maintenance. b. The inventory Hazel must have is fertilizers and seeds. One of the most important decision that Hazel must do on a regular basis is how much to order of each based on the shipping cost of each order and the available space she has for storage in order to minimize her cost (Economic Order Quantity). Hazel must also pay attention to the fertilizers and seeds’ expiry dates so that they don’t go unused. c. Hazel needs to schedule her appointment and her machines’ maintenance time. Once appointments are set for each employee she has to assign the time slots between herself and her workers. Weather conditions can drive her to reschedule as well as health conditions if she or one of her part time workers get sick and can’t go to the appointment and something personal of importance comes up suddenly. d. The quality of her work especially in the industry she chose is very important. Based on the quality of her work more customers will come asking for her services and she can then raise her prices. e. The maintenance that Hazel has to do is for the equipments she uses. She has to make sure all machines are in good conditions and that all the blades and scissors are sharp enough. 3.a. Working for a company brings a steady foreseen income but is subject to the risk of getting laid off like it happened to Hazel before or maybe salary cuts during economic downturns. On the other hand working privately has the risk of not getting any orders for a period of time. The private business thing requires full commitment even if she has to skip some of her personal obligations; on the other hand working for a company has defined working hours. b. Not expanding the business would limit Hazel’s revenues and profits and losing one customer would have a significant negative impact on her operations. In contrast, expanding the business might also have some drawbacks because it will require an initial capital injection from her side to buy more equipments needed, she will have to hire permanent employees to run the business, she will be required to pay close attention to the quality of service that her employees are performing. All of these extra expenses might outweigh the extra profit she will get from the expansion so forecasts will play an vital role in her decisions on whether to expand or not. c. Launching a website would help Hazel reach a clientele she can’t possibly reach via marketing between her neighbors. However, the website she launches might get her more orders than she can possibly fulfill with her current capacity. Another important factor is that the website will need someone to monitor it and tak e care of it and if not enough orders come from the website then it won’t be worth its extra cost. 4.If the ordinance is passed Hazel can offer a new service to her clients which is moving their clippings. The advantages of the new service would be that it will bring her extra profit and it will be considered a dependent line of business that she can offer not only to the clients she cuts the lawn for but for anyone interested. The disadvantages would be the cost of getting new vehicles and new employees for the new business line and the complexity of running two different business lines simultaneously. 5.I think Hazel should send him the check first because she had given them her work (even if it wasn’t documented) and second because this would encourage other workers to share their ideas and not fear that she won’t pay them given they are only part timers. Another important thing is that this worker can spread the word that she didn’t pay him which will create a bad image of her in the market. The cost she will be incurring is the monetary value of the check . 6.a. The business Hazel deals in is affected by many other factors other than her work such as weather conditions and plants reactions to fertilizers. This outside effect requires more attention from Hazel’s side to make sure her quality does not vary dramatically because if that happens she might lose her credibility. b. If weather conditions are favorable then demand would probably decrease but if the conditions are unfavorable then the lawns would require more care from her side. According to the demand her inventory levels have to be set. 7.Hazel can consider offering a one month package, or a 6 month package or an annual one where the clients sign a contract with her for the whole period. Hazel can also offer bundle services in which she offers two of her services at a discounted price. Such offers would help Hazel attract more customers, will help her predict demand and will eliminate the risk of getting no new orders for a period of time.

Essay Fictional Character Analysis; Hannibal Lecter

Abnormal Psychology Fictional Character Analysis Hannibal Lecter from â€Å"Hannibal† series Character Description: Hannibal Lecter is the primary character in the â€Å"Hannibal† movie series and will be the subject of psychiatric evaluation for this paper. The series is comprised of 4 films (â€Å"Hannibal Rising†, â€Å"Silence of the Lambs†, â€Å"Red Dragon†, â€Å"and Hannibal†) which follow Lecter’s life from youth to adulthood. Lecter is a white male of average height and weight; he is a brilliant doctor and exceptionally well mannered and educated individual. Hannibal Lecter was born in Lithuania in the year of 1933 to a wealthy, aristocratic family. In the midst of World War II, Hannibal, his parents and younger sister, Mischa, relocated to a cabin in†¦show more content†¦In fact, those with psychiatric personality disorders such as ADP are accountable for over 49% of all crimes; of those with more than 5 crimes, 59% had a severe psychiatric diagnosis. This study found higher levels of crime within groups of people with ADP or other pers onality disorders. The likelihood of an offender having a personality disorder increases as the number of offenses committed increases. (Andre Sourander) Hannibal is a dangerous serial killer and cannibal, responsible for over 20 deaths and also has a severe case of ADP. Childhood trauma is directly associated with patients with Psychopathy/Antisocial Personality Disorder. According to this study by Mesut Cetin which tested a number of Turkish men, patients with ADP reported significantly higher rates of childhood trauma related events. 60.8% of the ADP subjects had at least 1 type of childhood traumatization. Childhood experiences are essential factors of development and directly correlated with the aquiration of ADP and other severe personality disorders. Children with a negative upbringing that experience things such as neglect and abuse are at a much greater risk to develop disorders such as ADP. (Mesut Cetin) This study supports the link between childhood traumas and ADP. Hannibal Lecter undergoes extreme trauma when his family is, murdered and his sister is cannibalized.Show MoreRelatedThere Has Been An Increase In The Proportion Of Persons Who Associate Mental Illness With Dangerousness1675 Words   |  7 Pagestreatable. There are many diff erent definitions of mental illnesses based on peoples’ opinions and experiences. One recognisable reason behind this is the media and the media’s interpretation of the mentally ill in their portrayal of fictional characters. Hannibal Lecter and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho are both primary examples of this – both portrayed mentally ill serial killers and both came across as horrible people. These representations of the mentally ill contribute to the stereotypes